2024 Season Previews
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2024 Draft Primer (Part A)
Draft season is here and hope abounds for all NFL fans! Atlanta has seen many changes this offseason that is producing talk of a winning season and a playoff birth. The draft will undoubtly add fuel to that fire! We are all excited like a child on Christmas morning with anticipation of the wonderful gifts that will be found under the tree. As fans we all have our own wish list of players whom we want drafted to our beloved Atlanta Falcons. By Sunday we will all be considering the new possibilities of what the team will look like and how they will perform throughout the 2024 season.
Day One
Terry Fontenot has said in the past that the first round is Best Player Available! While he has never traded the first round pick up or down, there may be a good opportunity to gain some draft capital by trading back into the 11-15 range of the first round and still draft a guy who can step in as a day one starter. Here are some possibilities at various positions.
Quarterback: This is unlikely as Kirk Cousins will be the starter for the next two years barring injury.
JJ McCarthy(6’2”, 219lbs) – He has been getting a ton of hype during the pre-draft process. Some view him as a game manager due to the low number of passes he was required to throw at Michigan. Others see that he performed very well with only a few chances to succeed and expect this ability to make the play in high pressure situations will translate well to the NFL game. I doubt that he will be available when Atlanta picks at #8.
Drake Maye(6’4”, 223lbs) – Maye has seemed to lose the momentum that he established during the 2022 season. Some are questioning his ability to be successful at the NFL level due the questionable performance he exhibited during the 2023 season. He has the build of an NFL Quarterback and has experience in an NFL style system. He may quietly drop out of the top 5, but should still get drafted on day 1.
Wide Receiver: If the right guy falls to Atlanta this could be the pick.
Marvin Harrison Jr(6’3”, 209lbs) – Considered by many to be the best player in the draft, his choice to not workout at the combine or the Ohio St Pro Day has raised some questions. I doubt this will cause him to fall to pick #8, but there is always the chance.
Malik Nabers(6’0”, 200lbs) – Viewed by some as the best receiver in the draft. He can do everything required of a NFL receiver and do it well! After the catch is where really shines. He will be the first or second wide receiver off the board.
Rome Odunze(6’3”, 212lbs) – An outside receiver that could fill a need for Atlanta. He would allow Darnell Moody to play in the slot. He needs to improve his get-off at the line of scrimmage, as he can be easily jammed.
Brian Thomas Jr(6’3”, 209lbs) – Big speedy receiver. He is only a possibility in a trade down scenario. Considered to be the top receiver in the second tier by most, though some have him ranked in the top tier.
Tight End: Atlanta currently has three Tight Ends and two Fullbacks, who can play the Tight End position. The only player from this position in the draft that I think might get their name called by Atlanta will be in the first round as the best player available.
Brock Bowers(6’3”, 243lbs) – Offensive Coordinator could use him much like Puca Nakua was used by the Rams last season. He was an all-purpose weapon for the Georgia offense scoring both receiving and rushing touchdowns. He is an excellent catcher of the football and a better blocker than Kyle Pitts. If Bowers is selected then Pitts may see a move that gets him more time out wide than near the box.
Offensive Tackle: The chances of a selection at this position on day one is slim unless Atlanta secretly looking to replace one of the current starters.
Joe Alt(6’9”, 321lbs) – Arguably the best all-around blocker in the draft. Played strictly on the left side in college.
Olumuyiwa Fashanu(6’6”, 312lbs) – He is a much better pass blocker than run blocker. He is a two year starter on the left side.
Taliese Fuaga(6’6”, 324lbs) – The top rated Right Tackle in the draft. He did not allow any sacks in the 2023 season.
JC Latham(6’6”, 342lbs) – After playing Left Tackle in high school Latham moved to Right Tackle at Alabama. He is considered a mauler in the run game who moves very well in pass protection.
Center: I believe this could be a target in a trade down situation.
Jackson Powers-Johnson(6’3”, 328lbs) – He is the best interior lineman in the NFL draft. A day one starter, who is proficient at run and pass blocking.
