Look for a Post-June 1 move before blog-cation starts
While on blog-cation, we'll try to find the perfect Palm tree to sit up and watch the sunset.
Blog-cationville –- Hey y’all, things will slow down in the Bird Cage in June and through the early part of July.
We’ll pick it back up hot and heavy in Mid-July before the start of training camp. In the meantime, here’s a little video from last season I found that you can keep replaying.
Just a couple of things before we lower the lights for awhile.
THE RETURN OF GANDY?: The Falcons will likely add a veteran free agent shortly after June 1 to help on the offensive side of the ball. This makes sense because if they’d signed him before June 1, the signing would affect the number of compensatory picks they have coming in the 2010.
Not sure, who the veteran could be, but perhaps tackle Wayne Gandy gets re-signed. He wants to keep
Maybe Milloy (r) finds a new home after June 1st.
playing and the Falcons like him. Also, veterans like safety Rodney Harrison, who had been linked to the Falcons in the past, and Lawyer Milloy, may end up signing somewhere else.
ONE TOO MANY FACEBOOK FRIENDS: Was wondering why Quinn Ojinnaka was not at practice last Wednesday. When I asked coach Mike Smith, he said he knew where he was. Didn’t know that could mean he was in the lockup at the county jail. Wonder if he had a cell next to Otis, the town drunk.
Smitty must not have known where Quinn was for sure otherwise he would have told us. He probably just thought he was sleeping in late.
Ojinnaka, a fifth round pick in 2005 who’s played in 30 games and made seven starts, is a super guy. But he just may have cut himself. The Falcons have a very low tolerance for players appearing on the police blotter these days.
Grimes has a battle on his hands.
GRIMES BACK ON THE GRIND: Brent Grimes, the former undrafted free agent from Shippensburg State, is off to a good start over the offseason. He’s running first team, but will face a stiff challenge to keep his spot come training camp.
He’ll have to beat back Chevis Jackson, Von Hutchins and possibly rookie Chris Owens.
“He’s a more confident player, without a doubt,” Smith said. “He’s the most athletic player on our team. He has a lot more confidence this season in knowing our system and being around (defensive coordinator) Brian (VanGorder) and the defensive coaching staff.”
WIDE RECEIVER SPOT OPEN: With the trade of Laurent Robinson, there could be a roster spot open at the wide receiver position.
Former Georgia Force and Arena Football League star Troy Bergeron and undrafted rookie free agent Aaron Kelly of Clemson and Walton High are making strong offseason showings.
“Troy has done a nice job in terms of catching the football,” Smith said.
Kelly is not far behind.
“Aaron has a very good skill set,” Smith said. “He’s caught the ball extremely well. He’ll be a guy who’ll have
Troy Bergeron has been impressive.
an opportunity to compete. We’ve been pleased with his progress.”
It’s possible that Bergeron could make the roster and Kelly the practice squad. Bergeron’s practice squad time is up and the Arena League is on hiatus, so he has to make the roster.
It would not be wise to count out Eric Weems either. He played last season and has developed nicely.
Speaking of wideouts, NFC South foe Tampa Bay is checking on Plaxico Burress.
Before I stroll off to find one of those Umbrella drinks and a nice Palm tree, do you think re-signing Gandy would be a good move? Will you miss the Mighty Quinn if his facebook page gets him tossed? Do you think Grimes can win the starting spot? Who’s going to get Robinson’s wide receiver spot, Bergeron, Kelly or Weems?
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
369 comments Add your comment
Unca' Bob
June 7th, 2009
12:33 pm
Ken Strickland,
You flatter me, Sir. I think all the Cager’s know who the real man is ’round these parts. I’m still in the developemental stage in my “proess” to become “a” man. My process continues…
jason
June 7th, 2009
12:42 pm
Unca’ Bob, You Sir are well on your way. There are alot of football intellegence in the cage. I feel I get educated everytime I read. I am the rookie here. The research you and others drop on us is incredible.
VICK SUPPORTER 2
June 7th, 2009
3:11 pm
8-8 IN ‘09….”VEGAS YOU ROCK”
GO FALCONS!
richbrave
June 7th, 2009
4:20 pm
How’s my two main men LAWRENCE SIDBURY Jr. and AARON KELLY lookin’?
Sarah B
June 7th, 2009
4:33 pm
Happy Sunday from Vegas all. Good posts – keep ‘em coming. Off to play golf.
angry banker
June 7th, 2009
6:03 pm
d3 – awesome article. a few thoughts – Biermann was a beast in D2 ball (or 1AA or whatever the hell they’re calling it today). I think we won every possbile award and was considered to be the best player in the whole division. As I remember, that Wyoming team gave some SEC teams a run for their money. Secondly, it seems to me, no one on this blog really gives big Grady Jackson any love. Yes, he was slow – but theres something be said for just being a roadblock – in these two gaps, you will not run, and I dare you to try and move me. BVG called him a ’space eater’. I hope our boys can make the adjustments and do a better job of stopping the run this year. Good find man – keep stuff like this coming!!
unca bob – good man!! looks like jefferson started out hot and fizzled. any idea what happened? injury? bad fit for teams that just needed depth and put him on reserve? what are your thoughts?
BigMike
June 7th, 2009
6:13 pm
I MustWrite,and gdg73, First know you can’t teach 6′5, but when you go from a 6′5 receiver in the ACC to being undrafted something was flawed!GDG73, Eric Berry is probably going to end up in the Steve Atwater, Ronnie Lott, and Ed Reed mole, but an NFL corner he is not. IMustWrite you also mention we need depth not dinosaurs, but you want to bring in Rodney Harrison. Stay off the Yack when blogging, because you have no understanding of the League or football in general!
jason
June 7th, 2009
6:28 pm
angry banker, That’s why BVG was talking about when he was mentioning Jefferson and Johnson, both having the ability to eat up space while also be able to run to the ball. While Big Grady did eat up space, he couldn’t go and run to the ball. The whole point being… The #1 word in ATL’s vocabulary is the “PROCESS”. The #2 word is “VERSATILITY”. That’s what both Jefferson and Johnson bring to the table. Something ‘ol Grady couldn’t.
VICK SUPPORTER 2
June 7th, 2009
7:04 pm
8-8 in ‘09 AND NO PLAYOFFS……STILL BETTER THAN ‘07
GO FALCONS!
jason
June 7th, 2009
8:42 pm
I was on my way to saying all draft picks this year were going to make the team. I am now wavering on Walker.
D3
June 7th, 2009
11:13 pm
Good Sunday PM ‘Cage Gents and Gals! Gonna be a quick one tonight, because I gotta get some shut-eye and get ready for summer classes, BLECH! The House CEO had a girls night out tonight, so my little WR had my hands tied and prevented from getting in the ‘Cage tonight. Great convo’s and football talk during our “dry” time of Falcons Football. Speaking of……….
On Tap this Week for Supplemental Football Talk:
Weekly Opponent Breakdown & Analysis
Game #5 – Atlanta Falcons vs Chicago Bears (Sunday Night Football)
Monday – State of the Franchise/Off-Season Analysis
Tuesday – Bears OFF vs Falcons DEF
Wednesday – Falcons OFF vs Bears DEF
Thursday – Game Breakdown & Final Predictions
Friday – News/Headlines from around the NFL
Sat/Sun – Catch-Up Days
Roster Spot Analysis
Monday – TE#3
Tuesday – LT
Wednesday – LG
Thursday – C
Friday – RG
Sat/Sun – Catch-Up
falcon21 – hope your right about our Dawgs. I’m sure we’ll do fine. I’m really concerned about our WRs and RBs. And we know what awfulness(is that a word?) that Willie M. is capable of on DEF.
