Locked-out Falcons hold own offseason workouts

By D. Orlando Ledbetter

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

After Falcons offensive lineman Mike Johnson finished his Monday workout in Cumming, he wiped his face with a towel, grabbed his cellphone and headed for his pickup truck. There was nothing else tempting him to stay.

At the NFL team's  facilities in Flowery Branch, tables lined with recovery drinks, a few tubs of ice inside and a nice buffet normally await the Falcons.

"The main difference is that there is no free food," linebacker Spencer Adkins said.

With the players locked out because of the ongoing labor strife, 30 of them work out four times per week with Ignite Elite Athletic Training out of the High Intensity Training Center in Cumming.

"That's all we can do is wait and hopefully everything will work out," Pro Bowl cornerback Brent Grimes said. "In the meantime, while we are waiting, we are going to try to stay in shape."

Linebacker Coy Wire, the team’s player representative, coordinates the offseason program; he expects near 100-percent participation.

Jim Launer, Ignites owner and head trainer, conducts the workouts.

The team is split into two groups. They have sessions at 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.,Monday through Thursday, with Friday a makeup day.

For Monday's second session, Johnson, Adkins, Grimes and Wire were joined by offensive linemen Garrett Reynolds, Jose Valdez, and Robert Bruggeman, and wide receivers Andy Strickland and Kerry Meier.

Wide receiver Harry Douglas normally is a regular attendee, but he went to Boston to see his brother, New York Knicks point guard Toney Douglas, in the NBA playoffs.

Quarterback Matt Ryan and wide receiver Roddy White are expected next week.

Middle linebacker Curtis Lofton, who had surgery on both knees after the season, started running again on Monday and is rehabbing in the evening. Safety Shann Schillinger, who suffered a fractured ankle late in the season, is rehabbing, still three to four weeks from running.

Former NFL players Verron Haynes and Jermaine Phillips also worked out with the Falcons on Monday.

“It’s given us a chance to pull together even stronger as a team,” Wire said. “Although it’s unfortunate that there is a lockout, there may be some good that comes from this.”

Wire is hoping the players can continue to bond through the lockout.

“There is something about being away from the facility that we feel less like we are doing something because we have to, but because we want to,” Wire said. “No one is telling us to be here."

Launer's workouts are designed after the team's program, which is run by Jeff Fish, the Falcons' director of athletic performance. Wire, who has been working out with Launer for the past six offseasons, shared Fish’s philosophy and structure.

"I want to keep them healthy, safe and strong, so when they return to coach Fish with the Falcons I want him to feel like his guys didn't miss a beat when they were gone," Launer said.

The acrobatic Grimes has worked out with Launer before.

"He has helped us with a lot of things that are football-related," Grimes said. "He's not just having us work out like body builders."

If the lockout continues, the players plan to hold their own mini-camp and organized team activities. Last season, the Falcons had mini-camp on May 7-9, the OTAs were held May 25-June 17 and training camp started on July 29.

"We have a field here," Grimes said. "We are going to try as much as we can to get out and run some routes, do some drills, just to keep everybody in the flow. ... When we do come back, we'll be ready."

The players have planned for possible injuries, too.

"Everybody had to get COBRA, you just had to look for that, and you're paying for your own insurance now," Grimes said, referring to the temporary insurance plan. "That's just how it is."

There's a collegiate feel to the workouts. Players drive up, go toward the back of the gym, put their water bottles on a table and head out to stretch.

"Everything has been going good," Grimes said. "I'm just trying to get better every day. I'm just hoping this lockout thing figures itself out."