Falcons Gab

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that safety Antoine Harris is recovering from groin surgery:

Falcons safety Antoine Harris recently had a minor surgical procedure performed on his groin area. “He’s progressing well,” said Jeff Chilcoat, Harris’ agent. “He should be back on the field and ready to go by training camp.” Harris, one of the Falcons’ top performers on special teams, will compete with Thomas DeCoud, William Moore, Erik Coleman, Eric Brock and Jamaal Fudge for a safety position on the Falcons final 53-man roster. The Falcons carried four safeties last season.

Pete Prisco of CBSSportsline.com has come out with his annual list of the Top 50 NFL players, and the Falcons have 2 players on the list. Here’s the two Falcons on the list:

31. Tony Gonzalez, TE, Falcons: Even at 33 he continues to put up huge numbers. Now that he’s in an offense with a good quarterback, those numbers will be even better. He has three Pro Bowl type years left.

48. Michael Turner, RB, Falcons: He answered a lot of questions last season as to whether he could be a feature back. Now he has to show he can do it again.

Below is a breakdown of the Falcons 2009 training camp practice schedule. Dates and times are subject to change:

Sat., Aug. 1: 8:30 - 10:10 a.m; 3:45 - 5:25 p.m. (both practices open to the public).

Sun., Aug. 2: 9:35 - 10:30 a.m; 3:45 - 5:50 p.m. (both practices open to the public).

Mon. Aug. 3: 8:30 - 10:40 a.m.; 3:45 - 5:25 p.m. (afternoon practice closed to public)

Tues., Aug. 4: 8:30 - 10:40 a.m.; 3:45 - 4:40 p.m. (afternoon practice closed)

Wed., Aug. 5: 1:30- 3:40 p.m. (open to public)

Thurs., Aug. 6: 8:30 - 10:40 a.m.; 3:45 - 5:25 p.m. (afternoon practice closed)

Fri., Aug. 7: 10:15 -11:55 a.m. (open to public), team scrimmage at Brookwood HS, 7 p.m.

Sat., Aug. 8: Mock game at Georgia Dome, 11 a.m.

Mon., Aug. 10: 8:30 - 10:40 a.m.; 3:45 - 4:40 p.m. (afternoon practice closed)

Tues., Aug. 11: 8:30 - 10:40 a.m.; 3:45 - 5:25 p.m. (afternoon practice closed)

Wed., Aug. 12: 8:30 - 10:40 a.m.; 3:45 - 4:45 p.m. (afternoon practice closed)

Thurs., Aug. 13: 8:30 - 10:35 a.m.; 3:45 - 5:25 p.m. (afternoon practice closed)

Fri., Aug. 14: 10:25- 11:40 a.m. (open to public)

Mon., Aug. 17: 9:30 - 11:35 a.m.; 3:45 – 5:25 p.m. (both practices closed)

Tues., Aug. 18: 8:30 - 10:40 a.m.; 3:45 - 4:40 p.m. (both practices closed)

Wed., Aug. 19: 8:30 - 10:40 a.m.; 3:45 - 5:25 p.m. (both practices closed)

Thurs., Aug. 20: 10:25- 11:45 a.m. (closed to public)

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that former Falcons safety Lawyer Milloy is not talking about his plans for the 2009 season:

Former Pro Bowl safety Lawyer Milloy, clearly not wanting to burn any bridges, didn’t want to discuss his departure from the Falcons or his plans for next season. He has yet to sign with another team. We tried to pin him down on his exit from the Falcons and on his plans a few times, but the savvy veteran kept saying he wanted to focus on the kids.

The Falcons today wrapped up a deal with sixth-round linebacker Spencer Adkins, who played his college ball at the University of Miami. Adkins recorded four sacks and six tackles for losses last season, finishing his career with 72 tackles, five sacks and one interception. The 5?11,” 246-pounder also registered 10 career tackles for losses for the Hurricanes.

The Falcons have signed five of their eight draft picks from the late April draft. First-round defensive tackle Peria Jerry (Ole Miss) remains unsigned along with second-round safety William Moore (Missouri) and fourth-round defensive end Lawrence Sidbury (Richmond).

Former two-time Pro Bowler Jeremy Newberry, who singed with the Falcons earlier this month, has been working out at guard. “I’m learning guard,” Newberry said. “I’ve been taking reps the last couple of days at guard.” Newberry, a 12-year veteran, played some tackle early in his career. “I don’t’ think they’ll move me back to tackle anytime soon,” Newberry said. “That was an experiment that went wrong my rookie year.”

Mike Florio of SportingNews.com wrote the top 10 moves of the offseason, and has the Falcons trading for Tony Gonzalez comes in at number eight. Read below:

8. Atlanta Falcons Trade for Gonzalez

Tight end Tony Gonzalez wanted out of Kansas City, badly. Last year, he took the fight public.

And he didn’t get traded.

This year, he was a good soldier, keeping his mouth shut publicly and waiting patiently for something to happen.

Eventually, it did.

Though a 2010 second-round pick is a fairly big price to pay for an aging tight end, Gonzalez still has a couple years of football left, and he helps to diversify an already dangerous Falcons offense.

The move shows the Falcons aren’t content with an impressive one-year turnaround. Instead, they’re doing what they have to do to remain competitive for the foreseeable future.

The Falcons are coming off a playoff birth in 2008, and GM Thomas Dimitroff seems confident in today’s Atlanta Journal Constitution that the team will be even better in 09:

The Falcons went 11-5 with a playoff berth. Expectations have gone from extraordinarily low to extraordinarily high, and GM Thomas Dimitroff doesn’t have a problem with that. He’s as excited about the offense and the addition of tight end Tony Gonzalez as anybody.

He believes the loss of five veterans from the defense, including Lawyer Milloy and Keith Brooking, isn’t a big deal. When asked about the youth and inexperience on defense, he said, “I can tell you that we as a staff will never be afraid to play our young players.”

One Matt Ryan-like rookie season will embolden a guy. And yes: He believes next year’s team will be even better. “You’ll see improved speed and urgency on both sides of the ball,” he said. “We’ll definitely be an improved product.”

The Falcons today announced the signing of another draft pick, third-round cornerback Christopher Owens. The team also released offensive lineman Renardo Foster and kicker/punter Robbie Dehaze.

The Falcons have signed fifth-round pick OT Garrett Reynolds to a four-year deal. Reports say that his deal is worth just over $1.93 million. Reynolds, whose uncle is former 49′er Jack “Hacksaw” Reynolds, played at the University of North Carolina. He’ll get a signing bonus of nearly $180,000. The 6?7,” 309-pounder was a three-year starter who was named second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference as a senior.