Jets give Palelei a chance

Brian Heyman

Thursday, Aug. 21, 1997 | 9:56 a.m.

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Lonnie Palelei has gone from left out to left guard, from retired to inspired, all in the span of about six months.

Coach Bill Parcells said Wednesday he's leaning toward starting Palelei -- a standout at UNLV from 1991-92 -- at left guard over William Roberts when the New York Jets open the season at Seattle on Aug. 31, that Palelei is a changed man from the one who washed out previously in Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

"Look it, this was the end of the line for Palelei," Parcells said. "It's never been a question of his ability. It just was his aggressiveness, his commitment.

"He's been a lot more aggressive and a lot more committed. He's in excellent condition now, and I think it's helped him play better. He was here for our whole off-season program, so he's been with us all the way since March 15.

"I think he's a guy you should talk to and say, 'What's different now than last year or the year before for you?' I think it's a fair question. He looks like he's a better player."

Minutes later, Palelei was sitting in front of his locker, surrounded by reporters with a question on their minds.

So, uh, Lonnie, what's different now than last year or the year before for you?

"At the beginning of camp, I knew I had a legitimate chance of playing," Palelei said. "That's something I haven't had since I've been in the league."

The Samoan-born Palelei came into the league as a fifth-round draft pick with the Steelers in 1993, but there was a Steel Curtain ahead of him -- Pro Bowlers Duval Love and Dermontti Dawson. His playing time was quite brief the first year and quite non-existent the second.

Then he tore up the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee before the the 1995 season playing basketball. He didn't come back until the ninth game and was waived soon after.

Cleveland claimed him and brought him along to Baltimore last year. But No. 1 pick Jonathan Ogden was in the way there, and Palelei left town after the final cut.

"I viewed Baltimore as the last stop," he said. "I was kind of fed up with it. I retired and went home. I had a good run. I mean, not many people get to be drafted. Not many people get to be on a team."

So he returned to Las Vegas and began working at finishing up his kinesiology degree at UNLV. Then the phone rang in February. Assistant head coach Bill Belichick and director of pro personnel Scott Pioli were at the other end. They were on a recruiting mission for the Jets.

"They asked me if I wanted to play some football," Palelei said. "They said they were in a tight spot and they needed some cheap labor."

Palelei smiled. He smiles a lot.

"What's there to frown about?" he asked. "I've got a good life. I've got a good family."

His older brother, T.J., moved him from Los Angeles to Blue Springs, Mo., as a teenager because he was starting to drive his life in the wrong direction, starting to think about joining a gang.

"I was hanging out ... just around the neighborhood kids," he said. "We weren't really doing anything bad, but we were just being where we weren't supposed to be. I was 13 and I looked like I was 21."

Now he's 26 and standing on the practice field while Parcells yells at him, trying to make him into a player.

Take the time early in camp when Palelei kept messing up 582 Screen Left to H.

"I was just pulling out there and running around like I had my head cut off," Palelei said. "He taught me how to read the coverage before the snap, so I have an idea who I'm going to get. He did it on the field after a couple of days of yelling at me."

Palelei says Parcells has a nickname for him, Tonga-born tackle/guard Siupeli Malamala and Hawaii-born center Pat Augafa. Some might find it offensive. Palelei doesn't because he knows it's not used in a mean-spirited way.

"He calls us pineapples for some reason. I don't know. That might be a racial thing. I might have to write a book," Palelei said, smiling and laughing as he spoke.

Parcells, meanwhile, says there's some serious ability here.

"He's got enough talent to be a very good player," he said. "He's 308 pounds. He can run. He's athletic."

And he has put off retirement. Lonnie Palelei looks like he's finally going to be left in instead of left out at left guard.