NFL NOTEBOOK: Falcons win coin toss for No. 19 draft spot; Marshall testifies in trial of death of teammate

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Falcons will have the 19th pick in the 2010 NFL draft in April after winning a coin toss with the Houston Texans.

The coin flip determined the 19th and 20th draft positions in the first round. The Falcons and Texans each finished 9-7 in 2009.

The coin flip was held at the NFL combine in Indianapolis.

It was the second coin toss won by Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff. The team drafted quarterback Matt Ryan after winning the No. 3 pick in a coin toss in 2008.

The Falcons have posted back-to-back winning records for the first time in franchise history.

———————————

EMOTIONAL MARSHALL TESTIFIES AT WILLIAMS TRIAL:

DENVER — Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall testified in the trial of a man accused of killing teammate Darrent Williams and identified the suspect as the same man he saw outside a club in a confrontation before the shooting.

Marshall was at times emotional when he testified Friday about the shooting on New Year’s Day 2007, recalling how he later saw former teammate Javon Walker in a bloodstained shirt at a hospital, clutching a necklace that belonged to Williams.

“JWalk just kept looking at this chain, he wouldn’t let no one hold the chain,” he said. “It was scary; there was blood on that chain.”

Willie Clark, 26, is on trial for first-degree murder, 16 counts of attempted murder and other charges. Prosecutors say he fired the fatal shots into Williams’ rented limousine. Clark maintains he is innocent; his defense attorneys argue he’s a scapegoat.

Authorities said the shooting happened after Williams and other football players got into an altercation at a Denver nightclub with another group that included Clark. Marshall identified Clark in court as being among those involved in the confrontation.

“That’s the guy — in that picture, in that video and at this table right here,” Marshall said, pointing at Clark. But Marshall also said he didn’t see who got into the SUV used in the shooting.

“No, I just seen them scatter,” he said, referring to the melee’s aftermath. Prosecutors also showed surveillance video of outside the club while Marshall was testifying. They said people were flashing gang signs. Marshall said that at one point he tried to go over a snowbank toward someone in the group but that he slipped and someone punched him in the face.

Marshall, who was not in the limo when Williams was shot, said he later got a phone call from someone telling him what had happened.