Atlanta Falcons: Team has no interest in signing Jason Babin
Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Jason Babin (93) celebrates a sack in the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)
FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons, who released one of their own defensive ends earlier this season, have no interest in signing defensive end Jason Babin, according to a person with knowledge of the team’s plans.
The person did not want to be identified discussing the team’s internal deliberations.
Babin was released by the Philadelphia Eagles today. Babin was having a poor season for the Eagles after posting a career-high 18 sacks last season. He has 5.5 sacks this season. His 36 sacks since 2010 is third in the NFL behind Dallas’ DeMarcus Ware and Minnesota’s Jared Allen.
Babin was available when the Falcons signed Ray Edwards and they did not pursue him. Instead, the Falcons went after Carolina’s Charles Johnson and then went after Edwards.
The Falcons released Edwards on Nov. 12. He cleared waivers and is currently a free agent.
The Falcons signed Edwards as a free agent in July 2011, giving him $11 million in guaranteed salary on a five-year deal. But Edwards produced little in the way of sacks (3.5) or quarterback pressures in 25 games with the Falcons.
Edwards started all 16 games in 2011 and four of nine games this season. Edwards’ playing time had decreased this season, a development coach Mike Smith and offensive coordinator Mike Nolan attributed to extensive use of special personnel packages.
His playing time has been gobbled up by Jonathan Babineaux, who’s playing more defensive end than tackle now. Also, Cliff Matthews has picked up some of Edwards’ snaps.
The Falcons have 26 sacks this season, which ranks 16th in the league. Denver leads the NFL with 37 sacks.
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121 comments Add your comment
Sandman
November 27th, 2012
11:37 pm
I’m not sure I believe this. I do believe leaking ‘no interest” is probably the best action plan at this point. The Falcons are in dead last in terms of waiver priority. That means a lot has to go right for Babin to end up here. Might as well act like you don’t want him to throw the rest of the league a curveball.
mike H
November 27th, 2012
11:38 pm
Babin had the same contract with the Eagles as Edwards had with the Falcons. I really hope the Falcons sign him, it’s not like it would hurt us, and this could be the one piece we need…
LOL at The Aints
November 27th, 2012
11:47 pm
Sandman, that is exactly right.
The Biscuit
November 27th, 2012
11:59 pm
I don’t think calling D. Led an idiot is appropriate here. He expressed an opinion on what is an opinion blog. You can express yours. It’s the nature of the beast as it were. I think Babin would be a great addition for the stretch run. We need a “book-end” pass rush from the DE’s. One man can’t do it alone. We’ve been covering with LB and Corner blitzes — but that second proven pass rusher off of the end would be a huge addition at this stage of the season. Could be the “missing piece” of the puzzle. Short term fix, no doubt, but Super Bowls chances don’t come around every year.
78dawg
November 28th, 2012
12:05 am
CUT TURNER AND GET BABIN NOW….
ezzy e
November 28th, 2012
12:13 am
Everyone that says sign him so he can play thursday is impossible it will take about a week for whoever signs him for us a week definitly 31st in waiver order. you would have to give every team a chance would take a few days, then have him tested and pass physicals THAT”S WHY HE COULDN’T PLAY THURSDAY…. ray edwards just clear waivers and its been 2 week, babin wouldn’t clear waivers
78dawg
November 28th, 2012
12:27 am
DOL…either you are putting up a smokescreen or you are way out of the loop. Philly media confirms he is in Atlanta now, followed by NO and Denver. What gives with this article?
Atlanta Falcons: Team has no interest in signing Jason Babin | football-feed.com
November 28th, 2012
12:53 am
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Hal
November 28th, 2012
12:57 am
If he clears waivers then the priority list is a non-issue. Reading up on the guy, many are saying that he isn a one-act-pony that was the product of the gimmick wide-9 defense. His career stats would support this because the 2 years he had good numbers he played the wide 9. Apparently he had some sort of run-in with the Philly fans and is a questionable locker room guy as well.
RunninWithTheDawgs
November 28th, 2012
2:43 am
We’ve got good DE’s. We need a hard hitting punishing running back to replace Turner. I would go after Marcus Lattimore if he’s available in the 2013 draft. Yes, he’s hurt and needs rehab and probably won’t be back ’till 2014, but when he DOES come back I’d like to see him in a Falcon uniform.
