Post by griz on May 17, 2011 16:34:35 GMT -5
billingsgazette.com/sports/college/blogs/catgrizinsider/article_4c639b36-7de2-11e0-b0db-001cc4c03286.html
"I'll always have a place for Montana"
If you're a fan of the Montana Grizzlies, you remember how tenacious Kroy Biermann was. The way he came off the edge to rush the quarterback. The way he kept playing until he heard a whistle. Remember when he ran down Derek Green in the 2007 Cat-Griz game? Some thought that was the defensive play of the Grizzlies' season. They were right.
But for all the accomplishments -- he won the Buck Buchanan Award as the top defensive player in the FCS as a senior -- Biermann's off-field persona is a bit soft-spoken. But he has displayed the mental toughness and determination it takes to succeed . His story is quite unlikely -- it's a road that began in little Hardin, Montana, and has led him all the way to the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL. He is one of a handful of Grizzlies to play regularly the NFL in the last few years.
As a pro, Biermann has become popular off the field, too. His relationship with Real Housewives of Atlanta Star Kim Zolciak has at times put him front and center in the tabloids and gossip columns. The couple is expecting a baby boy in the coming weeks.
Still, Biermann will always be in touch with his roots. That's what brought him to Billings this weekend for an endorsement tour with Athletic Medicine and Performance, a local sports-specific training program he went through while in high school and early in college. Biermann spoke to and worked out with roughly 25 local athletes on Friday, and will sign autographs for fans on Saturday.
I sat down for an extensive conversation with Biermann earlier today. Watch Slim Kimmel's video above for the highlights. Read my transcript below to get the full scoop.
TELL US WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS WEEKEND TO HELP THE AMP PROGRAM.
"AMP was a program that I went through in high school, and I really felt that a lot of my success and the ability to get where I've gotten was due to the extra week that AMP provided me. They contacted me and my agent, and asked if I'd be willing to do some marketing stuff for them and show up for a training session with some younger kids and just kind of spend the weekend here with them. I jumped all over it, just because of the good people here and how they helped me get where I'm at."
IN WHAT WAYS DID THIS PROGRAM HELP YOU?
"I think it just gave me a great foundation to be able to build a solid frame and a solid athletic body that was going to be efficient and be very healthy. It was right there at the time that I needed it -- at a young age. They knew what they were doing. They didn't over-train us, they trained us the right way, and gave us a great foundation to be able to build on. I don't think I would have played as a true freshman (for the Grizzlies) had I not done this program. It helped me get that extra step in front of everybody else, and kind of put me up there above everybody."
WHAT IS YOUR MESSAGE TO THESE ATHLETES?
"The biggest message is to enjoy where you're at and have fun with it. If you want to go after a career in a sport or at least go to college in a sport, you have to put in the hard work and you have to put in the extra time. When your friends are going to the movies or out messing around, you've got to be training and doing the things that are going to help you step above everybody else so that it catches somebody's eye, whether it's a recruiter or a coach or somebody else. But I think I have to stress that where I am today is not because anything it was handed to me. Everything I've achieved is through hard work and dedication and staying focused and keeping my eyes on the goals that I have set."
DO YOU ENJOY COMING BACK TO YOUR ROOTS?
"I do. I really enjoy being back. I get to see family and friends, and get out of the hustle and bustle of Atlanta. There's a lot of people there, and it gets kind of claustrophobic at times. It's good to be back and I'll always enjoy it. I'll always have a place for Montana."
YOU'VE COME A LONG WAY SINCE YOUR DAYS IN HARDIN. DID YOU EVER THINK THAT YOU'D GET TO THIS POINT?
"It was always a goal. It was always a dream. I told my mom and dad when I was very young that I wanted to be a professional athlete. Every parent wants to encourage their kids to dream and to excel at their highest level. But I remember seeing a poster in my counselor's office in high school, and it said that something like 1 in 30 million high school athletes actually become professional athletes. So the odds of actually getting there are not with you. But I took it one step at a time and stayed focused and did the things that I needed to do. I am very blessed to be where I'm at and I don't want to waste that opportunity."
YOU CAME OF AGE AT MONTANA. HOW MUCH DID YOU TAKE FROM COACH HAUCK AND HIS STAFF AND ALL THE SUCCESS YOU HAD WITH THE GRIZ?
