Kyle V.B.

[kramer]

Anyone noticing VandenBosch ripping it up this year?

 

DE turning opportunity into big payday

 

By Len Pasquarelli

ESPN.com

Archive

 

Despite the commonly held perception that the NFL free agency process is a run-amok system shy on fiscal responsibility and rife with overpaid underachievers, in 13 years of player movement there nonetheless have been a number of veterans who have paid big dividends on modest contracts.

 

Few of those players, however, have ever outplayed their free agency deals to the extent that Tennessee Titans defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch has this season. In a season in which about three dozen unrestricted free agents relocated for just league minimum base salaries, and then won starting jobs with their new franchises, Vanden Bosch appears to be the biggest winner of all.

 

The five-year veteran, whose once-promising NFL career was nearly ruined by a pair of catastrophic knee injuries while playing with the Arizona Cardinals, is certainly making good on his second chance. And making Tennessee officials, who plucked him off the unrestricted free-agent scrap heap this spring, look very good, indeed.

 

For an investment of just $540,000, the league minimum base salary for a player with four seasons of accrued tenure, the Titans are getting maximum return on the dollar, and then some. All because they were willing to give Vanden Bosch, a player who collected nearly as many surgical scars as sacks in his first four seasons, a chance to get his career back on track.

 

 

 

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Vanden Bosch has recorded multiple sacks in four games this season.

"After being in the league for a few years," Vanden Bosch said, "you see guys you think can still play or still help a team, and they just get phased out, because they don't get a second chance. I could have been one of those guys. When free agency started slowly, with only about three or four teams [indicating an interest], I kind of panicked. I just wanted to land in a situation where I could get a chance again. But I mean, realistically, I didn't think it would be like this."

 

Here is what this has become for Vanden Bosch, the Cardinals' second-round pick in the 2001 draft, who logged only 35 appearances and 20 starts in his four previous seasons: He has started in all 12 games and has 10½ sacks, just a half-sack behind the co-league leaders, fellow ends Osi Umenyiora of the New York Giants and Derrick Burgess of Oakland. Had his two sacks of Peyton Manning in last week's loss at Indianapolis not be negated by penalties, Vanden Bosch would stand alone at the summit of the quarterback takedown mountain. The 10½ sacks are not just a career high, and the most by a Titans defender since Jevon Kearse posted 11½ sacks in 2000, but are more than double the four sacks Vanden Bosch had with the Cardinals.

 

Vanden Bosch, who tends to get sacks in bunches, has at least one in six contests. And he has four multiple-sack games. He is second among AFC defensive ends, trailing only Indianapolis' Dwight Freeney, in the fan voting for the Pro Bowl game. And Vanden Bosch has to be on the short list of candidates for comeback player of the year honors. Not bad for a guy written off by most clubs, even those desperate for a No. 3 or No. 4 end to audition in training camp.

 

This has been, in Vanden Bosch's words, "a dream season." And he hopes that no one pinches him and wakes him up for at least another month.

 

If it has all been a little dizzying for Vanden Bosch, he certainly hasn't lost his equilibrium. Or his sense of loyalty.

 

Vanden Bosch, 27, is likely to collect some awards for his play this season, and could be in for some financial rewards next spring, whether it's from the Titans or from some team that pursues him in free agency. Because he signed just a one-year contract, Vanden Bosch will be eligible to test the market again in March, provided he doesn't sign an extension with Tennessee before then.

 

Titans general manager Floyd Reese has made it no secret that he wants to keep Vanden Bosch beyond this season, but with Tennessee typically cap-strapped at present, it will be virtually impossible to re-up the resurgent defensive end before the campaign concludes. For his part, Vanden Bosch reiterated this week his preference for staying in Tennessee, but there is little doubt he will be popular with other teams if he gets on the open market. While he probably would not command a blockbuster contract, Vanden Bosch, assuming he remains healthy for the final month of the year, would likely be offered deals more commensurate to those of midlevel starters.

