JUDGE: NFL Europe players unafraid of protests

They don't ask about it. They rarely talk about it. And they absolutely, positively express no apprehension about it.

"To be perfectly honest," said coach Peter Vaas, "the questions have not been asked. The guys have done a great job of staying focused. Obviously, as someone responsible for a group of 40 or more Americans in a foreign country, I have some concerns. But it's not the times we're in; it's the business we're in."

Which means Vaas wonders how he can pull Berlin to a third straight NFL Europe championship. Or how he sorts out three pretty decent quarterbacks. Or what he does for a defensive line.

But as for possible fallout from the war in Iraq, well ...

"Everybody is concerned with what's going on," said quarterback , "but we're not worried. We're pretty confident and comfortable."

Yeah, I don't know how reasonable that is, either, but I know that's how I'd want my players thinking right about now. The NFL has six teams in Europe, including three in Germany, and if nothing else they're sitting ducks for anti-war demonstrations. They could, of course, be sitting ducks for much worse, but NFL Europe seems confident that its players won't be at great risk.

League officials conveyed that message to people like Vaas, who, in turn, conveyed it to his players. And he did such a good job that Burris — who served as a reserve quarterback for the Chicago last season — swears he and his teammates seldom discuss the war or its impact on the upcoming season.

"When everybody first got here," he said, "guys were trying to figure out what would happen. But the league talked to us and let us know the situation. With that type of communication it makes it more comforting. Even though our thoughts might have been on what was happening in Europe, our thoughts grew more on making the team."

It might not have been that way a month ago when players assembled in Tampa as speculation about the league's future swirled. The NFL has contingency plans that would keep NFL Europe in Florida, but that's only if it believes its players are in danger overseas.

And it doesn't.

So Vaas, Burris and the Berlin Thunder plan to fly to Germany next week and begin defense of the league championship when play opens the weekend of April 5-6.

"I've spoken to the team a couple of times," Vaas said. "Players certainly read articles that were out there, but I just reminded them it was all speculation and to trust the people who have to make decisions."

Players trust Vaas, and they should. He's taken the Thunder to consecutive World Bowl titles, including last year's 26-20 defeat of the Rhein before a Rheinstadion record of 53,109. Vaas gets along well with players — heck, under his guidance running back Lawrence Phillips became the league's offensive MVP in 1999 — and believes in confronting potentially disruptive issues rather than shrinking from them. So he long ago addressed his team's concerns about what was ahead this season.

"I'd like to think I'm very open with players and communicate with them," he said. "I tell them what to expect so I can have them fresh and ready to play on game day. Me, personally, I hate surprises. So at the Berlin Thunder we've tried to be proactive to let players know what's going on and what's not."

The approach seems to have worked. If Burris is worried, it's not over what to expect; it's over what to say and how to say it. He's never been to Europe, but he's working on a vocabulary of German words and phrases and has a laundry list of places to visit.

There's East Berlin. Checkpoint Charlie. The Brandenburg Gate. The Victory Column.

"I'm looking forward to going there," he said. "This is a dream come true, and I'm not worried about it. To me, I look at it like this: We're all ambassadors, and we're like the countries who came to Atlanta for the (1996) Olympics. Sports bring people together, and I'm glad to have an opportunity to be part of it. That's what we're all focused on."

can be reached at his e-mail address, cjudge@foxsports.com.