"I took more than I can actually ever describe from that coaching staff. I've been very fortunate and very blessed to have really good parents and coaches and college coaches surround me. And even now I'm with an organization that is a really good organization. It's about community and teamwork and all of that. But at Montana, they instilled work ethic and competitiveness and wanting to win. And we did everything possible to win every Saturday. It was good. We were students first and athletes second. It's a great university and I'm very fortunate that I got to play there."
WHY HAVE SO MANY GRIZ PLAYERS MADE IT TO THE NFL IN THE LAST FEW YEARS?
"That right there is really good recruiting. That's somebody who can see a high school athlete and can pick out their potential and can see it in that kid -- that he has the drive, the want-to, the determination, the work ethic and the athletic ability to excel. And that's why that university has been so successful for so many years. It's because they've had great coaches that know how to recruit kids, and they can get kids that some big schools may overlook. All of us, obviously, could have played at the bigger schools because we are in the NFL. But we were overlooked for whatever reason. And Montana saw that in us. And you have to get players like that. It takes a lot of hard work, but that coaching staff knew how to recruit kids ... and good kids."
HAS IT BECOME A FRATERNITY WITH FELLOW GRIZZLIES THAT ARE IN THE NFL?
"Of course. It's always nice to see a familiar face, and it's fun to play against one. I think we have (the Titans) on our schedule this year. (Marc Mariani) will be running back kickoffs. Maybe I can talk my special teams coach to let me out there so I can give him a little lick. But it's exciting. It's fun. I'm very excited about the success Montana has had."
DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A FAN OF THE GRIZ? DO YOU KEEP TABS ON WHAT THEY DO?
"I've paid attention. Being in Atlanta ... the two years they made it back-to-back to the championship (in Chattanooga, Tenn.) I went. Just because it was so close; it's about a 2 ½ hour drive. It was nice to see them play. It's hard to keep up on football when you're actually in it and when you have to go home and study. Everybody else gets to watch the games, but we have to go home and study. But I'll always be a Montana fan. That's where my roots are."
YOU'VE BECOME A PUBLIC FIGURE OFF THE FIELD, TOO. HAS THAT BEEN UNCOMFORTABLE?
"It's definitely been a little bit of a transition. But that's her job, and I'm with her. And choosing to be with her is dealing with that. But I don't really have to deal with anything. She's a good person, and it's fun. Really, it's an opportunity that's been placed in front of me. I'm going to take it and use what I can with it."
ARE YOU RECOGNIZED MORE IN ATLANTA AS A FOOTBALL PLAYER?
"It just depends. If we were walking together they'll recognize her and then they'll know who I am. If I'm by myself, it's as a football player ... or they don't recognize me. The good thing about football is that you have a helmet on. So you can be incognito if you want to be. But I just roll with it. I'm not there for any of that. I'm there because I love the game and love playing. And I'm excited about the opportunities I've been given."
AND YOU'RE EXPECTING A BABY ...
"Yes. He'll be here in a few weeks. Hopefully another linebacker or defensive end. We'll see."
WHAT TYPE OF A PLAYER HAVE YOU BECOME?
"Leaving Montana, I was drafted in the fifth round. And that's a pretty low draft (pick), especially for a guy like me. Really, the only way I was going to make a team is if I shined on special teams. That was really the only way I was going to make an impact for a team and for them to keep me. And that's what I did. I took it as it was and took off running. Everything was so fast. I remember stepping out there the first camp and your head is swimming. Everything is flying by, you have no idea what's going on, everybody's yelling at you ... but you just have to take it in stride and continue to work and continue to show that you're willing to put in the effort.
"If they see that you're a hard worker and you're willing to do what it takes to get the job done, they'll give you time; they'll give you chances. Obviously everybody's going to make mistakes. But if you're just out there saying, ‘Whatever, I made it," you're gone. I got my chances here and there to take some defensive end reps coming in my first year, and I had a couple sacks. And then the next year I continued to get more playing time on the defensive line. And then this past year I earned the starting job. It's a process. It's steps. It takes setting goals and doing everything to reach them. That's always how I've been."
YOU'VE MADE YOUR SHARE OF BIG PLAYS, BUT WALK US THROUGH THE INTERCEPTION AND TOUCHDOWN RETURN AGAINST THE BROWNS LAST YEAR.
