Torgo

Our former assistant GM Billy Devaney is currently having yet another rough season as GM of the Rams.  

That crossed my mind when I recently heard Mr. Blank attribute the recent Falcons success to three key hirings, starting with Rich McKay and followed by Thomas Dimitroff and Mike Smith.  

Hearing that from Mr. Blank and hearing the beginnings of anti-Devaney rumblings in the St. Louis media reminded me of the way that the media here (especially the sports radio stations) widely blamed McKay for anything and everything that had gone wrong in Atlanta in 2005-2007.  If it rained, it was McKay's fault. 

Some of it was way off base.  For example, Jeff Schultz over at the AJC pinned the team's horrid 2003 offseason and draft on McKay.  And yes, it was a terrible offseason.  The team traded away its first round draft pick for wide receiver Peerless Price, who they signed to a long term deal.  The other key free agent of that offseason was defensive back Cory Hall, who signed a five year contract.  And the key player of that draft class was safety Bryan Scott in the second round, followed by fullback Justin Griffith in round four, and players named Jon Olinger, LaTarence Dunbar, Waine Bacon and Demetrin Veal in the late rounds.

(Side note:  that Falcons draft had a classic Mel Kiper moment.  The one pick of the bunch that Darth Helmet Hair blasted was Griffith in the fourth.  He said the pick didn't make any sense to him, because with Dunn and Duckett, the team certainly didn't need another running back.  Kiper missed that Griffith was a fullback, and Atlanta's long time starting fullback Bob Christian had just announced his retirement after suffering major concussions the prior season.  The irony is that the one pick that Kiper openly criticized turned out to be the only one of the bunch that panned out for Atlanta.)

So yes, the personnel moves in 2003 were rather dubious.  But blaming McKay is utter nonsense.  For the record, Rich McKay was the general manager of the Buccaneers at the time.  He didn't come to Atlanta until 2004.  The guys at the AJC might as well blame Sean Payton for last year's collapse of the Panthers.

Need proof that McKay wasn't so bad as GM?  Never mind that he built a Superbowl winning roster in Tampa.  Instead, just look at the current roster of the Falcons - four full offseasons since he handed over the GM duties to Dimitroff.  

John Abraham was a McKay acquisition, as were Roddy White, Jonathan Babineaux, Brent Grimes, Tyson Clabo, Justin Blalock, Ovie Mughelli, Stephen Nicholas and Eric Weems.   A big knock on McKay back in 2007 was that none of "his" players made the Pro Bowl.   That was rather obvious after 2007 - no Falcons players made the Pro Bowl at all in the wake of The Bobby Petrino Experience.  But six of the nine Falcons that appeared in the most recent Pro Bowl were brought into the organization by McKay.



Some (but certainly not all) of the general fan base now realizes that Arthur Blank isn't just being kind to his top executive when he includes McKay among the hirings that brought about the team's improvement.  McKay had outstanding drafts in 2004 and 2005, and even brought aboard a good supply of prospects in that dismal 2007 season.

And perhaps one day even Jeff Schultz will come around and recognize McKay's positive impact on building this franchise.

One of the rare weeks where I'm in Atlanta for the weekend, and naturally it's our bye week...  Oh well.  That makes it a pretty good time to take a look at this coming offseason. 

The Falcons had it easy with free agency heading into the 2009 and 2010 seasons, as the team was loaded with young players locked under contract.  But the pendulum swung the other way this season and will be full tilt this coming offseason.

John Abraham will be a free agent.  So will Brent Grimes, since we only tendered him as a RFA this year.   Ditto for Eric Weems.  The team only resigned Jason Snelling for a one year deal.  He's a free agent again this year too.  Same story with linebacker Mike Peterson.

Tony Gonzalez is in the final year of his contract.  So are Todd McClure and Chris Redman, plus Joe Zelenka (long snappers are people too).  And so are the second and later rounders from the 2008 draft:  Curtis Lofton, Thomas DeCoud, Kroy Biermann, and Harry Douglas. 
And except for DE Ray Edwards, who inked a long term deal, all of our new Falcons are only signed for this season:  Kelvin Hayden, James Sanders, Brett Romberg, Reggie Kelly, Kirk Chambers, Mike Cox.

That's 19 unrestricted free agents on the current 53-man roster.  Yikes...



At quarterback, Matt Ryan is still here.  But John Parker Wilson is already a free agent -  all practice squad members are free agents who could be plucked at any time.  It's not a good sign for his future that the team chose to expose him rather than keep him on the roster.  And Redman will turn 35 before the start of training camp next year.  He may still have another year or two left in the tank, but I wouldn't depend on it.   So figure at least one new quarterback - and maybe two - in our future next year.

At running back, the Falcons are in reasonable shape for 2012 - mainly because serviceable running backs are so easy to come by, and because the backups are still so underused.  (Michael Turner has 138 carries going into the bye.  The other RB/FBs have a combined total of 24.)  Antone Smith has yet to carry the ball this year at all.  He's likely to be a fringe player once again next summer.

At tight end, Michael Palmer is an exclusive rights free agent.  That means the team can simply renew his contract, which makes him the only tight end they have locked in at all.  Gonzalez has said he feels like he can play a few more years.  He has also said before that he'd like to end his career with the Chiefs, so there's no telling whether he'd resign with Atlanta.  Practice squad players Marquez Branson (injured) and Tommy Gallarda are likely to be here for camp on futures contracts.  But we'll probably need more -  I wouldn't expect to see Kelly back for another season.

At wide receiver, I would guess that Douglas wouldn't be too difficult to resign.  Roddy White and Julio Jones are both here long term, and Kerry Meier is still under contract and likely to be more involved in his second year back from ACL surgery.  The interesting question is whether one of the prospects might challenge for a roster spot.  The front office reversed course last season.  Instead of going for big guys with good hands but who are slow as molasses, the team started looking at speedsters.  D.J. Davis and Kevin Cone are both lightning quick, and they're both getting a chance to learn the offense on the practice squad. 

(I'm thrilled to see the change - finally.  Too bad they couldn't have gone that route back in 2009, when we really could have used a speedster.  Our scouts had seen Johnny Knox at the Texas vs The Nation game - but after trading away Laurent Robinson, Dimitroff left Knox sitting on the draft board to take cornerback William Middleton instead.)

