End of a Streak

The Minnesota Vikings drafted Iowa linebacker Chad Greenway in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft. His rookie year came to an end before it could even start when he tore his ACL covering a kick in the first preseason game against the Oakland Raiders. His promising rookie year was spent in rehab rather than on the football field. The 2007 season was Greenway's rookie season and he was an immediate starter. He's played in every game since. A total of 115 games. Except for a November 9, 2008 game against the Green Bay Packers, Greenway has started every one of those games. The pass-happy Packers forced the Vikings to open that game with six defensive backs. Despite starting that game on the sideline, he had seven tackles and a sack. Greenway has started 90 consecutive games. That is the longest streak of any active NFL linebacker. His consecutive starts streak and his consecutive games played streak will come to an end tomorrow. He's been ruled out of the game against the Atlanta Falcons at TCF Bank Stadium because of a broken hand and a broken rib. It's interesting that Greenway's first career game and start came against the Falcons in 2007. His game streak ends with the Falcons.

"It's one of those things: When it comes to the weekend and it's time to play, you go play."
     -Chad Greenway

It's going to be strange to see the Vikings defense on the field and not see #52. He's been the one constant since 2007. The Vikings have had a fairly complete turnover on the defensive side of the ball. Greenway, defensive end Brian Robison and safety Harrison Smith are the only starters from last year that start this year. Second-year man Gerald Hodges will make his first career start in place of Greenway. There has been a lot of change in Minnesota since the calendar ticked over to 2014. This is a little more of the same.

It has always been easy to cheer for a football player like Chad Greenway. His effort was always high. More importantly, so was his enjoyment. He simply loved to play football. He was out early to practice to catch punts. He was always running around, smiling. He played the game like we all did as kids. Football is fun. It's fun to watch Greenway play football. Hopefully, he's doing it again real soon. He can start another streak.