Meister der Farbe » n end. But Smith and Dimitroff were proud of the perfor

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Coach Mike Smith took his first steps to help the Atlanta Falcons return to NFL relevance, firing defensive line coach Ray Hamilton and offensive line coaches Pat Hill and Paul Dunn on Monday night. One day after ending a 4-12 season, Smith said the team must get tougher to win the line of scrimmage on both sides of the line. Smith said that defensive co-ordinator Mike Nolan, offensive co-ordinator Dirk Koetter and special teams co-ordinator Keith Armstrong will return next season. The firings of Hamilton, Hill and Dunn were hardly surprising as Atlantas offensive and defensive lines rarely won game-long battles on the line of scrimmage. Quarterback Matt Ryan was sacked a career-high 44 times. Poor play on the defensive line led to Atlanta entering Week 17 ranked last in third-down efficiency, 29th in scoring and 28th in total yards. General manager Thomas Dimitroff lamented "missed assessments" on acquiring some players and letting others go and how those moves affected the entire team. When training camp started, neither Smith nor Dimitroff envisioned holding a news conference to discuss anything worse than a loss in the Super Bowl after the Falcons narrowly lost the NFC title game last season. But injuries to star wideout Julio Jones, left tackle Sam Baker and defensive end Kroy Biermann were too much to overcome. Sean Weatherspoon, supposed to be Atlantas only every-down linebacker, was hurt and limited to just seven games. Receiver Roddy White and running back Steven Jackson played injured most of the season. "We believe we have a talented football team here and that we need to make adjustments," Dimitroff said, "but I really, truly believe we have the nucleus and the coach and the leadership to turn this around quickly within our off-season. Though Smith and Dimitroff wouldnt cite specific players, they didnt dispute that the offensive line was a disaster. Peter Konz was overmatched as a starting centre and starting right guard. The right tackle position remained in flux all season, and Lamar Holmes was inconsistent at left tackle. No discrepancy was worse than in the 21-20 season-ending home loss to Carolina. Ryan was sacked nine times and hit 14 others. Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was sacked once and hit once. Ryan, as hes done throughout his six-year career, refused to blame his teammates for the poor protection. The two-time Pro Bowl QB, who signed a new five-year, $103.75 million contract last summer that guarantees $59 million, was more disturbed about his interception that Panthers cornerback Melvin White returned for a 3-yard touchdown. "Its the end of the season, and Im healthy, but we all have to improve," Ryan said. "I have to play better. We have to play better up front. We have to play better on the outside. Collectively, we didnt play good enough to win." Atlantas defensive line wasnt much better. Releasing veteran end John Abraham last March proved to be a bad decision after he put up big numbers for Arizona. His replacement, free agent acquisition Osi Umenyiora, was unable to hold onto the role he wanted as an every-down end. But Smith and Dimitroff were proud of the performances of rookie cornerback Desmond Trufant, a first-round draft pick, and rookie linebacker Paul Worrilow, an undrafted free agent. Michael Raffl Jersey . Viewers in the Jets region can watch the game on TSN Jets at 6:30pm ct/7:30pm et. The game is also avialable on TSN Radio 1290 in Winnipeg at 7pm ct. Jakub Voracek Flyers Jersey . "This isnt really the week you want to lose Chris Greaves," fellow lineman Glenn January said Wednesday after practice. Greaves is expected to miss several weeks after suffering a knee injury in last weeks 36-28 win over the Ottawa Redblacks. http://www.nhlflyersproauthentic.com/customized/. The 26-year-old slider from Calgary posted a time of 50.464 seconds, 0.573 seconds back of leader Natalie Geisenberger. The German led the overall World Cup womens standings this season and continued her dominance by putting down a track record time of 49. Nolan Patrick Jersey . -- Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer will be out three to six weeks with a stress fracture of the third finger of his right hand. Scott Laughton Jersey .500. The Jets have now won nine of their last 11, and five of their last six road games. With the win they moved to within two points of Vancouver in the west, the Canucks holding down the eighth spot. Vancouver lost in Boston, while the other big game saw Dallas win in Phoenix.LONDON - Its third against fourth in the English Premier League this weekend as Manchester United entertains Southampton with both teams in a fine vein of form.United is unbeaten in 11 matches, 10 in the league.Going into the New Year on the back of a good run means that its a case of working even harder to climb the table and get as many points as we can, United defender Chris Smalling said. We need to do as much as possible on the pitch and, as an individual, do as much as we can in terms of recovery and extra work.After a dip in form which saw it lose four matches on the trot, Southampton is back on track and has won three of its past four league matches — drawing the other one, against league leader Chelsea.Fifth-place Tottenham will be a keen spectator of Sundays match. It visits Crystal Palace the previous day, with Spurs two points off the Champions League places.Arsenal, which is a point further back, hosts Stoke on Sunday.Here are some other things to watch:___STRIKING RETURN FOR CITY: Manchester City strikers Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko are back in full training, a timely boost while their team is neck and neck with Chelsea at the top of the Premier League.Dzeko strained his calf warming up for the Leicester match a month ago, shortly after returning from another injury, adding to Manuel Pellegrinis problems up front after Aguero, who had 19 goals in 17 starts, injured his knee in the previous match.City managed to cope, pickiing up 13 points from five matches to draw level with Chelsea at the top of the table.ddddddddddddCity visits Everton, while Chelsea entertains Newcastle during a dip in form; a draw against Southampton and 5-3 loss at Tottenham.THE LONG GOODBYE: Liverpool captain Steven Gerrards farewell tour moves on to Sunderland on Saturday.Since saying hes heading to the LA Galaxy after the Premier League season, Gerrard has kept his focus amid an ongoing debate over whether Liverpool did enough to keep him, and scored two penalties in an FA Cup third-round win over Wimbledon on Monday.His concentration is now on football, he has announced where he is going so you have all the information, and he has done all his interviews, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said. Now we really have to concentrate on the football and the team and keep the momentum going.ESCAPING THE DROP: There was no movement in the drop zone in the last round, as all three clubs managed to pick up a point, and none of the three clubs above them lost either.On the bottom sits Leicester, which fought from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Liverpool on New Years Day. It is three points below Crystal Palace and Burnley, and four points behind 17th-place West Bromwich Albion. It hosts Aston Villa on Saturday.Burnley entertains QPR, with both teams on a run of two consecutive draws, while Crystal Palace welcomes Tottenham, which is on a six-match unbeaten run in the league. ' ' '