Vick, Dunn: 1,000-yard twins?

By Darrell Laurant  |   Friday, December 08, 2006  |  Comments( 4 )

Atlanta Falcons
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Two weeks ago, the slumping Atlanta Falcons were running on empty. Last Saturday against the Washington Redskins, they were just running.

Rookie Jerious Norwood bolted for 107 yards (including a 69-yard touchdown burst), Warrick Dunn gained 87 and QB Michael Vick 59 as the Falcons crawled out of a 14-0 hole to beat the Washington Redskins, 24-14.

Vick, booed by fans at the Georgia Dome during and after the previous game (he responded with a double-barreled middle finger salute and was fined $10,000 by the NFL), was 8 of 15 passing for 122 yards and two touchdowns.

Most impressive, however, was the 98-yard drive he engineered in the fourth quarter.

"I am such an optimist that I always think we can get that stuff done," said Atlanta coach Jim Mora.

This time, he was right.

This Sunday, Atlanta travels to Tampa Bay with a couple of statistical milestones hanging in the balance. Vick needs 40 rushing yards to break Bobby Douglass' single-season record for a quarterback and 71 to become the first NFL quarterback ever to go over 1,000.

Dunn, meanwhile, is just 48 yards from that magic number. He and Vick have a good shot at becoming the first teammates to each rush for 1,000 yards since Cleveland's Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack did it in 1985.

On top of all that, veteran placekicker Morten Andersen is just seven points away from becoming the NFL's all-time leader in that category.

This question is, will there be enough game balls to go around?

At 6-6, the Falcons still have a pulse as far as the wild card is concerned. Mora called a closed-door "come to Jesus" meeting last Saturday, and the team responded with one of its best offensive performances of the season.

"We should have had it (the meeting) a couple of weeks ago," said safety Lawyer Milloy, whose robust hit on Redskins QB Jason Campbell allowed DE Chauncey Davis to rumble 41 yards with Campbell's misfired pass, setting up a Vick to Michael Jenkins touchdown connection.

Atlanta's offensive line had its way with the Redskins in the second half last week, and Dunn, Norwood and Vick took full advantage of the holes that were offered.

For his part, Vick acted less like a man with something to prove than a quarterback trying to help his team win.

Will it continue? With the Falcons, you never know.
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