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LB Matt Wilhelm (All-American, National Champion, Super Bowl Champion, OSU HOF)

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Settle down guys, I wasn't "celebrating" his mistake, just saying it helped put the NFL franchise I choose to root for in position to win the game. It was the only way he could have made the tackle without the returner taking it to the house. Believe me, I appreciate all he has done for the Bucks and he will always be remembered as one of the best defensive players and leaders that have gone through this school. That defense he led practically won us our national title. I will always be thankful to have him as a Buckeye.

:oh:
 
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GeorgiaBuck2;1826866; said:
Settle down guys, I wasn't "celebrating" his mistake, just saying it helped put the NFL franchise I choose to root for in position to win the game. It was the only way he could have made the tackle without the returner taking it to the house. Believe me, I appreciate all he has done for the Bucks and he will always be remembered as one of the best defensive players and leaders that have gone through this school. That defense he led practically won us our national title. I will always be thankful to have him as a Buckeye.

:oh:
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Ummm... again. DIAF.
 
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Green Bay Packers linebacker Matt Wilhelm doesn't blame penalty against Atlanta Falcons for subsequent benching
BY ROB DEMOVSKY ? [email protected] ? January 13, 2011

After his costly facemask penalty on the fourth-quarter kickoff return that put the Falcons in position to kick the game-winning field goal in their Week 12 win over the Packers, Matt Wilhelm found himself inactive the next two weeks.

Now, the backup linebacker is back on most of special teams coach Shawn Slocum?s unit, but he doesn?t think he was benched because of that penalty. And he wasn?t inactive because of an injury, either.

?I was healthy, but it came down to a numbers game,? Wilhelm said on Thursday. ?We were carrying five or six running backs. Do I think it was a reflection of my performance in Atlanta? No, because I played pretty decent minus one play.?

But that play had a major impact on the game.

He made what might have been a touchdown-saving tackle on Eric Weems? 40-yard kickoff return after the Packers tied the game 17-17 with 56 seconds remaining but in the process, he grabbed Weems? facemask, and the 15-yard penalty gave the Falcons the ball at the Packers? 49-yard line. The Falcons needed only one first down to set up the game-winning field goal.

Wilhelm was inactive for the next two games against Detroit and San Francisco, but has been back in the mix ever since the Dec. 19 game against New England. In fact, Slocum has had largely the same group on most of their special teams for the last month.

?The strong point of our special teams the last three, four, five weeks has been the fact that we?ve got the same guys on most of the units,? Wilhelm said. ?Obviously every week there?s going to be one or two changes. That?s what we?re kind of priding ourselves on ? a solid unit. Coach ?Slo? knows who he?s going to have up for the game as opposed to everyone flip flopping.?
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http://packersnews.greenbaypressgaz...-t-blame-Falcons-facemask-for-getting-benched
 
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EC?s Matt Wilhelm enjoying life in Green Bay
Filed by Scott Petrak January 14th, 2011 in Sports.

As Matt Wilhelm walks down the hallway or steps onto Green Bay?s Lambeau Field, he can?t help but realize he?s playing for one of the most tradition-rich franchises in sports.

?There?s history everywhere. It?s truly been a blessing,? Wilhelm said Thursday by phone from Wisconsin. ?The aura of the organization carries not just in Green Bay and Wisconsin, but the NFL.?

Wilhelm, an Elyria Catholic graduate, has been on a career roller coaster the last couple of years. The latest stop is with the Packers, and he can?t be happier.

The backup linebacker is a regular on special teams, and the Packers are in the second round of the playoffs. They play at No. 1 seed Atlanta on Saturday night.

The Packers needed wins in their final two games to make the postseason as a wild card, then upset Philadelphia on the road last weekend. Suddenly, the experts on TV are talking about a Super Bowl run.

Wilhelm isn?t about to disagree.

?The steamroll effect is moving in our direction,? he said. ?Whoever?s in our way, face up and play Packer-brand football on our way to the Super Bowl.?

