Archive for May, 2012

How Many DE’s Will Falcons Keep?

Abe Leads a Strong DE Group (AJC)

The Atlanta Falcons may find themselves in a somewhat desirable position for a change regarding defensive end. After being one of the most problematic areas for the Falcons since the Birds had both Patrick Kerney and John Abraham, there’s a slight potential it could be an area for improvement in 2012.

While there’s no guarantee that defensive end will finally yield production, there certainly will be competition for starting and rotation spots this year. The hope with most fans is that Mike Nolan will want to use several different players and defensive ends and find ways to incorporate many of them in different schemes, blitz packages, and paths to get after the QB and disrupt the backfield.

In the past, the Falcons have usually carried only 5 defensive ends and 5 defensive tackles. That could change this year, but it still looks to be one of the more intriguing stories in preseason and if they stay with …

Continue reading Atlanta Falcons: Will There Be an Odd Man Out at Defensive End? »

Questions on Same Vision Remain

Can Smith Change? (AJC)

It’s one of the biggest currents running through many Falcons fans, some for quite a long time: is there some sort of disconnect present within the Atlanta Falcons organization? In other words, is everyone on the same page when it comes to vision and direction, namely Mike Smith, Thomas Dimitroff, and Arthur Blank. It’s been quite the hot topic recently in The Cage, so no better time than now to get the debate rolling………

Yes, a Disconnect Remains

Obviously, this is all just speculation on the fans part, but something still doesn’t feel right in Flowery Branch. Fans hear one thing out of Falcons Headquarters, while their actions say something different. A look at some evidence that something is still adrift in Flowery Branch….

Explosion vs. Conservatism

After the Falcons playoff embarrassment at the hands of the Green Bay Packers in 2011, the ideas of a “disconnect” started to surface.” The off-season …

Continue reading Is There a Disconnect with the Atlanta Falcons Staff? »

Tons of Possibilities, Major Improvement Needed

A Permanent Move to RG? (AP)

It was a strategic risk to let Harvey Dahl go to St. Louis in free agency last summer. The belief was that Dahl was the most expendable between all three free agent candidates of Justin Blalock, Tyson Clabo, and Dahl. Dahl was the oldest and had the least upside of the three. The feeling was that it would be impossible to keep all 3 in one off-season (an argument that rings somewhat hollow with them keeping Dunta Robinson, Brent Grimes, and now Asante Samuel). The Falcons front office trusted they had enough young talent on the roster to fill the gap with an tough competition in camp.

Right guard was one of the Falcons most glaring weaknesses in 2011. An open competition between Garrett Reynolds and Mike Johnson yielded Reynolds as the opening day starter. The right guard position became an immediate and extremely apparent weakness from the very beginning. Reynolds, never seeming a good fit at guard, …

Continue reading Who’s Your Favorite to Win Right Guard Battle for the Atlanta Falcons? »

Not quite finished with the new blog post, so wanted to go ahead and get a new thread up as the other expires. Thought it would be a good time to ask some of the biggest questions as the Atlanta Falcons enter the “dead-zone” of NFL Football. Have a go at the following off-season questions while the new blog post gets finished…………

1) Who Will Start at Right Guard?

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2) Will Lamar Holmes Start at Left Tackle in 2012? If so, when?

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3) Who’s Your Favorite Prospects to Earn the #4 and #5 Wide Receiver Spots?

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4) How Many Defensive Ends Will the Falcons Carry in 2012? Are There Any Big Names that May Get the Axe?

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5) Will Our Offense Truly Represent a Better Passing Game, or Will This Be Mularkey Ball 2.0?

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6) Who Will Get More Snaps in 2012: Jason Snelling or Jacquizz Rodgers? Who Should Get More?

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Bonus: If you have the urge, give your “ridiculously and entirely too early” 53 man roster prediction

Continue reading Six Searing Off-Season Atlanta Falcons Questions »

Many Players Battle for a Few Spots

Palmer a Success Story (AJC)

It’s one of the best tales in all of sports. A high school football player works hard to earn himself a scholarship to college, sometimes to smaller and lesser known schools. The player works his way into a starter in college and has a very good career, but largely goes unnoticed by the draftniks and websites. The player doesn’t get drafted, but gets picked up by an NFL team as an undrafted free agent (UDFA). The odds are long that they’ll make it very far into camp, much less make the 53 man roster. Often times getting a practice squad spot is a great goal.

Although the likelihood is very small, undrafted free agents have not only made the practice squad, but even made the 53 man roster. The NFL at large is littered with a ton of undrafted free agents who have gone onto making rosters, earning playing time, and even stardom in the NFL. The Atlanta Falcons are no different. There have been many examples of …

Continue reading Which UDFA’s Have Best Shot to Make Atlanta Falcons Roster? »

Great, Good, or Awful?

Hard to Argue with the Konz (AP)

After a long wait, it’s finally over and in the books. The Falcons took 6 players in the 2012 NFL Draft and reportedly signed another 20 undrated free agents. Immediate reaction here in The Bird Cage wasn’t very kind. Predicting what direction Thomas Dimitroff will go has become next to impossible. The Birds to add some beef and definitely didn’t wow many with no flashy picks and a handful of players that even the most die-hard draft researcher hadn’t seen.

Feel free to use any grading system you want for the Falcons haul in 2012, but The Bird Cage will go with some simple terms of “Great, Good, Risky, Bad, or Terrible.” Even though many will disagree, here goes……..

2nd Round
Peter Konz – C/G – Wisconsin

It’s really hard to argue with this pick at all. The Falcons biggest need has been offensive line for quite some time and Dimitroff took the best center in the draft and one of the best overall OL …

Continue reading Fans Grade the Atlanta Falcons 2012 Draft »