Rookie linebacker James Laurinaitis one of the few bright spots for Rams
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By Chip Scoggins
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
(MCT)
MINNEAPOLIS — Like many Minnesotans, James Laurinaitis didn't care much for Brett Favre when Favre wore the Green Bay Packers uniform.
Laurinaitis, a diehard Vikings fan as a kid, respected Favre as a player but rooted against him for so many years.
"If he was on your team you would love him, but if he's on the other team you can't stand him because you know you want your guy to be like that," Laurinaitis said. "It definitely was something that you didn't like him when he was running around at Lambeau Field."
Favre is still running around — albeit in a different uniform — and now Laurinaitis gets his chance to chase the future Hall of Fame quarterback.
The former Wayzata High and Ohio State standout is a starting rookie middle linebacker and one of the few bright spots for the 0-4 St. Louis Rams. Laurinaitis will face Favre and the Vikings in his fifth career game Sunday in St. Louis.
"It's definitely going to be pretty cool," Laurinaitis said. "I would be lying if I said it wouldn't be, growing up as a Vikings fan in Minnesota, obviously watching him in Green Bay twice a year do his thing. I think as an athlete and as a football player, I have a ton of respect for him. You sense that when he plays the game of football he has a passion and love of the game that you don't see a whole ton across the board."
Laurinaitis is winning over Rams fans with his passion and on-field performance. A second-round draft pick (No. 35 overall), Laurinaitis leads the Rams and all NFL rookies with 38 tackles.
In his NFL debut, Laurinaitis collected a team-high 14 tackles and forced and recovered a fumble against Seattle.
"He has done a terrific job for us," Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said. "It's not easy. It's tough, in and of itself, being a rookie in this league and I would add to that being the (middle) linebacker in our system. We ask him to do a lot from the chin to the hairline. He handles it terrifically, and I think the guys trust him."
Laurinaitis entered the NFL with stellar credentials. He was a three-time All-America at Ohio State and won a trophy case full of hardware, including the Butkus Award, the Nagurski Award and the Lott Trophy. Much as he did at Ohio State, Laurinaitis earned a starting job early in his career by showing he can handle both the mental and physical demands at middle linebacker. The Rams have entrusted him to make all the defensive calls.
"I've been making calls since I was a junior in high school," he said. "I am used to that, and there are just more of them now."
Vikings coach Brad Childress said he's not surprised that Laurinaitis holds so much responsibility based on his evaluation in scouting him for the draft.
"I thought he has an 'A' football IQ," Childress said. "He was and is going to be a very good football player. He is making all the checks, and he has a great aptitude. He will just be learning some of those hard lessons as you go."
Said Spagnuolo: "He has some football intelligence to him. He loves this game. He studies it tremendously. I think all that adds up to a guy that can understand what we are doing. He's not perfect. None of us are, but he has done a really good job."
Laurinaitis isn't used to losing, though. He lost eight games in four seasons at Ohio State. He's already experienced half as many losses in his brief NFL career. That number likely will increase to five Sunday when he gets to face Favre and his hometown team.
"It will be exciting," he said. "It will be different than any other team because I will get phone calls from family and extended family saying, 'Hey, you're playing so and so.' I'm like, 'Really, I didn't know that.'"
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(c) 2009, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
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