If you were looking for more clarity in the first post-Combine Mock Monitor, I apologize for being the bearer of bad news. Not only is there less clarity than the week before the Combine, there are plenty of brand new names to introduce you to — and even the prospect of a trade out of the No. 30 spot. More on that in a bit.

The first week of the Mock Monitor saw Notre Dame TE Tyler Eifert and Stanford TE Zach Ertz tie for the majority pick, and in the fifth week, we’re right back where we started. As mocks started to shift their picks around after the Combine, the numbers for Eifert — who held the majority pick for three straight weeks — waned.

Click here to view the Mock Monitor

Add in the moves last week to release Michael Turner, John Abraham and Dunta Robinson and things really get crazy. About the only consensus you could really find from the mocks this week is that the Falcons need defensive end help. The mocks project four defensive end possibilities for the Falcons in SMU’s Margus Hunt, Texas’ Alex Okafor, Texas A&M’s Damontre Moore and, Mock Monitor newcomer, UCLA’s Datone Jones, who had a fantastic Combine.

We add two brand new positions to the Mock Monitor, as well, with safety and wide receiver now represented.

And in a Mock Monitor first, we have a trade projection.

This is one of the reasons I don’t do a mock draft myself. Who can really tell what’s going to happen in the bottom 17? It’s hard enough to project where even the top 15 picks will go, and projecting a trade in the bottom of the first round just seems like throwing darts.

However, if you check out a piece we’ll have coming later this week about the No. 30 position in the first round, you’ll see that trading the slot away is actually a common occurrence. FoxSports.com’s Pete Schrager has the Falcons trading the No. 30 pick to the NY Jets, who then select QB EJ Manuel with it.

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The Falcons started the weekend by announcing some tough decisions, that the team would be parting ways with veterans Michael Turner, John Abraham and Dunta Robinson.

Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff joined the media on the phone Friday afternoon to discuss the moves, which he called difficult decisions yet thoughtful ones.

“I want to begin by saying, obviously, these are never easy decisions to make and a lot of thought goes into these types of decisions,” Dimitroff said. “These three men have meant a great deal to the success of this organization over the last few years, since we’ve been here in 2008. I want to personally thank John, Dunta and Michael for all their contributions.”

The moves didn’t come without a plan behind it, and Dimitroff was understandably tight-lipped about the details of it Friday afternoon.

Dimitroff said there are a number of positions he and his staff want to hone in on, either through free agency or the draft, but said there are still a lot of moving parts. He said, however, that this move doesn’t take much of Tony Gonzalez’s looming decision on retirement into consideration. Instead, Dimitroff said it was a business decision that will allow the team to take a clear look at the direction of the organization with the focus being on retaining what the team already has.

“Given these three moves, again, our focus has always been that we hone in on our players that are currently on our team and our attempt to try to re-sign our football players,” Dimitroff said. “That’s going to be our focus first and foremost.”

The Falcons were supposed to struggle with the run and stopping it, but if that’s the way it was pre-written, no one told them.

With less than five minutes left in the second quarter, the Falcons had already racked up 133 rushing yards, with Michael Turner running effectively and Jacquizz Rodgers providing ridiculous 45-yard runs to get the offense going.

Meanwhile, Seattle has been held to just 41 rushing yards, with star running back Marshawn Lynch sitting at just 25 yards on six carries.

Josh Rand grew up in Iowa, but has been a Falcons fan his whole life. Hailing from the same hometown — Des Moines — as Falcons legend Steve Bartkowski, Rand just found the Falcons to be a natural fit, despite being in a territory dominated by Bears, Packers and Vikings fans.

Now one of the guitarists of chart-topping hard rock band Stone Sour, Rand is showing plenty of Falcons pride as the team gets set to kickoff its divisional round playoff game against Seattle at the Georgia Dome on Sunday. A custom guitar he had made finally arrived and he sent some pics along.

One of Rand’s friends, who chooses to remain nameless and has made custom guitars for him before, made the Falcons guitar pictured above and below. Rand will use it as Stone Sour continues to tour in support of their most recent album “House of Gold & Bones Part 1,” which was released in October 2012.

Rand also sent along who he thinks will be the players of the game, picking Michael Turner on offense and William Moore on defense.

“This was hard but I’m going with Turner because I feel his time has come. If he runs for 80 to 100 yards, I feel we are unbeatable,” Rand said. “They say we can’t play physical and I say they have not watched (Moore) play. ‘Wow.’ That’s all I’ll say if him (Seattle running back Marshawn) Lynch collided head-on at full speed.”

Rand said he picks the Falcons to top the Seahawks 28-17.

Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has gained a reputation around the NFL as one of the toughest interior defensive linemen around. Right or wrong, he’s also gained a different one, too.

But the Falcons aren’t worried about the second one. Instead, they’re looking at figuring out how to stop one of the league’s top defenders in a game that holds so much importance to the Falcons’ postseason path.

“Talented player. Really talented player,” Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said of Suh. “He’s got great size, great strength, but he’s quick off the ball. Really good pass rusher. One of the best pass rushers for an interior guy in the league and a guy who plays to the whistle and relentless. He’s certainly someone you have to account for.”

