Former COC Linemen Peko & Fanene: Along The Same Line

It is worth noting when a community college has two athletes in the NFL at the same time.

Two on the same team is attention-grabbing.

But two potentially start on the same side of the same defensive line?

That’s unheard of — except in Cincinnati.

For the fifth straight season, former College of the Canyons stars Domata Peko and Jonathan Fanene will play side-by-side for the Cincinnati Bengals, who opened the preseason Sunday with a 16-7 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.

Fanene had two tackles in the game, including a sack. Peko didn’t record a tackle.

“Who would ever think that two guys that grew up as close as those two did with each other, and went to the same junior college, would end up on the same (NFL) team?” says Cincinnati defensive line coach Jay Hayes.

“They are both doing very, very well,” he adds. “They are core players for us on our D-line.”

The 6-foot-4-inch, 292-pound Fanene played at COC in 2000 and 2001, while the 6-foot-3-inch, 320-pound Peko suited up for the Cougars in 2002 and 2003.

The two behemoths first met in high school after Peko moved from California to the small island of American Samoa, where Fanene was born.

Little did they know just how much their futures would intertwine.

“It’s really cool to have someone from the same place you’re from, who cares about you and understands the difficulties (you face),” Peko says. “Someone you can talk to when you miss home.”

Hayes praises their bond and the family nature that has been fostered within the defensive unit, as well as their play up front.

Their football skills began to take shape under former COC head coach Chuck Lyon and defensive line coach Leon Criner.

That especially rings true for Peko, who was named a Junior College All-American, an All-State first-teamer, the Western State Conference Player of the Year and a WSC first-teamer — all in 2003.

“Oh man, COC was so much fun,” he says. “It was a big part of my journey to get to the NFL. We had a good coach, who took really good care of me. That’s where I really learned how to play D-line.”

Peko evolved into a dominant community college defensive lineman and led the team to a Southern California championship and an appearance in the state championship game in 2002. One year later, the Cougars won the Western State Conference Bowl.

“He was more of a raw-talent guy than Jonathan was,” Lyon says. “He was a more true technique, inside tackle. He was a big kid, strong kid and had a little mean streak in him. He definitely had that from the beginning. He was a very quiet young man and didn’t say much. But he didn’t have to say much with his size.”

In 2001, Fanene helped COC beat Saddleback College 35-32 in the WSC Bowl at Cougar Stadium. It was the first-ever bowl victory in the program’s history.

“It was a jump start for me,” Fanene says of his time at COC. “That team right there was a family team. We had a picnic every Friday. We could bring our friends around and we could talk about football and the things we needed to get better and prepare for games on Saturday. The program was perfect, right on time for me and some of the teammates.”

Fanene had 65 tackles and 14 sacks in his final year with the Cougars before signing with Utah.

“He was really undersized, but he probably had the biggest motor I’ve ever coached,” Lyon says of Fanene. “He was just so darn quick and relentless in his pursuit of the ball that people couldn’t block him.”

Peko transferred to Michigan State for the 2004 season with his brother, Suki.

Two years later, Domata was drafted by the Bengals in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft.

“Domata has come in and as soon as he got here, was able to be productive and was able to play against players that were supposed to be some of the best guys in the league,” Hayes says. “He was able to handle them and really dominate them. ... He’s really been one of those guys that gets better and better all the time. As we get better, you’ll see Domata playing in the Pro Bowl and things like that.”

Fanene, meanwhile, was selected in the seventh round by Cincinnati in 2005 after two years under head coach Urban Meyer and a 2004 victory in the Fiesta Bowl.

“He is the first player off the bench for us,” Hayes says. “He can play all the positions and has played all the positions with us in his career. He really is considered a starter for us. Jon will play maybe 40 plays a game.”

In 2009, Fanene had 36 total tackles, six sacks and a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown in week 13 against Detroit.

Peko, voted a team captain, missed five games with a torn meniscus and finished with 27 total tackles.

Cincinnati’s defense allowed the fourth-fewest yards per game (301.4) in the NFL and the sixth-fewest points (18.2) last season.

Peko says the team’s goals include improving on both marks.

The duo’s biggest impact, however, may come in the form of mentorship.

And on a team that has battled character issues in recent years, their influence is invaluable, Hayes says.

Among the players they have taken under their wing is former USC linebacker Rey Maualuga.

“We are leaders on the team and we need to continue to help the young guys coming in and show them what it is to be an NFL player,” Fanene says. “A lot of guys that come in think it is all about them on the first day and about fast cars and everything else. But your job is the first priority.”

Adds Peko: “We’re not always very vocal leaders. By action and doing things on the field is how we lead.”

The mentality has taken both men a long way.

They’ve found passion in the sport they love.

And as they continue grinding away at football’s highest level, the best thing they may have found might be each other.

“They are like brothers,” Hayes says. “They teach us Samoan words and things like that. It’s always been a great situation to expand your horizons being around those guys. They are really sharp guys and are doing a lot of good things in the community. Both are very involved doing community service and are involved in their churches. They are good husbands and fathers and they love their work and what they do.”

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Rey Maualuga's First Year One To Grow On

 
His first season could easily be described as hectic both on and off the field. But over the last six months, things have come more into focus for Rey Maualuga.

Going into his second year with the Bengals, the linebacker has a clearer path of what he needs to do to succeed on the field while finding balance off it. A lot of that perspective has come six months following his arrest on drunk driving charges on Jan. 29 in Covington.

Maualuga was given seven days in jail, waived on the condition that he have no more offenses for two years, fined $859 and had his driver's license suspended for 90 days.

Since that incident, he said, he has not had a drink.

"It's just a learning process," Maualuga said. "Each day you're learning something new about yourself. It was a chance to get to know who I was, what I did and just to learn that different part of me when that incident actually happened. You have a clearer picture in life of your opportunities. It was a good thing it happened then."

In his first season of playing outside linebacker, Maualuga had a solid season with 80 tackles, which was fifth on team, but they were void of many big plays.

His biggest hit happened in Week 2 at Green Bay when he sacked Aaron Rodgers and forced a fumble. The next week against Pittsburgh he showed his toughness when he was carted off in the second half of the Pittsburgh game with what appeared to be a serious knee injury, only to return a couple series later.

His season ended prematurely in Week 16 against Kansas City when he fractured his left ankle. Maualuga returned in time for the on-field coaching sessions in May but was limited after feeling pain in his leg. Toward the end of OTAs he had surgery on his leg to remove calcium deposits and said that he was not feeling any pain after the first four days of camp.

Overall though Maualuga felt that last year was a disappointment.

"I wanted to come out and make more plays," he said. "I wanted to be in on every play and make an impact and I don't think I did that. I'm just hoping to wash away everything that happened last year what I did on the football field and worry about a fresh, new start."

Linebackers coach Jeff FitzGerald has also been impressed with the way Maualuga has matured over the last six months not only as a person but as someone trying to be a leader.

"It was a big-time reality check for him and he's handled it very well," FitzGerald said.

"When he joined the team for workouts he knew he had to win everyone back and do it the right way because people would be able to see through if he wasn't real about what he was doing. He needs to feel as though he gained some respect for the person that he is now, overcoming the mistakes that he made and that will push him into that leadership role a little more."

Asked to describe himself and the last six months, Maualuga sees himself as a more patient person and that it hasn't been a struggle, instead it's been more of a learning process. He's also hoping that through his mistakes that others can learn.

As for the biggest thing he's learned, Maualuga said it has been to live in the now and not worry about tomorrow or next week.

Even though last year was an adjustment for Maualuga in playing Sam (strong-side outside) linebacker for the first time, there's even more on his plate this year. Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer is putting Maualuga into more packages as the Mike (middle) linebacker in base and nickel packages. The middle is the more natural position for Maualuga.

