Fragen und Antworten » terms with guard Jon Asamoah, defensive

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Falcons began a major overhaul Tuesday after a dismal season, signing three linemen at the start of free agency, re-signing defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux, and cutting former Pro Bowl safety Thomas DeCoud. Needing to bulk up on both sides of the line, the Falcons agreed to terms with guard Jon Asamoah, defensive end Tyson Jackson and defensive tackle Paul Soliai. Asamoah and Jackson played last season with Kansas City, where Asamoah lost his starting job. They were familiar to former Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who was hired in January as Atlantas assistant GM. The 345-pound Soliai spent seven seasons with the Miami Dolphins, including two seasons under Mike Nolan, now the defensive co-ordinator of the Falcons. "They are good football players and solid in many ways," Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said in a conference call. "They add to the toughness, the size and the grittiness of our team. That was a goal we had set out at the beginning of the off-season to accomplish." Terms of the new contracts were not released, but Soliai reportedly received a five-year deal worth $33 million, with $14 million guaranteed, while Jackson got a five-year deal worth up to $25 million. "Paul has played for coach Nolan in Miami and is familiar with our scheme, and Tyson is a good football player that will fit with what we want to do defensively as well," Falcons coach Mike Smith said in a statement. "Jon is a physical, experienced offensive lineman that will add a veteran presence to our offensive line." The Falcons made re-signing Babineaux a top priority, not wanting to take another hit up front before delving into free agency. A nine-year veteran, Babineaux had 49 tackles, two fumble recoveries, a sack and a forced fumble last season. Overall, he has played 138 career games for Atlanta, with 108 starts. "Remaining an Atlanta Falcon and in Atlanta as my home were the best decisions for me and my family," said Babineaux, who agreed to a three-year contract. DeCoud, a third-round pick of the Falcons in 2008, was a leader on the Falcons defence two years ago when the team came up one victory short of the Super Bowl. He earned his first Pro Bowl selection. But DeCouds production dropped significantly last season as quarterbacks lit up the secondary and the Falcons plummeted to 4-12 for their first losing season since 2007. He was the second starter released from that unit, following cornerback Asante Samuel. "The search for a safety that will help us in our quest to be a more established and consistent defence was at the forefront of this decision," Dimitroff said. In other moves, the Falcons re-signed centre Joe Hawley, who made seven starts in 2013 after Peter Konz lost the job, and offensive lineman Mike Johnson, who was expected to contend for a starting job a year ago but went down in training camp with a season-ending injury. In a procedural move, Atlanta formally released tight end Tony Gonzalez, who retired at the end of last season and has already taken a job as a television commentator. "This was a decision we had to make with the start of the new league year as we begin retooling our roster for 2014," Dimitroff said. "On behalf of the entire Falcons organization, we wish Tony all the best in his television career and thank him for everything he did for this franchise." Asamoah was a third-round pick in 2010 by the Chiefs. He fell out of favour with coach Andy Reid and was benched last season in favour of journeyman Geoff Schwartz. Still, the Falcons feel he can stabilize the right guard position, which has been a major issue for several years. Atlanta cut Garrett Reynolds, who made 10 starts at that position last season before he was replaced by Konz, who had flopped at centre. The line must do a better job protecting quarterback Matt Ryan, who was sacked 44 times, and opening up holes for a running game that ranked last in the league at just 77.9 yards per game. Jackson was the third overall pick in the 2009 draft out of LSU, but never had a breakout year with the Chiefs. He did have a career-high four sacks in 2013, so the Falcons hope hes ready to make a more prominent impact. Atlanta is desperate to get more outside pressure on opposing quarterbacks after notching just 32 sacks last season; only two teams had fewer. Soliai played in 99 games with the Dolphins, including 62 starts. Last season, he had 34 tackles with one sack, one forced fumble and five passes defenced. He played under Nolan in 2010 and 2011, earning his first career Pro Bowl selection in the latter season. With big holes remaining in the secondary and at tight end, plus the draft coming up, Dimitroff said there is plenty of work left to do. "We will continue to add in every direction to fix this team," he said. Austin Bryant Lions Jersey . (January 11, 2014) – Once again Kevin Martin proved why he is the all-time TSN skins leader, winning $11,500 in prize money and a spot in the Travelers All-Star Curling Skins Game presented by Pintys final following a semifinal victory over Brad Jacobs earlier this evening at the Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre in Banff, Alta. Jahlani Tavai Youth Jersey . -- Jesse Lussier scored 8:24 into overtime as the Halifax Mooseheads erased a four-goal deficit to beat the host Val-dOr Foreurs 6-5 on Tuesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff action. http://www.authenticnfllionslockroom.com/Youth-TJ-Hockenson-Elite-Jersey/ . 