Ailing Norwood misses practice

By D. Orlando Ledbetter

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons running back Jerious Norwood did not practice Wednesday and might not be available for the game against New England on Sunday.

Norwood suffered a head injury Sunday against Carolina, and coach Mike Smith said Norwood was "day by day."

Norwood initially suffered a head injury in the preseason when he took a crushing hit from San Diego's Antonio Cromartie. He missed the final exhibition game.

Norwood caught a career-high six passes in the season opener against Miami but did not return kicks. Last week, he took back his kickoff-return duties before leaving the game with a head injury.

Against the Panthers, Jason Snelling took over the backup running back role for Norwood. He had 37 yards rushing on six carries and a 10-yard touchdown reception.

Kicker Jason Elam (hamstring) was the only other player not to fully participate in practice.

Tight end Tony Gonzalez (back), safety William Moore (hamstring) and tight end Justin Peelle (back) were all listed on the injury report, but each participated fully in practice.

Ryan's return

Quarterback Matt Ryan is looking forward to his return to New England.

"It's certainly a place that I love," said Ryan, who played at Boston College. "I had a great experience in college."

He's trying to have a business-as-usual approach.

In college, he was a big fan of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, although the two have never met.

"They had a great run while I was in college," Ryan said. "His play was certainly unbelievable. It was a great time to be a college quarterback in that area."

Mughelli has a fan

New England coach Bill Belichick, in his conference call with the Atlanta media, singled out fullback Ovie Mughelli for praise.

"Mughelli is excellent at the point of attack," Belichick said. "Probably the best fullback that I've seen in long time."

Mughelli was delighted.

"That's a huge compliment," he said. "That's too funny. I'm extremely flattered that he knows who I am."

Not sleeping well

Safety Erik Coleman acknowledged that defending New England's Randy Moss will cause him to lose some sleep this week.

"He's got tremendous speed and athletic ability," Coleman said.

Etc.

Defensive tackle Vance Walker changed his number from 61 to 99. ... New England has won 15 consecutive games against NFC teams dating to a 27-17 loss to Carolina on Sept. 18, 2005. ... Jacksonville claimed cornerback William Middleton off the Falcons practice squad. The former Marist and Furman standout has now been with three different teams over the first three weeks of the season. He spent Week 1  on Tampa Bay's roster and was on the Falcons practice squad last week.