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FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) -Maybe this will be the year Warrick Dunn is mentioned among the top running backs in the NFL.
Maybe this will be the year that no one questions whether he's durable enough to handle the job. Maybe this will be the year that his size isn't an issue.
Don't count on it.
"I went to the Pro Bowl last year, rushed for a lot of yards and I'm still not mentioned along with the other top backs," Dunn said Tuesday after wrapping up a two-hour-plus practice with the Atlanta Falcons. "I guess I'll always have something to prove."
Not that he's complaining. These days, Dunn has plenty of cold, hard facts to speak on his behalf.
If someone wonders whether a 5-foot-9, 180-pound back can handle the wear-and-tear of a 16-game season, just look at what he's done the last two years. Dunn started every game in both 2004 and 2005.
If there's any doubt he's in the same league as Shaun Alexander, Tiki Barber and Edgerrin James, just look at Dunn's production the past two seasons. He rushed for 1,106 yards in 2004, helping Atlanta reach the NFC championship game, and he followed up with a career-best 1,416 in 2005, averaging 5.1 yards per carry.
He wants to do even better this season - especially if it means getting the Falcons back to the playoffs. They missed out last year after falling apart in the second half of the season.
"I'm always trying to improve myself," Dunn said. "I've still got a lot of prove?"
A lot to prove? What could he possibly have to prove at this point?
"That last season wasn't a fluke," Dunn quickly replied, as if already trying to anticipate what his cynics might be thinking.
That innate ability to anticipate what the other guy is going to do is at the very heart of his success as a running back. No one is better at shifting speeds, providing an extra split-second to analyze the situation in front of him. No one is more adept at spotting the slightest of holes and scooting through for the biggest possible gain.
"We always hear about that a quarterback must be able to read the defense," said Greg Knapp, the Falcons' offensive coordinator. "Well, he's got that ability to read a hole. It's an unusual trait that separates him from the others."
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