Unca’ Bob – Nice Research. I think Jefferson might be the odd man out this year with such an infusion of new DT talent. If we carry 4, the battle for #4 is between Walker/TJ/Jefferson. If we carry 5, than the 5th looks to be between Jefferson and TJ. I can’t see us not keeping Walker over the other two since he is a TD/Smitty “guy” they drafted.
jason – that battle for the starting spot between Jerry and Lewis looks to be the fiercest of any other positions, except for the SS position. Can’t wait for training camp.
Richbrave – your boys look to be doing well for themselves. El Sid looks to have boatloads of talent, but needs some work to get to the NFL level, per Mini-Camp and OTA reports. Aaron Kelly looks to be a leading candidate to earn the #5 WR spot. He’s in a tough battle against Troy Bergeron and Eric Weems. To earn the spot, he’s gotta be a stud on special teams.
Sarah B. – how’s Vegas-Land? Any “crazy” stories to report? Enjoy the rest of the Vaca’.
angry banker – very true that Grady was a huge asset in the run game, but I think they’re looking for someone they don’t have to take out on 3rd downs every single time. He was good, but on the downside of his career.
Alright peeps have a great week and we’ll see you in the ‘Cage soon. And on that note…………
52 DAYS AND COUNTING TO 2009 ATLANTA FALCONS TRAINING CAMP!!!!!!!!!
Ken Strickland
June 7th, 2009
11:51 pm
Fellow cagers, consider the following. Last yr, secondaries couldn’t contain WR’s RWhite(88 rec) or TE TGonzalez(96 rec), even though both receivced consistent double teams. Now that TE TGonzalez is a Falcon , their’s no way teams can double team both he and RWhite and still expect to successfully cover MJenkins, or even HDouglas. The only thing better than having a TE throw a good block is to have a TE dynamic enough to have a DEF player assigned to cover him, which removes the defender from the area of the play.
JASON-I don’t see DT VWalker getting cut. He has too much talent and potential and can get much better. Both Jefferson and Johnson have been with multiple organizations and hasn’t shown as much upside. Plus, he’ll be cheaper. I see at least one of these DT’s ending up on the practice squad.
Unca' Bob
June 8th, 2009
10:03 am
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/194440-atlanta-falcons-super-bowl-bound
I think this was written by K Strick because I have read it before.
D3
June 8th, 2009
11:15 am
Enter youGood Monda(ne) Morning Bird-Cage Fellas and Gals! Monday always seems to come way to early after a usual, super-quick weekend. Summer seems to be rolling right along and we’re having some great dialogue here in the Bird-Cage. If we have this much going on now, just wait until Training Camp gets close. Some fan bloggers just are junkies like many of us, as Falcon Devil stated. Many of our fellow ‘Cagers probably will return once there’s news to report. But for the hard-core crew, to ‘Birds and ‘Ball……..
After a long procrastinating delay,….Roster Spot Analysis – TE#3
Justin Peele, Jason Rader, & Keith Zinger
Stats
Justin Peele(2008 Falcons) – 15 Rec, 159 Yds, 2 TDs
Jason Rader(2008 Falcons) – 1 Rec, 26 Yds, 0 TDs
Keith Zinger(2007-LSU) – 6 Rec, 51 Yds, 0 TDs(Only 1 Career TD)
Justin Peele
Pros
Came out of nowhere to be a decent contributor for the Falcons. Has good size at 6′4, 250 and proved to be a decent red-zone threat for Matty Ice, scoring 2 TDs in fairly limited playing time. Had at least 1 reception in 10 games last year and became the go-to TE once Hartsock got injuried. Looks to possibly move up the depth chart and be the #2 TE with TG on Two-TE sets Mularkey likes to run. Good hands and rarely drops.
Cons
Limited speed and playmaking ability once he gets the ball. Is 30 years old and just now is cracking a roster on a consistent basis. Even though he was the dependable RECV TE threat, the Falcons ranked close to or dead last in throwing to TEs in the NFL. Posed no serious threat as a true RECV TE, but rather a check-down option. Put undue pressure on Roddy & Turner in the red-zone with limited catches or plays made. Compounds problem with No Youth at TE with all TE’s being over 30.
Jason Rader
Jason Rader & Keith Zinger (2008 Practice Squad)
Pros
Even though he missed the Active Roster, the Falcons thought enough of him to give him one of the few roster spots beating out Matrez Milner for that position who was drafted higher. Has good size at 6′4, 268 and is known as a good blocking TE. A much younger Ben Hartsock(plus), which fits well into Mularkeys TE-Block First Mantra. Is the only young TE on a Falcons roster with all TEs (TG, Peele, Hartsock) 30 or older. Rader was called up several times once injury set in with Hartsock. A little more of a RECV threat than Zinger.
Cons
Failed to make the team and beat out Justin Peele after being drafted #7 and being 7 years younger. Absolutely ZERO receiving threat. Didn’t even score 1 TD his senior year at LSU. Zinger too heavy for TE & Rader bounced around on practice squad never making much throughout career. A young Ben Hartsock(minus), one-dimensional blocking TE that poses no threat to DEF’s that can hone into a run or play action when in the game. Might be on the chopping block even for practice squad with TG coming over. Rader dropped HUGE easy walk-in TD catch against Tampa Bay, or either caught it and fumbled it. Not exactly the way to show your stuff when you get a chance.
TE#3 – Justin Peele
Practice Squad – Keith Zinger(Groomed as Hartsocks eventual replacement)
Out – Jason Rader
Look for us to draft a TE in next years draft with our only serious dual-threat TE being TG.
Nookah
June 8th, 2009
11:30 am
Greetings!!!! Guys you all make me so proud. This is indeed a Football blog of no mean order. This blog will soon get national attention if it hasn’talready. The knowledge here is spewing from all directions and the football facts are flowing fluently and frequently. The seriousness of our bloggers have eliminated the vitriol and it’s all football 24/7/365. Booyah!!!
“Chase dem crazy baldheads out of town!!!!” (You know I have to quote Mr. Marley)
Check this out Cagers!!! I am not sure if anyone posted this article before but here goes.
Considering the Kansas City Chiefs situation at the quarterback position last year, the fact that Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez still managed to have one of his best years as a pro is quite remarkable. Gonzalez (6-foot-5, 251 pounds and 33 years old) finished the 2008 season with 96 catches for 1,058 yards, scoring 10 touchdowns.
Just think of what an offensive coordinator could do with a guy like Gonzalez if he had players of equal talent at the other skill positions. Gonzalez wanted out of Kansas City for some time, and now he has hooked up with a team that has some notable talent at the key positions on their offense. The Atlanta Falcons offense was loaded everywhere, except for the huge hole at the tight end position.
Supporting cast: The 2008 season was supposed to be a rebuilding year in Atlanta. Certainly no one expected Falcons rookie quarterback Matt Ryan to start every game his rookie year and perform the way he did all season. Ryan, drafted with the third overall pick in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft, showed incredible poise and maturity, completing 265 of 434 passes for 3,440 yards, with 16 touchdown passes. After a dismal 4-12 season in 2007, Ryan stepped in and the Falcons posted an 11-5 record, making the playoffs.
The continued improvement of Falcons wide receiver Roddy White was a huge factor in Ryan’s rookie success and the success of the team as a whole. White (6-foot, 208 pounds) had the best season of his career in 2008, posting 88 receptions for 1,382 yards and seven touchdowns.
