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Hall eagerfor return to Atlanta

November 6, 2009 12:36 am

BY RICH CAMPBELL

ASHBURN

That fairy tale didn't quite work out. Hall recalled his vision earlier this week while dressed from head to toe in the Washington Redskins' burgundy and gold.

The memories--and scars--from his tenure there are still fresh, though, and they'll be on his mind Sunday when he faces the Falcons in the Georgia Dome for the first time since their acrimonious breakup almost two years ago.

"I'm not Brett Favre walking back into Lambeau," Hall said. "It's not that, but it's definitely going to be a little bit of emotion tied into this thing. I saw a lot of those guys mature as players, mature as people on and off the field. I can't wait to go out there and mix it up with them."

BEST, WORST OF TIMES

Hall experienced some of the Falcons' brightest and darkest days during his four years with the club.

He helped them to the NFC championship game during his rookie season, and he made back-to-back Pro Bowls beginning in 2006.

He also endured the debacles brought on by the notorious departures of star quarterback Michael Vick and coach Bobby Petrino in 2007.

He still has friends on the team, though, and is still in tune with their progress. He quickly points out how the 4-3 Falcons are on pace for the first consecutive winning seasons in franchise history. He'll tell you about second-year quarterback Matt Ryan and receivers Michael Jenkins and Roddy White, who he used to cover in practice.

"I'm proud of the guys," he said. "They're playing lights out right now."

Switch the topic of conversation to his departure from Atlanta, though, and his emotions sour.

Hall can't pinpoint exactly when the end began, but Vick's downfall is as good a starting point as any.

Vick's arrest on federal dogfighting charges and subsequent suspension from the NFL in the 2007 offseason created a situation from which the Falcons wanted to distance themselves. Hall, meanwhile, is a close friend of Vick's. They both grew up in Southeastern Virginia and played college ball at Virginia Tech, although they never played on the same team.

But Hall was coming off his first Pro Bowl, and he remained for 2007. Vick's case, however, caused Hall's relationship with Falcons owner Arthur Blank to turn icy, Hall said.

Petrino took over for Jim Mora in 2007 and repeatedly clashed with Hall. Petrino fined him after a heated on-field confrontation in September, and Hall returned the favor by blasting Petrino after he left the Falcons that December to take the head coaching job at the University of Arkansas.

Even this week, Hall has not suppressed his disdain for Petrino, calling him an obscenity several times.

NEW REIGN, NEW TROUBLES

Current Falcons head coach Mike Smith took over in 2008 and met with Hall to discuss his future, both parties said yesterday. Hall's version of events includes a meeting with Smith and newly hired general manager Thomas Dimitroff. The three agreed that the Falcons would extend Hall's contract, Hall said. He was determined to get a raise after making consecutive Pro Bowls.

Later that winter, though, Hall attended the NFL scouting combine and heard that the Falcons were shopping him in trade offers. He became irate.

"I was getting out of Atlanta, regardless, after the [stuff] that went down," Hall said yesterday.

"I wanted to [leave]," he continued. "I had been lied to so many times. I can't trust them. It's better to just wash your hands of it and get out of there."

Dimitroff declined to comment yesterday through a team spokesman.

"I got nothing but good feelings about DeAngelo from my conversations when I was first hired here," Smith said. "He's an outstanding player."

The Falcons worked out a trade with the Oakland Raiders, and Hall got a new start and a new contract.

"I got to know him personally, as a guy and not just like a teammate," said Falcons defensive end John Abraham, whose locker was next to Hall's. "He seemed like a great guy. A lot of people see the images and stuff that went on on the field and some stuff he did and try to designate him as a bad person, but he's a great person."

Hall's presence in Atlanta's locker room might have been missed, but apparently his absence on the field wasn't a significant detriment.

"I don't think it affected us that much," Abraham said, "because we brought in a lot of positive things after that."

'KIND OF MISUNDERSTOOD'

Hall's ill-fated stint in Oakland lasted eight games before he fell out of favor and was cut. He resurrected his career by playing well for Washington in the final eight games of last season.

"I took it as a second chance to go out there and show everybody that I can still play football," Hall said. "I'm pretty sure that they felt like I could, too, by the time [last season ended]. I got here with a team that had a defensive focus, had a direction and just told guys to go out there and go in this direction as opposed to just kind of willy-nillying out there."

As for his success and hefty free-agent contract with the Redskins, Hall doesn't know whether it repaired his image. And frankly, he doesn't care.

"I still think [people] think of me as the same person," he said. "I'm not ear-to-the-streets a whole lot, but I hear guys still bash me like they did when I was in Oakland, so it just kind of goes with the territory. I'm kind of misunderstood from time to time."

Hall's value to Washington's defense, though, is easy to understand.

He's one of few proven playmakers on that unit. He has three interceptions this season, while the rest of the team has none.

And he's got some extra motivation to add to that total on Sunday. Any plays he makes will be a bit sweeter than usual.

"If they're coming after me, I can live with that," he said in his characteristically confident tone. "A chance for me to try to make a play and help us win, I can live with that all day."

Rich Campbell: 540/735-1974
Email: rcampbell@freelancestar.com