Draft day: Falcon options; Berry rips Deion; Tebow to Vikes?
So when a player gets picked, does he parachute down off the roof?
Good morning. It’s day one of three of the NFL draft and I’m still working on my Round 4 mock for Saturday morning. So stay tuned!
Seriously, I remember when they used to do this thing all in one day. At the risk of sounding like the old guy on the front page, screaming every time a car with New York plates drives by, I liked that better. For one thing, we wouldn’t have to wait until possibly 10:40 p.m. before the Falcons make their first selection.
So here’s how it’s going to work today. I’m not in New York, I’m not embedded in anybody’s “war room” and I certainly don’t have Bill Polian on the hotline. But I’ll keep you up to date as best I can on things going on throughout the day and we’ll go live with a blog during the first round. Then when the Falcons trade their No. 1 pick 15 minutes before I have to post a column, I will run head first into the nearest wall.
As of now, here are five hot button topics that I figured would be of some interest to you:
♦ FALCONS PICK: I believe our Darryl Ledbetter had things pegged correctly when he listed five potential Falcons draft picks: Florida center Maurkice Pouncey, Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham, Oklahoma tight end Jermaine Gresham, Missouri linebacker Sean Weatherspoon and Georgia Tech wide receiver Demaryius Thomas. Those are the same five names I threw out to you to you in a poll earlier this week. After nearly 1,400 votes, you ranked them in this order: Graham (33 percent), Weatherspoon (28), Thomas (22), Pouncey (14), Gresham (3). I would tend to agree, although I have a slight problem with Graham’s height (6-foot-1) for a starting DE and would probably list him behind Weatherspoon.
Missouri's Sean Weatherspoon would help the Falcons' defense.
This much I do know: As Thomas Dimitroff has said multiple times in the past two weeks, the board is wide open. They don’t feel the need to focus on just one side of the ball or the other. When Dimitroff came in, he determined the 2008 draft would be offense heavy and last year’s would be defense.
Here’s a nugget you may not be aware of: Even if the Falcons passed on Matt Ryan and drafted LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey with their first pick two years ago — as so many people wanted, including me — they were focused on taking Michigan quarterback Chad Henne (now of the Miami Dolphins) with their next pick. So either way, the quarterback position was going to be settled in Dimitroff’s first draft.
So one more time: Do you have any preferences on the Falcons’ first pick?
♦ ROETHLISBERGER UPDATE: The suspension of Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has thrown a wild card into the top 10 picks. I say top 10 because that’s reportedly what the Steelers want as part of a trade. For what it’s worth, I don’t think 31 out of 32 teams would even consider trading their two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback in a case like this. But Pittsburgh is different — both the city and the franchise. If the Steelers can get a deal they like, he’s gone.
Former NFL player and coach Herm Edwards criticized Pittsburgh for being open to a deal, telling ESPN radio: “As a coach and a guy who’s been in this league for 30 years, and understands about protecting the shield, I agree with the commissioner about suspending Ben. But what I don’t get is rumors about Ben being traded. … We preach the team is a family. When your son gets a DUI and wrecks the car, do you take him to the adoption agency and say you don’t want him as your son anymore?”
Tim Tebow will wait a lot longer than Ndamukong Suh to get drafted.
OK, Herm: You lost me there. You’re right: We don’t trade our kids after DUIs. But we also don’t draft them, release them when they’re 37 and sign them to multi-million contracts. Lame analogy, dude.
♦ TIM TEBOW: He opted not to go to New York for the draft. Smart decision. While Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft has Tebow going in the first round to the Minnesota Vikings — really? – there’s a chance he may be sitting in the waiting room until the third on Friday. Of course, Tebow being Tebow, he said this was more about staying home with family. But if he was a solid No. 1 pick, I don’t think there’s any question he would be at Radio City Music Hall. “It would have been exciting to be [in New York] and hold your jersey up with the commissioner. That’s always something every athlete wants to do,” he said. “That would have been really special. But it’s going to be really special being at home. Being with my family, my friends, my best friends, my high school teammates, people like that that I know couldn’t make their way up here, that I wanted to be able to spend this moment with. That’s what it’s truly about for me.”
