Tauscher Grins Through Grind

By Bill Huber

August 3, 2010

After rehabbing through his torn ACL last summer and not signing with the Packers until October, veteran right tackle Mark Tauscher is thrilled to be sweating through camp. We talked to Tauscher, Chad Clifton and Joe Philbin to get the scoop.

There are not too many veterans who are excited about the start of training camp.
Mark Tauscher is an exception to that rule.

“Usually there’s a little bit of dread coming into training camp. This year, I’m excited to be here,” Tauscher said.

Last year at this time, Tauscher was enjoying his first month of married life and rehabbing his surgically repaired knee. Missing a late-summer training camp for the first time in a couple decades, Tauscher worked and waited — and waited some more — in hopes of signing a contract in Green Bay. And if not Green Bay, someplace else.

He eventually signed with Green Bay and wound up saving the season.

Tauscher, who was born in Marshfield, Wis., and played collegiately at Wisconsin before being drafted by the Packers in the seventh round in 2000, offered salvation after the Allen Barbre Project blew up in the Packers’ faces.

Tauscher wound up starting eight games, and when he settled into a groove, the Packers’ offensive line woes vanished and the offense flourished. Including the playoffs, the Packers scored 33.6 points per game and allowed Aaron Rodgers to be sacked 20 times when Tauscher started. When he was out, they scored 25.5 points per game and Rodgers was sacked 35 times. Even those sack numbers are skewed, because the Packers allowed six sacks at Tampa Bay, when Tauscher debuted by rotating with Barbre in the first half before exiting on the first drive of the second half with a knee injury. Tauscher was on the field for just one of those sacks.

Tauscher was a staple of this year’s offseason practices, with coach Mike McCarthy saying Tauscher looks like his “old self” in terms of strength, explosion and comfort level.

“It’s been about 10 months (and) he looks good,” offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said after Tuesday morning’s practice. “In fact, I was talking to him last night at practice about how the knee feels. I think his words were he’s got more confidence now than when you’re immediately coming off the surgery. He looks good. He’s moving around and I like what he’s doing so far.”

Tauscher signed a two-year contract in March. Regardless of what the coaches say, he will retain his starting position with nary a challenge from third-year player Breno Giacomini and second-year player T.J. Lang, who has struggled at times while wearing a brace on his surgically repaired wrist.

With the rehab behind him and limited to a one-a-day schedule by McCarthy early in training camp, the 33-year-old Tauscher feels like he’s turned back the clock on his career.

“I sure hope so,” he said. “You know, it feels, you have that excitement. It was just a fun feeling to get back out and have pads and get hit. You feel rusty, you don’t feel quite where you want to be, but like I said, it was great to just get back out there.”

Chad Clifton has been the bookend tackle to Tauscher since they were rookies in 2000. Their strong play down the stretch last season was a key to the Packers’ resurgence and their health this year will be vital for any Super Bowl aspirations.

“He brings a lot to this team and to this locker room,” Clifton said. “He’s been a great player for many, many years. The younger guys can learn a lot from a guy like that. We’re extremely happy to have him back and he’s playing well.”

Tauscher is under contract through 2011 but wasn’t about to discuss his long-term future. He’s just happy to be healthy and grinding through the hot and sweaty drudgery of training camp after sitting at home last summer.

“No question, it’s great to be here,” he said. “You only get so many opportunities in your career to go through the whole journey and the whole process. It definitely makes this a special feeling for me to get back out here and have an opportunity to play on this team.”

Clear Commitment

By Josh Looney

August 2, 2010

All seven of the Chiefs defensive ends enter camp with less than three years of NFL experience

The Chiefs added just one new face to the defensive line this off-season – six-year veteran DT Shaun Smith. Upon arrival, Smith immediately became the second-most experienced member of the group outside of 10-year vet Ron Edwards. The two happen to play the same position.

After Edwards and Smith, the next-eldest member of the nine remaining defensive lineman is just 25 years old (Wallace Gilberry). Headed by a pair of top-five draft picks on the bookends, the Chiefs opted to put their faith in youth rather than free agency; particularly in the area player development.

While the Chiefs didn’t make any drastic off-season changes to its cast of defensive linemen, head coach Todd Haley completely overhauled the group of men responsible for maximizing their production. The addition of defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel and his proven history of developing youthful linemen was the obvious starting point.

In essence, Crennel was the Chiefs big-name free agent along the Chiefs defensive line.

“He brings a lot of energy, and we know that he’s been there and done that,” Dorsey said of Crennel. “He’s won championships, so he knows how to do it. Everyone is just trying to soak in as much knowledge as possible.”

But the additions to the coaching staff responsible for developing the defensive line didn’t begin and end with Crennel. Often lost in the conversation is the promotion of former NFL DE Anthony Pleasant to the Chiefs full-time defensive line coach.

