Micro National player of the week

[Fredrik Pilbck]

On his NFL Europe League debut, Admirals Swedish linebacker Carl-Johan Björk was named National Player of the Week. The native of Stockholm, Sweden, recorded 3 tackles and also broke up a key third down screen pass intended for Fire running back Dahrran Diedrick.

NFL Europe Director of International Player Development Tony Allen, who oversees NFL Europe’s national player programme, said: “Carl has been asked to step up and prove he is ready for the NFL Europe League following the preseason injury suffered by linebacker Rikiya Ishida. He certainly showed he can make an impact in NFL Europe and I’m pleased to see him pick up this award on his debut in the league.”

Grymt jobbat!

[D]

Bara att grattulera!!

[Fredde W]

Är det någon som har hittat några bilder från matche / matcherna? eller några filmsekvänser? skulle vara kul att se.

[NFLE]

TKL AST COMB
C.Björk 4 2 6 vs. Frankfurt


The first week of the season is in the books, and I was really encouraged to see how many national players made big impacts - especially those playing their first ever games in the league.

Amsterdam linebacker Carl-Johan Bjork was named National Player of the Week in his first ever professional football game, but the likes of Onoh Ozongwu, Joakim Holm, Noriaki Kinonutsa, Marvin Allen, Philipp Stursberg, Daniel Watts, Nick Prevost, Ulrich Winkler, Loliki Bongo-Wanga and Oliver Fleming were all able to make valuable contributions in their NFL Europe debuts.

All of those guys have taken their first steps in pro football, and it is very exciting for coaches Tony Allen, Richard Kent, Marco Guirles and Matt Shauger to see the players they have scouted from around the world getting into the game and making an impression. It speaks volumes for the hard work they have put in to find these types of athletes who can make an immediate impact, when in years gone by it might have taken a national player several seasons to be able to get in and play in a game.

I was in Amsterdam for their 24-14 win against Rhein last Saturday, and Carl-Johan Bjork’s performance really jumped out at me. It was his first pro game, but he handled the situation well. Playing middle linebacker, and saddled with the pressure of calling the defensive signals, Carl played hard and was in the right place all the time. He finished up with three tackles and defensed a pass, but his contribution went beyond anything that you can measure statistically.

“Carl played really well out there,” said linebackers coach John Leitjen when I spoke with him after the game. “Of course there is room for improvement, but I can see him establishing himself as a consistent player in the future. He takes his practice and preparation extremely seriously, and he works hard every single day. His desire to succeed should help him become a very valuable player in this league.”

Bjork was only starting for Amsterdam because of an injury to veteran Japanese linebacker Rikiya Ishida, which forced him to step up and become a player that Amsterdam defensive coordinator Darryl Sims could rely on immeidately. Sims, a former first-round draft choice by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1985, knows something about the pressure of being thrown into the deep end from the start of your career.

“Carl’s performance as a rookie was really impressive to me. When Rikiya Ishida came into the league he was fortunate to have Masafumi Kawaguchi as his mentor and to take advice from before he became a starter – or even played a snap,” explained Sims. “Carl hasn’t had the benefit of a mentor like that, but he still came out and played well straight away. In my eyes, that makes his achievement all the more impressive.”

I saw Carl on the morning of the game, and he looked extremely nervous, sitting alone eating his pre-game meal and tapping his foot. I sat with him for a while and told him to just cut loose and have fun – to not try to make things happen or do anything differently to how he has been taught.

“I was extremely nervous when I woke up on Saturday morning,” Bjork admitted. “Just thinking about the big crowd and the fact that I was going to play in a globally televised game was going through my head. By the time kick-off came around, though, the nerves had settled, and I felt very focused on what I had to do.

“It was an honor to win the player of the week award. When you consider all of the experienced guys that could have won it, being singled out was a shock.”

Bjork’s football career began at 14 when he was offered the opportunity to find out more about it by his gym teacher in high-school. The young Swede fell in love with the game, and was eventually scouted to join Tony Allen’s Team Europe squad that played prior to Super Bowl XXXVI. That experience showed him that he could play at a high level.

