Correll Buckhalter spent the first eight years of his NFL life in Philadelphia, put his heart and soul into his play there.
Yet when the running back emerges from the tunnel today wearing Broncos colors, he’s pretty sure he knows what kind of reception he will receive. And he can’t wait.
“A lot of guys talk about the Black Hole, but I played in the Black Hole this year and I was like, ‘No, it’s a whole different level in Philadelphia,’ ” Buckhalter said with a smile. “You’ve got to have thick skin to play there.
“They booed Santa Claus, booed people that sing, famous people that sing. There’s only one person that’s never been booed, and it was a little blind kid. I was surprised, but he wasn’t booed.”
While much of the discussion this past week has been about the return of seven-time Pro Bowl safety Brian Dawkins, Buckhalter also will be playing against the only other NFL team he has known in his nine-year career.
And while Buckhalter is appreciative of the Eagles selecting him in the fourth round of the 2001 draft and allowing him to grow as a player, he spent much of his time with the team either fighting back from one of three career-threatening knee injuries or hoping for a bigger role.
“That was one of the reasons I signed here,” Buckhalter said of the Broncos. “I always thought they didn’t use me to the best of my abilities. Looking back, I can see it from their view too, that I was hurt some and they had (Brian) Westbrook. But I always felt like I could do more to help them win.”
With the Eagles, Buckhalter missed the 2002, 2004 and 2005 seasons with knee injuries and never carried the ball more than the 129 times he did as a rookie. In his last three seasons with the Eagles, Buckhalter had 83, 62 and 76 carries.
In his first season with the Broncos, Buckhalter needs 21 carries and 5 yards during the final two regular-season games to set single-season highs.
Buckhalter is tied for fifth in the league at 5.3 yards per carry. At 31, Buckhalter said he’s playing lighter, at about 218 pounds, and faster than ever.
“He was always one of the favorite guys,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “A tremendous person, a good player. Correll and (Dawkins) will always be two of my favorite guys right there, but you can’t always keep all those guys, and that’s just one of the lousy parts of this business.”
Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com