He's also been playing the middle with Dhani Jones on some 3-4 packages that the Bengals will experiment with during the preseason.

"There's no excuse anymore. I've got a year under my belt and I think I know what I'm doing out there," Maualuga said. "As soon as a play is called you know why the coach is calling it and what my job is out in the field. I've got the physical part down. I just have to get that mental part going and line up and play."

For Maualuga and the linebackers, this is a big season. FitzGerald talks to the group about how they are a group that runs the defense. With Zimmer in his third year, they have the fundamentals down pat, but now is the time to turn it up a notch and be more physical and feared.

That's also a theme that FitzGerald has been hammering home to his group. He is hoping that this group can become like his 2006 group in Baltimore when Ray Lewis, Bart Scott, Terrell Suggs and Adalius Thomas all made the Pro Bowl.

"He's doing a good job with the learning process, and it's going to be a gradual climb for a while," FitzGerald said. "I think you will see him blossom even more so to his capabilities."

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Rey Maualuga's New Chapter

Rey Maualuga started his new chapter the other day.

Nick The Tailor did the writing. It was Nick that took just under two hours to tattoo 13 words on the right side of Maualuga’s rib cage. From just below the armpit to just above the hip to what Maualuga hopes punctuates in the Pro Bowl.

"Never regret anything because at one point

it was exactly what you wanted…"

“Think about it,” Maualuga says above the buzz of The Tailor’s handiwork. “If you didn’t do all the things you’ve done, you wouldn’t be where you are right now. All those things had to happen.”

Right now, Maualuga is sober, simmering and texting. He dodges thoughts of the needle with getting his broken leg back in time for the first snap of the May workouts. As always, these 245 pounds of Bengals linebacker are flowing in a restless current of contradiction. Laid back and passionate. Friendly and fierce. 

Funny and profound. You don’t get to be one of the most popular Bengals in recent memory by being a cardboard cutout.

He is lying on a massage table at Beelistic’s Blood & Money Tattoo & Piercing at the corner of West Clifton Avenue and McMillan Avenue on the lip of the University of Cincinnati campus. There is a lunchtime buzz in the place and in the back, Nick The Tailor’s résumé heavily influenced by mid-20th century motif glares from a wall of its own contradiction. There are the Sailor Jerry nods to booze and broads and pride and glory, heaven and hell and life and death. Maualuga’s bracelet dangles off the table with the name “Mrs. Davidson,” a Trenton, Ohio teacher diagnosed with leukemia late last year that he visited in a Cincinnati hospital.

Even amid the buzzing Maualuga is planning with Nick the next project on the left side of his ribs. It will be some sort of religious display. It is important to Maualuga that any brand on his body is not some blow-it-off-Post-It Note.

They all mean something. Particularly the dates on one of his arms:

12/23/61-1/2/06.

It is the birth of his father and “when he went to heaven.” It was his father, a pastor who told him that he could only put tattoos on his body if they meant something significant in their Samoan heritage.

“If my father were here when I got my DUI,” Maualuga says, “he would have been on the next plane and kicked my butt. ... He wasn’t bigger than me. He was shorter. But he had these huge arms. I remember when I first stood up to him. I was in eighth grade. I said something like, ‘Bleep it,’ and he dropped me. Boom, boom.  ‘Sorry, I won’t do that again.’ You hear about Samoans and discipline? Oh yeah. He told me, ‘I’m sorry I had to do that. But I love you and respect you and you can’t keep doing those things.' "

Cancer took his dad four years ago. Maualuga, 23, began drinking when he was 17. No connection he says.

“I could say ‘Yes,’ but I would be a liar,” he says. “I drank because I wanted to have fun and I wanted to do what everyone else was doing. The one thing I learned in there is that you can’t make excuses.”

He has been out of there, the Center for Drug and Alcohol Counseling in Charleston, S.C., for nearly two weeks and his body feels almost brand new. After he took out two cars and his reputation in a DUI arrest in late January, he vowed to get help after what he calls the worst day of his life. Ask him if he is an alcoholic, Maualuga gives the definition they gave him inside.

“If you drink and drive and get a DUI, you’re not an alcoholic,” he says. “If you do it again, now you’re an alcoholic. Certain people have certain limits. Every time I got in trouble was because of alcohol.” 

No more, he says, and so far so good. He says he's looking for a foundation, so he is moving out of his rented Clifton condo and looking to buy away from the lights. Last Thursday night came and went. A party night. He got texts and calls, but he stayed in. His “Goodbye To Alcohol Letter” he wrote in the clinic is still fresh in his mind.

“Thank you for making it easier to talk to girls even though I had a great one,” he recounts one passage.

One of the things he wrote made him think of one of his favorite songs.

“I wrote I thought it was love at first sight. You know that Bob Marley song?” he asks. “That’s what I thought about my relationship with alcohol.”

“From the very first time I rest my eyes on you, girl, my heart says follow through.”

But he is following through away from the stuff. He is still mad at himself. He is mad for letting off the teams that passed on him in the first round last year.

“There was speculation around me,” he recalls. “Can we trust him? He’s a party animal. Can he handle the money? Stuff like that. I just solidified what every head coach and owner said. ‘Thank God we didn’t draft this guy.’ ’’

And there are the Odell Thurman whispers. Had to be. Got in trouble after a sold rookie season at middle linebacker helped the Bengals win a division title…

“We’re two different players,” Maualuga says. “I’m moving on."

His two off-field goals are, "I don’t want to lose my fans. I don’t want to lose the respect in the city."

Thurman was a second-round pick who fell out of the first round because of character issues. It is all too familiar for Maualuga. But he is burning like one of Nick The Tailor’s needles to re-draw the scene. He says he’ll be the best example of “what not to do” for the draft class the Bengals choose in 16 days.

“Because I was a liability,” he says of his draft day tumble. “I didn’t take care of the classroom. I partied too much. I didn’t take things too seriously. I expected to go higher, but I can sit back and say, ‘OK, those things I did to myself.’ What I learned (in rehab) was you make your own decisions. Really, I was being interviewed the whole four years at ‘SC. Something else they said in there. ‘This too shall pass.’ ”

The Thurman thing should pass. For one thing, the Bengals never counted on Thurman being their middle linebacker again once they found out how far he got off the rails in ’06. That was made clear with the drafting of Ahmad Brooks. But Maualuga may actually get his first taste of NFL middle backer this spring after a solid rookie season at SAM, the first time he ventured out of the middle.

When the Bengals drafted him, he was seen as the middle linebacker of the future. That could be now, even with Dhani Jones here. Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer says it is way too early to project a lineup before the draft and the workouts, but he’ll tinker during the spring. So they could maybe experiment with Maualuga inside and Jones outside, or…

“I think Rey is a linebacker. He can play any of the spots,” Zimmer says. “We just have to find out what’s best for him and what works best for the team with the right combination. He played very well at SAM and that’s one of the questions at this time of year. Do you tweak things and if it doesn’t work, have you wasted time? How much do you mess with something that’s been OK? The don’t fix-it-if-it’s-not-broke theory. But you also want to see how good you can be. We’ll look at different combinations. The spring is kind of like spring ball in college and you get a chance to move some guys around and see what they do in different spots.”

Maualuga can’t wait to play anywhere. He’s driving the rehab for his broken leg as if the May camp is the first day of training camp and they have to remind him that he’ll be out there soon enough.

He’ll not only be out there, but he thinks he may be at a grade school in Trenton, Ohio one day this spring. When he got back last week, he had about 40 thank you letters from Mrs. Davidson’s class, thanking him for taking the time to visit their teacher. Now they want him to come and be principal for a day.

