Four weeks ago, former Brigham Young Cougars linebacker
Brady Poppinga was out of football. After playing six seasons for the Green Bay
Packers, including the 2010 season when the Packers won the Super Bowl,
Poppinga injured his knee and was not brought back for the 2011 season. He
popped up in St. Louis the next
year and made 51 tackles in 15 games. That wasn’t good enough to satisfy Rams’
management, and he was without a place to play in 2012. Then he got a call from
the Dallas Cowboys.
In an interview with Poppinga last week, he called himself a
“utility knife” when asked what his role was with the Cowboys. He clarified that statement by saying, “I am used wherever a
need arises.”
Those needs have been many in the few short weeks that he
has been with the team. His first week, Poppinga did not play. In his second
week, the Cowboys found a need for Poppinga on special teams. He didn’t
disappoint and made two tackles on kickoffs. By week three, Poppinga had a role
in a special defensive package that the Cowboys defense used on the first play
of the game. It paid off for Poppinga as he made the tackle on the play.
The coaches must have been impressed with Poppinga’s three
tackles in limited action his first two games because he saw a lot more playing
time last Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. Poppinga recorded five tackles
to reach the 300 tackle milestone for his career.
Playing a role on the field during game day is just part of
becoming integrated with the team. Being part of the team in the locker room
and beyond is important in such a grueling sport. By joining Dallas
11 games into the season, Poppinga missed out on opportunities to build bonds
with the rest of the team during the hot days of training camp and experiencing
the ups and downs during the first two-thirds of the season.
The day before he would play his first game, the Cowboys
organization would experience a tragedy that helped Poppinga make up for lost
time. Jerry Brown, a linebacker on the practice squad, was killed in a car
accident. Teammate Josh Brent was charged with intoxication manslaughter. This
unfortunate course of events that Poppinga was now experiencing with the rest
of the team helped him form bonds smoother and quicker with his new
teammates.
“It helps see people in a different light,” Poppinga
explained. “A lot of the barriers that exist in relationships to know people
disappear. People become more emotional. It did wonders in breaking down
barriers.”
It was a little surprising that Poppinga had to wait until
week 12 of the NFL season to join a team. Besides the 51 tackles he made with
the Rams, he also had one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, and two pass
breakups. Clearly, he had fully recovered from the knee injury a year before.
Poppinga isn’t the only former BYU linebacker to struggle
with finding work in the NFL. Other linebackers who have had outstanding
careers in Provo , and who have all
the measurables that the NFL is looking for have been bouncing around from team
to team. It makes one wonder if linebackers from BYU are looked down on by NFL decision
makers.
Poppinga refutes this hypothesis.
“I wouldn’t say there is a bias, but that is not an absolute
statement” Poppinga said.
He acknowledged that human nature involves biases in almost
all decision making, which would include picking players for a football team.
However, he does not think that being labeled a BYU linebacker is one of those
human biases in the NFL.
“I don’t think there is anything against BYU linebackers,”
Poppinga added. “You would be closing yourself off from really good players” if
players from certain schools were automatically eliminated from the evaluation
process.
If Poppinga is correct, then that bodes well for current BYU
linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who may make the jump to the NFL a year early.
Poppinga called Van Noy a “good player” who’s game should “translate well” to
the NFL, but he also had some reservations.
“He needs to work on physicality at the point of attack,”
Poppinga critiqued. “He needs to show he can defeat offensive linemen in
one-on-one situations. A lot of his sacks are when he runs down quarterbacks.”
Poppinga hasn’t watched all the top outside linebacker
prospects, but he surmised that many of them may need to improve in that same
area.
The Editor appreciates all feedback. He can be reached via email at bluecougarfootball@gmail.com
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