It’s a fall Sunday afternoon and the teams are squared off on the football field, offense and defense. A substitute runs to the huddle with the next play from the offensive coordinator, relaying it to the quarterback. It’s third and one – an obvious running situation – and an off-tackle is called. The quarterback calls the play and the snap count to his squad, and they break huddle and line up.

The quarterback scans the defense while barking out the cadence and, suddenly, things aren’t looking very promising. Both safeties have moved way up into the slots, the classic warning signs of a zero blitz.

The quarterback sees this development, interprets it correctly, and then must very quickly change the plan. Depending on the circumstances, a time-out might be called. Or maybe the defense doesn’t show blitz until just before the snap, with the play clock ticking down to zero, leaving the quarterback no time to adjust. Take the snap and immediately spike the ball? Or throw it out of bounds to avoid a potential sack or big turnover?

Most of the time, what happens is that the quarterback “calls an audible.” That is, he sees a new threat (which may also offer an opportunity) and cancels or modifies the original play at the line of scrimmage by calling out (in code) a different play that could work better against the defensive alignment presented. The rest of the offense must quickly adjust to the new reality. Failure to do so has negative consequences.

Every day, people make plans and the gods laugh. Circumstances often change, a little or a lot, before even the most carefully laid plans can be executed. If you want to succeed, the team (you and your crew), must have the ability to “read the defense,” adapt quickly and effectively to what is, not what was, and carry on. That requires a flexible, adaptable mindset that can just go with the flow of events and make the best of them. That is the essence and art of tugboating for all hands.

Joel Milton works on towing vessels. He can be reached at [email protected].