Archive for August, 2012

Vivlamore reporting from Flowery Branch. Here is your Falcons report following Sunday’s practice.

FLOWERY BRANCH –The Falcons  placed defensive tackle Corey Peters on the reserve/non-football injury list and waived quarterback John Parker Wilson Sunday, trimming their roster to 75 players. Peters will not be eligible to return to the active roster until after Week 6 of the regular season.

Peters has not participated this preseason due to a foot injury suffered away from the team’s training facility prior to the start of training camp. Peters has started 30 of 31  games over the past two seasons and recorded 73 tackles (57 solo), four sacks, one interception, one fumble recovery and three passes defensed. The earliest Peters could return would be Oct. 28 against the Eagles, following the Falcons bye week.

Wilson was originally signed as a college free agent in 2009 out of Alabama. He has been on the team’s practice squad and was the No. 3 quarterback the past two …

Continue reading Atlanta Falcons: Parker Wilson waived, Peters on injured list (updated) »

The Falcons have cut their roster down to 77 players.

They still have two moves to make before the 4 p.m. Monday deadline.

Here’s how the revised depth chart looks.

DEPTH CHART

WR 11 Julio Jones, 83 Harry Douglas, 19 Drew Davis, 18 James Rodgers

LT 72 Sam Baker, 76 Lamar Holmes

LG 63 Justin Blalock, 69 Andrew Jackson, 68 Phillipkeith Manley

C 62 Todd McClure, 61 Joe Hawley, 66 Peter Konz, 64 Tyler Horn

RG 75 Garrett Reynolds, 66 Peter Konz, 79 Mike Johnson

RT 77 Tyson Clabo, 79 Mike Johnson, 76 Lamar Holmes, 73 Bryce Harris

TE 88 Tony Gonzalez, 81 Michael Palmer, 87 Tommy Gallarda, 85 LaMark Brown

WR 84 Roddy White, 80 Kerry Meier, 12 Kevin Cone, 16 Marcus Jackson, 17 Tim Toone

QB 2 Matt Ryan, 8 Chris Redman, 4 John Parker Wilson, 14 Dominique Davis

RB 33 Michael Turner, 44 Jason Snelling, 32 Jacquizz Rodgers, 35 Antone Smith, 30 Dimitri Nance

FB  42 Mike Cox,  45 Lousaka Polite

DEFENSE

RE 55 John Abraham, 90 Lawrence Sidbury, 98 Cliff Matthews

DT 94 Peria Jerry,  99 …

Continue reading UPDATED DEPTH CHART: 2 more cuts to make »

Falcons running back Michael Turner (33) runs over Miami Dolphins linebacker Jared Ordick. Turner finished with 35 yards on 10 carries. MCT

 UPDATE 2: The Falcons released eight players and reached agreements with three others to cut their roster down to 77 players on Saturday.

The Falcons waived tight end Chase Coffman, linebacker Max Gruder, kicker Erik Folk, running back Richard Medlin, fullback Lee Meisner, defensive end Louis Nzegwu, wide receiver Kenny Stafford and tight end Aron White.

Also, the team placed tackle Will Svitek on injured reserve and reached injury settlements with defensive tackle Elisha Joseph and cornerback Darrin Walls.

The roster currently stands at 77 players. The league requires that roster be cut down to 75 players by 4 p.m. on Monday.

The Falcons must cut the roster down to 53 players by Friday. They can add eight players to practice squad on Saturday.

UPDATE 1: The Falcons have made their cuts and mad not go all the way down to 75 today. …

Continue reading Walls reaches settlement as Falcons cut down to 77 »

Falcons right guard Garrett Reynolds takes a break during a recent practice. Reynolds is working with the first team offensive line this preseason. CURTIS COMPTON / CCOMPTON@AJC.COM

Vivlamore reporting from Flowery Branch.

FLOWERY BRANCH — Garrett Reynolds would be in no rush to play football.

His father would see to that — especially after he drove by a youth practice years ago and saw a coach showing a player the three-point stance technique with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. No, Art Reynolds instead encouraged his ever-growing son to swim and play soccer. However, growing up in Knoxville with a father and uncle who both played middle linebacker at Tennessee and then professionally, Reynolds was destined to put on pads.

Reynolds first played football as an eighth grader, at tight end and linebacker. He remained a tight end until his sophomore year of high school, when an offensive tackle quit the team and Reynolds moved into his spot.

Reynolds remains …

Continue reading Atlanta Falcons: Football a family affair for Reynolds »

Quarterback Matt Ryan and the Falcons picked up their first exhibition season victory with a 23-6 win over the Miami Dolphins on Friday night. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s D.Orlando Ledbetter reports and denotes the cornerback rotation. Following the moving cornerbacks!

THE LATEST NEWS

GAME STORY: Falcons 23, Dolphins 6

Q&A with Falcons coach Mike Smith after the win over Miami

Matt Ryan to Julio Jones is the Falcon new long ball connection

5 things to look for from the starters vs. the Dolphins

Should the Falcons trade with Jax/London Jags for MJD?