Defensive Line: This includes Nose Tackles, Defensive Tackles, and 3-4 Defensive Ends. There has been chatter in recent days that Atlanta could be targeting a defensive line player in the first round. Before the chatter I would have thought that Atlanta could trade back a few spots and still get the top Defensive Tackle. Now, maybe not so much.
Byron Murphy(6’0”, 297lbs) – He could be the best interior disruptor in the 2024 draft! He is undersized for an interior lineman, but so was Grady Jarrett and Aaron Donald!
Jer’Zhan ”Johnny” Newton(6’2”, 304lbs) – The 2023 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year has one of the quickest first steps of any defensive lineman in the draft. May only be a 3-Tech at the NFL level.
Edge/Outside Linebacker: I lumped these two together based on the fact that Morris said that the team will base out of a 3-4 defense and that last season with the Rams Morris ran some 50/52 style defenses. This seems to be the consensus by the media of where Atlanta will go in the first round.
Laiatu Latu(6’5”, 259lbs) – The most technically sound edge rusher in the draft! If not for his medical concerns he would be unquestionably the top pass rusher in the draft.
Jared Verse(6’4”, 254lbs) – Impactful getting into the backfield as a run defender and pass rusher. Is explosive first step helps him the get the upper hand on offensive linemen.
Dallas Turner(6’3”, 247lbs) – Of the top 3 edge rushers Turner has dropped back into pass protection by far the most. This may be the experience that leads Atlanta to draft him over the other two Edge Defenders in the first round.
Cornerback: This is certainly an area of need. I expect Atlanta to have drafted at least one Corner by the end of day 2! It would not surprise me if they select multiple Corners by the end of the draft.
Quinyon Mitchell(6’0”, 195lbs) – Consider by some to be the best Corner in the draft. He showed out during Senior Bowl practices, proving that he can cover some of the best receivers in the draft. He ran a blazing 4.33 40 yard dash at the combine. When targeted in 2023 he allowed a 49.0 Quarterback rating to opposing teams.
Terrion Arnold( 6’0” 189lbs) – Alabama’s top Corner during the 2023 season. He had 5 interceptions and allowed opposing Quarterbacks a 52.5 QBR. He only ran a 4.50 40 time at the Combine which may cause him to fall slightly in the draft, but many believe that he plays faster than his 40 time.
Cooper DeJean(6’0”, 203lbs) – Some believe that he will be a Safety at the NFL level. An injury at the end of the 2023 season has prevented him from participating in most of the draft season testing. He allowed a QBR of 40.6 when targeted.
Nate Wiggins(6’1”, 178lbs) – He has a tall slender frame that may not hold up at the NFL level, but he has speed for days running a 4.28 40 yard dash at the Combine. Wiggins has been a shutdown Corner at Clemson never allowing a QBR higher than 50.6 in any season.
That wraps up the Day 1 Primer.
Falcons Ask the Big Question
The Great Quarterback Search
A Statistical Review
by
just ”little ole” me
Part I
The Atlanta Falcons like a number of other NFL teams are in the market for a dependable Quarterback to run the offense during the 2024 season. There is no question that the Quarterback play of the 2023 season was a major component that resulted in a 7-10 record and ultimately the firing of Head Coach Arthur Smith. It is now up to GM Terry Fontenot and new Head Coach Raheem Morris, along with others in the Falcons organization, to find the right player to put the team back on course for the playoffs this coming season! I am going to take a statistical approach to look at players currently in the NFL that Atlanta may consider.
Let me first explain my methodology. We all know that statistics can be manipulated to support any point that a person would like to make; which is why Samuel Clemens referred to statistics as a form of lying. That being said, I decided to do some statistical research on some of the Quarterbacks that might be on Atlanta’s radar. While researching stats on the Pro Football Reference website I noticed a statistical category titled “Succ%”. I had no idea what that meant, so I looked it up in their glossary. Succ% is Pro Football Reference’s title for Passing Success Rate. What is Passing Success Rate? Here is their definition. Passing Success Rate is a successful pass that gains at least 40% of yards on 1st down, 60% of yards on 2nd down, or 100% of yards on any 3rd or 4th down passing play required to make a first down. This number is divided by the sum of the number of passing attempts and times a Quarterback was sacked. Very few Quarterbacks had a Succ% over 50. I am also including four other statistical categories that I feel are relevant to how well fans can expect the new Quarterback to perform. They are completion %, touchdown %, interception %, and sack%. Looking at these Quarterback’s stats based on percentages helps to level the statistical data between Quarterbacks that had 400 passing attempts vs those who had 200-300 attempts.