An even bigger factor contributing to the Falcons’ success last season was the acquisition of former San Diego Chargers running back Michael Turner. Serving as the workhorse, Turner averaged 4.5 yards per carry and finished the year with 1,699 yards while scoring 17 touchdowns. With Falcons running back Jerious Norwood providing the speed to complement Turner’s power, the Falcons had an effective running game, and it took tremendous pressure off of their rookie quarterback as well as the offensive line.
The only glaring offensive need the Falcons had was at tight end. Upon looking over the stat sheet, it’s impossible to overlook the gaping chasm right in the middle of the Falcons offense.
Falcons tight end Ben Hartsock finished with three catches for 26 on the year yards. That left tight end Justin Peelle as the main man at the tight end position in terms of production. In stark contrast to what Gonzalez was able to do in the Chiefs offense last season, Peelle led the Falcons tight ends with only 15 catches for 159 yards, with two touchdowns. Evidently Peelle fails to strike terror into the hearts of opposing defenses. With no tight end to worry about, opposing linebackers can key on Turner, and opposing safeties can focus more on the wide receivers. They also have the option to bring a safety down toward the line of scrimmage on first and second down or in short-yardage situations.
Taking Peelle out of that equation and replacing him with Gonzalez puts the whole situation in an entirely different light. This could be the move that takes the Falcons offense to the next level.
Just look at the possibilities that open up for the Falcons offense with this single addition. There is no reason to believe the Falcons won’t be an even more potent scoring machine in 2009. Not only is Gonzalez dangerous on the underneath routes and the red zone, but he is also a threat on deep routes. Plus, being a great all-around tight end, the 10-time Pro Bowler is also a superior blocker who can help in the running game as well as in pass protection.
With Gonzalez, opposing linebackers and safeties will be forced to focus more attention on the middle of the field, no longer having the luxury of double teaming White on the outside without consequence. Now with defenders occupied with Gonzalez, there is likely to be single coverage downfield. White, the Falcons’ deep threat, is a big play waiting to happen.
If the defense plays their safeties in a two-deep zone to handle White and Falcons No. 2 wide receiver Michael Jenkins, then either Gonzalez eats them alive working the underneath or the gut of the defense is softened up for the 230-pound Turner to plow through. If the opposing team chooses to put eight or nine men on the line of scrimmage to stop Turner, options are then opened in the passing game.
If the defense chooses to blitz and attack the quarterback, Ryan can quickly dump the ball off to Gonzalez, Turner or Jerrious Norwood in the flats. It is a game of “pick your poison” for any defense that has to play Atlanta in 2009.
Fantasy football outlook Statistically, it’s Ryan who will reap the benefits more than anyone else with this new dimension to the Falcons offense. Ryan’s 3,400 yards passing and 16 touchdowns are only likely to spike in 2009.
There may be some concern that with the addition of Gonzalez the targets could be more thinly spread among the receivers, but don’t look for White’s numbers to go down. White has emerged as an elite wide receiver over the past few seasons, and the presence of Gonzalez is likely to solidify his chances of repeating if not improving upon White’s 2008 numbers. The addition of Gonzalez makes White more attractive than ever on draft day. He is considered a No. 1 fantasy wide receiver.
Jenkins, on the other hand, could be supplanted as the number two target in the Falcons passing game. Relegated to the third option behind White and Gonzalez, his numbers should drop. In 2008, Jenkins, a big possession-type receiver, (6-foot-4 215 pounds) caught 50 balls for 777 yards and three touchdowns but isn’t likely to match that in 2009.
Gonzalez the NFL’s all-time tight end leader in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns, will likely remain a No. 1 fantasy tight end in 2009.
Wideouts Harry Douglas and Brian Finneran present no fantasy value in 2009, barring an injury to one of the two starting receivers.
Wheras I like what this article is saying generally I do not necessarily agree with all the statements made. e.g. I think Michael Jenkins will have a pretty good year because he is bound to draw single coverage of the opposing teams weaker defenders as Roddy and Gonzo will have to draw the best defendes and or doble teams and this will allow Jenkins to be pretty open. All he has to do is run solid routes and we’ll be OK.. As the man says and if you read the gospel according to Ken chapter 9 verses 10 – 17, THIS OFFENSE IS GOING TO BE AWESOME!!!!
Go Falcons!!!!
Nuff respect everytime!!!
The heathen back deh pon de wall!!!! (Robert Nesta Marley)
Nookah
June 8th, 2009
11:51 am
Greetings!!!
Did you know?
Babs was 4th in the NFL in TFL’s w/ 9.5. Only Alex Brown(a DE), Clint Session(OLB), and Terrell Suggs(OLB) were ahead of him by a a TFL or so. Add in the fact he has had 23 TFL’s and 7 sacks in the last 3 seasons alone, and it makes you appreciate just how good this guy can be.
With more DT help he can be even more disruptive…and Lord help the NFL if Abe and Babs get help from the other DE spot………………
Got this from another Falcons blog.
Question: Will Babs continue his upward spiral? I think so….thoughts???
Go Falcons!!!!
Nuff respect everytime!!!!
Nookah
June 8th, 2009
12:00 pm
Greetings!!!! Feel no way, I’m just trying to make up for lost time!!! My schedule is tight these days so I have to make hay while the sun shines and up North here I mean that literally. Bigups to all Cagers!!!! Booyakah!!!!
Found this on Sam BAker. Interesting stats I thought.
That’s our own OT Sam Baker. I want you to project him. “Now wait just a darn minute, “He’s an offensive lineman. They don’t have stats to project!” This is true. As far as official league stats go, OTs generate two: Games Played (G) and Games Started (GS).
Baker started (GS) five games last year and played (G) in eight. As we all know, he decided to have surgery on the 29th of October to fix a herniated disc in his back. While Sam called it “minor surgery,” it still kept a talented OT off the field for weeks on end. Even though he returned and played downs in the final three games of the season, the impact and momentum he had during the first few games was lost.
Measuring Sam’s early impact on the team last season is essential in projecting how he’ll do with a (hopefully) healthy and full season ahead of him. Take the jump with me as I break down his impact. Then grab your crystal ball and do some projecting of your own in the comments.
To measure Baker’s impact, I looked at the play-by-play calls of the five games he started as the primary left tackle. I created three stats: Runs through LT, Run Yardage through LT, and LT Yardage Percentage (percent of LT run yards out of total run yards). Here’s the breakdown:
Opp Runs thru LT LT YD
LT YD %
Detroit 6 116 36.5%
Tampa Bay 3 15 14.3%
Kansas City 7 56 30.1%
Green Bay 4 19 10.8%
Chicago 7 33 44.0%
AVG Run thru LT: 5.4
AVG LT YD: 47.8
AVG LT YD %: 27.1%
Sam, a rookie OT, accounting for 27% of the run yardage in his five starts is somewhat phenomenal. He certainly proved he was worth the high draft pick. With Baker (fingers crossed) staying healthy this year, this stat should increase in the 2009 season.
angry banker
June 8th, 2009
12:44 pm
Nookah – uh yeah – Babs is a stud. a little small, but a huge commodity to have on the D-line. He’ll be a leader on that line for another 7 or 8 years.
Nookah(2)- Sam Baker is a phenom. However, I feel like hes going to be one of these injury plagued players. We’ve seen it in years past with Abe – great athlete, asset to your team, but constantly hurt. Remember, Baker had knee problems at USC that kept him out most of his junior year. Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have him on the team, just means we need to give him more rest, like we do with Abe. I say we rent a veteran every couple of years to throw in at left tackle, or get someone like Ojinakka in there and keep a TE in to double team the DE.
