Baltimore Ravens 2010 Preview: Biggest Strength and Weakness

Today, the subject is the cheap Baltimore Ravens jerseys.

Biggest Strength: Offensive Line

This line is by far the best in football.

Protecting the blind side is fittingly now Michael Oher. He was under a lot of pressure perform last season, and exceeded at right tackle. This kid is uber-athletic and has prototypical size.

Oher really finishes his run blocks well for a young player. cheap Baltimore Ravens jerseys

Manning the right tackle spot (assuming he won't be traded) is Rex, whoops, I mean Jared Gaither. Gaither is a massive tackle (6'9", 340 pounds) who can be dominating at times, but is inconsistent.

He doesn't finish his blocks as well as Oher, and he has been criticized in the past for not being in the workout room enough.

The interior part of the line gets even better.

Ben Grubbs is a phenomenal right guard. He plays extremely well in space. His upper body strength really helps him manhandle those three-technique defensive tackles he constantly faces.

Matt Birk is a future HOF'er at center. Birk isn't as quick as he once was, but he's still able to manhandle nose tackles. Flacco and Birk have a solid relationship, which is always vital because the center needs communication to make the line calls.

The weakest part of the line is certainly left guard Marshal Yanda. He's somewhat small (313 lbs.) for a left guard, and certainly needs work on his strength.

The Ravens also drafted an intriguing seventh round pick named Ramone Harwood. With some coaching, the physical specimen maybe will compete for a starting job in 2011.

Other Strengths: QB, RB, DE, NT, ILB, FS

Biggest Weakness: Cornerback

Cornerback was a weak point in 2009. This is the position Ozzie Newsome really didn't address this offseason.

Dominique Foxworth is a good player who isn't spectacular at anything.(cheap Baltimore Ravens jerseys)He is the prototypical corner. Foxworth has great athleticism, but isn't a playmaker.

Fabian Washington is a former first round bust with the Raiders. Perhaps the biggest concern for him is whether he'll be at full strength after the ACL injury. As for his play, Washington is mediocre at best.

Washington is speedy, and has good hands. but he's had only six interceptions in five seasons. That's not getting it done.

Backup Chris Carr inspires little confidence. Carr is a solid return man, but as a corner back; he is as mediocre as mediocre gets. The guy is speedy, but he just doesn't catch up with his receiver if he gets blown by.

Ladarrius Webb showed at least a little bit of potential. He's somewhat undersized, but is a solid instinctive corner that will get better.

Other weaknesses: OLB, K, TE

This is the third edition of a 32-part series where I examine the biggest strength and weakness of every NFL Team. Here are the first two parts:

 

Chris Johnson up for two ESPYs‎

Titans running back  cheap Chris Johnson  jersey has been nominated for two ESPY awards for his performance from the 2009 season.

Johnson is in the running for Best Breakthrough Athlete and also Best NFL Player. Fan voting has already begun at espn.com/espys.

The winners will be announced during The 2010 ESPYs, televised LIVE Wednesday, July 14 at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

Johnson became just the sixth player in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards last year.cheap Chris Johnson  jersey

 

Moore, Armstrong starting well

The Washington Redskins have held four weeks of practices in May and June, a far cry from the regular season or even training camp and preseason. But two players have made good early impressions during organized team activities at Washington Redskins Park.

Third-year safety Kareem Moore has impressed on the defensive side of the ball, earning increased reps with LaRon Landry absent for many of the workouts and still coming back from a toe injury. A 2008 sixth-round selection out of Nicholls State, Moore is entering his third year in the league and could be in the mix for playing time, especially as the only true free safety on the roster.

For now, though, Moore is focused on learning defensive coordinator Jim Haslett's new 3-4 defense, which requires more versatility at safety.

"Coach Has brought a new defense in and it's just bananas," Moore said. "That's what I call it. It's just crazy. One time we might be in [cover] zero, the next time in three-deep. You just got to go out there and whatever he calls, make him believe we can play."

Moore said part of his improved play has come under the tutelage of safeties coach Steve Jackson. After two years of learning to be a professional, Moore said Jackson told him to get back to just playing.