For all the fuss about how Atlanta's offensive line would supposedly be devastated by free agency this season, we turned out to be overloaded instead.  McClure is getting banged up pretty hard this year, and it's the final year of his contract.  Don't be surprised if Ol' Mud Duck hangs up the cleats.  But except for fill-ins Romberg and Chambers, everyone else is under contract at least through 2012.  (One caveat:  Sam Baker may be on one of those option or voidable years.)   And there's already extra depth in the pipeline, as both Andrew Jackson and Jose Valdez are still sitting on the practice squad.  

Specifically at center, Romberg would be likely to resign.  He came aboard this season as a street level free agent.  He's mainly working as a backup guard right now, but he's a natural center and was here previously as the #2 behind McClure.  He became expendable last year when the team drafted Joe Hawley.  Now he'd be a pretty obvious choice to bring back as Hawley's backup. 

At DE, we're in trouble.  Both Abraham and Biermann will be free agents.  Can we even afford to sign both?  We'd need at least one of them returning to supplement the remaining trio of Edwards, Lawrence Sidbury, and Cliff Matthews - and Sidbury will be a free agent after next season.   If we're going to stick with the current 4-3 scheme, the DE position will continue to need attention every year.

At DT, we're set.  Vance Walker will be a restricted free agent this offseason, and if he's still here, Carlton Powell would be a restricted free agent after 2012.  But the trio of Jonathan Babineaux, Corey Peters and Peria Jerry won't be free agents until 2014.

At linebacker, resigning Lofton will be a priority.  But otherwise, Peterson is the only free agent this year, and Spencer Adkins is the only one set to become a free agent next year. 

At cornerback, the question is whether we'd be able to hang on to Grimes at all.  He was hoping for a long term deal this year but only got a tender.  He's coming off a Pro Bowl appearance and continuing to make highlight reel plays.  If he hits the open market, somebody is bound to offer him the big bucks, as the Ravens did with Domonique Foxworth a few years back.   Hayden will also be a free agent this offseason, and Chris Owens will be entering the final year of his contract.   The team has already started preparing for 2012 by keeping undrafted rookie Darrin Walls on the roster, while Dominique Franks also continues to develop.

One potential scenario:  Grimes bolts for the big bucks, but the team resigns Hayden.  Even before the draft, that gives Atlanta a quintet of Dunta Robinson, Hayden, Owens, Franks and Walls.   Throw in few futures contract or two - perhaps bringing Kamaal McIlwain in for another run at training camp - and the group as a whole would at least be no worse off than in 2009 and 2010.

At safety, Decoud and Sanders are both free agents.  That leaves William Moore (who will be in the final year of his contract) and Shann Schillinger as the only safeties locked in.  The team opted to expose Rafael Bush to the practice squad instead of Walls, and he has already been plucked away.  Suaesi Tuimaunei is getting a chance to learn the system as the replacement for Bush on the practice squad.   He's an intriguing possibility as a long term project, but he won't be ready for real action in 2012.  At least one more safety will be a must. 

I guess everyone has heard by now that Ovie Mughelli is lost for the season after getting injured against the Lions.  The Falcons have signed free agent fullback Mike Cox to take his roster spot. 

Mike's younger brother Lucas (also a Georgia Tech fullback) was with the Falcons during training camp, as was Thor Merrow, former Buford HS player and son of former Falcon defensive standout Jeff Merrow.




(Side note:   I thought about Jeff and Thor this week when I saw the McDonald's commercials for the current run of the McRib.  The first time they rolled out the McRib nationally was 1982.  And they also had a local promotion going on at the time where you would get a glass featuring three Falcons players if you ordered a medium soft drink:

see the commercial here 

So around this time in 1982, I tried out the McRib and had a soda with it.  I'm pretty sure Jeff Merrow was one of the players on that glass, which was every bit as fragile as it looks in the commercial.  The Falcons glasses I had all got broken in the dishwasher by 1984 or 1985, making them the dishware equivalent of Jerious Norwood.

Instead of Lucas or Thor, we signed the older Cox sibling.  He didn't come with a McRib or a commemorative glass.) 




Mike was previously with the Kansas City Chiefs.   He has 32 games of total experience, including 15 starts.  He's primarily a lead blocker -  occasionally taking a pass out of the backfield and only rarely getting a carry.   He has the size that the Falcons are looking for, listing at 6-0, 252.  The team was after the old school pure lead blocker rather than the new hybrid TE/FB/H-back types, and that's exactly what we got.

Noteworthy:  in addition to Cox, the Falcons also worked out a bunch of other fullbacks.  The list includes former Falcons Verron Haynes and Dimitri Nance, plus former Saints and Rams fullback Mike Karney, former Dolphins back Lousaka Polite and former Ravens back Jason McKie.




Offensive lineman Mike Johnson would probably rather forget 2011.  The second year player from Alabama had hoped to win a starting job, or at the very least to get off the inactive list on a regular basis.  Instead, the lockout took away his minicamp and OTA reps.  A concussion in training camp cost him two weeks of practice and a couple of exhibition games, putting him squarely behind Garrett Reynolds in the competition to replace Harvey Dahl at left guard.

And then he finally got his first career game on the active roster last weekend against the Lions, as Sam Baker was banged up and inactive.  He even got to play on special teams.   Unfortunately, the only memorable thing about the event was that he got banged up -  and is now on IR.  Coach Smith has had limited press contact this week and hasn't specified the injury, but it's apparently an ankle or foot issue, and NOT another concussion.

When I first heard the news, I had expected to hear the team would promote one of the practice squad linemen (Jose Valdez or Andrew Jackson) to replace him.  Instead, the Falcons have signed free agent tackle Kirk Chambers.

The scoop on Chambers:  he's already 32 years old, so he's not part of the team's long term plans.  He's a stop-gap measure only.  He was with the Lions in training camp but didn't make the team.  He was on the Bengals roster last year but was one of their inactive backups.  But in 2009, he started nine games at RT for the Bills, so he does at least have some experience at tackle.

If it were up to me, I would have promoted Valdez instead.  If Baker is still unavailable after the bye week, I'd have as much or more faith in Valdez stepping in for Tyson Clabo or Will Svitek as I would in any newcomer.   Valdez has the size and has shown the skill, versatility, and tenacity during his time in Atlanta.  But most of all, he knows the system -  he could be ready to step in a lot quicker than someone new to the organization.

