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Jets RB
Curtis Martin
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HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Jets RB Curtis Martin doesn’t have Jerome Bettis’
telephone-pole-sized thighs or Eddie George’s battering-ram power.
What Martin does have is a steel will to be the best running back of his generation.
What Martin does have is more yards than any other back this season.
What Martin does have is the graceful balance and deceptively powerful gliding moves of
a speed skater combined with the peripheral vision of a point guard as he cuts and
stutter-steps away from defenders.
What Martin does have is one of the best offensive lines in the league, one of the top
blocking fullbacks in Richie Anderson and a commitment by head coach Herman Edwards and
offensive coordinator Paul Hackett to maximize the use of their best playmaker.
Martin is more than just a league MVP candidate this season. Martin is making a run at
a higher place, and his will to be the best was instilled by his former coach with the
Jets and Patriots, Bill Parcells, Martin’s pro football father figure, who —
even in his retirement in Sea Girt, N.J. — still motivates one of his all-time
favorite players.
"I think he’s on his way to the Hall of Fame," Parcells said of Martin.
"If he keeps it up a little longer, he’ll be there. If he gets to 11,000 or
12,000 yards, they have to put him in, don’t they?
"He’s one of my favorite players I ever coached. I’ve had some pretty
good backs. O.J. Anderson was a pretty good one. But (Martin’s) at the top of the
list. He survives better. He’s more like (Tony) Dorsett. Maybe not as much speed, but
the same kind of elusiveness. He doesn’t take a lot of hard hits. That’s helped
his longevity."
Consider that, in a time when workhorse runners such as Denver’s Terrell Davis and
George seem to be wearing down because of nagging injuries, Martin has never looked
stronger.
Martin leads the league with 983 yards and is tied for top honors with 10 rushing
touchdowns, one more than he had last season.
Martin has rushed for 100 or more yards in five of his team’s 10 games, and with
his 113 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the Jets’ 27-7 win over Kansas City in
Week Nine, he passed Jim Taylor for 16th place on the league’s all-time rushing list
and currently has 8,687 yards.
"My goal is to lead the league in rushing," Martin said. "As I move up
the list, if I get to No. 1, then you’ll see more emotion, more of a heartfelt
feeling. But right now, you don’t get any rewards for being 16th."
Martin even sounded like Parcells in his beliefs.
"I believe in hard work and prayer," Martin said. "I believe you get out
what you put in.
"My goal every day when I come to work, even to practice, is to be an
overachiever. I talk to my teammates about that. I have a lot of God-given talent. But
beyond that, I’m going to overachieve. I’m starting to see some of the fruits of
my labor."
While the Patriots have gotten worse since his departure prior to the ’98 season,
the 28-year-old Martin continues to get better in his seventh NFL season, his fourth since
Parcells shrewdly pried him away from New England.
"Curtis is a horse," Jets head coach Herman Edwards said. "Curtis is not
as big as (Jerome Bettis and Eddie George), stature-wise, but his heart is. He’s a
unique player."
Martin gets a call about once a week from Parcells, who continues to playfully prod one
of his favorites.
"I appreciate just talking to Bill," Martin said. "We’ll always
have a closeness. You know in the karate movies where the guy runs off once in a while to
see the Zen master? That’s how Bill and I are. He always encourages me."
It was Parcells, after all, who told Martin last season, "Don’t confuse
routine with commitment."
Martin took the advice to heart.
In the past, Martin used to spend two months of the offseason running in the pool and
running the 33 flights of stairs in his Williams Island condominium near Fort Lauderdale,
Fla.
This offseason, Martin decided to spend two months at the Jets’ Hempstead, Long
Island, complex, where he worked harder than ever along with most of his offensive
linemen.
Ironically, when Jets management vowed to rest Martin more this season, general manager
Terry Bradway and Edwards inadvertently pushed Martin to work and run harder than ever.
Following the team’s selection of Maryland RB LaMont Jordan in the second round of
the 2001 draft, Martin worked as hard as Michael Jordan.
The impressive result has been the best start in Martin’s career.
"Coming into this year, they were talking about LaMont giving me a rest,"
Martin said. "I appreciate it, but it made me work harder to find that extra edge in
the offseason.
"I stayed up in New York this offseason. What was real cool was that I got a
chance to spend time with my offensive linemen. They made a commitment in the offseason.
Their hard work is definitely paying off.
But Martin knows he’s just halfway to his goal, and his good running and the good
blocking he’s getting must continue.
"Richie Anderson and the line have done a wonderful job blocking for me,"
Martin said. "Leading the league in rushing is something we’d like to maintain.
"I want to stay consistent. I don’t want it to be something that flickers
away like a match blown out by the wind. I want to set a mark, set an example."
So far this season, Martin’s flame has shined steadily and brightly.
Jim Corbett covers the Jets for Gannett Suburban Newspapers (N.Y.). |
