Kenechi Udeze, Minnesota Vikings / Image: Zuma Press

Kenechi had a bone marrow transplant last July and admits the road back has been a difficult one:

“I’d be lying if I said it was easy. There was never an easy point. The first time I went back to USC and started working out with the fellas, I fell. I took two steps and I fell. I took small steps at first and, to where I am now, I can’t complain.”

Kenechi recently underwent a biopsy—”Where they go in and take a little piece of your bone marrow and it hurts the day after,” he said—but he remains determined to not let it slow him down. You can’t help but pull for the guy to not only get back on the playing field, but to excel in the process. Whether it’s this season or next, I hope Kenechi Udeze can continue to be an integral part of the Vikings’ defensive success.

Source: StarTribune.com

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Kenechi Udeze Making Comeback From Leukemia

Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed was a dominant force on the Ravens defense throughout the entire 2008 season. He put together a remarkable season by any standard. What’s even more incredible is that he did it while suffering from a nerve impingement in his neck. Overcoming this adversity earned Ed the admiration of his teammates, and their vote for the Ed Block Courage Award.

Ed is just one of many incredible stories of courage in this year’s class. Minnesota Vikings defensive end Kenechi Udeze was diagnosed with leukemia after the 2007 season. Kenechi received a bone marrow transplant from his brother, Thomas Barnes, and his leukemia is now in remission. He has vowed to return to the NFL and could play as early as 2009. Chicago Bears cornerback Charles Tillman played through 2008 while his daughter Tiana Rene battled cardiomyopathy. And Tampa Bay Bucs kicker Matt Bryant fought through the tragedy of losing his 3-month old son Tryson.

This year’s class also features headline players who overcame adversity to lead their teams on the field. Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme returned from Tommy John Surgery to lead the Panthers back to the playoffs. Miami Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown returned from a torn ACL to help lead the Dolphins to the playoffs. And safety Ryan Clark returned to the Steelers line-up after suffering a near fatal spleen injury. Ryan is an integral part of the best defense in the NFL.

Click here to download the entire list of winners for the 2008 season.

Source: EdBlock.org

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2008 Ed Block Courage Award Recipients

Check out this great interview with Minnesota Vikings defensive end Kenechi Udeze about his battle with leukemia. Kenechi will undergo a bone marrow transplant this week. His brother Thomas Barnes will be the donor. Kenechi is on injured reserve with the Vikes, but he vows to play football again, calling his disease “temporary.” His attitude is obviously where it needs to be and he looks great in the interview. Keep Kenechi in your prayers this week.

Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune

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Kenechi Udeze Calls Leukemia ‘Temporary’

Blogcasting the National Football League, Blogcasting the NFL

It’s official. The Kansas City Chiefs have traded All-Pro defensive end Jared Allen to the Minnesota Vikings for three picks in this weekend’s NFL Draft. The Vikings give up their first-round pick (17th overall) plus both of their third-round picks (73rd and 82nd overall). Initially, the Chiefs wanted Minnesota’s first and second-round spots, but the Vikings had enough Draft picks (nine) to negotiate with. Considering their second-round pick non-negotiable, they decided to abandon their two third-round picks instead and the Chiefs jumped at the opportunity. KC now has 13 total selections in this 2008 NFL Draft as they try to rebuild their program.

Photos Courtesy Minnesota Vikings

Jared Allen wanted no part of a rebuilding program. As he approaches the prime of his career, Jared saw that the Vikings (who signed him for six years and nearly $74 million with $31 million guaranteed) were really only a player or two away from being serious playoff contenders. Along with the “Williams Wall” (tackles Kevin and Pat), Minnesota now has three Pro Bowlers on their D-line and a very legitimate pass rush. You know the numbers. The Vikings could stop the run (they were the NFL’s best last season) but couldn’t stop the pass. Opposing teams gave up trying to run on the Vikes and Minnesota couldn’t muster enough of a pass rush to prevent themselves from becoming the league’s worst pass defense. With Kenechi Udeze recovering from leukemia and Erasmus James recuperating from a third knee operation, it was pretty clear the Vikings needed help at the defensive end position.

Jared’s only going to make the rest of the Vikings better. I’m talking specifically about players like Ray Edwards (who should start opposite Jared at DE) and DBs Antoine Winfield, Cedric Griffin and Marcus McCauley. As long as Jared can stay healthy and out of trouble, the opportunistic Vikings will have arguably the NFL’s best defense to go along with an offense led by superstar running back Adrian Peterson. If QB Tarvaris Jackson can “manage” the offense, Minnesota will be tough to beat. Super Bowl contenders? In the wide-open NFC, why not?

