Falcons trail in jockeying for Johnson

By D. ORLANDO LEDBETTER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/04/07

The "Keep Calvin at Home" campaign was already under way before Calvin Johnson blazed the 40-yard dash in 4.35 seconds at the last week's NFL scouting combine.

In Falcons chat rooms and blogs on the Internet, fans are pleading for president and general manager Rich McKay to make a move to get the former Georgia Tech receiver from Sandy Creek High. The Falcons pick 10th, while several mock drafts don't have Johnson slipping past Tampa Bay at No. 4.

When asked if he's ever had to move up seven or eight spots to get a player, McKay had some fun with the question.

"I can't hear you," McKay said.

After hearing the question again, he said, "Just kidding. You can speculate all you want."

The Falcons moved up eight spots in the second round last year to get defensive back Jimmy Williams. They basically flip-flopped positions with Green Bay in the second and fifth rounds and gave up a third rounder.

Inside the top 10, the stakes get much higher.

If Oakland goes with LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell and Detroit follows with Wisconsin tackle Joe Thomas, then Cleveland would be the target.

The Browns would likely want quarterback Matt Schaub, the 10th pick and at least next season's first rounder. They might even ask for Freddie Falcon and couple of cheerleaders, too.

Another problem for the Falcons is that Houston wants to move up to No. 3 to get Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson.

Their bargaining chips include David Carr and the No. 8 pick.

The cost of keeping Johnson at home appears to be prohibitive, but the Falcons can't sit back and watch him land in Tampa Bay and then have to face him two times a season.

Top players willing to show their stuff

Johnson and Peterson came to the combine with the idea of not participating. Both solidified their top-5 status by at least running in the 40-yard dash. McKay said participattion by high- profile players has been on an upward swing over the past three years.

"What I do think is good is when you show people you are willing to, under that situation, work out and measure up against anybody else there, it's a good sign," McKay said. "It makes people feel better from a competitor's stand point. I think it's a good thing."

Falcons: character always an issue

Despite their recent off-the-field issues, the Falcons draft board gives a football grade and a character grade.

"I really don't think that it's any more important to us than it's been in years past," McKay said. "I think it's always, in our opinion, paramount when you talk about drafting players."

Now, in light of the Cincinnati, San Diego and Tennessee situations and commissioner Roger Goodell's crackdown on unlawful conduct, other teams are planning to place more emphasis on character.

"I think that 10 years ago, it used to be 80-20," McKay said. "Eighty percent was what could this player be, 20 percent was character. I think now it's 50-50. At least 50 percent of the evaluation is who is this player going to be when we give him this much more money and when he has this much free time and when he represents us in the community. Then 50 percent of the evaluation is what is this player going to be for us."

Moss, Merriweather learn from gaffes

Florida defensive end Jarvis Moss and Miami safety Brandon Merriweather, two players who could help the Falcons, might not make it past their "character" filter.

Moss, a potential first-rounder, was frank about his one-game suspension last season: "I tested positive for marijuana on the 15th of October, I believe," Moss said. "It was a real humbling experience for me. It came after the game of my life, after the South Carolina game. I feel like it was God's way of bringing me back down to earth."

Merriweather, a team captain, had a lead role in the Florida International brawl. The hard-hitting safety stomped on the legs of one Florida International player.

"It was just a bunch of competitive football players who lost their emotions in the game and got caught up," Merriweather said. "It came out in a situation where we should have known better. Unfortunately, we made bad decisions."

Ball's 40 time slow for wide receiver

Former Georgia Tech quarterback Reggie Ball has an uphill battle making it as a receiver. He showed decent hands, but ran a 4.78 at the NFL scouting combine.

The other recent college quarterbacks to make the shift to pro wideout ran much faster. Arkansas' Matt Jones (Jaguars) ran 4.37, Texas A&M's Reggie McNeal (Bengals) ran 4.35, and Missouri's Brad Smith (Jets) ran a 4.46.

Ball did show good agility in the three-cone drill, where he ran a 6.90, the ninth-fastest time in his receiver group.