That would have also freed up a practice squad spot to bring in another prospect - perhaps bringing back Bear Woods or Kamaal McIlwain, or adding another TE prospect as a head start for next year's training camp.  (Reggie Kelly isn't a long term solution to ANYTHING.) 


But I don't have any inside sources for info anymore, so frankly I have no idea how close the coaching staff actually came to promoting either of the squad linemen.   Apparently Chambers had a good enough workout that the team decided he'd get the first crack at replacing Johnson.

Just east of the University Of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus, there is a small memorial to honor Dick Corrick, who passed away three years ago.  The sign was placed by a local bicycling club, whose members remember Corrick as an avid cycler and a good friend.
 
Oregon State alumni and college football historians remember him as the gritty team captain who spearheaded OSU during its heyday in the mid-1950s, playing both center and middle linebacker.  NFL scouts remember him as a legend - a veteran road scout who would always take new scouts under his wing and help them learn the ropes, and perhaps the best eye for talent that the NFL has ever seen.
 
NFL fans rarely learn the names of scouts and personnel folks outside of General Managers.  Corrick scouted players, evaluated prospects, set up draft boards, and advised coaches and GMs, but he never got his chance to be the one making those personnel decisions.  And that's a shame, because his evaluation skills might have created a dynasty.
 
 
 
He had been a college coach when Packers head coach and GM Dan Devine hired him as a west coast area scout in 1971.  When Bart Starr replaced Devine in 1975, he promoted Corrick to Director of Pro Personnel, and then made him Director of Player Personnel in 1978.  He headed the scouting department and set up the team's draft board.
 
In his first draft, the Packers landed five starters.  The marquee name was WR James Lofton, who went on to amass 14000 receiving yards in his career.  Joining Lofton were linebackers John Anderson and Mike Douglass, offensive lineman Leotis Harris, and defensive lineman Terry Jones.  Another pick (defensive back Estus Hood) had a seven year career as a key backup.  Their final pick (TE Eason Ramson) also had a long career, though not in Green Bay.
 
The following draft began well enough, with the Packers taking Georgia Tech star running back Eddie Lee Ivery. But it went downhill from there.  Starr found that his assistant coaches had different ideas than his team of scouts.  Midwest area scout Red Cochran had spent a lot of time tracking a quarterback and urged Starr to draft him.
 
Corrick agreed with Cochran and recommended that Starr take the QB in the second round.  Instead, the Packers took another running back, Steve Atkins.  Starr passed on the QB again in the third, selecting defensive tackle Charles Jordan.  Neither player panned out for Green Bay.
 
A few picks later, that quarterback ended up in the hands of the San Francisco 49ers.  His name:  Joe Montana.  
 
Also of interest for Falcons fans:  had Starr taken Montana in the second round, Corrick had targeted future Atlanta great William Andrews as a potential third rounder.  
 
"I really like him," Corrick said of Andrews after the young fullback had a chance to play halfback at the Senior Bowl.  "Everybody knew he could block, but he got to really show some things."  
 
He felt that Andrews could be a second feature runner as well as a lead blocker, giving Green Bay a tandem in Ivery and Andrews that would have rivaled the Steelers pair of Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier. 
 
 
 
It happened again two years later.  Green Bay held the #6 overall selection.  On the Packers draft board, Corrick had Ronnie Lott far above other players likely to be available.  He urged Starr to select Lott, but the Packers secondary coach wasn't impressed by a private workout.  Corrick persisted and convinced Starr to meet with Lott personally - with Corrick and Starr having dinner with Lott two nights before the draft.
 
In spite of a strong interview during that dinner meeting, Starr went with his coaching staff. With the sixth overall selection, Green Bay took quarterback Rich Campbell.   
 
Corrick was in near disbelief.  "I was dumbfounded," he said later. "Lott was as high as you could go in the draft room because the ceiling was there.  Rich Campbell was a couple levels below that."
 
His own scouting report on Campbell wasn't particularly strong either:  "He couldn't get his team in the end zone. His stats were impressive every week, but he wasn't scoring any touchdowns." 
 
 
 
The follow-up came in the third round.  Corrick was particularly big on offensive lineman Russ Grimm.  His pre draft comments on Grimm:  "He has got great hand use.  He has good balance.  He's stout...  I like his temperament.  I think we have a feel for him that is unbelievable.  But some people are pushing people at other positions."
 
In the third round, one of those other positions turned out to be punter, as the Packers selected Ray Stachowicz.  The Redskins took Grimm seven picks later.  Stachowicz only lasted two seasons in Green Bay.  Grimm played for 11 seasons and appeared in four Pro Bowls as one of the original Hogs.
 
 
 
 
A few years later, the Packers fired Starr and the team announced Corrick would have a greater role in personnel matters.  But when the Packers interviewed Forrest Gregg for the head coaching job, Gregg insisted on having full control over personnel.  Team president Robert Parins agreed, and once again Corrick and his scout team would build the draft board - but not make decisions.  
 
Green Bay paid the price with Gregg's very first draft pick, the #12 overall selection in 1984.  The team had given up its second round pick a few years earlier in a trade to acquire wide receiver John Jefferson from the Chargers, so they needed to make the first round pick count.  
 
The Packers had Lofton and Jefferson plus a good tight end in Paul Coffman.  But starting quarterback Lynn Dickey would turn 35 during the upcoming season, and the team had no quality backups and no suitable prospect to groom for the future.  
 
The player at the top of Corrick's draft board was quarterback Boomer Esiason.  He was Corrick's top choice not only at quarterback, but also the top overall prospect among the first round candidates.  Unfortunately, Gregg absolutely insisted the team would draft a defensive player - in spite of Corrick's objection that no defensive player on their board rated highly enough to be worth the pick.
 
The Packers selected defensive end Alphonso Carreker, and Gregg's answer at quarterback turned out to be Wisconsin's own Randy Wright in the sixth round. Esiason went to the Bengals in the second round, and the Packers were mired at 8-8 for two more seasons before dropping to 4-12.     
 
