We’ve heard it over and over again from head coach Mike Smith, but it’s true: When one man goes down, it’s the next man up.

The Falcons have truly embraced that philosophy this season as the injury bug hasn’t exactly kept itself away from a team that has now moved to 12-2. But every time someone has gone down, it seems like we’re talking about that next man up.

This week, it was Dominique Franks, who came in during Sunday’s 34-0 win over the Giants when backup safety Chris Hope went out with a head injury.

Yes, you read correctly. Franks came in at safety — a position he’s been cross-training at since starter William Moore went down two weeks ago with a hamstring injury. When Hope came off the field Sunday, Franks quickly stepped in and provided security at a position he hadn’t played a game in for the Falcons.

“Dominique is like our utility infielder, to use a baseball term,” head coach Mike Smith said during his press conference Monday. “He’s a guy that can play corner, nickel and safety for us, and with William Moore down (Sunday) again, he was the guy that we had trained all through the week at that safety position in some of our substitution packages in the game (Sunday).”

Franks had three tackles and a pass defensed in the game Sunday. When Hope returned to the field, Franks found himself playing cornerback and nickel in different situations, further proving his versatility.

“I think he’s a guy that can play all of them fairly well and consistent,” Smith said. “He made some plays in the ballgame (Sunday) and that gives us an opportunity to see younger guys getting snaps and we still have two games in the regular season and we will have an opportunity to play in that second season so we need as many healthy bodies as we can and have guys cross-trained.”

Of course, on top of all that, Franks also serves as the team’s punt returner. No word yet on whether he can paint the field, coach or perform orthopedic surgery.

Click here to view all the playing time percentages and snap numbers for both teams

Download the playing time percentages from Sunday’s 34-0 win over the Giants above. Here are some of the highlights:

• Defensive end John Abraham spent a lot of time on the field, playing 81 percent of the defensive snaps Sunday.
• Safety Chris Hope played 79 percent of the defensive snaps, despite missing some time with a head injury. Hope missed a few plays but returned to the game.
• Dominique Franks played 44 percent of the defensive snaps, even getting in at safety when Hope when down. He had been cross-training there for a few weeks.
• Roddy White played 74 percent of the offensive snaps, a total of 50 of the 68 offensive plays, despite being out all week at practice and coming into the game questionable. Julio Jones only played 82 percent of the snaps as the Falcons were focused on getting the running game going.
• Wide receiver Drew Davis got more involved in the offense this week with 19 offensive snaps.

Mondays at the office this year have been generally pleasant.

Not last Monday. Last Monday was the pits. It was less than 24 hours after a 30-20 loss that provided a wakeup call that Falcons didn’t want to admit they needed, but that Monday was the awakening.

Fast forward to Sunday and the Falcons sat in the locker room after beating the defending Super Bowl champions 34-0 in the Georgia Dome thinking about how one word made a difference: focus.

“Last week, we got embarrassed, humbled — whatever word you want to use,” defensive tackle Corey Peters said. “We really came to work Wednesday focused on what we needed to do and I think it showed today. … This week in particular, we had a really focused Wednesday, a great Thursday, Friday. I think this was our best overall performance of the year.”

It was exactly what the Falcons needed in order to drive the terrible taste of the Carolina loss from their mouths. If you were to draw the exact opposite of that performance, you probably would have pictured what the Falcons accomplished during three-and-a-half hours Sunday against the Giants.

Matt Ryan was crisp. The offensive line was protecting. The defense made crucial stop after crucial stop. They secondary forced turnovers. Everything about what the Falcons did Sunday against the Giants was just so right.

The key to that performance was coming in that Monday and remembering that Sunday success starts days before.

“You really have to have crisp practices at this time in the season because there’s no more bad teams. Everybody’s either playing their best football or they’re packing up to go home,” safety Chris Hope said. “When you happen to run across a team that’s playing their best ball and trying to get in the playoffs, you have to be on your p’s and q’s. You have no chance to have a bad practice, and all our coaches did a great job on making sure we played well this week.”

It was Monday when the preparations began for the world champs. The Falcons, after a win, have Mondays off. After a loss, they go right back to work, watching film and taking mental reps.

Wednesday was the first practice of the week and they could feel it then. They were focused and had one of their best practices of the year. They took that into Thursday, and then Friday, as Peters explained.

The Falcons let it build throughout the week and it came to a head on the field of the Georgia Dome on Sunday.

“It was just our approach to the game and our passion and how we wanted to play with energy. We had that today,” safety Thomas DeCoud said. “It started throughout the week and going through warmups on Sunday afternoon and getting ready for the game, we had that vibe that was with us and we were able to play well.”

