NFL to take pick from Falcons

— -- The NFL is expected to suspend Falcons president Rich McKay from the competition committee and take a draft pick from Atlanta for piping crowd noise into its stadium over the past two years, sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

The NFL could also place heavy fines on the Falcons, according to sources. The league is expected to officially hand down the discipline no later than Tuesday.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank already has acknowledged wrongdoing, saying that the situation is "embarrassing."

"I think what we've done in 2013 and 2014 was wrong," Blank said last month. "Anything that affects the competitive balance and fairness on the field, we're opposed to, as a league, as a club and as an owner.

"It's obviously embarrassing, but beyond embarrassing, it doesn't represent our culture and what we're about."

Atlanta has been accused of piping in the noise while opposing teams were huddling, trying to call their plays. Some around the league have argued that silent counts have rendered crowd noise more irrelevant, and it's difficult to discern how much of an advantage it gave the Falcons.

The Falcons went 3-4 at the Georgia Dome this season -- they played a "home" game in London -- and were blown out there 34-3 by the Carolina Panthers in Week 17 with the NFC South Division title on the line.

The  New Orleans Saints, who lost picks in 2012 and 2013 as a result of their bounty scandal, were the last NFL team to forfeit a draft pick. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the NFL has taken away 15 draft picks since 1980.