With four weeks left in the season, the Falcons (10-2) can become the first NFL team to clinch a playoff spot this weekend with a little bit of help from two of three teams below Atlanta in the standings. Atlanta can punch a ticket to the postseason in Bank(rupt) of America Stadium in Charlotte with a win over the lowly Carolina Panthers and losses by any of the following combination of teams:
The New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles; OR
The Giants and the Green Bay Packers; OR
The Eagles and the Packers
Atlanta also gets in with a tie, a New York, Philadelphia and Green Bay loss and a Tampa Bay Buccaneers loss or tie. However, the odds of that happening are about the same me meeting Tom Brady’s supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen, sweeping her off her feet with some snarky remark about her New England Patriots’ star QB husband’s receding hair line where she leaves Brady, takes a vow of poverty and moves in with me while pledging her allegiance to the New York Jets.
Anything can happen, but the Atlanta win and one of the other three two-team lose scenarios is much, much more likely.
A pair of Birds in line for Pro Bowl: The NFL released its most recent results for fan balloting for the 2010 Pro Bowl. Two Falcons appear to be on the cusp of getting voted into the game, which will return to Hawaii in the bye week between each conference’s championship games and the Super Bowl.
While those in Falcons nation hope that no Atlanta player appears at the Pro Bowl and is packing their bags for Dallas instead, WR Roddy White and TE Tony Gonzalez are at the lead in their respective positions.
White has notched 346,225 votes at wideout, while Gonzalez has 273,821 at tight end for Atlanta. Former Falcons signal caller Michael Vick leads the balloting for the Jan. 30, 2011 game with 729,838 votes. Balloting concludes on Dec. 20 and the team will be announced on Dec. 28.
A whole lot of “maintaining” going on: As the season winds down, Falcons coach Mike Smith continues to rest players on the first day back to practice. Wednesday was no exception.
Gonzalez (ankle), joined White (knee), DE John Abraham (groin), RB Jason Snelling (hamstring) and LB Coy Wire (head) and Curtis Lofton (knee) on the sideline for practice, while four others were limited, including RB Antone Smith (hamstring), who returned to practice for the first time in a few weeks.
Smith doesn’t think the injury to Gonzalez is serious.
“I think we’re going to be in pretty good shape,” he said during his Monday afternoon press conference. “Tony could have gone back in the ballgame if needed be. Fortunately, we were in a four-minute situation where we were only going to be running the football when we had an opportunity for the offense to go back on the field we felt it was in our best interest to hold him out in those situations.”
Weems wins award: What do you get when you take a football a franchise-record 102 yards for a crucial score? A nod by the league, that’s what.
Atlanta KR Eric Weems was honored with the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week award for his performance. Weems, who is second in the NFL with a 28.1 yard-per-kickoff return average, returned four returns for 161 yards in Atlanta’s 28-24 win over the Tampa Bay. It was the first award for Weems, who became just the fifth Falcons returner to receive the honor and the first player since Harry Douglas did it in Week 12 of the 2008 season.
The Eagles and the Packers
Atlanta also gets in with a tie, a New York, Philadelphia and Green Bay loss and a Tampa Bay Buccaneers loss or tie. However, the odds of that happening are about the same me meeting Tom Brady’s supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen, sweeping her off her feet with some snarky remark about her New England Patriots’ star QB husband’s receding hair line where she leaves Brady, takes a vow of poverty and moves in with me while pledging her allegiance to the New York Jets.
Anything can happen, but the Atlanta win and one of the other three two-team lose scenarios is much, much more likely.
A pair of Birds in line for Pro Bowl: The NFL released its most recent results for fan balloting for the 2010 Pro Bowl. Two Falcons appear to be on the cusp of getting voted into the game, which will return to Hawaii in the bye week between each conference’s championship games and the Super Bowl.
While those in Falcons nation hope that no Atlanta player appears at the Pro Bowl and is packing their bags for Dallas instead, WR Roddy White and TE Tony Gonzalez are at the lead in their respective positions.
White has notched 346,225 votes at wideout, while Gonzalez has 273,821 at tight end for Atlanta. Former Falcons signal caller Michael Vick leads the balloting for the Jan. 30, 2011 game with 729,838 votes. Balloting concludes on Dec. 20 and the team will be announced on Dec. 28.
A whole lot of “maintaining” going on: As the season winds down, Falcons coach Mike Smith continues to rest players on the first day back to practice. Wednesday was no exception.
Gonzalez (ankle), joined White (knee), DE John Abraham (groin), RB Jason Snelling (hamstring) and LB Coy Wire (head) and Curtis Lofton (knee) on the sideline for practice, while four others were limited, including RB Antone Smith (hamstring), who returned to practice for the first time in a few weeks.
Smith doesn’t think the injury to Gonzalez is serious.
“I think we’re going to be in pretty good shape,” he said during his Monday afternoon press conference. “Tony could have gone back in the ballgame if needed be. Fortunately, we were in a four-minute situation where we were only going to be running the football when we had an opportunity for the offense to go back on the field we felt it was in our best interest to hold him out in those situations.”
Weems wins award: What do you get when you take a football a franchise-record 102 yards for a crucial score? A nod by the league, that’s what.
Atlanta KR Eric Weems was honored with the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week award for his performance. Weems, who is second in the NFL with a 28.1 yard-per-kickoff return average, returned four returns for 161 yards in Atlanta’s 28-24 win over the Tampa Bay. It was the first award for Weems, who became just the fifth Falcons returner to receive the honor and the first player since Harry Douglas did it in Week 12 of the 2008 season.
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