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Thread: Damnit Rhino

  1. #41
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    Re: Damnit Rhino

    Dusty Dvoracek:




    JD Runnels:

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    Re: Damnit Rhino

    Quote Originally Posted by Rhino
    Sanks for that.

    I'm sure gonna miss him...


    ...'trots'...heh.

  3. #43
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    Re: Damnit Rhino

    Quote Originally Posted by BigRedJed


    Holy crap! Is that all that he's squatting? I'm afraid he has a conditioning problem.
    shows what you know. That rod is made of neutronium

  4. #44
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    Re: Damnit Rhino

    Dusty's interview is at the 3:15 mark (It works in IE, not Firefox)

    "I'm gunna get to the quarterback more than Tommie does."

  5. #45
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    Re: Damnit Rhino

    Couple of stories:
    Dvoracek brings Bears on wagon
    May 7, 2006
    BY MIKE MULLIGAN Staff Reporter

    It would be nice to say that regardless of what happens now, Dusty Dvoracek will go down as a success story. Sadly, such triteness can't begin to explain what Dvoracek has been through nor the battle ahead to maintain a life of sobriety.

    A third-round selection at defensive tackle in last weekend's draft, Dvoracek gathered with his fellow Bears rookies at Halas Hall over the weekend to begin the assimilation process into NFL life. No doubt a few compared notes over a couple of drinks at some point or will head home with NFL stories to share with friends at a local bar.

    Sports and bars mix together like gin and tonic. Not for Dvoracek. Not anymore. He has taken the pledge to live a clean and sober life after being suspended from the Oklahoma football team during the 2004 season after a series of alcohol-related altercations -- three documented incidents in two years -- culminating in a drunken rage in which he beat a friend senseless and landed him in an intensive-care unit for four days.

    Losing football was the impetus Dvoracek needed to turn his life around. A smart guy who scored a 41 out of a possible 50 on the Wonderlic test -- the highest score of anyone attending the Indianapolis scouting combine -- Dvoracek put two and two together and realized booze was the problem. He attended a court-ordered six-week course on anger control, went through extensive counseling for alcohol problems and wound up being reinstated to the team and regaining his captain's band.

    "[The suspension] and the fact if I kept going maybe I would have hurt somebody or hurt myself,'' the defensive tackle said of his decision to stop drinking. "You get dumb when you get drunk and out of control. It was best for me and everyone around me for me to stop. It was time to grow up and be smart about it.''

    Here's where the story gets a bit tricky. One observer who has undergone alcohol counseling and has looked into Dvoracek's treatment program says it's unconventional to the point of not having an ideal success rate. Dvoracek doesn't attend regular meetings and relies on a strong will as much as a support system to maintain his sobriety. He says he's not an alcoholic, even though that was reportedly the reason used for a medical redshirt year in college.

    "I don't drink anymore,'' Dvoracek said. "It is my choice to stop. I didn't ever have a problem with drinking all the time -- it's just when I did, it got too excessive, so I just knocked it out.

    "I wasn't really an alcoholic; I just made poor decisions when I was drinking. It's my choice just to stop. It's more of a life-altering choice than it is 'I am this.'''

    Such statements might concern some, but Dvoracek has a sympathetic ear in Lovie Smith. The Bears coach is the son of an alcoholic father and witnessed his battle up close, including several false starts in his dad's bid for rehabilitation. Smith said his father, Thurman, was "an extreme case'' and not one to compare with a youngster like Dvoracek.

    Thurman Smith died 10 years ago after living soberly for 25 years, but he and his family went through hell trying to control the disease.

    "We went through AA meetings, chemical treatments, the pill you take where you get real sick if you do it,'' said Smith, who himself is not a drinker. "My father went through the guilt of the family seeing him in that position. We went through it all. In the end, do you know how he beat it? He just said: 'That is it. I'm not going to do it anymore.' I don't know what the solution for it is; I just know how my father did it.''

    Dvoracek knows there will be temptations playing in a city such as Chicago, but he insists he's done with alcohol. Period.

    Smith said the Bears did a lot of research before selecting Dvoracek and, far from seeing him as a character risk, believe he has shown strong character by taking responsibility for his actions and changing his life accordingly.

