AZChief
11-10-2004, 09:35 PM
Former Irish lineman Black learning from best in K.C.
By Justin A. Cohn
The Journal Gazette
Jordan Black has been on the Kansas City Chiefs’ sideline doing little more than watching for the better part of his short NFL career. But he’s not griping about that.
He sees it as a necessary means to what he hopes will be a story ending with him as an NFL star.
“Frustrated? That’s not an option,” says Black, who’s in his second season out of Notre Dame. “I’m behind the best offensive line in the NFL and you can’t get frustrated with that.”
And it’s the daily routine of watching, working with and learning from that offensive line – it includes stars like Willie Roaf, Will Shields, Casey Wiegmann, John Welbourn and Brian Waters – that has made easing into his NFL life, rather than taking an abundance of newcomer knocks, not such a bad thing for Black.
“There are little things to take away from every guy,” says Black, who was a backup at left guard last season but now plays left tackle.
“But you can’t imitate one guy’s game because they all have their own separate nuances and own techniques. The things you do take away are your own little pieces and you try to make your own game and put your own stamp on things.” After being inactive for all of last season’s games, Black finally got his first significant playing time Oct. 4, in a 27-24 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. He’s now steadily working his way into the lineup.
“Baltimore, I was pretty nervous about that,” Black says. “You just kind of look at (the year without playing) as a year to practice for this situation. That kind of takes the edge off because you know you’ve been doing the right things to prepare.”
Black, 24, has been preparing for this since he earned honorable mention All-American honors from USA Today while he was at Dallas Christian High School in Mesquite, Texas. And that preparation continued at Notre Dame, where he started 42 games.
“Well, I owe a lot to an offensive line coach I had there at Notre Dame, Steve Addazio, (now the offensive coordinator at Indiana),” Black says. “I thought I made a lot of strides and that took some getting used to. I don’t think I’ve reached my potential, but I don’t know if I ever will because I’m hard on myself.”
Black’s tenure at Notre Dame ended in controversial fashion, when he and another offensive lineman, Brennan Curtin, were suspended for undisclosed reasons from the Gator Bowl in 2003, which the Irish lost to North Carolina State 28-6.
“It definitely leaves a sour taste in your mouth,” Black says, “But I had to take responsibility for my actions and I have to deal with it.”
Black wouldn’t discuss what happened to keep him out of the Gator Bowl, though published reports have since said he supplied Curtin with a hair sample so Curtin could pass a drug test, and the two were caught.
Black says his suspension was a learning experience, and one that he’s happy to have put behind him.
“Once football becomes your job, you have to grow up a little bit,” he says. “You have to have a personal sense of responsibility.”
How much responsibility he will have in today’s game against the visiting Colts remains to be seen. But he wants to be a part of the Chiefs’ efforts to avenge a 38-31 playoff loss to Indianapolis last season.
“(That loss) is always on our minds,” Black says, “But every week in the NFL you have a challenge. It’s just another challenge in the middle of 16 other challenges (this regular season).”
Of course, the Chiefs are off to a 2-4 start and have bigger things on their minds than revenge; they just want to get back into the playoff race by beating the 4-2 Colts.
“I think the whole revenge thing is something that everybody’s trying to drum up and make a bigger story than it needs to be,” says Chiefs quarterback Trent Green, a product of IU. “I think the way we’re looking at it is, we’re a 2-4 football team and we need to find ways to win every week, no matter how it may be, whether it be (the offense stepping) up, defense stepping up or special teams. … We’re just in a situation right now where we dug ourselves such a big hole at the beginning of the season.”
Chief coach Dick Vermeil agreed.
“I don’t believe in revenge,” he says. “I don’t believe in grudges and those kinds of things. I never have. If the players want to look at it as a revenge, that’s fine with me. But to me, it’s a very important football game and we have to play well.”
That being said, the Chiefs are coming off an impressive 56-10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, in which Black and his fellow offensive linemen opened up the gaps for seven rushing touchdowns.
“It just shows what we’re capable of,” Black says. “And why aren’t we capable of it every week?”
And it’s still too early to tell just how much Black himself is capable of accomplishing.
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/sports/10063196.htm
I think this kid should tutor Larry Johnson on the right thing to say...
