Falcons start offseason workouts
Falcons defensive tackle #97 Trey Lewis goes down with a season ending injury against the Buccaneers during 1st half action at the Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Sunday, Nov. 18, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / AJC
Dana Point, Calif. — Falcons head coach Mike Smith was beaming ear to ear.
He said he’d receive a “good report” from the first day of offseason workouts.
He told the AJC that defensive tackle Trey Lewis, linebacker Robert James and running back Thomas Brown were all medically cleared to participate.
The Falcons let defensive tackle Grady Jackson leave via free agency and have not replaced him with a veteran. So the news about Lewis, who is coming off of two knee surgeries, was important.
Lewis was off to a promising rookie season before suffering a season-ending knee injury in 2007. He missed all of last season after re-injuring the repaired knee while walking down the stairs. Lewis might be able to help offset the loss of Jackson.
Robert James was nicknamed "The Beast" at Arizona State.
James, who was nicknamed “The Beast” in college, was a fifth round pick last season. He missed the season with a head injury. The Falcons are in the midst of re-vamping the linebacking unit. James was called a “run and hit” linebacker and might be able to help next season.
Brown, a seventh round pick from Georgia last season, appeared to have the team made as a kickoff returner before a horse-collar tackle took him out with a groin injury.
Smitty wasn’t as forthcoming about the secondary. We told him we were having trouble figuring out what they were doing at safety. We told him about a “no-cover, no-hit” 46-year-old safety they might be over looking. He said “you can find plenty of those.”
Falcons running back #27 Thomas Brown returns the opening kickoff for a long gain during 1st quarter action against the Jaguars at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, Saturday, August 9, 2008. CURTIS COMPTON/ AJC
Georgia safety Reshad Jones #9 gets his hand on a pass caught by South Carolina tight end Jared Cook #84 Iast season in Athens. RICH ADDICKS/AJC
Also, tight end Jared Cook is coming in for a visit. He’s a local player from North Gwinnett High and South Carolina and will not count against the limit of pre-draft players the Falcons can bring in. The Falcons flirted with signing free agent L.J. Smith and may be looking for a receiving tight end in the draft. The draft is considered to be deep at that position.
Those were the Falcon highlights of the AJC’s first day at the Owner’s meeting.
The overall highlight was running into Condoleezza Rice in the hall way of the hotel. The former Secretary of State and super football fan spoke to the Owners on Sunday night.
Team Prez Rich McKay and Tennesse head coach Jeff Fisher, co-chairs of the competition committee, went over the rule changes and points of emphasis for next season. Nothing major, other than banning low hits (Tom Brady rule) on the quarterback. They stopped short of saying they’d just let the QB’s wear skirts or kilts.
If they are out there with the ball, set to do damage to the defense then they should be able get hit anywhere. But in the name of player safety, they can’t be hit in their lower extremities. Players can reach out with their arms and take the legs out, but not lead with the pads.
The theme of the rule changes was player safety. The wedge on kickoff returns will become a thing of the past. Only two-man wedges will be allowed. Call that one the Kevin Everett rule. No more busting up the wedge and ending up with a devastating neck injury.
The AFC coaches speak Tuesday morning. The NFC coaches speak on Wednesday.
Excited about Lewis, James and Brown being back? What about the rule changes?
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113 comments Add your comment
SeminoleWarrior
March 25th, 2009
12:40 pm
Snelling is 220+ and should not undervalued at any cost!! He has a tough interior running style (skilled at both FB and RB), is a solid blocker, and has good hands out of the backfield. He is a throw back to the days of Andrews, Riggs, and Iron Head. Has the size to also continue what “Mad Mike” loves to do running the ball. TB and JNor are not big enough to carry that load.
cutter
March 25th, 2009
1:00 pm
Snelling’s contract is up after 09 and could probably get more playing time elsewhere which means more money that is why I say Brown could get 3rd spot next year. I would be surprised if they kept 4 backs on the active roster this year.
FalconFan57
March 25th, 2009
1:08 pm
Marko, how about Ron Brace from BC or Evander Hood from Missouri?? Either could possibly be there at #24…….
Stirg d'Nahsif
March 25th, 2009
1:41 pm
What’s going on, here in the cage? I thought some of you guys may be interested in some information I’ve been researching the past couple of days. I was very interested in knowing what kind of players Thomas Dimitroff showed interest to, in the past. His subtle, but simple, resume include titles of NFL Scout, Area Scout, College Scout; and in 2002, he was hired by New England to be National Scout. Just after one year, the organization elevated his title to Director of College Scouting and he held that position from 2003-’07. That is where I began my research. Although TD was not general manager (not the final word), I’m certain his suggestions and opinions of draftees and players were most relevant. So, I’m suggesting that TD had a hand in evaluating, interviewing, drafting, researching and/or recruiting these names. You can draw your own conclusion, after you consider the player’s status today.
