Archive for August, 2011

110812 Atlanta – Atlanta Falcons defensive end John Abraham, left, leaps up to celebrate his interception of Miami Dolphins Chad Henne with defensive end Chauncey Davis, right, during 1st quarter action at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Friday, August 12, 2011. Curtis Compton ccompton@ajc.com

 

 

FLOWERY BRANCH — Defensive tackle John Abraham, fresh off his interception against Miami while dropping into coverage, picked off a screen pass during the morning practice on Monday.

Abraham, the Falcons returning sack leader with 13, had his first career interception last season against New Orleans.

Abraham  needs 10 sacks to move into second place on the team’s all-time sack list.

Most Sacks, Career

94.5 (757 yds) Claude Humphrey . . (1968–78)
58.5 (321.5 yds) Chuck Smith . . . . . . (1992–99)
58.0 (318.5 yds) Patrick Kerney . (1999–2006)
49.0 (317.5 yds) John Abraham . . . (2006-10)
41.5 (238.5 yds) Travis Hall . . . . . . . . (1995-04)

–D. Orlando …

Continue reading John Abraham is moving up the sack list »

110812 Atlanta – Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan throws a pass to Julio Jones during 1st quarter action at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Friday, August 12, 2011. Curtis Compton ccompton@ajc.com

FLOWERY BRANCH– Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has taken the Falcons to the playoffs in two of his first three seasons in the league, but doesn’t consider himself one of the elite quarterbacks in the league.

“If you get caught up in those kinds of things and worrying about how you rank and where you fit in in the league, that can be a distraction,” Ryan said. “For me, I always just try to play the best I can week to week to give ourselves a chance to win.”

In three seasons, Ryan has posted a 33-13 record during the regular season, which is tied with Dan Marino for the most wins by a quarterback in his first three seasons since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

In 2008, he was the first rookie quarterback along with Baltimore’s Joe Flacco to start all 16 games and lead their …

Continue reading Matt Ryan’s feet firmly on the ground »

Atlanta Falcons center Joe Hawley (61) and guard Mike Johnson (79) block defensive tackle Trey Lewis (97) and defensive tackle Vance Walker (99) during NFL football training camp in Flowery Branch, Ga., Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Paul Abell)

FLOWERY BRANCH – The battle for the starting right guard spot can start in earnest now.

Mike Johnson returned to practice on Monday and threw his helmet into the ring.

He apparently has some ground to make up. He’s listed as the No. 2 right guard behind Garrett Reynolds on the “unofficial” depth chart for the Jacksonville game that was released on Monday by the team.

On Monday, Johnson fully participated in his first practice since suffering a concussion on Aug. 4 and is ready to battle to see who will replace Harvey Dahl in the starting lineup.

“We still have three preseason games to go,” Johnson said. “There is plenty of camp left. I’m just looking forward to getting some work in and doing the best that I …

Continue reading DEPTH CHART: Johnson ready to battle for spot »

Continue reading VIDEO: The aftermath of the 28-23 loss to Miami »

UPDATE

FLOWERY BRANCH – Starting defensive tackle Corey Peters suffered an

Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Corey Peters (91) pressures St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford (8) during the first quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Tom Gannam)

 apparent left leg injury and was taken off the field on a cart during Sunday’s morning practice.

Falcons coach Mike Smith will update Peters’ status after the evening walk-through practice.

Linebacker Akeem Dent, the Falcons third-round draft pick (91st overall), did not practice and was wearing a brace on his left knee.

“That was a very physical game (against Miami),” Smith said. “Both teams play hard. We have a couple of guys that are probably not going to be ready to go by the end of the week.”

In addition to Dent, tight end Justin …

Continue reading INJURY REPORT: Peters left knee will not require surgery »

Athens, GA: UGA linebacker Akeem Dent runs a drill for NFL scouts uring UGA's Pro Day March 22, 2011. Brant Sanderlin bsanderlin@ajc.com

FLOWERY BRANCH –Linebacker Akeem Dent, the Falcons third-round draft pick (91st overall), is not practicing on Sunday morning and is wearing a brace on his left knee.

