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.

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The Atlanta Falcons will face their toughest test this season while trying to get themselves back into the race for the NFC South.

The Falcons weren’t able to stop Tony Romo, Dallas quarterback, in their Sunday 37-21 loss to the Cowboys. Suddenly they find themselves in danger of falling behind in the division.

Mike Smith, head coach for the Falcons, said he planned to use their extra time this week to consider some potential changes in personnel. This week Atlanta has an extra day for preparing for their very important NFC South game versus the Saints next Monday night in New Orleans.

Their most recent loss left the Falcons (4-2) trailing undefeated New Orleans by two games. Atlanta really can’t afford letting the deficit get bigger.

On Monday Michael Turner, running back, said this is a very big game to have a chance of winning our division. The guys in our locker room know that. We can’t fall behind by three games. It is tough in the NFL to catch up after falling behind by that many games with them having a win over you already. On Monday we need to do whatever we can to pull the win off.

Turner rushed for 50 yards on 18 carries in the game against the Cowboys. In four of Atlanta’s six previous games he had less than 70 yards rushing. His only 100 yard rushing game was in the team’s win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 2, although he did get pulled out of the game early in the Falcon’s win against the 49ers on October 11 after he had rushed for 97 yards and scored three touchdowns.

This season Turner is only averaging 3.4 yards a carry, after averaging 4.5 yards last season when he was the second ranked player in the NFL with a total of 1,699 rushing yards.

Backup player Jason Snelling, who has been getting a lot more playing time due to injuries to Ovie Mughelli, fullback, and Jerious Norwood, running back, had 68 yards rushing on 7 carries versus Dallas.

Mughelli has an injured calf and has missed two games in a row. Norwood missed the game due to a hip injury. Coach Smith stated that there wouldn’t be any updates to the injuries until Thursday, but also said that Snelling might have earned more playing time.

Smith said, yes if he keeps running with the ball like that. He ran very effectively with the ball. He has come in to play fullback as well as tailback for us. Every time Jason has gotten the opportunity he has been very efficient. His play might warrant some more touches.

Romo passed for 311 yards and had no interceptions and three touchdowns in the first game for Atlanta since they lost Brian Williams, cornerback, to a knee injury ending his season.

Atlanta’s defensive line was able to get to Romo.

Jonathan Babineaux, defensive tackle, said we mostly did stop the run. We just weren’t able to get after them on third downs and pressure rushes enough. Those things we need to get better with, especially with Drew Brees this week, who is one of the league’s best quarterbacks as far as passing right now.

Thomas DeCoud, safety, and Stephen Nicholas, linebacker, had Atlanta’s only sacks. John Abraham, defensive end, who last season had a career high 16 1/2 sacks, only has three sacks this season in six games.

Matt Ryan was sacked by the Cowboys four times. It ended the streak for Atlanta of not allowing any sacks in four games in a row.

Smith said that this week there could be some starting jobs on the line.

We are always thinking about changes we feel can help us, Smith said. We will be taking a hard look. We have an extra day which gives our staff a very good opportunity to evaluate personnel. We will make some changes if we feel that they are warranted.

Strong starts have been emphasized by Smith. However Atlanta wasn’t able to maintain any momentum after their long drive to open the game and take a lead of 7-0 over Dallas.

Smith said, we weren’t able to sustain anything after that first quarter. We really struggled in fact after that. We need to have the ability of sustaining that level of play in this league if we want to be successful. I’m the head coach and it’s my responsibility to ensure we do that.

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It’s been an active offseason for the Atlanta Falcons with high profile guys filtering in and others funneling out. They continued last year’s rebuilding project by pressing onward in their youth movement by letting team cornerstones like 11-year vet Keith Brooking (Cowboys) and key contributors like Michael Boley (Giants) and Lawyer Milloy find their way down the proverbial yellow brick road. Grady Jackson also left the team in free agency to the hapless Lions. While these players had lost a step with age, the most critical loss was Dominique Foxworth who signed with the Ravens after a productive, if short lived, 2008 campaign with the Falcons.

For the most part, things were fairly quiet on the free agent acquisition side. Mike Peterson was picked up from Jacksonville, and has a quantum leap head start spending years operating Mike Smith’s defensive schemes for the Jaguars. He’s amassed 1365 tackles, 19.5 sacks and 15 interceptions in his 10-year career. But what the Falcons free agency may have lacked in size they made up for in sizzle. Their most glaring offensive need hung over the tight end position, and general manager Thomas Dimitroff closed the deal on one of the best tight ends to ever play the game in Kansas City’s Tony Gonzalez (read the full story). Gonzalez may lack the coveted youth the Falcons hold dear, but he’s one of the best with plenty of gas sloshing around in the tank to fuel Matt Ryan’s passing attack for two to four years to come.

