Tag: atlanta falcons football

Atlanta Falcons draft Georgia DL Zion Logue

Defensive tackle Zion Logue is the eighth Georgia Bulldog drafted in the 2024 NFL draft

The Atlanta Falcons have drafted Georgia Bulldogs defensive tackle Zion Logue with the No. 197 pick (sixth round) of the 2024 NFL draft. Logue is the eighth Georgia Bulldog selected in the draft.

Logue will have an opportunity to compete for a roster spot for the Falcons. Logue is the third Georgia Bulldog the Falcons have drafted in the past three NFL drafts. However, the Falcons have not spent much draft capital on former Bulldogs.

Logue brings his run-stuffing ability to the NFL though he is not a fantastic pass rusher (1.5 career sacks). He has been part of some great defenses over the years.

Logue, who recorded a Pro Football Focus grade of 71.2 last season, is physical at the point of attack. Logue has played in 44 games over the past three years at Georgia, recording 17 quarterback hurries.

The Falcons have made defensive line (and quarterback!) a priority in the 2024 NFL draft. Atlanta has drafted three defensive tackles: Clemson’s Ruke Orhorhoro, Oregon’s Brandon Dorlus and Georgia’s Logue.

Atlanta Falcons to sign former Georgia Bulldogs TE

The Atlanta Falcons have signed a former Georgia Bulldogs standout to pair with star tight end Kyle Pitts

The Atlanta Falcons have signed former Georgia Bulldogs tight end Charlie Woerner to a three-year, $12 million contract. Woerner is primarily a blocking tight end. He most recently helped the San Francisco 49ers win the NFC championship and make the Super Bowl.

Woerner’s signing was hardly the Falcons’ biggest splash of the day. Atlanta signed former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins to a massive four-year contract. Cousins should help improve the Atlanta offense and will get players such as Charlie Woerner more involved.

Woerner will serve as Atlanta’s top blocking tight end, while Kyle Pitts will remain the Falcons’ No. 1 receiving tight end option. The 49ers drafted Woerner in the sixth-round of the 2020 NFL draft.

It is nice to see another Georgia Bulldog come home to play for the Atlanta Falcons. Woerner has carved out a nice role for himself in the NFL despite putting up just three receptions for 32 yards in 2023. The 6-foot-5, 240-pound tight end is a product of Rabun County High School. Woerner’s signing can’t become official until March 13.

Social Media reacts to RB Bijan Robinson’s early preseason action

Bijan looked like he belonged in his preseason performance against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson is NFL-ready. It comes as no surprise to Texas faithful but it doesn’t make Robinson’s performances any less entertaining. Visualizing Bijan in an NFL uniform is making burnt orange supporters proud.

The former Texas Longhorns running back and No. 8 overall pick in this offseason’s NFL draft made waves in his appearance against the Cincinnati Bengals. The day saw him make defenders miss running between the tackles. It also featured Robinson as a receiver where the Falcons could give him a high volume of touches.

As you might expect, social media took notice of his strong showing and highlight reel. Here’s a look at some of the best reactions from Robinson’s abbreviated performance against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Former Georgia OL accepts job as Falcons’ director of player development

Former Georgia Bulldogs offensive lineman Fernando Velasco has accepted a job to become the Atlanta Falcons’ director of player development.

Former Georgia Bulldogs offensive lineman Fernando Velasco has accepted a job as the Atlanta Falcons’ director of player development. Velasco played college football at the University of Georgia from 2003-2007.

The Wren, Georgia, native played in the NFL for eight seasons from 2008-2016. He started 38 games and appeared in 83 games during his NFL career. Velasco returned to Georgia as the assistant director of player development under Kirby Smart from 2017-2019.

The former Georgia standout followed Sam Pittman to Arkansas in 2020. Velasco was the director of player development at Arkansas from 2020-2022. He helped the Razorbacks improve significantly after they finished with a rough 2-10 record during the 2019 season.

Velasco has been a quick riser throughout his career as a support staff member. Support staffs are only getting larger throughout the top programs of college football and the NFL.

Fernando Velasco announced his job change via Twitter. He is certainly leaving the Arkansas football program better than when he found it.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz2y40j067srkf player_id=none image=https://ugawire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Former UGA DB signed to Seattle Seahawks practice squad

Read what former Bulldog landed with the Seattle Seahawks practice squad for the 2020 NFL football season here!

Former Georgia receiver Jayson Stanley has been signed to the Seattle Seahawks practice squad for the 2020 NFL football season.

Stanley went undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft, but was signed to the Atlanta Falcons practice squad last season and now will continue his NFL career as a defensive back for Seattle.

From Fairburn, Georgia, Stanley was a four star recruit in Georgia’s 2015 recruiting class. He appeared in 25 games during his time in Athens, earning a starting receiver spot in his final year of 2018.

Stanley impressed Seattle enough to garner their attention after the Falcons elected not to resign him this season.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is one of the best defensive coaches in the NFL and has coached some of the most dominant secondaries in recent memory – including the infamous ‘legion of boom’ of the 2010s.

That said, Stanley landing with Carroll in Seattle should boost his experience as a young defender and maybe lead to a future roster spot next season.

 

 

 

 

Georgia football play of the day – Georgia vs Clemson (2014)

Watch the Georgia football play of the day here!

It’s Monday, August 17 and today’s play of the day comes from Georgia versus Clemson in their 2014 match up, which featured the No. 16 Tigers against No. 12 Georgia at Sanford Stadium in Athens.

There were some great players in this one. Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, Malcolm Mitchell, Chris Conley, Lorenzo Carter, Leonard Floyd to name a few and oh, Todd Gurley too.

