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The Atlanta Falcons all-time leader in passing yardage and touchdowns has received yet another honor, this time for his excellence at the collegiate level.

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It's a shame that things had to end this way, but the Falcons made the most logical move today, cutting longtime fullback Ovie Mughelli.

While Ovie was probably still worth the $3M he was owed this season, the team needed to clear some cap space to make room for newly acquired CB Asante Samuel. With Mughelli coming off season-ending knee surgery and rookie Bradie Ewing now on the roster, the Falcons did what they had to.

But what about his legacy as a Falcon?

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Neither of the Atlanta Falcons draft picks on Friday night were flashy, sexy, or any combination of the two. But they were necessary, and give the team two great prospects that could be able to contribute right away.

More importantly, both of these players bring back the "mean streak" that was inexplicably lost to this offensive line once Harvey Dahl left for St. Louis. They play through the whistle. They'll battle for 60 minutes.

And hopefully, fourth-and-ones and QB sneaks won't be so unbearably painful to watch anymore.

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Though the second round of the NFL draft is now less than an hour away, the Falcons will still have some waiting to do until they can make their first pick at No. 55 overall.

But with that said, there is still plenty of talent left on the board. There are at least a few names at every single position, most notably offensive tackle and tight end, that could still be around when the Falcons pick.

And of course, that's not even considering whether the Falcons will trade up like so many other teams have...

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There's really no better way to sum it up. The Falcons gave up their seventh-round pick in this year's draft (No. 229 overall), and in return received a cornerback who thrives in zone coverage and has made his living in the NFL as a ball-hawking defensive back.

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After a month of almost no rumors or hints at any more major moves this offseason, we've gotten a flurry of activity out of Falcons camp. With the draft only two days away now, any move the team makes will have an immediate effect and their drafting strategy as well.

Whatever the reason for this recent bout of interest the Falcons have shown- be it a sudden realization of a need, or more likely trying to convince a certain player to sign his franchise tender- Atlanta is busy once again.

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While Thomas Dimitroff has built up a pretty stellar reputation for himself here in Atlanta, the 2009 draft remains probably the biggest stain on an otherwise clean career as Falcons GM.

It also continued the recent trend of Falcons completely whiffing on lineman in the early rounds, something that continues to be a big problem for the team even going into next season. For whatever reason, injuries or just talent, this draft really came away as an overall disappointment.

How much of a disappointment? Well, there's no Jamarcus Russell 2.0, but there is...

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After the catastrophe that was 2007 for the Atlanta Falcons, it was time for a fresh start. A new GM and an entirely new (and honest) coaching staff were in place. Arthur Blank had engaged rebuilding mode.

And it would be this first draft that set the tone for the next four seasons under Thomas Dimitroff and Mike Smith. Had it been anything less than excellent, I'm pretty sure we'd be singing a completely different song. Dimitroff and Smitty might've been long gone by now, the team still searching for its image.

Thankfully, it wasn't.

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As draft day approaches, we're hearing more and more about the types of players the Falcons have a legitimate shot at drafting. Yesterday, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the AJC reported that those potential draftees include a couple of Clemson linemen: DE Andre Branch and DT Brandon Thompson.

Since both roughly project to the second round according to most draft experts, the Falcons would definitely be using their first pick (No. 55 overall) on either of these guys. But what exactly would the Falcons be getting in each?

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This offseason has featured a slow-developing market for several positions, and safety has definitely been one. With reports now surfacing that free agent safety Madieu Williams will soon choose between the Falcons and Redskins, fans could actually witness the Falcons made a move that doesn't involve re-signing a current player.

Having just let former backup safety James Sanders sign with the Cardinals and nickelback Kelvin Hayden join up with the Bears, this signing would make complete sense. Considering that Williams left Washington on Friday without a signed deal and then met with Falcons brass on Monday, I think the odds of him picking the Dirty Birds are pretty good too.

But if the Falcons actually do sign Williams, what does that mean about the team's offseason plans as a whole?

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As we witness those tedious weeks leading up the this year's draft slowly roll by, it also helps remembering that no one can truly determine the quality of a class until about two or three years down the road.

For all of the post-draft "grading" that pundits partake in right as Mr. Irrelevant is selected, we realize that it means almost nothing. Sure, trading up for Michael Vick was probably lauded in during the prime of his Atlanta career. In 2007, perhaps not so much.

On that note, we turn back our clocks to the first and only Falcons draft class spearheaded by Bobby Petrino, quitter extraordinaire! Let's dive in, shall we?

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The Falcons did not have an exciting offseason. No big names were brought into Atlanta. No Mario Williams. Sam Baker is still at left tackle. Curtis Lofton signed with the Saints. The only outside free agents signed were two guys who were out of football last season.

But what the Falcons did have was a successful offseason. Of the team's 15 free agents that have actually signed with teams at this point, 13 of those players came back to play for Mike Smith's squad. The team hired a fantastic defensive coordinator in Mike Nolan and hopefully found an upgrade on offense in Dirk Koetter.

With news now finally breaking that the Falcons have retained longtime center Todd McClure for one more season, the Falcons keep the core of their team intact and return 21 of 22 starters from a team that won 10 games last year.

But even with the projected improvement the Nolan and Koetter hires bring to the team, will this be enough to finally win in the postseason?

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If you've been following the Atlanta Falcons' scouting actions over the last few weeks, then you'll obviously know that the team has been heavily investigating cornerbacks since the NFL Combine back in February.

Recently, we've seen the team conduct private meetings and workouts with names like Trumaine Johnson out of Montana (the Falcons already have two ex-Grizzlies on the roster in Kroy Biermann and Shann Schillinger) and Louisiana-Lafayette corner Bill Bentley.

