Bugel: Rinehart 'deserved a chance'

Benched after briefly starting at right guard earlier in the season, second-year guard Chad Rinehart remained focused and continued to work hard, and offensive line coach Joe Bugel noticed. Bugel convinced Coach Jim Zorn that Rinehart should be given another opportunity to work with the first team, and the former third-round draft pick responded well during the Week 10 victory over the Denver Broncos at FedEx Field. Rinehart is scheduled to make his first career start (fourth overall) Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys at the new Cowboys Stadium, and he has earned it, Bugel said. "I felt during that time where he wasn't a starter, watching him on the scout team servicing the defense, he was doing a heck of a job," Bugel said. "He was staying extra practice, getting in some work, and it came to the time where the kid deserved a chance. You know what I mean? "He was, I think, a third-round draft pick for us. It's his second year. He's come alive. He kept on growing. He didn't go in a corner and pout or suck his thumb when he got benched. He just worked harder. It's paying dividends for us right now." Rinehart has fully recovered from a shoulder injury that slowed him for a few weeks, Bugel said, and "he's a high-character guy. You can coach him real hard. You can push a guy and push a guy, and sometimes a guy will just suck his thumb. This guy got better and better."