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HEADLINE NEWS - Features |
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Monday - 11/5/2001
 QUICK FACTS
- Age: 27
- College: UCLA
- Birthdate: July 31, 1974 in Washington, D.C.
- Attended St. Alban�s High School in Washington, D.C.
- The six-year veteran is a four time Pro Bowl starter at left tackle and considered by many to be the best left tackle in the game. He was first player drafted by the Ravens � 4th overall (Ray Lewis was taken 26th overall in that same draft).
Fondest memory of the Super Bowl:
�Watching Jermaine run that last kickoff return back. Then I knew that something I had dreamed about my whole life was about to become a reality.�
On playing the first Monday night game of his career:
�It really doesn�t matter. I have played in Sunday night games before, so the only difference is that this game will just be later. Once you line up and the ball is snapped, it is the same game, and the same intensity.�Did you always believe he would be one of the best tackles in the league?
�I always just wanted to be the best player Jonathan Ogden could be. When I got to the NFL, my focus changed a little. That is probably when I started to shoot for being the best in the league at what I do. I knew I had the ability, so why not use it to the utmost?� On the challenge of playing against the league�s top defensive ends each week:
�I know that each week, I am going to get a guy who is going to bring his �A� game. I try to come out of the gate early and slow them down. I want to dominate them. Dominating means not letting them get any pressures, or make any plays so when they go back and look at the film, they see that they didn�t make any impact in the game. That is my idea of what dominating is.� What it was like playing high school football as the biggest player on the field:
�That is just how it was. I did whatever they asked me to do, and I played the same no matter who the other team put in front of me. If they put a 185-pound guy in front of me, I would try to smash him the same way I would smash a 250-pound guy. I knew that it wouldn�t always be that way, especially when I got to college, so I made sure I worked at my technique. I didn�t want to just use my size to play. I worked to be a technician at the position also.� On the injuries to the offensive line:
�I believe we have played well. With all the shuffling of assignments and the injuries, we have played well. Better than we get credit for, but that is the norm for offensive linemen. We are a scrappy group that plays hard and hustles.� On his hobby of reading science fiction and how he got started:
�I have been reading science fiction books for the longest time. Star Trek and Star Trek, The Next Generation are some of my favorites. I read fiction books, and I like the science fiction genre the most. It is a way for me to get away from some of the realities of life. Those types of books create a utopia. I guess I like to envision life being like that someday. It lets me use my imagination to get away.�
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