Atlanta, GA- The 2018-19 NFL season was disappointing for the Atlanta Falcons, much in part because of backbreaking injuries to key contributors on both offense and defense.
Thursday night’s preseason matchup against the New York Jets saw the first in-game action for most of those players since their injuries, as running back Devonta Freeman, and safeties Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen all suited up to start on Thursday. Their returns mark the first step towards a bounce-back season for Atlanta, who hope to make a return to the playoffs in 2019.
For Devonta Freeman, 2019 will be a year to try and silence his doubters. He missed the back half of 2018 with a sports hernia surgery, leaving room for fellow running back Tevin Coleman to take over the lead running back role in a contract year. Coleman was successful, rushing for over 800 yards adding over 200 yards in the air, scoring nine times. This created some thoughts by the Atlanta fan base that maybe Coleman could resign and take over the starting role from Freeman upon his return.
Well, Tevin didn’t resign, which essentially makes Devonta a lock to start at running back. Will he be able to regain his Pro-Bowl form from just two seasons ago? Freeman believes in himself and has worked hard to bounce back from his sports hernia surgery to be ready for week one.
At practice earlier this week, Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn talked about Freeman’s return and how he has looked throughout training camp saying, “He’s had an outstanding offseason. The energy he brought back, starting from OTAs, he is a stronger man than he was prior to his injury.” He continued, “You’ve heard people say, ‘Can you come back stronger from an injury?’ I think this is one of those cases that the answer is ‘yes.’ He’s more violent in his cuts because of that strength. His mindset, determination is completely on point. He adds a lot to our team.”
Freeman finished with just one carry for two yards Thursday night against the Jets but looks to ramp up his workload as they get closer to the start of the regular season.
Safety Ricardo Allen has had the biggest recovery from injury, tearing his Achilles week three against the Saints last season. Allen was one of the leaders on this young Falcons defense before his injury, and when he went down, they lost a big voice in making sure everyone knew their roles.
Allen has worked tremendously hard to get back and be able to get on the field this preseason, but Achilles injuries are tough, and it remains to be seen if he can get back to the speed that’s needed to make an impact at the safety position.
The biggest loss last year for Atlanta was also the first, as safety Keanu Neal went down week one against the Eagles with a torn ACL. Neal has been an up and coming star on defense, drawing comparisons to All-Pro safety Kam Chancellor, who dominated in the secondary for the Seattle Seahawks on their way to a Super Bowl in 2014. Many thought 2018 would be the season for Neal to take the next step towards stardom, but the torn ACL would delay those talks until we can see how he performs in 2019.
Neal has participated throughout training camp and looks to be ready week one as they begin ramping up his workload Thursday night, where he will start at safety for the Falcons defense.
Atlanta has lofty goals for the 2019 season and will need the three guys making their return tonight to make an impact if they are going to reach them. All have had the talent before to do so, and it will be a lot of fun to see how they bounce back.
Written by Brian Pohl
