I liked what I saw today.. we allowed like 7 yards total with our starters out there

The starters made Miami look like dolphin shit

Atlanta Falcons starting nose tackle Corey Peters was carted off the practice field with an apparent lower left leg injury on Sunday.

Head coach Mike Smith said he did not have an immediate update.

If Peters, a second-year player who established himself as a rookie, is unable to return soon, former first-round pick Peria Jerry is expected to step in.

If you think the Atlanta Falcons player who will benefit most from the arrival of rookie receiver Julio Jones will be quarterback Matt Ryan, you might be wrong.

It could end up being Harry Douglas. If you didn’t see the Falcons' 15-13 preseason loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Friday night and don’t know what I’m talking about, catch a replay of the game.

There’s a second-quarter play that demonstrates exactly what I’m talking about. It’s a 76-yard touchdown pass from Ryan to Douglas.

It’s the kind of play the Falcons didn’t have nearly enough of last season. In fact, Douglas probably couldn’t have made the same play last season. The difference is the presence of Jones.

With Jones and Roddy White lined up at wide receiver, Douglas lined up in the slot. He ran a slant route and never really was covered. He caught it in the middle of the field and headed for the sideline. He never was touched. But, just in case he needed help, Jones was downfield and ready to throw a block. That wasn’t needed.

Douglas was with the Falcons last season, but he didn’t supply the kind of big plays the Falcons wanted. That’s partly because former starter Michael Jenkins was hurt early in the season and Douglas had to play his position. Douglas isn’t a big guy and isn’t the kind of receiver who can help you as a run blocker and he really isn’t a possession receiver.

The Falcons believe he’s a natural slot guy. That’s where Douglas is playing now and the difference is significant. With White and Jones on the outside, there are going to be plenty of times when Douglas doesn’t draw much coverage. If he makes a few big plays, he’ll get more coverage and that will mean less attention on White.

That will mean more big plays and that’s exactly what the Falcons want.

A few other observations on the Falcons.
Defensive end Ray Edwards, who is coming off knee surgery, sat out his second straight preseason game. Without him, the Falcons still got some pressure on the quarterbacks. Defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux stood out.
Scary moment in the first half when defensive tackle Peria Jerry had to leave the game after colliding with teammate Trey Lewis. Jerry missed most of his rookie season with a knee injury and wasn’t at full strength last season. But the good news is Jerry was just shaken up and returned to the game a bit later. He had one play where he got good pressure on Blaine Gabbert in the second half.
Cornerback Brent Grimes continues to have a strong preseason. He had an over-the-shoulder interception deep in the end zone in the first half. He took it out and made several athletic moves before getting stopped around midfield. Although undersized, Grimes might be the best natural athlete to come through Atlanta since Deion Sanders.
With cornerback Dunta Robinson sitting out, Chris Owens and Dominique Franks, who are competing for the starting job at nickel back, each got a lot of playing time. Although I was also keeping a close eye on Cam Newton in the Carolina-Miami game, I also kept a watch on Owens and Franks. I saw some good coverage from both at times. Franks did fall in coverage once. But he also knocked down a pass near the line of scrimmage.
Second-year linebacker Sean Weatherspoon had a very active outing, highlighted by his fumble recovery in the first quarter. He also looked good in pass coverage several times.
Outside linebacker Stephen Nicholas also looked good and may have a chance to take the starting job from veteran Mike Peterson. That’s a bit ironic because Nicholas was playing in his hometown and against a team that many speculated he’d jump to as a free agent.

Falcons ready to unveil Ray Edwards
August, 24, 2011

By Pat Yasinskas
Atlanta fans who were worried that defensive end Ray Edwards’ offseason knee surgery was more than the “minor’’ procedure the team described, should be able to rest easy once we get to Saturday night.

Coach Mike Smith said Wednesday that the crown jewel of Atlanta’s free-agent class is expected to play in Saturday’s preseason game with Pittsburgh. Edwards has been working with the first team all week and Smith said he doesn’t anticipate any setbacks.

The third preseason game is generally the one where coaches let starters play into the second half. Smith may do that with his other starters, but I wouldn’t expect to see too much of Edwards. Since he didn’t participate in the first two preseason games, he’s still getting into football shape.

My guess is Smith gets Edwards some early snaps just to get him into rhythm and let him build some chemistry with the other defensive linemen. But I’d be surprised if Edwards is playing much beyond the first quarter.

This post was edited by EwokHellKite on Aug 24 2011 06:21pm

The Atlanta Falcons today announced that they have,
Released: defensive end Chauncey Davis, defensive tackle Trey Lewis and linebacker Coy Wire.
Waived tight end Marquez Branson, fullback Lucas Cox, center Paul Fenaroli, safety Matt Hansen, wide receiver Brandyn Harvey, running back Gartrell Johnson, defensive end Tom McCarthy, cornerback Kamaal McIlwain, center Ryan McMahon, safety Rafael Priest, defensive end Kiante Tripp, safety Suaesi Tuimaunei and linebacker Bear Woods. Atlanta also reached an injury settlement with wide receiver Andy Strickland.

Damn, I liked Coy.. Gartrell and Bear.

We freed up 3.5 mil in cap space by releasing davis alone and along with the news that we may be getting an extra 6-7.5 mil added onto our cap over the next few years we should be able to land an impact player next year if necessary. Plz some super mario.

haha soon as that came out it went into my sig

Surprise move: The Falcons waived quarterback John Parker Wilson, meaning they’ll go with only starter Matt Ryan and backup Chris Redman. There’s been talk that more teams will carry only two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster because teams don’t have to declare an inactive third quarterback anymore.

Wilson could end up back on the practice squad, but this move shows the Falcons aren’t all that high on him. They might be better off looking for a developmental prospect to put on the practice squad. Ryan’s secure as the starter for a long time, but Redman is nothing more than a career backup. It might be time for the Falcons to start developing a new backup.

No-brainers: At the start of camp, there was some uncertainty that seventh-round draft pick Cliff Matthews would stick because the team was deep at defensive end and there was a lot of uncertainty that undrafted cornerback Darrin Walls would have a shot at a roster spot. Both made it. But those moves don’t really come as surprises because Matthews and Davis were excellent in camp and the preseason. They probably won’t get a lot of playing time right away, but Matthews has the potential to challenge Kroy Biermann and Lawrence Sidbury for a spot in the rotation eventually. Walls might get a shot on special teams right off the bat, but the team must think he has upside as a cornerback. The Falcons still aren’t sure about Chris Owens and Dominique Franks in the long term and that’s probably why the decision was made to keep Walls.

What’s next: The team already reinforced the secondary by signing cornerback Kelvin Hayden and safety James Sanders. There’s really not much more work to be done. Perhaps the most encouraging sign was that the team released center Brett Romberg. That might be a sign that the injury to veteran starter Todd McClure isn’t that serious. The team already has said McClure would miss the season opener, and second-year pro Joe Hawley is expected to start in his place. The Falcons also have Rob Bruggeman as a backup, but they wouldn’t have let Romberg go if McClure’s injury were going to keep him out for a long period.

cool Cliff Matthews is in