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As we wait for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to hire assistant coaches, get blocked from interviewing potential assistants or anything else of note to happen during a very quiet time in the NFC South, let’s look at some more playing-time figures from the 2011 season.

We showed you the numbers on linebackers earlier Tuesday and I’ve been trying to roll out one position group a day since last week. But we’re going to go ahead and go with two in a day. We’re going to show you the playing time for the NFC South cornerbacks.

Lots of people like to criticize Atlanta’s Dunta Robinson. That’s understandable to some degree because Robinson signed a huge free-agent contract prior to the 2010 season, but has produced only three interceptions since joining the Falcons.

But I haven’t seen Robinson giving up a lot of big plays. In fact, I think he’s done a nice job overall in coverage. Apparently, Atlanta’s coaching staff agrees.

Robinson was on the field for 967 of Atlanta’s 996 defensive plays (97.1 percent). That percentage ranked Robinson tops in the NFC South and No. 11 in the NFL. Tennessee’s Cortland Finnegan was the NFL’s only cornerback to play 100 percent of his team’s defensive snaps.

New Orleans’ Jabari Greer, who I think is easily the division’s best cornerback, was next on the list. Greer was on the field for 93.3 percent of New Orleans’ defensive plays and ranked No. 19 in the NFL.

The other NFC South cornerback of note high on the list was Tampa Bay’s Ronde Barber. His durability never has been a question. Even at age 36, Barber took part in 92.3 percent of Tampa Bay’s defensive snaps to rank No. 21 in the league.

Carolina’s Chris Gamble (89.3 percent) was the only other NFC South cornerback to play more than 80 percent of his team’s defensive snaps.

Here’s a look at how much playing time some other NFC South cornerbacks had in 2011:

• Captain Munnerlyn, Panthers, 79.8
• Brent Grimes, Falcons, 69.5
• Patrick Robinson, Saints, 69.4
• Aqib Talib, Buccaneers, 65.1
• Tracy Porter, Saints, 64.6
• E.J. Biggers, Buccaneers, 62.9
• Darius Butler, Panthers, 40.1
• Dominique Franks, Falcons, 33.7
• Christopher Owens, Falcons, 30.3
• Elbert Mack, Buccaneers, 27.2

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Atlanta cornerback Brent Grimes will miss Sunday’s playoff game with the New York Giants due to a knee injury.

Grimes had been listed as questionable and practiced on a limited basis. But the team elected to make him inactive Sunday morning.

Dominique Franks will start in Grimes’ place and Christopher Owens will be the third cornerback.

Starting linebacker Stephen Nicholas also will miss the game. That was expected because Nicholas was listed as doubtful with a toe injury and did not practice at all during the week. Spencer Adkins will start in his place.

The other inactives for the Falcons are quarterback John Parker Wilson, center Brett Romberg, offensive lineman Kirk Chambers, receiver Kerry Meier and defensive end Cliff Matthews.

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FALLING

1. Mike Williams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver. For the first time in his career, Williams failed to record a reception in Saturday night’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Heck, Williams wasn’t even targeted a single time. Early in the season, it was easy to say Williams was getting more attention from defenses after catching 65 passes for 964 yards and 11 touchdowns as a rookie. But Williams isn’t getting a lot of extra attention these days because defenses aren’t worried about him. He has failed to get separation, his routes haven’t been precise and he’s among the league leaders in dropped passes. Williams did show up for some of the player workouts in Tampa during the lockout. But several teammates said during the summer that Williams wasn’t there as much as most of the other receivers and spent much of his offseason in Buffalo. In hindsight, you could make the case Williams might have been better served spending more time working out with his teammates.