Stirg d'Nahsif
June 8th, 2009
1:52 pm
Nookah, you on fire today, my Rastafarian brother. Very, very interesting reading. I compare the Falcon’s offensive options to the options of the Atlanta Hawks. If Joe Johnson had a bad day, Marvin Williams would pick up the slack. If Josh Smith’s offense is off, Al Horford’s game would pick up. That is very parallel to the Falcon’s options. If White is double-teamed, pass it to an open Gonzalez. If denfenses concentrate more on passing, Michael Turner runs for 200. If Turner can’t penetrate the middle, send Norwood ’round the end. I think this offense will be at the top of most offensive categories in the league. The one defense that can give us problems, is Pittsburgh, because of the versatility of their safeties and linebackers. Good post, Nookah.
Nookah
June 8th, 2009
2:35 pm
Greetings once again!!!
Stirg, nuff respect!!!! I am very excited about this upcoming season. However, I am not as excited about our offense as I am about the anticipated improvement in our defense. I think for the first time in a long time we have very good depth. If we have half the amount of improvement in our defense as we had in our offense last year we’ll perform pretty well and I think we have the ingredients to do so.
However, I came upon a different view about our defense on another blog. It shows how people can have different views on the same team. Here goes:
“The writing was on the wall for the departure of Michael Boley, who lost his job towards the end of the year, and the team had little intention of holding onto Keith Brooking. Instead of finding replacements for them in free agency or the draft, though, they wrapped Band-Aids on the problem with converted safety Coy Wire and former Jacksonville middle linebacker Mike Peterson, who will be 33 and hasn’t played outside since 2002. Those aren’t solutions. They’re prayers.”
How about that Cagers? I’m not sure how many Cagers share the same opinion. Personally I am not agreeing with this view. I am very excited about our defense and I think we’ll have a great year.
Go Falcons!!!!
Nuff respect everytime!!!!!!
Ken Strickland
June 8th, 2009
2:42 pm
UNCA BOB-While I didn’t write that excellent article, I’ve certainly made every point contained in that article at least once in the past. I mentioned how TD and Smitty came in last yr and cut or traded 6 starters, FS CCrocker, OLB DWilliams, TE ACrumpler, CB DHall, DT RColeman and RB WDunn(the last for were Probowlers), and we improved tremendously on both sides of the ball.
The same thing has been done this yr, with the release of starting DT GJackson, CB DFoxworth SS LMalloy, OLB’s MBoley, KBrookings and SS LMalloy. The last 2 are former Probowlers. We’re not just replacing them with younger more talented players, we’re replacing them with players who’s talents and abilities better fit our current OFF/DEF systems.
Having a talented player in a certain position isn’t nearly as important as having the right player that’s able to utilize his talents and abilities more effectively within the teams OFF/DEF system. We saw that become an issue with OLB’s DWilliams in 07 and MBoley, and even KBrooking, in 08.
The players that will fill their shoes are players our coaches have personally selected, or chosen to retain. This means they have qualities and abilities our coaching staff feels will better fit their OFF/DEF systems. RIGHT NOW, WE ARE BETTER THAN THE ARIZONA CARDINAL TEAM THAT DEFEATED US IN THE PLAYOFFS AND ADVANCED TO THE SB.
Looking at how strong and talented our 08 draft class is, and how much they’ll impact the team, especially the DEF, I’ve decided Falcon fans should give thanks to team that made it all possible, the Detroit Lions. because we owe them a debt of gratitude. Consider this. It’s obvious TE BPettigrew was the player TD and Smitty targeted at #24. But, when they realized Detroit wasn’t going to allow him to slip past them, we pulled the trigger on the TGonzalez trade.
Just think, if we had drafted TE BPettigrew, most of our picks could have changed, if not all. We could very easily have missed out on DE LSidbury or CB COwens, or even SS WMoore, depending on where in the draft we decided to address the DT position. As a result, instead of drafting the best TE in the draft, which meant missing out on the 2 best 4-3 DT’s in the draft, PJerry & EHood, we traded for the best TE in the world and got the best 4-3 DT in the draft, PJerry. THANK YOU DETROIT, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, AND THANK YOU AGAIN.
Here’s an interesting exercise that can keep this forum going for a while. We have 7 draftees and several FA’s that will compete for roster spots, and in some cases starting positions. Let’s get all of the info we can on each new player, as well as the incombents they’ll be competing against for starting positions, like SS/FS TDeCoud, DE JAnderson or OLB SNicholas. That way, we can determine who has the best chance of starting and/or making the 53 man roster.
Every week we’ll select a position, like TE, and research the players competing for those roster spots. After researching each player, each of us will present our projection of the final roster and see who comes closest to the actual roster after the final mandatory cuts are made. Since I brought it up, I’ll start off with the TE position. Although we know there won’t be any competition for the starting slot, there will be intense competition for the backup slots.
SO EVERYONE SHOULD START GATHERING INFO FROM SCOUTING REPORTS AND ARTICLES IN ORDER TO GET A READ ON EACH TE CURRENTLY ON THE ROSTER AND PRESENT IT TO THE FORUM. THEN, WE SEE IF WE CAN COME UP WITH A CONSENSUS ON WHO HAS THE BEST CHANCE AND/OR IS THE BEST FIT. WHEN WE’RE FINISHED, WE SHOULD HAVE A COMPLETED ROSTER ASSEMBLED THAT WE CAN BE COMPARED TO THE FINAL ROSTER.
GET READY, GET SET, GOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
Nookah
June 8th, 2009
2:44 pm
Yeah yeah!! It’s me again…….I know I’m on a roll today what can I say?
D3, did you see this? Found this on a another blog.
“The NFL’s five most anticipated games of the 2009 season. He’s back; yes, Falcons quarterback—you thought I was going to say Tom Brady—Matt Ryan begins his second year as the Falcons field general, in the hopes of not hitting the proverbial wall known as the “Sophomore Slump.”
Tom Brady makes his return under center to the Patriots starting lineup, after undergoing reconstructive surgery to an ACL injury that sidelined him for virtually all of 2008. This early in the season I can’t imagine Brady being in his form of perfection this soon out of surgery. Speaking from past experience, it takes a good year to fully recover from such an injury. The Falcons added some depth to their offense and defense through the draft and free agency, their most notable acquisition was free agent tight end Tony Gonzalez from Kansas City.
The Patriots have been pretty quiet all offseason; they did pick up a few free agents, but in usual New England fashion, everything is quiet and status quo. This game will be a classic AFC vs. NFC matchup, which with the caliber of personnel on both teams, should be an exciting game to the end.
My prediction is the Falcons will upset the Patriots in Foxborough by a narrow margin of no more than seven points.
Say it is so!!!!! I predicted 24-21 Falcons. Yes we can!!!….oh sorry I did not mean to be political, just excited about my Falcons!!!!
Go Falcons!!!
Nuff respect everytime!!!!!………THE PROCESS CONTINUES!!!!
Nookah
June 8th, 2009
2:58 pm
Yo, Posse, greetings!!!! Just found this posted by ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas – Food for thought!!!
We’re resuming our NFC South position rankings with defensive linemen.
I’m combining defensive ends and tackles into one big group, and as I’m looking at the rosters, I’m mildly surprised that this group isn’t stronger. That’s especially true at defensive tackle, but there’s hope here because I think young players like Atlanta’s Peria Jerry and New Orleans’ Sedrick Ellis can be very good, very soon.
The overall quality of defensive linemen in the division is a little down right now because Carolina and Tampa Bay don’t have the outstanding lines they once did. The ends are a little stronger than the tackles and can become even more so if some young players like Atlanta’s Jamaal Anderson, Carolina’s Everette Brown and Tampa Bay’s Gaines Adams emerge this year.
Anyway, here’s the list:
1.John Abraham, DE, Atlanta. Sure, go ahead and call him one-dimensional. But aren’t dominant pass-rush skills the dimension you want most from a defensive end?