Parins then decided to hire former Falcons general manager and Kenosha native Tom Braatz as Executive VP of Football Operations, giving Braatz full control of all personnel matters.  Corrick remained on board as the head of the scouting department.  
 
Braatz set his sights on taking running back Brent Fullwood with the #4 overall selection.  Corrick objected, questioning Fullwood's reliability, but he had no say in the final decision - he was no longer even in charge of setting up the board.  Fullwood went on to have only one season with more than 500 yards rushing, and he was traded by the Packers after refusing to play in the second half of a game against the division rival Bears.
 
Corrick finally decided he'd had enough.  After that season, he resigned from the Packers organization in a sideways move to the Houston Oilers.  Health problems forced him to leave the Oilers, and he moved to a position of lesser responsibility as Western area scout with the Falcons.  He underwent a heart procedure, took on a vigorous exercise routine - including cycling - and returned to fitness well enough that he remained with the Falcons into the next decade.  
 
 
 
 
 
Corrick's hiring isn't well known among Falcons fans, but it should be heralded as the single best personnel move the team made during Ken Herock's tenure as GM.  He showed once again that a good scout can make a world of difference.  And in those days, Atlanta needed all the help it could get with draft and personnel decisions.
 
By 1998, the Falcons definitely had Corrick's fingerprints.  
 
The first player Atlanta selected in 1992 was one scouted by Corrick - offensive tackle Bob Whitfield.  Other key Falcons attributable to Corrick include center Robbie Tobeck, defensive tackle Travis Hall, offensive tackle Ephraim Salaam, linebacker Craig Sauer, defensive end John Burrough, and wide receiver Tim Dwight.  
 
Danny Mock, who headed Atlanta's scouting department through 1997, described the trade up to get Whitfield as a "no-brainer".  And Corrick certainly wasn't alone in that evaluation - Herock and the coaching staff had all seen plenty of game film and watched Whitfield first hand in workouts before trading up to get him in the first round.  But many other selections were not so well known, and Herock often relied solely on the reports of his scouts when making those decisions.
 
A key factor was that in those days, the coaching staff typically didn't hang around for the later rounds.  The scouts had more influence later in the draft because they were the only ones left in the room to advise the GM.  "We had a lot of success in the sixth and seventh round in Dick's area, and the coaches weren't involved in the late rounds", said Mock.  "He knew his area.  He's just a very good, detailed scout."
 
In the 1995 draft, Brigham Young defensive lineman Travis Hall had what Corrick considered the ideal skill set and temperament for a defensive tackle - but was badly undersized.  He slid in the draft because other teams felt he wasn't really a defensive end and questioned whether he could add enough bulk to make it as a tackle.  Corrick convinced Herock that although it would take Hall a few years to add the weight and get stronger, he was a hard-nosed player worth the late round pick.  Herock took him in the sixth.  By 1998, Hall had added 35 pounds, managed to keep his quickness and power, and played as an every-down starter at defensive end.
 
Likewise, Burrough was a seventh rounder out of Wyoming in 1995, while Sauer was a sixth rounder from Minnesota in 1996.  By 1998, Burrough had become the third defensive end in rotation and Sauer had become a key backup and occasional starter at linebacker.  
 
Even if it was only because Herock had no coaches in the room to listen to instead of Corrick, he still listened.
 
Robbie Tobeck was an undersized center who had only started one year at Washington State.  He wasn't widely regarded as a draft prospect in 1994, but he caught Corrick's eye.  Herock went along with Corrick's recommendation to sign him as an undrafted free agent, and Corrick himself had reached an agreement with Tobeck's agent even before the draft.  As soon as the draft ended, the Falcons signed the 265-pounder.  In his second season, he became Atlanta's starting center.  Three years later, he had beefed up to 295 and was a mainstay of the Falcons offensive line.
 
Of course, no scout hits it with every prospect all the time.  Jerry Rice and Mike Singletary were among the players that Corrick had reservations about while scouting for the Packers.  His biggest error with the Falcons was pushing for a player from his alma mater - Oregon State offensive lineman Alai Kalainuvalu.  The Falcons took him with a late third rounder in 1994.  He didn't make it out of training camp.
 
But Corrick more than made up for it in that very same draft.  He made a strong recommendation for one fullback prospect that he really liked.  On his recommendation, the team graded him as a potential late second or third rounder as the #2 fullback on the board.  
 
Here's the rest of the story as told by Herock himself:  "After the third or fourth round Dick kept saying, 'Hey, that guy's still sitting there.  We should draft him.'  I just kept saying, 'We need some other positions.'"  
 
(Those "other positions" were quarterback Perry Klein from C.W. Post and linebacker Mitch Davis from Georgia in the fourth round, plus Florida wide receiver Harrison Houston in the fifth.  The team had given up its sixth rounder to the Raiders in the ill-fated trade for Eric Dickerson.  Davis and Houston never played a down for Atlanta.  Klein attempted just one pass in the NFL, which was incomplete.  He was also sacked twice.) 
 
"Finally, we get down to the seventh round and it's like a glaring, glaring mistake," said Herock.  Everyone else up there was gone and we had to take him."
 
Long time Falcons fans have probably guessed the name of that fullback.  It was Jamal Anderson, the original Dirty Bird.   
 
Corrick had talked with sports writer Bob McGinn about Anderson a month before the draft, calling him the best fullback he had seen:  "He was 249. He was a legit 4.7 kind of guy.  He doesn't block like you want a fullback to block because this guy has the tailback mentality.  He's been a single back... He has run skills.  He's got great hands."
 
By the 1998 run to the NFC Championship, the Falcons were on their third head coach and second personnel head since Corrick's arrival.  But Corrick had as much of a hand in building that team as anyone, though hardly anyone outside of the team's Suwanee headquarters knew how great a role he had played.  "Nobody ever talks about this stuff, but I get pretty damn emotional about it at times", Corrick said in an interview during that postseason.  "It's just a nice feeling knowing you have made a contribution."
 
And that's the difference that one good scout can make.
 
 
He retired from the NFL in 2001. He always held loyalties to the Packers and continued to live near Green Bay in the Little Sumiaco area.  He continued riding his bicycle for exercise and joined a local cycling club, riding with them as a group on a weekly basis.  
 
If you happen to pass through the area, look for the memorial sign along Luxemburg Road .  Saturday marked three years since his passing, shortly after his 74th birthday.
 