The prospective players’ stats are listed with a label and not their names so as to not lead you to a predetermined judgement based upon what you already know about said players. At the end of the article I will identify each player listed. This is a list of players currently in the NFL and does not include any Quarterbacks in this year’s draft. The draft prospects will be considered in Part II. I did include Desmond Ridder and Marcus Mariotta to see how they compared to the other players. I am only including data from the three most recent years with a couple of exceptions. Some of the players have limited results from a few games in recent seasons, but we need to remember that the NFL is a “What have you done lately” league.
To better understand the TD%, INT%, and SUCC% stats consider the following. Only 6 QBs in 2021, 3 QBs in 2022, and 2 QBs in 2023 had a TD% of 6.0 or higher. There were 10 QBs in 2021, 12 QBs in 2022, and 17 QBs in 2023 that had an INT% of 1.9 or lower. And there were 8,6, and 5 QBS from 2021-2023 respectively to have a SUCC% higher than 50%. The chart below lists each Quarterback and their stat percentages for each year. This will hopefully give us an idea about each Quarterback’s progression, regression, and consistency over the past few years. Please note that a few of the players on this list do not have three years of experience. Here is the list is in no particular order.
| Quarterback A | Year | Comp% | Y/C | TD% | INT% | SUCC% | Sack% |
| 2021 | 68.8 | 10.9 | 6.2 | 1.7 | 51.4 | 4.8 | |
| 2022 | 66.2 | 11 | 5.8 | 3.8 | 51.7 | 4.8 | |
| 2023 | 69.5 | 11 | 6.1 | 1.5 | 51.5 | 6.2 | |
| Quarterback B | Year | Comp% | Y/C | TD% | INT% | SUCC% | Sack% |
| 2021 | 66.3 | 11.3 | 5.9 | 1.2 | 46.2 | 4.8 | |
| 2022 | 65.9 | 10.7 | 4.5 | 2.2 | 46.3 | 6.7 | |
| 2023 | 69.5 | 10.8 | 5.8 | 1.6 | 46.6 | 5.2 | |
| Quarterback C | Year | Comp% | Y/C | TD% | INT% | SUCC% | Sack% |
| 2021 | 67.2 | 10.5 | 4 | 2.6 | 46.2 | 8.1 | |
| 2022 | 65.2 | 12 | 4 | 1.8 | 45.3 | 9.2 | |
| 2023 | 64.8 | 10.8 | 1.7 | 3 | 40.8 | 12.2 | |
| Quarterback D | Year | Comp% | Y/C | TD% | INT% | SUCC% | Sack% |
| 2021 | 62.7 | 9.1 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 46.3 | 7.8 | |
| 2022 | 64 | 11.1 | 3.3 | 1.6 | 44.5 | 6.1 | |
| 2023 | 78.3 | 12.4 | 13 | 0 | 56.5 | 0 | |
| Quarterback E | Year | Comp% | Y/C | TD% | INT% | SUCC% | Sack% |
| 2021 | 68.3 | 12.7 | 4.5 | 2.7 | 50.4 | 6.2 | |
| 2022 | 67.2 | 11.8 | 5.2 | 1.3 | 53.1 | 5.5 | |
| 2023 | 65.1 | 11 | 4.1 | 5.3 | 47.5 | 7.7 | |
| Quarterback F | Year | Comp% | Y/C | TD% | INT% | SUCC% | Sack% |
| 2019 | 59.4 | 12.7 | 4.4 | 1.3 | 34.6 | 13.5 | |
| 2022 | 61.3 | 12.1 | 5 | 3 | 45.1 | 8.5 | |
| 2023 | 65.2 | 10.9 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 53.8 | 11.5 | |
| Quarterback G | Year | Comp% | Y/C | TD% | INT% | SUCC% | Sack% |
| 2021 | 62.4 | 11.1 | 5.2 | 1.4 | 44 | 5.8 | |
| 2022 | 62.3 | 10.2 | 4 | 3.3 | 42.4 | 8.6 | |
| 2023 | 70.8 | 9.6 | 8.3 | 4.2 | 57.7 | 7.7 | |
| Quarterback H | Year | Comp% | Y/C | TD% | INT% | SUCC% | Sack% |
