Falcons Draft Needs:
Safety, Linebacker, Defensive End, Offensive Linemen, Wide Receiver.

Falcons Draft Picks:
#19 Pick: Sean Weatherspoon (Missouri)- Linebacker
# 83 Pick: Cory Peters (Kentucky)- Defensive Tackle
# 98 Pick: Mike Johnson (Alabama)- Tackle/Offensive Guard
#117 Pick: Joe Hawley (UNLV)- Center/Offensive Guard
# 135 Pick: Dominique Franks (Oklahoma)- Wide Receiver
# 165 Pick: Kerry Meier (Kansas)- Wide Receiver
# 171 Pick: Shann Schillinger (Montana)- Safety

Atlanta Draft Trades:
The Falcons traded their fifth (number 149) and sixth (number 189) round draft picks to the St. Louis Rams to get the fifth round, 135th overall section . Atlanta selected Dominique Franks, cornerback.

Draft Analysis:
Atlanta continued their mission for the offseason of making improvements to their defense along with adding depth to the offense. When Sean Weatherspoon was available in the number 19 spot, the Falcons got their wish. Weatherspoon has a great character and is a very hard worker. He has become an excellent pass defender with his speed and is also physical enough for plugging gaps in the run. “Spoon” most likely will be playing outside linebacker in Atlanta’s scheme. More than likely his weakness will be rushing the passer from the outside.

Cory Peters, defensive tackle, was underrated in a draft that turned out was deep for tackles. In the classroom Peters showed some smarts. He made the honor roll and also showed toughness out on the playing field. During the three seasons that he started, Peters had 146 tackles. If he is able to perform well at training camp, Peters may be able to compete for a starting spot with Thomas Johnson. During his first year his playing time will depend on how the team’s other tackles play. He might have an opportunity if he plays well and comes in hungry.

Adding Joe Hawley and Mike Johnson were great moves. These guys are both very versatile and play multiple positions. The offensive line, which was pretty good already, now has some added depth. If they are able to develop, it will give the gurus in the front office options next season when Tyson Clabo and Harvey Dahl become free agents.

In order to pick Dominique Franks, Atlanta traded up. The teams continues adding depth to cornerback, following the addition of Dunta Robinson as a free agent. Any time Franks touches the ball he’s a threat for returning it for a touchdown. Franks will most likely see playing time immediately on special teams. He will need additional time for developing as a corner. However the Falcons are hoping he may be part of the team’s long term secondary picture.

I have questions about their Kerry Meier selection, particularly after Dylan, his brother, died during a hiking accident just days prior to the draft. The tragedy happened with Kerry watching his brother fall to death as they were hiking in Arkansas. Making the grade in the NFL is tough enough without any emotional baggage. For Kerry this will prove quiet challenging, especially considering how close the brothers were. Originally Kerry was a quarterback when he enrolled at Kansas. When Todd Reesing arrived he changed positions. Meier is big with soft hands. However, he still has a lot of development to do for the position. He might stick around for a couple years with the team, but I just can’t see him staying long term in the NFL. Shann Schillinger safety, could end with with the same fate as Meier. To prove his worth, he will need to play hard and work on special teams.

Overall, I give the Falcons a B- grade for their draft picks.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Matt Ryan, Falcons quarterback, does lack in confidence.

Ryan thinks that the Falcons, who last season went 9-7, will have a record that is even better in 2010 than 2008 when he led the team to a surprising 11-5 season during his rookie year. He isn’t shy about expressing his thoughts.

Ryan said in Saturday’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution, we think we are closer to winning 12 or 13 games than 8 games. It was frustrating last year not making the playoffs. However you want to always be part of the mix and always have something to play for. We did up to the final three weeks in the season last year.

Although the quarterback doesn’t want to sound as though he is guaranteeing anything, he does think the Falcons will be among the league’s better teams.

Ryan said, I am not making any predictions. However 12 plus wins sounds good.

If you consider the fact that last year the Saints had a 13-3 record, if the Falcons are looking to take the NFC South the team may need 12 or more wins.

Popularity: 1% [?]

On Wednesday, the Atlanta Falcons announced their exhibition season for 2010.

Their schedule isn’t finalized yet but does include one game that will be on national television. All of the teams are known but not the times and dates for the games.

Atlanta will be opening their exhibition season versus Kansas City at home. The date hasn’t been set yet.

