Brett Romberg likens Falcons to Packers

Tecumseh’s Brett Romberg believes that the Atlanta Falcons are capable of being a special team this year, just one of the reasons the seven-season NFL veteran centre opted to return to the team he last played for in 2009. “Hopefully, it’s something similar to the way Green Bay had something happen to them last year,” Romberg said of the 4-3 Falcons. “A little bit of a rocky start. Ebbs and flows. Win, loss, win, loss. Then all of a sudden, things are developing, players are gelling together. We’re understanding the capabilites of the players and accentuating their positives. Hopefully, it’s just a steamroller from here.”

Romberg had been out of the league for almost a year when he got the call from Atlanta in late August. “It was totally out of the blue,” he said. “The Falcons were interested in a guy coming in who knew the offence, who wouldn’t be a problem, something where I could jump right in and play. They have a great thing going here. They were interested in having somebody familiar with the system, who had a great relationship with the locker-room. There was basically no negatives. It was an easy transition on both sides. It’s a perfect fit.”

Another bonus from his NFL return? Romberg, 32, wasn’t required to endure a training camp. “They called right before fourth pre-season game,” he said. “Maybe out of the 8, 9 years (in the NFL), four of them were comfortable training camps, the other four were not knowing if you’re going to make the squad or not.”

Romberg also dealt some kudos out to his old team, the unbeaten Windsor AKO Fratmen, who play host to the Hamilton Hurricanes in Saturday’s Ontario Football Conference final at Alumni Field. “They’ve had a great season,” Romberg said. “Coach Mike LaChance has done a great job with the team.” AKO was scheduled to honour Romberg with a jersey retirement ceremony of his No. 65 this season, but those plans were put on hold when he returned to the NFL.



(windsorstar.com)