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S Donnie Nickey (Official thread)

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Updated: February 23, 2010
Nickey back with Titans
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Titans have re-signed veteran safety and special teams player Donnie Nickey to a one-year contract, his agent said Tuesday.

Nickey, a fifth-round pick from Ohio State in 2003, will be entering his eighth professional season, all with the Titans. Last season, he had 12 tackles in a backup role and was the Titans special teams captain.

Agent Jeffrey Chilcoat said: "He is absolutely happy to be back," declining to disclose financial terms of the deal.

Nickey is the second of the Titans' free agents to agree to a new contract, joining Eugene Amano, who signed a five-year, $26.25 million deal last week.
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Tennessee Titans re-sign Donnie Nickey - ESPN
 
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NFL uses in-house intern program to help players prep for careers after football
By Teresa M. Walker (CP) ? 11 hours ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. ? Titans safety Donnie Nickey no longer thinks of the staff at the NFL headquarters as commissioner Roger Goodell's "goons."

Nickey is among a handful of players getting an eye-opening experience through the league's in-house internship program, which allows them to work in various departments with the people out of the public eye.
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Preparing for his eighth season, Nickey, who graduated from Ohio State in 2003 with a degree in risk management and investment strategy, found NFL headquarters to be straight business during the week he spent on Park Avenue earlier this off-season.

"They don't know anything about Cover 2 defense, but they can break down the revenue for their licensed products. They're really efficient. It's a lot of really good people that work so that it changed my opinion from like commissioner Goodell and his 'goons,'" Nickey said.

Yes, Nickey even spent some quality time with the commissioner.

"He just really loves it," Nickey said. "It's all about the game, and they don't lose sight that we're the product that they package."
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The Canadian Press: NFL uses in-house intern program to help players prep for careers after football
 
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Titans Notebook: Versatility keeps Nickey with team

BY JIM WYATT ? GANNETT TENNESSEE ? September 11, 2010

NASHVILLE ? Titans safety Donnie Nickey is walking evidence of the more you can do, the better chance you have of sticking around in the NFL.

Nickey, 30, heads into the 2010 season as the longest tenured Titan. A fifth-round draft pick in 2003, the Ohio State product is beginning his eighth season.

"It is cool to say," Nickey said. "It's something I'm proud of."

Last season he played in all 16 games and had a team-leading 17 special teams tackles. He's durable, having played in 108 games overall.

He's also proven to be versatile.

This week, for instance, he lined up at linebacker and worked as a scout team receiver. He's the backup holder and, unofficially, the third punter.

"I have picked up all the little tricks to keep me around," Nickey said with a smile. "I am the third string janitor. I clean the hot tubs."

Nickey worries about his job security every season at roster cut time. This year he checked with his agent, just to make sure a backup plan was in place. It wasn't.

This week the Titans voted Nickey a team captain for the second year in a row.

"He has been steady, that is a great word to use with Donnie," cornerback Cortland Finnegan said. "The simple fact that he makes plays year in and year out. He is a solid backup and a special teams captain. Guys respect him and I think that goes a long way, too."
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http://www.dnj.com/article/20100911/SPORTS/9110317
 
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Magic number: Safety Donnie Nickey is scheduled to play Sunday in his 100th consecutive game, the longest streak among current Titans.

"That is pretty cool. I am proud of that,'' Nickey said. "I am proud that I have been durable, but it is God-given, the way He put me together. I will say every week it takes me longer to get back to game-ready feeling, though.''

The special teams ace, a fifth-round pick by the Titans in 2003, has played in 112 games overall.
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http://www.tennessean.com/article/20101009/SPORTS01/10090345/2080/sports
 
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"You've got to be a little crazy," said Donnie Nickey, the former Ohio State safety who has played on specials teams since joining the Tennessee Titans in 2003. "You have to turn your common sense off and be willing to run into a wall. That's how I've made my living."

It's also how the Buckeyes need to make their living the rest of the season and beyond; otherwise their coverage teams will always be a weak link.

Nickey, who has served as the Titans' special teams captain the past two seasons, dismisses the notion that OSU's struggles are an anomaly, that a few tweaks will fix everthing. Despite watching from a distance and having no inside knowledge, Nickey knows problems exist when the Buckeyes allow three returns for touchdowns in a six-game span.

"Every return and kickoff (unit) can be exposed, but you've got to be able take a punch and then counter-punch," he said, adding that aggressive special teams play becomes a mind-set that manifests itself in the group imposing its will on the opponent.

For instance, during film study it's obvious which teams like to finesse block and which like to be "a bunch of maulers."

"And the ones who don't have physical players are soft," Nickey said.

It should be pointed out that "soft" is a relative term. No player can reach the NFL by being afraid to hit or be hit. But there is a fine line between hoping to tackle and ball carrier and hunting him.

"On kickoff it is an excuse, a license to kill," Nickey said. "A license to run 50 yards and smash into somebody else. It's unlike any other play in football, and really any other sport. You've got to love it and thrive off it."
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http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2010/10/23/opinion.html?sid=101
 
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Titans take issue with Nickey ejection
JIM WYATT, The Tennessean
Posted on October 31, 2010

SAN DIEGO Special teams ace Donnie Nickey was ejected in the fourth quarter after making contact with an official.

Nickey got tangled up with Scott Mruczkowski at the end of a punt. But when Nickey got out from underneath the 310-pounder he appeared to take a swing at him. Instead he struck an official who was coming in to pull the two players apart.

The Titans were flagged for 15 yards and Nickey was tossed.

