A few of us were mildly befuddled when the Atlanta Falcons gave special teams ace Coy Wire a two-year deal. I mean, I don't know anybody who doesn't like Wire, but he's a special teamer first and foremost and a passable backup linebacker. What's he doing getting a multi-year deal?
That's more than a little unfair in the first place, I recognize, because Wire is a valuable player. But as it turns out, he means a lot more to these Falcons than a handful of special teams tackles.
When the Falcons come together on May 10 for an unofficial mini-camp, as our own Jason Kirk reported yesterday, they'll be coming together largely thanks to a herculean effort by Wire. The player representative for the Falcons, Wire hits all the right notes in an interview with NFL.com on the subject of organizing workouts for every player he can wrangle:
"If we have an opportunity to help the team grow stronger and more closely knit, I'm going to make it happen," Wire said. "Right now, we have to find a way to make it happen on our own, so I just felt it to be part of my responsibility and privilege to get the guys together."
Once the lockout began over nine weeks ago, Wire started organizing workouts overseen by his trainer, Jim Launer of Ignite sports training, and held 30 minutes west of the Falcons' complex at High Intensity Training Center. Launer runs two 90-minute shifts four mornings week, and as many as 25 players report each day.
When you select a team captain, you want him to exemplify the selflessness and work ethic that the title symbolizes. Wire has shown both those qualities in spades this off-season, and for that I applaud him.
And heck, if nothing else, at least we know these guys are going to be in shape come the season.