The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mack at center of turnaround
Ex-Brown solidifies Falcons’ O-line, earns first trip to playoffs.
FLOWERY BRANCH — It can’t be reported with concrete certainty that Falcons center Alex Mack didn’t use some of the free time before his first NFL playoff game to jet down to Miami and hang out shirtless on Biscayne Bay while bench-pressing Justin Bieber. “If I did, I won’t tell you,” he said coyly.
But let’s just assume he didn’t engage in the New York Giants’ postseason training regimen. That’s pretty safe, given what those around Flowery Branch think about the center whose presence has redefined an entire offensive line.
“Obviously a great player,” said the fellow who plays to Mack’s immediate left, Andy Levitre. “Very consistent. That’s the biggest thing you see about him. He’s consistent every day, every snap, every week.”
“Every play in every game means the world to Mack, that’s something he naturally has,” Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said. “Football is very important to him. The guys grav-
itate to that, they respect him, whether he talks or not. Just the way he goes about his process every single day. He was the exact same way in Cleveland, even when things weren’t going good.”
It is rather difficult to break through that concrete block wall of constancy to arrive at just how personally significant Saturday’s playoff game is to Mack.
He’ll give you the ol’ “It is like any other game” routine — actually, those were precisely his words.
“The rules are the same. (The Seattle Seahawks) are going to be a really good defense and they’re going to try really hard, but that’s what you’d expect of them any game. I don’t see any reason to treat this as any different,” he said.
But consider that the guy spent his first seven professional seasons in Cleveland, meaning his odds of playing in the postseason were roughly equal to those of him dancing the lead with the Bolshoi. His Browns failed to win even 30 percent of the time (28-68, .292) during his years in town, as they changed quarterbacks the way the queen changes hats.
For someone who has given so completely of himself to football, isn’t it about time that football gave something back (other than the $4 million he’ll make snapping the ball to Matt Ryan)?
Mack is in some serious need of a few winning collectibles. The collection of helmets he’s traded for during his three Pro Bowl appearances makes for some nice decor, but it’s nothing that screams championship.
In high school, his Santa Barbara, Calif., squad never made it out of the first round of the playoffs. He ranked second in the state as a wrestler, though.
At Cal, he did have four bowl victories, but those Holiday Bowl and Emerald Bowl triumphs don’t have a real lasting glow.
Even the Draddy Trophy, the so-called “academic Heisman” that he won in 2008, is three time zones out of reach. “The Draddy is still at Cal. I need to collect that,” he said, making a mental note.
When Mack escaped Cleveland and signed as a free agent with the Falcons last March, he was coming to a team that had been three years out of the playoffs, and with only one postseason victory since the 2005 season. But he liked what he saw, shopping Atlanta like an ambitious house-flipper, with potential in mind.
You play football long enough in Cleveland, finding a better place where there is even a flicker of optimism becomes a blazing priority. And having witnessed from between his legs the carnival that broke out behind him with the Browns, Mack had one non-negotiable requirement.
“That was a big deal, to be a contender. And for that you need a quarterback,” Mack said, nodding in the direction of the neighboring locker, where Ryan lives.
“I wanted to be a part of a successful offense,” he said. “It has been really fun year to have a lot of success on offense, put up a lot of points, drive down the field a lot. A really enjoyable year.”
This offense led the NFL in scoring (nearly 34 points per game), and set a franchise record for yardage. The bio hints at the skills that Mack lent this outpouring. The one-time wrestler can leverage opponents up and down the defensive line. The brain from Cal has taken undisputed leadership of the line and eliminated any possible confusion with the way he has handled line calls and snap-count changes. Doing, as Shanahan put it, “Those things that add a calmness to the overall offense.”
“We don’t have any issues with our communication, and a big part of that is because of him,” tackle Ryan Schraeder said.
Around Mack an offensive line that, remarkably, has started the same five players for all 16 games this season has coalesced. If not a renowned unit, it is at least a useful one. That much will be the minimum needed Sunday against a Seattle defense that ranks third in the NFL in sacks and this season held Atlanta to 52 yards rushing in Week 6.
Turns out there is life after Cleveland. While this is the time of year when his body is usually telling him, “Time to shut it down, big fella,” Mack has in front of him the most meaningful game he’s played in eight years as a pro.
And if Mack is not careful, he’s also going to leave behind the obscurity that comes with wearing the basic Browns uniform. All these kind things people are saying about him tend to ring so much louder in the postseason. Someone might actually hear them now.
“Yeah, that could be dangerous,” he said, pretty much shrugging off the whole this-experience-is-extraordinary package.