Weatherspoon helps Falcons fix the right side of the ball
Sean Weatherspoon will have the Falcons' defense headed up next season.
FLOWERY BRANCH — In his never-ending quest to not let you know what he’s really thinking – which just makes him an NFL general manager — Thomas Dimitroff balked at answering a question the other day.
It was a simple one: In his extreme makeover plans, on which side of the ball were the Falcons closer to completion?
Dimitroff started and stopped his answer twice, before finally saying: “I would suggest we’re a tad closer to where we want to be on offense.”
Statistics, actually, would tell you a lot closer.
The Falcons had to take outside linebacker Sean Weatherspoon on Thursday night.
Injuries in 2009 notwithstanding, when a team finishes 21st in total defense, 28th against the pass, 26th in sacks, 16th in interceptions and 26th in passes defensed, it’s not even a close call.
The pass rush stunk. The coverage stunk. This weekly game of bend-bend-bend-drop-to-your-knees-and-pray-you-don’t-break gets real old after a while.
Opponents had 54 pass plays of 20-plus yards last season. At some point, the question became, “How many of these guys are missing major organs?”
Weatherspoon is not a one-man Mr. Fix-it. But he’s as close as the Falcons’ could have hoped for with the 19th pick. He can play the strong side. He can play the weak side. He can rush the passer. He can hit. He can drop into coverage, an important factor in a division stuffed with athletic tight ends.
“We were in a situation where we needed to build the defense — build depth, increase versatility, eliminate the explosive plays in the passing game,” Dimitroff said after the pick. “In our mind, Sean will help us become more consistent and help us eliminate those explosive plays.”
Now it can be told. Dimitroff locked onto three players in the days leading up to the draft. All on defense. End Derrick Morgan of Georgia Tech, end Brandon Graham of Michigan and Weatherspoon. (Florida center Maurkice Pouncey was in the next group.)
Morgan seemed like a long shot. But with a few surprising picks ahead of them — offensive tackle Trent Williams at four to Washington; cornerback Joe Haden at seven to Cleveland; defensive tackle Tyson Alualu at 10 to Jacksonville — Morgan tumbled down. He finally went to Tennessee at 16.
What if both he and Weatherspoon were there at 19?
“We wouldn’t have made our pick in only five minutes,” Dimitroff said. “We would’ve had a much more pointed discussion. It might’ve come down to the last minute. But we really liked Sean. In the end, we felt the linebacker spot would really help our pass defense.”
The Falcons considered dropping down and swapping picks with Denver at 22 or 25, thinking they might still be able to get Weatherspoon there. But they were worried they might lose him.
“He’s the guy we targeted,” Dimitroff said.
Dimitroff’s first draft was going to be offense-heavy, even if Matt Ryan wasn’t the choice. His original plan was to take LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey with the first choice and try to come back with Michigan quarterback Chad Henne with the Falcons’ next pick. Offensive picks would follow.
Last year was all about defense. Seven of the team’s eight selections were on that side of the ball, including the top four who will be back in 2010: defensive tackle Peria Jerry, safety William Moore, cornerback Chris Owens and defensive end Lawrence Sidbury.
This moves the defense’s makeover closer to completion. Injuries voided the rookie seasons of Jerry and Moore. Both will be back. Cornerback Dunta Robinson, a six-year starter in Houston, was signed in free agent.
Under the circumstances — which included injuries to Ryan and running back Michael Turner — it’s a wonder how the Falcons slipped to only 9-7 last season. Weatherspoon will help them move forward again.
Dimitroff was beaming after the pick. The draft is the favorite part of his job. He feels like he has been scouting players since he was 10 years old, when his father was a long-time pro scout.
“It brings me back to my roots in football, down on the field, sniffing the pits,” he said the other day, using an old scouts’ term.
Defense gets the Falcons back to the roots of football. It was a good day at work.
♦
Earlier posts
♦ Draft night (LIVE): Behind the scenes at Falcons’ HQ
♦ Draft day (Part II): Tebow top 15, Morgan to Falcons?
♦ Draft day (Part I): Falcon options; Berry rips Deion; Tebow to Vikes?
♦
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119 comments Add your comment
Mack
April 23rd, 2010
1:14 am
Atlantafalcons.com message board sucks. If there is anything going on related to the Falcons, the site shuts down, pitiful
Lame Pick
April 23rd, 2010
1:20 am
Agreed draft T. We just spent a ton of money on big bust risk at a position of minor importance. Last time I checked the Denver Broncos gave up 3 picks to get back in the first. If Dimitroff was more worried about losing this loser “Spoon” then getting 3 low round draft picks in return then maybe the mad Russian should find a different line of work. Any way you slice it, Dimitroff either didn’t know or passed on the offer which raises more than serious questions about his abilities and mental faculties. This draft grade is an F already.
