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 [...]
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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 [...]
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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 [...]
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Chamionship Sunday has arrived and the teams remaining are interesting indeed. Who would have ever predicted the Jets making it this far with a rookie coach and rookie quarterback?
So today I got up early today and began watching the pre-game show on NFL Network. I love listening to Rich Eisen with his crew of retired coaches and players. He's one of the best Ever at keeping control of his show.
GREATEST QUARTERBACK IN NFL HISTORY
A discussion broke out about Peyton Manning and is he one of, if not, the best quarterback ever to play the game. There were some varied opinions from Warren Sapp, Marshall Faulk, Steve Marriuci and Michael Irvin. The consensus view was yes, he will retire one of the greatest ever.
Not so fast though! Retired Dallas Cowboy Irvin [...]
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It's fascinating to now watch the playoffs unfold and reflect back on what the Falcons really did in 2009. The disappointment of early season injuries and missing the playoffs remains, but there is a feeling of hope for once in Atlanta. For the first time ever, the team didn't quit on the coaching staff and that says volumes about the possibilities in the future.
They started the season 4-1 and appeared to have a chance to go to the playoffs in back to back seasons for the first time in the teams history. Then second year phenom Matt Ryan went through a sophomore slump and the defense forgot how to rush the opponents quarterback. Things had taken a turn for the worse.
Sure, there were injuries but no team can use that as an excuse. Losing Peria Jerry, Harry Douglas and Brian [...]
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If you're a college football fan, this is the greatest time of year. For the next four weeks, your sport will offer a slate of 33 different consolation games, all disguised as significant NCAA showdowns, thanks to corporate sponsors and one catchy word: Bowl. Who isn't looking forward to seeing Marshall face Ohio in the Little Caesars Bowl? Or how about Bowling Green vs. Idaho in the Roady's Humanitarian Bowl?
In short, the joke that is college football is funniest this time of year. In the NFL, playoff races are heating up. The league is boiling down to 12 teams who will all enter the mid-January tournament [...]
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The other day someone asked me how I felt about the fact that the Pro Football Hall of Fame has enshrined roughly three times as many offensive players as defensive players. My response was that this is the most obvious sign of a flawed selection process. Currently, Hall of Fame enshrinement hinges on the votes of 44 sportswriters (one writer from the market of each NFL team, plus 11 at-large delegates).
While things could be much worse––see Pro Bowl voting, where fans, in all their naiveté and fickleness, have too much of a say––the Hall of Fame would still be wise to make [...]
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Blitzing is heading out. How pressuring the quarterback with only four rushers is changing the NFL.
Derek Anderson picked himself up off the turf at Baltimore's M & T Bank Stadium and tapped the helmet of one of his offensive linemen. The meek gesture, an attempt at motivation, looked more like consolation. Jogging to the sideline, the 6'6", 230-pound quarterback had the comportment of a defeated man. Cleveland still had more than 23 minutes to overcome the 21-10 deficit in this Week 3 divisional contest, but all 71,000-plus in attendance knew that this latest exhibit of Raven strength was more than just a seven-yard sack. It was a statement.
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Excerpt: Waiting for players to walk back through the tunnel, I had the pleasure of visiting with Jereome Bettis. Nice guy, huge hands! After 10 minutes, the media was allowed into the Jets locker room. I lived out a childhood fantasy by filing into the locker room right behind The Bus (have to admit, in my fantasy, we were both wearing football uniforms instead of business attire). Someone called out Bettis the second we stepped inside. I turned and saw Brett Favre chatting with members of the coaching staff and scarfing down pizza.
The roads were mind-boggling. The [...]
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This team is something I created prior to LAST SEASON. Feel free to post your update, suggestions, etc.
--Andy Benoit
(starters in bold)
QB: Tony Romo, Dal Jake Delhomme, Car Jeff Garcia, TB
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