Archive for July, 2009

Training Camp Tips, Hints, and Excitement
Ready for Some Training Camp Football?

((((Updates))))
Training camp updates will be posted in the comments section as they become available throughout the weekend.

Good News First
As DOL reported last night, Dimitroff & Co. signed our 1st round draft pick Peria Jerry. That makes it official in signing ALL 8 draft picks ready to go for training camp.

The Long Wait is Finally Over!
Ah, the dark clouds of no-football have finally lifted, and we’re finally ready for some FALCONS FOOTBALL! Training camp is here ladies and gentleman. The long, excruciating pain of waiting for a new football season has at last come to an end. The post draft buzz wore off quickly; leaving us football junkies only with the heat of summer and a few tidbits from mini-camp and OTA’s to fill our appetite. Mini-camp only lasted a couple of days and organized training activities were basically a roll call of who was present and who failed to show. Training camp …

Continue reading Training Camp Special Edition (w/ Updates) »

Who’ll win the Defensive Tackle spot, Peria Jerry or Trey Lewis?

Many Falcons fans may have been surprised that Dimitroff, Coach Smith, & Co. decided to let Big Grady Jackson walk into free agency without even so much as a hint of resigning him. Granted, Jackson is surely on the downside of his career and was a liability in pass rushing downs, endurance, and health issues. But he was a great space eater in run defense on a team that needed help against the run in the worst way. The Falcons defense certainly had its ups and downs throughout the year, but no issue was more glaring than the porous run defense. Atlanta ranked 25th out of 32 teams in defending the run, besting only Green Bay, Denver, Cleveland, St.Louis, Kansas City, Oakland, and Detroit. Not good company. The defense gave up over 2,000 yards rushing to opposing teams, averaging an abysmal 127 yards per game. Falcons run D also hemorrhaged 16 runs for more than 20 yards, with the longest being a 68 yarder. Another …

Continue reading The Fight for D-Tackle: Jerry or Lewis? »

How Much Will Kroy Biermann Play?

One of the biggest surprises from Dimitroff’s first draft was the emergence of 5th round draft pick Kroy Biermann. He was a seldom heard of defensive end out of a smaller school, Montana, and many people thought it might be a throw-away pick. Experts thought he would have an uphill battle to even make the roster. At the very minimum, experts judged that he would be a project at best that would take several years to develop with his smaller weight for a defensive end. Several draft experts even anticipated him moving to outside linebacker in the pros with his size and quickness that could translate to a linebacker position instead of having to go up against 300+ gargantuan tackles. Despite all the doubt surrounding him, Biermann came to camp ready to compete in Coach Smith’s new regime. He quickly showed his competitive fire and that he belonged in a role to backup John Abraham. Biermann shocked a lot of people in how much playing time he …

Continue reading What Roles will Biermann and Sidbury Jr. Play? »

Will Abraham Have a Repeat Performance?

Pro-Bowl Worthy Year (Curtis Compton/AJC.com)

John Abraham had one of the best years in his career last year, avoiding injury, and getting a serious snub from the Pro-Bowl committee. By far and away one of the best defensive ends in the NFL last year. Abraham had 16.5 sacks and was the driving force for the Falcons pass rush last year, collaring roughly more than half the sacks than the rest of the entire team combined (34 total sacks). He had some help from Babineaux creating havoc on his side, but had zero help in terms of disruption from the other side with Grady Jackson having 2 sacks and Jamaal Anderson having two total sacks. After fighting injury problems and so-so years as a Falcon, Abraham obviously took to Coach Smith, Coach Van Gorder’s style, and Sugar Bear Hamilton’s guidance. His run stopping ability may not be superior, but his pass rushing skills are paramount. In all likelihood, Smith and Van Gorder will give …

Continue reading Repeat Year for Abraham? Can Davis Start? »

WWJAD? What Will Jamaal Anderson Do?

Will JA#98 be a boom or bust? Perhaps the biggest question on the minds of Falcons fans this off-season and leading into training camp, pre-season, and regular season. Also a question that has a serious polarizing effect on fans as well. Two camps have seemed to develop into an even split around the former overall #8 draft pick in 2007 by Bolt Petrino.

Many fans believe that Anderson is already approaching bust status, registering only two sacks in two years. It was certainly a somewhat risky pick drafting a player who came out his junior year and only played the position for a couple of years.  His short span at Arkansas led the SEC in sacks with 13.5, no small accomplishment in arguably the toughest conference in college football. Even though he possessed all the physical tools and abilities, Rich McKay had to know that he would be a project. Anderson has even produced some downright ire from some fans, thinking that he was a bust last …

Continue reading Jamaal Anderson: Boom or Bust? »

elcome to the New Falcon fans’ Bird Cage blog!

(((((Update)))))For those of you that have already seen this blog posting, there are two new posts over under the Recent Posts Column) on the right hand side >>>>>

I’m Dawson Devitt (handle name: D3) and I’ll be moderating AJC.com’s new Bird Cage, a blog devoted solely for Falcons fans. We’ll be discussing Everything Atlanta Falcons Football, from the perspective of you, the fan. This will be a great place for Falcons and other NFL fans to come and discuss, analyze, and breakdown all things that interest the fanatics that surround our hometown Atlanta Falcons. We’ll talk about the team, the plays, the transactions, the games and everything about the Falcons, but we’ll also be talking about best tailgating areas, best sports bars to watch away games, game day recipes, and all things associated with the entire experience of being a Falcon fan.

My involvement in The Bird Cage stems from being part of a fan forum community through …

Continue reading Welcome to the Bird Cage! »