There’s nothing that’s easy about selecting players in the NFL Draft. Sure, the first round offers a great crop of talent, but even that’s a challenging task for an NFL general manager and his scouting staff.

The real art of drafting, however, occurs in the later rounds, when finding that elusive diamond in the rough is what every GM hopes for. Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff has shown prowess in those later rounds in his time in Atlanta.

With three seventh-round picks in 2013′s NFL Draft, Dimitroff had the ability to show once again that there’s talent to be found late on the third day, and he did so by drafting two safeties and a quarterback.

Central Florida’s Kemal Ishmael, the first of those three picks, looks to have all the potential in the world on paper and comes into next week’s start of OTAs with a solid college career, specifically in the tackling department.

Ishmael, in fact, was called one of the surest tacklers in the 2013 draft by Dimitroff — extremely high praise for a seventh-rounder.

Here’s why: Ishmael finished his four year career at UCF with 368 total tackles — good enough to be the Knights’ all-time leader in tackles among defensive backs and the third player in UCF history to lead the team in tackles three times during his college career.

Sure, the argument can be made that tackles are a subjective stat and kept differently everywhere, but to be in position to be credited with 368 career tackles is still a feat.

For comparison, Falcons safeties William Moore earned 280 in four years at Missouri and Thomas DeCoud had 115 in three years at Cal. Linebacker Akeem Dent had 240 at Georgia in four years and Sean Weatherspoon edged out Ishmael with 406 total tackles in four years at Missouri.

With two Pro Bowl safeties in Moore and DeCoud ahead of him, Ishmael looks like a strong contender to make an impact on special teams with his tackling skills. He’s certainly one to keep an eye on as the offseason rolls on.

For weeks and weeks and weeks, draft experts fall all over each other to project first-round picks in their mock drafts leading up to the end of April. For each general manager in the league, however, there are little tipoffs that will tell you the different things they value in a potential pick.

After five full drafts and one round of his sixth, Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff’s key value in prospects is becoming more and more clear, and it’s leadership.

With the 22nd overall pick Thursday night, Dimitroff selected the 34th senior he’s taken since 2008 and the 18th team captain. Here’s a list of team captains Dimitroff has selected in his tenure with the Falcons:

• Matt Ryan
• Sam Baker
• Thomas DeCoud
• Peria Jerry
• William Moore
• Garrett Reynolds
• Sean Weatherspoon
• Corey Peters
• Mike Johnson
• Kerry Meier
• Shann Schillinger
• Akeem Dent
• Cliff Matthews
• Andrew Jackson
• Lawrence Sidbury
• Christopher Owens
• Lamar Holmes
• Desmond Trufant

A lot of fans have been asking about the captain’s “C” patch they saw on a couple of jerseys during Sunday’s divisional round win over Seattle, and the patches have been placed on select jerseys because the Falcons have voted for their 2012 captains.

The Falcons and Packers are the only teams in the NFL that do things a little backwards in that they vote for their captains of the year at the end of the season as opposed to the beginning of the season.

That’s why you never see the captain’s patch during the regular season.

After the season, the team voted on captains and head coach Mike Smith decided he wanted the patches on the jerseys of those who were voted to the honor: Matt Ryan and Todd McClure for offense, Sean Weatherspoon and Jonathan Babineaux for defense and Matt Bryant for special teams.

You may have also noticed the stars below the “C” on the patch. Each star represents the number of years that player has been a captain. For example, Ryan and McClure have four stars while Weatherspoon and Babineaux have one.

The five will be the standing captains for the rest of the postseason.

Sunday afternoon around 3:55 p.m. felt like deja vu.

The Falcons had the game in hand only to have the opponent storm back and take a lead. Matt Ryan hits the field. There’s not much time. There’s not much chance. There’s not much hope.

Yet, somehow, someway, the Falcons find a way to win.

We’ve seen this kind of story before, just different versions of it. Go back to 2010. Games with San Francisco, Baltimore, Green Bay to name a few. Go to this year, with games like the first Carolina matchup, Oakland, Arizona.

What better way for the Falcons to get the playoff monkey off their backs and Ryan’s first postseason win than by doing it in similar fashion?

“I think it definitely helps you because you’ve been in that situation before,” linebacker Sean Weatherspoon said after the game. “Ultimately, you want to go in there and put them away and keep them down, but today we didn’t. Next week, we’ll try harder to do that.”

Regardless, a win is a win, and there is no bigger this season than the 30-28 win that came Sunday in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Heading into next week, the Falcons will face a very tough San Francisco team that looks eerily similar to Seattle — young quarterback, strong running back, tough defense.

And if it’s going to be close, the confidence is there on the Falcons’ sideline

“We’ve done this before. That’s all there is to it. We’ve done this before. It’s not like it’s the first time we’ve seen this. It’s not like we didn’t know we could do it, because we’ve done it before,” said kicker Matt Bryant, who nailed the 49-yard field goal that proved to be the game-winner. “And we can do it again.”