Good news, Dog fans: Eric Berry is out of the SEC.
♦ BERRY RIPS DEION: Former Creekside High School and Tennessee star Eric Berry, who could go as early as fifth, took a nice swipe at Deion Sanders this week. Berry said he wasn’t interested in speaking to Sanders at an “NFL Play 60″ function (a campaign to tackle childhood obestity) earlier in the week. Why? Because Sanders refused to give him an autograph when he was in high school. Some of you may think that’s childish. I think it’s kind of funny. It also reaffirms how long incidents like that can stay with people. Berry: “I just try to make sure that if someone comes up to me, whether it’s for an autograph or a handshake — because I’ve been shot down before like I told you — I don’t want nobody to feel like that. … That’s why I try to make sure I give back. To make sure that I treat them with respect. To make sure I remind myself that they are looking up to me and really want to meet me, so I’m going to treat them like they should be treated.” I like this kid.
♦ MORGAN TO BROWNS? The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that if the Browns can’t draft Berry, their fallback choice is Georgia Tech defensive end Derrick Morgan. The only potential problem is that while Morgan is projected as the best 4-3 defensive end in the draft, he might have to be converted to an outside linebacker in the Browns’ 3-4 scheme.
OK, there’s your warm-up. I’ll check back later.
♦
Earlier posts
♦ Even with loss, Braves show they’re not going away
♦ Live blog: Braves go for two over Phillies (and maybe a sign)
♦Goodell had no choice but to suspend Roethlisberger
♦
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149 comments Add your comment
Jeff Schultz
April 22nd, 2010
2:30 pm
Clean up your yard — The likely suspects to me are Jacksonville, Buffalo and maybe New England. I still say third round but who knows?
Jeff Schultz
April 22nd, 2010
2:32 pm
Tucker — You might be right on Gresham’s future. I just don’t know if I could push the button on a tight end that high.
joe
April 22nd, 2010
2:32 pm
Eric Berry>PeeOn Deon
Confused
April 22nd, 2010
2:32 pm
Trade Vick for Rocketsledder? So Vick can stage fights between college girls and Ruelenferter can rape pitt bulls?
GT
April 22nd, 2010
2:35 pm
Right Sander sitting there with a gold alarm clock around his neck, dress up like Mardis Gras, running his mouth, hair so slick you could see the reflection of Mars in it, with the self made handle of Prime Time is too busy for Eric ,too busy being a jerk. The fact is Barry half Sander’s age was there, half this jerk’s age and already twice as mature. Check out what people in Atlanta have known for years, nothing fake about this Eric Berry, maybe Sanders instead of signing autographs should use that pen and paper to take notes. Any in those notes take some on tackling, Berry could teach Sanders a lot there too.
BG
April 22nd, 2010
2:37 pm
Eric you will never come close to being like Deion Sanders. Sanders is twice the football player you will ever be.
BigTimeTECHFan
April 22nd, 2010
2:46 pm
I like Eric Berry, we should trade up to get him, but there will be times when he will not be able to sign all autographs.
I like Halle Berry better
seabass
April 22nd, 2010
2:49 pm
I, myself, don’t blame Berry. I was turned down an autograph as a young man and I have hated the person every sense. Its hard to swallow when someone you look up to turns you down.
SOUTH GA DAWG FAN
April 22nd, 2010
2:49 pm
I hate to agree with a tech person but I too am all for drafting Halle Berry
GIVE ME A BREAK
April 22nd, 2010
2:49 pm
68 in the tournament. If the bottom 8 teams play each other. Whats the point? You still start with 4 regions with 16 teams each.
Buckeye
April 22nd, 2010
2:50 pm
Pete Rose wouldn’t sign an autograph for my then 10-year old son (30 years ago), and he hasn’t forgotten it and neither have I.
todd grantham
April 22nd, 2010
2:51 pm
Jeffrey, has The Count gone over the hill or have i just missed him lately?
