Heatherthepackgirl
Cheesehead
By BOB McGINN
[email protected]
Posted: Jan. 30, 2007
Miami - If drafting punter B.J. Sander in the third round was Mike Sherman's most indefensible act as general manager of the Green Bay Packers, dumping Hunter Hillenmeyer one game into his rookie season ranks among the top five.
Hillenmeyer remembers his release as if it were yesterday, a stunning moment in September 2003 that he discussed Tuesday during Super Bowl media day from his status as a highly compensated starter at strong-side linebacker for the Chicago Bears.
"It definitely was a bump in the road," Hillenmeyer said. "But, in hindsight, it's probably the best thing that's happened to me in my entire NFL career."
Hillenmeyer was one of those players with whom Sherman fell in love and then gave up a draft choice in order to move up and select him. The Packers took him in the fifth round out of Vanderbilt.
In training camp, Hillenmeyer played briefly on the strong side but generally worked behind fellow rookie Nick Barnett in the middle. He made the 53-man roster but when injuries struck at wide receiver in the opener, the Packers added Antonio Freeman and someone had to go.
"They pulled me right out of our morning team meeting and I went up and talked to him," Hillenmeyer said. "I think it was a Wednesday."
Sherman wanted Hillenmeyer to accept a berth on the team's practice squad after clearing waivers. But within three hours, his agent informed Hillenmeyer of interest from the Bears and other teams.
Three days after being waived, Hillenmeyer joined the practice squad in Chicago.
"We had a little back and forth whether I was going to go to Chicago," Hillenmeyer said. "I actually had kind of a lengthy meeting with Sherman that day. He told me that I was making a huge mistake."
The Bears promoted Hillenmeyer to their active roster 2½ weeks later and he has been there ever since. In one of his subsequent appearances against the Sherman-coached Packers, Hillenmeyer was approached by the coach-GM.
"He came up before one of our games, shook my hand and said, 'You made the right decision,' " Hillenmeyer said. "I think that when he said it he believed it. That I had put all that time in training camp in Green Bay and knew the system, and to start over with a new one in Chicago would have been a big step in the wrong direction."
At the time, the Packers had Hannibal Navies and Na'il Diggs starting alongside Barnett. Their backups were Paris Lenon and Marcus Wilkins, two disposable players, and Torrance Marshall was three weeks away from returning from a drug suspension. The club didn't think Hillenmeyer was very good on special teams.
If the Packers were so enthusiastic about Hillenmeyer in April, shouldn't they have given him more than one week of the regular season to prove they were right?
"I don't think I played bad but I just don't think I had an opportunity," Hillenmeyer said. "It's at least partially my fault for not making a name for myself early enough. Unless you're a first- or second-round pick, if you don't make plays right from the day you walk in the door, you're not going to be there."
When the Packers anointed Barnett as their No. 1 middle linebacker on draft day, Hillenmeyer became something of an afterthought.
"The problem with Nick is he needed every rep because they had to get a rookie ready to start and run the defense," Hillenmeyer said. "I wouldn't even get in until the fourth quarter of the (exhibition) games. That didn't leave many reps for me to adjust to the speed of the game."
Hillenmeyer played 13 games on special teams for the Bears in 2003, then replaced Warrick Holdman on the strong side in '04. He ended up starting four games outside and seven games in the middle for injured Brian Urlacher.
After Hillenmeyer started again in '05, the Bears rewarded him last June with a six-year, $15.02 million contract containing roster bonuses totaling $5 million over two seasons.
"He's a very good player and we paid him, obviously," Bears linebackers coach Bob Babich said. "He's going to be around for a long time."
Hillenmeyer, 6 feet 4 inches and 238 pounds, is overshadowed by Urlacher and Lance Briggs, both of whom made all-pro. He isn't a bad athlete (35½-inch vertical jump) and is the smartest player at Super Bowl XLI (39 on the Wonderlic test), but his 40-yard dash time was just 4.84 seconds coming out of college.
"He is such a quick dissector of plays and that allows him maybe to play a step quicker," Babich said. "We feel very confident in his speed."
Hillenmeyer has shown limited big-play ability but the strong side isn't a big-play position and he doesn't get a chance to play on passing downs. Not only does he think that his level of play matches up well with the worst starting linebacker for most teams, he has long since forgiven the Packers.
"The first couple games were a big deal but Sherman's not there anymore," he said. "There's no spite toward them from a 'they cut me' standpoint. It doesn't need any extra motivation. They're our biggest rival."
