Finneran makes return to end zone

Baltimore — It had been so long since Brian Finneran reached the end zone, he wasn’t quite sure want to do.

Would he spike the ball? You knew he wouldn’t get a cell phone from under the goal post? Would he just act like a professional and toss the ball to the referee?

Finneran chose to act like he had scored before and like he plans to return to the promised land soon.

The veteran receiver hauled in a pass from D.J. Shockley and bulled through two defenders, including Baltimore safety Jim Leonhard, to score. His 20-yard touchdown came in the closing seconds of the first half on Thursday night at M&T Bank Stadium.

“I had a linebacker over the top of me. I just ran right through his inside shoulder,” Finneran said. “When I turned around, D.J. put a perfect ball on me, right in stride. I made the safety miss and dove into the end zone.”

Finneran’s score gave the Falcons a 7-6 halftime lead. His catch was the only touchdown of the game, a 10-9 Falcons victory over the Baltimore Ravens.

It has been a long road back for Finneran, who’ll have to sweat it out until the team cuts down to 53 players from 75 by 4 p.m. Saturday.

“I did everything that they asked,” Finneran said. “I made some plays. It’s in their hands though. They’ve got some tough decisions to make with the receivers and running backs.”

Finneran, who’s trying to make the team after missing the past two seasons with knee injuries, had not scored since he caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Michael Vick in the second quarter of a 17-10 victory over Miami on Nov. 6, 2005.

“It was a good feeling to get back in the end zone, that’s for sure,” Finneran said.

During training camp in 2006, Finneran tore his anterior cruciate ligament in a practice. After surgery and months of rehab, Finneran was set to make a comeback last season. Shortly after he returned to running, the ligament gave way on the practice field.

Over the offseason, Finneran rehabbed with Shockley, who was also coming back from an ACL injury. The two would work out all alone, ending with Finnernan running routes and Shockley tossing the passes.

“It was kind of icing on the cake to have D.J. throw it to me, because of all of the time we put in the offseason working together coming back from our ACL injuries,” Finneran said. “That just kind of showed that the hard work paid off for us.”

Shockley was proud of Finneran’s touchdown play.

“He’s out there breaking tackles,” Shockley said. “He’s not out there catching and falling down. He’s out there breaking tackles and making plays.”

Last week, Finneran had five catches against Tennessee.

He also played on several special-teams units, a must for reserve receivers.

Wide receivers Roddy White, Michael Jenkins, Laurent Robinson and Harry Douglas look to be safe bets to make the team, and the Falcons likely will keep six receivers.

Finneran, Eric Weems, Chandler Williams and Adam Jennings are in a battle for those final spots.

“Brian has played extremely well,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “Eric Weems has played well. Jennings has done a nice job. … I think it’s our deepest group.

“Those guys have performed well. It’s been a big battle, and we’ll have to decide which direction we are going to go here.”