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Thursday, September 25, 2008
Sackless Anderson playing strong
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I was watching the highlights on SportsCenter and there he was, No. 98 standing over a fallen Jake Delhomme. It was Jamaal Anderson recording his first NFL sack.
Then, I regained consciousness.
Maybe that was a vision of what’s to come on Sunday, but it certainly hasn’t happened yet. But given that Carolina’s revamped line gave up five sacks last week and generally has trouble blocking John Abraham, perhaps Sunday will be Jamaal’s Big Day!
One other thing, we probably can’t call Jamaal a defensive end any more.
No, not because he doesn’t have a sack yet, but because he’s playing three different positions on the line. He lines up at end, tackle and plays on the ball as a nose guard when the Falcons flash a three-man front and bring in linebacker Stephen Nicholas. (Can’t tell if it’s a 3-4 or one of those funky 3-3-5.)
While Falcon fans are waiting for Anderson’s first sack. By all accounts he’s playing much stronger and is tossing his weight around in the trenches.
Coach Mike Smith noted that Anderson had six hits against Tampa Bay and played real strong. He had three tackles and one quarterback hit against Kansas City.
Carolina coach John Fox mentioned Anderson’s strong play when he was asked about stopping Abraham.
Abraham, with cameras rolling and recorders on, apologized to Anderson in the locker room on Monday for messing up his first sack. The affable Anderson overheard him and started yelling, “Thank you! Thank you John!”
So maybe this will be Jamaal’s week. Just when he gets to the quarterback, we hope he gets his money’s worth.
Can the Panthers stop Jamaal? Should the Falcons use a cornerback blitz like Minnesota did? (Antoine Winfield’s sack, strip, fumble recovery and touchdown return changed the game last week.) Can our young corners even blitz? With D. Hall gone, who’s going to start a fight with Steve Smith?
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