The Falcons are expecting a physical matchup with the Lions, and Suh, especially. The Falcons offensive line did a tremendous job in a 34-0 win over the Giants keeping Matt Ryan clean against perhaps the toughest, most effective defensive line in the league.

In stopping Suh, the unit will need a similar performance.

“You face guys every week that are tremendous athletes, tremendous players and he’s one of them,” Falcons center Todd McClure said. “We’re going to have to be on our A-game and know where he’s at at all times.”

Suh has 30 tackles and 6.5 sacks this season to go along with the 14 career sacks he had coming into 2012. Known for penetrating the offensive backfield and disrupting plays before they get going, Suh can do a lot of things that can give the Falcons fits on Saturday as they try to keep the offensive momentum they built against the Giants.

Regardless of how Suh goes about that, the Falcons acknowledge they’ll have to keep their cool and stay poised no matter what situation presents itself in the trenches as they respect the type of game he brings to the field every week.

“No, he’s not a dirty player. He plays hard,” running back Michael Turner said, describing Suh as “tenacious” when asked to sum him up in a word. “He gets a bad rep for some things, but he’s just giving a great effort out there. You wish more guys would play like that in this league.”

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.

Head coach Mike Smith says it all the time, win or lose: If you win, you’ve got 24 hours to celebrate. If you lose, you’ve got 24 hours to be down about it.

The Falcons are definitely taking that philosophy to heart Monday as 24 hours since Sunday’s 30-20 loss to Carolina is up. It’s already time to move on.

And the Falcons are moving on to even more challenging territory as the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants come to the Georgia Dome on Sunday — a chance for the Falcons to not only rebound after a tough loss, but also a chance to see where they’re at this late in the season.

“You want to put your skills to the test against the best in the world, and obviously, Sunday’s going to be an opportunity for that,” right tackle Tyson Clabo said Monday. “As a competitor, that’s your goal, so I think that, if I know the guys in the locker room, we’ll respond and we’ll respond well and come out and play well.”

After Sunday’s loss that saw the Falcons run just 13 plays in the first half for 35 yards while going into halftime down 16-0 to a team that came into the game 3-9, the Falcons were more than happy to move on after watching film Monday.

Figuring out when to move on is something that Smith has built in to each game week. Figuring out how to move on doesn’t change regardless of the outcome.

“Even after a win, you just gotta move on,” running back Michael Turner said. “Don’t look at the past. Just keep moving forward and keep your eyes on what we’re really trying to accomplish here.”

And what the Falcons are trying to accomplish can’t be done without getting back to their winning ways — and quick. With the Giants coming off a 52-27 win over New Orleans, the Falcons will need to be at the top of their game against a New York team that looks once again to be hitting its stride in the last month of the season.

The Falcons are aware of this Giants team as it’s almost identical to the one that handed the Falcons a 24-2 loss in the playoffs in January.

That loss, however, isn’t on the Falcons’ minds as they head into preparations for Sunday’s game. After the loss to the Panthers and the issues that it brought up, the Falcons are focused on a simpler plan as Sunday’s game against the Giants won’t be about revenge and will instead be about getting some momentum going.

“I don’t begrudge or have this deep desire to ‘get ‘em back’ or anything like that,” Clabo said. “I just want to play well in the Dome and get a win, and as a professional, I think that’s what we all strive for.”

Click here to download the PDF of all playing time percentages for both teams

Some notes from the playing time percentages from Sunday:

• RB Jacquizz Rodgers was on the field for 30 offensive snaps, which came out to 46 percent of the total offensive snaps taken. Turner took 20 snaps for 31 percent. Jason Snelling had 15 snaps for 23 percent and Antone Smith had one for two percent.
• Cornerback Robert McClain played 67 of the 69 defensive snaps for 97 percent playing time. He also played 11 snaps on special teams. With Asante Samuel not getting any snaps despite being active, CB Chris Owens played 37 snaps for 54 percent.
• In relief of William Moore, who was inactive Sunday, Chris Hope played all 69 defensive snaps and 13 special teams snaps.
• DT Corey Peters played 60 snaps Sunday, which was 87 percent of the defensive snaps. DT Peria Jerry, in his return from a thigh injury that kept him out two games, played just 28 snaps for 41 percent.
• Middle linebacker Akeem Dent, whose snaps fluctuate week-to-week depending on if the Falcons spend more time in base or nickel, played 32 snaps for 46 percent of the defense.
• DT Jonathan Babineaux left the game in the first half due to a rib injury but ended up returning to the game in the third quarter. Usually the leader of the DTs in playing time percentage, Babs played just 28 snaps for 41 percent.

This time of year, running back Michael Turner usually doesn’t have a whole lot to talk about when it comes to his alma mater. Instead of voicing his confidence in his own team, he listens to the Alabama or LSU alums around his locker discuss their teams.

This year is much different, with his alma mater of Northern Illinois receiving an Orange Bowl berth Sunday night, and Turner took every opportunity to let his voice be heard in the locker room after Tuesday’s practice.

“I can’t put it into words, man. It’s unbelievable that my school is in the Orange Bowl,” said Turner with his trademark smile. “I just wish them luck, and I get to talk trash for the next month in the locker room.”

