Postcard from camp:Falcons

[Tribal Chief]

Where's SI.com?

In Flowery Branch, Ga., which, quite honestly, has a whole bunch of flowery branches. It's out in the sticks, 50 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta -- just where the Falcons like it. The players stay in oversized condos with seven-foot beds right on campus, avoiding the hotels in the area. Come to think of it, there aren't any hotels in the area. (Exaggeration!)

Three Observations

1. The guy on the sidelines today is a vital man to the cause. I feel sorry for defensive end Ray Edwards, signed to the five-year, $27.5-million contract Friday by the Falcons. He had 26.5 sacks over the last four years, and if he gets 26.5 over the next four, Falcon fans will likely consider him a disappointment. Edwards can't practice till the CBA is officially ratified, so he watched from the sideline during the breezy afternoon practice. But the pressure's coming for the new Atlanta left end.

2. Julio Jones is hurt, but he says you shouldn't pay attention to it. "It's nothing,'' he said of the bone bruise on his right foot, suffered Friday in the first practice of his NFL career he got stepped on while going in motion. "I can go full-speed. They just want to be cautious.'' An X-ray and CAT scan showed no break Friday, and he was out on the practice field today, running -- apparently -- unencumbered. For what it's worth, he is one determined hombre. Interviewed him after practice today, and he looked me in the eye on every answer. "I don't care about stats,'' he said. "I never will. I just want to win.'' I relayed the quote to GM Thomas Dimitroff. "Music to my ears. A receiver with no diva qualities.''

3. I really liked Jacquizz Rodgers. The fifth-round pick from Oregon State is thicker than I thought, as fast and shifty as I thought, and, from what I hear, stronger than I thought at the point of attack. I just know this: When he took the ball behind the line in the two practices I saw, everyone on the coaching and scouting staff watched intently.

Step On Up

Kroy Biermann, defensive end. The man known more for his girlfriend (a Desperate Housewife) than his football saw the Falcons sign a free-agent defensive end, Ray Edwards, to take his place, in essence. The Falcons haven't lost hope in Biermann, but he had plenty of chances last year, and he had three sacks, and the fact that he can't get to the quarterback with any regularity left the Falcons no option but to go pay for Ray Edwards this week. He will be a revolving defensive end between the left and right sides, which is one step away from the revolving door out of the organization if he doesn't get to the quarterback more this year.

New Face, New Place

Quarterback coach Bob Bratkowski got drummed out of Cincinnati as offensive coordinator and found a home here as quarterback coach, replacing Bill Musgrave, who went to the Vikings as offensive coordinator. Of course, coaching Matt Ryan's not going to be the hard part. But the backup situation here is interesting. John Parker Wilson impressed the front office and coach Mike Smith last year, and he could push Chris Redman for the No. 2 job once he's able to practice; as an exclusive rights free agent (for some idiotic reason), Wilson can't practice till the ban on free agents practicing is lifted in the next few days.

On The Menu

I was able to enjoy a nice rectangle of chicken pot pie in the Falcons cafeteria with owner Arthur Blank at lunch. (He had the southern delicacy as well.) Light, flaky crust, with chunks of white-meat chicken breast and not the oily dark meat that sometimes plagues chicken pot pie. Along with a fresh garden salad with lite ranch and a cranberry juice cocktail, the camp-meal tour got off to a promising start. Grade: B+.

Looking At The Schedule ...

September will not be kind to the Birds. At Bears, home the emotional Mike Vick reunion, at feisty Bucs. The good thing for Atlanta is that five of the last eight are home. Which, of course, conversely, means five of the first eight are on the road. One other thing about the schedule: Matt Ryan gets to relive his Tramon Williams nightmare in week five, when the Packers return to the Georgia Dome.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/peter_king/07/31/atlanta.falcons.postcard/index.html#ixzz1Thlj9i9a

[AtlantaFalconPokerPro]

Good read, I didn't know JJ got banged up.

[DaMeatTroughsEgo]

feel sorry for defensive end Ray Edwards, signed to the five-year, $27.5-million contract Friday by the Falcons :blink:

[Falcon Fantom]

Good read. Thanks for posting. I think if Ray can at least get 8 sacks he will be okay. I think the pressure is actually on Jerry. He needs to live up to the 1st round potential. I think he will. Julio's mishap worries me a little. He is doing fine so I guess its cool. I can not wait to see Quizz come in. I have been missing that speed out of the backfield for years now. Sound like we got it!