2. Dominique Franks and Christopher Owens, Atlanta Falcons cornerbacks. They’ve each done a decent job while getting increased playing time while Brent Grimes and Kelvin Hayden were injured. But it’s looking like Grimes and Hayden will be ready to return for Monday night’s game with the New Orleans Saints. No offense to Franks and Owens, but I’m pretty sure coach Mike Smith will elect to put Grimes, the best overall athlete on the team, back in the starting lineup and put Hayden, who’s more experienced than Owens and Franks, at nickel back. When you’re going up against Drew Brees, you want your best guys on the field.

3. Kellen Winslow, Buccaneers tight end. Unlike Williams, Winslow was a fixture at the offseason workouts and he and quarterback Josh Freeman seemed to be enhancing their chemistry. But that hasn’t translated into success. Winslow has only two touchdown catches this season and the most recent came Nov. 6. In the past four games, Winslow hasn’t finished with more than five catches and 52 yards. In Saturday’s loss to Dallas, Winslow had four catches for 37 yards. He did have a 17-yard catch, but I remember thinking the Winslow of a few years ago would have gone for at least 30 yards on that play. I’m not sure if his knees, his age or all that’s wrong with the Buccaneers is catching up to Winslow, but he’s not having anything close to a good season.

RISING

1. Roddy White, Falcons receiver. We’ve had our share of fun with White’s season-long struggle with dropping passes. But the fact is, White has been playing a lot better of late. He had 10 catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns in Thursday night’s win against the Jacksonville Jaguars. White has five touchdown catches in his past four games and has his season receiving yardage total up to 1,100 yards, which is much more than respectable. White relinquished his title as the NFC South’s best receiver to the Carolina Panthers' Steve Smith, who previously held it for a long time. But White is at least the second-best receiver in the NFC South these days.

2. Roman Harper, Saints strong safety. Fans rip on Harper because he’s not great in coverage and opponents have called him a dirty player. But the fact is, Harper does what he’s supposed to do. The strong safety is usually the weakest guy in coverage in your secondary. Their real job is to tackle and play almost like a linebacker. That’s exactly what Harper does. He recorded another sack in Sunday’s win against the Minnesota Vikings. That gives Harper 7.5 sacks this season. Time to put in a call to ESPN Stats & Information to find out what the record for sacks by a safety in a season is.

3. Jordan Senn, Panthers linebacker. This guy has been in the league for five years and was a backup and special-teams player until moving into the starting lineup after the Panthers had a slew of injuries at linebacker. Senn has played well in five starts, but he was never better than in Sunday’s upset victory against the Houston Texans. Senn had a team-high 14 tackles, forced a fumble and came up with a key interception. With all the defensive injuries, coach Ron Rivera has been looking for guys to step up all season and not getting much in the way of results. But Senn has made the most of his opportunity and this guy is going to have a job next year.

Atlanta’s defensive backfield appears to be getting healthy at just the right time.

Coach Mike Smith said Monday he expects cornerbacks Brent Grimes and Kelvin Hayden to return to practice Tuesday as the Falcons begin preparing for a Dec. 26 showdown with Drew Brees and the pass-happy Saints.

Grimes, who normally starts opposite Dunta Robinson, missed the last three games after having a minor surgical procedure on his knee. Hayden had been the team’s primary nickel back, but he missed the last four games with a toe injury.

The Falcons have been getting by with Christopher Owens and Dominique Franks playing with Robinson. Owens and Franks have been adequate, but neither of them is as athletic as Grimes or as experienced as Hayden.

The Atlanta Falcons have put out their final injury report for Thursday night’s game with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

It’s very lengthy, so I’ll leave off the 10 guys who are listed as probable because they’ll all play, barring any major setbacks. We’ll deal just with the guys who are listed as doubtful or questionable.

There’s major doubt in the defensive backfield as cornerbacks Brent Grimes (knee) and Kelvin Hayden (toe) are both doubtful. The Falcons have been using Christopher Owens and Dominique Franks as their second and third cornerbacks opposite Dunta Robinson while Grimes and Hayden have been out.

