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As much as I love the free agency and Draft periods of the NFL offseason, the huge downside is all the different information that we’re bombarded with from players, agents and organizations. Especially with today’s age of social media and the 24-hour news cycle, it can be enough to drive you batty. The Falcons currently have 17 players that are slated to become free agents March 13 and work is being done to figure out who stays and who goes. With Abraham being one of the bigger names among those 17, it’s only natural that he be subject to rumors and conjecture. The Falcons have been in close contact with Abraham’s agent and they’d like to bring back as many key contributors as possible.
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There’s no doubt that Jacquizz Rodgers had a great rookie season, all things considered. Steadily throughout the season, you could just see Rodgers’ progress increasing, and that’s what you like to see out of first-year players. He seems to have adjusted to the game speed very well and the versatility he offers is truly amazing. If you missed him on special teams, you missed one of his many, many talents. Anyway, Rodgers will continue to develop, but there doesn’t seem to be any sign that he’d be an every-down back like Michael Turner. At least, not yet. Rodgers was drafted to be the change-of-pace back the Falcons needed, and in new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter’s system, we could see a rise in the number of snaps he gets, particularly when it comes to the screen game Koetter will institute. But for right now, Rodgers seems to be fitting into the mold of a Darren Sproles, who comes in for situations where speed and quickness are needed. Honestly, it’s an exciting one-two punch to think about with Turner’s bruising style of running and perhaps an increase in the number of touches Rodgers gets in 2012.
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I think that’s a topic that’s on a lot of fans’ minds when it comes to the offensive front. Now, fourth downs are always going to look better or worse in hindsight. If you convert, you’re a genius. If you fail, everything from the decision to go for it to the play call will be scrutinized over and over. The fact of the matter is, the Falcons — on several occasions in 2011 — were not able to convert a first down in fourth-and-short situations, and certainly, that’s an issue that the coaching staff will work on figuring out before the team hits the field for training camp. From looking at the plays in question, I’m not so sure it’s a strength and conditioning problem. Coach Jeff Fish and his staff do an incredible job in making sure that all the Falcons are in top shape and able to perform their best on gameday. Coach Smith said in his postseason press conference that the problems with the fourth-and-short plays came down to execution, and that ends up being the reason for the failure and not strength and conditioning. Smith and offensive line coach Pat Hill are focused on making sure that execution won’t be an issue in 2013.
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I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s disrespectful, and I’m positive Tony Gonzalez wouldn’t view it as a sign of disrespect if the Falcons did, indeed, draft a tight end in April. The NFL is a business, and general manager Thomas Dimitroff’s job is to solidify the future of the team by identifying where holes may be during any particular offseason and acting accordingly. Gonzalez said recently that this season will be his last. I’ll just say that he’s said that just about every year recently. If this time is, indeed, for good, then it would serve the Falcons well to identify his heir apparent and bring him in this offseason to have a chance to learn under the future Hall-of-Famer. Who better to learn under than the best, right? Any rookie would be able to soak up so much information from Gonzalez in just a year’s time that, in my estimation, it might advance his progress quicker than if he didn’t have that tutelage. If you look around, the teams that have sustainability in a league full of parity are the ones who draft with the anticipation of a need and not the urgency of a need. That’s similar to why we drafted Joe Hawley, Mike Johnson and Garrett Reynolds. Their positions weren’t a need when they were selected, but they are now. And now that they have a few years under their belts, it’s a huge plus because they have experience that a rookie wouldn’t have, which is essentially what you’d end up with if you drafted with urgency instead of anticipation.
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That work began nearly immediately after the playoff loss to the Giants and has been ongoing ever since, and will continue to move forward until the team takes the field for the first game of the regular season. Head coach Mike Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff have done solid work already, filling out a coaching and scouting staff that saw some departures, and there’s more work for them that lies ahead. Coaches and the front office are going over their strategies for free agency and the draft, and next week’s Combine in Indianapolis is the first step toward getting the 2012 season officially underway. This is a front office and coaching staff that has a sense of urgency when it comes to winning. As was said during the postseason press conference, the goal isn’t just to win or make the playoffs anymore; It’s to win in the playoffs and earn a Super Bowl title. That’s a goal everyone here takes very seriously and one that everyone in every department is working toward.
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Peria Jerry certainly gets his share of the spotlight, and that’s to be expected from a first-round pick. The expectations are always high on players who are among the first 32 players selected in any draft, and Jerry is no exception. Jerry’s career thus far, however, has been anything but stable. Coming into 2011, Jerry was only one year removed from a significant knee injury that marred his rookie season and put him on a path that players certainly don’t like to take. Jerry has, however, made significant progress since then and he continues to do so. The coaching staff loves Jerry’s toughness and resolve, especially in the face of returning from a tough injury. He made a great heads-up play against Philadelphia, forcing a fumble that allowed Ray Edwards to pick it up and nearly return it for a TD. That play really paved the way for the Falcons to win that game. While Corey Peters has come in and earned the starting job opposite Jonathan Babineaux, Jerry has an opportunity to continue to make an impact in Atlanta.