"I feel like I'm more comfortable," Moore said. "One thing that helped me out was that Coach Jackson was just like, 'I know you got the ability to do it, just make plays and don't worry about nothing else.' So I've just been trying to carry that with me."

On the other side of the ball, wide receiver Anthony Armstrong has distinguished himself among a large group of receivers fighting for a spot on the roster.

Washington clearly has identified receiver as a position of need going into this season. There are 12 here in camp, including several veterans such as Joey Galloway and Bobby Wade. But Armstrong, who has had practice squad stints with Miami and Washington, has made several plays during OTAs, including hauling in a deep touchdown pass from quarterback Rex Grossman Thursday.

"When I was waived in Miami I made a vow to myself I wasn't going to get cut again and I would do anything and everything I could to make sure I don't get cut," Armstrong said. "...If I get a chance to make a play I need to capitalize and do that. If you don't make plays, they're going to start cutting your plays out of there."

At 5-11, Armstrong is not a big target receiver but he has shown decent speed and an ability to be in the right place at the right time. It's part of a focus that the former Arena League receiver said he knows is necessary in order to make an impression on the coaching staff.

"I know that being in the league you have to be able to be consistent as well as effective," Armstrong said. "So if you can't run the right route or do the right thing, you're not going to even get a chance to play."

Armstrong said he has done all he can to soak up advice from receivers coach Keenan McCardell and veterans such as Galloway, Wade and Santana Moss. "I'd be completely stupid not to," he said.

So far, Armstrong has done enough to make himself known to Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan.

"Anthony has done a good job," Shanahan said. "He does have some speed, he's made some very big plays for us thus far and he's right in the mix."

Portis makes appearance at McNabb's football camp

Clinton Portis was a no-show for the Redskins' final voluntary organized team activities session on Thursday but flew up to Philadelphia from Miami on Saturday morning in time to support teammate Donovan McNabb's annual football clinic for kids.

Asked what motivated him to come from spending time with his family in Miami for the event, Portis said he didn't need any.

"You don't need any motivation," Clinton Portis said on Saturday in Marlton, N.J. "You're doing something positive for the community. [McNabb] asked me to come and I showed up."

McNabb said he appreciated Clinton Portis coming up when he could have been with his family at home.

"To fly here from Miami to Philadelphia - from Miami - to participate in this particular camp, that says a lot," the quarterback said.

An animated and upbeat Portis was working at one of the clinic's stations with former Eagles running back - and possible future teammate -- Brian Westbrook and Eagles fullback Leonard Weaver.

"You gotta have fun with these kids, man," Portis said. "Everything isn't competition, competition and you don't always got to be serious. You got to have fun with what you're doing to enjoy it and being able to have fun and learn at the same time is the best way to learn [for the children]."

Asked about his absence at practice, Clinton Portis said everything is fine.

"I told [head coach Mike Shanahan] ahead of time so it wasn't like I just didn't show up," Portis said. "I hadn't missed a day until Thursday so everything's cool."

Falcons sign former Griz Shann Schillinger

The Atlanta Falcons have announced the signing of safety Shann Schillinger to a four-year contract.

The team announced the signing of their sixth-round draft pick on Thursday.

In his final season at Montana, Schillinger had 90 tackles and four interceptions as the Grizzlies advanced to the Football  jerseys Championship Subdivision title game.

A native of Baker, Mont., Schillinger joins former Grizzly Kroy Biermann of Hardin, Mont., in Atlanta. Biermann, a defensive tackle, was drafted by the Falcons in 2008.

Flight of the Falcon Former Guelph resident, Thomas Dimitroff recalls his long journey to the peak of the football world

 GUELPH — Thomas Dimitroff, general manager of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, vows not to forget the stops on the journey to his present position.

"I'm 43 now and I'm still relatively young in this business but I have spent a lot of time at so many different levels," he said last weekend at the Cutten Club where he was attending a fundraiser for the University of Guelph Gryphons football team. "It's something that at times I thought was a long journey, but now that I'm here, I'm so respectful of that journey. All the different stages along the way have helped develop who I am now, not only my skills with the job but also the respect that I have for all the jobs throughout a football program. That's something that I really feel strongly about."

