08-09-2007, 09:18 AM
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Both of them
Join Date: Sep 2006
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Berry, Okeafor welcome change in stance
Berry, Okeafor welcome change in stance | EastValleyTribune.com
Quote:
Asked on the first day of training camp how he would like to be referred to — as a defensive end or a linebacker — Bertrand Berry had a quick response.
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“Just call me a handsome guy. How about that? We’ll just leave it at that,” Berry said.
The noncommittal from Berry is because he will play both positions as the Cardinals shift from a 4-3 defense to a hybrid 3-4 this season. Berry and Chike Okeafor are being moved from defensive ends to outside linebackers, though Berry is still listed as an end and will get in the three-point stance from time to time.
Both players have welcomed the change, as each was a linebacker in college, which has helped in the transitions.
“It’s the position I was born to play,” Okeafor, entering his ninth season in the NFL, said Monday. “I’ve been waiting a long time to get with the right people, the right players and the right coaches and program.
“I’ve learned in the trenches and that’s made me a better linebacker than most.”
The Cardinals were eighth in the league in yards allowed per game (296.6) in 2005 but plummeted to 29th last season (349.4).
After Ken Whisenhunt was named the head coach in January it did not take long for him to decide a shift needed to be made. But both Berry and Okeafor said what they will do this season is not a huge departure from what they have done the past four seasons under defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast.
From one play to the next the Cardinals may line up in a 3-4 and then a 4-3, or they may show one formation and play another at the snap. The versatility of players like Berry and Okeafor is what should allow Pendergast the opportunity to push the right buttons and get under the skin of opposing offensive coordinators.
Whisenhunt hopes the new wrinkles will help the defense return to and even surpass its rankings of two years ago.
“It’s not what people think, but I think (fans) will be surprised with what we come out with,” said Berry, a Pro Bowl selection in 2005, who practiced with both the linemen and linebackers in position drills Monday morning.
“We may have a few guys doing different things in different positions but it’s still the same defense with the same calls. I may look different doing it but it’s going to be the same thing for me.”
Both players had the opportunity to get comfortable in their new roles during minicamps and organized team activities during the offseason and are using this preseason to further that with the added speed and contact that comes with training camp and exhibition games.
Berry and Okeafor have received praise from Whisenhunt, with the coach going so far as to call them a couple of the stars of the initial week of camp.
“He seems to be very comfortable with (the move),” Whisenhunt said of Okeafor last week.
“He is another guy who’s shown up and he’s made some plays out there. Obviously, (linebackers) coach (Billy) Davis going through some of the footwork-agility drills with him has paid off.”
Berry said Pendergast being retained has helped him, while Okeafor said the new staff has also been instrumental in his conversion back to a linebacker.
“I like to think of myself as a student of the game, so I take instruction well and work on my craft every day,” Okeafor said.
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Berry, Okeafor welcome change in stance
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