Another.

Good read.

On offense the Falcons fared better:
56. Roddy White, WR, Atlanta Falcons: With Matt Ryan at the helm and Michael Turner in the backfield, White had a monster season in ‘08. Considered a “bust” during his first few years in the league, the former first-round pick has successfully shed the label with two big seasons in a row.
47. Tony Gonzalez, TE, Atlanta Falcons: At age 33, Gonzalez had one of his best years as a pro in ‘08, despite playing on a dismal team with a handful of unknowns rotating at quarterback. Now he goes to Atlanta, a team with a top quarterback, top running back, top wideout and serviceable offensive line. Forget the miles on his pedometer — Gonzalez could be in for his best year yet.
43. Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons: Sophomore slump? Don’t expect one with this guy. Ryan has the city of Atlanta in the palm of his hand, and now Tony Gonzalez as the ultimate safety valve. High expectations for Matty Ice in ‘09. He should exceed them.
38. Michael Turner, RB, Atlanta Falcons: Turner “the Burner” burst on to the scene in ‘08, breaking out of former Chargers teammate LaDainian Tomlinson’s shadow and producing the better season of the two players. Turner’s the workhorse Atlanta hoped he’d be when they gave him his big contract in the offseason of 2008

Manning is #1; Brady #2 & Big Ben is #3

FLOWERY BRANCH — Nearly one year later, Von Hutchins still is not the same.

But he’s getting closer every day.

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The Falcons’ defensive back was signed last offseason to be another veteran in the secondary, a nickel back to play ahead of, and teach, several young players. He didn’t make it past the first day of training camp.

Hutchins suffered a Lisfranc fracture when a defensive end stepped on his left foot during a drill. A day later he was put on injured reserve, and his season was over.

“It’s something that happens every day at practice, but this time it turned out to be something more than what I expected,” Hutchins said Wednesday after participating in Organized Team Activities [OTAs]. “Right off the top, I knew it was something I never felt before.”

A broken foot, no big deal right? But it was.

He had surgery to repair the bone, which included the insertion of screws, ligaments and tendons at the arch at the top middle of the foot where the bones that end with the toes originate. He was on crutches for four months, a walking boot for six months. As Hutchins put it, he couldn’t even wear two shoes for “a good amount of time.” He didn’t start walking on his own until January. He began light running in March.

The recovery has been nearly a year long. So, being able to take part in practice, just as of last week, is a big deal.

“I still don’t feel like my normal self,” Hutchins said. “I don’t have all my quickness, but that will come. I see progress. … The rest is going to come with time and a little more experience on the field.”

After signing a four-year, $9 million deal as a free agent, Hutchins missed an entire season for the first time in his five-year career. The only surgery he had before the injury was for the removal of bone spurs in his knee.

Hutchins said while he was away he reflected on his life away from football. He continued to work with the Lupus Foundation of America, as his mother suffers from the disease.

He admits the time away was difficult and the desire to return a motivator. Hutchins sought the advice of other NFL players who had suffered the Lisfranc injury — Keith Brooking, Dwight Freeney and Brandon Stokley. Hutchins stayed in touch with his teammates and continued to learn the Falcons’ system. He picked up game film, watched it and returned with questions.

“I got away from football to an extent, but this is my home, this is my life. This is how I support my family,” Hutchins said. “It brings along a hunger that I have to perform this year.”

All along, he worked with those young players — such as Chris Houston, Chevis Jackson and Thomas DeCoud. He’ll be counted on to continue that this season as he is now the second-most experienced player in the defensive backfield. Now, he gets to do so by playing alongside them.

“He’s still working his way back in slowly,” defensive backs coach Alvin Reynolds said. “He’s playing at nickel back trying to develop the depth at that position. He’s a guy that adds some veteran presence to us and provides some leadership. We need a guy like Von Hutchins, especially with all our young guys.”

Versatility might be Hutchins’ top quality. He can play cornerback and safety. He saw some time Wednesday at both.

“We see him as a guy that can help our team, whether it be at the corner, whether it be at the nickel, whether it be at the safety,” Reynolds said.

Hutchins said he plans to be ready for the start of training camp Aug. 1.

“It’s big for us because we envisioned him to be a contributor in the secondary when we signed him,” coach Mike Smith said.

It’s taking awhile, but that’s just what Hutchins intends to do.

Miami Dolphins

Reasons to believe: Miami aggressively addressed its primary issue—pass defense—by adding defensive backs Gibril Wilson, Vontae Davis and Sean Smith, and rushers Jason Taylor and Cameron Wake. Patrick Turner and Pat White, the club believes, are playmakers Miami needed offensively. And then there’s the grounded approach that Tony Sparano has instilled.

“The team is focused, the ‘year before’ won’t be a problem for us,” Ferguson said. “The hard part is we have to worry about everyone staying healthy. … As a vet, we really didn’t do anything last year anyway. We won the division. Big deal.”

