Berry Earns Pro Bowl Honors!

imaCafan

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Hugh Jass said:
Berry seems to be everything a Pro Bowl player should be--integrity and character off the field, and intensity and ability and production on it--congratulations to him.

Amen, brother!!! Agree 100%!!!!
 
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Angel

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Congratulations Mr. Berry.

It has been a privilege and a pleasure to watch you play this year.

:thumbup:
 

Jttsaz

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:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

YOU DA MAN BB!
Congrats...You were a terriffic Christmas present to us die hard Cards Fans!
 

40yearfan

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Congratulations BB. May this be the start of a long and prosperous (for you and the Cardinals) relationship. You've instilled a sense of pride and ambition in what used to be a very lackluster DL and you're worth to this team is immeasurable.

OK, where can I pick up a #92 jersey?
 

john h

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Jim O said:
Berry Earns Pro Bowl Honors
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, December 22, 2004

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Tempe, AZ – Arizona Cardinals defensive end Bertrand Berry has been selected to represent the NFC in the 2005 Pro Bowl.

This marks Berry’s first career selection and he becomes just the second defensive end in team history selected to the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl since it began following the 1970 season. The other was Simeon Rice in 1999, which was also the last year a Cardinal defender was selected (Rice and cornerback Aeneas Williams).

Berry, who signed with Arizona this past offseason from Denver, has proven to be the best free agent acquisition in team history. He is tied for the NFC lead with 12.5 sacks (Simeon Rice, Tampa Bay) and second in the NFL behind only Indianapolis’ Dwight Freeney (15.0). His 4.0 sacks of Giants QB Kurt Warner on November 14 were a career-high and matched the best single-game total in the NFL this season.

While the Pro Bowl teams are announced today, the starting lineups will not be announced until halftime of one of the two Wild Card games being playing on January 8 airing on ABC.

The 2005 Pro Bowl will be played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu on Sunday, February 13 and will be televised by ESPN.

- azcardinals.com -


Great pick and he deserves it.
 

Red Dawn

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Way to go, Bertrand!!! You are the man!!!

My wife is just becoming a football fan. I mentioned to her a few weeks ago that Berry was leading the league in sacks. She said "He's good, he's like a bulldog. He never gives up on a play". Not a bad observation!
 
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BACH

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Ryanwb said:
Somebody want to explain to me how Jeremiah Trotter made it to the Pro Bowl over Dansby???? 54 tackles and 1 sack? WTF??

Name-recognition.... Half of the players are in the pro-bowl because of their name. If you're stunned over Trotters selection, then take a look on the O-lines. You will be shocked!!!
 

azdad1978

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Berry earns Pro Bowl nod

By Darren Urban, Tribune

To clarify, he is Bertrand. Not Bert. “I am not a big fan of Bert,” Cardinals defensive end Bertrand Berry said. “It’s something I have been called since high school. You kind of deal with it. There are bigger fights to fight out there.”
Perhaps the message will be easier to get out there now, since he can add the phrase “Pro Bowler” before “Bertrand Berry.” Whatever he might be called, Berry’s play obviously got his name recognized by enough people to earn all-star honors for the first time Wednesday.

It was deserved after posting an outstanding season, including 12 1/2 sacks. And it was deserved after a career that was dead after a year out of football in 2000.

Asked to sum up his feelings about reaching the Pro Bowl just four seasons later, Berry was blunt.

“If I did that I might be in tears up here, to be honest,” Berry said. “It’s been a tremendous journey, one that has seen a lot of ups and downs.

“It’s a great story for young kids across the country, to know that if you stay with it and never give up on your dreams, good things will happen if you work at it.”

Berry was the only Cardinal to make the team, the fourth time in five years the Cards have had only one representative (the Cards had none in 2002). The other two NFC defensive ends are Carolina’s Julius Peppers and Atlanta’s Patrick Kerney.

It meant that Tampa Bay’s Simeon Rice, the one-time Cardinal who bailed on the team as a free agent after the 2000 season, did not get in.

“We like the idea of, in contrast of having some Pro Bowl players who are drafted here and left as soon as their contracts were up and scurried right out of here, we like the idea a guy scurried in here, that he would seek his fame and fortune here,” coach Dennis Green said.

Berry sat out football in 2000 after the Colts cut him following the 1999 season and the Rams cut him in training camp. An aborted stint in the Canadian Football League didn’t work that season either.

But Berry got another chance in Denver in 2001. This time, he didn’t waste the chance opportunity.

“When I first got into the league I really didn’t understand that it could be taken away from me at any given time,” Berry said. “It’s a very humbling experience and made this that much more sweeter, that I had some stumbling blocks along the way.”