Pixie
April 22nd, 2010
2:53 pm
GO ERIC BERRY!!! I was sitting at a redlight in Atlanta one day and just glanced over at the car next to
me and saw it was Deion. He immediately rolled up his car window (and you could not see in the car)
I wanted to knock on his window and say Deion YOU AIN’T ALL THAT!!! Jerk is a nice word for Sanders.
mike
April 22nd, 2010
2:54 pm
deion signed an autograph for me when i was 11 or 12.. eric berry must have been very demanding or rude.. all you ppl talking smack about prime time obviously were not around in the early 90s to see the excitement he brought to the falcons.. who were previously about as interesting as a bag of d*cks.. oh prima donna? Lebron isnt a prima donna with all that dancing on the sideline? Ray Lewis? etc
boilerup
April 22nd, 2010
2:59 pm
Like i’ve said before… Draft as much offensive talent as possible.. The Falcons are a step away from being an Indy kind of offense and the defensive will get better when healthy.. I like what i’ve read about us taking the Polian approach.. Remember, Manning’s confidence didn’t rise until he had guys like Wayne, Harrison and James. Keep it coming with the offense.. Go Falcons!!
George P Burdell
April 22nd, 2010
3:04 pm
This Berry kid could not hold Deion’s jockstrap…
Falcondawg
April 22nd, 2010
3:12 pm
I’d have to agree with Berry! D. Wilkins , my favorite player of all time, did that to me just last year and it gave me a completly different perspective of him.
FELIX
April 22nd, 2010
3:13 pm
The only difference in Ben Roethlisberger and all the other rapist or preditors is they’re was not enough evidence to make an iron class case. This guy came close to serving time in a higher learning university. So why not get rid of him before he causes more embrassement to the organization.
ELVISINTHEHOUSE.
April 22nd, 2010
3:13 pm
Its amazing we have all these people on here praising blue berry because he didn’t get a autograph? I had a friend that stole some money from me years ago and i can’t go back in the year he stole it and get it back.In other words life go on GET OVER IT.Atlanta have some bootleg fans that will cheer for you if you play for the sorry falcons but as soon as you turn your back(SMITHS DIDN’T WANT TO PAY FOR PRIMETIME SERVICES)they spit in your face.
Courtney
April 22nd, 2010
3:16 pm
Deion was a huge jerk. I went to Braves Spring trainig in 1991 and the only 2 braves who would not sign? Deion Sanders and David Justice.
cdog
April 22nd, 2010
3:16 pm
ERIC BERRY, YOU HAVE TO LET THINGS GO IN YOUR LIFE.YOU HAVE TO FORGIVE PEOPLE.WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES.DEION HASN GIVEN HIS LIFE OVER TO GOD.WHY DON’T YOU GO TO HIM AND MAKE AMMENDS WITH HIM.WE SERVE A FORGIVING GOD.I’M SURE AT THE TIME BOTH OF YOU WERE NOT LIKE YOU WERE NPT LIKE YOU ALL ARE NOW. DON’T HOLD GRUDGES.IF YOU DON’T FORGIVE, GOD WON’T FORGIVE YOU.GOD HAS BLESSED YOU WITH A SPECIAL TALENT.HE CAN EASILY TAKE IT AWAY FROM YOU.
atlvol55
April 22nd, 2010
3:18 pm
I’m obviously a homer as a Tennesse fan…but in my opinion if Berry stays healthy, he will one day be in Canton as one of the greatest safeties of all time….Outside of possibly Suh, any team that doesn’t draft Berry is an idiot….He will be a star and do more for a team than Mccoy or some of these other guys ahead of him
azcat225
April 22nd, 2010
3:18 pm
BG and George P Burdell: I would heartily disagree with you. Just the fact that Berry tackles like Ronnie Lott puts him at least on par with Sanders. Deion never met an opportunity to make a tackle that he couldn’t use that blazing speed to run away from.
Jeff, you’re being kind when you say Herm “jumped the rails”. Going to Tampa Bay would be a nice punishment for BR.
Strokers all day
April 22nd, 2010
3:20 pm
What’s the big deal about signatures anyway? Eric sounds like a typical little brat. I am sure Deion doesn’t even remember this snotty nosed kid.
Spare the rod….?
