Tag: Atlanta Falcons (Page 41 of 66)

      Eagles jump ahead of Falcons in Gonzalez trade talks

      April 22, 2009 /

      According to SI.com’s Don Banks, the Eagles have jumped ahead of the Falcons in the Tony Gonzalez trade talks.

      • The buzz about the Chiefs resuming their attempts to trade veteran tight end Tony Gonzalez has re-started, and it sounds as if the Eagles might have nosed ahead of the Falcons as the most likely trade partner. Philly is thought to be willing to give up a third-rounder for Gonzalez. But Kansas City is seeking at least a second-round pick for a player it considers a future Hall of Famer, and may not be willing to bear the brunt of any criticism that could come if it’s perceived to have given away Gonzalez too cheaply.

      Considering the Falcons vehemently denied that they were interested in Gonzalez, Banks’ report shouldn’t surprise anyone. There is a lot of speculation that Philly is interested in Oklahoma State tight end Brandon Pettigrew at No. 21, so it makes sense that they would be willing to give up a third rounder for a proven commodity like Gonzalez. (Although I don’t know if a third round pick would be enough to acquire him.)

      I went into more detail about the Gonzo-trade talks yesterday. You can read it here.

      NFL, NFL Draft

      Will the Chiefs trade Tony Gonzalez by draft weekend?

      April 21, 2009 /

      mill

      One of the more interesting situations that has been brewing for the past couple months is what the Chiefs are going to do with tight end Tony Gonzalez, who appears to desperately want out of Kansas City.

      Since February of this year, several media publications have speculated that Gonzalez has made it clear that he doesn’t want to be a Chief any longer. Yet every time a new rumor hits the web, Gonzo usually denies the claim within a few days.

      But he failed to report to KC’s voluntary minicamp last Saturday and his absence would seem to indicate that he does want out, or else why wouldn’t he be spending this time getting acquainted with new quarterback Matt Cassel? Gonzo is the consummate pro, so even though the workouts are voluntary, one would think that he would want to spend as much time as possible getting in sync with Cassel.

      New GM Scott Pioli has already stated that he doesn’t feel obligated to trade Gonzalez this offseason, yet he might consider it if the right deal comes along this weekend during the draft. Several teams could use Gonzalez’s services, most notably the Falcons (who have already been linked to Gonzo-internet rumors, although they proved to be false), Bills, Jets, Eagles and Browns.

      Continue reading »

      NFL, NFL Draft

      2009 NFL Mock Draft Version 3.0

      April 20, 2009 /

      This is it – the week NFL draft nuts have been waiting for. Soon enough, prospects will know what cities they’re headed to and draft mock experts everywhere will look like idiots when less than half of their predictions are correct despite spending hours of time researching the picks.

      I say it every year – the NFL draft is a crapshoot in terms of trying to make predictions. Nobody knows how high prospects are rated on draft boards around the league except the teams themselves. So while it’s fun to project who will go where, nobody has a clue – not Mike Mayock, not Mel Kiper and certainly not Anthony Stalter. (Did I just refer to myself in the third person? What a joke.)

      The following is my third and final mock of the first round. In my previous two mocks, I had some fun by predicting potential trades that could play out, but I won’t do it here. I’m playing this mock “straight up” because predicting trades in the first round is harder to do than predicting what kind of mood Billy Bob Thornton will be in when he sits down to give an interview. Zing!

      Some of you will inevitably feel as though that I have teams reaching with their picks. That’s fine, but realize that reaches are going to happen come Saturday because they’re just a part of the draft. If you disagree with any of my picks, go ahead and let me hear about it in the comments section. After all, the NFL draft is a spectacle and it’s supposed to be fun for fans. Enjoy all the action on Saturday and good luck to your favorite team on draft weekend.

      (Click here to see Mock Draft Version 1.0 and Mock Draft Version 2.0)

      Continue reading »

      NFL, NFL Draft

      17 Intriguing Matchups on the 2009 NFL Schedule

      April 15, 2009 /

      The NFL released the 2009 NFL Schedule today, so I’ll do what the 4,000 other websites do and list some of the more juicier matchups of the year. (Although in the sake of being at least a little creative, I’ll list one interesting matchup for each of the 17 weeks on the schedule.)

      Before we get to the matchups though, let me state for the record that it’s a complete farce that the Cowboys get six nationally televised games next year despite not making the playoffs last season. I guess “America’s Team” opening a brand new stadium is worth major national exposure…six times a year.

      Week 1: Bears at Packers, 8:20PM ET
      Jay Cutler’s first game in a Bears uniform will be at Lambeau against the rival Packers on Sunday Night Football. How much will John Madden overplay the, “The Bears finally have a quarterback” angle after every pass Cutler completes?

      Week 2: Giants at Cowboys, 8:20PM ET
      One of the ‘Boys six nationally televised games, Dallas will open up their new stadium against division rival New York on Sunday Night Football. How much will John Madden overplay the, “Tony Romo and Wade Phillips must win now because Jerry Jones built this brand new stadium and he wants a contender” angle?

      Week 3: Falcons at Patriots, 1:00PM ET
      The over/under on the number of times Matt Ryan is compared to Tom Brady in this game has officially been set at 800,994,990.

      Week 4: Chargers at Steelers, 8:20PM ET
      AFC Divisional Round rematch in Pittsburgh – let’s see if the Chargers can hold onto the ball for more than 17 seconds in the third quarter unlike the last time these two teams met.

      Week 5: Patriots at Broncos, 4:15PM ET
      If Bill Belichick shakes Josh McDaniels’ hand at midfield after this game, I’m calling shenanigans on the behalf of Eric Mangini.

      Week 6: Bears at Falcons, 8:20PM ET
      Here’s hoping the Bears’ secondary figured out that they have to cover the out pattern when that’s the only route Matt Ryan can look for when there’s 11 seconds on the clock and he needs to get his team into field goal range.

      Continue reading »

      Humor, NFL

      Are the Falcons interested in Tony Gonzalez?

      April 14, 2009 /

      According to the National Football Post, the Falcons are interested in trading for Chiefs’ tight end Tony Gonzalez.

      Lombardi reports that the Falcons may be willing to give up their second round draft pick (#55 overall) in order to obtain the services of Gonzalez.

      The move makes sense as Justin Peelle, the Falcons top tight end target from 2008, caught only 15 passes for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns in 16 games last season.

      Meanwhile, Gonzalez is coming off another Pro Bowl season in which he hauled in 96 receptions for 1,058 yards and 10 touchdowns.

      More on this story as it develops.

      If you’re looking for a connection, Atlanta’s GM is Thomas Dimitroff, who used to be the Director of College Scouting for the Patriots under former New England general manager and now current Kansas City GM Scott Pioli.

      But even with that connection, this rumor is still a little far-fetched. None of the major media outlets have had anything to say about a possible trade and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that so far, there’s ‘nothing concrete about the rumor.’

      Yes, the Falcons do want to give a pass-catching tight end to quarterback Matt Ryan. But to give up a second round pick for Gonzo is a steep price when you consider how many holes Atlanta has on the defensive side of the ball. The Falcons haven’t been major players in free agency this offseason, instead choosing to wait for the draft to fill their needs. It’s unlikely that Dimitroff would give up his second round pick when there are pressing holes at linebacker, defensive tackle, safety and defensive end. I’m not saying it wouldn’t be a good trade, it’s just seems a little unrealistic at this point.

      NFL

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