 

The regular season has just ended, with the Falcons finishing 13-3 to achieve the NFC's top seed for the postseason.  We're heading into a bye week, so I decided to sneak something onto the old blog (which I didn't really maintain this season, putting everything directly on the message board instead).  

Is there anybody out there?


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


A few weeks ago (with several weeks remaining in the regular season), the AJC's Mark Bradley did a piece on his blog musing how this year's Falcons team might rank among the best ever.  Naturally, the article touched on the 1998 NFC Championship team and the 1980 team, and obviously the 2010 team could surpass them with a successful postseason.  Overall, it was a fairly lame article that lacked any detail whatsoever.  But as you might expect, such an entry touched off a long chain of comments.

I threw in my two cents.  Even without the postseason and with a few games remaining in the regular season, I feel this year's team has already earned the #3 spot on the all-time list behind those two years. 

Here's my (pending) top ten list of best years in franchise history:


# 1 = 1980.  They choked in the final five minutes and broke our hearts.  Whenever you hear a commentator saying the prevent defense only prevents a win, this team's playoff collapse is Exhibit A.   But they had a whole lot of talent, plus depth as good as any future Falcons team in spite of NFL rosters having only 45 players in those days.  I think that most of us who watched both teams would give the 1980 bunch the edge over the Superbowl-bound 1998 crew.  But it's admittedly very, very close.

# 2 = 1998.  Second best regular season record in the league that year.  It's really tough to put them # 2 instead of # 1, as they won Atlanta's only conference title. 

# 3 = 2010.  Of course, this team gets the "pending" caveat as a work still in progress.  Their postseason performance could put this year's group over the top.

# 4 = 2004.  Surprised?  Take another look at this bunch, as they certainly deserve the kudos.  They won the division title and were the # 2 seed in the conference.  And they lived up to it in the postseason, making it to the NFC Championship game. 

New coach Jim Mora and new GM Rich McKay completely rebuilt the secondary and overhauled the o-line on a shoestring budget. The result was a much improved pass defense and a lethal "D-V-D" rushing attack of Warrick Dunn, Michael Vick, and T.J. Duckett.

2004 also deserves a little extra attention for its draft.  While many (for example, the AJC's Jeff Schultz - who thought McKay was responsible for the 2003 draft and refused to include Jason Snelling as part of the 2007 draft class even after the omission was pointed out to him) will disagree, I'll contend that the 2004 draft was *THE*  key first step in the foundation of the current Falcons roster. 

It wasn't just Michael Jenkins.  DeAngelo Hall and Matt Schaub were traded for the draft picks that ultimately brought us Justin Blalock, Sam Baker, Garrett Reynolds, Vance Walker, and Harry Douglas. In other words, 2004 wasn't just a good team.  It was one whose legacy remains strong even six years down the road.

# 5 = 2008.  11-5 and a missed Saints field goal (in their season finale against the Panthers) from taking the division title and the NFC's # 2 seed.  This team obviously also had a serious impact going forward, so it deserves a top five berth.  But it still had holes (particularly at DT) and made a quick exit from the postseason against an arguably lesser Arizona team, so # 5 is as high as this season gets.

# 6 = 1973.   This forgotten team had the franchise on the verge of joining the league's elite.  They were the NFC's # 5 seed, falling one win short of making the postseason.  Alas, a disastrous trade and perhaps the worst draft of all time the following spring set the franchise back several years.  (The silver lining of that 1974 collapse:  Atlanta was able to draft Steve Bartkowski in the next draft.)

# 7 = 1991.  Jerry Glanville's bunch was fun, took the Falcons to the playoffs for the first time in over a decade with a 10-6 regular season record, and topped it off by beating the Saints in an outstanding wild card game. 

Alas, they were in the midst of the Ken Herock draft years, so sustaining any momentum was well nigh impossible.  Even if they hadn't traded that QB they drafted in the second round that year, they were probably doomed thanks to other picks that became spectacular flops - like Bruce Pickens, taken with the #3 overall pick that same year.

# 8 = 1978.  The original Gritz Blitz defense was MUCH more fun to watch in the late '70s than the Falcons offense, and this group gave Atlanta its first ever postseason appearance plus a playoff win against Philadelphia in the wild card game. 

They'd be higher up the list, but they had an utterly inept running game - featuring that almighty duo of Haskel Stanback and Bubba Bean.  (How's that for a frightening flashback!)  Eddie LeBaron quickly addressed this deficiency. The Falcons drafted all three of William Andrews, Lynn Cain and James Mayberry the following spring, setting the stage for 1980.

# 9 = 2002.  The youngsters might feel this bunch should be higher, thanks to the playoff win over the Packers in Green Bay.  But otherwise, this 9-6-1 team really wasn't all that special.  They didn't win the division, and they squeaked into the playoffs as the # 6 seed.  They ranked 14th in total offense and 19th in total defense. 

# 10 = 1995.  June Jones has his moment in the sun as an NFL coach.  The high-octane Red Gun offense had a 1000-yard rusher (Ironhead Heyward) and THREE different 1000-yard receivers (Eric Metcalf, Terrance Mathis and Bert Emanuel).  But they barely squeaked into the playoffs with a 9-7 record, edging out the Chicago Bears for the third and final wild card spot - where the Packers promptly stomped them by a 37-20 score.

It was, of course, too good to be true.  Ken Herock delivered a typical subpar Falcons draft that year and gave up the team's first two picks of 1996 in trades - the first rounder as the last component of the Jeff George trade, and the second rounder to acquire safety Patrick Bates. 

The team went 3-13 in 1996, and Jeff George and June Jones had their famous spat on national television.  George was waived, Jones was fired, Herock was ousted, and Bates was arrested - all before the 1997 draft. 



Honorable mention =  2009.  It's our only other winning season in franchise history.  Sad but true.

We should start getting news on roster cuts soon.   Last thoughts...


Dunta Robinson had expected to play last night.  The word from Dimitroff was that he was ready to go.  It wasn't health reasons that kept him out -  it was simply that Mike Smith decided to rest him along with John Abraham and Curtis Lofton rather than risk anything happening to the $50 million free agent CB.

