What about Bob?

Michael Vick's release on Friday had larger ramifications for the Falcons.

According to ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli, Atlanta will be charged $7.11 million this season in "dead money" because of "acceleration of future salary cap prorations." Here is the article, which explains the cap hit further.

The Falcons are about $20 million under the $127 million cap figure in '09, so they won't be crippled by this hit. It will not affect them beyond this season, according to general manager Thomas Dimitroff (pictured).

Atlanta has been shrewd with the cap in recent years, cutting or releasing older players such as Alge Crumpler and Warrick Dunn, while making smart signings (Michael Turner) and drafting well (Matt Ryan).

Coming off an 11-5 season, the Falcons don't need much on offense. They could use a playmaker in the secondary (they had just 10 INTs last year and were -3 in giveaway/takeaway), but they can certainly make another playoff run as constructed.

So while the cap hit isn't a good thing for Atlanta, it won't hurt the club too badly.

-Chris Mascaro

(Photo by John Bazemore/AP)

The team announced a few minutes ago that they had released the quarterback, who is serving out the final weeks of a sentence on illegal dogfighting charges.

“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,” G.M. Thomas Dimitroff said in an interview on the team’s official web site. “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.”

Vick is now free to sign with a team, although it's not guaranteed that he will be immediately reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

The timing of Vick's release is a bit of a surprise; we'd been hearing last week that the team was prepared to hold onto him for a few more weeks on the off chance that a team might be willing to trade for him, especially in the event of quarterback injuries during the preseason. The Falcons decided instead to cut bait, realizing that few, if any, teams would be willing to part with a draft pick for a quarterback they knew the Falcons were not going to keep anyway.

...especially if you have a wife.

According to this story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Falcons offensive tackle Quinn Ojinnaka was charged with simple battery, a misdemeanor, after a dispute with his wife in his Suwanee, Ga., home early Wednesday morning.

According to his police, Ojinnaka, 25, spit in his wife's direction when she confronted him about one of his female friends on Facebook. Then the wife, according to Ojinnaka, tried to stab him with a pen, and he reacted by tossing her on a set of stairs before throwing her out of the house (she did not complain of any injuries).

Ojinnaka, who placed college ball at Syracuse and was a fifth-round pick in 2006, has played in 30 games for Atlanta (with seven starts).

-Chris Mascaro

About two minutes after I'd been asked a question about whether I thought Gonzalez would be traded, the Chiefs announced that they'd pulled the trigger on a deal to Atlanta.

I blathered on about how conflicted the organization would be about trading Gonzo, because he'll enter the Hall of Fame as a Chief. And while I'm sure there was legitimate consternation about dealing away their best player, the Chiefs couldn't resist Atlanta's offer of a second-round pick in 2010.

Why not the Giants?

Well, consider that GM Jerry Reese was only willing to go as high as a fourth-round pick last October when he spoke about dealing for Gonzo.

The worst part of all this: I'd just sent La Monica a copy of my mock draft (with FINAL ANSWER written at the top). I'd given the Falcons tight end Brandon Pettigrew of the Falcons.

I'll be kind to La Monica (maybe), because I think it's still worthwhile for Atlanta to take a blue chip tight end. After all, Gonzalez might only play another year or two.

Then again, it'd be kinda fun to see La Monica's head explode after he'd have to revise the mock for a fourth time in two days.

Michael Lombardi of the Nationalfootballpost.com is reporting that the Falcons have expressed interest in trading for Chiefs Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez, and might be willing to part with a second-round pick.

Gonzalez was the subject of trade rumblings at last year's deadline, and the Giants were among the teams making a play for him. The Falcons, Packers and Bills were also interested.

Chiefs team owner Clark Hunt has recently expressed support for the idea of keeping Gonzalez, and the trade for quarterback Matt Cassel leads many observers to believe that the Chiefs might want to hang on to Gonzalez in hopes of a quick turnaround.

Then again, a second-round pick for a 33-year-old tight end might be too tempting to resist.

Stay tuned.

That's what the former star quarterback said in bankruptcy court today in Newport News, Va., acknowledging that he needs to make changes in his life based on his past behavior.

