1st & Goal: Atlanta Falcons Edition

Welcome to "1st and Goal", which is a quick hits edition of the latest happenings at Flowery Branch, training site of the Atlanta Falcons!

1st—Throughout this week at OTAs, there was a notable player missing: Defensive End John Abraham.  Abraham, who recorded only 5.5 sacks last season, down from 16, has yet to report to OTAs. 

Although Falcons' officials have been made known of his absence, and for them, poses an important question:  Should he be there?  Even though the 11-year veteran has a solid understanding of the Falcons' defensive schemes, I'm always of the belief that if you are the team leader on that side of the ball, it sends a message to the others that being there with the rest of the team is secondary, voluntary or not.

Due to the return of players on the defensive end such as DT Peria Jerry, Abraham is poised to have a bounce back year.  The repetitions they put in now will go a long way towards producing results in the fall.

2nd—TE Tony Gonzalez has been praising the growth of the Atlanta Falcons' offense in training camp.  He likens it to his days as a Kansas City Chief when he played with All-Pro RB Priest Holmes and QB Trent Green.

He states the development of third-year QB Matt Ryan as the reason why.  In a recent interview with atlantafalcons.com he stated, "It's up to him and us around him to make sure that that learning curve is accelerated. He has all the talent in the world. Mentally it's a no-brainer for him. It's just getting that comfort zone and getting that experience and confidence. All that stuff plays a big part of it. That takes time. That's why they say the third year is the year that it all comes together for you at least it's supposed to. I've got big plans for Matt this year and I think he's going to have a great year."

Gonzalez is expecting big things out of the offense this year, and should they remain healthy, will be in the thick of the competitive NFC title hunt.

3rd—One important cog in the offense will be the return of WR/PR Harry Douglas.  Douglas, who missed all of 2009 with a knee injury, was a threat as a slot receiver and on special teams.  He possesses the type of burst not seen in Atlanta since the days of Tim Dwight, and was a matchup problem when he got into the open field. 

If he can show the same type of speed he did prior to last season, an already improved offense becomes even more dangerous.  If that happens, I will have to do a mea culpa on the whole "T.O. to Atlanta" deal.

4th - Speaking of which, a recent poll in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution stated that the majority of the Atlanta faithful has said a resounding NO to Terrell Owens gracing the Georgia Dome sidelines. 

Here is the poll according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Should the Falcons sign Terell Owens?

• No, he’s too much of a diva. (32%, 877 Votes)

• No, he’ll poison Matt Ryan’s young career. (25%, 691 Votes)

• Yes, the receiver corps is thin after Roddy White. (24%, 659 Votes)

• Yes, you can never have too many good football players. (19%, 490 Votes)

So there you have it, perhaps that mea culpa will come faster than I thought!