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You’re absolutely right — the 2012 NFL Draft is going to be loaded with solid cornerbacks, and fortunately enough, many of them are projected to be there when the Falcons pick at No. 55 overall. The draft, however, is a bit of a premature subject right now because there are still so many question marks. First of all, the Combine takes place in Indianapolis next week, and those performances will go a long way toward clearing up which prospects are truly projected to go where. Second of all, free agency will play a huge role in what teams will do come late April. Unlike last year, teams will be able to pick from the vast crop of free agents to fill holes before the draft rolls around, so while teams go into both periods with a list of needs, many of them get taken care of during the free agency period, which gives them more flexibility in the draft. Whether or not there will be a cornerback there at No. 55 that the Falcons value remains to be seen, as there are so many things that need to happen beforehand, but it’ll be fun to watch us get to that point.
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It’s an interesting idea, for sure, but I think what’s going to help the offensive line the most is the addition of former Fresno State head coach Pat Hill to the coaching staff to take over the Falcons’ offensive front. Hill is about as sound a coach as you can find. He’s old school in his approach and he’s very much focused on technique. A tough, tough guy himself, he’ll instill that same quality in his offensive linemen. Keep an eye out: The attitude among the front five will be a huge storyline heading into 2012. Of course, we saw during the playoffs when the Falcons were dubbed as “dirtbags” by the Giants’ Justin Tuck. So, while the 2011 offensive line certainly was able to push some people around, the numbers suggest improvements can be made, and the “killer instinct,” so to speak, will be given to them by Hill.
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This is a great question. Free agency, for those of us who painfully recall the lockout last year, takes place before the NFL Draft this year, just like it has in normal years, and that’s a huge advantage for teams. I imagine a lot of teams had to do things in the draft last year that they may not have done had free agency occurred when it normally does. The free agency period begins March 13, when the new league year begins and current contracts run out. The Falcons are sitting in an interesting position with not having a first-round or fourth-round pick in the upcoming draft, since both those picks were part of a trade to move up last year and select Julio Jones. Therefore, free agency will be a key period for Atlanta. There are certainly plenty of good linemen that are set to hit the market when free agency begins and many of them would help strengthen the Falcons’ front. The coaching staff and front office are hard at work determining what their plan of action will be once March 13 rolls around, and you can rest assured that they’ll assess all positions in figuring out what they’ll add and from where.
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This will be a big year for Sidbury. With the opportunities he's had in his short career, he definitely seems to make the most of them. We saw in 2010 where Sid was frequently on the inactive list, but in 2011, he was active for every game and contributed quite a bit — quietly. He had a monster game against Minnesota, but other than that, his progression and production were mostly hushed despite putting up decent numbers for the amount of time he was playing. Sidbury played 220 snaps in 2011 and recorded three sacks, two QB hits and 12 pressures. Let's play with those numbers, shall we? Sidbury managed to get one QB pressure for every 18.3 snaps he played in 2011. Compare that to John Abraham, the Falcons' leading defensive end last season, and the numbers aren't all that far off. Abraham produced one pressure in every 17.25 snaps he played. So, while Sid's overall number of snaps paled in comparison to Abraham's, he was able to produce at about the same clip. Nolan's defensive scheme is a work-in-progress as he continues to go over the Falcons' personnel and evaluate the talent he has to work with, so it's too soon to tell if Sid could see more snaps next season. But the arrow has certainly been pointing up for him and next season will be one where he could really prove himself.
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As we go through the first round this year, that's a thought that will be in the back of a lot of fans' minds. The Falcons certainly caught a lot of people off guard in last year's draft when they gave up four picks to move into the top 10 to snag Julio Jones. At the time, people thought it was very uncharacteristic of the current front office regime, but as we saw during the 2011 season, the move paid dividends on the field with Jones' rookie performance. The question will linger from here until the draft: Will Thomas Dimitroff swing a deal to get back into the first? Not to keep anyone in suspense, but again, this is a front office that looks over every scenario that could potentially come up and I'm sure getting back into the first round is one they'll go over plenty of times before the draft comes in April.
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Mock drafts can be a lot of fun to look at during this time of year. Heck, we do quite a bit of it around here, too. But I can't answer why mocks haven't chosen him for the Falcons in the second round because, well, that's up to the creators of the mocks. I will say that Boykin is certainly a strong talent in this year's draft at the cornerback position, as well as return positions. Right now, however, there's a bit of uncertainty at where he'll fall among the mocks. I've seen some mocks that have him falling to the third round, in which case, if the Falcons had interest in him, they could snag him there. The Combine has a way of clearing these types of things up. If Boykin goes in and has a great performance at the Combine, we could see him become a definite second-rounder and perhaps see more projections of him coming here. But more than anything, free agency will tell the tale of the Boykin-to-Atlanta story. What the Falcons do in free agency will dictate what they'll need in the draft, so sit tight. Things could look different once we get past March.
