Friend or Foe?

Warrick Dunn was among a close-knit group that built the Bucs into a top team. Now, he lines up on the other side.

By ROGER MILLS, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published October 2, 2002

TAMPA -- To the notoriously frugal Warrick Dunn, the move made perfect sense. Should he ignore a six-year, $28.5-million contract and longterm financial security? Ignore the chance to become a team's primary ball carrier?

Not likely.

And so after a dramatic free-agent courtship, Dunn signed with the Falcons in mid March with the understanding that he would finally be treated as an every-down back.

Since then, he has circled Sunday's date, his first game against his old team, and he has done all he can to prepare.

Still, the hours can't go by quickly enough.

"I get chills just thinking about playing against those guys and trying to make moves on them and make plays against those guys," Dunn said Tuesday. "It's definitely weird. It's going to be a challenge like I've never had. I thought I would be among those guys for my whole career and help build a franchise and realize our dreams of winning a Super Bowl. But it didn't happen, and I had to do what was best for myself and my family. They understand that. But it won't make it any easier."

No, it won't. After five seasons with the Bucs (1997-2001), two of which were Pro Bowl years, Dunn left a legacy in Tampa Bay matched by few others to wear a Bucs uniform.

There were moments of brilliance on the field, like 4,200 career rushing yards, 259 catches for 2,384 yards, 26 total touchdowns and a memorable 210-yard day against the Cowboys two years ago. There also were moments of nobility off of it, including paying the down payments to provide homes for 28 single mothers and their 81 children in Tampa Bay and in his hometown of Baton Rouge, La.

Dunn, 27, might have bought a condo in Atlanta, but he still is tethered to Tampa. While the Falcons were off last week, Dunn stayed at his house in Tampa and he plans to continue donating homes to single mothers in the bay area while extending the program to Atlanta.

This is home and in some ways, the Bucs are still his family.

"These are not just guys that you got to know for a few months or a year, these are like my brothers," Dunn said. "These are guys that I grew up with and shared times with. All the years we have played together, being close to the Super Bowl, the two-a-days the practices, the three losses in the row, the disappointments in the playoffs, the camaraderie that everyone had. We were all pulling for one another."

General manager Rich McKay said the Bucs' emergence into the league's top teams has much to do with Dunn's contribution.

"He was involved in the process when we tried to change the franchise and that makes him a part of what we are (today)," McKay said. "He was a big part of it. No question. (Losing him) is the bad side of free agency. It's players like Warrick, you wish the system didn't provide for them to leave. But it does and you just have to deal with it. He was part of our turning around, one of the main pieces in the mix."

Although on Sunday Dunn will be an enemy on the field, for many of the Bucs, he will remain a trusted friend off of it.

"I knew I was going to have to deal with this at some time," linebacker Derrick Brooks said. "It's going to be tough. I saw Warrick coming in as a freshman at Florida State, and I literally jumped up and down on the table and called the Bucs on draft day trying to convince them to draft him. Trust me, it's going to be a little hard at first. It's like that when I play against any of my former teammates, but with this guy, being so close to me, it's going to be even more difficult."

Cornerback Ronde Barber, who was Dunn's roommate for their first few years in the league, said the NFL forces players to be professional and to deal with former teammates now on the other side of the ball.

And while Barber might one day have to tackle twin brother Tiki Barber, a running back for the Giants, he admitted the situation is significantly different with Dunn.

"I think it is even more unusual because of who he is," Barber said. "He's got probably 53 friends on this team. He's that kind of guy. Now, he's still an opponent, and he'll treat everyone on our team like an opponent. I know how competitive he is. In fact, he probably has some ill will toward some of the people here, and that's to be expected. It's the nature of the game."

Dunn, Brooks and Barber, however, understand it's still all about the game. It's still one man trying to gain yards and the others trying to stop him. It's still the Bucs (3-1) facing the Falcons (1-2) in an early NFC South Division game.

"I'm going to try to look past the friendship, to be honest with you," Brooks said. "When he signed with them, the first thing I did was congratulate him because in many ways it was like seeing your little brother do something special. But, at the same time, I wouldn't be myself if I didn't take a stab at him and say, 'You've played with the best, now you have to play against the best.' "

Dunn expects no preferential treatment and plans to afford none to the Bucs.

"They'll try to kill me and try to knock me out. I know that," he said. "But it's just like playing basketball or video games against your brothers at home, you want to beat them. You want to beat them bad and get bragging rights."

Considering the way the Bucs defense has been playing the past three weeks, the 5-foot-9, 180 pounder will have to get a lot of carries to prove a point. But through the Falcons first three games into the 2002 season, those touches haven't been as abundant as promised.

Dunn had to split time and carries with Mike Alstott, and now is doing the same with rookie running back T.J. Duckett.

"The whole situation is blown out of proportion," Dunn said. "It's all good. I don't think I'm in the same situation as I was the last few years in Tampa. I don't think (the Falcons) really know how to utilize me yet, but we're getting there. There is no running back controversy."

In a 30-3 win over the Bengals Sept. 22, the last time the Falcons (1-2) played, Dunn had eight carries for 18 yards while Duckett had 18 carries and 67 yards.

Through three games, Dunn has 121 yards on 38 carries (3.2 ypg). By comparison, Duckett has 138 yards on 29 carries (4.8 ypc).

Initially, Dunn was the starter and Duckett came in when he was tired. But against the Bengals the new plan seemed to feature Duckett in the two-back sets, with the fullback, and Dunn doing everything else, including moving out into a receiver formation.

"T.J. is a good young player and I'm going to do whatever I can to help him get better," Dunn said. "But they told me, 'You're our guy and we're going to take you all the way."

"I've learned you can't worry about things you can't control. I've played enough. My career speaks for itself. (Against the Bengals) I didn't play a lot, but we won. If we had lost, then I wouldn't have been happy. (Right now) it hasn't been a problem. But you never know what the future can be."