NFC South: Justin Peelle
The Falcons have reached an injury settlement with tight end Justin Peelle. This one’s no surprise. Peelle injured his knee and the Falcons signed veteran Reggie Kelly a few days ago to fill the role as the blocking tight end. Tony Gonzalez remains the starter and will be used mostly as a pass-catcher. Kelly is considered a strong blocker and should get lots of playing time. Michael Palmer has had a nice camp and could be in the mix for some playing time.
The Saints added some cornerback depth by signing Quincy Butler. They’ve had some injury problems at the position throughout camp, with Tracy Porter, Fabian Washington and Johnny Patrick each missing some time.
Joe Henderson puts Tampa Bay’s ugly loss to New England in proper perspective. There were plenty of negatives on both sides of the ball. But, really, preseason games don’t mean very much. I seem to recall the Bucs having some pretty good preseasons under Sam Wyche and the Panthers doing the same under George Seifert and it didn’t come close to translating into regular-season success.
Scott Fowler has an overview of what undoubtedly will be the most important game throughout the NFC South this preseason. It’s Carolina at Miami. Cam Newton and Jimmy Clausen are competing for the right to be the starting quarterback in the regular season. One way or another, this thing is going to sort itself out Friday night.
Falcons bolster blocking at tight end
The team just confirmed that it has agreed to terms with veteran tight end Reggie Kelly. Interestingly enough, Kelly began his career in Atlanta. He was drafted by the Falcons in the second round in 1999. He only stayed through 2002.
Backup tight end Justin Peelle injured his knee in the preseason opener and Kelly was a natural fit. That’s not due to his background in Atlanta. It has more to do with the fact that he was with Cincinnati from 2003 through last season. New Atlanta quarterbacks coach Bob Bratkowski previously was offensive coordinator for the Bengals during Kelly’s tenure.
In Cincinnati, Kelly developed a reputation as a very good blocking tight end. It’s unclear how serious Peelle’s injury is. But, if he’s out for a long period of time, the Falcons need someone to take Peelle’s role as a blocker.
Tony Gonzalez is the starting tight end, but is mostly a pass catcher. Kelly could step in and be an important part of the offense as a blocker.
A few other items of note from around the NFC South before I get back to work on writing Tampa Bay’s Camp Confidential feature that is scheduled to run Wednesday.
Mike Triplett has some contract details on some of the recent signings by the Saints.
Carolina linebacker Thomas Davis has been cleared to play in this week’s preseason game after missing the opener with an injury.
Former Carolina defensive end Tyler Brayton has landed with the Colts.
Donald Penn having Pro Bowl season
That’s not the case this year and it probably has a lot to do with the fact that Trueblood has started only seven games. He only has two false start penalties this season. But the more amazing thing might be that Tampa Bay left tackle Donald Penn, who was snubbed in Pro Bowl voting, does not appear anywhere on the list of the 144 guys around the NFL who have been called for at least two false starts.
It’s pretty amazing when a starting left tackle can go this far into a season with less than two false starts. I had the Bucs check with their coaches and they said Penn has been called for one false start. They even gave a little bit more evidence of how strong a season Penn has had. He’s been called for only one holding penalty and has given up three sacks.
Throw in the facts that, despite a slew of injuries across the rest of the offensive line, Penn has protected quarterback Josh Freeman and paved the way for rookie running back LeGarrette Blount to emerge as a force and I'm willing to say Penn should be in the Pro Bowl.
Actually Atlanta left tackle Sam Baker doesn’t appear on the list either. That’s nice, but I’m not ready to put Baker anywhere near Penn in any other category.
As a division, the NFC South has fared pretty well when it comes to false start penalties. The league leaders are Ryan Diem and Michael Oher with eight false starts and there are a bunch of guys with seven.
The NFC South leader is New Orleans left tackle Jermon Bushrod with six and Carolina’s Geoff Schwartz has four.
James Lee, who sometimes has replaced Trueblood as the starting right tackle, has three false starts and that ties him with Carolina left tackle Jordan Gross and Carolina tight end Jeff King.