2.Julius Peppers, DE, Carolina. Easily the division’s most-talented defensive lineman. But there are questions about his motivation and intensity with Peppers wanting out of Carolina. Those questions aren’t really new.
3.Jonathan Babineaux, DT, Atlanta. Very quietly, he’s become the most solid interior lineman in the division.
4.Will Smith, DE, New Orleans. No, he didn’t play to his potential last year and he’s facing a four-game suspension at the start of this season. But this guy plays the run well and has shown pass-rush skills in the past.
5.Sedrick Ellis, DT, New Orleans. Has the ability to unseat Babineaux as division’s top tackle and could do that very soon.
6.Gaines Adams, DE, Tampa Bay. You can argue that this ranking is way too high. But look at the rest of the division. Adams had 6.5 sacks last season. If he adds a couple of moves, he easily can reach double-digit sacks.
7.Peria Jerry, DT, Atlanta. He’s only a rookie, but there’s little bust factor with this guy. He should be a force right away.
8.Charles Johnson, DE, Carolina. We’re going to rank him ahead of the rookie Brown based on the promise Johnson showed last year. He had six sacks in a part-time role and has the potential to do big things.
9.Ma’ake Kemoeatu, DT, Carolina. He doesn’t do anything except take up space. But that’s his job.
10.Charles Grant, DE, New Orleans. Exact same story as his teammate Smith. But the guy does have a couple of double-digit sack years in his background and you never know what new coordinator Gregg Williams might be able to pull out of him.
Posted by ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas
NFC South position ratings – offensive linemen. We’re not breaking them into different positions, but are considering the premium placed on left tackles, the most important people on the offensive line.
1. Jordan Gross, Carolina. He finally got All-Pro recognition last year as the Panthers returned to coach John Fox’s ball-control offense.
2. Jeff Faine, Tampa Bay. A case can be made he’s the best center in the league. He’s also the leader of a very good offensive line.
3. Todd McClure, Atlanta. Go ahead and argue all you want about their underrated center. The Falcons ran the ball and protected rookie Matt Ryan very well last year. It had to start somewhere. It started with McClure.
4. Davin Joseph, Tampa Bay. The Bucs have been building the interior of their line for several seasons and it looks like they’ve got it right with Joseph and Faine.
5. Jammal Brown, New Orleans. Not as dominant as Gross, but he’s got the Pro Bowl on his resume and has kept Drew Brees standing.
6. Donald Penn, Tampa Bay. Fire away on this one. I know the rule of thumb is you get your left guard in the first round. Penn’s far from dominant, but so are a lot of tackles who were taken in the first round. He’s become a solid, reasonably-priced player at a key position.
7. Jeff Otah, Carolina. One single move allowed Fox to return to his ball-control system. That was drafting Otah, a natural mauler and placing him at right tackle.
8. Jahri Evans, New Orleans. This guy has started all 48 games in four years and almost never makes a mistake.
9. Sam Baker, Atlanta. His status as a left tackle taken in the first round is a little shaky because of injury problems last year. But, if Baker comes back healthy, he could be in the top five.
10. Travelle Wharton, Carolina. I’m giving Wharton a very slight nod of New Orleans guard Carl Nicks, who had a very nice rookie season. Another season like that and Nicks will move ahead. But I’m keeping Wharton right now for his versatility and heady play.
Go Falcons!!!
Nuff respect everytime!!!!
WR
June 8th, 2009
4:14 pm
Whats up cage, been off and on the pass couple of weeks, finally able to sit down and catch back up with the cage. Great posts have been going on in the cage as always, guess I might as well add my two cents. With all the talk of having Roddy White and Gonzalez with the 6′4 Jenkins on the other side I intially felt as Ken Strickland does as far as not being able to double team our number one receiver and our future hall of fame TE. After a further look and I hate to give away my fantasy gem, Harry Douglas really stands out to me. As a rookie Douglas preformed well in the slot, as the season went on he improved and started showing strong playmaking, if not game changing, ability. Now you have to consider that defenses will face a dilemma when trying to cover White and Gonzo, with Jenkins you have a 6′4 to 6′5 guy that is steadily gaining the confidence that made him a first round pick, which means that teams have to start considering either safety help or dropping a LB into coverage to help. Now add Douglas, teams are trying to figure out if they should roll coverage toward White and double up Gonzo or double both by dropping a backer in coverage while leaving one of the safeties to help on Jenkins, which leaves a lot of space across the middle and in the seams for Douglas to operate, and sense you all just happen to be Falcons fans you know already what Douglas can do with space. Don’t even get me started with the same lineup with Norwood in behind center and Ryan in the slot to come around for a possible flea fickler or Norwood designed run, if any of you have been around long enough to watch Mike Murlarkey work you know we should be in for a treat offensively this season.
JJ
June 8th, 2009
5:06 pm
Hey fanatics, i’ve been reading daily and counting the days to camp. You have redefined the term of “fan”! Allot of our fellow fanatics are in the military (jason) or have their own kids (seminolewarrior) in our military protecting our ass while we sleep comfy at home from harm. My weekly mmqf (peter king) has a nice say about our men/women in uniform that we all take for granted…sorry for length….
”
Tom Coughlin is one of three Super Bowl-winning coaches (Cowher, Gruden) who’ll visit the U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf.
David Bergman/SI
Peter King’s Mailbag
Peter King will answer your questions each week in Monday Morning Quarterback: Tuesday Edition.
Name:
Email:
Hometown:
Question:
SEND
Follow Peter King on Twitter
Four weeks from Fourth of July weekend, I’m whistling a patriotic tune this morning, and alerting our men and women overseas that they’re about to have some interesting visitors. There’s more today — including my thoughts on Brett Favre (who is going to have his own network, Web site and galaxy before his career’s over). I’ve got Rodney Harrison as unplugged as he can get, the motivation of NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith, the eye-rolling in New Orleans over Jeremy Shockey and an update on your favorite college southpaw, Austin Wood, the Texas reliever who threw 13 shutout innings last week.
We’ll start by waving the flag.
In 1966, the USO began a tradition of sending NFL players and commissioners to visit American troops around the world by dispatching future Hall of Famers John Unitas, Sam Huff, Frank Gifford and Willie Davis to Vietnam. That’s probably the starriest lineup ever for a USO trip. But this year’s roster is in the same headline-grabbing ballpark — and I predict the speeches will be a little more colorful, with more neck veins popping.
Later this month, three Super Bowl-winning coaches from this decade — Tom Coughlin (Giants), Bill Cowher (Steelers) and Jon Gruden (Bucs) — will join one AFC Championship coach, Tennessee’s Jeff Fisher and the AFC Championship runnerup last year, Baltimore’s John Harbaugh, in traveling to the Persian Gulf to visit our troops.
“This is something I’ve wanted to do for years,” Coughlin told me, “and I can’t tell you how excited I am, and all the coaches are, to be making this trip. It’s a great chance for us to recognize the real heroes of this country. Our troops need to know how much we appreciate what they’re doing, and I mean every one of us in the NFL and every one of us in the country.”
Coughlin knows the trip will be as memorable for him as for anyone he visits. A military history buff, he is good friends with the current commanding general of the multi-national force in charge of the Iraq invasion, Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, a Giants fan. Coughlin also had a double-amputee Iraqi veteran, Lt. Col. Greg Gadson, speak to his team often during its Super Bowl run in 2008. In his coaching career, he has often incorporated military themes into his talks to his teams.
The Giants’ coach is not alone. You can bet all five coaches use war stories to motivate their men. For that reason, it’s going to be strange for them to be talking to military men about football players rather than the other way around.
