Blog

When I look back at this season and the memories I’m going to have, the highs and lows, there were a lot of situations to learn from. That’s one good thing that going 2-14 can get you. You definitely appreciate those wins more when they come, and you value those opportunities when you get to play in meaningful football games.

If you’re going to go 13-3 you’re going to need a little luck. I don’t want to downplay what the Falcons have done, they’re not just lucky to be 13-3, but it was Week 17 before they had to make their first roster move of the year. The group of guys they put together at the beginning of the season stayed healthy and stayed together for 16 weeks. That is a blessing that can’t be controlled by the organization, by the coaches or by the players.

On the other hand, we started out with a lot of injuries and got hit hard at offensive line, receiver, running back, D-line and linebacker, especially. We were always banged up. That made us a very young team, and I don’t care how talented you are, in this league it takes experience to know how to prepare to win football games.

Just two years ago we went 12-4 and were a Super Bowl contender. That was a very different team than the one that took the field in 2010.

Matt Moore started at quarterback and he was banged up and ended up on IR. Jimmy missed some games. We ended up getting a guy off his couch to start for us at quarterback, and that makes it tough to win football games. Those were the cards we were dealt this year. One thing you can take away from it, it was a learning experience. The young guys who were on the second or third team when the season started, they learned to appreciate that you’re always one play away from being on the field.

When I look back at my time playing the Will linebacker, through the middle of the season I believe our D was ranked fourth overall. That’s a tribute to the guys who were on the field and the coaches for coming up with the perfect equation for guys to get the job done. For me, moving out of the middle was something I did to help the defense be successful. My No. 1 goal is to win football games, that’s why I made the move. A lot of people might look at it and say it was not a success. It gave other teams the opportunity to scheme around me, and as a leader it was hard for me to lead without being as productive as I had become accustomed to being. I was doing my job, but not making as many plays.

Unfortunately for Dan Connor, who was playing lights out football at the Mike position, he had a season-ending injury that moved me back to my home in the middle. That’s when I started hitting my stride again.

Dan proved that he is a very solid football player who can play at a very high level. It would be very hard to keep a guy like that if he’s not playing the Mike. I think he came out of the womb a middle linebacker. Another guy who really took advantage of his situation was James Anderson. He is also going to be a free agent.

That was the beauty of making the change after Thomas Davis went down. It allowed James and Dan Connor the opportunity to show the world that they can play this game. If we all stay together, great. If not, I know those guys are going to make a lot of money and go on to be successful.

As far as our new head coach, I just want to say that I had the opportunity to meet Ron Rivera when he was with San Diego and they brought me in before I was drafted. He’s an upstanding guy with a great personality and I hear he has one of the better football minds in the game. That was further validated by Chris Harris, who played safety for him in Chicago. We talked about Coach Rivera a few times and how he did things in Chicago, and Chris never had anything negative to say. I think he’s going to be a great head coach.

Carolina Panthers All-Pro middle linebacker Jon Beason writes a blog for www.playerpress.com at www.jonbeason.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jonbeason.