| 2021 | 66.8 | 10.1 | 4.1 | 2.5 | 44 | 7.3 | |
| 2022 | 61 | 10.7 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 40 | 6.1 | |
| 2023 | 46.2 | 9.6 | 5.1 | 0 | 36.6 | 4.9 | |
| Quarterback I | Year | Comp% | Y/C | TD% | INT% | SUCC% | Sack% |
| 2021 | 60.5 | 11.9 | 4.1 | 3.1 | 44.3 | 9.3 | |
| 2022 | 60 | 10.8 | 3 | 2.4 | 38 | 9.7 | |
| 2023 | 64.3 | 11.1 | 4.9 | 1.8 | 44.7 | 6.6 | |
| Quarterback J | Year | Comp% | Y/C | TD% | INT% | SUCC% | Sack% |
| 2021 | 58.9 | 11.8 | 2.6 | 3.7 | 38.2 | 11.8 | |
| 2022 | 60.4 | 11.7 | 5.3 | 3.5 | 36.7 | 14.7 | |
| 2023 | 61.4 | 11.3 | 4.3 | 2.4 | 38.4 | 10.6 | |
| Quarterback K | Year | Comp% | Y/C | TD% | INT% | SUCC% | Sack% |
| 2021 | 64.8 | 12 | 6.3 | 1.5 | 44.6 | 7.6 | |
| 2022 | 60.5 | 12.1 | 3.3 | 2.3 | 36.2 | 10.2 | |
| 2023 | 66.4 | 10.3 | 5.8 | 1.8 | 43.3 | 9.1 | |
| Quarterback L | Year | Comp% | Y/C | TD% | INT% | SUCC% | Sack % |
| 2021 | |||||||
| 2022 | 63.5 | 9.7 | 1.7 | 0 | 43.5 | 7.3 | |
| 2023 | 64.2 | 11.4 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 45.3 | 7.4 | |
| Quarterback M | Year | Comp% | Y/C | TD% | INT% | SUCC% | Sack% |
| 2021 | |||||||
| 2022 | |||||||
| 2023 | 70.4 | 11.3 | 4.9 | 2.9 | 48.3 | 9 | |
| Quarterback N | Year | Comp% | Y/C | TD% | INT% | SUCC% | Sack% |
| 2021 | 68.3 | 10.7 | 6.7 | 1.7 | 46.2 | 7.7 | |
| 2022 | 57.9 | 15.1 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 43.9 | 7.3 | |
| 2023 | 62.2 | 10.8 | 3.1 | 1.8 | 41.2 | 6.5 | |
| Quarterback O | Year | Comp% | Y/C | TD% | INT% | SUCC% | Sack% |
| 2020 | 67 | 10.3 | 5.4 | 2.7 | 53.7 | 5.7 | |
| 2022 | 65 | 10.7 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 45.5 | 5.8 | |
| 2023 | 62.6 | 9.4 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 50 | 6.1 | |
| Quarterback P | Year | Comp% | Y/C | TD% | INT% | SUCC% | Sack% |
| 2021 | |||||||
| 2022 | |||||||
| 2023 | 63.4 | 10.2 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 42.7 | 9.6 | |
| Quarterback Q | Year | Comp% | Y/C | TD% | INT% | SUCC% | Sack% |
| 2021 | 67.6 | 10.8 | 4.2 | 2.5 | 49 | 5.1 | |
| 2022 | 65.2 | 10.4 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 41.4 | 7.1 | |
| 2023 | 64.9 | 9.5 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 43.3 | 6 |
Wow…What does it all mean? The first thing I noticed was the lack of consistently good play by most of the players on this list. This could be due to any number of factors: injury, bad offensive line play, learning the playbook of a new offensive coordinator, having new receivers to build chemistry with, etc. It does not mean that those with inconsistent play should be written off, but that a deeper inspection should be done to better understand the inconsistencies. How do these stats help in the players’ evaluations? Let’s use the stats to help identify players that have a history of positive production. Which Quarterbacks have consistently good numbers in Comp%, TD%, INT%, SUCC%, and Sack%? I believe these will be the players that have the best chance to come to Atlanta and make the Falcons a better team!
