This might be the hardest pick to make. At the mid-point, I chose Corey Peters as my pick. At that point in the year, he was playing his best football and looking like an impact pass rusher and playmaker. But unfortunately for Peters, the second half of the season was relatively quiet and it allowed for other people to be considered.

One obvious choice would be Sean Weatherspoon, who was picked as the defensive MVP. Weatherspoon had his moments as a rookie, but injuries and inexperience curtailed his success last year. The fact that he moved from role player last year to MVP this year, probably be default should make him this pick. But since I want to honor as many people as people, we’ll just leave him out of the running.

That could leave Harry Douglas, who went from afterthought last year to a guy that made some plays this year, particularly in the games in the middle of the year where Jones was out with injury. But unfortunately, Douglas sort of returned to being an afterthought once Jones came back from injury and was hitting his stride late in the year. So he too gets passed over.

Will Svitek would be another good pick, having stepped in and filled in for Sam Baker competently and being one of the major reasons why the Falcons were able to stabilize their ground attack and blocking up front. But as the season wore on, Svitek started to fall back to Earth a bit, so he too is out of the running.

Another good candidate would be Lawrence Sidbury, who hardly played a snap last year to finishing tied for second on the team with four sacks. Another good pick would be Dominique Franks, who also was a player that had a very limited role last year, playing on special teams. But late in the year with injuries mounting in the secondary, he was able to step in and solidify the nickel spot and seemingly improved with every single performance. But unfortunately for Sidbury and Franks both, it’s hard to pick them since while they were key contributors, their contributions were smaller due to the fact that they were role players and/or only played a smaller portion of the year.

So that brings us back to where we started with Peters as the best choice for the player that improved the most. Peters was a liability last year vs. the run, but was solid in that area this year. And his ability to make big plays and provide some pressure on the QB up the middle, coupled with the fact that he was a starter throughout the entire year makes him the best choice.

Peters gives the stiff arm

Defensive highlights usually don’t get quite as much pub as the offensive ones. But Falcons defenders have made their share of big plays. And it was hard choosing which one was the best of the year.

Kroy Biermann’s pick six in Week 1 was a very impressive play, but probably doesn’t seem as great since it was in a one-sided loss. Ray Edwards fumble recovery the following week against the Eagles probably would get more points if he had taken it the distance for a score. Corey Peters did take John Abraham’s sack-strip of Blaine Gabbert vs. Jacksonville all the way to the house, but that wasn’t his most impressive play of the year.

So in the end, it has to go to Peters for his one-handed interception against the Panthers which gave the Falcons the ball back late in that game, and a few plays later they sealed the victory.

Other plays that get honorable mention:

• Sean Weatherspoon’s sack on Aaron Rodgers in Week 5
• Dunta Robinson’s acrobatic INT vs. Saints in Week 16
• Brent Grimes’ INT off Moore’s tip vs. Panthers in Week 6

Corey Peters: up and coming

Here are my picks for the Falcons players most deserving of these superlative awards through the first half of the 2011 season:

Offensive MVP: Tony Gonzalez

This was tough because in recent games, Michael Turner is probably the most valuable player on offense. When Turner runs well, the Falcons tend to win. But I thought Gonzo is deserving because he’s been consistent throughout the entire first half of the season. Turner was pretty average through the first 4 games of the year, although part of that could be blamed on the changes up front. But he just didn’t look like the same Michael Turner that he has been in the past month. He’s now running harder than he was early on, and thus part of his struggles were on him. With that said, Gonzo has been money throughout the year, particularly in the redzone where he is basically our entire redzone offense. Another reason for putting him here, is because I was one of those people that thought after last year, Gonzo was done. Still a solid, productive tight end, but no longer one of the best at his position. Boy, has he shown me I was dead wrong. He still has the best hands in the business, and while his explosiveness isn’t what it once was, he still has made a number of big plays at critical moments in games.

Defensive MVP: Sean Weatherspoon

If you had to pick one Falcon defender that is truly deserving of making the Pro Bowl this year, then it’s definitely Spoon. He’s been playing lights out all year long, making plays vs. the run, as a pass rusher, and in coverage. He’s been a valuable every down defender. While Spoon hasn’t been perfect, like Gonzalez on offense he has made his presence known in virtually every game. While he flashed this level of ability early on as a rookie, he’s taken things to a brand new level. And if he maintains this level of play in the second half of the season, he should definitely be on his way to Hawaii. If I had to choose a runner-up, it would probably be Brent Grimes. But he’s not having quite the impact he was having a year ago, partially because teams are not throwing at him as often as they did a year ago. But Grimes is staying playing at a fairly high level, just isn’t getting as many opportunities to make those big, game-changing impact players like he was a year ago.

Special Teams MVP: Matt Bryant

Who else would you pick? “Money” Matt Bryant has been everything his nickname indicates he should be.

Read more…

A lot of highlights from the Detroit Lions game, and it was hard to pick a winner. But I had to go with Matt Ryan’s 49-yard pass to Harry Douglas because it involved the drama of Ryan returning to the game after what many feared to be a horrific injury, and on his first pass back in the game hit Douglas down the middle on a critical 3rd down play to keep a drive alive.

The other pick probably would have won had it been a normal game where there was no injury involved with Ryan. That would have been Roddy’s excellent fingertip grab on Ryan’s lob throw into the back of the endzone.

