Duckett likely to again lead Falcons running attack against Vikings

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Posted 4:27PM on Friday, October 3, 2003

FLOWERY BRANCH - A rare positive for the Atlanta Falcons offense last week was the strong running of T.J. Duckett, who can be expected to again play a lead role when the Falcons play the Minnesota Vikings Sunday. Emerging as the starter, Duckett averaged 7.1 yards per carry while rushing for 100 yards in the Falcons' 23-3 loss at Carolina last week. For an offense struggling to compensate for the continued absence of injured quarterback Michael Vick, Duckett's strong play provided some hope the Falcons (1-3) can snap their three-game losing streak. ``It felt good,'' said Duckett of his first significant playing time of the season. He had averaged only five carries in the Falcons' first three games. Duckett likely will be the lead back again this week. ``I'll take whatever (carries) it takes, as long as was get a victory,'' Duckett said. Against the Vikings (4-0), that will not be easy. ``They are playing great football right now and we are struggling,'' Duckett said. ``We have to come out and match their intensity.'' The Falcons have scored a combined total of only 13 points in their last two losses. There is growing unrest among such players as receiver Peerless Price, who still doesn't have his first touchdown catch, and running back Warrick Dunn, who was limited to four carries for 20 yards last week. Dunn insisted he had not been told he would have a reduced role against Carolina. Coach Dan Reeves insisted, however, that he met with Dunn on Wednesday before last week's game. ``I don't know if Warrick was confused,'' Reeves said earlier this week. ``I talked to him ... and told him exactly what we were going to do and that's exactly what we did during the game. We had a game plan. We worked on it all week. There shouldn't be any confusion.'' Reeves had been criticized for not giving more carries to Duckett, the team's first-round draft pick in 2002. Dunn spent most of last season as the lead back. After a slow start, he rushed for 927 yards and seven touchdowns and expected to retain his role this season. Dunn has 39 carries for 130 yards and no touchdowns this year, averaging 3.3 yards per carry. With his breakout game last week, Duckett surpassed Dunn as the team's leading rusher. Duckett now has 29 carries for 162 yards 5.6 yards per carry and two touchdowns. Vick is just starting to throw on the practice fields and will try to start jogging Saturday. With Vick still two or more weeks away from returning to action, Dunn says he wants to do more than watch Duckett. ``Guys here expect me to play, go out and be productive and lead by example and not by just rah-rah on the sidelines,'' Dunn said. ``No one's really looking for that right now. I think guys are looking for guys to make plays and not necessarily pat somebody in the butt and say, 'Hey, let's get it started.' `` There also were questions about the roles for Duckett and Dunn last year when the Falcons also started 1-3. Last year Duckett moved into the lineup for two games before he suffered a foot injury. Dunn returned to rush for 142 yards in a win at New Orleans and never relinquished the starting job. Duckett says players look for parallels to last year, when the Falcons rebounded from the 1-3 start to win eight straight games and make the playoffs. ``We have to move forward,'' Duckett said. ``We've been struggling the last few weeks. It's tough. You just pretty much have to forget everything.'' Added Duckett: ``Last year around this time we just started focusing on one game at a time instead of thinking about two or three weeks at a time.'' The bad news for the Falcons' hopes for a similar turnaround is that Duckett says last year there were more indications that the team could recover. ``You could see signs then of getting better,'' Duckett said. ``Last year there were more positives at the end of a loss than the negatives that are there now.''