National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
Yesterday was cutdown day in the National Football League. Every team had to trim their roster to 53 players for the upcoming regular season. Here are a few of the notable names who were cutdown victims and who are now looking for gainful employment with another NFL team as soon as possible:
Rudi Johnson, Bengals; Chris Simms, Bucs; Joey Harrington, Falcons; Ashley Lelie, 49ers; Jerome McDougle, Eagles; Willie Anderson, Bengals; John Lynch, Patriots; Fernando Bryant, Patriots; Adam Archuleta, Raiders.
I was probably most surprised by the Bengals parting ways with Rudi Johnson. Rumors have been swirling the …read more

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
Atlanta Falcons rookie Matt Ryan was named the team’s season-opening starting quarterback by head coach Mike Smith today. Matt will also start the Falcons preseason finale against Baltimore this Thursday:
“We have evaluated Matt through OTAs, mini-camp, training camp and over the course of three preseason games. After reviewing Matt’s progress, we feel like he has won the starting job.”
The decision makes sense. In this particular situation, Matt will do better in a “baptism-by-fire” than he will watching and learning from the sidelines. In three preseason contests, Matt has completed 32 of 52 passes for 277 …read more

Blogcasting the National Football League, Blogcasting the NFL
Rookie quarterback Matt Ryan signed a six-year, $72 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons yesterday. The deal ended concerns that lengthy negotiations would hinder Matt’s chances of becoming the team’s starting QB this season. The Falcons weren’t going to let that happen because even though head coach Mike Smith has said the starting quarterback job is an open competition, he knows his personnel. Coach Smith said:
“If he’s the best player, whether he’s a rookie quarterback or rookie offensive lineman or rookie linebacker, we want those guys to come in here and compete. We’re …read more