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View Full Version : Lost Season Fuels Fire



Denver Native (Carol)
03-02-2010, 10:38 PM
http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=9893

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Sometimes the injury isn't the most painful part.

Last August, just four days into training camp, Nick Greisen went down with a knee injury and was carted off the field.

A day later the news came back -- he would be placed on injured reserve, ending his eighth season in the league before it began.

"It was tough just to have to sit and watch the whole time," said Greisen, noting it was the first time he had ever been placed on injured reserve. "Being around here every single day, seeing guys, the ups and downs, it's tough when you're not a part of it -- the victories and the losses. You don't grow as close with the guys and build camaraderie because you're not out there."

But even though Greisen wasn't on the field battling with his teammates, he stuck around Dove Valley all season, rehabbing his knee with Head Athletic Trainer Steve Antonopulos.

That was Greisen's choice. Not only did he want to work with trainers who specialize in treating football injuries, but he wanted to motivate himself to get back on the field, even though watching his teammates go through the grind of a season without him was one of the hardest things he has ever gone through.

The upside? He got a chance to be with his family far more than his typical schedule would allow.

"I have a daughter that's just turning a year old, so having the time to spend with her, to watch her grow up, that's probably the only blessing about it," he said. "Other than that, it was kind of painful."

And that's to be expected from a competitive player used to producing any way he can. He had at least 70 tackles during three consecutive seasons from 2004-06, when he started 30 games, and he owns 63 career special-teams stops. Then he saw his streak of six consecutive seasons of playing in at least 14 games come to a screeching halt.

Head Coach Josh McDaniels mentioned that he was excited to bring Greisen to the Broncos because of the leadership he could provide to some of the younger players. Greisen said he was ready to take on that role due to everything he has experienced in the league -- "great seasons, bad seasons, emotional seasons, ups and downs," -- and his knowledge of how to be a professional on and off the field.

But he never got the chance to be that leader this season, and he was disappointed that an injury prevented him from doing what he loves to do. Now, Greisen has come to grips with the fact that a season fell to the wayside, and he has managed to look at the experience as a positive.

"I almost actually have a step up on the guys, because I didn't have to put my body through all the games and have to recover," he said. "Now they get the opportunity to take that time off, which most of them will -- they'll take a month to two months off to let their bodies rest, and come back and have to start all over in the offseason, whereas I had that time during the season to give my knee a rest. Now I'll be able to come into the offseason full strength and be able to just climb from there."

That climbing process started with a six-month rehab stint, which came to a close in February. As soon as the season was over, Greisen set the start of free agency as the point when he hoped to be "back fully healthy." Free agency kicks off on Friday, so the linebacker, who will be entering his ninth year in the league, is moving forward with the 2010 campaign firmly in his sights.

"I've actually gotten real excited about what next year holds for me," Greisen said. "I came in here and I really had three or four days of training camp, and none of the guys really got to know me as a football player and what I can do on the field. I actually have been in the league for eight years for a good reason -- it's not just that I've slipped through the cracks, but because I was able to succeed in the NFL and help teams win.

"Hopefully next year I'll get that opportunity to prove to guys that I deserve to be here."