Sean Weatherspoon’s eyes opened real wide as a surprised look came over his face. Asked what he thought about the Falcons defense being ranked No. 4 in the league in points allowed per game, Weatherspoon’s surprise quickly turned to pride as he realized just what that meant.

“Really? I think it’s cool. I think that’s the ultimate stat on defense,” Weatherspoon said Thursday. “You don’t want to give up a lot of points because you put that pressure on your offense. We do have a great offense, and sometimes they save us so we’re thankful for that but we definitely want to keep that stat down. We’re trying to get it to where we can move up a little more.”

For a defense that has been much maligned in the national media for apparently not being good enough, sitting in the top 5 in arguably the most important defensive stat ain’t too shabby.

Overlooked because total defense rank is measured by yards given up per game, the Falcons feel like they’ve been good enough all along — it’s just that no one really noticed what was really important in their equation.

Yes, the Falcons give up a lot of yards per game compared to the rest of the league — an average of 354.4 which puts them at 19th in the NFL — but the fact that the unit has allowed just 18.5 points per game is truly the key to the Falcons being 12-2.

“It’s the most important defensive stat,” head coach Mike Smith said of defensive points per game. “We talk about it all the time. Much like you can have empty calories eating, you can have empty yards in the game of football. You can give up a lot of yards and if you don’t give up points they don’t really amount to anything. So many times I think people want to talk about the best defenses are the ones that give up the fewest yards, it’s really all about points and our guys have done a very nice job this year. We’re starting to trend in the right direction at the right time.”

Shutting out the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants with an offense that contains stars like Eli Manning and Victor Cruz is a good start, but the Falcons have consistently been able to keep teams out of the end zone by either forcing punts, turnovers or field goals when it matters most.

But because of their middle-of-the-road placement in all other major defensive statistics, the Falcons defense has been overlooked in the conversation of best units in the league, or even the NFC for that matter.

Here’s a look at what the Falcons have done on defense this year:

To the Falcons, those categories that have the unit at the middle of the pack aren’t nearly as important as the one that directly influences wins and losses.

“Oh, definitely, because it means teams aren’t scoring a lot of points against you,” cornerback Dunta Robinson said. “I don’t care if we’re giving up 500 yards a game. If we can keep people out of the end zone, then we’ve done our job and we take pride in that.”

The Falcons couldn’t really put a consensus finger on what one thing has been the biggest key in scoring situations. Whether it’s disguising defenses (as pointed out by SI’s look at Mike Nolan’s scheme) or the swagger that the team has thanks to the offseason addition of Asante Samuel, the Falcons find that there are a lot of different things that have come together at the right time to build an attitude that the defense will not be scored against.

“We’ve all struggled together and put in the hard work,” defensive tackle Vance Walker said. “It’s just one of those things where we have to realize that we can let them get in. We’ve got to basically look each other in the eye and be like, ‘That’s it. They’re not going to get in. It’s over with.’ “

Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon has taken major leaps forward in his three years since coming in as a highly-touted defensive player, and he has taken an even bigger step forward this year.

As D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote this week, Spoon received the honor of calling the defensive plays this season, and 13 games into the season, he has fully embraced the leadership role, he told Ledbetter:

“It’s cool. It takes a little bit out of you because you have to communicate so much. It’s something that I like doing. I love being able to hear coach in the huddle”

Head coach Mike Smith said that calling the defensive plays and hearing the coaches in his helmet is not something that’s given to just anyone. It’s a responsibility that has to be earned.

“Sean has definitely earned it,” Smith said. “He has definitely become the leader of our defense. By far, has the most responsibility because he’s got to get the signals in, and he’s got to get people lined up and I think he’s adjusted to it well. We missed him early in the season and I think he’s really starting to get back in stride.”

The Atlanta Falcons held their third annual Community Honors dinner where they recognized the Community Quarterback and Community All-Star winners, as well as announcing the 2012 Walter Payton Man of the Year award winner.

That winner, it was announced Monday night, is punter Matt Bosher.

The Atlanta Falcons Man of the Year award recognizes a player’s off-the-field community service. Each team in the NFL nominates one player from their organization for this prestigious honor. The winner will be considered in the final selection of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award which will be announced during halftime of the Super Bowl XLVII.

“Receiving an award like this is truly humbling,” Bosher said. “I am very lucky and appreciate all the Atlanta Falcons organization has done to provide me with opportunities to give back to the community. Since my first day as an NFL player I have learned that I have the ability to make a difference.”

Along with Bosher, the other nominees were Kevin Cone, Stephen Nicholas and Sean Weatherspoon.

The event was also scheduled to be attended by past Man of the Year winners Morten Andersen, Scott Case, Buddy Curry, Brian Finneran, Michael Haynes, Mike Kenn, Ovie Mughelli and Christopher Owens.