Their second game will be played on August 19 versus New England in the Georgia Dome. Fox will televise the game nationally.

The Falcon’s third game will be played against the Dolphins in Miami, The time and date has not been determined yet.

Atlanta’s final exhibition game will be on Thursday September 2 in Jacksonville. It will be the second time in three seasons that the Falcons have visited Jacksonville. Overall Atlanta and Jacksonville have played six exhibition games, with each team winning three.

With Mike Smith as their head coach, Atlanta had 2-2 records during their 2008 and 2009 exhibition seasons. The Falcons haven’t had a losing record for the exhibition season since 2004.

Popularity: 4% [?]

According to agent Jason Chayut, Dunta Robinson, Athens native and former Houston Texan cornerback, has reached an agreement with Atlanta to terms for a six year contract.

Terms for the deal were not disclosed. An official announcement from the Falcons is expected to be made on Saturday.

The Falcons in signing Robinson are hoping to make improvements in their pass defense. Last season, they ranked 28th in the NFL, surrendering 241.9 yards a game. Cornerback Brian Williams was also re-signed by the Falcons on Thursday for a contract of one year.

Last Thursday during the NFL’s scouting combine, Mike Smith, head coach of the Falcons, said that the teams would improve their pass defense.

Smith said, we didn’t defend the passing game the way we would have liked to. We definitely need to address that. We’re not even close statistically to where we want or need to be. There’s two areas we need to work on. First we need to address our pass rush, second our secondary play needs to improve.

Atlanta is hoping the the return of Peria Jerry, defensive tackle, will help to improve the Falcons pass rush. Signing Robinson should help improve their coverage.

Thomas Dimitroff, Falcons general manager when asked if Atlanta’s pass defense had suffered due to lacking coverage or the rush said, it’s very important to us. We should be getting Peria back. He’s healing and he will continue solidifying our defensive line. If we’re comfortable with that, at that point we will be seriously looking at other defensive positions also.

It is expected that the deal for Robinson will be very lucrative. Last season, he turned a contract down that had guarantees of $23 million before the franchise tag was placed on him by Houston. Last season, Robinson earned $9.957 million. He didn’t participate in Houston’s offseason program due to contract disputes.

Last season, he covered the opposing team’s best receiver while playing on both the left and right sides.

Robinson played for Clarke Central High School before starring for University of South Carolina. During the 2004 draft, Robinson was selected by the Texans as the 10th player overall.

Robinson started immediately at right cornerback in the NFL. As a rookie he made all 16 starts.

In April, Robinson will turn 27. He would have to be considered the No. 1 cornerback on the Falcons.

Last season, the Falcons finished with Brent Grimes, second year player, and Christopher Owens, rookie, starting in the cornerback positions. Playing in the slot was Chevis Jackson. Other cornerbacks include Tye Hill, former first round draft pick, and Chris Houston, who for a majority of the past three seasons was a starter on the right.

Houston made the decision this year to allow Robinson to enter free agency. If they had given Robinson the franchise tag again he would have made almost $12 million next season.

Popularity: 4% [?]

The Falcons got their winning record, but it fell short of their season expectations.

Atlanta’s 20-10 victory on Sunday over Tampa Bay gave the team their first back to back winning seasons in franchise history. However that feat didn’t provide them with very much consolation for the fact that they missed the playoffs.

Mike Smith, Atlanta head coach said, we want our football team to be relevant year after year. We talk about that.

Matt Ryan had 223 yards passing along with two touchdowns to lead Atlanta (9-7) to victory and close out the season on a winning streak of three games.

Smith added, when you are relevant you have that winning record. That’s what gives you the opportunity to be in the playoff hunt. This year we didn’t make it. However we did get nine wins this season. We are very proud of that.

The year was a very disappointing one for the Falcons, but not anywhere near as frustrating as the one endured by Tampa Bay under head coach Raheem Morris.

Tampa Bay (3-13) ended their first season playing for the youngest coach in the NFL. It was the worst record for the team since 1991. The Bucs during their previous two weeks on the road were able to upset New Orleans and Seattle. However it’s uncertain whether that was enough to save the 33 year old head coach’s job.

Last January the Glazer family brought in Morris to replace Jon Gruden. They haven’t publicly commented on their coach’s future.

Morris, reiterating that he wasn’t reading anything into silence from the ownership said, you guys really didn’t give me any votes of confidence either. Tomorrow you could get fired too. It’s just no one is asking you the question.

