Pegram No Longer Spins His Wheels : NFL: Atlanta running back cuts out the fancy moves. Now he’s fifth in the league in rushing.

Atlanta Falcon guard Chris Hinton gives the warning to tailback Erric Pegram before every offensive series.

One more pirouette and you’re out of here.

Caught in a holding pattern as a third-string back, Pegram developed a nasty habit of cutting back and circling on carries, instead of running straight ahead.

Or, as Falcon Coach Jerry Glanville calls it: “Pirouetting.”

Pegram wasn’t sure who his habit irritated more: Glanville, who kept him on the bench behind Eric Dickerson and Tony Smith, or offensive linemen such as Hinton.

“He was a very good back as a rookie (in 1991),” Glanville said. “But he got into a dancing mode. He was just awful. He would run north and south for two or three times and the next play he would stop, turn around and lose 12 yards and kill you.”

With the help of Hinton and Glanville, Pegram has cut back his dance steps this season and not only won the starting job, but emerged as one of the NFL’s top backs.

His 602 yards in 134 carries this season rank fifth in the league behind Detroit’s Barry Sanders (977), Buffalo’s Thurman Thomas (806), Pittsburgh’s Barry Foster (688) and Emmitt Smith of Dallas (666). Pretty heavy company, but Pegram says he can compete.

“I always thought I had the ability to be just as good as the top backs in the league,” he said. “I like Barry Foster’s style of running, and Ricky Watters has a nice style of running. My style is similar to theirs and is just as good or better.”

His style needed some fine-tuning, though, and Glanville and Hinton were more than willing to see it through. Pegram is well aware that if “he goes into his dancing mode, we’ll play someone else,” Glanville said.

“Erric is a competitor, and would rather play more than anything,” he said. “And the fact that he won’t play if he does (dance) finally got the point across.”

Pegram just laughs.

“It’s kind of a joke between Chris and I,” he said. “But Coach Glanville is serious about it. That’s one of the main things that will get you pulled out of a game--pirouettes and fumbles.”

Pegram’s progress adds a reliable running attack to Atlanta’s “Red Gun” passing offense, something that was absent since Glanville took over in 1990.

Pegram, 5 feet 9 and 188 pounds, ran 192 yards against San Francisco, his first start of the season. He added 132 against New Orleans a few weeks later. He ran for 85 yards in a 30-24 victory over the Rams and will start against them Sunday at Anaheim Stadium.

He has a good shot at becoming the first Falcon back to rush for more than 1,000 yards since John Settle (1,024) in 1988.

“He’s the surprise back this year,” Ram defensive tackle Sean Gilbert said. “When teams are going over a game plan, he’s someone you look out for. He’s probably not getting the respect around the league that he deserves because of their record (2-6), but you always have to account for individual effort.

“He’s very strong and elusive. To compare great tailbacks, he has the ability that a Thurman or a Barry has.”

Pegram flashed his potential as a rookie, rushing for nearly 100 yards in the first half of an exhibition game against Dallas. Afterward, Glanville told Falcon President Taylor Smith that Pegram could be “another Tony Dorsett.”

“Taylor said, ‘You got to be crazy, Coach,’ ” Glanville said. “But this guy has that type of ability. We thought, ‘Boy, we really have something.’ ”

Pegram played in all 16 games as a rookie, starting seven, rushing for 349 yards in 101 carries.

His numbers dropped to 89 yards in 21 carries last season as Glanville became more impatient with Pegram’s pirouettes. The coach went with a committee approach at running back with Smith (329 yards) and Steve Broussard (363 yards) getting most of the work.

“Erric got in that dadgum thing where he didn’t want a four-yard gain,” Glanville said. “He wanted a 25-yard gain, so on a four-yard gain he would stop, turn around, and head the other way. In this league, it doesn’t take long and everybody is chasing you down and making it look real ugly.”

Pegram didn’t get off to a great start this season, arguing with running backs coach Ollie Wilson about his role in the offense during the exhibition season.

“Ollie had told me I would mainly be a special teams player,” Pegram said. “It ticked me off. He already had me picked where he wanted me to be before the season started. I went and talked to Jerry about it. I didn’t mind being third, but y’all have to give me a shot at first string.”

Pegram did little early in the season to convince Glanville he earned that chance. Two games into the season, he had one yard in three carries--not exactly the stuff starters are made of.

Dickerson was brought in to carry the bulk of the running game, but a neck injury sidelined him before the San Francisco game. With second-string back Smith emerging as one of the league’s top kick returners, Pegram got his chance at tailback.

His 192 yards was the best rushing performance ever against a 49er defense and the third-best single-game performance in Falcon history.

“At the beginning of the season I knew they were going to put a lot of emphasis on Dickerson and Smith,” Pegram said. “I sat back and waited my turn. It’s been a big surprise to everybody.

“When they brought Dickerson in, I thought it was just another obstacle I was going to have to endure. I knew if they gave me a shot, I could do it. Dickerson is a good friend of mine, but I wanted the job, really.”

He got it when Dickerson was traded to Green Bay, and then retired. Pegram’s reaction when the coaching staff told him?

“I don’t think they ever really said,” he said. “After the 192-yard game, I knew it.”

What a Rush

Atlanta’s Erric Pegram had a limited role in the Falcons’ “Red Gun” passing offense the previous two seasons. But through the first eight games this season, his 602 yards rushing ranks fifth in the NFL.

PEGRAM YEAR BY YEAR

Year TCB Yds. Avg. TD 1991 101 349 3.5 1 1992 21 89 4.2 0 1993 134 602 4.5 1 Totals 256 1,040 4.1 2

PEGRAM IN 1993

Game TCB Yds. Avg. TD Detroit 0 0 0.0 0 N. Orleans 3 1 0.3 1 S. Fran. 27 192 7.1 0 Pittsburgh 13 37 2.8 0 Chicago 17 85 5.0 0 Rams 25 87 3.5 0 N. Orleans 34 132 3.8 0 T. Bay 15 68 4.5 0 Totals 134 602 4.5 1