Read More: Michael Vick (QB – PHI), Michael Turner (RB – ATL), Jeremy Maclin (WR – PHI), Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles’ 35-31 loss to the Atlanta Falcons was marred by a serious Michael Vick injury. The Eagles’ quarterback suffered a concussion in the third quarter of the loss, according to head coach Andy Reid. The injury was originally deemed a neck injury, but Reid later said that Vick did suffer a concussion.

Vick was holding the ball to make a pass in the pocket when he was hit by a Falcons player. He fell hard into his offensive lineman and laid on the ground. As he staggered to get up, he spit out blood onto the ground.

Vick also pointed to the scoreboard when Falcons fans booed him, which proved to be a bad omen. At the time, the Eagles were leading, 31-21. But afterwards, Matt Ryan and the Falcons rallied, scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a run by Michael Turner. Mike Kafka replaced Vick and didn’t look that bad, but his fourth-down pass inside of two minutes was dropped by Jeremy Maclin to end the game.

It remains unclear just how long Vick is sidelined, but no matter what happens, the Eagles will be weakened going forward.

For more on Michael Vick’s injury and the Eagles, visit Bleeding Green Nation and SB Nation Philly.

Local kids are getting the chance to learn from the best.  Atlanta Falcons Wide Receiver, Roddy White is hosting a football camp which lasts until this Friday.  For many of the camp participants, this seems like a dream come true. “It’s very exciting to meet the people you want to be like when you grow up; it’s like a once in a lifetime for me,” says camper Joshua.

For White himself, what keeps him going are the simple smiles from the kids. “When I come through the gates, and see how they are smiling and calling [my] name [...] that is the best part of it, when you get in here and they are excited to see you; it is just awesome,” says White.

White was a standout athlete at James Island Charter High School and was drafted by the Falcons in 2005. He says having a local athlete helping the kids out is great motivation for them. “Getting a guy that has been around here, that grew up here [...] getting a chance to see him every day and play with these kids, it’s just an extra motivation for them,” he says.

Arizona Cardinals Wide Receiver, Larry Fitzgerald is also working the kids out and knows all too well the benefits of being a kid in camp. Growing up in Minneapolis, there were plenty of Viking football camps to choose from,”It gave us the opportunity to sit and talk with professional athletes and it was great to pick their minds and know what you have to do to get to their level,” says Fitzgerald.

From stretching drills to actual game time, the kids got a chance to learn what it takes to be succesful.  They even learned some important life lessons, from guys who have been there, done that.

“A lot of the lessons aren’t just about football, it’s learning about life and how it combines with football,” camper Brooks said.

Michael Vick will also make an appearance at the camp, which lasts through Friday.

(USA Today) — Michael Vick’s path of self-destruction was well-documented before the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback began serving a 20-month sentence for a federal dogfighting conviction in 2007.

And now in a new autobiography — Michael Vick: Finally Free — the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback is unveiling his own memories of the bad choices that turned him from a Pro Bowler into a prison inmate.

Said Vick of the humiliation of prison, “You’re nobody. You don’t have no existence to the world at all. You’re just a guy with a name and a number.”

His bounce-back season last year, when he leaped past Kevin Kolb on the depth chart to become the Eagles’ starter and finished second in MVP voting, has restored the all-star flair with which Vick once played. And Vick has attempted to atone for his crimes by working with the Humane Society to inform young people about the evils and cruelty of dogfighting.

But the memories of his path of deception and bad decisions still haunt Vick.

Vick, 30, hopes he can impart the lessons he learned confined inside a lonely prison cell to young people who might now be damaging their own lives. They are lessons that Vick regrets that he, at age 26, was too naive to absorb.

“My propensity for trying to lie my way out of trouble only made my consequences more severe,” he wrote.

Vick admitted that not only was he lying to police investigators, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Falcons ownerArthur Blank about his involvement in dogfighting, he was also lying to his own defense attorney, Billy Martin.

Wrote Vick:

“When the dogfighting allegation surfaced, my lawyer told me, ‘If you were involved, you need to tell me you were involved.’ That’s when it was on the state rather than the federal level. I kept telling him, ‘No, no, I wasn’t involved, no, no.’ The whole time they were building the case, my lawyer was saying ‘no’ but he was seeing all this evidence saying ‘yes.’ If I had just told the truth, maybe I would’ve received a smack on the wrist instead of a lengthy sentence.

“So now that I think about it, I believe it was the Lord. It was God saying, ‘Kid, I gave you a chance to get this thing right.’ It was like, ‘Carry your ass to jail.’ I know He didn’t say it like that, but it was like, ‘Go on. You need to do some time. You need to learn a lesson.’

“He gave me a chance. He gave me three months – April through July – to go to all these people and say, ‘Look, I was wrong,’ and to get the correct advice, and to use it correctly. But I didn’t do it.”

 

The book is available on July 27, and can be pre-ordered at MichaelVickStory.com.

(USA Today)

Read More: Atlanta Falcons

Now that the complete 2011 Atlanta Falcons schedule has been released, it’s time to take a look at how this thing shakes down. We already knew about each of these opponents and locations, but seeing it all displayed week-by-week makes it easier to break down.

The biggest highlight, for me, is the potential lack of cold weather whatsoever. The Birds play in Chicago in early Sept. and in Seattle in early Oct. Other than that, in Charlotte in early Dec. is the only possible cold weather game. How excellent is that? Few NFL teams are as cold-weather-averse as the Falcons, and the team might be able to avoid it entirely.

The most anticipated matchups are going to be Atlanta’s chance at Dome redemption (stupid word) against the Packers, a team the squad split their 2010 season with. That’s one way of looking at it. A great way of looking at it!

Michael Vick will also probably play his first game as a starter against the Falcons. Remember he was a novelty during Philly’s last game in Atlanta, and was injured when the Falcons played in Philadelphia last season.

There’s also the matter of those four (4) prime time games, a very healthy supply for a team that got blasted out of the playoffs and conducts the NFL’s most thuddy and ploddy offense. Those Packers and Eagles games will be Sunday nighters, while the Birds will host the Jaguars (?) on a Thursday night and head to play the New Orleans Saints on the Monday night after Christmas. Much more on that last one in the morning.

For more Atlanta Falcons, join The Falcoholic. For more NFL schedule talk, visit SB Nation’s NFL hub.