FalconsIn2012 35,705 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 I have to admit, this is a pretty nice story about Duke. Sometimes a change of scenery is all that’s needed. Wish him well... Also noticed another Falcons castoff, McKissic, named starting RB in Washington Duke Riley opens up about path from despair in Atlanta to starter in Philly uke Riley remembers exactly where he was and what he was doing when Atlanta Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff called him with news that changed his life.D Riley was teaching his son how to play t-ball when his prayers were answered. “I was praying for a change because I was caught in a hole,” Riley said last week. “I was digging a hole and felt like I was just digging myself deeper. I was praying. I was literally praying, like, ‘I don’t want to get cut, but I need a change, I need something new.’ “I promise … a week or two later after praying, they called me." The call from Dimitroff was about a trade to Philadelphia. The Eagles were interested in Riley and the Falcons wanted Johnathan Cyprien after safety Keanu Neal went down with an injury. So Riley and a 6th-round pick came to Philly and Cyprien and a 7th went to Atlanta. Less than a year later, the 26-year-old Riley is in a completely different position. After getting traded last season, Riley eventually became a special teams captain and favorite in the locker room by season’s end. And this year, he’s going to be a starting linebacker with the chance to finally live up to his potential. “Unfortunately I was at a low point in my career in Atlanta,” Riley said, “and here I knew it was a fresh start.” Until coming to Philadelphia, Riley’s career certainly wasn’t going to plan. The Falcons drafted Riley out of LSU in the 3rd round back in 2017. In his rookie season, Riley tore a meniscus in his knee. In his second season, he tore his groin. And the whole time, he was dealing with what he called a “family situation.” Riley said this week that it just felt like the more he tried to right his career in Atlanta, the deeper the hole became. “I was like, I’m doing everything I can, I’m working harder than I’ve ever worked, I’m putting extra time in, I’m first one in the building, last one to leave,” he said. “I’m doing everything I can and stuff just wasn’t going my way. I never really looked at it as, man, this is almost over. I just looked at it like, I’m going to get out of this; I can’t feel sorry for myself. “I cleaned up some off-the-field stuff I had going on with my personal life, family situation, stuff like that. I just started to put all positive stuff around me, positive people. If it wasn’t helping me, then I was just separating myself. Not that I was changing on people, it’s just that in life you’re going through stuff. We’re not just football players. We all have different problems. We all have stuff that’s going on. The type of guy that I am, I try to help everyone. So I kind of had to step back and realized that I needed to help myself first before I had to help other people. That was the main thing. That was really it.” Riley arrived in Philadelphia just before Week 5. He knew the way to win over his new coaches and his new teammates was to work hard and prove himself on special teams. While Riley played just 29 defensive snaps for the Eagles in 2019, he became a major contributor on Dave Fipp’s special teams units. Despite not arriving in Philadelphia until after a quarter of the season was over, Riley still managed to play 254 special teams snaps, fourth-most on the team. And once Kamu Grugier-Hill was done for the season, Riley was named the Eagles’ special teams captain. That’s how quickly he won over everyone in the NovaCare Complex. “I just need to take it and go hard every day,” Riley said. “That’s kind of how I earned my respect in the building, by going hard every day. But I was doing the same things that I was doing in Atlanta. That’s why I felt like I was digging a hole. “I’ve always been known, you can ask anyone that’s ever played in the locker room with me, that I’m going to work hard and I’m going to go hard for everybody. I think that’s kind of how I pretty much earned my respect, by being the same guy every day, no matter if I’m feeling bad, feeling sick. I built up a standard for myself that I have to upkeep every day and I’m all about that.” This season, Riley is going to be one of the Eagles’ three starting linebackers. Nate Gerry is the top ‘backer but then Riley and T.J. Edwards are right after him. There’s a chance Riley will play a ton on defense in 2020. And he’s still absolutely one of the favorite players on the team among his teammates. At one training camp practice this season, Riley picked off a pass and took it the other way. Normally, when someone picks off a ball, there’s a celebration, maybe a few guys go crazy. When Riley picked off that pass, the entire defense went nuts, guys were screaming, lining up to congratulate him. They see how hard he’s worked. And they might not even understand how far he’s come. “It just felt right,” Riley said. “It felt right when I walked in the building. It felt like I’m meant to be here.” Sportsman2593, Atl Falcon, Goober Pyle and 5 others 8 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JayOzOne 20,231 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 Falcons Fan MVP, thofin21, Da_Truth and 9 others 5 1 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LightningDawg58 2,244 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 Good for him. I wish him well. FalconsIn2012, Drew4719, brando27 and 2 others 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FalconsIn2012 35,705 Posted September 9, 2020 Author Share Posted September 9, 2020 9 minutes ago, JayOzOne said: LOL.... I know most of us were so frustrated with Duke, but the story makes it tough not to root for him Boise Falcon Fan, Drew4719, mtldirtybird and 3 others 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Falcon 692 