I will coach here until I am told to go. When I was thirteen both my pop and mom got laid off. No one told them they would get fired. It just is reality in the world that we live in.

Starting for Michael Turner, Atlanta’s injured leading rusher, Jason Snelling had 147 yards rushing in 25 carries. A lot of the damage occurred during the fourth quarter when the Falcons intercepted Josh Freeman, Bucs rookie quarterback, twice.

Ryan had a two yard touchdown pass to Justin Peelle as well as one to Roddy White for 12 yards. The touchdown to White mid fourth quarter snapped a 10-10 tie. Ryan went 23 for 35 and threw two interceptions. Sabby Piscatelli’s pick off of Ryan near midfield provided the Buccaneers with an opportunity to take control of the game.

However Christopher Owens, who earlier that quarter had been beat on the game tying touchdown score, on the very next play picked off Freeman’s pass and returned it for a total of 13 yards down to the 44 yard line of the Bucs. Ryan connected with White five plays later for the go ahead touchdown

During the second half Snelling had 131 yards rushing. His run of 22 yards led to the touchdown by White. He also had gains of 22, 21, and 11 yards on the drive that resulted in a field goal by Matt Bryant with a minute left to play.

Snelling said, I felt like definitely I was into a rhythm, into a zone. Coach kept giving me the football, the guys blocked for me and I made the plays.

Despite the fact that he sat out five of the last seven games for Atlanta, Turner still came up only 129 yards short of having what what have been his second season gaining 1,000 yards. He only had 13 carries following the loss to Carolina in Week 10. Down the stretch the absence of any consistent running attack put more of a burden on Ryan.

Ryan said, the win was huge for us and also to finish our season out winning three games in a row. Last season as a rookie Ryan led the Falcons into the playoffs with their 11 wins. It says a lot about or guys in our locker room.

Offensively Tampa Bay sputtered. They had to settle for a field goal of 36 yards by Connor Barth after Eric Weems of Atlanta fumbled the opening kickoff which was recovered by Tanard Jackson on the 28 yard line of the Falcons.

Just a week after gaining 100 yards for the first time in more than three years, Tampa Bay’s Cadillac Williams didn’t find much room to run in. The Buccaneers were out gained 179 yards to 52 yards and trailed the game at halftime 10-3. Williams only had 26 yards rushing in the first of his 13 carries.

The Buccaneers were able to tie the score on an 11 play, 70 yard drive after they blocked a field goal. They scored a touchdown on an eight yard pass from Freeman over to Antonio Bryant.

On the drive Freeman completed an 11 yard pass to Kellen Winslow as well as a 7 yard pass over to Maurice Stovall. He also got a key block while avoiding a sack when he pushed Tony Michalek, the umpire, into a defender who was pursing him before he threw to Jerramy Stevens to complete a 14 yard pass.

Freeman went 16 for 32 for a totalof174 yards passing. Williams had 40 yards rushing on 19 carries.

The Bucs will now wait for word on Morris.

Jackson, who had an interception in Sunday’s game said, he should be the coach for us. It was his first year. He came in and worked with what there was for him to work with. Next year it will be a lot different.

Ronde Barber, cornerback, agreed with Jackson.

Barber said, the guys are very strong on him. Simple as that. I don’t need to defend him. Also he doesn’t need to defend himself.

Popularity: 38% [?]

Popularity: 100% [?]

The improving defense of the Falcons left the offense of the Bills in a rut that was familiar.

Matt Ryan had three passes for touchdowns, including one of 42 yards over to Roddy White on the first play of the game for Atlanta. The Bills never did challenge the Falcons in Atlanta’s 31-3 win on Sunday over the Bills and Terrell Owens.

Terrell Owens became only the sixth man in the history of the NFL to have 1,000 career receptions. During the second Owens was able to reach that milestone on a pass of 8 yards from Brian Brohm.

It was one of the Bills (5-10) rare highlights. Buffalo only managed 178 total yards. That included 40 yards rushing, their season low.

Mike Smith, Falcons coach said, for the second week in a row I think our defense was very solid.

Atlanta came into the game off of their 10-7 victory over the Jets. They had two sacks and two interceptions. Buffalo only converted 2 out of 10 on their third down conversion attempts. They have lost three games out of their last four and on their third down conversions are just 7 for 45 during that stretch.

