Tag: Atlanta Falcons (Page 45 of 66)

      Falcons will attempt to trade Michael Vick

      February 14, 2009 /

      Falcons’ GM Thomas Dimitroff will attempt to trade suspended quarterback Michael Vick this offseason.

      Michael VickThe Falcons must attempt to trade Vick because if they release him, his contract would place a heavy burden on their salary cap. Vick has a lucrative contract that runs until 2013. It calls for Vick to receive a base salary of $9 million and a bonus of $6.43 million in 2009. The remainder of the contract is worth $45.11 million, with another possible $3 million in Pro Bowl bonuses.

      One question the Falcons will have to address is whether to trade Vick within the division. Carolina and Tampa Bay are among several teams that could be in the market for a quarterback. Some other candidates include Detroit, Cleveland, Kansas City, New York Jets, San Francisco and Chicago.

      Also, former Falcons head coach Jim Mora, who went to the NFC championship game with Vick, is now head coach in Seattle. Greg Knapp, the former offensive coordinator for the Falcons when Vick was the starting quarterback, is on Mora’s staff.

      Good luck. Why would any team cover that salary and take on that headache for a guy that hasn’t played the past two seasons? I realize he’s quite the talent, but nobody knows what kind of shape Vick is in and there’s no doubt he’ll create a media frenzy for whatever team decides to take a chance on him. (If any team is willing to take the risk, that is.)

      But for the sake of argument, Seattle would make a lot of sense because Mora had a great relationship with Vick in Hotlanta and current Seahawks’ QB Matt Hasselbeck can’t stay healthy. Knapp also had some success designing option run packages for Vick while they were both in Atlanta, although Knapp was never able to make Mike into a quality passer.

      Outside of Seattle, a strong personality like Mike Singletary (49ers) would do Vick a lot of good (if Singletary would even want a player like Vick), or an already dysfunctional situation like Oakland would work, so Mikey could just blend in.

      NFL

      Dimitroff is classic example of why teams should hire from winning organizations

      January 28, 2009 /

      January 13, 2008 was officially the day the Atlanta Falcons turned their misfortunes around. No, that wasn’t the day they drafted Rookie of the Year Matt Ryan (that was April 26, 2008) or the date they signed free agent Michael Turner (March 2).

      January 13, 2008 was the day the Falcons hired former Patriots’ director of college scouting Thomas Dimitroff to be their next general manager. Without Dimitroff, there might not have been a Matt Ryan, Michael Turner or Mike Smith, who recently won the NFL’s AP Coach of the Year Award.

      On Wednesday, Dimitroff was named Sporting News magazine’s NFL Executive of the Year – and for good reason. Not only was he responsible for hiring Smith, signing Turner and drafting Ryan, but he was also behind trading overrated cornerback DeAngelo Hall to Oakland, releasing aging veterans Alge Crumpler, Rod Coleman and Warrick Dunn, as well as selecting Sam Baker, Curtis Lofton, Chevis Jackson, Harry Douglas and Kroy Biermann in last year’s draft, all of whom were major contributors as rookies in 2008.

      There’s no doubt the Falcons were in bad shape in 2007. Michael Vick was arrested and sent to federal prison because of dog fighting, Bobby Petrino quit in the middle of the night and ran back to the college ranks, and players like Hall started to act above the team. Making matters worse, late in the year it looked like Bill Parcells would join the team as the new general manager, but as it turns out he was only using the Falcons as leverage to get the Dolphins’ front office job.

      Heading into 2008, the Falcons needed a new general manager (Rich McKay was relegated to team president after the ’07 season), a new head coach and a new direction. So after the Parcells debacle, owner Arthur Blank hired Dimitroff, which turned out to be one of the best decisions Blank has made since buying the team in 2002.

      Looking back, it was no surprise Dimitroff had so much success in just his first year. He came from a winning organization in New England, so he knew what it took to build a winner elsewhere. He hired Mike Smith because he knew he had to have a coach he could work with in constructing personnel. He drafted Matt Ryan because he knew most Super Bowl-caliber teams needed a Super Bowl-caliber quarterback. He parted ways with Hall, Crumpler, Dunn and Coleman because he knew their production probably wasn’t going to match their contracts and the team needed a new core group of players. And finally, he built an offense first because he knew dome teams have advantage on that side of the ball and that Smith (the Jaguars’ former defensive coordinator) could do more with less in terms of the defense, at least in their first year until Dimitroff had the chance to bring in better defensive personnel.

      But it all comes back to Dimitroff’s previous success. He learned in New England what it takes on a day-to-day basis to win in the NFL. He had hands on experience in helping the Patriots win so when Atlanta came calling, he took that same formula and instilled it into the Falcons. And wouldn’t you know it – it worked.

      NFL

      Fans played a hand in the firing of Jon Gruden

      January 27, 2009 /

      Apparently Bucs’ ownership took into account what the fans wanted when they fired head coach Jon Gruden two weeks ago.

      Jon GrudenCo-owner Bryan Glazer stopped in at the Super Bowl media center today and elaborated on ownership’s decision-making process.

      “We talked to a lot of people, but we not only talked to the players, but (also) out in the community getting a feel for the team,” Glazer said. “We get opinions and we mix them all together. We just took our time making that decision.”

      Asked further about the community feedback, Glazer said, “Our fans are our stockholders. They’re what we play for — the people in our stadium and the ones that watch on TV. That’s what it’s all about: winning and how they feel about the team. If they don’t feel good about the team, then there’s something wrong. . . I think you all know the sense that’s out there. It was time for a change.”

      It was impossible to ignore the venom from the fan base in the wake of the team’s late-season collapse, and many fans were outspoken and vehement in making their feelings known from the team’s own website to local talk radio. And Gruden, in particular, was never considered a very likable personality and had little relationship with the community despite being the face of the franchise, something the Glazers no doubt were sensitive to.

