Sometimes life gives you news and you've gotta make news-ade.

Welcome to News on the Wing, where I'll try to round up articles about the Falcons, the NFC South and the NFL in general that I think are particularly interesting or relevant. In the spirit of my quick-hit journalism career, we'll round these up every Tuesday until I forget about it or pass out drunk in a gutter somewhere. You know, the typical Tuesday evening for Dave the Falconer.

Without further ado:

• As our good friend runningback noted, Michael Koenen got the franchise tag. This is sure to prompt some head-scratching, but the Falcons don't ahve a clear franchise tag guy outside of Michael Boley, and he clearly wasn't going to command that any longer. I'd say it's better to make sure we can keep a guy who was an integral piece of a historic punting squad, wouldn't you?
• Little old, but this ESPN look at the best coaching staffs in the NFC South ends predictably: with Mike Smith & Co. at the top. Is there anything Smitty can't do?
• A truly outstanding look at Falcon free agents and the team's potential moves in that arena, courtesy of Examiner.com's Daniel Cox. I totally agree that signing Harvey Dahl and Tyson Clabo needs to be a priority.
  
• There was a Pro Bowl, I guess? I can't stand the utter uselessness of the Pro Bowl and neither can the players, which is probably why I didn't even note that Roddy White caught a pass. The fact that he made it out without any injuries is all I care about.
• Canal Street Chronicles is taking a look at Saints free agents and making for the longest link ever. Worth a glance, though I doubt any of them would interest us.
• Buc 'Em illustrates why Jon Gruden is a tool without meaning to. They're much better off with Raheem Morris running the show, in my very humble opinion.
• We're not the only ones weighing the possibility of bringing Albert Haynesworth on board. I wouldn't want to see the Panthers get him, either. 

via cache.gettyimages.com

There's an interesting article up at CNN right now that involves a few familiar names. It also involves a topic that's familiar to anyone who has ever played the line in football: weight.

Chuck Smith, who was a Tecmo Super Bowl favorite of mine back in the day and a very competent lineman for the Falcons, talks about the pressures of playing heavy and then trying to deal with it after leaving the NFL behind. The eating habits described in the article are pretty incredible:

"When I trained, they told us to eat all you can eat," said Smith, who played in Super Bowl XXXIII with the Falcons. "Drink beer, eat peanut butter to gain weight. All those eating habits were great for football. But when I got done, no question I had to make adjustments."

Mmm....beer and peanut butter. But the point is made that linemen continue to play at heavier and heavier weights, which is dangerous for the long term health of players and makes them pretty much immobile. The culture in the NFL is such that pretty much everyone calls you small if you're under 300 pounds, unless you have the good fortune to play in an Alex Gibbs zone blocking scheme on the offensive line. You have a little more leniency on the defensive end, but try telling that to Grady Jackson.

Given that it's a true long-term health issue, it'd be nice if the NFL would at least examine what's happening to the titanic linemen who either keep safe or destroy the more flashy running backs and quarterbacks. Given the amount of money involved, though, I bet you linemen are going to keep stuffing entire Cornish hens down their throats.

Thoughts?

The Falcons are going to have a tough time against the Saints this weekend. I don't wish to alarm you, but they have a few guys over there who are very good at playing "offense." They might even "score" a few "touchdowns" on us. "Oh no."

Still, it's heartening to hear that Reggie Bush won't be at the Dome. Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while have a pretty good idea of where I stand on Bush. I think he's vastly overrated as running back, but his value as a pass-catching back is undeniable. The more options Drew Brees has against the Falcons, the more likely he is to fry us as he's done so many hapless defenses this year.

The Saints also insist on using Deuce McAllister, who as recently as a couple of years ago was an elite back but is little more than a league average starting running back now. If the Falcons can get their bread-and-butter first quarter points on the board, the team will have to pass often and won't have the luxury of looking to Bush. If the Falcons can get the pass rush going--something several of you having been calling for all year--they could really do some damage in a game that's likely to be a shootout one way or another.

I may be drinking a pitcher of delicious blue raspberry Kool-Aid here, but I think the Falcons will be able to apply enough defense to hold the Saints to 28 points or fewer. With a less-than-fantastic defense going against them, the Falcons should be able to come up with more than that. I really do believe the difference maker will be the absence of Bush.

For thoughts that seem likely to completely differ from mine, make sure you're heading over to Canal Street Chronicles throughout the weekend. Those poor buggers seem pretty convinced they're going to win!

Here's a couple notes about the upcoming game, courtesy of various outlets:

• Check out Rexx's FanPost over on the side there, where he gives a brief look at what the Ravens will be playing for this week. If you're not already familiar with Rexx's work, be sure to visit Baltimore Beatdown to see what the Ravens have been up to. I've also contributed a FanPost to his site.
• This is a few days old now, but eminent Falcologist Steve Wyche of the AJC looks at the backup quarterback battle and what rookies have a chance of starting and gives us a good look at who might get considerable run on Thursday. It's right here, in case you haven't seen it yet.
  
• Starting QB candidates Kyle Boller and Troy Smith are both out, according to The Baltimore Sun, which means strong-armed rookie Joe Flacco is likely to get the start. I'm a big fan of Flacco (I picked him for the Falcons in our SBN mock draft), and I'll be interested to see how he looks out there. That said, I hope we sack him at least five times.
• For those of you who are awake/around, remember that I'll have an open thread up for any of you who want to come shoot the breeze during the game. I'll be sadly working through most of the game, but I'll make every effort to be there when I can and hope you'll all show up.

I woke up to very sad news this morning. It appears that NFL Players Association Executive Director Gene Upshaw has lost his battle to pancreatic cancer.

Though people sometimes accused him of not negotiating tough enough with owners, it's only fair to note that he's been in his position since 1983 and has been there through the flourishing of free agency and a ridiculous rise in player salaries. No matter what you thought of him, it's clear that Upshaw leaves behind a legacy for the National Football League, and a very big chair to fill.

R.I.P.

This is huge news for Falcons fans because it legitimately upgrades one of the few weak offensive spots on the Saints' roster. It looks like Shockey's been traded for a second and fifth rounder, which is not a huge haul for the Giants considering Shockey's relative level of talent.

Discuss what this does to the balance of power in the NFC South, and I'll return with more thoughts on it later tonight.

Welcome to News From Around the Nation, where it's all SportsBlog Nation, some of the time. If you'd like to see what's going on in the NFC South with our awful, tax-evading, drunken rivals division mates, keep reading after the jump.

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I've noted in this space how insane I think rookie contracts are. You get a guy like Matt Ryan who has never actually played at the NFL level signing a contract so huge and unwieldy that he can't get it in the front door of his mansion and has to build a swimming pool made entirely out of $10 bills just to use some of it. It's insane.

Never one to shy away from enforcement, it now appears that Darth Commish Roger Goodell is taking aim at those ginormous rookie contracts (WARNING: video probably NSFW):

Oh, I'm sorry. That's Shaq asking Kobe to tell him how his ass tastes. Still, the message is essentially the same:

"There's something wrong about the system," Goodell said Friday. "The money should go to people who perform."

Now, I'm not advocating a shiny copper penny for rookies. There's just got to be some impetus for a rookie to perform well that doesn't involve gobs of money. Veterans who have showed their prowess on the field get pretty fired up about this issue, and rookies themselves can make unwise decisions with their money (see Jones, formerly known as Pacman). So I'm all for some kind of rookie spending cap, especially with Goodell's stipulation that guys who prove themselves on the field will be able to re-up. If he's willing to put a little muscle behind that to entice teams to actually negotiate, so much the better.

Thoughts?