Mike Peterson agrees to terms with the Falcons
Mike Peterson (53) chases down a play. (Phil Skinner / pskinner@ajc.com)
Falcons linebacker Mike Peterson, in his quest for a Super Bowl ring, agreed to terms with the team on Thursday.
“Time to take care unfinished business ..just agreed to terms w/ FALCONS…let’s get it!!!,” Peterson wrote in a tweet.
We talked to Peterson during the lockout at one of the player-led practices at Buford High.
The new practice rules should help more veterans like Peterson, who turned 35 this summer, stay in the league. This will be the 13th season in the league for the former Florida Gator.
Last season, he started at weakside linebacker and helped the Falcons’ run defense rank 10th in the league (105.9 yards per game.) Peterson made 79 tackles, had one sack, two interceptions, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and five passes defense.
During the season, he said coming to the Falcons and the way they practice might have added two years on to his career. Coach Mike Smith gives the over 30 club practices off and carefully records their practice reps.
Here’s the chat with Peterson from Lockout Land. CLICK HERE.
–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog
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95 comments Add your comment
RambleOn84
July 28th, 2011
12:38 pm
Careful, old qb…
You are making too much sense for this bunch.
For all of those complaining about the defense, get over it. In today’s NFL, the passing game is Numero Uno. The defense is constantly being hamstrung by new rules changes. And Julio should be a stud opposite Roddy White. You can’t win if you can’t score, and Dimitroff has put two big scoring threats into this already pretty good offense.
ToccoaBird
July 28th, 2011
12:45 pm
old QB couldn’t agree with you more…… let TD do his job… he has been doing fine since he got here.
ToccoaBird
July 28th, 2011
12:46 pm
oh yeah…D Led thanks for the updates you’re the bow tie man
The Original Falcon Fanatic
July 28th, 2011
12:54 pm
We already have 3 former first round draft picks on the D-Line: Abraham, Anderson and Jerry and a second rounder: Babineoux. Should be a great line right?????????
JMF
July 28th, 2011
12:56 pm
Old QB you are right. Give TD a chance. He has shown that he knows football and makes good moves. Certainly the best GM in Atlanta. Hawks and Braves take notes.
ToccoaBird
July 28th, 2011
12:58 pm
Falcon Fanatic, as long as they stay healthy. I am hoping some of this young underrated undrafted free agents really surprise people
Yeahsure
July 28th, 2011
1:00 pm
We needed to re-sign Peterson. Who was going to mentor Dent? Peterson has just the right personality to teach young guys like Akeem and Spoon. If either of those 2 guys can play solid, our defense will be greatly improved.
I see great things coming this year from our Mizzou players. Ray Edwards will hopefully be signed and he will provide just the right amount of push along with Abe and Kroy rotation to keep this defense competitive. Dunta may be tested more this year with Grimey getting more respect. Expect his ints to at least double. =)
old qb
July 28th, 2011
1:01 pm
Ok, I’m only going to say this once so listen up. “Brent Grimes isn’t going to get any taller”. It took me two years of listening to my neigbor bitch that he wasn’t tall enough. He’s now a Grimes fan. One of the greatest DB’s that ever played the game was Darrel Green for the Redskins. He was 5′9″ and weighed 184. He played for twenty years and hold tons of records. Grimes has the athleticism to make seemingly impossible interceptions. And dare I say it (oh yes, do, do), he hits ball carriers a hell of a lot harder than Deon Sanders ever did. Grimes is the total package, just packaged a bit more compact.
PMC
July 28th, 2011
1:01 pm
Ramble on, the passing game is king, which is why the Falcons need desperately to do something at defensive end or outside linebacker to ensure that they can reach the QB without having to rush Thomas Decoud.
Biermann made ONE great play last year. That’s not cutting it. Nicholas is a decent player but that’s it.
Neither one of these signings makes a bit of difference to improve what they couldn’t do last year which is get to the QB.
I know they can stop the run, I’m less confident they can reduce the amount of points scored on them through the air.
Yeahsure
July 28th, 2011
1:12 pm
Kroy (and Abe) consistently applied pressure. They just need to finish. We cut Brian Williams and hopefully can find a replacement for Owens. He is dead to me.
Stevie B
July 28th, 2011
1:22 pm
Good move here. Leadership on our defense is going to be a key to success. Peterson is the right man for the job.
joe white
July 28th, 2011
1:26 pm
our lb crew is set now lets get s de, and another cb and lets get this chip this year
Greg Moundine
July 28th, 2011
1:32 pm
Now we “Rising Up!”
