JS Online: As a gamer, 'KGB' won't press start
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No matter how many friends, coaches and teammates tell him that being a designated pass rusher is his calling, Gbaja-Biamila still yearns for more.
"KGB" can't help himself. Back when he was coming of age as a defensive end for the Green Bay Packers, he put becoming a starter as the ultimate individual goal.
"If I said I didn't want to be a starter, I wouldn't have anything to shoot for," Gbaja-Biamila said Monday. "Here's my mentality. My goal with these new coaches is to cause so much havoc that they'll say, 'Let's just keep him in there.'
"But if I'm never a starter again I'm OK with that, too."
These days, Gbaja-Biamila's starting job is held by Cullen Jenkins. The switch at right end from the 247-pound Gbaja-Biamila to the 303-pound Jenkins was made last December two plays into the Week 13 game in San Francisco.
The demotion stung, more than "KGB" lets on. For all his vulnerabilities against the run, he has been durable (one game missed because of injury) and physical for his size.
Based on the way the defense took off down the stretch, there could be no turning back. Gbaja-Biamila would be returning to the third-down role from which he registered 13½ sacks in 2001.
"Am I at peace? Yeah, I'm at peace," Gbaja-Biamila said. "In spite of my feelings, I think that was a good call by the coaches. Cullen Jenkins is a good run-stuffer. He's a bigger body, and he's also actually quick enough to be a threat on the pass."
As a gamer, 'KGB' won't press start
As a gamer, 'KGB' won't press start
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