Midweek Falcons Musings: Mike Smith Comments and Albert Haynesworth Speculation

The middle of victory week has come, and while everyone in Falcons nation is still flying high over Sunday's Atlanta-Falcons-Examiner~y2008m12d14-falconsbucs">win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it's time to begin to put that win in the rear-view mirror and focus on the task ahead.

Atlanta travels to Minnesota on Sunday to face one of the hottest teams in the NFC. The league's leading rusher in Adrian Peterson will be a stiff test against the Falcons defense.

While they came up big against Tampa Bay on Sunday, allowing only 99 yards rushing, they've been gashed more than their fair share by less talented players than Peterson.

How they handle Peterson will go a long way toward determining Sunday's outcome, and possibly the outcome of the season.

Coach's comments

Coach Mike Smith began his Monday press conference by recognizing the home fans in the Georgia Dome.

"It was a great game for the fans. Those five false starts were huge. It ended up being 25 yards in penalties."

The Falcons are used to a loud home-dome crowd, but the tables will be turned on them on Sunday. The Metrodome is notoriously loud, and Atlanta's offense will have to be focused on avoiding costly false starts of their own.

Smith touched on the Vikings home-field advantage, saying, "We know it will be an electric atmosphere up there. It will be similar to the atmosphere that we had here in the (Georgia) Dome this past weekend except we will be the visiting team. It will be a challenge for our offense because the Metrodome is one of the loudest venues in the country."

Much has been made of the playoff scenarios and the long list of tie-breakers with which the Falcons find themselves involved.

Smith put it succinctly, and summed up his team's playoff outlook, "I am looking through my microscope instead of my telescope this week. We can’t concern ourselves with the different scenarios...

"There is going to be 16 games played this weekend and the following weekend. I think there are going to be many things that will transpire on the football field that will affect the outcome."

Pro Bowl bid clouds Haynesworth's future

Tennessee Titans' defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth was named to the Pro Bowl on Tuesday and because of the honor he will be provided more freedom in deciding where he ends up next year.

A clause in his contract states that if the seven-year defensive tackle earned a second straight Pro Bowl invitation, the Titans would not be able to place the franchise tag on him, thus making him an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

One of the most dominant tackles in the game, Haynesworth expects to cash in big next year with a lucrative contract, and it's possible the Falcons could find themselves in the mix for the South Carolina native.

Finding a defensive tackle will be one of the expected goals for the team in the offseason, due to the lack of impact players expected to return and the aging Grady Jackson unlikely to return.

The front office has given the impression that they plan to build their team through the draft and supplement it with free agency moves. However, they made a splash this past offseason with the signing of the best running back on the market, Michael Turner.

Haynesworth is still young (27) and the mammoth 6'6" behemoth would fit in well along a line featuring fellow tackle Jonathan Babineaux and defensive end John Abraham. The three of them would get a lot of attention from blockers, freeing up Jamaal Anderson, the Falcons' 2007 first-round pick (eighth overall), to put up the kind of numbers he was expected to post when the Falcons selected him with such a high pick.

Players of the week

Three players were nominated for weekly awards this week.

• Matt Ryan is in the mix for the Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Week
• Not surprisingly, Abraham is one of five players up for the GMC Sierra Defensive Player of the Week.
• Turner, in what has become almost a weekly honor, is a finalist for the FedEx Air & Ground Players of the Week.

Voting is open through Friday morning and the winners of each award will be announced Friday evening.

Record-breaking seasons

A number of Falcons have broken or are closing in on franchise records.

• Abraham has recorded 15.5 sacks and is closing in on Joel Williams' 16, set in 1980. With three sacks in Week 15, he broke his previous season-high of 13, set as a member of the New York Jets in 2001.
• Turner's 220 yards in Week One against Detroit set the franchise single-game record. In Week 12, with four touchdowns, Turner tied the franchise mark for touchdowns in a single game. In Week 15, he entered the end zone for his 15th rushing touchdown, surpassing Jamal Anderson's 14 in 1998. At his current pace, he'll end the season with 1,624 yards, which places him third on the Falcons' all-time list. Even at his current mark, he's fifth on that list.
• Kicker Jason Elam has recorded 116 total points and is closing in on Jay Feely's record of 138. With two games remaining it's unlikely, however, that he'll eclipse Feely's mark. He's on pace for 133 points, five shy of the record, but one better than his personal best set in 1995. Elam will gladly fail to make either mark if it means trading field goals for point-after attempts. Everyone would agree, six points are better than three. 
• In October, Ryan became the first player in Falcons history to earn the conference Rookie of the Month award. After completing his first pass in the NFL for a touchdown to receiver Michael Jenkins, he became the first quarterback in franchise history to accomplish that feat. Additionally, with two games to go in the regular season, the rookie quarterback has totaled nine interceptions. Prior to this season only three rookie quarterbacks have started all 16 games of their rookie season, yet none of them threw less than 15 interceptions. Ryan looks to become the first.

Falcons moves and news

• On Tuesday Atlanta placed cornerback David Irons and wide receiver Laurent Robinsonon injured reserve. Irons has been a contributor on special teams all season. His absence hurts the team's already thin depth on special teams and at the corner back position. Robinson hasn't played since Week Three and finishes the season with five receptions for 52 yards.
• To fill these two spots on the 53-man roster, the Falcons promoted safety Eric Brock from the practice squad and signed free-agent tight end Marcus Pollard.
• Cornerback Darius Vinnett and offensive lineman Michael Butterworth were signed to the practice squad.
• Roddy White and Turner were named to the NFC Pro Bowl on Tuesday. Both are making their first appearances.
• Linebacker Keith Brooking is a finalist for the Home Depot NFL Neighborhood MVP. One of eight players nominated, the award recognizes players for their contributions in their local communities.
• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that Matt Ryan and John Abraham are first alternates for the NFC Pro Bowl squad. If a player at their position elects not to participate or is injured, they will be added to the roster.
  

This article originally appeared on the Atlanta Falcons Examiner page. To view, go here.