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Matt Bryant didn't shank any of his shorter kicks against the Jaguars the way he did that extra point against the Dolphins.  But he still hasn't shown he's reliable from longer distances -  and his troubles from 40+ were why the Buccaneers decided to go another direction in the first place.

I don't think the Falcons are actually LOOKING to replace him right away, but in light of Jason Elam's woes last year, they're likely to stay on top of things a little better in 2010 than they did in 2009.  The most interesting situation is that Kris Brown is now on the open market.

Also, expect to see some of the top rookie prospects become available this weekend.  Atlanta went with Garrett Lindholm, who made the ESPN highlights because of that last second 60+ yarder in the playoffs.  But Lindholm really wasn't among the top 3 or 4 prospects.  The coaches would rather not be forced to go with a rookie, but if it came down to that, at least there are some better ones likely to be available.

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Interesting twist...  Corey Peters wasn't able to play last night.

Since Jonathan Babineaux is out just one game, the Falcons will have to decide whether to keep a fourth DT on the roster for the season opener.  Babs doesn't count towards the roster for that week.  The key question (and no one who actually knows is talking) will be the health status of Peters.

The Falcons typically keep three DTs active, with the fourth as one of the eight inactive players.  So if they keep all four other DTs for the opener, odds are that one of them would have to go when Babs returns for week two.  Best guess is that Trey Lewis has beaten out Vance Walker for the true #4 spot (and possibly even Peters for the #3 spot as well). 

So if Peters is healthy enough to play, the team might keep just Peria Jerry, Lewis and Peters for the opener, with Jamaal Anderson sliding in to DT in the 4-2-5 nickel package or on other passing situations.  That would allow the team to keep an extra WR for the first week, when the status of Michael Jenkins is still uncertain.

The likely odd man out is Walker.  He'd be on the inactive list for the opener anyway, so there wouldn't be that much point in keeping him on the roster just to bump him out a week later.  If Peters is healthy, Walker probably starts the year on the practice squad.

But if it looks like Peters might not be ready to go (and we won't know until well after the rosters are in), they'd need Walker to fill out the rotation.  Peters would start the season as the #4 on the inactive list while he recovers.  Any extra roster spots would have to be squeezed from other units.

I have no info whatsoever on Peters.  Pure guess = he's still questionable, and Walker sticks for the opener.

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Michael Palmer was a go-to guy for Chris Redman last night, and JPW threw a couple to him as well.  He's definitely going to stick, be it on the practice squad or on the main roster.

The sticky part of putting him ahead of Keith Zinger on the roster is that the #3 TE has major blocking and special teams duties.  Those are areas where Zinger stands out. 

The part that didn't make a whole lot of sense was that the commentators referred to Palmer as a kid who needed to add some bulk to make it long term.  Huh???  Okay, he's a youngster.  But he's already bigger than either Zinger or Peelle.  I'll take that remark as random lunacy by our preseason announcers (WXIA's Randy Waters and NFL-N's Brian Baldinger).   If he really does add some upper body strength, look out.  The kid will be a beast.

I'm still not comfortable with the idea of knocking what Dimitroff called the consummate blocker off the roster, but I'll go ahead and fill in Palmer as the #3 TE on my mock roster.  He managed to get open and was targeted throughout the preseason.  Zinger did get on the field, but you'd never know it unless you were specifically looking for him.

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Spencer Adkins got banged up a bit last night.  Unless it's a season-ending thing, I'm not expecting any official word on him until Wednesday.  But I think he has made the roster.  If he's not seriously hurt (it might have just been a cramp) it won't matter that he got banged up - as the #6 LB, he'd be on the inactive list for the first week anyway.

Bear Woods played well this preseason.  I doubt he made the roster, but I'm comfortable filling his name in for a practice squad spot.

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I don't think any of the RB/FB trio nailed down the #5 job.  I haven't seen enough from Dimitri Nance to make me entirely comfortable with him, but I do like his versatility:  he was successful in several short yardage situations, including two touchdown runs, and he did well catching passes out of the backfield.   But he had too many unsuccessful rushing attempts.  He didn't win the job outright.

Antone Smith was the team's leading rusher in preseason, but he messed up several reception opportunities, had a critical fumble last night, and also muffed a kickoff return opportunity.  Saving grace:  he did well picking up a blitz late in the game.  The Falcons are looking for their backup RBs to be capable of pass protection.

Dan Klecko had looked fairly solid throughout the preseason - until halftime last night.  He didn't play all that well in the second half, plus he's a pure fullback (at least on offense - he's also a defensive lineman).  He can block (and tackle), but he can't catch very well and won't get any opportunities to carry the ball.  That makes him as useful as Verron Haynes, though better on special teams - which wouldn't matter as he'd be a fixture on the inactive list until someone got hurt.

And of course the biggest question is whether the team will even keep a fifth runner to start the year.  If they go with just four (preferring to keep an extra wideout while Jenks is banged up or go with an extra offensive lineman or DB for the long haul), I think I'd pick Nance for the practice squad. 

If they go with five, it's a toss-up between Smith and Nance for the roster.  The other would be a strong candidate for the practice squad.

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The next rough decision will be in the secondary.  If Brian Williams is healthy enough for the main roster - and based on last night's game, it looks like he is - the team is carrying six CBs and ten total DBs.  And that's not even counting prospects Dominique Daniels, Rafael Bush and Eric Brock.

Now that safety Matt Giordano is gone, the guy whose chair is getting the hottest should be cornerback Chevis Jackson.  CJack was a disappointment in his second season last year, and he really struggled in coverage throughout the preseason. 

(My take... he's playing way too soft, giving receivers far too much cushion.  He doesn't have the recovery speed for that.  His only chance is to play physical and jam his man at the line.  If he's going to start out five yards off his receiver, he's basically just Chris Houston without the stupid attitude.)

But CJack might still have a chance, as he is a strong contributor on special teams (including a gunner-blocker on the punt return unit).  He might stick with an at-large roster spot specifically for his special teams role.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Smitty won't comment on Michael Jenkins until the first official injury report on Wednesday.   The unofficial word is that the coaching staff is hoping (but not certain) that he'll be available against the Steelers, or at the very least against the Cardinals in the second game.