From there, Turner’s excitement grew as rookie practice squad linebacker and fellow NIU alum Pat Schiller came over and handed Turner an orange. Turner said he was looking for Antone Smith — a Florida State product (NIU will face the Seminoles in the Orange Bowl) — but instead threw the orange at the locker of Chris Hope, yet another Florida State alum.

Donning an NIU visor, once again provided by Schiller, the pride on Turner’s face was apparent. Schiller, one year removed from the NIU football program, was also overwhelmed with excitement, especially since he knows all the players on that roster.

“I was on the phone with all the guys, just telling them that they can win this game, but they’ve gotta bring it,” Schiller said. “I was talking with the coaches. I really keep in touch with all the staff and management. I was on the phone with all of those guys, even during the game when they played the MAC championship.”

The Huskies’ appearance in the Orange Bowl marks the second time since 2010 that the BCS will feature a team from a non-automatically qualifying league. TCU beat Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl that year.

NIU is coming off its most successful season in school history. The Huskies beat Kent State 44-37 in double overtime last week, which earned the school its second MAC championship in a row.

Needless to say, it’s a huge year for the Huskies — both current and past.

The magnitude of it means that Schiller and Turner will try to make it to the Jan. 2 game in Miami, if their schedule with the Falcons permits it. Both know that their priorities in Atlanta come first, but with the Falcons on track to earn a first-round bye in the NFC playoffs, the two former Huskies might have the extra time to catch the biggest game in their school’s history.

If not, they’ll settle in somewhere in Atlanta and make a big deal out of it.

“Party at Mike’s,” Schiller said. “Everybody’s invited.”

It took just less than four minutes Thursday night, but Michael Turner became the Falcons’ all-time leading touchdown scorer with a 3-yard run up right guard against the Saints.

Turner came into the game tied with WR Terance Mathis for the team record at 57 total touchdowns. The record now stands with Turner alone at 58 (57 rushing, one receiving).

Turner now holds nine Falcons records by himself or tied with another player.

Running back Michael Turner burst into the end zone on Sunday against Tampa Bay in the second half and, in turn, burst to the top of yet another record in the annals of Falcons history.

His touchdown Sunday marked the 57th of his career with the Falcons — significant because it’s tied for the most touchdowns ever with the franchise with wide receiver Terance Mathis. It’s a virtual certainty that the record will fall completely into Turner’s possession by the end of the season, if not by the end of the week, putting yet another stamp on an impressive five-year career in Atlanta.

Whenever Turner’s career ends in Atlanta, he’ll leave with his name above the all-time great running backs in franchise history. William Andrews, Gerald Riggs, Jamal Anderson and Warrick Dunn have all had team records fall to Turner.

It’s not something he’s thought a lot about, but he knows one day he’ll be able to take it all in.

“I never thought I’d be up there,” Turner said Tuesday. “I just kept working every year, just trying to get better and just do my job.”

And his job translated into etching his name into the record books.

Turner holds eight distinguished records in those books by himself or with another player, and it looks soon to be nine.

Turner has the following records:

• Most rushing yards in a game: 220 vs. Detroit on 9/7/08
• Most career rushing touchdowns: 56 (Riggs is second with 48)
• Most career 100-yard games: 27 (Riggs is second with 25)
• Most points scored in a game: 24 (tied with TJ Duckett; Turner’s 24 points came against Carolina on 11/23/08)
• Most touchdowns in a season: 17 (Anderson is second with 16)
• Most rushing touchdowns in a game: 4 (tied with Duckett; Turner’s four TDs came against Carolina on 11/23/08)
• Most touchdowns in a game: 4 (same as rushing touchdowns in a game mark)
• Most consecutive games with a touchdown: 7 (2009)

“It’s unbelievable,” said center Todd McClure, who has blocked for Turner, Anderson, Dunn and Duckett. “It just shows the type of work ethic he has and determination. When we get down there and get it close, he’s going to get it in. It’s just unbelievable, and I’m glad to be a part of it.”

Aside from the records, Turner has been an integral part of the movement of the offense in the past five seasons.

Coming in during quarterback Matt Ryan’s rookie season, Turner dominated in the run game with 1,699 yards that year (good enough for third all-time behind Anderson and Riggs) and his record-setting 17 touchdowns.

The pressure that took off the young quarterback can’t be overstated.

“Mike’s been huge in my career,” Ryan said. “He’s been a staple of our organization for the last five years. Especially early on in my career, having that running game, knowing that you can turn around and hand the ball to him and he’s going dominate games, that’s been huge. He’s a great teammate; very unselfish, and a guy that brings great energy to the locker room every day.”

In total, on top of the soon-to-be nine records, Turner is on the list for:

• Most yards gained in a career (fourth behind Riggs, Andrews and Dunn)
• Most yards gained in a season (third behind Anderson and Riggs)
• Most 1,000-yard seasons (tied for second with Dunn and Riggs)
• Most yards gained in a game (he holds the top two spots in this category)
• Most rushing attempts (fifth behind Riggs, Dunn, Anderson and Andrews)
• Most rushing attempts in a season (third behind Anderson and Riggs)
• Most 100-yard games in a season (third behind Anderson and Riggs)
• Highest average gain in a career with a minimum of 750 carries (second behind Andrews)
• Highest average gain in a season with a minimum of 150 carries (second behind Dunn)

With the record he’s most proud of looking to be on the edge of shattering, Turner is more tuned in to how the team is performing, but the importance of this one record and what he’s meant to Falcons history in his five seasons so far is something that he will carry with him.