It's just possible that Guelph was the launching point for that journey. Born in Barberton, Ohio, in 1966, Thomas moved to Guelph when he was in Grade 10 after his father Tom was named the head coach of the Gryphons.

"I learned a lot and had a lot of great experiences here in the city of Guelph with high school football and high school sports in Guelph," Thomas said.

Thomas went to Centennial CVI where he made several friends who he has kept in touch with throughout the year. Two of them, Dino Roumel and Dan Tocher, joined Thomas and his brother Randy for a round of golf at the Cutten Club prior to the fundraiser.

"(It was) a horrible round," Thomas said. "That was the most unfocused game of golf I've played in my life."

Thomas served as an equipment manager with the Gryphons when his father was the head coach (and brother also played), then joined the Gryphons for a five-year career beginning in the 1986 season. A defensive back and team captain, Thomas was a winner of the Ted Wildman Trophy which is awarded annually to the senior football player who most exemplifying true sportsmanship, leadership, gentlemanly conduct and good scholarship.

"It's a funny story, but the odd time I'll watch a player that I'm evaluating for our team, the Atlanta Falcons or the Patriots in the past, and one of the first things that comes to mind is one of the players I played with at the University of Guelph or one of the players my dad coached, whether it's their gait, their movement, their athleticism, just their whole presence," he said. "It basically jogs my memory so I can use that sort of a classification system sometimes. That guy reminds me of Mitch Chuvalo or Jed Tommy or Mike Shoemaker or Dan Wicklum."

Dimitroff's journey after the U of G took him to Regina, Dallas, Cleveland, Detroit, back to Cleveland, New England and now Atlanta.

"I've had the opportunity to work in every facet of football," he said. "Some of the times, whether it was in the equipment room, working with the film, messing around in the training room, whatever it was outside of coaching, outside of the field, it's helped me in my experiences as a general manager in the National Football League, you know, relating to some people, albeit at a young age. It's really helped me develop at so many levels in the National Football League."

His stay in Regina lasted two years and it was there that he decided, partly at his father's behest, not to follow in his dad's footsteps into the coaching ranks.

"I worked with the Roughriders in player personnel and scouting. I was the plebe in the business and I was just getting started. I always thought I wanted to coach when I left the University of Guelph but my dad's advice was that, yes, coaching can always be there, give personnel a shot. By his own admission, he'd experienced some tough times as a coach like a lot of coaches do. I ended up going in the direction of player personnel."

Along the path to Atlanta, he's worked on grounds crews, been a scout and headed scouting departments and he's got two Super Bowl rings from his days with the New England Patriots. Still, it was a matter of aiming high that landed him the job with the Falcons.

Atlanta was reeling following the Michael Vick dog-fighting scandal and had endured a trying season with Bobby Petrino as head coach that resulted in both the coaching and GM jobs being open.

"I interviewed with the Falcons following the peril of Michael Vick and the Falcons and all they were going through. It was very, very fortunate that things played the way they did," he said.

"I interviewed with Arthur Blank (Falcons' owner and CEO) via web cam which was the first time in the history of the National Football League that that had happened. I was amidst some incredible football names who were in consideration for the job – Bill Parcells, Bill Cowher, Pete Carroll who at that time was with the USC Trojans. I figured when I went in for the interview that I was just going to swing for the fence and sure enough, things worked the way they did and I was able to get this job because other people fell out or pulled themselves out of contention."

Dimitroff's motto is similar to that of the Boy Scouts, "be prepared."

"When you're on the bench, so to speak, always be ready, whether it's waiting to get on to be a football player for the University of Guelph, whether it's in the corporate world where you're a middle manager, always plan for the big job and when that opportunity comes, be prepared. I felt that I had prepared for four or five years for a general manager's position and I wasn't sure it was ever going to come in my direction. But when afforded the opportunity to interview, I felt I was very prepared and I just took a big swing for the fence and it all worked out."

New York Giant Justin Tuck Hosts Second Annual Celebrity Billiards Tournament to benefit Tuck's R.U.S.H. for Literacy

NEW YORK, June 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Thursday, June 3rd, New York Giants Pro Bowl defensive end Justin Tuck hosted Tuck's Celebrity Billiards Tournament Presented by RXR Realty LLC, a leading New York Tri-State real estate operating company. The second annual fundraiser was held at Slate NYC.

