Posted: Wed December 24, 1997
DORSEY LEVENS: LOOKING FOR LOVE
In October, during the Packers' bye week, Levens flew to
Chicago and appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show. The topic was
"NFL Stars Looking for True Love," but the 27-year-old Levens
had other motives. "True love is cool," he says, "but I mostly
wanted to meet Oprah."
After the show aired, Levens received hundreds of letters and
personalized videotapes, not to mention healthy doses of candy
and flowers, from eligible women across the U.S. "But no
underwear," Levens says regretfully. "I came off as the nice,
sweet guy, so I didn't get any of the good stuff."
Soon Levens will be even more of a catch. He plans to test the
free-agent market after the season and could command as much as
$4 million a year. The Packers could have saved themselves some
money—and perhaps a back—by signing Levens during the
off-season, when he was seeking a three-year deal averaging
about $1.6 million a season. He settled for a one-year, $785,000
contract. When starting halfback Edgar Bennett suffered a
season-ending Achilles tendon injury in the Pack's exhibition
opener, Levens got his chance to shine. In a couple of months
someone will pay.
Though he isn't thrilled with Green Bay's weather or social
scene—"It's like Groundhog Day, the same day over and over
again," Levens says—he hopes to re-sign with the Packers. After
all, Levens has been searching for a situation like this one
since his Pop Warner days. At Nottingham High in Syracuse,
Levens split the rushing chores with backfield mate E.J.
Dowdell. He went to Notre Dame and played with a stable of stars
that included future NFL running backs Bettis, Watters, Reggie
Brooks and Rodney Culver. He ascended to the top of the tailback
depth chart entering his sophomore year but suffered a knee
injury and underwent surgery shortly before the season. Levens
hoped to redshirt, but Lou Holtz demanded he return at
midseason. "He was such a dictator," Levens says of Holtz. "It
wasn't in Notre Dame's best interest to redshirt me. There was
so much negative energy surrounding me."
Levens transferred to Georgia Tech and, after sitting out for
one season, watched as Bobby Ross left the program to coach the
San Diego Chargers. Ross was replaced by Bill Lewis, and after a
junior year in which Levens split time at fullback and tailback,
he moved exclusively to tailback in '93. He ran for 823 yards
and had a 7.2-yard average. Drafted in the fifth round by the
Packers, Levens emerged as the starting fullback in his second
season, but Green Bay drafted William Henderson in '95. A year
later Levens was switched to halfback. "Playing fullback helped
Dorsey," Bettis says. "When I met him, he was a guy who didn't
want to be touched and didn't want to get his uniform dirty. Now
he's a more physical runner."
That was evident during last season's NFC Championship Game,
when Levens burned the Panthers for a combined 205 rushing and
receiving yards, and in the Super Bowl, in which he led all
rushers, with 61 yards. This year could a running back take home
the MVP award for the first time since the Cowboys' Emmitt Smith
in January '94, and only the third time since Allen won it for
the Raiders 13 years ago? "I'd bet on it," Bettis says.
|
The Packers' Ground Game
Philosophy: Rushing takes a backseat to passing—unless it's
just too easy for Green Bay to dominate on the ground. Coach
Mike Holmgren loves to bring his brainy schemes to life through
the rocket arm of Brett Favre. But when the Packers faced the
undersized Cowboys on Nov. 23, Holmgren swallowed hard and ran
halfback Dorsey Levens 33 times. The result: Levens picked up a
team-record 190 yards, and Green Bay rolled to a 45-17 victory.
The next week Levens carried 31 times for 108 yards in a 27-11
win over the Vikings.
Leading the Way: Green Bay killed the Cowboys by running to the
weak side, and a key component to the Packers' toughness is left
tackle Ross Verba, a rookie first-round draft pick out of Iowa.
Since the sixth game, when he replaced John Michels, the team's
No. 1 pick in '96, Verba has proved to be a surprisingly fluid
blocker. Also, his unrelenting style has energized the rushing
attack. Pro Bowl tight end Mark Chmura and fullback William
Henderson are also strong run blockers.
X Factor: In last season's playoffs Holmgren had great success
using Levens, a power back, as a change of pace from smaller
starter Edgar Bennett. If Levens wears down in January, will
Holmgren turn to little-used backup Aaron Hayden or
lightning-fast reserve fullback Travis Jervey?
Prime Numbers: Here's something for Green Bay's playoff
opponents to think about: During the '96 regular season the
Packers had a 54% to 46% pass-to-run ratio. Yet during their
three-game postseason Super Bowl title drive, they ran 63% of
the time.
|
Also: Jerome Bettis | Marcus Allen | Garrison Hearst
| Rush to the Super Bowl
|