I Wonder
July 28th, 2011
1:43 pm
…if we hadn’t signed Dunta Robinson last year, if TD would have entered the Nnamdi Asomugha sweepstakes.
Yeahsure
July 28th, 2011
1:45 pm
if we hadn’t signed Dunta, we would have had Chris Owens playing opposite Grimes.
I Wonder
July 28th, 2011
1:47 pm
And would have been burned in 2010. Too bad…Asomugha can erase a lot of shortcomings on the defensive line.
QB/DB
July 28th, 2011
1:49 pm
The Falcons are way too passive! There was some things I was hoping we were going to see with undrafted free agents. Like I thought that safety from Clemson McDaniel was worth a look. There were a couple of DE’s out there and TE’s. The NFC is no joke New Orleans, Tampa and North Carolinia.
a
ssive
Carter
July 28th, 2011
1:54 pm
According to ESPN there is a chance the Giants release Osi. Maybe the Falcons are waiting to see if this happens. An Osi/Abraham duo would be phenomenal
TD is the man
July 28th, 2011
2:00 pm
i have complete faith in TD… i feel he’s got something up his sleeve.
everthe Falcon Fan
July 28th, 2011
2:09 pm
Seems like we are staying with what we have …… so expect the same results…..Dang this sounds so familiar…I have been a fan since the 80’s…it just never changes…always miss it by [ ] much..
mountain_jim
July 28th, 2011
2:18 pm
Falcon Forum posters getting stirred up about a possible trade for Osi, but without any links or evidence to support as yet.
AntoineFord
July 28th, 2011
2:39 pm
Superbowls are won with defense. Look how many defenders the Packers sent to the Pro Bowl last year. I think we will go about 8-8 this year and then we will finally spend some money on the right side of the ball.
AntoineFord
July 28th, 2011
2:42 pm
In hindsight, getting Jerry, Witherspoon and Anderson in the first round was about as smart as the Grizzlies drafting Hasheem Thabeet.
GT71
July 28th, 2011
2:45 pm
Take the Peterson; leave the Peria.
Or was that canoli?
chc4
July 28th, 2011
2:49 pm
Giving up Weatherspoon after 1 average season? Lunatic fringe.
aizdaman
July 28th, 2011
2:51 pm
Falcons think Sidbury is ready. And if Snelling leaves were gonna sign Willis McGhaee or Marion Barber
honest_abe
July 28th, 2011
2:54 pm
ha you guys are too funny! someone just compared darrell green to brent grimes. darrell green is arguably the best corner to ever strap em up. brent grimes is a nickel back that played very well last year and will get overpaid this year.
look super bowls are won with both offense and defense. but the key is to have dominant big men in the trenches! the falcons undersized offensive line was slightly better than average last year but is in danger of possibly losing 3/5 of that line. the undersized defensive line is mediocre to say the least (except abe) who is on the downside of his career.
TD gets all this praise of being a genius. i’ve yet to see any of his brilliance. the falcons played one of the easiest schedules last year. they played the nfc west. nuff said. they got blown out at home to a wildcard team. those of you that think this franchise has become some sort of dynasty. wake the hell up! we need A LOT of parts! the rb has alot of wear and tear and showed signs of slowing down last year. the TE is hundred years old. the middle linebacker has two busted knees. this team is a lot close to the lottery than they are to a super bowl. oh well at least cleveland gets our #1 next year. yay!
Greg Moundine
July 28th, 2011
3:26 pm
To date, I think New England has made the best move. Atlanta must put the “bad image” thought aside and go after talent! I will go all out and get a good cover Corner, like Asomugha. Again, Rise Up Falcons!
falconfan912
July 28th, 2011
3:40 pm
We need to sign Bob Sanders. At least for one year or two. There needs to be someone on defense besides Abe that the offense respects. Osi would be a good fit also. I don’t think that Ray Edwards any better than Kroy, so please don’t overpay him. Remember, he was average on a GREAT D Line that left him free while everyone else was double teamed. None of our DT will be double team. No worries though, there will be DE left after everyone trims down their roster for the salary cap, which brings the question, How in the world is the Redskins not over the cap with the amount of money Daniel Snyder pays his players?
chc4
July 28th, 2011
3:45 pm
Bob Sanders? You’ve got to be joking. May as well go out and sign Ronnie Lott. He’d probably last as many plays as Sanders before getting hurt.
