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With A Heart For Detroit, Raiola Is Much More Than The Sum Of His Miscues

By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak

ALLEN PARK (CBS DETROIT) - Of 1,696 players on 53-man rosters across the NFL, only 10 have played longer than Detroit Lions center Dominic Raiola.

If losses age a player more than wins, however, Raiola could easily be the most seasoned player in the league many times over. In 12 of the 14 seasons in which Raiola has played, the Lions turned in a losing record. Over nearly a decade and a half, the franchise has chewed through a vast assortment of coaches – Marty Mornhinweg, Steve Mariucci, Rod Marinelli, Jim Schwartz – and quarterbacks – Charlie Batch, Joey Harrington, Jon Kitna, Dan Orlovsky.

Raiola held out hope that eventually Detroit would turn the corner.

"You just believe that it's not going to always be like this," Raiola said following Sunday's win over the Minnesota Vikings. "It wasn't always going to be like that. My mind just said, 'There's going to be one day where we're not going to be like this anymore.' We've got enough good people – I would say 53 of them plus the practice squad plus the coaching staff plus front office plus ownership – we've got enough good people in this building now, which is the Lions' organization, that it's not going to be like that anymore."

The Lions (10-4) can clinch a playoff spot with a win Sunday in Chicago. They can clinch the division with a win the following Sunday in Green Bay.

"I'm happy for him for where we are as a team," safety James Ihedigbo said, "because this is new for him, being able to experience this."

A three-time game captain for the Lions this season, Raiola might be one of the most beloved players in the locker room. Outside, he might be considered one of the most polarizing given his history of coarse interactions with fans.

For better or worse – and those in the organization insist there is much more of the former than the latter – Raiola is the heart of the Lions.

"Legend," defensive end Darryl Tapp said. "Absolute legend. When you think of the Lions, you think of Dominic Raiola.

"He's a building block for this team," Tapp added, "one of the founding fathers in our era."

What follows is a look at the foundation.

*   *   *

Quarterback Matthew Stafford, defensive tackle C.J. Mosley and head coach Jim Caldwell all note how early Raiola begins his days at the practice facility in Allen Park. Mosley said he has heard stories of Raiola arriving at 4 a.m.

"He shows up every day early in the weight room, and he's squatting the house," Mosley said. "I don't know how he does it. I'm over there like, 'I know I'm hurting, something has to be wrong with him, he has to be feeling something,' but he's in there like Superman every day."

Mosley's description sounds like hyperbole, but offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn backs it up, describing a strongman workout that Raiola does with assistant strength coach Ted Rath.

"They are insane, just the amount of weight you have to push and intensity involved in it, so those are pretty amazing that a guy his age that's been in the league this long can do that," Washburn said. "It's impressive.

"It's kind of the stuff you would see on ESPN2 at 11 o'clock at night," Washburn added. "Farmer's walk, sled pushes, I don't know, the stuff that Magnus Ver Magnusson used to do back in '98, that type stuff."

Ver Magnusson won the title of World's Strongest Man four times between 1991 and 1996 – and he finished second the two years he did not take first.

During the season, most players lift weights to maintain their muscle, not build it. They build in the offseason. Raiola builds during the season, too.

"Week three or four, and we come in … he's in there with four or five plates on the squat rack just doing box squats, repping them out, going about his normal thing like it's offseason workouts," Tapp said. "The guy really focuses on getting better in every aspect he can, and he has to. He's [14] years in, there's always somebody trying to bring in and take your spot, that's the nature of the business, but he attacks every day like his last."

Raiola has rarely been hailed as a top center in the league, but what strikes guard Rodney Austin about Raiola's game is the lack of attrition.

"Watching other centers around the league and watching other o-linemen in general, you see guys who are getting into their eighth and ninth and 10th years who are kind of losing their edge a little bit, not as quick as they were in some of the other years and just not really – not as productive," Austin said, "and you don't really see that with Dom.

"I remember when I got here guys were talking about, 'This might be his last year,' and they were maybe kind of trying to push him out a little bit, and then when [Jeff] Backus left, I was like, 'Well what's going to happen with Dom?'" Austin continued. "Dom's still kicking. He took Jeff's exit as a sign to step his level up ... He's such a hard person to explain. I could sit here and talk all day about Dom Raiola just because there's so much to him that you could just talk and talk and talk and still not get it all, but I don't know. I love the guy."

As for Raiola's occasional lack of cordiality with fans or opposing players, Austin shakes his head.

"I think this is all just calculated madness," Austin said. "I don't think many people know this, but he's an evil genius – an evil genius with a heart of gold. Dom Raiola – evil genius, heart of gold."

*   *   *

Austin remembers vividly the first time he saw Raiola. Then an undrafted rookie free agent, Austin wanted nothing to do with him.

"He was sitting at his locker, I was sitting at mine, he was chewing somebody out, and I was like, 'OK, yeah, I'm going to avoid him until I know what's going on,'" Austin said. "I didn't speak to Dom for like the first three weeks I was here."

Austin followed what he refers to as page one of the rookie handbook – he shut up.

"I didn't want to give him no reason to get on me because I saw this dude's really smart, and he is really laying into people, and it's really funny," Austin said. "I don't want to be that guy."

Raiola first spoke to Austin on the practice field, where Austin had been thrown in at center, a spot he had not played since he was 12 years old. He was playing timidly, trying to avoid any blatant mistakes.

"He just kind of pulled me to the side and was like, 'Yo, have a little more confidence,'" Austin recalled. "He was pretty much telling me I can do this.

