FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- The Falcons offseason conditioning program began Monday at team headquarters. With the smooth sounds of rock music humming in the background, players sauntered into the weight room for the first of many tests.
Given a 4-12 finish to a turmoil-filled 2007, this day couldn't come soon enough.
New strength and conditioning coach Jeff Fish greeted players in a corner of the weight room just outside his office and started the team through a series of agility tests -- the first step of an offseason program that will include weight lifting and running. The program runs through the team's scheduled mini camps and organized activities. Fish said the agility tests are key to a new program he and assistant strength and conditioning coach Bill Hughan started creating soon after they were added to Head Coach Mike Smith's staff.
"The first thing I want to do is learn as much as I can about these players physically and mentally," said Fish, who joined the Falcons on Jan. 29 after three seasons with the Oakland Raiders. "I want to get up to speed and I want to get to know them as quickly as possible. From a traditional workout standpoint, what we'll do the first day is what we call a functional movement screen. That screen will give us a snapshot of a guy and let us know if there are any restrictions to his movement -- any imbalances within his body -- that we can be addressing in a proactive way to reduce the chances of injury."
Flexibility tests focused heavily on balance. Members of the team's training staff helped record measurements of each player and chart individual movements. The process took about 20 minutes per player.
Smith also stopped by, coffee cup in hand, and chatted with players waiting for tests. Not every player was in attendance for the first day of voluntary workouts, but new Falcons Michael Turner and Ben Hartsock were among some of the new faces spotted during the early stretch of testing. Veterans Jerious Norwood, Keith Brooking and Ovie Mughelli and now-second-year players David Irons, Laurent Robinson, Chris Houston and Jamaal Anderson were also in attendance.
Fish said movement tests are vital to completing an offseason plan tailored to each player. He and his staff have worked for close to two months ordering weight equipment and building a nutrition plan -- including hiring a new team nutritionist.
Now it's time to work in their most important clients.
"We build our programs with what an athlete shows us on that movement screen -- not the other way around," he said. "We don't take athletes and plug them into our program. We build our program around what their needs are. A receiver workout may not meet all the needs Roddy White has as opposed to Michael Jenkins."
Fish said the team will be divided into two groups based on position and will rotate through early- and mid-morning schedules. This allows coaches to meet with players and work in some film sessions over the coming weeks. The first phase of the program will be just three weeks long, however, as the first of two Falcons mini camps is scheduled for mid April.
But it all starts in the weight room.
"It's the means to an end," said Hughan, who also spent the last four seasons working with Fish in Oakland. "Everything you do in the offseason leads you up to the fruits of your labors in season. It's exciting doing the preparation, which is where we are now... But seeing them perform on game day is ultimately what it's about."
RELATED LINKS:
- BLOG: J. Michael Moore posts photos of offseason workouts
- PHOTOS: Images from Day One of the 2008 offseason program
- Q&A: AF.com to sit down with Michael Turner on Wednesday
