News

The Human Grenade

Continued from page 3

On a muggy June afternoon, Short pours himself into the driver's seat of his latest toy: a jet-black Audi S8. It's parked near a squatty business hotel in Berea. This is where Short -- along with others whose futures aren't sure enough to warrant the purchase of real estate -- stays during the Browns' off-season workouts.

Short's new wife, whom he met in Philadelphia and married in February, is upstairs cooking. So he wants to spend some time touring Berea in his new car. "It's got the Lamborghini engine in it," he says, opening it up on Bagley Road. "This one's a beast."

Short signed a one-year deal with the Browns in May, thrilled to play for his hometown team. But he knows his fate is a numbers game. "It's always gonna be a fight," he says. "And they're going to always make you believe that it's a bigger fight than it is."

Coaches won't discuss Short's future. But Rutigliano, who remains close to Browns' staff, says Short has impressed. "He's gonna make the team," Rutigliano says. "He's a 1950s guy. He is dirt-tough. I mean dirt-tough. He will electrify special teams. He covers kicks like a kamikaze pilot . . . This guy is Superman."

Of course, Short hopes fans will see him more often. Like all special teamers, he longs for more playing time and the trappings that come with it: more money, more impact, more job security. He's wary of being typecast -- a common fear of career backups.

"Not only do coaches pigeonhole players, but players pigeonhole themselves," says Morey, who makes his living on special teams. Morey says he started to neglect his wide-receiver play to perfect rushing punts and covering kicks. "You buy into it," he says. "You are what you think you are."

For some players, that might be the safest way to keep a job. If Short can stay healthy, he might just guarantee himself a few more years in the league, staving off a career in concrete. But he's not ready to give up on playing linebacker.

"If that's my role, I'm going to do my role as best as I can," he says of special teams. "I'm gonna be a special teams Pro Bowler." But, he adds, "That's not what I want, to be a special teams specialist. I'm here to play linebacker."

It's a long shot. The Browns are stacked with young linebackers. And Short is still working on managing his urge to run people. As he pulls his car back into his hotel parking lot, he reveals that his quick trigger has yet to find a safety switch.

"I got kicked out of practice the other day," he says lowly, like a boy copping to a C-minus. "I got kicked out of practice for fighting."

Another damn lineman, it seems.

"I was rushing in on him, and I hit him in the face," Short says. "I wasn't meaning to. I'm not trying to fight in practice. [Eagles Head Coach] Andy Reid used to always get on me about it. But the guy pulled on my jersey and punched me in the back. I was just like, 'That's not gonna happen.' I turned around and hit him in the face."

On his way off the field, Short is happy to report, Coach Romeo Crennel put his arm around him, told him not to worry about it.

If everything goes as planned, it won't be the last time.

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4