Falcons get to 53; CB Jackson among cuts

Football Betting Lines

09/04/2010 - Flowery Branch, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Falcons have released 21 players as part of their Saturday "cut-down-day" maneuvers.

Atlanta waived or released tight end Robbie Agnone, wide receiver Troy Bergeron, safety Eric Brock, wide receiver Tim Buckley, safety Rafael Bush, safety Eric Brock, cornerback Dominique Daniels, wide receiver Brandyn Harvey (waived-injured), cornerback Chevis Jackson, linebacker Weston Johnson, fullback Dan Klecko, defensive end Maurice Lucas, running back Dimitri Nance, center Brett Romberg, center Blake Schlueter, wide receiver Andy Strickland, defensive end Emmanuel Stephens, guard Jose Valdez, wide receiver Ryan Wolfe, linebacker Bear Woods and tight end Keith Zinger.

Notables among that group include Jackson, a 2008 third-round pick who appeared in all but one of the Falcons' games over the past two seasons and posted an interception in Atlanta's playoff contest against Arizona two years ago. The LSU product fell victim to a numbers crunch at the cornerback position.

Klecko, a six-year veteran and son of ex-Jets star d-lineman Joe Klecko, had his contract terminated. The younger Klecko is a former member of the Patriots (2003-05), Colts (2006-07) and Eagles (2008).

Romberg joins Jackson in the category of players with Falcons experience to released. The Miami-Florida product and former St. Louis Ram (2006-08) appeared in nine contests with Atlanta last season.

The Falcons open their 2010 regular season on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers next Sunday.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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