Falcons' LB Sean Weatherspoon ruptures achilles; will miss 2014 season

The Atlanta Falcons defense was a weakness last season and were hoping to improve on last season's performance. The unit took a major hit today. Falcons linebacker Sean Weatherspoon has ruptured his Achilles tendon and will miss the 2014 season.

Weatherspoon suffered the injury on Tuesday while running under the supervision of the team's medical staff. Weatherspoon had been held out of the organized team activities as he was continuing his recovery from a foot injury that limited him to only seven games in 2013.

The loss of Weatherspoon, the team's first-round pick from Missouri in 2010, is a blow to the Falcons, whose 2013 season was marked by a string of injuries. Weatherspoon has eight sacks and two interceptions in his first four seasons.

Coach Mike Smith said in a statement released by the team on Tuesday night that Weatherspoon will have surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.

“During Sean’s run today with our medical staff, he suffered an injury,” head coach Mike Smith said. “We sent Sean to the doctor for some additional testing and evaluation and unfortunately the results showed that he ruptured his Achilles tendon. Sean had been working extremely hard to get back on the field, but regrettably he will miss the entire 2014 season. He will have a procedure done in the near future and we expect him to make a full recovery.”

This will be a big loss unless someone steps up in his place. It's a major opportunity for someone to come in and make a name for himself.

Chiefs cut cornerback Dunta Robinson

Another day, another high priced veteran cornerback cut. The Atlanta Falcons released corner Asante Samuel on Wednesday and former teammate Dunta Robinson will join him in the hunt for a new team.

The Chiefs parted ways with veteran defensive back Dunta Robinson, who never quite lived up to expectations last season.

Instead, Robinson was slowed by a series of nagging injuries and appeared in only nine games, making 14 tackles and defending just two passes. He was also part of a defense that was torched by Indianapolis wide receivers in a loss that knocked Kansas City out of the playoffs.

The move was widely expected not only because the 31-year-old Robinson struggled most of the season, gradually losing playing time to undrafted free agent Marcus Cooper, but also because the cash-strapped Chiefs would save more than $3 million. Robinson’s three-year deal was worth $13.7 million.

The 31-year-old played in just nine games and started two last season for the Chiefs. He had 13 tackles, one fumble recovery and four passes defensed in 2013.

Robinson started his career with the Houston Texans. As a rookie in 2004, Robinson logged 88 tackles, a career-high six interceptions, three forced fumbles and 19 passes defensed. In 2010 he signed a big money deal with the Atlanta Falcons but was cut with three years left on his deal.

Because Robinson now is an unrestricted free agent, he is able to sign with another team before free agency opens on March 11.

Falcons release Asante Samuel

When the Atlanta Falcons acquired cornerback Asante Samuel from the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012, they were bringing in a defensive back who had made the Pro Bowl in four of his past five seasons. Pairing him with Brent Grimes and Dunta Robinson, the Falcons appeared to have crafted one of the league's premier cornerback trios. At the start of the 2013 season, however, Samuel was the only member of the trio who remained on the roster. As of Wednesday afternoon, the entire trio is out of Atlanta, as the Falcons have released Samuel.

With declining skills at the age of 33, Samuel was relegated to a bench role in 2013 and would have returned to the same role next season. Due a $3.5 million base salary with a $1.675 roster bonus this season, he was simply no longer worth the money. Having allowed a 113.7 passer rating on throws into his coverage this year, Samuel graded out as Pro Football Focus' 57th ranked cornerback among 110 qualifiers.

Dumping Samuel will allow the Falcons to give more valuable reps to their promising young cornerback duo of Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford, who were both rookies in 2013. Trufant was phenomenal, grading out as PFF's No. 7 cornerback in his rookie campaign. Alford struggled quite a bit throughout the season, but the Falcons still feel that he has tremendous upside.

As for Samuel, he'll hit the open market with his best days behind him, but he can still contribute as a role player for an NFL defense, particularly one that employs a zone-heavy scheme. The Chicago Bears could let Charles Tillman walk as a free agent this offseason, so they could be a potential landing spot for Samuel.

Samuel was at his best 2007-10, when he made four consecutive Pro Bowls to go with a first-team All-Pro selection. He has 51 career interceptions and has led the league twice in that category (2006 and 2009).

Roddy White: "It's Super Bowl or nothing"

The Atlanta Falcons were damn close to playing for a Super Bowl this past season. Going into the upcoming season the Falcons will be one of the favorites to be playing on the final Sunday. The team signed running back Steven Jackson from the St. Louis Rams and will have a lot of key players returning. Making the playoffs isn't good enough for this team according to receiver Roddy White.