Vick, currently serving a 23-month prison sentence for an illegal dogfighting operation, said he knows he committed a "heinous" act.
"I can't live like the old Mike Vick," he told the court. "I was very immature. I did a lot of things I wasn't supposed to do being a role model."

Per the AP, Vick is testifying as part of a hearing to evaluate his plan to emerge from financial ruin, and is expected to explain parts of his bankruptcy plan while on the stand. He was once one of the NFL's highest-paid players, but lavish spending and poor investments, coupled with the backlash from his dogfighting case, led to his downfall. Vick filed for bankruptcy in July claiming assets of $16 million and debts of more than $20 million.

His plan to pay his creditors is based largely on the goal of returning to a professional football career.

Vick is expected to be released from custody in July, and traveled from a federal prison in Kansas to attend the hearing. He could be transferred to home confinement at his eastern Virginia home by late May, and his agent testified Thursday that he hopes Vick can return to the NFL by September.

Well, that's the figure his attorneys are suggesting Vick will make if and when he's reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Vick suggests in court filings in his bankruptcy case that he would keep the first $750,000 of his annual income over the next five years, and then a percentage of the remainder of his salary would go to creditors.

Hmmm ... $750,000 is pretty much the NFL minimum for veteran players, so perhaps Vick's estimates of $10 mil per year are a bit excessive. And perhaps his creditors would not get quite what they were expecting if and when he gets a chance to make some dough again.

The Falcons quarterback (yes, he's still under contract to Atlanta) has been approved for home confinement that would begin May 21 and go through July 20, when he will have finished his sentence on a conviction stemming from an illegal dog-fighting operation.

It's still unclear whether Vick will play in 2009. First, he has to be reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, and that won't happen until late July - at the earliest. And, perhaps even more problematic, he still needs to find a team willing to hire him.

So far, no team has indicated a willingness to sign him.

... but an area businessman is proposing to build a new stadium for the Falcons. And the Falcons are open to the idea.

I shake my head at this one. I've been to the Georgia Dome a handful of times over the years, and it is a perfectly good facility for football and whatever other sports/entertainment events it might hold.

That there could be any possible need for a new facility - other than to MAYBE draw another Super Bowl - is just nuts.

Besides, there is nothing like a sports venue in the downtown of a major market, and the Georgia Dome is as good as it gets for being centrally located.

As for the idea of drawing another Super Bowl, NFL officials haven't quite forgotten the last one. The day before Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000, an ice storm hit Atlanta, and the city was paralyzed. Great game, though. The Rams beat the Titans.

The guy went on a ridiculous spending spree before being sent to prison on a conviction on dog-fighting charges.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found documents that outlined his purchases and pulled back the curtain on the absurd excesses of the life of a millionaire quarterback.

I'm sure the auto workers wondering where their next paycheck is coming from would appreciate reading this.

Especially after last night's performance against the Titans, when he outplayed Vince Young.

Not that you can read too much into these preseason games, but it is the next-to-last game of the exhibition slate, and the starters do play the most of any game. So Ryan's performance was especially meaningful under those circumstances. Not to mention the fact that the team is in a complete rebuilding phase and his competition is journeyman Chris Redman.

Ryan for Michael Vick is nearly official.

Bobby Petrino finally went into some detail about his controversial decision to leave the Falcons with three games remaining in the 2007 season to accept the head coaching job at Arkansas.

All of which should do zero for his credibility within the Falcons organization and among the team's fans.

No win situation, Bobby. You came, you took the money, you bailed. As far as the Falcons are concerned, that's the bottom line.

"It was hard on my family. It was hard on my wife and my kids, but I didn't hear a lot of it," Petrino said. "That was probably good."

Yes, it was. There was nothing good to be said.

Perhaps now NFL teams will take a closer look about whether it's really worth it to throw a pile of money at college coaches. Too often, it just doesn't work out. Whether it's Lou Holtz with the Jets, Steve Spurrier with the Redskins or Petrino with the Falcons, there are far too many examples of college coaches bombing at the NFL level. Jimmy Johnson is the clear exception.

Just one PS about Petrino: Imagine what would have happened if the Giants had not make the playoffs after the 2006 season. Had Tiki Barber not scorched the Redskins in the regular season finale to put his arch-enemy Tom Coughlin into the postseason, the Giants would have made a coaching change.

