As part of our continuing draft coverage and our efforts to bring you the fans a way to connect with your fellow Falcon fans, we will be doing a live draft show Thursday night on our broadcast channel on Justin.tv. Also we will be hosting a live chat on our channel during the course of night.

Our show will be kicking off just minutes before the draft begins at 8 pm Eastern on Thursday night. Falcon fans don’t need to be left out on the first night of the draft with the Falcons being without a pick, as they can stop by and discuss any and everything during the chat while listening to myself and co-host Ryan discuss the draft. We’ll be answering questions, talking prospects, and discussing the Falcons of course. We’ll also feature a live show on Friday night to get the immediate reaction of the Falcons pick when it comes off the board. And if you still haven’t gotten your draft fix by Saturday, you can stop by then as well.

In order to participate in the chat, you’ll need to create a free user account at Justin.tv. It’s quick and easy and we look forward to seeing you on Thursday night and throughout the weekend.

This year marks our Seventh Annual Mock Draft Contest. By submitting your prediction for how the first round of the draft will lay out, you can win some awesome prizes from the FalcFans-sponsored online store as well as the opportunity to have your mock drafts featured on this site next year. This year’s contest will feature predictions of the entire first round, as well as the Falcons pick in the second round.

Submit your mock drafts on the forums, in the special Mock Draft Contest designated subforum by creating a thread using this submission format. If you are not a registered member of the forums, you can click here to become one. You can edit/modify your submissions up until the deadline, which will be one hour before the draft, at 7:00 pm Eastern, Thursday, April 26, 2012. At 7:01, the forums will be locked and all submissions will then be final.

To get further details about rules, prizes, and scoring, please check out the Mock Draft Contest subforum.

Every year since 2005, members of our forums vote on several awards for who represent the best and occasionally worst performance for the Falcons each year. You can vote too by visiting the FalcFans.com Awards forum. If you’re already a member of the FalcFans Forums, just log in and vote. If not, then you can register by clicking here. Voting will end on Thursday, February 23.

Here are all of the honors that we have listed for this year’s awards: Team MVP, Offensive, Defensive, and Special Teams MVPs, Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, Most Improved Player, Assistant Coach of the Year, Mr. Falcon, Top Backup, Biggest Addition by Subtraction, and Biggest Surprises and Disappointments of the Year.

Ray Edwards

Incoming Falcons defensive end Ray Edwards will sit out the team’s first preseason game against the Miami Dolphins on Friday night due to a minor procedure on his knee he underwent during the off-season. Edwards was allowed to begin team practices on Friday when the new CBA was ratified, but has been held out due to the knee.

D. Orlando Ledbetter of the AJC also reports that guard Mike Johnson is expected to miss Friday night’s game due to a concussion he suffered on Sunday. Michael Turner returned to practice after undergoing off-season groin surgery and is expected to play against the Dolphins. Turner was slowed by a groin injury early last season, missing the Falcons Week 2 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals.

According to Atlanta Falcons.com’s Daniel Cox, the team has yet to decide how long starters will be on the field against the Dolphins, although units such as the offensive line may get more reps than other positions.

Enter the chat room and talk the draft and football with your fellow Falcon fans as the picks come in.

In order to chat, you must be a registered member of the FalcFans Forums. Just use your forum username and password to log in. It only takes a few minutes to get signed up and ready to go.

We’re just two days away from the draft, and if you’re looking for something to do on draft day, stop by the FalcFans chat room to talk about the draft with other Falcon fans.

To enter the chat room, you just need a forum username and password. You can click here to register on the forums.

The chat will start one hour before the first round on Thursday night at 7 pm.

Every year we hold a mock draft contest on the forums, where people can submit how they think the first round of the draft will go for a chance to win prizes. In recent years we have had people submit two-round mocks, but this year we will go back to a one-round format in order to try and increase participation.

The deadline for submissions is one hour before the draft on Thursday, April 28. You can make your submissions by posting in the Mock Draft Contest forum. And thusly to enter, you must be a member of the forums. Take the time to register if you haven’t already, it’s quick and easy.

Click here to read the rules, prizes, and scoring format.

Every year on the FalcFans.com Forums, we hold voting for various awards which we call the FalcFans.com Awards including who is the Falcons Most Valuable Player overall, on offense, defense, and special teams. If you wish to cast your vote, please log in or register on the forums. There is just one more week left before voting expires.

We do it every Sunday, and this year will be no different. Come by the chat room at 1:00 in order to talk to fellow Falcon fans live as the Steelers-Falcons game unfolds.

In order to login, you must be a member of the FalcFans Forums and use your forum username and password. So if you haven’t already, drop by and register on the forums so that you can log in.