A ‘Spoon full of potential

2012 — 12 games. 11 starts. 87 tackles. 3 sacks. 1 interception. 1 forced fumble.

Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez has, as a matter of survival, studied the ways of the middle linebacker.

Such a curious position, he muses. For can you imagine willingly running into somebody at full speed every play, seeking violent contact as eagerly as a child seeks hugs?

That said, Gonzalez concedes, “It’s the stud position on defense. I think you have to bring it play in and play out. And emotionally you have to bring it because you’re the leader, too.

“’Spoon’s personality is perfect for middle linebacker.”

‘Spoon is Gonzalez’s teammate, Sean Weatherspoon, who in his third season serves the purpose of ramrod and instigator-in-chief for the Falcons defense.

More properly, his given name is Franklin De’Sean Weatherspoon. Nobody calls him Franklin, he said, “except maybe my girlfriend.”

Franklin “is a presidential name. It’s got that presidential flow to it. That’s when I’ll bring that Franklin out,” he smiled, projecting a possible second career in politics.

The personality part of the linebacker gig has never been an issue. Weatherspoon is about as reserved as a roman candle, a trait he figures he acquired by observing his mother, Elwanda Weatherspoon.

Mom seconds that notion. “When I’m feeling well you’ll know it. I was a teacher for 21 years, (third grade, Jasper, Texas). I think the young kids gave” the emotional energy “to me. And I think that rubbed off on my son.”

Occasionally his enthusiasm rankles. In the first game against New Orleans this season, Saints players complained about Weatherspoon encroaching on their warm-ups while he chirped at former teammate Curtis Lofton.

Occasionally it amuses. After any big tackle Weatherspoon will break out a signature celebration, miming a man spooning up a delicious soup course, as if consuming the moment. Others may imitate, but his routine is the best, Weatherspoon insists. (The presentation is the key, he instructs. The imaginary spoon must be broken out with flair, and his style is to unsheath it like a Musketeer once did his sword.)

There exist variations on the ‘Spoon move, flourishes that may be reserved for bigger moments — i.e. playoff games to come. “Sometimes you get a spoon with shimmy. Sometimes a spoon with a little belly rub. I’ll eat out of the bowl sometimes. It’s not a ‘Hey, look at me’ thing. I’m just out there having fun,” he said.

His motivational engine is always running in the red when the lights come on in the stadium.

“He’s at a 10 every week with his pregame hype,” Gonzalez said. “You can tell he wants it so bad. I’ll follow a guy like that everywhere.”

Weatherspoon says he could play just as effectively with his mouth taped shut. But why would he do that? Talking is just another tool for him, as it is with many in his profession. Not that the words always make sense. “He’s all over the place,” said 14-year veteran linebacker Mike Peterson, an important leadership mentor for Weatherspoon.

Some goofy stuff can come out. As when the opposing quarterback is pointing out the defense at the line, identifying Weatherspoon with the shorthand for middle linebacker: “Mike! Mike!” Weatherspoon will shout back, “No, I’m Sean!”

He can get a little off-color, for he is not speaking from the pulpit. “I’m glad I can’t hear him,” said his mother.

As for his now traditional pregame addresses, certain themes reoccur.

Coach Mike Smith “in our first meeting always talks about things like passion, intensity, enthusiasm. I bring all that up again,” he said. “I talk about doing it for the ones we care about most, the ones we go to work with every day. If you go out there and play with the right passion and for the right reasons, I think you’ll be in a better situation. No retreat, no surrender.”

All the static aside, the play’s the thing, as noted NFL analyst Bill Shakespeare said. And Weatherspoon’s play has been pretty much what the Falcons expected of him when they let Lofton go to free agency. They believed his 25-year-old replacement to be more of an every-down player.

Ask the Giants. Weatherspoon set the defensive tone for a Dec. 16 shutout when he stopped David Wilson for no gain on fourth-and-one in the second quarter. New York would be denied on two other fourth-down plays that day.

Ask today’s regular-season-ending opponent Tampa Bay. Having missed the previous three games with an ankle injury, Weatherspoon returned for a Nov. 25 game at the Bucs. The fact that 1,000-yard rusher Doug Martin gained only 50 yards on 21 carries was not mere coincidence.

The greatest compliment paid Weatherspoon has come from outside the locker room. From his perch as a Fox Network analyst, one-time safety John Lynch has declared Weatherspoon the closest in talent to Derrick Brooks that he has come across lately. Brooks, Lynch’s former teammate in Tampa, was as complete a linebacker as there was before his retirement in 2008.

Weatherspoon has the package of skill and effervescent personality. Represented by the same agency that has brought you such commercial successes as Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews and Ray Lewis, he has the connections. There is the recipe for the making of a multimedia sensation.

“I told Sean’s agent years ago, ‘OK I have one request, to be one of the Campbell’s soup moms.’ I haven’t heard anything from that. They keep putting me off. I don’t want to be put off much longer, OK?” laughed Elwanda.

Weatherspoon has begun some “brand building” on the local level: a weekly spot on a local radio show; a hometown endorsement here and there. Community appearances galore. (The Falcons named him their Community All Star for December).

Before he is doing the ‘Spoon routine for some national product, Weatherspoon and his team will be required to raise their profiles on the field.

“As I’ve said to Sean, if he makes a Pro Bowl (yet to happen), it makes things a heck of a lot easier,” said Ryan Williams, the director of marketing for Weatherspoon’s agency, Athletes First. “We don’t like to take any credit. We like to just say we are capable and willing to mimic the success our players have on the field.

“And the Atlanta market is tough. Eighty-five percent of Falcons fans are based in Georgia. So nationally you’re not going to get as many (endorsements). Not like Packer fans, who are everywhere. It makes it tough, not only for Sean, but for Matt Ryan, Tony Gonzalez, everyone.”

A season ago, Weatherspoon was invited to Indianapolis on Super Bowl week as part of his agency’s annual fling. Clients gather to discuss marketing strategy and network with various corporate types drawn to the site. But Weatherspoon demonstrated a more grounded sense of priorities, saying he was still too upset over the Falcons’ 24-2 first-round playoff loss to the Giants to make the trip.

This year, whatever may come, he said he plans to be in New Orleans on Super Bowl week. Weatherspoon also strongly suspects he’ll be displaying his wares in the most effective way, as a participant.