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Monday, July 24, 2006
McKay to stay?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Busy week on and off the field for the Falcons as training camp is set to get underway Thursday at Flowery Branch.
In the immediate term, owners and/or team representatives are meeting Monday in Detroit to trim down the list of candidates to replace outgoing NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue. Falcons’ president/general manager Rich McKay is believed to be on the list of several dozen prospects and is favored to make the final list of 5 or 6, according to some league sources.
In early August, owners will nominate their candidates, then vote.
McKay is behaving as if he is not going to be Tagliabue’s successor and said he expects to remain with the Falcons. That remains to be seen, but if he does get elected commissioner, it would be a huge step for him but a blow to the Falcons. Someone would fill his role, but it would be hard to replace McKay’s vast knowledge of team and league business, media savvy and eye for player personnel.
One of the possible candidates to replace McKay would be Falcons VP Ray Anderson. However, Anderson is a finalist to replace Art Shell as senior vice president of football operations at the league office. One source said Anderson has a very good chance of beating out former Houston Texans GM for the job.
If Anderson does get the post, it could be another blow to the front office. Anderson, a former agent, is a key contract and business negotiator known for his ability to mediate and settle situations, especially when they get hostile. Anderson has been one of the more sought after team executives in the league and it seems only a matter of when, not if, he’ll be moving on to bigger things.
As for what’s going on with the team, the five rookies remain unsigned but not for long. McKay and most of the players’ agents expect deals to be consummated before Thursday’s 2:30 practice.
On Monday I had a lengthy discussion with new safeties Chris Crocker and Lawyer Milloy and, chemistry wise, they seem like a good match. They aren’t the problem-solvers, they said, because defense is such a team game. However, they said the safeties wouldn’t be the problem, either, they said.
Crocker is pretty low key and willing to take his cues from Milloy. That said, Crocker doesn’t seem like he’ll have any problem as the defensive quarterback. He said he got a pretty good grip on the defense this summer and felt comfortable positioning players, which will be one of his main tasks. He will mainly be responsible for deep pass coverage but said he has no problem putting his helmet on the ball carrier, either. Tackling is a strength, he said.
As for Milloy, he might be the last guy I’d want to see coming at me unblocked. In talking about the upcoming season, the 10-year vet got pretty lathered up about what he expects of himself and his teammates and how he plans to impact a unit loaded with talent. He knows he was signed to help stop the run and that is what he plans to do. The key to a defense is intimidation and forcing the offense to adjust, not vice versa, he said, and he plans on setting the tone in the intimidation department.
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