There are more issues in the front seven. Defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux (ankle) and linebacker Stephen Nicholas (quadriceps) are listed as questionable. If Babineaux can’t go, Peria Jerry likely would move into a starting spot. Veteran Mike Peterson has been starting at outside linebacker while Nicholas has been banged up.

On offense, the only real issue is left tackle Will Svitek. He’s questionable with a groin injury. If Svitek can’t play, Sam Baker likely would get the start.

It’s late in the season and the injuries are piling up. We’ve got a bunch of injured players all around the division, so let’s get the update on the most significant ones.

There’s mixed news out of Tampa Bay. Although quarterback Josh Freeman (shoulder) is listed as questionable, he got some first-team work Friday and may be able to play Sunday at Jacksonville. But cornerback Aqib Talib (hamstring) has been ruled out. Safety Larry Asante (hamstring) is doubtful and that could mean some playing time for Ahmad Black, who was promoted from the practice squad Friday. Defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth (knee) is questionable, but fully participated in Friday’s practice.

Some significant news out of New Orleans: running back Mark Ingram (toe) has been declared out. You’ve got to admire the Saints. They’re without Ingram, so they’ll just plug last year’s leading rusher, Chris Ivory, into the backfield rotation with Darren Sproles and Pierre Thomas. Linebacker Jonathan Casillas (knee) and defensive end Turk McBride (ankle) also have been ruled out.

The Falcons are facing some pretty steep injury issues. Cornerback Brent Grimes (knee) is out and cornerback Kelvin Hayden (toe) is doubtful. That means another week of Christopher Owens and Dominique Franks getting significant playing time. Linebacker Stephen Nicholas (quadriceps) also is doubtful, which probably means another start for Mike Peterson. Left tackle Will Svitek (groin) is questionable and it looks like Sam Baker could return to the starting lineup after missing six games.

Carolina left tackle Jordan Gross (ankle) is listed as questionable. Gross did not practice this week. But Gross did run on the sidelines Friday and coach Ron Rivera said Gross moved well. Gross is a veteran and the fact that he didn’t practice during the week won’t be enough to keep him out of the lineup if the ankle feels fine on Sunday morning.

Wednesdays are the big media day across the NFL and there’s a lot happening in the NFC South, so let’s make one big swoop and check out the top stories of the day.

Here’s something I don’t think I’ve ever heard from a wide receiver before. Roddy White said the Falcons should scrap the deep pass.

New Orleans running back Mark Ingram missed Wednesday’s practice with a toe injury. It isn’t clear if the injury I serious, but the Saints are exceptionally deep at running back. A healthy Chris Ivory has been inactive the last few games and could step right into the backfield rotation if needed.

Tampa Bay defensive tackle Brian Price apologized to ownership, coach Raheem Morris and general manager Mark Dominik for his personal-foul penalty in Sunday’s loss to Carolina.

Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman, who missed the Carolina game with a shoulder injury, said he’s confident he’ll be able to play Sunday against Jacksonville.

Carolina receiver Steve Smith has been a bit quiet of late. Quarterback Cam Newton said that’s because defenses have been rolling more coverage toward Smith.

Speaking of Smith, he might not stay quiet for long. With Atlanta cornerback Brent Grimes still out after knee surgery, Smith might see a fair amount of Christopher Owens and Dominique Franks.

Atlanta running back Michael Turner (groin) and receiver Julio Jones (hamstring) are listed as questionable for Sunday’s game with Houston, but there were encouraging signs on both players Friday.

Jones and Turner each practiced on a limited basis after sitting out Wednesday and Thursday. The outlook isn't as promising for a couple of other players. Linebacker Stephen Nicholas (quadriceps) and cornerback Kelvin Hayden (toe) each are listed as doubtful.

The Falcons already have said Brent Grimes is out and that means Christopher Owens likely will start opposite Dunta Robinson and Dominique Franks will be used in nickel situations.