"A lot of it was instinct, a lot of it ... we practice so many different things so many times in a row that it kind of becomes monotonous, but that's what you have to do. You have to practice the details and things like that. Basically what happened was it was supposed to be a quick flare pass or possibly a bubble screen -- the play didn't quite develop before I picked it off. The tackle blocked down, which is supposed to make me go down (the line), and I had read the play. I knew it; I had watched film on it, so I knew where to stand. He basically threw it right into my hands. Instead of catching it, I batted it up and dove for it. I kind of rolled up and knew I hadn't been touched. I tried running it into the right end zone -- I had lost my bearings a little bit. But my teammates were with me blocking. It was a cool feeling. Those are rare, especially for a defensive lineman to get touchdowns and interceptions and things like that. I'll always cherish that. It'll always a pretty good memory of mine."
IS THAT YOUR BIGGEST THRILL SO FAR?
"It's right up there. Some of those playoff games are intense. That crowd is pumping. That whole atmosphere of those playoff games is really insane. I have no idea ... I don't think anybody knows until you're actually in it. Like if we were to play in a Super Bowl. But it's right up there. I also scored a touchdown on Monday Night Football too. That was pretty cool."
THE FALCONS HAD SUCH A GREAT REGULAR SEASON LAST YEAR, BUT WHAT HAPPENED AGAINST THE PACKERS?
"I still have a bad taste in my mouth from that whole deal. It was a bad day for our team to have a bad day. Bottom line is we just got out-played. You can have all the excuses you want, whether it was that we had a bye week or we just weren't focused or they had a better game plan ... but the bottom line is that they came ready to play and we didn't. That's the nature of the game. That's what makes the NFL so exciting and exhilarating is that it is a very competitive sport, and you don't know who is going to win any given Sunday. It could be the best team or it could be the worst team. It just depends on who's there to play that day. We weren't, and we got beat. But we'll be back. We'll be ready."
HOW GOOD IS (PACKERS QB) AARON RODGERS?
"He's good. He's a lot squirmier than he looks on film. You watch on film, and he's moving around, but he doesn't look that fast. I swear he puts Vaseline on his jersey. But he's got a good arm, he's got good vision, and he had a good year last year. Hopefully he can build on that and keep going. It's always nice to go up against the top quarterbacks in the league."
ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC ABOUT A RESOLUTION TO THE LOCKOUT?
"I think just like anybody else thinks -- what would America do without a football season? That's something that this culture thrives on. Men live for that every Sunday. In my mind I can't see not having a season. I think it would affect too much. The economy, the game ... everything's been built so much, and to not have a season would tear so much of that down. But you never know. It's a business, and things need to be worked out and negotiated and it has to be fair. So we'll see. I don't know. I can't tell you. I don't really follow it too much because somebody will say one things and somebody else will counteract that, and they're both lying, and you never know. So I'm just working out and waiting for my phone to ring to tell me that I have a team meeting at 8 a.m. the next day. And I'll show up."
IS IT DIFFICULT TO SIDE WITH THE UNION EVEN THOUGH YOU WANT TO BE ON THE FIELD NEXT YEAR?
"We do have to unite, because without that union the NFL would be able to do whatever they wanted with us. They could make us practice 24 hours a day, and it would be kind of out of control like it was in the past. Before the union, (players) were at the mercy of the owners and the coaches, and they didn't really have any say in it. The union is a very good thing and it has to be there and the players respect that and understand that. It's important to us. It's just frustrating that negotiations have to happen for a union in a business like that to exist. But you have to have an agreement, and until that happens, you have to do some arguing."
WHAT ARE YOUR NEXT GOALS?
"Everybody's goal every year is to continue to improve and to do everything they can to win that ring. My personal goals are always to improve. Every day I go out to practice and want to improve on at least one thing -- whether it's just one step or one minute tweak here or there. It's a big process, getting better and finding that perfection. I want to improve my numbers. I was a little bit disappointed last year with the sack numbers that I had. I was getting (to the quarterback), but the ball was gone. I've got to find something to do to get that one extra step or that extra inch. That's the great thing about the game. It's a challenge; it's always a challenge. And you'll always have somebody that's pushing you. It's going to be a good year I think. Right now we're locked out, but we've had a ton of guys coming to our player-organized workouts. We're building camaraderie and that's really all we can do at this point ... stay in shape and be ready to go when they decide to let us back in."
