Falcons want to put their best foot forward

By D. Orlando Ledbetter

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

FLOWERY BRANCH –  Running back Jerious Norwood is serious about his footwear.

He wants to make sure his shoes agree with the surface he's about to play on.

"I like to get over there [to the stadium] early so that I have enough time to do what I need to do," Norwood said.

No easy trick when the stadium is 2,500 miles away in San Francisco. And that explains why Falcon's equipment manager Brian Boigner has been on Weather.com at least two dozen times already this week.

He'll start his intense weather watch on Wednesday, trying to pin down the game-time field conditions for the team's game against the 49ers Sunday at Candlestick Park.

"I've started going to the local Internet sites of the television stations in that city that we'll play in," Boigner said. "I try to use a couple of different sources for the weather for that weekend."

Candlestick is a difficult read for the Falcons because it's a grass field and the area is subject to dramatic weather change. Boigner has to make sure he packs the right shoes for the sometimes slick surface.

For home games at the Georgia Dome, it's a no-brainer. Boigner also needs to pack just one set of shoes when they play outdoor teams, like New England, who have FieldTurf.

"It's when we get into places like going to San Francisco," Boigner said.  "All of the California teams have grass. For those grass-type games, we wear cleated footwear."

Depending on the conditions, Boigner and his three assistants may have to pack as many as three different types of shoes for outdoor games on grass.

"We pack for each player a shoe that they would wear in optimal conditions, a dry field condition," Boigner said. "Then we also pack them a pair of shoes that would be used in wet field conditions or sloppy field conditions."

The managers will also pack a neutral shoe for anything inbetween.

"A lot of that is just changing the size of the actual cleat in the detachable shoes," Boigner said. "We make sure that each player has a pair of detachable cleated footwear for those outdoor grass games in case of sloppy weather, where the track could  be such where you would have to switch shoes for traction."

Norwood, the fleet running back, is more particular than most about slick footing and checks to be sure all of his cleats are packed.

"Pretty much, you have to take three different styles of cleats," Norwood said. "You've got your molded cleats. You've got your screw-ins and a lot of guys just have specific cleats that they like. You take a couple pairs of cleats when we go warm up and you test them out and see which ones you like."

Defensive end John Abraham played on grass during his six seasons with the New York Jets.

"I might get longer cleats but that's about it," Abraham said. "I don't feel like it changes my play much. You can change shoes."

Even the big guys in the trenches make sure they have the right cleats for game conditions.

"I'll bring them out there and then go walk around in them," left tackle Sam Baker said. "We usually come to a consensus. We talk about whether if we need them."

It's a part of their pregame ritual.

"You've got to plant your feet," Baker said. "It's pretty important."

Boigner gets a little fired up for the outdoor games on grass, when he is part of the game within the game.

"We play a majority of our games indoors," Boigner said. "I've kind of been spoiled by the division that we are in. We play New Orleans every year inside, then the eight regular season [home] games indoors. That's a little bit easier than being the equipment manager for a team up in Cleveland."