He’s Glad to Be Here : Eric Dickerson Is Avoiding Controversy, but His Role as a Raider Starter Is in Jeopardy

So just who is this Raider running back with the No. 29 on his back and the goggles on his face?

Eric Dickerson?

Not the Eric Dickerson who burst into the NFL with the Rams and later played for the Indianapolis Colts, taking on both tacklers and controversy with a ferocity that guaranteed him the high regard of those he played against, but sometimes low regard from those he played for and with.

That Eric Dickerson demanded to be traded by the Rams because he wanted more money.

This Eric Dickerson took a pay cut from the $2.2 million he was to receive this season from the Colts to $1.1 million so he could play for the Raiders.

That Eric Dickerson was always involved in controversy.

This Eric Dickerson avoids controversy as if it were an onrushing linebacker. When everybody else seemed to get caught up in the debate over quarterbacks Jay Schroeder and Todd Marinovich last week, Dickerson smiled and went about his business.

That Eric Dickerson had his run-ins with Ram management and was suspended twice by the Colts for alleged insubordination and missing practices.

This Eric Dickerson hasn’t missed a beat in practice.

When he came to the Raiders in an off-season trade, Dickerson was depicted as another of the team’s celebrated reclamation projects, another maverick who would finally find his place in owner Al Davis’ wild kingdom.

But, said the doubters, wait and see what happens if things don’t go right.

Well, three weeks into the season, things indeed have not gone right.

The Raiders are in danger of dropping out of sight in the playoff picture at 0-3 and Dickerson has nearly dropped out of sight in the Raider backfield.

He began the season as the starting tailback and still holds that role. But it is a shaky hold.

That breath he feels down the back of his neck is not an opponent’s but Marcus Allen’s. Allen has emerged from another summer of discontent and trade rumors to become the team’s clutch runner.

Again, there is a difference from the old Dickerson, but this one is nothing to brag about.

That Eric Dickerson began the season as the third-leading rusher in NFL history with 12,439 yards, including a record 2,105 in a single season with the Rams.

This Eric Dickerson has required three games just to get over the 100-yard mark. He has 108 yards in 38 carries for a 2.8-yard average, among the lowest in the league.

Of perhaps even greater alarm to Dickerson, he’s coming out of games earlier and earlier.

With the Raiders trailing the Cleveland Browns at the half last Sunday, 14-3, Coach Art Shell elected to go primarily to the air. And that means Allen, considered the better blocker, takes over in the backfield.

Dickerson had only six carries last week and has had only 16 in the last two games.

So is he ready to explode out of frustration?

Not that anyone would notice.

“I’m real content,” Dickerson said. “It’s not about making headlines. A lot of times, (the media) made the headlines out of nothing. I’m still glad I’m here. No doubt, no doubt at all.”

But don’t get the idea that Dickerson’s contentment at being back in Los Angeles, where he has a home, extends to his current numbers.

“I would like to (run more), don’t get me wrong,” he said. “Of course, who wouldn’t? I would be lying if I said no, but I’m not going to tell you I’m not happy to be here.

“It’s been frustrating because we haven’t been able to run a lot in the second half because we’ve been behind.

“That’s always been the best part of my game, the third and fourth quarter. That’s when the big boys get tired and I’ve just gotten better.”

There was some question when Dickerson arrived whether, at 32, he had lost anything. His numbers were way down the last two seasons in Indianapolis, where he had only six touchdowns in the two years and averaged a career-low 3.2 yards per carry last season.

Part of that can be attributed to his conflicts with Colt management, which resulted in reduced playing time.

But even with the Raiders, Dickerson has rarely shown that extra burst of acceleration after hitting the hole that was once his trademark.

Part of that problem can be attributed to a Raider game plan that requires him to run inside. It was as an outside runner that Dickerson raced to glory.

“I’m an outside runner,” he said. “Oh, yeah, I’m most definitely an outside runner. Don’t get me wrong. I’ll take it inside, too, when I have to. But I’ve been accustomed to taking it on the corners, off tackle, tosses and pitches.

“We used to have the gap play we made famous with the Rams.”

At the height of his troubles with the Rams, Dickerson once said of Coach John Robinson, “Let him run 47 gap.”

These days, Dickerson would be thrilled to run 47 gap, if only it were in the Raider playbook.

But Dickerson says he understands the Raider game plan and the rotation of backs.

“That’s just their system,” he said. “I’m part of the system.

“I feel fast and strong. Anytime I get the ball 25, 28, 30 times, I feel I can do some damage to a defense. I feel if I get the ball, I’ll get the numbers. I have confidence in my ability. If I get a chance, it will happen. That’s all I can say.”

The old Eric Dickerson might have said a lot more.