FLOWERY BRANCH -- Fullback Ovie Mughelli had surgery on Monday to repair a season-ending torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
Mughelli was hit by Lions safety Louis Delmas in the 23-16 victory on Oct. 23. The Falcons placed Mughelli on injured reserve on Tuesday during the bye week and signed Mike Cox as a replacement. The Falcons also placed offensive guard Mike Johnson (foot) on injured reserve last week and signed Kirk Chambers. The new players practiced for the first time Monday.
Delmas hit Mughelli’s knee during a tackle in the fourth quarter following a 4-yard reception. Mughelli did not return after the injury and was on crutches following the game.
Wide receiver Roddy White would like to see the NFL legislate against those types of hits.
“The NFL has to make a rule about that,” White said. “Guys going out in the flat and they can’t see, and you get your knees cut from under you like that. It’s tough, especially when you are playing on turf and you are planted into the ground and you get hit like that.”
Newcomers
Cox, who played at Georgia Tech in 2004-07, has received help from his brother regarding practicing with the Falcons. Lucas Cox, who also attended Tech, was in training camp earlier this year.
“I was on the phone with him last night, with a few questions that I had,” Cox said. “He’s definitely been a huge help. He was looking over the stuff with me when I went home. He’s been a huge help.”
Chambers was signed to help provide depth along the offensive line with Sam Baker [lower back] injured. Chambers stayed in town after being added to the roster to study film. He likes the nasty attitude of the offensive line.
“I can be a little spiteful on the field,” Chambers said. “I enjoy that style of play. When I watched the film, I did get excited by what I saw.”
Too many penalties
Coach Mike Smith said he and his staff underwent an extensive self-examination during the early part of the bye week. The group specifically looked at three areas of deficiency: offensive first-down efficiency, third-down defense and penalties.
The Falcons are tied for 15th in the NFL with 47 penalties, for 388 yards, through seven games. They’ve been called for 58 infractions, and 11 have been declined. They committed 11 penalties for 80 yards against the Lions.
Last season the Falcons had the fewest penalties in the league with 58 through 16 regular-season games.
“We have not been able to overcome penalties,” Smiths said. “That’s one of the reasons we haven’t been able to sustain drives as we would like.”
Smith said the team has seen a spike in the areas of personal fouls, offensive holding and defensive offsides.
“In my mind, those are all correctable,” Smith said. "We want to be as aggressive as we can but some of the things were really silly penalties.”
White in costume
White paraded around the Falcons locker room Monday wearing a Halloween mask; the wide receiver even did most of n a media interview while wearing the disguise.
“I can’t wait to get out into these streets tonight and scare a couple people,” White said.
White did not know the identity of the mask, which was a wrinkled face with white and black hair.
“You ever seen that movie, ‘The Hills Have Eyes?'" White asked. “Don’t I look like one of those guys?”
Smith was hard-pressed to come up with a favorite costume when he was a child.
“I probably was a lot more trick than treat,” Smith said.
Etc.
Cox will wear No. 42 and Chambers will wear No. 73. … The Falcons are 10-4 in November under Smith, including 4-0 last season.
Staff writer D. Orlando Ledbetter contributed to thisarticle.
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