White has said it's "Super Bowl or nothing" for the Falcons. When Whits spoke about the teams past playoff performances he stated that the Falcons were happy to be a the party. Now there is a sense of urgency after the NFC Championship game loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

“I think that the first three we were getting there and were just having fun being there. And then we turned a curb, and we said we have to stop just getting there and we have to win games,” White said. “We’re ready to take that next step. We know how good our football team is and the players we got, so it’s either Super Bowl or nothing for us right now.”

Jackson also said that he came to Atlanta to go out on top. Sounds to me that this team is hungry. But will they be able to beat out the other top contenders in the NFC?

Matt Ryan has a sprained AC joint

After playing up to their history and blowing another big lead in a playoff game, the Atlanta Falcons received a bit of bad news on top of today's loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game.

After being hit by San Francisco's Ahmad Brooks, quarterback Matt Ryan looked in a bit of pain. A report by ESPN's Adam Schefter revealed that Ryan suffered a sprained Ac joint. The team believes that surgery may not be needed.

I'm sure this isn't the way the Falcons or their fans envisioned the season ending.

Atlanta Rapper Big Boi, says Falcons players need to avoid strip clubs to beat Seahawks

The Atlanta Falcons have experienced a few playoff failures in recent memory, most notably the demolition by the Green Bay Packers in 2010 and the lousy showing against the New York Giants last year. Once again the Falcons have home field advantage but face a more than capable Seattle Seahawks team that has been red hot lately.

One key is for quarterback Matt Ryan to play lights out. But Atlanta rapper Big Boi, from Outkast fame has another idea on how the Falcons can be successful in their Sunday showdown with the Seahawks. Stay out of the strip clubs.

Big Boi aka Antwan Patton appeared on ESPN's First Take to give his opinion on how the Falcons can emerge victorious.

"As long as everybody stays out of Magic City and Diamonds of Atlanta, we are going to be good," Big Boi said, via the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "Wait until Monday to go. Everybody stay home and make it a Blockbuster night."

He even went as far to suggest that the clubs promote "Seahawks night" Saturday. Big Boi must have had Eugene Robinson's shenanigans before Super Bowl 33 on his mind when he made that suggestion.

Roddy White: If I can't walk when I'm 50 it was well worth it

The NFL isn't getting too much sympathy recently with all the lawsuits from former players about health problems and concussions leaving them physically and mentally beat. Throw in the fact that some players (Kurt Warner) sound like they're trying to steer kids away from football, some players are taking up for the sport they love.

Detroit Lions center Dominic Raiola said that all the pain is worth playing for and Atlanta Falcons receiver Roddy White is echoing that sentiment. White was on Twitter discussing how former players made the game what it is but said they're also killing it  especially since some of the players made a lot of money off the game.

White went on to say that "if I can't walk when I'm 50 it was well worth it". Well, I'm sure White will cross that bridge when he gets to it but he might not be saying that if he really isn't able to walk by the time he's 50.

The bottom line is that the NFL should have a health care system in place for former players. I know it's a game but it's also a job.

William Andrews jailed on child support charges

Former Atlanta Falcons running back William Andrews was jailed in Cobb County Friday on a civil contempt charge.

Andrews, 56, of Alpharetta, allegedly failed to pay child support and was arrested Thursday afternoon by a Cobb County deputy, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office told the AJC. Andrews was being held without bond Friday afternoon.


Andrews' criminal record includes arrests in Gwinnett, Cobb and DeKalb counties, records show.

On Sept. 19, 2004, the day the former Falcons running back was inducted into the Ring of Honor, he was in the Cobb County jail for contempt of court after failing to pay child support. Andrews spent much of 2006 in the DeKalb County Jail on theft by taking charges in an alleged loan fraud case.


Andrews was one of the better running backs in the league during the early 1980's and had a bruising style until a knee injury cut his career short after five productive seasons.

Reeves Says Falcons Abandoned Vick

Michael Vick will be making a homecoming of sorts this Sunday when the Philadelphia Eagles square off against the Atlanta Falcons. For those who remember, Vick started his career with the Falcons before a dog fighting scandal derailed his career for a few years.

Former Falcons head coach Dan Reeves was at the helm when Vick was drafted number one overall in 2001. Reeves had been accused of holding Vick back in his formative years in the NFL. Vick had been accused of ending Reeves' coaching life in Atlanta.

Even though Reeves was burned by Vick, an article in the Philadelphia Daily News indicates that the two are friendly with each other and send each other text messages. Reeves had some things to say about Vick and the Falcons organization. He feels that in Vick's darkest moment that the Falcons turned their back on him.

“When Mike really needed them they turned their back on him in my opinion,” said Reeves. “They could have been a big supporter and they let him go. I think it could have been handled differently.

“I wasn’t there so I don’t know the organization’s standpoint, but I thought they could have been more supportive and instead they severed ties with him.”