Brohm went 17 for 29 for a total of 146 yards and threw two interceptions during his debut in the NFL. The second year player started in place of Bills quarterbacks Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick who were both out with injured ankles.

Perry Fewell, interim head coach for Buffalo said, our guys did fight hard. We just don’t have the firepower we need. We didn’t have enough in order to make this game into what we wanted it to be.

With the win Atlanta (8-7) has the opportunity for posting winning records in back to back seasons for the very first time in the history of their 44 year franchise. Last week Atlanta was eliminated from the playoffs. They close out their season next week in Tampa Bay.

Mike Peterson, linebacker said, as far as making the playoffs things didn’t really go they way we wanted them to. However we still can finish by having a winning record. I am sure the organization and fans will be happy about that.

Atlanta led 10-0 in the game and then added two touchdowns in the third quarter. Ryan threw a touchdown pass of 12 yards to Marty Booker. Lawrence Sidbury, defensive end, recovered a fumble and returned the ball 11 yards to give the Falcons a lead of 24-0.

During the fourth quarter, Ryan added another score with a touchdown pass of 5 yards to White.

Ryan went 18 for 35 for a a total of 250 yards passing. During his two seasons as the starting quarterback in the Georgia Dome Ryan’s record is 13-1.

Brohm got signed on November 19 off of the practice squad of Green Bay.

Brohm said, I thought that I handled myself out there fine. The outcome wasn’t that good, but I still played with confidence.

Fewell said that he thought that Brohm had handled himself ok, especially since he had only been with the team a month.

Fewell said, he got put into a very tough position. He tried answering the challenge. I do do think with some more work and more works he has a future. He shows promise.

From the outset, the defense of Atlanta applied pressure to Brohm and the rest of the Bills. On the first play for Buffalo, Fred Jackson lost two yards after being tackled by Jonathan Babineaux. Then he sacked Brohm on third down for an 8 yard loss. That forced the first of Buffalo’s seven punts.

The punt of Brian Moorman was returned 18 yards by Eric Weems down to the 42 yard line of Buffalo. White beat Reggie Corner, Bills cornerback, on first down and scored a touchdown of 42 yards.

White who caught 8 pases for a total of 139 yards and scored two touchdowns said, I just wanted to get out there to make a play to help our team get going early. Matt threw the ball well. All I had to do was go up and get it.

Corner was filling in for the injured Terrence McGee. This week McGee was put on injured reserve due to an injured rotator cuff. Jarius Byrd, defensive back, was also put on injured reserve by the Bills this week. Bryan Scott, starting linebacker, did not play due to a head injury.

Buffalo’s depleted defense was unable to follow their plan to protect Brohm.

Paul Posluszny, linebacker said, we wanted the game to be on our shoulders instead of his. We weren’t able to do that. They were able to jump on us right away. We were kind of shocked. It was still early though. We anticipated that we would get back into the game.

The defense of Atlanta was able to shut the Bills running game down. Jackson had 39 yards rushing in 13 carries.

Atlanta had a 24-0 lead when late third quarter Rian Lindell finally kicked a field goal of 42 yards to score the only points for Buffalo.

Owens caught four passes for a total of 39 yards receiving. He came into the game only needing two catches in order to get to 1,000.

Brent Grimes and Christopher Owens had interceptions for the Falcons.

Tony Gonzalez of Atlanta started the day just six catches away from 1,000, but had to leave after injuring his right calf. Before leaving he caught two passes for a total of 17 yards.

Atlanta lost Michael Koenen, punter, during the third quarter with a head injury, while Matt Bryant, kicker, was limited due to an injured hamstring. Kroy Biermann, defensive end, kicked off twice during the third quarter to fill in for Bryant.

Popularity: 35% [?]

The Falcons playoff hopes were already dashed, and the top ranked defense of the Jets were manhandling them.

Game over, right? Well, not quite.

With just 1:38 left to play Matt Ryan connected on a touchdown pass of 6 yards with Tony Gonzalez to give Atlanta a 10-7 win over New York on Sunday that seriously damaged the post season chances of the Jets.

Gonzalez said, as men who love what we are doing and take pride in our work, we owe it to ourselves as well as the organization and fans to go out and play our butts off. That is exactly what we did.

Only a day after Atlanta (7-7) got eliminated from the playoffs with the Cowboys victory over the Saints, the Falcons played spoiler versus the Jets (7-7).

