The Falcons have placed 35-year old LB Mike Peterson (torn triceps) and 28-year old CB Kelvin Hayden (toe) on the Injured Reserve List, ending their seasons.  Mike Peterson played in 15 games for the Falcons this year and he had 24 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 interception and 3 passes defensed.  Kelvin Hayden played in 8 games for the Falcons this year and he had 24 tackles, 2 interceptions, 4 passes defensed and 1 tackle for a loss.  These injuries are going to hurt the Falcons’ depth on D.

The Atlanta Falcons will be without 28-year old CB Brent Grimes for the next few weeks due to minor knee surgery.  He has played in 11 games for the Falcons so far this year and he has 42 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception and 12 passes defensed.  Grimes has now played in 57 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 241 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 54 passes defensed and 13 interceptions.  The Falcons are going to miss Grimes a little bit as he continues to improve as a football player.

The Falcons have lost 26-year old starting left tackle Sam Baker for the next 3-4 weeks due to a back injury.  Baker has played in 6 games (all starts) for the Falcons this year.  He has now played in 44 games (41 starts) in his first four seasons with the Falcons.  29-year old Will Svitek will replace Baker in the starting lineup.  Svitek has played in 7 games (1 start) for the Falcons so far this year.  He has played in 36 games (3 starts) for the Falcons in his first three years with the team.  The Falcons hope that Svitek will be able to handle blocking on Matt Ryan’s blind side.

The Atlanta Falcons have placed 31-year old, starting fullback Ovie Mughelli on the Injured Reserve List (ending his season) due to a knee injury.  Mughelli played in 7 games for the Falcons this year and he carried the ball 2 times for 1 yard (0.5 ypc).  He also caught 4 passes for 25 yards (6.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs and he also had 3 tackles.  Mughelli has played in 69 games in his five years with the Falcons and he has carried the ball 30 times for 70 yards (2.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 38 passes for 295 yards (7.8 avg) with 4 TD grabs so far for the Falcons.  Mughelli has also had 28 tackles in his time with the Falcons.  They are going to miss Mughelli.

The Falcons have signed 32-year old G/T Kirk Chambers.  Chambers has played in 67 games (14 starts) in his first six years in the NFL.  He should be able to help the Falcons out due to his versatility.  Chambers will replace 24-year old OG Mike Johnson, who has been placed on Injured Reserve (ending his season) due to an undisclosed injury.  Johnson played in 2 games (0 starts) in 2011, after not getting into any games as a rookie in 2010.  The Falcons won’t miss Johnson too much going forward.

The Falcons are going to be without rookie WR Julio Jones this Sunday against the Panthers due to a hamstring injury.  Jones has played in all five games for the Falcons so far this year and he has caught 25 passes for 358 yards (14.3 avg) without any TD grabs.  Harry Douglas will replace him in the starting lineup.  Douglas has played in all five games for the Falcons so far this year and he has caught 11 passes for 80 yards (7.3 avg) without any TD grabs.  Look for the Falcons to keep the passing game of the shorter variety this weekend against the Panthers without Jones active.

The Falcons have lost 29-year old DT Jonathan Babineaux for the next 3-5 weeks due to a partially torn MCL.  Babineaux played against the Bears last week and he had 1 tackle.  He has now played in 94 games in his first 7 years in the NFL and he has 218 tackles, 18 sacks, 40 tackles for a loss, 7 forced fumbles, 7 fumble recoveries, 13 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  This is a huge blow to the Falcons’ run defense which isn’t good with the Eagles coming to town with Michael Vick and Lesean McCoy this weekend.

34-year old starting center Todd McClure is out indefinately due to arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.  McClure played in 16 games (all starts) for the Falcons last year.  He has played in 169 games (166 starts) in his first 12 years with the Falcons.  22-year old Joe Hawley will replace McClure in the starting lineup.  He played in 15 games (0 starts) as a rookie last year for the Falcons.  The Falcons need Hawley to step up, because McClure is likely to miss a few weeks of the regular season.

The Falcons have placed rookie safety Shann Schillinger on the Injured Reserve List ending his season due to a fractured ankle.  The 24-year old Schillinger played in 15 games for the Falcons this year and he made 8 tackles.  He was a sixth round pick (#171 overall) out of Montana last April.  The Falcons might miss him a little bit on special teams but he’s not a impact player.

The Falcons will be without 31-year old back up TE Justin Peelle for the next 4-6 weeks due to surgery to repair a sports hernia.  Peelle has played in all 6 games for the Falcons so far this year and he has caught 3 passes for 26 yards (8.7 avg).  In his three years with the Falcons, Peelle has played in 37 games in which he has caught 30 passes for 300 yards (10.0 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  This hurts the running game a little bit for the Falcons as Peelle is a pretty good run blocker.