Last year’s winner, defensive tackle Corey Peters, had the honor of announcing Bosher as the winner.

With Doug Martin as the next running back up, the Falcons defense knew it had to have Sean Weatherspoon back from an ankle injury that kept him out the previous three games.

After declaring himself ready on Wednesday, Spoon came into Raymond James Stadium fired up and high on the emotions of being back on the field.

Clearly a shot in the arm for a Falcons run defense that has struggled at times, Spoon helped lead an effort that kept Martin to just 50 yards on 21 carries, his second lowest output of his impressive rookie year.

What’s more: Spoon is back and feeling good.

“Yeah, I felt good. I feel like I’m there,” Weatherspoon said. “I just have to keep working. Every now and then I’d step in the ground a little bit awkward but, I felt good.”

Things were looking up for LB Sean Weatherspoon on Wednesday and then took a turn Thursday as he was listed on the Piedmont Healthcare Injury Report as “Did Not Participate” with the same ankle injury that kept him out the past three games plus an illness, which is new to the report.

Samuel also did not practice Thursday, the second day in a row for him. Still no word yet if he’ll be available for Sunday’s game against the Bucs.

In a bit of good news, WR Julio Jones went from not practicing Wednesday to limited participation Thursday.

Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon spoke to the media for the first time in weeks Wednesday afternoon, and before stepping in front of the cameras, he stepped into a large brown jumpsuit he called his “coming-back-to-work-suit.”

Shortly after, Spoon proclaimed that he’s back.

“Yeah, I’m ready to go,” Weatherspoon said. “I’ll be out there at practice today.”

Weatherspoon missed the past three games due to an ankle injury suffered against Philadelphia. There was a thought that Spoon would return last week against Arizona, but he shot that down.

“I don’t think I was that close,” he said. “But I feel a lot better this week.”

Head coach Mike Smith said during his weekly day-after press conference that the injury outlook this week looks much better than it has in past weeks, even after Julio Jones, Asante Samuel and Peria Jerry all went out with injuries during Sunday’s win over the Cardinals.

Peria Jerry left the game with a thigh injury in the second half while Julio Jones left the game for a while with what appeared to be a re-aggravation of the ankle injury that kept him out of practice all last week.

Samuel left the game in the first half with a shoulder injury and went to the locker room, not returning to the sideline until after halftime. He spent the first part of the third quarter there, but returned to the game for a few plays only to again be pulled due to the injured shoulder.

“Asante came back in and was able to come back and participate,” Smith said. “He was in getting treatment this morning and we will see how he feels on Wednesday before we’ll be able to give a report. I will say this: We’re feeling much more confident about the guys who were scratches because of health reasons in the ballgame last week.”

Smith said during his postgame press conference Sunday that he was expecting LB Sean Weatherspoon — who has missed the past three games with an ankle injury — to return to practice this week.

Falcons fans were hoping for some better — or at least clearer — news today, but the Falcons’ Piedmont Healthcare Injury Report provides neither as the team heads into the weekend’s matchup with Arizona.

LB Sean Weatherspoon and WR Julio Jones did not practice again Friday, but both are listed as questionable to participate in Sunday’s game.

Along with Spoon and Jones, DE John Abraham, RB Michael Turner and DT Vance Walker are questionable with injuries.

WR Kevin Cone and S Charles Mitchell have both been ruled out of Sunday’s game.

On the Cardinals’ side, QB Kevin Kolb has been ruled out of the game, meaning QB John Skelton will likely get the nod under center.

Head coach Mike Smith said Julio Jones and Sean Weatherspoon were again held out of practice Thursday, but is pleased with the progress both are making in returning from ankle injuries.

Smith said that a decision on whether each will play could come down to the last possible moment, which would be kickoff of Sunday’s game against the Cardinals at the Georgia Dome.

“These guys are so close and moving in the right direction that we’ll make a determination as late as we possibly can,” Smith said. “We can do it as late as we possibly can. They’re working hard to get back and we’re hoping that they’ll continue to progress (Friday), Saturday and Sunday morning.”

Smith said he doesn’t have a rule where if players don’t participate in Wednesday and Thursday practice that they won’t be available for the following game.

Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon and wide receiver Julio Jones were held out of practice Wednesday as both are recovering from injuries.

Weatherspoon, who has missed the past two games with an ankle injury, made progress Wednesday as he began running with the athletic performance group.

“He moved around. We’ll ramp that up (Thursday) and see how he feels in the morning,” Smith said. “Then, we’ll determine what his workload will be for (Thursday).”

Asked if the game was tomorrow, would Weatherspoon be ready, Smith said he couldn’t speak to that, but said that Weatherspoon had a good workout Wednesday. Weatherspoon told Smith he was excited about what he got accomplished with the athletic performance team today.

