Arizona Cardinals: Berry Done for the Year

JP · 11-20-2006, 10:37 PM

Quote:

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Cardinals defensive end Bertrand Berry will
miss the rest of the season after tearing triceps muscles in
Sunday's victory over Detroit.

An MRI exam Monday revealed the seriousness of the injury, coach
Dennis Green said. Berry will undergo surgery to repair the tear,
probably this week.

"A big loss for us," Green said. "I've always said Bertrand
is the No. 1 leader on our team."

It is the second year in a row Berry had his season end
prematurely. Last year, he missed the final eight games with a torn
pectoral muscle.

Berry leads the team in sacks with six, two of them against the
Lions. He injured his right arm when he sacked Jon Kitna on third
down during a successful goal-line stand late in the third quarter.

"It felt kind of weird," Berry said after the game. "Coming
off the block I slammed my hand down trying to get his hands off
me, and something didn't feel right. I was able to finish the play,
but something didn't feel right."

The big lineman went to the locker room for X-rays, then
returned for a few plays before deciding he couldn't continue.

"He thought, and the doctors thought, it might be an elbow. Of
course, we didn't have the MRI until this morning," Green said.
"He tried, but he could not push off."

The surgery will require about four months for recovery and
rehabilitation, Green said.

Antonio Smith, a third-year pro out of Oklahoma State, will
replace Berry, as he did a year ago.

Berry signed with the Cardinals three years ago after three
seasons with the Denver Broncos. In 2005, his first year in
Arizona, he had 14.5 sacks -- third-most in a season in Cardinals
history -- and made the Pro Bowl. He had six sacks before he was
hurt last year, and has 26.5 in his injury-plagued three seasons
with Arizona.

The team's awful start led Berry to call out his teammates on
his weekly radio show. On the Thursday before the team's bye
weekend, with the Cardinals at 1-7, Berry questioned some of the
players' commitment.

"This is not Friday night football in high school where you're
just playing in front of your little girlfriend in the stands,"
Berry said on station KMVP. "You're actually getting paid to do
this, so it's your job to go out there each and every day and do
the job that you're paid very well to do. When you don't do it, you
should not have your job anymore. It's that simple."

The comments led to a players' only meeting the following week.
The Cardinals subsequently lost to Dallas, then snapped an
eight-game skid by beating the Lions.

Afterward, Berry praised the Cardinals' attitude.

"I felt it coming in the locker room, guys were ready to play,
they were tuned in," he said. "... Hopefully we can build on this
and go forward to the next six games and finish strong."

They'll have to do it without their leader on the defensive
line.

Yes it does suck seening him have to end his season real soon but seriously it doesn't matter sense the cardinals suck and no chance left in the season. If I were him I would want to be injured and get payed and not waste my time each sunday playing with Arizona. Hopefully he has a heathly recovering and we see him ready to go next season.

Thoughts?

Arizona Cardinals: Berry Done for the Year

This is a discussion on Arizona Cardinals: Berry Done for the Year within the North American Sports forums, part of the Sports Forums category; TEMPE, Ariz. -- Cardinals defensive end Bertrand Berry will miss the rest of the season after tearing triceps muscles in ...