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WR Dane Sanzenbacher (Official Thread)

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I actually watched the Cleveland/Chicago Replay game this evening. He had a nice game. He had 4-5 catches for some good gains. I really thought this guy would be a 5th rounder. I was really shocked he wasn't drafted.
 
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Bears WR Sanzenbacher not a no-name anymore
By Bob LeGere

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Dane Sanzenbacher has heard all kinds of variations when it comes to people attemtping to pronounce his last name.

You can call him ?Sanzendinger,? or just ?Dinger,? as the Bears? training staff does.

Or you can call him ?Sanzenwhacker,? as some members of the media did in training camp when he first started to establish himself as a legitimate player.
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But, now that the 53-man roster has been set, you can call Dane Sanzenbacher (Sahnz-en-bocker) a Chicago Bear.

As far as the nicknames, he?s already heard just about everything.

?Basically they just all come off of the slaughtering of my last name, and whatever they can get out of that is what we go with,? the undrafted rookie from Ohio State said. ?Sanzendinger; I don?t even know where that comes from.?

At least it?s more original than ?Great Dane.?

?There?s always that one,? he said, ?but it?s kind of played out I guess.?

Despite his lowly status as an undrafted rookie and his lack of stature, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound receiver worked his way up the depth chart early in training camp. He gained the confidence of coaches by learning all three of the team?s wideout positions (X, Y and Z) without the benefit of minicamps, OTAs or any kind of off-season program.

?When you?re going into a college situation, you study the playbook hard because you want to get in there,? he said. ?But in the back of your mind, you always have that cushion, ?Well, I have four years here.?

?But, when you come in here, we didn?t have any (off-season program), so you?re right into camp and it?s like, ?Well, I better go learn it now or there might not be a tomorrow.??

Even before he caught 10 preseason passes for 107 yards, Sanzenbacher made his presence felt during training camp practices with precision routes and sure hands.

He also gained the confidence of quarterback Jay Cutler as he earned some practice reps with the first team and some praise from the No. 1 QB, who wasn?t hesitant to target him.

?Jay?s been great this whole time,? Sanzenbacher said. ?He?s been one of those guys who was definitely more patient than I would even expect coming in, for a guy to treat a rookie. It?s been great. When you do get the opportunity to get in there with the first team, to know that the quarterback has that confidence in you, it helps out a lot.?

Cont...
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Read more: http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110904/sports/709049839/#ixzz1X4rNyCJJ


Sanzenbacher plays his way onto roster
By Bob LeGere [email protected], Chicago Daily Herald
Updated Sep 5, 2011

A whopping five undrafted rookies have made the Bears' 53-man roster, for now.

Leading the way is Ohio State wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher, who caught 10 preseason passes for 157 yards, finishing second on the team in both categories.

He will be joined by H-back/tight end Kyle Adams (Purdue), defensive end Mario Addison (Troy), linebacker Dom DeCicco (Pittsburgh) and safety Winston Venable (Boise State).

Sanzenbacher set himself apart early in camp with his reliable hands, precise route running and the ability to learn all three of the Bears' wide receiver positions. He seemed satisfied after Thursday night's preseason finale.

"I think it was solid," the 5-foot-11, 180-pounder said of his preseason and training camp. "Obviously I've yet to play a perfect game, so you can't say that. But it was nice to get out there and be able to get the ball in your hands a little bit and we got a ton of opportunities, get a ton of stuff on film."

Coach Lovie Smith noticed Sanzenbacher early on, and he continued to show up on a regular basis.

"He's impressed us just about every day in some form," Smith said. "He's a good football player, and he's been that way throughout camp."
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http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/Sanzenbacher-plays-his-way-onto-roster-37430591

Living the dream:

Even in his most optimistic fantasies, undrafted rookie wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher might not have expected his NFL experience to play out as well as it did.

The Ohio State product finished second on the team in receptions (10) and receiving yards (107) and earned some valuable reps with the first team in practice and in games. It's almost a given he'll be one of the final 53.

"I really didn't have a set expectation in mind," he said. "It was such a crazy experience from the time the lockout ended to finding a (team) to go and then being on a plane 12 hours later. There wasn't really time to conjure up something in my mind of what it might be. But it's been great so far, and whatever happens ... happens."
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http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/Bears-release-14-13-cuts-remaining-66613221
 
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http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=8121

September 5, 2011
Undrafted rookies just getting started

By: Larry Mayer | Last Updated: 9/5/2011 2:32 PM



Twenty-six undrafted free agents arrived at training camp with a dream, but faced an uphill battle that was even steeper than usual after the offseason program was cancelled due to the lockout.

For the five who survived final cuts Saturday and earned a spot on the Bears? 53-man roster, it was a remarkable accomplishment?but only the beginning of what they hope is a long NFL journey.


Dane Sanzenbacher impressed coaches with his playmaking ability this summer. Moving from the rookie 'cave' in the Halas Hall basement to the regular locker room Monday, wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher, tight end Kyle Adams, linebacker Dom DeCicco, safety Winston Venable and defensive end Mario Addison reflected on the last 48 hours.

"It's awesome; one of the best days of my life," Adams said. "It's just great to make a team, a lot of hard work, very thankful, very blessed by God to be here and just real excited for the opportunity."

"It feels good," Venable said. "Not that I haven't put in the work yet, but now you?ve just got to put it into overdrive and continue to work hard. Your job is never really safe, so I?m going to continue doing what I've been doing and not get complacent."

"It's a dream come true," DeCicco said. "But it's a week-to-week job and you just have to keep performing every week and hopefully maintain it throughout the whole year."

With no offseason program, the rookies had to compress several months of learning into a few weeks at camp.

"It made the whole process seem like it was going really fast just because there was never any time to slow down and relax," Sanzenbacher said. "You were learning everything on the fly and on the field trying to apply everything. It finally got to a point where it's starting to slow down a little bit."
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Learning on the fly is the reason he excels. Learning three WR positions could be another. Learning under Jim Tressel make have been the best education that a young CFB player could ask for.
 
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http://www.chicagobears.com/news/ChalkTalkStory.asp?STORY_ID=8131

What kind of role do you see Dane Sanzenbacher filling this season?

Tom K.
Akron, Ohio

We'll know a lot more about how the Bears will utilize their receivers Sunday when they open the season against the Falcons. I can tell you that Dane Sanzenbacher has been incredibly impressive, especially for an undrafted rookie who didn't get the opportunity to participate in the offseason program due to the lockout. The Bears have more depth at the receiver position than I can ever remember, but offensive coordinator Mike Martz indicated this week that he intends to give all six receivers on the 53-man roster a chance to play. The group consists of Sanzenbacher, Roy Williams, Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, Johnny Knox and Sam Hurd. Said Martz: "We like all six of them and all six can play. Roy and Devin are our two starters and the rest of them are going to play, so they'll have plenty of opportunities during the course of the game and during the season. It's a nice feeling to have that many, that's for sure. We didn't have enough last year, so it's a good feeling." In terms of how the Bears will incorporate Sanzenbacher on offense, quarterback Jay Cutler said: "I don't know. We'll see how it goes. He definitely has enough talent to be out there. It's just a matter of him being able to catch up mentally with everybody else. We have to trust him on Sunday and know he's going to have all the details down and he's going to nail it. I think he wants to and we'll just take it game-by-game."
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Put him in the 6 WR sets! :biggrin:
 
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