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Friday, August 27, 2010

Player Profiles: Darnell Dockett aka Nine-0

Player Profiles


Darnell Dockett


The first profile on BigRedBirdGang has to be about Nine-O. He is the CEO and founder of the Birdgang, and he is one bad mother…

“Shut yo mouth”

“I’m just talking bout Nine-0.”

“Then we can dig it.”

This is a man that has been pushing Cadillacs across the field in the offseason to train, so what lineman do you think can stop him? This is a man who gets down and dirty in the trenches on every play and is yet to miss a game in his career (I’m knocking on wood right now). He put himself and the Cardinals in the Super Bowl record books with 3 sacks in that game, and once he gets back to the big stage you know he is going to go for 4. He is like popeye, but from what I can tell from his tweets his version of spinach is jerk chicken with oxtails and rice.

He is the Birdgang CEO and like his tattoos say he is a Limited Edition. We as Cardinals fans are truly blessed to be watching him. He grabbed our rookie Dan Williams when he saw him in the weight room and made him train the way Nine-0 trains.  Coach asked him "why?" and he said "we are going to need this kid."  That's what a leader does.  He gets respect across the league for the work he puts in and it shows with his 2 Pro Bowls despite playing in Arizona with limited national media coverage, and we all know it should have been 3. Don’t just listen to me, last year before the Texans game, Texans coach Gary Kubiak said he was the most disruptive player that he has seen on film all year. I’ve heard John Lott say he is the strongest guy on the team, and when Lott talks you better listen because he speaks the truth.

History Lesson:

Our boy Dock had a tragic childhood and struggled through adversity with one version of the story being documented here. His life story would make a very compelling movie and maybe one day it will be. How he made it through everything and came out the way he did is the most impressive thing about him.

He played his college career at Florida State University and was a 4 year starter. We were lucky enough to draft him in the 3rd round. The rumor I heard at the time was that Denny Green called him about 8 or 10 picks before the Cards pick and told him not to get the other line every time it beeped. If that is true, then God bless Denny Green for bringing Nine-O to Arizona.

He always seems to show up when the competition is the toughest and the lights are the brightest. We can only hope that he gets rewarded with the long term deal that he deserves, and the Bidwills can make this warrior a lifetime Cardinal.  Then one day we can retire the Nine-0 in the rafters of the Bird's Nest, because as I see it right now nobody else deserves to wear his jersey number on the Cardinals, except me and the rest of the fans.

In Whisenhunt we trust,
Ozzy

1 comment:

  1. Ozzy,

    Great profile and good choice on player. Gotta love Dockett! I was one of the first to buy his jersey and still wear it proudly. Boy, wouldn't it be a blast to party with a guy like him. I like your blog so far. Keep it up.

    Doobs

    ReplyDelete