"At left tackle we have Quinn Ojinnaka there and we’ll be rotating Harvey Dahl and Terrance Pennington."
Thanks Bobby Petrino. That's real comforting.
Petrino
With the recent release of Grady Jackson, Trey Lewis is expected to get his first NFL start Sunday when the Falcons welcome the San Francisco 49ers to the Georgia Dome. It's a far cry from Lewis' last start at Division II Washburn University in Topeka, Kan. His size (6-3, 320 pounds) allows him to play both defensive tackle spots, but he'll likely work more at nose tackle as the team moves into the second half of the 2007 season.
Washburn? A Real Stud here. NOT!
The Falcons Monday signed cornerback Brent Grimes to the active, 53-man roster and signed defensive end Kevin Huntley to the practice squad. Grimes, 5-10, 180 pounds, was originally signed by the Falcons as an undrafted rookie free agent last season out of Shippensburg University. Huntley, 6-7, 270 pounds, was a member of the Oakland Raiders in 2006 and finished the season with 10 tackles and 2.5 sacks.
Shippensburg? Yuck. Another Loser? What the heck is Arthur Blank thinking?
MIAMI--When the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts take the Dolphin Stadium field for the start of Super Bowl XLI, one member of the Falcons family will have more than a casual interest in the game. Falcons President and General Manager Rich McKay worked with Bears' Coach Lovie Smith, General Manager Jerry Angelo and Colts' Coach Tony Dungy during his time in Tampa Bay as the Buccaneers' general manager. When the Bucs released Sam Wyche as head coach after the 1995 season, McKay went on an extensive search to find a new head coach and reverse the fortunes of the club. "We were a franchise with no credibility and we had not won in a while," McKay said about the situation the Bucs were in. "In that process, we took our time and interviewed eight, nine or ten guys."
As McKay worked through the candidates, Dungy, the Vikings' defensive coordinator, began to pique the interest of the Bucs' GM. "The interesting thing was that Tony, at the end of the first round, really of because of who he is and how he presents himself, absolutely had no sales pitch about himself," he said. "As we started narrowing down the list, I became more intrigued by the references we had on Tony and his resume. These two things screamed at the fact that he was going to be successful because he had been successful at everything he had ever done." McKay and his group realized that they needed to take a closer look and Dungy was hired as the Bucs' head coach on Jan. 22, 1996.
"He came in and interviewed with them and they became very comfortable," said McKay. The Bucs defense went from 20th the year prior to Dungy's and Smith's arrival to top ten ranks from 1997-2000. Smith left the next year for the St. Louis Rams as the club's defensive coordinator, where he stayed through 2003.
"Lovie Smith was the defensive backs coach at Ohio State in 1995 and before that with the University of Tennessee," McKay recalled. "We were trying to find a linebackers coach and we had compiled a list of the best college coaches out there from an assistant standpoint. Rod Marinelli had been on that list, and we ended up hiring him, and Lovie also had been on that list. The problem was Lovie had been coaching defensive backs and Tony and (defensive coordinator) Monte (Kiffin) were concerned about that." Those concerns were set aside when Smith interviewed for the position.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Ray Buchanan made headlines as a player the last time the Super Bowl came to South Florida, and he has drawn attention again merely by arriving at the airport. The former Atlanta Falcons cornerback was arrested Thursday on three counts of writing checks without sufficient funds from Nevada, a Broward Sheriff's Office spokeswoman said. Buchanan was arrested at the airport around 9 a.m. when he arrived on an international flight. He posted a bond of $165,125.
The 35-year-old Buchanan was to work Sunday at the Super Bowl as a reporter for Fox Sports Radio. "At this point no one has contacted us. We're just going to plan to have someone else fulfill Ray's responsibilities until further notice," vice president and general manager of Fox Sports Radio Network Andrew Ashwood said. Buchanan's Super Bowl responsibilities were to start Saturday night, Ashwood said. Former Dallas lineman Nate Newton will handle his responsibilities Saturday night and former Raiders player Lincoln Kennedy will take over on Sunday, Ashwood said.