The Falcons’ biggest goal in the last four games of the season is to gain momentum heading into the postseason. The division title is locked up and they’re in the drivers’ seat for a first-round bye, homefield advantage and the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

All that stuff is great, but the Falcons knew it wouldn’t help at all if they sleep-walked into the postseason. Sunday’s game went a long way toward proving to the Falcons what type of team they can be if they prepare like they did all week.

“We just want to take this momentum we got and just ride it into the playoffs,” Asante Samuel said. “That’s how you win: You take your momentum and keep going.”

The Falcons did their part with a 34-0 win over the New York Giants on Sunday, but two teams that could have helped at least guarantee the Falcons one of the top two seeds in the NFC during the postseason didn’t come through.

The Falcons needed the Packers to lose to the Bears and the 49ers to lose to the Patriots on Sunday in order to clinch the No. 1 seed. The Packers beat the Bears 21-13 at 1 p.m., putting that scenario out of reach this week.

The Falcons still had a chance to earn a first-round bye if San Francisco lost to New England, but the 49ers jumped out to a 31-3 lead in the third quarter Sunday night. The Patriots put together a remarkable comeback to tie the game, but the Niners pulled away to win 41-34.

Atlanta heads to Detroit this week for a Saturday night game against the Lions at Ford Field. A win locks up the No. 1 seed for the Falcons.

Running back Michael Turner made yet another move in the Falcons record books as he moved into sole possession of second place in career rushing yards.

Turner passed the 5,986 yards that William Andrews put up during his career to move into second place behind Gerald Riggs’ 6,631.

Click here to see the impact Turner has had on the Falcons’ record books.

Coming into Sunday’s game against the Giants needing just 3 yards for his first 1,000-yard season as a pro, it was a virtual certainty that he would reach the milestone in the Week 15 matchup.

It was the second offensive series when Jones accomplished the mark — a bubble screen that went for 4 yards in the first quarter.

Jones and Roddy White became the first wide receiving duo to reach 1,000 yards in the same year since Terance Mathis and Tony Martin in 1998.

FRIDAY
Did Not Participate
CB Prince Amukamara – Hamstring (Out)
RB Ahmad Bradshaw – Knee/Foot (Out)
S Kenny Phillips – Knee (Out)
S Tyler Sash – Hamstring (Out)

Limited Participation
WR Hakeem Nicks – Knee (Probable)
DE Jason Pierre-Paul – Back (Probable)
LB Michael Boley – Back (Questionable)

Full Participation
C David Bass – Shoulder (Probable)
TE Travis Beckum – Knee (Probable)

THURSDAY
Did Not Participate
CB Prince Amukamara – Hamstring
LB Michael Boley – Back
RB Ahmad Bradshaw – Knee/Foot
S Kenny Phillips – Knee
S Tyler Sash – Hamstring

Limited Participation
WR Hakeem Nicks – Knee
DE Jason Pierre-Paul – Back

Full Participation
C David Bass – Shoulder
TE Travis Beckum – Knee

WEDNESDAY
Did Not Participate
CB Prince Amukamara – Hamstring
LB Michael Boley – Back
RB Ahmad Bradshaw – Knee/Foot
WR Hakeem Nicks – Knee
DE Jason Pierre-Paul – Back
S Kenny Phillips – Knee
S Tyler Sash – Hamstring

Full Participation
C David Bass – Shoulder
TE Travis Beckum – Knee

The last time the Falcons were in the Georgia Dome, there was plenty of hustle and bustle to be done as the Falcons’ home field had to be turned very quickly into the host field for the SEC Championship game between Georgia and Alabama.

As soon as the clock hit all zeroes at the end of the Falcons’ 23-13 win over the Saints on Thursday, Nov. 29, Dome staff got right to work converting the field over for the SEC title game, which was played two days later.

Watch the video above for a great time lapse video from the busy few days.

Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon has taken major leaps forward in his three years since coming in as a highly-touted defensive player, and he has taken an even bigger step forward this year.

As D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote this week, Spoon received the honor of calling the defensive plays this season, and 13 games into the season, he has fully embraced the leadership role, he told Ledbetter:

“It’s cool. It takes a little bit out of you because you have to communicate so much. It’s something that I like doing. I love being able to hear coach in the huddle”

Head coach Mike Smith said that calling the defensive plays and hearing the coaches in his helmet is not something that’s given to just anyone. It’s a responsibility that has to be earned.