Falcons coach Mike Smith will give a post-practice update on Dent and the rest of the injured players.

Here’s the Dent file:

Name: Akeem Dent

College: Georgia

His production: Dent, who redshirted in 2006 after coming out of Douglass High, started all 13 games last season and had a team-best 126 tackles, including 6.5 for loss and 2.5 sacks. He also forced and recovered two fumbles. He graduated in December with a degree in housing. He played inside and outside linebacker over his college career and has experience in the 4-3 and 3-4 defenses. At Georgia, he played inside linebacker in the 3-4. He played both inside and outside in the 4-3. When he lined up …

Continue reading Akeem Dent out with apparent knee injury »

Virginia Tech defensive tackle Carlton Powell chases down Wake Forest QB Riley Skinner. (Associated Press)

FLOWERY BRANCH – Defensive tackle Carlton Powell, a Virginia Tech product, was signed by the Falcons and was taking part in Sunday’s morning practice.

Powell was a fifth-round pick of the Denver Broncos in 2008.  He’s also spent some time with the Browns, Buccanners, Jets and the Florida Tuskers of the UFL.

With injuries to Vance Walker (right ankle) and Trey Lewis (arm), the Falcons needed some help at the defensive tackle position.

Powell, 26, is 6-foot-3, 312 pounds.

–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog

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Continue reading Falcons sign DT Carlton Powell »

110812 Atlanta – Atlanta Falcons running back Michael Turner gets past Miami Dolphins linebacker Karlos Dansby for a first down during 1st quarter action at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Friday, August 12, 2011. Curtis Compton ccompton@ajc.com

Quotes from the players:

JULIO JONES

ON HIS PLAY: I was very pleased. Me and Matt, we connected very well.  That’s what we have been doing in training camp. He throws me balls and I try to make plays. Everybody can make plays.

ON BEING ANXIOUS: I wasn’t anxious because I’ve got a lot of veteran guys around me. They kind of calmed me down. Tony Gonzalez talked to me. He said, ‘Just do what you’ve been doing. Come out here and play football.’ I had a little talk with him. I talked with Matt Ryan as well.  He just said play football, too. They calmed me down.

MATT RYAN

ON THE OFFENSE: I thought we did a good job offensively. The first drive I don’t think we executed the way we wanted to, but after we knocked off some of …

Continue reading From the locker room . . . . »

110812 Atlanta – Atlanta Falcons offensive lineman Sam Baker blocks Miami Dolphins defensive end Jared Odrick giving quarterback Matt Ryan time to pass during 1st quarter action at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Friday, August 12, 2011. Curtis Compton ccompton@ajc.com

Quarterback John  Parker Wilson left the game in the third quarter after a hard tackle.

Defensive tackle Trey Lewis appeared to injury his right arm in the third quarter.

“I have not met with the trainers or the doctor,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “We’ll do that here before we get out of here tonight. We’ll have a lot more information on the status of all of our guys – it was a physical football game — on Sunday morning.”

–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog

Get instant updates on Twitter at AJCFalcons and you can join the Facebook Fan page at AJC Falcons.

Continue reading INJURY REPORT: John Parker Wilson left the game »

110812 Atlanta – Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan throws a pass to Julio Jones during 1st quarter action at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Friday, August 12, 2011. Curtis Compton ccompton@ajc.com

 FROM COACH MIKE SMITH’S PRESS CONFERENCE: 

There were a lot of good things. There were a lot of bad things and there were some okay things in the ball game. I did like several things that I saw out there. We as a coaching staff will dissect it when we watch tape tomorrow and make the corrections. There are a lot of things that we need to fix. That’s what the preseason is for. It’s for you to evaluate your team and put your roster together. This is just step one in the four steps that we go through to get ready for the regular season.

ON JULIO JONES: Julio got indoctrinated into what the NFL is about. In terms of the plays that he made, they were outstanding. I think all three touches were for first downs. He showed some skills that we saw when he was playing at the …

Continue reading Coach Mike Smith’s press conference »