Long before Aaron Rodgers threw his first pass, referee Walt Anderson flipped a coin and Christina Aguilera botched the national anthem, Green Bay Packers linebacker Erik Walden had an end zone at Cowboys Stadium all to himself.
With nary another player around and linebackers coach Kevin Greene keeping a watchful eye over him, Walden ran sideline to sideline to test an ankle sprain he had suffered in the NFC Championship Game two weeks earlier. Heavily taped, Walden gave it his best and then got the news from Greene.
He wasn't going to play in Super Bowl XLV.
"KG did a great job of just kind of calming me down and making me see the big picture," Walden said, now six months later. "As long as we win, I'll still get a ring. That's the main thing. But that was tough; that was a tough pill to swallow."
It was tough because Walden came out of nowhere to secure the right outside linebacker position and become a prime-time performer for defensive coordinator Dom Capers in the playoffs. Before he rolled his ankle on the messy Soldier Field turf, he had amassed 31 tackles, four sacks, eight quarterback hits and a forced fumble in the final four games.
As fulfilling as it was to help the Packers achieve their dream, there was an empty spot in the pit of Walden's stomach left over from not playing.
"That's why I've been working so hard to help get this team back," he said. "Lord willing, hopefully, I can play this time."
Locked in a three-way battle with Frank Zombo and Brad Jones - both of whom started games at the position before Walden took over - Walden has been the one who has charged out of the gate first.
Every practice he seems to make one physical play that sends Greene into an apoplectic rush of celebration, usually resulting in Walden getting slapped on the helmet or chest-bumped. Physically more imposing than he was a year ago, Walden seems to be taking it just fine.
"I saw him at the ring ceremony and I was like, 'Man you swolled,' " inside linebacker Desmond Bishop said. "He definitely got bigger and more powerful in the off-season. It definitely shows."
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