The Falcons Around the Web

Reasons For Realism… The Falcons are out to prove that last season was a bump on the road towards a Super Bowl appearance. The return of Turner should get the offence back to the dependable level they were operating at two seasons ago. The key will be whether Atlanta’s defence can develop enough to put them into an elite category of Super Bowl contenders.

Playoff teams in the NFL are always turning over and Atlanta has a good chance to be one of the clubs that misses the post-season one year, only to rebound following season with a berth in the tournament.

The return of Jerry, a starting nose tackle who missed all but two games as a rookie last year, should help. The former first-round pick looked healthy in disrupting a third-down play with a clean hit of Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington early in the fourth quarter.

Jerry was relieved to play in game conditions for the first time since a knee injury ended his 2009 season last September. He did not start but spent most of the night in line coach Ray Hamilton’s 10-man rotation.

“I’m very excited, very excited to be back out with the guys,” Jerry said. “Just to get out and compete, I’m looking forward this week to getting more snaps, and we’ll go from there. I just know when they’re calling my number, I’m running out there. Everything feels good.”

There are a couple of things of note.

Kroy Biermann is still listed as the third left defensive end behind Jamaal Anderson and Chauncey Davis.

Stephen Nicholas is still listed as the starting strongside linebacker, despite that rookie Sean Weatherspoon has started the last two exhibition games at the spot.

The funny thing is, Ryan didn’t even play quarterback until seventh grade. With the Young Whippets, he was a fullback and a defensive end – a good, smart player but not someone who particularly stood out. It was his smarts and composure, mostly, that helped the team win championships in 1992 and 1993.

“What was special about him was his intelligence,” Woodward says. “He wasn’t the most physically gifted kid at that point. He wasn’t the most fleet of foot at that point. But I could have put him at water boy — anywhere — and he would have known what to do. He was one of those kids you need on every team. He was a good kid, a hard-nosed kid, and his intelligence was off the charts.