Diedrick: NFL Europe a 'Great Opportunity'
By Dahrran Diedrick
April 1, 2005
Redskins running back Dahrran Diedrick checks in from Rhein, Germany, where he is preparing for his first NFL Europe game this weekend as a member of the Rhein Fire. Diedrick spent part of the 2004 season on the Redskins practice squad after being released by the Green Bay Packers in training camp. He played his collegiate ball at Nebraska from 1999-2002 and was part of the Cornhuskers' 2001 National Championship team. Diedrick will write a periodic diary for Redskins.com throughout the NFL Europe season.
Dahrran Diedrick during NFL Europe training camp.
April 1, 2005
We completed training camp in Tampa last week and I thought it went well. I came into camp feeling that I was one of the best players out there because you have to have confidence in yourself and the will to try to go out there to do everything in order to get better. You have to know that you just don't want to be good in NFL Europe. I want to use the opportunity to make myself a better player so that when I get back to Washington, I will be a much better player.
We didn't really do much outside of training camp because a lot of our time was put into practice and studying our plays. When we did have days off, we went out and had fun. Ybor City, a party spot down in Tampa, was a fun place to go to. But we spent a lot of time focusing on practice and getting ready for the season.
Traveling wasn't a big deal because I have gone to France once before, so I kind of knew what to expect with the plane ride. Everyone was playing cards and watching movies, so it didn't seem as long as it could have been if we were just sitting in seats. It was a long flight, but everyone on the team was just anticipating getting over here and seeing a new place you would never get a chance to see.
I didn't expect anyone to be at the airport waiting for us when we arrived. I was expecting to get off the plane, get our luggage, get on the bus, and go to the hotel. It was exciting to see fans out there welcoming us at 8 a.m. in the morning because it showed us that we had a lot of fans waiting for us to come over. They also had cheerleaders there giving us a warm welcome, so it was a lot of fun.
We had a team celebration in downtown Dusseldorf on Saturday that went really well. It kind of showed the atmosphere of how it will be at the games. We have some crazy fans, I think that they watch American football and pick up on how to be a fan from NFL fans. They just try to emulate the people who get their faces painted. They are hardcore fans. I think that once we start playing games and winning, it will be a lot of fun because I love it when the fans are involved.
My preparation for the upcoming game against Amsterdam this Saturday is just staying focused and confident. When I get out there on the field, I need to make things happen and answer the bell. I feel that we have a great team--the quarterbacks are great, the receivers are good, and we have a great offense and defense as a whole. We have shown so far that we will be good, but we need to play the first game and gain confidence to show ourselves whether we are good or not.
I am sure that the game on Saturday will be fun. I don't think it will be as loud as people say it is because I have played in front of 108,000 people when I played for Nebraska. So I don't see Amsterdam being louder than that, regardless of music or the fans. I just have to go out there and listen to the plays. We don't have too many checks or audibles, but there are a lot of hand checks for when quarterbacks do make changes. As long as you can here things when you are in the huddle and don't go offsides, you should do well.
From what I have seen in practice, I think that one our strong points on the team is our competitive nature on offense and defense. No one on our team is going to let another player beat them. We now get to go unleash some of that on another team. I can't wait to go out there and hopefully we will get a win to start us off on the right track. Being away from home hasn't been that bad because I grew up in Canada and I've been used to being away from home since I was 17 years old when I went to college at Nebraska. So I am used to being away from my family. I have a couple of friends who say they will come over here during the season just for the experience to check out our games.
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