The NFC South players who have been called for two false starts are Carolina center Ryan Kalil, New Orleans guard Jahri Evans, Carolina fullback Tony Fiammetta, Atlanta tight end Justin Peelle, Carolina receiver David Gettis, Carolina guard Travelle Wharton and Tampa Bay guard Davin Joseph.
Inactives for the Atlanta Falcons
White and McClure both are on the active list for tonight’s game with Baltimore.
The inactives for the Falcons are cornerback Dominique Franks, linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, tackle Garrett Reynolds, guard Mike Johnson, tight end Justin Peelle, defensive end Lawrence Sidbury and defensive tackle Trey Lewis. John Parker Wilson has been designated as the third quarterback.
Monday now Wednesday in Flowery Branch
Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith looked at his watch as he met with the media a few minutes ago and declared, “It’s Wednesday at 8 o’clock here in about 45 minutes’’.
That’s because the Falcons are facing one of the NFL’s biggest challenges. After defeating Tampa Bay on Sunday, they have to turn around and play Baltimore in the Georgia Dome on Thursday night.
That means the Falcons are turning their clocks ahead. The Falcons skipped tape review of the Tampa Bay game and they’ll begin installing their game plan for Baltimore Monday afternoon. They’ll have a walk-through practice in their indoor facility Monday night and cover the things they do on a normal Wednesday.
Smith said the Falcons will use Tuesday to combine what they usually do on Thursdays and Fridays and Wednesday will be like a traditional Saturday. The Falcons will not practice in pads at all this week.
A couple of other highlights out of Smith’s meeting with the media.
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Receiver Roddy White and center Todd McClure, who each left and returned to Sunday’s game after injuring their knees, are expected to be able to play Thursday, Smith said.
- Tight end Justin Peelle, who is recovering from sports hernia surgery, already has been declared out for Thursday night.
- Smith, almost, but not quite, ordered Falcons’ fans to be loud Thursday night. “I like the way our crowd gets into the ballgame,’’ he said.
- Smith again talked about Sunday’s problems for the kickoff coverage unit. “That’s something we’ve discussed,’’ Smith said. “We are going to look at all our options in terms of personnel moves and switching guys around.’’
Center Jeff Faine, tackle Jeremy Trueblood and fullback Earnest Graham are all on the inactive list. Defensive tackle Ryan Sims, defensive end Alex Magee, cornerback Myron Lewis and receiver Sammie Stroughter also are inactive. Rudy Carpenter is the third quarterback.
Cornerback Dominique Franks, linebacker Spencer Adkins, tackle Garrett Reynolds, guard Mike Johnson, tight end Justin Peelle, defensive end Lawrence Sidbury and defensive tackle Trey Lewis are inactive for the Falcons. John Parker Wilson is the third quarterback.
Dunta Robinson sitting out for Falcons
Robinson is coming off a concussion last week and the Falcons are looking at the long term. After today’s game with the Bengals, they have a bye week, allowing Robinson more time to recover.
Christopher Owens will start in Robinson’s place and veteran Brian Williams likely will be the nickelback. The Falcons also will be without injured linebacker Sean Weatherspoon. Stephen Nicholas will start in Weatherspoon's place.
Also inactive for the Falcons are tight end Justin Peelle, tackle Garrett Reynolds, defensive tackle Trey Lewis, running back Antone Smith, guard Mike Johnson and John Parker Wilson is the third quarterback.
Checking the injuries that matter most
Falcons. Atlanta coach Mike Smith said early in the week that tight end Justin Peelle and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon will miss Sunday’s game. The Falcons are listing cornerback Dunta Robinson as questionable, and he hasn’t practiced all week. We’ll see what happens Sunday, but I’m sure the Falcons will be very cautious with Robinson, who suffered a concussion last week, and won’t put him out there unless the medical is unanimous in saying he’s recovered. I’d look for Christopher Owens, Brent Grimes and Brian Williams to be the trio of cornerbacks charged with covering Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco.
