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Both of them
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 10,225
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Beekman learning from the pros
http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/bears.asp?id=338518
Quote:
Being buried on the Bears depth chart as a rookie behind a talented and veteran group of starters on the offensive line has both benefits and drawbacks for fourth-round pick Josh Beekman of Boston College.
The chances for meaningful playing time are slim, but the opportunity for career development is extraordinary.
“I have veteran o-linemen in front of me that I can learn from,” Beekman said. “I can grow stronger, and I’m bringing a lot of good things from BC. But I’m bringing a lot of bad things from BC, and they want me to correct them. The best way for me to learn is watch the older guys and have them instruct me. It’s a great situation for me.”
Most of the 6-foot-2, 310-pound Beekman’s bad habits involve minor technique adjustments. He could soon be the Bears’ top backup interior lineman, filling in at guard and center and later in line to replace one of the old-timers on the NFL’s most experienced front line.
But for now, there doesn’t figure to be much game experience available behind right guard Roberto Garza, nine-time Pro Bowl left guard Ruben Brown and six-time Pro Bowl center Olin Kreutz.
But the learning experiences are unlimited.
“In college you can have a lot of wasted motion,” Beekman said. “You can’t have wasted motion in the pros. Everything has to be fine-tuned. You have to have your technique as strong as possible. As Olin says, ‘You’re going to get beat in the NFL, (but) you don’t want to hurt yourself.’ So I want to be the best I possibly can be by learning from these guys; what they do, how they do it and how they do it so well.”
In Beekman the Bears have a talented player to mold. He was a three-year starter at BC and an All-American as a senior. He primarily played right guard, starting 34 games there. But he also started three times at center and rotated into that spot every few series as a senior because his coaches wanted to get him experience there in case he needed to move there in an emergency. That versatility gives him an advantage as a young backup, since offensive linemen who don’t start usually have to be capable of filling in at more than one position.
“He’s a quick, explosive player,” said Bears offensive line coach Harry Hiestand, “and it shows up at both positions.”
Kreutz has spent time after practice instructing the Bears’ young offensive linemen on the finer points of the game, and he sees some positive traits in Beekman.
“I think Josh is going to be a real good football player in the NFL for a long time,” Kreutz said. “He works hard, he’s got good leverage, good speed, good explosiveness. I think he’ll be fine.”
While Beekman doesn’t have to be concerned with being rushed into a starting position as a rookie, he doesn’t believe that he can coast for even a day.
“Comfort level?” he said. “I don’t think you have any. I’m a rookie, and these guys have high standards. I have to match their intensity, even if I’m not in the starting lineup. I have to be the best rookie I possibly can be because that’s what they’re going to be seeing out of me. I have to match their work ethic. They have to trust that I’m going to do the right thing every time and that I know what I’m doing.
“As a rookie, I haven’t done anything. I’m carrying their pads right now.”
Beekman means that literally. In keeping with tradition, after each practice he lugs his own pads and those of a veteran, from the practice field into the locker room, just like the other rookies. It might be seen as hazing by some, but to Beekman it’s part of the process of becoming an NFL player.
“I think it’s a sign of respect,” he said. “They’re the veterans who come before you, they’ve been doing it for a long time, and they have a lot of good tips that they want to pass along to you.
“You’re a pupil. If they tell you to do something, you should just do it because you have to earn their respect. Olin’s been doing this since I was a little kid, watching, listening and learning about him in college. So, when they say, ‘Carry the pads,’ it’s no problem. I’m going to carry their pads. If they say, ‘Go get water,’ or ‘Beeks, do this,’ I’m going to do it.”
The tiny bit of manual labor is more than worth the price of an NFL education.
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Beekman learning from the pros
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