Back up to speed

Healthier, and with an offense more tailored to his talents, Warrick Dunn is eager for the season.

[Times photo: Toni L. Sandys] Warrick Dunn doesn't mind the attention others are getting in camp. "I have to show people whether I can bounce back," he says.

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By RICK STROUD

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 28, 2000

TAMPA -- The face is familiar, and you know immediately that he is famous.

He lines up in the backfield, and you are sure he has been the most dangerous weapon on his team.

He carries the football, darting like drops of water on a hot skillet, and you are certain he has produced long runs, followed by touchdowns resulting in victory.

Then it occurs to you the Bucs have been hiding Warrick Dunn. How else can you explain not finding him in the end zone?

In case anyone was wondering, Dunn still plays in the NFL. But four days into training camp at the University of Tampa, he had not received one interview request.

This has more to do with the new blood on the Bucs than bad blood toward Dunn.

But for a first-round draft pick who won a national championship at Florida State; was the NFC Rookie of the Year; rushed for more than 1,000 yards one season; and led his team in receiving the next, it has to sting.

"It doesn't bother me because I still have a long way to go. I mean, most people have probably written me off anyway," Dunn said. "Those guys -- (Jeff) Christy, Keyshawn (Johnson), (Randall) McDaniel -- they've proven themselves. I had one good year, my rookie year. I had a subpar second year and a subpar third year. I guess I have to show people whether I can bounce back. People are not going to respect little guys in the league until somebody does that enough and can be as consistent as Barry (Sanders) was."

When Dunn was a rookie, he outperformed Sanders in a game at Detroit. The comparisons between the 5-foot-8 Dunn and the Lions star were inevitable. Sanders has retired, and for a while last season, it appeared the Bucs had retired Dunn.

Want a telling stat? Guess how long it has been since Dunn rushed for 100 yards in a game. Twenty-four games.

Last season, Dunn, battling injuries, averaged a career-low 3.2 yards per carry and did not score a rushing touchdown. On about a third of his rushing attempts, he appeared to be hit either in the backfield or at the line of scrimmage.

Dunn still missed just one game and led the Bucs in receiving with 64 catches for 589 yards and two scores.

"He was down because as a running back, you measure yourself by how many yards you gain running the ball," coach Tony Dungy said. "He likes that; he wants to score touchdowns. And even though he did a lot of things for us and was a big weapon for us in the passing game, he didn't run as well as he would've liked."

There were reasons for Dunn's ineffectiveness. He missed the start of training camp because of tendinitis in his knee, and then he strained a hamstring after he arrived at practice. About the time he was becoming healthy, he hyperextended a knee at Seattle and missed a Monday night game against Minnesota.

"It was crazy because every game, I would get up limping. Something would hurt," Dunn said. "Then when I came back and hyperextended my knee, I had to overcome all these obstacles. "Last year taught me a lot about life and football. It taught me how to overcome injuries, because I've never had to. It taught me how tough I could be."

Dunn has every reason to be optimistic. During the off-season, every time he picked up a newspaper and read about the Bucs' latest transaction, he felt better.

The Bucs added Christy and McDaniel, two Pro Bowl linemen who are athletic enough to pull and spring Dunn outside, where he can use his speed and avoid collisions. They traded for Johnson, who will keep defenses honest and take pressure off the running game. But the most significant addition was offensive coordinator Les Steckel, who has a knack for making the best use of his weapons and plans to use Dunn in the one-back set.

"I think this is) going to be a better year for him," Dungy said. "I think we have some stuff that's really going to get him in the open field. So he's excited and I think really enjoys what we're doing. "I think we'll play to his strengths better. And when we ran inside in '97 and '98, he did fine when there were holes there. He'll make yards, and he'll get into the secondary and make people miss." Dunn's confidence has begun to come back, and he is eager to become a focal point of the offense again.

"It'll probably be better mentally for me. For one, I know the coach has confidence in me," Dunn said. "It just gets me back to doing what I do best and playing the type of football I used to play. "To me, it's positive that the organization sees that these have been some of our weak points and let's try to upgrade that and see if it takes us to that next level."

As always, Dunn will continue to hear complaints about his size and questions about his durability.

"I think when you fight that tag, that's easy to say, "Well, see, he wasn't big enough,' " Dungy said. "But he was big enough his first year, he was big enough his second year, and he was big enough in the passing game when we got him the ball in an open space. And I think if we make holes for him, he'll go for over 1,200 yards."

If that happens, Warrick Dunn won't be able to walk past a reporter without being stopped again. "They'll always be quick to write off the little guy," Dunn said. "Now I've got to step my game up to prove to people that I can still play the game. Believe me, I love running outside. Running inside was okay, but running outside is how I got here. It kept me alive, so I think it's going to be beneficial."

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