Posts tagged foundation
Chad Pennington Interview
Chad Pennington played in the NFL for eleven years. He was selected by the New York Jets in the first round in the 2000 NFL Draft. He played for the Jets then played for the Miami Dolphins. Chad won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award twice. He is the NFL’s all-time leader in career completion percentage. He is currently a color analyst for NFL telecasts on FOX.
Besides having a great career in the NFL, Chad and his wife, Robin started up the 1st and 10 Foundation. That organization was created to build stronger communities by funding programs to help improve quality of life. They are also busy with their three sons, who love to play outdoors just like their dad.
Chad and I were able to talk about his time in the NFL, winning the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award, and his foundation.
Art Eddy: Let’s first talk about your career in the NFL. You played for the Jets and the Dolphins. Both teams are in the AFC East. Do you feel that staying in that division helped your transition to the Dolphins?
Chad Pennington: I certainly had familiarity with division and with the teams that we would be playing to try and win a division crown. I also had familiarity with Bill Parcells and Dan Henning and some of the other people that were in place in Miami when I made the transition from New York to Miami.
AE: When would you say that you felt comfortable at your position after you were drafted?
CP: I think my third year was when the light bulb really went on. As a rookie you are just surviving on your college instincts. Your second year you are trying to figure out how to be a professional. By your third year you truly start to make progress as a professional. You start to contribute to your team in a positive way.
Even if you have some successful times in your first and second year, that third you I think that is when everybody starts to feel like okay I belong. This is where I am and what I need to do to have a long career.
AE: You won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award twice, becoming the only player since the awards inception to do so. What did winning that award twice personally mean to you?
CP: First it meant that both organizations that I played for when I did win those awards meant that I had great support. I had a great support system when I was trying to rehab from an injury. I had great teammates that supported me. When I came back from the injury we were able to do some special things on the field.
On a personal level it feels good that someone recognizes your hard work. It is very hard to come back from an injury. People don’t realize how much energy and time is spent just to get back on the field much less trying to play the way you are capable of playing. Playing after an injury is very, very difficult. It is a really exhausting process. To be able to win that award really meant a lot to me.
AE: Name one change the NFL has made since you entered the league that you like and one that you wish that they never had changed?
CP: I think that the game has gotten better from an entertainment standpoint. There are so many things that fans can get involved with the game and have real lifetime experiences with football. From a fan’s perspective it is really exciting.
I think with the safety of the game at some point in time we have to realize that this is a gladiator sport. It is a dangerous game. You can’t take away all the dangerous risks. That is like saying that there are no car wrecks in NASCAR. It is just going to happen.
I think the league is taking the appropriate steps to make it a safer game. We just have to be very careful that we are not taking away the integrity of the game as far as how this game is supposed to be played. As players we need to know that going in. We know what those risks are. To act like that we are not aware of concussions or that we are not aware of some of the things that go on is wrong as well. We got to make sure that we stay on that fine line and make it as safe as possible, but also realize that there is a risk in playing the game of football.
AE: You have played in the playoffs in your career. How much is the stress level heightened come playoff time?
CP: The excitement is certainly at a different level. The pace of game. The energy. The intensity of the two teams playing is at a different level. The winner goes on and the loser goes home. There is a finality to your season with that playoff game. It is the one time in the year that everyone is playing like there is no tomorrow.
I think that is why fans gravitate towards the playoffs as well as the players. At the end of the day when you take away all the frills of the NFL, the entertainment value, and all those types of things as a player that is truly what you are playing for. It is to win the Lombardi Trophy and be called world champion.
AE: Tell me a bit about your foundation and what type of events you guys do annually?
CP: The 1st and 10 Foundation was started with my wife, Robin and me in 2003. Our ultimate goal was to improve the quality of life in the areas we contribute. Those areas would be East Tennessee, Southern West Virginia, and the Tri-State area. We were able to establish a grant program in 2006. Since that inception we have been able to grant more than 1 million dollars to those geographical areas because of our donors and supporters.