 

Of the other veteran players currently eligible for unrestricted free agency in March, only five -- Marco Coleman (Denver), Darren Howard (New Orleans), John Abraham (New York Jets), Lance Johnstone (Minnesota) and Marcellus Wiley (Jacksonville) -- have registered double-digit sack seasons. Coleman, Wiley and Johnstone are all on the wrong side of 30 and considered well into their NFL dotage. Howard and Abraham, both of whom are currently playing under the one-year qualifying offer for a "franchise" end, could be tagged again next spring. And if they aren't, it will take a boatload of money to sign them.

 

Although he will still be viewed through the prism of skepticism by some franchises that might consider his 2005 performance an aberration, Vanden Bosch would be a solid addition, and one who wouldn't sink any team's salary cap. Suffice it to say, if Vanden Bosch makes it to free agency, his phone, and that of agent Toy Agnone won't be nearly as mute as it was at times last spring.

 

"Trust me," one veteran AFC pro personnel director said, "there are a lot of teams hoping [the Titans] can't afford him. He might not break the bank, but he'll bust his ass for you. I mean, you know what you're getting with him, and you can't say that about a lot of the guys you bring in as free agents. He's got a big motor and a huge heart. His skills are good enough. He plays the run well enough and he'll get you 8-10 sacks, it looks like. He's been hurt a lot, and absolutely, that's a factor you have to consider. But you also take into account what he's been through and how he's salvaged his career. And he's not an old guy, so he's got good years still in front of him."

 

Not surprisingly, Vanden Bosch eschews nearly all discussion of his future, and that is understandable, since he's only recently been able to relegate most of the first four years of his professional career to life's rearview mirror.

 

Chosen out of Nebraska by Arizona with the third pick in the second round of the 2001 draft, Vanden Bosch was projected as a solid, two-way defender and earned a starting spot in his first training camp. But after the first three games of his debut season, Vanden Bosch suffered an ankle injury that sidelined him two weeks. Upon his return to practice, he tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments of his right knee when a teammate rolled up the back of his leg, and the subsequent surgery ended his season.

 

He returned in 2002 and started all 16 games, but in the 2003 preseason, Vanden Bosch tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and sat out the entire campaign. In '04, he appeared in all 16 games, with just one start, and registered a modest 15 tackles and no sacks. His four-year total in Arizona: Nearly as many games missed (29) as appearances (35), just 93 tackles, four sacks and two fumble recoveries.

 

Oh, yeah, and a huge question mark hanging over his career. One that not even he was fully confident he could expunge.

 

"Even last year, when I was able to play all 16 games, I wasn't right," Vanden Bosch said. "I had tendinitis in my knees and it got to the point where I was simply trying to survive. I mean, the Cardinals, give them credit, they put me in position to make some plays. But I couldn't make them. It was frustrating. You watch the tape and see a pretty good opportunity for a play, and you know you didn't make it because your body just wouldn't allow you to get to it, and that's bad. Plus, I played tentatively, you know? I'd see myself on tape looking around to make sure no one rolled up on me. I was way too conscious of where people were around me, and you can't play like that.

 

"But as bad as it was, I just couldn't quit, because that's not my nature. I wasn't going to be one of those guys who regrets not giving it everything he's got, giving it another shot. I just wanted to get to the offseason and get myself healthy again, get someplace where I might be able to re-establish myself, and prove that I still belonged in the league."

 

 

“ If someone told you that they knew this would happen for Kyle, I mean, they'd have to be [lying to] you. Or they'd have to own a crystal ball or something.”

—Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz

 

Fortunately for Vanden Bosch, coach Jeff Fisher and Reese were seeking a reasonably priced veteran who could come in and, in part, serve as a mentor to a young defensive end depth chart that does not include a single player with more than two seasons of NFL seniority. And fortunately for the Titans, linebackers coach Dave McGinnis was the head coach at Arizona when Vanden Bosch was chosen there in 2001, and was adept at the hard sell in recruiting him.

 

There is no animosity toward the Arizona organization because Vanden Bosch, a pretty pragmatic guy, understands that the Cardinals could not reconcile keeping him, given his bulging medical dossier. It is ironic, though, that the Cardinals signed former Seattle and San Francisco defensive end Chike Okeafor as an unrestricted free agent in the spring, and gave him a five-year, $25 million contract, and that he's got only 4½ sacks. But as Cardinals coach Dennis Green emphasized, sometimes players don't succeed in the NFL until they get to the right place.

