Well, March madness has arrived and it's not just basketball this year. This has been a really strange off-season so far. In two weeks time, there has been much to reflect on. Some expected, some just flat out mind numbing. Lets start with some of the things we all saw coming. Brett Favre hasn't decided if he's going to retire or not. No surprise there. I wouldn't expect his answer to come until August. There is no way he's going to suck it up and go through the OTAs. Even at 40 years old he's still one of the best in the game. Sure, he makes mistakes but last season proved he could limit those mistakes and give his team a serious chance at a Championship. Ironically, it was his final mistake that sealed the Vikings fate for 2009. Mike Holmgren has completely revamped the 2010 [...] Continue reading →

See what happens when you're a cornerback that can't turn your head to play the ball? According to Schefter, the Lions have agreed to swap picks in the 5th round of the 2010 draft and also surrender their 6th rounder for Falcons cornerback Chris Houston. Houston is a talented guy who could be a very solid cornerback in the NFL. His problem is he simply cannot play the ball. Due to that inability, it seems Houstons worn out his welcome. He missed the last five games of the 2009 season due to injury. At the time, I felt it was a nice way of moving rookie Chris Owens into the lineup while allowing Houston to keep his dignity. It's possible I was correct based on Schefters tweet. It's not surprising with the aquisition of Dunta Robinson this weekend. It left an odd man out with Chris [...] Continue reading →

Well, after much speculation and rumors coming from every talking head in the media it's official, Robinson is a Falcon. As much as any other Falcons fan, I wanted to see them upgrade the secondary. I held out hopes for Chris Owens and Brent Grimes. They stepped it up at the end of the season but adding Robinson creates some much needed depth. Now when you have an injury in the secondary you can rely on either Grimes, Owens, Brian Williams or Chris Houston to be game ready. For a very young secondary, there is a lot of veteran experience now. But what price did the Falcons pay to sign Robinson? Did they break the [...] Continue reading →

Well, it seems I've had some mixed views of my analysis of the NFL Combine and my push for an outside linebacker for the Falcons #1 overall selection. I'd like to elaborate some. I try and look at the team as a whole and determine where the biggest weakness exists as well as depth on the roster. So even though the weakest link on the Falcons defense may be Jamaal Anderson, the depth behind him isn't terrible. When looking at upgrading the team depth becomes a huge factor. You could have Bo Jackson and Dan Marino starting on your team but the major question is, "What happens if they get injured?" This is where my analysis began. First I looked at the offensive side of the ball. With the exception of the offensive line there is a capable backup at every position. It wouldn't be [...] Continue reading →

The results are in and the 2010 NFL combine is officially over. Next up, the Pro Days at the players schools. It happened to be a weekend that I was sick and laying up on the couch in pain. I sat through all of the NFL Networks coverage and you can bet, I have some opinions. Lets tackle those quickly. Rich Eisen is the best host on any TV show I've ever witnessed.  The guy is just amazing at keeping some pretty... opinionated ex-players in line. I'm being kind using the word opinionated however. If anyone has sat through three hours of Michael Irvin, Warren Sapp or Shannon Sharpe you know what I mean. I look forward to Chad Johnson OchoCinco retiring so he can take his rightful place next to Rich on the network. Now lets go [...] Continue reading →

GM Thomas Dimitroff struck gold a second time today winning the coin toss against the Houston Texans for the 19th overall selection in the draft. It was two years ago when Dimitroff was a rookie General Manager and won a three way coin flip against the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders. With that selection, he chose Matt Ryan from Boston College. This year, the focus will be on defense and at the 19th pick there should be some good talent remaining. The NFL combine continues today and it's focus is on positions of need for the Falcons. The defensive line, linebackers and [...] Continue reading →

Well, it's that time of year again. The NFL Draft is around the corner and teams begin the restocking of young talent. The real trick to it is finding those players that are not only talented, but fit your system. The Falcons have either the 19th or 20th pick in this draft depending on a coin flip. So being realistic, my list needed to be based on players that may actually be available. With the NFL combine beginning next week, I've begun preparing my short list of players to observe. Based on needs, character and overall talent these five names stand out to me. 1. Ricky Sapp - Linebacker - Clemson The Falcons currently have Mike Peterson and Stephen Nicholas manning the outside linebacker positions but GM Thomas Dimitroff preaches youth movement. So [...] Continue reading →

Today, the Atlanta Falcons announced that they have promoted quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave to the assistant head coaching position. Musgrave was being persued by unknown sources which may have prompted the promotion. His work with Matt Ryan gave him job security with the Falcons over the past two seasons. Widely known as one of the best quarterbacks coaches in the NFL, the move doesn't really surprise me. I was concerned that he may be offered a higher ranking position such as a coordinators job with one of the rebuilding teams. Washington seemed like a place he would fit in well. He was with them back in 2005 and has an amiable relationship with now head coach Mike Shanahan. So to me, the move appears a matter of necessity. Keeping the core coaching staff together going [...] Continue reading →

Going into the off-season, the two major concerns for the Falcons are on defense. The offense, for the most part will be complete. The return of Harry Douglas from season ending ACL surgery is a big boost. It gives quaterback Matt Ryan another playmaker to distribute the ball to next season. Also recently re-signed receiver Brian Finneran helps complete a pretty solid core of receivers. The offense also has a healthy Michael Turner coming back as well as the best tight end in NFL history, Tony Gonzalez. So the offense seems ready to go in 2010. It's the defense that needs a little tweaking. The return of Peria Jerry and Brian Williams should provide quite a boost for a team that ranked in the top ten in run defense last season. However, the pass defense is another story. The [...] Continue reading →

Growing up in the Eighties I can tell you, if you didn't live near Atlanta you likely won't remember seeing the Falcons play enough to know any of the players. As a kid growing up in Louisiana the only way I could follow the black and red was reading the black and white Sports Page on Monday mornings. I'd watch Sports Center on Sunday nights to catch any highlights that may or may not grace their show. Typically, it would be a ten second blurb about the game. You may see one or two plays, but that was the extent of their media coverage. On lucky weekends, you may get Chris Berman for thirty to forty five seconds drooling over Jerry Rice as he glides past a confused looking Charles Dimry or DJ Johnson. Otherwise, I watched my two Saints games a year and followed the Falcons as well [...] Continue reading →