Kenechi Udeze retires (Star Tribune). We wish him the best.
My favorite Udeze memory was the 2004 game against the Jaguars. In a close game, the Jaguars were driving in the fourth quarter. The Vikes sealed the game when Udeze laid a beautiful sack on Byron Leftwich, which Kevin Williams picked up and ran a long, long way for a touchdown.
Gosh, I was rooting hard for him to get back on the field, and I really hope that this decision is precautionary, and does not signify a setback. My sense of what a good guy Udeze is comes from an incident in, I believe, Childress' first year. Udeze had gotten a ton of pressures, but not a single sack, while playing very strong against the run. Towards the end of the year, with the Vikings out of the playoff hunt, on the last play of the game, with the Vikings leading comfortably, Udeze kept working, working, working, and got to the quarternack for a sack. Childress and a bunch of other players reacted as if they had just won the division, mobbing Udeze. That small moment spoke volumes to me about Udeze, and also made me think that perhaps Childress wasn't as clumsy with managing people as the media has sometimes portrayed him.
ReplyDeleteThat actually happened in the first game of the '07 season against the Joey Harrington-led Falcons.
ReplyDeleteAh, the shortcomings of memory. I read now that the retirement decision was the result of neuropathy in his feet, a side effect of chemotherapy. Damn cancer, but if that is the worst things he takes away from this battle, good for him. Hope he dies at age 102, surrounded by his great-great grandchildren.
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