At wide receiver, the main guy who opened some eyes last night was Ryan Wolfe, who had two 20+ yard receptions plus a third shorter reception.  (Unfortunately, WXIA's coverage had sideline interviews during two of his three receptions, so he didn't get the attention he deserved from the announcing crew.)

Meanwhile, Brandyn Harvey had received most of the attention among the trio of undrafted receiving prospects.  Harvey had a game he'd rather forget.   Harvey was targeted five times but came away with one reception for only three yards.  He had another catch but pushed off unnecessarily, getting called for an offensive pass interference penalty that killed a drive.  He was also flagged for a holding call downfield that wiped out a long touchdown run by Jerious Norwood.  (Atlanta had to settle for a field goal on that drive - and ended up losing by four points.)

I'm not picking any of the trio to make the roster, and I'm not sure they'll beat out Andy Strickland or other prospects from around the league for a practice squad job either (remember - we don't HAVE to sign our own guys to those spots).  But I'm leaning towards putting Wolfe's name ahead of Harvey's on the list of prospects.  It might not seem right to think the coaching staff will make a decision based on just one game, but that was the ONLY game where Wolfe got real playing time, and he really made the most of it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brett Romberg stepped up and played better on the o-line last night than in the previous exhibitions.  Key question... is that enough for him to stick around?   He can play guard or center, but was signed mainly to be our backup center last year (ultimately beating out Alex Stepanovich and Ben Wilkerson after Jeremy Newberry decided to retire).

But the Falcons braintrust decided to look elsewhere for its center of the future, drafting Joe Hawley in the fourth round.  Will the team keep them both?  Will Svitek appears to have won the swing tackle position, as he's now the only backup with experience at LT.  Garrett Reynolds and Mike Johnson both play tackle and guard - and both appear to be ahead of both Hawley and Romberg at guard.

So Romberg's best shot would be if the team decides to keep ten offensive linemen - and if they decide to make the tenth man an extra C/G rather than an extra T/G.  If they wanted another T/G, the extra guy would be Jose Valdez, who got his first chance to play LT last night (having previously played RT and RG) and performed quite well.

That one would be a virtual toss-up.  Boudreau likes the idea of keeping ten guys and also likes the idea of being three-deep across the board.  Keeping Romberg as the #10 would achieve that.  But Valdez is a far better long term prospect than Romberg, who has little upside and who is a free agent after this season anyway.

My guess:  they start the season with nine.  Romberg is out, and Valdez starts the year on the practice squad.  Svitek, Reynolds, Johnson and Hawley are the backups.  Valdez gets called up before the end of the season though, regardless of whether or not someone gets hurt. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The team's official web site is really driving me nuts.  The new format is bad enough, but it's just plain PATHETIC when a team's very own web site can't get the basic facts right.  Even now, their "official" roster still includes offensive lineman Mark Ortmann (who was briefly signed for depth for the Miami game and was immediately released afterwards) and leaves out CB Dominique Daniels (who got extensive playing time in the second half last night).

Several players have no ages listed, Justin Peelle still has no position, and the rookies are listed as "1" under experience the same as the second year guys.  In other words, Sean Weatherspoon, Corey Peters, etc have the same amount of experience as Chris Owens, John Parker Wilson, Lawrence Sidbury, etc.

JMike, we miss you buddy.  The web site has completely sucked ever since you left.

Most fans attend practices and watch preseason games to see the first units and the top draft picks.  But the real stories of camp are deeper down the roster.  There are 80 players in every training camp vying for only 53 roster spots. 

For the last three seasons, I've presented a top ten list of key players involved in these competitions.  Some are established players in jeopardy of losing their jobs if they don't come through.  Others are prospects on the rise or lesser known players that have an opportunity to step up and make more significant contributions.

This morning's special teams practice session marked the official end of training camp for the Falcons.  Here's an update on how this year's list of players to watch has fared:



1.  Trey Lewis

Reason he made the list:  the Falcons have six DTs (not even counting Jamaal Anderson) and probably just four roster spots for the big men to fill.  Of the three fringe players competing for the last spot, Lewis is the top story. 

End of camp update:  he's looking much better than he did in 2009, with Smitty noting that his play was one of the few bright spots in Thursday's otherwise dismal showing against the Patriots. 

He's still in jeopardy, but his current level of play, versatility (can play either DT spot - acted as a sub at UT for Rod Coleman in 2007) and size (listed as our largest defensive player at 316 pounds) will make it tough for Smitty to send the Turk his way.



2.  Steven Hauschka

Reason he made the list:  of the three kickers (including Michael Koenen) Atlanta had in camp, Hauschka was the primary unknown factor.  The team already knows what Matt Bryant and Koenen can/can't do, making Hauschka the wild card in the contest and the most important one to watch.

End of camp update:  the media reports say that Matt Bryant won the kicking battle.  A more accurate description would be that Hauschka lost it.  He was the younger candidate with the theoretically stronger leg.  But his longer field goal attempt against the Chiefs came up short, and his kickoffs lacked depth and weren't particularly strong for hang time.

Never mind that he couldn't outdo the struggling Bryant on field goals.  When it became clear he wasn't going to beat out Koenen for kickoffs, that sealed his fate.  The Falcons would still make a move to bring in another kicker if Bryant gets the yips like Jason Elam last year. But at least for now, Hauschka isn't it.



3.  Kerry Meier

Reason he made the list:  the top three WRs were essentially set in stone (Roddy White and Michael Jenkins as the starters, with Harry Douglas in the slot as the #3) even before camp, but the Falcons need to improve their depth at the position.  The fifth rounder from Kansas was the top candidate for the fourth WR spot.

End of camp update:  he had an outstanding camp, but he hurt his knee on a special teams play late in the Patriots game.  Like Douglas last year, he's out for the season.



4.  Lawrence Sidbury

Reason he made the list:  the Falcons didn't draft a DE or sign one in free agency.  They're putting all their chips on Kroy Biermann as a second threat along with John Abraham and Sidbury to step up as a third potent pass rushing end.

End of camp update:  so far, so good.  What El Sid needs most is experience, as he only played a bit over 100 total snaps last season.  He'll have far more snaps than that in preseason (he's on the field more than any other d-lineman), and so far he's doing pretty well.



5.  Keith Zinger

Reason he made the list:  he was the team's most improved offensive player in camp last summer, and if he stepped up again this year, he'd nail down a backup spot (forcing the prospects to start on the practice squad) and potentially even challenge for the #2 spot.

