One week into the fantasy football season tends to bring premature panic along with some excessive celebration, especially when it comes to a sleeper pick that delivered.
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — When you're a receiver on the same team with Julio Jones, it's easy to get overlooked.
ATLANTA (AP) — A person familiar with the deals says the Atlanta Falcons have reached agreements with wide receiver Laquon Treadwell, a former first-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings, and guard...
Congrats to those who have reason to read this, for you have made it to Week 15.
That means semifinal week in most leagues in a week filled with (actual) games with (actual) playoff...
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Receiver Calvin Ridley and cornerback Desmond Trufant were placed on injured reserve Tuesday by the Atlanta Falcons.
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley and cornerback Desmond Trufant will miss the rest of the season after getting hurt in a win over Carolina.
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Atlanta Falcons backup running back Ito Smith appears set to play against the Tennessee Titans after returning from a concussion.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis Colts cornerback Kenny Moore II understands this week's challenge each time he pops in an Atlanta Falcons tape.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Jerry Jeudy couldn't pass up the chance to work out with one of the NFL's best receivers, a guy he has been watching since high school.
ATLANTA FALCONS (7-9)
New faces: OG James Carpenter, OG Jamon Brown, DE Adrian Clayborn, SS J.J. Wilcox, S Chris Cooper, S Afolabi Laguda, DE Chris Odom, DT Tyeler Davison, OT John Wetzel,...
ATLANTA (AP) — Changes are being considered on Atlanta's offensive line after Matt Ryan was sacked six times in the latest of the Falcons' three straight losses.
Coach Dan Quinn said Friday backup linemen Zane Beadles and Ty Sambrailo could have bigger roles as the Falcons try to find better protection for Ryan and improved run blocking.
TEM PE, Ariz. (AP) — Too small, too slow. Christian Kirk is well aware of what critics said to him going into this year's NFL draft.
They're right in front of him every day as he leaves home.
"I have a blackboard at my house that has it all written up," he said. "It's all right where I leave for the door every day."
He hasn't forgotten that five receivers were drafted ahead of him.
"I thought I was the best and I'm out to prove that," Kirk said.
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Calvin Ridley is going through quite an adjustment.
During his college days at Alabama, he hardly knew what it was like to lose.
"It was three games, right?" Ridley said Wednesday, pausing briefly to ponder whether his memory was correct. "Three games," he repeated, shaking his head. "That's crazy."
The receiver already has tasted more defeat in his rookie season with the Atlanta Falcons.
Quarterback play has dominated the fantasy football scene during the first three weeks, which, in turn, has not led to fruitful results from the majority of running backs who were selected long before the first passer came off the boards.
Outside of Todd Gurley and Alvin Kamara, most of the high-end backs need a fantasy wake-up call, and several should be able to answer in Week 4.
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Opposing coaches have a new reason to reconsider making Calvin Ridley the third priority in defensive plans against the Atlanta Falcons' passing game.
For the third straight week this NFL season, game stacking — playing three or more players from the same game — was an effective way to win daily fantasy tournaments.
The logic is that when a matchup turns into a shootout, there's a lot of back and forth from each team, leading to high fantasy point totals for multiple players.
ATLANTA (AP) — Calvin Ridley set a Falcons rookie record with three touchdown receptions among a bunch of big plays — in a bittersweet afternoon for the young wide receiver.
After barely factoring in Atlanta's first two games, he was targeted a team-high eight times, caught a team-best seven passes and registered a game-high 146 yards. It wasn't enough, though, because Drew Brees's half-yard sneak pushed the New Orleans Saints to a 43-37 overtime victory Sunday.
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons trimmed their roster for the regular season, keeping all six draft picks and three other rookie free agents.
Strong performances in the preseason earned offensive lineman Matt Gono, linebacker Richard Dewey Jarvis and defensive lineman Justin Zimmer spots on the 52-player roster announced Saturday.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Success for the quarterbacks in the matchup between top-ranked Alabama and Louisville will likely depend on the receivers they'll be throwing to.
The wide receivers could be the most closely watched players when the teams meet Sept. 1 in Orlando, Florida.
