Ex-Falcon Dunn still feels attachment to team, city

Flowery Branch — Six months do not erase the sense of attachment that comes from six years as a Falcon. However for Warrick Dunn, they have brought a little perspective.

He’s had some time since that Sunday night in March when new Falcons coach Mike Smith told him the Falcons were going in a new direction. The next day free agent Michael Turner was announced as the Falcons’ new featured back.

Dunn, 33, is back with Tampa Bay, the team that drafted him in the first round in 1997, preparing to face the Falcons Sunday.

“It was weird because when they talk about bringing another running back in and you’re the running back, you think it’s bad,” Dunn said Wednesday. “But I also know that I’ve had six great years in Atlanta, and I’m not the youngest guy in the world. But I was productive, some of the best years of my life, and eventually that’s going to happen to every player. Jessie Tuggle had to go through the same thing when they brought in Keith Brooking, so it’s inevitable. ….

“Once you go through it you have a better understanding. Sometimes it’s like a reality check. That’s what it is.”

It wouldn’t be out of the question for a player in Dunn’s position to harbor ill-will toward the coach who ushered him toward the door, but that’s not how Dunn operates.

“I thought he was a great guy, he really understands his players,” Dunn said of Smith. “He knew what he wanted. I have to respect that, what type of back he wanted. They went out and got that guy. He played well last week.”

Turner’s 220 yards rushing against Detroit earned him NFC offensive player of the week. Dunn knows at 5-foot-9, 187 pounds, he’s never been a bruising back.

“They’re going to pound, pound, pound,” Dunn said. “My little body can’t really do that. I can make guys miss. I can still run the football. But to be like that Jerome Bettis type, that’s tough for me to do. It’s no hard feelings. I love the Falcons, the city, I love Mr. (Arthur) Blank. I love the guys I’ve played with because I know those guys have worked hard. I’m happy that they played well last week.”

What was hardest, Dunn said, was leaving friendships behind. But he won’t leave the city too far behind.

Dunn said he will continue his charity work in Atlanta, including his Homes for the Holidays program to bring houses to single mothers. He’s hosting a gala for the Warrick Dunn Foundation on Oct. 13 at the Westin Hotel in Buckhead, bringing some of his Tampa teammates and planning to invite some Falcons too.

He wants to start an educational program in Tampa that he would also start in Atlanta.

“Atlanta is part of my life,” said Dunn, who has kept his townhouse in Buckhead and has a brother living here as well.

Dunn has a book coming out on Nov. 11 called “Running for My Life.” He said it focuses on how he dealt with losing his mother, a former police officer, to a shooting death when he was 18 years old.

“I think people will learn a lot from it about overcoming adversity and succeeding,” Dunn said.

And yes, part of that adversity was enduring the Michael Vick saga and the abrupt departure of coach Bobby Petrino last season. The final chapter is about Atlanta.

“I never tried to attack anyone or demean anyone,” Dunn said. “I just tried to talk honestly about it and I hope people can see that.”

For now, he’s moving on to the next chapter.

In Tampa, he returns to a community and a team that always has valued him. He’s playing No. 2 back to Earnest Graham. In a loss to New Orleans last Sunday, Dunn had nine rushes for 54 yards and caught a pass for 11 yards.

“I’ve got to figure out how to use him more effectively, but he and Earnest Graham give us two very effective backs,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden said. “Great guy. He’s a pleasure to have on our team. I know this is a very important game for him. He’s a special guy. I think you (Atlanta) guys witnessed that first hand. We’re just thrilled to have him back in our organization.”