Entries Tagged 'News' ↓

By: T. Love

In one of the most hyped preseason battles in Atlanta Falcons history, second-year man Jimmy Williams will get the nod at free safety as Chris Crocker continues to nurse a bone bruise.

Although his availability for Sunday’s matchup versus Minnesota is not completely known, head coach Bobbby Petrino stated, “talking to him and talking to trainers, I’m not real encouraged.”

Does anybody else think BP could use a hug right now?

William’s play in the preseason did not warrant him taking over the job for Crocker. The former Virginia Tech Hokie is an excellent run defender, leading the team in tackles during the preseason with 16. However, he was often caught out of place on long balls and is a little slow at recognizing plays. This is the same problem the team faced with Crocker starting last season.

Hopefully, the Vikings will stick to the run game and not try to make first-year starter Tavarious Jackson make too many plays. But, if they watched any preseason film, it would be “Moraesque” for them not to attack this weakness.

Crocker’s availability also affects the team’s nickel package since he lined up on the slot receiver and with Williams occupying the free safety spot. BP said the team has explored moving cornerback Lewis Sanders to nickel and putting rookie Chris Houston on the outside. Cornerback Antoine Harris playing nickel and leaving Sanders on the outside is also a possibility.

The best thing for the Falcons would be if Jammal Anderson and John Abraham wreak havoc every time Jackson drops back to pass and does not give him time to go deep.

Wishful thinking.

Injuries are part of the game and hopefully defensive coordinator Don Zimmer is good at working with what is available.

Two defensive starters are already out for Sunday’s game. The Falcons truly need to rally around one another if they plan on making this season a success.

By: T. Love

As if the Falcons needed to start the season with any less starters. After miss most of training camp with some injury sustained from a jet ski accident, pro-bowl defensive tackle Rod Coleman will miss up to four games after undergoing surgery on Friday morning to remove debris from his right knee.

Coleman battled turf toe all last season and was basically rendered ineffective, especially compared to his production in 2004 and 2005. The former East Carolina Pirate is an integral piece to a Falcons front line that boasts pro-bowler John Abraham, 2006 TFL (tackle for loss) leader Grady Jackson and the eighth overall selection in the 2007 draft Jammal Anderson.

Once again, we will not get to see our promising defensive line at full strength.

Damn!!!

The Falcons already have a paper thin defensive line and with the uncertainty surrounding his backup and now starter, Jonathan Babineaux, the Falcons are going to have to do some more late minute shopping in order to put a defensive line on the field.

Behind Babineaux is rookie Trey Lewis out of Washburn and recent pickup Montavious Stanley who was claimed off waivers from the Dallas Cowboys in late August.

Babineaux was a second-round pick by the Falcons in 2005 and has yet to live up to his billing. Now is his chance to really earn his stripes and help this team out when they need him most. Lewis was extremely impressive during preseason play, but you don’t know what to expect once the regular season kicks off.

The players that we have right now are going to have to play tough and I hope they are well conditioned because Minnesota will run the ball at the Falcons all day on Sunday.

An early prediction for this game is that linebackers Keith Brooking, Michael Boley and Demorrio Williams will be one, two and three in tackles once the game concludes.

Stay optimistc.

By: T. Love

Just by the number of comments, I can tell that I was truly missed. Since the mighty Mountaineers of Appalachian State knocked off the Michigan Wolverines, a lot has happened in Flowery Branch as the Falcons prepare for their Week 1 showdown with the Minnesota Vikings.

On Sept. 1, after a promising preseason in which he rushed for 172 yards on 39 carries, seventh-round pick Jason Snelling was cut in order to make room for Artose Pinner who was recently released by the Vikings. Last season, Pinner rushed for 190 yards on 43 carries with three touchdowns. As a traditional running back, Pinners’ 5-10, 232-pound frame is the typical size of a power back in Bobby Petrino’s offense. I thought that Snelling could be that guy, but obviously Petrino and GM Rich McKay saw more in Pinner.

I think it is safe to say that McKay’s seat is getting hotter. I’ll get to him about midseason, but another one of his great picks is looking for a job.

A third-round pick in the 2005 draft, linebacker Jordan Beck was handed his pink slip on the first as well. This guy had some incredible special teams play during the preseason, but never managed to find his way onto the field during the regular season. Not a huge surprise here, especially with the emergence of undrafted free agent Tony Taylor out of Georgia. However, you could assume that a third-round pick would be able to hold on with a team for longer than two seasons. I said he was a reach back when the Falcons took him and looks like I was right.

The Falcons also added help on both lines with the addition of DT Remi Ayodele and offensive lineman D’Anthony Bastiste.

