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Thursday, December 25, 2008
John Abraham erases “bad guy” image
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Flowery Branch - It was easy to lose track of the number of times John Abraham limped off the field last week in Minnesota, only to return moments later. The injury report says, “Thigh.” But pick a body part.
“You don’t look so good,” somebody said to him after the Vikings game, as he struggled to dress.
“I’m still alive — that’s all that matters,” he said.
Imagine that. John Abraham, playing through injuries. John Abraham, thinking of a team and not his ego, thinking of a playoff berth and not his contract. What would they think in New York? What happened to that guy who was vilified for sitting out playoff games in 2004? (He said he had a bad knee. They suggested he was more concerned about his next contract.) What came of the brooding soul who grew so tired of the criticism that he started mocking them by having attack words stitched on hats?
“Bad Guy.”
“Overrated.”
“Selfish. Me Me Me.”
Today, Abraham laughs.
“I had some crazy hats,” he said. “I just wanted people to get off my back. People would say, ‘He’s selfish,’ so I thought, OK, and rather than say something back, I’ll just put it on a hat.’ I can’t be that bad, but you wouldn’t know it. I got into one situation in New York and suddenly I was the worse person ever. I had a DUI. Twenty-three years old. I did a stupid thing. Six years there and they were still talking about that. Is there anything else? Nothing about the Pro Bowls? Just, ‘He got a DUI three years ago. He’s a troubled guy.’”
He can recount this without anger. It tells you he has let it go. He has set a Falcons record for sacks in a season (16 1/2) despite playing on a relatively obscure defense in which he is the focus of opponents’ protection schemes. It speaks to his talent. He limped back in against the Vikings so he could sack Tarvaris Jackson and help the Falcons secure their first post-season berth. It screams something about his motivation.
“We’ve got to win, and I know I’m a big key to winning,” he said. “Everything that hurts feels better when you win.”
The Falcons acquired Abraham from the Jets in 2006. They gave him a six-year, $45 million contract. But nobody could really be sure what the Falcons were getting: An impact pass rusher, or an injury-prone end with a less than pristine image.
Abraham looked forward to being a Falcon. It gave him a fresh start. It got him back to the South (he grew up in Timmonsville, S.C.). But the nightmare only mutated. In 2006, a groin injury kept him out half the season, the Falcons slid to 7-9 and Jim Mora became bipolar. In 2007, Abraham stayed healthy most of the season, but everything else was a spectacular disaster. Michael Vick, Bobby Petrino, 4-12.
“It was tough, because everything I came here for was leaving - the coach, the quarterback, everything,” he said. “This year has helped me a lot. It got me loving the game the way I used to. Loving to play the game, playing hurt, playing when you feel like you can’t play, wanting to put it all on the line. I got that back.”
The last time he felt like this?
“It’s been a while,” he said. “It’s been an up and down road for me in the last four or five years. This is the most stable year I’ve had in a long time.”
Abraham has had at least one sack in 10 of 15 games this year, had three sacks three times and totaled more this year than in his first two seasons as a Falcon combined (14). Somehow, he wasn’t picked for the Pro Bowl.
He admits he was upset about it for two days. Now? “There’s another bowl I’d rather go to. It’s a little bigger than the Pro Bowl.”
The Falcons won’t use Abraham more than they have to against St. Louis. He could use the down time. As this subject came up, teammate Lawyer Milloy walked by.
“It’d be nice if he actually stayed in a game,” Milloy joked.
“Hey, 16 1/2 sacks,” Abraham said. “Imagine if I stayed in — I’d have 32.”
Nothing hurts when you win.
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