Jerricho Cotchery said, unfortunately today lots of bad things happened.

Coming back after missing two games due to an injured toe, Matt Ryan started at quarterback for the Falcons but wasn’t able to do too much versus the defense of the Jets for a majority of the game. However, the Jets offense sputtered as well at the windy and cold Meadowlands, and New York failed at putting the game away. Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez had three interceptions, while kicker Jay Feely missed one of his field goals and another one got blocked. On another attempted field goal the snap was mishandled by Kellen Clemens. The Jets also had some penalties that were costly.

Sanchez said, this is very tough to swallow. Playing that poorly is never good. In spurts we did play well, but then we would turn over the ball.

What made the game even more frustrating was that things appeared to be starting to fall into place for the Jets and Rex Ryan. Their winning streak of three games was snapped. Miami and Jacksonville, the two teams that the Jets are trying to catch in the AFC, lost their games. A Jets win would have put them in a great position going into next Sunday’s game versus the undefeated Colts. New York instead is left wondering what if?

Jim Leonhard, Jets safety said, there was nothing for them to play for except to spoil our season. They were able to come out and they outplayed and out executed us.

With Atlanta facing third down and 9 at their 42 yard line, Roddy White caught a pass of 16 yards. The Falcons moved an additional 15 yards on a Donald Strickland face mask penalty. The play was followed up by a run of 20 yards by Jason Snelling right up the middle down to the 7 yard line. After a run of one yard by Snelling, Ryan threw an incomplete pass intended for White inside the end zone. He then threw another incomplete pass intended for Gonzalez which Darrelle Revis nearly intercepted.

With the game in the balance, Ryan connected with Gonzalez inside the end zone to score the go ahead touchdown.

Gonzalez said, during the final drive they did a decent job taking me out. But on that final play, I was thinking they are going zone. Maybe I have a chance to get open.

After the score, frustrated Jets fans sitting in the upper decks threw snow left over from a major Northeast snowstorm. During the game one fan was arrested and twenty nine ejected for throwing snow.

New York allowed another score late in the game, after blowing leads twice against Miami, as well as one versus Buffalo and Jacksonville earlier in the season.

Leonhard said, if we are the number one ranked defense and as great as we think that we are, then they should not have been down there. It shouldn’t have even happened.

There was one final chance for the Jets to come back. However, Alan Faneca drew a penalty for unnecessary roughness which limited the opportunity. On third down and thirteen at the 21 yard line of the Jets, Sanchez threw his second interceptions. Brent Grimes picked off the pass to seal the victory for the Falcons.

Mike Smith, Falcons coach said, we had to scratch and fight hard to get the job done, but we did it.

The Jets had the opportunity to blow the game open, but other than the touchdown catch of 65 yards by Braylon Edwards, their offense wasn’t able to do much. Sanchez started the game after missing a game due to a right knee sprain. He played with both knees in braces and went 18 out of 32 for a total of 226 yards passing.

Ryan went 16 out of 34 for a total of 152 yards passing for Atlanta, who still has the chance to post winning records back to back for the very first time in the franchise’s 44 year history.

The Jets were able to get onto the scoreboard early in the game. The punt by Michael Koenen was tipped, giving the ball to New York on their 35 yard line. Sanchez on the very next play hit Edwards in stride to give the Jets a lead of 7-3 late first quarter.

With 6:40 remaining until halftime, the Jets had an opportunity to increase their lead. However on a field goal attempt of 19 yards, a low snap was mishandled by Clemens and Feely never got an opportunity to attempt the field goal.

Another scoring opportunity was wasted by the Jets when on another field goal attempt from 38 yards, Feely missed wide to the right with time expiring first half.

With 10:10 left to play Matt Bryant missed a field goal attempt of 48 yards for the Falcons.

With 4:27 remaining Feely missed a field goal attempt of 37 yards, which would have made the score 10-3, when Chauncey Davis blocked the kick off of the high snap.

Popularity: 33% [?]

New Orleans still has a perfect record. That’s all that really matters.

The fact that it was yet another close call doesn’t worry them.

Drew Brees passed for 296 yards and threw three touchdowns, while Jonathan Vilma had two defensive plays that were huge as the Saints were able to pull another tight win out 26-23 on Sunday over a pesky Falcons team.

