Dickerson: Saints Shut Him Up After Shutting Him Down
New Orleans linebacker Rickey Jackson and Los Angeles running back Eric Dickerson spent some time together this week, going out to dinner and renewing the friendship which began in 1983 when they played in the Pro Bowl together as rookies.
“Yeah, we went out . . . and we stayed out,” Jackson said, smiling. “And our families partied together. We had a lot of fun.”
The party lasted through Sunday afternoon for Jackson and the Saints, who beat the Rams, 6-0, at the Superdome. But Dickerson, who gained just 57 yards in 21 carries (his lowest total of the season), didn’t seem to be having all that much fun.
So little fun, in fact, that he said he was “too tired” to talk about it as he left the stadium for the team bus.
Jackson, not surprisingly, had plenty to say.
“Our friendship doesn’t stop when we get on the field,” said Jackson, who had Dickerson as a house guest for a couple of days after last season’s Rams-Saints game here. “It’s just time for business then.”
The New Orleans linebacker corps spent most of day giving Dickerson and the rest of the Rams the business.
Jackson had 7 solo tackles and 3 assists. Sam Mills had 6 solos and 5 assists. Alvin Toles made 4 by himself and helped on 3 others. And James Haynes was credited with 4 solo tackles. Both Toles and Haynes also had fumble recoveries.
Little wonder the Rams failed to score.
“We were swarming to the ball today,” Jackson said. “We got in a lot of good licks, too. There’ll be a lot of guys getting treatment tomorrow.”
Whirlpools don’t help wounded egos much, but the key players in the Rams’ vaunted running game might be in need of some psyche soothing after this one.
The Rams finished with 53 net rushing yards.
“They came out trying to do the things they’ve done all year and they had every reason to believe they could do it,” Mills said. “But we were running to the ball today and we didn’t let Dickerson get away for any long ones.”
Jackson is one of the few stars on the Saints, having been named to three successive Pro Bowls. But Mills, a 5-9, 225-pounder who came to the Saints when the USFL folded, is more typical of New Orleans’ no-name defense. It appears, however, that this defense is going to make a name for itself under first-year Coach Jim Mora.
Mills played for Mora with the USFL’s Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars, and Mora said he was his most consistent player for three straight years. But even Mora wondered whether Mills could make it in the NFL.
“They look at a guy like me going up against some lineman who’s 285 and, well, it just doesn’t look good,” said Mills, who failed in a tryout with the Cleveland Browns in 1981 before catching on with the Stars.
“And I guess a lot of guys see my size and figure they can overpower me. But I stay low, and beating blocks is my biggest asset.”
The Saints were shedding blocks Sunday faster than their fans have been shedding their clothes during this week’s record-setting heat wave.
“Basically, we took a page out of the Rams’ playbook,” Steve Sidwell, the Saints’ defensive coordinator, said. “We made them work for every single yard. When you play this defense right, the linebackers are supposed to make a lot of tackles and that’s how it worked out today.
“It was good team defense. Dickerson is the best back in football, and if you make one mistake, get a little out of position or miss one tackle, he’ll go all the way.”
That, of course, didn’t happen.
“It (stopping Dickerson) means a whole lot to me,” Jackson said. “We’re close, but when we get on the field, both of us want to look better than the other one.”
There was little doubt about who came out on top this time.
Early in the second quarter Jackson was on top--literally--when he slammed Dickerson to the turf, rolled him over and talked to him for a few seconds. It appeared as if the Saints’ linebacker might be giving Dickerson a bit of lip, but Jackson claims that was not the case.
“I gave him a good shot in the ribs,” Jackson said. “He laid there for a minute like it was a super lick and I thought maybe he was hurt worse than he was. I was just asking him if he was all right.”
After all, that’s what are friends are for, right?
Dickerson may not have been injured then, but he was too tired to talk about it later.
Funny, he usually has enough wind to discuss his performance on days when he’s run a lot farther.
DICKERSON’S RUN AT HIS RECORD
A week-by-week comparison of Eric Dickerson’s rushing statistics in 1984 and 1986. Dickerson holds the single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards, set in 1984. With 6 weeks to go in the season, Dickerson needs to average 151.3 yards a game to break his record.
1984 1986 Att Yds Total Att Yds Total Week 1 21 138 138 38 193 193 Week 2 27 102 240 19 78 271 Week 3 23 49 289 25 121 392 Week 4 22 89 378 17 58 450 Week 5 22 120 498 30 207 657 Week 6 19 107 605 16 73 730 Week 7 20 175 780 24 130 860 Week 8 24 145 925 30 170 1030 Week 9 13 38 963 29 111 1141 Week 10 21 208 1171 21 57 1198 Totals 212 1171 249 1198
DICKERSON’S WORST RUSHING GAMES
Eric Dickerson’s 57-yard rushing performance against the New Orleans Saints Sunday was the sixth-lowest in his four NFL seasons. The following are Dickerson’s seven worst rushing performances.
Date, Year Opp. Att Yds Avg TD Sept. 29, 1985 Atl. 7 26 3.7 0 Nov. 20, 1983 Wash. 12 37 3.1 1 Oct. 28, 1984 S.F. 13 38 2.9 0 Sept. 16, 1984 Pitt. 23 49 2.1 0 Oct. 6, 1985 Minn. 25 55 2.2 1 Nov. 9, 1986 N.O. 21 57 2.7 0 Sept. 18, 1986 Phil. 17 58 4.7 0