    Talk to anybody around the Bears about their draft -- one that has largely been deemed disappointing both locally and nationally -- and you'll hear the same complaint. None of the so-called experts seem to be measuring the value of getting two players over the one guy that would have been sitting there at No. 26.

    The Bears traded that selection to Buffalo and in return received two picks -- No. 42 overall, where safety Danieal Manning was taken, and the third-round selection used for Dvoracek (73rd overall). The Bears like that combination of players better than a guy such as Miami cornerback Kelly Jennings, whom they would have taken if they had kept the 26th pick.

    They moved down because they wanted Dvoracek. He was the key to the entire draft for them.

    Bears general manager Jerry Angelo went so far as to say on draft day that he regarded Dvoracek as one of just three defensive players in the draft with a "special competitive nature'' who "bring something tangible to a defense that is very infectious.''

    "I will stake my reputation personally on his character at this point,'' Angelo said. "Obviously I have, or else we wouldn't have taken him. We felt really good given where he is now in his life.''

    Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops echoed those sentiments.

    "I put my reputation as well on the line by bringing him back,'' Stoops said. "I felt so strongly about the positive characteristics of the guy. I felt there was very little to no risk.''

    Here's hoping it's a success story.

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    Dvoracek willing to visit his murky past
    By Bob LeGere
    Daily Herald Sports Writer
    Posted Sunday, May 07, 2006

    It takes a big man to own up to his mistakes.

    Dusty Dvoracek, the Bears’ third-round draft choice, says he fits that description when it comes to his past drinking problems, and not because he’s 6-feet-3 and 305 pounds.

    Dvoracek was booted off Oklahoma’s team after the first two games in 2004 following several alcohol-related incidents. He says he’s finished drinking, but he knows he’s not finished answering questions about it.

    “It takes a person with character and a person who’s accountable to fess up to that and stand here and look you guys in the eye and take those questions,” Dvoracek said at the Bears’ weekend rookie minicamp at Halas Hall. “And I think I’m man enough to do that.”

    He was granted a medical redshirt year by the NCAA and then reinstated after participating in anger-management and alcohol-awareness programs.

    The defensive tackle has one advantage over most Bears rookies because he’s already familiar with Ron Rivera’s defense. Oklahoma played the same scheme, and Dvoracek has been watching film of the Bears’ defense since last season. That gave him a chance to monitor the progress of his buddy Tommie Harris, who came into the Sooners’ program the same year as Dvoracek.

    “We learn off what they do,” Dvoracek said. “We’re almost identical, so our coaches would coach us up on what they did, show us what we should do and what not to do. I watched them every week. I got to see them on TV, and (said), ‘It would be awesome to play there.’ It’s exciting and I’m going to make the most of it.”

    Harris called Dvoracek the week before the draft to tell him the Bears might choose him, and now he’s looking forward to playing alongside Harris again and learning the NFL ropes. In their last season together at Oklahoma in 2003, Dvoracek had 7 sacks to Harris’ 5.

    “Tommie’s a great player,” Dvoracek said. “Him being so good made it easier on me, and me being good made it easier on him, so we really complement each other well. I look for the same success here that we had at Oklahoma.”

    But there’s still that friendly competition.

    “I want to get to the quarterback more than Tommie does this year,” Dvoracek said.

  6. #46
    Mmm... ...ribs.

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    Re: Damnit Rhino

    Smith said the Bears did a lot of research before selecting Dvoracek and, far from seeing him as a character risk, believe he has shown strong character by taking responsibility for his actions and changing his life accordingly.
    Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops echoed those sentiments.

    "I put my reputation as well on the line by bringing him back,'' Stoops said. "I felt so strongly about the positive characteristics of the guy. I felt there was very little to no risk.''
    Good stuff, Rhino.
    Well, crap.

  7. #47
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    Re: Damnit Rhino

    I'm getting the vapors...

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    Re: Damnit Rhino

    Cleveland Browns rookie mini-camp (RealMedia)
    The same goes for third-round pick Wilson, who could see the field quickly if 2005 first-round pick Braylon Edwards misses any time to start the reason while continuing to rehab from an ACL injury suffered last December.

