So how to avoid this fellow, the Turk?

First, get out of the mindset of "avoiding" being cut. Guys who obsess about not getting cut tend to give effort in spurts, usually around cut days. But you want to be a day-in, day-out type guy. A consistent player. If you play any differently in training camp than during the season (especially if you play better in training camp), you're risking being labeled inconsistent.

And few Pro Bowls on your resume could be the difference between the veteran minimum and that rare and special gem that is the third contract. Some guys get paid like their prime in their last year; other guys get paid and treated like old-timers. Which guy you become is entirely a matter of how much effort you put in between now and then.

Become an effort guy. By the time you hit the pros you're no longer the fastest or strongest guy around. You'll need to stand out in other ways. And just as final scores often favor the team that hustled for loose balls, coaches and contract negotiators tend to favor players who lay out everything for the moment, for the game. If you'll do it in the practice, they know you'll do it in-field. That, at its most basic, is all coaches really want: reliable guys with a consistently high motor.

Groucho Marx once said that, "you can only be as good as you are willing to be bad." But what rookie risk-takers sometimes forget is that the right to freelance on defense is earned. It's earned through film study and understanding tendencies and your defensive keys.

When your coach calls you to the sideline to ask why you jumped tight end flat and let the running back blow by you on the wheel, you'll want to have a good reason why you did that. It's okay to do the wrong thing for the right reasons. But if the best you can manage is a blank stare, you'll have some problems.

Risk-taking comes from proven competence. Ed Reed might get burned every now and then for outsmarting himself, but he's also a game breaker. 99 coaches out of 100 will take the game breaker who makes the occasional mistake to the guy who's just average but never makes or gives up the big play. Find me another guy who combines football instincts and film study like Ed Reed and I'll show you another guy in a position to take those risks.

It's a given that you'll make mistakes. Just last year you were a college kid. But the problems come from making the same mistake. Not only does this frustrate the hell out of your coaches and teammates, but you miss out on a learning opportunity. You don't learn anything from repeating the same bad idea without tweaking it or heeding criticisms — but you can get cut for it.