Coach Smith High on Spencer Adkins

With 4:09 remaining in the second quarter, Adkins sprinted down the field during the Bucs' kickoff return. Shedding a would-be blocker, Adkins took down Tampa Bay returner Micheal Spurlock on the 12-yard line, right where he caught the ball kicked by Atlanta's Michael Koenen.

"I ran down and made my indicator reads," Adkins said. "He made the kick into the corner, which makes it really easy. You know right where to go."

Bill Kramer, who coached Adkins for the Naples Golden Eagles, watched that play from the sidelines.

"That made it seem like old times," Adkins said.

Adkins' parents, Mable and Lester, were in the stands sitting in Section 110 on the 50-yard line. They reunited with their son with about a dozen other family members and friends outside the stadium by the team's bus.

"I'm focused on 59," Lester Adkins said of his son's uniform number. "If you blink, you miss it. Players run faster and hit harder at this level. I know he belongs.

"It was an excellent tackle. He does what he loves. You're always going to do your best if you love what you're doing."

Falcons coach Mike Smith said he has noticed Adkins before and during his rookie season. Smith hopes to notice Adkins even more when approaching next season.

"He has the skill set to be a linebacker in this league, even though he had not played a lot at Miami," Smith said. "We liked his measurables. We like his mental makeup. He's had the opportunity to contribute on special teams this season.

"This offseason will be a big opportunity for him to become more familiar with our defense. When he gets more familiar with our defense, I think he'll have some more opportunities to play. He's shown a lot of progression. He's a young player who has great size and runs extremely well."

During the game's opening kickoff, Adkins pushed and then knocked down an incoming Lynch for a successful block.

Afterward, both players remembered seeing each other's uniform numbers - Lynch wore No. 41 - but neither player realized they had grown up 30 minutes from each other.

Lynch and Adkins were selected in almost the same draft spot in consecutive years.

The Bengals took Lynch in the sixth round with the No. 177th overall pick in 2008. Cincinnati cut him and then signed him to their eight-man practice squad this season. The Buccaneers signed him before the third game.

Atlanta selected Adkins in the sixth round with the No. 176 pick in the 2009 draft. Smith waited until mid-December to activate the 5-foot-11, 242-pound rookie.

Spencer Adkins carried a boxed pizza from Pizza Hut on his way to the bus.

Lester Adkins, who at 6-4 stands five inches taller than Spencer, held his son's bag and pizza, but he didn't dare open the box.

Said Lester Adkins: "He's too big for me to eat his food."