Ayodele was recently released by the Dallas Cowboys, who incorporate a 3-4 defensive scheme. He was originally signed by the Patriots in 2006, who also run a 3-4. Obviously this guy is more suited in the 4-3 scheme and any additional help the Falcons can get on their paper thin offensive line is welcome.

Batiste, 6-4, 318 pounds, was inactive for nine games last season with the Carolina Panthers. He began the 2006 season with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League and also competed with the Bossier City Battlewings of af2 in 2004.

The Falcons also put together their practice squad which consists of quarterback Casey Bramlet, defensive back Brent Grimes, wide receivers Eric Weems and Todd Watkins, offensive lineman Kurt Quarterman, linebacker Travis Williams and tight end George Cooper.

By: T. Love

Since this is my blog, I am going to devote this post to the tiny school in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. A campus that is so beautiful, liberal welcoming to anyone that it encourages you to be “Yosef”. A university that takes pride in its athletics programs. A team that former Ohio State Buckeye and now ESPN analyst, Kirk Herbstreit, so eloquently stated that despite its success in Division I-AA, it was a cupcake game and the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines would roll over as a tuneup.

No. 5, meet No. 1!

Big congratulations to the Appalachian State Mountaineers, my alma mater, who went up to Ann Arbor, Mich., to open the 2007 college football season and these kids absolutely did work. 34-32 Appalachian victory in front of 109,218 at the “Big House”.

Riding a 14-game winning streak, back-to-back Southern Conference championships, back-to-back national titles and the No. 1 ranking in the 2007 FCS polls, the mighty Mountaineers proved on Saturday that speed kills, the BCS is shit and the men from Boone, N.C., are a forced to be reckoned with.

From the outset of the game, Appalachian was able to spread the field and dissect the Michigan defense with its speed. Sophomore QB Armanti Edwards is ready to set the bar higher for his career after passing for 227 yards and racking up four touchdowns (one rushing). It’s hard to imagine what Edwards could have done for an encore after leading the Mountaineers to a national championship as a true freshman. He not only gave a strong encore, he let the rest of the FCS and the Southern Conference that ASU is not about to give up its spot at the top.

What I love most about this victory, is not the fact that we probably pulled off the greatest upset in college football history. Not the fact that Lloyd Carr is going to lose his job over this. Not the fact that I can say “F” the Big 10/11. It is the fact that all the jackasses at ESPN have to eat their crow on national television. Kirk Herbstreit, Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Mark May just to name a few. None of you guys gave us a chance and now all you do is hate on Carr to squirm out of the fact that you didn’t know what you were talking about. Give credit where credit is due. Appalachian State kicked Michigan’s ass.

The Appers have won 26 of their last 30 football games and have boatload of distinctions to their name right now. Appalachian State came to this game not to please the media, serve as a tuneup for a “BCS Contender” or collect a $400,000 check (thanks for the money suckers!!). The Mountaineers went to Ann Arbor to win a football game. And that is what they did.

Michigan is the all-time winningest program in NCAA history, so it is easy to perceive why everyone would write off Appalachian State. But winning is an attitude, not prestige and at “The Rock” 3,333 above sea level, that is what the Mountaineers do. Win.

The victory against Michigan was especially sweet for the fans, alumni, students, faculty and anyone else who loves Appalachian State.

But as Cory Lynch alluded to, this team expected to win and needs to put this game behind them because there is still a big season ahead.

Next Saturday, the Black and Gold take on Lenoir-Rhyne. The first opportunity for the Mountaineer faithful to watch the defending champs at Kidd Brewer Stadium this season and the second step to winning No. 3!

Give ‘em hell Apps!!!

By: T. Love

Yep, I called it. The Atlanta Falcons announced their 53-man roster for the 2007-08 season on Saturday afternoon when the mandatory rosters were due to the league office. The most shocking (not to me) aspect of the depth chart is second-year Adam Jennings as the No. 1 kickoff and punt returner. Former return man Allen Rossum was dealt to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 2008 conditional draft pick. Just like I predicted, maybe not this way but Rossum was shipped out of Atlanta.

Jennings has been impressive this season in kickoff returns averaging 33.8 yards per return with a long of 48. This move for Jennings was not only about getting younger, but about salary cap manage. Prior to the 2005, Rossum signed a new deal with the Falcons which rewarded him for his performance against the Rams in the NFC Divisional playoffs the previous season. No. 20 hasn’t really lived up to the contract since then and when that happens, you get replaced.