“It’s going to be a great feeling,” Turner said about possibly becoming the Falcons’ all-time touchdown leader. “I just can’t think about it too much. I’ll just go out there and keep doing what I’ve been doing every week and when it happens, I’ll look back on it later.”

Running back Michael Turner had a big run in the fourth quarter that gave the Falcons a 24-23 lead over Tampa Bay, but it was even bigger for the record books.

The touchdown moved Turner into a tie with Terance Mathis most touchdowns scored in franchise history. Turner and Mathis each have 57 touchdowns for their career.

Coming into the game, Turner was tied with Andre Rison at 56.

The situation was so close to identical, it was eerie.

Facing a game-winning situation from the 1-yard line, the Falcons lined up Sunday just the way they had a week before with the game on the line. The play call was the same — Michael Turner up left guard.

Last week, it was stuffed. On Sunday: redemption

Turner found the end zone on the 1-yard run that had confounded the Falcons just seven days earlier, and it was enough to be the game-deciding score.

“I was pretty pumped, man,” said center Todd McClure, who showed his excitement after Turner’s score on the run. “The situations that happened last week and little do you know, it comes right back up. (First)-and-goal, game on the line and we got it done.

“It was a rough week for everybody (after the loss to the Saints) and there’s definitely a little added pressure there. The first third-and-short we didn’t get, but I don’t know if you want to use the word ‘redemption,’ but we got it done (Sunday) and we know we’ll have to get it done the rest of the season.”

As McClure said, the third-and-short problems continued in Sunday’s game against Arizona as the Falcons were stuffed in the second quarter when Jason Snelling went up right guard and got stopped short. Later runs on third-and-short, however, worked as Turner scored on the 1-yard run and RB Jacquizz Rodgers earned the crucial first-down conversion on third-and-2 with a 6-yard gain that allowed the Falcons to take a knee the rest of the way.

While the Falcons only rushed for 33 yards as a team Sunday against one of the NFL’s toughest defenses, the run was there when it counted and the Falcons weren’t afraid to use it when they needed it.

“That shows that (offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter) has confidence in his guys,” McClure said. “He’s got confidence in us up front. He’s got confidence in Mike running the ball. We just got it in. It was about will (Sunday) and we got it in when we needed it.”

Matt Ryan earned the nickname Matty Ice for a reason. It was his cool, calm demeanor in the face of ridiculous adversity that gave him the moniker that would follow him to the NFL.

Perhaps it should be no surprise then that, during a game that saw him throw five interceptions, Ryan came into the huddle at one point with a smile on his face and inspiration at the ready.

According to running back Michael Turner, Ryan entered the huddle, smiled and said, “I don’t know what I was thinking. All right, now let’s go.” The tension of being struggling with the Cardinals at the time immediately broke and the Falcons just went right to work.

“The quarterback cannot be rattled,” Turner said. “He can’t show signs of being rattled or being bothered by the game. He knew we were going to have his back.”

It’s good to have that support during what is probably the toughest game statistically of Ryan’s career. He went 28-of-46 for 296 yards, no touchdowns and five interceptions.

According to ESPN’s Stats & Info Twitter account, it’s the first time a quarterback threw five picks and no touchdowns in a win since Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr did it in 1967.

“I’m in good company,” Ryan said with a laugh after the game. “Bart’s one of the greats of all time. It doesn’t happen very often. It really doesn’t, but I’m surrounded by really good teammates that picked us up today and made the plays that we needed.”

Ryan’s right. It doesn’t happen often.

Sunday’s win was only the third time Ryan threw three interceptions in one game in his career. Prior to Sunday’s game, he was 1-1 when throwing three picks. It was also the first time he had thrown four or more.

Yet, through the struggles offensively, Ryan never lost his confidence.

“I’ve said it before: he never changes, if he throws five touchdowns or five picks,” center Todd McClure said. “He never changes. He stands in there. He takes some hits. He had blood coming out of his mouth at one point today and he was back up and ready to go again. Unbelievable guy, and a great guy to play with.”

Falcons running back Michael Turner earned some redemption Sunday as he busted a touchdown in during the fourth quarter on first-and-goal from the Cardinals’ 1-yard line.

The score tied Turner for second most all-time touchdowns as a Falcon with Andre Rison. The touchdown was Turner’s 56th as a Falcon.

Falcons fans were hoping for some better — or at least clearer — news today, but the Falcons’ Piedmont Healthcare Injury Report provides neither as the team heads into the weekend’s matchup with Arizona.

LB Sean Weatherspoon and WR Julio Jones did not practice again Friday, but both are listed as questionable to participate in Sunday’s game.

Along with Spoon and Jones, DE John Abraham, RB Michael Turner and DT Vance Walker are questionable with injuries.

WR Kevin Cone and S Charles Mitchell have both been ruled out of Sunday’s game.