Reasons to doubt: The Dolphins were 7-2 in games decided by less than a touchdown and had the league’s 27th-ranked schedule in 2008. They have the NFL’s toughest slate, by last season’s record at least, in ‘09.

And remember, the emergence of the option-based Wildcat package was a result of Miami not being explosive or consistent enough offensively, so questions remain—and likely will be answered in development of young players—on that side of the ball.

Atlanta Falcons

Reasons to believe: The addition of tight end Tony Gonzalez and maturation of young studs Matt Ryan, Sam Baker, Michael Turner and Roddy White means Atlanta should present as many problems to defenses as any offense in the NFL. And with GM Thomas Dimitroff’s philosophy of drafting leadership types, young’ins Ryan, Baker and Curtis Lofton are setting the tone.

“You can see, this is where those guys want to be—they’re excited, and there all so young,” Gonzalez said. “The sky’s the limit here. It’s a completely new enthusiasm.”

Reasons to doubt: Five pretty significant defensive contributors departed, and young players like Peria Jerry, William Moore, Chris Owens and Chevis Jackson will be counted on.

“There will be growing pains, like we had last year on offense,” Dimitroff said. “But I have the utmost confidence in our defensive staff, with Mike Smith and Brian Van Gorder.”

There’s also this: After playing the NFC North and AFC West last year, Atlanta draws the two East divisions.

Falcons DEF vs Bears OFF
Likely Match-ups

RDE-Jamaal Anderson vs LT-Orlando Pace
RDT-Peria Jerry vs LG-Josh Beekum
LDT-Jonathan Babineax vs RG-Robert Garza
LDE-John Abraham vs RT-Kevin Shaeffer
MLB-Curtis Lofton vs C-Olin Kreutz
SLB-Mike Peterson vs TE-Greg Olsen
WLB-Stephen Nicholas vs FB-Jason McKie
SS-Thomas DeCoud/William Moore vs RB-Matt Forte
FS-Erik Coleman vs QB-Jay Cutler
CB-Chris Houston vs WR-Devin Hester
CB-Chevis Jackson vs WR-Earl Bennett
Nickel-Brent Grimes vs WR-Rashied Davis

Rushing
Matt Forte is one of the best young RBs in the league, period. The guy had a pretty outstanding year as a rookie considering they stacked the box all time against him with no fear in the passing game. Matt Forte certainly did pretty well against us last year, but that was last year’s D-Line, not this year. As Ken noted, Pace was let go for a reason and is on the serious down-side of his career. The OL of the 2006 Super Bowl is not the same that will take the field in 2009. Greg Olsen is still waiting for his “breakout year” in passing but is an adequate blocker. The presence of Cutler at QB will soften the DEF the first couple of games, but until the WRs prove they can stretch the field and make plays, DEFs will crowd the box and blitz the H—- out of Cutler. Big Trey Lewis, Peria Jerry, Vance Walker, and JA look to make some big plays clogging the lanes and Curtis Lofton and Mike Peterson will be all over the field tracking Forte blowing past the aging line. Decent day running purely out of Cutler completing some passes and softening up our DEF. Forte 85 yards and 1 TD.

Passing
We certainly know how good Cutler is here in the ATL don’t we? Speaking of the Denver game, that was one of the worst games to witness all year. Our OFF played really well, Roddy drops a game winner, Matty Ice almost pulled a comeback, but that one was on the DEF. All we had to do was make one stop in the last 5 minutes and we win the game. Greg Olsen is adequate, but has never had “The Breakout” year everyone expected. Desmond Clark continues to be as much a threat as Olsen but is getting long in the tooth. And to the Receivers. Houston should remember to not to underestimate the Bears WRs, huh? Kyle Orton made us look silly last year with less than 2 minutes and the same no WRs as last year. I actually think they can make some noise this year. Remember how beleaguered our WR Corps was until Matty Ice got behind center? It will still be a struggle, but I think the Bears have the potential to have one of the better overall teams in the NFC. Erik Coleman will have his hands full with Cutler. DeCoud or Moore & Peterson should manage Olsen and Clark. Nicholas definitely should be fine with Forte or Jones out of the backfield. Even though our DEF took some hits against an Orton led OFF, this is not last years DEF. Houston, Jackson, Grimes, and Owens will be aggressive and force the WRs to beat us and they won’t. Abraham, JA, CDavis and Biermann should have career days, because we will be going after their @ss with our new aggression, speed, athleticism, and toughness. If this was 2008 DEF, we would get destroyed, but this is the New Look 2009 DEF: We will hold them to less than 200 yards passing and 1 passing TD. Cutler will spend a lot of time on his back. Our DEF shows up and holds them to 13 points!

More in a bit……….