PatsWin2002
06-20-2006, 08:03 AM
http://cbs4denver.com/sports/local_story_171081620.html
Jun 20, 2006 6:16 am US/Mountain
David Kircus Hopes To Earn Spot On Broncos' Roster
(CBS4/DenverBroncos.com) DENVER David Kircus wasn't going to surrender to the vagaries of trying to make it in professional football when the Detroit Lions released him. But he wasn't going to sit idly by the telephone and wait for teams to call with tryout invitations when he wasn't working out to stay in shape.
"A lot of guys, they'll just work out and wait it out, but there's a lot of sitting-around time," he said. "I don't like to sit around; I like to be doing something at all times.
So Kircus went to work.
"I got a job," he said. "I went and worked at Subway ... I was making the subs."
David Kircus, wide receiver/sandwich artist. That's more typically a résumé for a high-school senior earning a varsity letter than a three-year NFL veteran, but Kircus wanted a job that allowed him the flexibility to work out when he needed and dash to tryouts whenever asked.
"I did it in high school, too, so I had a little experience -- not that I needed much," Kircus said. "They paid me pretty well to do it, it was fun. It was free food."
The Broncos were among the teams that pilfered Kircus away from meatballs, various cheeses and a choice of white or wheat bread -- and all the other varieties currently offered by the multi-national sandwich concern -- for a tryout during the season. Seattle and Tampa Bay were among the other teams that called upon the receiver who was nicknamed "Circus Kircus" for his acrobatic receptions at Grand Valley State University in Michigan.
Ultimately, though, it was the Broncos' recent willingness to keep the best 53 players, regardless of draft or free-agent status, that convinced Kircus to go to Denver.
"They give guys a chance," he said. "There's a lot of guys released from other teams that became starters here just because of the simple fact that they worked hard. For me to be successful in this league, I know I've got to work hard each and every single day, and that's important to me. I don't want anything given to me or handed to me on a silver platter. I don't want that to be my path to the NFL.
"I think they believe in that here."
Kircus wasn't sure that was the case in Detroit. The Lions used a sixth-round pick on him in 2003, but also took receivers with first-round selections in 2003, 2004 and 2005: Charles Rogers, Roy Williams and Mike Williams, respectively.
"It was getting to the point where no matter how hard I worked, I still wasn't getting any playing time," Kircus said. "It's a political game ... they have guys who are first-rounders, and then I'm a sixth round pick.
"Here, they don't play that game."
Most of Kircus' work so far in Denver has come in the weight room, which he says has left him "stronger than I've ever been." He's played at between 180 and 190 pounds in the past and hopes to be at 200 by the time July 28 and training camp arrives. But just getting adjusted to the necessity of weight-room time was a step foward.
"I didn't lift a lot through college; I played basketball in the offseason and ran a little bit and just didn't work at getting bigger and stronger," he said. "When I got to Detroit, I still didn't have it in my head that I needed to lift. I just thought you need to be fast and jump over guys and just go up and get the ball and just be that kind of player. I've learned that you need some upper-body strength just to get off the line and when I got here they put me on the weight program right away, and I like it.
"It's the first time that I'm actually in the gym working out with the weights and feeling good about it."
Which is far, far better than the way he felt in Detroit.
"I was the No. 5, sometimes 6 receiver, and I'd come off the bench with my legs all tight on a third-and-25 when we needed four receivers, sometimes five," he said. "It was hard sometimes when defenses know you're going to throw the ball and you're not warmed up. That's basically what my role was in Detroit, and it was tough. Just like anybody else, I want to be in the game and I want to have my legs warmed up."
As a Michigan native, Kircus said that the Lions' decision to draft him three years ago was "a dream come true" -- that is, until his scant chances for playing time behind more highly-touted young receivers became apparent.
"Now it's my dream come true to actually play, become a starter somewhere and make a difference on a team," he said.
And that would make all the work -- in fast food and football -- worthwhile.
Jun 20, 2006 6:16 am US/Mountain
David Kircus Hopes To Earn Spot On Broncos' Roster
(CBS4/DenverBroncos.com) DENVER David Kircus wasn't going to surrender to the vagaries of trying to make it in professional football when the Detroit Lions released him. But he wasn't going to sit idly by the telephone and wait for teams to call with tryout invitations when he wasn't working out to stay in shape.
"A lot of guys, they'll just work out and wait it out, but there's a lot of sitting-around time," he said. "I don't like to sit around; I like to be doing something at all times.
So Kircus went to work.
"I got a job," he said. "I went and worked at Subway ... I was making the subs."
David Kircus, wide receiver/sandwich artist. That's more typically a résumé for a high-school senior earning a varsity letter than a three-year NFL veteran, but Kircus wanted a job that allowed him the flexibility to work out when he needed and dash to tryouts whenever asked.
"I did it in high school, too, so I had a little experience -- not that I needed much," Kircus said. "They paid me pretty well to do it, it was fun. It was free food."
The Broncos were among the teams that pilfered Kircus away from meatballs, various cheeses and a choice of white or wheat bread -- and all the other varieties currently offered by the multi-national sandwich concern -- for a tryout during the season. Seattle and Tampa Bay were among the other teams that called upon the receiver who was nicknamed "Circus Kircus" for his acrobatic receptions at Grand Valley State University in Michigan.
Ultimately, though, it was the Broncos' recent willingness to keep the best 53 players, regardless of draft or free-agent status, that convinced Kircus to go to Denver.
"They give guys a chance," he said. "There's a lot of guys released from other teams that became starters here just because of the simple fact that they worked hard. For me to be successful in this league, I know I've got to work hard each and every single day, and that's important to me. I don't want anything given to me or handed to me on a silver platter. I don't want that to be my path to the NFL.
"I think they believe in that here."
Kircus wasn't sure that was the case in Detroit. The Lions used a sixth-round pick on him in 2003, but also took receivers with first-round selections in 2003, 2004 and 2005: Charles Rogers, Roy Williams and Mike Williams, respectively.
"It was getting to the point where no matter how hard I worked, I still wasn't getting any playing time," Kircus said. "It's a political game ... they have guys who are first-rounders, and then I'm a sixth round pick.
"Here, they don't play that game."
Most of Kircus' work so far in Denver has come in the weight room, which he says has left him "stronger than I've ever been." He's played at between 180 and 190 pounds in the past and hopes to be at 200 by the time July 28 and training camp arrives. But just getting adjusted to the necessity of weight-room time was a step foward.
"I didn't lift a lot through college; I played basketball in the offseason and ran a little bit and just didn't work at getting bigger and stronger," he said. "When I got to Detroit, I still didn't have it in my head that I needed to lift. I just thought you need to be fast and jump over guys and just go up and get the ball and just be that kind of player. I've learned that you need some upper-body strength just to get off the line and when I got here they put me on the weight program right away, and I like it.
"It's the first time that I'm actually in the gym working out with the weights and feeling good about it."
Which is far, far better than the way he felt in Detroit.
"I was the No. 5, sometimes 6 receiver, and I'd come off the bench with my legs all tight on a third-and-25 when we needed four receivers, sometimes five," he said. "It was hard sometimes when defenses know you're going to throw the ball and you're not warmed up. That's basically what my role was in Detroit, and it was tough. Just like anybody else, I want to be in the game and I want to have my legs warmed up."
As a Michigan native, Kircus said that the Lions' decision to draft him three years ago was "a dream come true" -- that is, until his scant chances for playing time behind more highly-touted young receivers became apparent.
"Now it's my dream come true to actually play, become a starter somewhere and make a difference on a team," he said.
And that would make all the work -- in fast food and football -- worthwhile.