Falcons mini-camp preview

The Falcons are one of the few teams that will have their mini-camp this weekend as most of the NFL teams held their camps last weekend. There is a level of excitement for Falcons fans because they will get a glimpse of tight end Tony Gonzalez as well as the new draft picks, such as Peria Jerry and William Moore. I will be there on Saturday for both practices and here is what I am going to focus on as I observer mini-camp:

1. Secondary – There are a few question marks when it comes to who is going to start at corner and safety. Chris Houston will be one of the starting corners but I don’t think that is set in stone. Brent Grimes, Chevis Jackson and Von Hutchins will be fighting for the two cornerback spots as well as David Irons and Tony Tiller. Draft picks Chris Owens and William Middleton will not likely start on opening day, but can (and probably will) contribute on special teams and also used in nickel and dime situations. As for the safety position, Erik Coleman looks to build on what he did last year, notching 95 tackles and three interceptions. With Lawyer Miloy gone, there is a void at strong safety and everyone thinks that William Moore should win that spot. But not if Thomas DeCoud, Eric Brock and Jamaal Fudge have say anything about it because they will also be fighting for the same position. I think that Moore will win the spot, but DeCoud will make it difficult for him.

2. Linebackers- Outside linebackers will be a spot where fans will keep their eyes one because both Keith Brooking and Michael Boley were lost this offseason due to free agency and the Falcons did not draft or sign anybody that will likely take their place other than Mike Peterson. Peterson has played middle linebacker for most of his career but he will start at one of the outside linebacker positions this fall. The other linebacker spot is up for grabs and I think it’s a two-man race between Stephen Nicholas and Coy Wire. Who is going to win the spot? I think it’s too early to tell but both players had great seasons in 2008 and should improve in 2009.

3. Quarterback – I’m not saying that there’s a quarterback battle because Matt Ryan is one of the rising stars in the league. Trust me on this because I followed Ryan last year and he is just as good as any quarterback in the league. I’m curious to see how much he has improved from the loss against Arizona to the mini-camp on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I’m also anxious to see how he gels with Tony Gonzalez because he can only help Ryan in his progression.

So it should be a fun weekend for fans and they have every right to be excited for the 2009 season because they should be a favorite to win the NFC.

New football leagues for 2009

At this time last year, the Arena Football league was just getting their 2008 season kicked off. Now due to the economic crisis, league officials and players decided to take the year off and come back in 2010. Unlike the majority of people in the United States, I'm a big fan of the Arena Football league and I was disappointed to hear that there will be no games played this year.

However, their are a couple of professional football leagues that are slated to start this year. The first organization that I want to mention is the United National Gridiron League which will kick their season off on May 3 with eight teams. The UNGL is more of a developmental league which will consists players from the arena league, college players and players from the NFL that were on practice squads. They held their inaugural draft in early January and former Kentucky quarterback Shane Boyd was selected first to the Georgia Stallions. Now before I go any further, Georgia is one of the eight teams that will play, but the UNGL will not officially release the team name and the rosters until mid-April. So I'm not sure what city they will play their home games but rumor has it that they will play in Columbus. Other than Boyd, the list of former college and NFL stars that will play in the UNGL is limited but I think it will be successful because they are not competing with the NFL. In fact it's slogan is "Developing tomorrow's stars of the game".

The other league that will start in the fall but will play their games on Fridays is the United Football league. This league has gotten more media attention because of the NFL ties that will go along with the UFL. For example, in their inaugural season, four teams will play and the four head coaches have coached in the NFL. Dennis Green will coach the San Fransisco team, Jim Fassel will coach the Las Vegas team, Jim Hasslet will be the head man for the Orlando team and the New York team will be coached by Ted Cottrell. They will start play in October and the games will be aired on the Versus Network they haven't had their draft yet so players and rosters should be announced within the next couple of months.

Honestly, as a fan of football, I love this. It's give young players and opportunity to hone their skills and prepare them for the NFL. The thing that I don't want to happen is the AFL getting lost in the shuffle which could happen. Arena football has been around for over 20 years and is the only professional football league that is not the NFL has thrived. But with the UNGL, the UFL and the All-American Football league which will start play in 2010 will more likley take players from the AFL which will leave the AFL scrambling for players. But the one thing I will say is this, because of the new leagues, the NFL draft, mini camp and training camp, football season is all year long and that's the way it should be.

Who should be the Falcons starting QB?

You know, one of the things that I noticed about the Falcons is that they have an interesting situation at the quarterback position. Chris Redman, Matt Ryan, Joey Harrington and D.J. Shockley. That was the rotation that the Falcons used in their first preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars last night where they lost 20-17. And after the game, people want to chime in who looked the best and who should the starter. Here’s what I think:

-Matt Ryan will eventually be the starter this season. He looked sharp in his NFL debut going 9-for-15, 113 yards and one touchdown. The more I have watched him at training camp and in scrimmages, I’m starting to see why that the Falcons coaches were so enamored with him.


-D.J. Shockley needs to be on the 53 man roster. He did throw an interception with seconds left in the game, but he did lead the offense down the field with his running ability. Some people have said he is not an NFL quarterback. That could be true but how can you make that point when he hasn’t been NFL game?

-If Shockley stays on the roster, Harrington or Redman need to go because they are too similar. I like both guys and they both have good heads on their shoulders. But I think that Shockley should stay on the roster because he gives you mobility and a solid arm. I think that Harrington had his chance and as pulled from being a starter twice last season. I know that you would like to keep him for an experience standpoint, however, does it really matter at this point?

So that’s my take and remember to check out scoreatl.com as I will be starting on my weekly Matt Ryan report soon. But check it out anyway as we will have extensive coverage of high school football starting on Thursday.