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| | | | | | | | Tuesday, December 12, 2000
Alstott ready to resume practice with Bucs
Associated Press
TAMPA -- Tampa Bay's A-Train is running ahead of
schedule.
Three weeks after suffering a knee sprain that the Buccaneers
thought would sideline him for the remainder of the regular season,
All-Pro fullback Mike Alstott is ready to return to practice.
|  | | Mike Alstott has made a quicker recovery than expected. |
If all goes well, coach Tony Dungy said, the three-time Pro Bowl
selection could be back in the lineup next Monday night against the
St. Louis Rams.
"He may play this week, we'll see how it goes," Dungy said
Monday. "We thought four to six weeks. We thought it could be
anywhere from the St. Louis game to maybe the post season if we got
there. I think all of us were kind of shooting for Green Bay (Dec.
24), but he's doing well and we'll see how it goes if he continues
to make progress."
Alstott was hurt Nov. 19 when his leg got tangled in a pile of
players at the end of 3-yard run against the Chicago Bears. The
injury was described as a third degree sprain of the medial
collateral ligament in his left knee.
The Bucs originally said the fifth-year pro, the leading
vote-getter among NFC fullbacks in fan balloting for this season's
Pro Bowl, would be sidelined 6-to-8 weeks. The knee was in a cast
for 10 days and Alstott has been required to wear a brace the past
two weeks.
The 260-pound fullback's absence the past three games has meant
an increased workload for Warrick Dunn, who has rushed for 375
yards and four touchdowns in victories over Buffalo, Dallas and
Miami.
"Warrick's done a great job, and what has happened is that you
take the carries that get split up between the two of them and one
guy gets them and he's probably averaging what he and Mike were
doing together," Dungy said.
"It's much easier to just have one guy going as long as he
stays healthy because he gets in the flow of the game. And Warrick
has made a lot of big plays for us. So, it's been great for him to
be able to step up and do it, and he's done it when we've needed
it."
Dunn, who ran for a career-high 210 yards against the Bills,
leads the team in rushing with 948 yards and five touchdowns.
Alstott is next with 456 yards and five TDs.
Dungy said it's difficult to project how much Alstott might be
able to play against the Rams.
"If he has a normal week of practice and is not showing any ill
effects, then we would go back to normal," the coach said. "I
don't know that that will be the case, but we'll have a better idea
on Thursday."
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