Smith said he wanted to keep Jones off his feet today and that he’ll be evaluated Thursday to see how much work he can do. Jones left Sunday’s game with a leg injury but returned in the second half and played the rest of the game.

Jones is listed on today’s Piedmont Healthcare Injury Report as having an ankle injury.

Head coach Mike Smith said during his Monday news conference that he’s confident that he’ll get linebacker Sean Weatherspoon back into the mix on the field this week.

Weatherspoon has been out since suffering an ankle injury during a win over the Eagles in Week 8. He has missed the past two games with the injury.

“I am optimistic,” Smith said. “Sean’s worked extremely hard. He will get an opportunity over the next 48 hours to do some field work and hopefully we’ll see where he’s at and get him on the field on Wednesday, but he’s done a nice job in his rehab.”

For the second week in a row, linebacker Sean Weatherspoon will be held out of a game with an ankle injury, head coach Mike Smith said Thursday.

Weatherspoon suffered the ankle injury against the Eagles in Week 8 and sat out of last Sunday’s win over the Cowboys.

Smith had hope that Weatherspoon would be back practicing by the end of the week with the hope that he may be a game-time decision for Sunday’s 1 p.m. game against New Orleans at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

“We felt like Sean would be a real, real stretch these first two weeks and feel like he’s making progress,” Smith said. “He’ll be looking to get back out here the first part of next week. We’ll keep him in the training room the rest of this week.”

LB Mike Peterson will likely take over for Weatherspoon in base defense and LB Akeem Dent will likely play for Weatherspoon in sub packages.

Smith announced that WR Kevin Cone would not play against the Saints, as well.

Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, who left last Sunday’s game against the Eagles with an ankle injury, will not play against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, head coach Mike Smith announced Thursday.

WR Kevin Cone has also been ruled out of the game.

Smith said Mike Peterson will play weakside linebacker in the base defense and Akeem Dent will step into the role in the sub defense.

Falcons fans are holding their breath, waiting to hear determination on whether or not linebacker Sean Weatherspoon will play in Sunday’s game against Dallas. They won’t have to wait much longer.

Head coach Mike Smith said Weatherspoon’s status for Sunday will be decided Thursday after another 24 hours or so to work and heal up. Smith said Weatherspoon was held in the training room during practice Wednesday — and was designated on the Piedmont Healthcare Injury Report as “Did Not Participate” — and is working as hard as he can to be ready to go for Sunday night.

“We want to get him out, see if they can get out here and do something tomorrow,” Smith said. “Sean is a great patient. Just like he’s a great football player, he’s a great patient. If (the training room is) open, he’s there getting treatment… I’ve been very impressed with how those guys (Weatherspoon, Kevin Cone and Garrett Reynolds) have attacked their rehabilitation.”

Weatherspoon left Sunday’s 30-17 win over the Eagles in the second half with an ankle injury.

Head coach Mike Smith held his Monday press conference with the media after Sunday’s 30-17 win over Philadelphia. Here are some of the highlights:

• An update on Sean Weatherspoon’s injury status will come Wednesday. Spoon left the game in the second half and did not return.
• The weather on Sunday in Philadelphia was rough at times with Hurricane Sandy coming up the East Coast. Smith, however, knew the Falcons could play in whatever the elements threw at them: “There in the second half, it did get a little tough and I thought our guys handled it extremely well. … We handled the weather conditions. I don’t think we’re a ‘dome’ team. I think we’ve got some mudders on our team that can go out and play in the elements.”
• Rookie Peter Konz stepped in Sunday to play right guard with Garrett Reynolds out with a back injury. Active for the game, Reynolds was kept on the sideline as Smith went with Konz. The rookie performed very well as Smith was pleased with how he did. Smith said Konz took most of the snaps at RG during practice last week. The right guard position will be determined as the Falcons go through the week, but Smith added, “I know this: We’ve got a guy that can go in and play in a big ballgame that’s a rookie, and that’s a positive thing.”
• Smith was surprised at how the Falcons were able to take the usually hostile Lincoln Financial Field crowd out of the game early. The Falcons went up 21-7 in the first half and never looked back. Smith said it was important for the Falcons to get the crowd out of the game and added that it was more apparent in this game than any other that they had done that. “It got very quiet. After the first two series, I don’t think we had any issues with having to go to a silent count. We were able to communicate most of the day.”
• DT Corey Peters returned to action after being sidelined for the first six games of the season with a foot injury. Smith said he envisioned Peters to be on a 15-25 snap limit for Sunday’s game. Peters played 20 as the Falcons bring him along gradually.
• Game balls were given to Kroy Biermann and Drew Davis for their performances Sunday. Biermann had seven tackles and a sack. Davis caught the first touchdown of his NFL career against the Eagles.
• Smith had a great quote about depth here: “That’s the great thing about our locker room: We’ve got a great locker room. We don’t have 11 starters, and I’ve said that from the very beginning. We are going to be very multiple in what we do on all sides of the ball, including special teams, and it’s going to be dictated how we defend people and how we attack people by how they try and attack us.”
• Smith called Sunday’s run defense performance the best of the season and credited last week’s Monday practice on the basics of football as the reason why tackling and angle issues were shored up Sunday. Smith called it “remedial, 8th grade football,” but said it was necessary to go back to fundamentals last week and work on just the Falcons instead of trying to prepare for an opponent.