"I'll always have a place for Montana"
If you're a fan of the Montana Grizzlies, you remember how tenacious Kroy Biermann was. The way he came off the edge to rush the quarterback. The way he kept playing until he heard a whistle. Remember when he ran down Derek Green in the 2007 Cat-Griz game? Some thought that was the defensive play of the Grizzlies' season. They were right.
But for all the accomplishments -- he won the Buck Buchanan Award as the top defensive player in the FCS as a senior -- Biermann's off-field persona is a bit soft-spoken. But he has displayed the mental toughness and determination it takes to succeed . His story is quite unlikely -- it's a road that began in little Hardin, Montana, and has led him all the way to the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL. He is one of a handful of Grizzlies to play regularly the NFL in the last few years.
As a pro, Biermann has become popular off the field, too. His relationship with Real Housewives of Atlanta Star Kim Zolciak has at times put him front and center in the tabloids and gossip columns. The couple is expecting a baby boy in the coming weeks.
Still, Biermann will always be in touch with his roots. That's what brought him to Billings this weekend for an endorsement tour with Athletic Medicine and Performance, a local sports-specific training program he went through while in high school and early in college. Biermann spoke to and worked out with roughly 25 local athletes on Friday, and will sign autographs for fans on Saturday.
I sat down for an extensive conversation with Biermann earlier today. Watch Slim Kimmel's video above for the highlights. Read my transcript below to get the full scoop.
TELL US WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS WEEKEND TO HELP THE AMP PROGRAM.
"AMP was a program that I went through in high school, and I really felt that a lot of my success and the ability to get where I've gotten was due to the extra week that AMP provided me. They contacted me and my agent, and asked if I'd be willing to do some marketing stuff for them and show up for a training session with some younger kids and just kind of spend the weekend here with them. I jumped all over it, just because of the good people here and how they helped me get where I'm at."
IN WHAT WAYS DID THIS PROGRAM HELP YOU?
"I think it just gave me a great foundation to be able to build a solid frame and a solid athletic body that was going to be efficient and be very healthy. It was right there at the time that I needed it -- at a young age. They knew what they were doing. They didn't over-train us, they trained us the right way, and gave us a great foundation to be able to build on. I don't think I would have played as a true freshman (for the Grizzlies) had I not done this program. It helped me get that extra step in front of everybody else, and kind of put me up there above everybody."
WHAT IS YOUR MESSAGE TO THESE ATHLETES?
"The biggest message is to enjoy where you're at and have fun with it. If you want to go after a career in a sport or at least go to college in a sport, you have to put in the hard work and you have to put in the extra time. When your friends are going to the movies or out messing around, you've got to be training and doing the things that are going to help you step above everybody else so that it catches somebody's eye, whether it's a recruiter or a coach or somebody else. But I think I have to stress that where I am today is not because anything it was handed to me. Everything I've achieved is through hard work and dedication and staying focused and keeping my eyes on the goals that I have set."
DO YOU ENJOY COMING BACK TO YOUR ROOTS?
"I do. I really enjoy being back. I get to see family and friends, and get out of the hustle and bustle of Atlanta. There's a lot of people there, and it gets kind of claustrophobic at times. It's good to be back and I'll always enjoy it. I'll always have a place for Montana."
YOU'VE COME A LONG WAY SINCE YOUR DAYS IN HARDIN. DID YOU EVER THINK THAT YOU'D GET TO THIS POINT?
"It was always a goal. It was always a dream. I told my mom and dad when I was very young that I wanted to be a professional athlete. Every parent wants to encourage their kids to dream and to excel at their highest level. But I remember seeing a poster in my counselor's office in high school, and it said that something like 1 in 30 million high school athletes actually become professional athletes. So the odds of actually getting there are not with you. But I took it one step at a time and stayed focused and did the things that I needed to do. I am very blessed to be where I'm at and I don't want to waste that opportunity."
YOU CAME OF AGE AT MONTANA. HOW MUCH DID YOU TAKE FROM COACH HAUCK AND HIS STAFF AND ALL THE SUCCESS YOU HAD WITH THE GRIZ?
