Former Falcons linebacker Buddy Curry and current kicker Matt Bryant spoke to the Health and Human Services committee of the Georgia legislature in support of the “Georgia Return to Play Act of 2012” on Wednesday at the State Capitol. “I remember coming off the field in a daze,” said Curry, who played for the Falcons from 1980-87.

For the second consecutive year, the Falcons will be represented at the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony. A year after defensive back Deion Sanders was enshrined, former defensive stalwart Chris Doleman will join him Aug. 4 in Canton, Ohio.

For the third consecutive year, the Super Bowl set a record as the most-watched television show in U.S. history. The Nielsen Co. said Monday that an estimated 111.3 million people watched the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots on Sunday night.

Forty-five years ago, a business acquaintance asked Larry McDonald if he wanted to join a few friends on a lark and fly cross-country to catch a football game in Los Angeles. No big deal. Green Bay was playing Kansas City, in something called the AFL-NFL Championship Game.

Curtis Martin has gone from the mean streets of Pittsburgh to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The star running back with the Patriots and Jets for 11 seasons was one of six players elected Saturday to the shrine. Martin once disliked playing the game, but used it to escape a neighborhood where his grandmother was murdered.

The Atlanta Falcons' desired open-air stadium might wind up with a retractable roof if ongoing negotiations get bogged down. While both the Falcons and the Georgia World Congress Center Authority say the focus remains on trying to reach a deal that would put the team in an outdoor stadium and preserve the nearby Georgia Dome for indoor events, neither side shuts the door on the option of an indoor/outdoor, retractable-roof facility.

Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff is gearing up for free agency. With no lockout this offseason, there will be a return to normalcy in the NFL. Free agency will come first, followed by the draft. After last year’s labor dispute was settled, a frenzied free-agency signing period began in late August.

Three years ago, life with brain disease apparently became too unbearable for Shane Dronett. Dronett, a former Falcons defensive tackle remembered for his hard-nosed playing style and his gentleness away from football, ended his life by gunshot Jan. 21, 2009, in his Duluth home.

The diversified play of tight ends in the NFL playoffs has put the spotlight on the group of six players at that position who are getting ready for the 63rd annual Senior Bowl. While the practice sessions were moved inside Thursday because of rain, the tight ends continued to be closely scrutinized.

Former Georgia punter Drew Butler has heard some war stories this week about his father, Kevin Butler, who played 13 seasons in the NFL. The younger Butler is set to punt and hold on field goals and extra points for the South squad in the 63rd annual Senior Bowl at 4 p.

Former Georgia standout offensive linemen Cordy Glenn and Ben Jones are Senior Bowl roommates and they chat, compare notes and tell a joke or two before going to sleep at night. They review their respective interviews with NFL teams and go over a page or two in the South’s playbook for the 63rd Senior Bowl, which is set for 4 p.

In his quest to impress NFL scouts, coaches and general managers, former Georgia standout Brandon Boykin picked up another position Tuesday. The cornerback, punt returner, kickoff returner and running back saw action at safety during the South’s full contact practice Tuesday.

Appalachian State wide receiver Brian Quick turned some heads during Tuesday’s practice for the 63rd annual Senior Bowl, which is set for 4 p.m. Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Quick, who’s playing for the North team, repeatedly got open using his speed and fluid route running.

Eleven months ago, the Georgia World Congress Center Authority and the Atlanta Falcons agreed to enter negotiations about a potential new open-air football stadium downtown. They're still negotiating, both parties say. A possible sign of movement came earlier this month, when Gov.

FAIRHOPE, Ala. – Former Falcons defensive backs coach Alvin Reynolds, an original member of head coach Mike Smith’s staff, was fired, the team announced on Monday. The Falcons have been undergoing an intensive review of their football operations since they were blown out 24-2 by the New York Giants in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs on Jan.

MOBILE – Despite not having a first-round pick in the 2012 NFL draft, several members from the Falcons’ personnel department and coaching staff will scout the practices and the 63rd annual Senior Bowl all-star game. The practices start on Monday and the game, between the North and South teams, will be held at 4 p.

Back in 1985, Dirk Koetter decided to leave the small town of Pocatello, Idaho, to chase his dream of one day becoming like his father. He was 26, four years past his college playing days at Idaho State. He had coached a few years in high school before going to San Francisco State to work on a three-man staff with head coach Vic Rowen and Andy Reid.

Mike Nolan is not going to change the Falcons’ 4-3 defensive scheme. About that the new coordinator is adamant. The Falcons have built toward that scheme in the draft and free agency, and Nolan considers it a “solid foundation.” Nolan has been known to use a 3-4 defense, but said Wednesday that his 14 seasons as an NFL coordinator have been equally split between the two schemes.

Mike Nolan was a hard-hitting safety coming out of the University of Oregon and was invited to the Denver Broncos’ training camp. While he didn’t make the team, he made a lasting impression. A few years later, Nolan received a call from Dan Reeves, who had cut him, to see if he would join his coaching staff.

Age: 52 (turns 53, March 7) Hometown: Baltimore Education: Oregon. He was a three-year letterman and played safety. College experience: Oregon (graduate assistant, 1981), Stanford (linebackers, 1982-83), Rice (defensive backs, 1984-85) and LSU (linebackers, 1986).

FLOWERY BRANCH – Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter shared some of his vision for the team’s offense in a teleconference with the local media on Monday. Koetter, 52,  formerly of the Jacksonville Jagugars, was named to the post on Sunday. Koetter met with quarterback Matt Ryan for about an hour last week.

Name: Dirk Koetter Age: 52 (turns 53, Feb. 5) Hometown: Pocatcello, Idaho. Education: Idaho State. He has two degrees – a bachelors and masters – from the school. Played quarterback from 1978-1981. He was a Big Sky Conference and NCAA region 7 All-academic winner.

Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, dubbed the “Baby Lion” by Mike Peterson when he was a rookie, grew up during his second season. The 2010 first-round draft pick settled in nicely at weakside linebacker with 125 tackles, 14 tackles for losses, eight passes defensed and four sacks.

While quarterback Matt Ryan passed for a franchise-record 4,177 yards in the 2011 season, Falcons coach Mike Smith was not pleased with the inconsistency of the offense. The Falcons trace the inconsistency to the inability to build unity along a new offensive line and to get their passing game in proper timing because of the lockout.

Since the dust has started to settle from the Falcons’ early playoff exit, perhaps the most troubling thing to come out of the defeat was how the team was dominated physically by the New York Giants. The Falcons couldn’t “knock back the line of scrimmage” on a couple of short-yardage situations when they had a difficult time blocking the Giants’ strong front seven.