Mock draft updated: Falcons pick Clay to mold
Clay Matthews Sr. playing for the Falcons in 1996. His son, Clay Matthews Jr., could be drafted by the Falcons. (AJC Staff Photo/Frank Niemeir)
Dana Point, Calif. — Tampa Bay coach Raheem Morris was quite the engaging fellow at the NFL Owners meeting.
Tried to get around to all of the NFC head coaches during their availability session. Checked in with Morris and New Orleans coach Sean Payton before the clock ran out on the session. Didn’t get to Carolina’s John Fox.
Wanted to a better line on their offseason pickups and their draft needs for the Mock draft.
Tampa Bay head coach Raheem Morris.
“We probably need to get another corner for depth,” Morris said. “Got to get somebody in to compete with (cornerback) Elbert Mack.”
Morris likes their free agency pickup of RB Derrick Ward and the trade for TE Kellen Winslow.
“At receiver, we’ve got angry workers . . . (wide receiver) Dexter Jackson (of Dunwoody) has an opportunity to explode on the scene this year,” Morris said.
Also, former UGA standout Jermaine Phillips of Roswell is moving from safety to weakside linebacker, Morris said.
Payton said the Saints, like the Falcons, felt their biggest moves were re-signing their own players.
“Jon Vilma, Devery Henderson, Jon Stinchcomb, keeping those three
guys was really important, prior to any other move,” Payton said.
Fox told the reporters at his table that he hasn’t talked to Julius Peppers since the team slapped the franchise tag on him. He blamed all of the fuss over Peppers saying he wants out of Carolina on the business on the league.
We’ll, we haven’t forgotten about our second installment of the Mock Draft. We’ll update each Friday leading up to the April 25 draft.
New Orleans picks 14th. Tampa Bay picks 19th. Atlanta picks 24th. Carolina doesn’t have a first round. They traded it to Philadelphia last year in order to get tackle Jeff Otah.
We have the Falcons going for USC linebacker Clay Matthews Jr. this week after further research and DE Larry English dropping to Pittsburgh.
LEDBETTER’S MOCK DRAFT
Clay Matthews Jr. worked hard to turn himself into a pro prospect. His father played in the NFL from 1978 to 1996, including his final three seasons with the Falcons.
1. Detroit Lions: Jason Smith, OT, Baylor. Lions will try to negotiate a deal before the draft. They pass on Stafford as they try to anchor their O-line.
2. St. Louis Rams: Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest. The defensive mind Steve Spagnuolo gets some one to anchor the unit.
3. Kansas City Chiefs: Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia.
4. Seattle Seahawks: Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia. Can learn the rope behind Matt Hasselbeck for a year or two.
5. Cleveland Browns: Everette Brown, DE/OLB, Florida State.
6. Cincinnati Bengals: Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech. Bengals ignore his injury woes.
7. Oakland Raiders: B.J. Raji, DT, Boston College.
8. Jacksonville Jaguars: Mark Sanchez, QB,
Southern California.
9. Green Bay Packers: Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas.
10. San Francisco 49ers: Andre Smith, T, Alabama. With Sanchez off the board, Singletary decides his motivational skills can help Smith.
11. Buffalo Bills: Rey Maualuga, LB, Southern Carolina.
12. Denver Broncos: Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU.
13. Washington Redskins: Brian Cushing, LB, USC.
14. New Orleans Saints: Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri. Sean Payton adds another weapon for quarterback Drew Brews.
15. Houston Texans: Malcolm Jenkins, CB, Ohio State.
16. San Diego Chargers: Michael Oher, OT, Ole Miss. The second run on tackles starts here.
17. New York Jets: Percy Harvin, WR, Florida. Jets elect to add offensive weapon.
18. Chicago Bears: Aaron Maybin, DE, Penn State.
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois. A physical corner who’d fit nicely in their Cover-2.
20. Detroit Lions (from Dallas): Josh Freeman, QB, Kansas State. After passing on Stafford, the Lions add their quarterback.
21. Philadelphia Eagles: Eben Britton, OT, Arizona. They have to find a replacement for Tra Thomas.
22. Minnesota Vikings: Peria Jerry, DT, Mississippi.
23. New England Patriots: James Laurinaitis, LB, Ohio State.
24. Atlanta Falcons: Clay Matthews Jr., OLB, Southern California. Could help rebuild the linebacker unit.
25. Miami Dolphins: Clint Sintim, LB, Virginia.
26. Baltimore Ravens: Darius Heyward-Bey, WR, Maryland.
27. Indianapolis Colts: Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia.
28. Philadelphia Eagles (from Carolina): Chris Wells, RB, Ohio State. The Eagles get someone to share the load with Brian Westbrook.