[Mr Pickle1]

Where did he get that number???

[vel]

Great find! Love what we are hearing about Julio and Quizz. Two great pick ups for the offense. But Kroy better push Kim to the side and get back on his high horse. I think there is more pressure on him than there is on Ray Edwards.

[atljbo]

Thats probably his real contract... The Contract probably max out at 30 mil but TD had to give him those numbers... Similare to Clabo 5 year 25 mil contract that mx out at 27 mil

Nice read.. I disagree with 1 thing.

1. Kroy is not going any where.. We just know his best role (as a rotational DE right now)

I like the fact that he is very high on Quizz... In the video Peter said if Quizz can get atleast 100 touches... He thinks Quizz will be the most exciting guy in football

[Tribal Chief]

Thats probably his real contract... The Contract probably max out at 30 mil but TD had to give him those numbers... Similare to Clabo 5 year 25 mil contract that mx out at 27 mil

Nice read.. I disagree with 1 thing.

1. Kroy is not going any where.. We just know his best role (as a rotational DE right now)

I like the fact that he is very high on Quizz... In the video Peter said if Quizz can get atleast 100 touches... He thinks Quizz will be the most exciting guy in football

Thats always good to hear about a player who wasn't drafted in the first 2 rounds

[atljbo]

Snelling is going to mess around and the falcons walk away from the table... He is not going to get a good size deal like he thought... Maybe around 2.5 mil a year..

Quizz looking good and Jay Adams said Gartrell Johnson is looking good

On the offensive side of the ball, rookie Jacquizz Rodgers is impressing folks with his quickness and footwork. But don’t sleep on Gartrell Johnson. Johnson looks bigger and faster than he did last season, and he’s getting some good reps.

[dmite]

Snelling is going to mess around and the falcons walk away from the table... He is not going to get a good size deal like he thought... Maybe around 2.5 mil a year..

Quizz looking good and Jay Adams said Gartrell Johnson is looking good

I think that may happen. Maybe with Blalock too.

[vel]

Snelling is going to mess around and the falcons walk away from the table... He is not going to get a good size deal like he thought... Maybe around 2.5 mil a year..

Quizz looking good and Jay Adams said Gartrell Johnson is looking good

That's surprising with Johnson. I think he is going to stick and possibly take over the Snelling role if he doesn't return. As long as he runs with more forward lean like Snelling than compared to that run against Cincy, then he should be ok.

[JRid]

Snelling is going to mess around and the falcons walk away from the table... He is not going to get a good size deal like he thought... Maybe around 2.5 mil a year..

Quizz looking good and Jay Adams said Gartrell Johnson is looking good

It seems weird that the Falcons are just letting it drag out. Do they really want Snelling or not? It seems like they must have confidence in Johnson because if not then they should be signing somebody else. What if Snelling signs somewhere else? How do they know another RB that they want will still be available?

With Blalock at least they have a lot of young guys to throw in there, but that's not really the case with RB's. We like to run the ball a lot so it seems pretty important to lock up a good RB. What if Turner gets hurt? We will have Rodgers, Johnson, and Smith, plus whoever is leftover to sign after Snelling goes somewhere else.

My guess is the Falcons will have a RB signed either today or early tomorrow. I don't know if it will be Snelling or not, but it needs to be somebody.

TD must be offering Snelling a pretty low deal because it does seem like he is really holding out. Maybe he is thinking he will wait until a RB gets injured and some team will really need him to come in and get more carries than he would get with the Falcons.

Edited July 31, 2011 by JRid

[Falcons_own_nfc_south]

Good read, I didn't know JJ got banged up.

It's so hard to pay attention on your reply.. My eyes are always on the other side of screen lol

Anyway, I am surprised there was no news of JJ getting lil banged up..

[BigDawgMania]

. "I don't care about stats,'' he said. "I never will. I just want to win.'' I relayed the quote to GM Thomas Dimitroff. "Music to my ears. A receiver with no diva qualities

i like that quote.

