Ottis Anderson
|
|
Ottis Anderson (born January 19, 1957) is a U.S. football player. He was named The NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press in 1979 and the Super Bowl MVP in 1991 when playing with the New York Giants in 1990 season. In college, he played for the Miami Hurricanes.
His 1605 rushing yard performance was one of the few bright spots in the St. Louis Cardinals' 1979 season, when they finished 5-11. He earned his first of back-to-back Pro Bowl selections that year.
In his first six seasons, Anderson rushed for over 1000 yards in five seasons. The lone exception was in the 1982 strike shortened season, where he rushed for 587 yards in 8 games, and was on pace for well over 1000 yards, if 1982 was a full 16 game season. Anderson did have a fumbling problem, however, and fumbled 48 times in his first six years.
The star-crossed Cardinals would make the playoffs in 1982, thanks to an expanded field due to the brevity of the season. It was the franchise's first playoff appearance since 1975 and last until 1998. Anderson rushed for 58 yards on 8 carries.
Injuries would drastically decrease the amount of games Anderson played each season, and his explosiveness as a tailback. After a year and a half, Stump Mitchell emerged as the Cards' top running back, and the expendable Anderson would find himself a new home deep down in the New York Giants' depth chart in the middle of the 1986 season. By this time in his career, it was clear that Anderson was better used in goal line or short yardage situations. Anderson would rush for only 6 yards on 7 carries in the 1986 playoffs, but did score a rushing touchdown in the Giants victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI.
In his first two and a half seasons with New York, Anderson hadn't fumbled on his 100 offensive touches. In 1989, Anderson would become the top running back for Bill Parcells' ball control offense. He would score a career high 14 rushing touchdowns, and rush for 1,023 yards on 325 carries. He was also the top running back for the Giants the following year, when they won Super Bowl XXV, and he was name Super Bowl MVP for his 102 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. As a testament to the Giants' ball control strategy, their time of possession was double that of their Super Bowl opponent's, in the first Super Bowl without turnovers.
Anderson would be replaced by the more effective Rodney Hampton in 1991. His last season was 1992. Anderson fumbled just three times in 739 touches as a Giant, from 1987-1992.
As of the end of the 2004 season, Anderson is ranked 13th in career rushing touchdowns.