Please don’t ask defensive end Mark Anderson if he remembers 2006, a glorious year for him. Way back then, he had 12 sacks. He has had six in 30 games since.
“I am not even thinking about that year,” Anderson said Tuesday.
Another no-no with Anderson: Refrain from putting the 2009 season in the context of a “contract year,” for the fourth-year pass-rusher who once was at the front of the line for an extension now finds himself in prove-it mode.
“I’m not looking at it like that, a contract year, and ain’t even thinking about that,” Anderson said. “If I do what I’m supposed to do, it will take care of itself.”
That process has begun well during the first two weeks in training camp with Anderson standing out as much as any pass-rusher on the Bears.
The urgency confronting Anderson’s NFL career this season has been obvious nearly every time he has fired out of his three-point stance off the edge. The burst is back, it seems.
Coaches have noticed too. In the first unofficial training camp depth chart released late Tuesday at Olivet Nazarene, Anderson was listed as the co-starter at defensive end along with regulars Alex Brown and Adewale Ogunleye.
Anderson didn’t even realize it Wednesday morning when asked about it.
“I don’t really look at who’s the starter,” Anderson said. “I just want to be part of that rotation.”
Nobody ever may know why Anderson went from rookie phenom to disappointment over the last two seasons, but he now has a career to save.
Even though Anderson never would admit to using that as motivation.
“The only difference this year is I’m hungrier,” he said. “I have to have some impact in some kind of way. So getting off the ball I feel a little faster, and I’m executing better than before.”