29. New York Giants: Hakeem Nicks, WR, North Carolina.
30. Tennessee Titans: Duke Robinson, OG, Oklahoma.
31. Arizona Cardinals: Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State.
32. Pittsburgh Steelers: Larry English, DE/OLB, Northern Illinois.
FIRST ROUND FRINGE
Michael Johnson, DE, Georgia Tech
Donald Brown, RB, Connecticut
Evander Hood, DT, Missouri
Louis Delmas, FS, Western Michigan
Kenny Britt, WR, Rutgers
Alphonso Smith, CB, Wake Forest
So can you see Matthews lining up in the Falcons defense? Trading down and amassing picks is a possibility. Do you pass on Matthews and pick up more picks? Pettigrew is sitting there, but Falcons aren’t tempted. Is that a mistake or there are too many defensive needs?
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272 comments Add your comment
JJ
March 28th, 2009
7:32 pm
And if Parcells wants brace at #25……PAYBACK BIOTCH!!!
Love, A. Blank
JJ
March 28th, 2009
7:47 pm
http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/mailbagESPN?event_id=21414
This is Pat Yasinskas mailbag. He’s taking questions about that falcons and will answer them online tomorrow at espn/nfc.south.
Although our D-LED is king, Pat is pretty knowledgeble (ms?) about the nfc south.
After all the great debates about #24, I’m back to clueless, normal for me! I still like:
#55 – Nelson TE or – Chung CB/SS
#90 – Vaughn SS/FS
crabapplejoe
March 28th, 2009
9:31 pm
JJ wrote: “he was a small walk on that didn’t start until his senior 5th yr. on the team. He did start 2 games in ‘07 for cushing when he was hurt. Do not want to piss of crabjoe but who does this guy sound like?”
Darn JJ, I wasn’t that high on this Matthews kid to begin with. But you’re telling me you think he can come to Atlanta and go to five pro-bowls and have twice the number of career interceptions as Jessie Tuggle and Mike Singletary. Maybe I should rethink my position on this kid. Yesterday, I went to the DallasCowboys.com website and found a thread on Keith Brooking in their forums section. Having been around this AJC forum and the one at “Talk About the Falcons” for some time I fully expected the same type of hatred directed toward their new LB. Instead, on an 18 post thread, I found all positive comments about their new acquisition…funny isn’t it. And none of them called him “Brookings”. LOL. Hopefully, we will draft a mediocre black LB instead of this Matthews kid or Cushing. I would hate for either of them to have to go through what KB did on these forums. Imagine if we drafted one of them and they only went to four pro-bowls….the hatred would be lethal.
Big Ray
March 28th, 2009
9:42 pm
Stirg just blew me away with his process of elimination. I’m sold.
…..at least until next week when the devious D. Ledbetter switches to both a new bowtie and new mock draft pick for us Falcoholics…and subsequently derails all of our well-laid plans.
Until then, Stirg has my vote as top mocker….er..mock draft pick guy…or at least he’s the most convincing debator.
Ken,
I couldn’t agree more. But some people are hell bent on thinking that our guys who will have a chance at starting this year are worth very little. Look, the way I see it, they didn’t start because the team was being completely rebuilt, and when that happens, you go with the vets you have. It’s that simple. This offseason’s plan was obviously to let those vets go (or stay for what the team thought was reasonable prices), and move ahead with their younger, hungrier guys.
Yes, I know I sound like I’m drinking the kool-aid. Well that’s fine. I like the flavor. If someone else doesn’t, then that’s more for me and anybody else who wants some. Heh!
And like Ken, I enjoy the heck out of actually talking about Falcon football, instead of dodging the incomprehensibly large numbers of poisoned racial and personal insult darts that flew around here all last season. And I won’t mention the usual subject that all of those revolved around…
Big Ray
March 28th, 2009
9:44 pm
I long for the day when people will leave Crabapplejoe the hell alone about Keith Brooking…
“Hopefully, we will draft a mediocre black LB instead of this Matthews kid or Cushing. I would hate for either of them to have to go through what KB did on these forums. Imagine if we drafted one of them and they only went to four pro-bowls….the hatred would be lethal.”
See? See what we’re starting up again? For the love of Pete…
Big Ray
March 28th, 2009
9:50 pm
But ya know….if people told me I could play a sport I loved, get paid millions of dollars to do it, and all I had to worry about was a bunch of working stiffs writing hate comments about me on a blog…Man, I’d take the money, enjoy the sport, and wave to the crowd with enthusiams every day.
Keith Brooking is a lucky man. Just like any other guy who has been given the gift and opportunity to play in a professional sport.
Some of us are out protecting life, liberty, and the rights to all that this country offers….and people still hate us (to our FACES, not as anonymous people on some blog)…and the money? Heh, well, you just don’t do it for the money, I can tell ya that.
