Jamal Anderson: Stream of Consciousness

Early Sunday morning, Jamal Anderson was arrested on misdemeanor and felony charges for possession of marijuana and cocaine, respectively. It might be hard to believe for some, but it was 10 years ago that Anderson was in Hawaii capping off the best season of his professional career. He set an NFL record that year with 410 carries, scored 16 touchdowns, and 1800 rushing yards, helping Chris Chandler and the Falcons reach the Super Bowl.

The Falcons lost Super Bowl XXXIII, in what was a battle of the two elite running backs of 1998, Anderson and Terrell Davis. Davis had his best season to date with 2,008 yards, 23 scores and a 5.1 yard rushing average.

After the Super Bowl, Anderson and Davis combined to play 38 of 96 games the following three seasons. Both would retire after the 2001 season and will be forever linked after having similar professional experiences.

Also forever linked to Jamal Anderson is Jamaal Anderson. It would really suck to be Atlanta Falcons defensive lineman Jamaal Anderson right now.

It would also suck to be ESPN and have a minimal contributor, like Jamal Anderson, stain the company reputation. His past work on NFL Countdown, “Jam Session,” and his recent analyst work on First Take during the ‘08 season gave media competitors a perfect chance to deliver a swift kick to the corporate junk.

Seriously, if you had to fill in the following blank, at this time last year, your answer would certainly be different. “In early 2009, ______, an ESPN analyst, will be arrested on marijuana and cocaine possession charges."  It is likely you would have guessed, in particular order:

a) Michael Irvin

b) Michael Irvin

c) Michael Irvin

It’s clear that people who do the Dirty Bird are destined for trouble. Not surprisingly, Michael Irvin’s former employer, the Cowboys, are seeking the services of Dan Reeves.

It’s also clear that if you set the record for most carries in a season, you’re screwed professionally and personally. Larry Johnson accomplished as much in the 2006 season, and has since missed 12 games and scored just eight touchdowns. He also resorted back to using women as tackling dummies.

While Larry Johnson is willing to leave his home if it means he leaves Kansas City, you can live and re-live Jamal Anderson’s home all day every day—gotta love the comment from user “Hunkola”, who clearly doesn’t know football nor current events.

Anderson isn’t the first former-Falcons star to get or give a home tour to the Internet world. Deion Sanders did something similar in the uber-creepy Youtube film: “Deion Violates Nastia Liukin."