“When I saw Richard Adjei playing for the Rhein Fire last year and remembered playing alongside him for Team Europe, it really opened my eyes to the fact that my dream could come true,” Bjork said. “The injury to Ricky gave me an opportunity to establish myself in the lineup, but I want to be recognized as a starter in my own right, and not just for national series.”

Bjork had some great coaching in the nine seasons of amateur football he played in Sweden, especially form his coach at the Stockholm Mean Machines, Robert Johansson. However, his greatest inspiration to make it in Europe was a fellow player and closest friend, Joseph Nunkovic, who suffered a career ending knee injury, but has remained an influence on Bjork’s football career.

I expect Carl to keep on improving and for games like he had last Saturday to be the norm, rather than the exception, for him this season. Keep your eyes on Amsterdam’s number 50 when you are watching games this year.


Peter Heyer is a great veteran who improved since playing an NFL season. (waynepaulo.com)
Another guy who jumped out at me at the Amsterdam and Rhein game was a veteran national player, Peter Heyer, who really showed up on the Fire offensive line. Peter spent the NFL season with the St Louis Rams, and you can see the leaps he has made in his technique and skills since working with Rams offensive line coach John Matsko and guard Tom Nutten, who was back in St Louis last year after coaching with Cologne during the NFL Europe season.

“He played an extremely consistent game,” said Fire offensive line coach Jan Quarless when I met up with him at a practice in Düsseldorf this week. “He is such a fun guy to coach, because his work habits are so good. He is learning how to use his hands, and I think with more experience he can become a really dominant player in this league.”

“Working with a great coaching in St Louis and now back here really helped me,” said Heyer. “I had hundreds and hundreds of reps on my footwork and hand placement every day after practice, and that has helped my game, especially in my pass blocking. Having been to the NFL and seen the level that NFL athletes play at, my desire to get back there has intensified even more, and this year I am working harder than ever to play at the level that is going to get me back to where I need to be.”

I watched Peter and the Fire in practice this week, and it is good to see that the habits he developed in the NFL – staying after practice and doing extra work – have been continued by him and a number of other national players now that they are in NFL Europe. Seeing receiver Marvin Allen and tight end Liro Luoto getting extra time with head coach Mike Jones in Frankfurt after practice is great. They know what it takes to improve their game, and a head coach – who has a busy schedule to keep – putting time aside to help national players is why this program is going to succeed.


Daniel Benetka's injury has ruled him out for the season. (waynepaulo.com)
One sad note for this week is that Galaxy defensive end Daniel Benetka has been ruled out for the season with an ankle injury. Daniel is a great player who has become a real fan favorite in his five years in NFL Europe. He has a great motor and is one of the veteran guys who has really helped push the program along. If I know Daniel, he is going to be back next year looking better than ever and ready to bring it for another year in this league.

The best way for the rookies like Carl-Johan Bjork to really make an impact in this league – like Daniel – and even take it to the next level, is to be staying after practice and doing all those things that I saw in Frankfurt and Düsseldorf this week. The time invested in the weight room, and the commitment to stay late and do more work is what it takes to play at the highest level and will take these players to where they ultimately want to be – the NFL. It’s no secret that extra time will pay off for them and be a positive influence on how far they can take their careers. In the short term we will see how much it pays off when they take the next step in their Week Two games coming up this weekend

[aafsd]

Var det någon som såg matchen? Jag använde field pass men det är så jävla dålig bild att man inte direkt kan se vem som gör vad.....

Inga kommentarer om hans insatts för han gjorde ju fler tacklingar än förra matchen

[lget]

Såg på depth chart att Micro inte fanns med..
www.nfleurope.com/teams/depthchart/AMS

enligt statsen hade han "bara" en tackling på special teams......

Någon som vet något mer om detta?

[tryckfelsnisse]

den där länken är depthchart till Rhein Fire... av någon anledning så har admirals depthchart försvunnit....

[Bo Winnberg]

Jag sag matchen live och Micro spelade valdigt mycket. Men han fick inte sa mycket hjalp av sin D-line. He was in shedoff blocking country all day. Men han startar typ.

[SMM]

WOW

[Pontus]

Har Björk fått mindre speltid eller? Han har knappt några stats alls från matcherna numera tycker jag. Nån som vet om han får spela överhuvudtaget?