Falcons’ Jordan Is Ready for Prime Time, Too : Pro football: Safety is a fixture in Atlanta’s secondary and a rising prospect in the Cardinals’ organization.

So maybe he doesn’t know everything Bo knows and he’s never had any flashy nicknames like “Prime Time.” Right now, Brian Jordan isn’t even the most famous two-sport star in the Atlanta Falcon secondary.

One day, however, Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders may be watching Jordan in the Pro Bowl in January and Jordan in the All-Star Game come July.

The Atlanta safety proved his worth in the secondary last season when he led all NFL defensive backs in tackles with 193. Then during the off-season, he showed his baseball mettle, hitting .267 with five homers while playing all three outfield positions for the Louisville Redbirds, St. Louis’ triple-A affiliate.

The Falcons already knew he was a keeper. The Cardinals recently decided the same and added Jordan to their 40-man protected roster. He will go to training camp with the big leaguers this spring.

It won’t be soon enough for Jim Everett. Jordan was all over the Ram quarterback Sunday, helping the Falcons thump the hapless Rams, 31-14. He had two sacks, an interception and three passes defensed.

“If he’s not the player of the week in the National Football League, then nobody’s watching,” Falcon Coach Jerry Glanville said. “He did it all today. He was all over the place. He hit (Everett), he sacked him, he intercepted him. He just did it all.

“He just had a great game, which he usually does. He’s made a habit of playing like that for us.”

Jordan, who harassed Everett at least a half-dozen times when he didn’t get a sack, thought this game was a little better than most. But he credited the game plan for his success.

“This was the result of watching a lot of film and having good defensive coaches,” he said. “After we played the Rams the first time, we knew the key to the game was getting to Everett early and taking him out of his game. If he gets in his groove, he can be unstoppable. So we planned to put a lot of pressure on him. We just took the game scheme and ran with it.”

Jordan ran amok with it. In the first quarter, he knocked down an Everett pass and then sacked Everett on a third-and-13 play that forced the Rams to punt. Tracey Eaton blocked the punt and two plays later, Atlanta led, 10-0.

Jordan sacked Everett again on the first play of the second quarter. Then, midway through the third quarter, he cut in front of Flipper Anderson for an interception.

“All week long we watched film of them throwing the out patterns to (Henry) Ellard and Anderson,” Jordan said. “They run the best outs in the league. We were in zone coverage and I just looked for Anderson and ran straight for him. When he turned it out, I turned around and the ball was right there.”

Jordan was making it look easy Sunday, but success has never come without a price for him. He had turned down scholarship offers from major colleges so he could play baseball and football at Richmond University. He was a third-team All-American in football his senior year, but suffered a broken ankle in the Senior Bowl.

“That cost me a lot of money,” he said. “I dropped from the second or third round (in the draft) to the seventh.”

Buffalo selected Jordan in the seventh round, but released him on the final cutdown day in 1989. Atlanta claimed him off waivers, but Jordan hurt his ankle again in training camp and missed all but the final four games of the season. He was impressive enough to convince the Falcons to protect him during the Plan B period.

In 1990, his baseball career took a dive when he crashed into a wall and broke his wrist chasing a fly ball. He was hitting .333 for the double-A Arkansas Travelers at the time.

He’s healthy and thriving now, though. He’s a fixture in the Atlanta secondary and a rising prospect in the Cardinals’ organization. This fall, he watched Sanders board a helicopter and fly off to a Braves game, daydreaming of a day when he, too, could play in a baseball game Saturday and a football game Sunday.

Jordan would love to play both sports, but knows he may be forced to make a choice. Soon.

His contracts with the Falcons and Cardinals expire next year, so Jordan is keeping his options--and bank accounts--open.

“I’m really happy to be here, it’s exciting to be part of a team that has been low and is finally making it,” he said. “But the Cardinals decided to protect me on their 40-man roster, so I guess they’re going to try and make me a big enough offer to get me out of football.

“And then we’ll see what the Falcons have to offer. I’d prefer to do both, if possible. But it all depends on the finances.”

A bidding war for Brian Jordan? It could happen. Clearly, Jordan knows how to hit a quarterback as well as a curveball.