I’d LOVE to be Keith Brooking. A step slow, past my prime, welcomed into a new city, and still able to sign a contract for 7-figure money.
Big Ray
March 28th, 2009
9:51 pm
IMUS,
You’re killing me
Barbershop quartet…Nation of Islam…leave D. Ledbetter alone, man! 
jason jones
March 28th, 2009
10:10 pm
I recently read Coach Smith of Falcons state that “the players (Brookins, Grady, Foxworth, and Bolley) left the team, the team did not release them.” This is a whimpish way for a coach to get out of the cites of criticism because of his poor competence in managing unstricted free agents. The Falcons are not really attempting to repeat what they did last year, or get close to that, based on what they have done or not during the off season. Certainly every team needs to make changes during the off season, but when you disseminate veteran players like they did, the message is clear you do not want to pay good-solid player what they are worth on the market to make your team better. This falcon team did not offer any of these players, particularly Bolley and Foxworth, the value they deserved as players in their position, with the appropriate years, and based on how they had improved their game during the season. Also, Demitroff and the Patties were known for not wanting to pay excellent players market value in NE, and he’s obviously attempting to do that here in ATL. YOu can only do that when you have a base of good players in waiting, and you have established a program and process of winning. The falcon team has neither in place-one doesn’t make it so! But these clowns obviously think they do have such systems or they can only not want to compete as they did last year. I wish coaches such as Smith would just come out and be honest with the community, and suggest that you don’t want to pay what players should earn and that you want to remain status quo in winning.
crabapplejoe
March 28th, 2009
10:26 pm
Jason Jones wrote: “This falcon team did not offer any of these players, particularly Bolley and Foxworth, the value they deserved as players in their position, with the appropriate years, and based on how they had improved their game during the season.”
I could be wrong on this issue, but I do think the Falcons offered Foxworth more than Baltimore did. He wanted to play there. At first I was pi**ed that they let him get away since CBs are few and far between in the NFL…but it appears they did what they could to keep him. Flame me if I’m wrong.
Nique
March 28th, 2009
11:47 pm
Stirg d’Nahsif
Are you being serious??? Not one DE or CB in the draft who could come in & start over the players we have on our roster right now! Please Both Tyson Jackson, Everette Brown, & Brian Orakpo all walk in & start at DE for us & CB’s Jenkins, Davis, & Butler do the same (maybe even Alphonso Smith too).
I mean don’t get me wrong I’m with you on getting Brace, but I think that we could trade down later into the 1st or into the early 2cnd & still get him & get an additional pick (a 4th). I’ve been saying this for WEEKS!
Ken
While I get your point, some of those players can & hopefully will be upgraded bc a few of them have max out there talent & would only be immeadately more successful bc they know the scheme, but they have no more upside. & the some might have upside, but not as much as some ppl who we could acquire through the draft this year. There aare a few positions that would be upgraded by drafting ppl in these positions this draft, 3 in particular 1. cb – Grimes is a nickle back & Houston is yet to illustrate that he’s a # 1 cover corner, 2. NT- Lewis-is a reserve Nt, not a starter & he’s injury prone as well (who to me is still unproven & is coming off an injury so is a risky play at best), & 3. SS- DeCloud while I like him, he’s a FS, not a SS. While I know that they want to have the Safety’s be interchangeable & I trust TD & M. Smith, i worry if he can come up & fill the box & hit the way a SS is suppose to & will need to do in an effective & dominate D.
Stirg d'Nahsif
March 29th, 2009
12:18 am
Yes, Nique, I’m being serious. First of all, when I said there’s not a defensive end or cornerback that would start over our current squad, I was speaking (or writing) in terms of a number 24 pick. I agree with you, Malcolm Jenkins, Vontae Davis, Brian Orakpo, Everette Brown, etc., etc., would become immediate starters for us, IF THEY WERE AVAILABLE. I, and most mockers, seem to think that those names that you mentioned will be gone by the 24th pick. After the dust settles and its our turn to pick, I don’t think there is a cornerback or a defensive end, that’s left, that could beat out our current starters. You may find a safety, linebacker or tight end; but not a CB or DE.
Speaking of defensive end. Give me one defensive end, in the history of the NFL, that started and produced during his rookie season. I’ll wait…(you’re on the clock).
Ken Strickland
March 29th, 2009
12:21 am
JASON JONES-what every coach wants is a collection of players that fits his preferred style of play and buys into his system. A lot of our veteran players weren’t resigned because of that fact. Obviously LB KBrooking wasn’t physical enough, LB MBoley couldn’t adjust to the new system and regressed, DT GJackson and SS LMalloy were too limited, and CB DFoxworth wanted to return to Maryland.