As a part-time pass rusher, Berry had 11 1/2 sacks in 2003, leading into free agency. He became the perfect target for an Arizona franchise thirsty for a rush end. He signed a five-year, $25 million contract with a $5 million signing bonus, and could be considered a bargain.

Berry has not only blossomed as an every-down lineman, but has become the leader in the locker room for the entire team. As one example, Berry instituted a Thursday night get-together at a local restaurant for the defense, so they could bond.

His teammates spoke glowingly of Berry after the announcement, and weren’t even badgering him to tag along to Hawaii.

“As long as he brings me a pair of flip-flops back with the Pro Bowl on it, I’m good,” defensive tackle Darnell Dockett said.

He has quickly become the best free agent the team has ever signed.

“You wish you could be that fortunate with every (free-agent) player,” vice president of football operations Rod Graves said.

Berry chose not to say anything about his former team in Denver, after the Broncos chose not to keep him around. He knows he ended up in the perfect spot for his career.

If he wasn’t sure of that, the Pro Bowl selection hammered it home. “I didn’t get much sleep (Tuesday) night,” Berry said. “Last night I went back and forth how I would handle being chosen and not being chosen. I must say I am pretty numb right now. I can’t really put into words how happy I am right now.”

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=33572
 

azdad1978

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Incredible journey leads to Pro Bowl

Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 23, 2004 12:00 AM

Cardinals defensive end Bertrand Berry stood on a small platform Wednesday, surrounded by reporters and television cameras, and was asked to describe the odyssey that's taken him from unemployment to the Pro Bowl.

"Well, if I did that," he said, "I might be in tears up here."

Berry spent the 2000 season out of the NFL, wondering if he would ever get on the field again. On Wednesday, he was named to the Pro Bowl. It's the kind of story to which Disney buys the rights.



"It's been a tremendous journey," said Berry, in his seventh NFL season, "one that has seen a lot of ups and down. To be at this stage of my career, I can't put into words. It's a blessing."

Pro Bowl voting can be like a junior high election - a popularity contest that doesn't always reward the most deserving. But sometimes the voters - players, fans and coaches - get it right. That's the case with Berry.

Signed as a free agent from Denver last spring, Berry came to Arizona intent on being a leader and proving that he was worth the five-year, $25 million contract he signed. He's succeeded and could be the best free agent the Cardinals have ever signed.

He has 12.5 sacks, the most by a Cardinals player since Simeon Rice had 16.5 in 1999. And he's been a leader in the locker room, serving as a mentor to young players such as rookie defensive tackle Darnell Dockett.

"I was given a tremendous opportunity here," Berry said. "A lot of people looked at me this year to see how I responded to being given that type of salary, and I wanted to make sure people understood that I understood what it meant to be given that. I try to each and every day go out and make the most of it."

Berry was the only Cardinals player among the Pro Bowl selections. It will be a few weeks before the NFL announces the starters for the Feb. 13 game in Honolulu.

Coach Dennis Green called Berry the team's "No. 1 leader," and said his success is an indication that the Cardinals organization is improving.

"We like the idea that in contrast to having some Pro Bowl players who are drafted here and left as soon as their contracts were up and scurried right out of here, that a guy scurried right in here," he said.

Berry entered the league in 1997, drafted out of Notre Dame by Indianapolis in the third round. He began his career as a linebacker, moved to defensive end but never found a home in Indianapolis.

The Colts let him go after the 1999 season. Berry was cut by St. Louis in training camp in 2000 and spent the rest of that season out of the NFL.

He returned in 2001 with Denver, became a starter in 2003 and then signed with Arizona.

"When I was first in the league, I really didn't understand that it could be taken away from you at any given time," he said. "I learned real quick that you had to work at it. This year has kind of been a culmination of that hard work paying off."

Berry never pretended that making the Pro Bowl was unimportant to him. He hardly slept Tuesday night, he said, as he thought of how he would react when the selections were announced.

"It's a great story. I'm proud as heck of myself, to be honest," said Berry, who said the accolade wouldn't change his approach. "I'm going to go out the same, each and every day and approach it like I don't have any respect. I think in order for me to be on top of my game, that's how I have to do it."

The Cardinals have been just as pleased with Berry's off-the-field performance. Dockett has peppered him with questions all season, and on Wednesday, he had one more request of Berry.

"I told him as long as he brings me a pair of flip-flops back, I'm good," Dockett said.


http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/1223cards1223.html
 

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Bertram knows what it's like to be down and out only to work hard to get to the top.
There is no better example for the rest of this team to follow.
I can suggest a very good 5 star place to eat in Honolulu for him and my Mom would take very good care of him........
 
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