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DE Mike Vrabel (All B1G, All American, Pro Bowl, All Pro, Super Bowl Champion)

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http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/10325249.htm

Posted on Thu, Dec. 02, 2004
Versed in versatility

Vrabel's value goes beyond what is in plain view

By Tom Reed
Beacon Journal staff writer

Mike Vrabel is seemingly everywhere for the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.

He plays outside linebacker. He can line up at defensive end or nose tackle. He covers kicks. He catches passes at tight end. The Walsh Jesuit and Ohio State graduate knows more positions than Kama Sutra.

So where is it Vrabel best excels? Probably the space between his ears.

``Mike is smart and he works hard, so when you ask Mike to take on extra responsibilities he always seems to be able to handle them, process them and know everything he needs to know in order to process them,'' Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.

Vrabel's intelligence, athleticism and studious nature have enabled him to become one of the NFL's most versatile and valuable performers. He returns home Sunday to display his array of talents as the Patriots (10-1) face the Browns (3-8) at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

Browns interim coach Terry Robiskie not only has to be wary of Vrabel leveling rookie quarterback Luke McCown -- he recorded three sacks in last year's 9-3 victory over the Browns -- but catching a touchdown pass in goal-line situations. Vrabel has three career touchdown receptions, including one in last season's Super Bowl, a 32-29 win over the Carolina Panthers.

``It's obviously fun,'' Vrabel said of pass catching. ``With the type of offense we have, I'm not expected to do a whole lot except go out every once and a while on a route. It's not a challenge to learn how to play the position, it's a challenge to understand the speed at which it's played. The defense has slowed down for me because I'm used to playing it, but when I go to (offense) its still pretty much a blur.''

Vrabel's transformation is amazing -- except to those who know him best. The son of two high school principals, Elaine (Brush High) and Chuck (Nordonia High), Vrabel has been driven to succeed since childhood.

Walsh Jesuit coach Gerry Rardin recalls Vrabel as a freshman pleading with him to watch a varsity playoff game against Massillon from the sideline. The coach remembers glancing down the sideline and seeing the intensity and concentration on Vrabel's face.

``He was starting both ways by the next year, and he understood the game before anyone else did,'' said Rardin, a former NFL Teacher of the Year as nominated by Vrabel. ``We have heard coach Belichick call Mike one of the smartest players he's ever coached, and we just all shook our heads `yes' when he said it.''

Despite earning All-America honors as a defensive end, some pro scouts in 1997 weren't convinced there was a position suitable for the 6-foot-4, 261-pound Vrabel. Patriots executive Scott Pioli -- then with the Baltimore Ravens -- did not share the assessment. Pioli liked Vrabel's competitiveness and desire to work the game's odd jobs. He kept tabs on Vrabel, who spent his first four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, playing primarily special teams.

When Vrabel became a free agent after the 2000 season, Pioli and the Patriots were the only ones expressing serious interest in signing him.

``Mike is a football player,'' Pioli told the Boston Globe. ``I don't know any other way to describe him. Bill (Belichick) and I aren't great numbers guys. We don't get hung up on height-weight-speed. We want football players because come Sunday at 1 o'clock, football players play football.

``What they did in the 40-yard dash one day in shorts, or in the vertical jump is not what the fans pay to see and not what we are asking them to do.''

Since Vrabel's arrival, the Patriots have developed into the league's model franchise, winners of two Super Bowls in the past three seasons. They had an NFL-record 21-game winning streak snapped Oct. 31 at Pittsburgh.

Vrabel embodies the selfless nature of the franchise. The outside linebacker who led the team in sacks a year ago and who easily could have been named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player still takes pride in covering kicks. He has three tackles this season. He said the team's depth and willingness to sacrifice have permitted it to overcome a rash of injuries the past two seasons.

``It is nothing new to us,'' Vrabel said. ``We are used to playing different guys in different positions.''

Few do it as effectively as Vrabel. He studies the game and has great instincts for it. That combination allows him to grasp what everyone else is doing and how he fits into the flow.

Not surprisingly, Vrabel plays his best in big games. He had six tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble in last season's Super Bowl. He also was the first defensive player since the Chicago Bears' William ``The Refrigerator'' Perry in 1986 to catch a Super Bowl touchdown pass.

``He has a great deal of confidence that he can do (multiple tasks) and we continue to add responsibilities to his list of duties because he always seems to be able to manage the volume and still be productive in doing it,'' Belichick said.

Vrabel appears as well-rounded off the field as on it. He and several former Buckeyes teammates created the nonprofit Second-and-7 Foundation that benefits Columbus youth. He is married to wife, Jen, and they have two children, Tyler (4) and Carter (3).

The family makes Columbus its off-season home.

``As soon as the season is over, I go back to Columbus and we'll visit and come to Akron,'' Vrabel said. ``We'll probably bring the kids to see a Cavs game. Tyler is pretty excited about that. He finally got his LeBron (James) jersey. He wears (Boston Celtics star) Paul Pierce during football season (in New England) and LeBron in the off-season (back home).''