Joined by a full roster of celebrities and athletes, Tuck drew support from across the NFL, including a number of New York Giants. The billiards competition has raised over $500,000 for Tuck's charitable initiative, Tuck's R.U.S.H. for Literacy, since its inception last year. Founded in 2008 by Justin and his wife Lauran to educate and empower underserved children, R.U.S.H. provides books and other reading materials to both New York City schools as well as school districts in Alabama where Tuck was raised. The charity's mission is to encourage children to READ, UNDERSTAND, SUCCEED and HOPE and to embrace literacy throughout their lives.

Among the celebrities who attended were Big Daddy Kane (Hip Hop Star), Buddy Valastro (Reality Star, Carlos Bakery), Charles Smith (retired NBA player), Chubb Rock (Hip Hop Star), Damien Woody (NY Jets), Dave Diehl (NY Giants), Eli Manning (NY Giants), Hakeem Nicks (NY Giants), Jamal Anderson (retired NFL player), Melle Mel (Hip Hop Star), Ryan Grant (Green Bay Packers), Shaun O'Hara (NY Giants), Terrell Thomas (NY Giants), Vivica A. Fox (Actor) and Law and Order star Anthony Anderson, Tuck who served as Master of Ceremonies.

Jeannette "The Black Widow" Lee participated in challenge games against celebrities and attendees, while Anthony

Anderson and DJ Mad Linx entertained the crowd.

Frank Pusinelli and John La Ruffa of team RXR Cue Masters defeated Justin Tuck and his teammate Jay Caldwell in the semi-finals to advance to the final round and become the 2010 champions.  The Grand Prize Package included luxury vacation packages courtesy of The Gansevoort Turks and Caicos and The Barton G. Villa, HP Mini, David Yurman jewelry, Pelle Pelle leather jacket, and a year membership to Crunch Gyms.

Tuck's Celebrity Billiards Tournament is supported by many dedicated companies and individuals who also believe in Tuck's passion for literacy. Sponsors for this year's event included presenting sponsor RXR Realty, Hewlett-Packard, Subway, RCN, Diageo, NetApp and Coke Zero.

 

About Justin Tuck and Tuck's R.U.S.H. for Literacy

This program aspires to encourage children to READ, UNDERSTAND, SUCCEED, and HOPE as they continue to nurture literacy in their lives.  Founded by Justin and Lauran Tuck, this initiative is committed to raising funds to donate books and other reading materials to enrich youth in the New York and Central Alabama communities.  Justin Tuck is an NFL Pro Bowl and All-Pro defensive end who was drafted by the New York Giants in 2005.

About RXR

RXR Realty LLC ("RXR") is a vertically integrated private real estate company with expertise in investment management, property management, development, design, construction, leasing, financing and asset management. RXR's core growth strategy is focused on New York City and the surrounding tri-state area markets.  The Company is one of the largest owners, managers, and developers in the New York Tri-State Area with interests in approximately $2.5 billion in assets, comprised of 102 operating properties containing approximately 12.9 million square feet, and an extensive development pipeline.

Buffalo Bills Get Lucky: Ed Wang's Injury Not Season-Ending

It was at first feared that rookie offensive tackle Ed Wang will be lost for the year. Thankfully, over the weekend, a source told Pro Football Talk that the initial diagnosis was just a high ankle sprain.

Well, now we know. Indeed, the Bills did get  very lucky, as the same source now confirmed it is truly only a high ankle sprain.

That is good news considering that the Bills had bad luck last year with injuries. Truth be told, Buffalo still will have injuries in 2010, but just not nearly as many with all the changes to the strength and conditioning program.

In the end, it still is good to see that another offensive lineman wasn't lost for the year.

This article is also featured on Kaspers Korner

FOOTBALL: Koenen gives back with kids camp

FERNDALE - Michael Koenen would consider his annual youth football camp a success whether five kids showed up or 100 were on hand because it's a chance for the former Ferndale High School and Western Washington University standout to give back to the community he still thinks of as home.