“Sounds good to me,” says Maualuga, who wonders if he has tipped Nick The Tailor enough.

“Plenty,” The Tailor says.

Not bad, Nick, for a new chapter.

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Maualuga Eyes Redemption With Pro Bowl Goal

Even before the DUI, even before the trip back Samoa, even before the month-long rehab, Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga knew his goal for 2010.

“The Pro Bowl,” he says.

Given the road to redemption script the Bengals wrote last year, why not? And if there is a guy that knows a Pro Bowl backer in the making, it is Bengals linebackers coach Jeff FitzGerald, who one season in Baltimore coached a Pro Bowler at every spot.

“Oh yes. That part is exciting,” says FitzGerald of Maualuga’s potential. “In order to realize that type ability, it’s got to be controlled.”

Admitting he’d been through “a little bit of havoc,” Maualuga returned to the Bengals Monday sounding more in control. Declaring that he’s “a different man,” and that his stint at the Center for Drug and Alcohol Counseling in Charleston, S.C. “was a life-changer for me,” he vowed this is “my year.”

“It was an eye-opening experience and blessing in disguise,” he said. “I found out a lot about myself that I didn’t know. I was able to sit back and listen to people’s stories and they gave me good feedback about mine. But I needed to show it with my actions.”

On Monday, Maualuga displayed why he has become one of the most popular Bengals in recent memory. He’s honest, humble, passionate.

“I just hope the city of Cincinnati and my fans will accept my apology and hopefully help me through all this and move forward now,” he said. “There’s a lot more important things to take care of. Just to get this workout underway and be back with my teammates and get things rolling again.”

What he sees now as more important is that Pro Bowl berth, where a Bengals linebacker hasn’t been named since Jim LeClair in 1976.

He had a strong rookie year despite switching from middle linebacker and playing SAM for the first time in his life. Before he broke his lower leg in the next to last game of the season, Maualuga had started every game and racked up 80 tackles. But this was the nation’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year and he was looking for something more explosive than one sack and two forced fumbles.
 

(One of those forced fumbles turned the Green Bay game in the 31-24 win on the road that turned the season.)

“It was a good first year for him from the standpoint of understanding the defense, understanding the position and the type of things that can get you dinged in this league week after week,” FitzGerald says. “He’s capable. He flashed doing those things. But you have to govern it. Sometimes you need a speed eliminator on there. Know how and when to control it. No question he made progress last year. But he wasn’t satisfied and neither was I.”

Maualuga may be right. He is already sounding like a different guy when asked what he has to do wreak more havoc on the field.

“Give my body the attention it deserves. My mind and expand it with more information and more knowledge of the game,” he said. “Last year I took everything lightly. I was just going with the steps. Just doing what I was supposed to do. But I think this year is a different year. It’s my year.”

He think his year of experience will “make it a lot easier,” to reach what he says is “The sky’s the limit.”
“I can be way better, I think, if I put all my effort into it,” he said. “I think I’ve got a lot more to offer and a lot more to give. I guess it’s easier said than done.”

So much happened to him so quickly. About a week after his DUI arrest in Covington, Ky., at the end of January, he returned to American Samoa for the first time since he was three years old on a trip with teammates Domata Peko and Jonathan Fanene.

They were there to give the governor a $40,000 check for relief efforts raised from Bengals fans for last year’s killer storm and to speak to the high school students of Pago Pago. Maualuga donated more than 700 pairs of cleats to the six football teams but it was also a family reunion that helped him develop even more perspective in the wake of his father’s death from cancer in 2006.

“Just to be able to be with my family and get closer to my dad’s side of the family,” he said. “And you see these kids who are trying to get to where myself and Domata and Fanene are at, it just makes you realize you do have a lot to lose. You do have people looking up to you. You can’t take it for granted. It’s a right; it’s not a privilege to be playing. I just have to take every day like it’s my last day and accept it and know there’s a lot of people out there trying to get to where I am.”

Now he’s trying for an ever higher spot.

The Pro Bowl.

“The only person that can stop me," he says, "is me,”

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Will Cleveland, Cincinnati Gamble On Iowa TE Tony Moeaki?

Iowa tight end Tony Moeaki reminds a lot of Hawkeye fans of Samuel L. Jackson's character in the movie Unbreakable .

In Unbreakable , Jackson plays Mr. Glass, a guy with a rare disease that causes his bones to be as brittle as eggshells. At one point, Mr. Glass takes a tumble down a flight of stairs and breaks about 12 of his bones.

That was Moeaki in 2007, when he dislocated his elbow and broke his hand on the same play in a game against Wisconsin, an injury that eventually forced him to take a medical red-shirt that year.

During the 2008 season, he dealt with foot, hamstring, and calf issues, and only saw limited action in nine games. In the second game of the 2009 season, he suffered an ankle injury that forced him to miss three more games.
Can you see how fitting the nickname is?

Yet, despite his seeming calcium deficiency , Moeaki overcame the adversity of the injury bug to become one of Ricky Stanzi's favorite targets in the clutch.

In a Big Ten game against Michigan, he caught two touchdown passes of over 30 yards to help secure the victory.

In the fourth quarter of the Ohio State game, Moeaki made a key catch off a tipped pass to give Iowa a first down, helping them force the game into overtime.

The injuries aside, this kid can play some football.

Moeaki is a complete tight end. At 6'4'', 250 lbs, he has the size it takes to make it in the NFL. And that size doesn't slow the kid down at all, either.

To go along with the great size and speed, he also has great hands, as demonstrated against Wisconsin when he made a ninja-like touchdown catch in the back of the end zone to tie the game.

Perhaps his greatest, and most overlooked skill, is his ability to run block. Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz hasn't overlooked it, and thinks the senior from the Island of Tonga is one of the most talented tight ends he has ever coached.

When someone like Ferentz says that about a player, NFL teams take notice.
With four months left before the 2010 draft, it is still anyone's guess as to which NFL teams will target Moeaki. The injuries might have diminished his stock a little, but there is plenty of time for him to prove himself.

So, which NFL teams need help the most from a player like Moeaki?

More Google searches for mock drafts won't help much.  Moeaki is anywhere from the fourth- to 13th-best tight end in the draft. Some mock draft sites have him as high as the late second round, others have him late in the sixth.

The Cleveland Browns might be a logical prediction at this point. With the No. 93 and the No. 104 pick in the draft, Cleveland has a few picks to use on a new tight end for Brady Quinn (or a new quarterback) to target.

Moeaki would help the Browns' passing game, as well as their running game because of his superior blocking ability.

The Cincinnati Bengals also have a need for a tight end, specifically a blocking tight end who can catch well. That's Tony to a T.

Eleven-year pro Reggie Kelly is in his seventh season with the Bengals, but was lost for the season to a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in practice. The reward in getting an all-around tight end to help fill in for Kelly could outweigh the risk.

There are several other teams rumored to be interested, too. The Kansas City Chiefs and Arizona Cardinals also seem to have a need for a tight end and seem like logical options, but they might end up selecting a tight end sooner in the draft.

The only thing that is for sure is there are almost four months until the draft, and anything can happen.

The 2010 NFL Draft will kick off on Thursday, April 22.
That's when Moeaki will find out which team is willing to take a chance on him.

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Bengals' Rey Maualuga Looks to Turn Life Around

ESPN's Adam Schefter has reported that Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga will enter the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California for at least 30 days once he returns from his trip to Samoa. He is traveling with teammates Domata Peko and Jonathan Fanene to visit areas that are still struggling after last year’s tsunami. Maualuga is expected to finish the treatment in time before the team begins their offseason conditioning program on March 29.