On the Cardinals’ side, QB Kevin Kolb has been ruled out of the game, meaning QB John Skelton will likely get the nod under center.

Here’s a look at what the Falcons were saying the locker room Wednesday:

• RB Michael Turner on winning with the run or the pass: “No, it doesn’t matter, as long as we win the game. We don’t care how many points we win by, how close the game is — we’ve just gotta find a way to win.”
• S Thomas DeCoud on the Falcons facing former teammate and Saints LB Curtis Lofton: “It should be fun. There was no bad blood when he left. We’re all good. Really close guys. We all came in together in ’08, so we were always hanging out together — him, Chevis (Jackson) and I. It’ll be fun. It’ll be great to see him. It’ll be weird to see him in black and gold, but it’ll be fun to go up and face him.”
• DT Jonathan Babineaux on not celebrating after making a big play: “I can dance. I can do a lot of things, but I choose not to. I choose to be professional about what I do and make sure I stay that way.”
• G Peter Konz on whether or not the Falcons can go 16-0: “If we want to. I don’t see any reason why — if we take every week seriously, every opponent seriously and we don’t sleep on ourselves and we prepare like we know how — we don’t have a shot in every game.”
• OG Phillipkeith Manley on if he’ll prepare differently being on the active roster: “Not really. It’s the same way I prepare. I really feel like I concentrate a little bit more to pick up on different tendencies so I can help the linemen out during the game on the sideline. I’ll pretty much stay more focused and try to contribute more.”
• T Tyson Clabo on keeping humble during the team’s success: “I haven’t seen anybody in here walking around with too big of an ego. Our hat sizes are pretty much staying the same and I think that we’ll just continue to do that, because we have a good group of guys in the locker room and I think that’s how you keep (distractions) from happening.”
• WR Roddy White on facing New Orleans: “It’s just a special atmosphere when we play these guys. It’s just intense. We wanna win. They wanna win. They’ve won the division the last two out of three years. We won it the other year, so for the last couple of years, it’s been us and them down to the wire, so I think that’s what it is, just the dislike for each other. I don’t like nothing about the Saints.”

The Falcons’ 19-13 win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 9 will be re-broadcast on NFL Network’s NFL Replay at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday.

NFL Replay offers an exclusive look at select games from the previous week in a condensed, 75-minute, high-octane format. With the use of bonus NFL Films and NFL Network footage including never-before-seen camera angles and coach’s commentary combined with exclusive wired sound from the field, locker rooms and sidelines, viewers will experience the game like never before.

The Falcons improved to 8-0 for the first time in franchise history with their 19-13 victory over the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. WR Roddy White broke the franchise record for career receptions with his seven-catch, 118-yard performance.

In seven-plus seasons, White has totaled 577 receptions, topping Terance Mathis’ club record of 573 set between 1994 and 2001.

WR Julio Jones also had a big night in the Falcons Week 9 win, posting his second consecutive 100-yard game after catching five passes for 129 yards.

QB Matt Ryan set a new franchise record for career 300-yard games, completing 24 of 34 passes for 342 yards with a 102.8 passer rating. Ryan has recorded a passer rating above 100 five times this season and 29 times in his career, leading the Falcons to a 29-0 record in those games.

In addition to their impressive aerial attack, RB Michael Turner established the Falcons ground game by rushing for 102 yards on 20 carries with one touchdown in Sunday night’s win. Turner improved on a pair of his franchise records on Sunday, running his 100-yard rushing games total to 27 while punching in his 54th rushing touchdown.

The Falcons head to New Orleans for the first of two meetings with the NFC South Division rival Saints in Week 10.

Coming into Sunday night’s game, quarterback Matt Ryan had quite the regular-season streak going, throwing for touchdowns in 22 straight games dating back to last season.

Against the Cowboys, the streak snapped as the Falcons’ only scores came from a Michael Turner touchdown and a handful of Matt Bryant field goals.

Ryan’s streak was the third longest among active quarterbacks behind Tom Brady and Drew Brees.

Here’s a quick look at some of the things Falcons players and coaches were talking about Wednesday:

