After the meteoric rise of rookie quarterbacks Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco last year, it?s fair to wonder if the two will be afflicted by the dreaded sophomore slump. According to Ryan’s teammates and coaches, nothing could be further from the truth. Fullback Ovie Mughelli said, “it’s scary how much he’s improved, and it’s only his second year. People thought he couldn’t get much better than last year.”

The Atlanta Falcons bought some insurance and a healthy dose of experience on Monday with the acquisition of 12-year center Jeremy Newberry. The 6-5, 315 pound Newberry has competed in 120 games, starting 107 of them.

Well it is official. The nightmare that was the Michael Vick saga is finally over for the Atlanta Falcons when they released him from the roaster on Friday. The Falcons had been trying to peddle the ex-franchise quarterback for as little as a late round draft pick, but they never found anyone willing to step up and take a chance on Mike. Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said in a statement, “In the very end, we came to a conclusion that it was time. It was best for both of us and Michael Vick to move on, to turn the chapter.”

Love it or despise it, few can argue that Fantasy Football is the vehicle that has made the NFL the wild success that it is today. Each week all those Fantasy owners don their jerseys and settle in for a Sunday of pigskin, franticly tallying up their points on their handheld device hoping to relish sweet victory by the close of Monday night. It’s a strange culture that has infected 22.5 million Americans so this phenomenon isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Since the coming drafts are months away, it?s time to turn our focus to how fantasy owners should evaluate the cogs that make up the Atlanta Falcons.

It’s hard to believe it was a mere 21 months ago that Michael Vick tore apart the Atlanta Falcons franchise when he became the poster boy for the heinous act of dog fighting. He was released this morning from the Kansas prison and will be returning to his Hampton, VA home where he will serve out the final two months of his prison term under home confinement. The sports world is simply aflutter with the possibilities of where Vick will be playing football next. While there are no guarantees the athletic quarterback will be suited up for a team in 09, or if he’ll even still be a quarterback for that matter, it’s safe to say someone will take a chance on tackling this PR disaster. Let’s take a look at who might be bold enough to pull the trigger.

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.

Record: 9-7

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.