Atlanta Falcons Team Report: Inside slant

July 14, 2007 The Sports Xchange

Training camp goals.

1. Adjust to the new blocking scheme.

Coach Bobby Petrino has implemented a more traditional, inline blocking system for the running game, which is a fairly significant change from the zone/cut-blocking scheme previously utilized by former coach Jim Mora and line guru Alex Gibbs.

Players have said the adjustment might not be as radical as it may seem since most of them, through youth leagues, high school, college and in the NFL, have played in more traditional blocking schemes.
Guards Kynan Forney and rookie Justin Blalock should be quick to adapt, since they are grinder-types who are equally good at getting push in head-up situations and driving defenders out of gaps.

Right tackle Todd Weiner is an underrated veteran who should easily make the change. Tackle Wayne Gandy might not be as physical against the run as he once was, but his craftiness has allowed him to succeed for 13 seasons. Center Todd McClure doesn’t have the beef to deal with a lot of huge nose tackles so he might have to rely on some of the cut-blocking techniques to be effective.

The big challenge could come in the passing game. The Falcons have been inconsistent in pass protection, in part because the linemen were smaller and some of the schemes were difficult to execute. The admonishment of weight limits (most lineman were made to weigh less than 300 pounds) has players confident about their ability to succeed in pass protection.

Atlanta Hawks Smith Fined 25k For Giving Crowd The Finger

Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith was fined $25,000 Monday for making an obscene gesture in Saturday’s loss to the Charlotte Bobcats.

The gesture happened after Smith was given a technical foul after being called for an offensive foul late in the second quarter. He continued to argue and was then got a second technical along with an ejection.

As he left for the locker room, Smith raised both middle fingers to the Charlotte crowd while heading into the tunnel.

Michael Vick Cant Pass? Ok Watch This & Kiss My A**

So are you one of those that never realy watch the Falcons and quarterback Michael Vick? Do you love to listen to the critics that don’t know what in the hell they are talking about concerning Vick?

The problem with the Atlanta Falcons the past few years was NOT Michael Vick.

The problem was the undisciplined wide receivers, poor coaching and a terrible offensive line.

For those that don’t want to hear this take a look at this video by clicking right here and if you still disagree let me know. BTW if this doesn’t make you think differently then you can simply kiss my a**.

Falcons Mike Vick Faces No Criminal Charges Or NFL Fines

CHARLES ODUM
AP Sports Writer

ATLANTA — Michael Vick was cleared by police Monday of any wrongdoing at a Miami airport, four days after the Falcons general manager said the star quarterback had “let a lot of people down.”

Vick’s water bottle was seized by security at Miami International Airport last Wednesday. Police said it smelled of marijuana and had a hidden compartment that contained a “small amount of dark particulate.”

Lab tests found no evidence of drugs, according to a memo by Deisy Rodriguez, an assistant state attorney in Florida. She said the bottle no longer is considered evidence in an investigation.

Police will not file charges and there will be no disciplinary measures from the NFL or the Falcons.

“If there is no violation of law, there is no basis for discipline,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told The Associated Press.

Vick has had no public comment on the incident.

“Michael fully understands that his actions on and off the field are a reflection on the Atlanta Falcons and the NFL,” Vick’s attorney, Lawrence H. Woodward Jr., said in a statement faxed to the AP.

Oakland Raiders Hire Lane Kiffin To Replace Art Shell

The Oakland Raiders hired Lane Kiffin on Monday night, making the 31-year-old Southern California offensive coordinator the youngest NFL head coach in decades.

Kiffin, the son of Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, earned the job with a strong interview Monday after the Raiders failed to reach a deal last week with 32-year-old Steve Sarkisian, Kiffin’s fellow assistant to Pete Carroll at USC.

The Raiders called a news conference for Tuesday to announce the hiring.

Raiders owner Al Davis quickly moved to land another up-and-coming offensive mind with sterling college credentials, but just one season of NFL experience — as a defensive quality control coach with Jacksonville in 2000.

At 31 years, 8 months, Kiffin is even younger than Harland Svare, who took over the Los Angeles Rams in 1962 at 31 years, 11 months. Svare is listed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Web site as the youngest coach in the modern era, though younger coaches — including George Halas — led teams during the league’s founding years.

But Davis has ample reason to trust in young minds: Jon Gruden, Mike Shanahan and John Madden all succeeded as Raiders head coaches in their 30s — as did Davis.

Kiffin is 14 months younger than Madden was when the Hall of Fame coach took over the Raiders in 1969. Davis was 33 years, 6 months when he took charge of the Raiders in 1963.

Friendly Advice For Atlanta Falcon QB Mike Vick – Its Now Or Never

I’m putting this out for public consumption, but it’s really directed toward one man. I’m saying this to you, Michael, and I’m saying this not as your agent or your publicist but as someone who knows a little about sports and, having hung around Flowery Branch since the day you were drafted, a little about you.

You need to take control of your life. You need to harness every molecule and minute and make this your most productive offseason. You need to give yourself the chance to experience, 12 or 24 months from now, your own Peyton Manning Moment. You need to work harder than you’ve ever worked to show everyone who’s saying you can’t take a team to the Super Bowl that you can.

This isn’t so much about the infamous water bottle and what might or might not have happened in Miami. This is about the bigger picture. From being hailed as the Michael Jordan of your sport, you’re now viewed in ever-expanding circles as a coach-killer or worse. Your wildly lucrative (and once carefully cultivated) career is being cheapened with every headline. When you entered the league you worked hard to say and do the right things, but increasingly you’ve become entangled in bizarre incidents that don’t reflect well on you or your employer.