?I agree with the foul, I don?t agree with the ejection,? Fisher said. ?It was unintentional. But that is the rule, if you contact an official you must be ejected.??

Defensive end Jason Babin was heading onto the field for the next series when the incident occurred and defended Nickey to officials.

?The guy was on top of him grinding Donnie?s face in the ground and the referee wasn?t breaking it up,?? Babin said. ?Donnie got up and tried to defend himself and the ref ran in front of him and caught the two-handed blow by accident. If you jump in front of a speeding car, what do you expect to happen? Donnie wasn?t trying to punch the guy. It was an accident.??
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http://blogs.tennessean.com/titans/2010/10/31/titans-take-issue-with-nickey-ejection/
 
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Former Buckeye Donnie Nickey clinging onto NFL success
By Travis Kozek
[email protected]
Published: Monday, November 29, 2010

Donnie Nickey was living the dream in January 2003. He was an Ohio State football captain and starting free safety for the National Champion Buckeyes.

Just four months later, he was fighting for his football life. Drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the fifth round (154th overall) of the 2003 NFL draft, Nickey hoped just to make the team.

"I really had wide eyes and just wanted to be on the team," Nickey said. "I was willing to do anything that I possibly could to be on the team and just get myself better and learn about the NFL."

Now in his eighth season with the Titans, he is still familiar with uncertainty. He is under his sixth contract with Tennessee, none of which has exceeded two years.

"My future has always been uncertain," he said. "I am used to having to make the team and I enjoy that part of the job. It is very stressful and there can't be anything that is more physically competitive than NFL training camp. Every year I look forward to that and have proven myself and gotten myself better. Uncertainty kind of just goes with the territory."

As an All-Ohio performer in football and baseball at Jonathan Alder High School and a four-year starter at OSU, Nickey rarely had to deal with limits to playing time.

Now, he uses his all-out playing style and passion for special teams to combat big-league uncertainty. Recognized as one of the best special teams performers in the game, Nickey quickly embraced his role in football's less glamorous facet.

"The main thing I remember when he first came into the league is that he had size and speed, and playing special teams meant something to him," said Titans special teams coach Alan Lowry. "He showed a knack for playing special teams fairly early."

Cont...
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http://www.thelantern.com/sports/former-buckeye-donnie-nickey-clinging-onto-nfl-success-1.1798412
 
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In limbo: Safety Donnie Nickey has spent eight seasons with the Titans, and on several occasions he re-signed just before or just after becoming an unrestricted free agent.

Now Nickey is in limbo again, his deal with the Titans expired.

"It is all up in the air,'' Nickey said. "I can't sign until the CBA is in place, and I don't know when that is going to come. So I just try and take advantage of each day to try and get myself better each day, and I will be ready for whatever happens."

In 2010, Nickey was the Titans' sixth-leading special teams tackler. He has been a regular and durable contributor on special teams over the years, appearing in 111 consecutive games dating to 2004.

He said he's heard nothing from Coach Mike Munchak about his status.
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http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110312/SPORTS01/103120310/Tight-end-set-shed-backup-tag
 
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Titans dislike new kickoff rule
Written by John Glennon
THE TENNESSEAN
Mar. 27, 2011

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Titans safety Donnie Nickey, left, doesn't like the new NFL rule moving kickoffs 5 yards to the 35, saying it will hurt the game. / George Walker IV / The Tennessean / File

When the NFL put its new kickoff proposal on the tee earlier this week, only six of the league's 32 owners voted against it.

But in the days since, it's been hard to find any players in favor of the change, which will move kickoffs from the 30-yard line to the 35.

Return men including Titans Pro Bowler Marc Mariani expressed their disappointment, but other players are concerned that the many who make much of their football living on special teams will become less important and that the game itself will be less exciting.

Twenty-three kickoffs were returned for TDs in 2010, just two shy of the record set in 2007.

"I just don't understand it," said Titans safety Donnie Nickey, who led the team in special-teams tackles two seasons ago. "There's a lot of big plays on kick returns, big momentum swings. I love kickoffs. When we score on kickoffs, that's a great play and that can really swing a game."

Mariani might not have been drafted if the new rule had already been in effect. But last year the Titans needed to plug a gaping hole in their return game.

Mariani proved a perfect solution, piling up the second-most kickoff return yardage in the league and finishing first with 42 kickoff returns of 20-plus yards.

He isn't likely to get nearly as many chances to return kicks this season, with the number of touchbacks guaranteed to jump. Touchback percentages have already increased from 9.1 percent of all kicks in 2005 to 16.4 percent, according to ESPN stats.

"The 35? That (stinks)! No more returns for us," Mariani posted on his Twitter account. "I think there will be way more touchbacks and less opportunities to return ? (crummy)."

Then there are the niche players such as Nickey, who's the longest-tenured Titan primarily because of his play on special teams. The two-time special-teams captain will be an unrestricted free agent when the new collective bargaining agreement goes into effect, and he is concerned about what opportunities will await him if teams don't consider kickoff coverage as much of a priority.

"Pretty much every kicker in the NFL can hit touchbacks all day long from the 35," Nickey said. "So it's going to reduce the opportunities for returns and reduce the opportunities for tackles and making a living."

Owners say they made the move for safety reasons, figuring it would reduce speed and impact. Nickey said he's seen no evidence that injuries were piling up at an unacceptable rate on kickoffs.

"It didn't seem that way. I haven't seen any numbers on it," he said. "It doesn't seem like a ton of players got hurt on kickoffs, no more than (any other part of the game)."
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http://www.tennessean.com/article/2...VIEWTOPIC.PHP/Titans-dislike-new-kickoff-rule
 
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