Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman are so interchangeable in the Atlanta Falcons backfield, quarterback Matt Ryan gets a little mixed up at times.
“He doesn’t even know who’s in the game,” Coleman said, breaking into a huge smile.
Quite a 1-2 punch, these two are.
It really doesn’t matter who you put at “1” and who goes at “2.”
Sure, Freeman is the starter, but there’s no drop-off or any reason to change things up when Coleman comes into the game, a back-and-forth arrangement that keeps both backs fresh and gives fits to opposing defenses.
But their relationship runs beyond the field.
Far beyond it.
“That’s my brother,” Freeman said in the lead-up to Sunday’s Super Bowl against the New England Patriots . “When you see someone, you see that they want to be a part of something special, they’re working hard, they’re working their butts off, you have no reason but to love that person and have the utmost respect for that person.”
They’ll savor it while they can, because chances are this won’t be a long-term partnership.
They’ll be friends for life, that’s for sure, but the realities of the NFL — with its salary cap and other devices that make it difficult to keep a team together — will likely lead to a breakup in the not-too-distant future.
Freeman, a fourth-round pick out of Florida State in 2014, already created a bit of a stir early in Super Bowl week by bringing up his desire for a new contract.
He rushed for more than 1,000 yards and has been selected for the Pro Bowl each of the past two seasons. Not surprisingly, he wants to be paid like one of the league’s top backs.
Then there’s Coleman, a third-round pick out of Indiana in 2015. Despite missing three games with an injury this season, he rushed for 520 yards and eight touchdowns. At some point, he’s going to deserve more money and probably a larger role in someone’s offense.
“We’ve thought about this a lot,” Coleman said. “But that’s going to be my brother always, wherever we’re at.”
Ryan, the Falcons’ All-Pro quarterback and one of the leading MVP contenders, knows how fortunate he is to have two backs such as these.
“They complement each other so well,” Ryan said. “The unique thing about us and about them is that they’re both three-down backs.
“They’re guys that can run the ball between the tackles, they catch the ball extremely well out of the backfield, and they’re both excellent in pass protection. It’s rare that you have one guy on your roster like that, and we happen to have two that are really, really talented.”
Indeed, as they rotate back and forth on virtually every offensive series, Freeman and Coleman give the league’s highest-scoring offense two of its most dynamic, versatile weapons.
In addition to combining for just short of 1,600 yards on the ground, they are nearly as dangerous in the passing game.
Freeman had 54 catches for 462 yards and a couple of scores, while Coleman hauled in 31 passes for 421 yards and three TDs.
Now you can understand why Ryan sometimes forgets who’s in the game.
Calling it quits
Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee says he is retiring.
The 29-year-old two-time Pro Bowl pick made the announcement in a statement on Twitter, thanking fans for their support over the last seven seasons.
McAfee wrote that three knee surgeries in four years, the expectation of additional operations in the future and an enticing offer to work for Barstool Sports convinced him to walk away despite having two years and nearly $6 million remaining on his contract.
McAfee says he met with team owner Jim Irsay for 1 hour, 45 minutes earlier this week, and that although Irsay encouraged him to continue playing, Irsay also was supportive of his decision.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
