Sports Page Atlanta

The Atlanta Falcons have hired current Georgia Force head coach Doug Plank as an assistant coach.  Plank will be a coach assistant assigned to special projects.  He will be working with all parts of the team.

Plank will remain the Force coach as well.  He currently has a 47-25 record for the Force and his team has won 3 division titles.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank owns both the Falcons and the Force.

Former Atlanta Falcon great Tommy Nobis was honored by the University of Texas and will have his number retired this season.

In the early to mid 1960’s, Nobis won the Knute Rockne Award as well as the Maxwell and Outland Trophies. In 1965 he finished 7th in the Heisman Trophy balloting to Mike Garrett.

“Mr. Falcon” was the first player ever selected in the NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons and was the first overall pick in the 1966 draft.

His number is already retired by the Falcons.

Yesterday, Jason Taylor was traded from the Miami Dolphins to the Washington Redskins. It was a move that the Redskins had to make following the season-ending injury to former Georgia Bulldog Phillip Daniels.

Taylor is one of the best defensive ends in the NFL (might also be the best dancer, but I am not going there).

Not only does Taylor have 117 career sacks which makes his 14th all-time on the NFL list, but he also has recovered 5 fumbles for touchdowns in his career.

The 5 ties him with the most ever with the former Valdosta State and Atlanta Falcon great Jessie Tuggle.

Here are the games where Tuggle got the TD…

1988 vs Rams (returned it 2 yards for the score)

1990 vs Oilers (returned it 65 yards)

1991 vs Raiders (18 yards)

1992 vs Saints (69 yards)

1998 vs 49ers (1 yard)

He also had an interception return for a touchdown against the Cardinals in 1995.

Former Falcons Quarterback Michael Vick has filed for bankruptcy protection. 

He filed a Chapter 11 papers in US Bankruptcy Court yesterday and owes $10-50 million to creditors. 

He is currently serving a 23-month prison sentence in a U.S. Penitentiary in Kansas after pleading guilty last year to bankrolling a dogfighting ring.

I got a call from fellow sportspageatlanta writer Bart Stevens this morning and he told me that today was the Atlanta Falcons birthday.  I am sorry, I forgot a card and a gift… my bad.  Anyway he is away today, so I decided to put the stat of the day theme, falcons style.

Overall record: 256-378-6… that’s a winning pct of .404.  Of the current teams, only the Buccaneers (.393) and the Texans (.333) are worse.  They have made the playoffs 8 times… that is more than a few teams, yes most of them joined the league in the 1990’s or 2000’s, but it is more than the Cardinals who joined the league in 1920 while playing their home games in Chicago.

They have won 3 division titles (1980 and 1998 NFC West and a 2004 NFC South) and 1 conference title (1998). 

They are still looking for that first Super Bowl and that first back-to-back winning seasons.  It may be awhile.

Yes, we’re in the NFL’s dead period, between the draft and training camp, but the Falcons still made some moves over the past month that do not include Matt Ryan’s new contract.  Here’s what you might have missed, buried in the back of your sports section:

5/21:  Signed TE Brad Lastorti – Lastorti gives the Falcons 6 tight ends, which means the odds of him making it out of camp aren’t great, but he will be given a chance to fight for a backup spot anyway.

5/22: Waived P Jimmie Kaylor – The undrafted free agent was an unlikely contributor anyway, what with Michael Koenen already on the roster.

5/23: Waived SS D.J. Wolfe – Another undrafted free agent that apparently didn’t have a place with this team.

6/7: Signed TE Keith Zinger to a 4 year contract – Zinger, a blocking TE taken in the 7th round, could fit well with the running game, and might already be the best blocker the team has at the position.  Still, he’s probably the 3rd stringer behind Ben Hartsock and Martrez Milner at this point.

6/10: Waived TE George Cooper – With the Zinger signing, the Falcons had 6 tight ends under contract, and that was an unnecessarily high number.  Cooper got the ax as a result.

6/10: Signed CB Chevis Jackson and S Thomas DeCoud – The two defensive backs taken in the 3rd round figure to factor quickly into Brian VanGorder’s defense.  Jackson could see time in Nickel packages and might challenge Chris Houston for his starting spot.  DeCoud can play either safety position and might be the primary backup at both.

6/17: Signed CB Wilroy Fontenot – The 7th round pick is looking at 3rd string duty, or might wind up on the practice squad.

6/17: Released FS Jimmy Williams – The team’s top pick from the 2006 draft had a short but disappointing tenure in Atlanta.  Williams never took to any position, and had let his weight balloon in recent weeks to more than 230 pounds.  More of an issue than the weight was his poor play at free safety, which had dropped him all the way to 4th string.  He was unlikely to play much this season, so this move is really nothing more than a reminder of how poorly the team drafted during the Jim Mora era.

6/18: Signed RB Thomas Brown – The local hero from UGA could knock Jason Snelling off the roster, as Brown is an ideal 3rd down back, a hard worker in the weight room, and a natural leader on and off the field.  He’ll also challenge for kick return duties.

