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Sports TwitterSchlegel excited to see old Buckeyes
Linebacker played with the Jets' OSU grads Mangold and Nugent.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
CINCINNATI — Revenge isn't the right word for what's on Anthony Schlegel's mind. Excitement is more like it.
Unceremoniously dumped by the New York Jets, who picked him in the third round of the 2006 NFL draft, the Bengals grabbed him off waivers Sept. 2.
Extras
Now he's Cincinnati's starting middle linebacker. And he gets a chance to face his former teammates Sunday, including center Nick Mangold and placekicker Mike Nugent. The trio experienced lots of mud, sweat and cheers at Ohio State.
"I'm excited to play against them, heck yeah," Schlegel said. "It's where all of the guys I got drafted with and guys that I did stuff with, that my wife and our family are close with, so yeah, it's a fun game. But you can't worry about that. I'm worried about what I can do for the Cincinnati Bengals."
After easing onto the field in kick coverage on special teams, Schlegel broke into the lineup in Game 4 against New England after Ahmad Brooks (groin) and Caleb Miller (back) were hurt.
The 6-foot-1, 251-pounder struggles in pass coverage, but Schlegel enjoys slamming into ballcarriers. After all, his reputation is that of a run-stopper. He has 13 tackles this season, but that number should increase.
"I don't know my role," Schlegel said. "I just do what the coaches tell me to do. Whatever that is, I'm going to do it with everything I've got and I'm going to do it all for the team. Whatever that entails."
Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis appreciates Schlegel's willingness to play through pain. Schlegel's been hobbling around with a sprained big toe, but that's not about to keep him out of the lineup.
"He's the kind of guy you want on your team because he's going to rub some dirt on his wound and keep on working," Lewis said. "Whatever he has in shortcomings, he makes up for in his knowledge of the game. ... He's very intense."
Schlegel said he wasn't surprised the Jets cut him because he didn't fit into New York's 3-4 scheme.
"I don't know what happened, but I don't worry about it," he said. "That's in the past. It's a blessing to be here because it's a great opportunity. I was excited for it. My incentive is to do everything possible that I can to help this team win. That's what we need to do."
Next game
Who: Jets (1-5)
at Bengals (1-4)
When: 4:05 p.m. Sunday
TV: WHIO Channel 7 (CBS)
Radio: WTUE-FM (104.7)
