FLOWERY BRANCH —
FLOWERY BRANCH (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons are aiming high in Year 3 of the Matt Ryan era.
Ryan helped the franchise shed a 44-year-old burden by leading the Falcons to their first back-to-back winning seasons, including three straight wins to finish 9-7 last year.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank says it’s time for bigger goals in Ryan’s third season as the starting quarterback.
“We’re all kind of shooting higher than we did last year,” Blank said as he stood on the practice fields at the team’s recent minicamp. “I’ve been pretty public that I was excited about back-to-back winning seasons, but now I’m excited about rings.”
The Falcons, who open training camp on Friday, are basing their postseason hopes on a potent and balanced offense. Running back Michael Turner has lost weight and appears poised for a bounce-back season after he was slowed by an ankle injury in 2009. Tight end Tony Gonzalez returns for at least one more season before his Hall of Fame countdown. Receiver Roddy White, who has become a Pro Bowl regular, is in the prime of his career.
Ryan will be protected by a offensive line that returns all five starters.
There’s enough talent on offense to aim high.
“Yeah, the Super Bowl,” Turner said. “We’ve got the Saints in our division. We play them twice. They’ve been fortunate enough to put an unbelievable season together and win the Super Bowl and they came out of nowhere with nobody expecting them to do that. We have a good chance here. We have a lot of good players. We just need to stay intact, stay healthy, and we have a good chance.”
The biggest questions are on defense, but that also was the area of the biggest offseason additions. First-round pick Sean Weatherspoon, who reached an agreement on a five-year deal and reported on Thursday, may start at outside linebacker. Free-agent addition Dunta Robinson is expected to stabilize the cornerback position.
The Falcons open training camp with encouraging injury news. Defensive tackle Peria Jerry, the 2009 first-round pick who missed most of his rookie season with a knee injury, will be ready for the start of camp, though he will work in only session in the two-a-day schedule at the start.
Cornerback Brian Williams and receiver Harry Douglas also are returning from knee injuries and expected to open practice on a limited schedule. Safety William Moore, another 2009 draft pick, is returning from a hamstring injury.
This also is Year 3 for the Falcons with coach Mike Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff. One of the first moves for the new management team was making Ryan the No. 3 overall pick in 2008. Ryan started from his first game and was named NFL offensive rookie of the year as the Falcons were a surprise playoff team.
“There were a lot of things that needed to get put in place a couple years back,” Ryan said. “But at this point I really feel like we’ve got the right pieces in the right places — and we’re young, too. ... I feel like we’ve got a very young, very talented team that’s capable of playing well.”
The Falcons will hold combined practices with the Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots during camp. Jacksonville will visit the Falcons’ complex on Aug. 9-10. The Patriots travel to Flowery Branch for practice on Aug. 17, two days before the teams meet in an exhibition game at the Georgia Dome.
Smith is Jacksonville’s former defensive coordinator. Dimitroff is New England’s former director of college scouting.
Local Sports
Falcons aiming high
- Local Sports
-
-
Wildcats close spring practice
VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Wildcats put their finishing touches on spring practice Saturday night with the playing of their annual spring game at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.
No score was kept in the game, but the Wildcats did play best-on-best, pitting the starting offense against the starting defense. -
Ely backs out of VHS softball job
VALDOSTA — Two months ago, the Valdosta High School softball team received a huge burst of excitement with the hire of Kristina Ely. -
Fans welcome home champion Blazers
Much like it had done all season, the local Valdosta community showed its support for the National Champion Valdosta State softball team Sunday.
The support started when the team reached the Georgia state-line on its trip home Sunday morning when it was greeted by 13 police vehicles -
COLUMN: Blazers title win caps off another year of local sports
The Valdosta State softball teams 4-1 victory over UC-San Diego in the Division II National Championship Game capped off another season of local area sports.
The next thing to look forward to will be the start of football training camps in August. -
Valdosta teammates Foster, Bridges sign with Albany State
Valdosta basketball players Sierra Foster and LaPorchia Bridges have been teammates for years. Now they will remain teammates at the next level.
Foster and Bridges have both signed letters of intent to play basketball for Albany State next year. -
David Dean youth football camp set for May 29 start
The David Dean Youth Football Camp is quickly approaching.
The fourth annual camp will be held May 29-June 1 at the Athletic Fieldhouse off Mary Street. -
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!
The Valdosta State softball team faced all kinds of adversity throughout the national tournament. After losing to UC-San Diego in the first game of the tournament on Wednesday, the Blazers staved off four elimination games en route to an appearance in the Division II National Championship Game on Saturday afternoon.
-
VSU seniors come up big at national level
For the eight seniors on the Valdosta State softball team, Saturday’s 4-1 win in the national championship game capped off a four-year run filled with success.
-
Blazers to play on championship Saturday
The Valdosta State softball team advanced to the final day of the NCAA Division II Softball Championship Tournament following two wins on Friday.
-
VSU beats Southern Connecticut State, 6-3
Morgan Johnson hit a 3-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to carry the top-ranked Valdosta State Blazers past the Southern Connecticut Owls, 6-3, on Friday morning.
- More Local Sports Headlines
-
Wildcats close spring practice
