Dwight Freeney spent most of his Hall of Fame career with the Indianapolis Colts, who he played 11 years and 163 games for. Near the end Freeney also put in one season with the Atlanta Falcons, playing a rotational role for the 2016 team that made it to the Super Bowl.
While it may come as a surprise to some, just because a player makes the Hall of Fame doesn't necessarily mean that they know ball. Freeney does, though, and it sounds like he's still pretty plugged in to the league.
Recently Freeney was interviewed by DJ Saddiqi and answered a bunch of questions on the Colts, as well as a couple on the Falcons. Asked what Atlanta's ceiling is under new head coach Kevin Stefanski, here's what he had to say.
"When you're in a new system, new coach, it's going to take some time. I don't believe a one year fix, all of a sudden playoff contender. The good thing is they're in that division where you might have a .500 team make the playoffs. That's the good thing about that division, with Carolina and Tampa being those teams out there, and the Saints. There's no real standout balling team that you really have to worry about..."
This is usually the case - even for great coaches it's usually not until the second year that their team really takes a leap forward. It certainly was for the Seattle Seahawks, who went from nine wins to 10 in Year 1 under Mike Macdonald, then 14 and a dominant Super Bowl win in his second season.
While it may come as a surprise to some, just because a player makes the Hall of Fame doesn't necessarily mean that they know ball. Freeney does, though, and it sounds like he's still pretty plugged in to the league.
Recently Freeney was interviewed by DJ Saddiqi and answered a bunch of questions on the Colts, as well as a couple on the Falcons. Asked what Atlanta's ceiling is under new head coach Kevin Stefanski, here's what he had to say.
"When you're in a new system, new coach, it's going to take some time. I don't believe a one year fix, all of a sudden playoff contender. The good thing is they're in that division where you might have a .500 team make the playoffs. That's the good thing about that division, with Carolina and Tampa being those teams out there, and the Saints. There's no real standout balling team that you really have to worry about..."
This is usually the case - even for great coaches it's usually not until the second year that their team really takes a leap forward. It certainly was for the Seattle Seahawks, who went from nine wins to 10 in Year 1 under Mike Macdonald, then 14 and a dominant Super Bowl win in his second season.
18 days ago
