LawyerMilloy Posts -- FanHouse

Latest LawyerMilloy Stories

Atlanta Falcons: Aiming for History

Posted: Feb 24th 2009 3:00PM by JJ Cooper (author feed)
Filed under: Atlanta Falcons, NFC South

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

On the heels of a nightmarish 2007 season, the Falcons were predicted to go 0-16 by some pundits. But not even the most optimistic Falcons fan would have expected a playoff spot, and even fewer would have seen Matt Ryan going from rookie to franchise quarterback before the season's halfway point.

But now here comes the hard part: The Falcons have never managed to put together back-to-back winning seasons. Whenever the Falcons have broken through with a playoff appearance, it's always been followed with a quick crash back to Earth.

Continue Reading Atlanta Falcons: Aiming for History

Falcons Tell Milloy He Won't Be Back

Posted: Feb 22nd 2009 10:20PM by JJ Cooper (author feed)
Filed under: Atlanta Falcons, NFL Free Agency

1 COMMENT

On a Falcons team that was young at a whole lot of positions, safety Lawyer Milloy was one of the few old men in the starting lineup.

But when the 2009 season rolls around, Milloy will be playing elsewhere. The Falcons have told Milloy's agent that they are not planning to offer him a contract to come back.

Erik Coleman is coming back, while Thomas DeCoud, last year's third-round pick, would seem to be the best bet to get the first shot at replacing Milloy although DeCoud seems to be a better fit at free safety than strong safety.

Continue Reading Falcons Tell Milloy He Won't Be Back

The Addendum Week 2: Because Pictures Are Worth a Lot of Words, and Easier to Read Too

Posted: Sep 16th 2008 9:00AM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: AFC East, AFC North, AFC South, AFC West, NFC East, NFC North, NFC South, NFC West, NFL Media Watch

1 COMMENT

The Addendum is FanHouse's weekly picture/graph/chart review of the preceding NFL week. It should be read in addition to Ryan Wilson's critically titled "Sorting the Sunday Pile". Or instead of. Whatever.

Exhibit 1 - The Teams
You understand symmetry and can, in all likelihood, read. So I shouldn't have to explain why certain teams are located in certain places. Feel free to dispute said location in the comments.

Please note "WTF?" is not bad, it's just surprising/unknown.

Continue Reading The Addendum Week 2: Because Pictures Are Worth a Lot of Words, and Easier to Read Too

Falcons' Lawyer Milloy Arrested for Drunk Driving, 12 Hours After Loss to Buccaneers

Posted: Sep 15th 2008 10:22AM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Atlanta Falcons, NFL Police Blotter

94 COMMENTS

Atlanta Falcons defensive back Lawyer Milloy was arrested for driving under the influence early Monday, about 12 hours after playing Sunday in the Falcons' loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Via PFT, the local sheriff's office says Milloy was booked at 4:35 a.m EDT, and released at 9:48 a.m. EDT.

Milloy has started all 34 games for the Falcons since signing with the team in 2006 as a free agent from the Bills. As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes, Milloy is considered a leader both on the field and in the Falcons' locker room. He played on two Super Bowl teams with the New England Patriots before joining the Falcons, and from the day the Falcons signed him, he's been considered a solid veteran presence on the team.

FanHouse NFL Season Preview: Falcons - This Year We Promise Our Coach Won't Quit

Posted: Aug 4th 2008 9:04AM by JJ Cooper (author feed)
Filed under: Atlanta Falcons, NFC South

2 COMMENTS

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is a month off, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterbacks: If he develops as expected, and if he doesn't have a hidden dog-fighting hobby, the Falcons have their franchise quarterback for the next decade at least. Matt Ryan will be the team's starting quarterback by the start of 2009 for sure. The question is whether he'll be stepping in to replace Chris Redman early this season. Considering how bad Atlanta will be, the likelihood is he'll be under center by Week Eight, when the Falcons come off their bye. Heat Index: 4

Running Backs: If there is one position on the Falcons' roster where they compare favorably to the rest of the league, it may be running back. Jerious Norwood has been one of the most productive backup running backs in the league over the past two seasons (202 carries, 1,246 yards with a 6.2 yard per carry average), and was expected to step into the starting role whenever Warrick Dunn aged out of the position. Dunn finally left town to head back to Tampa Bay, but Norwood will still be the backup, as the Falcons signed LaDainian Tomlinson's understudy, Michael Turner, to a big-money deal. Turner's resume is very similar to Norwood's--he's been a productive backup for three seasons (228 carries, 1,257 yards with a 5.5 YPC average) who is looking to step into a larger role. The two should complement each other pretty well, as Turner is a bigger, one-cut home run hitter with good speed, while Norwood is a shiftier, smaller back with blazing speed. Together, they could be an outstanding combo if they didn't have to run behind such a brutal offensive line. Heat Index: 7

Continue Reading FanHouse NFL Season Preview: Falcons - This Year We Promise Our Coach Won't Quit

Falcons Players Hate Their Ex-Coach

Posted: Dec 13th 2007 7:17AM by JJ Cooper (author feed)
Filed under: Falcons, NFC South, Atlanta

132 COMMENTS

It'd be easier to find a happy Dolphins fan than to find a Falcons player who has any sympathy for Bobby "The Cancer" Petrino.