“Sean has definitely earned it,” Smith said. “He has definitely become the leader of our defense. By far, has the most responsibility because he’s got to get the signals in, and he’s got to get people lined up and I think he’s adjusted to it well. We missed him early in the season and I think he’s really starting to get back in stride.”

Roddy White missed his second practice in a row due to a knee injury suffered during the 30-20 loss to Carolina on Sunday, but head coach Mike Smith said after Thursday’s practice that White feels better today than he did on Wednesday.

Smith said he doesn’t expect White to do much work on the field during Friday or Saturday’s practice, but left his status for Sunday’s game against the Giants up in the air.

“We’re going to be very cautious with Roddy in terms of getting ready for the ball game,” Smith said. “He will not probably do a whole lot tomorrow or Saturday, and then we’ll get him out there on Sunday and see where he’s at.

“But it’s hard to keep Roddy White out of a football game.”

Asante Samuel spoke to the media Thursday for the first time since injuring his shoulder in a Week 11 win over Arizona and, after spending the past two games on the sideline more than on the field, Samuel said he’s feeling good.

Listed on the Piedmont Healthcare Injury Report as limited in practice Wednesday, Samuel doesn’t know if he’ll be available for this weekend’s game against the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants, but he’s trying as hard as the shoulder will allow him.

“We’ll see how it goes,” he said Thursday. “I’m working every day to get right.”

Samuel was active for Sunday’s 30-20 loss to Carolina, but head coach Mike Smith explained Monday that the intent was to only use Samuel in an emergency situation, such as another injury to a member of the secondary, in an effort to rest his shoulder as much as possible for the late season push.

For Samuel, who is the emotional leader of the secondary, being on the sidelines and not contributing in a physical way to the team effort was tough has been tough.

“First of all, you’ve got an injury and you can’t be out there to help your teammates and to help put forth the effort to win the game. Second of all, just being injured — hurting, not feeling yourself every day,” he said. “Like I said, I’m working hard to get back to as close to 100 percent as I can and be back to normal.”

With safety William Moore’s status for Sunday’s game also unclear, Samuel returning to anything that resembles full strength would be a big boost to the secondary. Younger cornerbacks Robert McClain and Chris Owens have played strong in relief as the secondary continues to shift and shake to make up for the loss of two star players.

But getting back to full strength individually means the Falcons defense can take another step closer to being back at full strength as a unit.

“We can be really good. We’ve got a lot of work to do, as you can see. In the last game, we kinda took a step back,” Samuel said. “We’re trying to get everything back together and playing hard and playing aggressive so we can have a little momentum leading into the next season.”

It’s easy to let things get a little cloudy after a loss like the one the Falcons suffered against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, but now that the fog has cleared a bit and the Falcons are fully focused on preparing for the defending Super Bowl champions, it’s important to remember just how successful the Falcons’ offense has been this season.

Against the New York Giants, the Falcons certainly need to remember, too.

Sunday’s sluggish and flat start against Carolina was uncharacteristic of the Falcons under Mike Smith, and the numbers bore out just how important it is for the Falcons — in every game — to start out strong, hot and in a scoring fashion.

Since 2008, the Falcons have posted a 40-10 record in games that see them make a mark on the scoreboard first. The Falcons also lead the league since 2008 in points scored on their first offensive possession with 217, ahead of New England (201) and New Orleans (182) — no slouches when it comes to offensive production.

This year, the Falcons are leading the league in points scored on opening possessions with 44.

The crucial down — third down — has given the Falcons some trouble in recent weeks. In fact, the Falcons have converted just five of their last 22 third-down opportunities, going back to the second half of the Nov. 25 win over Tampa Bay.

Even still, the Falcons are among the best teams on third-down conversions this year, making good on 44.6 percent, which is good enough for third in the NFL.

The Falcons are also in the top 10 in the league in first downs, earning 287 total — 58 running, 204 passing and 25 by penalty. Since 2008, the Falcons are 39-14 when recording 20-or-more first downs.

The NFL released its weekly Pro Bowl voting results and quarterback Matt Ryan and tight end Tony Gonzalez remain in excellent position as we head into the final days of fan voting.

Ryan is No. 10 in the top-10 vote-getters across the entire NFL with 477,087 votes. He’s currently the fourth QB in the NFC in votes received.

Tight end Tony Gonzalez is still the leading vote-getter at the tight end position in the NFC with 462,817 votes.

Balloting ends for fans Monday, Dec. 17 at the end of the Monday Night Football game (Jets at Titans, ESPN, 8:30 p.m.). From there, players and coaches will cast their votes for the Pro Bowl.

Click here to cast your vote for your favorite Falcons

The roster will be announced at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 26 on NFL Network’s “Total Access.”

