Cardinals' Berry gains stamina
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 10, 2007 10:10 PM
OAKLAND - Bertrand Berry turns 32 next week, but to hear his teammates' jokes, you would think it's 82. Every joke that starts with "you're so old," you can bet that Berry has heard it.
His favorite? "That I played defensive end for the Israelites."
Berry doesn't mind. In fact, he views the jokes as compliments of sorts.
"I take pride in it," he said. "It means I've been around for a while, and I'm obviously doing something right because they're keeping me around."
Berry has been through tribulations in his career. The Colts let him walk in 1999 after three seasons. St. Louis cut him in training camp that year and he sat out the season. He resurrected his career in three seasons in Denver, then signed with the Cardinals in 2004.
That was a magical year for Berry, who finished with 14.5 sacks and made his first Pro Bowl. The last two years, however, have been trying. A torn pectoral muscle ended his 2005 season after eight games.
Last year, he didn't produce at the level expected. He had three sacks in Oakland, where the Cardinals play a preseason game tonight, but that was half of his season total. A torn triceps caused him to miss the final six games.
When you've missed that much time, when you're turning 32, when you're making $4 million a year, people start to wonder how much longer you'll be around.
Judging by how Berry looks and how he's played in training camp, he could be around for several more years. He has lost about 15 pounds, down to 256, and appears as quick as ever coming off the offensive tackle's shoulder.
"I've really re-dedicated myself physically to being a better-conditioned athlete," he said. "When I got here in '04, I felt like I was a very well-conditioned athlete. I could go pretty much start to finish in a game."
And the past two years?
"I didn't like the way I looked and to be honest I did wear down at the end of games," he said. "I felt like there was more holding on than being aggressive. In years past, I always prided myself on being in better condition than my opponent. The last couple years, for whatever reason, I didn't feel that way.
"I looked at myself on tape and I just didn't look like the same athlete I was in years past. I made a concerted effort to drop the pounds, use my quickness and get back to that type of game and see what happens."
Berry's return to form is critical for a defense that is not overloaded with pass rushers. Although Berry has been moved from end to outside linebacker in the 3-4 alignment, his duties won't change much from when he was a defensive end in a 4-3.
It should help that he won't be matched up head-on with a tackle as often. The idea is to get Berry on the edge of the offensive formation and let him use his speed and quickness.
"It seems to me he has a little spring in his step," coach Ken Whisenhunt said, "and that's exciting. Obviously, he's done a lot of work in the off-season and he looks good."
While his job title might have changes, Berry's duties haven't. He downplays the position change, saying he is performing many of the same tasks, only from a standing position, versus a stance.
"The terminology hasn't changed, the position hasn't changed," Berry said. "Everybody has this perception that the defense has changed and made a big overhaul, but it really hasn't."
When Berry's title was changed to outside linebacker, there was a perception that he wouldn't rush the pass as much, that he sometimes would drop into pass coverage. That's not likely to happen.
"I'm not here to make decisions, I'm here to play and whatever they tell me to do, I'm going to do," Berry said. "I don't think they're going to set me up for failure or put me in a bad position, so I trust them 100 percent and we're going to get this thing done."
The way he feels, Berry thinks he could play several more years. But he's also making post-career plans. In the off-season, he participated in the NFL Broadcast Boot Camp, a program directed by the league's broadcasting department.
Twenty players participated in many facets of production, including taping segments as color analysts and studio hosts. Network executives then critiqued them, and they were brutally honest.
"When you do something like that, it shouldn't be a show pony kind of deal," Berry said. "It wasn't that at all and I really appreciated that. I took it to heart and I'll be working on it from here on."
But for now, his next career might have to wait a few years.
"Hopefully, I don't have to go into that field any time soon," he said.