Ryan to Douglas: 49 yard catch & run

Honorable Mentions

Roddy White: 18 yd TD catch

Tony Gonzalez: 30 yard catch

Michael Turner: 50 yard run

Curtis Lofton: Pressures Stafford to end the game

Corey Peters: sack

Sean Weatherspoon: sack

Peters gives the stiff arm

Probably a no-brainer this week. Has to be Corey Peters’ one-handed grab for the INT to pretty much seal the win for the Falcons in the fourth quarter.

Peters does his Vince Wilfork impression

Honorable Mentions:

Harry Douglas 34-yard catch and run

Brent Grimes INT with the William Moore assist

Michael Turner’s 33-yard run

Ray Edwards shows speed off the edge for a sack

Most of the highlights of the Falcons loss to the Green Bay Packers last Sunday night come from the first half. This week’s highlight is nothing flashy, just a mundane one-yard touchdown run by Michael Turner. But it was nice to see the Falcons bully the Packers a little bit early on. Had the 47-yard throwback pass to Harry Douglas stood, that play probably would have been the highlight of the game, but alas Tyson Clabo made sure that did not happen.

Michael Turner’s 1-yard punch in

Honorable Mentions

Sean Weatherspoon chases down Rodgers for the sack

Corey Peters gets a sack and does a dance

Jones 17-yard run on an end-around

Roddy White’s wide-open touchdown catch

The Falcons released their injury report this afternoon. On it, cornerback Chris Owens was listed as questionablee with an ankle injury. Owens missed practices on Wednesday and Thursday, but was able to participate on a limited basis on Friday, opening the door for him to suit up this week against the Philadelphia Eagles. Owens served as the team’s nickel cornerback in Week 1′s loss to the Chicago Bears. Those duties will likely be filled by Kelvin Hayden against the Eagles.

Also on the injury report were center Todd McClure and defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux, both of whom are out with knee injuries. Babineaux suffered a partial tear of his MCL last week against the Bears. McClure injured his knee during the Falcons third preseason contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 27.

Returning to the Falcons lineup is defensive tackle Corey Peters, who will help alleviate somewhat the loss of Babineaux. Peters injured his knee on August 14, and has been out since. Wide receiver Harry Douglas was also listed as probable this weekend after suffering a concussion last week, but he was cleared by doctors on Thursday, and participated fully in Friday’s practice. Also the Falcons will expect to see fullback Ovie Mughelli (knee) and wide receiver Roddy White (knee) this week, as both are probable.

For the Eagles, defensive end Darryl Tapp (pectoral) is listed as out, linebacker Akeem Jordan (shoulder) is listed as doubtful, and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (ankle) and quarterback Vince Young (hamstring) are both listed as questionable.

Updating previous reports, Knox Bardeen of CBS Sports reports that Falcons defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux will miss three to five weeks with a partial MCL tear according to his agent Jack Bechta. Babineaux suffered the injury during the Falcons opening day loss to the Chicago Bears, exiting the game but then later returning to play on it.

The knee injury will not require surgery, but has been known to hamper several players in recent years. Saints quarterback Drew Brees saw his production dip last year after playing with the injury for much of 2010. It was the same injury that knocked Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler out of the NFC Championship game. Saints cornerback Tracy Porter missed four games last year due to a torn MCL, and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Da’Quan Bowers saw his draft stock fall months ago due to the same injury.

The Falcons are working out defensive tackle Derek Landri today, and likely will opt to shore up their depth since Corey Peters is nursing a knee injury of his own. If Peters is not healthy this week, it is likely that Vance Walker and Peria Jerry will fill the vacant starting spots inside the Falcons defensive line against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night.

The Falcons released their Week 1 injury report today and found two players out for this weekend’s season opener against the Chicago Bears. As reported previously, Todd McClure has been ruled out with a knee injury, but joining him will be defensive tackle Corey Peters who is out with a knee injury. Peters was injured during practice on August 14. In his stead, Peria Jerry will start at right defensive tackle for the Falcons.

Also appearing on the injury report were DT Jonathan Babineaux, C Rob Bruggeman, OT Tyson Clabo, CB Dunta Robinson, DE Lawrence Sidbury, and WR Roddy White. But all are listed as probable for Sunday’s game. All six were able to fully participate in Thursday and Friday’s practices. Robinson (hamstring) and Sidbury (ankle) both missed time at the end of the preseason due to their respective injuries.

For the Bears, running back Marion Barber was ruled out with a calf injury. Wide receiver Sam Hurd (ankle) and defensive end Corey Wootton (knee) were listed as questionable.

Knox Bardeen of CBS Sports reports that cornerback Dunta Robinson (hamstring) will not appear in Thursday night’s preseason finale against the Baltimore Ravens. Falcons head coach Mike Smith indicates that the teams starters will get a reduced a role in that contest, but Robinson will not be among them. Chris Owens has started in Robinson’s stead the past two preseason contests as he’s been nursing that injured hamstring.

Also out will be Todd McClure (knee), Corey Peters (knee), and Lawrence Sidbury (ankle). Earlier today, it was announced that McClure would be out at least through the first game of the regular season. Peters was injured in the Falcons first preseason contest and has been ruled out indefinitely. Sidbury’s injury will make his ability to retain a roster spot difficult since it appears that rookie defensive end Cliff Matthews is emerging as the team’s potential fifth defensive end.