Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant, who missed all of the exhibition games after suffering a shoulder injury on Aug. 12, is set to start against the Philadelphia Eagles at 7:10 p.m. Monday at the Georgia Dome.
“It was tough because I’m a competitor,” Trufant said. “I hate missing anything. I want to be out there with my brothers. Competing, just getting better and improving. Things happen, luckily I’m not going to miss any of the regular season and I didn’t have to have surgery.”
Trufant, who is slated to start at left cornerback, believes he’s ready to return to the lineup.
“I’ve been practicing pretty much the last three weeks,” Trufant said. “Of course, they eased me in at first. But I’ve been practicing pretty much full go the past two weeks, so I’m ready to go.”
During the open portions of practice, Trufant was able to reach above his head and catch passes for the past two weeks. He has range of motion in his shoulder joint.
“It’s a long season and I want to be here for all of this,” said Trufant, who hasn’t missed a game over two seasons and has made 32 starts. “I didn’t want to miss any of the preseason, but you’ve got to be smart. I’m ready now, so I just want to get out there.”
The Falcons will need Trufant’s ball-hawking skills against the Eagles and their tempo-offense. Trufant, who played at Washington, faced Eagles coach Chip Kelly, when he was the head coach at Oregon.
“The uptempo is real,” Trufant said. “They definitely are fast-paced. They like to get on the ball real quick.”
Trufant has studied the attack.
“They don’t do too much as far as the complexity of the scheme because they are doing it so fast,” Trufant said. “They are so fast that if you don’t read you keys, or are not in the right alignment, or you’re not communicating, that’s when they get people off track. We just have to communicate and get lined up. Just run and hit.”
Trufant believes the Falcons’ retooled defense can matchup with the Eagles’ tempo.
“That’s the whole theme of our program is to be fast and physical,” Trufant said. “That’s what the Eagles try to do. They want to do the same thing. It’s definitely going to be a real good matchup.”
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