NFL News

Somehow one week turned into two...At any rate I'm back. First off I wanted to share some NFL news with everyone.

Verron Returns
After Willie Parker went down, the Steelers needed another back to add to their roster. They called on a familiar face in Verron Haynes. I don't think Verron was active in yesterday's game, but he's listed as the third string tailback on the depth chart. Look for Verron getting some playing time on third downs in the playoffs.

Musa's Big Day
With Willis McGahee sidelined with broken ribs, Musa Smith took advantage of his first NFL start rushing for 83 yards and one touchdown in the Ravens win over Pittsburgh. Way to go Musa!

Perfect Pats
Congrats to the New England Patriots, but especially Richard Seymour and Ben Watson, on their perfect season. Coincidence that both the 1972 Dolphins (Jake Scott, Bill Stanfill) and this years Pats had multiple Bulldogs? I think not.

Petrino Quits, Heads to Arkansas

Bobby Petrino called it quits today, resigning from the Atlanta Falcons. Apparently, he's close to a deal to replace Houston Nutt as the head coach of Arkansas.

Petrino will feel right at home in the SEC West with Nick Saban. Both coaches bailed on their NFL team after stating they were not interested in returning to college. Personally, I think Petrino is even worse than Saban. Maybe that is just the Falcons fan in me talking, but at least Saban didn't quit mid-season.

So now the Falcons need to hire the 4th coach of the Arthur Blank era. I'm sure defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer will get a shot, but I'm hoping for Bill Cowher. He's a good coach, a Super Bowl winner, and he loves drafting Georgia Bulldogs.

In other Falcons news, they have now launched FalconsLife. It's an online community for Falcons fans that is somewhat similar to a MySpace or Facebook. Also, UGA Grad and Falcons video coordinator Matt Moore has one of the featured blogs on there, so be sure to check it out.

ProDawg of the Week

Statistically speaking, this should go to Ben Watson. He had six catches for 107 yards and two touchdowns in the Patriots win over the Cleveland Browns this week. However, then Deaner and I have discussed, and we've decided to go with Mack Strong as the ProDawg of the week.

Strong retired this week when he was told his spinal cord is being pinched by a herniated disk in his neck.

Strong woke up Sunday in Pittsburgh feeling tingling in his left arm. He thought it was from a crick in his neck. He then left the loss to the Steelers in the first quarter after feeling burning sensations down his arms and legs to his feet following a routine block. Strong knew it was far more serious than what the Seahawks announced: a stinger, a nerve sensation from the neck that he's had more times than he cares to count in 15 years as a battering ram for Seattle's running backs and quarterbacks.

Strong leaves the NFL having played in 14 seasons. Over his NFL career, Strong amassed 909 yards rushing on 230 carries with 5 touchdowns. He also caught 218 passes for 1456 yards and 10 more touchdowns. Strong also played in the 2005 Super Bowl, and was named to two Pro Bowls (2005 and 2006). Not bad for an undrafted free agent fullback out of the University of Georgia.

ProDawg of the Week

I almost had to call this post ProDawg of the Weak. Reggie Brown continued his ineffectiveness despite his team putting up 56 points. Hines got injured and went catchless. Champ did have 8 tackles but when does a team want their corner to have to tackle that much? And Leonard Pope backed up my previous statements by not even getting targeted in Week 3.

One bright spot was Martrez Milner's first career reception for the Falcons followed by a UGA shout out by Tony Boselli (credit Jim). By the way, Boselli has been in the booth for all the Falcons games so far and I think he is a quality color guy. He was even pretty good at being impartial during the Jags game even though he still lives there and is in their "Circle of Honor" or whatever.

So, this week's ProDawg of the week? Jermaine Phillips! The former DonnanDawg wideout had 7 tackles, 1 Pass Defensed and his first Interception of the year en route to shutting down a struggling St. Louis offense. The Roswell native has really made himself into a very solid pro on a rejuvenated Tampa Bay team. Growing up nearby I remember seeing Jermaine play basketball...dude is a freak! I always wished he had given hoops a more serious run in college. Phillips overcame injuries and a position change in school and has carved out quite an impressive 6 year career, especially when you remember that he was a 5th round choice.

ProDawg of the Week

Sorry for the delay. I was busy getting trounced by The Blawger in Fantasy Football...sad. Ben Watson, who had a great week again, helped Jim's cause...ugh.

