FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Today's Early Bird Report includes an argument for why the Falcons will have the best offense in 2018 as well as a random act of kindness by Cardinals tight end Jermaine Gresham.
Enjoy!
FALCONS HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY
CBS Sports: Falcons will have the best offense in 2018
In 2016, the Falcons produced one of the most efficient offensive seasons the NFL has ever seen. While the production last season wasn't quite to that level, Atlanta still had one of the better offenses in the league.
With a vast majority of their weapons returning, plus the addition of first-round pick Calvin Ridley, CBS Sports' Danny Kanell believes the Falcons will once again boast the NFL’s top offense this fall.
"They've got Matt Ryan, who was the MVP just a couple years ago," Kanell explained on CBS Sports HQ. "They drafted Calvin Ridley in the first round, who is going to give some protection to Julio Jones. Teams used to shade their safety over to help on Julio Jones, because he's such a monster. Now, they're going to have to respect Calvin Ridley. Plus, they have Mohamed Sanu in the slot as well. They also have Tevin Coleman, [Devonta] Freeman in the backfield – they have weapons galore.
"The one question mark that you have if you're the Falcons is, 'Alright, what happened? Why was there a setback last year in this offense?' And I look squarely at Steve Sarkisian, the offensive coordinator. It was his first year getting in the flow with Matt Ryan, figuring out what his quarterback likes on third down, what he likes in the red zone. Now that they've had an entire year to figure each other out, to kind of go through those situations, I think this offense is going to take off because you saw the exact same thing happen when Kyle Shanahan took over as offensive coordinator, there was a learning curve. This offense is ready to explode this season."
Here are more articles for Falcons fans:
BIGGEST NEWS FROM AROUND THE NFL
ESPN: Cardinals TE Jermaine Gresham helps passenger make flight
While not the most pressing news in the NFL world, it's always nice to write about someone's good deeds. An act of kindness by Cardinals tight end Jermaine Gresham helped one grateful passenger make her flight on Wednesday afternoon.
In a Twitter thread, Delilah Cassidy explained how she was informed by American Airlines that she would have to pay to bring a carry-on bag onto the plane. Despite trying to consolidate her belongings and avoid the fee, she was instructed to pay $50 dollars before boarding.
Cassidy was returning from a European trip and claims that is the reason her credit cards were not working at the gate, and the boarding agent told her they could not accept cash. In danger of missing her flight, Cassidy was saved by a stranger who stepped in and paid her $50 fare and helped her board the plane on time.
On the plane, Cassidy approached the man, who she had not yet identified, and tried to repay him the $50 for his act of kindness. Per Cassidy, he told her to "pay it forward."
Here are some more articles from around the league:
MORE FROM ATLANTAFALCONS.COM