The Atlanta Falcons will be without starting cornerback Brent Grimes for at least a couple of weeks, coach Mike Smith said Wednesday.


Grimes will have minor surgery on his knee Thursday, Smith said.

“He’s been doing everything in his power to get back out on the field," Smith said. "He’s been playing with it. Right now, he will be out for a couple of weeks. He’s going to have a minor procedure done on his knee. We don’t know the time frame in terms of getting him out. Brent’s been fighting through it for some time.”

With Grimes out, Christopher Owens likely will move into the starting lineup opposite Dunta Robinson, and Dominique Franks likely will be the nickel back. Veteran Kelvin Hayden, who had played nickel back earlier in the season, is likely to remain sidelined with a toe injury.

Smith also said left tackle Sam Baker had a medical procedure done on his back during the team’s bye week. Baker has been practicing the past two weeks, but Smith said he’s not 100 percent and Will Svitek remains the starter.

Let’s take a look at some of the statistical superlatives from Atlanta’s 24-14 victory against Minnesota on Sunday.

• The Falcons now are 8-2 against NFC North opponents since coach Mike Smith arrived in 2008.

• Cornerback Christopher Owens stopped Percy Harvin at the Atlanta 3-yard line on a fourth-quarter kickoff return. Owens followed that by sacking Christian Ponder on the next play.

• Second-year linebacker Sean Weatherspoon continues to emerge as one of the defense’s brightest spots. He had a team-high 10 tackles, one sack, three tackles for a loss and one quarterback hit.

• Speaking of emerging players, receiver Harry Douglas had his first touchdown catch of the season. In the past three games, Douglas has 14 catches for 229 yards.

• Roddy White moved into sole possession of third place in team history in career touchdown catches. White has 41 touchdown receptions. He’s behind only Terance Mathis (57) and Andre Rison. White finished with 120 yards on a season-high 10 catches. He now has had over 100 receiving yards in each of the past two games.

• Quarterback Matt Ryan, who passed for three touchdowns, now has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 10 straight games. He has thrown for more than one touchdown in three of the past four games.

• Ryan’s 128.2 NFL passer rating was a season best. It also was the fourth-highest rating of Ryan’s career. The Falcons are 20-0 when Ryan has a rating over 100.

• Tight end Tony Gonzalez had a season-high nine catches for 69 yards. He now has 13,093 yards, which moved him past Steve Largent (13,089) and into 12^th place on the league’s all-time list for receiving yards.

• Defensive end Lawrence Sidbury had perhaps the best day of his career. Sidbury recorded two sacks. That gives him four for the season and he’s tied for the team lead.

• Minnesota rushed for just 64 yards on 24 carries. The Falcons now are allowing 83.5 rushing yards per game, which would qualify for the second-best average in franchise history. The Falcons have not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 14 consecutive games, dating back to last season.

Atlanta cornerback Christopher Owens never has been a big name. He’s spent most of his career as a backup. But Owens made the play of the day for the Falcons on Sunday and it could end up being the biggest play of Atlanta’s season.

The Falcons had built a 17-0 lead, but they allowed the Vikings to get back into the game late. Atlanta led by 10 with just under seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter when Percy Harvin took a kickoff in his own end zone and returned it 104 yards, but Owens was able to chase Harvin down at the 3-yard line. Atlanta’s defense then came up with a goal-line stand and the Falcons won 24-14.

Had Harvin scored and the Falcons had lost, their playoff hopes would have taken a big hit. Instead, they're 7-4 and kept with the New Orleans Saints, who are 7-3 and host the New York Giants on Monday night.

“That was the most pivotal play in the ballgame in my opinion,’’ Atlanta coach Mike Smith said. “For (Owens) and the effort that he put forth to run Percy Harvin down, and get him down on the 3-yard line, it allowed us to put our defense out there and have an opportunity to live to play another play. We were able to have a goal-line stand. There were a number of guys that made some significant plays in that goal-line stand, but I believe it was (linebacker) Sean Weatherspoon from my vantage point that knifed in on the fourth down and was the first one to make the hit. You can’t say enough about our effort. If you have that type of effort, you are going to greatly enhance your chances of winning. You can overcome some of your shortcomings and some of the mistakes you make by hustling. That was a great play by Chris Owens.”