      Falcons’ owner Arthur Blank also refers to fans as “stockholders”, which is definitely a unique way to view things. But the fact remains that fans should have zero input on what sports teams operate in terms of player and coaching personnel. Fans are irrational, emotional and often have no idea what’s really going on behind the scenes. (Not unlike sports writers.)

      Not that the fans played a huge role in Gruden being fired, but they shouldn’t have been factored in at all. You want to keep your fans happy? Win. Ultimately, they don’t care if Raheem Morris, Jon Gruden or Sponge Bob Square Pants is running the team – as long as the team is winning, everything is copacetic.

      NFL

      Michael Vick a 49er? Don’t hold your breath.

      January 25, 2009 /

      With the 49ers set to interview former Falcons’ head coach Dan Reeves and former Atlanta offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, internet speculation revved up the possibility of San Fran reaching out to suspended quarterback Michael Vick once he gets out of federal prison.

      But Matt Maiocco’s of the Press Democrat.com mocks the idea in his latest blog entry:

      Michael VickPut all that together and it seems obvious to me that the 49ers have decided to acquire Vick when/if he is able to resume his career after serving his sentence, as well as any suspension Roger Goodell might impose.

      But that is not all I’ve learned in recent days:

      –The 49ers’ plan to go after Vick was actually Plan B. The first idea was to acquire Daunte Culpepper and Randy Moss, and build a dome to replace Candlestick.

      This would’ve been the plan if Scott Linehan had just said yes to the 49ers’ offer to become offensive coordinator. Linehan was coordinator of a top-4 ranked Vikings offense for three consecutive seasons with Culpepper and Moss as his main weapons under the roof of the Metrodome. But when Linehan declined the 49ers’ offer, the 49ers had no other choice but to rip apart that plan and begin their planning to get Vick.

      –The 49ers will do whatever’s necessary to select Ole Miss offensive lineman Michael Oher in the draft.

      Oher’s first year in college was 2005. That is the same season that Micheal Spurlock concluded his Ole Miss career. The 49ers signed Spurlock to a contract this week. Hel-LOOOO! I mean, can you even conceive a scenario in which the 49ers would sign Spurlock if it wasn’t already a done deal that they’d soon be getting Oher? All you have to do is connect the dots on this one. Oh, yeah, and Patrick Willis is already on the team. This one is just way too easy.

      –The 49ers plan to lure Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana out of retirement.

      Coach Mike Singletary hired Tom Rathman to join his staff as running backs coach. Singletary is being just a little too obvious about his intentions. Obviously, the best way to get Montana out of retirement is to hire a former teammate to the staff. You read it here first.

      Singletary has not announced Shaun Hill will be the starter in 2009 for one very good reason. How can Hill be the starter with Montana on the team?

      Even though Maiocco has every right to mock the notion, the idea isn’t that far fetched. After all, Reeves did draft Vick in 2001 and the thought of Dan and Singletary teaming up to straighten Mikey out isn’t that bad of an idea.

      But if you remember correctly, Reeves and Vick didn’t necessarily end on the best of terms. They had a great working relationship up until midseason of 2003 when Reeves questioned whether or not Vick was being overly cautious with the fractured fibula he suffered in a preseason game that year. Reeves, presumably worried about losing his job, wanted Vick to play a hell of a lot sooner than Week 13, which was the first time Mike returned to the field after suffering the injury. But Vick kept proclaiming he wouldn’t be 100% if he had come back any sooner than that, so why force it? Reeves was eventually fired a week and a half later and we all know what happened to Vick.

      Not that the two couldn’t put that little squabble behind them (if they haven’t already) to work together again, but that’s just another thing to keep in mind if you want to buy the Vick-to-San Francisco rumors that have been circulating. Personally, I don’t think Singletary would take a shot on Vick. He wants players that will be dedicated on the field – not to their twisted hobbies off it.

      NFL

      Tim Cowlishaw pours big cup of jinx over Cardinals

      January 21, 2009 /

      If their team loses to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII, Arizona Cardinal fans can thank Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News for it.

      Larry FitzgeraldThe torch really has been passed now. The best player in the NFL plays for the Arizona Cardinals, and his name is Larry Fitzgerald. He’s the reason the Steelers will not become the first franchise to win six Super Bowls this time around.

      The Cardinals, leaving the Detroit Lions as the only team to participate in all 43 seasons without reaching a Super Bowl, will become the 18th franchise to win their first.

      These Cardinals aren’t the best team in the NFL, and they weren’t anything close to it during the regular season. But suddenly their defense stops every team’s running attack. Suddenly, their secondary that got beat up so often makes all the right plays.

      Kurt Warner is playing as if he’s 27, not 37, and the biggest reason for that is a game-breaking and game-changing receiver that the Steelers will not be able to cover.

      It has been six decades since the Cardinals won a title and four decades since I decided as a kid they were going to produce a superior product than the Cowboys.

      Needless to say, I spent a lot of years being wrong on that one.

      That’s why it feels so good now to be right.

      After Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution jinxed the Falcons by stating that they would beat the Cardinals in the wild card round three weeks ago, I warned Gary Myers of the New York Daily News that he crimped the Giants by claiming there was no way the Eagles would beat the G-Men in the divisional round.

      And now this – Cowlishaw, a former Cardinal fan, is doing the same thing to ‘Zona for the Super Bowl. NFL columnists are 0-2 this postseason when they write an article claiming one team will emphatically beat their opponent. Now Sir Jinx-A-Lot the III is about to make NFL columnists 0-3 in the postseason.

      Looks like I’m going with the Steel Curtain when I make my Super Bowl prediction next week. Thanks, Cowlishaw.

      NFL, Super Bowl

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