While I have always looked at the completion percentage stat as a good measure for Quarterbacks, it does have its limitations. Completion percentage is heavily affected by the type of offense, the receivers in the offense, the play caller, and the play design. For example; a Quarterback completes 68% of his passes, but most of those passes travel less than 5 yards in the air. On paper this Quarterback looks great. When the same Quarterback is asked to throw over half of his passes with 10 or more air yards his completion percentage drops to 61%. He is not a different Quarterback, but he is asked to complete more difficult throws. I did include the number of yards per completion to see how it related to each Quarterbacks completion percentage for the seasons we have listed.
Most of the players in the NFL have a completion percentage above 60%, no matter what the variables are, with a few exceptions here and there. Of course I would rather have a passer complete 68% of his passes than 60%. I know that is only 8 more completions in 100 attempts or 2 more per 25 attempts, but a passer with a 50% success rate gets you one more first down per game. That one additional first down may be the difference between a punt and a field goal. How many games are lost by 3 points or less? Even if only one then it’s worth it! Ten players on the list had one or more seasons completing 67% or higher of their pass attempts. Only players A and E had two seasons above that mark. Player M only had one season of stats so he has the potential to maintain his high completion %. Although most NFL Quarterbacks complete 60% of their passes, this shows how difficult it is to consistently maintain a completion percentage above 67%.
Touchdowns are the pinnacle of every offensive drive in the NFL game. Even when your team is down by 30 points there is still that “woohoo” moment when they score a touchdown. So we all know how important it is to have a Quarterback who can get the ball to the right player at the right time to give that player the best chance to score a touchdown! As stated earlier in the article only the top Quarterbacks have a touchdown% of 6.0 or above. Referring back to our list there is one player(A) who reached that mark during 2 seasons and four other players(D,G,K,N) who reached that mark in one of the three seasons. I want to quantify this group by letting you know that players D, G, and N were part time starters during their one referred season. The smaller sample size may not reflect on who they are as a Quarterback, but who they can be!
This next stat is one of the most dreaded offensive stats. We all loath turnovers! They can be momentum swingers, game changers, and hope enders! Looking at INT% for the league, one third to one half of the starting Quarterbacks in the NFL had an INT% of 1.9 and below during the 2021-2023 seasons. One player(D) stayed under the 1.9 INT% mark for all three of the seasons in consideration. Another four players(A,B,K,N) completed two seasons under the mark. And an additional six players(C,E,G,H,I,L) finished one of the three seasons under the mark. This leads me to believe that finding a Quarterback that can avoid interceptions is a very attainable goal. Some Quarterbacks are going to need to work harder than others to be more consistent in this category.
Moving on to SUCC%. In a nut shell this is the Quarterback’s ability to complete a pass that gains enough yards to continue matriculating the ball down the field! Feel free to refer to the specific definition above the chart. There were only six Quarterbacks in 2023 that had a SUCC% over 50%. Brock Purdy was the league leader at 54%. Both Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson where just over 48%. From the list only player A reached 48+% in all three seasons, players E and O were successful in 2 seasons, and players D,F,G,M, and Q each had 1 season above 48%. There are a number of variables that can affect SUCC%, but we are looking for a Quarterback to take the Falcons to the playoffs and beyond!
For my final statistical category I decided to include sack% in hopes of gaining some understanding about which of the players on the list are prone to taking sacks. I fully understand that good Quarterbacks playing behind bad Offensive lines are going to take more sacks, but I also know that the better Quarterbacks will find a way to avoid taking sacks no matter the quality of their pass blocking. Two skills all Quarterbacks must have to be successful in the NFL is “feel for the pocket” and knowing when to get rid of the football! I believe that sack% can give us a statistical idea of how accomplished the listed Quarterbacks are in these two skills. The top Quarterbacks in the NFL had a sack% less than 5. Player A was the only Quarterback on the list to eclipse that mark in 2 seasons. Players B, D, F, and H made the grade in 1 season, but player B was the only full time starter during those seasons. Look at the list with following standards in mind.
