tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290664094797166932.post43724379474925338..comments2024-01-03T07:44:38.155-05:00Comments on Today in Pro Football History: Highlighted Year: William Andrews, 1981Keith Yowellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510256084009978331noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290664094797166932.post-48553658408542706772015-05-23T23:32:36.222-04:002015-05-23T23:32:36.222-04:00It's hard to overstate how much William Andrew...It's hard to overstate how much William Andrews meant to the Falcon organization in the early eighties. Andrews' ability to run, catch, and block equally well and with great skill contributed heavily to the Falcons' success during the Leeman Bennett years. His talents, especially when paired with the similarly skilled Lynn Cain at halfback, greatly opened up the offensive attack and helped Steve Bartkowski develop into one of the better QBs of the era. Unfortunately Bennett got one-dimensional and started burdening Andrews with the lion's share of the offense to the detriment of everyone else, resulting in stale playcalling and the decline of the once-feared deep passing attack, factors that helped get Bennett fired at the end of 1982. Andrews had his best season the next year under new coach Dan Henning despite the change of offensive chemistry, but his future became a what-if could-have story when he blew out his knee the following year, never to fully recover. Had Andrews not gotten hurt he might have been traded to an up-and-coming team when the Falcons went into decline during the eighties, very possibly helping put someone over the top into a Super Bowl. In a parallel universe with better luck, he might have made it to the Hall of Fame.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07086081761530021646noreply@blogger.com