“It’s going to be a challenge, figuring out what to say,” Coughlin said. “I’ve already started to write some things. But it’s important to me not to be off the cuff. This is too important for that. I want my words to mean something to them.
“One of the things I know I’ll talk about is how we talk about team all the time. I know they talk about team all the time. One of the things I’ve learned from Gen. Odierno is you realize how important it is to be able to trust the men and women next to you. You place your lives in their hands; they place their lives in your hands. And when Greg Gadson talked to our team, he talked about vigilance, about being ready. Always.
“That’s a fastball right down the middle for me. I’ve got to have everyone ready every day, because I don’t know when the next guy is going to be needed. In Greg’s case, he told us they worry about the soldier who didn’t fire his weapon in his last day on patrol. So maybe he figures he doesn’t need to clean it the next day to have it ready to fire, and when he needs it, maybe it doesn’t work properly. Just that one moment of not being ready could really cost the entire platoon. Same with us. You don’t want to be the man who is not prepared and lets down the entire team.”
You can bet Coughlin, at some base in Iraq or Afghanistan, will tell a room full of soldiers the story of David Tyree, the last receiver on the roster, who caught four passes in the first 18 games of the 2007 season, and then, because of injuries, stepped up to catch four in the Super Bowl upset of New England. Including the helmet catch, of course.
I hear the league didn’t have a difficult time persuading the time-challenged coaches (well, the retired ones have some time on their hands, of course) to clear their calendars for a week. Commissioner Roger Goodell went last July, and he’s been an outspoken advocate of not only what his trip did for the troops, but also what it did for him.
“Several things about the trip were very striking — how our service men and [women] never complain about anything, how much I admired them, and how much the NFL meant to them,” Goodell recalled last week. “You can never complain after seeing the conditions our troops work in. The positive attitude and pride they take in their mission and our country are inspiring. You go over there thinking you’re doing something for the troops, but you return recognizing it is one of the most meaningful things you have ever done for your own sake.”
Having gone to Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan to visit troops 15 months ago, I can tell you Goodell’s right. Doesn’t matter what you feel about the war itself. You’re dropped into a National Geographic special, into the most interesting place you’ve ever been, and you realize right away how much these people love everything about the NFL. My advice to the five coaches: Get ready to sign 750 autographs a day, minimum, and pose for 300 pictures a day, minimum. Get ready to fall into an exhausted sleep every night and never get more than five hours of it, because there will always be more people to see and bases to visit. In the Persian Gulf, you’ll be like the Beatles were in New York in 1964 … without the shrieking girls.
***
Thank you all for protecting us so we can discuss NFL!!!
Jimbo
June 8th, 2009
8:48 pm
How’s everything in the cage.
D3 – Took a little hiatus. I’m not like Sarah B. taking my laptop with me on vaca, the house CEO would crucify me if I even attempted that and you what they say, if Mama Ain’t happy . . .
I thought I’d take a stab at the 53 Man Roster. Now, of course, this would b eunder ideal conditions, no injuries or anythhing like that, just my Pipe Dream.
OFF
Depth Chart 1st
WR Michael Jenkins
TE Tony Gonzalez
LT Sam Baker
LG Justin Blalock
C Todd McClure
RG Harvey Dahl
RT Tyson Clabo
WR Roddy White
QB Matt Ryan
FB Ovie Mughelli
RB Michael Turner
Depth Chart 2nd
WR Brian Finneran
TE Ben Hartsock
LT Renardo Foster
LG Garrett Reynolds
C Alex Stepanovich
RG
RT Will Svitek
WR Harry Douglas
QB Chris Redmon
FB Jason Snelling
RB Jerious Norwood
Depth Chart 3rd
WR Aaron Kelly
TE Justin Peelle
WR Eric Weems
So, I see us keeping 6 WRs and 5 RBs. I like Weems and think he’ll make the squad, he’s a great gunner and I like his ST work. I think Finn comes back and amkes the team, he’s just too clutch in the 3rd and long situation, maybe a little old, but he still has mileage on the tires and they’ll be bringing him back. I think Thomas Brown, also for what he can bring to ST and it will be him on Jerious doing return duty.
DEF
Depth Chart 1st
LDE Jamaal Anderson
LDT Jonathan Babineaux
RDT Trey Lewis
RDE John Abraham
WLB Stephan Nicolas
MLB Curtis Lofton
SLB Mike Peterson
LC Vaughn Hutchins
RC Chris Houston
SS Thomas DeCoud
FS Eric Coleman
Depth Chart 2nd
LDE Chauncey Davis
LDT Vance Walker
RDT Peria Jerry
RDE Lawrence Sidbury
WLB Coy Wire
MLB Spencer Adkins
SLB Tony Gilbert
LC Chevis Jackson
RC Brent Grimes
SS Michael Moore
FS Jamaal Fudge
Depth Chart 3rd
LDE Kroy Biermann
CB Chris Owens
CB William Middleton
I like what Tony Gilbert brings to the table for ST. I think Middleton might be on the bubble and they could possibly keep David Irons because of his ST play, However, he was brought in under the old regime and if Middleton can compete on par with Irons on ST then I see him making the squad.
Jimbo
June 8th, 2009
9:03 pm
Professor Strickland, I just read your excellent post and that was an absolutely brilliant observation you make about the Lions. Sorry I jumped the gun on my last posting by posting my 53 man roster. I definitely would have held off and gone through the exercise you’ve recommended. It’s a great odea and will keep the Bird Cage active for quite a while. Should at least get us to page 4 anyway.
VICK SUPPORTER 2
June 8th, 2009
9:07 pm
FALCONS 8-8 IN ‘09
GO TEAM!
jason
June 8th, 2009
9:23 pm
Jimbo, I think you are selling Bierrman a little short. Sid is going to be a work in progress. He will be third team majority of the season. Could wreak havoc on ST, though. I will drop my roster in a little bit, and we can compare.
D3
June 8th, 2009
9:30 pm
Great Mon(dane) PM Gents and Gals! Rolling some good convo’s coming forward as we approach the 4 page mark. Hey, 300 posts in our “drought time” in little over a week is not too shabby. To Falconi’s and Football………
Nookah – what’s up my brotha from Molson-Land? You may have missed a few days, but boy did you come back witht the Fire! Nice work my man. Its funny you found that article, as I was just posting my analysis on our TE#3 Roster Spot. Justin Peele may have given us more of a threat than Hartsock, but that’s still not saying much. Our point total should blow through the roof now that DEF’s can’t key on Roddy and Burner.
Nookah(2) – a day ahead of us on the Roster Spot LT Analysis, but I love the enthusiasm of jumping into our O-Line. We should not only have studs up front, but also should have some serious competition for depth. The only question I have is: do we carry 9 OL on our active roster like last year, or do we carry 10 OL. Gotta love competition for BACKUP spots. The true sign our franchise is on a meteoric rise.
Stirg – how’s my D-Town bro’? Don’t know about the Hawks comparison. JK; I know where your going with it, but I hope we don’t underachieve like they do with their relative talent. Woodson is a big issue with that though. Anyway back to the Falcons: definitely love all the options we have on OFF, too many for defenses to contain. On a side note, how’s my UGA-boy Stafford getting received up there?
Nookah(3) – what nutjob did you get that blog from? The writing was on the wall for Boley because he TOTALLY DISAPPEARED! He was given the starters job by the new coaching staff based on what he had done the previous years and just didn’t earn it. He seems to be the only player that didn’t seem to “gel” with the new coaching staff. To me, it looks like he shys away from competition. Good Riddance, IMO. As far as his “Band-Aids” analogy, I guess he didn’t write that we addressed every other one of our DEF needs with 7 out of 8 draft picks. Teams can’t address every single need with one draft alone. Our “Band-Aid” Mike Peterson was benched for several games and still had 84 Tackles. He is a stop-gap, but we draft his replacement next year. Wouldn’t totally rule out Biermann or El Sid taking some snaps at SLB since we’re 5 deep at our DEnd position.