0-5 is Excellent 5-7 is Good 7-9 needs improvement 9+ is bad!
Now that each of the statistical categories have been laid out let’s review which players from the list did well in multiple categories. The big winner was player A(Dak Prescott). He reached the mark in each category multiple seasons! Player D(Jacoby Brissett) was the only other player to reach the mark in every category, but he only played in 3 games in 2023. Player G(Carson Wentz) reached the mark in 4 of the 5 categories, but he only played in 2 games in 2023. Players B(Kirk Cousins), E(Jimmy Garopolo) and N(Gardner Minshew) reached the mark in 3 of the 5 categories, but Minshew only played in 4 and 5 games in 2021 and 2022 respectively. I was personally surprised that there were not more players from this list that hit the high mark in multiple categories over a three year span. I think this goes to show how difficult it is to be successful in the NFL. It also shows that NFL teams do not let successful Quarterbacks sign with other teams!
Some may be wondering why Dak Prescott is on this list. Living in Texas I hear about the Cowboys nonstop. Dak is in the last year of his contract and there has been talk that Jerry Jones is ready to move on from Dak this year. Dak’s cap hit for the Cowboys is about 60 million. The cap savings for Dallas is minimal if they cut Dak, but if Jerry thinks that Trey Lance is their guy for the future, then I would not be surprised if Jerry shows Dak the door.
I also wanted to point out that Russell Wilson has hit the high mark in every category in the past, but he only hit the high mark in two categories for his most recent seasons. Maybe he still has the mojo to get a team to the playoffs, but it has not been evident in his recent performance.
I honestly do not see any of these players being the answer to Atlanta’s Quarterback need. Dak Prescott has the best statistical output, but it is unknown if he is even available. I can see Atlanta signing one of the older Quarterbacks as a backup/mentor, but fully expect Atlanta to draft a Quarterback for the long term.
Here is the Quarterback key:
| Player | Quarterback |
| A | Dak Prescott |
| B | Kirk Cousins |
| C | Ryan Tannehill |
| D | Jacoby Brissett |
| E | Jimmy Garopolo |
| F | Marcus Mariota |
| G | Carson Wentz |
| H | Davis Mills |
| I | Baker Mayfield |
| J | Justin Fields |
| K | Russell Wilson |
| L | Desmond Ridder |
| M | Jake Browning |
| N | Gardner Minshew |
| O | Mitch Trubisky |
| P | Sam Howell |
| Q | Mac Jones |
The Cage Reacts to HC Raheem Morris
(before and after his hiring)
The Time is NOW – January 8, 2024 at 12:40 pm—-We could do worse than Raheem Morris, imo. He’s been a HC (and interim HC with us), successful DC, has experience as an NFL coach on both sides of the ball, and is not allergic to analytics (like Bellichick). He might be a good fit…
SG – January 8, 2024 at 3:43 pm—-Cage Contest Time? Pick your top 3 HC choices Raheem Morris Todd Monken Jim Harbaugh
Flo – January 8, 2024 at 6:55 pm—-How ‘bout nurn of the above.
gman – January 8, 2024 at 7:10 pm—-I like those 3.
Flo – January 11, 2024 at 11:05 am—-AB / McKay request interview with Raheem Morris (DC Rams). Does this fit the NFL’s policy that three “minority” coaches must be interviewed or is AB / McKay serious? That is what Morris needs to consider. AB passed over him for AS last time. If I’m Morris I pass on AB / McKay this time…
Paddy O – January 13, 2024 at 3:53 am—-…If AB wants to win, he better avoid hiring another rookie HC.
The Time is NOW – January 17, 2024 at 12:09 pm—-SG suggested a few days ago that we list our top 3 choices for our next HC, followed by his choices. Subject to change on a whim, here’s my initial top 3. Raheem Morris Mike McCarthy (but not by a trade) Jim Harbaugh—-Let’s get someone (besides BB) who doesn’t have to learn how to be a HC at the NFL level (imo).
