“You got guys punching you in the chest, gouging your eyes,” said former Buffalo Bills Pro Bowl nose tackle Fred Smerlas, according to SB Nation. “In the fumble pile, everything gets whacked. You’ve got 330-pound men jumping on you. Let me tell ya, get hit by guys that size with pads and helmets, and it gets ugly fast. In the pile, we used a different language. Part Greek, part Italian, and part filth.”
Smerlas said there was extra motivation for a defensive player to grab that ball – to get off the field. “As a defenseman, recovering a fumble was the difference between getting off the field or having to stay there for another 10 plays and getting your head caved in,” Smerlas said. “They were huge. You trained for them since when you were a little kid. And then, boom! A fumble happens and everything goes dark. Only the ball lights up. No matter what’s around you, you go for that thing. When those lights go out, it’s ‘Here we come!’”