Falcons’ Dee Alford breaks game open with 79-yard punt-return TD
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Falcons cornerback Dee Alford sprinted to the lead in the competition to replace Avery Williams as the team’s punt returner.
With the score close at 6-3, Alford broke loose on a 79-yard return for a touchdown to help lift the Falcons to a 19-3 victory over the Dolphins on Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium.
“I (saw) my guy Darren Hall, he was the jammer at the time,” Alford said. “I (saw) him make a key block. I was able to see him and also that the ball was coming short. I could have fair (caught) it, but I was confident in myself to be able to make that play.”
Alford gathered in the ball and started out to his left, before taking the return back to the right and up the sideline.
“Once I (saw Hall) set up that block, I knew the punter messed up when he kicked it in the middle of the field,” Alford said. “He gave me a lot of field to work (with). I just had to make a guy miss, see the field and let my speed do all of the work.”
Alford was talking to the Dolphins after a previous punt was booted out of bounds.
“I told them when I get my hands on the ball, I was going to score,” Alford said. “They were like ‘OK, OK, we’re going to see.’ I was actually kind of getting tight on the sideline, waiting. But my opportunity came, and I was able to do that, like I told the guys I was going to do.”
Alford kept the ball he scored with as a souvenir.
“It means a lot,” Alford said. “It is the (exhibition) season, (but) in my head it doesn’t matter if it was the regular season, the postseason. I still want to be able to help my team get a win. Yeah, it’s very important knowing that we are competing for that spot. I just want to continue to do what I do when my number gets called.”
Avery Williams suffered a season-ending knee injury during the offseason program. The Falcons have to replace him after he led the NFL in punt-return average last season, at 16.2 yards.
Alford, from Griffin, also is competing for the nickel-back spot. Assistant head coach/defense Jerry Gray said he wants Alford, who played at Tusculum and in the Canadian Football League, to show that he belongs in the NFL.
“It’s still a thing with me, I’ll never get comfortable,” Alford said. “I talk to coach Gray a lot. He’s one of those guys who’s always on me. He sees a lot of great things in me, and he brings it out in me as well. I just always have the mindset to not get comfortable, but I do feel like I belong here, and I want to continue to show everyone that I do belong here.”
The Falcons had eight pass breakups and three interceptions.
“It just shows that from individual drills in practice and in camp, that’s the mindset of the secondary. We want to create takeaways. Once we can get our hands on the ball, the more turnovers you’re able to have as a defense to give the offense more opportunities to put up points and win games.
The defense also had three red-zone stops and kept points off the board.
“It’s the NFL, guys are going to get in the red zone, but just have the mindset that we have – if you don’t score, you don’t win,” Alford said. “They got in the red zone plenty of times, and we were able to turn them over on downs and create three or four turnovers as a defense, that’s crazy. That’s good as a defensive unit. It just shows the hard work that we’ve been putting in.”
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
