Montee Ball: Veteran Presence Helps Young Falcons Backs?

The Atlanta Falcons find themselves in a possible predicament with their running game going into the regular season this coming Monday, and it could get interesting very quickly.

Going into this season, you have to imagine that the Falcons do not have a clear starting back. Those duties as of now will be split by both Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman if he isn’t dealing with hamstring problems come game time against the Eagles. The coaching staff noted that Freeman could have played in the last pre-season game if needed, but why take that risk if you could give the young back some extra time to rest?

-= Montee Ball: Atlanta Falcons Interested in RB? =-

I believe that Tevin Coleman’s draft selection signified that they not only wanted to offer depth at the RB position, but also that Freeman is not an every down back. Granted, Devonta’s skills will be greatly appreciated by the Falcons offense as he’s very versatile with his speed, cut-back ability and his hands.

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He filled in nicely for Steven Jackson when he was available last year and he will show a lot of promise for them if healthy this year, but doesn’t have the bruising size to break down defenses consistently unlike his counterpart in Tevin Coleman.

But by declaring Freeman as the full-time starter, they would be giving those duties to a guy who had a limited role last year with only one year of experience, and that could potentially be a disaster for this team even if they are trying to find a new identity.

Montee Ball would a very well-rounded addition to the Falcons, that could see their running backs group move forward as a committee. He’s already somewhat familiar with the same system that Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan runs, as he is part of the Gary Kubiak coaching tree. Kubiak is the Head Coach of the Denver Broncos.

Let’s assume that Freeman isn’t 100% ready to go in Week 1, Coleman could step in and receive the bulk of the carries. He was actually named the “starting” back this morning. You’d like to see undrafted rookie Running Back Terron Ward out of Oregon State get some carries, as he provided some good looks in pre-season for the Falcons. I believe that acquiring Montee Ball would be a much-needed acquisition for the Falcons this season, as he would supply some much-needed veteran support for the run game.

Not only would Montee Ball be able to step in immediately, he would be able to offer some much-needed insight into the Falcons new offensive scheme. Look, Montee Ball probably isn’t going to shock Falcons Fans, but he can become a difference maker and he can only help.

For a team with several unproven backs aside from Freeman, he could easily share some of the load, keeping the Falcons healthy if they are to emerge as contenders in the NFC South. With the Falcons, he can show that he may have a little more left in the tank, after failing to provide meaningful contributions to the Broncos over the past two years in a more than crowded backfield.

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Montee Ball: Veteran Presence Help Young Falcons Backs?

By Adam Greene | Sep 8, 2015

The Atlanta Falcons find themselves in a possible predicament with their running game going into the regular season this coming Monday, and it could get interesting very quickly.

More from ATL All Day