From Deseret News archives:
Hall gives Falcons a new Deion
So the Atlanta Falcons cornerback asked Terrell Owens for an autographed jersey.
"I have nothing but the utmost respect for him," Hall said. "I wanted one of his jerseys, and he said he would send me one. He didn't ask for one of mine. Maybe he will someday."
By then, there could be quite a line for Hall's No. 21. In just his second season, the 2004 first-round draft pick already is making a name as one of the NFL's top pass defenders — a freak of an athlete who can be left alone against game-breaking receivers such as Owens.
In football-speak, they call it being put on an island. To handle such a daunting task, a cornerback must be able to run like a sprinter, leap like a high-jumper, develop an innate sense of what the receiver's next move is going to be, and, most important, have an extremely short memory.
Hall has it all.
In Monday night's 14-10 victory over Philadelphia, he spent nearly the entire game in single coverage against Owens, a perennial Pro Bowler who's doubly dangerous when the spotlight's on him, which it was after a tumultuous offseason in which he demanded a new contract and feuded with quarterback Donovan McNabb.
Owens was hardly shut down, making seven catches for 112 yards. But the decision in this mano-a-mano battle clearly went to Hall, who had Atlanta's lone interception, broke up two passes, made five tackles and kept T.O. out of the end zone.
"It was a pretty even matchup," Hall said. "He made some plays. I made some plays. But we won the game. That's all that matters."
The Falcons haven't had a cornerback with these sort of skills since another guy who wore No. 21 in the early 1990s: Deion Sanders. Not surprisingly, the Neon One was on Hall's list of heroes growing up, and the two share both a number and the bravado that all great cornerbacks have.
"I always feel like I'm the best guy out there," Hall said. "When a guy catches a pass, it almost seems like luck to me. If a guy makes another catch, I'm like, 'Two? How did that happen?"'
He even impressed Falcons quarterback Michael Vick with his defense of Owens.
While the defense is on the field, Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has plenty of things to keep him busy on the sideline. Still, he couldn't help but sneak a glance at the Owens-Hall matchup on the Georgia Dome's video board.
"Big-time players step up in big-time games. That's what DeAngelo did," Vick said. "It's an opportunity to prove yourself. Some guys are going to shy away from that. DeAngelo is certainly not going to do it. He stepped up to the challenge."
