Hill's interception boosts Falcons

By Ken Sugiura

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A cramped leg forced Tye Hill off the field in his first start with the Falcons last week.

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Curtis Compton, ccompton@ajc.com Falcons cornerback Tye Hill (24), a former first-round draft pick acquired in a trade with St. Louis earlier this season, returns an interception 62 yards for a touchdown -- first of his career.

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Sunday, in his second start, Hill's legs were clearly no impediment.

A cornerback acquired in a preseason trade from St. Louis, Hill picked off a Washington interception and burned 62 yards for an early touchdown for the Falcons.

The touchdown gave the Falcons a 14-0 lead, which, against a Redskins team that had scored more than 17 points just once in its previous 12 games, was virtually insurmountable.

Hill said the ball that he carried with him back to the sideline will go "smack dab in the middle of my house. It was my first interception as a Falcon and my first interception [returned for a score] in the NFL."

Dropping back into a Cover-2 zone, Hill was in the right place to grab a Jason Campbell pass that was tipped by tight end Fred Davis. Hill cranked up the speed that won him two ACC sprint titles at Clemson and then cut back sharply enough to put Washington running back Ladell Betts on his seat.

"I was trying to show my running back skills," said Hill, who played running back in his freshman season at Clemson before switching positions.

The play was a shining highlight for a secondary that has been thinned by injuries and has often been a liability. Prior to Sunday, the Falcons had given up an average of 293.3 passing yards in their last three games, along with seven touchdowns against three interceptions.

Sunday, aided by a fierce pass rush, the Falcons held Washington to 176 passing yards and one touchdown pass. After replacing Brent Grimes last week in the lineup against New Orleans, Hill appears to have earned the job at left cornerback opposite Chris Houston.

A year after the Falcons struck gold with a preseason trade for cornerback Domonique Foxworth, Hill appears to be proving general manager Thomas Dimitroff's acumen again. With the Rams, who took Hill with the 15th pick of the 2006 draft, Hill played just 12 games in 2007 and 2008 in injury-shortened seasons. With the Falcons struggling in the secondary in the preseason, St. Louis was willing to part with him for an undisclosed 2010 draft pick.

"My attitude was, I wanted to come in and work hard and prove that I'm still what I thought I was coming up," Hill said. "I just wanted to work hard, basically, and earn a spot on the team."

To get caught up on the defense, Hill said he has met individually with defensive backs coach Alvin Reynolds and has harangued him with questions.

"I'm blessed to be here," Hill said. "I couldn't ask to be traded to a better place."