University of North Carolina Athletics
Vonnie Holliday Still Hopes To Be The Best
August 20, 2000 | General
Aug. 20, 2000
y: The Associated Press
More than two years into his NFL career, Vonnie Holliday hasn't made anyone in Green Bay forget Reggie White.
Holliday said he hopes that will soon change. As White begins a comeback in Carolina, Holliday -- White's anointed successor on the Packers' defensive line since his arrival in 1998 -- said he wants to step out of White's shadow and gain the fear and respect White commanded in his prime.
"I want to be the best," he said. "I want to be better than Reggie White."
At 6-5 and 290 sculpted pounds, Holliday looks the part of a dominant pass rusher. But the process of transforming Holliday's athletic ability into pass-rushing dominance is still ongoing.
After a hot start in his first season that propelled him to runner-up status in Rookie of the Year voting, Holliday has cooled off.
The former North Carolina Tar Heels standout has 14 sacks in 28 career games -- good numbers, but not up to White's standards.
Holliday's improvement is even more important this season to the Packers, whose troublesome defense has no sacks in two preseason games.
Coach Mike Sherman said Holliday must develop as both a pass rusher and a run stopper -- in short, the kind of defensive lineman only White and a select few have ever been.
"He's coming along, but he's doing a lot of learning as we go," Sherman said.
"He's a very teachable player, and that's good, because there's a lot of work he still has to do."
It hasn't helped Holliday's development to have had three defensive coordinators -- each with completely different defensive schemes -- in three seasons.
Playing alongside White and Gilbert Brown in coordinator Fritz Shurmur's hard-nosed defense during his rookie year, Holliday was often forgotten by opponents' blockers, freeing him to make big tackles and sacks.
That all changed last season under coordinator Emmitt Thomas, when White retired and Holliday became the main target for pass-protecting linemen.
"It's tough because teams are looking out for you, and they'll send double-teams at you every time they can," Holliday said. "I just have to get used to that and overcome it."
During training camp, Holliday has been defensive coordinator Ed Donatell's featured "power end" rusher while also moving to defensive tackle on certain obvious passing downs.
New acquisitions John Thierry and David Bowens are expected to help Holliday with the pass rush that hasn't yet materialized.
Holliday's latest roles are still new to him, and he's still learning positioning and attack angles.
In addition, Holliday is trying to learn different pass-rushing moves instead of relying on his one or two favorites.
"It's just trying things out and getting into a rhythm," Holliday said. "It's very important to me as an individual to be unpredictable out there."
Holliday, who had four tackles in the first two preseason games, said the Packers' new defense is still a work in progress, and that the progress isn't coming as fast as he would like.
"Sometimes we're a second late on the reaction," Holliday said. "In practice, guys are flying around a little more and starting to get things down, but as a defense, we're not where we want to be."