    Wilson has no shortage of confidence, but he's realistic as far as what he has to do to see his dreams of getting onto the field quickly come to fruition.

    "I didn't come here expecting anything," Wilson said. "I know I start on the bottom of the totem pole, but I'm willing to work. I know my work ethic. And with the way I believe in myself and my abilities, the sky is the limit. I hope I can come in here, learn some things, earn respect and get on that field as fast as I can."

  9. #49
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    Re: Damnit Rhino

    May 08, 2006 -
    A week ago, Davin Joseph stood in front of a podium in a natty tan suit-and-tie combination and introduced himself to the Bay area. He certainly looked the part: massive, powerful, drive-blocking guard, and he said all the right things at the podium, smiling throughout.

    Passing the eyeball test doesn’t mean much, though, if you don’t look as good when the uniform goes on and the defensive linemen start attacking. Well, a week after that introduction, at the conclusion of a three-day rookie camp, it’s clear that Joseph looks the part dressed in red and pewter, too.

    The weekend camp may not have been the perfect stage for evaluation, given that roughly half of the participants were in town on tryout contracts. Still, the Bucs came away from the three days of intense meetings and practices with a good feeling about their two new offensive linemen, Joseph and tackle Jeremy Trueblood. That’s good, considering the team invested its first two draft picks on those big bodies the previous weekend.

    Joseph and Trueblood “started” on the right side together during camp, though that was mostly because no veterans were allowed to participate. It’s still not certain where they will land on the initial training camp depth chart, or how much the team hopes to use them during their rookie campaigns, but it is quite obvious that there is going to be more quality competition for those jobs than ever this summer.

    “Davin Joseph is a good player, he showed that today,” said Head Coach Jon Gruden after one of the weekend practices. “We’re really happy he’s here. He and Trueblood did a good job on the right side. [In those two] you see size, you see athletic ability. The big fella at right tackle was a fine high school basketball player. He’s making a transition to right tackle where he played left tackle at Boston College. But you have two big athletic people that have a physical status about them that’s going to help us and it’s going to make things very competitive out there.”

    Joseph and Trueblood played side-by-side at the Senior Bowl in January, too, and at the time both were switching positions. Joseph’s move was easier, as he had played right guard for two seasons at Oklahoma before holding down the left tackle position as a senior. He feels like he’s back in his natural position, though he knows better than to assume he’ll never see any action elsewhere. He also isn’t assuming that he knows all there is to know about the right tackle job.

    “There are still some things I have to learn, though, so it’s still an adjustment,” said Joseph. “There are things that you did in college that you can’t do on the pro level. So it’s adjusting to small things about my game that will help me become a dominant guard, then also still play some left tackle and right tackle and learn how to play center. So it’s going to be a long summer but I look forward to it.”

    The Bucs have seen the benefit of having versatile men up front in recent seasons. Sean Mahan, for instance, started at center for the second half of the 2004 season, opened up training camp in competition for the left guard spot then ended up starting all 16 games at right guard. They’ve also seen situations in which moving a player from his normal position didn’t pan out perfectly. So nothing has been written in stone about where Joseph and Trueblood will end up, but the team currently thinks it’s right-side placement will work. Trueblood is making that idea look good by taking to the position switch rapidly.

    “It’s where we’re going to start him at,” said Gruden of Trueblood. “That doesn’t mean that two weeks into training camp or before training camp we move him back to his natural side. We want to see him in a right-hand stance and see how he handles himself over there. We’re looking at Torrin Tucker at this time, at left tackle. That gives us a two-deep situation that we’re comfortable with as we get moving here. But he did show some real instincts and some natural-ness as a right tackle in the Senior Bowl and he blocked some pretty good people in that week of practice and during the game.”

    Joseph knows that it is up to him and his draft-mate to make those plans work.

