Chris Laz gets 2nd shot w/Colts
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Wise Owl
Member since 2003
Good Luck Ski. Represent the Owls. 8-)
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First Flight
Member since 2004
Chris Laz gets 2nd shot w/Colts
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Wise Owl
Member since 2003
Chris Laz gets 2nd shot w/Colts
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Wise Owl
Member since 2003
Chris Laz gets 2nd shot w/Colts
Chris Laz gets 2nd shot w/Colts
Hopefully!!
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Wise Owl
Member since 2004
Chris Laz gets 2nd shot w/Colts
2 Space Coast players live NFL dream
Area duo on teams vying for Super Bowl
BY SCOTT BROWN
FLORIDA TODAY
He slapped a wicked stiff-arm on a Houston Texans defender, and teammates labeled it "The Baptism."
In another nod to Leonard Weaver's religious convictions and a running style that also is without subtlety, his fellow Seattle Seahawks have taken to calling the Satellite High graduate "The Church Van."
"They can't call me 'The Church Bus,' " Weaver said, noting that anything close to a comparison with Hall of Fame-bound running back Jerome Bettis would be grossly premature.
Maybe not, but the player mostly limited to special-teams duty this season could have more chances to rumble before the season ends. Seattle is 12-2, and Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren may rest his starters for parts of the last two regular-season games in anticipation of a lengthy playoff run.
Meanwhile, another player with local ties also finds himself on the periphery of a season that could have a super ending.
Chris Laskowski was monitoring a study hall for football players at Florida Atlantic University a little more than a month ago, when a dream he'd had the previous night literally came true.
Twelve hours later the Rockledge High graduate was boarding a plane for Indianapolis, bound for a spot on the Colts' practice squad.
Saturday's meeting between Indianapolis and Seattle has lost some of its intrigue since the 13-1 Colts no longer have a chance at a perfect season. But the 4 p.m. game still pits the teams with the NFL's two best records, meaning it could well be a preview for Super Bowl XL.
"I realize how blessed I am just to be a part of it," Laskowski said.
Getting the call
Laskowski, an undrafted free agent out of FAU, made it to the team's final cut in August. But he admittedly was becoming restless nearly three months later. He hadn't been called back to the Colts, though his agent had stayed in regular contact with team management.
"You're unemployed," said Laskowski. "I was getting impatient at times, but I was trying to believe what they were telling me. I felt I kind of owed it to myself to keep going."
A night after having his first dream about the Colts since he had been cut at the end of preseason, the 5-foot-9, 210-pound Laskowski was helping an FAU freshman football player during team study hall when his agent called his cell phone.
Laskowski's life has been a whirlwind since he was told to pack for Indianapolis.
He does not dress for Colts' games, but he does everything else with the team. For anybody wondering, yes, Peyton Manning knows his name. The reigning MVP got a kick when Laskowski told him his head coach at Rockledge, Chuck Wood, had been on the same Ole Miss football team as Manning's father, Archie.
Not that Laskowski, a linebacker-turned-safety, is some wide-eyed colt in Indianapolis' locker room.
He said he has "no doubt" he can play in the NFL and is intent on showing Indianapolis coaches just that during his time on the practice squad.
"I honestly think if I wouldn't have gotten banged up (during preseason practice), I would have played well enough for them to want to keep me on special teams," Laskowski said.
Carving a niche
If anyone can serve as an example of overcoming long odds, Leonard Weaver can.
He made the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent out of a Carson-Newman College, a Division II school in Tennessee. That generally happens in the NFL as often as the Arizona Cardinals make a Super Bowl run.
Something else made his accomplishment even more remarkable. After playing tight end in college, the 6-0, 251-pound Weaver moved to fullback.
Several mentors have helped him make the transition, he said, including veteran fullback Mack Strong and All-Pro running back Shaun Alexander.
Most of his action has come on the Seahawks' special teams, but Weaver has had some opportunities to run the ball at the end of Seattle's blowouts, including at Philadelphia on "Monday Night Football."
He has picked up 80 yards while averaging 4.7 yards a carry, and Weaver's blend of speed and power have attracted the attention of his teammates – as his new nicknames suggest.
"He's a tremendous talent in terms of running and catching the ball out of the backfield," said Seahawks running backs coach Stump Mitchell, a former NFL player who rushed for nearly 4,700 yards in nine pro seasons. "He's going to be fine when his opportunity comes to play. We just need him to contribute a little more on special teams."
Indeed, with Alexander chasing a league rushing title and Strong paving the way for him, Weaver will have to make his mark doing the grunt work of a special-teams player.
And his play on special teams, Mitchell said, has to improve.
Not that Weaver takes anything for granted, especially given his route to NFL.
Life is good right now – he is living his dream, and he and his wife welcomed Leonard Weaver IV into the world right before Thanksgiving – but he knows that NFL careers can be many things, including fleeting.
Countless players are trying to break through at the sport's highest level.
Laskowski and Weaver are proof of that.
"Every day, every week, every opportunity I get, I cherish," Weaver said. "There's always young guys coming in, just like my position.
"One thing I've learned in this league is your job is on the line every day, every week, so you have to be focused on what you're doing."
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VIP DONOR
Member since 2005
Chris Laz gets 2nd shot w/Colts
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Wise Owl
Member since 2004
Chris Laz gets 2nd shot w/Colts
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VIP DONOR
Member since 2005
Chris Laz gets 2nd shot w/Colts
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Wise Owl
Member since 2003
Chris Laz gets 2nd shot w/Colts
Real tough story especially this time of year.
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Wise Owl
Member since 2004
Chris Laz gets 2nd shot w/Colts
2017 and 2019 Conference USA Champions
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