Last week, Maualuga pleaded guilty to DUI charges after he was arrested in northern Kentucky January 29 after he hit a parking meter and two parked cars. The former USC linebacker had a blood alcohol level of .157 after police reports indicated he had drank six Captain Morgan and Coca Colas. He received a suspended seven-day jail sentence and two years' probation along with a 90-day suspension of his driver's license.

While the actions of Maualuga will hurt the reputation of the Bengals as a team trying to lose their image as a team filled with players who constantly get in trouble with the law, there is a positive to the recent incident.

As an individual, Maualuga has realized the mistake he made and is taking the right approach to prevent it from happening again. There is so much potential for him after he played such a key role in Cincinnati’s defense this season and the Bengals should be happy he’s willing to turn his life around.

Between his jail sentence and time at the alcohol treatment center, Maualuga should be a different person by the time Cincinnati begins their offseason conditioning program at the end of March. If anything, this incident may have been a blessing in disguise if he can learn from it all and become not only a better person, but player.

The Bengals selected Maualuga with the 38th pick in last year’s draft. His season was cut short after suffering a fractured ankle in Week 16 against the Kansas City Chiefs and was a major reason behind the success of Cincinnati’s run defense. He started 15 games and finished his rookie season with 63 tackles, one sack, and three forced fumbles.

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Fanene Captains World Team

Fanene (left) with Mosi Tatupu (center) and brother Aiulua Fanene. (IFAF photo)

A week after 60 Minutes on CBS opened the nation’s eyes to the fact that American Samoa is fast becoming a production line for NFL talent, the Bengals’ own Jonathan Fanene was encouraging the next generation of young players from ‘the rock’ to make their mark on the game in South Florida.

Immediately following the AFC and NFC practices ahead of the 2010 NFL Pro Bowl, a 45-player roster representing ‘the World’ took on Team USA in USA Football’s Team USA vs. The World Game, presented by Riddell at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. Bengals defensive lineman Fanene was an Honorary Captain for the World team that featured his younger brother Aiulua among the linebacker corps alongside two other Samoans.

Fanene joined former New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams running back Mosi Tatupu to represent the World team, while former Miami Dolphins center Dwight Stephenson captained Team USA and the group accompanied NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for the pregame coin toss.

“I’m happy to be here to represent American Samoa, support my brother and his teammates and see how the World team fares against Team USA,” said Fanene, who with Domata Peko is one of two American Samoans on the Bengals roster.  “As soon I was asked to come down here, I had no hesitation. I hope I can give them advice on how to have a successful career in college football and the NFL and to enjoy playing football.”

The World team, featuring players from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico and Sweden in addition to American Samoa fared well against a Team USA comprised of 45 high school seniors who have committed to some of the nation’s top college football programs. Down by a touchdown conceded on the stroke of halftime, the World team rallied, but eventually lost 17-0. The margin of defeat was narrower than many predicted and suggested the world in football terms is becoming a smaller place.

“The World team impressed me and with a few more breaks they could have won the game,” said Fanene. “There is clearly a talent pool that exists outside the United States that is improving and growing. I want to thank IFAF (International federation of American Football) for choosing me to be a captain for the World team.”

More information on football internationally and in American Samoa can be found at IFAF.org.

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Special Mission For Bengals Players

Bengals players Domata Peko, Rey Maualuga and Jonathan Fanene are in American Samoa, bringing an end to a long journey toward helping their beloved island recover from a devastating tsunami.

They spent months working to raise $40,000 to help the relief effort. They will present island leaders with the money in special ceremonies Monday.

Local 12's Tara Pachmayer and photographer Ed Burkholder are traveling with the trio. You can follow their stories here on Local12.com and on Local 12 News at 5:00pm and 11:00pm all this week.

Tara is also blogging about the trip.  Scroll down to read her account of the trip!

Sunday, Feb 7th, 4:51 p.m. Hawaii

Just boarded a plane to Samoa. Photojournalist Ed Burkholder and I left Local 12 around 3:45 this morning. We flew to Dallas, then Hawaii. A neat part about landing in Hawaii was the flight attendant recognized all the military on board and we gave them a huge, and well deserved, round of applause.

We met Domata Peko, Jonathan Fanene and Rey Maualuga in Hawaii. We only had a couple minutes with the guys before boarding the plane. Rey said that he will go to rehab to better himself, and everyone is just focused on all the good things that will get accomplished on this trip.

I'll write more when we get to Samoa!!!

Samoa 1:17 am
We finally made it to Samoa! I can't wait to see what the island looks like in the daylight! There were at least 200 people waiting for the Samoan Bengals at the airport... most of them were members of Domata Peko's family. They wore "Who Dey" shirts and chanted his name... it was pretty cool. Peko's family has been so kind to Ed and me. They hugged us when we got off the plane and presented with lei's.

I had a little more time to talk to Rey Maualuga tonight. It is important for him to be on this trip because it is a chance for him to spend time with members of his father's family. His dad died 4 years ago, so this is a healing trip for him. We'll talk about it more in the coming days... it is just a bit overwhelming right now.

Peko has a pretty packed schedule for us. We are going to be there when the Bengals hand over that $40,000 check for tsunami relief later today, and we are going to visit every school on the island. Peko has a HUGE surprise for all of the football players here! I can't wait to share their stories! I need to catch some z's... the sun will be up before I know it. By the way, it is 87 degrees here... in the middle of the night!

1:48 p.m. Samoa

Ed and I tried to grab breakfast before leaving the hotel this morning. We went to the internet cafe at our hotel, where they were blasting Kenny Rogers, "She Believes in Me". The song played the entire 15 minutes were in there. It was so annoying, and I know that me writing this means that News Director Elbert Tucker will sing Kenny Rogers every time he passes me at work for the next year!

Today we saw the island for the first time, and it is beautiful... it looks like any tropical paradise you would image. There are, however, spots that have yet to be rebuilt. The Bengals donations will help rebuild homes for people here.

The Samoan Bengals delivered their $40,000 donation today. It was very touching... very hot in the room... but very touching. The Governor thanked them repeatedly for not turning their backs on their people. He even awarded them with medals.

We are planning a 1-on-1 interview with Rey Maualuga later this afternoon. We also have a pig roast with Peko's family this week, as well as a couple visits to high schools in the area for the surprise I keep talking about. One more exciting tidbit... the Governor invited Ed and me to a special dinner on Thursday night to honor the Samoan Bengals!

Monday, February 8th Samoa time 7:55pm... Cincinnati time, 1:55am (February 9th)

Hello again! You know how everyone thinks everyone else is a bad driver? Well, the same goes for Samoa! We have made a new friend... our cab driver, Simise. Simise, like everyone else on the island, drives 20 miles per hour... and he drives as close to the person in front of us as possible. It's amazing how driving 20 miles per hour can still be scary!

Tomorrow Domata's Aunt is going to pick us up and take us to our shoots. Speaking of aunts... all the kids here call adults that are not their parents, "auntie and uncle". It is a sign of respect. A few kids here have called me "Auntie"... it makes me miss my nephew back home in Cincinnati (Hi Ethan... I love you!).

I had a really nice sit down interview with Rey Maualuga today. We talked about the death of his father 4 years ago. His father was a military man that was a strict disciplinarian. Obviously Rey got in trouble with the law recently. He also addressed that in our interview... apologizing to everyone in the Bengals organization, his family and the people of Cincinnati. He says he made an error in judgment and will NEVER do it again. He will be seeking professional help after this trip to Samoa.

Tomorrow we are going with Domata Peko to his high school and some other high schools. He will speak to the kids there and he has a huge surprise for them (I know I keep teasing you with this... but I promise, the surprise will be revealed soon). It's so funny to see our Samoan Bengals in Samoa. I say that because they stick out in Cincinnati with their size and hair, but here they fit right in with the crowd.