The neat thing about our foundation is that all administrative calls are taken care of. Every donated dollar goes back into what we are trying to support. Our foundation is your foundation. That is what we always say. If you gave a dollar to the foundation we take a lot of pride to make sure that your hard earned dollar is put back to where it is supposed to be.
We got a lot of different initiatives. We have holiday parties, ticket programs, and some different things. Now that we have moved to Lexington, Kentucky we are looking at some other initiatives and programs that we really want to dive into. It has been something that we really have enjoyed these past ten years.
AE: What motivated you to start up the 1st and 10 Foundation?
CP: The first thing was when Robin’s father battled leukemia for ten months. We saw a need for patient family services with leukemia and cancer patients. It was not only for patient, him or herself going through a terrible experience, but the family is in shock. The family is trying to deal with the disease and support their loved one without having much knowledge or information. So that patient family service part is very important.
We felt like in the rural areas of East Tennessee and Southern West Virginia there are not big cities to access malls, movies, and other things to do. The community center is a source of life in these smaller areas and towns. We try to support community based programs and organizations to help many people as we can. The great thing about the community center is that affects all ages. That is what we were trying to do for the past decade.
Jan 27th
John Lynch Interview
John Lynch played strong safety for fifteen seasons in the NFL. He played college football at Stanford University and entered the NFL in 1993. Lynch made it to the Pro Bowl nine times and won a Super Bowl when he played on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII. He also played for the Denver Broncos.
You can now see him on FOX Sports covering NFL games as a color commentator. Besides football Lynch and his wife started up the John Lynch Foundation back in 2000. Their foundation is committed to developing leaders by encouraging dreams, providing programs that assist and motivate, and recognizing achievement and excellence.
I spoke with John about which teams he thinks will make it to the Super Bowl, his playing days, and his foundation.
Art Eddy: You do an outstanding job on FOX covering the NFL. You covered the Seahawks and Colts game earlier this year. Both teams are doing well so far this year. Out of the two teams who has a better chance of getting to the Super Bowl?
John Lynch: With that questions I think that it is the Seahawks. I think that the Seahawks have a one of the deepest rosters in football. They have a tremendous home field advantage in Seattle. I see them as a team that is going to continue to get more and more healthy. They were missing three offensive linemen that are Pro Bowl type players. They were missing Zach Miller. Percy Harvin is coming back. I just think that team with the depth of their roster is a good as any in the league. It is a team that is going to get stronger as the season goes on.
Indy is a fine team. They won the game. It was a fine win for them. Andrew Luck just put that organization on his shoulders. It is like he said, ‘Come follow me.’ It is pretty special.
AE: Which team in the NFL is the overall top team in your opinion? Would it be maybe one of your former teams, the Denver Broncos?
JL: Yeah, I think so. From the start of the year I had Denver number one, Seattle at number two. I still feel like that. Denver, the depth of their roster is incredible as well as what John Elway has done out there. In a very short time he built a very, very thorough roster that can beat you in a number of ways. Then of course they got Peyton Manning.
Living in Denver I know a lot of people were worried that he was another year older, but what I can tell you is that he is another year healthier. Remember that he is a guy that underwent four neck surgeries. He had 37 touchdowns last year. His start to this year has just been unbelievable. I think you can contribute that to a number of things. Number one, his health. He is feeling better. Number two, you go get a guy like Wes Welker, the emergence of a guy like Julius Thomas at tight end, and it just creates that true pick your poison mentality. Who are you going to stop? You can’t stop them all. It is a great roster.
AE: With all the adjustments that the NFL has made to make the game safer, what are your thoughts as a former safety?
JL: First of all I do appreciate that we have a commissioner. With Commissioner Goodell, where I have spent a lot of time talking to him on this issue, really genuinely cares. This is not just a PR stunt. He genuinely cares about the welfare of its players. He is doing everything he can to make the game safer.
In saying that I feel at times they go too far. They teach from the grassroots up with the Heads Up program that they are teaching to youth football. When they got guys who do it perfectly, they are still getting fined sometimes. What bothers me is that it is sometime based on the physicality of the hit. I look at a guy like Dashon Goldson down in Tampa. He is an excellent player. He just has a knack for hitting people harder than anyone else in the league. He is getting fined as a result on a play that isn’t dirty. They are just very physically and very impactful.
