http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/...4cards1005.html</p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'></p> <p class="story" id="mainByline">Kent Somers The Arizona Republic Oct. 4, 2007 08:11 PM</p> <div class="story" id="mainTextBody">In the parlance of NFL players, being chosen for the Pro Bowl in Hawaii is known as "going across the water." It's a phrase not heard much in early October, four months before the NFL's all-star game. But it has been coming up in discussions about Cardinals defensive end Darnell Dockett, who has five sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery through the first four games. Not bad for a guy who wasn't entirely sold on moving from tackle to end in the off-season. "He's doing things that put him in the top echelon of defensive (ends), and if he keeps this up, he'll be across the water before you know it," outside linebacker/defensive end Bertrand Berry said. Berry quickly pointed out that there's a lot of football left to be played, 12 games, so it's a little early to talk about crossing oceans. Still, Dockett's numbers are startling when compared with those of his first three seasons. A third-round pick out of Florida State in 2004, the 6-foot-4, 285-pound Dockett was an "under tackle" in his first three seasons. He lined up on the outside shoulder of the offensive guard, and his job was to penetrate. Dockett started 47 of 48 games in those three years and accumulated six sacks. Dockett played well enough that the Cardinals signed him to a five-year, $22 million contract extension last fall, but no one could have predicted his eye-popping statistics so far this year. Under coach Ken Whisenhunt, the Cardinals converted to a 3-4 base defense this year, with Dockett moving from tackle to left end. The Cardinals had a need at end, and when coaches analyzed video, they noticed Dockett tended to make more big plays from the left side than the right. So they moved him to end, a switch that had Dockett apprehensive at first. "After I got the contract extension, you figure you're going to be here for a while anyway, so you might as well get used to it," Dockett said. Patience is not one of Dockett's virtues. He wants to know everything immediately and he worried that offensive tackles might take advantage of him while he learned. "The league is so competitive that if you don't know everything, and the guy you're playing against knows everything about the position, then he has an advantage on you," Dockett said. After some reassurance from Whisenhunt in the preseason that he was doing fine, Dockett settled into the job. Last week, Dockett had 2.5 sacks against the Steelers, giving him five for the season, just one short of his career total. Dockett gives considerable credit to nose tackle Gabe Watson, who often takes on double teams, leaving Dockett and right end Antonio Smith single-blocked. But under defensive line coach Ron Aiken, there's no question Dockett has improved. Last week, Dockett put pressure on quarterback Ben Roethlisberger by getting off blocks, not because the defensive scheme left him unblocked, Whisenhunt said. Berry, who has been a mentor to Dockett the past three years, said Dockett "created a lot of his own plays and that's a credit to him. "He's gone out and been determined not to be blocked this year. That takes our defense to a whole other level. In order to win in this league, you have to be good up front and so far this year we've been outstanding up front." While Dockett is not one for false modesty, he's avoiding talk about individual honors. But the start of this season does have him intrigued about the possibilities ahead. "I'm kind of excited to see how I finish up two years from now playing this scheme," he said. "I should be pretty good at it."</div> </div></p>