Anyway, this week's ProDawg of the week goes to Pope Leonard the First mainly because I don't want to miss the opportunity to give it to him! The pious one had a 30 yard teeder for the first Touchdown of his young, and slightly disappointing, career. I remember seeing him for the first time and immediately pointing him out to The Blawger. I mean, dude looks like a cartoon character he's so tall.

Let's hope that his big catch and the ProDawg trophy jumpstart Pope's productivity. Should we be Tight End U instead of Tailback U?

ProDawg of the Week

With all the negativity around the loss this weekend I thought I would introduce a new feature on The Blawg. Each week we'll look at former UGA players' performances in the League and choose one as our ProDawg of the Week and eventually a ProDawg of the Year!

This week there were plenty of choices! Champ is always an option of course (5 solo tackles), Hines had a Teeder in a blowout of Cleveland, and Robert Geathers had a sweet runback of a (questionable) INT to really change the game for the Bengals.

HOWever, the very first ProDawg award goes to.... Mister Benjamin Watson! I know I know, Wes Welker will take away a lot of Watson's check down yardage but Watson had a TD and he played a key role in an NFL record 108-yd kickoff return. If you didn't see it (and I'm sure the NFL won't let the video online anywhere for long) Watson laid the block that really sprung Ellis Hobbs for the record breaking return.

Anyone disagree? Post a Comment, we love reading them!

Paul Oliver Drafted

Paul Oliver is heading to San Diego. The Chargers picked him in the fourth round of today's NFL Supplemental Draft. I'm sure he would have liked to go higher, but he couldn't have ended up in a much better situation. He gets to play for a really, really good team in a warm weather city. He also gets to play on the same defense as Shawne Merriman.

John Kincade of 680 The Fan in Atlanta was all over the Falcons today for not trying to get either Oliver or Jared Gaither, the only other player selected. His argument was that the Falcons 4th or 5th round picks next year will not be better than either player selected today. That could be true, but you never really know with the NFL draft. There is always the chance of getting another Terrell Davis or Tom Brady. On top of that, the Falcons just took Chris Houston in this year's draft, so I'm not sure that Oliver would have really made sense for them. I think Kincade is just trying to stir the pot with the Georgia fans. Everyone knows us Georgia fans wish the Falcons would take more Dawgs.

More on the Falcons

I promise this isn't turning into a Falcons blog. But with the drafting of Martrez Milner, and the signing of Tony Taylor and Gordon Ely-Kelso, I feel ok talking about the dirty birds these days.

AtlantaFalcons.com has a breakdown of their day two draft picks including Martrez.

The Falcons have also announced all of their undrafted free agents. I was surprised to see Justin Vincent on that list. You know, when he was torching us for 200+ yards back in the 2003 SEC Championship game, I couldn't help but think to myself, "Man, he would be a great pick up as an undrafted free agent for the Falcons four years from now." Er, maybe that's not what I was thinking after all...

Bulldog Free Agent Signings

According to the AJC, several Dawgs have signed free agent contracts. Here is the list so far:

Tra Battle - San Diego Chargers
Gordon Ely-Kelso - Atlanta Falcons
Jarvis Jackson - Tennessee Titans
Nick Jones - Seattle Seahawks
Tony Taylor - Atlanta Falcons
Danny Verdun-Wheeler - Chicago Bears
Danny Ware - Tennessee Titans

Daniel Inman has not signed a free agent contract, but he will be participating in a minicamp this weekend with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Charles Grant Gets Paid

Wow. Way to go C-Grant!

Charles Grant agreed to a seven-year contract extension Thursday worth up to $63 million with New Orleans, ending a simmering dispute over the Saints putting the franchise tag on the starting defensive end.

Calvin Johnson Admits to Marijuana Use

Let the photoshopping begin. Reportedly, Calvin Johnson admitted to using marijuana during an interview at the combine. I would love for this to affect his draft status such that the Falcons could get him with the eight pick in the draft. Unfortunately for the Falcons, I tend to agree with Chan Gailey. From the article...

"I doubt it will have any effect whatsoever," said Gailey, a former Dallas Cowboys head coach with 16 years of experience in professional football. "I think he's a great young man who probably did it one time to see what it was like and told the truth [when asked about it]. I don't think it's an issue with him."

If this indeed does not affect his draft status, the Falcons better not trade up for him. I think he's going to be a great NFL receiver, not good...great. However, the Falcons need bodies right now. They can't afford to trade away draft picks to get Johnson.