ROUND…OVERALL…PLAYER…POSITION…COLLEGE
2003
1 13 Ty Warren DT Texas A&M
2 36 Eugene Wilson CB Illinois***
2 45 Bethel Johnson WR Texas A&M
4 117 Dan Klecko DT Temple
4 120 Asante Samuel CB Central Florida***
5 164 Dan Koppen C Boston
6 201 Kliff Kingsbury QB Texas Tech
7 234 Spencer Nead TE BYU***
7 239 Tully Banta-Cain LB California
7 243 Ethan Kelley DT Baylor
2004
1 21 Vince Wilfork DT Miami***
1 32 Benjamin Watson TE UGA***
2 63 Marquise Hill DE LSU (Died 052807)
3 95 Guss Scott S Florida
4 128 Dexter Reid S N. Carolina
4 128 Cedric Cobbs RB Arkansas
5 164 P.K. Sam WR FSU
7 233 Christian Morton CB FSU
2005
1 32 Logan Mankins OG Fresno State
3 84 Ellis Hobbs CB Iowa State***
3 100 Nick Kaczur OT Toledo
4 133 James Sanders S Fresno State***
5 170 Ryan Claridge LB UNLV
7 230 Matt Cassel QB Southern Cal.***
7 255 Andy Stokes TE William Penn
2006
1 21 Laurence Maroney RB Minnesota***
2 36 Chad Jackson WR Florida
3 86 David Thomas TE Texas
4 106 Garrett Mills TE Tulsa
4 118 Stephen Gostkowski K Memphis
5 136 Ryan O’Callaghan OT California
6 191 Jeremy Mincey DE Florida
6 205 Dan Stevenson OG Notre Dame
6 206 Le-Kevin Smith DT Nebraska
7 229 Willie Andrews DB Baylor
2007
1 24 Brandon Meriweather S Miami
4 127 Kareem Brown DE Miami
5 171 Clint Oldenburg OT Colorado State
6 180 Justin Rogers LB SMU
6 202 Mike Richardson CB Notre Dame
6 208 Justise Hairston RB Central Conn. State
6 209 Corey Hilliard OG Oklahoma State
7 211 Oscar Lua LB USC
7 247 Mike Elgin C Iowa
Now, I’m certain that most of these names were recruited as situational players. Furthermore, teams draft on need and I’m sure a number of players were drafted, during TD’s tenure, based on positions that were vacant on the roster. Nonetheless, TD was responsible for researching and evaluating the best player to fill those needs. This entry simply gives us an idea of how TD operates. Again, you can draw your own conclusion. What I noted was the type of schools he recruited from and the number of late rounders that eventually rose to national recognition. In conclusion, I decided to shut-up and let TD, and staff, do their thing. What do I know?
D3
March 25th, 2009
1:48 pm
Cutter – honestly, you helped me correct my mistake, because I thought James was somebody else I guess. I thought he was like 6-2, 235 until I checked. You’re definitely right about starting then. Well, learning that makes me go back to my original assumption of drafting an OLB first, assuming Raji & Jerry aren’t there. James might be able to spot a LB here or there, but with his size I doubt he’s an every-down player.
That being said, everyone is raving about Nicholas(and I think he has enormous potential to start as well), but the only question I have is ‘Why was he not able to beat out Wire last year when Boley started tanking?’
Just food for thought.
1st-Cushing/Perry/Maybin/Matthews/English in that order
2nd-Chung/S.Smith/R.Johnson in that order
3rd-Nelson/Cook/Coffman in that order
4th-Hill/Taylor/Miller
5th-Best Available CB
I assumed Raji will be long gone in 1st.
Ken Strickland
March 25th, 2009
2:25 pm
JJ-TLewis suffered a torn ACL. He reinjured it before training camp last yr and had to have additional surgery. However, the good thing about his situation is when training camp starts this yr, he will have had approximately 13-14 months of intensive rehab. It’s quite possible he could return even stronger and more mobile than he was before the initial injury. His weight is actually down from 323lbs to 317lbs.
CLTHURMAN-you seem to be hung up on the loss of CB DFoxworth and the idea that his loss will make it impossible for the Falcons to field a pass DEF. I have news for you. Even with CB DFoxworth and SS LMalloy, he Falcons finished 21st in pass DEF, 25th in rushing DEF and 24th in overall DEF, and that was with CB DFoxworth. The only reason our pass DEF wasn’t rated lower is the fact teams found it more expediate to attack our poor rushing DEF, allowing them to control the clock and keep our potent OFF on the sidelines.
It doesn’t take a high football IQ to know that a good pass rush, especially from your front 4, can make even an average secondary achieve above average results. The Falcons haven’t had a good pass rush, and what we did have was one dimensional(DE JAbraham). Replacing DT GJackson will automatically upgrade our pass rush. The hoped for pass rushing improvement of DE JAnderson, or the hoped for increased production of CDavis, if hegets starters mins, or the improvement of KBiermann as a situational pass rusher, and/or the addition of a quality pass rushing OLB/DE will definitely improve our pass rush. There have been very few CB’s in NFL history talented enough to excel without the aid of an effective pass rush.