Buccaneers. Defensive tackle Brian Price has been declared out with a pelvis injury. Fullback Earnest Graham is listed as questionable and didn’t practice Friday. Guard Davin Joseph is listed as questionable, but he went through a full practice. Their other starting guard, Keydrick Vincent, is listed as questionable and didn’t practice. If Vincent can’t play, the Bucs will have to start rookie Ted Larsen.
Saints. We already knew running backs Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas and cornerback Tracy Porter will be out Sunday. The Saints are listing cornerback Jabari Greer as questionable, but he hasn’t practiced all week. That could mean rookie Patrick Robinson and Leigh Torrence as the starting cornerbacks. Linebacker Scott Shanle is listed as questionable. Safety Darren Sharper remains on the physically unable to perform list at the moment, but the Saints could activate him as late as Saturday afternoon if they feel he’s ready to play.
Panthers. Looks like Carolina’s bye last week came at a good time. Receiver Steve Smith, who missed a game with an ankle sprain, was back at practice all week and is listed as probable for Sunday.
- Atlanta cornerback Dunta Robinson plans to appeal the NFL’s $50,000 fine for his hit on Philadelphia’s DeSean Jackson. I think Robinson at least has an argument because his head appeared to hit Jackson’s shoulder pads first. But I think the NFL was making a strong statement about the rash of big hits around the league Sunday and the chances of Robinson winning an appeal are probably slim.
- Atlanta tight end Justin Peelle is out for four to six weeks after having surgery to repair a sports hernia. This is a bigger deal than you might think because the Falcons use a lot of two tight-end formations and Peelle is more of a blocker than starter Tony Gonzalez. Rookie Michael Palmer will have to take over Peelle’s role.
- The Saints have placed cornerback Randall Gay on injured reserve because of recurring symptoms from a concussion. You have to wonder if Gay’s career could be over, although coach Sean Payton wouldn’t say anything close to that. This is a big loss. Gay was a quality nickelback, who could start for a lot of teams. His absence means rookie Patrick Robinson will have to continue taking on a bigger role.
- The Saints filled Gay’s roster spot by signing cornerback Quincy Butler, who has spent time with the Cowboys and Rams.
Falcons release Hartsock, Hutchins
Posted by ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas
The Falcons, who had been incredibly quiet throughout the preseason, are making lots of noise Tuesday. They traded for cornerback Tye Hill this morning and they just announced the release of three players, including a couple of names you’ll recognize.
Tight end Ben Hartsock and cornerback Von Hutchins, two guys who were signed as free agents soon after general manager Thomas Dimitroff took over last year, were released along with defensive end Willie Evans.
Hutchins became expendable after the Falcons added Hill. Hutchins was viewed as a possible starter when the Falcons first signed him, but he went down with a season-ending injury in training camp last year.
Hartsock was signed as an all-purpose tight end and started 11 games last season. But the Falcons added Tony Gonzalez as a pass-catching tight end this year and appear ready to go with Justin Peelle and Jason Rader as his backups.
Another quiet day in the NFC South so far, but that could always change this afternoon as teams get ready for the start of free agency. Speaking of that, I've been getting a lot of people asking for lists of free agents.
I did team-by-team breakdowns back in January but decided to run the lists for all four NFC South teams here just to refresh everybody. Keep in mind, these are the guys who are prospective free agents at the end of the month and things could always change with teams re-signing their own players or using the franchise tag.
ATLANTA FALCONS
Unrestricted free agents: Linebacker Michael Boley, defensive end Chauncey Davis, cornerback Domonique Foxworth, tackle Wayne Gandy, linebacker Tony Gilbert, defensive tackle Grady Jackson, defensive tackle Jason Jefferson, punter Michael Koenen, safety Lawyer Milloy, tight end Justin Peelle and linebacker Coy Wire.
Restricted free agents: Tackle Tyson Clabo, guard Harvey Dahl, safety Jamaal Fudge and center Ben Wilkerson.