Let me demonstrate just how stupid and ill advised your comments about HC Smith are. In 2007 the Atlanta Falcons won only 4gms. HC Smith took over and jettisoned 7 veteran starters, TE ACrumpler, RB WDunn, CB DHall, OT WGandy, FS CCrocker, LB DWilliams and DT RColemen. In 2008, Smith’s 1st yr as a HC, we reversed the previous yrs record by winning 11 gms and making the playoffs. DO THOSE MOVES, AND THE POSITIVE RESULTS, SEEM LIKE THE MOVES OF A WIMPISH COACH TRYING TO GET OUT OF THE CITIES OF CRITICISM BECAUSE OF HIS POOR COMPETENCE IN MANAGING UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS? HE GOT RID OF 7 VETERAN STARTERS AND STILL MANAGED TO TOTALLY UPGRADE THE ROSTER HIS 1ST YR AS HC. WHAT MAKES YOU THINK HE WON’T BE ABLE TO DO THE SAME THING THIS YR?
fanATicaL
March 29th, 2009
1:10 am
With Trey Lewis return at DL gives continuity and depth.Cuts down on the priority at this position.We need pass rush or coverage.Loved BGrimes play last year but between his injury.And him being exposed for being vertically challenged.Which I might add Houston nor Irons are tall enough to play for the NBA.This raises the priority of this position.Having a pass rush is more sure .Than coverage,because timing patterns or heigth or even athleticism.Abraham needs help !!!!Is CDavis or Biermen an answer.MMMMMMM I just don’t know.But if we have an oppotunity to clearly answer the question,shouldn’t we ?
marko
March 29th, 2009
7:28 am
Just a thought, but we lost a pretty good guy in Todd Weiner. Offensive tackle hasn’t been addressed as a need, but I would expect us to take one. Our starting line looked better than any of us expected. I suppose it helps having a quarterback that can spot an open receiver in less than five minutes. Still if a Baker goes down this year, we won’t have a Weiner to pick us up.
Stirg d'Nahsif
March 29th, 2009
8:40 am
fanATicaL, I have a question for you. Where is the depth that you speak of, at defensive tackle? You said “with Trey Lewis’ return at DL gives (us) continuity and depth”. A player’s return from an injured two years of his professional career does not equate continuity. Considering Lewis is the starter, it doesn’t demonstrate much depth either. Lastly, what does Houston and Iron have to do with the NBA? This is the NFL. Short people, with talent, can survive in this league. If Irons or Houston is too short, who’s tall enough in the draft to replace them. It doesn’t sound like height is a big concern for a cornerback in our defensive scheme. It requires intelligence and and cover two skills.
SeminoleWarrior
March 29th, 2009
8:48 am
Good morning my brothers.. Stirg, I just read yesterday’s entries from you regarding Ron Brace. One H*** of a deep analysis. I can see where you point has strong relevance.
SeminoleWarrior
March 29th, 2009
9:01 am
D3, I checked out Lewis and Martin. I would go with Lewis to pair with my guy Jairus Byrd. Working on the final draft of the official release of my draft; a nice office pool prize for the person who nails the most picks for his respective teams’ draft. I’ve been on the Chung wagon at 24 (I know most do not agree) but Stirg really has me re-thinking the Brace deal. The Patriots were in a similiar situation a few years back and TD took Vince WIlfork. Going to be a busy Sunday anaylzing more draft data.
crabapplejoe
March 29th, 2009
9:07 am
Ken Strickland wrote: “A lot of our veteran players weren’t resigned because of that fact. Obviously LB KBrooking wasn’t physical enough”
Coach Smith tried to resign Brooking and the Dallas Cowboys signed him 36 hours into free agency…so two NFL teams tried to sign a LB that “isn’t physical”. ROTFLMAO
SeminoleWarrior
March 29th, 2009
9:10 am
I really like DeCoud but Nique makes my point for drafting Chung. The dish does not lie (unlike some scouting reports). If you watched any Duck football over the last two years, Chung has proven that he can have a “Bob Sanders” like impact on the field. Difference: Chung stays healthy!! He hits as aggressively as William Moore but can COVER as well. I think we could take him at 24 but again, Stirg makes a very challenging proposal with Brace. If I go with Stirg, I am sure that we will not have Chung there in the second. So where would I turn for a SS of the same caliber? Stay tuned.
SeminoleWarrior
March 29th, 2009
9:17 am
Crabapplejoe, just remember. Jerry Jones has this thing for sending hsi jet to ATL and picking up slow players and coaches. In this case, while I TRULY appreciate what Brooking did for the Falcons over the years, he had begun to slow at his position. And I need not remind you of how slow Petrino was to adjust to the NFL…and how it was JJ’s bird that took him to Fayetteville in the night to lead that infamous “Pig Suey” chant.