BamaFan
April 22nd, 2010
3:20 pm
I agree with Eric. I had the same thing happen to me with Emmitt Smith and neve rliked him again after that and I was only a 10 year old.
Birrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrd Man
April 22nd, 2010
3:30 pm
I empathize with Berry; I was once an Andre Rison fan until his entourage beat up my brother-in-law after a Falcons game.
Supes
April 22nd, 2010
3:33 pm
Jeff, like you said no team will take up the full 10 min. Infact, when the Rams pick Bradford…If I were representing the Lions I’d sprint up there, and tell the commish the pick is N. Suh and be done with it. Best player in the NFL Draft 2010.
I hate Tennessee
April 22nd, 2010
3:33 pm
I hate tennessee but I’m with Eric
Pat
April 22nd, 2010
3:47 pm
I wish the Falcons could trade up and get this kid. He will prove to the best player in this year’s draft, a can’t miss pick.
Screw “Primetime” and the jerry curl he rode in on…
egeagle
April 22nd, 2010
3:53 pm
Pi$$, we’re neighbors of a sort. EB is a really great kid. His Dad? Another story, but he was a Vol legacy and headed there all along.Probably the same for his brothers. I tought him and one funny thing happened. After he had signed with UT, he wore UGA gear to class at least two or three times.
Deion-great cover corner but a wuss otherwise. He lost me with his comments about the Braves when they bent over backward to humor him, and that “I own this Dome” crap when he was with SF. The only good thing he ever did was dump water on Tim McCarver.
Methinks you fudge a bit on your picture choice, Jeffy. We know how you dis UGA at every opportunity and I’m sure there’s a picture in which you can see Eric’s face.
Leave the nicked up TE be. I like the kid from Michigan.
There are two Falcon linemen who SHOULD be in the HOF– Jeff Van Note and Mike Kenn.
FalconsFan
April 22nd, 2010
3:53 pm
By the way Deion hasn’t changed, the evidence is right there in ESPN the Magazine, in the article about his youth program featured a white child that was missing a body. That’s right there was a decapitated white head floating in the picture. He’s a jerk, he only looks out for himself and he’s selective on who he “helps”. Berry has it right, there’s no reason to give Deion his attention.
Darrin "The Vent King"
April 22nd, 2010
4:05 pm
Amazing. All these people dumping on Eric Berry for this are the same ones who dogged Vick for doing the same thing- being unapproachable and refusing to sign autographs. You all know how self absorbed Deion was/is so don’t act surprised that some kid whom he brushed off has grown up and never forgot someone he idolized dissing him like that. Sure, signing autograph after autograph is probably tiring but there is a way to everything and you KNOW Deion more than likely was not gracious about it. Yes, he was the best CB perhaps ever, but off the field things like this have nothing to do with that. Unless you know the circumstances of the refusal I don’t think we can automatically exonerate Deion due to his history of being aloof. I would tend to believe a more down to earth humble individual over a egotistical, enigmatic all about me guy in a situation like this, but that’s just me.
Draft day (Part II): Tebow top 15, Morgan to Falcons? | Jeff Schultz
April 22nd, 2010
4:12 pm
[...] (If you missed it, click here for our earlier pre-draft warm-up blog.) [...]
Glenn
April 22nd, 2010
4:18 pm
Dieon, what a guy? I saw him break a little kids heart at the Atlanta Airport when he was playing for the Braves. About an 8 year old kid asked him for his autograph as he was waiting for the train. His reply to the the young man was “Hey man don’t you know its Fathers Day and I’ve got my family with me?” He really taught his kids something there, not sure what though.
Denis Leary
April 22nd, 2010
4:21 pm
I’ve got tow words for Eric Berry: Ryan Sims. Thanks for calling Eric.
DawgNDallas
April 22nd, 2010
4:25 pm
Jeff – “At the risk of sounding like the old guy on the front page…” (?) Did you mean to say “old guy on the front porch?” Or is this a reference to Furman Bisher?
roge
April 22nd, 2010
4:32 pm
Deion reminded me of someone I played against 50 years ago in N.C. He lasted 6 games in College after being the most sought after player in N.C.
