Month: July 2007 (Page 5 of 17)

Perhaps a glimpse into how the current Atlanta regime feels about their once face of the franchise, Falcons owner Arthur Blank said in a press conference Tuesday that the team was ready to suspend Michael Vick four games until commissioner Roger Goodell urged them not to.

“Prior to this, we were pursuing the maximum discipline, which is a four-game suspension,” Blank said. “We had gone so far as to draft the letter. But the commissioner asked us not to take action until they completed their review.”

Blank and the rest of the Falcons’ brass have taken a lot of heat recently for the way they have coddled Vick in the past. Whether that is just or not (personally, I think the man on trial is most to blame), at least the Falcons were ready to levy the biggest punishment they could possibly hand out before Goodell hit the pause button. Blank and GM Rich McKay also admitted an outright release of Vick was also discussed, but decided to hold off at this time.

Anyone who saw the presser and witnessed how Blank responded to questions could see a very distraught man. It appears Vick’s days in Atlanta are numbered and I for one, think it’s absolutely the best thing for the Falcons and the league that this guy doesn’t take another snap.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the Bears disgruntled linebacker Lance Briggs was close to signing his one-year franchise tender Wednesday.

There were strong indications Tuesday night the two sides either were coming close to an agreement that would end a messy contract dispute or had solved it altogether.

I’m not surprised that Briggs is thinking about reneging on his, “I’m done in Chicago” threats, but it is a little surprising that he may sign before camp. Most players have no problem holding out of the grueling training camp sessions, but once they catch a sniff of the regular season they come crawling back. Briggs is a competitor and I don’t care what he’s said in the past, he’s not going to want to lose out on $7.2 million this year to try and prove a point. We’ll see if he officially caves in and signs the tender within the next few days.

Update: Briggs caved.

It was only a matter of time before some writer would approach the, “Falcons should have drafted LaDainian Tomlinson instead of Michael Vick” subject. What’s surprising, however, is who the first writer to stoke the fires was.

In his “Tuesday Countdown” column for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Jeff Schultz briefly discusses how LT should be a Falcon:

Soooo … maybe now’s not a good time to re-evaluate that whole Vick-for-LaDainian Tomlinson-Drew Brees-Tim Dwight trade.

1. It wasn’t Vick for Tomlinson-Drew Brees and Tim Dwight. It was the first overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, for the No. 4 selection, Dwight and a third round pick in 2002. People like to lump Brees into the equation because he plays the same position as Vick, but the Chargers didn’t use the Falcons second round pick to select him.

2. The Falcons still had Jamal Anderson in the backfield and he was coming off a 16-game, 1,000-yard season after suffering a knee injury the year before. He was only 29 and healthy again, so the Falcons didn’t really need a back.

3. The most damning point regarding this subject: Dan Reeves, the Falcons head coach and GM at the time, admitted shortly after the ’01 draft that he would have selected offensive tackle Kenyatta Walker or Leonard Davis if he wasn’t able to work out a deal for the No. 1 pick.

By all accounts, LT probably wasn’t going to be a Falcon even if they didn’t trade for Vick. You’d think an Atlanta-based writer would know that. In fact, if you’re going to hammer a team for passing on Tomlinson, make it Cleveland, who instead took Gerard Warren at the No. 3 selection even though they could have definitely used a back (Jamel White anyone?).

The Pittsburgh Steelers signed safety Troy Polamalu to a five-year, $33 million contract with a $15,375,000 signing and roster bonus. The deal makes him the highest paid safety in the league.

I’m not going to dispute this deal one bit. Anyone who has read my stuff before, knows I believe a safety who plays the run as well as the pass is worth his weight in gold. Polamalu had injury issues last year, but nevertheless has been one of the best defenders in the league over the past couple seasons. He’s only 26, would have commanded a butt load of cash if he would have hit the open market next year, and in a era of ass clowns like Michael Vick and Pacman Jones, he’s been a total class act.

I’ve got no problem with a standup, hardworking player like Troy Polamalu being one of the highest paid safeties in the league.