JSOnline:
Its obvious Woodson\Harris arent going to be here in 3-4 years, so seeing which young CBs(Dendy,blackmon,etc) have what it takes to take it to the next level is important this season. No more 3 year experiments in the starting lineup if they arent ready though. Thats just silly.
Second chance dandy to Dendy
Cornerback might fill in for Woodson
By LORI NICKEL
[email protected]
Posted: Oct. 19, 2006
Green Bay - It could not end like this. Not after beating up his body in a gym as one friend after another headed off to the National Football League.
But it almost ended before it began for Green Bay cornerback Patrick Dendy.
On the first day of training camp, a sweltering hot and humid Friday evening, Dendy made a stunning interception in practice. Dendy's instincts told him to turn back to make a play for a ball and when he did, he and the receiver climbed on top of each other. Dendy won it.
"Oh, man," secondary coach Kurt Schottenheimer thought. The play was a real head-turner.
But Dendy's shoe slipped off. Without protection, he crashed to the ground and sprained his right ankle. He missed nearly all of training camp. With Charles Woodson and Al Harris locked up as the big name cornerbacks, Ahmad Carroll the third cornerback and Jason Horton and Mike Hawkins all playing ahead of him, Dendy did not make the final roster cut.
It just could not end like that and, sure enough, it has not.
Horton was cut. Hawkins, too. Dendy made the practice squad, came back from the ankle injury and was brought up to the active 53-man roster when Carroll was released two weeks ago, after the Philadelphia game.
Woodson missed a second consecutive practice Thursday with an injured knee and his status for Sunday at Miami remains questionable. Dendy could very well move up from nickel cornerback to starter if Woodson is still ailing by Sunday.
Either way, it spells a great opportunity to play for a guy who waited a year and a half to get into the NFL.
"He's come a long way since he first got here," Harris said.
In four years at Rice, the native of Austin, Texas, had 130 tackles, two interceptions and 17 passes knocked down. Still, he went undrafted.
He worked out at Plex, a Houston-area training and rehabilitation facility that boasts Woodson, Julius Peppers, Tommie Harris, Shaun Rogers, Chris Gamble, Ken Hamlin and Ty Law among a who's who list of NFL players who have been through its doors.
There, all Dendy could do was bulk up his 6-foot, 190-pound frame and wait for a call from his agent, and the encouragement he got from other NFL players kept him motivated.
"He was so dedicated," said Packers defensive end Michael Montgomery, who knew Dendy from working out together at Plex. "I knew once he got his opportunity he was going to shine, because of how he worked out, every day, the same enthusiasm to get better."
"Hard working guy, man, I tell ya," said Minh Luu, a doctor and rehabilitation specialist at Plex. "We rooted for that guy forever. His personality, his work ethic is incredible; his character is outstanding. He's one of those guys you hope the best for him. I mean, we do that with all our clients, but he's one of the ones that stood out. He's one of those guys from Rice - people heard of him - and his athleticism is great."
The Packers signed Dendy as a street free agent in April 2005 and he played well enough in minicamps and training camp to earn praise from his position coach at the time, Joe Baker. He was put on the practice squad, where he remained for 10 weeks until he was activated for four games, and played mostly special teams.
He remained with the Packers this year but he had a new secondary coach and a new defensive coordinator, so there were questions.
"People weren't sure about his confidence and that sort of thing," Schottenheimer said. "But he kept improving. You start to think, this is a kid that has confidence and, of course, you wanted to be able to see that in the exhibition games. He missed an awful lot of time. In my estimation, had he been healthy and continued through training camp, he would have made our football team."
Dendy's ankle is fine now, he said, but in late August, when he gingerly returned to the field, "His ankle was still bothering him," Schottenheimer said. "He said, 'I've got to get out here; I've got to show you what I can do.' And we knew he wasn't all the way back, but he just kept fighting through it every day. You'd see the grimacing and pain on his face."
Just before the bye, when he was activated, Dendy played nickel back against the Rams and had a few tackles. Although he hasn't had a lot of experience with his teammates, they trust him.
"This is his second year with the team, so we're pretty comfortable with it," Collins said. "He knows the scheme. So, if Charles is ready, we're going to play. If he's not ready, we're comfortable with Pat."
Whether Dendy plays just nickel back against Miami or fills in for Woodson, he can expect Joey Harrington to try to get Chris Chambers and other receivers in matchups with Dendy.
"I expect to be tested," the mild-mannered Dendy said. "I'll just keep practicing hard. I'm just looking forward to the challenge."
Sometimes the third cornerback gets more one-on-one opportunities than the starters. Schottenheimer recalled such a case when he coached 10 years ago in Kansas City.
Starters James Hasty and Dale Carter got into about 50 man-to-man opportunities each in one season, but nickel back Mark McMillian had more than double that total.
"I thought Ahmad Carroll would get that this year. Pat's going to get a lot of action but I have confidence in him," Schottenheimer said.
Its obvious Woodson\Harris arent going to be here in 3-4 years, so seeing which young CBs(Dendy,blackmon,etc) have what it takes to take it to the next level is important this season. No more 3 year experiments in the starting lineup if they arent ready though. Thats just silly.