Ken Strick – as far as the roster spot analysis, I suppose you missed the schedule of talking about each position that we look to carry on our roster. We’ve discussed QB#1, QB#2, QB#3, RB#1, RB#2, RB#3, TE#1, TE#2, and I dropped an analysis on TE#3 today. If you want to re-do it, we can I suppose.
WR – where you been my fellow ‘Cager? Figured you were lying under an umbrella next to a sand castle with a Red Scripe(or 7) popped open. I’m glad you brought up the point about HD. He seriously balled out as rookie in the slot last year and made some great catches not only for first downs, but also some excellent runs after the catch. Never forget that catch he 3rd down catch he made against Carolina in a huge spot in the game and then raced another 30 yds down the sideline. And of course that beautiful punt return that put a death-nail in the Panthers. Opposing DEF’s may can contain Roddy, Jenks, TG, & maybe even Burner/Lightning on a miracle-day, but they can’t cover HD as well. Can’t F’n wait for Mularkey to work his magic with all these weapons. Yowsa!
JJ – great article. We talk about our heroes on the grid-iron, but our Vets are our TRUE HEROES!!! Its amazing what our Falcons are doing out in the community, checked it out on AtlantaFalcons.com and its pretty d@— cool.
More in a bit……….
jason
June 8th, 2009
9:31 pm
My 2009 Roster and depth chart:
QB) Ryan OL)Blalock
Shockly Clabo
JPW Dahl
RB) Turner Baker
Norwood McClure
Brown Romberg
FB) Mughelli Reynolds
Snelling Ojinnaka
TE) Gonzalez Svitek
Harstock
Peele
WR) White
Jenkins
HD
Finn
Weems
jason
June 8th, 2009
9:31 pm
Disregard post. Be Back in a few.
D3
June 8th, 2009
9:58 pm
Weekly Opponent Analysis – Game #5
Atlanta Falcons vs Chicago Bears
Sunday Night Football – PrimeTime in the TerrorDome
This should be a fun one to examine, analyze, and breakdown this week since we had the comeback of the year against them and their absolute obnoxious fans. I actually don’t mind the Bears as a team, but hate their fans. They take the boat over any of our NFC South Enemies, IMO. That might sound crazy, but that acted like complete jack@sses in the Dome last year. Love taunting those chumps on the way out the door. I’m all for enthusiasm, support, and even a little smack during games but those guys were out of control. Same goes for Cubs fans @ Turner Field. They Suck!
State of the Franchise – 2009 Chicago Bears
Record: 9-7-0, Finished 2nd in NFC North Division
NFL Season Summary
Scored 375 points (23.4/g), 14th of 32 in the NFL.
Allowed 350 points (21.9/g), 16th.
Differential of 25 points (1.6/g), 17th.
Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +5 (0.3/g), 8th.
Coached by Lovie Smith (9-7-0)
Last 5 Years
2004: 5-11
2005: 11-5
2006: 13-3
2007: 7-9
2008: 9-7
Key Additions: Jay Cutler, Orlando Pace, Kevin Jones
Key Losses: Kyle Orton, Mike Brown, Frank Omiyale, Marty Booker, Brandon Lloyd
Key Draftees: Jarron Gilbert, Jauquin Iglesias, DJ Moore, Marcus Freeman
Offense
Obviously the trade of the off-season included the Bears giving up the world to get Cutler. With what they gave up, their GM believes they can win now. Cutler is a stud(as we know from last year) and this looks to be one of the best match-ups of the year in the NFL. Adding Orlando Pace also adds to their toughness in the ground attack with stud RB Matt Forte. If their WRs can come up big such as rookie Iglesias, Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, and Rashied Davis, than they have all the makings of being one of the best OFF’s in the NFC couple with Greg Olsen. Big IF
Defense
They’re still one of the better DEF’s in the NFL, but the mystique has worn off. The group that led them to the Super Bowl has aged mightily and become severely injury-prone. The luster has been worn off some as we showed last year. Still good, but not great.
And on that note…………
51 DAYS AND COUNTING TO 2009 ATLANTA FALCONS TRAINING CAMP!!!!!!
D3
June 8th, 2009
10:00 pm
On to PAGE 4……………..
D3
June 8th, 2009
10:00 pm
Blog Monster was angry my friends………….
Weekly Opponent Analysis – Game #5
Atlanta Falcons vs Chicago Bears
Sunday Night Football – PrimeTime in the TerrorDome
This should be a fun one to examine, analyze, and breakdown this week since we had the comeback of the year against them and their absolute obnoxious fans. I actually don’t mind the Bears as a team, but hate their fans. They take the boat over any of our NFC South Enemies, IMO. That might sound crazy, but that acted like complete jack@sses in the Dome last year. Love taunting those chumps on the way out the door. I’m all for enthusiasm, support, and even a little smack during games but those guys were out of control. Same goes for Cubs fans @ Turner Field. They Suck!
State of the Franchise – 2009 Chicago Bears
Record: 9-7-0, Finished 2nd in NFC North Division
NFL Season Summary
Scored 375 points (23.4/g), 14th of 32 in the NFL.
Allowed 350 points (21.9/g), 16th.
Differential of 25 points (1.6/g), 17th.
Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +5 (0.3/g), 8th.
Coached by Lovie Smith (9-7-0)
Last 5 Years
2004: 5-11
2005: 11-5
2006: 13-3
2007: 7-9
2008: 9-7
Key Additions: Jay Cutler, Orlando Pace, Kevin Jones
Key Losses: Kyle Orton, Mike Brown, Frank Omiyale, Marty Booker, Brandon Lloyd
Key Draftees: Jarron Gilbert, Jauquin Iglesias, DJ Moore, Marcus Freeman
Offense
Obviously the trade of the off-season included the Bears giving up the world to get Cutler. With what they gave up, their GM believes they can win now. Cutler is a stud(as we know from last year) and this looks to be one of the best match-ups of the year in the NFL. Adding Orlando Pace also adds to their toughness in the ground attack with stud RB Matt Forte. If their WRs can come up big such as rookie Iglesias, Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, and Rashied Davis, than they have all the makings of being one of the best OFF’s in the NFC couple with Greg Olsen. Big IF
Defense
They’re still one of the better DEF’s in the NFL, but the mystique has worn off. The group that led them to the Super Bowl has aged mightily and become severely injury-prone. The luster has been worn off some as we showed last year. Still good, but not great.
And on that note…………
51 DAYS AND COUNTING TO 2009 ATLANTA FALCONS TRAINING CAMP!!!!!!
Jimbo
June 8th, 2009
10:01 pm
Jason,
I was looking at more from the perspective of Sidbury being the other speed rusher if Abraham takes a blow. I agree that Biermann may be a truer 2nd string DE but the point I was trying to maek is that I see the Falcons going with 5 DEs and 4 DTs, instead of the other way around.
It will be interesting to see how they approach things when they go into a 3-4 base because either Biermann and Sidbury would be nice options as the 4th LB.
I just can’t wait for this season to begin. I was telling a friend (who’s not a big football guy) before the draft that if we were able to get a good DT and a safety or corner that I saw the Falcons in the Super Bowl within the next 3 years. After the draft, we may make it within the next 2 years. It has never been this exciting to be a Falcons fan.