The Atlanta Falcons just sent out their final injury report and there’s some encouraging news about the status of rookie receiver Julio Jones.

He’s listed as probable. Jones missed last week’s game with a hamstring injury. Jones participated fully in Friday’s practice after working on a limited basis Thursday.

But the news isn’t nearly as good in the defensive backfield. The Falcons said cornerback Kelvin Hayden (toe) will miss Sunday’s game against Minnesota. They also are listing cornerback Brent Grimes (knee) as questionable. Grimes did not participate in Friday’s practice.

Hayden had been working as the team’s third cornerback, behind Grimes and Dunta Robinson. If Grimes can’t play, Chris Owens likely would start and Dominique Franks would be used as the third cornerback.

ATLANTA – Falcons cornerback Kelvin Hayden was just carted to the locker room at the Georgia Dome.

Team officials said he suffered a foot injury and his return is questionable. Hayden has been playing as the team’s nickelback for much of the season. Christopher Owens began the season as the nickelback, but lost the job to Hayden.

It’s likely Owens will now work as the third cornerback, although Dominique Franks also could be an option.

Carolina defensive end Charles Johnson (hip) is probable and participated fully in practice. Johnson had been added to the injury report Thursday. Right tackle Jeff Otah (back) is listed as questionable and participated in practice on a limited basis. Linebacker Omar Gaither (knee) is out for Sunday.

Atlanta has declared receiver Julio Jones (hamstring) and cornerback Chris Owens (concussion) out for Sunday’s game with Carolina. Defensive end John Abraham (groin), center Todd McClure (knee), guard Garrett Reynolds (ankle), and safety James Sanders (hamstring) are all listed as questionable. Abraham, McClure and Reynolds each participated in Friday’s practice on a limited basis.

The New Orleans Saints declared right tackle Zach Strief (knee), linebacker Will Herring (hamstring) and tight end David Thomas (concussion) out for Sunday’s game with Tampa Bay. Receiver Devery Henderson (calf) is probable.

The Buccaneers declared defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (ankle), tight end Luke Stocker (knee) and receiver Sammie Stroughter (foot) out for Sunday. Running back LeGarrette Blount (knee) is listed as doubtful and linebacker Mason Foster (knee) is questionable. Foster was able to participate in practice fully Friday.

Let’s take a look at the latest news on the NFC South’s most significant injuries.

Carolina added Charles Johnson to the injury report Thursday. He did not practice and the Panthers listed him with a hip injury. Right tackle Jeff Otah (back) and linebacker Omar Gaither (knee) did not practice.

Atlanta defensive end John Abraham (groin) missed his second straight day of practice. Cornerback Christopher Owens (concussion) and guard Garrett Reynolds (ankle) also missed practice.

Tampa Bay defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (ankle) and running back LeGarrette Blount (knee) each missed their second straight day of practice and it’s looking as if they will miss Sunday’s game with New Orleans. Earnest Graham would fill in for Blount and the Bucs likely would rotate Frank Okam and Da’Quan Bowers in McCoy’s place. Middle linebacker Mason Foster (ankle) also missed his second straight day of practice. If Foster can’t play, Adam Hayward likely would take his spot. Outside linebacker Quincy Black (ankle) returned to full practice after being limited Wednesday.

The Saints are getting a bit healthier. Receiver Devery Henderson (calf) participated fully after sitting out Wednesday. Linebacker Jonathan Vilma (knee) also participated fully after being limited Wednesday. Right tackle Zach Strief (knee) and linebacker Will Herring (hamstring) continued to miss practice.