Falcons expected Freeman to emerge
FLOWERY BRANCH, GA. Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman did not show up overnight. It just seems that way.
He played on a 6-10 team in 2014 and was injured (hamstring) in training camp this year, which helped put him under cover.
But his coach, teammates, and Freeman saw his burst of six touchdowns and 209 yards rushing in two games coming. Freeman is not a sudden revelation for the 4-0 Falcons.
“I don’t know if it was a revelation or not — I knew it was there,” coach Dan Quinn said. “Maybe the first game or two we didn’t get to see it enough, and now it’s like, ‘OK, that’s the style we love and expect to see out of him.’ ”
“You can kind of tell they’re like, ‘ Who is this guy, where is he coming from?’ ” fullback Pat DiMarco said about defenses getting their first dose of Freeman.
“He’s as talented as it gets. I’ve known him for two years, and what he is doing now isn’t surprising me.”
Freeman isn’t shocked, either, even if others are. “I have always been an underdog, an underdog my whole life,” he said, “but when I did have opportunities, Imade the best of them.”
Freeman had 22 carries for 43 yards in the first two games of the season, victories against the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants. Waiting for his hamstring to heal, plus the emergence of rookie runner Tevin Coleman, put Freeman in a reserve role.
Coleman had a strong start with 80 yards against the Eagles. But when he suffered a rib injury against the Giants, Free- man became the featured back in the Falcons’ new zone-run scheme.
Freeman is the first player since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to rush for three touchdowns in each of his first two starts. He had 68 yards rushing and 81 yards receiving against the Houston Texans last Sunday, and 141 yards rushing on 30 carries and three touchdowns against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3. Freeman’s seven touchdowns lead the NFL.
“It’s been a fun ride. Nothing has changed, I’m the same person, practice hard every day,” Freeman said.
He was a 1,000-yard rusher in 2013 at Florida State and was picked in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL draft. He is excelling behind new offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s varied offense and a rebuilt of- fensive line.
The NFL can be a hard-hearted existence, but it produces players who fit nicely into a storybook. Players like Freeman.
He grew up in poverty in Miami. “I kind of had to cut frommy childhood” as he was “manning up” as a 12-year-old with his momand grandmother, he said.
Published reports said Freeman was snubbed by Miami (Fla.) in recruiting because of his height (5-8). Quarterback Jameis Winston absorbed most of the spotlight at FSU, but Freeman was accustomed by then to being an afterthought.
“Everyday life just growing up in certain neighborhoods prepare you for certain things,” Freeman said. “I can grind all day long and fight because of the circumstances I grew up in.”