- Jamal Anderson
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This article is about the former Falcons running back. For the current Colts defensive end, see Jamaal Anderson.
Jamal Anderson 
Anderson in August 2007Position(s)
Running backJersey #(s)
32Born September 30, 1972
Newark, New JerseyCareer information Year(s) 1994–2001 NFL Draft 1994 / Round: 7 / Pick: 201 College Utah Professional teams Career stats Rushing yards 5,336 Average 4.0 Touchdowns 41 Stats at NFL.com Career highlights and awards Jamal Sharif Anderson (born September 30, 1972 in Newark, New Jersey) is a former American football running back of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the seventh round of the 1994 NFL Draft. He played high school football at El Camino Real High School, where he was named to the CIF Los Angeles City Section 4-A All-City first team in 1989.[1] He went on to play college football at Moorpark College for the Moorpark College Raiders before playing at Utah.
Anderson earned a Pro Bowl selection in 1998, leading the NFC in rushing and helping the Falcons to an appearance in Super Bowl XXXIII. He suffered a career-ending knee injury in 2001 while finishing his eight-year career with 41 touchdowns and nearly 7,000 yards of offense.
Contents
Professional career
Atlanta Falcons
Anderson played eight seasons with the Falcons, amassing 5,336 rushing yards, 156 receptions for 1,645 yards, and 41 touchdowns before he suffered what became a career-ending tear of his ACL in 2001.
His best season came in 1998 when he carried the ball an NFL single-season record 410 times (surpassed by Larry Johnson in 2006) for 1,846 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was the second best running back in 1998 but lost the rushing championship to NFL MVP Terrell Davis. All of his efforts helped lift the 14-2 Falcons to the Super Bowl before losing to the Denver Broncos, who were led by John Elway and league MVP Terrell Davis. He rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns in the Falcons playoff win against the San Francisco 49ers, and 96 yards in the Super Bowl.
He was well-known for his "Dirty Bird" touchdown celebration, in which he flapped his arms like [[chickens and gyrated in the crowd's direction. The dance has been widely copied; in a press conference Anderson stated that “people break out and do the Dirty Bird in the strangest places.”[2]
Sports broadcasting career
He appears as an analyst on ESPN, often promoting his alma mater the University of Utah, and the Mountain West Conference. He is a big proponent of the non-BCS schools gaining more access to the same opportunities as BCS schools.
From mid-August to late-October 2009, Jamal appeared as a regular phone-in guest on "Morency" on Hardcore Sports Radio (HSR) to recap/discuss the week that was and the week that was coming up in the NFL with Gabriel Morency and Cam Stewart. After two week period from late-October to early-November, 2009, where HSR dropped "Morency" (the person and the show) from their programming line-up, Jamal returned as a regular weekly guest again on HSR's replacement show "Red Heat" hosted by Cam Stewart.
In October 2010, Jamal began appearing as an analyst for the CNN NEWSROOM, providing insight on current NFL issues as well as news and highlights from the major sports leagues.
Personal life
Anderson was arrested in February 2009 on suspicion of cocaine possession. Atlanta police said that Anderson and another man were snorting cocaine off the toilet bowl in the restroom of the Peachtree Tavern nightclub.[3]
References
- ^ CIF Football 1989.PDF
- ^ Kamb, Susie (1998-01-26). "Jamal leaves a lasting image". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 2007-02-23. http://web.archive.org/web/20070223082848/http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs98/news/1999/990126/01068570.html. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
- ^ "Police: Ex-Falcon was snorting cocaine off toilet bowl". WSBTV.com. 2009-02-09. http://www.wsbtv.com/news/18667067/detail.html. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
Categories:- 1972 births
- Living people
- People from Woodland Hills, Los Angeles
- People from East Orange, New Jersey
- People from Atlanta, Georgia
- American football running backs
- Utah Utes football players
- Atlanta Falcons players
- National Conference Pro Bowl players
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