The 2014 Atlanta Falcons Offseason Program Begins Today

Coming off a stinging season full of losses, the Falcons want to assemble a greatly improved 2014. They can start doing so today, albeit in quite limited fashion.

That's because the offseason program begins today. Vaughn McClure, Mike Smith isn't exactly jumping and down over the value of these early workouts, but it is a chance for players and coaches to reconnect:

"The CBA kind of limits what we can do," Smith said. "We have a nine-week program which we can spend time with the players. And really, the first four weeks, there's not a whole lot of on the field activities going on. So we're getting ready to start our program on the 21st of April, and the first two weeks will be spent in the classroom and in the weight room. And then the next two weeks will be on the field. The offense and defense cannot work against each other. ... There's not a whole lot you're going to be able to get accomplished in those four weeks."

The best use of this time is going to be preparing players for any major changes for the upcoming season, gauging where players are at in their conditioning efforts, getting a little work in just to get loose and going over what went wrong last year before you really start looking ahead. It's a head start on the rest of the offseason program, and that does count for something.

I suggest reading McClure's full article for a breakdown of things to watch out for, but suffice to say this will be the season opener for  "he's in the best shape of his life!" Weigh in with what you hope you to learn in the comments.