In addition, they've been connected to names like UGA's Brandon Boykin and ex-Gamecock Stephen Gilmore since the offseason hit. The common theme among these cornerbacks is that they all project to be drafted in either the second or third rounds.

With a roster that already has Dunta Robinson, Chris Owens and Dominique Franks, where would that type of pick leave the now franchise-tagged Brent Grimes?

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Although the league-wide theme for the NFL offseason has been "weird things keep happening" since the beginning of March (Tebow plays where?), at least one thing has gone as expected: the New Orleans Saints got hit hard by Roger Goodell's ban-hammer on Wednesday (the general reaction of Who Dat Nation can be found here).

While the fines and Loomis' suspension won't mean too much (NoLa's GM will still be around all offseason), Sean Payton's year-long suspension is absolutely huge. Tack on the loss of two second-round draft picks and consider the player discipline that's yet to come, and all of a sudden 2012 has gone from bad to worse for the Saints.

Meanwhile, we have the Atlanta Falcons sitting quietly in the corner, hungrily staring at the NFC South crown that the Saints organization has essentially pissed away. Isn't that convenient?

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After two days of complete silence from the Falcons front office, Falcons fans can finally relax now that Atlanta has their pass rusher back in the building.

While the team's chance at landing prized free agent Mario Williams was pretty slim from the start, the Falcons have re-signed the NFC South's most feared pass rusher in John Abraham. Playing under a new three-year, $21M deal, the Predator will likely retire an Atlanta Falcon and definitely rank as one of the best players in franchise history.

But how does this effect any further free agency plans the Falcons might have?

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With teams now two days into their free agency forays, the pace of the signings has slackened a little bit, but there are still plenty of great players available on the market.

While the Falcons have largely played the waiting game this offseason and have stayed very quiet, a couple of their NFC South counterparts have been pretty active these past two days. Those teams would be the Buccaneers, who continue to sign players as if none will be left over, and the Saints, who finally made a splash of their own after losing several talented players.

News and notes from round two of free agency after the jump...

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It's been a wild first day of NFL free agency, with some teams making every big signing in the world, while others remained relatively quiet. Regardless of who actually makes the smart signings, the team that makes the biggest splash will no doubt receive the most press hype.

So, as we begin to recap all things NFC South from the first day of the offseason, the team that made their presence known absolutely has to be...

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Keeping with the theme of bringing in bargain-bin players this offseason, the Falcons have signed former Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu. Even more interesting, the contract is reportedly a two-year deal worth $5.75M in total money, and is quite likely to be very "incentive based."

Just like yesterday's signing Vince Manuwai, Tatupu- a three-time Pro Bowler- also sat out the 2011 season after an injury derailed what has been quite a productive season. The Falcons had apparently invited Tatupu to an individual workout on Friday, and Mike Nolan (who coached against Tatupu several times in the NFC West) must've felt very comfortable with what he saw from the ex-Seattle linebacker.

But with Curtis Lofton still unsigned, what does Tatupu's arrival say about the future of "The Police" in Atlanta?

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The past few days have been extraordinarily busy ones for the Atlanta Falcons.

As free agency is finally starting to move into high gear (the new league year officially begin at 4:00 PM on March 13), the Falcons have already worked out some key in-house contract extensions (Thomas DeCoud and Kroy Biermann) along with franchise tagging CB Brent Grimes.

But if any of the rumors currently swirling around the media hold some truth, the Falcons are far from finished in free agency. Prepare yourself, because there are many...

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Let's face it: the NFL offseason more often than not is filled with over-enthusiastic hype followed soon after by a string of unexciting moves and signings. Very rarely do we witness an offseason where something truly unexpected happens, with last year's trade for Julio Jones being one giant exception.

But after a few questionable signings in recent years (see: Dunta Robinson, Ray Edwards), it's somewhat relieving to see Thomas Dimitroff and the Falcons make a couple of safe, cost-effective signings while addressing a huge free agent class.

They may not be the most exciting moves, but inking Thomas DeCoud and Kroy Biermann to some fairly cheap deals is probably the best course of action Dimitroff can take.

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It's no big secret that the Falcons' offensive line was responsible for some hefty disappointment in 2012.

"Starters" Sam Baker, Joe Hawley and Garrett Reynolds all displayed some major weaknesses in their game, and while one season perhaps isn't enough to spell doom for any of these players, we still remember that a huge part of this offense's struggles against the Giants were caused by the guys up front.

And so began the pining for All-Pro guard Carl Nicks, who's looking for a hefty contract this offseason. Given all that has happened recently regarding the Saints in recent days (read: Drew Brees and his $17M franchise tag), I think it's pretty safe to say that Nicks won't be a Saint for much longer.

But with $10.6M already committed to Brent Grimes, why would anyone assume Nicks could be a Falcon either?

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Normally this time of year is filled with speculation, but more often than not nothing interesting actually happens in these flat days leading up to the opening of free agency. This week is an exception.

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At this point, we are now entering the "all speculation, all the time" phase of the NFL offseason. The tiniest of details are dissected, analyzed, and ultimately make their ways into columns that so often tell a small fraction of the truth.

Rumors blow up and become full-fledged fact. Players rise and fall based on everything from 40 times to height to hand size. What better way to determine the talent of a football player than by dissecting every inch of his body?

With that said, let's analyze what we could have learned about the Atlanta Falcons throughout the NFL Combine. While Thomas Dimitroff and the Falcons' front office are never going to tip their hand, they have given us a hint at the direction they could be going this offseason. I love hypocrisy.

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