Joe
April 23rd, 2010
1:26 am
Did any UGA players get drafted in the 1st round???????? Noooooooooo lol.
gcs
April 23rd, 2010
1:32 am
Too small.
…
DZ
April 23rd, 2010
1:34 am
Air Zaza:
Thanks for the good laugh!
The Grinch
April 23rd, 2010
1:46 am
Solid pick. Well done. If we can get an offensive playmaker (McCluster would be nice) and an o-lineman on day two, I’ll be happy.
The Grinch
April 23rd, 2010
1:52 am
Y’all, with the addition of Robinson and the return of Williams, between them and Owens/Grimes we’ve got solid CB’s. The return of Moore to go with DeCoud gives us a solid safety tandem. The return of Jerry gives us an improved d-line. Spoon gives us a backer who can cover Shockey/Witten/etc. This defense will be solid. Now we need OL and a WR/RB and we’ll be in business.
GT3O
April 23rd, 2010
2:06 am
Welcome Spoon! Glad to have you at the landing!
Congrats to Bay-Bay and Morgan!
How many Dawgs went in the first round again?
kelvin davis
April 23rd, 2010
2:58 am
Ok so now we have Sean Weatherspoon, I’m excited about what him along with the other additions and the players coming back from injury will do to help our defense. Remember our defense was playing pretty solid until everyone started to get hurt. Now tomorrow lets get Wide Receiver Brandon Lafell and Center Matt Tennant. Something good is going on for us Falcon fans. Lets keep it up
Big Ray
April 23rd, 2010
3:56 am
Saints fans now have two names to worry about this coming season. Dunta Robinson and Sean Weatherspoon.
While Drew “I should be doing hair commercials for me” Brees is running away from Weatherspoon, he’ll be throwing interceptions to Robinson. The real Robinson.
Not Patrick “how did I get into the first round, oh because the Saints are idiots” Robinson.
The Saints lost Scott Fujita and passed on Sergio Kindle. Loomis is an idiot (thank God) and they’ll regret it as Gonzalez kills them in the flats.
Jen
April 23rd, 2010
4:07 am
Joe
April 23rd, 2010
1:26 am
Did any UGA players get drafted in the 1st round???????? Noooooooooo lol.
—————————————————————————————
That just means GT lost 2 great players!!!! Yessssssssssssss lol
Here’s a question for you, GT ever had a player go #1 over all?…..UGA did last year and another 1st rounder too.
LMAO, UGA beat GT with Joe Cox!!!! hahahahahahaha!!!!.
james
April 23rd, 2010
4:38 am
JSS: go jump off a cliff we were neck and neck with your team.. if losing to the bucs and barely getting past the rams is yalls idea of elite then yall can have it! good luck with the madden cover curse lol
Pluto
April 23rd, 2010
4:54 am
Missouri Football . Terror of the Land.
Guess there were no Pipe Hitters from the SEC that was in his “League”.
reubenhouston
April 23rd, 2010
6:20 am
Jealous? LOLOLOL Morgan still has cleat marks from being trampled by Ealey and King during GT’s spectacular flameout loss. Hey thanks to Bey bey for his hands of stone routine during the last drive. 30-24 motherf-cker. Eat it and die.
reubenhouston
April 23rd, 2010
6:22 am
Once again we beat your loser azz with our “inferior” players. That says volumes more about you being losers than 2 first rounders making you great. Or mayhap CPJ is an over-rated douchebag as a coach. Ya I like that, let’s go with that.
russ n
April 23rd, 2010
6:23 am
great first pick ! / keep up the good work tomorrow
DC Dirty Bird
April 23rd, 2010
6:25 am
Hey Jeff, when is the article about our 2nd and 3rd round possibilities coming out? Lame Pick, you bring up an interesting point about the possibilities of trading down to acquire more picks. Question is, would Green Bay, Cincy and NWE all have passed on him. You’d have to be 100% sure to make the deal down to 24. Risk versus reward…….
Samuel
April 23rd, 2010
7:13 am
Don’t forget falcons fans, we still have more picks. Also free agency and some possible trade bait.