 

When it came to resuscitating his career, Nashville, Tenn., has proven to be precisely the right place for Kyle Vanden Bosch.

 

Truth be told, though, the Titans got even more than they bargained for in their bargain-basement acquisition. In addition to his obvious leadership -- "He sets the tone for all of us," starting defensive end Antwan Odom said -- the hard-working Vanden Bosch has been even better than advertised on the field. He is more stout against the run than the Titans were led to believe, and his pass-rush skills have improved significantly under Jim Washburn, one of the NFL's best defensive line coaches. Like most pass rushers, Vanden Bosch concedes that sacks are a function of many things, including good fortune.

 

"Sacks are funny things," he said. "Just because I wasn't getting them before, it wasn't for a lack of effort. But coming here, it was like a light went on. Now there aren't many plays where I'm not getting chipped or double-teamed. But I'm still getting [sacks]."

 

Vanden Bosch is quick to credit Washburn with upgrading some small but key elements of his game, and it's obvious there is a mutual respect between the two.

 

"With the way he grew up, the way he was raised, he just has something special inside of him that is really unique," Washburn, an old-school coach with old-fashioned values and an absence of hyperbole, told the Nashville Tennessean earlier this season. "As far as guys who work hard all the time, he's the No. 1 guy I've ever had in my life."

 

There was a time this summer, about halfway through training camp, Tennessee coaches claim (and Vanden Bosch mildly disputes), when the defensive end seemed to hit the wall physically. But the Titans coaches and team officials hung with him because they believed, thanks in part to McGinnis' endorsement, that Vanden Bosch's motor would start revving again once he acclimated to an increased workload.

 

That his motor is never really idling is a product of Vanden Bosch's upbringing, the classic Midwest rearing that demands all-out effort at all times.

 

Vanden Bosch began working in his father's business, D&L Masonry in Larchwood, Iowa, at age 12. While other kids were sleeping in on Saturday mornings, Vanden Bosch was carrying bricks, sweeping floors, shoveling sand, pushing wheelbarrows filled with cement, and toting 40-pound concrete blocks. Both Vanden Bosch and his father, Doug, agree that football seemed a lot more fun after working at masonry, and that hauling cement blocks provided a solid foundation for the youngster.

 

"My dad, he wanted his kids to work hard and to understand what hard work is really all about," Vanden Bosch said. "Looking back, it was a good lesson."

 

Certainly there will be new lessons to be learned -- as was the case Sunday, when Washburn and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz moved Vanden Bosch into a nine-technique stance, very wide and off the ball, to keep him out of traffic as he attacked the supposedly impenetrable Indianapolis pass protection scheme. Vanden Bosch isn't sure yet what those lessons will entail, but given that he has rediscovered his self-confidence this year and rebuilt his career, he seems ready for just about anything.

 

Whether it's in Tennessee or elsewhere, and their preferences are clear, the Tennessee coaches feel like Vanden Bosch will continue to get better.

 

"Let's be honest," said Schwartz, one of the NFL's brightest defensive minds, runner-up to Mike Nolan for the San Francisco head coach job this offseason, and destined to soon be running a program of his own. "If someone told you that they knew this would happen for Kyle, I mean, they'd have to be [lying to] you. Or they'd have to own a crystal ball or something. But it did happen and it's a testament to him. All he really asked for was for someone to give him another shot, and he'd take it from there.

 

"He's been worth every cent and then some. And you can't say that about very many free agents, can you?"

 

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. To check out Len's chat archive, click here .

[Eric the Red]

Him abd Mike Brown are the best ex huskers right now. Wistrom and that DB from KC are pretty consistent.

[StuckinChicago]

Will Shields? I think he should be thrown into that group. He is a perrenial pro bowler.

[huskerstag]

Rucker has done well the past couple of seasons but I haven't followed him that closely this year. You can't help but be happy for VB though.

[huskerguy]

Eric Warfield is a terrible ex-husker. Kyle VB is doing great for my titans right now . Also Demorrio Williams is leading all LBs in Pro Bowl votes.

[pigsonthewing]

im really happy kyle has been able to work his way through his injuries. wish they'd pay him a little more if you know what i mean. always gotta root for the ex-huskers..

