FLOWERY BRANCH — During the Seattle game on Oct. 2, Falcons linebacker Sean Weatherspoon came to the sideline and had a brief meeting with coach Mike Smith and defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder.
The Seahawks had run a screen pass, and what Weatherspoon explained to the coaches demonstrated that the second-year player had a deeper understanding of the pro game. Weatherspoon had correctly diagnosed the play and steamed across the formation to make a thunderous tackle.
“I told him the reason why I went all the way across the formation trying to make the play,” Weatherspoon said. “It was just so clear that we could talk.”
Smith categorized the in-game sideline chat as a “breakthrough moment” for Weatherspoon.
“He showed a great understanding of what was happening,” Smith said. “He came over and was able to talk to Brian and myself, tell us what happened on a certain play. Low and behold, you turn the play on [video], and that’s exactly what happened. When you see that type of maturity, you’ve got to feel good about the young man and the direction that his knowledge is going.”
Weatherspoon acknowledges that he has a better understanding of the defense.
“Now, I’m able to talk to [VanGorder] on his terms,” Weatherspoon said. “I just feel that I’m getting better with that.”
Smith is excited about what he sees from Weatherspoon, who was the 19th player selected in the 2009 NFL draft.
“The last two games have probably been the two most productive games since he’s been here,” Smith said. “The arrow is definitely going up, not only in his production, but in his understanding of what we are doing.”
Weatherspoon had an injury-plagued rookie season. He opened the season as a starter at strongside linebacker before ankle and knee injuries slowed him. He played in 11 games, with six starts, and finished with 52 tackles and one sack. He had 10 tackles in his second game in the NFL, before suffering an ankle injury against New Orleans the following week.
He came back two games later against Cleveland and then took a helmet shot to his knee. He missed four more games before returning to finish the season.
Weatherspoon was moved to weakside linebacker this season and has been a tackling machine. He has recorded 12, 10, 13, eight and 11 tackles in the five games this season.
With the injuries and the position change, Weatherspoon has had a bizarre start to his career. He acknowledges that he could have benefitted from organized team activities and minicamps in the lost 2011 offseason.
“I don’t know where his focus was when he came back because he was playing at about 80 percent,” VanGorder said. “It’s just been a little bit tougher this year getting him dialed in to everything he needs to do at a new position.
“But now, the big picture part of football is coming on, and hopefully the game is slowing down for him. I feel he’s a much more confident guy the last couple of weeks.”
Falcons safety William Moore, who played with Weatherspoon at Missouri, knew that he would take off once he could digest the entire defense.
“He’s playing at a high level like we all expected,” Moore said. “It’s not a surprise to me or anyone around here. I know the guy that we drafted here. Spoon just had to keep it up. He can get so much better and that’s the good part about it.”
Weatherspoon attended most of the players-led offseason workouts at Buford High, where middle linebacker Curtis Lofton was running the defense. Lofton also has seen the growth in Weatherspoon’s play.
“He has really been stepping it up,” Lofton said. “He’s been playing great ball. He just has to keep growing and he’s going to be something special.”
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