THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 13, 1995 TAG: 9504130537
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
Hall-of-Famer Mel Blount, who revolutionized cornerback play in the NFL during his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, says Rod Woodson is the best defensive back he's ever seen.
Woodson isn't buying.
A select committee of pro football experts voted Woodson to the NFL's 75th anniversary team last fall, the only active player so honored.
Woodson is denying himself thoughts on the magnitude of the subject, he says, until after he's retired.
Some bright publishing executive thought he had Woodson all lined up on a book deal recently.
Woodson shied away, informing him that as far as he was concerned, there wasn't enough material.
If you wonder what drives Rod Woodson, rest assured it isn't individual glory.
``It wasn't the right time in my life to do it,'' Woodson said about the book. ``I haven't accomplished enough. It also didn't fit my timetable as far as my family life was concerned. Ultimately, I chose my family and friends over the book. To me, it seemed an easy decision.
``Besides, I don't believe I've even played a complete season yet. I know I haven't played well in the playoffs at all. Once I do that, I'll be more satisfied with myself. And once we make the Super Bowl, I'll be real satisfied.''
Woodson is here to participate in the Tidewater Celebrity Basketball game tonight at Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake. The event, hosted by former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Larry Griffin, current Steelers safety Darren Perry and Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman William Fuller, tips off at 7:30. Proceeds go to youth AAU programs in Chesapeake.
It was an easy decision. His friends called, Woodson came. Even if it meant taking a little time away from his new business venture. Woodson is overseeing preparations for the Aug. 14 opening of his new restaurant, Woodson's All-Star Grill, located in downtown Pittsburgh, not far from Three Rivers Stadium.
Not far from where the Steelers dropped the game that would have propelled them into the Super Bowl in January. The fact that the favored Steelers did not get where everyone thought they would is a great motivating factor for Woodson.
``Personal accolades are great honors,'' Woodson said. ``But personally, I'm trying to get to the Super Bowl. That's in my mind more than anything.
``It still sticks, because people like you bring it up all the time. It's a memory. We didn't play a full game. We played 58 minutes, not 60, and the end result from that usually is a loss. I don't think you ever get over it until the start of the next season, until you're out there playing the game again.''
He's 6-foot, 202 pounds, a former two-time track All-American at Purdue and an Olympic Trials qualifier in the 100-meter hurdles in 1984. Those who watch him regularly say they've never seen a better combination of speed and slam. He can run you down or knock you down, and would enjoy the chance to do either.
He also can shut you down. Midway through the 1993 season, the Steelers made a strategic move. They assigned Woodson to the opponent's best receiver, play after play, game after game. Where he goes, Woodson also goes, often a step ahead of him.
Football fans last season debated who was the better corner - San Francisco's Deion Sanders or Woodson. Sanders didn't earn any votes at the Super Bowl when he claimed he wasn't paid to tackle, just cover. Maybe that's one reason Woodson is the game's highest-paid cornerback, at $3.45 million.
``Deion is one player out of how many cornerbacks in the league?'' Woodson replied, when asked if he though the public took Sanders' remarks and now believes most defensive backs have the same pacifist mentality. ``For people to take what he said out of context and believe that it applies to all would be ridiculous. It would be like taking the word of one doctor when the rest of the profession believed something else.''
As for the friendly little argument that's been brewing between Blount and Woodson over which is the better cornerback, Woodson says it's Blount, and makes a passionate argument.
``Have you seen Mel? He's a huge man, much bigger than me,'' Woodson begins. ``He's the thoroughbred of cornerbacks. There'll never be one his size again who can do the things he could do. I feel like a dwarf around the guy.
``And he made such an impact on the league that they actually changed the rules (outlawing the bump-and-run). You've got to take your hat off to a guy who's so good he gets them to change the rules of the game.
``And I think he won three Super Bowls. How many have I won? None. I'd be a real happy guy with one, let alone three.'' ILLUSTRATION: THE GAME
What: Tidewater Celebrity Basketball game.
Where: Oscar Smith High School, Great Bridge Blvd., Chesapeake.
To benefit: Youth AAU/Hampton Roads Child Abuse Prevention.
When: Tonight, 7:30.
Who's playing: Pro football players Rod Woodson, William Fuller,
Darren Perry, Barry Foster, Ethan Horton, Natrone Means, Eric
Metcalf, Keith Goganious, Neil O'Donnell, Mike Tomczak, Reggie
Langhorne, Larry Griffin and others.
Tickets: $8 for adults, $5 for students available at door and all
Bank of Hampton Roads locations.
Information: 436-1000.
by CNB