01-24-2005, 01:31 AM
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Legend
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Join Date: Jul 2004
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RB Eddie George (official thread)
Well, his wife.
Quote:
Bye George? Eddie's not ready to quit
By JIM WYATT
Staff Writer
Tennessean 1/23/05
Turns out the baby girl Eddie George's wife has carried for seven months isn't a girl after all.
''We found out it's a boy,'' George said with a smile.
Life has been full of surprises lately for the former Tennessee Titan. After the Titans released George last July, he certainly didn't get what he expected out of his first — and last — season with the Dallas Cowboys.
His streak of 130 consecutive starts was snapped, he was inactive for two games and he spent the final weeks of the season just waiting for it to be over.
Life in Big D turned out to be Dreadful.
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''But the way I looked at it, no matter which way I cut the cake this year there was going to be a lot of politics involved because of certain situations, either with the Titans or in Dallas,'' George said. ''I had to endure the business side of it one way or the other. Things didn't work out the way I envisioned it, but you keep going.''
Another surprise: George, 31, said he's nowhere near ready to call it quits after nine NFL seasons.
The Titans' all-time leading rusher and four-time Pro Bowl selection wants to play another three or four years, only this time for a team that truly wants him.
''It's not the end of me at all,'' said George, who rushed for a career-low 432 yards on a career-low 132 carries with the Cowboys. ''You can argue all day about whether I've got it or not. People can say I'm washed up, that's fine.
''But give me the opportunity. I just need to land on my feet in the right situation where someone is willing to give me a chance. I just want to be used.''
George returned to Nashville this week. Today he's in Pittsburgh to cheer on his buddy Jerome Bettis in the AFC Championship Game between the Steelers and Patriots.
George said he's encouraged by the success this season of older running backs like Pittsburgh's 33-year-old Bettis, New England's 30-year-old Corey Dillon and New York's 31-year-old Curtis Martin, the NFL rushing leader this season.
''It is good to see … guys that are older than me or around the same age still being very productive in this league,'' George said. ''That definitely inspires me and hopefully somebody can look at that and look at the formula and see what makes a successful team. …
''Wherever I go next year I know I am going to have to share time with somebody else. I am going into my (10th) year and it is definitely going to be a situation where I am going to have to share the load, although I feel I am capable of carrying the load if need be.
''I am not a situational guy where I just want to come in on third down or goal line. I feel I can bring more to the table with my catching ability and blocking. ... There are things I can still do.''
George said he never got to prove himself in Dallas because he got caught up in philosophical differences between Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who wanted George and signed him to a one-year contract, and Coach Bill Parcells, who wasn't a big George fan.
George said the Cowboys assured him that he'd get plenty of carries, but they never materialized. When rookie Julius Jones returned from injuries, the Cowboys leaned on him almost exclusively and he wound up with 819 yards in just eight games.
George was reduced to a spectator. In some practices he was the scout team running back.
''They said they were going to pound the football. That's what was conveyed to me when I got there, and things changed,'' George said. ''I never had the opportunity to play my type of ballgame and it is hard to be productive when you are getting five and eight carries a game. That is not my style.
''I just really wasn't one of (Parcells') guys and he really wasn't working with me, and that's fine. I just wish I would have known that prior to going down there. … I had to realize where I was at, who I was with and pretty much they didn't owe me anything. They couldn't care less about my accomplishments, which is OK. That is his program and I understood that.''
George said he enjoyed the city of Dallas and fans there treated him well. He missed Nashville, but is not so sure things would have been any rosier had he taken a pay cut (reducing his base salary from $4.25 million to $1.5 million) just to remain a Titan.
''I don't have any regrets,'' he said. ''If I would have stayed in Tennessee, everything was going to be my fault. I was going to be the problem. If we lost a game it was my fault. It was my 3.1 yards per carry and this and that, and that got old. That got old to me.
''They wanted me to take a huge pay cut. From a business perspective I was going to be in the same position, so why not see what else is out there? Things didn't work out how I thought they would, but you move on.''
As for where George will play in 2005, he's looking around.
This time next year he would love to trade his spot in the stands for a place on the field, playing a meaningful role in a meaningful game.
Following a difficult season, he's looking on the bright side.
He realizes life is full of surprises.
''In some ways, this year was good for me,'' he said. ''I didn't take on the pounding like I did in the past. I have really played 8½ years, not nine, the way I see it, so in that regard this season probably added a couple of more years on to me. That is a blessing in itself.''
Jim Wyatt covers the Titans for The Tennessean.
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He has one son already, he's probably about 5 or 6 by now!
[censored]in' USC clowns on this board...
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