Falcons third-round pick Lamar Holmes set to make his debut vs. Dolphins

Coordinators hand out their exhibition mid-term reports; backups need to step it up

Running back Michael Turner still a weapon

Falcons thin at left tackle after Will Svitek goes down; out for season

Falcons finally get fiesty in practice; a couple of fights breakout

Akeem Dent returns to practice; will play against Miami

OTHER NEWS

Dominique …

Continue reading Video: Matt Ryan, Falcons handle Dolphins 23-6 »

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan hands the ball to running back Michael Turner. AP

MIAMI – The Falcons showed off their vertical passing attack against the Dolphins in a 23-6 victory on Friday at Sun Life Stadium.

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan launched three bombs in the direction of second-year wide receiver Julio Jones, who came down with one for a 49-yard gain.

He got his hands on the other two, but was unable to haul them in for catches. One of the attempts would have resulted in a touchdown.

One of the features of the offense under new coordinator Dirk Koetter is the deep passing attack. The Falcons did not regularly throw the ball down the field under former coordinator Mike Mularkey and did not displayed the deep ball much in games against the Ravens and Bengals.

“I think that’s one of the things when you are throwing it down the field, you just got to keep taking those chances,” said Ryan, who completed 18 of 26 passes for 220 yards and one touchdown against the …

Continue reading Atlanta Falcons: Ryan and Jones show off the long ball connection »

Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones is blocked from making a catch by Dolphins defensive back Nolan Carroll. AP

MIAMI — Falcons coach Mike Smith was pleased with the overall effort of the team after they snapped a seven-game exhibition season losing streak with a 23-6 victory over the Dolphins on Friday night at Sun Life Stadium.

Here are some of the excerpts from his post-game chat:

OPENING STATEMENT: “I was really pleased with some of the things that we did tonight. The effort was good in all three phrases. I felt that we improved defensively, especially on third down. That was one of the things that we didn’t do very well in the last ball game. Offensively, I felt that we left some points out there. Not necessarily in the red zone all the time. Sometimes it was pre-red zone; just before you get into the red zone. I thought our special teams units played well. We had an opportunity to return a kickoff. I was very impressed with what Jacquizz Rodgers did. There are lots of …

Continue reading Atlanta Falcons: Q&A with Falcons coach Mike Smith »

Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons throws the ball prior to the preseason game against the Miami Dolphins on August 24, 2012 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

MIAMI — The Falcons’ dress rehearsal for the 2012 regular season was not a rousing success.

Facing a team with a struggling defense and a rookie quarterback not named Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III, the Falcons stalled on offense and didn’t dominate on defense as they posted a 23-6 victory Friday night at Sun Life Stadium.

COACH MIKE SMITH’S  OPENING STATEMENT: “I was really pleased with some of the things that we did tonight. The effort was good in all three phrases. I felt that we improved defensively, especially on third down. That was one of the things that we didn’t do very well in the last ball game. Offensively, I felt that we left some points out there. Not necessarily in the red zone all the time. Sometimes it was pre-red zone; just before you get …

Continue reading Falcons 23, Dolphins 6: Seven-game exhibition season losing streak snapped »

The field and the lower bowl of Sun Life Stadium has been evacuated because of lightning. (D. Orlando Ledbetter/dledbetter@ajc.com)

MIAMI — Just as the Falcons were about to take the field for warmups it started raining heavily at Sun Life Stadium.

The bowl of the stadium was evacuated because lightning.

Falcons coach Mike Smith places a premium on not suffering injuries in the exhibition season.

This game was supposed to serve as the Falcons’ dress rehearsal for the season. Smith planned to play his starters well into the third quarter.

With a soaked field, the risk for injury is increased. It will interesting to see how the Falcons approach this game.

The team has 89 players on the roster and must cut down to 75 by Monday.

After the Miami game, the Falcons will play at Jacksonville on Aug. 30 in their exhibition season finale. The roster must be trimmed to 53 by Aug. 31.

The storm eventually stopped.

Around 6:30 p.m, about an hour before the schedule kickoff, the Falcons …

Continue reading Atlanta Falcons: Falcons to play on sloppy track »

081612 ATLANTA: Falcons defensive tackle Peria Jerry puts pressure on Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Thursday, August 16, 2012. CURTIS COMPTON / CCOMPTON@AJC.COM

The last time the Jerry brothers – Peria and John — faced each other, the Falcons came away with a 16-6 victory in Miami on Aug. 27, 2010.

That was also the last time the Falcons won an exhibition game. With losses to Baltimore and Cincinnati

Dolphins offensive lineman John Jerry. (Associated Press).

this season, the Falcons have the league’s longest exhibition-game losing streak at seven.

When the Falcons face the Dolphins at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Sun Life Stadium, the Jerrys will be out to impress their coaches after bumpy patches early in their NFL careers.

John, a third-round pick in 2010, is listed at 329 pounds, but showed up to training camp at 360 pounds. On HBO’s “Hard Knocks,”  he’s heard asking one of the defenders to take it easy on him.

When the Dolphins …

Continue reading Atlanta Falcons: Jerry brothers to face off again »