March 8, 2010 by
Law Murray |
2010 NFL free agency,
2010 NFL Preview,
Asante Samuel,
atlanta falcons,
Ben Watson,
Brandon Marshall,
Bret Lockett,
Chris Baker,
Chris Hanson,
David Patten,
Denver Broncos,
Derrick Burgess,
Gary Guyton,
Greg Olsen,
Houston Texans,
Jarvis Green,
Jason Taylor,
Joey Galloway,
Joey Porter,
Kevin Faulk,
Leigh Bodden,
Leon Washington,
Logan Mankins,
Mosi Tatupu,
New England Patriots,
NFL 2010 preview,
Pierre Woods,
Randy Moss,
Richard Seymour,
Stephen Gostkowski,
Stephen Neal,
Terrell Owens,
Tom Brady,
Tully Banta-Cain,
Vince Wilfork
Welcome ladies and gents to the 2010 New England Patriots offseason. I'm happy to be back at it again, as money is getting exchanged in this uncapped free agency period. It's been another minute since the last time you all have heard from me, and my plan is to not give you all 2,000 words. That said, this is the time of the year where plans start getting adjusted by external factors! I'll call these reports the Hindsight Reports because all we are going to do is look back on them and judge. Let me catch you all up on what's been up the last couple of weeks (besides the Combine, more on that jazz later):
-WR Randy Moss conceded that 2010 will most likely be his last season in New England: I think what is interesting about this is that Moss' cited the fact that New England [...]
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March 7, 2010 by
Rick Bridges |
2010 ATLANTA FALCONS PREVIEW,
atlanta falcons,
BRENT GRIMES,
BRIAN WILLIAMS,
CHEVIS JACKSON,
CHRIS HOUSTON,
Detroit Lions,
Dunta Robinson,
NFL draft,
NFL TRADE
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 [...]
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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 [...]
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March 5, 2010 by
Rick Bridges |
atlanta falcons,
BRENT GRIMES,
BRIAN WILLIAMS,
CHEVIS JACKSON,
CHRIS OWENS,
CURTIS LOFTON,
ERIK COLEMAN,
JAMAAL ANDERSON,
JOHN ABRAHAM,
JONATHAN BABINEAUX,
KROY BIERMANN,
LAWRENCE SIDBURY,
Mike Peterson,
NFL COMBINE,
NFL draft,
PERIA JERRY,
STEPHEN NICHOLAS,
THOMAS DECOUD
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 [...]
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March 3, 2010 by
Rick Bridges |
2010 ATLANTA FALCONS DRAFT,
2010 NFL COMBINE,
2010 NFL Draft,
atlanta falcons,
BRUCE CAMPBELL,
CJ Spiller,
CURTIS LOFTON,
GIL BRANDT,
JACOBY FORD,
Mike Smith,
Mock Draft,
OCHOCINCO,
Rich Eisen,
SEAN WEATHERSPOON,
SERGIO KINDLE,
Taylor Mays,
THOMAS DIMITROFF,
Tim Tebow
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 [...]
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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 [...]
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February 23, 2010 by
Rick Bridges |
atlanta falcons,
ATLANTA FALCONS DRAFT,
DOMINIQUE FRANKS,
JASON PIERRE-PAUL,
Mike Smith,
NFL COMBINE,
NFL draft,
RICKY SAPP,
SERGIO KINDLE,
Taylor Mays,
THOMAS DIMITROFF
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 [...]
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November 17, 2009 by
Austin Penny |
atlanta falcons,
Carolina Panthers,
carolina panthers analysis,
jake delhomme,
jonathan stewart,
jordan gross,
matt ryan,
michael turner,
nfc playoff picture,
NFL,
steve smith
The Carolina Panthers may have finally found a formula for success in 2009: chaos. Steve Smith called the Panthers' no-huddle offense they displayed on Sunday "controlled chaos," saying that the fast paced ever-changing game plan kept the Falcons' defenders guessing all afternoon. Jake Delhomme handled the two minute-like offense masterfully, as he usually does, and completed his third straight game without a turnover.
Speaking of Smith, the frustrated wideout caught his second and third touchdown passes of the year on Sunday, both four-yard hits from Delhomme. Delhomme finished the day 15-of-24 for 195 yards and those two touchdowns, completing 62.5% of his passes and heading home with a quarterback rating of 115.8. It was Delhomme's first game this season that saw him end up [...]
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November 8, 2009 by
Michael Ellis |
atlanta falcons,
Carolina Panthers,
Darren Sharper,
Drew Brees,
Jabari Greer,
Jake Delhome,
Marques Colston,
matt ryan,
New Orleans Saints,
Pierre Thomas,
Roman Harper,
Tracy Porter,
Will Smith
What a game - the Falcons almost...ALMOST....almost threatened the Saints undefeated season thus far (knock on wood) with their last minute efforts...seriously, the last minute of the game seemed to take FOREVER with the Falcons trying their best to claw at the Saints and sneak out of the Big Easy with a win. Luckily the Saints held it together long enough for the clock to read 0:00 which I was very relieved to see - that was a huge win for the Saints, because if they had lost the game the Falcons would only be a game out of first place in the NFC South (Saints would have been 6-1 and the Falcons would have been breathing down their necks with a record of 5-2)...now the Saints are 7-0 and the Falcons are 4-3...probably the best 4-3 team in the league, though their loses come from [...]
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This is a letter that I am debating sending to GM Mark Dominik- what do you think...
The State of the Bucs' Young Head Coach and Younger Quarterback....
Dear Bucs Management,
Please do not fire head coach Raheem Morris, I feel as though you need to take a look at the most successful franchises in all sports and you will find that teams that stick with their manager are perennial winners (Bobby Cox manager of the Braves, Jerry Sloan coach of the Utah Jazz, Bill Walsh former coach of the 49ers, Bill Cowher former coach of the Steelers). Morris needs time to develop his personal. You, as management, felt like Morris is the future.
Well, Rome was not built in a day, there are going to be many bumps in the road with the changes you have made with coaching and players. Specifically [...]
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