FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Helmet in hand, linebacker Curtis Lofton walks off the practice field after a recent OTA practice in a focused conversation with 11-year veteran Mike Peterson.
The two are separated by 10 years and countless snaps, but they have one thing in common: An expectation of leadership.
Peterson was signed in the offseason to fill a spot at outside linebacker. Lofton started at middle linebacker as a rookie and, entering his second year, wants to become everything associated with his position.
Fiery leader.
Defensive signal-caller.
Mentor to rookies.
"As far as a player I'm more confident in all my checks; I'm lining other guys up. I know everyone's responsibility," he said.
Lofton led all Falcons rookies with 108 tackles (67 solo) and ranked second in the league in stops among first-year players. He led the team in tackles against the Bears (11) and, two weeks later, sacked Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb and forced a fumble.
He played primarily on first and second down in 2008 but, with the free agency departure of linebacker Keith Brooking, Lofton will be called upon to play more on passing downs in 2009.
"Curtis had an outstanding rookie season," defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder said. "Now he's in his second year and much more comfortable with the system and communications. Therefore he can play a lot faster. He did not play in our sub package last year so that's an area right now he's really working on and trying to catch up a little bit... First year to second year we should see good, solid improvement from him."
Lofton agrees with his coach, saying he's more at ease on the field. That also goes for the rest of the defense, which will have five new starters from a season ago and dramatically decrease its average age per player.
As of last week, just three players on the defensive roster were age 30 or older. Twenty-seven were age 26 or younger.
"I practiced (sub packages) a lot last year," Lofton said. "I never got to play it in a game, but I did practice it. I wouldn't say that's hard for me right now, I'm just using better technique and right now I'm trying to be more of a vocal leader and step up for the defense."
The former Oklahoma star and second-round draft pick cautions fans about criticizing his group.
"The offense gets a lot of publicity and notoriety and they deserve that but don't overlook this defense," Lofton said. "We have a lot of young guys that started for us last year and really didn't know what they were doing. This year we're into the system and we know what we're doing. I think we're going to shock some people on defense with how good we are."
While the entire defense looks to players like Peterson, defensive end John Abraham and safety Erik Coleman for veteran leadership, Lofton considers himself to be a teacher of younger players. It's been just more than a year since he entered the NFL, but he and other Falcons rookies from 2008 have a wealth of experience -- including overcoming a lack of expectations and leading the Falcons to the playoffs.
Lofton was one of five rookies that started or played key roles on the team last season.
"At Falcons University all of the rookies said we're going to improve this team and do what we need to do to get to the playoffs," he said. "(2008) wasn't a shock to us. We're just trying to build off last year."
Building, of course, takes patience, dedication and a willingness to learn and pass along knowledge.
Lofton's post-practice conversations with Peterson aren't out of the ordinary. They talk about offensive sets and how to defend against certain plays.
The first steps of leadership.
But this is something Lofton will develop on his own.
"Mike P. has been in the league for 10 years," the middle linebacker said. "He's pulled me to the side, but you can't really teach anyone how to be a leader. It's just something that you earn when you get the respect from your other teammates."