• John Abraham on Mike Nolan’s defensive system: “It’s just a lot of preparation. It’s more knowledge than it is physical stuff. We do a lot of walk-throughs to make sure everybody knows all the checks, so it’s more than just ‘You do this, you do that.’ It’s more like, ‘What can we do? What can we work with?’ It’s more of a collective thing than someone telling you that you’ve got to be in this spot.”
• John Abraham was asked if he thought he’d be back in Atlanta during free agency: “No. I was pretty much gone, then when they hired Mike (Nolan), I called my agent and said, ‘Look, get me back in Atlanta.’ It was a good thing because I was about to go some place else. I was about to take a flight to Tennessee. (Puts his phone to his ear) ‘Look, man. I’m not going. … Nah, I’m gonna stay in Atlanta.’ ‘Are you sure, John?’ ‘No, I ain’t going to Tennesse.’ “
• John Abraham on facing young offensive tackles recently: “I try to keep everybody (the same). I don’t care if you’re old or young, I feel like I’m gonna beat you. That’s just common sense. You can’t go into a fight knowing you’re going to lose. It’s kind of pointless, right? So, I go into it looking at everybody the same as in, I’ve got to do my job and my job is to get to the quarterback.”
• Stephen Nicholas on Cowboys TE Jason Witten: “With Witten, him being very crafty, him being a veteran, he knows how to get open. He’s kinda like Tony (Gonzalez). But he’s definitely a veteran guy that’s very crafty.”
• Michael Turner on what it means that the Falcons rushed for big yardage against Philly: “It means that we can still run the football. We’ve still got to go out there and do things better, but we’re still improving in that area.”
• Michael Turner on Matt Ryan’s performance: “This is nothing new to us. We’ve been seeing the improvement year in and year out, and he’s ready to take things to the next level.”
• Matt Ryan on what the worst part of playing Sunday night is: “I guess waiting around the hotel. That kind of makes for a long day, but night games, they’re fun. They really are, especially in the Dome. Our fans are always crazy when we have night games, so it’s a great environment to play.”
• Mike Smith on having such few offensive penalties this year: “I think we’ve done a good job up until this past ballgame. I thought this past ballgame, we had some silly penalties. Not necessarily on the offensive side — we had illegal procedure and were lined up wrong one time on the offensive side, but I think it’s an emphasis point. It’s something that we talk about every first meeting of the week. We put it up. We have a penalty report. We keep track of our penalties, who’s actually having them — whether they’re offensive penalties, defensive penalties, special teams penalties — whether they’re on third down, because a third-down penalty is weighted much heavier than a first-down penalty, or if it happens in the fourth quarter. I think it’s an emphasis point that we have instilled in our guys, that we don’t want to be penalized. We want to understand what we can do.”

News came last week, when the Eagles were also into their bye, that head coach Andy Reid would be replacing defensive coordinator Juan Castillo with position coach Todd Bowles. As soon as that happened, a wrench had been thrown into the Falcons’s preparations for Philadelphia.

With six weeks of tape to comb over, the Falcons coaching staff had been preparing for Castillo and his tendencies. Bowles taking over means the Falcons will suddenly have some extra unknowns to get ready for.

“It’s harder to look at tape. You’ve just got to look at the guys for who they are and not necessarily the scheme, because some things might change,” running back Michael Turner said Monday. “You don’t expect them to change a whole lot, but we are going to expect some unscouted looks.”

That’s the sentiment that resounded throughout the locker room about the subject Monday. The Falcons will expect a few looks that they haven’t seen before on the tape they’ve got on the Eagles, but it isn’t much different from any other game.

The main unknown will be Bowles tendencies. Save for three weeks last year when he served as Miami’s interim head coach, Bowles hasn’t spent much time in positions of shot-calling during his career. Widely expected to be one of the NFL’s brightest up-and-comers in the coaching ranks, Bowles hasn’t ever called defensive plays, which means the Falcons can’t study his calls in different situations.

Still, there isn’t a ton of concern.

“Somebody asked me that the other day, and it’s a bit of a challenge, but there’s not a whole lot that somebody can come up with that’s new,” center Todd McClure said. “It’s football. You can only line up so many guys, but they’re going have some little things and it’s just like every game. They’ll come out with a couple things that we haven’t seen and we’ll make our adjustments on the sideline and be ready to go, but it definitely can present a little bit of a problem.”

Bowles coached last year with Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Nolan and defensive backs coach Joe Danna with the Dolphins, so there is some familiarity there. For the Falcons, however, containing Bowles and his defense is much more about them than the new coordinator.

“Most of it is about us. We’ve got to go out, and we have to execute,” head coach Mike Smith said. “… We’ve got to be prepared for some unscouted looks, and I don’t think there will be a mass change in what they do philosophically because they’ve invested so much time into the scheme that they’re running.”

Several Falcons spoke during the media’s open locker room period Monday, and the hot topic was the Falcons’ tackling struggles against the Raiders before the bye. Here’s a sampling of what they had to say:

• DT Vance Walker on his success this year: “I guess, I’d say just my experience. This is my fourth year and I see things a lot easier now. Everything’s kind of slowed down. Also, my training regimen, just training hard all offseason, which I had been doing the past couple of years, but everything is just falling into place for me. I think it’s just a testament to how hard I worked in the past.”
• RB Michael Turner on what the coaching staff communicated to the team after their self-scout: “It wasn’t just about the running game. It was about all sorts of things, all areas that we want to improve on. We’re 6-0 and we’ve still got room for improvement, so we’ll be fine.”
• DE Ray Edwards on the tackling issues: “All of us have been playing football since we were probably 10 years old. We know how to tackle. We’ve just got to do it.”
• C Todd McClure on the importance of time of possession in a hostile environment this weekend: “I think it’s really important. I think the bottom line is to score one more point than they do. But it is going to be a loud environment. They’ve got a great defense that can rush the passer, guys that love to do that. They love to put their hand down when it’s third-down-and-long and try to disrupt the passing game, so it’s definitely going to be a challenge for us and one that we’re ready for.”
• S Thomas DeCoud on having fewer missed tackles: “I think, now, we have the technique of tackling. Once we make contact, we know how to do that. But I think now it’s more so just our path to the ball. The speed of the game is a lot faster and it’s faster than it’s ever been before, so guys can eat up angles or make you wrong once you get on your way to the ball, so it’s more about the path to the ball and making sure we have the correct angles once we’re entering contact.”
• LB Sean Weatherspoon on the biggest point of emphasis against Philadelphia: “We’ve got to tackle. We’ll have the opportunities. We’ll be faced with some of the things that we’ve been faced with in the games previously, so they’ll watch tape and see things they think they can do against us and it’ll just be up to us to go out there and make sure we hit them whenever we have those opportunities.”