BravesFan79
November 28th, 2012
3:19 am
Falcons need to sign Babin! He could be the missing peace for a superbowl run. Cant believe they didnt realize that Edwards was more a product of Jared Allen than anything he did by himself.
Mike Franklin
November 28th, 2012
6:49 am
No interest? That’s crazy and dang it all to hell, so is this freaking BS censoring the AJC does on every other flippen post!
Between the Falcs walking away from Babin and having to delicately rewrite every blasted honking try at expressing my feelings here… I am ready for the cardiac ward!
Whadda Ya Know?
November 28th, 2012
6:55 am
Has this been confirmed by someone in the Falcons organization or is this DLed’s own opinion?
rm
November 28th, 2012
7:09 am
I don’t understand this. The Falcons pass rush is non-existent outside of Abe. This guy is a true pass-rusher and could make an immediate impact on the D. When watching the game Sunday, my buddy and I were talking about the lack of pass rush. Very disappointing.
Paddy
November 28th, 2012
7:29 am
Who Dat……..you have not been around many ‘beat writers’ have you? Over the years, there have been a ton of writers that cover a sport that they confess to not carry alot about the game they cover. They still do a good job for their paper and their readers.
Getaway
November 28th, 2012
7:33 am
Two weeks into the season the Falcons were just $200K under the cap. There’s been a few releases and a few minor signings, but I doubt that there’s much more room now.
The question is does their cap situation allow them to sign Babin?
Stephen
November 28th, 2012
7:38 am
Better sign him soon if we are. Fins Redskins and the Bears are interested. Bears will be very good if they aquire Babin.
falconneil
November 28th, 2012
7:53 am
D-Led, how do you now this? I see no comments from Falcons brass in your “story”. I’m assuming this is a guess on your part. This would makes no sense if true. We are desperate for help at DE and a pro bowl DE comes available. It’s a no-brainer.
SHUT THE FRONT DOOR
November 28th, 2012
7:54 am
I dont understand the mindset of our management. It isnt like we are sacking opposing Qb’s at a playoff caliber rate. As long as we win I guess its okay, but with SF and NY looming, u can never have enough bullets in your gun.
Hatfield Geoff
November 28th, 2012
8:03 am
Against good offensive lines the Falcons get no pass rush. We ought to sign him and see what he has got left. They have to do something to help the defense. Was Abraham’s name even mention during Sunday’s telecast? Not very often if at all. In the 3rd Quarter I thought he was hurt or something, but no, he was just getting blocked
Coach Roy
November 28th, 2012
8:20 am
DLed please tell me this cant be so. Some things happen for a reason and this seems to look like this is happening for the Falcons to benifit from. It doesnt look like Babin would cost them much and you got to at least say he would be better than whats going on right now. Im not knocking any of my Falcons but to get BETTER is to get BETTER. Preasure on a QB makes the difference. COME ON MAN!!!!
Hardy Falcon
November 28th, 2012
8:23 am
The Falcons need a pass rush and Babin is a sack master, TD does not know ghow to find defensive talent , he proved that when he picked Worthless jERRY OVER cLAY mATTHEWS AND OTHERS.
GregKennesaw
November 28th, 2012
8:26 am
any of you stop and think, there must be a reason the Eagles cut him in the middle of the season
Walker, Texas Ranger
November 28th, 2012
8:34 am
His 5.5 sacks would be second on this team. Yeah, we dont need a pass rush. Maybe his drop is caused by the fact that his team is lost and has no coaching on the D side of the ball.
North FLA Falcon
November 28th, 2012
8:49 am
Earlier this year to boost our sack numbers, we got the dude from Seattle, who blew out his pec and that turned out to be a disaster. So I could see where the Falcons would be a bit tentative to jump on every new available pass rusher, since we already got burned once. But this guy seems to be the real deal. Hope we are quietly pursuing him, we need help. Abe won’t be here forever and the younger guys are not getting consistent pressure.
