Troy Bergeron

Don Wassall

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Tall and fastWR Troy Bergeron is trying to make the Falcons. Given that his previous attempt to make Atlanta was in 2006 when Jim Mora and his coal black team was in place, his odds would seem better this time around.

Bergeron gets second chance with Falcons

Troy Bergeron didn't doubt himself. He was a star receiver on Shaw's undefeated 2000 state championship team, a highly sought-after recruit and an indoor-football star.



So he knew when the Atlanta Falcons cut him before he could play a regular-season game in 2006 that he had the potential to find his way back. He just didn't know how long it would take.


"I always thought I had a shot to get back there,"Â￾ the former Ledger-Enquirer All-Bi-City Offensive Player of the Year said. "It was kind of hard the last couple years when nobody was interested in me after I was injured in 2007, when I tore my MCL. It felt good when the Falcons finally called me to go work out again."Â￾



The 6-foot-2, 190-pound wide receiver impressed the Falcons' staff enough to earn an invitation back after the team's three-day minicamp ended last Sunday. His signing on May 10 is what he had been working for since he last had a shot at the NFL.


Bergeron was the 2005 Arena Football League Rookie of the Year with the Georgia Force, and his 1,372 yards and 31 touchdowns that season catapulted him into a minicamp deal with the Falcons in 2006 that lasted through the final preseason game. He then came close again later that year when he signed as a member of the Buffalo Bills' practice squad in Week 13 of the season.


Since then, he has had to deal with rehabbing his injury and the cancellation of the 2009 AFL season. But he has found a way to stand out in a minor league market flooded with players on the cusp of their next opportunity, accumulating more than 400 yards receiving and a dozen touchdowns in six games with the American Indoor Football League's Columbus Lions this season.


And this time around, he said he feels like his chances of sticking with the Falcons into the regular season are much better, thanks in large part to the time he has spent studying the game.


"I feel a lot more prepared this time,"Â￾ Bergeron said. "The last time I signed, I hadn't played outdoor since high school. I know the outdoor game a lot better now, playing with the Buffalo Bills' practice squad helped a lot, and now I feel like I have a better chance to compete."Â￾


Mental strength


Bergeron found the mental strength to overcome a potentially career-ending injury and to remain positive while paying his dues in the AFL and AIFA, but it doesn't mean he is in any better condition physically.


When he signed with the Falcons in 2006, he had been spending a lot of time in the weight room. This time around, he is a bit lighter and he shows a little more wear.


"The last time I signed, I was training a lot, and, this time, I was badly beat up from playing with the Lions,"Â￾ Bergeron said. "I was probably in better shape the first time, but I wanted to drop some weight this time. I'm in shape; I just haven't been training as hard."Â￾


Injury already has played a role in his most recent signing. The Falcons picked up Bergeron on April 28 but released him a day later, when he failed to pass a physical. He had hurt a hamstring playing for the Lions a few days earlier, and the Falcons were hesitant to sign someone with even a minor injury, he said.


So the Falcons told him to take a break from playing with the Lions and come back when he was healed. If he got the OK from trainers, the team would sign him to another minicamp deal.


Good option


At 25, Bergeron may be a late entrant to the NFL race. But age may be the only number he hasn't factored into his expectations. More important, he said, have been the few yet impressive reps he got at the minicamp, the number of players he is up against and the time and money the Falcons have sunk into each.


"I didn't get a lot of reps at the minicamp â€" maybe four or five â€" it was mostly the first and second team going,"Â￾ Bergeron said. "But the ones I got, I made all my catches and did everything right. The only hard part, really, was learning all the new plays, and I did that pretty good."Â￾


And since Atlanta did not draft a receiver this year, Bergeron said he is as good an option to fill the final receiver spot as any candidate.


"It makes it a little easier that they don't have any money invested in anyone else yet,"Â￾ Bergeron said. "I'm competing against other free agents, so I feel like I have a pretty good chance this time. The competition is always tough, definitely, but they haven't invested in anyone yet."Â￾


The Falcons have nine receivers on their roster and likely have nailed down spots for returners Roddy White, Harry Douglas, Michael Jenkins and Brian Finneran. That leaves five players battling for the final spot on the depth chart.


"Before I got hurt in 2007, I had seven teams wanting to sign me,"Â￾ Bergeron said. "This is the best opportunity I've had since then, so I want to make it work."Â￾
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/227/story/721512.html
 

whiteathlete33

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This is another white guy who has run a 4.3 but has played in the Arena league. He has monster speed and should be a starting receiver on some NFL team.
 

whiteCB

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It was obvious from watching him tear up the AFL that the man has NFL caliber playing ability. All he needs is a shot to prove it.
 

DixieDestroyer

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Probably has more upside than overrated Roddy White (who "MattyIce" basically made a Pro Bowler of). I hope he makes the squad & gets a chance at some in-game reps.Edited by: DixieDestroyer
 

ToughJ.Riggins

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Troy Bergeron shouldn't only be in the NFL- he should be getting playing time and catching 40-50+ balls every season by now. Everything I know about this guy lets my aware eye know he is good enough to be in the NFL.
 

Don Wassall

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Bergeron's yet another guy who deserves an opportunity but is always kept on the furthest fringes of the league. It's a shame that Finneran is hurt because he actually got the start over long-time bust Michael Jenkins in the Falcons game last week. From Rotoworld:

Falcons signed WR Troy Bergeron off their practice squad. Bergeron's only professional experience is with the Arena Football League. Brian Finneran is dealing with a knee injury, so Bergeron will give the Falcons some depth at the wideout position.
 

referendum

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Wow, this has been a great season for white WRs to be signed from either off the streets or practice squads. Standeford, Long, Hass, Amendola, Woodhead (as hybrid WR and taiilback), and Bergeron. Unfortunatly Standeford and Hass didn't last long, and Bergeron is coming up only because of Finneran's injury.
 

white lightning

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I hope he can make an impression. The kid could be the next Kevin Curtis. Just give him a chance. I still can't belive Matt Jones is still available. What a joke.
 