Tuesday, 7:01 am Samoa... 1:01 pm Cincinnati
 
I'm sorry to see on www.local12.com that you guys are having another round of snow. I'm in the complete opposite... intense heat... which I am sure you would be happy to trade spots with me. Walking outside in Samoa is like walking in to a heat wall. And most buildings only have 3 sides, so you feel like you are outside even when you are inside.

We are waiting for Domata's aunt to pick us up... I probably should hurry. I just wanted to make sure to write about how the $40,000 is going to be used by the people of Samoa. Emergency relief dollars only go so far, and sometimes only the bare minimum is done with that money. For example, a house is rebuilt with one or 2 rooms... but here in Samoa, it's not unusual for 2-3 families to live together. Brothers and sisters sometimes share homes with their respective families. There simply isn't room for people to live.

There isn't much that goes in to building their homes... they aren't living lavish lifestyles... but they do need the space. We are off to witness Domata change some football players' lives! 

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Journey to Samoa

Cincinnati's Local 12 is joining the Cincinnati Bengals for an away trip ... far, far away ... to Samoa!

Local 12 Sports Anchor Tara Pachmayer joins Bengals players Domata Peko, Jonathan Fanene and Rey Maualuga on their journey to Samoa, the South Pacific Island where they grew up. The five-day coverage event begins Sunday, February 7 after the Super Bowl.

The trio is on a mission of goodwill, visiting their community devastated by a tsunami last fall. Local 12 will be there as the players are reunited with family and friends, and provide much-needed aid to the island they love. Local 12 has agreed to share their experiences from Samoa with bengals.com, so be on the lookout for the first reports next week. 

"They’re really excited," Peko said. "I’ve talked to a lot of my family and old friends and they say the island is so excited. They can’t wait to see us and we can’t wait to see them.”

Local 12 will take a look at their football roots and trace the footsteps that led them to the Cincinnati Bengals.

“I actually think this is going to be an extremely emotional trip for the Samoan Bengals," Pachmayer said. "We see these guys as big, tough and strong, but they haven't seen their homeland since its devastation, and they haven't yet seen the faces of the people they are going to help.”

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The Impact of Maualuga's Absence Shows in Cincinnati Bengals' Defense

 

The Cincinnati Bengals knew how much of an impact the absence of rookie linebacker Rey Maualuga would have on their defense, but they didn't realize it would be this bad.

Maualuga was placed on injured reserve after he broke his ankle in the Bengals 17-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs during Week 16. The injury could not have come at a worse time for a team making their first playoff appearance in four years.

Before their 37-0 blowout loss to the New York Jets, the Bengals entered the game with the second best rushing defense in the NFL, allowing opposing teams to gain just 87.7 yards per game. They also allowed just two running backs to break the 100 yard mark all season (Cleveland Browns running back Jerome Harrison and Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles).

Maualuga finished fourth on the team before his season-ending injury with 63 tackles. He also forced three fumbles and recorded one sack. Without him in the lineup, the Bengals struggled against the Jets running attack, who ranks first in the NFL in yards per game by averaging 172.2.

New York Jets wide receiver Brad Smith finished with 97 yards on just four carries, including a 57-yard scramble in the wildcat formation—the longest run allowed by the Bengals' defense all season. Thomas Jones finished with 78 yards and two touchdowns while rookie running back Shonn Greene finished with 62 yards on the ground.

Most teams don't see a second chance against a team that embarrassed them earlier in the season. For the Bengals, they get a second chance against the Jets not even seven days following their embarrassment at Giants Stadium.

The Jets will go as far in the playoffs as their running game will take them. If the Bengals' defense can shutdown Jones and Greene while forcing rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez to throw more, the game should be much closer than it was last weekend.

Unfortunately, the Bengals will need to figure out a way of accomplishing without the presence of Maualuga.

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Fanene, Peko Realizing Their Potential

Domata Peko invited his longtime friend and teammate, Jonathan Fanene, and Fanene's family to join him for Thanksgiving dinner. The invitation soon spread to all of the Polynesian players on the roster, their families, and any other player without a place to go.

"The Peko household is open to everybody," Peko said with a smile.

Domata Peko

That he and his wife are so willing to host is a sign of how seriously he takes his role as a captain and team leader.

That he and Fanene are still together -- from American Samoa to College of the Canyons to the bottom of the Bengals roster to the starting lineup of a first-place team -- is a sign of how seriously they take their jobs.

"They are great guys to coach, and I couldn't be happier with either of them," defensive line coach Jay Hayes said. "I feel fortunate to have them in my room."

Neither grew up playing football, but they took to the game quickly enough to earn Division I college scholarships and get drafted by the Bengals: Fanene in the seventh round in 2005, Peko in the fourth round a year later. Peko became a starter by his second season, earned a multi-million dollar raise prior to his third and was named captain for his fourth. Fanene finally cracked the starting lineup this season after an injury to Antwan Odom, and he is second on the team with five sacks.

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said Fanene has improved more since arriving in the NFL than any player he has seen.

"I would agree with Marvin," Fanene said. "I've been working hard since the off-season with coach Mike Zimmer, and he taught me a lot of good stuff -- not only me but the whole D-line."

Fanene said he has made particular improvement with his technique and his knowledge of the defense, and Hayes said he is in better shape. "Right now I feel comfortable," Fanene said.

Domata Peko celebrates a big play by the defense. Photo by Chris Bergman

Peko believes his lack of experience prior to the NFL has been an asset, for it made him a blank slate for Hayes and Zimmer.

"I didn't learn any bad techniques," he said. "I had no bad habits."

Peko said he did not play football until his senior year of high school, but he showed enough talent to continue his career the next year at College of the Canyons, a junior college in California where he was reunited with Fanene. The two knew each other while growing up in American Samoa, though they were not close friends at the time.

Peko played defensive line in junior college and at Michigan State. His breakout season came as a senior in 2005, when he emerged as a playmaking defensive tackle for the Spartans.

Fanene began playing football at age 14, first as a receiver and tight end. He moved to defense as a high school senior and played outside linebacker in junior college. He then spent two years at Utah, where he played defensive line.

The Bengals drafted him mostly on long-term potential, and he was active for only seven games in his first two NFL seasons.

Jonathan Fanene

"It took me almost a year to learn the defense," Fanene said. "It wasn't like college. There were just a lot of little things I wasn't prepared for."

Hayes agreed. He said Fanene was "green as grass when he got here," but gifted enough that the Bengals were willing to wait for his game to grow.

"The first time he ever got in a game, first play, he had a tackle for loss," Hayes said. "Pittsburgh game. Next play, he was all over Ben Roethlisberger. He's always been a disruptive player. He has that burst."

As Fanene learned how to watch film and play through pain, Hayes and the coaches found ways to get him on the field, including moving him from end to tackle on passing downs to take advantage of his pass-rush skills.

Peko was nearly as raw when he arrived in Cincinnati, but he was athletic enough and tough enough to fill a role as a rookie. He earned a starting job the next year.

Hayes credited each of them for their willingness to take instruction and work year-round.

"They always have been willing to do what you ask them and go the extra mile, work really hard in the off-season," Hayes said. "You could tell because of how they produce when the time comes. The one thing about both of them: I stress with them what they need to work on and they do it."

It is a point of pride for Peko, and perhaps the biggest reason why the gifted-but-green fourth-round pick has become a cornerstone of a rapidly improving defense.

"I've always been a hard worker. If I'm here at work, it's not time to play, it's time to work," he said. "I want to be remembered as a coachable guy. If my coach says there is something to work on, I'm going to work on it. I don't want to be, like, `Oh, I know what I'm doing.' That's the thing about Fanene, myself, a lot of these guys on this team, we're all coachable people and I think that's a big point."

