Sidney Rice: From afterthought to Favre's go-to guy

Sidney Rice heard the "negative things" that were said about him last season. He tried to ignore them but admits one particular magazine article that his friend showed him this summer struck a nerve.

"They said don't draft me in fantasy football, stock is going down, falling off," he said. "No one likes when people talk down about them. With my situation last year and being hurt, just hearing the negative things that people were saying and not knowing the whole situation, it just made me want to work harder."

The Vikings' third-year wide receiver set out to change his professional focus. Sure, a knee injury was the root of his disappointing season, but he also knew he needed to make substantive changes in his approach to football.

Rice committed himself to self-improvement in all areas, and the results are undeniable. He has become one of the Vikings' most diligent workers and, arguably, their No. 1 receiver. He leads the team in catches (23) and is second in the NFC in receiving yards (409).

Rice had a career-high 176 yards receiving against the Baltimore Ravens last week, becoming the fourth player in Vikings history to have a pair of 50-yard catches in a game.

His emergence is not surprising to those inside Winter Park.

"Sidney is playing at an elite level right now," tight end Visanthe Shiancoe said. "That comes from his work ethic. He's stepped it up. That's one of the hardest workers on the team. He's doing what it takes to be a professional. That's the step that Sidney has taken."

Stepping it up

This is the kind of production the Vikings envisioned from Rice when they drafted him in the second round out of South Carolina in 2007. He showed flashes as a rookie, but he suffered a sprained PCL in his right knee in Week 2 last season and finished with only 15 catches for 141 yards and four touchdowns. Rice described his 2008 entire season as an "eye-opener."

"It was a real painful injury," he said. "It brought my confidence down."

Even if healthy, Rice realized he wouldn't become a complete receiver on talent alone. That awareness fueled a rigorous offseason program that began over dinner with Dallas Cowboys running back Marion Barber at a Miami restaurant.

The two met through a mutual friend and decided to train together in South Beach. Roommates for two months, the two went through daily workouts that were so intense that Rice said they vomited after each one.

"It was great work," Rice said.

An even more valuable opportunity came when Cardinals Pro Bowl receiver Larry Fitzgerald invited Rice to train with him, former Vikings All-Pro Cris Carter, Hall of Famer Jerry Rice and top active receivers in the Twin Cities this summer.

Sidney Rice got a lesson in hard work. He felt his hamstring tighten during the first workout, so he shut it down and skipped the next day. Carter didn't pull any punches when Rice returned.

"It was brutal," Rice said. "When I came back, he got on my butt. He let me have it. He was talking so much junk. That's how Cris is. He's going to tell you like it is. After those workouts, I told him, 'I appreciate your honesty.' "

Hanging with the great ones

Carter didn't apologize for being stern. He talked to Rice about his work ethic and pointed out flaws in his game.

"I was just brutally honest with him," Carter said. "I could tell he really wasn't applying himself to be real good. You'll never be good like that. But he was very receptive of it. I thought he had great potential. But I know he saw how Larry works and some of the things Larry can do and he was like, 'Man, I'm nowhere near that.' It was all really good for him."

Fitzgerald often invited Rice to his house after workouts for dinner, and to ride wave runners and hang out. The two now text or talk at least once a week.

"I'm not going to sit here and come close to trying to take credit for Sidney's success," Fitzgerald said. "Sidney has had it in him from Day 1. He was born with a tremendous amount of God-given ability. You can see that by looking at him. The guy has so many tools. He's so much more athletic than me it's not even funny."

Rice said the three weeks he trained with Fitzgerald and Carter "showed me the light." Vikings receivers coach George Stewart noticed the change.

"Sidney has always had a work ethic," Stewart said. "The thing that he has realized, being around players like Jerry Rice and Larry Fitzgerald this summer, he didn't realize how hard those other guys worked. Once you get around veteran guys who have been to Pro Bowls and been the best at that position and you see how they work, you say, 'Boy, I thought I was working but I wasn't.' "

A talented guy

Rice catches extra passes after every practice, often in odd positions to improve his hand-eye coordination. He also pays more attention to his body. He soaked in the cold tub one time last season. Now he does it every day to help his legs recover.

He also does more stretching to help his flexibility. Stewart said Rice could hardly reach his arms past his knees when he stretched before practice last season.

"I said, 'Sidney, you can't be that stiff,' " Stewart said.

Rice is now constantly stretching, even during position meetings.

"His work ethic has been a lot different this year," Vikings wide receiver Bernard Berrian said. "He did a lot more in the offseason, and in practices he's working a lot more. I think he's growing up as a player is the biggest part. It's paying off because he's definitely got the talent."

Rice has tremendous ball skills to go along with a 40-inch vertical leap and a natural size advantage (6-4, 202 pounds) over most cornerbacks. He doesn't possess blazing speed, but that isn't necessarily a detriment.

"Sidney can go get the ball," said South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier, who called Rice one of the most talented receivers he's coached. "When the ball is in the air he runs it down. He would probably run a 4.6 in the 40 if you put the clock on him. But when the ball is in the air, he runs a 4.3 to go get it."

Said Carter: "How fast is he? He's fast enough."

Stewart said Rice has a "huge catch radius." Vikings quarterback Brett Favre said in 19 seasons he's never had "a guy like Sidney who can make those types of plays."

Specifically, a play like his 58-yard catch late in the fourth quarter against the Ravens last Sunday. Rice hauled in Favre's deep pass despite Ravens cornerback Frank Walker hanging all over him.

All the intangibles

"Sidney uses his physical skills to his advantage," Favre said. "What he lacks in speed he makes up for in his physical [skills] and really his knowledge.

"You either have football savvy or you don't. I'm a firm believer in that. You can take the fastest guy, and it's happened in the NFL, you take a track guy and you try to make him a receiver. Yeah, he can fly, but can he adjust to the ball? Can they catch a back shoulder? Can they go up at the high point of a ball? Can they leverage a corner? Those are things you can't coach."

The confidence Favre has shown in Rice has helped foster his growth as a receiver.

"It helps when you have a Hall of Fame quarterback," Stewart said. "It's like if you have a house full of groceries and I come over and cook, it will probably taste OK. But you get a master chef to come and cook, it's probably going to taste a lot different. Having a Hall of Fame quarterback has really, really helped his game tremendously."

Fitzgerald sees the difference from a distance, pointing to the 14-yard touchdown pass Favre threw to Rice over the middle against the Green Bay Packers on Monday night.

"Ninety-five percent of the quarterbacks would never even think about taking that shot, but Brett knew Sidney was going to make that play for him and he gave him an opportunity," Fitzgerald said. "That's just pure trust. The only reason Brett trusted him is because Sidney has earned his trust."

Rice has done that by putting in extra work to become a complete wide receiver.

"I'm back to feeling comfortable," he said. "I have my confidence back. I know what I'm capable of. I'm just out to prove the doubters wrong and to better this team."