[pzummo]

It seems weird that the Falcons are just letting it drag out. Do they really want Snelling or not? It seems like they must have confidence in Johnson because if not then they should be signing somebody else. What if Snelling signs somewhere else? How do they know another RB that they want will still be available?

With Blalock at least they have a lot of young guys to throw in there, but that's not really the case with RB's. We like to run the ball a lot so it seems pretty important to lock up a good RB. What if Turner gets hurt? We will have Rodgers, Johnson, and Smith, plus whoever is leftover to sign after Snelling goes somewhere else.

My guess is the Falcons will have a RB signed either today or early tomorrow. I don't know if it will be Snelling or not, but it needs to be somebody.

TD must be offering Snelling a pretty low deal because it does seem like he is really holding out. Maybe he is thinking he will wait until a RB gets injured and some team will really need him to come in and get more carries than he would get with the Falcons.

We don't really know how things are playing out with Snelling. Rumor was that he wanted to be a starter somewhere. That would make his demands too high. Now it's just between Rams and Falcons, he might be delaying to see if his agent can find interest elsewhere.

The good thing about it for the Falcons is that they are getting a chance to evaluate our rookies against NFL competition to see how they measure up. The coaches will have a better idea as to how much he's worth to us.

[atljbo]

It seems weird that the Falcons are just letting it drag out. Do they really want Snelling or not? It seems like they must have confidence in Johnson because if not then they should be signing somebody else. What if Snelling signs somewhere else? How do they know another RB that they want will still be available?

With Blalock at least they have a lot of young guys to throw in there, but that's not really the case with RB's. We like to run the ball a lot so it seems pretty important to lock up a good RB. What if Turner gets hurt? We will have Rodgers, Johnson, and Smith, plus whoever is leftover to sign after Snelling goes somewhere else.

My guess is the Falcons will have a RB signed either today or early tomorrow. I don't know if it will be Snelling or not, but it needs to be somebody.

TD must be offering Snelling a pretty low deal because it does seem like he is really holding out. Maybe he is thinking he will wait until a RB gets injured and some team will really need him to come in and get more carries than he would get with the Falcons.

I think Snelling wants more then the market is offering... TD has a pay scale of what he wants to offer him and he is not over paying.. I dont blame him... Snelling has to either take it or not..

[JOEinPHX]

Harsh assessment of Biermann - inaccurate and undeserved in my opinion. As a rotational DE he'll continue to be an asset, but he'll have to step way up if he wants to see a big jump in his second contract.

[JOEinPHX]

I think Snelling wants more then the market is offering... TD has a pay scale of what he wants to offer him and he is not over paying.. I dont blame him... Snelling has to either take it or not..

Agreed, and I expect Snelling to take it. What sucks for Jason is that he got hosed in last year's 4-year FA moratorium, though I think his stock is actually higher this year.

[JRid]

I think Snelling wants more then the market is offering... TD has a pay scale of what he wants to offer him and he is not over paying.. I dont blame him... Snelling has to either take it or not..

I definitely agree with what your saying, but do you think TD is thinking he will eventually sign or do you think TD doesn't think it's that big a deal and we will just go with what we have or sign whoever is left?

[JRid]

We don't really know how things are playing out with Snelling. Rumor was that he wanted to be a starter somewhere. That would make his demands too high. Now it's just between Rams and Falcons, he might be delaying to see if his agent can find interest elsewhere.

The good thing about it for the Falcons is that they are getting a chance to evaluate our rookies against NFL competition to see how they measure up. The coaches will have a better idea as to how much he's worth to us.

I hear you, but Snelling has to realize he is not going to be a number one at this point. With Rodgers here now he probably realizes he will lose even more snaps. He probably is hoping somebody else will call and like I said maybe he is waiting on a RB to get injured. He needs to make a move though.

It is good that coaches get to see the rookies more, but I guess they would have seen them anyway because Snelling can't participate until the 4th.

Edited July 31, 2011 by JRid

[Statick]

He will be a revolving defensive end between the left and right sides, which is one step away from the revolving door out of the organization if he doesn't get to the quarterback more this year.

Uh huh. That's my opinion as well.

And if Sidbury ever gets in and produces more than he, he'll be out of here when his contract is up.