The Age of Salaam, however it turns out for the Bears, did not begin until 10 seconds were gone in the second quarter. To this point, Rashaan Salaam had been a very expensive sideline ornament, occupying himself by standing on one foot and then the other.
“I was ready to play whenever they needed me,” Salaam would say later.
Need is not the word. Trust is the word.
“We did not want to put him in a situation where, as you say, he would fail,” explained offensive coordinator Ron Turner, “in a blitz situation or when we were backed up.”
Salaam’s helmet had been on since warmups, his chin strap buckled, then unbuckled. Fans did not call his name. He kept close to coach Dave Wannstedt. Wannstedt could have whispered his name and Salaam would have heard.
Wannstedt turned, nodded. Salaam dashed out to take the first step of the rest of his life, the crowd largely unaware he was even on the field. Salaam faked getting the ball from Erik Kramer. Salaam’s first play as a Bear was as a decoy. On his second play as a Bear, he was stopped for no gain.
“This is a dream come true,” Salaam said. “I’ve been working for this since I was 8 years old.”
How convenient that his dreams and the Bears’ dreams coincide, because the Bears have needed a running back for a while also. That is why they paid Salaam $3.8 million for four years, with $1.82 million up front. And after a holdout and an ambiguous preseason, Salaam needed to prove the investment was sensible.
“He puts the ball on the ground a couple of times in preseason and everybody makes a big deal of it,” Turner said. “We didn’t lose confidence in him and he kept believing in himself.”
Salaam started only one series and was not in the game at any time the Bears had the ball inside their own 30. Only once in his 20 plays did Salaam line up anywhere but behind the fullback. The entire Bear offense was no more than a dozen basic plays, half running, half passing.
“Don’t forget, he’s only been in camp a few weeks,” Turner said. “So he has a lot of things to learn. We kept it simple, we gave him a chance to succeed.”
Salaam gained 47 yards in 10 carries, all inside the tackles. He did not flare for a pass. The other 10 plays Salaam blocked three times and decoyed the rest. On the play-action fakes to Salaam, the Bears hit four passes downfield, including one of Kramer’s three touchdown tosses, the one to tight end Keith Jennings.
If the Bears are not quite ready yet to turn Salaam loose, when it looks like Salaam is going to get the ball, the other team flinches.
“Rashaan Salaam is only going to get better,” said Wannstedt, cautiously bubbly. “I’m excited about what I’ve seen with him.”
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It has been a while since the Bears had a runner who could get 10 yards inside, who could take on triple tackles and make yards, who was an asset in the red zone.
Only the surface of Salaam was touched in his first game, and he was not overwhelmed by his contribution, including a deft little 3-yard dash up the middle for a touchdown.
“Football is football, whether it is Pop Warner or the pros,” Salaam said.
He did not spike the ball after he scored his first touchdown and he did not keep the ball as a souvenir.
“I’ve scored touchdowns before,” he said.
“He knew what was on the line here today,” Wannstedt said. “He knew we had to step forward as a football team if we are going to do anything positive this season.”
After the game, Salaam visited with fellow rookie Korey Stringer of the Vikings, dashed past the cheers of fans gathered in the northwest corner of the end zone, was short and suspicious with the press, and called it a day.
Salaam held the ball. Salaam scored a touchdown.
It’s a beginning.