Sean Weatherspoon watched from afar and in anguish as opponents successfully ran the ball during the Falcons’ three-game losing streak.
The Bills, Dolphins and Patriots rushed for 117, 138 and 162 yards. Teams want to run on the Falcons to play keep-away from the offense, and the strategy has been working.
“The first three games were pretty awesome,” Weatherspoon said Wednesday. “Then the last three when you come out on the other side of the column, it’s a little bit rough.”
The Falcons are set to face the New York Jets at 1 p.m. Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
Weatherspoon will start out as a reserve middle and weakside linebacker during his third stint with the team, which began Tuesday.
Weatherspoon will not initially be able to help the run defense because he has to work his way back into football shape. Veteran defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin is ready to contribute and help out against the run.
But Weatherspoon believes the defense can still be special, and he plans to contribute as quickly as possible.
“Ultimately, you just see a whole lot of talent,” Weatherspoon said. “You just feel like you can come in and use your voice a little bit and just kind of keep everybody a little bit more loose and relaxed. I think that’s something that we can do.”
Weatherspoon’s return was well-received.
“You certainly hear him when he comes in,” quarterback Matt Ryan said. “I’ve loved him as a teammate. It’s good to have a familiar face back in there. He can do good things for us, for sure.”
Weatherspoon suffered a torn Achilles after the fifth game last season and had been angling to re-sign with the Falcons.
“It’s just been a long road,” Weatherspoon said. “It’s been about a year (since the injury). I really just stuck to the grind and kept on working. I got married in June. I wanted to be healthy by my wedding. I thought I was healthy then, but around training camp it just wasn’t ready.”
Weatherspoon worked out for the Falcons on Tuesday. Quinn was pleased with Weatherspoon’s workout.
“I had spoken to him on the phone, but I hadn’t see him,” Quinn said. “He said, ‘I’m in shape.’ He was trying to test me. I said, ‘Ok, we’ll see.’ Then, I saw him first and I said, ‘Man, you look good.’ Then we put him through the workout and he kept responding to that.
“Now, I want to see him practice and play. The terms we use is football shape …how long is that going to take, I don’t know. It’s going to take more than a day or two to get ready to play.
“He’s ready to go. I was impressed with how fit he was and how strong he looked. You can tell that he’s been working out.”
Defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel also liked his workout.
"It's awesome to have Spoon back," Manuel said. "He looked good, but he's got to get in shape."
Weatherspoon, who was selected in the first round (19th overall) of the 2010 draft, believes he can eventually help the team.
“I definitely have a role with Keith Armstrong (on special teams), so I’m excited about that,” Weatherspoon said. “We’ll figure out everything from there. I look forward to playing.”
Weatherspoon was on his way to Pro Bowl status before a rash of injuries sidetracked his career in 2013. He’s been battling back since. He spent the 2015 season with Arizona and helped them reach the NFC title game in a reserve role. He returned to the Falcons in 2016.
“I know that I can definitely bring the energy level, but I’m hoping that I can bring some explosiveness to it, too,” Weatherspoon said. “Like (Quinn) said, in my workout I felt pretty good. I did some good things. I look forward to it translating and putting it on the field.”
The Falcons were keeping track of Weatherspoon and his recovery.
“In this case, we thought him having some extended time for the rehab was good,” Quinn said. “It’s been over a year since he had his injury. He was hopeful to make it back for training camp, but when he wasn’t signed there, we thought an extra month and a half, two months, was important for him.”
The Falcons don’t plan to rush Weatherspoon into the lineup.
“We’ll start him back in the process here at linebacker,” Quinn said. “We don’t know how long it will take for him to get ready. But we are just going to start today.”
The Falcons plan to cross-train Weatherspoon.
“Both of the two inside spots,” Quinn said. “It’s kind of what we were able to do with him last year. (Middle) and (weakside linebacker) prior to his injuries. We’ll start him inside and then we’ll see where we go from there. LaRoy (Reynold) will be back shortly as well.”
Weatherspoon also can provide leadership to the Falcons’ young linebacker unit.
“He’s a guy who’s a leader who brings energy and juice,” Quinn said. “He’s a good tackler. When the injury (to rookie Duke Riley) took place, it was good timing for him and for us and he’s a guy we trust and respect a bunch.”