Last yr, if a team ran a pass play before we substituted, the entire L side of our DL(DT GJackson & DE JAnderson) was almost totally ineffective pressuring the passer. Teams could just wall off, or double the R side(DT JBabineaux & DE JAbraham) and limit our pass rushing ability. Add TLewis’s athleticism and pass rushing ability, a LDE with pass rushing ability, and we create a solid pass rush by making it counterproductive to double or wall off the R side of the DEF.
Adding a SS with cover skills, along with an improved pass rush, will automatically make it easier for our CB’s, and overall secondary. Just because you can’t see a solution doesn’t mean Dimitroff and Smith don’t have one. LOOK, DON’T GET SO WORKED UP OVER THIS. OUR PASSING, RUSHING AND OVERALL DEF WILL BE BETTER THAN IT WAS LAST YR, EVEN WITHOUT LB’S KBROOKING & MBOLEY, SS LMALLOY, DT GJACKSON AND CB DFOXWORTH.
clthurman
March 25th, 2009
3:13 pm
KEN I see your point and I am to say the least a little bent out of shape about Foxworth because I watched the tapes on this guy and he was a steal. And granted a pass rush makes everything in the secondary look better. So that said we need to find someone other than Abraham who makes me flich everytime he grabs his groin to help with the rush. In this draft it looks like it will have to be OLB’s with speed and nastiness. Its easy to say the USC backers but not realistic at our spot. There are no real definates…so like last year I will cross my fingers and hope. Hate that.
cutter
March 25th, 2009
4:20 pm
D3- That is a very good question the experience could not have hurt Nicholas. 1st pick is DT or OLB . DOL just said he found out Decoud is gonna get the chance to start at safety.
wes
March 25th, 2009
4:42 pm
wouldnt we be in a mess if we waited til this year to get a qb.ryans the real deal hes all business.
Ken Strickland
March 25th, 2009
7:15 pm
CLTHURMAN-you’re last statement tells a lot about the kind of person you REALLY are, and that’s good. I read 2 articles that said Foxworth wasn’t going to resign with the Falcons, or likely anyone else besides the Ravens, unless they threw a boatload of cash at him. He grew up in Maryland, his mother lives a short distance from the stadium and he attended the Univ of Maryland. He was determined to give a hometown discount unless some other team made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. One article said the Falcon’s offer was as good, if not better, than the one he accepted from the Ravens.
Here’s the problem our DB’s had last yr. VHutchins, JIrons, BGrimes, CHouston and CJackson are all very good man or one on one defenders. But because of our less than stellar LB play, and our very poor DL play, we played a lot of zone. That was the weakness of all of CB’s except DFoxworth, but especially JIrons. The CB that replaces Foxworth might not be as good, but if we get a decent pass rush and a SS with cover skills, he won’t have to be. which I am certain will happen. Because of Malloy’s coverage libialities, and the way he was used, FS RColeman had to cover a lot of extra ground, and he did an excellent job under the circumstances. Having a SS with cover skills will make us less vulnerable to TE’a and deep passing routes.
BOTTOMLINE, IF WE FIX OUR POOR RUSHING DEF, IMPROVE OUR POOR PASS RUSH, AND START A SS WITH COVER SKILLS, OUR PASS DEF, AND OVERALL DEF, WILL BE JUST FINE. IT ALL STARTS WITH FIXING OUR DL. And on that issue, consider this. If TLewis returns and plays up to his talents, we might see him replacing JBabineaux’s and another roadblock replacing GJackson at NT. Babineaux would be used on passing downs and the regular DT rotation. JUST FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
jason jones
March 29th, 2009
4:02 pm
I can’t help but continue to suggest that this team is headed for mediocrity. They don’t want to keep key veteran players, knowing you can’t keep all, but you have to want to compete. One year with a 11-5 record does not qualify you to start low-balling players, then suggest to the public that the players left. The players have to get what their worth is. Smith’s comments about free agents leaving this team is not totally correct. He and DT did not want to pay market value for guys like Bolley and Foxworth. Certainly, Brookin had to take a pay cut, because this is what happens to players around the 10 year point. Grady, will be used 1-2 years on a team, then he’ll move on as a role player. Bolleyand Foxworth should have been paid what the market suggested players in their position and expertise should get, not higher than that, but the market.
What we are seeing is now the team thinks they are in New England, where a championship process is in place (it took them some time to get there). It will take a while before this team ever is able to model what NE does in low-balling players, yet keeping enough to sustain excellence year after year. Again, I say the falcons will struggle to get 8-8, because their hope is that Ryan is the man. Ryan without “The Burner” will not happen, and a defense that hold down offenses.
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[...] The AJC reports that three Falcons have been cleared to participate as the team opens off-season workouts today. Those three were injured last season and include running back Thomas Brown, linebacker Robert James, and defensive tackle Trey Lewis. [...]