Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 2, 1994 TAG: 9401020032
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DAVIE, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
Kirby received more attention by the time he was 18 than most football players get in a lifetime, so he has not been fazed by the latest media blitz.
Kirby, a rookie running back for the Miami Dolphins, recently was the subject of a feature article in Sports Illustrated and has been the darling of the Monday Night Football announcing crew.
"It's surprising," said Kirby, all-time leading rusher at Virginia. "It's good to have [the attention], but if I didn't have it, it wouldn't matter to me."
Despite being drafted in the third round, Kirby has been an impact player for the Dolphins, first as a third-down back and later as a starter. He leads the NFL in receptions by a running back with 72.
"People are shocked because I'm a third-round pick and I'm doing this, but it's nothing new," said Kirby, who had more than 100 receptions at Virginia.
"When I go out on the field, I take it out on every team I play against because they passed me over for two or three rounds. That sounds like revenge, but the funny thing is, this is where I always wanted to play."
Kirby can break the record for receptions by a Miami running back, a mark he shares with Dolphins' assistant coach Tony Nathan, if he catches at least one pass in the regular-season finale today against New England.
The game will pit Kirby against his former high school and college teammate, outside linebacker Chris Slade, who leads the Patriots in quarterback sacks with eight.
"I know his stats," Kirby said, "but we keep missing each other. We've been playing phone tag."
Miami won the first game between the AFC East rivals, 17-13, but Kirby had one of his least productive games with two rushing attempts for 6 yards and one reception for 5.
"Neither one of us played that much," Kirby said. "Both of us came in on third down, but it's not like we blocked or tackled one another."
The season has not been without its disappointments for Kirby, who has a team-high five fumbles, including two in a Thanksgiving Day victory over Dallas.
"Things like that happen when you try to make big plays," Nathan said. "[Kirby] tends to stretch things to the limit. Unfortunately, he has been caught going for the extra yard."
Kirby ranks fourth in the AFC and 12th in the NFL in yards from scrimmage, 1,188, but only 334 of that has come on rushing attempts. Miami's rushing totals in the past four games have been 51, 49, 23 and 61 yards.
"It hurts not having a running game," Kirby said, "but sometimes you're not going to be successful. The only thing you can do is go to something else.
"Mark Higgs had 900 yards [rushing] the last two years, but this year we've had certain situations with injuries and being down where we had to pass the ball."
An injury to Dan Marino, previously the most durable of NFL quarterbacks, has caused the Dolphins to use four QBs this year, including three different starters.
"For me it hasn't been that hard," Kirby said. "Being a running back, I only catch 5-yard passes. Anybody can throw a 5-yard out."
Only two rookies in NFL history have caught more passes than Kirby - Earl Cooper, who had 83 receptions for San Francisco in 1980; and one of Kirby's teammates, Keith Jackson, who had 81 for Philadelphia in 1988.
If somebody had told Kirby he would have 72 receptions going into the last game, "I'd have said, `No way,' " he admitted.
"We have some good [wide] receivers, which helps a lot. Most of the time they're double-covered, which leaves me one-on-one against a linebacker."
Nathan said the Dolphins would like to use Kirby more as a ball-carrier - he has five or fewer carries in eight games - but nagging injuries have forced him into more of a receiver's role.
"The biggest adjustment has been the speed factor," Kirby said. "Things are there and you see them one second, but the next second they're gone."
Fame, however, has not been fleeting. Kirby was reluctant to do the Sports Illustrated article but was happy with the final product.
"I was kind of nervous because they were supposed to do the same thing last year before the Clemson game and I got hurt," Kirby said. "They never did write the article last year, so I'm glad I've got it behind me."
by CNB