NFL: Cowboys' ‘Cricket' jumps on tips from ‘Moose'
Dallas fullback hopes to use words gleaned from meeting
by Tom Orsborn
torsborn@express-news.net
Dallas Cowboys fullback Deon “Cricket” Anderson had plenty of fun at teammate Sam Hurd's charity golf tournament Friday, but the experience still fell short of matching the second-year player's top offseason moment.
That distinction is reserved for a chance meeting Anderson had at a practice with the greatest blocking fullback in franchise history.
That's right. The “Cricket” met the “Moose” — Daryl Johnston, whose crushing blocks helped the Cowboys win three Super Bowls in the 1990s.
“He told me the tricks of the trade, the secrets, how he did it, how he became the ‘Moose,'” said Anderson, who earned his nickname after eating a live cricket at the Alamodome last summer to win a bet made by a teammate during training camp.
Anderson said he put the pointers he received from Johnston to good use at the team's three-day minicamp, which ended Thursday.
“I learned everything from blocking techniques to where he would sit in meetings,” Anderson said. “It was a short conversation, but I learned so much from it. With my new knowledge given to me by Moose, I feel really confident. He still has that look in his eye.”
The look in Anderson's is equally impressive. He's ready to blast linebackers again after missing the last nine games last season, including the playoff loss to the Giants, with a torn rotator cuff sustained in a November game against Philadelphia.
“My rehab time was supposed to be four to six months, but I had full mobility in three months,” Anderson said. “I'm glad it happened when it did, because they discovered I had a partially torn rotator cuff at the combine and I was supposed to get surgery at the end of the season. I would still be in rehab right now if I had waited.”
The Cowboys drafted Anderson, a Connecticut alumnus from Providence, R.I., in the sixth round in 2007.
Before the injury, he was enjoying a solid season as Oliver Hoyte's backup and as a special-teams ace.
“It was tough, but I tried to have a positive mind-set because I knew if I got down it wouldn't help me, my wife, my son or the team,” said Anderson, who finished the season with six receptions for 55 yards.
The Cowboys waived Hoyte in April, leaving the 5-foot-10, 241-pound Anderson as the frontrunner to clear the path this season for 6-foot, 221-pound Pro Bowl back Marion Barber.
“I feel like Marion and I are building chemistry,” Anderson said. “When you think about it, that's close to 500 pounds in the backfield coming at you. Half of the time, I could just run up to a linebacker and get out of the way and let Marion run them over.”
Anderson said he still finds it hard to believe he's playing for such a storied franchise.
“It was a like a dream last season,” he said. “I'm running around and I've got a Cowboys uniform on. I'm in the huddle with T.O. (Terrell Owens), (Tony) Romo, Terry Glenn, all these guys. It was like, am I really doing this? I had to stop and say, I'm in Texas right now. You know, that's a long way from Rhode Island.
“It's a dream come true. I thank God. And don't worry, there's going to be more to come. A lot more to come.”
Notebook: Proceeds from Hurd's tournament, played at the Palmer Course at La Cantera, will go to the San Antonio Kids Exchange, the Davis-Scott YMCA, the Autism Society of Greater San Antonio and the Boys & Girls Clubs.
“I try to help kids in need because I was once a kid in need,” said Hurd, a Brackenridge graduate.
Other Cowboys participating in the tournament included Courtney Brown, Mike Jefferson and Isaiah Stanback.
by Tom Orsborn
torsborn@express-news.net
Dallas Cowboys fullback Deon “Cricket” Anderson had plenty of fun at teammate Sam Hurd's charity golf tournament Friday, but the experience still fell short of matching the second-year player's top offseason moment.
That distinction is reserved for a chance meeting Anderson had at a practice with the greatest blocking fullback in franchise history.
That's right. The “Cricket” met the “Moose” — Daryl Johnston, whose crushing blocks helped the Cowboys win three Super Bowls in the 1990s.
“He told me the tricks of the trade, the secrets, how he did it, how he became the ‘Moose,'” said Anderson, who earned his nickname after eating a live cricket at the Alamodome last summer to win a bet made by a teammate during training camp.
Anderson said he put the pointers he received from Johnston to good use at the team's three-day minicamp, which ended Thursday.
“I learned everything from blocking techniques to where he would sit in meetings,” Anderson said. “It was a short conversation, but I learned so much from it. With my new knowledge given to me by Moose, I feel really confident. He still has that look in his eye.”
The look in Anderson's is equally impressive. He's ready to blast linebackers again after missing the last nine games last season, including the playoff loss to the Giants, with a torn rotator cuff sustained in a November game against Philadelphia.
“My rehab time was supposed to be four to six months, but I had full mobility in three months,” Anderson said. “I'm glad it happened when it did, because they discovered I had a partially torn rotator cuff at the combine and I was supposed to get surgery at the end of the season. I would still be in rehab right now if I had waited.”
The Cowboys drafted Anderson, a Connecticut alumnus from Providence, R.I., in the sixth round in 2007.
Before the injury, he was enjoying a solid season as Oliver Hoyte's backup and as a special-teams ace.
“It was tough, but I tried to have a positive mind-set because I knew if I got down it wouldn't help me, my wife, my son or the team,” said Anderson, who finished the season with six receptions for 55 yards.
The Cowboys waived Hoyte in April, leaving the 5-foot-10, 241-pound Anderson as the frontrunner to clear the path this season for 6-foot, 221-pound Pro Bowl back Marion Barber.
“I feel like Marion and I are building chemistry,” Anderson said. “When you think about it, that's close to 500 pounds in the backfield coming at you. Half of the time, I could just run up to a linebacker and get out of the way and let Marion run them over.”
Anderson said he still finds it hard to believe he's playing for such a storied franchise.
“It was a like a dream last season,” he said. “I'm running around and I've got a Cowboys uniform on. I'm in the huddle with T.O. (Terrell Owens), (Tony) Romo, Terry Glenn, all these guys. It was like, am I really doing this? I had to stop and say, I'm in Texas right now. You know, that's a long way from Rhode Island.
“It's a dream come true. I thank God. And don't worry, there's going to be more to come. A lot more to come.”
Notebook: Proceeds from Hurd's tournament, played at the Palmer Course at La Cantera, will go to the San Antonio Kids Exchange, the Davis-Scott YMCA, the Autism Society of Greater San Antonio and the Boys & Girls Clubs.
“I try to help kids in need because I was once a kid in need,” said Hurd, a Brackenridge graduate.
Other Cowboys participating in the tournament included Courtney Brown, Mike Jefferson and Isaiah Stanback.
posted by The Gryphon at 8:45 AM
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