Wilhelm wasn?t thinking about the Super Bowl when he was cut by the San Francisco 49ers at the end of training camp in September. He had torn his medial collateral ligament in the preseason finale and needed six weeks of rehabilitation but no surgery. He reached an injury settlement with the 49ers, which allowed him to collect a check and become a free agent.

After a stellar career at Ohio State, Wilhelm spent his first six years in San Diego, developing into a starter at inside linebacker in the 3-4 scheme. But he was abruptly cut before the 2009 season, beginning an odyssey through the league.

He stopped briefly in Philadelphia but didn?t make the team. He landed in San Francisco for the final 11 games of 2009 and thought he had found a home.

But coach Mike Singletary cut him in September, saying Wilhelm didn?t fit in his system. The comment didn?t sit well with Wilhelm.

?I came in with six years experience, and what they were asking was to change everything I was as a player,? he said. ?That didn?t always fit my strengths. In his eyes, I didn?t quite fit. But I played my heart out and had every intention of being of a 49er.?

When the knee healed, Wilhelm looked for work. The Packers were decimated by injuries and signed him after a brief workout. He?s appeared in seven games on special teams, making five tackles.

?I jumped on the opportunity to be here, the opportunity to win the Super Bowl,? he said. ?I wouldn?t be a Green Bay Packer if I hadn?t gotten hurt. It was a blessing in disguise, especially with the downward spiral San Francisco?s been on.?

Wilhelm turns 30 in February, which means the thought of retiring has crept into his brain. He plans to play in 2011 ? preferably in Green Bay ? but won?t be dragged out kicking and screaming.

?Being in my eighth season, I always think of what?s next,? he said. ?I?m not going to play until the game kicks me out. But I still enjoy it right now.

?My wife and kids don?t enjoy changing cities every year. I?m going to step out on my own terms.?

Coaching could be his next stop. He?s thinking the NFL, but said he might wind up back at Ohio State under Jim Tressel or at a Mid-American Conference school.

His young family ? Mason turns 3 in March, and Gianna was born July 1 ? will help him pick a landing spot.
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http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2011/01/14/ecs-matt-wilhelm-enjoying-life-in-green-bay/
 
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Matt Wilhelm to have Lorain street named after him
Published: Tuesday, February 01, 2011
By MORNING JOURNAL STAFF
[email protected]

Lorain Mayor Tony Krasienko will make a proclamation today, at 11 a.m., to rename Broadway to Matt Wilhelm Way for Super Bowl week. Wilhelm, a Lorain native, graduated from Elyria Catholic and won the 2008 Lorain County Golden Helmet.

He played linebacker at The Ohio State University from 1999-2002, and won a National Championship in 2002.

He currently plays linebacker and special teams for the Green Bay Packers, who will face the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV on Feb. 6. Wilhelm will be the second person from Lorain County to play in a Super Bowl.

During his eight-year NFL career, Wilhelm has 243 tackles, 6 INTs, 2 sacks and a forced fumble.
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http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2011/02/01/sports/doc4d478ad07ee92676442762.txt
 
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Twist of fate (and knee) put ex-Charger in Super Bowl
By Kevin Acee, UNION-TRIBUNE
Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Wilhelm_t352.jpg

/ ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former Chargers linebacker Matt Wilhelm is now with the Green Bay Packers and will be playing in Sunday's Super Bowl.

ARLINGTON, Texas ? He was convinced he?d be in one of these games with the team he started with, representing the city he still calls home.

?I?ve talked about it all week,? Matt Wilhelm said. ?Just being on all those good teams, it?s disappointing, because I have a lot of pride for San Diego and that organization.?

A key contributor on the 2006 Chargers team that went 14-2 and a starter for the Chargers in 2007 and ?08 before being released after six seasons by the team that drafted him, Wilhelm is a Green Bay Packer now. He?s only been with the Packers for three months. He plays only special teams, not even taking one snap at linebacker.

And he?s finally in the Super Bowl.

And he?ll take it.

?I couldn?t be happier right now, to be in Green Bay, to play for the Packers organization,? Wilhelm said this week. ?Would I love to be a starter? Absolutely. At this point in my career, I accept my role, wherever it might be.?