End of camp update:  so far, he has been nearly invisible.  He's watching Michael Palmer stand out this year exactly the way Zinger stood out last season, when he moved from #5 on the depth chart to win the #3 spot - beating out one of Dimitroff's top free agent signings (Ben Hartsock, signed to replace Alge Crumpler) in the process.

The battle isn't over yet, but Zinger has opened the door for Palmer to take the third TE job.



6.  William Moore

Reason he made the list:  it's the second season for the second rounder, and the public had yet to see him in action in camp or preseason.  He even missed minicamp after overworking his shoulder in the weight room.

End of camp update:  I expressed doubts earlier about all the media speculation that he'd challenge Erik Coleman for the starting job. His 2009 season was a lost cause, and he just didn't have the reps to trust him on the last line of defense. 

And he still doesn't -  we've finally been able to watch him in a few practices, but he missed minicamp (overworked his shoulder in the weight room) and has missed time during camp plus both preseason games so far this year.  He still hasn't faced NFL competition - in real games, exhibition games or even combined practices. 

The coming exhibition against the Dolphins will be his first time on the field for the Falcons.  He's still a talented prospect, but he's still a long way from being ready for action in the secondary when it counts.



7.  Quinn Ojinnaka

Reason he made the list:  the Falcons have a whole lot of talented linemen competing for what appears to be one opening on the roster.  Ojinnaka is the most intriguing story among them.

End of camp update:  he's getting time at multiple positions along the line, including left tackle.  The Falcons are definitely testing out his versatility.  The Mighty Quinn is very much in the hunt for that ninth backup line spot.



8.  Dimitri Nance

Reason he made the list:  all three candidates for the #5 RB/FB spot are interesting "stories", but Nance is the most intriguing as a potential Jason Snelling type hybrid RB/FB.

End of camp update:  not bad so far.  He has shown good ability in the power running game plus receiving ability out of the backfield.  If he can demonstrate some blocking skills, he's likely to be the guy.  One catch:  due to the Michael Jenkins injury and situations at other positions, the team may start out the season with just four runners.  Even if he wins the job, he could be starting the season on the practice squad.



9.  Eric Weems

Reason he made the list:  drafting Meier and Dominique Franks put Weems in jeopardy of losing both of his roles on the team.  He entered camp knowing he didn't have a secure roster spot and would have to step up to win a place on the team.

End of camp update:  the injury to Meier means that unless the team brings in new blood, Weems and Brian Finneran simply have to hold off Troy Bergeron, Andy Strickland, and the three undrafted rookies to win the #4 and #5 spots.  He's also the top KR/PR from camp.  His chances of holding his spot are much better now than they were a month ago.



10.  Brian Williams

Reason he made the list:  if he can make a successful return from injury, he spices up the competition for the DB positions considerably. 

End of camp update:  he hasn't appeared in preseason yet, but we did get to see him practice, with his first full participation coming in the joint sessions with New England on the final open day of camp.  He's slated to appear in these next two exhibitions.  I'm still particularly interested to see whether the coaching staff gives him playing time at safety. 

Key question: whether he'll be healthy enough after the Jaguars exhibition to keep on the roster.  The team had similar hopes for Von Hutchins last season, but Hutchins ended up being an injury settlement case when he wasn't ready to go at the end of preseason.  Williams is only now getting his first full contact this week.

For entire first half:

Stephen Nicholas, Curtis Lofton, Sean Weatherspoon at LB
Brent Grimes, Chris Owens at CB
Chevis Jackson as nickel CB
Erik Coleman, Thomas DeCoud at S

The Falcons played basic 4-3 (or 4-2-5 in nickel package) for the entire game.

Note... this time around, I kept the player numbers consistent to track the substitutions rather than keeping track of left side vs right side.  So the linemen aren't necessarily listed in order from left to right.

First defensive series

98 95 97 55
71 95 91 55
71 95 91 55

Second defensive series

98 95 97 55
98 95 97 55
71 95 91 55

(Babs and Abraham are done for the night)

Third defensive series

71 99 97 92 for eight plays
90 99 98 71 (3rd down, 6 man blitz, sack)

Fourth defensive series

71 91 98 90 for all six plays

Fifth defensive series

96 97 99 92
96 91 93 92
96 91 93 92
96 91 99 92
96 91 99 92
96 91 99 92
96 91 99 92
96 91 98 90
96 91 98 90
71 91 98 90 for six plays

(halftime)


Dominique Franks, Chevis Jackson at CB
Shann Schillinger, Rafael Bush at S
Spencer Adkins, Bear Woods, Robert James at LB
Chris Owens as the nickel CB
Stephen Nicholas played some LB in nickel package


Sixth defensive series

71 91 99 92
71 91 99 90
71 91 99 90
71 91 99 90

(note: Daylan Walker replaced Jackson for one play at CB)


Seventh defensive series

96 91 97 90 all four plays

Eighth defensive series

64 97 99 92
64 97 99 92
90 97 99 92

Ninth defensive series

90 93 99 96
90 93 99 96
90 93 97 96
90 99 97 96

Tenth defensive series

Weston Johnson in at LB with Woods, Adkins

90 97 93 64
90 97 93 64
90 97 99 64
90 97 93 64
90 97 93 64
90 97 93 64 Rajon Henley dinged
90 97 93 96
90 97 99 96
90 97 99 96
90 97 99 96
90 93 99 96
90 93 99 96
90 93 99 96
90 97 99 96
90 97 99 96





Jamaal Anderson played 18 snaps; 3 at DE and 15 at DT, all in the first half

Kroy Biermann played 28 snaps; 24 in first half
Lawrence Sidbury played 42 (!) snaps; 15 in first half
Chauncey Davis played 19 snaps; 15 in first half
Emmanuel Stephens played 26 snaps; 9 in first half
Rajon Henley played 8 snaps; 0 in first half

Corey Peters played 31 snaps; 23 in first half
Trey Lewis played 33 snaps; 12 in first half
Vance Walker played 33 snaps; 14 in first half
Thomas Johnson played 14 snaps; 2 in first half

note:  TJ wasn't 100% coming into the game; coaching staff intended to use him sparingly and in short rotations