Sperm Edwards Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 Brick's house of pancakes BY RICH CIMINI DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER First-round pick D'Brickashaw Ferguson heats up at Jets camp, serving up pancakes to would-be pass rushers in impressive blocking workout. The Jets saw the future yesterday. It came in the form of a stack of pancakes. Rookie left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson turned a one-on-one pass-blocking drill into a personal highlight film, manhandling one rusher after another in a display of dominance that left coaches and players buzzing at Hofstra. "You saw that anger, that fire, that competitiveness," said coach Eric Mangini, gushing about the fourth pick in the draft. "It was encouraging." Actually, Ferguson needed some prodding from line coach Tony Wise, who got into his prized pupil's face after a lackluster effort against Bryan Thomas in the same drill. Suddenly, D'Brick was D'Bomb. He huffed and puffed and blew away half the defensive line. Without a chance to rest, Ferguson was ordered to line up against Trevor Johnson. At the sound of the whistle, the young pup shifted smoothly out of his three-point stance and into his pass-protection set. He proceeded to plant Johnson into the artificial turf. Pancake No. 1. "You have to get him (ticked) off," Wise announced to no one in particular, realizing he had pushed the right button in Ferguson. Instead of giving Ferguson a pat on the rear and sending him to the end of the line, Wise made him go again. In came the next pass rusher, Dave Ball. Down went Ball. Pancake No. 2. After a one-play respite, Wise ordered Ferguson back on the line. Mind you, the heat index was 104, enough to sap most players after a single one-on-one confrontation. Not Ferguson. Thomas' turn again. It was over quickly. Pancake No. 3. By now, the spectators, most of whom probably don't pay attention to mundane pass-rushing drills, were murmuring. "That's three!" one fan called out. The Jets' quarterbacks, under siege last season because of a porous offensive line, are going to love the Ferguson show when they see it on film. No, he didn't face a Murderer's Row of pass rushers, but Johnson, Ball and Thomas aren't exactly training-camp meat, either. "I was just trying to do what my coach tells me," Ferguson said afterward, shrugging off his hat trick. At 6-6, 312 pounds, with nimble feet and a seven-foot wingspan, Ferguson is the prototypical left tackle. The Jets think so; they gave him a five-year, $27.5 million contract that includes $17.6 million in guarantees. If there's a knock on him, it's that he can be laid-back, bringing his off-the-field persona into the huddle. "A lot of guys need to be prodded," said Mangini, downplaying that notion. "I don't think Brick has the market cornered on that." Say this for Ferguson: He's humble and eager to learn, admitting that every day is a new adventure for him. He's not perfect. Blocking the cagey Kimo von Oelhoffen in a one-on-one drill, he got caught leaning one way and was beaten soundly with a "swim" move. Nevertheless, teammates marvel at his mental focus. "He's not like most rookies," defensive end Shaun Ellis said. "He played for Al Groh in college. If that doesn't get you right, nothing will." Ferguson is a gifted athlete, but there was a time when football didn't appear to be in his future. When he was 9, growing up in Freeport, L.I., he had surgery to repair a heart defect. He sees the reminder every day in the mirror, a vertical scar, maybe six inches long, in the middle of his chest. Understandably, his mother was worried about him playing sports as a kid. Ferguson had other things on his mind. "I was thinking about roller-coasters," he said. Thirteen years and countless pancakes later, there's need to worry about Ferguson's well-being. The same can't be said for those who face him. Originally published on August 2, 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LionelRichie Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 unfortunately dave ball, trevor johnshon, and bryan thomas don't play for anyone on the schedule this year. i like brick and hope he is an all-pro for the next 10 years but i hate all of these fluff pieces. let's see what happens against another team before annointing him the second coming. last year it was all d-bust all the time and he was a total disappointment last year to everyone except bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitonti Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 last year it was all d-bust all the time and he was a total disappointment last year to everyone except bit. trust me when I say DRob never had a practice session of absolute dominance that is being described in this article... especially as a rookie, let alone last season. DBrick is gonna be a stalwart fixture for the next decade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raffyD Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 I started reading the article and immediately got goose bumps. Brick is looking like the real deal for LT, here's to hoping he has a long career in green and white. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewilly Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 I for one enjoyed reading the article. no it wasn't a probowl lineup by any stretch, but a pancake by any other name is still a pancake. arright that was kinda gay wasn't it? i'm gonna remain cautiously optimistic, but ya gotta love positive news Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raffyD Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 I for one enjoyed reading the article. no it wasn't a probowl lineup by any stretch, but a pancake by any other name is still a pancake. arright that was kinda gay wasn't it? i'm gonna remain cautiously optimistic, but ya gotta love positive news Not gay at all, Brady is gay but that wasn't gay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewilly Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 Not gay at all, Brady is gay but that wasn't gay. thanks raffy, ya wanna come over for a beer & a backrub sometime? hey where's tx & alk to point our how sucky our d line is. still tryin to get caught up on jetnews, hows mangold been doin? with kendall between these guys, I don't see our q'back throwin from hisr back this year. i'll say it again whether penny starts or not, I don't think he is injury prone any more than the next guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 I for one enjoyed reading the article. no it wasn't a probowl lineup by any stretch, but a pancake by any other name is still a pancake. arright that was kinda gay wasn't it? i'm gonna remain cautiously optimistic, but ya gotta love positive news Hey Joe, If you didn't like the article and you posted a negative comment about it...would you feel the need to apologize the next day? Just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faba Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 Expect any rookie offensive lineman to have some struggles -learning by trial and error Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewilly Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 Hey Joe, If you didn't like the article and you posted a negative comment about it...would you feel the need to apologize the next day? Just curious. way to kick an ass kisser when he's down. no backrub for you;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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