The Atlanta Falcons Have the Best Story of the Preseason

The NFL preseason is not about playing the best football--we all know that. It is meant to give the teams a chance to find the diamond in the rough; the guy that can play with the big boys. He just needs a chance. The networks like to latch on to those guys, because--well, otherwise there would not be a lot to talk about during some of these games.

Of all the developing stories that the NFL preseason has for fans so far the Atlanta Falcons have the absolute best one.

Thomson20192/Flickr

If you don't recognize the guy in the picture that's okay--he's been away from the game for awhile. In fact, he's been in prison. His name is Brian Banks and years ago when he was about to embark on his college career for the USC Trojans (when Pete Carroll was still in charge) when it was cut short. Why? He was accused and convicted of rape.

He served his sentence and even completed his probation before the opportunity to clear his name arose. To make the long story short the person that accused him of rape back in high school admitted on tape that he was innocent.

With the window closing but still open for him Banks decided to try and get back in the game. He got a few tryouts last season, but didn't make it one with anyone. He played in the UFL, but the league quickly folded when guys got tired of not getting paid.

This season he is in camp with the Atlanta Falcons and has even started a blog (not much there yet, but he has been busy; good read though). Last Thursday in the Falcons preseason opener against the Bengals the dream came to fruition when he finally got the chance to step on the field.

And of course he made the play.



Best of luck to you Brian.