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — It was just another routine throw in practice, a rookie quarterback tossing the ball to a rookie receiver.
When the two failed to connect, Julio Jones stepped in.
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Matt Ryan is eager to regain his MVP form with the Atlanta Falcons.
It sure seems possible with Julio Jones in camp, first-round pick Calvin Ridley ready to make an impact and — perhaps most important — a full season in the books with offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.
While Ryan put up his seventh straight year with more than 4,000 yards through the air, he didn't come close to matching the best season of his career under previous coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Ricardo Allen began listing the weapons on the Atlanta Falcons' offense and shook his head.
Wide receivers Julio Jones, Mohamed Sanu and Calvin Ridley. Running backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman. Quarterback Matt Ryan.
The safety said facing those playmakers is like a bad dream he must revisit every practice. But Allen also smiled because that's good news for Atlanta's 2018 outlook.
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Matt Ryan barked out a play, took the snap and zipped a pass to the receiver who played his college ball at Alabama.
Nope, it wasn't Julio Jones.
He's sitting out the team's voluntary offseason program. So it was Calvin Ridley — a first-round draft pick from the Crimson Tide — who got a chance to shine during a 90-minute practice Wednesday.
But, for a team with Super Bowl aspirations, it was impossible to ignore the absence of No. 11.
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Even with temperatures in the mid-80s for the opening day of the Falcons rookie minicamp, wide receiver Calvin Ridley wore long sleeves under his red No. 18 jersey.
He just couldn't resist.
It's a freedom that was never allowed for skill position players in Ridley's college career under Alabama coach Nick Saban.
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — The last time the Atlanta Falcons picked an Alabama receiver in the first round of the NFL draft, it worked out pretty well.
So, when Calvin Ridley was still on the board Thursday night at No. 26, they knew what to do.
Roll Tide!
The Falcons landed another Nick Saban receiver for their offensive arsenal, adding Ridley to a unit led by Julio Jones .
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Alabama's pro day featured some prominent figures in spectator roles, including NFL head coaches, highly rated prospects fresh from the combine and a former Southeastern Conference head coach expected to join the Crimson Tide staff as an analyst.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — National champion Alabama once again must replace a number of key players leaving early for the NFL draft, including All-America safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Alabama junior wide receiver Calvin Ridley is entering the NFL draft.
Ridley announced his decision in a Twitter post Wednesday, two days after the Crimson Tide won the second national championship of his three-year career.
Widely projected as a first-round pick, Ridley easily led the Tide in receiving. He had 63 catches for 967 yards while no other wide receiver caught more than 14 balls.
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi State brought the all-out blitz. Alabama's Jalen Hurts never flinched.
Throwing two perfect passes with less than a minute remaining, the sophomore quarterback carved through Mississippi State's defense and helped deliver a precarious victory for the top-ranked Crimson Tide on Saturday night.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Jalen Hurts and Alabama scored in a hurry, then did it again — and again.
The top-ranked Crimson Tide raced to a lead Saturday night, lost a chunk of it, then outlasted Colorado State 41-23 Saturday night.
Hurts passed for 248 yards and two long touchdowns and rushed for 103 yards for the Tide (3-0) in his best all-around game of the season.
He ran for a 27-yard touchdown and hit on a career-long 78-yard scoring pass to Calvin Ridley and a 52-yarder to Robert Foster.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama tight end Hale Hentges is OK with not getting the ball that often, figuring that means other playmakers are getting their chance.
That hasn't always been the case in the first two games for the top-ranked Crimson Tide, which is still trying to identify, develop or just get the ball more to some of those weapons. Quarterback Jalen Hurts and Alabama should have plenty of options and some time to figure things out before the next big game.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Alabama's football team had as much to mourn as to celebrate after a huge opening victory.
On the field, linebackers Terrell Lewis and Christian Miller sustained season-ending injuries in the top-ranked Crimson Tide's 24-7 win over No. 3 Florida State . About 24 hours after the game, a son of wide receivers coach Mike Locksley was shot and killed in Maryland.
Here are a few things to watch during the opening week of the Southeastern Conference football season: