Falcons jilt him, but Boley focused on Giants
Photo credit: AP | Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin (19) has his facemask grabbed by New York Giants linebacker Michael Boley. (September 20, 2009)
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There was a time when Michael Boley was a young star in the making, a future Pro Bowl linebacker for the Falcons who could make plays anywhere on the field and seemed to be in line for a big contract extension.
Those times faded quickly.
After three-and-a-half years in that role, Boley found himself on the bench for the playoff push in Atlanta last year, pitching in on special teams and coming in on some third-down sub packages.
They said he wasn't aggressive enough. They said he wasn't productive enough. Finally, when his contract expired at the end of the season, they simply said goodbye.
"When I first left, yeah, I was bitter," Boley said Wednesday as the present-day Giants linebacker prepares for Sunday's game against his old team. "I'm not going to lie, I was bitter."
The Giants clearly saw something in Boley that the Falcons did not, offering him a $25-million contract on the first day of free agency last winter. And when he hasn't been injured or suspended, Boley has played well for them.
"Speed," was the quick one-word answer Tom Coughlin gave when asked about Boley's attributes. "I think the speed at the position and the ability to adjust, the ability to not only cover, but in pressure package he does get the chance to rush."
Boley hinted that his departure from Atlanta was a little more personal than most NFL breakups are. He referred to "things that happened internally that I'm not really going to talk about" and noted that Coy Wire, the player who replaced him as a starter last season, isn't even starting for the Falcons this season.
"That told me that they really didn't want me there," Boley said. "After some things that happened last year, I just knew going into the offseason that there was no chance I was going to be back."
Even Falcons coach Mike Smith gave some lukewarm remarks about his team's tepid pitch to keep Boley beyond his rookie contract.
"When you are building a roster, decisions have to be made and they are made from both sides," he said. "He was a free agent and he chose to test the market."
Even though he admitted to being "bitter" when he first left the Falcons, Boley does not want the game to be about him playing his former team. This isn't the Boley Bowl. He and the Giants have bigger things on their mind.
"It would have been easy to say 'I'm looking forward to playing Atlanta' if we hadn't lost four straight," he said. "Now it's all about winning this next game, period, no matter who it is."
Boley missed all of training camp after offseason hip surgery and then was suspended for the opener. He played three games and then injured his knee, which required another surgery. He missed four games but returned against the Chargers two weeks ago. "I felt a little bit like I wasn't in tune with everybody else," he said of that game.
But Boley was glad to have that game, especially since the emotions of facing the Falcons in his first game back would have been volcanic. Now he can just focus on playing.
"I think I have a lot more to show," he said.
And there'd be no better team to be productive and aggressive against than the team that turned him away while saying he was neither of those.
