Although the immediate future of the National Football League remains uncertain, there is a surprising sense of stability within the Atlanta Falcons organization.
With a cloud hanging over the 2011 NFL season, the Atlanta Falcons have been hard at work, making headlines at the NFL Draft by trading five picks for Julio Jones. And players are engaged in voluntary offseason workouts as they try to prepare themselves the best they can.
Maybe the lockout wasn’t what the doctor ordered for the fans, but at least Falcons followers can rest easy in knowing that their team is treating this offseason like any other.
THE LOCKOUT …
The NFL offseason newswire has been its typically unpredictable self of late, not due to the usual talk of free agency signings or impending holdouts, but to whether there will be an NFL season altogether in 2011.
Involved in a bitter legal battle, the NFLPA and NFL Owners negotiations have continued to run awry in recent weeks.
Having been locked out by the owners, who want to decrease overall salaries over the next several seasons, players have been forced to scramble amongst themselves to organize any kind of offseason activities, as they are not allowed to work with coaches or use team facilities.
On May 17, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted to keep the lockout in place, perhaps indicating a long legal battle between players and owners. The ruling overturned a previous decision at a district court, and a final decision will be made when a full appeal is heard on June 3 in St. Louis.
Linebacker Coy Wire is the Falcons’ union representative, and he is looking forward to any substantial ruling at this point.
“Hopefully they can just turn their attention to getting a collectively bargained agreement,” he told the Atlanta Journal Constitution after the lockout was reinstated. “I think maybe it’s better that a decision was finally made about the stay and the lockout. Now, we can get down to the important matter at hand.”
Locked out or not, it will be the owners and NFLPA who must eventually come to a decision regardless of whether the current lockout is deemed legal. But quarterback Matt Ryan is confident that no games will be missed thanks to the dispute.
“You just have to let the process take its course,” he said. “I’ve got good faith in both sides. I think that we’ll be able to come to an agreement and play football this year.”
Other Falcons are bracing for a long period away from the field.
“I never expected it to get this far,” said corner Dunta Robinson. “Hopefully it will be over soon. But you never know.”
FAUX OFFSEASON …
Despite the current lockout, Falcons players are doing their best simulate a normal offseason. Players are conducting strength-and-conditioning sessions four days per week, and have also held minicamps and organized team activities thus far.
Meanwhile, the biggest news of Atlanta’s offseason has been their move up the draft to nab Julio Jones. And he recently joined up with an already strong Atlanta offense in voluntary 7-on-7 drills.
The former University of Alabama wideout only saw light action, as the session represented his first action since having surgery for a stress fracture in his left foot in March. In fact, Jones spent most of the practice getting the skinny on Atlanta’s offense from 2011 Pro Bowler Ryan and backup quarterback and former Bama teammate John Parker Wilson.
“They just told me to take it very slow,” Jones said. “That what I’m going to do. I’m not coming out here to run full speed today. I’m going to jog a couple routes and catch a couple of balls.”
Jones also took the opportunity to get to know his new teammates.
“I wanted to come out here and shake these guys’ hands and put a face with a name,” he said. “These guys have been great to me and we want to continue that.”
Meanwhile, Ryan’s tutorship of Jones is only a small part of a busy offseason for the signal caller. Earlier in the month, he and linebacker Mike Peterson organized the first of many voluntary minicamps at a turf field 10 miles from Flowery Branch. NFL coaches are not allowed to work with players during the lockout.
“We’ve all been doing it long enough to understand what’s beneficial and how to get it done,” Ryan said. “You kind of put on your coaching hat and work on some things you want to work on. We’ve got some stuff scripted.”
Nine of 22 starters from the NFC Divisional Playoff loss to Green Bay were on hand, including cornerback Brent Grimes and fullback Ovie Mughelli.
Also present at both sets of workouts was Robinson, who is hoping to spearhead a continually improving secondary this season.
Robinson has spent time in Houston, Boca Raton, and Athens so far in the offseason, and he was happy to get back on the field.
“I feel better than I thought I would,” Robinson told the AJC. “I’ve been doing a lot of sprints and straight ahead things. Not a lot of breaking on the ball. So it was just good to come out and do some football things.”
The Athens native is also looking for continued growth from the defense.
“We know each another, the good things and the not so good things,” he said. “We just have to put it all together and say ‘hey we are a veteran football team. Let’s go out here and get the job done.”
Many Falcons fans are nervous about an absence of professional football this fall. However, the Falcons insist that their supporters needn’t worry about them, as they are clearly confident that they will be ready to play whenever that time comes.
“Our urgency is the same,” Ryan said. “Our sense of timing is that we’re going to be playing at the beginning of September… As players we need to prepare ourselves to get ready to go.”
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