AZ
By Justin A. Cohn
The Journal Gazette
Jordan Black has been on the Kansas City Chiefs’ sideline doing little more than watching for the better part of his short NFL career. But he’s not griping about that.
He sees it as a necessary means to what he hopes will be a story ending with him as an NFL star.
“Frustrated? That’s not an option,” says Black, who’s in his second season out of Notre Dame. “I’m behind the best offensive line in the NFL and you can’t get frustrated with that.”
And it’s the daily routine of watching, working with and learning from that offensive line – it includes stars like Willie Roaf, Will Shields, Casey Wiegmann, John Welbourn and Brian Waters – that has made easing into his NFL life, rather than taking an abundance of newcomer knocks, not such a bad thing for Black.
“There are little things to take away from every guy,” says Black, who was a backup at left guard last season but now plays left tackle.
“But you can’t imitate one guy’s game because they all have their own separate nuances and own techniques. The things you do take away are your own little pieces and you try to make your own game and put your own stamp on things.” After being inactive for all of last season’s games, Black finally got his first significant playing time Oct. 4, in a 27-24 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. He’s now steadily working his way into the lineup.
“Baltimore, I was pretty nervous about that,” Black says. “You just kind of look at (the year without playing) as a year to practice for this situation. That kind of takes the edge off because you know you’ve been doing the right things to prepare.”
Black, 24, has been preparing for this since he earned honorable mention All-American honors from USA Today while he was at Dallas Christian High School in Mesquite, Texas. And that preparation continued at Notre Dame, where he started 42 games.
“Well, I owe a lot to an offensive line coach I had there at Notre Dame, Steve Addazio, (now the offensive coordinator at Indiana),” Black says. “I thought I made a lot of strides and that took some getting used to. I don’t think I’ve reached my potential, but I don’t know if I ever will because I’m hard on myself.”
Black’s tenure at Notre Dame ended in controversial fashion, when he and another offensive lineman, Brennan Curtin, were suspended for undisclosed reasons from the Gator Bowl in 2003, which the Irish lost to North Carolina State 28-6.
“It definitely leaves a sour taste in your mouth,” Black says, “But I had to take responsibility for my actions and I have to deal with it.”
Black wouldn’t discuss what happened to keep him out of the Gator Bowl, though published reports have since said he supplied Curtin with a hair sample so Curtin could pass a drug test, and the two were caught.
Black says his suspension was a learning experience, and one that he’s happy to have put behind him.
“Once football becomes your job, you have to grow up a little bit,” he says. “You have to have a personal sense of responsibility.”
How much responsibility he will have in today’s game against the visiting Colts remains to be seen. But he wants to be a part of the Chiefs’ efforts to avenge a 38-31 playoff loss to Indianapolis last season.
“(That loss) is always on our minds,” Black says, “But every week in the NFL you have a challenge. It’s just another challenge in the middle of 16 other challenges (this regular season).”
Of course, the Chiefs are off to a 2-4 start and have bigger things on their minds than revenge; they just want to get back into the playoff race by beating the 4-2 Colts.
“I think the whole revenge thing is something that everybody’s trying to drum up and make a bigger story than it needs to be,” says Chiefs quarterback Trent Green, a product of IU. “I think the way we’re looking at it is, we’re a 2-4 football team and we need to find ways to win every week, no matter how it may be, whether it be (the offense stepping) up, defense stepping up or special teams. … We’re just in a situation right now where we dug ourselves such a big hole at the beginning of the season.”
Chief coach Dick Vermeil agreed.
“I don’t believe in revenge,” he says. “I don’t believe in grudges and those kinds of things. I never have. If the players want to look at it as a revenge, that’s fine with me. But to me, it’s a very important football game and we have to play well.”
That being said, the Chiefs are coming off an impressive 56-10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, in which Black and his fellow offensive linemen opened up the gaps for seven rushing touchdowns.
“It just shows what we’re capable of,” Black says. “And why aren’t we capable of it every week?”
And it’s still too early to tell just how much Black himself is capable of accomplishing.
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/sports/10063196.htm
I think this kid should tutor Larry Johnson on the right thing to say...
AZ