Atlanta Falcons: The journey of Andy Levitre

In life, second and third chances are what most people long to receive but sometimes few get the opportunity. But in sports, these opportunities are what it takes to redefine a career of someone who didn’t quite make the cut elsewhere. For Atlanta Falcons offensive lineman, Andy Levitre, it is that second go around that is flinging the door wide open for him.

When he was taken by the Bills in 2009, the sky was the limit, and he lived up to the hype by earning a Pro Bowl spot. But in Buffalo, no matter how many holes he opened for the running game or how well he protected the quarterback, Levitre could never take the team to the next level due to the talent around him.

In four years with the Bills, Levitre’s team had merely 23 wins, leaving them on the outside looking in when the playoffs came.

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One would think that a change of scenery may have done the trick, but unfortunately, the Tennessee Titans wasn’t the best locale for the former second round pick, as the Titans only had a total of eight wins in the two years with them.

Levitre wanted the chance to compete for championships but missed that opportunity with the first two stops in his career. But now, playoffs seem all but a certain as the Falcons have a 97 percent chance of making the playoffs. And through the efforts of the former Pro Bowler, the Falcons look as if they can’t be stopped.

If you were to ask anyone who may be the most grateful, Levitre would have to be in that list. A winning record is something that seemed like a dream as he wasted away in Buffalo and Tennessee. But now he is playing for arguably the hottest team in the NFL, and is doing some amazing things on the offensive line in pass and run blocking.

Brushing off the dust of losing is never easy, but Levitre continues to perform surprisingly better than advertised, and may keep his spot as one of the anchors for the offensive line.

Levitre will continue to have his hands full on Thursday against a New Orleans Saints team looking to wreak some havoc, but if he continues to play as he has, he may be able to match his season high in wins per year, seven, next week against one of his former teams, the Tennessee Titans.