Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, September 11, 1993                   TAG: 9309110071
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BYRD TACKLES HIS NEW JOB AS A BROADCASTER HEAD-ON

Dennis Byrd's continuing recovery from a career-ending neck injury and partial paralysis will include six games in a CBS booth with play-by-play partner James Brown and some studio work on "The NFL Today." His story already is inspiring, no matter how he fares in the booth.

Byrd, 26, lost his football career on Nov. 29 in a head-on collision with fellow New York Jets defensive lineman Scott Mersereau. The videotape of his tragedy was replayed for days, and his rehabilitation became more than a personal hope. Now he is walking without a cane and has managed to take a few jogging steps.

"I'm really looking forward to Byrd doing this, to getting started," Byrd said during a recent conference call. "This was something I wanted to try to do when my career was over."

Byrd, however, understands completely why he's where he is. It has nothing to do with being a communications major at the University of Tulsa. He wasn't a Pro Bowl player, and he won't challenge Ditka or John Madden as a "color" commentator. CBS hired him because of his name recognition tied to his injury and recovery.

"I have no problem with that," Byrd said. "It's not something I worry about. It's an opportunity to prove a job I know I can do.

"I was a professional when I played. I'm a learning professional now. I'm paid to applaud or criticize players. I think I can do that. And I'm very fortunate to be able to do this now."

Byrd has been known mostly for his misfortune. But he says he's fortunate because his recovery, to this point, has allowed him to take the job. He says he's also fortunate because he appreciates life away from football - probably more than when he played, he says - while trying to cope without the game.

"I miss football very much," Byrd said. "When training camp started, it really hit home that I wouldn't be playing the game anymore. I wouldn't have minded the heat. I must say, however, that I'm going to enjoy broadcasting. It will be nice waking up the morning after a games and not being stuck to the sheets or bruised."

Byrd admits that in his four NFL seasons, he didn't really like those who pursued his new profession. He disdained the work of broadcasters so much that he turned down the volume when he watched games. He hopes viewers don't do the same with his games, starting with Detroit-New England, which will air in 6 percent of the nation Sunday.

"I've seen myself on television on some occasions and I don't particularly like the way I sound, but they say I'll be all right because I don't have much of an accent," said Byrd, an Oklahoma native. "Of course, I'd like to sound like Pat Summerall."

Byrd says the tough part of the job will be trying to sound natural on the air. He isn't worried about physically coping with his assignments, either.

"Six games seems like a good number," Byrd said. "As far as anything related to my injury, I don't see where I will be doing anything too physically strenuous. I'll be doing a lot of studying, but I've always studied play books. Now, it will be stats and rosters.

"When CBS contacted me, I felt like this was something I needed to get into. I'm just glad to be able to do six games. There's time for more later. The less time it takes me to make the transition from player to analyst, the better my job security will be."

Byrd said he doesn't anticipate any difficulty should he be working a game in which another player suffers a similar injury to his. In his first telecast, he expects to hear the name of former Lions offensive lineman Mike Utley, who is wheelchair-bound after being injured in a game in 1991. In fact, he may bring up the subject.

"I haven't had any trouble watching the play on which I was injured," Byrd said. "I've gotten over it now and moved on to other parts of my life. It's something I had to do.

"There's nothing about this job that intimidates me. After what I've been through, I hardly see where anything like this can break me down. I want to do well. I'll attack this feverishly. I don't want to give the impression that I think this will be a cakewalk, because I know it isn't.

"It's going to take a lot of effort on my part and on James Brown's part. I'm fortunate to be working with a guy who's a pro. I'm in a position now where I guess I'm a student of the game."

The game, Byrd has learned, isn't the thing.

"If this doesn't work out, what happens?" he said. "I'll still be able to walk, I'll still be able to play with my children. . . . I don't have to be 6-foot-5, 270 pounds for my wife or my children to love me, which is what I thought before I was hurt."