Head coach Mike Smith said he will have an update on linebacker Sean Weatherspoon’s injury status Wednesday, saying during his Monday news conference that he’d have a better idea of where he is later in the week.

Weatherspoon left Sunday’s game in the second half with an ankle injury.

“Sean is in the training room and we’ll have a more concrete idea of where he’s at after practice (Wednesday),” Smith said Monday. “He did sustain an ankle injury in the ballgame.”

Smith said Kevin Cone also suffered an ankle injury Sunday and will have an update on him, Weatherspoon and WR Harry Douglas — who missed Sunday’s game with a knee and ankle injury — on Wednesday.

UPDATE 5:25 p.m. – Head coach Mike Smith told D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Weatherspoon suffered a low ankle sprain.

William Moore’s phone lights up. A new text message appears.

On the other end is former Missouri teammate and current Eagles WR Jeremy Maclin.

The message on Moore’s phone is simple: “Y’all be ready.”

“You already know that I sent him the W.A.R text message — Willy Mo always ready,” Moore said Wednesday. “He already knows that, but J-Mac is a heck of an athlete. I know what he can do personally, but we’re prepared.”

This will be the third time the former Missouri Tigers have faced each other, along with linebacker Sean Weatherspoon. Maclin’s history against the Falcons is one the two defensive players would probably like to forget.

Last year, Maclin burned the Falcons to the tune of 13 catches for 171 yards and two touchdowns in a losing effort at the Georgia Dome. The year before at Lincoln Financial Field, Maclin was good for seven catches for 159 yards and two scores.

“I think Jeremy has good size, good speed. He’s a real competitive guy,” Weatherspoon said. “I’ve known him for a while. He hates to lose. He really takes it personally, so I think that’s what makes him such a good player.”

Along with DeSean Jackson, Maclin provides a formidable offensive force the Falcons will have to contend with Sunday. Until then, the two former Missouri Tigers wearing black and red will have to contend with more of Maclin’s texts.

“I got a few texts. I don’t really want to really talk about it too much. It’s a personal game for me,” Weatherspoon said before carefully selecting his next words. “It’s a personal game. I look forward to going out there and competing.”

If you were to ask several Falcons on the current roster where they were the last time Atlanta earned a win in the City of Brotherly Love, what kind of answer would you expect?

“I was 3 years old,” safety Thomas DeCoud said Monday. “I probably still had my binky, because I didn’t give up my binky until I was about 5. I actually told my mom, ‘You can take my bottle, but you can’t have my binky,’ so we were probably having that conversation.”

Yeah, it’s been that long. Gas was $1.08 a gallon, stamps were $.22, Todd McClure was in third grade, Sean Weatherspoon wasn’t even a year old and Trapper Keepers were, like, totally rad.

It was 1988 when the Falcons last won in Philadelphia — a 27-24 victory on Oct. 30 decided by a Chris-Miller-to-Michael-Haynes 49-yard touchdown pass at Veterans Stadium.

The Falcons’ longest tenured member at the moment, McClure says he was 11 years old then.

“For the record, I wasn’t playing in 1988,” McClure said with a laugh. “It’s a tough placed to play and they’ve always got good teams. I think we’ve got the team that can go up there and get the win, but it’s going to be a challenge.”

The Falcons won’t be thinking about history during those 60 minutes come Sunday, but the victory drought in Philadelphia comes at an interesting time. The Falcons have done something they’ve never done before — started a season 6-0 — this year and they’ll be looking to keep that going Sunday. In turn, they could rewrite their unfortunate Philadelphia history.

“I love breaking barriers. We’ve been breaking barriers this year,” Weatherspoon said, 23 years older and wiser since the last win in Philly. “This is just another one. We want to go out there and take care of business.”