6/20: Signed S Deke Cooper and WR Harry Douglas – Cooper, a local guy, could make the team as a 3rd string safety.  Douglas, a 3rd round pick this year, made a big splash at mini-camp and could play in the slot earlier than expected.

6/20: Released OT Michael Butterworth, DE Derrick Jones, S Jamal Lewis, and OL Kurt Quarterman – Butterworth and Quarterman were unlikely to factor along the line this year.  The same goes for Derrick Jones at defensive end, one of the deeper positions on the roster.  Jamal Lewis might have played a role on special teams, but he is considered too raw for safety play, and that’s probably what cost him a spot.

6/23: Released C Doug Datish -  Datish was 4th string and wasn’t going to factor into the guard rotation, so the cut was a logical one given roster limitations.

As I posted earlier, Matt Ryan signed a six-year contract with the Falcons in the amount of $72 million. You can see his press conference at the Atlanta Falcons media lounge.

On Tuesday, the Atlanta Falcons first round pick (#3 overall), Matt Ryan, signed a six-year deal with the club. Terms of the contract were not disclosed, but the Falcons have announced a press conference for 8:00 PM tonight to discuss the deal.

Ryan is only the second 1st round draft choice from this season to sign a contract with the team that drafted him. Typically, first round picks wait longer to sign trying to maximize financial aspects in their negotiations. In fact, no first rounder signed before July 3rd last season.

This is a fantastic sign for both the Falcons and Matt Ryan as he’ll have ample time now to learn the system and compete for the starting job from day one.

Offense

While Chris Redman took snaps with the first-string offense, all eyes were on the #3 overall draft pick Matt Ryan’s first practice, which went well. Coaches were impressed with his camaraderie with teammates most of all. New RB Michael Turner’s shoulder injury limited him somewhat, but he made it onto the field and drew rave reviews with his performance. At WR, it was comforting to see Brian Finneran hauling in passes, appearing to be fully recovered from two ACL tears. On the starting squad were Roddy White (who suffered a mild hamstring injury) and Laurent Robinson, a decision which Joe Horn was none too happy about. How the team deals with his grumbling will certainly be an issue to keep an eye on in the coming weeks. Also, rookie Harry Douglas made quite a splash and could play a role as a slot receiver sooner than expected. At tight end, the Falcons still lack a real playmaker in the passing game, but if Martrez Milner emerges, look for him to challenge Ben Hartsock for that duty while rookie Keith Zinger provides some help in running situations. Along the offensive line, Sam Baker appears to be the favorite to start at left tackle this season. He probably won’t start early, but don’t be surprised if you see him there a few weeks into the season. Until he’s ready, expect Quinn Ojinnaka to start. After some time at right tackle, Justin Blalock moved back to his natural position of left guard. The sooner the second year player from Texas can mesh with Baker, the better the Falcons will be. The rest of the offensive line will look familiar to fans, as they return Todd Weiner at right tackle, Kynan Forney at right guard, and Todd McClure at center. Weiner’s health remains an issue, but he is expected to recover from his knee operation by the beginning of the season.

Defense

There is little news along the defensive line, where Jamaal Anderson and John Abraham remain as the starting ends while DT, with Trey Lewis hurt, appears to be set for a rotation among Kindal Moorehead, Jonathan Babineaux, Rashad Moore, and Montavious Stanley. Keith Brookings’ move to weakside linebacker is helped by the addition of rookie Curtis Lofton, who can play anywhere in the LB corps. Lofton saw time inside, which means Brooking may wind up sharing some time with the up-and-coming Stephen Nicholas while Michael Boley remains at strongside linebacker. Boley attended camp amid the news of his recent arrest on battery charges. While any arrest is certainly a black eye to the Falcons organization, it must be noted that Boley appeared very contrite about the incident, and he was charged with a misdemeanor which is yet unresolved. The biggest defensive question this year concerns the cornerbacks, of whom Von Hutchins and Chris Houston appear to be the starters. While David Irons and rookie Chevis Jackson are in the mix, this week’s minicamp gave little insight as to what to expect from that situation in the coming months. Keep an eye on corner Brent Grimes, who wowed the coaching staff with impressive man-to-man coverage skills in the camp. At free safety, veteran addition Erik Coleman has an early edge on the starting job over backups Antoine Harris and the disappointing Jimmy Williams. At strong safety, veteran Lawyer Milloy returns with second year player Daren Stone battling rookie Thomas DeCoud for backup duty.

Special Teams

With Jason Elam and Michael Koenen firmly entrenched at place kicker and punter, respectively, there wasn’t much intrigue about kick specialists in mini-camp, although undrafted free agent rookie Jimmie Kaylor hopes to make at least the practice squad as the backup punter. Due to Adam Jennings’ struggles as a returner last season, Atlanta added several other return options through both free agency and the draft. The team will give former Dolphins WR Chandler Williams as well as the recently drafted local hero Thomas Brown a chance to earn return duties this fall.

We just started mini-camp a few days ago… what is ESPN thinking about putting NFL power rankings up? Wait, it is the NFL, we care about that all year long. Although I don’t care too much for where they put our Atlanta Falcons.