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 That’s awesome. I’m happy for him. He’s a good dude and effort was never a struggle for him. He always gave his all. red falcon, Boise Falcon Fan, FalconsIn2012 and 5 others 8 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sipifalcon 1,975 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 Nice work Duke dawgsfan426, FalconsIn2012 and red falcon 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RoddyWhite84 3,528 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 Good on him hope he has a good rest of his career blizzard_falcon and FalconsIn2012 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Francis York Morgan 25,657 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 Happy for him, glad he's an Eagle Vandy and FalconsIn2012 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Romfal 11,747 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 hope he got coached up on how to take an angle IamFRESCO1, putnam6 and Boise Falcon Fan 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SipDirtyBird84 336 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 He was definitely digging a hole!!! 😆 mtldirtybird 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IamFRESCO1 681 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 So the eagles linebacker depth is trash... 🤫.......check. Jimsmusic™, Romfal, mtldirtybird and 6 others 4 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beast-N-Da-Sheetz 4,080 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 So they got a "starter" and a 6th, while we got Cyprien (who's not even on the team) and a 7th. ...Troffed🤬 Drew4719, Osiruz, FalconsIn2012 and 4 others 7 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
papachaz 19,324 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 2 hours ago, FalconsIn2012 said: LOL.... I know most of us were so frustrated with Duke, but the story makes it tough not to root for him did we even know about the meniscus and groin injuries? I don't remember hearing about those myself... putnam6, gazoo and FalconsIn2012 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ADAMSVILLE GYM 5,325 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 "Congratulations Duke". Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brewcrew 2,885 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 4 hours ago, Beast-N-Da-Sheetz said: So they got a "starter" and a 6th, while we got Cyprien (who's not even on the team) and a 7th. ...Troffed🤬 Down crown them yet, Duke was a “starter” here too. The Great American and Francis York Morgan 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thofin21 3,212 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 Glad to see he's being productive , Too bad we wasted another 3rd . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PriMeTiiMe 7,963 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 Eagles have the worst LB group in the NFL...by far. TJ Edwards, Nathan Gerry and Duke Riley. 🤮 But good for him. Hopefully he turns it around. Francis York Morgan, Smiler11, Atl Falcon and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A Pimp Named Slickback™ 3,409 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 At least he knew he wasn't playing up to what he felt was his potential, and was trying to correct it prior to the trade. Dude really seemed to be amped he was drafted by us, and to play with Debo, so I had high hopes for him on that alone. Hopefully he be comes the player he envisions himself to be. Captain Falcon, FalconsIn2012 and VTCrunkler 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
octoslash 18,255 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 And while Duke was praying, a lot of us were yelling 'god dammit!' Kind of ironic. ki46dinah, ADAMSVILLE GYM and FalconsIn2012 1 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dr Long Shot 4,082 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 6 hours ago, Beast-N-Da-Sheetz said: So they got a "starter" and a 6th, while we got Cyprien (who's not even on the team) and a 7th. ...Troffed🤬 Just because a player is starting doesn't mean he's good. octoslash 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
octoslash 18,255 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 2 minutes ago, Dr Long Shot said: Just because a player is starting doesn't mean he's good. Brother ain't that the truth lol. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dr Long Shot 4,082 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 (edited) 2 minutes ago, octoslash said: Brother ain't that the truth lol. I can come up with a full roster of starters that would be the worst team in the history of football. Lot's of scrubs start. A team of the best bench players in the league probably trounces a team of the worst starters in the league. Edited September 9, 2020 by Dr Long Shot octoslash and papachaz 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
papachaz 19,324 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 20 minutes ago, Dr Long Shot said: Just because a player is starting doesn't mean he's good. that ole saying 'the turd on top of the pile is still a turd' kinda thing? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Boise Falcon Fan 4,117 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 He seems like a really good dude. He just took horrible angles, and he didn't seem to know what was going on half of the time. Maybe his personal issues were on his mind, and it kept him from focusing. These guys are human. I hope the best for him. papachaz and A Pimp Named Slickback™ 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mountain_jim3 217 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 I recall being ticked that they did not see enough in McKissic to keep him that first year. JDaveG and ATLSlobberKnockers 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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