Too Easy
April 23rd, 2010
7:25 am
Since uga doesn’t lose any first rounders, they should have a great chance of getting back to Shreveport
O'Neill
April 23rd, 2010
7:48 am
I watched Witherspoon play several games over the past few seasons and I believe the Falcons really got themselves a player!. In the 3rd round if they don’t move up to round 2. I they will pick up a solid D End and/or O line depth.
Gen Neyland
April 23rd, 2010
8:10 am
Many first rounders had to swing by to see Tom Shane before they landed in the Big Apple. Not Suh and Berry. Most down to earth early picks among the top draftees. BTW, Berry committed but one penalty in his 3 years playing at the college level, a pass interference flag in his Freshman year… My wife got his autograph after a Peach Filet practice in Decatur last year. Berry was the last guy off the practice field ( not counting the two guys that broke curfew and were crabbing and rolling 100 yard intervals). After he signed our Tennessee Media Guide he told my wife ‘Thank You’. Character. The guy also helped the equipment mgrs shine and clean helmets on Friday’s before some home games. Did he have to..? No, but he did. This guy is the total package both on and off the field and I’ll wager he’ll not embarrass the Chiefs, his family or himself during his pro career. Dang, to be selfish I wish we had him for another year…
Who really cares about college ball here
April 23rd, 2010
8:12 am
You UGA vs GT people are nothing short of annoying. Go do your dirt on the UGA and GT blogs, this is the Falcons blogs, numb nuts…..
Who really cares about college ball here
April 23rd, 2010
8:14 am
Why golly gosh, thanks Gen.
Falcons blog, you clown. Go North and West for the Chiefs.
Gen Neyland
April 23rd, 2010
8:22 am
Who really cares… : what you think..?
Bo Diddley
April 23rd, 2010
8:36 am
Just the other day, GT fans and UGA fans (admirably) were united in anger over some questionable reporting about GT running back Dwyer. Today, you guys are back at each other’s throats. Gotta love football in the South!!
rico43
April 23rd, 2010
8:38 am
Excuse me, can someone direct me to the NFL draft message board? I got sick of this college p***ing contest during recruiting.
PMC
April 23rd, 2010
8:55 am
yeah it would be nice to add Brandon Lafell or Carlton Mitchell if we can in the 3rd. Or Dorin Dickerson at TE and then Matt Tennant someone like that.
I think there are going to be DT’s that we can take for qualtity depth probably through the 5th.
Falkor
April 23rd, 2010
8:56 am
Last time the Falcons had 2 LB’s this good playing next to each other was Cornelius Bennett and The Hammer in 1998, how did we do that year?
Dan
April 23rd, 2010
9:01 am
Why am I bothered by taking a defender from the Big XII (not named Suh)???
magr2f
April 23rd, 2010
9:25 am
As a Mizzou fan, you guys are going to love Spoon. He’s not only a very good linebacker, he’s a hard worker, great teammate, and a good person off the field. Spoon also had a knack for coming up with timely interceptions, sacks or tackles for loss. Hope Atlanta has a great season.
magr2f
April 23rd, 2010
9:26 am
Oh and please get his name right! It’s WEATHERSPOON, not Witherspoon.
Jeff Schultz
April 23rd, 2010
9:28 am
Thanks Reid.
Jeff Schultz
April 23rd, 2010
9:29 am
Harmon Wages — Bulaga’s interesting. I’m not going to claim to be an expert but I started looking at mocks and ratings four months ago and Bulaga was ALL over the board. There doesn’t seem to be a consensus on him, although I don’t know that there’s a specific knock on him.
Colorado bulldog
April 23rd, 2010
9:32 am
Falcons did good. Got who he wanted. I trust Thomas D as a evaluator of skill. In 2008 he smoked everyone with his draft getting 4 starters (maybe 5 if Biermann starts at LDE next fall). Last year was an incomplete with injuries to the the top 2 picks. I expected they walk away with some good picks in the remaining rounds.
vafalconfan
April 23rd, 2010
9:42 am
Let’s hope Weatherspoon plays as good as he talks..We left Sergio Kindle on the board. Not really understanding that one.
willdave
April 23rd, 2010
9:46 am
Hey, no need for second-guessing here. The Falcons got one of the players they had targeted for the first round and didn’t have to trade up to get him. Weatherspoon was a solid pick.
Welcome to Atlanta, Spoon.
PMC
April 23rd, 2010
10:02 am
I liked Bulaga too…. but we needed Spoon. Linebacker has been a serious issue since that disasterous year when they brought in Hurtwell. Brooking’s last few decent years got wasted inside. Now they are building around CuLO. Spoon at Will, CuLo at Mike and Peterson at Sam to start with. This is sound and scheme fit. He should help curtail the short in and out routes and hopefully wreak havoc and create some turnovers. It may well mean that they can do more with Decoud too who has proven he can time a blitz VERY well.