Several Falcons spoke during the media’s open locker room period Monday, and the hot topic was the Falcons’ tackling struggles against the Raiders before the bye. Here’s a sampling of what they had to say:

• DT Vance Walker on his success this year: “I guess, I’d say just my experience. This is my fourth year and I see things a lot easier now. Everything’s kind of slowed down. Also, my training regimen, just training hard all offseason, which I had been doing the past couple of years, but everything is just falling into place for me. I think it’s just a testament to how hard I worked in the past.”
• RB Michael Turner on what the coaching staff communicated to the team after their self-scout: “It wasn’t just about the running game. It was about all sorts of things, all areas that we want to improve on. We’re 6-0 and we’ve still got room for improvement, so we’ll be fine.”
• DE Ray Edwards on the tackling issues: “All of us have been playing football since we were probably 10 years old. We know how to tackle. We’ve just got to do it.”
• C Todd McClure on the importance of time of possession in a hostile environment this weekend: “I think it’s really important. I think the bottom line is to score one more point than they do. But it is going to be a loud environment. They’ve got a great defense that can rush the passer, guys that love to do that. They love to put their hand down when it’s third-down-and-long and try to disrupt the passing game, so it’s definitely going to be a challenge for us and one that we’re ready for.”
• S Thomas DeCoud on having fewer missed tackles: “I think, now, we have the technique of tackling. Once we make contact, we know how to do that. But I think now it’s more so just our path to the ball. The speed of the game is a lot faster and it’s faster than it’s ever been before, so guys can eat up angles or make you wrong once you get on your way to the ball, so it’s more about the path to the ball and making sure we have the correct angles once we’re entering contact.”
• LB Sean Weatherspoon on the biggest point of emphasis against Philadelphia: “We’ve got to tackle. We’ll have the opportunities. We’ll be faced with some of the things that we’ve been faced with in the games previously, so they’ll watch tape and see things they think they can do against us and it’ll just be up to us to go out there and make sure we hit them whenever we have those opportunities.”

Whether it was the travel, the third straight game on the road or just getting used to the quickened pace of the regular season, players struggled Monday to put their finger on what caused the slow defensive start, but one thing is for sure: Settling down at halftime made all the difference.

“That was big to go out and play like we can play,” said linebacker Stephen Nicholas, who put together the most impressive defensive performance of the day with 12 tackles, two passes defensed, an interception and a fumble recovery. “We came out a little sluggish and didn’t get things done. But the second half, Coach (Mike Nolan) came in and made some adjustments and just told us to play like we can play, and that’s what we did the second half.”

That style of play came with plenty of enthusiasm and energy as the second half defense looked like a brand new unit against the Chiefs. The Falcons were able to get to QB Matt Cassel in the second half, as well as create turnovers.

The Chiefs had three straight offensive drives Sunday that ended with Falcons turnovers, and safety William Moore had one of the biggest. A pass tipped by Sean Weatherspoon tumbled to the ground, where Moore was able to dive out and snag it before it hit the ground.

A big play like that does big things for the team psyche.

“That momentum I was talking about,” Moore said Monday. “First half, we came out — I wouldn’t say a little dry — but we had to get our mojo going, and we came out in the second half swinging. If you see, Coach (Mike) Smith did a great job of preparing us, but we have to come out firing from the first quarter from now on.”

The Chiefs had several glaring numbers that the Falcons will likely be paying close attention to as they prepare for the Broncos to come to town with Peyton Manning for Monday Night Football. Kansas City saw a lot of success on third down, converting 69 percent of the time. In the red zone, the Chiefs were 2-for-2.

“When we look at the film, we always critique ourselves kinda hard, you know, things we could have done better,” defensive tackle Peria Jerry said. “It was good to get a couple turnovers. The offense had it going, but we’ve got to get more stops.”

But not when he’s working against an opponent.

Back during his rookie year, Ryan was in the middle of a game against the Oakland Raiders when, through the headset of his helmet, the subtle tones of a Madonna concert soundcheck began to reverberate through his ears.

Because the Madonna concert nearby at the Oracle Arena was running off the same frequency as Ryan’s headset at the Oakland Coliseum, Ryan was privy to the cacophony of Madonna warming up while he was trying to beat the Raiders.

“We were getting a pretty good soundcheck before the game and during the game, so they switched that off,” Ryan said while speaking to the media in front of his locker Wednesday. “I thought I was getting Punk’d at that point, but that was actually one of the craziest things that’s ever happened. You’re out there, getting ready, waiting for a play call to come in and you’ve got music in your ear. It’s something different.”

A recent switch by the NFL from analog to digital headsets virtually ensures that Ryan will never have to experience something like that again — regardless of whether he enjoys Madonna’s music or not. The crisp, digital result will clean up communication across the league.

Along with Ryan enjoying the digital difference will be the two other quarterbacks and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon.

“They’re clear,” Ryan said of the quality. “It’s not like a walkie-talkie in your helmet anymore, so it’s more like a cell phone.”

Also, make sure to follow the official Falcons Instagram account @atlantafalcons.

