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

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BuckNutty said:
Hail to the Victor...Mike Vrabel. :slappy:

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To pay off a lost wager, Tom Brady had to wear Mike Vrabel's college jersey at practice because Brady's alma mater, Michigan, lost to Vrabel's, Ohio State, last Saturday. (Globe Staff Photo / Tom Herde)
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that is one of the BEST pictures of the year!!!! I love it! :osu: :scum3:
 
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NFF Banquet to honor Vrabel at Buckeye HOF Cafe Feb. 13th

Per the Ozone's front page, this event will be available to the public.

The Columbus Chapter of The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame is having its 46th annual Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet on Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. at the Buckeye Hall of Fame Caf?. Three-time Super Bowl Champion and former Ohio State All-American Mike Vrabel will be honored with the Ohio Gold Award, the highest honor given by the organization for contributions to amateur football.

More info is in this link:

ozone
 
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Boston Globe

Gritty Vrabel enjoys facing tough challenge

By Mike Reiss, Globe Staff | January 12, 2007


FOXBOROUGH -- The wily veteran sat in front of his locker yesterday, his stiff back making it difficult to bend over. He'd just come from the trainer's room.


If linebacker Mike Vrabel wanted to, he could have talked about the excruciating pain he's felt in recent weeks, costing him time on the practice field and making it that much tougher to carry out the task on game day. He also could have touched on his other ailments, and how they make it more difficult to attack the challenge facing the Patriots Sunday, namely shutting down remarkable Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, the NFL's most valuable player.



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bucknuts

Former Ohio State All-American will receive the Ohio Gold Award during the 46th annual Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet Feb. 13 at the Buckeye Hall of Fame Cafe. The event is sponsored by the Columbus Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. Click here for more details on this special event, including ticket information.

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Curran's Top 5: Smartest linebackers
By Tom Curran
NBCSports.com
Posted: Jun.30, 2007, 1:53 pm EDT

2. Mike Vrabel, New England
The smartest defensive player on the smartest defense in football, Bill Belichick has said that Vrabel has gone entire seasons without making a bad read on a play that put him out of position. He?s so mentally agile he can play outside, inside, a defensive end spot in a 4-3 and then switch over to offense and catch touchdowns at tight end.
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NFL News: Find News on Football Players, Photos and Sports Picks - NBCSports.com
 
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I first thought "second smartest LB, who's #1?" Then I thought, "Well, OK, it must be Zach Thomas, otherwise that's messed up". It was Thomas.
 
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Vrabel: Versatility prototype
By Albert Breer / Metrowest Daily News
Monday, July 30, 2007 - Updated: 05:51 AM EST

FOXBORO - For the last two years, Mike Vrabel?s value to the Patriots [team stats] hasn?t been simply tied to how good a linebacker he is.

It?s been, even more so, about the versatility.

After playing at right outside linebacker for the majority of his first four years with the Pats, Vrabel was forced several games into the 2005 season to play at the ?Jack? inside linebacker position on the weak side of the defense.

Last year, with Willie McGinest gone, he started at left outside linebacker and moved back to the ?Jack? after Junior Seau was injured in November.

The difference between the three spots can be vast, both physically and mentally. On the left edge he usually was playing over a tight end, while on the right, he was often in space. And that change pales in comparison to shifting inside, where a player is asked to make calls and adjustments, run laterally in pursuit and take on guards uncovered.
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This is Year 11 in the league for Vrabel. He turns 32 two weeks from tomorrow. Add that to the physical toll he has endured the last two years by constantly switching positions and adapting to new roles, and there?s an element of survival to his summer.

?I?m OK,? Vrabel said. ?I?ll be ready.?
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Vrabel: Versatility prototype - N.E. Patriots - BostonHerald.com
 
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vrabelltp_08232007.jpg


Ready, willin? ?n? Vrabel
By Albert Breer/ Metrowest Daily News
Thursday, August 23, 2007 - Updated: 06:16 AM EST

FOXBORO - When Adalius Thomas arrived in March, he came with a nickname born of his knowledge of Baltimore?s defense: The coordinator.