Paddy
July 28th, 2011
5:24 pm
Antoine Ford…….defense can get you to the Super Bowl. But a great offenses win championships, not defense.
Paddy
July 28th, 2011
5:26 pm
If the season was only 4 weeks long, Bob Sanders would be a great addition.
Gregory Moundine
July 28th, 2011
5:59 pm
Like I said earlier, Falcons must forget about the term “bad baggage”. New England just signed Ocho Cinco. There is no such term when you are trying to make it and win a Super Bowl!!!!!!!!!!!
Gregory Moundine
July 28th, 2011
6:00 pm
….and not to mention Albert…New England is all about business. Let’s go Falcons!
phutbul specialist
July 28th, 2011
6:24 pm
chc4, you of the few have a clue. Of Sidbury or Beerman, one will have a breakout season. There is no need to run out and overspend on a DE. When birds are hatched they have to develop their wings to fly. Let the young birds come into their own. This is the season for that. These two players played college at not well-kown football programs. We saw a taste of the Beerman last year. Now that he probably won’t be playing SP teams he has more of a chance to “Rise Up” to the call. Plus he has that crazy woman on his side now and only two things can happen. She can weigh him down to where he can’t concentrate or he will take out his frustrations on opposing offenses rather than at home. Either way you got Sidbury waiting to go Ape$#!t when given the opportunity.
Stop basing the complete season on aquiring a DEFENSIVE END! DAMM!
BoomBoomJoe
July 28th, 2011
6:59 pm
Sidbury and Beerman are busts, I don’t think there nowhere near a break season, we need to make a big trade or sign Ray Edwards. This is the same ole tired Management of an Atlanta Sports Franchise. It’s sad really, someone gets crazy paid to be a GM and all they can muster is Mediocre effort.
Bobby Petrino
July 28th, 2011
8:27 pm
Peterson puts a coach on the field. I like the move.
Obvious
July 28th, 2011
8:53 pm
Offense will be good but not able to keep up with the opposing teams due to the fact everyone in the league knows how to air it out against us. Prediction- Offens: 8th in the league, Defense: 24th. Thats equals mediocrity.
Obvious
July 28th, 2011
8:58 pm
Per the newark star-ledger, Bucs in on Namdi! Everyone in the division has added quality defenders. Going the be tougher this year! Esp if we cant stop there offense!
sas
July 28th, 2011
9:37 pm
good news ,guys,Tyson Clabo is staying with Falcon. NICE
Mike is back
July 28th, 2011
9:47 pm
IT appears TD is on top of his game after all…that doesn’t surprise me…absent TED…when has another HIGH PROFILE guy been so committed to ATL…well we can throw in Author Blanks of course…the architecture of this renaissance… I BELIEVE…Author Blanks is going bring a ring to this city.
I agree with Joey…Good News about Peterson and Norwood…MM meaning our offensive coordinator of course …just has to call the same plays for Rogers…that he USE TO call for Norwood…and watch this offense explode…we gotta another Home Run hitter…when teams stack the box…WE need to make they asssssssssss pay.
THAT’S WHATZUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mike is back
July 28th, 2011
9:50 pm
If you are an ENGLISH guy…my baD…you should see me on the HAWKS blog,lol
Mike is back
July 28th, 2011
11:05 pm
Good news on Peterson…It’s to bad Grimes has put us out of his price target…dude deserves to get paid.
But in the NFC South…with Drew Breese…an I hate to say them Saint’s…especially with Marques Colston…what he like…6’7” or sumin…anyway…against Grimes it feels like he is like 6’7”…Breese will eat us alive…for the record…they will always be the Aint’s too me.
Grimes will always be a nickel…in the NFC South.
Breese will take advantage OF GRIMES on big plays…we seen it last year.
For the right price…GRIMES is a starter…for MAX DOLLAR.
GRIMES is a nickel…I don’t see TD shelling out max dollar for a nickel.
Brent Grimes, dude…work with us Daaaaaaaaaaaaaawg.lol
Jordan
July 29th, 2011
9:14 am
http://isportsweb.com/2011/07/29/atlanta-falcons-free-agency/
D-Bird
July 29th, 2011
3:00 pm
Peterson must be a back up and not a starter. Coaching our draft picks will be all he needs to do.