In another sign of how injuries have rocked the 2009 season, the Falcons placed two more players on injured reserve Tuesday — just five days before the final game of the year.
Atlanta placed cornerback Chris Houston (hamstring) and guard Harvey Dahl (ankle) on the season-ending reserve list and added kicker Steve Hauschka and practice squad linebacker Robert James to the active roster.
Hauschka joins the team after a string of special team’s injuries Sunday afternoon when punter Michael Koenen (head) and kicker Matt Bryant (hamstring) left the game for much of the second half. Koenen did not return after an injury on the last play of the first half. Bryant contributed on one punt, hurt his hamstring and kicked extra points for the remainder of the game.
In the process, fans learned defensive end Kroy Biermann is the team’s emergency kickoff specialist.
Bryant remains on the roster but Hauschka gives the team some depth.
Hauschka is in his second NFL season and has competed in 17 career games with the Baltimore Ravens. He has converted 10 of 15 career field goals while adding 27 of 28 PATs for 57 points. He also served as the Ravens kickoff specialists.
Baltimore released him in November.
James was originally selected by the Falcons in the 2008 draft but spent his rookie season on injured reserve (concussion). He started 19 games at Arizona State, earning the nickname “The Beast” for his aggressive play. He left Tempe with 174 tackles (102 solo), 5.5 sacks, 20 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, eight passes defensed and five interceptions. He earned All-America and All-Pac 10 Conference honors as a senior.
Dahl started the first 11 games of 2009 and every game at right guard in 2008. Houston started the first 10 games of the year, notching nine passes defensed, 49 tackles and an interception.
4 Comments
So glad to see Steve Hauschka getting a chance with the Falcons. I believe he’s got a great future in the NFL.
Wasn’t Hauschka the one who missed that field goal that would have beaten the Vikings many weeks ago?
i think this guy deserves another chance , i mean yeah So What he missed a couple kicks , maybe it was the team he was on. what do yinz think?
In Baltimore, Hauschka was: a. a young (2nd year) kicker b. without a veteran presence for coaching/mentoring (Stover was dropped before the season even started) c. forced into high pressure, come-from-behind game-tying/winning situations because of a weak (by Ravens’ standards) defense d. with a long-snapper (Katula) who’s been having a terrible season (snapping wide, low, or high as often as he’s been on target). I think Hauschka’s a young guy with a lot of potential (and a leg that has the distance) if he’s put into a situation that has a little more working in his favor than what he had in Baltimore. Glad to see him get another shot.
One Trackback
[...] Obviously I’m thrilled with this piece of news, coming as it does mixed with some really bad news for the last game of the season. Chris Houston and Harvey Dahl have been placed on injured reserve, costing the team arguably one of its best cornerbacks and best guards with a critical game against the Bucs looming. To fill those slots, the Falcons signed Hauschka and brought Robert James up off the practice squad. Here’s a brief breakdown of the impact of each of these moves, from the brilliant mind of yours truly: [...]