That’s why I think it crosses the line at some point. People know what they signed up for when they play this sport. Is it a dangerous game? Yes. Should we try make it safer? Absolutely, but I don’t think you can cross the line where it isn’t football anymore.
AE: Going back to your playing days in the NFL. You played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Denver Broncos. You won a Super Bowl while playing for Tampa Bay. From start to finish what are your memories of that game?
JL: I have talked to so many players that have won a Super Bowl. I think what I really look back on is more so the journey of that team than the game itself. What I do remember about the game is that it was the classic scenario. It was the number one offense in the Raiders with Rich Gannon, Jerry Rice, Tim Brown and all of those guys verse the number one defense.
I think we had one of the best defensive units of all time. Everybody naturally gave the advantage to the offense. We were extremely confident that as soon as we beat Philadelphia and we knew that the Raiders were our matchup. In our mind we won the Super Bowl. We just felt very confident that we had what it took and we did.
On top of that I got to do it in my hometown where I grew up in San Diego. I had my family there. Those are some of the memories after the game to have my son down there with me, my wife, my parents, and my grandparents. It was really was a special day.
AE: What will you always take with you from your time playing in the NFL?
JL: People usually say the relationships, which is true, but what I found out is that those relationships still hold true today. I am still great friends with Ronde Barber. I still see him on a regular basis. Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, Mike Alstott, Brad Johnson, and all those guys are still in touch. Those relationships don’t go anywhere.
What I miss and I think other players miss is the all-out competition each and every day. What you have done in the past does not matter. It matters what you do that day. Whether you are a rookie or if you are in your fifteenth year it is a constant proving ground. You have to go every day and try to be better than you were a day before. I loved that challenge. It is playing against the best players in the world and also you are competing against yourself. You are trying each day to figure out how you can get an edge because you are playing against the best. That is what great players do.
AE: Who was the hardest quarterback to game plan for?
JL: Oh there is no question. It is the guy that is lighting up the league right now. It is Peyton Manning. I had the opportunity to play against some of the greatest of all time. John Elway, who is a great friend now, was a terrific player and one of the best of all time. (Joe) Montana was one of the greats of all time as well.
For me there was no one tougher to play against than Peyton Manning. It was what he did above the neck. It wasn’t the skill set, which he had a fine one of those. It was the fact that he was always one step ahead of you and one step ahead of the defense. It was his preparation and execution on the field that made him darn near impossible to ever stop him. He was always one of my favorite guys to compete against because I talked about that competition. That’s what it was every time you tried to play against him. You tried to find a way to beat him and it was awfully tough.
AE: You started a foundation back in 2000. Tell me a bit about your foundation and what made you create the foundation?
JL: I was really fortunate Art that I was raised by parents that taught me at a young age. The way that they taught me was showing me that is was not just a nice thing to do, but a responsibility to each and every one to give back to their community. My parents were always very involved in their community whether it be at the school or at the church.
All those things that they did on a regular basis was to show the importance of giving back. I was raised with that and then I get to the NFL. I had great mentors in guys like Hardy Nickerson and Paul Gruber, who were veterans at Tampa at that time. These guys were doing great things in the community.
My wife, Linda and I saw that you have an unbelievable opportunity to make great things happen in your community and make a difference in people’s lives. We set out to find something that really embodied what we were all about. We came out with our foundation, which has a focus on recognizing and rewarding quality young leaders. That was what we have been able to do through our programs and our scholarships. We have given to these kids that excel in the classroom, in sports, and in their community. It has really been a blessing.
AE: What type of events do you guys do annually?
JL: We have a luncheon that happens every year in May. We have has some tremendous keynote speakers. We have had Jon Gruden and General Tommy Franks. It is less about them and more about the kids that we have the great honor to recognize, reward, and shine a light on them. We do it on Invesco Field at Denver.
We put anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 people on the field to basically say great job to these kids. We give our scholarships out to the kids and to disabled student athletes as well that have excelled in the same capacity. They are incredible kids and it is an incredible day.
Oct 28th
