Chapter One: The Human Passing Machine

After a normal concussion evaluation, he returned to the sideline but was barred from contact. He stared at the helmet on his knees like an animal that had bitten him. During red-zone work, he tried it again. Nothing happened until the chinstrap clicked shut. Then the world became a wall of radios. *Sink the outside shoulder. Make him commit.* Tyler pressed Eli at the line. *Don't drop it. Don't drop it again.* Eli. *Why does every Marcus pass drift left today?* the coordinator wondered. They were not full thoughts, only the one truth each person was straining hardest to suppress. Shame made a voice louder; distance made it fade.