FanHouse Atlanta Falcons

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Man, you really gotta love that NFC East. Up here in the swamps of Jersey on Sunday, the Giants played as little fourth-quarter defense as possible but still pulled out a 34-31 overtime victory over a Falcons team that refused to play any defense all day. Meanwhile, back in Texas, the Cowboys waited until the last possible second to show up and beat the Redskins. Some kind of inspiring day for the teams at the top of a division that was supposed to rank among the NFL's best. And while the Giants' players and coaches said all the right things here (a win is a win, after all, and they hadn't had one in a month and a half), the most insightful thing anybody said came out of the mouth of defensive end Justin Tuck.

"We got the win and that's great," Tuck said. "But I don't like how we finished this game at all."

SAN FRANCISCO -- In the midst of a pride-swallowing performance that ended with the 49ers on the wrong end of a 45-10 blowout loss to Atlanta, veteran cornerback Dre' Bly became emblematic of a self-important San Francisco team that wasn't nearly as good as its 3-1 record.

After fumbling on a showboating interception return and offering little contrition for his carelessness Sunday night -- "I have fun. Dre' is going to be Dre'" was his explanation -- Bly apologized profusely on Monday for an on-field celebration he admitted was "a poor choice."

Bly, who first approached coach Mike Singletary as well as his teammates, used Singletary's news conference as a stage to announce his public apology.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Anyone who doubted the authenticity of the Atlanta Falcons following their 2-1 start has to take notice after Sunday's 45-10 blowout of the San Francisco 49ers, a game that could have easily exposed the visitors as the pretenders their skeptics thought they might be.

Would they perform a cross-country face plant, coming off the dreaded bye-week hangover? Would they come out like the humbled, outmatched team that resembled the post-Bobby Petrino wreckage in that Week 3 26-10 loss to the Patriots in Foxborough?

Not a chance.

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SAN FRANCISCO -- The Atlanta Falcons weren't even finished piling up takeaways, yards and points in Sunday's 45-10 rout of the 49ers at Candlestick Park when San Francisco coach Mike Singletary lost his sideline poise.

Rather than take out his frustrations on one of his underachieving players, Singletary instead engaged in a third-quarter shouting match with Falcons right guard Harvey Dahl.

During an early third-quarter drive that was dominated by running back Michael Turner (22 total carries for 97 yards) chewing up the 49ers' 3-4 defensive front, Singletary and Dahl argued back and forth, with both of them very animated and obviously irate. Neither was penalized for the jawing match.

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- As mere mortals, we're conditioned to believe life is easy for guys like Tom Brady. Fame, success, good looks, championship glory ... these things make it seem as if a dude is coasting through life, surfing the biggest waves with minimal effort, skiing on one ski.

But that isn't always the way, and anybody who tuned in around halftime of Sunday's Patriots-Falcons game saw a Tom Brady who wasn't real happy about the way things were going. New England's Golden Boy QB was openly screaming at teammates, clearly frustrated by his team's red zone failures and general inability so far this season to get into sync.

"I think I was just really into it," Brady would say later, by way of denial-drenched explanation. "Just trying to keep everybody focused. Football is a team game, and it's about everybody being on the same page."

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank has made it clear that Michael Vick won't play for the Falcons again. But he said on his way out of the NFL owners' meetings this morning that he has no problem with Vick returning to the league with some other team. Blank also gave some indication of what might constitute the "genuine remorse" that Vick supposedly has to show before commissioner Roger Goodell reinstates him.

"It goes beyond whether he's paid his debt to society," Blank said. "From a legal standpoint, and financially, he has. But it goes beyond words. It goes to how he's going to live, personally and in the community with others. The people that Michael spent time with and the influence they had on him were a big part of what happened. His ability to separate from those people is going to be critical for Michael."

Eleven days and counting until the mock drafts get shredded in favor of the real one, and the time between now and April 25 is likely to see a frenzy of posturing, positioning and actual activity. I debuted my first-ever mock draft yesterday, but since it ran a number of developments have threatened to shake it up.

So what's happened to my mock draft today? Let's take a look...

In the natural next step for a man who was just cleared of charges of carrying marijuana through an airport in a fake Aquafina bottle, Atlanta Falcons quarterback/deviant Michael Vick has just opened up a winery restaurant in Atlanta.

It's called The Tasting Room, and is a new, classy, sophisticated place for people who love good wine and/or have the munchies. They've got a fantastic 2002 Whitehall Lane Winery Sauvignon Blanc, a very tasty 2000 La Foret Bourgogne Chardonnay, and their 2007 dime bag of Maui Wowie has wowed the critics.

Vick's an investor in the restaurant, and says its part of an effort to establish more of a connection with the community. I suppose I shouldn't poke fun, and should just applaud him for being willing to make money off of the people he's accused of ignoring.

"Maybe this will offset some of that attention I've been getting, whether positive or negative. It's good for people to see that I'm giving back to the community, where people can see me trying to do something that's positive. There's a lot of people speculating about things I do that are not so positive."

Yes, there sure are, and now that I feel sufficiently guilty for all of the idle "speculation" about things Michael Vick may or may not to that are not so positive, I'll just wish him the best of luck in his new wine-dealing business.

Oh, and if anything on the menu gives you herpes, you get a free salad.

I suppose it's not official yet, but it's just a matter of time: Joe Horn will be an Atlanta Falcon. ESPN's Michael Smith said that Horn has agreed to sign with the team, and has passed the team's physical. A Falcons spokesman said that his name isn't officially on a contract yet. All indications are that it soon will be.

In a lot of ways, Joe Horn seems like an ideal fit for Atlanta. Not only are they weak at receiver, but Joe Horn's the mentoring type. He takes pride not only in doing his job well, but in imparting his wisdom onto younger players. Certainly, the Falcons have no shortage of receivers who haven't lived up to their potential, and they have a quarterback who could probably use a mature influence or two.

It also takes an excuse away from Michael Vick. It's true that he's never had a dependable receiver in Atlanta. Horn, while he's had some injury problems and maybe isn't the same receiver he once was, is still a polished professional who knows how to get open. If Vick and Horn can't establish a connection, chances are, it won't be Horn's fault.

Joe Horn's a favorite of mine. His best asset as a football player is his passion. He approaches the game emotionally, and he gives what he has. When he speaks, he speaks with passion and conviction; there seems to be little pretentiousness about him. He wouldn't be a bad guy for any team to have around.

Because he'll kill it. Atlanta Falcons defensive lineman Jonathan Babineaux was arrested earlier on charges of animal cruelty, and now the dog has died. Based on initial reports, he makes Ron Artest look like Ace Ventura. He's been arrested on charges of felony animal cruelty. From 11Alive.com:

According to Cpl. Darren Moloney of the Gwinnett County Police Department, Babineaux's wife took a dog to an animal emergency center in Gwinnett County on Sunday. The dog later died and the subsequent investigation led to an arrest warrant for Babineaux. According to Moloney, investigators believe Babineaux "somehow had a direct hand in killing the animal."

I suppose I shouldn't presume guilt, and maybe this was an accident, but if it's not? What is your deal, Babineaux? You can't win a starting job with the Falcons, so you go home and whale on a dog?

Credit goes to Babineaux's wife for getting the dog some help (You take dead animals to the vet? I'll take you to the vet) and trying to save its life. She was too late. And if this was a malicious attack on an animal by Babineaux, the wife might want to start thinking about getting out, too.