The question is: Will there be more?

The Chiefs have several starters in question this week as injuries have plagued the team a bit during the preseason. The first official injury report comes out today, but KCChiefs.com reported earlier this week that some significant players could be in question for Sunday’s game.

The Falcons are preparing in a variety of ways. First, they’re going to go at practice as if the Chiefs will be with all their starters. From there, they’ll do plenty of work on the backups to make sure they’re prepared for as much as possible.

“They’ve been playing some time during the preseason, so you’ve got to look at the preseason games to see their techniques and things like that,” running back Michael Turner said. “You pick up the keys that way. You’re not going to get them in live action with the first unit, so you’ve got to pick and choose clips to look at.”

The uncertainty makes film study all the more important for the Falcons this week. With the Chiefs backups — much like those on the Falcons roster — spending a lot of time on the field during the preseason, there should be plenty of film to watch on the unknown players.

The Falcons, however, don’t need to watch tape on Hali to know how much the Chiefs will miss him. He’s serving a one-game suspension during the opening weekend.

“He’s a great player. He makes a lot of plays for their defense,” center Todd McClure said. “I can’t say we were upset when we saw that he wasn’t going to be playing, because he’s a great player. Phenomenal player. But they’ll have somebody that’ll line up where he was. They’re not going to just leave that spot vacant.

“They’re going to have somebody that’s paid to rush the passer that’ll be out there, so we’ve got to be on our A game.”

Through two quarters Friday night, Turner has caught three passes for 36 yards. While it may not seem like much, it does show that Turner can be a viable and versatile weapon in the passing game.

One of Turner’s catches against the Dolphins netted him 20 yards, and another later added 11.

Well, it’s happened. Turner got involved in the passing game quite a bit — well, at least by his standards — during Thursday’s preseason game against the Bengals at the Georgia Dome.

Turner caught three passes for 14 yards out of the backfield, yet rushed three times for minus-3 yards in his extremely limited time on the field Thursday.

We could be looking at a new trend.

Falcons secondary vs. Bengals WR AJ Green
It’s no secret that two years ago in the NFL Draft, Georgia’s AJ Green was closely tied with Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones in the talent department as not much separated the two. Green went to Cincinnati, Jones came to the Falcons and the rest is history. Still, the Falcons secondary will have a tough test in trying to keep the second-year WR contained. Practicing every day against Jones should certainly help, but a good measure of where the secondary is at this point will be shown in Green’s stat line at the end of the night.

Falcons WRs Roddy White and Julio Jones vs. Bengals secondary
Speaking of Jones, teaming up with Roddy White tonight creates an interesting matchup with Cincinnati’s cornerbacks. Leon Hall and Nate Clements are two top tier cornerbacks in the NFL and will be tough to contend with. Jones’ outstanding camp and his comfort this year, however, may prove to be the separating factor between these two position groups. A more comfortable Julio Jones could mean more attention on him, which could in turn open things up even more for the always-dangerous White.

Falcons offensive line vs. Bengals defensive front
You’ll be hard pressed to find any game in 2012 when the Falcons offensive line isn’t featured as one of the top and most important matchups. The Bengals defense presents an interesting challenge with defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s scheme. With big tackles Domata Peko and Geno Atkins in the middle, and middle linebacker Rey Maualuga lurking behind them, the challenge to keep Matt Ryan upright and Michael Turner running free is very real.

Falcons defensive ends vs. Bengals offensive tackles
John Abraham and Ray Edwards — along with Kroy Biermann and Lawrence Sidbury — are charged with a big task of being the force that kickstarts the Falcons’ pass rush. Against Bengals tackles Andrew Whitworth (left side) and Andre Smith (right), the four DEs will get a chance to see what they can do against some very sizey competition. Smith goes 6-4, 335 and Whitworth checks in at 6-7, 330. The speed coming off the edge for the Falcons could be an advantage if they can get that extra quick step on the big men.

Falcons C/G Peter Konz vs. Ravens DT Haloti Ngata
With so many eyes on the Falcons offensive line during the preseason, especially the interior positions, tonight’s matchup against Pro Bowl defensive tackle Haloti Ngata could go a long way toward setting the performance benchmark at center and right guard, particularly with rookie Peter Konz hoping to be in the mix. Konz comes from a pro-style offense at Wisconsin, but Ngata provides a huge 6-foot-4, 330-pound test for the first-year lineman.

Falcons RB Michael Turner vs. Ravens LB Ray Lewis
Although he’s getting long in the tooth, Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis is still considered one of the best in the game. Known for incredibly physical play and an ability to get downhill quickly, Lewis will certainly present a challenge for running back Michael Turner. But when it comes to these two, think of the unstoppable force vs. the immovable object. There’s just no telling who can come out on top should the two collide in their likely limited action in tonight’s game.