Cont...
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http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/feb/02/twist-fate-and-knee-put-ex-charger-super-bowl/
 
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Super Bowl XLV: EC?s Wilhelm planning to share big game excitement with kids
Filed by Scott Petrak February 4th, 2011 in Sports.

Matt Wilhelm knew one thing for certain after the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears in the NFC championship game.

willhelm.jpg


He wanted his two young kids to be at Super Bowl XLV on Sunday in Arlington, Texas.

Wilhelm?s demand will be granted, as Mason, turning 3 next month, and Gianna, 7 months, will be at Cowboys Stadium with Matt?s wife, Vanessa, to watch Wilhelm face the Pittsburgh Steelers for the NFL title.

?If my dad were a professional football player and I didn?t go to the Super Bowl, I?d have that chip on my shoulder,? Wilhelm, an Elyria Catholic graduate, said last week by phone from Wisconsin. ?If and when we beat the Steelers, I?ll go over and grab him and take my son on the field. There?s no better bond. I want him to have that memory with me.?

One of the enduring, and endearing, images of last year?s Super Bowl was Saints quarterback Drew Brees holding son Baylen as confetti fell from the sky.

?For eternity that picture of Drew and his son will be one of the epic pictures from that Super Bowl,? Wilhelm said. ?No one can take that away from us the rest of our lives.?

Mason may not be old enough to grasp the intricacies of Dom Capers? 3-4 defense, but he knows his dad is one of the big guys knocking heads on Sundays.

?If you ask him, ?What does Daddy do?? he shows a football stance. If you ask him to show a touchdown, he?ll throw his arms up in the air,? said Wilhelm, a backup inside linebacker and key special teamer. ?Both my kids will be in the stadium, that was my one demand to my wife.?

Wilhelm has reached sports? biggest stage for the first time in eight NFL seasons after a stellar career at Ohio State. He came close a few times with the Chargers, but it took three playoff road wins by the Packers, who needed to win the final two regular-season games just to make the postseason.

?I?ve been thinking about this since little league,? he said. ?I always wondered what it felt like to be a player in the game. It?s the biggest game of your career. It?s a dream come true.?

Cont...
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http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/...nning-to-share-big-game-excitement-with-kids/

Audio interview with Lorain native and Packers linebacker Matt Wilhelm as he prepares to play in the Super Bowl this week
Published: Saturday, February 05, 2011

Listen to Colin Wilson's audio interview with Lorain native and Packers linebacker Matt Wilhelm as he prepares to play in the Super Bowl this week. You can read Colin Wilson's feature story about Wilhelm in Sunday's Morning Journal.
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http://morningjournal.com/articles/2011/02/05/sports/doc4d4c84f8d2759876935913.txt
 
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At the top of the mountain
Published: Sunday, February 06, 2011
By COLIN WILSON
[email protected]

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Matt Wilhelm has been on the doorstep of the Super Bowl before and came up short.

That?s also why he?s never been to one. Even though it?s easy for any NFL player to get tickets, Wilhelm, a Lorain native and Elyria Catholic graduate, was just too disappointed to go to the big game without his helmet on.

And that?s why Sunday is special for Wilhelm. His first Super Bowl is one he?s playing in.

?I?ve never been to a Super Bowl,? Wilhelm said. ?I?ve always for some reason or another not gone because I?ve got so much animosity because of the fact that I?ve been on good teams that could have been in the Super Bowl.?

The good teams Wilhelm refers to are the San Diego Chargers teams he played on from 2003 to 2008. Wilhelm was part of four AFC West title teams that lost in the AFC Championship game once to New England, twice in the divisional round and another time in the first round to the New York Jets.

Despite taking a smaller role with the Packers, Wilhelm is living the dream today in his eighth NFL season.

?It feels great just to have watched so many Super Bowls and to always want to know what it feels like to be in the stadium for that game and to have that opportunity to do so is obviously the brightest spot of my entire career,? Wilhelm said.

Cont..
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http://morningjournal.com/articles/...4d4e232a0cf52811383312.txt?viewmode=fullstory
 
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