"It was eye-opening to say the least," Austin continued. "Having guys like him and Jeff Backus around who've been through, pretty much been through it all, having guys like that show you that they're in your corner and show you that they're – I wouldn't say worried about you or anything like that, but they're concerned and they want to help you because they've seen X amount of players come in and out and play all these positions and seen guys who made it and seen guys who busted, and for those type of guys to see something in somebody, especially me coming in undrafted, rookie free agent, it made me feel really good. It made me feel a little easier about my situation."

Given what he had observed of Raiola to that point, Austin could not have been more surprised at the gesture.

"I was so relieved," Austin said. "I thought this dude was just going to be just biting everybody's head off, but when he came and was like the big brother type, I kind of, I was like, 'OK, cool.' That's what it was, it was just the big brother thing. It was, 'We're going to keep the rookies in their place and make sure that they know that there's a rite of passage through it,' but at the same time, he turns around and he helps people. He kind of – he's one of the guys who really guided me through my first two years, and now we see eye to eye on a lot of things, and we sit behind each other in the meeting room, and he'll turn around and ask me what I see."

*   *   *

Austin praised Raiola for a heart of gold, and Washburn used the exact same phrase.

"I've been with Dom for six seasons now," Washburn said. "There's this persona that he conveys of being this brash, loud personality, and the more you know, the more you get to know him, the more you know that he's just got a heart of gold, and he's just a very special individual that is passionate, loyal, committed and all the things that you want in a friend, a person and in a player."

As Austin describes it, Raiola offers a combination of qualities that together comprise a wonderful human being and an ideal teammate.

"He's a teddy bear," Austin said. "I don't know if I should be telling you this, but he's a really, really intense person, and he will jump on you if you give him the chance, but sometimes when we're just winding down and he's being really intense, it's just to joke around and just keep everything light. He's really intense, really dedicated to his preparation, but at the end of the day, we play a game, and you've got to enjoy yourself while you're playing the game.

"He gives us really the best of both worlds," Austin continued. "He keeps us locked in on our preparation, he shows us by example how you're supposed to do certain things, and at the same time he's one of the main guys making sure we keep it light and stay loose."

Eventually, the Lions will replace Raiola. They drafted a center, Travis Swanson, in the third round this year, and eventually he will take over for Raiola. No doubt the organization has been considering how to replace him for years, not sure when he will decide that enough is enough. The Lions could try to nudge him out, but if they ever have done so, Raiola has not budged, and he has been secure enough in his own staying power to help others as much as he works on himself.

"I think he relishes an opportunity to mentor, not only to mentor guys just in terms of what to do and what not to do in terms of the game off the field but also on the field, preparation, all of those things," Caldwell said. "He's open. He's honest with them. He's not one of those guys that's afraid that, 'Hey, if we tell this guy too much this guy's going to take my position.' He's extremely open, very confident in himself, but he's invaluable to us in that area."

Washburn seconded Caldwell's comments, noting that not all older players include their future successors so purposefully.

"We're very fortunate with he and Rob Sims to have two veterans that impart wisdom, share experiences, make young guys feel involved in the group because it's not like that everywhere," Washburn said. "You see that in different offensive line rooms and in position rooms in general, but those two guys, and Dom especially, are outstanding with creating a good culture in the offensive line room, and especially with the young guys."

*   *   *

At this stage of Raiola's career, how it will end is an inevitable topic. Forgoing for just a moment the embargo on looking ahead, Raiola conceded a few weeks ago he has thought about what it would be like to finish his career with a Super Bowl.

"Obviously that's a dream for a professional, and that's what we all play for," Raiola said. "We play for that, but this late in your career, to do that - Ray Lewis did it, Michael Strahan did it - those are awesome for those guys to do. We'll see. We'll just keep pounding away and really lock in on this week and try to get to 9-4 and we'll see where that takes us."

Raiola appeared to be on the verge of a smile. Asked about his expression, he admitted a certain glee in considering such a capstone on his career.

"It's fun to think about," Raiola said. "It is fun to think about, and it's fun to be around here. But we know if we start thinking too big-picture this can all go away real quick, so if we just keep our focus real tunnel vision on what we need to do this week, that's the main thing."

Like its football team, the city of Detroit has endured rough times during Raiola's tenure, but Raiola has remained one of its staunchest defenders. He comes from Hawaii, but he stays in Detroit even in the offseason. Washburn wants fans to know exactly how much the place means to the center.

"He truly loves the city of Detroit," Washburn said. "His intentions are very genuine in wanting good things to happen to this city, and in terms of sports and with the Lions, a lot of his passion and why he wants to win, it's not selfish – he really loves this city. In fact, he's trying to convince his wife to stay here and to settle down in Michigan instead of Hawaii, which is insane, but he loves southeast Michigan."

On second thought, Washburn added, he and his family have made Michigan their home, so maybe it is not so crazy after all. Ihedigbo also appreciated the bond between Raiola and his adopted hometown.

"Detroit's his city, and I feel him," Ihedigbo said. "I understand that. You have a city that falls in love with you and you fall in love with it, why would you want to leave?"

When Raiola made his 200th start this season, he did so at Ford Field, and fans cheered as his image was projected onto the video screens. He quickly donned his helmet, covering his face, before waving in acknowledgement.

"He was trying to hold back crying for sure," Stafford said with a smile. "You can give him s--- about that. He gives everybody s--- about everything else."

Whether Raiola plays another season, whether the family stays in town or retreats to a nicer climate after his career ends, Raiola has clearly made an impact far beyond the playing field in Detroit.

"If it's not their first home, it's definitely going to be their second home because, like I said, he's meant so much to this city," Tapp said. "He's been such a visual figure around here as far as community service and things of that nature, [and] he's an awesome person. I've enjoyed every minute of this year playing with him."

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