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thedrifter
03-10-07, 11:23 AM
Mike Anderson's Career Just About Over

Posted Mar 8th 2007 5:59PM by Michael David Smith
Filed under: Ravens

Mike Anderson burst onto the scene as a rookie, going from "guy no one ever heard of" to carrying 297 times for 1,487 yards and 15 touchdowns. That was in 2000, when Anderson was the best story in the league as a 27-year-old rookie whose football career had been delayed by a stint in the Marines.

Now he's 34 years old and playing in Baltimore, and when the Ravens traded for Willis McGahee today, they signaled that Anderson's career is just about over. It's sad that in six seasons since that great rookie year, he's been limited by injuries and coaches' decisions to just 607 carries. The one time he was his team's main back, he had another solid season, with 239 carries for 1,014 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Last year Brian Billick never gave Anderson much of a chance. He got 39 carries for 183 yards, and to the extent that you can judge a guy from 39 carries, he looked pretty good. But he's clearly been relegated to the scrap heap, and a guy whose career got off to such a wonderful start is now nearing the end.

Ellie