Atlanta Falcons injury report: Smith expects Abraham, Robinson to be ready for playoff game
Nov. 13, 2011 - Atlanta: ---WINNING KICK --- Dejected Atlanta Falcons Jonathan Babineaux, left, and John Abraham, right, walk of the field after the winning field goal kick by New Orleans Saints John Kasay for a 26-23 Saints victory in overtime at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011. Curtis Compton ccompton@ajc.com
“I can tell you this, on both of the players that left the game yesterday, I fully anticipate that they will be ready to go on Sunday, Jan. 13th at 1 (p.m.),” Smith said on Monday.
Robinson, who stumbled backwards after hitting Tampa Bay running back Doug Martin, will need to be cleared by a independent doctor under league rules.
“He is in the concussion protocol,” Smith said. “He is moving through it at a very good pace.”
Smith also hopes that safety William Moore (hamstring) can return to practice this week. He missed the last four games of the season and was replaced in the starting lineup by Chris Hope.
“We hope to get William on the field in terms or our preparation for the game,” Smith said. “He will be on the field working with our athletic performance team the first day and we’ll see how it’s going. He’s progressed quite a bit over these last two weeks and we anticipate seeing him out there with us.”
Smith was not asked about cornerback Christopher Owens, who’s also battling through a hamstring injury.
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63 comments Add your comment
Headmofo
January 2nd, 2013
1:00 pm
D-Led
Where is Lawrence Sidbury?
We took this guy in the 4th Round. He was supposed to be a steal, but for some reason he doen’t back Abe #55. Why didn’t Sidbury get the nod against Tampa? Why hasn’t Sidbury got the nod againist anyone?
We want to know D-Led, how could Cliff Matthews leapfrog Sidbury and why? We need another pass rusher.
Shesoleo
January 2nd, 2013
2:29 pm
High,Low,which ever it is? I don’t think it will stop Abe from playing on Jan 13th. Maybe in a lesser role, or lesser snaps but he will play book it. CAN’T WAIT
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January 2nd, 2013
2:59 pm
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EB
January 2nd, 2013
7:11 pm
Smith once again proves he needs to be FIRED for yet another stupid mistake!! Why in the world would he risk his starters, when he already has MAJOR issues winning in the playoffs, yet he went out and got two of his starters hurt right before the playoffs begin!?! I don’t have a clue what he was thinking but if they don’t play, whichever QB the Falcons play against will have less pressure due to the absence of Abe and he will surely target Robinson’s replacement, which will be exactly what use to happen when Grimes was on the field and I’m sure everyone remembers how that played out for the Falcons! Smith could have easily just ruined yet another stellar season by possibly removing two valuable players from a winning formula and it could very well mean the end of his time in Atlanta, which I for one think is a GOOD thing!!! This is not the first time Smith has left us scratching our heads but it hopefully just might be his last. He better hope they get healthy VERY fast because the last thing we want to see is a backup CB getting destroyed play after play (like Grimes has been known to do against big, strong WR’s while he’s been a Falcon), just because Smith didn’t play his backups when he should have! This after we finally got Grimes off the field for the entire season and (surprise) immediately the defense got a whole lot better, since he wasn’t there for QB’s to target whenever they needed to!! I might want Smith gone but I’d prefer we win a Super Bowl with him, before Grimes comes back next season and all that mess starts back up again!
clay
January 3rd, 2013
3:45 am
If everyone is so tired of Smitty, Ryan, and the Falcons. Then don’t watch the game next Sunday, and if you have tickets then sale them because obviously they are not worth going to watch and they will get blown out. You people are so damn funny. You would have been b****ing if we would have lost the game no matter what even if we didn’t play the starters. Obviously whatever they were doing going into the playoffs wasn’t working so they have to try something new. Some of you guys that comment on here do not know football and are an absolute joke.
okeetee
January 3rd, 2013
7:26 am
“High,Low,which ever it is? I don’t think it will stop Abe from playing on Jan 13th. Maybe in a lesser role, or lesser snaps but he will play book it. CAN’T WAIT”
….obviously, you know nothing about football or football injuries. And just how effective do you think he’s going to be playing with a high ankle sprain? Yeah, we can’t wait alright! I still have confidence in the Falcons and their ability to win this game. But it sure would have been nice to be at full strength to give us the best chance!
okeetee
January 3rd, 2013
7:29 am
“You people are so damn funny. You would have been b****ing if we would have lost the game no matter what even if we didn’t play the starters.”
…none of us that know anything about football and the playoffs would have complained one bit if the Falcons would have lost by 3 touchdowns….as long as they would have RESTED the starters and came out of the game with no significant injuries! As it stands, we got dinged up quite a bit and now we are without our best pass rusher who was being rested throughout the season so he would be FRESH and READY for our playoff run! Nice call, coach! I like the guy, but he certainly threw his brains to the hogs on this one!
Post-It
January 3rd, 2013
9:53 am
Completely agree with okeetee. I could have cared less if we lost this game as long as our starters were in sweats on the sidelines.. at least by the second half. Smith was being stubborn and the team suffered because of it.
1. We didn’t get the win playing our starters so we lost momentum. No excuses on this one.
2. We lost at home to a crappy team which dented that air of invincibility in the Dome.
3. We lost our best and essentially only pass rusher.
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