"I took more than I can actually ever describe from that coaching staff. I've been very fortunate and very blessed to have really good parents and coaches and college coaches surround me. And even now I'm with an organization that is a really good organization. It's about community and teamwork and all of that. But at Montana, they instilled work ethic and competitiveness and wanting to win. And we did everything possible to win every Saturday. It was good. We were students first and athletes second. It's a great university and I'm very fortunate that I got to play there."
WHY HAVE SO MANY GRIZ PLAYERS MADE IT TO THE NFL IN THE LAST FEW YEARS?
"That right there is really good recruiting. That's somebody who can see a high school athlete and can pick out their potential and can see it in that kid -- that he has the drive, the want-to, the determination, the work ethic and the athletic ability to excel. And that's why that university has been so successful for so many years. It's because they've had great coaches that know how to recruit kids, and they can get kids that some big schools may overlook. All of us, obviously, could have played at the bigger schools because we are in the NFL. But we were overlooked for whatever reason. And Montana saw that in us. And you have to get players like that. It takes a lot of hard work, but that coaching staff knew how to recruit kids ... and good kids."
HAS IT BECOME A FRATERNITY WITH FELLOW GRIZZLIES THAT ARE IN THE NFL?
"Of course. It's always nice to see a familiar face, and it's fun to play against one. I think we have (the Titans) on our schedule this year. (Marc Mariani) will be running back kickoffs. Maybe I can talk my special teams coach to let me out there so I can give him a little lick. But it's exciting. It's fun. I'm very excited about the success Montana has had."
DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A FAN OF THE GRIZ? DO YOU KEEP TABS ON WHAT THEY DO?
"I've paid attention. Being in Atlanta ... the two years they made it back-to-back to the championship (in Chattanooga, Tenn.) I went. Just because it was so close; it's about a 2 ½ hour drive. It was nice to see them play. It's hard to keep up on football when you're actually in it and when you have to go home and study. Everybody else gets to watch the games, but we have to go home and study. But I'll always be a Montana fan. That's where my roots are."
YOU'VE BECOME A PUBLIC FIGURE OFF THE FIELD, TOO. HAS THAT BEEN UNCOMFORTABLE?
"It's definitely been a little bit of a transition. But that's her job, and I'm with her. And choosing to be with her is dealing with that. But I don't really have to deal with anything. She's a good person, and it's fun. Really, it's an opportunity that's been placed in front of me. I'm going to take it and use what I can with it."
ARE YOU RECOGNIZED MORE IN ATLANTA AS A FOOTBALL PLAYER?
"It just depends. If we were walking together they'll recognize her and then they'll know who I am. If I'm by myself, it's as a football player ... or they don't recognize me. The good thing about football is that you have a helmet on. So you can be incognito if you want to be. But I just roll with it. I'm not there for any of that. I'm there because I love the game and love playing. And I'm excited about the opportunities I've been given."
AND YOU'RE EXPECTING A BABY ...
"Yes. He'll be here in a few weeks. Hopefully another linebacker or defensive end. We'll see."
WHAT TYPE OF A PLAYER HAVE YOU BECOME?
"Leaving Montana, I was drafted in the fifth round. And that's a pretty low draft (pick), especially for a guy like me. Really, the only way I was going to make a team is if I shined on special teams. That was really the only way I was going to make an impact for a team and for them to keep me. And that's what I did. I took it as it was and took off running. Everything was so fast. I remember stepping out there the first camp and your head is swimming. Everything is flying by, you have no idea what's going on, everybody's yelling at you ... but you just have to take it in stride and continue to work and continue to show that you're willing to put in the effort.
"If they see that you're a hard worker and you're willing to do what it takes to get the job done, they'll give you time; they'll give you chances. Obviously everybody's going to make mistakes. But if you're just out there saying, ‘Whatever, I made it," you're gone. I got my chances here and there to take some defensive end reps coming in my first year, and I had a couple sacks. And then the next year I continued to get more playing time on the defensive line. And then this past year I earned the starting job. It's a process. It's steps. It takes setting goals and doing everything to reach them. That's always how I've been."
YOU'VE MADE YOUR SHARE OF BIG PLAYS, BUT WALK US THROUGH THE INTERCEPTION AND TOUCHDOWN RETURN AGAINST THE BROWNS LAST YEAR.
