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Updating a previous report, Scout.com reports that the three rookie contracts that were disapproved by the league have now been approved. The contracts of third round pick Chris Owens, fifth round pick Garrett Reynolds, and sixth round pick Spencer Adkins had to be re-done. Pro Football Talk reported previously that the reason for the league’s disapproving of the contracts was due to language oversight involving incentives.

According to the NFLPA website, all three players signed four-year contracts with base salaries of: $310,000 (2009); $395,000 (2010); $480,000 (2011); and $565,000 (2012).  Owens received a signing bonus of $688,000, while Reynolds got around $180,000. It is unknown how much of a signing bonus Adkins got. But as the 176th overall pick, he likely got a sum around $115,000 considering that the 178th overall pick (Seahawks quarterback Mike Teel) signed for $114,000.

I feel only three things can derail the Falcons season, and at this point none of them seem so dire that I have a pessimistic outlook. And by derail, I mean make the team a lot less competitive than most people and experts think. While we haven’t gotten into the full swing of 2009 NFL predictions, but come August, I expect the Falcons to be the hot, new sexy pick for many experts and analysts as representing the NFC in the Super Bowl next year. So not living up those expectations aren’t really what I’m talking about. I’m more in the mindset of things that could go wrong that could keep the team out of the playoffs and/or make them finish a few (or several) games under .500.

1. Injuries – The Falcons have stayed relatively healthy the past two seasons and you wonder if they can continue that stretch for another year. Every season there is always at least one team that is a strong playoff contender that misses the boat in January because of injuries. Last year, it’s easy to figure the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars were those teams. The Patriots lost the best player in the league by the name of Mr. Brady. And the Jags had three of their starting offensive linemen injured, making their offense which was already a one-trick pony in terms of running the ball, unable to consistently perform that trick.

At this point, any serious or long-term injuries to either Matt Ryan or Michael Turner I think could significantly hurt the team’s offense. While their backups (Redman and Norwood) shouldn’t be completely lost if forced to be long-term replacements, their presences in the lineup would make the team fairly one-dimensional in terms of either running or throwing the ball.

Also injuries on the defense could be catastrophic. Few expect the defense to be great anyways, but an injury here and there could really stretch an arguably already thin defense even further.

Which leads me to my next point of:

2. Defensive Collapse – I don’t forsee the Falcons defense being strong, but if the offense is up to par, they only have to be decent. Keeping the opponent under 20 points really is all that is probably necessary to win most games if the offense is as good as most people expect. And if the offense is as good as Trent Dilfer expects, we might only have to keep opponents under 30.

The lynch pin for the defense probably will be another healthy year by John Abraham. It seems doubtful with so much youth on the defense, that any of the young guys will be ready to be that steady impact playmaker that Abraham was last year. The defense obviously fed off Abraham last year, and will probably need to do so.

But if the Falcons defense winds up being pretty bad this year, then even if the offense is “Dilfer-good” then getting into shoot-outs isn’t exactly what this coaching staff wants to do. Nobody wants to be the ‘08 Broncos reincarnated.

And this leads me to the final, and probably least likely…

3. Bad Coaching – There were many times last year where fans and analysts could second-guess some of Coach Smith’s decisions late in games. Really the only way this because a glaring issue this year if those opportunities arise almost every week. To me, this is a remote possibility. While I think there will certainly be times when Falcons message boards are abuzz with questioning and debating some crunch-time decisions, I don’t think it will be to a degree where we will say it cost us the season. It may happen in two or three games, but hopefully those won’t be two or three wins needed to get this team into the playoffs.

Obviously, there’s a possibility for a perfect storm of these things and ruining the Falcons season. In the past, I might have been so pessimistic to expect this. After all, it is the Falcons we are talking about. And somewhere the football gods must be scheming to continue the dreaded curse of not winning in consecutive years. But those were the old days. I think all three of these issues may hurt the team at various times, but I wouldn’t say they will plague us this year. In the end, and I must note it’s not even the 4th of July, I think the Falcons will make the playoffs at least as a wildcard and break the curse.

After all, I think the football gods will have their hands full with T.O. in Buffalo this year, and continuing to stick it to Cleveland, and will just skip over us.

I’ve already detailed the quarterback and running back positions, now it’s on to the tight ends and wide receivers.

At at all three spots, the starters are established with Roddy White, Michael Jenkins, and Tony Gonzalez. And Harry Douglas is definitely going to make the roster and work out of the slot.

At wideout, Brian Finneran is the most likely candidate to win the fourth receiver spot. While there has been questions of one of the young prospects pushing him for his spot, unless Finneran gets injured, it’s doubtful he won’t be on the team this fall. The Falcons traditionally keep a fifth wideout, so the remainder of the roster will be battling it out for the final spot. Eric Weems held the spot well last year, but he’ll be challenged by Chandler Williams (who spent the year on the practice squad), Troy Bergeron (a star in the Arena leagues), and three rookie free agents: Aaron Kelly, Darren Mougey, and Bradon Godfrey.

All three rookies are big on size, which will make them attractive developmental options. But more than likely, special teams ability will determine which of these players stays, and that’s why Weems has the advantage due to his experience. But it’s probable that one of these other players will make the practice squad, under the hopes that they can replace Finneran in 2010 after his contract expires this season.

At tight end, there will be a battle between veterans Ben Hartsock and Justin Peelle over who will be the No. 2 option behind Gonzalez. Hartsock is the better blocker, but Peelle isn’t that far behind and gives the team a much better option in the passing game.