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One thing you can expect from new offensive line coach Pat Hill is a strong focus on this issue. The offensive line experienced inconsistency early on as the personnel changed several times. The unit found some stability later in the season and actually became quite a strength as Ryan wasn't hit nearly as much. Hill has an impressive football resume that includes 15 years as a college head coach. Before that, he got some experience as an offensive line coach for the Browns and Ravens. From all indication, Hill is an old-school, tough football coach whose specialty is putting together strong offensive lines. Working alongside offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, Hill will find the right personnel for the right positions to make sure that the trenches are secure to allow Ryan to succeed in the pocket and for Turner to find holes in the running game. The coaching staff has been looking at every possible angle, evaluating all aspects of the team and football operations to determine the best solution for any problem that may be out there, and you can rest assured that due diligence will be served at the offensive line positions.
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This is a great question and a fantastic observation. It certainly does seem to be a trend in the league. More and more, teams seem to going to a RB-by-committee offensive philosophy, and it appears that many of the teams enjoying top success have not had that one true every-down back. The Giants run with Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs; The Packers with Ryan Grant and James Starks; The Saints with Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush at the time of their Super Bowl win. And that's just a small sampling of teams that have gotten away from the feature back concept. I think we're starting to see the Falcons toy with the idea with Jacquizz Rodgers being drafted by the team last year, but it certainly hasn't shifted overnight. As long as Michael Turner is around, he will be the Falcons' feature back when we're referring to the number of carries each of the running backs get. However, we saw in 2011 where Rodgers' touches increased as the season went on and he became more accustomed to the offense. Jason Snelling, a free agent this year, has seen a good amount of carries in his time as Turner's backup, but Turner is the man in Atlanta at the running back position and he'll always see the majority of the carries. One of the biggest things to remember about Turner is that he's not your traditional running back approaching 30 years old. If you take a look around league history, running backs at or around 30 tend to have a drop off in production — and, more than any other position, it tends to be dramatic. Turner, however, is in a much different scenario. Yes, he's getting up into an age where running backs tend to lose some of their game, but if you remember the early part of Turner's career, you'll recall that he wasn't a feature back in San Diego. He played behind LaDainian Tomlinson, who received more than his share of carries during Turner's tenure with the Chargers. That means the Turner never sustained the type or number of hits that most running backs do in the early stages of their pro careers. We've seen Turner be nothing but productive during his time in Atlanta, consistently near the top of the league in rushing yardage. And in 2011, that was certainly true as Turner finished No. 3 in rushing and chipped in 11 touchdowns. With Rodgers now having a year under his belt, we'll likely see a lot more of him as the change-of-pace back he was drafted to be, but it likely won't be enough to term it a by-committee offense.
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Very easily. Tweet at Director of Event Marketing and Client Services Roddy White (yes, Roddy White, but not the receiver) and tell him your suggestion via Twitter. His Twitter handle is @the_other_RW
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These are problems that go hand-in-hand. If you’re not getting pressure from the defensive line, you’re going to do one of two things — 1. You’re going to give an opposing quarterback too much time in the pocket to find an open receiver, or; 2. You’re going to have to get creative in finding pressure, which means bringing linebackers in on blitzes instead of dropping them back into coverage to help the secondary. The same is true for wideouts in the secondary. If the secondary is allowing wide receivers to get open right away and can’t maintain coverage, the defensive line isn’t going to have time to get to the quarterback before he gets rid of the ball. I don’t know that one problem is bigger than the other because they certainly play off of each other. One thing is for sure and that is that Nolan is aware of the issues and has set to work trying to fix them.
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Free agency is going to be an interesting period of the offseason as the Falcons have 17 free agents on the roster. Of course, Brent Grimes is one of the biggest names on that list. General manager Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Mike Smith have made very solid decisions since they took over the franchise in 2008 and whatever they decide to do will always be in the best interest of the team. That’s my way of saying, “It’s too soon to know for sure.” As far as Dunta Robinson goes, I think fans will be pleasantly surprised with him in 2012. Robinson was signed two years ago into a defensive system he wasn’t exactly accustomed to running at the pro level. While in Houston, Robinson was a beast in press coverage, jamming receivers at the line and being aggressive. I think we still see that level of aggression when he’s on the field as he’s easily one of the most physical football players in the game today, but playing way off the line for the past two seasons took away from one of his main strengths — and one that he relies upon to be successful. That’s not to say Dunta hasn’t seen success in Atlanta. People tend to see the interception numbers sometimes and base everything off of that. Sure, Dunta hasn’t had hugely impressive INT numbers, but in 2011, he was targeted 74 times and gave up just three TDs. New defensive coordinator Mike Nolan said almost immediately during his conference call with the Atlanta media after he was hired that his philosophy is to form the defensive scheme to players’ strengths and not the other way around. With that said, we could see a real rebirth in Robinson’s career.
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