[kc_husker]

Eric Warfield is a terrible ex-husker. Kyle VB is doing great for my titans right now . Also Demorrio Williams is leading all LBs in Pro Bowl votes.

Warfeild is not terrible not gteat but not terrible. He is a safety playing cornerback.

[KansasHusker]

Eric Warfield is a terrible ex-husker. Kyle VB is doing great for my titans right now . Also Demorrio Williams is leading all LBs in Pro Bowl votes.

Warfeild is not terrible not gteat but not terrible. He is a safety playing cornerback.

he may not be great, but I like warfield...he often comes up with huge plays for the chiefs...

[huskerguy]

Warfield misses SO many plays and after them he acts hurt... I watched him play in KC and it was embarrasing to call him a husker. They picked him apart all day.

[Blackshirtsguru]

Warfield misses SO many plays and after them he acts hurt... I watched him play in KC and it was embarrasing to call him a husker. They picked him apart all day.

Not too mention his three DWI convictions!

[Eric the Red]

From bench to breakout

 

MATT ZIMMER

mzimmer@argusleader.com

 

Article Published: 12/18/05, 2:55 am

 

After a promising beginning, the NFL career of Larchwood, Iowa, native Kyle Vanden Bosch seemed to have disappeared.

 

A series of knee injuries and a coaching change in Arizona pushed the former Nebraska Cornhusker out of the Cardinals plans, and, by the summer of 2005, out of a job.

 

But after being pulled off the scrap heap by the Tennessee Titans, Vanden Bosch is back in a big way.

 

ADVERTISMENT

 

With the two sacks he picked up in the Titans' 13-10 win over the Houston Texans last Sunday, the 27-year old defensive end is second in the NFL with 121/4 takedowns, surging toward a likely berth in the Pro-Bowl and a hefty pay day as soon as his one-year, $540,000 contract expires.

 

He's being mentioned as a candidate for NFL Comeback Player of the Year, and in a recent story on ESPN.com, it was reported that NFL front-office types are calling Vanden Bosch the best bargain in the history of NFL free agency.

 

Not bad for a guy who took a minimum salary deal, just hoping for another chance to prove himself.

 

"I never dreamed of having this kind of season," Vanden Bosch said Wednesday from Seattle, where he was preparing to face the Seahawks today. "I thought I could continue playing at this level, but I didn't expect this."

 

 

A tortuous journey

 

Vanden Bosch emerged from West Lyon High School, where he was a four-year starter. He remains the school's all-time leading scorer.

 

"I remember taking him to a Nebraska football camp when he was a sophomore, and thinking he was already just as big as most of the guys there," recalls Jay Rozeboom, West Lyon's head coach. "At that point, I figured he might have a chance to be something special."

 

After being named the Gatorade Iowa high school player of the year, Vanden Bosch played for the Cornhuskers, where he finished his career with 142 tackles and 13 sacks, earning All-Big 12 honors as a senior.

 

Everything seemed to come together after he was taken in the second-round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Cardinals, but Vanden Bosch saw his rookie season cut short when he tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee.

 

He bounced back in 2002, making 31/4 sacks and adding 66 tackles, but in 2003 he tore the ACL in his other knee and missed the entire season.

 

With two devastating injuries in just three seasons, Vanden Bosch worried his NFL opportunity was gone.

 

"After I tore my ACL the second time, I really wasn't sure," he said. "The NFL doesn't wait around for guys and give them second and third chances. I've seen good players get left behind so I just didn't know."

 

When he returned in 2004, there didn't seem to be a spot for him in new coach Dennis Green's lineup.

 

He played in all 16 games but only recorded 13 tackles. In the offseason, the Cards let him go to Tennessee the following spring.

 

It turned out to be a sweet deal for both player and new employer.

 

The Titans received a bright spot for a mostly disappointing 4-9 season, while Vanden Bosch saw his plan for redemption come to fruition.

 

"This is what I wanted," Vanden Bosch says. "I didn't want a two or three-year deal - I wanted a one-year deal. My agent and I figured this was the best plan. If I had a good year, I knew I'd be set up for a long-term deal."

 

Titans coach Jeff Fischer is thankful that he lucked out and landed Vanden Bosch.