Smart kid. Just like his father.
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bucknuts44820 said:
He is one of my all time favorite buckeyes......
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Absolutely agree. He is such a smart player and brings so many intangibles to the Pats that truly makes him an impact player. He is perfect with that team and playing Belicheck ball. I think it is awesome that they have him playing offense and that TD catch he made was incredible. He's a true credit to tOSU.



defensive5.jpg
 
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http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?Category=16&ID=200750&r=0

Ex-Buckeye Vrabel left Steelers for Patriots and chance to start
Sunday, January 2, 2005 By STEVE DOERSCHUK Repository sports writer

NEW ORLEANS Mr. and Mrs. Vrabel had a good laugh at the weird turn on their road to the Super Bowl.

Mike Vrabel played for the Steelers from 1997-2000 and would have stayed had they made him a good offer. They didn’t, and the linebacker from Walsh Jesuit High School escaped to New England via unrestricted free agency.

The Patriots and Steelers wound up colliding in the AFC Championship game.

“My wife (Jen) told me, ‘Well, I guess you get to find out if you made the right decision,’ ” he said.

He guesses that he did. He was speaking Thursday from New Orleans, where the Patriots are preparing to face the Rams on Sunday.

“It’s a Super Bowl,’’ Vrabel said. “It’s the world championship ... the most watched sporting event in the world. This is not just another game.’’

Who knows if he could have made a difference for the Steelers had they kept him. The fact remains he’s in New Orleans with New England.

Part of what made the Patriots attractive was playing time.

“I knew Bill Cowher wanted me back,’’ Vrabel said. “Not the way he wanted Jerome Bettis or somebody like that, but he said he wanted me. I also knew the role that was waiting.’’

He had played 51 games in Pittsburgh under Cowher without ever starting.

“I knew there were gonna be more opportunities for me in New England.’’

Have there ever. He has started 14 games, including both playoff victories.

He had a great game against the team he grew up rooting for, making 10 tackles against the Browns, including one that threw James Jackson for a two-yard loss, and one that sacked Tim Couch.

That helped erase a 2-year-old memory of a game against the Browns in which he was the goat. The Browns trailed 15-13 and seemed not to have enough time to reach field goal range. However, a late hit by Vrabel on Couch gave the Browns 15 valuable yards. They won on a 39-yard field goal on the game’s last play.

Vrabel grew up in Stow, attending Browns games coached by Cowher, an assistant in the late 1980s, and Belichick, the head man from 1991-95. Now, he has played for both in the NFL.

“Cowher was a motivator and a high-drama guy,’’ Vrabel said. “That was his personality, and he let it show. Bill (Belichick) is more reserved and behind the scenes. But he’s the coach of a championship football team.

“They don’t pay him to entertain us. He does it by getting his team to play his scheme. If you’re a professional athlete and you can’t get motivated, you won’t be a professional athlete for long.’’

Vrabel is an Ohio guy through and through. He loved playing for Walsh Jesuit and has fond memories of playing at Massillon.

“If you want to talk about a big high school game,’’ he said, “playing in front of 15,000 in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium is it.’’

At Ohio State, he set records in sacks with 36 and tackles for loss with 66. He was Big Ten defensive player of the year in 1996. At 6-foot-4, 250 pounds, he was judged too small to play end and maybe too slow to be a linebacker in the NFL; thus, he slipped to the third round (No. 91 overall) of the 1997 draft.

He had his moments in Pittsburgh, none bigger than against the Patriots in the 1997 playoffs, when he forced Drew Bledsoe to fumble inside the two-minute warning, preserving a 7-6 win. But he was a backup who dreamed of being a starter.

Vrabel was interested in joining the Browns. However, the new head coach, Butch Davis, was known for turning safeties into linebackers because they could offer good speed. Vrabel went the opposite direction in Pittsburgh, having been converted from end, his position at Ohio State, to linebacker.

“My agent said the Browns were looking for a guy like Dwayne Rudd to play on the weak side,’’ Vrabel said. “They had somebody to play over the tight end in Jamir Miller.

“It would have been nice. Some things don’t work out.’’Some things do. The Patriots added several key players, including Vrabel, who helped turn around a team that went 5-11 last year.

“We struggled early, got to 5-5, then got on a big roll,’’ Vrabel said. “We’re a bunch of has-beens and never-will-bes. We became a team, and here we are.’’
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Mike Vrabel grabs Ike Reese's scrotum

From an SI.com story about what happens in NFL pileups.

IKE REESE, Eagles Linebacker

"When we played the Patriots last year [Eagles running back] Brian Westbrook fumbled a punt, and we were all down there scrambling for it. [Patriots linebacker] Mike Vrabel had my testicles in his hand, and he was squeezing them. Where the football ends up depends on who has the strongest will or the strongest hands. Guys reach inside the face mask to gouge your eyes. But the biggest thing is the grabbing of the testicles. It is crazy."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/players/01/25/pile0131/
 
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I remember an interview with an ex-player who was telling a story about losing a fumble in a pile. He said one of the other players grabbed him by the short hairs and he handed the ball right over. Painful, but effective.
 
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stories of krenzel being groped in the same area where abound in 03 up in madison. i believe he was even quoted saying it in print. (i also heard stories that reynolds was spit on and kicked by wisc players a few plays before. i watched the replays and couldnt find hard evidence on how solid it was, but he was def struck by a wisc player)
 
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When the whole Reynolds thing went down, the media (ESPiN broadcast the game, surprise!) made the biggest deal out of it. All the players they asked about it said that the stuff that goes on at the bottom of the pile is extrememly rough. I remember Krenzel making a comment about how it was unfit for publishing or something.
 
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