Anderson now glad to be in Atlanta
Posted: Tuesday November 17, 1998 03:43 PM
There was a time running back when Jamal Anderson wasn't sure
his future was in Atlanta. After the Falcons took him in the seventh round
of the 1994 draft, Anderson rode the bench most of his rookie year even
though the team was lousy. Friends would call him and say if the Falcons
were that bad and he still didn't get to play, then he must really stink.
"I used to pray every day that they would cut me," he told me.
Now, when you think of talented big backs in the league, Anderson has to
rank right up there with Jerome Bettis and Eddie George.
No one in Atlanta was happier about selling out the Georgia Dome for the
first time in three years last Sunday than head coach Dan Reeves. But
Reeves, who has barnstormed all over his home state to stir up support for
his team, was excited about the sellout for a reason other than just crowd
noise. Last year the Falcons lost between $8 million and $10 million by not
selling out the Dome. "That's money we could have spent to sign free
agents," Reeves told me. Keeping things simple
Even though the Tampa Bay offense continues to struggle, offensive
coordinator Mike Shula says he will continue to fight against adding new
wrinkles or trick plays to his game plan.
"It's human nature to want to try something different," Shula told me. "But
doing something panicky just for the sake of change is not a good idea."
Head coach Tony Dungy agrees. His point: Say you win with a no-huddle
offense one week, the next week your team has lost all faith in your base
offense and you are worse off than before. Extra points Twice this
season Baltimore defensive tackle Tony Siragusa has piled
onto tackles and injured his own teammates. His first victim was linebacker
Ray Lewis and later he
took out Ravens safety Kim
Herring. Said the Goose: "Hey, if I have to run 15 yards, then I'm
going to hit somebody whether it's my teammate or not." ... The 1-9
Panthers showed just how desperate they are when they signed long-snapper
Danny Villa last week.
When Carolina called him, Villa was in Boston, working as a chimney sweeper
... And finally, as a native of Texas, Minnesota owner Red McCombs seems to
be taking the Vikings' Thanksgiving Day game against the Dallas Cowboys rather
seriously. He recently told me that he had spoken to Cowboys owner Jerry
Jones and, he said with a wink, "Jerry told me he wants to eat turkey on
November 26... not crow." Would he still get cranberry sauce with that?
Sports Illustrated staff writer David Fleming covers the NFL and appears
regularly on CNN/Sports Illustrated.
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