WR
June 8th, 2009
10:17 pm
D3, yeah I had a little down time finally, glad to be back in the cage though. I gotta agree with Jimbo, I can’t be like Sarah and take the laptop with me, although I did for my brief trip to Litchfield Beach, that was more of a quiet be by yourself type getaway though. Enough about the vacation, whats been going on in the cage, I see D-Led is taking a break also. I probably will not be on much tonight, but tomorrow I’m back in the cage hopefully until training camp, so let me know whats on tap and once again, glad to be back amongst the cage.
jason
June 8th, 2009
10:18 pm
Jimbo, I gotcha. Sid is going to be one hell of a talent. He will be versatile in bringing the speed rush from the outside in the 3-4. I totally agree with your defensive roster. A couple of the CBs could change or not. I see Middleton making the final cut over Irons. Two things, 1) Irons is injury preone. Has he ever been injury free in his young NFL career. 2) Middleton is a process piece. He is not a holdover.
Middleton has better skills to contribute on defense now and in the future; not just ST. However, I think the ability to excell in ST will be key to all the backup positions Offense and defense, hence Weems having the edge on offense as the 5th WR. Over all, great post. I am on your way of thinking.
jason
June 8th, 2009
10:20 pm
The Bears downfall during their “hayDay” was not having at least a mediocre Offense to go with that Deadly defense.
Stirg d'Nahsif
June 8th, 2009
10:38 pm
D3, Detroit is depressed; “…and that’s all I got to say about that” (Forrest Gump).
Interesting that you should ask about Stafford. They’re actually considering him to be under center earlier than expected. He’s showing some Ryan-like glimpses of a QB in OTAs. He’s also displaying leadership and his strong arm in deep passes. That’s not hard to do, though, when your receiver’s name is Calvin Johnson and he’s uncovered in non-contact drills. Still, Lion’s coaches are impressed. Ask me, I think they just don’t have any better QB on hand (not to belittle Stafford’s efforts). I just don’t see the support that would enable him to be successful like Ryan. Their running game does not have the one-two punch like a Turner/Norwood combo. Their line is not rookie-friendly and Stafford will have problems maturing when an A.P.B is unleashed with Abraham, Jerry, Babs and Anderson.
Uh Oh! I think I’ve just created the perfect slogan for our defensive line. Call an A.P.B.-All Points Bulletin (Abraham-Anderson. Peria. Babs). When its time for a needed pass rush (I would suspect Jerry would substitute for Lewis in obvious passing downs), lets call an A.P.B. (Anderson-Abraham Peria Babs) on the QB. What you think about that, Big Ray?
jason
June 8th, 2009
10:41 pm
Stirg d’Nahsif, A.P.B. NICE !!!
jason
June 8th, 2009
10:43 pm
AS great a player as Calvin Johnson is. With all his talents, and those of us that watch any kind of Georgia football knows. He will be a forgotten man in the NFL playing in Detroit. I say, play out that contract and go somewhere where your talents will be noticed. I hate Tech, but I know a great one when I see one.
Stirg d'Nahsif
June 8th, 2009
10:59 pm
jason, They’ll need a lot more than Georgia boys to save this city. Stafford, Johnson and myself (can’t sell my “self” short) will need the support to maximize our talents. Stafford will definitely need an effective RB and strong run support (they don’t have). Johnson will definitely need a TE (they got Pettigrew), RB and a second WR to draw double teams away from him. I will definitely need another Red Scripe… Be right back, fellows. Take ten.
Stirg d'Nahsif
June 9th, 2009
12:10 am
Back.
Can I go ‘head and enter this debate about Atlanta vs. Chicago game? Whew! What a game this will be. Primetime, payback opportunity, crispy air, bitter and sweet fans…all the pickings for a great game. Let’s not disregard Chicago’s capability, even though they’re changing QBs (a reason to have a losing season and prosper the next year). D3 posted Chicago’s record for the past five years. Now, I’m not a numbers person but something tells me that their record will ascend greater than last season’s 9-7 record. From 2004 to 2006, they progressed every single year. I’m not a betting man either but I’d like to bet that 2007 is when they changed coaches somewhere in the organization; because that is the year their record descended from Super Bowl contenders to a 7-9 record. (Let me check and see, brb).
Just like I thought. 2007, they didn’t resigh Ron Rivera, Wade Wilson or five other assistant coaches. They go to the Super Bowl the previous year and extend Lovie Smith’s contract but they lose Ron Rivera (he was good enough for us to strongly court him for our head coaching job. Remember that?), Tank Johnson, Thomas Jones and five assistant coaches.
Point being, it took Coach Smith just three years to go to the Super Bowl and the progressed every year. Their cycle shows me that this year will be better than last year’s record and we may have to meet them again in the playoffs.
As for right now, Chicago will be hungry for this game. They’ll come to play and, as D3 mentioned, fans will fight to defend their team. Their defense troubles me but they still have Bob Babich (he came with Smith; now he’s defenisve coordinator) and they still have key pieces that are immovable.
Atlanta will have their handsful; they better pack a lunch. Let me think about this some more before I enter my score.
Sarah B
June 9th, 2009
1:23 am
Hi guys, again nice posts. For those of you wondering… I am the CEO, CFO and Chairman of the Board in my household. Flying back in from Vegas tomorrow night and will resume regular posts at some time Wednesday. Nice Vaca BTW. Thanks for keeping me in the loop.
Sarah B
June 9th, 2009
1:28 am
And as for Da’ Bears game 24-21 and another shocker for all those Bears Fans that like to turn out in our house.
Sarah B
June 9th, 2009
1:29 am
Also, I 3rd the motion for A.P.B.
Stirg d'Nahsif
June 9th, 2009
8:57 am
Good Mornting! It seems that some of us may have gotten some needed rest lastnight. Me, Sarah and jason closed the club with that last call for alcohol.
Sarah and jason, so you like the idea of calling an A.P.B., huh. “Calling all cars; calling all cars…A.P.B. Be on the lookout for a QB carrying a football. Considered armed and dangerous. Wanted, dead or alive.” I think that has a nice ring to it too. Thanks.
I had a chance to give that ATL/CHI game some serious thought lastnight; and I still came up with a draw. I know, on paper, our players outweigh the entire organization, with the exception of head coaching (the man did make an appearence in the Super Bowl). I think once we get them on the football field, however, statistical comparisons will fly out the window. Chicago has the most exciting player in Devin Hester, according to our beloved Primetime Neon Deion Sanders. Their QB is so anxious to make Denver look like fools. There are just too many weapons on this team for me to just give it to Atlanta. I’m trying to be unbias here; but its hard…I hate CHi Town.
Push.
Unca' Bob
June 9th, 2009
9:13 am
Strig,
I paid a visit to Chicago’s Sun-Times & Tribune this morning and read up on what the general tone was. They seem to feel they have only one reciever and their backfield would not be too strong because of injuries. It was just my feeling and you know what that gets me into.
Stirg d'Nahsif
June 9th, 2009
9:31 am
Wooo! Unca’ Bob, that sounds like the Detroit Lions, to me (one receiver; weak backfield); And you know what that yields?
Interesting you should bring that up, though. I was catching up on OPP too. For you UGA pals, I found this on Stafford:
“Expectation: The Detroit Lions won’t sniff .500 this season.
Spoiler alert: New coach Jim Schwartz need only look south to Atlanta to see what a first-year head coach and rookie quarterback can do together. Winning doesn’t come easy in the NFL, but it can come quickly. The Lions can’t expect Matthew Stafford(notes) to mimic Matt Ryan(notes) or Flacco (Stafford has to beat out Daunte Culpepper(notes) first), but they can feel good about their future and their present.”