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The belief is that Smyth wants one more crack with a winning team to see if he can win the Stanley Cup. Hes still effective, at least in the offensive zone, so I expect his name will heat up as we get closer to the deadline. Could Matt Moulson be heading to Ottawa? Pierre LeBrun: Matt Moulson will be a very popular name as the March deadline approaches. We know hes one of the guys the LA Kings are looking at, but the Ottawa Senators are another team. A little bit of a connection with the Senators, as GM Bryan Murrays nephew Tim Murray is now GM in Buffalo. Moulsons a guy that if the Senators can stay in the playoff mix over the next few weeks, I believe they will make inquiries on him. Might Thomas Vanek, who was part of the Moulson trade, re-sign on Long Island? LeBrun: He has liked it on Long Island a lot more than he thought he would. You hear these stories about the Islanders and playing in a bad rink but Vanek has really enjoyed his time there. He loves playing with John Tavares and he likes the way hes been treated by Garth Snow, so hes got a big decision to make. I think at the end of the day hes still going to go to free agency, which makes him force the hand of Snow. For Snow, thats the number one priority; to sign Vanek before the trade deadline. How big an issue is security and safety at the Sochi Olympics? Dreger: It is a concerning issue. The threat of terrorism always is going to be concerning for a world spectacle such as this and thats not lost on neither the Players Association and National Hockey League. Both will tell you that their guest list, be it family or friends, is reducing on a week-by-week basis leading up to the Olympic Games but the NHL is confident that their safety will be insured by the Russian government and the International Olympic Organization. But iff there were significant terrorist attempts or attacks prior to the Olympics in Sochi, I think that the NHL and the NHLPA also wouldnt hesitate to remove themselves from the Games.dddddddddddd Is the NHL ready to expand video review and when? LeBrun: I think more than ever. Its all about timing and I can tell you right now that its on the GMs agenda in March when they will again tackle this. But this time, I think the league might finally get its way. We know that hockey operations has wanted to expand video review for a long time and if they get their way this year, not only will they get it moving forward but maybe even for the playoffs if they can get the owners and the NHLPA to sign off. Lots of "ifs" but certainly theres a different movement here. Bob McKenzie: I believe that Detroit goal on Saturday night was the tipping point for general managers. GMs in the past have overwhelmingly been against expanding video review but after Saturday night, I surveyed 23 NHL GMs and 22 of them said we cannot have a repeat of what happened on Saturday night. The one GM who didnt say that said they have to discuss what theyre going to do. Now, how exactly they go about that is the controversial aspect. Some guys want the coachs challenge, some guys want it only to be on the very specific play where a puck comes off the mesh, and some guys want the referees to be able to review it at the penalty bench. Its all over the map and how they process this is the controversial aspect to it. But after that goal that was scored on Saturday night, many general managers said could you imagine if the Stanley Cup was decided on a goal like that. Does anything come of Sens owner Eugene Melnyk presenting the NHL Matt Cooke investigation evidence? McKenzie: No, it doesnt. When this incident happened last season, Melnyk said that he believed in his heart that Cooke had malice and intentionally severed the tendon of Erik Karlsson. He said afterwards he was going to prove it and talked about a forensic investigation. He spent a lot of time, effort and money and put together a fully detailed medical report and presented that to the NHL in New York City on Monday. Theres not going to be any retroactive justice here, but Eugene Melnyk had his day in court, so to speak, and did what he said he was going to do. ' ' '