The Atlanta Falcons had a solid all-around game last night.  Joey Harrington looked pretty sharp as he completed 13 of 21 passes for 164 yards with 2 TD passes.  Chris Redman finished up the game completing 8 of 9 passes for 76 yards.  Warrick Dunn returned from back surgery just a few weeks ago to carry the ball 6 times for 8 yards (1.3 ypc).  Jerious Norwood was busy with 9 carries for 25 yards (2.8 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 17 yards and a TD.  Rookie Jason Snelling also ran the ball pretty well with 8 carries for 26 yards (3.3 ypc).  2nd year WR Adam Jennings had a great game with 5 grabs for 67 yards and a TD.  Michael Jenkins (4 rec, 45 yards) and Roddy White (4 rec, 43 yards) both looked better than they have in the past last night.  The Falcons carried the ball 32 times for only 74 yards (2.3 ypc) and they completed 22 of 32 passes for 223 yards.

The defense had some problems as the Bengals rushed for 86 yards on 17 carries (5.1 ypc) and they completed 20 of 33 passes for 213 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270827001

 

The Falcons have released Orlando Huff because DeMorrio Williams is all healed up and ready to go for the season.  Huff played in 16 games (13 starts) last season with the Arizona Cardinals and he made 69 tackles and defensed 4 passes.  The Falcons will only miss Huff if they suffer a few injuries in the linebacking corps this season.

D.J. Shockley will miss the entire 2007 season after he tore his ACL last Saturday Night.  This might really hurt Shockley’s career as he was in a heated battle with Chris Redman to secure the backup job on the Falcons.  In two pre-season games Shockley completed 9 of 17 passes (52.9%) for 123 yards with an interception.  He also carried the football 4 times for 19 yards (4.8 ypc).  Look for the Falcons to make a move before the season starts to bring in another QB because they aren’t sure if Chris Redman can handle the backup job.

It might not have been the most exciting victory but the Falcons will take it.  While the game might have been a tad boring the Falcons were not without bright spots.  The defense played very well and rookie Jason Snelling and Laurent Robinson both looked good on offense.  The quarterbacking last night was not good but what can you really expect from this motley crew?  Joey Harrington started off the game and he completed 4 of 7 passes for 31 yards and he threw a pickoff.  D.J. Shockley played the best of the QBs completing 4 of 5 passes for 46 yards and carrying the football 3 times for 18 yards but he left the game after he was injured.  Chris Redman is still trying to work the rust off of his game as he completed 11 of 21 passes for 90 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 18 yards (6.0 ypc).  Rookie running back Jason Snelling continues to impress.  He carried the football 12 times for 50 yards (4.2 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 13 yards.  Reserve running back Arlen Harris got some work in as he carried the ball 12 times for 33 yards (2.8 ypc).  Rookie WR Laurent Robinson caught 4 passes for 54 yards (13.5 avg).  The Falcons wound up carrying the ball 33 times for 118 yards (3.6 ypc) and they completed 19 of 33 passes for 166 yards.

The Falcons defense held the Bills to 69 yards rushing on 22 carries (3.1 ypc) and the Bills completed 18 of 29 passes for 158 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270817002

The Falcons are looking strong at TE as they have a good receiver (Alge Crumpler), a good blocker (Dwayne Blakley) and a talented rookie (Martrez Milner) to handle the position in 2007.  Alge Crumpler has been Michael Vick’s favorite target in the past and Joey Harrington will likely hook up with him often too.   Crumpler played in 16 games (all starts) last season for the Falcons and he caught 56 passes for 780 yards (13.9 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  Look for Crumpler to have numbers like those again in 2007.  He has now played in 94 games (83 starts) and he has caught 274 passes for 3,768 yards (13.8 avg) with 30 TD grabs.

Dwayne Blakley is a run blocking TE, period.  He played in 16 games (4 starts) last season for the Falcons and he caught 6 passes for 76 yards (12.7 avg) with 0 TDs.  He has now played in 47 games (6 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 14 passes for 141 yards (10.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.

Rookie Martrez Milner was a 4th round pick out of the University of Georgia so he should like playing in his backyard in the Pros.  He has a lot of talent as an all-around tight end but Coach Petrino might have to ride him all season as he was an underachiever in college.

This will be the season that we find who’s fault it really was that the Falcons couldn’t pass the last few seasons.  Was it Michael Vick’s fault or Michael Jenkins and Roddy White’s?  We will see soon enough.  The Falcons brought in Joe Horn as a free agent from the Saints to give them a legit #1 type target in the passing game.  Horn played in 10 games (9 starts) last season for the Saints and he caught 37 passes for 679 yards (18.4 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Horn still has the speed to get down the field but he will need to stay healthy this season and that might be hard to do now that he’s getting older.  Horn has now played in 151 games (102 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 576 passes for 8,501 yards (14.8 avg) with 57 TD grabs and he has also carried the football 14 times for 54 yards (3.9 ypc). 