Pleasant is a disciple of the defensive system that Crennel is teaching, having played in the actual scheme some 12 of his 14 professional seasons. Pleasant even played under Crennel during his NFL career. Pleasant knows the defense and has experience implementing the technique that players can relate to.

“Anthony is a good young coach with a bright future and puts into it and he cares about it, and that’s what I like to see,” head coach Todd Haley said.

But the Chiefs didn’t stop with adding Crennel and Pleasant to help elevate the Chiefs front seven. Kansas City also hired the part-time services of one of the most successful Taekwondo experts in the United States (Insider Blog: Calling on the Master).

GrandMaster Joseph E. Kim, also known as a “pass rush guru,” is back in St. Joseph this week working with the front seven in hand-to-hand combat technique.

“Joe helps with our hands in the pass rush that that helps me out a lot,” Dorsey said. “He knows what he’s talking about and we’ve watched film on guys that he’s taught.”

There isn’t much to figure out when it comes to the Chiefs plan in improving its run defense and overall defensive ranking. If the Chiefs are going to improve defensively in 2010, it will be because of its young players ascending their game across the board.

There isn’t a position group that the player development philosophy is more evident than with the Chiefs defense linemen.

“It’s equally big for all those guys, first, second and third-year guys,” Haley said. “I cannot stress it enough, those are the guys that have take that next step, whether they're back-ups that become starters, starters that become stars or third-teamers that become back-ups. Those guys have to take steps and have to make that next step, and that will help us.”

That quote blankets each of the seven defensive ends currently on the Chiefs roster. The message speaks for itself. An off-season commitment has been made to this position group and that message hasn’t’ been lost in St. Joseph.

OSU players to get educated on agents

July 30, 2010

By Doug Lesmerises

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Maybe the pimp talk will get the Buckeyes to pay attention.

Speeches from compliance officers typically don't thrill college football players, but when Ohio State gathers for the start of preseason camp next Thursday, Chris Rogers, Ohio State's assistant athletic director for compliance, will have some fresh ammo for his lecture: the recent NCAA investigations into player-agent interaction at Alabama, North Carolina, Florida and other schools, highlighted so far by Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban comparing sports agents to pimps.

"Everything that's in the news will be part of that meeting," Rogers said. "It's a good educational opportunity to show the student-athletes that this could be you. This is real stuff."

Those words of warning are the best way, and in reality the only way, to fight what is an escalating NCAA battle against improper dealings between players and agents. There are plenty of rules and regulations on the books, but the only thing with bite is somebody else getting caught.

Here's how it works in Ohio, which is similar to the rest of the country:

Agents are required to register with the Ohio Athletic Commission, which has a primary job of regulating boxing and mixed martial arts. For the OAC, governing agents is an additional job, which consists of collecting a $500 fee for a two-year license and listing registered agents on its website. (There are 85 individuals or agencies registered at the moment.)

"We don't have the power to go out and enforce anything," said Bernie Progato, the head of the OAC.

Instead, Progato said schools should report bad agent behavior to the OAC, which would forward complaints on to the attorney general's office. In more than a decade that the law has been in place, Progato said he has never heard of a complaint.

More than 40 states have adopted the Uniform Athlete Agents Act, created more than a decade ago. Ohio has not, because its own similar agent regulations, under Chapter 4771 of the Ohio Revised Code, were created first.

The idea of the UAAA, and the Ohio code, is to force agents to register, disclose their backgrounds and qualifications, and keep their potential clients informed, while setting up civil penalties as well. Michael Kerr of the Uniform Law Commission, which created the UAAA, said it allows contracts to be voided, licenses to be revoked or even allows schools to sue agents if they violate the rules.

Violating the code in Ohio is also a first degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine.

For the most part, schools are left to police themselves. That means, for instance, turning in agents that give players money, which is also in effect turning in the school.

"The schools don't have an incentive to come forward if they know something is going on or if they find out something went on years ago," Kerr said, "because if they tell the NCAA about it, they'll get sanctioned."

Part of the prevention plan, then, is attempting to limit contact. Ohio State does that by requiring all agents and financial advisers who want access to campus to register with them. They also check to ensure agents are registered with the OAC.

Additionally, Ohio State holds an agent day every spring, when players officially meet with agents at what amounts to a job fair, "to get it above board, so it doesn't go underground," Rogers said.

In 2007, the NFL Players Association created a rule that forbids any personal contact between agents and players until the players are three years out of high school. Previously, younger players had attended agent day to make initial introductions. Now, agents say those who play by the rules fall behind those agents who break the rules and create relationships with players while they are underclassmen.

"It's very difficult to legislate ethics and morality and good conduct," said Beachwood-based agent Neil Cornrich, who represents numerous players and coaches. "I think you go about this through good education."

So on Thursday, the Ohio State players should once again learn this:

No one can stop agents from getting to you. And no one knows when you might, by chance, get caught.