Cards Welcome Berry
Chrissy Mauck, azcardinals.com
The Arizona Cardinals hosted a morning press conference with Head Coach Dennis Green and newly signed defensive end Bertrand Berry on Sunday at the Cardinals Training Facility.
Berry, signed to bolster the Cardinals pass rush, will be lining up on the right side in Green’s under defense.
“We are going to play an under, and there are very few teams that play an under,” offered Green. “In the under, the nose tackle goes to the strong side most of the time and the end to the right side is on open space most of the time, so that the guy who plays beside him over the guard is an under tackle.”
“We are very excited, Bert will play at right end for us, an ideal position for us because of the style of defense we are going to play,” continued Green. “Primarily, it is an under defense with four men on the line. Bert will play that exciting right end position normally to the open end side. He’s an every down player where he is always applying pressure and we are excited about having him here.”
Berry weighed offers from the Broncos and the Cowboys before accepting the Cards offer on Saturday.
“I had to consider it, I was feeling very strongly about coming here but I had to look at the big picture and the big picture was my family,” he explained for wanting to return home to Denver on Friday before making his decision. “I felt like I owed them the opportunity to say that to me in person. She (his wife) said yes, I said yes.”
Berry credited the Cards new head coach for luring him to Arizona.
“I think the main key was Coach Green,” shared Berry. “I think anytime you consider a situation and where you are going to play you want to look at the guy who is going to lead you. He was very fired up about the situation and his plan for this team and I believed him. I believed in what he said and I felt like I could be a big part of that and he wanted me to be a big part of that.”
High hopes and expectations will now be placed on Berry’s shoulders to repeat his 11.5 sack performance from last year, but not a bad position to be in for a guy who spent the entire 2000 season out of football.
“I thought it was possible, but I didn’t think it was probable,” answered Berry when asked if he ever expected to be in the position where teams were vying for his services. “Any time you spend that amount of time out of the league, if you get an opportunity to get back in usually it is going to be to contribute on special teams or maybe a spot player, to give a guy a spell if he’s tired or something of that nature. I never felt that way about myself or my abilities. I always felt like I could be a number one guy. It was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time.”
Green may have been a determining factor in Berry’s decision to sign with Arizona, but fate may also have been involved in getting Berry to his rightful home. As Berry pointed out, this isn’t the first time he’s played for the Cardinals. He even had proof as he showed the media his Cardinals jersey with his name on the back, only it wasn’t an Arizona Cardinals jersey.
“I played for the Cardinals back in pee wee football,” revealed Berry. “The first time around with the Cardinals I won a Super Bowl. Hopefully, history will repeat itself. I am looking to winning games here and ultimately holding up that Lombardi trophy.”
Chrissy Mauck, azcardinals.com
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The Arizona Cardinals hosted a morning press conference with Head Coach Dennis Green and newly signed defensive end Bertrand Berry on Sunday at the Cardinals Training Facility.
Berry, signed to bolster the Cardinals pass rush, will be lining up on the right side in Green’s under defense.
“We are going to play an under, and there are very few teams that play an under,” offered Green. “In the under, the nose tackle goes to the strong side most of the time and the end to the right side is on open space most of the time, so that the guy who plays beside him over the guard is an under tackle.”
“We are very excited, Bert will play at right end for us, an ideal position for us because of the style of defense we are going to play,” continued Green. “Primarily, it is an under defense with four men on the line. Bert will play that exciting right end position normally to the open end side. He’s an every down player where he is always applying pressure and we are excited about having him here.”
Berry weighed offers from the Broncos and the Cowboys before accepting the Cards offer on Saturday.
“I had to consider it, I was feeling very strongly about coming here but I had to look at the big picture and the big picture was my family,” he explained for wanting to return home to Denver on Friday before making his decision. “I felt like I owed them the opportunity to say that to me in person. She (his wife) said yes, I said yes.”
Berry credited the Cards new head coach for luring him to Arizona.
“I think the main key was Coach Green,” shared Berry. “I think anytime you consider a situation and where you are going to play you want to look at the guy who is going to lead you. He was very fired up about the situation and his plan for this team and I believed him. I believed in what he said and I felt like I could be a big part of that and he wanted me to be a big part of that.”
High hopes and expectations will now be placed on Berry’s shoulders to repeat his 11.5 sack performance from last year, but not a bad position to be in for a guy who spent the entire 2000 season out of football.
“I thought it was possible, but I didn’t think it was probable,” answered Berry when asked if he ever expected to be in the position where teams were vying for his services. “Any time you spend that amount of time out of the league, if you get an opportunity to get back in usually it is going to be to contribute on special teams or maybe a spot player, to give a guy a spell if he’s tired or something of that nature. I never felt that way about myself or my abilities. I always felt like I could be a number one guy. It was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time.”
Green may have been a determining factor in Berry’s decision to sign with Arizona, but fate may also have been involved in getting Berry to his rightful home. As Berry pointed out, this isn’t the first time he’s played for the Cardinals. He even had proof as he showed the media his Cardinals jersey with his name on the back, only it wasn’t an Arizona Cardinals jersey.
“I played for the Cardinals back in pee wee football,” revealed Berry. “The first time around with the Cardinals I won a Super Bowl. Hopefully, history will repeat itself. I am looking to winning games here and ultimately holding up that Lombardi trophy.”
You must be registered for see images
