Norwood already making an impact in Atlanta

By Darrell Laurant  |   Friday, July 14, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Atlanta Falcons
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At Mississippi State last season, Jerious Norwood ran between the tackles, around the ends, and under the radar.

Despite his 1,180 yards rushing (a 5.9-yard average), the Bulldog star hung around until the third round of the NFL draft -- for which the Atlanta Falcons should be eternally grateful.

Norwood's problem was that he played for a mediocre team, although that actually makes his statistics even more impressive. Competing in arguably the toughest conference in the country and operating behind an overmatched offensive line, the 6-0, 203-pound senior scored six touchdowns on the ground and caught two touchdown passes. He also returned four punts for a 10.9-yard average.

A weightroom warrior in Starkville, Norwood possesses both inside muscle and outside speed (4.4 over 40 yards at the Indianapolis combine). And with the Falcons, he'll also have another ex-Bulldog (Justin Griffith) blocking for him.

All of which raises questions about the role of fifth-year Falcon RB T.J. Duckett. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Norwood has already made a strong bid to become the Falcons' third-down back, trumping Duckett with his ability to catch passes out of the backfield and his knack (rare in a young player) of picking up blitzes.

Given that, there is some talk that the Falcons may try to move Duckett to another team. That might be premature. Starting running back Warrick Dunn (5-9, 182) had trouble operating inside the red zone, scoring only three times in 2005. Duckett, despite far fewer yards, had eight touchdowns -- and at 6-0, 245, he could still be valuable as a Jerome Bettis/Zack Crockett style banger from close range.

Shifting Duckett to fullback isn't really an option, because Griffith is one of the best at that position in the NFC.

At any rate, having three backs of this caliber not only gives Atlanta more flexibility, but an insurance policy behind Dunn. The Florida State product has proved surprisingly durable over the last two seasons, starting all 32 games, but he was prone to injury in earlier years and is now 31.

Norwood has not yet been signed, but neither have any of the other drafted rookies. He participated in spring drills, and team general manager Rich McKay said he doesn't see any problems reaching an agreement.

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