SeminoleWarrior
March 29th, 2009
9:24 am
Marko, additional offensive line depth will be addressed after the draft with a few post-draft FA signings.
crabapplejoe
March 29th, 2009
9:34 am
@SeminoleWarrior: Out of all the anti-Brooking posts over the years, your Brooking/Petrino/Jerry Jones connection has got to be the funniest. And yes, I would agree that any player in the NFL is not as fast at 35 as he was at 25…truly a statement of the obvious.
JJ
March 29th, 2009
9:41 am
Marco – good point, I’m sure the brain trust will address the durability of BAKER/LEWIS via draft or fa. It’s hard to tell if LEWIS is starter material with ONLY what 2 games played in 2 yrs? He had good reviews out of college so hopefully that twice injured same knee will hold up. Baker looks really solid WHEN HE PLAYS! Without solid back-ups, part of our success will be determined by those 2 VERY important front line buys…gives credence (ms?,gsu) to stirgs theory.
SeminoleWarrior – I agree with chung, but would love to trade down (like everyone else) and get chung and a DT! Pipe dream or oregano?
Crapapplejoe – I love brookings! Lets move forward fellow falcon fan!!!
Stirg d'Nahsif
March 29th, 2009
10:08 am
SeminoleWarrior, I can go along with that; I like Chung. I think he’d make an awesome fit into the defense. Matter of fact, I wouldn’t be disappointed with him at 24. When I speak of Ron Brace, though, I’m merely trying to be pratical. Its my own hypothesis of what TD might do on draft day. The most logical guess is that he would take Ron Brace because of the reasons I’ve already indicated. One, its like getting a Raji without being in the top ten. Two, there are more safeties for the pickings than there are 300+lbs. tackles. Three, DeCoud appears to be/stay healthier than Trey and a backup for tackle is a higher priority than a backup for DeCoud (you still got Fudge). And four, we can’t decide on a pick worthy enough for 24, outside of tackle, tight end or linebacker. Building the line is a great start to revamping your system when so many veterans are lost. Again, I’m with you, though. I like Chung but we have a better chance of getting him in the second than we do have of getting Brace in the second. All the mocks of seen, ranked Chung in the second (although he’s picked before 55) but there are different mocks that show Brace going from first to third. (gritting my teeth) You sure do make Chung look attractive, though. Wow, I’d love to have that cat. What a back.
SeminoleWarrior
March 29th, 2009
10:42 am
AppleJoe, glad that I could make a brother laugh. I had to crack up on it myself after I submitted it. KB is a class act who I wish nothing but the best. He was my son’s first Falcon auotgraph so he is always cool in the teepee here.
Stirig, KStrick, D3, all my brothers:
I like Brace but I still think we can get a beast of run stopper later. Here is my theory: Smitty is an old school line coach as is his #2 in that area, “Sugar Bear”. I like Roy Miller of Texas. He has the size, hand speed, and anchors against the double team well. We do not need him to rush the passer, just clog the middle so that Davis, Biermann, Anderson, or Davis can do that. It would also free up Lewis to be a situational reserve and allow him more time to rehab that knee. Another DT worth looking at is Terrance Taylor of Michigan. The issues last season were due to the transition at Michigan more than anything else. Large, tough in the middle, hard to move, and handle the double team well. Actually, acquiring them both would give Smitty the big duel tackle combo that would be compare to what he had when he was defensive line coach at Baltimore in 2000. I think we all recall what that defensive line was a part of…a Super Bowl title.
More on the composition of that line:
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/rav/2000_roster.htm
Note that the Falcons has very similiar line production this past at each of the positions. Abe had 16.5 sacks, Davis/Biermann combined for six. I personally think Davis can get 6 to 8 sacks himself. The NFL average for sacks per season is SEVEN so that would be fine. Our tackle play speaks for its with Babs leading in sacks there; so my Falcon brethren, what do you think?
SeminoleWarrior
March 29th, 2009
10:55 am
I’m having trouble finding a prospective partner for trading down. I do not think we will. Most of the teams that with extra picks appear to be happy with where they stand. Can anyone detail a team that might do it with us? Note for ‘10: Based on the current compensatory pick formula, we will acquire two or three picks next season. That would give us two picks each in the third, fourth, or fifth rounds next year. Something to ponder looking ahead. TD could package other picks (comps are not tradable), much like he did last year, to move up and strike gold. An example: Jermaine Gresham at Oklahoma would be the best TE in the draft if he had came out this year. OLB Sean Weatherspoon is a beast on the outside.