So when more than 140 children registered early for the event and another 20 or 30 signed up the day of on Saturday, June 5, not only was Koenen blown away by the turn out, but the Atlanta Falcons' punter and kickoff specialist couldn't wait to share football with so many Whatcom County kids.

"Any time you have kids come out and they are having a good time and there is a smile on their face then it's worth it," Koenen said. "If five kids come out and they are smiling and having a good time than it's a job well done. Today we have a lot more kids than that here. That means there will be a lot more smiles, but it's doesn't mean any less or any more. I just want these kids to have a good time. That's my goal."

Decked out in red Michael Koenen All-Star Football Kids Camp T-shirts and NFL wristbands children in third through eighth grade ran through conditioning drills, technique stations, and small scrimmages for about four hours at Ferndale High School.

Also helping Koenen at the camp were Atlanta Falcons teammates, running back Jerious Norwood, defensive lineman Thomas Johnson, former NFL players Boone Stutz and Alex Bannister, and several members of the Ferndale High School football team.

"It's a great thing for the little guys," Ferndale coach Jamie Plenkovich said. "It's really an awesome deal."

The camp was sponsored by the NFL and put on in conjunction with Multop Financial, Ferndale High School, and the Boys and Girls Club of Whatcom County. It also included an NFL vs. Whatcom County alumni basketball game in the evening at the gym in Ferndale.

"The great thing about this is that I think it's a time when everybody can come together," Koenen said. "These kids can learn about football and have a good time. Then at the basketball game people can get together and see people they haven't seen in a long time. This is something I would like to do every year. I'd like to see this keep growing."

Koenen, 27, is entering his sixth season with the Falcons. He's become one of the top punters in the NFL and his punting units consistently ranks among the top in the league in punts downed inside the 20-yard line and fewest return yards allowed.

After spending five seasons with the Atlanta Falcons he feels like he's starting to settle in to life as a pro football player.

"Every year you learn something new," Koenen said. "You learn about the NFL in general, how to be a professional, and what to worry about and what not to. It just becomes more comfortable."

As much as Atlanta is becoming a second home to Koenen and his wife Devin they never stray too far from their Whatcom County roots. The couple has purchased some land near Lynden with the idea that they'd like to move back some day.

Until then Koenen will have to settle for spending a few months out of the year back in Whatcom County and making the occasional trip to Seattle when the Seahawks show up on the Falcons' schedule. This season Atlanta is scheduled to come to Seattle for a game on December 19. It's the Falcons' first trip to Seattle since Koenen's rookie season in 2005.

"It's always fun to come back here and play," Koenen said. "Everybody I know from around here can come down and watch. I think my mom had already tried to buy up every ticket in the stadium."

And after coaching around 170 kids on Saturday, it's likely Koenen and the Falcons will have a few more fans in Whatcom County.

"In the game of life it's all about helping people out and football is a way to do that," Koenen said. "That's something I enjoy being able to do.

 

WGN-Ch. 9 to air Bears-Dolphins as part of Tribune Co.-NFL deal

The Chicago Bears-Miami Dolphins' prime-time game on Nov. 18 will air on Chicago's WGN-Ch. 9 as part of a National Football League deal with Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co. for over-the-air local broadcast rights to games primarily earmarked for cable's NFL Network.

Tribune Co. picked up the rights to simulcast all six of the NFL Network games this season involving teams in broadcast markets where the company's has TV stations, the company and league announced today. All told eight Tribune Co. stations will get late-season night games.

"There are some great match-ups here, with the potential to really affect who makes the playoffs," Jerry Kersting, president of Tribune Broadcasting, said in a statement. "These games will draw a lot of interest."

NFL policy allows the broadcast rights to games running on cable's ESPN and NFL Network to be awarded to free, over-the-air TV stations in the participating teams' markets. League blackout rules dictate the home market only gets to air the game so long as it is deemed a sellout no less than three days before scheduled kickoff.

When the Bears played in NFL Network games in 2007, '08 and '09, the games also could be seen in Chicago on News Corp.'s WPWR-Ch. 50. In these situations, the local station picks up the NFL Network's coverage in total, including its national ads.