More than likely the Falcons will keep both, but it’s not set in stone. A strong summer from either Jason Rader or Keith Zinger could land them the No. 3 job. Both players are capable blockers, but probably will need to show much more consistency and ability as pass catchers to stay on the roster.

Already previewed what to expect as far as competiton at quarterback, now it’s time to move on to the running backs.

Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood are entrenched at the top two spots at running back, and won’t have to worry about their jobs being up for grabs. Ovie Mughelli isn’t going anywhere as well as far as the starting fullback position goes. Meaning that leaves probably two roster spots open to the rest of the team.

Most likely to grab one of those spots is Jason Snelling, who offers versatility both to play either fullback or running back. Snelling’s playing time increased as last season wore on, and assuming the coaching staff is still high on him, it’s unlikely he’ll be left out in the cold.

The other spot will come down in a battle between Thomas Brown and Verron Haynes. Brown has the edge, given that he was a draft pick by the team a year ago. Brown gives them another potential option on third downs as well as special teams. Haynes is a bigger back, that like Snelling has played some at fullback in the past, and is a capable receiver and blocker on third downs too.

But Haynes is set to go to trial in September for writing some bad checks when purchasing a car a few years back. And while it’s not a terrible black eye, it’s not likely to grant Haynes any favors when it comes down to roster decision time.

Snelling’s ability to play either running spot means the team only really has to keep four backs when most NFL teams keep five. But the fifth back is more likely to be Brown if one is kept. The team also still has the option of throwing Brown on the practice squad if need be.

Training camp is just little more than a month away, so it’s time to talk about some of the upcoming battles we may see.

The battle at quarterback this summer will be for depth. Matt Ryan won’t be looking over his shoulder for a second. Chris Redman is currently the No. 2, but there’s no guarantee he will keep that job. A strong summer from D.J. Shockley could unseat him. But Shockley’s grasp on the roster is even more tentative. The Falcons signed undrafted rookie John Parker Wilson, who with a strong summer could take over the No. 3 role.

Both Redman and Shockley are free agents after this season, which could contribute to the chances that Wilson makes the final roster. Unless the Falcons see both as long-term options as reserve quarterbacks, it may mean they dump one for the other and try to develop Wilson for down the road.

The most likely outcome and most conservative bet at this point seems to point to both Redman and Shockley keeping their jobs, and the Falcons putting Wilson on their practice squad.

Scout.com reports that the contracts signed by three of the Falcons recent draft picks have been disapproved by the league. The specifics of what exactly in the contracts was disapproved is unknown, but according to the report they were all minor and all should be fixed and up to league standards by early next week.

The three contracts disapproved were offensvie tackle Garrett Reynolds, cornerback Chris Owens, and linebacker Spencer Adkins. Per Scout.com, all three players signed four-year deals. Reynolds received a signing bonus of just over $180,000 while Owens got $688,000 in bonus money. All three players signed their deals within the last ten days.

The team announced the signing of sixth round linebacker Spencer Adkins today. He becomes the fifth draft pick to sign with the team, following the signings of Chris Owens and Garrett Reynolds last week.

Adkins is expected to add depth for the team at linebacker, having played both inside and outside linebacker at Miami during his collegiate career. The team only has three remaining unsigned rookies: first rounder Peria Jerry, second rounder William Moore, and fourth rounder Lawrence Sidbury.

Terms of Adkins’ contract were not announced, but it is expected to be a four-year deal like the others signed by the team’s draft picks.

The third Falcons draft pick signed a contract with the team when fifth round pick Garrett Reynolds signed a four-year deal worth about $1.93 million. According to Scout.com, Reynolds received a signing bonus of just slightly over $180,000, likely falling in between the bonuses given to Xavier Fulton ($181,000) and Victor Harris ($180,000) who were selected one spot ahead and behind Reynolds. Both Fulton and Harris signed their deals last week. Reynolds was the 156th overall selection in the draft.

The team announced today that it signed free agent center Jeremy Newberry. Newberry is an 11-year veteran who started 3 games last year for the San Diego Chargers. Pro Football Talk.com reported in April that the Falcons were sniffing around Newberry, in relation to speculation that Todd McClure was going to be a holdout or retire. However subsequent reports indicated that McClure was not expected to miss any time.

Newberry spent most of his career with the San Francisco 49ers where he started 90 games between 1999 and 2005.  He earned two trips to the Pro Bowl in 2001 and 2002.

Michael Vick

Pat Yasinskas of ESPN reports that the Falcons will release quarterback Michael Vick according to a league source.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank has stated in the past that Michael Vick’s future with the team is non-existent, and the team has been shopping him since February seeking a late round draft pick in exchange for his contract rights. So a release seemed inevitable if the Falcons could not find a trade partner in the coming months. Vick is not slated to be reinstated into the league until he’s released from federal custody in late July.

UPDATE: The Falcons formally announced that they were releasing Vick today on their website. General Manager Thomas Dimitroff had this to say about releasing the former Falcons quarterback:

“We spent a significant amount of time this off-season trying to trade him to another NFL club, and we had some conversations with a few teams, but nothing materialized. At this point, we feel releasing Michael is best for him and best for us. Our entire organization sincerely hopes that Michael will continue to focus his efforts on making positive changes in his life, and we wish him well in that regard.”