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Rey Sees Ray-Ray

When he was drafted by the Bengals back in April, it wasn’t said but people just assumed that head coach Marvin Lewis now had his Cincinnati version of Ray Lewis in the form of Rey Maualuga.

Same first name. Same swagger and intensity. Same division.

Even Ray Lewis, who was drafted and groomed into a Pro Bowler when Marvin Lewis was his defensive coordinator, figured it, too.

“I’ve watched him at USC,” Ray Lewis told the Baltimore media Wednesday. “I think he was a young kid who liked flying to the ball. I think they’re kind of bringing that same atmosphere over there. Marvin’s got him somebody who can turn into a thumper and be a leader over there.”

And Maualuga was watching Lewis long before this season.

“He’s definitely a person I want to see myself as. An intimidator. This will be a perfect game to make a statement,” said Maualuga, speaking as much for his fellow backers as for himself. “He’s a beast. A great player. Someone that can make an impact on a defense.”

Maualuga has had a more than a solid rookie year. He clearly brings the wood like few guys in the league with two forced fumbles, a pass defensed, a sack, and a team third-best 38 tackles. But he knows if he wants to be like Lewis, he’ll have to do something with the ball.

“Be alert,” he said. “Look for me in the end zone.”

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Agent Says Vakapuna is Back

The agent for Fui Vakapuna said Tuesday his client has agreed to re-sign with the club. Since the Bengals don't announce deals until they are signed, it appears Vakapuna plans to sign his contract when he arrives in town. Agent Dave Lee said Vakapuna is moving to the 53-man roster from the Arizona practice squad, where he has been since the Bengals released him just before the start of the regular season.

When the Bengals decided to cut seventh-rounder Fui Vakapuna and keep Jeremi Johnson on the active roster and Chris Pressley on the practice squad, they weren’t down on Vakapuna. What Johnson and Pressley have on Vakapuna at the moment is their ability to anchor and absorb jolts from linebackers and defensive ends in the blocking game.

But the Bengals love the 6-0, 260-pound Vakapuna’s athleticism and think he’s a good player whose best days are in front of him. Vakapuna, who re-signed with the club Tuesday, is a bright, engaging guy that knows all of this.

“They just want that punch, that shot, explosiveness,” Vakapuna said Wednesday before his first practice back. “Getting out and just hitting somebody. I think it is more leverage, learning how to get my legs under me, my hips, my thrust, everything.”

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Polynesian Player Pool Growing

As the popularity of the NFL increases around the world, the diverse pool of players contributing to the game continues to expand.

When the Browns drafted linebackers David Veikune (52nd overall) and Kaluka Maiava (104th) in the second and fourth rounds respectively, they welcomed two new Pacific Islanders into the NFL.

"Polynesians, they're pretty strong, very powerful, physical people," Veikune said. "The NFL's a very physical game, so I think they put two and two together and started recruiting over there."

"We're just people trying to play football and have a job," said Maiava. "I don't know if we're the chosen few or anything. We're just trying to make a living."

The Bengals, this Sunday's opponent and the Browns' in-state rival, added a player of Samoan descent when they selected linebacker Rey Maualuga with the sixth pick in the second round (No. 38 overall).

Maualuga played linebacker next to Maiava at the University of Southern California and knows what his fellow Samoan brings to the field.

"Kaluka's a great linebacker in my eyes, an undersized linebacker, but has a lot of heart and determination to get things done," Maualuga said in a teleconference Wednesday. "He's a playmaker. Given the opportunity, he will make plays."

Veikune is a native of Wahiawa on the Island of Oahu, while Maiava hails from Wailuku on Maui. Maiava also has roots in American Samoa and proudly displays his heritage with tattoos around his right arm and leg.

In addition to Maualuga, Bengals defensive tackles Jonathan Fanene and Domata Peko are also of Samoan descent.

They are the latest players with roots in the Pacific trying to make an impact at the NFL level. Last season, almost 30 Polynesian players played in the NFL.

Steelers free safety Troy Polamalu has been one of the more high-profile Samoan players to compete in the NFL. He has 438 career tackles, 332 solo stops and 7 quarterback sacks over his seven seasons in Pittsburgh. He has 18 interceptions and returned one for a touchdown during the 2004 season.

Before Polamalu was bothering quarterbacks with blitzes off the edge or providing big hits to receivers going across the middle of the field, linebacker Junior Seau was setting the standard for Samoan players.

Seau played in the NFL from 1990 to 2008 with the Chargers, Dolphins and Patriots. During his career, Seau collected 56.5 quarterback sacks and 18 interceptions.

With the success of Hawaiian and Samoan players in the NFL, more people are paying attention to high school and college football in that region. Every coach who scouts in the area is trying to land the next big star from the islands.

"In Samoa, a lot of coaches go over there to recruit out of college," said Veikune. "A lot of guys are getting opportunities that they used to not get before."

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Trends Continue

A couple of trends that emerged in the Bengals’ first three games kept going Sunday in the 23-20 overtime victory.

The defense kept coming up big inside the 20. After the Browns got the ball in the red zone in the second half on Bengals wide receiver Andre Caldwell’s fumble on a kickoff (the 18) and Browns wide receiver Josh Cribbs’ 50-yard punt return (the 14), the Bengals allowed field goals instead of touchdowns to fall behind 20-14 instead of 28-14.

“We just weren’t going to let them get anything; we played better,” said rookie SAM linebacker Rey Maualuga, who played all the way despite his sprained MCL. “No easy games in the NFL, I guess that’s what I’m finding out.”

It was a bit of an emotional game for Maualuga. Like his fellow Samoans Domata Peko and Jonathan Fanene, he wore a native skirt and a shell necklace during the road trip to show solidarity with his fellow countrymen coping with the devastating earthquake on American Samoa. Maualuga wore the skirt of his late father whom died of cancer while the younger Maualuga was in college.

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Maualuga Dons Big Blue

OK, so he’s not as easy on the eyes as Ashley Judd, but Bengals rookie linebacker Rey Maualuga was a welcome sight when he showed up last Saturday at Paul Brown Stadium to play cornhole with the Kentucky tailgaters before the UK vs. Miami football game.

Professional athletes have an incredible opportunity for spreading some joy. It’s always great to see one of them take it.

When I got home Wednesday afternoon after Bengals practice to write this column, my wife was unwinding after a day of school by watching 'The Oprah Winfrey Show.'

I’m not an Oprah fan, but 15 seconds into a brief video about her “Dream Comes True” series – this one was updating John Tartaglio, Jr., about his meeting with Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter – I was tearing up.

It reminded me of a scene in the movie, "Ocean’s 13," when Brad Pitt catches George Clooney sniffling at an Oprah giveaway on her TV show. ("Are you crying?" Pitt asks Clooney.) I can’t help myself. I’m a sucker for tear-jerkers.

None of this is to equate what Maualuga did for Kentucky fans to what Jeter did for Tartaglio (and vice versa). It’s just to say that athletes can make a difference, and I love it when they do.

Maualuga, the hard-hitting linebacker from the University of Southern California, who has won the starting job after dropping to the second round of the NFL draft, is getting ready for his first pro game Sunday vs. the Denver Broncos at Paul Brown Stadium.

He says his forays into the public eye in Greater Cincinnati have made him appreciative of his role as a public figure.

“Tuesday, I went out to Milford to to watch a friend’s 10-year-old practice, and afterward the kids ran up to me and said, ‘Hey, you play for the Bengals, don’t you?