The Pro Bowl will be played at 7 p.m. ET Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013 in Hawaii at Aloha Stadium. The game will be televised live on NBC.

The Falcons are steadily falling down the power rankings as we head into Week 15 after Sunday’s 30-20 loss. Here’s what the pundits had to say in their rankings this week:

NFL.com Power Rankings – “The Atlanta Falcons didn’t get to 11-1 by mistake, that’s for sure, but the club’s second loss — a 30-20 result in Carolina — was ugly. I sat in the Green Room at NFL Network watching the games with former Bears wideout Tom Waddle. “Why do the Falcons always mess around in their division games?” Waddle asked, with a puzzled look on his face. It’s a valid question. Atlanta is now 3-2 in the NFC South and 8-0 everywhere else. In those five divisional contests, they’ve actually been outscored, 125-124. Pretty surprising, considering the Panthers, Saints and Buccaneers are all playing sub-.500 ball. With the 49ers still a game-and-a-half back, facing road trips to New England and Seattle in the next two weeks, Atlanta should get home field. Yet, I’m sure Falcons Nation is concerned.” This Week: 3; Last Week: 2

NFL.com Week 11 Power Poll – The Falcons experience a huge drop among the panel of 13 experts here. This Week: 7; Last Week: 2

ESPN.com Power Rankings – “As Pat Yasinskas noted, the Falcons were in playoff form against the Panthers in Week 14.” This Week: 5; Last Week: 3

CBSSports.com Power Rankings – “Now the doubters will certainly come out. Despite losing to the Panthers, they still have a real shot to be the top seed.” This Week: 4; Last Week: 2

FoxSports.com Power Rankings – “The Falcons were scoreless in the first half for the first time since 2009 and that kick-started their second loss of the season, both divisional road games.” This Week: 5; Last Week: 3

Bleacher Report Power Rankings – “It’s odd that an 11-win team would be ranked No. 7 overall, but the Atlanta Falcons haven’t given much reason for optimism lately. Even when they are on the winning side of things, the games are too close for comfort. Dropping a game to the lowly Carolina Panthers doesn’t help matters. My faith in Atlanta’s postseason chances hasn’t been at an all-time high after the past few games, but when the Falcons were able to win in spite of their poor play, it was fine. Now that they have lost a game to a division rival — and a rival who talked smack all week, at that — I’m moving the Falcons down even more. Regular-season power rankings may not matter much, and I’m sure we’ll see that show up in the comments, but the Falcons definitely aren’t impressing anyone lately.” This Week: 7; Last Week: 5

Pro Football Talk: – ““The worst 11-2 team in NFL history” is still 11-2.” This Week: 4; Last Week: 3

The Falcons are still in good position to clinch a first-round bye or the NFC’s No. 1 playoff seed as they stare down the final three games of the season.

Despite the 30-20 loss to Carolina last week, Atlanta can clinch the No. 1 or a guarantee of at least the No. 2 spot by beating the Giants and then getting a little help from a couple of teams.

Here are the scenarios for this weekend:

Atlanta clinches a first-round bye:

• ATL win + GB loss or tie OR
• ATL win + SF loss OR
• ATL tie + GB loss OR

Atlanta clinches homefield advantage:

• ATL win + GB loss or tie + SF loss

Green Bay (9-4) plays at Chicago (8-5) on Sunday at 1 p.m. and San Francisco (9-3-1) is at New England (10-3) on Sunday night with an 8:20 p.m. kickoff.

The Atlanta Falcons held their third annual Community Honors dinner where they recognized the Community Quarterback and Community All-Star winners, as well as announcing the 2012 Walter Payton Man of the Year award winner.

That winner, it was announced Monday night, is punter Matt Bosher.

The Atlanta Falcons Man of the Year award recognizes a player’s off-the-field community service. Each team in the NFL nominates one player from their organization for this prestigious honor. The winner will be considered in the final selection of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award which will be announced during halftime of the Super Bowl XLVII.

“Receiving an award like this is truly humbling,” Bosher said. “I am very lucky and appreciate all the Atlanta Falcons organization has done to provide me with opportunities to give back to the community. Since my first day as an NFL player I have learned that I have the ability to make a difference.”

Along with Bosher, the other nominees were Kevin Cone, Stephen Nicholas and Sean Weatherspoon.

The event was also scheduled to be attended by past Man of the Year winners Morten Andersen, Scott Case, Buddy Curry, Brian Finneran, Michael Haynes, Mike Kenn, Ovie Mughelli and Christopher Owens.