 

Gurley’s 2nd quarter kick-return score set up Georgia for a 45-21 win. The Tigers failed to score another point after Gurley’s score here. He finished with 198 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

2020 CFB season countdown: 51 days until Georgia football

Join us as we count down the days until Georgia football kicks off in Atlanta !

There are 51 days until Georgia football is scheduled to kick off versus Virginia in Atlanta on Sept. 7.

Georgia versus Tennessee in 2012 was one of the most prolific offensive match ups in UGA vs UT history. The game featured over 1,000 yards of total offense and 95 total points. Georgia rushed for 274 yards and five touchdowns, with running backs Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall dominating the ground game in their freshman seasons. Marshall totaled 164 yards and two touchdowns on only 10 carries and Gurley tallied 130 yards and three touchdowns, highlighted by a wild 51 yard rush in the second quarter.

Watch the highlights here:

Atlanta Falcons FB Keith Smith can’t wait to start blocking for Todd Gurley

Atlanta Falcons FB Keith Smith is excited to start blocking for UGA football great Todd Gurley this back in Georgia.

The Atlanta Falcons made a lot of people happy when they brought former UGA running back Todd Gurley back to Georgia this offseason.

The former NFL Offensive Player of the Year, Gurley is hoping for a fresh start in Atlanta following an incredible run in Los Angeles that was eventually halted by his hurt knee.

If Gurley is able to turn back the clock and play like he did just two seasons ago, the sky is the limit for the Falcons offense.

Playing for L.A., the Rams did not utilize a fullback in their offense, so how Gurley performs with a lead blocker in front of him in Atlanta will be interesting to see this season.

Falcons fullback Keith Smith, however, cannot wait to begin moving bodies out of Gurley’s way this year.

“I’m just excited for what he’s going to bring, because I know he’s got a ton of game left in him,” Smith told Ian Rapoport on his podcast “Rapsheet + Friends.”

“He’s smooth, man. If you watch Todd, he’s got great vision and he hits the hole and he goes. I just love that about him. I don’t think he had a fullback in Los Angeles, so it’s going to be dope to open up holes for him and see that part of his game open up for him.

“He’s not an easy guy to tackle, and you always love guys like that. You love blocking for a guy like that, because you know he’s going to make the first guy miss. Just knowing the type of player that he is, he’s going to help our team a lot and I’m excited about that, man.”

[vertical-gallery id=28511]

Falcons OC says only question mark for Todd Gurley is durability

Atlanta Falcons OC Dirk Koetter talks about the concerns with former Georgia football star, new Falcons running back Todd Gurley.

Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter was pretty straight forward with the media about new running back Todd Gurley and his health concerns.

The 25-year-old sixth year pro is reportedly dealing with arthritis in his surgically repaired left knee.

Per ESPN‘s Vaughn McClure:

“He can still do it. It’s just a matter of how often can he do it,” Koetter said.

After being released by the L.A. Rams, Gurley returned to Georgia to sign a one-year $5.5 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons this offseason. The former Georgia football star was drafted by the Rams in 2015 NFL Draft and in his five seasons Gurley made three Pro Bowls while being named to the All-Pro team twice, in addition to winning NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2017.

However, in 2019, Gurley’s knee issues surfaced and the Rams questioned his durability – ultimately leading to his release just two years after signing a four-year extension worth $45 million guaranteed.

“This guy, when he’s at his best, he’s got speed, he’s got power, he can break tackles, he’s elusive, he can catch the ball out of the backfield,” Koetter continued. “We’ve all seen what he can do. His accolades speak for themselves. We just have to see how healthy he is and how consistently he can do it.”

Gurley’s deal with the Falcons is still awaiting a physical and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Falcons staff hasn’t been able to evaluate him just yet.

“I know from talking to Todd that he’s fired up to be coming back to Georgia. He can do everything. He’s an excellent runner. He’s good in the pass game. He can protect. The main question that no one seems to know is, ‘What’s his health status? What’s his workload?’ He averaged about 17 touches a game last year, which is a little bit lower than he had been when he was All-Pro. We’re just going to have to find that out once we get here and get him working, get him up and running.”

Deion Sanders didn’t want Todd Gurley wearing No. 21 for Falcons, later says it was just a joke

Former Georgia football RB Todd Gurley says Deion Sanders did not want him wearing No. 21 for the Atlanta Falcons.

After being drafted by Atlanta, Deion “Prime Time” Sanders played cornerback for the Falcons from 1989-1993 wearing the No. 21 jersey.

Prime Time recently commented on the Falcons new jerseys and according to Sanders, no one should be wearing No. 21 in Atlanta, even recently signed Todd Gurley.

“Only thing I don’t like about the Falcons uniforms is I really do think they need to take No. 21 and put it up in the rafters and leave it alone,” Sanders said. “Leave it alone!”

While Sanders comments didn’t keep Gurley from choosing to wear No. 21, the former Georgia running back did hear a few words from Deion on the matter.

 “Prime was hatin’ on me. He told me don’t wear it,” Gurley told 92.3 The Game in Atlanta. “If I was Prime, I wouldn’t want nobody be wearing my number either.”

Deion spent time with the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens so does he really deserve that No. 21 in Atlanta retired in his name?

Don’t get me wrong, Sanders is one of the greatest Falcons of all-time and the NFL Hall of Famer deserves his accolades, but he may be reaching a bit.

After the news got out, Prime took to Twitter to say it was just a joke and that Gurley will “represent it (the number) right.”

I think if Sanders had his way every team in the NFL would have the No. 21 in the rafters.