    “It’s just a matter of trying to get the concept, trying to get on the same page with the guys,” he said. “It’s everybody trying to learn and make calls at the same time that makes it kind of a challenge. Being aware and staying focused out on the field will help us get through that.”
    For the camp participants, the core goal was different from player to player. Draftees like first-round guard Davin Joseph wanted to make it obvious that they should be used in significant roles this season.
    ...
    The players in the group most likely to have an impact on the team this season were those drafted high or fairly high last weekend. Gruden was particularly pleased with how well such newcomers as guard Davin Joseph (first round), tackle Jeremy Trueblood (second), wide receiver Maurice Stovall (third) and cornerback Alan Zemaitis (fourth) handled the transition to the NFL and the Bucs’ schemes.

    “The right guard looked like he played football in the league before,” said Gruden, delivering a strong compliment to Joseph. “He looked natural, he looked instinctive; he’s not perfect, but I thought he did an excellent job. I thought Trueblood made a real good transition to right tackle [from left tackle]. Stovall made a couple real acrobatic plays again today. Zemaitis, much like we thought, is a very instinctive, reliable football player who has a ways to go but I do believe he fits our structure and he’s going to be a good player.”
    ...
    Joseph came off the field Sunday sweating hard but in no way beaten down by the heat. He knew he had started out nicely with his new employers.

    “There are a lot of challenges going into rookie mini-camp, learning the long days, the heat,” said the Florida native and Oklahoma star. “There are a lot of different challenges, but to get through it, to get through this weekend and know that I did well feels really good. It’s great momentum to take into the OTAs and training camp also.”

    For those like Joseph who will be back, this weekend was only the beginning. The coaches used the three days to lay a foundation with the rookies, so that they would more easily mesh with the veterans when the whole team practices together. That will happen in little over a week, when the team resumes its “organized team activity” days on May 16. All of the rookies whose schools have had their graduations by then will be allowed to return to Tampa for those practices.

  10. #50
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    Re: Damnit Rhino

    Lynn McGruder (#66):

  11. #51
    Mmm... ...ribs.

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    Re: Damnit Rhino

    Is Davin practicing football, or Kung Fu?
    Well, crap.

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    Re: Damnit Rhino

    It looks more like the Scottish martial art... **** You.
    ... that's not food.

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    Re: Damnit Rhino

    Sean Mahan, for instance, started at center for the second half of the 2004 season, opened up training camp in competition for the left guard spot then ended up starting all 16 games at right guard
    .

    Sean is a Jenks product. Played with Rocky, but went to Notre Dame

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    Re: Damnit Rhino

    Quote Originally Posted by Rhino
    Lynn McGruder (#66):
    BOBO!

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    Re: Damnit Rhino

    is that a scope scar on davin?

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    Re: Damnit Rhino

    Quote Originally Posted by jkm, the stolen pifwafwi
    is that a scope scar on davin?
    It sure looks it to me.
    I love this thread! Rhino, you are amazing!

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    Re: Damnit Rhino

    Ravens | Cody recovery going well; he's switching to linebacker
    Tue, 9 May 2006 06:51:44 -0700

    Jamison Hensley, of the Baltimore Sun, reports Baltimore Ravens DE Dan Cody (knee) is progressing well from last preseason's knee injury. Based on Cody's strong comeback, team officials expect him to not only be ready for training camp but also to play an expanded role in their defense.

    Cody, originally slated to be a pass-rush specialist this season, is on track to play outside linebacker. Without a second legitimate safety, team officials have projected that the Ravens could start four linemen, four linebackers and just three defensive backs (two cornerbacks and one safety) - a formation that would allow Cody to get on the field as a starting linebacker.

    Playing that position is an on-going transition for Cody as he only played defensive end in college. Cody is scheduled to participate in minicamp next weekend, but there is a chance his play could be limited. "I feel like I'm 90 percent," Cody said. "The strength is there. It's just a matter of endurance."
    Sometimes I think I drink alot, then I see, like, the Motley Crüe behind the music, and realize I'm a huge *****.

  18. #58
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    Re: Damnit Rhino

    Chris Bush wasn't one of the seven UDFAs signed today by the Redskins. Chijioke Onyenegecha was signed on May 1.

    Buccaneers | Team pleased with Joseph in minicamp
    Tue, 9 May 2006 14:54:15 -0700
    Buccaneers.com reports the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were pleased with OL Davin Joseph's play in the team's rookie minicamp. While it is still unknown where he will fit on the team's depth chart, he played at right guard in camp and impressed the coaching staff with his size and athleticism.