SeminoleWarrior
March 29th, 2009
11:00 am
And for all the discussion we have had over USC LBs, the BEST USC defender decided to stay in school….safety Taylor Mays.
Ken Strickland
March 29th, 2009
2:22 pm
MARKO-OT Renaldo Foster(6′7 340lbs) will be returning after spending all of last yr on IR. We’ll also have OT Pat McCoy(6′5″ 333lbs) returning from IR.
CRABAPPLEJOE-they wanted to resign Brooking as a backup, which is why he refused to resign. Even if he’d resigned, I believe they would have signed Peterson in order to become more physical. Brooking has always been, and still is, an excellent sideline to sideline LB, but he’s never been known as a big hitter or line stuffer.
SEMINOLE WARRIOR-I don’t think Smith is looking for a traditional SS. Smith said the SS and FS in his DEF will be interchangeable. So, they’re looking for more of a hybrid, someone with FS and SS skills. Therefore, he might feel we have what we’re looking for already on our roster in either EBrock(6′0″ 202lbs), AHarris(5′10″197, JFudge(5′9″ 194lbs), or TMcCloud(6′0″ 197lbs). If that’s the case, we might end up drafting a safety lower in the draft. I also agree with your idea of drafting that ROADBLOCK DT in the lower rds. We might end up drafting 2 DT’s since there isn’t another DT on our roster that can seffectively replace JBabineaux, unless you consider the possible fulltime switch of JAnderson to DT.
While we need a TE epgrade, and Petigrew’s considered the drafts most complete TE, I don’t think he’s our answer. We already have a full compliment of blocking TE’s. We’re looking for a TE with the speed and quickness to attack cover 2 zones and stretch the DEF, and Pettigrew is too slow to effectively do that.
We can debate and offer our opinions all we want. The bottomline is TD and Smith will successfully rebuild our DEF just as effectively as they rebuilt our OFF last yr, no matter who they draft or where they draft them.
Stirg d'Nahsif
March 29th, 2009
3:39 pm
Its all fun…suggesting our ideas, adding our input. Technology is amazing. Wish I had this when I was a kid, during the days of Steve Bartkowski, William Andrews, the Alfred twins (don’t want to give away my age).
JJ
March 29th, 2009
5:05 pm
GO TIGER!!!!
NFL- #1 SPORT
PGA (W/ TIGER) – # 2 SPORT
JJ
March 29th, 2009
5:11 pm
If Tiger is in the sunday hunt, then PGA #2. The MASTERS is golf at its finest, cannot wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!No other major compares to OUR OWN STATE OF GA.–THE MASTERS!!!!! ok, off my stand, continue who we draft, we have no idea?!!!
Nique
March 29th, 2009
5:17 pm
Stirg d’Nahsif
Come on now does Javon Kerse ring a bell for you? He had 14.5 sacks his rookie year & also Peppers had 12 sacks his rookie year, & then for the hat trick, Simeon Rice had 12.5 in his rookie season. So there have been a number of the who have! Next time hit me with a more challenging ? bro! lol
Nique
March 29th, 2009
5:24 pm
Stirg d’Nahsif
& while it makes me feel better that you meant at 24 but i still believe that there will be a CB who will be able to walk in & start at the selection, because 1 of the top 4 Cb’s will still be on the board. Butler & Smith will probably be there, with the outside chance of Davis, so 1 will be avaiable! But if we don’t go that way, i still believe that trading down getting an extra pick & taking Brace is the way to go! I’ve been saying this for weeks!!! I’m glad ppl are finally starting 2 realize that NT is our greatest need & trading down will allow us to address more needs by getting an additional 4th rounder & still allow us to get a top ranking player in the draft at a need position
Stirg d'Nahsif
March 29th, 2009
6:04 pm
Nique, serious, come on! You’re going to use those names to represent a defensive end that produced his rookie season and made an immediate impact. Let’s examine (you must think I’m a rookie).
Simeon Rice was an outside linebacker. We’re talking about defensive ends. He’s eliminated.
Julius Peppers was suspended for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy for taking a banned supplement. There’s no telling what was happening in his system during his rookie season.
Jevon Kearse. I may have to give you that one. There’s a real reason why they call him “The Freak”. He may be eliminated from this equation by default. This clone of Hawk (Buck Rogers) has an 86inch wingspan. Do you have any earthly idea how long that is? He can hug my car. Even his speed is unusual. Not sure if he qualify but I’ll give it to you. You got me. I stand corrected. Still, there aint no Jevon Kearse’s in this draft and I don’t see a rookie DE coming into our system and making an immediate impact. I think our needs were met when we re-signed Davis. Still, good challenge!
tbhawksfan
March 29th, 2009
6:37 pm
#24: Maybin OLB should fall to #24. He is projected as a potential league sack leader.