Get close to him and he would fall down. Once he got into the open field you couldn’t catch him.
Coward at best.
Mystikal
April 22nd, 2010
4:41 pm
Schultz, if Dez Bryant were to drop to the falcons and Thomas n Gresham are still available what do you think they would do?
unbiased volfan
April 22nd, 2010
4:44 pm
In contrast to the Eric Berry story, I heard stories of kids going up to Deion’s house in Seven Oaks off Jones Bridge and ringing the door bell for autographs. I’d heard many times he’d happily oblige them.
BTW I am a UT and EB fan but I’ve heard Deion was always cool. Hate that Eric feels that way. I guess it goes to show you can’t appease everyone.
Mystikal
April 22nd, 2010
5:20 pm
I like Graham, just not in a falcons uniform. @ 6′1 just can’t see him doing much damage. Am cool with the Pouncey pick, but think he will be gone. Am cool with Spoon only if we trade down and pick up an extra pick. Beyond all that I think it would be interesting if Gresham, Bebe Thomas, and Dez Bryant were all still on the board. Decisions, decisions…
Eric Berry - MeMiM
April 22nd, 2010
6:09 pm
[...] the 'Skins took a safety with a Top 6 pick. (Sean Taylor, 2004; LaRon Landry, 2007). Filed Under:Eric Berry – If the Redskins do take Eric Berry with the fourth pick, it would be the third time since 2004 [...]
Eric Berry
April 22nd, 2010
6:20 pm
[...] are talking to the Chiefs and Dolphins about moving up. If the Redskins do take Eric Berry with tEric Berry – NFL Draft excitement is in the air and word is that the Eagles are going to get AGGRESSIVE. The [...]
Eric Berry | Ifdny
April 22nd, 2010
6:24 pm
[...] are talking to the Chiefs and Dolphins about moving up. If the Redskins do take Eric Berry with tEric Berry – NFL Draft excitement is in the air and word is that the Eagles are going to get AGGRESSIVE. The [...]
Eric Berry - Ardub
April 22nd, 2010
6:36 pm
[...] are talking to the Chiefs and Dolphins about moving up. Suh, McCoy, and either Russell Okung, TreEric Berry – NFL Draft excitement is in the air and word is that the Eagles are going to get AGGRESSIVE. The [...]
joe white
April 22nd, 2010
7:27 pm
Loved deion sanders than and love him now. he is not the only star that did not sign autographs. they all do and every fan cant always get a autograph they are humans too and have lives. To all the deion bashers not one of said nothing bad about prime time then, and he is a corner back his job is to cover no tackle, if he had to make a lot of tackles than the lineman and linebackers was not doing there jobs. He did his every play and that is why he is regarded as the best ever.
mel kiper | TrendyTwits
April 22nd, 2010
10:47 pm
[...] ranked 21st in total defense last season. …Lifelong plan takes shapeColumbia Daily TribuneDraft day: Falcon options; Berry rips Deion; Tebow to Vikes?Atlanta Journal Constitution [...]
Eric Berry rips Deion Sanders | Gwinnett DUI Lawyer
April 23rd, 2010
1:58 am
[...] Source [...]
Free Form Friday Thinks It’s Feeling A Bit Drafty In Here. « MrSEC.com
April 23rd, 2010
12:20 pm
[...] because the certified worst tackler to ever duck and trip his way around an NFL field Hall-of Famer snubbed Berry’s autograph request once upon a time. Now, I understand that there is a time and place for autograph seeking, and that [...]
sam
April 23rd, 2010
4:49 pm
LOL!!! Berry sounds like a little whiny girl who didn’t get an autograph from her heart throb teen idol. I bet he used to kiss his Deion Sanders picture every night before he went to bed.
So he says he will sign every autograph asked of him…now every autograph seeking loser will keep him to his word and hound him for autographs for his entire career. If he every refuse an autograph for the rest of his life…it will be reported.
Plus he opened his mouth before his NFL career has even began. He supposedly has the skill set…but he may flop or get injured. He should have kept his mouth shut.
Deion Sanders is an alltime NFL great with Super Bowl rings.