Archive for May, 2009

While on blog-cation, we'll try to find the perfect Palm tree to sit up and watch the sunset.

Blog-cationville –- Hey y’all, things will slow down in the Bird Cage in June and through the early part of July.

We’ll pick it back up hot and heavy in Mid-July before the start of training camp. In the meantime, here’s a little video from last season I found that you can keep replaying.

Just a couple of things before we lower the lights for awhile.

THE RETURN OF GANDY?: The Falcons will likely add a veteran free agent shortly after June 1 to help on the offensive side of the ball. This makes sense because if they’d signed him before June 1, the signing would affect the number of compensatory picks they have coming in the 2010.

Not sure, who the veteran could be, but perhaps tackle Wayne Gandy gets re-signed. He wants to keep

Maybe Milloy (r) finds a new home after June 1st.

playing and the Falcons like him. Also, veterans like safety Rodney Harrison, who had been linked to …

Continue reading Look for a Post-June 1 move before blog-cation starts »

John Abraham shaking owner Arthur Blank's hand at the recent mini-camp. (CURTIS COMPTON/AJC)

BACK TO OTA TOWN — The Falcons returned to Organized Team Activities on Tuesday.

The rain pushed them inside, according to a tweet from their Web site writer J. Michael Moore. (The “media” isn’t allowed at all of the practices.)

We’ll have to update everyone tomorrow if defensive end John Abraham, tight end Tony Gonzalez and cornerback Chris Owens are participating.

Gonzalez is expected to do some of the workouts. Owens has to wait until his class graduates from San Jose State.

Abraham is likely just doing his offseason core maintenance program. He’s found a workout plan that works for him and is sticking to it. He knows what he’s doing by now and problem doesn’t really need the OTA activities.

Also, with Abe missing OTAs action, the Falcons can give more snaps to Jamaal Anderson, Kroy Biermann, Chauncey Davis and fourth-round draft pick Lawrence Sidbury.

“John is one of the smartest …

Continue reading Abe’s absence will help young D-linemen »

Vick leaving the field in his last NFL game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. (CURTIS COMPTON/AJC)

VICKSVILLE – Let’s go there today. But let’s keep up the good manners we’ve been working on this offseason.

Fussing is fine. Cussing is not.

Two of my favorite folks in the NFL – Gil Brandt and Jamie Dukes – shared their very different views on

Michael Vick’s possible return to the National Football League.

Former Falcon DeAngelo Hall was fined for supporting Michael Vick.

Let’s look at some of the issues:

SHAKING OFF THE RUST: Vick has not played since Dec. 31, 2006 against the Philadelphia Eagles, when he left the game with an ankle injury giving way to Matt Schaub.

He was working out in Bobby Petrino’s offense over the 2007 offseason when the federal dogfighting case broke.

“It will be a challenge, but I’m not nearly as concerned about that,” said Dukes, an analyst with the NFL Network and former player.

Brandt, the former Dallas personnel man, shared a story about …

Continue reading Are Falcons making the right football decision on Vick? »

Second-year man Curtis Lofton calling signals in the defensive huddle at mini-camp. (CURTIS COMPTON/AJC).

OTAVILLE – Took a little post-draft, post-mini-camp break.

Back up and ready to roll through the Organized Team Activities, then there will be another break for us before training camp.

The Falcons start their OTAs tomorrow at 10:15 a.m.

They are allowed to have 14 sessions, which are to be non-contact drills and can last no longer than six hours. Only two of those hours can be spent on the field.

While the drills are to be non-contact, seven-on-seven passing drills are allowable. The drills are not mandatory, so it’s always an issue when a veteran or two doesn’t show up.

The Falcons were near 100 percent last season. Which makes sense with a new coaching staff. This year it will be interesting to see if any of the veterans elect to miss a few of the sessions.

The Falcons will practice again on Thursday.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank welcomes rookie safety William …

Continue reading It’s OTA time for the Falcons »

See if you can find Falcons owner Arthur Blank? Minicamp was open to the public on Saturday. (CURTIS COMPTON/AJC)

FLOWERY BRANCH – The one lasting impression of the Falcons minicamp, was seeing Tony Gonzalez whizzing around the field like a youngster.

He appeared to catch everything thrown his way. On Sunday, he drove out to tip a pass that was too far in front of him. While falling to the ground, he caught the ball.

Offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey had him run a couple of vertical routes and it doesn’t look like the 33-year-old has lost a step. (Wonder if the Hawks have called the Falcons to see if he can suit up for Game 4 on Monday. Gonzalez also played hoops at California and went to the Sweet 16 with Jason Kidd and the crew back in the day.)

“He’s everything that I’ve seen for the last nine or 10 years,” Falcons head coach Mike Smith

Falcon fan Michael "STATS" Walling (42), of Dawsonville, was excited to see new tight end Tony Gonzalez. (CURTIS …

Continue reading Gonzalez shines as minicamp closes »

Falcons coach Mike Smith making a timeout call in the second quarter against Arizona in the playoffs. (CURTIS COMPTON/ccompton@ajc.com)

FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons coach Mike Smith was fired up about hitting the practice fields today with his re-tooled team.

“We plan to introduce a lot of new things to our rookies and young guys,” Smith said. “Try to show them how we do things. How we work. How we practice. It will be an indoctrination this weekend into our tempo, our scheme and the pace of how we practice.

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“We are going to throw different terminology and a brand new playbook at them. It’s going to be overwhelming to them at first. But it’s supposed to be. We want to get a feel for how they can function, how they feel and what they can …

Continue reading Are you ready for some Mini-Camp football? »

Andrew, Allen and Denise McMillan are big supporters of Matthew Stafford.

HOCKEYTOWN, U.S.A. — Just getting back in the groove after my trip to Detroit to check out Matthew Stafford at the Lions rookie mini-camp.

It appears the plan is to let him learn and watch.

Lions coach Jim Schwartz came over from Tennessee and saw how rushing Vince Young out on the field may have stunted his development.

He’s also studied how the then Houston Oilers handled Steve McNair with kit gloves after the 1995 draft. The Lions want to guarantee Stafford’s success and don’t want to throw him to the wolves.

Before we move onto the Falcons mini-camp, wanted to share a few impressions from the Lions mini-camp:

1. Safety Louis Delmas is a beast! He was all over the field, playing at 100 miles an hour. The Western Michigan product and the first safety taken in the draft is going to make an instant impact.

2. Defensive tackle Sammie Lee Hill from Stillman College is going to get some …

Continue reading Falcons rookies to take field at mini-camp »