FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Vic Beasley heard the grumbling. He was a wasted pick in the first round. He wasnt going to be able to play every down in the NFL.No ones talking that way anymore.Beasley has made a huge leap in his second season with Atlanta, giving the Falcons something they havent had in years: a fearsome pass rusher.He already has 10.5 sacks, ranking No. 2 in the league behind Denvers Von Miller. Its the most sacks by a Falcons player since John Abraham had 13 in 2010.Beasley wants more.Im not satisfied, he said this week, standing at his locker before practice. Theres more out there for me. I feel like Im just now grasping my potential.Beasley started every game as a rookie but hardly had the sort of impact the Falcons (7-5) were expecting when they drafted him No. 8 overall.At 6-foot-3 and 246 pounds, he was caught in between -- a bit too small to be a traditional defensive end, a bit too large to play outside linebacker. Some projected him as merely a situational player, coming in on obvious passing downs with the single-minded objective to get pressure on the quarterback.The Falcons, who are tied for first in the NFC South heading into Sundays game at Los Angeles against the Rams, thought he could be more. Coach Dan Quinn saw a hybrid player who would fit as an outside linebacker in the base defense, or was capable of lining up as a defensive end in the nickel package.It didnt happen right away. As a rookie, Beasley managed only four sacks on a team that had just 19 overall.Youve got to understand that youre brought here for a reason, he said. I didnt want to let one year get me down.Still, the criticism weighed on him. Beasley returned for Year 2 with a new drive and focus.Quinn noticed the change.Its the work ethic that, honestly, he came back with that set him off in terms of, `I want to go for it, the coach said. Those are the things that dont show up on the stat sheet.Beasley is more than just a pass rusher.As an undersized D-end, hes doing a good job in the run game, Quinn said. Hes light, but hes strong. Hes able to get his hands on guys and he can shed tight ends.It also helped that the Falcons brought in 15-year veteran Dwight Freeney, who has served as a mentor to Beasley and other young players on a defense that has started as many as four rookies.Hes shown an eagerness to learn, Freeney said of Beasley. Mentally, his football IQ is starting to grow, which tends to happen from a first-year to a second-year player. Hes starting to realize more. I try to help him out wherever I can.Beasleys first step is the thing that sets him apart. Hes so quick off the edge, its difficult for someone to block him alone. Offenses usually have to assign an extra blocker, or at least hope the tight end can get a bit a piece of Beasley to slow him down.I come off the ball pretty well, he said. Some things they can teach you. Some things are just God-given.After recording only one sack in the first four games, Beasley had a breakout performance at Denver with 3.5 sacks -- nearly matching the total for his entire career to that point.Since then, hes had two more multi-sack games.Yep, the Falcons do have a pass rusher.Finally.Hes in a good place, Quinn said. Mentally with his game, in his preparation, in his routine, hes really locked in.Game notes The Falcons announced a four-year contract extension for CB Robert Alford. Quinn said the team wants to work out a similar deal with its best corner, Desmond Trufant, who is out for the year with a pectoral injury. Tru totally embodies all the things were looking for, the coach said. Were hopeful that hell be with it for the long term as well. ... WR Julio Jones (turf toe), OT Jake Mattews (knee) and WR Mohamed Sanu (groin) missed another day of practice. Quinn said Jones would do some light drills and hoped to get limited reps on Friday.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry .---For more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap NFL Jerseys China .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. China Jerseys . Emery skated the length of the ice and fought an unwilling Holtby during the third period of the Flyers 7-0 loss Friday night in Philadelphia. He was given 29 penalty minutes, including a game misconduct. But Emery did not face even a disciplinary hearing with NHL senior vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan because rules 46. https://www.wholesalejerseys2020.com/ . -- About a third of the way through the regular season, the Washington Wizards are at . Wholesale Stitched Jerseys .J. -- Josh Cribbs was in the Pro Bowl in February and out of a job six months later. Cheap Jerseys From China . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. MADRID -- Rafael Nadal is cutting short his 2016 season so he can fully recover from a left wrist injury.The 14-time Grand Slam champion said Thursday he is still bothered by the injury that kept him out of action for more than two months this season and wants to treat it properly before coming back in 2017.Now it is time to rest and start preparing intensively (for) the 2017 season, the 30-year-old Spaniard said in a statement.Nadal said he will miss indoor tournaments in Basel, Switzerland, next week and Paris next month. He is also ruled out of the season-ending ATP Finals in London next month.Nadal said he forced his recovery to be able to play in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and that caused him to be in pain in every tournament since then.Nadal has slipped to No. 6 in the rankings. He won back-to-back clay-court titles in Barcelona and Monte Carlo last spring but has not won any tournaments since then.The statement said the original injury healed properly but the pain in the wristt area kept bothering him and kept him from performing at 100 percent.ddddddddddddIt is no secret that I arrived to the Olympic Games short of preparation and not fully recovered, but the goal was to compete and win a medal for Spain, he said. This forced recovery has caused me pain since then and now I am forced to stop and start preparing the 2017 season.Nadal won the doubles gold medal in Rio. He lost in the singles semifinals and also in the third-place match.The injury had forced Nadal to withdraw from the French Open before the third round and skip Wimbledon altogether.I am very saddened for not being able to play next week in Basel since I have a great memory of the tournament and the final played against Roger Federer last year, he said. I wont be able to compete either in Paris-Bercy, where the crowds and the staff have always treated me so well. ' ' '