That coach most likely would have been Petrino, who topped then general manager Ernie Accorsi's short list.

The heir apparent to Michael Vick has signed a six-year contract.

Quick work for a team in a major rebuilding mode. Especially good news considering the Falcons can ill afford a training camp holdout from their franchise quarterback.

The veteran receiver joined the Falcons last year in hopes of helping his buddy Michael Vick win a Super Bowl.

Um ... things ... um ... didn't quite turn out that way.

Now Horn will be looking to skip town in a trade.

Why?

Because if he doesn't - and the vibe we're getting is that Carroll is just flirting with Arthur Blank and won't take the plunge - then there's a good chance the Giants will lose defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

There are indications that Eagles general manager is the leading contender to land the GM job in Atlanta if Carroll doesn't come aboard as coach and director of football operations. Heckert is known to favor Spagnuolo, who worked as the Eagles' linebackers coach before joining the Giants this season.

The Falcons were denied permission by the Giants to speak with Spagnuolo this week, but it's believed Spagnuolo will be interested in at least an interview with Atlanta once the Giants' playoff run is over.

Of course, Spagnuolo may look at the chaos going on in Atlanta right now and ultimately be skittish about working for the organization. And the Giants will certainly make it worth Spagnuolo's while to stay at least another season.

Either way, Giants fans ought to watch the Carroll situation closely.

The Falcons have interviewed or plan to interview just about any warm body out there who might be qualified to take over as general manager or head coach.

But there's one wild card that could end the whole search within a matter of days. Yes, USC coach Pete Carroll is very much in the mix as the next football czar in Atlanta.

Why Carroll would want to leave his fiefdom in southern California to take over the reeling Falcons is beyond me. But Carroll's struggles as an NFL head coach in New York and New England have always eaten at him, and he's never quite given up the idea of returning to the NFL.

The other question is why Falcons owner Arthur Blank would want to entrust his organization to another college coach when the last college coach he hired walked out on him after 13 games. Did the Bobby Petrino fiasco not leave any negative fallout with the owner?

Pete Carroll back in the NFL. Wow.

Then again, if Carroll flirts with Blank and then gets a better deal out of it at USC, then he'll be the second high-profile football man to play the Falcons' owner for a fool. Bill Parcells did it a couple weeks ago to get a better deal in Miami. Is Carroll doing the same thing now?

Stay tuned on this one. Should be interesting.

In the wake of the Falcons being rebuffed (code word for "used") by Bill Parcells, the team may be turning its attention to former Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer.

Nothing is imminent, but the fact that Schottenheimer is on their radar is a positive development for a franchise in desperate need of leadership.

We thought Schottenheimer would have been a solid choice in Miami to clean up that mess, but it's unlikely that Parcells will turn to the 64-year-old coach to be the Dolphins' sideline boss. Schottenheimer has shown too often in the past that he wants a strong hand in personnel matters, and it wouldn't be the right fit with Parcells calling the shots.

Bill Parcells has been targeted as the man to lead the Falcons out of the mess they face in the wake of the Michael Vick dogfighting fiasco and Bobby Petrino's resignation after just 13 games.

To which we say: Embattled team owner Arthur Blank couldn't find a better solution to all that ails his franchise.

Parcells is apparently not coming back to coach - he retired after last season in Dallas, although Tuna's many incarnations as sideline boss means you can never fully discount the possibility of another return. But if he takes the top executive job, it could offer a viable cure to the team's myriad problems.

Parcells is not only a brilliant coach, but a terrific personnel man as well. He rebuilt the Jets in 1997 and in his only year as general manager in 2000 collected four first-round picks and helped coach Herman Edwards get the team to the playoffs in three of the next four years after Parcells and Groh left the team.

Parcells re-emerged in Dallas, and the decisions he made along with Jerry Jones are a major reason why this year's team is 12-2 and headed for a potential Super Bowl run. Wade Phillips has the luxury of coaching many of the players Parcells brought to Dallas - including linebacker DeMarcus Ware, center Andre Gurode, running back Marion Barber III and defensive lineman Chris Canty.