The Kansas City Chiefs traded perennial Pro Bowl tight end (and future Hall of Famer) Tony Gonzalez to the Atlanta Falcons today for a second round Draft pick in 2010. In the process, the Falcons address an immediate need by adding one of the NFL’s best pass-catching TEs to their already impressive offensive attack. And I believe they also gave themselves a “big three” with quarterback Matt Ryan and running back Michael Turner (don’t forget receiver Roddy White). Therefore, if the Falcons weren’t already widely considered to be a force to be reckoned with in the future NFC playoff picture, they …read more

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Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco was presented with the 2008 Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year award today. Joe was one of five finalists for the honor — running back Matt Forte (Bears), running back Chris Johnson (Titans), quarterback Matt Ryan (Falcons) and running back Steve Slaton (Texans).
You might recall that Matt Ryan won the AP’s Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. So here’s how this thing works. The five finalists were selected because of their outstanding performances throughout the 2008 NFL season. Each week, five nominees were chosen for the Diet Pepsi NFL …read more

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Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year yesterday by the Associated Press. I think Falcons owner Arthur Blank had hoped for Matt to have a shot at the starting quarterback position this season when the team drafted him third overall back in April. But I’m sure he didn’t expect this kind of success this soon — not for Matt and not for the Falcons as a team as the prepare to play the NFC West champion Arizona Cardinals Saturday in a Wild Card Playoff game. As one would …read more

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New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees received 951,246 votes to lead all NFL All-Stars in fan balloting for the 2009 NFL Pro Bowl. N.Y. Jets quarterback Brett Favre (880,833 votes) ranks second overall, while N.Y. Giants quarterback Eli Manning (821,852 votes), Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis (767,817 votes) and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner (673,710 votes) round out the top-five. Here is the list of Top-Ten vote-getters for the 2009 National Football League Pro Bowl:

Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
Brett Favre, N.Y. Jets
Eli Manning, N.Y. Giants
Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins
Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals
Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
Larry …read more

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This is why we love the National Football League, right? Even if your team came out on the losing end of one of these games, you have to appreciate the beauty of the fantastic finish. And five of today’s games had ‘em. If you were watching the 1 p.m. ET games on DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket Game Mix, good for you. You got your money’s worth. Four of the five fantastic finishes were early games ending at roughly the same time:

After trailing for most of the game, Minnesota Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell hit a 26-yard …read more

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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to all 32 teams today. Actually, he e-mailed the memo to team executives, coaches and general managers and told them to read or distribute it to every player on their team. I’m guessing they slapped it on every player’s locker:
“Player safety on the field is important to all of us in the NFL. Football is a tough game and we need to do everything possible to protect all players — offense, defense, and special teams — from unnecessary injury caused by illegal and dangerous hits. From this point …read more

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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

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Atlanta Falcons rookie quarterback Matt Ryan was impressive in his debut against the Jacksonville Jaguars tonight. The Falcons lost the game 20-17, but Matt was 9 of 15 passing for 113 yards and a touchdown (25 yards to WR Roddy White) in five first half drives. It’s too early to be making any sort of predictions, but Falcons fans have to be optimistic with this start.
Source: AtlantaFalcons.com

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

Blogcasting the National Football League, Blogcasting the NFL

Recently drafted players like Chiefs DT Glenn Dorsey, Jets DE Vernon Gholston, Rams DE Chris Long, Miami T Jake Long and Falcons QB Matt Ryan will learn the importance of personal brand management as part of the new NFL Player Brand University.
In its first year, the program will consist of two brand boot camp sessions designed to teach new players the fundamentals of brand development, by combining their on-field achievements with the community and business opportunities they pursue off-the-field. The sessions, which are mandatory for rookies and open to veterans, will be held …read more