Falcons WRs vs. Ravens DBs
The matchup for Falcons wide receivers will be an important one throughout the preseason as head coach Mike Smith will have the unenviable task of choosing a fifth wide receiver. Kevin Cone and Drew Davis both spent time with the Falcons last year, but there are some strong candidates behind them who could sneak into that final WR spot, and the preseason is the biggest proving ground for players trying to make the roster.

Falcons DL vs. Ravens OL
With DT Corey Peters out for the foreseeable future with an injury and a crowded group at defensive end, the defensive line is one to keep an eye on during the preseason. Rookie DTs like Travian Robertson and Micanor Regis could get some extra reps, and the battle between rookie DE Jonathan Massaquoi and veteran DEs Cliff Matthews and Lawrence Sidbury will start to heat up in the first game of the preseason.

Calling the Falcons a team that “might be built for the long haul,” writer Darin Gantt thinks the Falcons are big on strengths that could push them past nagging wall of playoff disappointments that has haunted the team since Mike Smith took over in 2008.

Writes Gantt: “Wide receiver Roddy White’s still got game-breaking ability, and partner Julio Jones is on the verge of justifying the massive trade they made to acquire him in last year’s draft. Coupled with tight end Tony Gonzalez (back for one more year trying to break his own winless-in-the-postseason streak) and running back Michael Turner (at least in the early part of the season before he tapers off), the Falcons can match fantasy draft picks with anyone.”

The offensive line is a point of concern for Gantt as he thinks getting the group into reliable shape will be a tall task for new offensive line coach Pat Hill.

As not to steal any thunder, click here to read the entire piece, which includes PFT’s favorite camp battles and prospects.

Thoughts?

Jay Adams: You’ve got a couple of new faces and plenty of familiar faces in your position group. Where do you see things standing as you head into training camp?

Gerald Brown: The tailback position is pretty much what it was last year with Mike (Turner), Jason Snelling and Jacquizz (Rodgers), and then we’ve got some other guys that are competing — Dimitri (Nance), Antone (Smith), (Robbie) Frey — so the tailback position is pretty much intact. The fullback position, (Mike) Cox came in and from the Indy game on (last season) as our starting fullback. We drafted Bradie Ewing, who we feel good about, so I think we have good, healthy competition at the fullback position, and that’s what we want. We want guys competing and fighting to win jobs, and I think that’s where we are right now.

JA: The offensive system has yet to be fully revealed, but offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter has said enough that the screen game will be more of a part of the offense this year. How does that change what you do on a daily basis with the running backs?

GB: It’s just part of what we do; it’s just that we’ll do more of it. Some of the techniques and how we do things may be a little different, but we’ve had screens in the system. We just didn’t get to them as much. This year, I think there’s a commitment to them, so our backs just have got to be prepared to handle all the adjustments off of our screen game.

JA: You lose a veteran in Ovie Mughelli and gain, like you said, a rookie in Bradie Ewing. Just from their looks, it seems like they have two different styles. With his background at Wisconsin, Ewing seems like he can be a versatile threat in the passing game. What’s your assessment of what he’s going to be able to bring to that position?

GB: Bradie runs well. He catches the ball well out of the backfield, but a lot of the things that he had done at Wisconsin are things that we do here. It’s the same type of blocking scheme and that type of thing, so that’s beneficial to him, as well. I think you find out a lot about that position once you put the pads on, but right now where he is, I think he’s moving along well for us. He understands the offense. He’s doing things that we ask our fullback to do, so we’re excited about having him here with us.

JA: Michael Turner is 30 years old, but he’s in a unique situation in that, because of becoming a starting running back later in his career, he hasn’t taken the same number of hits as the average 30-year-old running back. What do you see as his ability to produce coming up in 2012? Can a 30-year-old running back with less mileage still produce at a high level?

GB: Oh, I think absolutely, Mike Turner can produce. What he’s done over the last four years is pretty amazing. Right now, where we are and where he is physically, he looks as good to me right now as he has ever looked from a physical standpoint. He’s running the ball well and he’s doing things well in practice, but we’ve talked about the load that he’s carried over the last four years. We know we have to monitor that because we want him to be strong at the end of the year. At the same time, we’re trying to win ballgames, but we feel good about Jason Snelling and Jacquizz Rodgers, and when Michael’s not in there, it’s OK. Give them the ball, whether we’re running or passing, and let’s just run the offense. I think we’ll be in good shape there.

JA: You mentioned Quizz, and he’s a guy that fans are really excited about. Knowing him a year now, what differences have you noticed in him this year?

GB: I think the thing that surprised the staff most last year was not having an offseason program and the Jacquizz coming in and contributing as much as he did throughout the season. Mike had most of the workload, but Jacquizz can run our two-minute, he can run our no-huddle attack, he can run our offense and it’s just a compliment to him that he can come in and learn it. He’s a smart kid, he’s a physical kid and he certainly has the ability to make plays, so this offseason is beneficial for him because he missed it last year, as it is for everybody, but he stepped up last year and was a big-time contributor for us.