NFL Network retains the national cable rights to its games, so although Chicago's Channel 9 will air the Bears-Dolphins game, it will not be carried nationally by WGN America. 

Good guys like Bills' Wilson lost in bad-actor backwash

The Pittsburgh Steelers made headlines this offseason by getting rid of Santonio Holmes and getting tough with Ben Roethlisberger, but enough already. A little less Santonio and Big Ben, please, and a little more George Wilson -- and no offense taken if you haven't heard of him

That can happen with NFL players who do the right thing, and George Wilson, safety for the Buffalo Bills, does -- which is why I would make him one of the first guys on my roster.

There is nothing, it seems, he can't or won't do. He is the wide receiver who agreed to move to safety to further his NFL career ... and did. He's the special-teams standout valued so highly he was named captain. He's the backup who stepped in to start for the injured Donte Whitner last season and produced career numbers. He's the do-gooder wrapped up in so many off-the-field endeavors he was the NFL's 2009 winner of the Walter Payton Man of the Year award and recipient of the 2008 Presidential Volunteer Service Award. And he was the choice of singer Mary J. Blige for a leading man to star opposite her in a video.

In short, George Wilson is the textbook example of good things happening to good people. So why don't we hear more about him? I mean, he was an undrafted free agent who worked hard to get where he is, while, say, former first-round draft pick Pacman Jones worked hard to play himself out of football before Cincinnati came to the rescue.

Yet let's see a show of hands from those who know who Jones is. Now let's hear from those who heard of Wilson. Someone? Anyone? See what I mean? Life is not fair, though you won't hear George Wilson complain.

"It's definitely tough to see your friends or comrades get in trouble off the field," he said. "But what's more frustrating is that that is what tends be the focus of the media as a whole. There are a lot of guys besides myself who do things in the community, all across this country, yet still the headlines tend to be about when guys get in trouble.

"You have a lot of guys out here [in the NFL] who are helping and affecting lives and changing lives, but that doesn't get brought to light. I don't do it for the recognition, but at the same time when you see that [troublemakers] are the focus week in and week out it can get to you. But it doesn't deter me. I just try to do my part and be understanding because I can't judge anybody. I could easily be in their position."

But that's my point. He never is. George Wilson understands something that, say, Jones or Roethlisberger do not. He subscribes to a moral code that was taught him by his mother and grandparents and that now serves as his daily compass. It keeps him from making the wrong move, it keeps him focused on what he believes is important and, frankly, it keeps him in the NFL.

I take you back to 2007, when then-coach Dick Jauron suggested Wilson switch from wide receiver, a position he played at the University of Arkansas, to safety, a position he hadn't tried since high school. Wilson made the move without hesitating. There was no angst. There was no bellyaching. There was simply a young man trying to do what he could to make himself a professional athlete because ... well, because that's what he was told to do.

Today, Wilson is so accomplished at the position that he started nine games last season and is the mix as a potential starter at a spot where the Bills are deep in talent.

Basically, he is a model for others to emulate, which is exactly what you want in a teammate. Where Pacman Jones has the edge in talent, George Wilson has it in character, accountability and determination, and, sorry, it's a no-brainer which one I take.

"I've been around older people ever since I was a kid," Wilson said. "I have this mentality that if you don't put yourself in a [risky] position, it won't be a problem. You have to sit back and think about the decisions you make and the consequences that come after because they could affect not only you but your team, your family and the lives you're trying to influence.

"Sometimes when you get into trouble and try to talk to people after the fact, you really don't have much merit or credibility. With me, being involved with the community and the kids, I first have to give them that example of living it and showing them how to do it as opposed to just going in there and talking about it.

"I'm blessed to be on this platform, where people young and old look up to me. But with that comes a great responsibility because people try to emulate you and use you as a mentor or influence for their kids. You have to hold yourself to a higher standard so that when you do talk, you do have credibility."

George Wilson has the credibility. He is involved in a zillion community activities, the most notable of which are his "That's Life" speaker series, where he visits schools to talk to kids about the importance of education, and the "George's Jungle" program, where he donates 20 season tickets and meal vouchers to Buffalo Public High School students. He recently founded the S.A.F.E.T.Y. (Saving Adolescents From Everyday Trials of Youth) Foundation, and in April hosted a Life Skills Camping Retreat in Nashville to teach kids the values of leadership, self-esteem and responsibility.

