Bruiser Bettis Is Showing No Signs of Slowing Down

While growing up in Detroit and playing pickup games with his friends, Jerome Bettis always thought he wanted to be like Tony Dorsett, Walter Payton and Marcus Allen.

“I always had to be Walter Payton,” Bettis said. “I would have loved to be Tony Dorsett, but I didn’t have the speed. So I looked at Walter Payton hitting people and punishing guys and I said, ‘Oh yeah, I can do that.”’

Bettis, the bruising Pittsburgh Steeler running back, reached a level Sunday that few have before him, surpassing 10,000 yards rushing.

Before Sunday, Bettis needed 54 yards to become the 14th player in NFL history to make it to 10,000. He got them in his first five carries, gaining 103 yards by halftime and finishing with 153 in his eighth 100-yard game against the Cincinnati Bengals since 1996.

But visions of becoming the next Payton vanished soon after Bettis left Notre Dame when he was drafted by the Rams. He was a fullback now, using his 5-foot-11, 255-pound frame to open holes instead of dart through them.

“I didn’t think one bit about gaining one yard,” said Bettis, whose nickname, “The Bus,” was given to him for obvious reasons. “I knew I would be blocking, be physical, be looking at linebackers; that was my mentality.

“But all that changed when I got to the Rams’ camp and the running backs started getting hurt and they moved me to tailback.”

Seven 1,000-yard rushing seasons later, Bettis is going strong. Only two active backs, Emmitt Smith of Dallas and Ricky Watters of Seattle, are on the 10,000-yard list.

“He’s a special guy,” Steeler Coach Bill Cowher said of Bettis. “He’s funny, he’s loose, but when it comes time to get serious, he can do that. He is a joy to be around.”

At 29 and in good health, Bettis figures to be around a lot longer. He is in the first year of a five-year contract with the Steelers.

“You won’t see me rip off a lot of 80-yard runs, or 60-yard TD runs, but I’m consistent,” Bettis said. “Nothing flashy, but I’ve been consistent.”

On reaching the 10,000-yard level, Bettis said, “It means, hey, when the coach gives you the football, you get it done.”

And there’s still so much more left to do.

No Storybook Ending

After leaving college, players rarely have a chance to go back and play in their old stadiums.

Jacksonville quarterback Mark Brunell was one of the lucky few when he returned to Seattle to play the Seahawks at Husky Stadium, where he was a star for Washington in the early 1990s.

“You watch them on film and you see the big ‘W’ in the middle of the field, it’s pretty exciting, a lot of memories there,” Brunell said leading up to the game. “It’ll be fun to walk around and see the stadium and surroundings.”

But those probably were the only smiles Brunell could muster after the Jaguars lost to the Seahawks, 24-15.

Brunell was 21 of 39 for 233 yards and one touchdown, with no interceptions, but couldn’t generate much offense against an improved Seattle defense.

Never Dismiss a Snake

It couldn’t have been entirely unexpected when Jake Plummer rallied the Arizona Cardinals to a last-second victory against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

Not because Plummer’s reputation often precedes him in these scenarios, but because the quarterback was matched up against the Eagles in the first place.

In 1998 and ‘99, Plummer led comebacks against the Eagles in their four meetings.

Among them in ’99 was a rally from a 21-0 third-quarter deficit to win 25-24, then overcoming a 17-7 fourth-quarter score to win, 21-17.

“The guys who were here--they know Jake Plummer,” Eagle defensive coordinator Jim Johnson told the Philadelphia Daily News leading up to the game. “He’s a free spirit, wild player who’s going to make mistakes, but he’s going to make plays. They have respect for him.”

Johnson couldn’t have pegged it more accurately, but perhaps some of his players tuned him out a bit too soon before Sunday.

Scary Moment

Tennessee cornerback Samari Rolle received quite a scare in the second quarter of the Titans’ loss to Baltimore.

Rolle injured his neck after his helmet struck the hip of another player. He was motionless on the turf for five minutes before being removed from the field on a golf cart. His helmet was not removed and his neck was immobilized.

“We got the results of the X-rays and the MRI, and they were both negative,” Titan Coach Jeff Fisher said. “He still has some tingling and numbness in his shoulders and neck.”

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10,000-Yard Club

Jerome Bettis became the 14th player in NFL history to rush for more than 10,000 yards (*-active):

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Yards Player Years 16,726 Walter Payton 13 15,269 Barry Sanders 10 15,374 Emmitt Smith* 12 13,259 Eric Dickerson 11 12,739 Tony Dorsett 12 12,312 Jim Brown 9 12,243 Marcus Allen 16 12,120 Franco Harris 13 12,074 Thurman Thomas 13 11,352 John Riggins 14 11,236 O.J. Simpson 11 10,516 Ricky Watters* 10 10,273 Ottis Anderson 14 10,099 Jerome Bettis* 9

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Compiled by Jim Barrero