Former UGA standout Tony Taylor also warrants some attention in depth chart news after working his way to the No. 2 position at middle linebacker after being an undrafted free agent. Taylor has great awareness while in the game and he has playmaking skills. The only knock is his size and obviously this has not been an issue. 2005 third-round pick Jordan Beck makes the roster by the skin of his teeth, but this guy has not lived up to his billing. He’ll see a ton of action on special teams.

As for the fallen 22, quarterback Casey Bramlet, running backs Arlen Harris and Justin Vincent, wide receivers Vincent Marshall, Eric Weems, Otis Amey and Noriaki Kinoshita, tight ends George Cooper and Daniel Fells, offensive linemen Bo Lacy, Kurt Quarterman and Frank Omiyale, defensive ends Nic Clemons and Paul Carrington, defensive tackles Tommy Jackson and Darrell Shropshire, linebackers John Leake and Travis Williams and defensive backs Tony Franklin and Brent Grimes.

By: T. Love

The roster trimming continues as the Atlanta Falcons have released linebacker Orlando Huff and offensive tackle Leander Jordan.

Huff, a seven-year veteran, signed with the Falcons in June after playing the previous two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. Huff’s ability to play all three linebacker positions and special teams prowess were his selling points. Well, after about two months with the Falcons he is gone. Another great signing by our terrific GM Rich McKay. I’ll talk about him later.

On a positive note for Mr. McKay, the drafting of South Florida’s Stephen Nicholas in the fourth round made Huff expendable. Nicholas is currently second on the team in tackles with nine behind fellow rookie Daren Stone. Maybe I shouldn’t hate on McKay so much, but this is just the preseason.

Also, the emergence of undrafted free agent Tony Taylor from Georgia could also be a reason for Huff being handed his walking papers. Taylor is currently listed as second behind Keith Brooking at the middle linebacker position.

The knock on Taylor coming out of college was his size. Brooking is getting a bit long in the tooth and I seem to remember the guy he replaced was knocked for being a little small as well. A football player is a football player and Taylor is that guy. It also helps that Atlanta’s linebacker coach is Brian Van Gorder, who coached Taylor for a while in Athens.

Jordan originally signed with the Falcons on May 8 and was brought in to bring more competition to the tackle position. Obviously he did not bring much competition. The starting offensive line is set and Jordan was battling for a backup position.

Good luck to him as well as Huff in the future.

The Falcons have two preseason games remaining and a couple more people will be handed pink slips as the team needs to trim the roster down to 53 men.

By: T. Love

Never mind about that Shockley Deserves a Shot post, after going 4-for-5 for 46 yards, D.J. Shockley suffered a season-ending knee injury after tearing his ACL on a 10-yard scramble in Atlanta’s 13-10 over the Buffalo Bills on Friday.

This was first reported by the AJC and the team has yet to make this official. Since the Michael Vick story broke, the local paper has been pretty inaccurate on some I’m still holding out hope that they botched another one.

I’m really starting to think that maybe we should forfeit this season and just start prepping for 2008. The team should still practice but it will just be more reps because we need it.

On a 10-yard scramble in the fourth quarter, Shockley got his foot caught in the grass and went down hard. The former UGA star was trying to improve on his not so great 5-for-12 performance in the preseason opener.

I knew as soon as Shock hit it was over. The initial diagnosis of the injury was a sprained knee, but when the cart came on to the field it was obvious that the there was some kind of tear. If there was a sprain, there would have not been a cart. The NFL is a business of making money and bringing out the cart in the league costs money. It’s not coming out unless it is necessary.

This season is going to be rough. Not only for the fans, but for Mr. Blank. With Michael Vick gone from the Falcons, Blank has lost that fanbase along with people that will no longer associate with the team because of the scandal. Now he has lost the UGA fanbase. Pretty sure linebacker Tony Taylor has just made the team.

I know Arthur still has plenty of single-game tickets for sale. Here come the blackouts.

By: T. Love

With second-year man Jerious Norwood suffering from extreme cramps and veteran Warrick Dunn still not up to game speed after having surgery on a herniated disc prior to training camp, rookie Jason Snelling will get the call at running back for the Falcons when the team heads to Buffalo for its second preseason game on Friday night.

Selected in the seventh round out of Virginia, Snelling was drafted to be a short-yardage back that could run behind fullback Ovie Mughelli and a quasi-beefed up line. As we have learned by now, Bobby Petrino’s offense calls for a big powerful running back and neither Norwood or Dunn fit the bill. Anyone else wish we would have held on to T.J. Duckett?

During his collegiate career, he took a medical redshirt as a sophomore and also missed a couple of games due to his battle with epilepsy. Now that the situation is under control, he appears ready to earn his keep on the professional level.