Last week New Orleans (13-0) seem to be at the brink of defeat. Then Washington missed a short field goal during regulation. In overtime the Saints rallied to win the game 33-30.

They struggled this time to hold off the Falcons who were missing their offensive stars Michael Turner and Matt Ryan due to injury. The game result was doubtful until the crushing hit on fourth down by Vilma on Jason Snelling to stop him a yard short with a minute to play.

The Saints joined the Colts, who also won on Sunday, as one of the seven teams in the NFL to have a 13-0 record. The last two games however have been their closest margins in a season where they have dominated with wins in double digits.

Is there any reason to be concerned?

Vilma said, why should we be worried? We are 13-0. In the NFL you don’t get too many blowout wins.

Brees said, we refer to it as being battle tested.

Although the Saints may have been short on style points, they did set their franchise record in terms of most wins in a season. They also clinched having a bye for the first round of the playoffs as well as moving one step closer to having home field advantage during the entire NFC playoffs.

Brees said, from now on it will only get harder. No matter what, we always feel we have a chance to win the game. Whether it’s our defense, offense, special teams, we find some how to win the game.

With 4:42 left to play, Garrett Hartley kicked a field goal of 38 yards to give New Orleans the lead back after Atlanta had rallied from a two touchdown deficit to tie the score at 23 all.

The Falcons still had a few opportunities to pull an improbable victory out. Both of those chances were stopped by Vilma.

On the first one, the linebacker dropped back to cover and picked off Chris Redman’s pass up the middle that was intended to go to Roddy White. New Orleans didn’t score any points from the turnover. They did attempt the fake field goal, but it didn’t work.

Atlanta was attempting to get into range for a field goal on fourth down and 2 from the 46 yard line of the Saints. Redman threw a short pass over to Snelling, however the running back was plastered by Vilma after just a gain of one yard. Earlier during the game the Falcons had run that exact same play. Vilma was able to read the play all the way.

New Orleans defense surrendered 392 yards and only forced Atlanta to punt one time. However it didn’t prove to be costly.

Vilma said, we always want it put on our shoulders when the game is at the end.

Atlanta (6-7) lost their sixth game out of the last eight. Their chances to make the playoffs are about over. They will need to win their remaining games to avoid extending one of sports most unwanted streaks. The Falcons in their 44 year history haven’t ever had back to back winning seasons.

The Saints are chasing history. Just three more wins and they will have the perfect regular season. Only three teams have been able to do that.

Brees said, for us it does mean a lot. This kind of a year doesn’t happen too often.

It was another big game for Brees. He went 31 for 40 and had touchdown passes to Marques Colston and Reggie Bush.

It appeared that the Saints were pulling away after Brees connected with Bush for a touchdown of 21 yards, capping their first possession third quarter. It extended the Saints lead to 23-9.

Bush also scored on a pass of 6 yards, after missing two games due to a knee injury and playing only sparingly versus Washington. To get over the goal line Bush dove, sticking the ball out using his left arm.

However, the Falcons were able to close the gap. Redman connected on a touchdown pass of 50 yards with Michael Jenkins. Atlanta’s defense then forced the only Saints punt in the game. Snelling powered the ball in from the four yard line to tie the score with 12:56 left at 23.

The Saints and Brees came back. Appearing to want to run out the clock, New Orleans had their longest drive, a 63 yard, 16 play march down field. It stalled finally on the Falcons 20 yard line after Brees was called for intentional grounding.

Harley, who missed on an extra point attempt earlier, booted a field goal, his second of the game, to give the Saints the lead for good.

Chris Redman went 23 for 34 for a a total of 303 yards passing for Atlanta, but with Turner not playing didn’t get much assistance from the running game. Snelling was Atlanta’s top rusher in the game with 37 yards in 10 carries.

Tony Gonzalez, Falcons tight end said, hopefully we will be able to build on this and finish out the season strong. Who knows. Maybe we will get hot. If no one else gets hot then we might have a chance.

Popularity: 32% [?]

After three years Michael Vick finally made his way back into the end zone. Afterwards he couldn’t decide what he wanted to do in there.

A Lambeau Leap would take too much effort.

What he want to do instead is reward a fan who had cheered his returning to Atlanta. There was only one small problem. When Vick flipped the football in the direction of the stands, the ball got caught in the net that is up for extra points.

No worries. For the Eagles and Vick everything else on Sunday went right.

