FLOWERY BRANCH — Special-teams Pro Bowler Eric Weems will return to his home state as a marked man when the Falcons face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 4:15 p.m. Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.
In last season’s NFC South showdown Dec. 5, the Falcons were down 10 points when Weems returned a kickoff for a franchise-record 102-yard touchdown.
The electrifying return helped the Falcons pull out a 28-24 victory and improve to 10-2.
In a Q&A with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Weems, a native of Daytona Beach who played at Bethune-Cookman, discussed playing in front of his family and what goes into a decision to bring a kickoff out of the end zone.
Q: How do you make a decision to bring kickoffs out of the end zone?
A: It's all about having a feel for it. If I don't have a good feel, I'm going to stay in.
Q: Does a lot of it have to do with how the game is going?
A: It has nothing to do with the game. It's the placement, how the kick is coming down and how deep it is.
Q: What was behind the decision to return that deep kickoff out against the Eagles?
A: It was a low line-drive. It didn't have any air up under it. I got set up under the ball, and I was rolling forward when I caught it. So, I came out. Our main goal is to get out at least to the 40 [yard line]. We are still progressing. We are trying to get better, and we're going to get better.
Q: Have you thought about the big 102-yard return last year?
A: It was a great return, running through a lot of tackles. I was tired, I must say, but they are a great special-teams group. As you recall, they returned one on us last year up here. Then we went down there and returned one on them.
Q: Is it a little special for you playing in Florida?
A: Yeah, I get to see family. Get to smell that Florida air. There's nothing like that. I feel like I'm in my own backyard, even though I'm an hour and thirty minutes away. I've got a lot of folks coming over [from Daytona Beach]. ... about 15. It's going to be great to see them and just be back in Florida.
Q: Have you adjusted to playing more in the base offense?
A: It's been all right. I'm just filling in at whatever position the offensive coordinator needs me to play. Whatever he needs me to do, I'm willing to do it.
Q: How do you all try to maintain the offensive success that you had last week against the Eagles?
A: It all starts up front with the run game. Once our running game gets going, we're a hard team to stop. We focus on getting the run game going first.
Q: What’s your mindset when you’re running downfield covering kicks and punts?
A: My mindset is to make every play. I don't want the special teams to hurt this team. I just want to keep everything in front of me and make tackles.
Q: What’s it like being one of the core special teamers?
A: [Special-teams coordinator Keith Armstrong] looks at me as the captain of the units. He comes to me for the energy, to get the guys going on special teams. I try to be that guy for him.
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