Having shored up their offensive deficiencies with Gonzalez, Dimitroff used the 2009 draft to reconstruct the defensive side of the ball. First round pick at 24 was for the defensive tackle out of Ole Miss Peria Jerry. Jerry is definitely a high motor player, leading the SEC in tackles for a loss last year, counting up 6 sacks in the process. He’s the run stopper that Smith has been waiting for. He will be an instant starter week 1 and serve as an upgrade over Jonathan Babineaux. Round two had the Falcons taking William Moore, a safety out of Missouri. Moore could present some serious value here. Had he entered the draft last year, he was slated to be a top 10 selection, bolstered by his 117 tackles and 8 interceptions season. He sled down the charts in 09 due to injuries his senior year.

In the third, the Falcons picked up corner back Christopher Owens out of San Jose State. In the fourth, they selected Richmond’s defensive end Lawrence Sidbury. Sidbury is a quick player for his size, besting all defensive linemen at the Combine running a 4.5 40-yard dash. Some even projected him to be second round talent. Furman’s Corner back William Middleton was secured in the fifth. Middleton didn’t perk up on too many people’s radars not having been given an invite to the NFL Combine, yet he shows promise to be able to compete with Houston, Grimes and Von Hutchins for the job. Offensive tackle Garrett Reynolds and outside linebacker Spencer Adkins were picked in the sixth and defensive tackle out of Georgia Tech Vance Walker was taken in the eighth.

Notable undrafted free agents pickups included Clemson wide receiver Aaron Kelly (projected 5th rounder) and Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson (projected 4-5 round). If the Dimitroff’s keen eye for uncovering talent holds true to form, this defensive class should go a long way to establishing the Falcons as a perennial contender much in the same mold as his former employers — the New England Patriots.

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Lots of mock drafts had the Falcons snapping up Oklahoma State’s tight end sensation Brandon Pettigrew with the 24th pick in the draft. I hope these guys wrote up their boards in pencil. The Atlanta Falcons made a huge acquisition today, picking up Kansas City Chiefs pro-bowl TE Tony Gonzalez in exchange for next year’s second round draft pick. Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff just made his strong offense front down right lethal. Gonzalez racked up gaudy numbers in 2008, pulling in 96 passes for 10 touchdowns to go along with 1058 yards. He holds the career record for tight ends with 10940 yards, 76 touchdowns on 916 receptions.

When asked about his feelings on leaving the team he?d built his career with, Gonzalez told Foxsports.com, “It’s somewhat bittersweet. I love Kansas City. I grew up in Kansas City. The city means a lot to me. I got there when I turned 21. It will be sad to leave a city I love. But I’m looking forward to making a Super Bowl run in Atlanta every year for the next three or four years.”

It’s no shock that Gonzalez was unhappy in KC after asking the Chiefs for a trade this past October. The general manager at the time, Carl Peterson, said no offer sufficiently compensated the team for what Gonzalez was worth. Tony Gonzalez is in the twilight of his career at 33-years-old so will serve as a solid presence up the middle for the Falcons in the next 2 to 3 years.

Tight end was one of the Falcons key concerns entering Saturday’s draft. The team lost several valuable components to free agency including cornerback Dominque Foxworth, linebackers Michael Boley and Keith Brooking. Securing Tony Gonzalez allows Dimitroff to focus on the defensive side of the ball. The Falcons also look to be awarded a bounty of compensatory picks in next year’s draft to offset their free agency losses.

Gonzalez joins a stable of talent, anchoring a receiving core which includes Pro Bowl receiver Roddy White and Michael Jenkins. Couple Matt Ryan’s air attack with the human bowling ball, Michael Turner and you have an offensive power that can rival any in the league.

The Chiefs on the other hand are similar to where the Falcons found themselves following the Petrino/Vick debacle last year — in rebuilding mode. New general manager Scott Pioli has already started putting his stamp on the new team, securing last year’s phenom quarterback Matt Cassel to run his offense. Also coming from the New England school of draft savvy, Pioli is expected to mirror Dimitroff’s miraculous efforts come Saturday. When asked about the decision to part ways with Gonzalez, Pioli responded, “This is something we really feel was a decision in the best short-term and long-term interest of the Chiefs. It may be that pick next year or it may be a pick this year or several picks.”

The NFL planners may have chartered a course through the valley of the shadow of death for the Dirty Birds this season, but I guarantee the Falcons will sleep much easier tonight knowing the veteran Pro Bowl presence of Tony Gonzalez will be helping them to navigate the treacherous journey.

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