When Herschel Walker was dominating opponents in Athens, I dreamed as a child about the possibility of him bringing his skills about 70 miles south to join the Atlanta Falcons. The thought of forming a "dream backfield" with Walker and William Andrews was certainly just a fantasy. In 1983, when Walker was available, he chose to join the USFL and play for the New Jersey Generals. That year, Atlanta had the 16th overall pick and missed out on several Hall of Fame talents in that draft class, including Dan Marino, Darrell Green, and Richard Dent, who were all selected much later. As fate would have it, 1983 turned out to be the last complete season for William Andrews. He rushed the ball 331 times, contributing to 39% of the total offensive output, but a freak injury during training camp sidelined him for the next two years. He never fully bounced back and was never quite the same player again. Too often, promising careers and dreams are cut short. Jamal Anderson faced his own knee problems. Following the Super Bowl, Anderson was set for a huge game the next season at Texas Stadium on Monday Night Football. If he couldn't secure a Super Bowl win, dominating the Cowboys in front of a nationally televised audience would be the next best achievement. Sadly, Anderson suffered a knee injury, went through rehabilitation, and then re-injured his left ACL again. It was two significant injuries within three seasons, leading to an early retirement.
In looking at the Falcons' all-time rushing leaders, names like Anderson and Andrews don't rank higher due to their shortened careers. Currently, the top spot is held by Gerald Riggs with 6,631 yards. As Bijan Robinson gears up for his third season, he's already over a third of the way to surpassing that total. In fact, if Robinson simply matches his performance from last season, he will soar to number seven on the list, surpassing the rushing totals of Stanback, Hampton, and Michael Vick. The crucial factor for Robinson will be maintaining consistency each week, which was somewhat inconsistent last year. For instance, in games against the Broncos, Saints, and Chiefs, Bijan managed only 94 rushing yards combined. For those of you scoffing at an all-time total of just 6,631 to lead a franchise, there are even lower totals across the NFL. The Texans are slightly behind with Arian Foster's 6,472. The Bucs are actually below 6,000 yards with James Wilder, and the Patriots' all-time leader is the late Sam "Bam" Cunningham at 5,453. The only obstacles in Robinson's path to dominating the city, winning rushing titles, and shattering team records are an unfortunate injury or a fallout with management. Here's to you, Mr. Robinson; a city is waiting, and so are the record books.