 

"He's having a great year for us," Fischer said in his post-game press conference last Sunday. "He doesn't come off the field and he plays hard every play. He's deserving of all the recognition he can get."

 

 

Hard work paying off

 

When people talk about Vanden Bosch, whether it's friends and family from Larchwood or pro scouts, one common theme is his work ethic.

 

The Titans defensive line coach spelled it out in simple terms.

 

"As far as guys who work hard all the time," Washburn said. "He's the No. 1 guy I've ever had in my life."

 

And the work is paying off. Had two sacks of Indianapolis superstar Peyton Manning in week 13 not been nullified by penalty, Vanden Bosch would be No. 1 in the league's sexiest defensive statistic.

 

Since sacks are generally the stat by which defensive ends are measured, Vanden Bosch has an excellent chance to punch a ticket to Honolulu for February's Pro Bowl, the NFL All-Star game.

 

"Typically when they vote, they're going to go across the board and take guys that have sacks," Fischer said. "So I'd say he has a chance."

 

The Pro Bowl is something Vanden Bosch doesn't think much about.

 

"It's all icing on the cake," he said. "I never dreamed of being among the top sack guys in the league or having my name mentioned for the Pro Bowl."

 

Rozeboom, meanwhile, says he never doubted his former player's ability to rank among the league's best.

 

"I was hoping he'd get another opportunity," Rozeboom said. "Because once he got it - knowing him and his work ethic - he'd really have a chance to shine."

 

The one honor that Vanden Bosch admits would be special is the Comeback award.

 

"That'd be a tremendous honor," he said. "In this league, there are a lot of highs and lows, and I've been through the lows. Hopefully. anything that comes along from here on out will be highs."

 

As for what happens after this season and the possibility of big money coming his way, Vanden Bosch said he would like to remain in Tennessee, showing loyalty to the team that gave him a second chance. But, the idea of playing for a winner is intriguing. He hopes he can do both in Nashville.

 

"I've been on losing teams every year of my career - I want to win," Vanden Bosch said. "I want to have a shot at the Super Bowl. I have to weigh what the chances are to do that here. I think we have a chance to turn it around because we have a great coaching staff and I think we're showing promise."

 

But that's for the offseason. There are still three games left this season - four if he gets that invite to Honolulu.

 

Unfortunately, for those of you in Larchwood hoping to tag along to Hawaii, you'd better start saving your pennies.

 

"Just family," Vanden Bosch laughed. "Anyone else can pay themselves."

 

To which Rozeboom said: "Maybe he can pack me in his suitcase."

[Valentine]

I am a Husker 1st and a Titan 2nd!!! I met VB during training camp this year in Nashville!! I couldn't believe they signed him!! He looked really good then!! I knew he was going to make an impact this year!!! I just hope the Titans can resign him!!

[pigsonthewing]

dont know if this was previously reported but i think K.V.B. is goin probowl. saw it on the espn site. Congrats Kyle! should get comeback player of the year imo.

[HuskersGJ]

as for Warfield, three DWIs may make him troubled but by all accounts he's a class guy. he also does charity work etc etc, he just likes (liked?) to party a little tooooo much. hopefully that's behind him now.

 

dont know if this was previously reported but i think K.V.B. is goin probowl

I believe the official announcement on Pro Bowlers is Wednesday. Last I'd seen, KVB was second or so in AFC DE voting.

 

FWIW, Demorrio Williams was #1 in voting at the OLB position.

Also, Will Shields is near-automatic for the Pro Bowl every year and as this may very well his last season, he'll probably make it this year too.

 

That's a possible 3 pro bowlers.

I think the last time NU had three voted Pro Bowlers was in '97 (Fryar, N.Smith, Shields). they had 3 in 2004 but Rucker was a late addition from the coaches.

 

According to one columnist's opinion, NU could have 5: DWilliams, Shields, KVB and Minter & Mike Brown. I don't know how much of a chance the latter two have this year but it would be nice if at least one of those two safeties Finally got a PB invite. I personally don't expect that this year though.

[huskered17]

Great article on K.B. I kept up with him when he was with the Cardinals, since they are only 125 miles up the highway from Tucson. Glad to see hes made the most out of his chance to play again. Wish all the former Huskers the best.

 

GBR!!!