SETTLED IN : Falcon Running Back on Top After Rising From Depths of Chart

It normally takes two hours to drive from Ruffin, N.C., to Boone, W. Va., unless, of course, you’re John Settle and you’ve just heard the most amazing news of your already charmed National Football League career.

Then it’s pedal-to-the-metal, Smokies-be-damned time as you cross state lines in desperate search of a dependable television and a nightly sportscast.

That’s what Settle did on April 23, tempting fate and radar guns of the North Carolina Highway Patrol. He was in a hurry, and who could blame him, what with his life changing by the moment.

One day a co-starter for the Atlanta Falcons with three-time Pro Bowl running back Gerald Riggs; the next, the starter and heir to a Falcon attack that produces 1,000-yard rushers with some regularity. Even Settle, as calm as they come, was a bit disoriented by it all.

Settle can’t remember the exact words he heard on his car radio that day but he does recall the exhilaration he felt as the announcer disclosed that Riggs had been traded to the Washington Redskins for a second-round draft choice in 1989 and a first-round selection in 1990. Suddenly, the speedometer was jumping toward the red zone, to say nothing of what Settle’s pulse was doing.

“I was lucky I didn’t get a ticket,” he said.

As soon as he arrived in Boone, where he was completing requirements for his degree in criminal justice at Appalachian State, Settle found a working TV and waited for confirmation. When it came, Settle sat there, stunned.

“I had to see it to believe it,” he said.

Believe it. The Falcons sent Riggs, the eight-year veteran, packing and kept Settle, the modest second-year free agent who was so low on the depth chart at the start of the 1988 season that you needed search dogs to sniff out his name. In fact, Dallas Cowboys statisticians later noted Settle’s first carry against the team as such: “Sutle on left side.”

While he isn’t yet a household name around the league, Settle does hold a prominent place on the Falcon marquee, thanks mainly to a magical season during which he became the first NFL free agent since the 1970 merger to rush for more than 1,000 yards. Not only did the Falcons barter away Settle’s main rival, they also promised to fork over some big bucks when Settle’s bargain-basement contract expires at the end of the season.

It seems the least they can do, considering the goals Settle is setting for himself in 1990. Let’s see, a minimum of 15 touchdowns . . . another 1,000 yards’ worth of rushing . . . 1,000 yards’ worth of receiving. He begins his quest Sunday against the Rams at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

“You need to have something to shoot for,” he said.

This is the Settle motto, courtesy of some loose interpretation of the New Testament, specifically, Philippians 4:13. It is Settle’s favorite passage and it reads, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

No mention of 15 touchdowns there, but then again, what did the Philippians know about power sweeps? Anyway, Settle uses the sentence for inspiration and if you don’t believe him, ask the Falcons, who must have had a good laugh back in 1987 when Settle presented a short list of contract demands.

Among other things, Settle wanted a bonus should he be selected to the Pro Bowl.

The Pro Bowl? Yeah, sure, said the Falcons, happily scribbling down the terms.

Settle wanted a bonus if he led the team in receptions, gained 1,000 yards either receiving or rushing, led the league in yards per carry or scored a predetermined number of touchdowns.

No problem, smirked the Falcons as they agreed to the incentive clauses. Back then, they might as well have included a little something for winning MVP honors, succeeding Pete Rozelle as league commissioner, negotiating the next league television deal.

After all, Settle began the 1987 training camp as the 11th running back on a depth chart that went 12 deep. He had bombed at the scouting combine a few months earlier, running a slow 4.75-second 40-yard dash and performing strength tests that were disappointing. What no one knew, except Settle, is that he had the flu. Tough to bench press when your temperature is higher than the weights you’re lifting.

Somehow he survived the roster cuts that year, but not by much. He carried only 19 times for 72 yards in 1987. And when the next season started, Settle could be found blocking for Riggs or on the bench.

Then Riggs bruised a shoulder in the Falcons’ second game. Settle stepped in and rushed for 102 yards. An unlikely star was born.

Steve Dils, now with the Rams, was there that day as the Falcons’ backup quarterback. Like many of the Falcons, he didn’t think much of the 5-foot 9-inch, 210-pound running back as Settle went into the game against the New Orleans Saints.

“I’d never heard of him,” Dils said. “You’d look at him and you’d say, ‘He can’t run.’ ”

But that was before Settle took a handoff from quarterback Chris Miller, darted toward the line, broke a couple of tackles, found a small opening and then covered 62 yards, the third-longest run in Falcon history.

“I said, ‘Whoa! This guy has a little more burst than what I thought,’ ” Dils said.

Settle is used to that sort of thing. He has made a career out of disproving first impressions.

“I’m not the type of player who’s flashy,” Settle said. “I’m not the prettiest type of player, but I’m not out there to look pretty.”

Two weeks later, against the Dallas Cowboy, Riggs tore up a knee. Settle returned to the starting lineup and never glanced back.

And those incentive clauses? Settle gained 1,024 yards, caught a team-leading 68 passes, scored plenty--eight times--and didn’t miss by a whole lot on the yards-per-carry bonus with an average of 4.4.

“I don’t know if he’s a guy who will play for 10 years, but for the next five, he’ll be one of the better backs in the league,” Dils said. “I think he’s for real. I don’t think last year was any fluke by any stretch of the imagination.”

Dils remembered last year’s Falcon game against the Seattle Seahawks and their celebrated linebacker, Brian Bosworth. There was the hint of a smile as Dils recalled Settle’s 21 carries for 115 yards and six catches for another 71 yards.

“He made Bosworth miss about four times, and badly, too,” Dils said. “A couple of times, (Bosworth) had him head up in the hole, and John gave him enough of a move that Bosworth lost his balance and then (Settle) ran through an arm tackle.”

Overachiever . . . Bosworth antagonist . . . biblical enthusiast, Settle can do it all. If Boys’ Life needs a cover story, it might want to call Settle. He doesn’t drink, smoke, chew or swear--in short, the approximate opposite of the Boz.

The son of a minister, Settle does everything for a reason. He became involved in martial arts to improve his muscle flexibility. He learned to juggle because he thought it would help his dexterity. Right now he tosses rubber balls, but one of these days he wants to try juggling a few chain saws--on one condition.

“They wouldn’t be turned on,” he said.

Maybe this week or next, Settle plans on calling the man whose departure made all this possible--Riggs. It won’t be the longest of conversations, but it will be heartfelt. Settle doesn’t know any other way.

“I’ll just see how things are going for him,” Settle said. “Hopefully, he’ll do the same things there that he did with us.”

Meanwhile, the Falcons are counting on Settle to do likewise. And doesn’t Settle know it, too.

“(The trade) was kind of a reward, and now I look forward to a long career,” he said. “But there’s a lot of pressure. A lot of the load is on my shoulders.”

But evenly distributed. And after last season’s circumstances, Settle doesn’t mind the added weight. Beats sitting.