[email protected]
Posted: Jan. 30, 2007
Miami - If drafting punter B.J. Sander in the third round was Mike Sherman's most indefensible act as general manager of the Green Bay Packers, dumping Hunter Hillenmeyer one game into his rookie season ranks among the top five.
Hillenmeyer remembers his release as if it were yesterday, a stunning moment in September 2003 that he discussed Tuesday during Super Bowl media day from his status as a highly compensated starter at strong-side linebacker for the Chicago Bears.
"It definitely was a bump in the road," Hillenmeyer said. "But, in hindsight, it's probably the best thing that's happened to me in my entire NFL career."
Hillenmeyer was one of those players with whom Sherman fell in love and then gave up a draft choice in order to move up and select him. The Packers took him in the fifth round out of Vanderbilt.
In training camp, Hillenmeyer played briefly on the strong side but generally worked behind fellow rookie Nick Barnett in the middle. He made the 53-man roster but when injuries struck at wide receiver in the opener, the Packers added Antonio Freeman and someone had to go.
"They pulled me right out of our morning team meeting and I went up and talked to him," Hillenmeyer said. "I think it was a Wednesday."
Sherman wanted Hillenmeyer to accept a berth on the team's practice squad after clearing waivers. But within three hours, his agent informed Hillenmeyer of interest from the Bears and other teams.
Three days after being waived, Hillenmeyer joined the practice squad in Chicago.
"We had a little back and forth whether I was going to go to Chicago," Hillenmeyer said. "I actually had kind of a lengthy meeting with Sherman that day. He told me that I was making a huge mistake."
The Bears promoted Hillenmeyer to their active roster 2½ weeks later and he has been there ever since. In one of his subsequent appearances against the Sherman-coached Packers, Hillenmeyer was approached by the coach-GM.
"He came up before one of our games, shook my hand and said, 'You made the right decision,' " Hillenmeyer said. "I think that when he said it he believed it. That I had put all that time in training camp in Green Bay and knew the system, and to start over with a new one in Chicago would have been a big step in the wrong direction."
At the time, the Packers had Hannibal Navies and Na'il Diggs starting alongside Barnett. Their backups were Paris Lenon and Marcus Wilkins, two disposable players, and Torrance Marshall was three weeks away from returning from a drug suspension. The club didn't think Hillenmeyer was very good on special teams.
If the Packers were so enthusiastic about Hillenmeyer in April, shouldn't they have given him more than one week of the regular season to prove they were right?
"I don't think I played bad but I just don't think I had an opportunity," Hillenmeyer said. "It's at least partially my fault for not making a name for myself early enough. Unless you're a first- or second-round pick, if you don't make plays right from the day you walk in the door, you're not going to be there."
When the Packers anointed Barnett as their No. 1 middle linebacker on draft day, Hillenmeyer became something of an afterthought.
"The problem with Nick is he needed every rep because they had to get a rookie ready to start and run the defense," Hillenmeyer said. "I wouldn't even get in until the fourth quarter of the (exhibition) games. That didn't leave many reps for me to adjust to the speed of the game."
Hillenmeyer played 13 games on special teams for the Bears in 2003, then replaced Warrick Holdman on the strong side in '04. He ended up starting four games outside and seven games in the middle for injured Brian Urlacher.
After Hillenmeyer started again in '05, the Bears rewarded him last June with a six-year, $15.02 million contract containing roster bonuses totaling $5 million over two seasons.
"He's a very good player and we paid him, obviously," Bears linebackers coach Bob Babich said. "He's going to be around for a long time."
Hillenmeyer, 6 feet 4 inches and 238 pounds, is overshadowed by Urlacher and Lance Briggs, both of whom made all-pro. He isn't a bad athlete (35½-inch vertical jump) and is the smartest player at Super Bowl XLI (39 on the Wonderlic test), but his 40-yard dash time was just 4.84 seconds coming out of college.
"He is such a quick dissector of plays and that allows him maybe to play a step quicker," Babich said. "We feel very confident in his speed."
Hillenmeyer has shown limited big-play ability but the strong side isn't a big-play position and he doesn't get a chance to play on passing downs. Not only does he think that his level of play matches up well with the worst starting linebacker for most teams, he has long since forgiven the Packers.
"The first couple games were a big deal but Sherman's not there anymore," he said. "There's no spite toward them from a 'they cut me' standpoint. It doesn't need any extra motivation. They're our biggest rival."