Snelling was impressive in his first NFL action when he racked up 48 yards on 10 carries to lead all Falcons’ rushers. He also caught three balls out of the backfield for twelve yards. When given a chance to play last Friday, he showed that he could be more than a short yardage back and has a little speed once he gets to the second level.

With the starters scheduled to go into the second half of tomorrow’s game, Snelling needs to continue to run hard between the tackles, show the ability to bounce a play outside and be able to help in pass protection. Those three things should secure a roster spot and keep the Falcons deep at running back.

It is unknown at this time if Norwood will be able to go on Friday, but if not, journeyman Arlen Harris who played with the Lions last year will get a chance to show his stuff.

By: T. Love

Michael Vick stands alone in the Federal dog fighting case as Purnell A. Peace a.k.a. “P-Funk” and Quanis L. Phillips a.k.a. “Q” have flipped the script and decided to cooperate with the authorities. These dudes must have been in deep.

Vick looks like he is in real trouble now, but for anyone who has watched our elusive QB, knows he does not go down easy. He always finds a way to pull a Houdini to get out of the worst situations on the field. Of course, there are times when he starts pulling his Houdini act and all you can see is catastrophe developing. This might be one of those times.

P-Funk is scheduled to enter a plea deal on Thursday and Q will give up his “street cred” the following day.

There is speculation that they are all testifying against Vick and that he will go down now. That is probably a good assumption but after all of the false media reports and all the sensationalism, I will continue to take my wait and see approach.

All I can say is this situation doesn’t look good. From the time you put the overmatched, disrespected and underdog Virginia Tech Hokies on your back and rallied them to a 21-point comeback (although it fell short) in the Sugar Bowl versus one of the most legit Florida State teams, I knew you were something special.

Atlanta drafted you in 2001 and you put butts in the seats. Gave this city something to cheer about, we won games, the Falcons were relevant, you carried us to the NFC Championship and you gave us hope.

I, as well as many others, remember everything you have done for us and maybe you are guilty of these charges, but I honestly don’t care. Yea, it is stupid but who doesn’t do stupid things? You just get dirt thrown on you because you are famous and your not supposed to make mistakes because a bunch of corporate idiots give you tons of money so they can sell their products. Give me a break.

Keep your head up No. 7. You have until Friday to accept a plea, but if you’re truly innocent then don’t. An innocent man doesn’t plea.

No matter, you still have support in this city because a lot of us don’t forget the great memories you gave us on Sundays the past six years.

By: T. Love

When all was said and done, the second annual Midtown Touchdown Classic was a half ass effort by the Falcons organization to give the fans something to cheer about.

I did not get a chance to go to the festivities held at Piedmont Park, nor was I overly concerned in taking part. If I had kids or cared about getting autographs, maybe that would have been for me.

Nonetheless, practice was scheduled to begin at 6:45 p.m., but the team finally arrived in full force at about 7:15. LB Keith Brooking, DE John Abraham, RT Todd Weiner did not practice and TE Alge Crumpler and QB Michael Vick were not even in attendance. I can assume why Vick was not there, but Crumpler’s absence has me a little concerned. Perhaps that knee isn’t doing so well. He has been rehabbing vigorously and has been in minimal practice. I hope he is ready for week one.

When the team was on the field, they jogged through some drills and did not even scrimmage. It was hard to get a gauge on exactly how the players were doing. Also, with a bunch of fan friendly contest going on during, it made it seem like even less of a practice.

All and all, a major disappointment and boring which was evident by fans leaving halfway through the practice. I was able to observe my five points, which I talked about in Friday’s post and here is what I saw.

Jammal Anderson
Really big and moves around well. Since the team did not scrimmage, I couldn’t really judge his pass rush technique but he looked good in drills. Hopefully it works on Sundays.

Are we catching the damn ball
Nope. Joe Horn looked good, but Roddy White dropped a couple and the fans let him know that they aren’t having it anymore. Horn at 35 looks like the fastest guy on the field. I hope he can stay healthy this season or we are right back to where we were last season with the receiving corps with the addition of a promising rookie.

Free safety battle
Just watched the team conduct drills. Not really sure who has the upper hand, but Chris Crocker is currently nursing a knee injury giving Jimmy Williams all the reps on the first team. Could be bad for Crocker, but he is really excelling in nickel packages.

Watch out for the little guys
Rookie Laurent Robinson caught nearly everything thrown his way and looked pretty sharp in his route running. Stephen Nicholas, Darren Stone and Trey Lewis all looked good in drills. I’ll have to wait until this weekend to really see how they are. Lewis is huge.

Joey Harrington
It’s going to be a long season.