#55: Chung, Delmas or Moore SS One of them will be there.
#90: Francies CB I’m with KS on this one.
Thre players ready to contribute or vie for starting role.
Nique
March 29th, 2009
6:45 pm
Ok, I don’t remember Rice being an OLB, but just so you don’t think the freak was the only one, Freeny had 13 his rookie year, Darren Howard had 11, Jared Allen had 9, & Justin Smith had 8.5. So anything over 8 is very productive, so it happens! & It doesn’t have to be a super freak either! But like i said, i still think trading down out of the 1st & getting Brace is the best statagy.
Trade out the 1st, pick up an additional 2cnd & 4th
2cnd (1st)- Brace
2cnd (2cnd) – SS- Chung or Moore if niether than Cb Moore, S. Smith
3rd – M. Freeman if not then Cb J. Byrd or SS Emanuel Cook, Chung, or W. Moore if 1 is still left, dependent on which was addressed in round 2
4th (1st) Travis Beckman or C. Coffeman
4th (2cnd) Nic Harris if we didn’t go freeman in the 3rd & if you did then DE – Brandon Williams, 6′4, 246, DE, TX Tch – 13 sacks ‘08.
5th – 0-Tackle Garder from GT or Nebraska tackle Lydon Murtha
6th- DT- Hill
Nique
March 29th, 2009
6:47 pm
Stirg d’Nahsif
Ok, I don’t remember Rice being an OLB, but those were just names off the top of my head, but just so you don’t think the freak was the only one, Freeny had 13 his rookie year, Darren Howard had 11, Jared Allen had 9, & Justin Smith had 8.5. So anything over 8 is very productive, so it happens! & It doesn’t have to be a super freak either! But like i said, i still think trading down out of the 1st & getting Brace is the best statagy.
Trade out the 1st, pick up an additional 2cnd & 4th
2cnd (1st)- Brace
2cnd (2cnd) – SS- Chung or Moore if niether than Cb Moore, S. Smith
3rd – M. Freeman if not then Cb J. Byrd or SS Emanuel Cook, Chung, or W. Moore if 1 is still left, dependent on which was addressed in round 2
4th (1st) Travis Beckman or C. Coffeman
4th (2cnd) Nic Harris if we didn’t go freeman in the 3rd & if you did then DE – Brandon Williams, 6′4, 246, DE, TX Tch – 13 sacks ‘08.
5th – 0-Tackle Garder from GT or Nebraska tackle Lydon Murtha
6th- DT- Hill
Stirg d'Nahsif
March 29th, 2009
7:12 pm
Nique, one of the mocks out there, Yahoo!Sports, sends Brace to Miami in the first round (25). I don’t think your strategy of trading down will work to obtain him.
Yes, Simeon Rice played outside linebacker at Illin’i. He was drafted with the Cardinals, I believe. You got me; there are some exceptions.
In the meantime, Brace for 24.
JJ
March 29th, 2009
7:17 pm
icing on top – parcells wants him at 25!!!!!
JJ
March 29th, 2009
7:22 pm
Stirg for the new x-babe fan blog!!! Must be over 1 paragraph stirg!!!
JJ
March 29th, 2009
8:00 pm
YES TIGER!, from a 40+ W bogey (85-95) golfer!!!
What a putt on 18 AGAIN!!!
Now back to #24!?
Trust in TD/MS!
GO FALCONS!
D3
March 29th, 2009
8:23 pm
What’s up my brothers? Man, been a hell-a weekend. I’ve checked the arguments going back and forth today and yesterday, and it seems we are back to where we usually are….having no idea on #24.
Stirg – like your pick of Ron Brace. I’ve heard around that Raji was so dominant because of Brace taking double teams all the time and still dominating. Honestly, I’d rather take Brace with his size than guys like Jerry or Hood. I could see Brace in the first. Not a bad pick. LB is solid with what we got, don’t need a DE, S & CB doesn’t have first round value, so I like it. Trey Lewis shows all signs of coming back, but he has been injuried twice in the last year and a half.
LB’s that would most likely fall to us ARE a risk. Matthews has only one year of being a stud, Sintim’s stock is dropping, so I might be back to a guy like Larry English.
Ken – that lineup is definitely a talent upgrade over what we had last year. What we lack in experience, we should make up in talent and fire.
If we have argued over and over against Clay Matthews, than we better sure as H stay away from William Moore. The dude totally disappeared from his great junior year to his senior year. Too much of a risk. Chung or Vaughn.
More to come later…….
SeminoleWarrior
March 29th, 2009
8:58 pm
Waht’s up brothers? All of today’s posting have been good with a lot of deep thoughts going into the process. I think the Falcons are lucky to have such a loyal bunch. TD should invite us all over to Flowery Branch for a roundtable discussion.
