Alstott gets opportunity to prove himself

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© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 3, 2001

The garage is dark, cramped. There are cobwebs and dust, and from somewhere, you can smell the stale scent of mothballs.

You move toward the corner, stepping around the cardboard boxes, looking for one in particular. You're sure this is where you left it.

Aha! There it is. It is slightly water-stained, a little crooked, but the contents should be fine. You drag it toward the light and open it. You remove the plastic wrap.

Yep, there he is.

The guy who used to be Mike Alstott.

It is his time. Again. It is his place. Again. Alstott will run again, and as he does, the ball, the game and, possibly, the season will rest in his hands. Again.

This time, Alstott must squeeze tight. For the Bucs, there is a season to be rescued. For Alstott, there is a career.

Time was, not a week went by without Alstott figuring heavily into it. Once, it seemed he spent his career wading through the defense, with that infernal whistle blowing in the background, rambling all the way to the ESPN highlights. The guy lived in the ESPN highlights.

As the Bucs turned into something to admire, Alstott arguably was the most admired of them all, a rugged, relentless runner who was willing to trade bruises with a linebacker any time one would bother to ask.

His game was brutal, all bloody knuckles and extra effort, and it made your teeth hurt to watch opposing players bounce off of him.

No one ran harder. No one absorbed more punishment. Alstott was the A-Train, and if a defender wanted a ride, well, he could just hop aboard and hang on.

That was when? About 1978?

Memories are short in the NFL. Suffer an injury, and it will doubt your game. Put up ordinary numbers, and it will forget your name.

And so it is incumbent upon Alstott to reintroduce himself. It seems like an eternity since the Bucs have asked him to be an impact player. They have moved him here and there, all over the field. But mostly, they have kept him out of the way.

These days, Alstott is a fullback, not that you would notice. He blocks some. He runs a few routes. Every now and then, as if he were making a guest appearance, he gets to carry the ball. For all intents and purposes, Alstott has gone from yesterday's hero to today's Patrick Hape.

This week, that all changes. Warrick Dunn is injured, and once again, the Bucs will turn their eyes toward Alstott. Oh, the team says Aaron Stecker will get the ball some, and Rabih Abdullah. But who would you give the ball to when it mattered most? Better question: If you were a defender, who would you worry most about tackling?

"We're going to give Mike the ball," offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen said. "Maybe 20 times. I think he'll do a good job. He's run well against these guys before, and I think he'll be champing at the bit."

Who could blame Alstott for that? Give him credit for not grumbling -- and you'd be surprised how many players would. No player likes the fall from factor to afterthought. For Alstott, the next month is his opportunity to re-establish himself as a big-time player.

Few people seem to think of Alstott that way anymore. Blame it on bad hands, bad coaching or bad luck. Yes, Alstott has fumbled too much. Yes, former offensive coordinator Les Steckel seemed to lose faith in him. Yes, it was his injury last year against Chicago that made it obvious how much better Dunn was with extra carries.

This season, the Bucs wanted to re-establish Alstott as a fullback. They were going to throw to him a half-dozen times a game and run him a half-dozen more. Because of Alstott's injury in the preseason, that hasn't happened. He has carried only eight times all season.

You have to go back 14 games (he missed three of those with injury) before Alstott carried more than 10 times in a game. For whatever reason, the Bucs offense probably has mined less of Alstott's ability than any other player's.

Alstott needs this chance. If he wants to prove to his coaches he deserves more carries, even when Dunn returns, this is his opportunity. If nothing else, think of it as economics. Alstott is being paid as an impact player. If he does not return to that level, he could be at risk during the offseason.

"I think it's a chance for him to get involved the way Warrick did last year when he was hurt," Christensen said. "I think it's a great opportunity for him. This is the reason we kept two top-notch backs. In my mind, Mike is still a top-notch back."

For the Bucs to stop their wobble, Alstott must prove it. As he enters October, he is very much like his team. Both need re-establishing. Both need their credibility restored. Maybe both of them need to see if that darned whistle still works.

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