'That’s my favorite team!’ I heard one kid say. ‘Who is that guy?’ I heard another guy say. ‘That’s T.J.’ They thought I was T.J. (Houshmandzadeh) because my hair was in a ponytail. Another kid said, ‘No, that’s Rey Maualuga, our second-round pick; he’s from USC.’

"These are 10-year-olds! You wouldn’t expect ‘em to know things like that. So, things like that - I don’t know - it just brings ya’ down to earth.”

Last Saturday, Maualuga just genuinely wanted to experience the feeling of attending a big-time college football game atmosphere, so he went to the UK vs. Miami game.

“It was my first college game to just walk around and be a fan,” Maualuga said. “I went back-and-forth between the Kentucky and Miami sides, and everybody was happy even though I had a Kentucky shirt on. Nobody from Miami said, ‘What’s with the Kentucky shirt?’ They were all like, ‘Hey, Rey, glad you came out.’ I enjoyed it.”

With his shoulder-length hair and Polynesian tattoos covering much of both arms, Maualuga isn’t about to blend, but he also has the personality to welcome and embrace the attention.

Some athletes don’t do as well as others in public settings. It would be wrong to expect them to, simply because they’re pro athletes. But everybody can make a difference in their own way.

One can tell by Maualuga’s body language that he embraces the love and that it fuels his desire to give his best on the field.

“When I came here,” he said, “I was upset that I (had fallen to the second round). But things opened up for me with the way the fans accepted me and were glad to have me here. I try to give that back.”

There is a Polynesian tradition of closeness of family and God that Maualuga, who is of Samoan descent, tries to live out.

He was born in Fort Sill, Okla., where his Samoan-born father, Talatonu, and mother, Tina, were stationed with the U.S. Army. Talatonu later became a Pentecostal minister. The family moved to Hawaii and then California, where Rey was raised.

“I’m glad that I’m here,” he said unabashedly, noting the family-oriented nature of the team, and the presence of other Samoans, Domata Peko and Jonathan Fanene.

“The team took me in as a brother,” Maualuga said. “I’ve talked to some of the vets and they say some of the guys who were with the team and left for other teams miss the closeness of the guys here. This linebacker group is something special. We go out to eat together all the time. Dhani (Jones) has been the leader. I already cherish the (relationships) here.”

Among the special relationships are those with Peko and Fanene, who share his love for football and family.

“There’s a thing called, ‘The Samoan Way,’ ” Maualuga said. “It comes from within. It’s harder for me to explain, because I didn’t grow up in Samoa.”

And how excited is Maualuga to play in his first NFL game Sunday?

“It’s a feeling I can’t explain,” he said. “I’m very anxious to get out there and perform. I’ll try not to be too over-excited, because if I’m over-excited, it will make me play the game the way I wasn’t taught to play it. I can play with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder, but I don’t want to use it in such a way that I’m playing out of control. It would make me play with anger and regret that I don’t want to play with.

“I want to go out there with a calm mind and just do what I’ve been taught to do. I just wish my dad could be here to experience this with me.”

His dad can’t be here, but my guess is that some 10-year-olds from Milford, and some UK fans from Lexington who hadn’t planned to be at PBS on Sunday, now will be.

That’s the Samoan Way, too.

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Rey Maualuga is Earning his Stripes with the Bengals

Reporting from Cincinnati - The questions still follow him. He's dressing for practice in preparation for the Cincinnati Bengals' final exhibition game against the Indianapolis Colts, and he's nearly 2,000 miles from home, where the criticisms first began. But those unkind evaluations still trail behind.

Perhaps former USC All-American linebacker Rey Maualuga thought those queries had evaporated. Maybe he thought that since he had begun showing his potential with Cincinnati, the team that took him in the middle of the second round of the NFL draft, he wouldn't have to ponder the negative analyses of anonymous scouts any more.

The inquiries about his intelligence, about his maturity, about his ability to transform his collegiate success into a solid pro career. Maualuga has found that, even though linebackers coach Jeff FitzGerald proclaimed on a recent episode of HBO's "Hard Knocks" that the staff absolutely had to get the Eureka, Calif., native in the starting lineup, the questions about his NFL talent have not faded away.

"People are going to talk," Maualuga said, resting a hand, complete with a Jamaica-inspired "One Love" bracelet wrapped around his wrist, on a shelf inside his rookie-sized metal locker. "They're going to say one thing about you and they're going to say you can't do this. Regardless of what I said, it wasn't going to help me get drafted the place I wanted to get drafted. I was going to have to come here and let my play speak for itself."

So far, his play has spoken like a man screaming into a microphone. Against St. Louis in the third exhibition game, he led the team with eight tackles, and although he started the season behind Rashad Jeanty on the depth chart at strong-side linebacker, FitzGerald said this week that Maualuga has made the race to start a neck-and-neck battle. On Sunday, Maualuga said he has been told he'll be the starter in the season opener, though the Bengals have not announced it.

He has also impressed coaches with his ability to work as a middle linebacker, the position he played at USC, when the Bengals switch to a nickel package in passing situations.

"Quite honestly, at the outside linebacker position, we had some questions about his pass coverage and him playing out in space, just because we hadn't seen him do it before," FitzGerald said. "Up to this point, we've been pleased with what we've seen. You're always concerned if you don't actually see a guy doing that. He was playing inside linebacker exclusively, and we didn't see him cover receivers outside of the box. That was a big question we had when he came into spring ball. He did a good job, and he's carried that into training camp."

While scouts wondered plenty about his on-field exploits (was he only a big-play wonder? Was he too inconsistent?), the biggest questions concerned his maturity.

Before last season's Rose Bowl, Maualuga -- who won the Bednarik Award as the nation's top defensive player -- was caught on video, dancing suggestively behind ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews. It didn't reflect well on him, and he realized his mistake soon after the video drew millions of views on YouTube.

"I made an apology with the way I handled myself during that time," Maualuga said. "I just felt like I was disrespectful toward women. I just didn't want it to seem that we could do things and get away with it."

The line he's walked since has been to maintain his happy-go-lucky, chilled-out, good-for-the-team personality while shying away from becoming too obnoxious for a rookie linebacker trying to take a starting spot away from a veteran.

Instead, he was always the last rookie at training camp in Georgetown, Ky., to sign autographs -- once, he stayed so long, his legs cramped, and he had to be carted off the field while he continued to autograph footballs and fling them to fans -- and he's playfully stolen walkie-talkies from unsuspecting team interns.

Harmless fun, yes. But still, the full light of his shining personality won't be evident until Maualuga understands the finer points of his position.

"That is just a glimmer of the guy we're going to see on the field," FitzGerald said. "He'll be a good guy with the community. He'll be interactive with people. That will come. Right now, it's about learning how to play the defense, learning how to use the techniques we use at linebacker, and getting out there and playing your [behind] off."

The veterans around him at linebacker and several fellow former Trojans -- linebacker Keith Rivers, defensive end Frostee Rucker and quarterback Carson Palmer -- will help him harness his enthusiasm.

"He's a high-spirited guy, and bringing that to the team is always a good thing," said strong safety Chinedum Ndukwe. "He just needs to make sure he channels it in the right direction. He's going to make the plays regardless. I'm sure Rey wants to be that big-time player, and having those veteran guys around him will really help him out."

Maualuga was hindered early in camp by a hamstring injury that kept him out of practice for about a week and caused him to miss the first exhibition game. But since then, with his accelerated repetitions in practice, he's performed well.

"He may make a slight error or whatever, but he's going at full speed," Bengals Coach Marvin Lewis said. "When he does it, he's doing it at an impact. Rey comes here like most college players and he has to learn the discipline with his eyes. That's true with every college linebacker you watch. But they had a very diverse defensive system, and there were a lot of things he learned to do on campus at USC. He had an advantage."