That 3rd round compensatory is looking great right now.
Welcome to Atlanta Spoon. Glad to have you sir. Get ready for 75,000 strong screaming SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!
Sid
April 23rd, 2010
10:06 am
I think we take two from NO this year………..! Can’t wait to see this defense healthy……!! Excellent pick, about what I expected, I look forward to seeing if we can get a position on the 2nd round and who we might get. It would be fun to know all the goings on of all the teams trying to get that 33rd pick………….including the Birds!
TheManMike
April 23rd, 2010
10:09 am
Sean Weatherspoon was a most excellent pick…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyafsfciih8
SOUTH GA DAWG FAN
April 23rd, 2010
10:19 am
anybody know how many picks Kiper got right last night , I noticed he looked kind of sick a couple of times
WISE
April 23rd, 2010
10:30 am
omg this is not a UGA blog so pleas shut up…and you wonder why every other schools fan find you so annoying but anyway i think it was a good pick
Walker, Texas Ranger
April 23rd, 2010
10:33 am
Everbody left Sergio on the board.
PAPOOH
April 23rd, 2010
10:50 am
ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS THE WHOLE LEAGUE BETTER WATCH OUT NEXT YEAR BECAUSE WE’RE COMING AND NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO STOP US!!!!!!!
3.Matt Tennant C/B.C Ryans’ old center from college
3.Daniel Te”O-Nesheim DE/WAS
4.Eric Decker WR/MINN
5.Tony Washington OT/Abilene Christian
5.Ed Dickson TE/ORE
6.Garrett Lindholm K/Tarleton ST
6.Earl Mitchell DT/ARZ
hopefully that’s how the rest of the draft pan out or something similar…. GOO FALCONS!!!
TheManMike
April 23rd, 2010
10:50 am
Haha, I watched the draft last night, and for some reason I did not catch that kiss by Pouncey. Found a replay of it on YouTube – You can definitely tell it was a cheek shot, just both aimed for the wrong cheek. It is funny though, I literally laughed out loud.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhHZoPyJo44
PAPOOH
April 23rd, 2010
10:52 am
Who dat, YEA WHO IS THAT, THAT THE FALCONS GONNA BEAT DOWN….EVERYBODY!!
Edgar
April 23rd, 2010
10:55 am
Dimitroff got the man he wanted. I’m sure some of the coaching staff fell in love with McClain but Dimitroff is a practical man. He knows from his longtime tenure as a scout, (Don’t let his age fool you. This guy has been around awhile.), who will be at his doorstep when his pick comes up. You could tell last night when the selection was made the war room was happier for him than they were about the pick. Tonight will give us a true picture of why Mr. Blank hired him as a GM. He wants a pick in the second round so he has to put on his Trader Thomas hat to get us there. I’m glad he’s OUR General Manager.
Falconaddict
April 23rd, 2010
10:57 am
Would anyone else like to see some 3-4 looks now? Man, Lofton and Peterson inside with Spoon and Abe on the edges would have to scare a QB. Lewis and Walker at the nose, Jerry and Babs as 3-4 ends with JA in the mix (and starting until Babs gets back), Sidbury and Biermann working in at OLB and Nicholas at ILB. Could be very interesting.
ATL Observer
April 23rd, 2010
11:03 am
Good, practical pick. Weatherspoon is a helluva athlete. Kindle is OK, but falling. Only wish there was a 2nd round pick, you could probably get him there! Other than that suggestion, critics of this pick don’t seem to have much of an idea of what would have made a better pick.
ugaalum2004
April 23rd, 2010
11:05 am
Me,
Be honest, did you really think Tebow would go that high in the draft? I mean even the draft experts didn’t think that. But it makes sense in a way. Denver hasn’t had a good QB since Elway. That team is built on defense and the running game. Kyle Orton is a manager at QB and is a temporary solution. At worst, McDaniel’s figures Tebow can learn to manage the game like Orton while being a running threat and selling jerseys. Plus he can just hand the ball off to Knowshon Moreno; he makes most QB’s look good
Draft, day 2: Falcons need linemen (and 'Spoon via YouTube) | Jeff Schultz
April 23rd, 2010
11:17 am
[...] Falcons have filled one significant hole on their defense with the drafting of Sean Weatherspoon. Today, they can fill another. They don’t have a second-round pick, so to get a real impact [...]