DixieDestroyer

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It's proof positive of the caste system that a world-class bust like Jenkins gets so many reps & a talent like Troy is relegated to the practice squad!
smiley7.gif
 

referendum

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Rotoworld reporting that Bergeron has been activated for the third time this year, hopefully the Falcons will stop cutting him the day after the game like the last two times.
 

bigunreal

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Nope, they cut him after the game again.

Really, folks, how can anyone believe this is legitimate?
 

backrow

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what do you mean? of course it legitimate, they treat him as an insurance policy. it is not a first time white player is basically a 54th member of the active roster and keeps getting cut/added.
 

DixieDestroyer

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Michael Jenkins sux out the wahzoo! It irks me that he holds a roster spot & get reps over a more talented Bergeron...total load of crapola!
smiley7.gif
 

Don Wassall

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Troy Bergeron has been getting kicked around by the NFL for five seasons, mainly by the Falcons, but keeps trying. He still doesn't have an NFL regular season catch but is trying to make the Cowboys in 2011. Meantime he's once again kicking ass in the Arena League.

Dallas Cowboys receiver Troy Bergeron gets back to work in the AFL

It's three weeks before the NFL draft, do you know where your favorite players are?

Normally at this time of year, they're lifting and sweating in their teams' offseason conditioning programs.



Now, thanks to this untidy little labor dispute, they find themselves AWOL in April.


Judging from reports and their own tweets, most seem to be maintaining their private workout regimens at various far-flung locales. Some are devoting the extra time to their foundations and favorite charities. Others are taking extended vacations or going back to school. Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward is competing on "Dancing with the Stars."


And then there's Troy Bergeron.


The New Orleans native and Dallas Cowboys receiver is doing something completely different from the rest of his NFL brethren: He's playing pro football.


Simply put, Bergeron couldn't afford to sit around and wait for the attorneys, judges and federal mediators to settle the NFL labor dispute.


He has a family to feed. He has a wife, two kids and another one on the way. Unlike the deep-pocketed cover boys of the NFL labor dispute, Bergeron doesn't have the luxury of a guaranteed seven-figure payday or a savings account stocked by years of NFL paychecks.


Bergeron, in NFL parlance, is a bubble player. He's one of the hundreds of journeymen trying to gain a toehold and make their mark in the league.


He has had stints with the Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Falcons and most recently the Cowboys, but has yet to catch his big break -- or more important, his big contract.


So while most of his NFL teammates took advantage of the labor impasse to catch up on movies or hone their golf games, Bergeron went to work.


A little more than a month after signing a contract with the Dallas Cowboys, Bergeron lined up at wide receiver for the Cleveland Gladiators of the Arena Football League.


"I'm just trying to make a living," Bergeron said. "I don't have time for this lockout thing to get settled; I have bills to pay."


The AFL is familiar territory for Bergeron. He starred for the Georgia Force before hooking on with the Falcons in 2009. He was the league's Rookie of the Year in 2005.


And so far, he has picked up right where he left off. Showing no signs of fatigue, he leads the AFL in touchdowns with 13 and ranks among the league leaders in receiving yards and all-purpose yards. Last week he caught six touchdown passes in a 55-48 win against Chicago.


Bergeron's contract with Dallas was voided by the lockout, and he said the Cowboys encouraged him to pursue the deal. After all, it keeps him shape and allows him to make a little extra money during the impasse. The only potential downside is injury, but Bergeron said can't concern himself with such matters.


Bergeron is guided by the perspective of a man who has chased the NFL dream for a half-decade. The son of a military man, he moved out of New Orleans as a youth but still has family in the city. He had the misfortune of being a receiver in a wing T at Shaw High School in Columbus, Ga., and never played a down of football at Middle Tennessee State.


He entered the NFL at the bottom, bounced around a few years and finally clawed his way onto the active roster for six games in Atlanta two seasons ago. He finished third on the Falcons in receiving last preseason but was released during final cuts.


He caught on with the Cowboys in December and made their practice squad for the final three games of the regular season. The Cowboys must have liked what they saw because they signed him to a contract in January.


But the deal was voided when the owners locked out the players last month, and Bergeron was faced with the uncertainty of a protracted lockout.


After discussing the decision with his agent, Mark Bloom, a New Orleans native now based in Los Angeles, Bergeron opted to sign with the Gladiators over a similar offer from the VooDoo.


While Bergeron is the first NFL player to pursue another career in professional sports, he's not the only one. Baltimore Ravens safety Tom Zbikowski has returned to his roots and fought two professional fights.


Cleveland Browns wide receiver Rod Windsor followed Bergeron's lead and is playing with the Arizona Rattlers of the AFL.


"It was a good opportunity for me," Bergeron said. "I knew I was going to have to find some kind of job. I've got money saved up, but nobody in my position has years and years of money saved up."


If Bergeron is something of a pioneer, he doesn't himself that way. He said he has been surprised by the reaction to his decision. Reporters hounded him during the Gladiators' bye week last week as the lockout dragged into its second month.


"I didn't think it would be a big deal at all," Bergeron said. "I'm just a little guy in the NFL. Nobody knows my name. Players like me on the cusp, trying to get our big break, we have to make money in the offseason any way we can. Who knows what's going to happen with the lockout."


Something tells me this "little guy" Bergeron is going to pick up a few more fans this offseason.


Jeff Duncan can be reached at jduncan@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3404.
http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2011/04/dallas_cowboys_receiver_troy_b.html
 
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