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March 2007
Can this marriage be saved?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Can the marriage between Grady Jackson and the Atlanta Falcons Football Club, Inc. be saved after the player basically filed a divorce action against the team?
If Jackson was trying to get out of town, then he probably punched his own ticket.
But perhaps the Falcons should not let the legal wrangling get in the way of the fact that they need a big run stuffer like Jackson.
If Jackson is underpaid and wants to re-do his deal, perhaps the Falcons should go to the linebackers and get a donation or two for Jackson. He keeps offensive guards from getting to the linebackers and he’s good for a tackle or two in the backfield every game.
Should the Falcons:
A) Tell Grady to “Hit the road Jackson and don’t you come back, no more, no more”?
B) Kiss and makeup. Throw him some cash as a reward for a solid season and settle the lawsuit out of court?
Petrino getting dose of NFL life
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Phoenix - I’m here at the NFL owners’ meetings, where a lot of policies, rule changes and other measures are being discussed by the most elite decision makers of the NFL. Owner Arthur Blank and president/general manager Rich McKay are representing the Falcons.
Coach Bobby Petrino also is in the house and is getting a serious dose of how the NFL operates. From meetings to interviews to discussions that have little to do with Xs and Os, Petrino is definitely getting a reality check that he’s not at Louisville anymore.
The biggest news expected to come out of the meetings is first-year commissioner Roger Goodell’s new player code of conduct.
Goodell, who has the blessing of the players’ union and coaches, is expected to implement rules Tuesday that will punish players who repeatedly get in trouble on and off the field.
Though there has been speculation that Goodell will implement a ‘three-strikes and you’re out’ policy, it is more likely that there will be other, less-structured parameters with varying degrees of punishment.
More on the homefront, the Falcons could be emerging as the front-runners for defensive tackle Ian Scott. The Chicago Bears, who he’s played with for four seasons, were believed to have the inside track to retain him, but they signed 49ers DT Anthony Adams Sunday.
Atlanta now could be at the head of the pack to sign Scott, who would provide solid depth at nose tackle and who could possibly compete with Grady Jackson for the starting spot, even though he’s just more than 300 pounds - about 50 less than Grady.
The Falcons also continue talking with backup quarterbacks Tim Rattay and Anthony Wright.
Offseason conditioning period kicks off
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Falcons started offseason conditioning drills Monday, bringing players together for the first time since their season dubiously ended in Philadelphia.
Coach Bobby Petrino said he’s eager to see a lot of these players for the first time in a setting where their work ethics, attitudes and desire to improve can be documented. So far, he said he’s been impressed with the professionalism some players have shown.
However, this is an evaluation period where rebellious attitudes or poor work habits can grease the skids to the waiver wire for some players.
This will be a good time for wide receiver Brian Finneran, who has been working out anyway, to show that he’s on track to return from last year’s season-ending knee injury. Same with guard Kynan Forney, whose shoulder popped out of place several times before he had season-ending surgery.
On a side note, shoulder injuries to interior lineman aren’t good so the Falcons need to be stockpiling depth behind Forney, arguably their best lineman.
Recently signed guard Toniu Fonoti, who is listed at 350 pounds, is going to have to get into and stay in shape. There has never been any question about his ability, but injuries and conditioning have cut short a promising start to his career and this could be his last shot.
A player a lot of you might be interested in following is former Georgia wide receiver Fred Gibson. Cut after being selected in the fourth round by Pittsburgh two years ago, Gibson, who spent the past two seasons on Miami’s practice squad, is reunited with former college roommate D.J. Shockley.
Not only will Gibson be catching passes from Shockley but being around such a grounded and driven pro like D.J. could help Gibson finally grasp what it takes to capitalize on his vast talents.
Staying put on the O-Line
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the Falcons probably won’t add more than one new starter to the offensive line - at left guard, where Matt Lehr was released. They locked up center Todd McClure, guard Kynan Forney and tackle Todd McClure and there aren’t many, if any, affordable left tackles out there better than Wayne Gandy.
Atlanta probably will sign a veteran free agent or two and draft one, if not two players to develop. They’re probably also hoping that fullback Ovie Mughelli can supply enough punch in the run game and security in pass protection to overcome some of the incumbent linemen’s shortcomings.
In regards to the Joe Horn signing, it looks good for the short-term, as long as he stays healthy. The Falcons do need to think about replenishing their wide receiving group if Michael Jenkins and Roddy White don’t make some decent gains. Both could be wearing out their welcome at about the time the 35-year-old Horn decides to retire.
Over the next week or so, I would expect the Falcons to begin addressing depth on the defensive line, where no backup nose tackle is established. The depth at defensive end also has to be somewhat unsettling. Paul Carrington and Josh Mallard were decent young players, but there’s no telling how the new coaching staff views them.
Free agents: Solid, not flashy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ovie Mughelli, a fullback, and Marcus Wilkins, a backup outside linebacker/special teams player, are what the Falcons have delivered in the first weekend of free agency. Not big names. Solid parts, but not big names.
The bigger news was probably the releasing of linebackers Ed Hartwell and Ike Reese, the top two free-agent signings of 2005.
The timing of Hartwell’s release was more of a favor to him because the Falcons decided they weren’t going to keep him. So they let him go early so he might be able to catch on with another team.
As of now, it appears Keith Brooking will slide to the middle to take over for Hartwell, as he has for most of the past two seasons when Hartwell was hurt. There is a chance Jordan Beck will get a shot to start in the middle, especially if outside linebacker Demorrio Williams, a restricted free agent, gets lured away and Brooking has to remain as the weak-side starter.
Atlanta had enough money to try to sign at least one big-name free agent (it would take some careful crafting of contract structure). However, there was a conscious decision to use restraint in a wild free-agent market that has seen a decent amount of non-franchise-type players get paid outrageous sums of money.
That’s why the Falcons are going to let the market settle down before they decide if they want to pursue free-agent wide receiver Joe Horn.
There has been dialogue between Atlanta and the former Saints’ wide out, who could be a needed in-your-face guy in the locker room, especially for the relatively young group of receivers. Even so, any move on Horn likely would come later rather than sooner so the Falcons can measure their cap flexibility over the next few weeks.
The Falcons probably will bring in some second-tier offensive linemen — they met with Seattle’s Floyd Womack last weekend — to slowly beef up a unit new coach Bobby Petrino wants to enlarge. Cornerback Will James, formerly Will Peterson, is coming in for a visit Wednesday.
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