Vick doesn't see it that way and has accepted full responsiblity for his actions. Falcons owner Arthur Blank felt that Vick brought it upon himself, but yet lobbied for Vick to get a second chance in the NFL.

“He has let down his fans and his team. He has damaged the reputation of our club and the entire National Football League, and betrayed the trust of many people,” said Falcons owner Arthur Blank in the summer of 2007.



“Only he can answer why he did what he did. At the end of the day he put himself in this position, and the responsibility for doing so rests on his shoulders.”

Vick says he still has respect for Blank, which proves that he harbors no ill feelings about the way the whole ordeal was handled by the Falcons.

“I’m pretty sure every guy in that organization has the utmost respect for him, and I still do,” said Vick of Blank. “I always wish him nothing but the best. I still care about him and I love him unconditionally, and it will always be that way.”


My personal opinion about what Reeves said is that Blank tried to stand by Vick as long as he could. Vick still respects Blank for treating him more like a family member than an employee. When a family member does something wrong, you still support them but in different ways. Blank supported Vick by telling league officials that he should get a second chance, he just couldn't stand by him with the dogfighting scandal hanging over his head.






 

Roddy White's Jerseys Are Being Kept Captive

Roddy White is in the news again. This time with a legal problem. Thing is, White is claiming to be the victim.

A man White hired to frame his jerseys for the cost of $400 is holding the jerseys hostage unless White pays him $10,000. White filled out an application for an arrest warrant in  Gwinnett County.

The twist in this story is that the man says White owes him the 10 large for odd jobs he's done for White in the past.

A judge will hold a hearing and decide if an arrest warrant should be executed next week. White says he doesn't want to make a big deal out of this particular situation. Listen Roddy, make a big deal out of it before thinking of going OJ Simpson on the guy. Let's hope everything works itself out and everyone gets what they want and end up happy.

It never ceases to amaze me how dumb people can be on this subject. The man's solution to a civil law disagreement is to commit a criminal law violation. Wow! There are a lot of people out there who do such things, never mind that it's this very thing that finally put O.J. Simpson in prison.

Roddy White Rips Alex Smith

A player from another team doesn't rip an organization's personnel decisions. They keep to themselves (not literally) and often wonder about management making their team better.

So why did Atlanta Falcons wideout Roddy White take it upon himself to rip San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith. I guess that's something we'll never know. White decided that he should be involved in the discussion of keeping Alex Smith around. White sounded off on the defacto athlete website, Twitter.

Why is the 49ers wasting their time with alex smith they need to move on better yet try to get luck next year would be good for them

There's more where that came from.

2 coaches have been fired for tht mans performance
Those are thoughts you keep to yourself or to teammates.

When someone responded to him on twitter saying that Smith will outplay Matt Ryan next season and called White an "ignorant prick", White responded with  "lol son your praying for a miracle."

After all that he apologized for his remarks and trouble he caused.

Ok 49ers fans I’m sorry I take tht back alex smith is a great players and the 49ers should sign him to a 5 year deal btw I don’t have anything against alex smith wht so ever he is a great guy


Sounds like that apology was forced. Maybe someone in the Falcons organization made him do it and told him to keep his mouth shut. The problem in all this is that it's pretty much true.







 

Quick Playoff Predictions

The Divisional round of the playoffs has some good matchups this weekend. Here's my personal predictions on this weekend's action.

Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh- I have to take the Steelers in this one solely because of home field. Pittsburgh always seems to pull one big play out of their backside than the Ravens can. Steelers 17-13.

Green Bay vs. Atlanta- I'm having flashbacks to a playoff game from 1980 that also involved the Falcons. When they played Dallas at home and lost a 30-27 thriller in which they led most of the game. I see the same thing happening today with the Falcons losing a heartbreaker to the Packers. Packers 31-27.

New York vs. New England- The Jets need to ramp up their offensive game if their going to beat New England. The Jets do a lot of tough talking but right now their hurting and the Patriots seem primed to take advantage. For some odd reason I feel a blowout coming on. The Jets defense can only take them so far.
Patriots 30-13.

Seattle vs. Chicago- The Seahawks have somewhat become America's darling in the past few weeks. This could be a blowout or a tough defensive battle. However I do see the Bears coming out on top since they are at home and there is sure to be bad weather. Bears 20-10.

Vick doesn't have to pay bonus money

A day after saying he wasn't happy with how he was being used in Philadelphia, Michael Vick has a reason to smile.A federal appeals court judge upheld the ruling that he doesn't have to pay back $16 million in roster bonuses from the Atlanta Falcons.
  Judge David Doty's ruling was affirmed by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals saying Vick earned the bonuses before the dogfighting conviction.Considering everything that has went wrong in his life lately, this should put a big smile on his face and make him very happy.