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. On the field he was second on the Bills in tackles and interceptions and third in special-teams stops. Now you know why he's someone I wish the NFL could clone.

"I try to be a leader to young guys when they come in [to the Bills]," he said. "That's what I had when I came in. I had guys like Troy Vincent, London Fletcher, Takeo Spikes and Lawyer Milloy, so I had great guys in the locker room to talk to me and show me how it's done on the field and off the field.

"As a player in this league, it's our duty to pass the knowledge and insight on to the next generation of players who come in. It would be very simple for me to have that information, to use it and not share it with other guys. But it's my obligation and my duty to do so."

It's my obligation and duty, then, to ask George Wilson what he would do if he were commissioner for a day. You wish more guys were like him, but they're not. Granted, the overwhelming majority of NFL players stay out of the papers, but it's a handful of miscreants who sully the league's reputation -- with so much offseason news that fans wonder if Roger Goodell's personal-conduct policy is working.

Wilson said it is, but he still has a suggestion for the commissioner.

"I'd try to have more contact with the players and be more visible," he said. "Since I've been in the NFL I think I've met Commissioner Goodell one time -- and that was probably in training camp when he first took office. I know he has a lot on his plate, but if I were commissioner, I would definitely try to be in touch with the players more so they have a better understanding of who you are and what you stand for."

I have no trouble knowing what George Wilson stands for, and it's not because of what he says. Too often we hear from guys trying to make names for themselves by outrageous behavior when we ignore the deeds of model campers like George Wilson. Yeah, I get it. I just don't like it.

"Controversy sells, and I understand it," Wilson said. "It doesn't make me mad. It makes me know that I need to continue to step up my game on the field so that I can build my reputation up the right way. But as long as my family, my friends and my teammates have a clear understanding of what I'm all about, that's all that matters to me.

"I'm not really concerned with trying to be the most popular guy in the NFL or the most recognized guy. I want to be known as someone who came to work each and every day, gave it his all every time he stepped on the field and made a difference in the lives of people I came into contact with. At the end of the day, that's all that really matters to me."

LB coach Glenn Pires says Spoon is off to good start

FLOWERY BRANCH – Caught up with Falcons linebacker coach Glenn Pires recently.

Most of the offseason attention has been on the secondary and defensive line, but the Falcons drafted a linebacker in the first round in Missouri's Sean Weatherspoon

He's been working out at both outside linebacker positions.

Traditionally, the strongside linebacker lined up over the tight end and the weakside linebacker played more in space.

But several times, Falcons coach Mike Smith has said that the positions are now interchangeable.

"The best way to describe it is that offensive formations are always changing," Pires said. "They go from weak to strong, with motion and shifting. So our outside linebackers on one play might be strong and if they get motion they might be weak. All of the things, you have to play strong and weak because the offenses are always changing formations. We are interchangeable because the offenses are now interchangeable."

Pires said that Weatherspoon is coming along well. He's had two minicamps and organized team activities.

"He's in the learning curve right now as all first round draft picks are, all of the rookies are right now," Pires said. "He's doing well in terms of learning. He's doing well with the veterans and using all of his resources to do well. He's off to a good start."

Some of you all have asked if the Falcons plan to blitz the linebackers more often.

"I think that's all a part of who we are playing against," Pires said. "There are going to be some weeks where that's going to be a big part (of the package). There are going to be some weeks when it's not going to be a big part. That's a true week-to-week thing. When we feel it's going to be to our advantage we'll do it. We're just going to see how that goes."

Here's Pires on a few other linebacker related matters:

ON ROBERT JAMES: "He's coming along well. It's his third year in our system. We are excited about getting him into the preseason games."

ON SPENCER ADKINS: "Being in the system and knowing, talking and communicating, then they play faster. Those are two guys (James and Adkins) who I think are starting to play fast."

BOTH ARE HYBRID OLBs?: "(They) can play both positions and they are good guys who can run."

ON COY WIRE: "He has a flexibility to do a lot of different things. He's a leader. He's smart and he brings all of those qualities."