As the saying goes: You can’t be framed if you don’t put yourself in the picture. I’m fairly certain Tom Brady — likewise single and good-looking — enjoys his social life, but I’ve never heard of Brady getting into a scrape in an airport security line. (For you, this makes twice.) You need to step back and remember your place in the sporting firmament, to recall who you are and what you represent. You once made it easy to believe in Michael Vick. You need to stop making it hard.

For all that, you still have a grand opportunity. This head coach arrives with the express mission of making you better. When Bobby Petrino was with Jacksonville, he’d sit with fellow assistant Dom Capers, ticketed to be the first coach of the expansion Texans, on charter flights and they’d talk about how it would be to have the draft’s No. 1 pick and for that No. 1 pick to be you. Way back then, Petrino was thinking of the plays he’d draw up to utilize your skill set. Lo and behold, here he is.

And what was your first face-to-face encounter with the new man? A “stressful” (Rich McKay’s word) meeting regarding the water bottle. Even the usually understanding front office sounds as if it has lost patience: The Falcons’ three-sentence release Monday didn’t mention you by name. And still missing from all the water-bottle blather is any explanation from you.

For someone so famous, it isn’t enough to be technically innocent. You have to be above suspicion. From this day forward, you need to do everything within your power — and ultimately everything remains within your power — to preclude external stress. If that means staying home six nights out of seven, then stay home. While you’re there, try watching game film. Better yet, call Petrino and ask if he’ll watch with you. I bet he’ll even spring for the pizza.

You’re 26, about to enter your seventh NFL season, and you’ve arrived at a crossroads. You can continue to be the uncertain player you became under Mora/Knapp, a runner one week and a thrower the next, and soon you’ll be 31 and looking to resurrect yourself the way all last-chances do – as an Oakland Raider. Or you can work with this clever coach and immerse yourself in detail and bring your fundamentals to the level of your immense gifts, and then (assuming the rest of the roster holds up its end) you’ll be what you’ve said you dream of being: A great quarterback, a Super Bowl quarterback.

You have the time. You have, goodness knows, the talent. You can get where Peyton Manning is going, but you have to apply yourself. These last few months have made us wonder if you’re as serious about your job as you need to be. Show us you are. Shut us all up. Take this team to the Super Bowl.

Braves Kelly Johnson Could Take Marcus Giles Place At 2nd Base

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Johnson, who switched from shortstop to outfield at the behest of the Braves in 2004, is back in the infield, being groomed by Hubbard as the club’s preferred replacement for second baseman Marcus Giles.Martin Prado, Willy Aybar, Pete Orr and Chris Woodward are available to compete at the position, vacated when Giles wasn’t offered a contract in December and signed with the San Diego Padres.

But the Braves, barring an unexpected trade, hope Johnson will assert himself at spring training and fill a couple of boxes on the team’s checklist — second base and leadoff hitter.

“It’s open,” Braves general manager John Schuerholz said of second base, “but he’s regarded as the prime candidate.”

After missing the 2006 season with elbow problems that required ligament-transplant surgery in June, Johnson immersed himself in a winter course on the how-to’s of second base, with Hubbard his private instructor.

“He’s got the best teacher in baseball,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said.

Bulldogs Will Persue NFL Great Kevin Butler’s Son

It’s clear where Peachtree Ridge’s Drew Butler’s heart lies.

The Suwanee, Ga., kicker/punter is a lifelong Georgia fan, as the son of former Bulldog and NFL great Kevin Butler, but he was still weighing a tough decision before he came to Athens for his official visit this weekend.

Butler reportedly has scholarship offers from Wake Forest and Duke, one of the most prestigious universities in the South. Meanwhile, Georgia had expressed interest in Butler, but only as a preferred walk-on.

Georgia’s coaching staff is typically hesitant to offer scholarships to high school kickers, particularly after offering one to Andy Bailey, who twice lost his job as the Bulldogs’ starting place-kicker and will enter next season as the backup to Brandon Coutu, who joined the team as a walk-on, but will be an all-America candidate next year.

Butler’s future, however, will likely be as a punter — a position that will be open in the fall thanks to the departure of four-year starter Gordon Ely-Kelso, another former walk-on.

NFL SI Rumor – Raiders Trying To Get QB Mike Vick From Atlanta

The Raiders are preparing to make a run at Michael Vick, according to NFL sources. The Raiders package would include receivers Randy Moss and Jerry Porter plus the No.1 overall pick in the 2007 draft for Vick and the Falcons first round pick (10th overall).

So if this rumor is true then Atlanta would be crazy to go with it. Atlanta could do better and Backup QB Matt Schuab is not very mobile. A trade like this could very well put Atlanta in a hole they might not recover from for a very long time.

Bulldogs Persue NFL’s Legend Punter Kevin Butler’s Son

It’s clear where Peachtree Ridge’s Drew Butler’s heart lies.

The Suwanee, Ga., kicker/punter is a lifelong Georgia fan, as the son of former Bulldog and NFL great Kevin Butler, but he was still weighing a tough decision before he came to Athens for his official visit this weekend.

Butler reportedly has scholarship offers from Wake Forest and Duke, one of the most prestigious universities in the South. Meanwhile, Georgia had expressed interest in Butler, but only as a preferred walk-on.

Georgia’s coaching staff is typically hesitant to offer scholarships to high school kickers, particularly after offering one to Andy Bailey, who twice lost his job as the Bulldogs’ starting place-kicker and will enter next season as the backup to Brandon Coutu, who joined the team as a walk-on, but will be an all-America candidate next year.

Butler’s future, however, will likely be as a punter — a position that will be open in the fall thanks to the departure of four-year starter Gordon Ely-Kelso, another former walk-on.