CAROLINA PANTHERS
Unrestricted free agents: Linebacker Donte' Curry, tackle Jordan Gross, offensive lineman Geoff Hangartner, return man Mark Jones, long-snapper Jason Kyle, tackle Frank Omiyale, defensive end Julius Peppers, linebacker Adam Seward and defensive tackle Darwin Walker.
Restricted free agents: Defensive tackle Gary Gibson, tight end Jeff King, safety Nate Salley and linebacker James Anderson.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
Unrestricted free agents: Cornerback Aaron Glenn, quarterback Joey Harrington, receiver Devery Henderson, defensive tackle Antwan Lake, guard Matt Lehr, running back Aaron Stecker, tackle Jon Stinchcomb and linebacker Jonathan Vilma.
Restricted free agents: Guard Jahri Evans, receiver Lance Moore, receiver Courtney Roby, defensive tackle Montavious Stanley and offensive lineman Zach Strief.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
Unrestricted free agents: Wide receiver Antonio Bryant, cornerback Phillip Buchanon, defensive end Kevin Carter, receiver Michael Clayton, quarterback Jeff Garcia, receiver Cortez Hankton, defensive tackle Jovan Haye, safety Jermaine Phillips, defensive tackle Ryan Sims and tight end Jerramy Stevens.
Restricted free agent: Tackle Donald Penn.
Breaking down Atlanta's free-agent class
Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas
We're going to start a team-by-team look at the potential free agents for the four NFC South teams.
ESPN's Jeremy Green passed along his list of each team's free agents that I'll share with you and then analyze the decisions each team has to make about keeping its own players.
We'll start with the Falcons.
Their list of unrestricted free agents includes linebacker Michael Boley, defensive end Chauncey Davis, cornerback Domonique Foxworth, tackle Wayne Gandy, linebacker Tony Gilbert, defensive tackle Grady Jackson, defensive tackle Jason Jefferson, punter Michael Koenen, safety Lawyer Milloy, tight end Justin Peelle and linebacker Coy Wire.
The restricted free agents are tackle Tyson Clabo, guard Harvey Dahl, safety Jamaal Fudge and center Ben Wilkerson.
Overview: Believe it or not, the priority here might be keeping Koenen. He's one of the league's steadiest punters and gave the Falcons lots of good field position. Davis and Foxworth might be next on the list. Although Atlanta's probably going to look for help at defensive end, Davis showed some promise this year and the Falcons may move Jamaal Anderson inside to tackle. They need a guy like Davis in their end rotation.
Foxworth was a great pickup from Denver. The Falcons may look for a cornerback in the draft, but Foxworth has shown he can start or be a good nickelback. Jackson is 35 and Milloy is 34. Both had some good moments last season, but it's likely the Falcons will let them test the market. They'll look to get younger at those positions, but might turn back to Jackson or Milloy if they feel they haven't upgraded enough at those positions.
Boley fell out of favor with the coaching staff last season and lost his starting job to Wire. The Falcons will likely let Boley walk and make an attempt to keep Wire. But they'll be looking for more help at outside linebacker because Keith Brooking showed signs of age last season. He could retire or be released and the Falcons need to surround middle linebacker Curtis Lofton with some talent.
Falcons adjust roster, sign two veterans
Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas
The Atlanta coaching staff reached into its background today, signing linebacker Tony Gilbert and tight end Justin Peelle.
Falcons coach Mike Smith coached Gilbert when he was the defensive coordinator for Jacksonville. Gilbert spent five seasons with the Jaguars. He's not likely to be much of a factor at linebacker, but could be a regular on special teams.
Peelle was with the Dolphins when Atlanta offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey was Miami's tight ends coach. Peelle set career highs with 29 catches for 228 yards last season. He'll be used as a backup to Ben Hartsock.
To clear room for Peelle and Gilbert, the Falcons released tight end Jason Rader and linebacker Tony Taylor. Atlanta also filled out its practice squad by signing defensive end Sean Conover and running back Kenneth Darby.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Pat Yasinskas
Yasinskas joined ESPN.com in January 2008 after covering the Carolina Panthers for The Charlotte Observer for nine seasons. He began his journalism career with The Tampa Tribune in 1990.