"A lot of it was instinct, a lot of it ... we practice so many different things so many times in a row that it kind of becomes monotonous, but that's what you have to do. You have to practice the details and things like that. Basically what happened was it was supposed to be a quick flare pass or possibly a bubble screen -- the play didn't quite develop before I picked it off. The tackle blocked down, which is supposed to make me go down (the line), and I had read the play. I knew it; I had watched film on it, so I knew where to stand. He basically threw it right into my hands. Instead of catching it, I batted it up and dove for it. I kind of rolled up and knew I hadn't been touched. I tried running it into the right end zone -- I had lost my bearings a little bit. But my teammates were with me blocking. It was a cool feeling. Those are rare, especially for a defensive lineman to get touchdowns and interceptions and things like that. I'll always cherish that. It'll always a pretty good memory of mine."
IS THAT YOUR BIGGEST THRILL SO FAR?
"It's right up there. Some of those playoff games are intense. That crowd is pumping. That whole atmosphere of those playoff games is really insane. I have no idea ... I don't think anybody knows until you're actually in it. Like if we were to play in a Super Bowl. But it's right up there. I also scored a touchdown on Monday Night Football too. That was pretty cool."
THE FALCONS HAD SUCH A GREAT REGULAR SEASON LAST YEAR, BUT WHAT HAPPENED AGAINST THE PACKERS?
"I still have a bad taste in my mouth from that whole deal. It was a bad day for our team to have a bad day. Bottom line is we just got out-played. You can have all the excuses you want, whether it was that we had a bye week or we just weren't focused or they had a better game plan ... but the bottom line is that they came ready to play and we didn't. That's the nature of the game. That's what makes the NFL so exciting and exhilarating is that it is a very competitive sport, and you don't know who is going to win any given Sunday. It could be the best team or it could be the worst team. It just depends on who's there to play that day. We weren't, and we got beat. But we'll be back. We'll be ready."
HOW GOOD IS (PACKERS QB) AARON RODGERS?
"He's good. He's a lot squirmier than he looks on film. You watch on film, and he's moving around, but he doesn't look that fast. I swear he puts Vaseline on his jersey. But he's got a good arm, he's got good vision, and he had a good year last year. Hopefully he can build on that and keep going. It's always nice to go up against the top quarterbacks in the league."
ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC ABOUT A RESOLUTION TO THE LOCKOUT?
"I think just like anybody else thinks -- what would America do without a football season? That's something that this culture thrives on. Men live for that every Sunday. In my mind I can't see not having a season. I think it would affect too much. The economy, the game ... everything's been built so much, and to not have a season would tear so much of that down. But you never know. It's a business, and things need to be worked out and negotiated and it has to be fair. So we'll see. I don't know. I can't tell you. I don't really follow it too much because somebody will say one things and somebody else will counteract that, and they're both lying, and you never know. So I'm just working out and waiting for my phone to ring to tell me that I have a team meeting at 8 a.m. the next day. And I'll show up."
IS IT DIFFICULT TO SIDE WITH THE UNION EVEN THOUGH YOU WANT TO BE ON THE FIELD NEXT YEAR?
"We do have to unite, because without that union the NFL would be able to do whatever they wanted with us. They could make us practice 24 hours a day, and it would be kind of out of control like it was in the past. Before the union, (players) were at the mercy of the owners and the coaches, and they didn't really have any say in it. The union is a very good thing and it has to be there and the players respect that and understand that. It's important to us. It's just frustrating that negotiations have to happen for a union in a business like that to exist. But you have to have an agreement, and until that happens, you have to do some arguing."
WHAT ARE YOUR NEXT GOALS?
"Everybody's goal every year is to continue to improve and to do everything they can to win that ring. My personal goals are always to improve. Every day I go out to practice and want to improve on at least one thing -- whether it's just one step or one minute tweak here or there. It's a big process, getting better and finding that perfection. I want to improve my numbers. I was a little bit disappointed last year with the sack numbers that I had. I was getting (to the quarterback), but the ball was gone. I've got to find something to do to get that one extra step or that extra inch. That's the great thing about the game. It's a challenge; it's always a challenge. And you'll always have somebody that's pushing you. It's going to be a good year I think. Right now we're locked out, but we've had a ton of guys coming to our player-organized workouts. We're building camaraderie and that's really all we can do at this point ... stay in shape and be ready to go when they decide to let us back in."