July 30, 1999

ATLANTA (AP) - When Keith Brooking lets a runner slip from his grasp, people will moan, "Cornelius would have made that tackle."

When Brooking is beaten on a pass play, people will mutter, "I'll bet that wouldn't have happened to Bennett."

Let the inevitable comparisons begin.

Brooking, a second-year linebacker from Georgia Tech, is not just moving into the starting lineup for the NFC champion Atlanta Falcons. He's filling the spot occupied the last three years by Cornelius Bennett, the team's leading tackler on the way to the Super Bowl and one of the game's best defensive players over the past decade.

"No doubt, there will be comparisons with Cornelius," defensive end Lester Archambeau said Thursday. "But I worked out with Keith during the whole offseason and, let me tell you, he's one intense dude. He likes competition. I think he'll take this challenge by the teeth."

Brooking, the Falcons' No. 1 pick in 1998, spent his rookie season apprenticing under Bennett. Now, the 23-year-old who grew up in the Atlanta suburbs and starred at Georgia Tech will get a chance to play a full-time role for his hometown NFL team.

"I know I have the ability to play at this level," said Brooking, handed the starting job when Bennett was released. "Obviously, Cornelius was a great player. But there's no pressure on me to replace him. I'll just take what I learned from him last year and try to get better."

Brooking wasted no time getting to work. Prior to the first practice of training camp, he strolled around the Furman University campus with two playbooks stuffed under his arm. He's also grown a goatee, adding a tinge of menace to his boyish face.

Now, he's got to get accustomed to prying himself loose from NFL blockers who are a lot more devious at hiding the tricks of the trade than their college counterparts.

"The offensive linemen hold so much and they're able to get away with it," Brooking said, a bit of frustration in his voice. "They don't call it near as much as they did when I was in college. I've got to learn to get separation from those guys."

For one season, Brooking got a chance to learn from one of the best. Bennett led the Falcons with 121 tackles and was a prime reason the team had the second-best rushing defense in the NFL and ranked eighth overall in yards allowed.

A couple of weeks after the Super Bowl, Bennett was cut by the Falcons in a move that was more about age (soon-to-be-34) and cost (a cap figure of $3.7 million) than performance. He now plays for the Indianapolis Colts.

Brooking, who had 32 tackles during his rookie season, heard of Bennett's release during a trip to California.

"Obviously, my opportunity to start is better with him gone. But I'm not happy he's gone," Brooking said. "I guess that's the nature of the business. It's going to happen to me one day."

Safety Eugene Robinson, the eldest member of the Falcons defense, observes plenty of similarities between Brooking and Bennett.

"Both of them are extremely fast. Both of them can cover a lot of ground," Robinson said. "What I like about Brooks is he will flat-out fight you."

He remembered a game last season in which Brooking took a robust blow to the face from an offensive guard. With blood trickling from his lip, the linebacker wasted no time extracting revenge.

"On the next play, he smacked the guy right in the face and stared him down," Robinson said with admiration. "You want a linebacker like that, a guy who is willing to eat nails."

Although Bennett is gone, Brooking still has a grizzled veteran he can rely on for advice. Jessie Tuggle, who's been starting at middle linebacker for the Falcons since 1989, is willing to pass on his wisdom to the next generation.

"He knows exactly what he's supposed to do and he's eager to learn," Tuggle said. "Unlike college, you can't just relay on your natural ability. You've got to prepare yourself mentally and physically."

Let the inevitable learning begin.

"This is a big challenge for me," Brooking said. "I've been stepping up to challenges my whole life. Hopefully, I can step up to this one."