Vick, who was back to the city where he once ruled, made two touchdowns. He got one passing and one running. They were his first touchdowns since 2006. As the Eagles dominated the Falcons 34-7, Vick basked in all the cheers coming from the crowd at the Georgia Dome.

Vick, who had tears in his eyes in the bus ride to the stadium said, that was the loudest the Dome gets. I could hear chanting all throughout the stadium. It was sending chills all the way down my spine. The fans were letting me know I was still appreciated for what I have done.

With Atlanta, Vick made the Pro Bowl three times and was one of the NFL’s most dynamic players before the dogfighting incident and his subsequent downfall. He served time in prison and lost two seasons while in his prime. Now he is attempting to rebuild his career serving as an Eagles backup quarterback.

During the third quarter, Vick had a running touchdown of five yards. The last touchdown he scored was on October 15, 2006. Early fourth quarter, with the game well in hand, Vick had a touchdown pass of 5 yards over to Brent Celek. It was the first touchdown throw for Vick since his final season in Atlanta.

Vick said, this couldn’t happen at an any better time. I want to once again be one of this league’s top quarterbacks.

Philadelphia (8-4) was able to extend their lead over the stumbling Falcons (6-6) to two games in the wild card race in the NFC. However a majority of the attention focused on Vick and his first game playing in Atlanta since leaving in disgrace.

When he entered the game to take a few snaps during the opening possession for Philadelphia, the fans showered Vick with boos. However, by the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the fans in Atlanta, many who were wearing jersey with No. 7 on them, were giving the chant “We want Vick! We want Vick!”

Donovan McNabb, starting quarterback for the Eagles said, the guy was in his element. After Vick’s touchdown pass over to Celek, McNabb gave Vick a big hug. McNabb added, I think that he was relishing this moment.

Andy Reid, Eagles coach, decided a two touchdown lead was enough, especially since Vick had a sore hand. Kevin Kolb, third string quarterback, finished the game out much to the fans’ chagrin who had been hoping the ex Atlanta player would get to play more.

It was still a day that gave Vick everything he could have hoped for and then some. On passing he was 2 for 2. He set up his touchdown pass with a competition of 43 yards over to Reggie Brown. He also had 17 yards rushing and one touchdown in four carries.

The Falcons could sure have used their former quarterback.

Atlanta had five of their offensive starters sidelined due to injuries including Matt Ryan, their starting quarterback. It was just too much for them to overcome, despite the fact that Philadelphia was also missing a few of their key players on offense. DeSean Jackson, receiver, and Brian Westbrook, running back, missed the game for the Eagles.

On the last play of the game, Atlanta score to avoid being shut out.

Jerious Norwood, Falcons running back said, you know Vick coming back to Atlanta that he would be on fire.

Prior to the game, Vick spoke with Arthur Blank, Falcons owner, along with some of his former teammates, including Roddy White, wide receiver. When it came down to game time, No. 7 led Philadelphia from the tunnel and on the coin toss served as a captain. He entered the game on the fifth as well as seventh play for Philadelphia.

Reid said, everyone rallied around him. He had some extra juice going, I’m sure.

After Vick took his first two snaps, he just watched the game until Philadelphia was faced with a third down and one from Atlanta’s 5 yard line during the third quarter opening drive. At that point the Eagles lead was only 13-0 even though they had totally dominated the game, Vick lined up for the shotgun. Then he pulled off a very familiar kind of play, reminiscent of when he played in Atlanta.

Vick sprinted to the right, then sharply cut to the left, breaking a tackle and diving into his end zone to score the touchdown. It appeared to lift a gigantic weight from his shoulders. Boos from the fans were drowned out by very loud cheers as Vick left his teammates to head for the stands.

His attempted flip of the ball into the crowd bounced off the net, landing in Leonard Weaver’s hands. The fullback turned to Vick to ask him if he wanted the ball. Vick was already headed to the bench and pointed to the stands. Weaver did manage to get the ball to one of the fans.

After his pass for a touchdown, Vick kept the ball. After the game, he stayed on the field to do interview before trotting off with his arms both raised in the air as he blew kisses to all directions.

Ryan’s stand-in Chris Redman had a bad day after leading Atlanta the week before to a win at the last second. He threw two interceptions. One was returned 83 yards by Sheldon Brown for a touchdown.

Tony Gonzalez, tight end said, it’s still not over. We still have four more games to play.

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