Last year’s winner, defensive tackle Corey Peters, had the honor of announcing Bosher as the winner.

One date circled as a possible flex game was the Falcons’ Dec. 16 game against the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants in the Georgia Dome, but the NFL announced Monday that no changes would be made to the schedules for Week 14 and 15.

That means the Falcons will face the Giants at the regularly scheduled kickoff time of 1 p.m. on Dec. 16.

The next game that would be possible to be flexed into primetime or a later timeslot would be Dec. 30 against Tampa Bay, but let’s hope that game is merely a formality for a Falcons team that could very soon wrap up the NFC South title. More on that as it comes.

You’d be hard pressed to find a more focused individual on the Falcons sideline than kicker Matt Bryant.

His pregame ritual never changes, and it’s one that emphasizes ridiculous, pinpoint focus. He heads to the field about two-to-three hours before kickoff and goes through every possible kick he could face. He’ll pace it off, look down at where the ball would be, looks up at the uprights, looks back down and starts his motion before following through with a kick to the air in front of him.

Yet, through his 11 years, there are still fans that are more than willing to try to rattle the veteran kicker, who has been nothing but reliable and steely during his three seasons with the Falcons. Even Matt Bosher isn’t immune to the taunts and heckles.

The special teamers hang out on a part of the field that, in most cases, is closest to the front row of fans at away stadiums. That means they often catch an earful — and, in some cases, the taunts are pretty memorable.

While fans can’t break through his tough, focused facade on gameday, Bryant remembers some of the best heckles fondly. Away from the field, Bryant is as relaxed and easy-going as can be with a solid sense of humor to boot, so when the game clock hits double zeroes, Bryant finds some of the attempts entertaining.

“You want to be in the game, and a lot of guys wear ear plugs just so they don’t have to hear anything and when they’re on the field, it’s quiet,” Bryant said. “Some people are just, if you were just to jump over that wall and spend a few minutes with them, they’d never say another word again the rest of their life. Some places are worse than others. Some people are just worthless.”

But they make for a darn good story. Bryant compiled some of his favorites:

• “Probably the best one was in Houston. I remember, I was just warming up and running around and someone goes, ‘Hey, Bryant! Where’s the other half of you?’ I thought that was pretty good, so I turned around and acknowledged it. Kudos for you.”
• “Prior to (playing Seattle), the Chinese food delivery guy stole my golf clubs out of my garage. The whole story went viral. It was all over the place. Of all things, my golf clubs get stolen. Anyway, a guy had a sign when I came out of the tunnel (in Seattle) that said, ‘Where’s your golf clubs, little buddy?’ I was just like, ‘Are you that ignorant to take the time to write about my golf clubs on a sign?’ But, you know, whatever. Then the same guy after the game was hollering for everybody: ‘Hey, can I get your autograph?’”
• “There’s one place that I detest more than any other place, but I can’t tell you that one. But yeah, there’s one place in particular, yeah. If I could have five minutes with the whole stadium, I could do some damage.”
• “One good place, actually, was Philly of all places. A guy said, ‘I bet you 20 bucks you’re going to miss this one, Bryant!’ So I went out there and kicked the field goal. As I’m coming to the sideline, I’m like, (Bryant puts his hand up and rubs his fingers together), and he tried to give me the 20 bucks and I’m like, ‘Nah, I’m not going to take it.’ “
• “I guess the traditional one is, ‘Bryant! … Bryant! … You suck!’ “

And, hanging out with Bryant on gameday, Bosher has heard his share, too:

• “When we were at Washington, there was a guy who knew my high school, knew my college obviously and was naming classes that I was in. It was weird. He did his homework. He knew my hometown pretty good, which was pretty scary. It was hilarious, though. He was going the entire game, from start to finish.”
• “In Tampa Bay, there’s a guy who was screaming at me. I think he was screaming at Bryant and (long snapper Josh) Harris at the same time, but he was telling me the whole time, ‘You remember me from last year? You still suck!’ He was just standing there the whole time screaming that.”
• “Then there’s an Eagles guy, who actually followed me on Twitter and he gives a good shoutout to me about once a week on Twitter, telling me how much I suck, to remember the Philly game.”

Even rookie long snapper Josh Harris has heard a few this year:

• “I guess there’s really only one that sticks out more than the others just because it was a little more humorous than some of them are. Most of them are, ‘Harris, you suck!’ Just the basic stuff and you don’t really pay attention to it. But there was this one guy, I can’t remember where we were at, but he said, ‘I don’t even know your first name!’ And I remember thinking, well, if he knew the nature of my position, that’s a good thing that he doesn’t know my first name.”