Early morning at the Falcons’ Flowery Branch facility

Signage at the front gates

Flags greet fans at the entrance to camp

A beautiful day for football

Fans pour through the gates

A camp sign stands in front of the flag pole

Fans line the field early to get as close as they can to their team

WR Julio Jones takes the field

WR Harry Douglas comes out of a route

Sean Weatherspoon smiles as he jogs it off to the next drill

A moment before impact

Two fans show off their Falcons pride

Tony Gonzalez is always getting in extra work

The punt block drill is always a favorite for great photos

Spoon looks on from the sideline

WR Drew Davis attacks the sled

WR Roddy White makes a one-handed snag

With his black visor, Roddy casts an imposing figure against a blue sky

You don’t want none of LB Mike Peterson

A familiar view for anyone who traveled to the top of the hill next to the fields

Julio looks a pass into his hands

Harry warms up with his teammates

Freddie Falcon tries his hand — errr… wing — at running AtlantaFalcons.com

Storm clouds gather before practice

Rain dots a helmet as the Falcons practice through the weather

Friday Night Lights provided a beautiful sky as the Falcons practiced in front of thousands

Jay Adams: Let’s start out with Sean Weatherspoon. He’s a guy, when he was brought in, that is turning into what he was meant to be. Have you seen a major progression in him since his rookie year?

Glenn Pires: Yeah, I think he’s a guy that, as he gets more experience and more reps and experiences different things, he really learns. He’s a one-time guy. He gets it one time and he’s off and running. His assets are his speed — he’s an explosive guy — and once he gets it, he gets it. In terms of what you’re saying, yes, because every time we get a new play, a new experience, a new route, he learns it — bang! — and now he’s rolling.

JA: Without Mike Peterson in the mix and with Curtis Lofton leaving in the offseason, do you see Sean stepping up more as a vocal leader?

GP: Yeah, and I think he had that last year, too. I think we could definitely feel that a year ago, but the good news is, now it’s other guys, as well. It’s not just him. Now it’s Akeem Dent, Robert James, Spencer Adkins, Lofa Tatupu — all those guys are now going to come together and they’re going to see Sean as a leader at some point, but they’re a good group. They all work together.

JA: Because you’ve got such a young group as a whole, does that make Lofa Tatupu’s experience that much more valuable?

GP: I think so, yeah. And he’s really embraced that. He’s a great guy. He’s like a coach on the sideline and he knows the value of helping everybody. That’s going to make everyone better. He’s a good, good veteran that way.

JA: The battle between Lofa and Akeem for the middle linebacker spot is going to be a fun one to watch. Do you see that going through camp?

GP: It’s going to be one, and I think it’s going to be a very healthy battle. We’ve got two quality guys. We’ve got two team guys, and however it goes, they’re going to work together through the whole process, and that’s what’s very healthy about it.

JA: You evaded it all year last year and even had the group chase you through the locker room, so the question is: Will we see you on D-Block this year?

GP: Well, I’m doing this interview with you now, which is probably one of the last ones you’re going to have for the whole year, so I like to be low key (laughing). My theory is to let them do all the talking.

Jay Adams: In the earlier stages of the offseason, what are some of the things you look for out of your players and how much was that time used to acquaint yourself with the personnel you’ve got to work with?

Mike Nolan: First off, what I’d like to see out of them is a lot of energy, and there is energy. There’s always excitement, I think, in a new system. Outside of that, the thing I think that both groups — the players and the coaches — are always working on at this time is trust in one another. The players are working on the trust around them, and so are the coaches. It’s kind of a deep topic, but at the same time, that’s going on 24/7. If the guys can really trust the things around them and the scheme, it helps them be a good player, which is what they’re learning right now. They buy into it a little bit more. At some point, hopefully they take ownership of it and then it really takes off, but in these early stages, you’re just trying to get them to learn the system, learn the language and in the process, build a lot of trust and accountability among all the players.

JA: I’ve heard a couple of veteran players remark already that they’re able to get your system down to the point where they’re able to play it fast. How much, as a player, does feeling confident in a system go into playing in a way that is almost instinctual?

MN: I think it’s really key. It’s vital to being really good. There’s a lot of good schemes in the NFL, but if the guys don’t execute it fast and they’re thinking about it and all that stuff, then you might have a good bag of tricks but it’s not working because there’s too much thinking going on. You have to get it to the point where, first off, you have to simplify the teaching. You can’t have 10 different words for the same thing and you can’t have words mean absolutely nothing. There has to be that to play fast, so I’d like to think it’s that, but again, it’s a process. There’s some things we play faster than other right now because they’ve done them maybe before, but there’s some new things we need to play fast that, in the process, that’s really our goal through all these OTAs and training camp and minicamp. To be honest with you, some teams don’t gel until the middle of the season. I’ve been a part of those several times and that’s just the way it is. But as we all know, we’re trying to finish the race good as much as start it, but the finish is the important thing. But I think you can get to that point a lot quicker — what I mean is get to that experience, play fast, play quick — if it’s easy to learn and we’re teaching it right, they’re studying it, learning it and we have good players.

JA: How would you describe your personel style on coaching pro athletes as someone who has been around them for most of your life?