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Chiefs Trade Jared Allen to Vikings

Blogcasting the National Football League, Blogcasting the NFL

Good news out of Minnesota today. Vikings DE Kenechi Udeze announced a pair of remarkable developments in his three-month fight against leukemia. The disease is in remission (he just found out two days ago that his blood and bone marrow were cancer-free) and he found a bone marrow donor (his older brother) for a yet-to-be-scheduled transplant.

Word is that he didn’t believe the diagnosis at first, but he quickly rooted himself in the power of positive thinking and continued to rely on his Christian faith and the support of friends, family and teammates to push through the extra-difficult first few weeks.

“I just kept my faith, and here we are today ….. That’s all I’m focusing on right now. Football’s not going anywhere, and just like football I’m not going anywhere ….. I tell ‘em I have nothing but a cold, because that’s what it feels like. I’m not feeling down or anything like that. That’s the way you have to attack it. You have to have a good attitude and a good mind-set, and that’s something that I naturally always have.”

Kenechi didn’t rule out a return to the NFL this upcoming season, but it looks highly unlikely. An overzealous workout recently resulted in a 105-degree temperature that lasted five days and sent him back to the hospital. But, I’m not about to doubt this guy. My thinking is, he needs to get himself healthy first. If he can work to get back on the field in 2009 — that would be an incredible achievement. And I see that happening.

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Kenechi Udeze Recovering From Leukemia

Blogcasting the National Football League, Blogcasting the NFL

The Minnesota Vikings have been very active early in this free agency signing period, adding three projected starters in the first two days.

• The Vikings found a replacement for free agent All-Pro FB Tony Richardson by signing Thomas Tapeh from Philadelphia. Thomas is a native of Minnesota and was a running back for the Golden Gophers in college at the University of Minnesota. I think T2 is a great pickup, but I feel it’s a mistake to let Tony Richardson go. He was a big reason the Vikes had the best running game in the NFL last season. Thomas will not only have to plow a path for Adrian Peterson (like he did for Brian Westbrook), he’ll have to occasionally catch the ball, something TR did quite well when asked to.
• Minnesota added 26-year-old former Cincinnati Bengals free safety Madieu Williams. Madieu is very solid at his position with good cover skills (he came into the NFL four years ago as a cornerback). He had 74 tackles, two picks and two sacks in 13 games last season.
• The Vikings wooed and won over former Chicago Bears WR Bernard Berrian who was considered by many the second best wideout in this free agency class behind Randy Moss. B2 had a breakout season in ‘07 with, by far, the best numbers of his four-year career — 71 catches for 951 yards. Minnesota desperately needs help at the receiver position. They finished dead last in receptions last season. Now with Bernard on one side and the exciting Sidney Rice on the other — plus speedy WR/KR Aundrae Allison — the Vikings have a young and talented group to help take the pressure off the ground game.

Minnesota has not yet addressed their need for a defensive end who can apply pressure on the quarterback. They wanted to bring former Bengals DE Justin Smith in for an interview but he negotiated with the 49ers and never left San Francisco. Titans DE Antwan Odom is a great candidate. Despite his injury history, I still like Jevon Kearse, who is also available. Jags DE Bobby McCray is also out there. Sure the Vikes have a herd of players that could fill this pass-rushing role. They’ve addressed the need in previous Drafts, but none have proven, for one reason or another, that they are capable of the role yet — namely Erasmus James, Ray Edwards and Kenechi Udeze (who is now battling leukemia). The verdict is still out on Jayme Mitchell and Brian Robison.

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Minnesota Vikings Active in Free Agency, Bernard Berrian Fills Need at Wide Receiver

I was saddened to hear that Minnesota Vikings DE Kenechi Udeze has a form of leukemia. A person with the team, who remained anonymous because of the sensitive nature of the situation, confirmed this yesterday. The Vikings declined to comment, but they issued a short statement from head coach Brad Childress that didn’t specifically address Udeze’s condition:

“We respect the privacy of Kenechi. The thoughts and prayers of the entire Minnesota Vikings organization are with Kenechi and his family.”

Kenechi’s college coach at USC, Pete Carroll, also issued a statement, saying:

“Kenechi’s got a big battle on his hands. We’ve been talking with him, and we will continue to support him and send our good wishes and prayers his way. We know he’s going to come through strong and compete against this disease like a warrior, like he always has competed.”

It came as a complete shock, of course. As a society, I think we tend to look at NFL players as somewhat invincible because they’re young, rich and in good physical condition. But something like this can hit any of us at any time. Naturally, the first thing you hope for is a complete recovery. Football is now second in everyone’s mind. Kenechi is just a kid at 24 years old with a wife and new baby girl (born in November). Please keep him in your prayers.

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Vikings DE Kenechi Udeze Battling Leukemia