Friday, August 6, 1999
‘Fu’ may get the
chance to show
his stuff
With Bettis injured, the
By Pat Bigold
ex-St. Louis School star will get
more playing time
Star-BulletinLegendary Pittsburgh sportscaster Myron Cope, the inventor of the "Terrible Towel," likes to recall the first time he saw Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala show up for training camp as a rookie in 1998 wearing what Cope called, "a skirt."
"He got into camp very late after an all-night flight," Cope said.
"He took a nap in his room and then realized that practice was starting. He ran down the hill from the players' dorm to practice wearing that skirt instead of football pants, for crying out loud. Everybody was laughing their butts off. So, this year I noticed he was wearing football shorts the first time out. That's progress."
But Cope, who's now learned to refer to the "skirt" as a "lava lava," doesn't hide his fascination with Fuamatu-Ma'afala and loves to talk about him on the air.
He sees him as the traditional blue-collar type of back Steel Town is always ready to embrace.
"Fu's a good guy who you just wish a lot of good things for," said Cope, who is entering his 30th year of doing color for Steelers games.
Those "good things" are tantalizingly within reach of the former St. Louis School and Utah star right now.
With Jerome Bettis, the Steelers' leading rusher of the past three seasons, down for a month after knee surgery, the spotlight has turned to the four-time All-Pro's three principal backup contenders.
Richard Huntley, the 5-foot-11, 225-pound third-year veteran who was Bettis' No. 2 man in 1998, shows outstanding running ability, and mighty mite rookie Amos Zereoue (5-7, 202 pounds) has exceptional quickness and speed.
Huntley produced the club's second most ground yardage but fumbled too often for the Steelers to have confidence in him past midseason.
The candidate who bears the closest physical resemblance to the 5-11, 250-pound Bettis is the 5-11, 255-pound Fuamatu-Ma'afala, a second-year player.
"Fu is the guy, I think, as of now," said Cope, whose shortening of the Fuamatu-Ma'afala name is catching on.
"The writers are talking about this kid Zereoue, a jitterbug guy with moves who can hide behind the blockers," said Cope. "But people forget fast. Fu looked like a football player last year. He's big and strong, and he catches the ball."
Last year, Fuamatu-Ma'afala scored as many touchdowns (three) as Bettis despite missing four games with hamstring injuries and never starting. He did it as the third-down back and by touching the ball only 16 times (nine receiving, seven rushing).
His running backs coach, Dick Hoak, a 28th-year Steelers staff veteran, said he prefers having a guy the size of the Mayor Wright Housing product as a dependable ball carrier.
"If you can get a big guy, I think you're better off," said Hoak, "because he can stay in there and pick up the blitzes. If you get a little guy, you have to do things with your passing game. It makes the game planning a little simpler with a big guy in that you don't have to come up with as many schemes."
But what worries Hoak, Cope and Steelers fans is the fact that Fuamatu-Ma'afala twice had hamstring troubles in 1998. The hamstring took him out of the picture last season when Bettis was ailing and the club was ready to give him more carries.
But Hoak said that since camp began July 29, Fuamatu-Ma'afala has looked to be in superb condition, and his hamstrings seem strong.
"Right now, he and Huntley are about even in camp," said Hoak. "If we had to open the season tomorrow, I don't know who I'd start. They'd both see plenty of playing time until one emerged.
"Richard's problem was fumbling and Chris' was that he had a couple of stingers and pulled a hamstring a couple of times. Other than that, he came in and did a very good job."
Hoak said he is anxious to get a look at all of his backfield contenders, including fringe rookie Greg Lomax, tomorrow when the Steelers scrimmage the Washington Redskins at Frostburg State in Maryland.