In their first chance to speak out since Petrino slipped out of town to Arkansas, the Falcons players were united (for the first time this year) in their disgust with Petrino. Lawyer Milloy spelled out his anger:

One thing I'm really [mad] at was while he was having a half-hearted approach to games, he was putting us all at risk. His mind wasn't in it. That explains why he threw a challenge flag a play after he was allowed to. Why we went for it on fourth-and-9 and punted on fourth-and-1. Maybe he was on the phone at Arkansas to the AD at that point. The cancer was diagnosed. Never would you want it to be your head coach, your general, to be that cancer, but in our case, it was."

Continue Reading Falcons Players Hate Their Ex-Coach

Insult and Injury Concurrently Strike the 49ers' Offensive Line

Posted: Nov 5th 2007 8:47PM by Tom Mantzouranis (author feed)
Filed under: 49ers, NFC West, San Francisco

1 COMMENT

What's worse than losing to the Atlanta Falcons? Hearing those Falcons -- the Falcons -- rub it in.

"All week on tape we saw that they really couldn't block as well as they probably needed to, so a lot of us were excited about our (blitz-heavy) package going in," Lawyer Milloy said.

If by "needed to," Milloy meant "not only prevent Alex Smith from getting sacked twice, but also give him any semblance of time to do anything with the football other than throw it wildly to prevent a decapitation," yes, the line didn't block as well as they probably needed to. Anyone who's seen a 49ers game this season had already reached that same conclusion, but to hear it put so plainly from another player ... it just stings, doesn't it?

Well, it's getting worse before it gets better. Left tackle Jonas Jennings, who has already missed the last two games with a high ankle sprain, isn't getting back into the lineup this year. Potentially joining him in the near future is guard Justin Smiley. Smiley suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder diving to recover a Michael Robinson fumble yesterday. He tore the labrum in his other shoulder last year and missed no time, but this injury is considered much worse. To confirm, he'll visit THE MAN for a second opinion.

So the 49ers are pretty much completely out of the race in the NFC West. But they're in a fun little cold war of sorts with the Rams for most injured offensive linemen, eh?

Falcons Owner Arthur Blank Could Really Use a Pick-Me-Up

Posted: Oct 14th 2007 11:32AM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: Falcons, NFC South, NFL Fans

0 COMMENTS

Earlier this week, Falcons tight end Alge Crumpler questioned whether new head coach Bobby Petrino wasn't in over his head. Fair question, what with the team being 1-4, and struggling to score points.

During this morning's Sunday NFL Countdown, Chris Berman asked Chris Mortensen if Atlanta owner Arthur Blank made a mistake in firing head coach Jim Mora. Mort offered this:

"You know, I think some players would vote yes, but the owner says no. In fact, on Monday night, Arthur Blank, the owner, asked permission of Bobby Petrino, the coach, if he could speak with Alge Crumpler ... In that 30-45 minute conversation, Blank emphasized to Crumpler that Petrino was exactly what he was looking for: a no-frills head coach....

Then, on Tuesday in Chicago, attending a league meeting, Blank spent time with Patriots owner Robert Kraft, seeking some advice about the players' discomfort. Kraft shared his experience of breaking into the league with Bill Parcells ..., then moving to the player-friendly Pete Carroll, only to find a desire to bring back a task master in Bill Belichick.

Interestingly, former Pats' safety Lawyer Milloy compared Petrino's coaching style to Belichick's. (I'll assume the New England version, not the Cleveland one.) I suppose this makes Blank feel better about his decision, but none of that matters if the Falcons continue to stumble their way through the season.

And the danger isn't in Blank having to fire his second head coach in as many seasons. The danger is that Petrino might just say "screw it", pull a Saban, and head back to college. Can't really blame him, either.

Falcons Expect Big Things Out of Lawyer Milloy

Posted: Jun 4th 2007 10:48AM by Dan (author feed)
Filed under: Falcons, NFC South, Atlanta

0 COMMENTS

Once an NFL player hits 30, it's usually downhill from there. So with Falcons safety Lawyer Milloy approaching 34, they really shouldn't expect much of him, right? Wrong. In fact, it's quite the opposite.

"Before I got here, I kind of thought he was always an in-the-box guy, probably not as much of a cover guy because you always look at guys getting older and think they're slowing down," Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer said. "But I've been really impressed with his coverage ability for a strong safety. He's smart and can play the run well, so we're hoping to use him in similar ways to how we used Woodson toward the end of his career, in a lot of different packages."

Milloy refuses to give in to age and has remained a very talented player despite his body getting older. While he suffered a down year statistically last season, the new defensive system appears to fit his style. Add that to Zimmer's confidence in him and Milloy's refusal to decline, and you have a match made in heaven.

Admittedly, Milloy only has a couple quality years left. That's just the sad reality of an aging body in the NFL. However, Falcons fans can be rest assured that they are going to get every last ounce of ability Milloy has left. Expect big things from him this coming year.

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)