The Falcons have cut kicker Steve Hauschka, leaving Matt Bryant as the only kicker on deck. Last year's Falcons slapstick kicking game reminded more than one Atlanta sports fan of Hawks forward Josh Smith's artfully ill-advised three-point attempts.
The team brought on ex-Buccanneer Bryant after Jason Elam, a career 82% field goal kicker, missed seven treys by week 11. Bryant missed his first attempt as a Bird, but finished with a 70% success rate.
The Birds imported Hauschka, late of the Ravens, for an offseason kicking duel. It seems Bryant has won that battle, though the Falcoholic is surprised at how quickly the decision was made, considering what a fiasco last year's footsmen produced.
Also cut was undrafted rookie Colin Peek, a former Crimson Tide national champion tight end.
Peek, you'll recall, was recruited by Chan Gailey to play at Georgia Tech, but fled to saner pastures when Paul Johnson took over the Tech job and offered the tight-end-shaped Peek an unsatisfactory wide receiver spot that would involve a lot of run blocking and some catching.
Peek was more comfortable at Alabama, where he excelled at doing a lot of run blocking and some catching. He preferred Bama's give-a-crap atmosphere to Tech's relatively casual fan participation, but held fond memories of his time in Atlanta as a participant on MTV's Yo Momma.
The Falcons have a pileup behind Tony Gonzalez at tight end, and Clemson rookie Michael Palmer is performing well. Peek was struggling to recover from a training camp injury, but should be able to compete for a job elsewhere. Buffalo head coach Chan Gailey, you know what to do.