Funny thing is, the Patriots [team stats] already had a linebacker on the roster who figures to become one.

As smart and versatile as Thomas proved to be as a Raven, Mike Vrabel has long been that here. And, along the way, his teammates will tell you, the 11th-year linebacker has become something more profound: the model Patriot.

?That?s what we want every player to be,? fellow linebacker Tedy Bruschi [stats] said of the versatility of his close friend. ?And Vrabel, more than anybody, can do more things than anyone else. He can move over to the offensive side of the ball, and he?ll catch touchdowns. That?s just who he is, just a natural football player.


?Whatever you ask him to do, he?s not only gonna do it, but he?s gonna do it better than anybody else.?

The son of a coach who aspires to enter the profession after retirement, Vrabel is again riding a linebacker shuttle that few are capable of boarding. In Bill Belichick?s gap-control defense, he is switching spots for the fourth time in three seasons.

This time, it?s moving back to his more natural spot on the edge, which allows him to play a down stance in a hybrid version of his Ohio State position, end.

?It?s a home that I hadn?t been to in a while,? Vrabel said. ?I still need to get better and continue to work, I?m nowhere near where I need to be. And that?s the thing, we?re getting closer to the season, so we gotta start piecing things together.?
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Ready, willin’ ’n’ Vrabel - N.E. Patriots - BostonHerald.com
 
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All the right moves
Versatile Vrabel has been mainstay
Durable and dependable, Mike Vrabel enters his seventh season as a Patriot. (BILL GREENE/GLOBE STAFF)
By Christopher L. Gasper, Globe Staff | August 24, 2007

FOXBOROUGH -- Mike Vrabel was the last player on the practice field, but he had company. After a recent training camp session, Vrabel was joined by his sons, Tyler and Carter, who were drop-kicking footballs through the goal posts. It was a glimpse into the possible post-football existence of the Patriots linebacker.

It might not seem like it, but this is Vrabel's 11th season in the NFL and seventh in New England. The consummate Patriot, Vrabel, 32, has been so durable, adaptable, and accountable it's easy to take his accomplishments for granted. Like a car tire, he's just there and you don't fully appreciate him until he's not.

Vrabel's contract runs through 2009 and he is still playing at a high level -- last year he had his second straight 100-plus tackle season -- but it's no longer automatic he'll show up at Patriots training camp every year.

"I think you have to look at what the team wants to do and what the player wants to do and how he feels physically," said Vrabel. "I think to say, 'Well, I'm going to try to play so many more years,' I don't think guys do that. Guys like Rodney [Harrison] and Junior [Seau], they don't do that. They prepare for each year and go at it."

Vrabel does not have imminent plans to abscond to Columbus, Ohio, where he spends the offseason. His focus is on football and the upcoming season, but he's too smart not to realize he's at a point in his career where the future is measured in games, not years.

Since joining the Patriots in 2001, Vrabel has played in 16 games every season but one -- in 2003, he missed three games with a broken right arm. But how many more shots can he take, like the one he took last year, when he was kneed in the back of the head after making the game-sealing interception in a 28-21 win over the Detroit Lions? "Hmm . . . probably a few more," said Vrabel, sardonically.

"I plan to play as long as I can physically play," he said.
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As for retirement, Vrabel has an interest in coaching. The son of a football coach, Vrabel has had limited discussions with Ohio State coach Jim Tressel about returning to his alma mater. Vrabel runs a football camp in Columbus with former Buckeyes teammates Ryan Miller and Luke Fickell as part of the Second and Seven Foundation, which the trio started to promote literacy throughout Central Ohio.

"Coaching 10-year-olds is a little different than coaching at the college level, but certainly we'll take a look at all the options when I do decide to retire," said Vrabel, who said he wouldn't move from Columbus to pursue a coaching job.
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All the right moves - The Boston Globe
 
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