Michael Jenkins was a possession receiver for the Falcons last season but that’s not his game.  He was a vertical threat in college at Ohio State so look for Coach Petrino to try to take advantage of that as long as the QBs can get the ball downfield.  Jenkins played in 16 games (all starts) last season for the Falcons and he caught 39 passes for 436 yards (11.2 avg) with 7 TD grabs and he also ran the ball 1 time for 2 yards.  Look for Jenkins to improve on those numbers if the Falcons’ QBs have any success throwing the football.  Jenkins has now played in 46 games (28 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 82 passes for 1,063 yards (13.0 avg) with 10 TD grabs and he has also carried the ball 2 times for 4 yards (2.0 ypc).

Roddy White has been more of a downfield target in the Falcons’ offense because of his speed but he needs to catch the football more often.  His style fits Petrino’s offense so it will be interesting to see if he plays better now.  He played in 16 games (5 starts) last season for the Falcons and he caught 30 passes for 506 yards (16.9 avg) with 0 TD grabs.  White has now played in 32 games (13 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 59 passes for 952 yards (16.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs and he also has carried the ball 4 times for 12 yards (3.0 ypc). 

Rookie Laurent Robinson and second year man Adam Jennings will battle for the #4 WR job in Training Camp.  One would think that Robinson would have a leg up because Petrino drafted him this season.   Jennings really didn’t do jack as a rookie and he will need to play better this season if he wants to continue being paid to play football.  He played in 15 games (0 starts) for the Falcons as a rookie and he didn’t catch any passes and carried the ball 1 time for a loss of 4 yards.   He also returned 7 kickoffs for 123 yards (17.6 avg).

The Falcons didn’t look too good in their pre-season debut last night but the game doesn’t count so I wouldn’t read too much into the performance.  Still, they did have a few bright spots last night as rookies Jason Snelling and Laurent Robinson had good debuts.  The spotlight was still on the QBs last night as the Falcons will likely be without Michael Vick for the entire 2007 season.  Joey Harrington was efficient as he hit 6 of 9 passes for 88 yards.  Chris Redman also showed little rust as he completed 8 of 13 passes for 61 yards.  D.J. Shockley looked kind of like a deer-in-headlights as he only completed 5 of 12 passes for 77 with a pickoff.  Jason Snelling was running the ball hard last night as he carried the ball 10 times for 48 yards (4.8 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 12 yards (4.0 avg).  Jerious Norwood was also busy with 8 carries for 29 yards (3.6 ypc) and a TD.  He also caught 2 passes for 10 yards.  Rookie WR Laurent Robinson led the Falcons with 5 grabs for 49 yards (9.8 avg) making a good first impression.  Roddy White also had a solid game with 3 grabs for 38 yards (12.7 avg).  The Falcons carried the football 23 times for 86 yards (3.7 ypc) and they completed 19 of 34 passes for 226 yards. 

The defense just couldn’t get off of the field because of their poor play.  The Jets ran the football 40 times for 146 yards (3.7 ypc) and they completed 16 of 23 passes for 173 yards.  The Jets held possession of the football for 34:19 which makes it hard to win a football game.  Lucky for the Falcons that is was just a practice game.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270810020

The Falcons look good at fullback for the 2007 season with Ovie Mughelli and Corey McIntyre.  Mughelli is a good all-around football player as he is a good blocker, runner, receiver and special teams player.  He played in all 16 games (7 starts) last season for the Ravens and he carried the ball 12 times for 50 yards (4.2 ypc) and he caught 21 passes for 182 yards (8.7 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Mughelli also made an amazing 15 tackles on special teams.  Coach Bobby Petrino is even considering making Mughelli his short yardage specialist when they need a tough yard which shows you what he thinks of him.  Mughelli has now played in 38 games (12 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the football 12 times for 50 yards (4.2 ypc) and he has caught 24 passes for 195 yards (8.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Mughelli also has made 29 career tackles.  Corey McIntyre is more of a blocker/special teams player.  He played in 4 games (0 starts) last season for the Falcons and he caught 1 pass for 10 yards and he made 3 tackles.  He has now played in 19 games (1 start) in his NFL career and he has caught 1 pass for 10 yards, returned 3 kickoffs for 47 yards (15.7 avg) and made 12 tackles.

The Falcons have released running back Jamal Robertson.  They felt they didn’t need him after signing Arlen Harris and this can be seen as a positive because it means that Warrick Dunn is progressing in his rehab or they would have kept both Harris & Robertson.

The Falcons have signed running back Arlen Harris.  Harris played in 10 games (3 starts) last season for the Lions and he carried the ball 49 times for 158 yards (3.2 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 18 passes for 132 yards (7.3 avg).  Harris also has experience returning kickoffs and that could come in handy at some point for the Falcons.  Signing Harris this late was a good move for the Falcons.