Spring Training, Combine notes

• Grapefruit League baseball starts tomorrow. David O’Brien has provided a full day-by-day list of all pitchers scheduled to appear this week. Tommy Hanson will take the mound in tomorrow’s opener vs. the Mets, which will be broadcast on MLB Network. It is one of 12 Braves games to be televised this spring, including March 23, 24 and 26 dates on EPSN.
• Jair Jurrjens had an “excellent” throwing session Monday morning, as Mark Bowman reports. He only threw around 15 pitches, but did so pain free. Encouraging news to say the least. Jurrjens will throw another bullpen session Wednesday.
• Here is D. Orlando Ledbetter’s 5 things we learned at the NFL combine. In it, he explains why Julius Peppers is too expensive and doesn’t fit in the Falcons plan of being fiscally responsible.  He also provides a strong indication from Thomas Dimitroff that the team will not draft a defensive end in round 1. Dimitroff said he believes getting Peria Jerry back  next season will help the pass rush from the interior and he feels Kroy Biermann can get the job done opposite of John Abraham.
• Earlier in the week, Sean Weatherspoon told Ledbetter that he’d like to play for the Falcons. I’ve been on the Weatherspoon bandwagon since the Senior Bowl. If the team really is satisfied with its defensive ends, the likelihood is that the 19th pick will be spent on a cornerback. But if there are no capable DBs available, and Weatherspoon is still there, I think he’d be a great fit.
• Mark Bradley has decided that the Falcons shouldn’t spend their first round pick on CJ Spiller.  Glad he’s on board. I thought that it was a common sentiment among Falcons fans that with no 2nd round pick, the team couldn’t to take a luxury item like Spiller in round 1. But when Bradley entertained the idea last week, fifty-five percent of respondents said the Falcs would be “nuts” to pass on the speedster from Clemson.

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