Devonta Freeman Takes Charge of 5th TC Practice

Devonta Freeman was the standout player today in the Atlanta Falcons’ 5th session of Training Camp.  Though today’s practice was sloppy for HC Dan Quinn’s standards, it was exciting to see Devonta Freeman take charge this afternoon.

Not every practice is going to run as smoothly as one would like.  The Atlanta Falcons didn’t take great care of the ball with many dropped passes, badly run routes, and other mental lapses.  But second-year Running Back Devonta Freeman led the way for the Atlanta Falcons in the 5th training camp session.

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Freeman took a big step forward today as his main competitor rookie running back Tevin Coleman was held out due to precautions surrounding his hamstring.  Again, key veteran free agent acquisition LB Brooks Reed missed valuable practice time.  This is a cause for concern as Atlanta is particularly thin at linebacker to begin with, but I’ll touch on this another time.

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Devonta Freeman wants to become a featured back for the Atlanta Falcons.  He has previously stated that he “doesn’t ever want to come off the field.”  Though it’s unrealistic, the passion to compete on every play must give Falcons fans plenty of reason to cheer on our new starting running back.

When asked about how new Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s install is going, Freeman said, “it’s challenging. But it’s going to bring the best out of us as a team.  The more we can get everybody on one page, I think in the offensive system, we could be dominant because we have the personnel.”

The way Devonta Freeman spoke about Shanahan’s offense, it seemed as if he knew every facet of the new system.  That would explain Shanahan’s confidence to allow Freeman to have more opportunities to contribute in the passing game.  Devonta ended his series of answering questions with “I trust the system.”

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As a fan of Atlanta sports, buying into “the system” sounds pretty swell.  To me, Kyle Shanahan’s offensive system is a very cerebral one, especially for the running backs.  Former OC Dirk Koetter tended to abandon parts of his offensive attack all together (tight ends and running game in 2014) if results were not immediate.

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• Atlanta Falcons: Is Devonta Freeman’s Time With Falcons Over?

I’m confident that Devonta Freeman has made the most important leap for NFL players which occurs between Years One and Two.  He realizes the opportunity he has as a second-year player to likely start for an already explosive Atlanta Falcons offense in the backfield as the primary tailback.  While I expect the competition to remain between Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman all summer, Freeman took a big lead over Coleman with his performance Wednesday at Flowery Branch.

Next: Dan Quinn: If You're Walking, You're Wrong

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