North FLA Falcon
November 28th, 2012
8:54 am
By the way the replay last night of the Falcons-Bucs was very revealing … statistically we dominated the game, but wow the Bucs moved up and down the field at will. Still seeing missed tackles and WIDE OPEN receivers on defense. Ryan and the offense looked really sharp. Cannot believe Bryant blew the FG just before halftime. We have some tough games coming up … the ‘Aints are never easy … we have a cold weather game at Carolina … the Giants in an early playoff test … the Lions … and the Bucs.
ijonathan
November 28th, 2012
9:04 am
D-Led, this is a very poorly written post. First, the headline and your first paragraph suggest you recently talked to “someone” in the Falcons front office who said they had no interest in Babin. But you never actually say you talked to anyone, let alone who that was. Then, you spend most of the article talking about Ray Edwards…what does that have to do with Babin? If anything, the release of Edwards might make signing Babin more intriguing. Finally, you end with (again unsubstantiated in this post) the pecking order from a couple of years ago, when apparently Babin was behind both Johnson and Edwards in the Falcons minds. What does any of this have to do with the Falcons’ interest in Babin right now?
You know, this is a blog post WITH COMMENTS…feel free to jump in ANY TIME and respond to all of this legitimate questioning and critcism. Especially when other national/Philly news sources are reporting that the Falcons are indeed interested.
tfalcon
November 28th, 2012
9:04 am
All falcon fans watch,he’ll be in a saint’s uniform next week and I could not understand why we would not try to get this DE as bad as we
need someone opposite JA.You guys watch he’ll be sacking the shi! out of matts A$$ for a couple of years,wouldn’t surprise me if he aint doing it tomorrow nite
PMC
November 28th, 2012
9:08 am
They already cut one quitter, why would they hire another? Babin is more talented as a rusher than everyone outside of Abraham on the team, but he wasn’t getting it done with all that talent next to him in Philadelphia, there’s no way he’s coming here and getting better.
The lack of pass rush is the number 1 problem with the defense, that Steven Nicholas position desperately needs to be upgraded is number 2.
tfalcon
November 28th, 2012
9:09 am
@ijonathan Man I would at least think someone in flowery branch would
be a little bit interested
P
November 28th, 2012
9:13 am
GET BABIN!!!!!!!!! ITS JUST THAT SIMPLE WE NEED THAT EXTRA BOOST AND HIS PASS RUSHING SKILLS
tfalcon
November 28th, 2012
9:13 am
@pmc so u blame that pon babin noboby in philly is gettin it done this
year really sux for reid he’s going to lose his job over it,some of the fans up there can’t even relate to him losing his son and that is no brotherly love my friend,the man took three days off from that,fans in philly dont desrve a good coach
Paddy
November 28th, 2012
9:15 am
falconnei…………………Did you think that this little nugget from DLed may have come from a Falcon source that asked not to be identified? Happens alot. He is the ‘beat writer’ and is in possession of many pieces of info that is close to the team. Some are repotred, some are not reported. Leave the guy alone. He has proven to be a true professonal.
Kramer
November 28th, 2012
9:19 am
Listening the NFL Network this morning I am not sure we want this guy. Hugh Douglas came out recently and said Babin quit playing hard. I do like his numbers for the past 2 1/2 years.
tfalcon
November 28th, 2012
9:20 am
what kind of numbers is trent cole puttin up
tfalcon
November 28th, 2012
9:25 am
@northfloridafal that was a LB with a injury history,a middle line Backer at that
tfalcon
November 28th, 2012
9:28 am
kramer dude still had 5.5 sacks when he quit,looks to me like every
player up there has quit and thats real
North FLA Falcon
November 28th, 2012
9:32 am
Babin looks like another Biermann, small and quick who can drop back in coverage. “Hustle sacks” galore. I can see where the new look Falcons D would like that. On the other hand why do we need another like that … we really need a big mauler like JJ Watt or DeAndre Ware (or J Clowney or J Jones) … who are never available when you really need them …
ijonathan
November 28th, 2012
9:33 am
@Paddy, your defense of D-Led is admirable, I guess, but misplaced. Here are all of the things D-Led could have asked his “source” about, and reported back, or at least speculated about, given his vast knowledge of the NFL and the Falcons:
- Babin benefitted from the Eagles “wide 9″ scheme and may not be able to succeed in the Falcons scheme
- Babin is undersized and is purely a speed pass rusher, and might not add much beyond what Bierman already gives them (and Kroy has more flexibility, and is better against the run)
- There were questions about work ethic and team play in Philly
- At 32, they believe Babin’s best days are behind him
- The Falcons don’t believe Babin would be an upgrade over the younger guys who will be getting more chances now
- cap/salary issues
See? That’s how a quality beat writer/reporter adds meaningful context to an issue like this. D-Led’s performance on this post was 100% lazy a$$.