SeminoleWarrior
March 29th, 2009
8:59 pm
D3, I think we can close the case on William Moore as a Falcon.
The Robot Nesbitt
March 29th, 2009
9:01 pm
D. O. Led Better, R. Coleman being rebooted in the NFL, as my father-puter was so fond of saying, does not compute. My father-puter was a laugh track machine performing on the situation comedy, Alice. Robot loves him, in a computer way.
R. Coleman v2 will offer performances and response times much less than v1. Coleman’s game was based on quickness. Robot knows that is the first skill to erode. Grady Jackson maintained effectiveness by maintaining brute force and only sufficient quickness. So Jackson has been able to survive in the football game past his extended warranty. Coleman’s functionality is different and his shelf life is much shorter. Reuniting with his former coach is like Bill Gates reuniting with Word for Windows 1.0. It’s still obsolete. Robot apologies for computer humor.
SeminoleWarrior
March 29th, 2009
9:04 pm
I do not think we will take a TE in this draft. Coach M’s offensive schemes place a premium on blocking TEs and we have that with Hartsock. Peele did well in his stint as a receiver. Check out Coach M’s resume from Pittsburgh as OC and Buffalo as HC and you will see that at max, his TEs are good for 3-5 TD and less than 30 catches per season.
SeminoleWarrior
March 29th, 2009
9:14 pm
K Strick: Nice selection of Francies; I put him right in there with Byrd and Lewis. Chung can play both FS and SS so the versatility is there.
D3
March 29th, 2009
9:54 pm
tbhawks – like your pick of Maybin, but his stock is dropping like a stone. Coye Francis looks like a solid cb, but has listed as “character concerns,” not knocking him, per se, but I don’t know if TD, Smitty, Blank, and Co. are going to choose someone with his history. IMHO, I would rather wait until the 4th or 5th and take a chance on someone like Jerius Byrd, Sherrod Martin, or Keenan Lewis.
JJ – whats up bro? Totally agree about the upcoming Masters. April’s one of the better sports month in the year. Finally, April breaks through a rather dreary and depressing couple of months: Masters, College Spring Practice, Braves, and the DRAFT, BABY…….26 DAYS!
Seminole – what’s the word man? Yeah, with you on trading down. Nobody’s going to want to trade up to get anybody this year, IMO. Theoretically, maybe someone would want to trade up to get Knowshown Moreno, but I think he’ll be gone anyway.
As Ken mentioned, TD and Smitty will draft us a d@mn good defense, just like they did for our offense last year. As we’ve all discussed, we’re a lot better off with our guys returning from IR, young guys competing than many believe.
Mock Draft Tres(wanna switch to Stirg’s Brace theory, just can’t yet)
1)Larry English – OLB
2)Chip Vaughn – S
3)Shawn Nelson – TE
4)Jarius Byrd – CB
5a)Sammie Hill – DT
5b)Lydon Murtha – T
D3
March 29th, 2009
10:35 pm
Using Stirg’s Brace Theory, Mock Draft Tres.1
1)Ron Brace – DT
2)Chip Vaughn – S
3)Shawn Nelson – TE
4)Connor Barwin – OLB
5a)Keenan Lewis – CB
5b)Lydon Murtha – T
Stirg d'Nahsif
March 29th, 2009
11:12 pm
That’s cool, D3. Larry English at 24 won’t be a bad pick but the rookie sure is going to have a hard time adapting if Trey Lewis goes down and you don’t have a big body to keep blockers off of him.
Someone pointed out, the other day, that everyone is congruent with picking Sammie Hill in the 5th. If he is that attractive to us, then he’s that attractive to other teams, which will make his stock rise like Mike Vick at a peep show after his release from prison. He may not be available in the 5th number one; and number two, I don’t think you want to fix a number one issue with a number fourteen player (most polls have him ranked between 13 and 15). That’s like going to the junk yard to get a part for your 2010 Rolls Royce. I think we should draft in later rounds for the positions that have lesser needs than others; but for the one position that has the highest need, we should draft the very best at that position. Mr. Blank didn’t fix this problem by hiring a coach from Stillman College (no offense to Stillman College). He hired a professional coach from the Jacksonville Jaguars. He didn’t hire the general manager from the Gold Club; he hired a GM from the New England Patriots. Why would we want to fill our most glaring need with a 5th round prospect? Why even wait until the fifth round to address the issue? That’s just senseless to me.
Also, D3, Shawn Nelson will be gone by the third round, buddy. Some have even suggested that some teams like him better than Pettigrew. For some reason, Pettigrew is dropping like panties at a strip club.