MIAMI -- Taking a different tact than his predecessor, Falcons coach Bobby Petrino will let Michael Vick take a more active role in running the offense. That includes allowing Vick to call audibles. Under previous coach Jim Mora, Vick basically had to go with whatever play was called by offensive coordinator Greg Knapp, even if it looked doomed when the quarterback got to the line and studied the defensive alignment. Vick's only options were changing the protection scheme and calling which side of the field to run the play.
Things will be different under Petrino, who was lured away from Louisville after Mora was fired. "We're going to put it all on him," the new coach said Friday while making the rounds at the Super Bowl media center. "It's new to him, but he's excited about the challenge. I think that's the way you train a quarterback."
'The switch from zone blocking will require getting rid of the team's smaller linemen and almost certainly adding a power back in the draft. GM Rich McKay has said that Warrick Dunn, currently rehabbing from shoulder surgery, will be retained, but his role for 2007 is in doubt.
Better put your money on the Kansa City Chiefs over the Indianapolis Colts right now. They are the luckiest team in the NFL and have all of the momentum, mo-jo, mo, karma, ka, force, whatever you want to call it in their favor.
It started with their impressive play against the Jacksonville Jaguars today in Arrowhead. Then the New England Patriots pulled away from the Tennessee Titans going on to win the game and knock the Titans out of the playoff race. Next the Pittsburgh Steelers, playing inspired football to get to 8 and 8 and give Coach Bill Cower what may be his last win, defeated the Cincinatti Bengals in overtime and knocked the Bengals out of the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Chiefs took care of business finishing off the Jaguars who had their playoff dreams dashed when the New York Jets defeated the Oakland Raiders earlier in the afternoon.
Now the Chiefs needed only the SanFrancisco 49ers to defeat the Denver Broncos. Yeah, right, that was going to happen. But wait, Jay Cutler and the Broncos had been struggling lately. Likewise, the 49ers were showing some promise during the last few weeks. And that folks, is exactly what happened as the 49ers defeated the Broncos in overtime knocking the Broncos out of the playoffs.
"We play to win the game."
Remember to tune in for Chiefs at Colts next Saturday afternoon in the first game of this years playoffs.
After struggling early in the year Mike Koenan's field goal problems led the Falcons to sign who? Morten Anderson? That old man? Well, the stage was set and tonight was one for the record books for the longtime Saint and Falcon.
"Atlanta Falcons kicker Morten Andersen became the National Football League's career scoring leader in last night's 38-28 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Andersen kicked four extra points at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta to raise his career total to 2,437 points and surpass the mark of 2,434 set by former kicker Gary Anderson. He broke the record with his second extra point of the second quarter. Andersen made conversions after all four of Michael Vick's touchdown passes.The Falcons' players came onto the field after the second extra point to congratulate Andersen on his record.
The 46-year-old Andersen signed with the Falcons on Sept. 20 after sitting out last season. He's the second-oldest player in league history behind George Blanda, who was 48 when he quit the Oakland Raiders in 1975, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame."
"But all this must be suffered by those who profess the stern order of chivalry" Most Interesting Blog, June 16, 2008 and six other occasions. Lisa awarded him Best "breaking news" blogger March 31, 2008. Blog of The Day, Christmas Day, 2007. edhardiman wrote, "Falco's tribute to Rocket Richard reminds us all the stars of today stand on the shoulders of giants..." October 23, 2007. Three Golden Swirrly p00p Awards (Hockey, NASCAR and Use of Graphics), FlyingPig, July 18, 2007. 2007 Memorial Day Weekend Trifecta sponsored by williamwilman . Featured on WFORacingFans April, 2007. "Stylin'" award, Dusty, February 07. "One of ten new bloggers to watch" Dudski, January 2007.
Petrino
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