MN: Coaching is parenting. It really is, and if the players know you love them and you’re trying to give them the best, you can have any style you want. But if they know you love them, they pretty much buy what you’re giving them, but if they think you’re selfish or if they think what you’re doing is covering your own tail and they see you don’t support them and things like that, they don’t buy it. I don’t care how nice you are, how mean you are, how loud you are, how quiet you are. I think young people really see that, so in my opinion, they’ve got to know you care but that’s not one day, two days — that’s a process. It’s no different than us with the players. There’s certain players I feel I can trust better than others. They all have their different personalities, but I’ve got to know that they’re buying in so I can give them more, and if they’re not, then I’ve got to know why it is. If it’s my fault they’re not buying in or a coach’s fault, we’ve got to get that corrected, meaning if that guy doesn’t trust that coach, then something’s not gelling on that thing. Like I said, coaching is parenting, in my opinion, 100 percent, and they need to know you love them. I’ve seen guys just cuss players unmercifully and think, ‘Oh, my God,’ but the player just knows it’s a bunch of hot air and they know that coach supports them and loves them, and they buy it so it doesn’t bother them. But I’ve seen some other guys use some language and they kind of go, ‘Hey, Coach, you’re not going to do that to me,’ so it has to do with the relationship between the two. That’s one thing all my year’s have taught me and that’s really true.

JA: You said back when you were hired by the Falcons that you’d rather have 10 guys with four sacks than four guys with 10 sacks. How do you put players in the position to have that kind of success across the board, and do you feel like you have the personnel here to do that?

MN: I don’t know. That’s something I can’t answer. That’s one of the things that, while they’re learning about me, I’m learning about them, too. But I’ll take either one. That’s what scheme’s all about. Scheme is second; players are first, and the scheme you use needs to utilize your players. Some guys can pressure and you want to use them; some guys aren’t very good blitzers. Some guys are better at covering, some guys are better at man — everybody has a bit of a strength, and if you stick them all in a box and say they can or can’t do this or that, that can be a mistake also, so it’s real important that you identify guys properly and the better you do that, and the better you do using the scheme, which is nothing more than a bunch of tools, then you put together a pretty good deal. Like I’ve said, it’s a process all the time. There’s things I feel better about today than I did two months ago, but in two months from now, I should feel a little bit better, as well. I’m hoping, anyhow, as long as the guys stay the same. Injuries and a lot of stuff comes into play, but it’s a process and it’s fun. They learn and get better, and so do we.

JA: Sean Weatherspoon in his first two years has really come a long way. In your short time that you’ve been around him, what do you see as the ceiling for him and how much more growing does he have left to do?

MN: He’s a good player now, but he could be a lot better than he is. And he will be. No question, because he loves football and he’s exciting to watch and he’s a play-maker, for all those reasons. But he’s done well, but he can still do a lot better. I’m not just saying that because that’s the blanket statement for people, but as I’m watching him, he’s got a lot of upside, so as much good as you’ve seen, he’s got a lot of good in there going forward. Primarily, what I see is a guy who just loves to play, but in the new system, he’s still trying to learn the language and things like that, so there’s some way to go, but he’ll find it very friendly and I think he already does see, down the road, how exciting it can be in this system, because a lot of guys have benefitted from it. He’s got what it takes to get there. It takes a little bit of time, but like I said, he’s already a good player. It’s one thing when a guy’s not very good and you’re just hoping to get him to the point where he can just get on the field. He’s already on the field and he’s been a good player, so you’re just looking for him to make some strides where he can be a guy that, in some cases, wins the game for you.

Mike Nolan thinks so. The new defensive coordinator has only been around Weatherspoon for a few months and has yet to coach him on a Sunday, but in his early assessment of the third-year linebacker, Nolan sees the ceiling for Weatherspoon as very, very high.

“He’s a good player now, but he could be a lot better than he is. And he will be,” Nolan told AtlantaFalcons.com. “No question, because he loves football and he’s exciting to watch and he’s a play-maker, for all those reasons. But he’s done well, but he can still do a lot better. I’m not just saying that because that’s the blanket statement for people, but as I’m watching him, he’s got a lot of upside, so as much good as you’ve seen, he’s got a lot of good in there going forward.”

Nolan went on to note that Weatherspoon should find, and has already found, Nolan’s system to be very conducive to his style of play, saying that Weatherspoon is seeing how exciting the scheme can be.

It’s rare to see Weatherspoon on the field without a smile on his face or a song at the ready to sing at the top of his lungs, and that’s one of the biggest things about Weatherspoon that Nolan has been impressed with. His love for the game and excitement to be on the field leads Nolan to believe that Weatherspoon can be formed into a player that, down the road, can be the difference in games.

“It’s one thing when a guy’s not very good and you’re just hoping to get him to the point where he can just get on the field,” Nolan said. “He’s already on the field and he’s been a good player, so you’re just looking for him to make some strides where he can be a guy that, in some cases, wins the game for you.”