Q&A: A Few Minutes With Haruki Nakamura
"WE STILL HAVE TO STAY AGGRESSIVE"
By Joe Platania
Saturday, July 31, 2010
WESTMINSTER -- Strong safety Haruki Nakamura is just 24 years old, but he has already learned to overcome many of life's obstacles and to help others do the same.
For one thing, Nakamura is an asthmatic, participating in many community-based programs to help others that suffer from that condition. For another, he has had some sibling rivalries to deal with: brother Yoshi was an Olympic-level wrestler and sister Kimiko was a USA national judo champion.
Coming off a promising rookie season in 2008, the 5-foot-10, 200-pound Nakamura went through a trial of his own last fall. The Ravens began the second half of the year with a Monday-night game in his Cleveland hometown, a scenario that certainly had him excited.
But while running downfield on the opening kickoff, Nakamura suffered a broken ankle and, two days later, became one of 14 Ravens that ended up on injured reserve in 2009.
Nakamura's injury has long since healed, but many of his teammates in the secondary bring plenty of health questions into this season, one of a few topics he touched on with Joe Platania after a recent training-camp practice.
JP: Football players are taught to overcome adversity quickly and to have a short memory. How much did (the Cleveland injury) affect you mentally?
HN: A lot, because of the fact that I was so frustrated. It didn't deter me or make me think I couldn't play football anymore. It was more of the fact that I was so frustrated and so ready to play, so ready to go. Like you said, that was a homecoming right there. Prime time, in front of your family, in front of your friends.
JP: Fans that look at the secondary now see a banged-up unit and a lot of questions. What do you see?
HN: I see that we have a secondary that played very well (last year) with guys who were banged up towards the end of the season, and those guys are returning this year. Think of how much better the secondary's going to be. When we're all healthy, we're going to take it above and beyond this year.
JP: The defense had approximately 20 pass-interference calls last year. What's been done during offseason workouts to combat that?
HN: You know, the biggest thing is that we still have to stay aggressive. Just have to play a little bit smarter and be more aware of situations that come up. It comes down to studying film sometimes, too, and you put yourself in a situation where you don't understand that you might run this route, and you get caught off guard, that's when you grab somebody. It could be the officials, but ultimately, as a player, you have to play disciplined (football) and be focused.
JP: You're listed as a strong safety. If the secondary really got banged up, could you play free safety if necessary?
HN: That's what the coaches feel about me, that I'm versatile enough to play whatever position. In some cases, they've had me playing dime linebacker. I've been able to play any position. They know I can play anything I need to play. I just love to play football!
JP: What should the fans know about the two safety positions that maybe they don't already?
HN: Sometimes, our guys are interchangeable. Dawan (Landry) could play free and Ed (Reed) could play strong. It could change, week in and week out. Strong safety is the guy nearest the box, and that's why Dawan's been so good, and at the same time, he can play the pass. We got guys who are versatile enough, they can play any position.
