Teams in the National Football League are supposed to have a 'next-man up' mentality. If you do happen to get struck by injuries, you should have the resiliencey to bounce back. If there is ever a point though where injuries might be acceptable to use an excuse is the 2013-14 Atlanta Falcons.
Key players for the 'dirty birds' went down week after week. Most of the players hurt were starters and even backups that were thrusted into the starting role due to injuries suffered set-backs of their own.
Many Falcons fans will be rejoicing as those same competitors will be back healthy in 2014. They include wide recievers Julio Jones and Roddy White, defensive end Kroy Biermann (assuming that he survives the offseason cuts), running back Steven Jackson, linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, and offensive tackles Sam Baker and Mike Johnson.
Some of the important members of the team that were lost all or at any point of last year that will not be returning are fullback Bradie Ewing, cornerback Asante Samuel, linebacker Stephen Nicholas, and running back Jason Snelling.
So far the players are running ahead of schedule in their recovery process...
"He's doing a great job with (trainers) Marty (Lauzon) and AJ (Neibel)," Falcons coach Mike Smith told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution by phone on Wednesday while speaking about Julio Jones. "He's continuing to progress."
"Kroy has started his on the field work," Smith said of Kroy Biermann. "We're excited about his progress to this point. I don’t know if there's anybody that's worked harder than both of those guys. Mid-season and this offseason. Kroy and Julio have an opportunity to work during the season. They've been doing well. Kroy has been running on the field. When I say running, I mean he’s working on the field. So that’s a positive."
As players start to come back and the new year starts, Falcons fans should be very excited as they will have one of their best chances in years to end the championship drought that they've gone through since they were established back in 1966.
Key players for the 'dirty birds' went down week after week. Most of the players hurt were starters and even backups that were thrusted into the starting role due to injuries suffered set-backs of their own.
Many Falcons fans will be rejoicing as those same competitors will be back healthy in 2014. They include wide recievers Julio Jones and Roddy White, defensive end Kroy Biermann (assuming that he survives the offseason cuts), running back Steven Jackson, linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, and offensive tackles Sam Baker and Mike Johnson.
Some of the important members of the team that were lost all or at any point of last year that will not be returning are fullback Bradie Ewing, cornerback Asante Samuel, linebacker Stephen Nicholas, and running back Jason Snelling.
So far the players are running ahead of schedule in their recovery process...
"He's doing a great job with (trainers) Marty (Lauzon) and AJ (Neibel)," Falcons coach Mike Smith told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution by phone on Wednesday while speaking about Julio Jones. "He's continuing to progress."
"Kroy has started his on the field work," Smith said of Kroy Biermann. "We're excited about his progress to this point. I don’t know if there's anybody that's worked harder than both of those guys. Mid-season and this offseason. Kroy and Julio have an opportunity to work during the season. They've been doing well. Kroy has been running on the field. When I say running, I mean he’s working on the field. So that’s a positive."
As players start to come back and the new year starts, Falcons fans should be very excited as they will have one of their best chances in years to end the championship drought that they've gone through since they were established back in 1966.