    49ers | Open competition for weakside spot
    Tue, 9 May 2006 11:39:30 -0700
    Dennis Georgatos, of the Contra Costa Times, reports San Francisco 49ers LB Brandon Moore will battle LB Jeff Ulbrich for the starting weakside linebacker spot.

  19. #59
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    Re: Damnit Rhino

    Realizing lifelong dream humbles rookie fullback
    By Larry Mayer
    May 9, 2006

    Picking up where Chris Harris left off last season, fullback J.D. Runnels shares his thoughts in a rookie diary that will resume on a weekly basis just before training camp:

    Participating in the rookie minicamp at Halas Hall last weekend was really a great experience for me. It felt a lot like college, with the Bears having so much tradition and such a rich history.

    I've always dreamed about playing in the NFL, and finally getting there is mind-boggling. But it's home for me now and I love Chicago. From what I saw of the city, everything looked great. I'm just so excited about the opportunity to play for the Bears.

    At minicamp, I attended meetings for offense and special teams and practiced once a day for about an hour-and-a-half or two hours. The playbook is pretty big, but I feel that I'm catching on pretty quick. I consider myself a pretty smart football guy.

    There wasn't anything that was too challenging at minicamp. This is the lifestyle I've always wanted to live. Goodness gracious, there's absolutely nothing better. It really felt like home.

    It was great to put on an NFL uniform for the first time. It was really amazing. It's a lifelong dream and it's a humbling experience. Putting on that uniform for the first time really makes you realize where you are and where you came from.

    I'm also very excited about having some old teammates up in Chicago. (Runnels played with defensive tackle Tommie Harris, wide receiver Mark Bradley and rookie defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek at Oklahoma.) You wouldn't believe how much that helps in making the transition.

    It's guys that you know, guys you grew up with football-wise. Playing with those guys, it's like being home again. They're great football players, and not only is it good for us, but it's good for the university as well.

    When I was up in Chicago for minicamp I roomed with (guard) Tyler Reed from Penn State. (Like Runnels, Reed was selected by the Bears in the sixth round of the draft.)

    I had never met him before, but it was pretty cool because we are both in the exact same situation. Neither of us went to the combine, the Senior Bowl or anything like that. We both just had outstanding Pro Days to show teams that we are capable of playing at this level, and then we were five picks apart in the draft, so we have a lot in common.

    It was pretty disappointing not to be invited to the combine, but I knew that I was going to have an opportunity at some point. I was under the radar for some teams, but once I showed what I can do, that was the only thing that needed to be done. That was the stamp on the package.

    Since leaving Chicago on Sunday, I've been working out and studying the notes I took at minicamp. I'm going to keep working out and I'm going to try to find a place to stay in Chicago, hopefully around some of the other guys and get ready to return to Halas Hall later this month.

    It was fun seeing some of the guys at minicamp that I played against last season at Oklahoma. We faced (Oregon tight end) Tim Day in the Holiday Bowl and (Texas Tech safety) Dwayne Slay in our second to last game. So there was a little camaraderie there.

    You'd think it would be strange suddenly being teammates with someone you played against in college, but that's not the case at all. Everybody wants to be on this level, so it doesn't really matter who you're playing with. I think that's just a part of the business aspect of football. You've got to be able to play with anybody because that's how it works.

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    Re: Damnit Rhino



    Just the Facts
    The conditioning work is paying dividends. After eight weeks of training, it's evident that players such as Kyle Boller, Dan Cody, Edwin Mulitalo, Bart Scott and Adam Terry are all getting close to playing shape.

    Cody's progress will be closely scrutinized this offseason. His rookie season ended on the same day it began, as he sprained his anterior cruciate ligament on the first day of training camp, and the 2005 second-round draft pick has been working carefully but diligently to return to the field at full strength by opening day, September 10.

    "I'm rehabbing my knee, which has been going really well," he said. "Right when we started up (the strength and conditioning program) was the time when they were going to release me to run and put cleats on. Since then, it's been a progression of getting stronger and faster. It's been nice to be able to do a lot of different things so it doesn't get boring."

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