If only foresight was as 20/20 as hindsight, Al Chesley may have had a much more enjoyable experience as an Eagles linebacker, particularly during the closing weeks of his three-plus seasons in Philadelphia.

Selected in the 11th round of the 1979 draft from the University of Pittsburgh, Chesley had his work cut out for him during that first training camp and did all he could to demonstrate that he had NFL-caliber potential.

"I was confident of my ability that I could overcome (being chosen late) and get a spot on that roster," Chesley said. "Every day at practice, I had the coaches calling my name out, saying something positive. Coach (Dick) Vermeil, I can still hear his voice screaming, 'Al Chesley, great play! Great play!' One of the things he suggested is 'every down you get a snap, perform! You're starting out deep on the depth chart so reps are critical.'

"And I knew that it was tough, that I had to block injuries from my mind. You've got to find a way to stay healthy. And at the end of that training camp Bill Cowher and I were vying for that one spot on the 45-man roster and fortunately, I beat him out."

The following season, Chesley and his teammates posted a 12-4 record and beat out 13 other NFC teams to capture the conference championship and play in Super Bowl XV against Oakland.

LB Al Chesley

"We had great teams, the teams within the team," Chesley said. "We had a good offense, a top-notch defense, and most of all we had the No. 1 specialty teams in the whole league. The special teams were key. We won probably a handful of games with special teams alone."

After becoming a starter at inside linebacker in 1981, any momentum that the Eagles had as a team and that Chesley had personally was greatly diminished when the players hit the picket line after two games of the '82 campaign.

"The strike-shortened season was a disaster for me. I sort of got lost," Chesley recalled. "I didn't participate with the team. They had some unofficial workouts that coach Vermeil was kind of like monitoring, I guess, seeing who participated in them. And the day we came back after the strike, I was demoted to the second team. I was just shocked.

"The second game back after the strike was against the Redskins and it took on a big significance with me because I'm from Washington and we were playing in front of my (family and friends) and my ego and pride was really hurt that I was sitting on the bench. We lost, and I said some things that weren't too smart in the papers. The media sticks that microphone in your face and I didn't have the discipline to just do my talking on the field. The bottom line is somehow I said 'play me or trade me' and I wish I could have taken that back. It was so stupid!

""Coach Marion Campbell, George Hill, coach Vermeil, they really were like father figures," Chesley continued. "They wanted the best for me, but I was just so young. If I would have just went to work and let the boss be the boss and me just be a player and realize that, 'Hey Al, if you don't be quiet, you are replaceable.'"

And, in fact, he was replaced. Chesley, who co-led the Eagles in tackles the previous season and had started 18 consecutive games before the players' strike, was released on Dec. 1, with five games remaining on the '82 schedule.

"I was very surprised," Chesley said. "I thought he would have a little more patience, but as I look back I have to look at the part I played in it and grow from that. But I was shocked. I guess I was in a delusional state and didn't realize that it's just a business. I thought it was just a game.

"I was a young kid who was very naïve, but I've got nothing but good things to say about coach Vermeil. He gave me an opportunity and I'll always respect him. I just thought from my perception, which is not always reality, I should have been out there. I can remember it just like it was yesterday because it was a critical time in my career and was the start of a downward spiral because if I had stayed in Philly I don't know how many Pro Bowls I would have made. I didn't know how good I had it in Philly until I lost it."

Chesley, who says he's thankful to now be living a more balanced life, makes his home in Washington and for nearly six years has been working with the Creative Non-violence Organization, a non-profit outreach program that deals with inner-city youths and gang violence.

"Most of the kids I deal with are African-Americans, Latino kids, and don't have a father figure around the house," said Chesley. "I work with them directly and let them know that hey, there is somebody that cares. Before you pick up that baseball bat and club somebody in the head or before you pick up a gun and rob a gas station or something, think about what you're doing.

"You try to reach these kids before they get a scar on their record that will damage them for life."

Speaking of scars, Chesley revealed one of his own on March 5, 2008, when he joined members of the Survivor's Network of those Abused by Priests [SNAP] at a press conference in Wilmington, Delaware, to praise the state's new law, the Child Victim's Act, which allows victims of child sexual abuse to pursue civil damages even if the statute of limitations has expired. He said when he was 13, he was in fact a victim at the hands of a Washington policeman.

"I don't know where that person is, but you know what, I just freed myself," Chesley said. "The bigger picture is that unfortunately it does happen to kids. But if I can help one kid it'd be great. My reason for doing it is I'm realizing how it played such a big part in my life as far as stunting my growth over the years. I always frowned on authority and I had anger issues.

"I saw (New York Jets receiver) Laveranues Coles on The Oprah Winfrey Show talk about how he was sexually abused by his stepfather, and I said, 'Wow, what courage it takes to do that. I wish I could have done something like that. I would never think of doing something like that when I was playing and I wish I had the courage to do it now.' And here, three years later, I just thank God that I had the courage to come up and talk about it for all the right reasons.

"I can't explain it in its entirety, but it's a feeling that I'm just free. I'm not as sick as that secret I've been carrying for years. The thing I want kids to know is that they, like myself, are victims. I'm a survivor now, but I was victimized then. And here I am halfway through life realizing I didn't do anything wrong."