While Maualuga has tried to answer most of the criticism with his preseason participation, he hasn't forgotten about what happened in April. At first, he says he was bitter when he fell into the second round, but he's also gotten over the snub. Yet, the way he plays confirms he's still trying to answer the questions that haven't quite evaporated.

"I don't know if I have something to prove," Maualuga said. "I just have to go out there and play straight football. Do what I've been taught and what I've been coached. I'm not going out of my way to show these other people what I can do. This is football. This is the game I've played for the last 12 years. Hopefully -- not hopefully -- but somewhere down the line, people are going to say, 'He's a football player. We made a mistake. This guy can play.' I'm going to show that."

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Vakapuna & Maualuga Highlight 'Hard Knocks' Episode III

During the rookie show I love love loved the Samoan dance and chant led by Fui Vakapuna and Rey Maualuga. I wish the Bengals would do that before every game as they close their warmups to strike fear into the hearts of their opponents, because seeing the crazy eyes of Fui while doing the over-the-top masculine Samoan dance would loosen the bowels of many within his sightline, I imagine.

Rey Maualuga may actually kill someone on the field of play this year. I was very excited to hear the coaches say that Rey has to start somewhere for the betterment of the team. What an exciting player to have on our team. He was described as a "Hammer" last night on the show, and I couldn't think of a better word for him. The man hits like a Mack Truck and is unbelievably quick to the ball. I think if I were Hines Ward I would be getting seriously concerned about any plays that take me across the middle at this point between Rivers and Maualuga being on the field.

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Who-Dey Meets Rey

More than a few eyebrows were raised last April when their second-round pick came and the Rams, desperately looking for a stopper in the middle of a run defense that had been gashed for nearly five yards per carry, tapped Ohio State middle linebacker James Laurinaitis.

Still on the board?

"Maybe the defense they had, they weren't looking for the type of guy of guy like me. When they picked James, it's like ... I don't know," said Rey Maualuga, the Bengals rookie who has fit in so well with the team that did take him he is now known as "Who-Dey Rey."

"He's a good player, don’t get me wrong," Maualuga said of Laurinaitis. "And a good guy. He's going to do great things for them."

Thursday night at Paul Brown Stadium in a 7:30 p.m. game (11:30 p.m. on Channel 12 in Cincinnati), Maualuga and Laurinaitis come off the board to meet in the third preseason game that is traditionally known around the NFL as the dress rehearsal for Opening Day.

New Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo, Tom Coughlin's defensive coordinator with the Giants, figures to go at it traditionally after playing his starters in the first half of a 20-13 loss to the Falcons. While he's expected to play some of his starters into the second half, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis won't say what he'll do and laughed off the notion this week that the starters need to get a feel for coming out of the locker room.

But the starters on both sides should play long enough to get a feel for some of the more intriguing matchups that start literally in the middle with last season's two best inside backers in the nation.

Laurinaitis gets the start in the middle for a defense reeling from giving up 162 yards on the ground to the Falcons at 5.6 yards a shot. He has shown some physical push and he came up with an interception off a tipped pass last week. Maualuga hopes to play more at backup SAM linebacker after last week's impressive debut in New England the Bengals kept the Patriots out of the end zone in a 7-6 win.

Also on tap is Bengals right tackle Anthony Collins' matchup with James Hall, the Rams' leading sacker from last season and perhaps a dose of Chris Long; Bengals left end Robert Geathers pitted against the second pick in the draft, right tackle Jason Smith; Bengals fleet wideouts Chad Ochocinco and Chris Henry against emerging Rams cornerback Ron Bartell.

A backup quarterback matchup of the Bengals' J.T. O'Sullivan and the Rams' Kyle Boller may not excite the masses. But O'Sullivan has put up two straight triple-digit passer rating games and the seasoned Boller brings 42 NFL starts with the Ravens (20-22) into PBS, where the last time he appeared he threw an end-zone pick off a tipped pass that was collected by defensive tackle Michael Myers in a last-minute goal-line stand that preserved the Bengals Opening Night win in 2007.

But with Carson Palmer (ankle) out for a second straight week, clearly one of the most interesting things Thursday night is Maualuga on the same field with Laurinaitis.

"It's going to be fun. We'll see each other out there on the field (before the game)," Maualuga said. "James is a good friend of mine. We met at the Playboy (preseason) All-American (photo shoot), that's where we first bonded and got to know each other. We got along very well. It wasn’t based on accolades, who had the most. And then it went to our game when we played them. We said, 'Good luck, hope you play well,' because we both play defense and it wasn't like we were playing against each other."

Maualuga fueled USC's win over Laurinaitis' Buckeyes with his running-of-the-bulls interception touchdown last season, but the two kept in touch occasionally via text. In the weeks leading up to the draft they would kid each other, "Let me hold something. You're the one who's going to go in the first round. No you're the one going in the first round."

"We would just kid each other messing around," said Maualuga, and they still text "every now and then."

"We congratulated each other after the draft and then we chatted it up at the rookie symposium," Maualuga said.

Maualuga isn't quite sure what went down in St. Louis. He went there on a pre-draft visit and he thought there was interest even though the Rams had the second overall pick, the one they would use on Jason Smith.

"I knew I wasn't going with the second pick," Maualuga recalled. "There were things talked about. 'If you're still there … .' It's hard to say. Then again, I was waiting for a phone call. The phone didn't ring."

The phone rang four picks later in the second round and it was Lewis from a giddy draft room that had coveted Maualuga's size and physical play for months and never dared dream he'd be available.

There were whispers teams backed off Maualuga for his low score on the NFL scouting combine's mental aptitude test (15), his inability to play in space, and discipline in the scheme. After four months with him, the Bengals haven't seen any of those whispers surface in reality.

"He certainly hasn't had a problem picking up things; he picks up things fast," said linebackers coach Jeff FitzGerald. "Believe me, if he didn't, he wouldn't be out there now because we're doing a lot of different things."

The Bengals have enough confidence in Maualuga's smarts and his agility in space that they've got him playing different spots in different packages: SAM in the base, MIKE in the nickel, and all over in his own package. Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer didn't blink on Maualuga's first snap from scrimmage and sent him on a blitz.

If there were maturity concerns, the Bengals knew he would have a good support system in place with Samoan defensive players Domata Peko and Jonathan Fanene, as well as former 'SC linebacker mate Keith Rivers. And with his flowing hair, passionate play, and endless hours at training camp signing autographs, Maualuga has become such a fan favorite so quickly that his No. 58 led sales at the Spirit Shop at Georgetown College during camp.

Thursday night is when Who-Dey officially meets Rey.

"Very good," said Lewis of Maualuga's grasp of the classroom. "Rey comes in like most college players and has to learn discipline with his eyes. That's true of any college linebacker you watch. But they had a very diverse defensive system, and so there's a lot of things he learned to do on campus at 'SC that he comes here and he just changes what he called it there compared to what we call it here. So he has an advantage, just like (Michigan cornerback) Leon Hall did when he came here a couple of years ago."

The last time the Bengals took a middle linebacker in the second round, Odell Thurman, they started him as a rookie and Lewis spent a lot of time railing about how he sprinkled big plays with mental lapses. But Lewis seems to even like the way Maualuga makes mistakes.

"He may make a slight error, but he's doing it full speed and when he does it he does it with an impact," Lewis said. "He's doing well."

On Thursday night, Maualuga will shake Laurinaitis' hand and then let it go.

"It will be fun to be out there with him," Maualuga said. "I've got nothing to prove to anybody as far as players. I'm going to let my play speak for itself. I'm just looking forward to playing a little more and running around a little bit."

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