Mikey
November 28th, 2012
9:43 am
I have complete confidence in TD and the Falcons organization to do the right thing. They have demonstrated a high level of success in managing their roster. I know that perfection is not really achievable when it comes to acquiring and utilizing human beings. You have to play the odds and you have to get lucky once in a while. All things considered, this organization has taken one of the worst football teams in the NFL and in a few years turned it into one of the BEST football teams in the NFL. In addition, it is one that may be sustainable for years to come. You don’t achieve that level of success by randomly jumping on every player who comes available. You do your homework, you match short term needs against long term needs, you analyze the budget going foreward and above all, you analyze the character of the human being to ensure work ethic, opportunity to for continuous improvement and impact on the TEAM around them. TD and M. Smith and gang are about as good at this as anyone ever has been. In them I trust! GO FALCONS! YOU ARE RISING UP!
CAPT-ATL
November 28th, 2012
9:49 am
ijonathan is dead on in his assesment. The key is the last point though. CAP space. The Falcons can not take on his contract without cutting a “Like” contract. And for those that say Turner…. that creates more dead money for next season which TD is not likely to do. Restructures and dean money will kill you. The last theng we need is to get into the CAP hell that Mickey Loomis has created for New Orleans. This year is their best shot at the playoffs for the next 3 years. I dont knowabout any of you, but I certianly dont want Atlanta in that kind of hell.
james
November 28th, 2012
9:58 am
As much of a Falcons fan as I am,I think its stupid for the team not to try to sign Babin.We need help on the defensive line and he would be a great pickup.
D man
November 28th, 2012
9:59 am
I like the Falcons chemistry, don’t change a thing…
Mike Franklin
November 28th, 2012
10:05 am
We definitely need some help on the pass rush… especially with our secondary being a bit beat up right now. haven’t heard anything definitive on Samuel yet but he didn’t look too good after that last play in TB. Babin’s contract is not all that steep… and he could make the perfect matching bookend with Abe.
Sure, it’s a risk but isn’t that what we’re in business for? You know… the difficult we do right away, the impossible just takes a little longer? Come on! Grab this guy!
1stn10
November 28th, 2012
10:18 am
Man I’m sure glad many of you are not running the front office. Might as well go out and get T.O. and Chad Johnson too while we are at it. At some point they have to play the guys they drafted. Why do many of you want another teams garbage? Stop relying on what he did last year under a different system, he obviously lost something this year. If he isn’t playing with heart because of their record then again we dodn’t need someone like that.
breakerbaker
November 28th, 2012
10:29 am
I wonder if this lack of interest is on the level or if they’re just saying it hoping that all of the other teams in line ahead of them will let him clear on the waiver wire with the hope that they can sign him to a new deal as a free agent. Because I see no good reason why the Falcons would have NO interest in picking Babin up. That doesn’t mean they necessarily should pick him up, but that the prospect of it doesn’t interest them at all? Come on TD, I like KB and Babineaux too, but if Babin’s there to be had, you have to have some interest.
TDnoclue
November 28th, 2012
10:30 am
TD has no clue.
Cool 1
November 28th, 2012
10:38 am
Sign the man! You have no pass rush losers!
P
November 28th, 2012
10:51 am
WHAT WE R FAILING TO SEE IS EVEN WITH HIS HALF PERFORMANCE HE WILL STILL RANK 2ND ON THE FALCONS TEAM WITH 5.5 SACKS BEHIND ABE AND NO OTHER FALCON HAS MORE THAN 3 WITH A FULL PERFORMANCE ILL TAKE THAT
Tim
November 28th, 2012
10:55 am
so why did they set up an interview today?