NFL Has Often Tested Running Back’s Faith : Rams: Anthony Thompson, whose pro career has been in limbo, hopes his performance Sunday puts him on the right track.
Football careers take funny bounces. Try to follow Anthony Thompson’s, for instance.
He never missed a game in four years at Indiana and carried the ball into the end zone 68 times, more often than any player in collegiate history. He rushed for an NCAA-record 377 yards in one game. And he led the nation in rushing as a senior (1,793 yards), finishing second in the voting for the Heisman Trophy.
Clearly, things were looking up.
Thompson was drafted in the second round by the Phoenix Cardinals in 1990. He missed almost all of his rookie training camp, holding out during contract negotiations, and got off to an understandably slow start as a backup to Pro Bowl running back Johnny Johnson.
All of sudden, the perennial lead was an understudy.
Johnson was sidelined late in the season because of an ankle injury, and Thompson came through with performances that elicited the kinds of rave reviews he received in college. During a three-game stretch between Weeks 12 and 14, Thompson averaged 100 yards, including a 136-yard, one-touchdown performance against the New England Patriots that was the most productive day by a Cardinal back in five years.
Johnson was sidelined by a foot injury for the 1991 opener at Anaheim Stadium and Thompson had a career-high 29 carries for 60 yards in a victory over the Rams. But that was pretty much the high point. He got fewer than 100 more chances to carry the ball during the rest of the season.
The low point came after the second game this year, when the Cardinals released him.
Thompson, who idolized Walter Payton as a youngster and always envisioned himself as a dominating running back in the NFL, had not only failed to land a plum role, he couldn’t even hold a job as a bit player in the big show.
The Rams gave Thompson an audition, though, and his career was revived. OK, maybe revived isn’t the right word. Thompson’s career was put in limbo.
Two months passed. Nine games. Thompson worked all week and watched all Sunday. Then Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, Thompson finally got his shot at center stage. And running like a guy who had just escaped from prison, he sprinted for 51 yards in eight carries.
“I had two months of frustration built up,” he said. “It really felt great just to go out there and get banged around. Just to have the opportunity felt really good.”
Asked if he was surprised by Thompson’s performance after so long a layoff, Knox shrugged.
“That’s about the way we thought he was capable of running it when we picked him up on waivers from Phoenix,” Knox said. “But we hadn’t had the chance to see him, other than in practice, and you can’t go on that because sometimes guys are great runners in practice but in the game it’s something different.
“He went in there and he ran very well.”
The waiting has not been easy, but Thompson, a devout young man, has spent his days working in the weight room and on the practice field and his evenings praying for guidance.
“I’m out here working hard in practice and trying to keep a good attitude about things, and I’ve been on my knees every night praying to the Lord that he keeps me with patience, a good work ethic and the desire to work even harder to help me make it through.
“Most people either bounce back from these things or they just dwindle away and don’t do anything and just feel sorry for themselves. But I’m not the type of guy to do that.”
Thompson spoke to Knox once shortly after he arrived at Rams Park in hopes of getting a clear definition of his role.
“I didn’t really even know the system yet, I was just eager to get in,” he said. “But Coach told me to hang in there and be patient and just be ready when the time comes to play. I took what he said and built on it.”
Thompson gets plenty of practice time, although most of it is spent impersonating the upcoming opponent’s running back as a member of the scout team. He says it’s a role that can serve as beneficial learning experience.
“I try to do the things that the opposing back would do, trying to get our defense ready, and that in turn helps me with my moves and my ability to hit the holes,” he said. “I just keep working as hard as I can to keep my strength up and my body ready.”
Thompson’s faith and perseverance were tested the last couple of weeks. He worked with the first team often in practice before the Nov. 22 San Francisco game, but did not get a carry against the 49ers. And this week, when fullback Bobby Delpino was about to be activated from injured reserve, the speculation was that the little-used Thompson would be released.
Defensive lineman Jim Skow was waived to open a roster spot for Delpino.
“It’s a business, and I understand and respect that, but there are times you start to wonder,” Thompson said. “There are always some doubts. You sort of start questioning your own ability.
“I’m not the type of guy to go out and raise any chaos with the media or have any conflicts with my teammates or anything like that. So the only person I have to question is myself. Am I not working hard enough in practice? Am I not good enough to play here?
“Things haven’t always worked out the way I would have liked, but I still have that dream of becoming a great back in this league. So I remember a Bible verse that I always think of when I’m working out or practicing. ‘The race is not given to the swift or the strong, but to the one who endures to the end.’ That’s helped me through a lot.”