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| GA Dome / Jimmy Cribb (atlantafalcons.com) |
Before I start talking about the defense I need to get something of my chest: I am sick and tired of listening to clueless Atlanta fans calling the local sports talk radio programs and whining about their hearts being broken by the Falcons. They had such high hopes for this team, they saw them in the Super Bowl, this team was ready to break through, and so on and so on……COME ON MAN!!!!! For goodness sake people! Please put down the Pom Poms, take a step back, look at what’s in front of you and then if you still feel that way open your mouth and talk. The first time the Falcons played the Packers the Falcons played a very very good game (Matt Ryan was great – only had 4 or 5 incompletions and zero interceptions, Michael Turner played great – he had 110 rushing yards, the Defense was better than last Saturday), the Packers didn’t have a great game and with all that said Atlanta escaped with a victory courtesy of a last minute field goal. I am a football fan first and a Falcons’ fan second and I knew it would take a special effort by the Falcons coupled with some mistakes by Green Bay in order for Atlanta to move on to the NFC Championship. Now that I unloaded that burden, let’s take a look at the Defense and see where we need to improve so we won’t get bounced in the first round next year.
n The Falcons need to upgrade the D-line, especially the DE position. The Predator #55 is getting long in the tooth and when teams game plan for him the Falcons don’t seem to get much pressure on the QB with just a 4 man front. Atlanta better find an impact player at the DE position in the Draft or through free agency or next year it will be more of the same. I am sure JA #55 can play a couple more years and be productive if he has a limited snap count and he is always fresh. During that time, he can mentor the young DEs we have on the roster and teach them the tricks of the trade.
n As far as the line backers go we have to be a little patient and see what we have in Sean Weatherspoon next year and go forward from there. I understand this position needs to be upgraded as well (LB) but there are more pressing needs in the Secondary.
n Atlanta tried to improve the Secondary by bringing in Daunta Robinson from the Texans and yes he is an upgrade over Chris Houston but for the money he makes he should be an impact player on the defense. I don’t know if it’s all that time he missed in training camp or because it’s his first year in this system but he is not producing the way the fans and I am pretty sure the management expected. He only had one interception the whole season and that came in garbage time, the last game of the regular season with the Panthers. On the other side we have Brent Grimes, the best athlete on the team, who plays much bigger than his size. If he were at least 6 feet tall he would be one of the best cover corners in the league. Christopher Owens -- poor him; he was hugging the Green Bay receivers in the End Zone repeatedly, in one instance even when the safety was not more than 5 feet away from him. As Deion Sander says: “Know your coverage!” The Falcons need to bring in an impact corner and then some; it’s a pass happy league nowadays and you need to be able to match well with the 4 and 5 receiver looks. I know Thomas Dimitroff likes to build through the Draft but in this case he might want to take a closer look at Nnamdi Asomugha and see if he can bring him to Atlanta. The safety positions are by no means rock solid but like I said with the LBs, we need to have a little patience and hope William Moore will come into his own because he has shown some flashes from time to time.
I would love to hear your opinions on the matter and as we get closer to the Draft we will look at players that could fit the system and improve the team.
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