Dewey – January 22, 2024 at 12:09 pm—-…I always liked Raheem Morris when he was here and hoped he would have been successor to Quinn.…my first choice would be Morris.…That would be my whole offseason plan. Young(-ish) tough leader of men in Morris….
gman – January 24, 2024 at 7:05 pm—-…Raheem Morris ,supposedly has tremendous support from coaches and players around him and is rumored to be able to build a great team of coaches.
Dewey – January 25, 2024 at 11:43 am—-…Raheem Morris even though only 47 years old, has been on the coaching side of things since 1998 (25 years, over 1/2 his young life). 3 years in college, 4 years in tampa before going back to college ranks for a year, 5 years back in tampa including 3 as HC, 3 years in washington, 6 years in atlanta including interim HC when quinn was fired, then last 3 years with rams. Thats a rather large pool to choose from that he has worked closely with to build a staff. And thanks to quinn’s addled brain, Morris has worked on both sides of the ball. Plus i doubt he wants control of the front office. Cant predict it would work out, but Morris seems like the most well-rounded of our current interviews.
gman – January 25, 2024 at 12:50 pm—-Morris might just work. BUUUT, he lost 6 straight when he was coaching with Matt Ryan.
SG – January 25, 2024 at 3:01 pm—-Morris was in DC w/ the Shanahans too. He was / is still one of my 2 remaining picks for the HC spot. Kyle reco’ed him to DQ in ‘15.
Flo – January 25, 2024 at 5:15 pm—-It’s official: AB hires Raheem Morris as next in a long line of HC’s. Bottom line, AB was most “comfortable” with Morris. Expect that means McKay stays.
falcon21 – January 25, 2024 at 5:46 pm—-No Billy B. Hell Yes!!!
gman – January 25, 2024 at 5:51 pm—-Looking forward to who he brings in to assist.
Dewey – January 25, 2024 at 6:01 pm—-He knows a lot of folks and is well-liked and respected. Could by a lot of “who?” by the fanbase but guys with HC aspirations have extensive lists of who they would call if given the chance. Right now i am just happy for Morris. I always liked him. Hope this time things work out in his favor. One thing ive always liked, he doesnt seem to be out to prove hes the smartest man in the room ( a la Quinn, ASmith, even Dimittoff).
just “little ole” me – January 25, 2024 at 6:52 pm—-I have mixed feelings about the hire. I am hopeful that he will do well. During his previous HC stint in Tampa Bay he had a 4 win season, then a 10 win season, and was fired after his 3rd season when the team only had 4 wins. I am interested to see who becomes the OC and DC. These two hires may make or break Morris’s time as HC in Atlanta. Note: The talking heads mentioned that Morris was hired after Atlanta missed out on Jim Harbaugh who was hired by the Chargers earlier today.
Paddy O – January 26, 2024 at 12:30 pm—-Why hire a DC ? We simply could have promoted Nielsen. How does this fix our QB problem? Pete Carroll would have. We do know Morris has failed multiple times, and his QB problem in TB spiraled out of control.
SG – January 25, 2024 at 7:37 pm—-Not to exaggerate, but I feel ecstatic (we got a good one), and relieved, (no over-the-hill, over inflated head case).
Paddy O – January 26, 2024 at 12:31 pm —-Who had a better D? Rams or Falcons? How does Morris track record of QB grooming help us?
Flo – January 25, 2024 at 7:38 pm—-Not a game-changing hire. Kind of blah…
Dewey – January 25, 2024 at 8:51 pm—-Mike Smith was a kinda “blah” hire. Needed a QB too. Had a pretty good run (pathetically i believe he is still Falcons all-time winningest coach). Maybe history repeats itself (or goes one better by winning a super bowl)? Have to wait and see. -
The Time is NOW – January 25, 2024 at 7:51 pm—-Morris was my first choice when SG suggested we list our top 3 picks for HC. (Hope that’s not the kiss of doom…) At least we have a HC who does not require on the job training. I am pleasantly surprised!
Arno – January 25, 2024 at 7:58 pm—-I like it.
Dewey – January 25, 2024 at 8:57 pm—-Is there an nfl salary cap on assistant coaches? If not, this is where king arthur puts his money where his mouth is? “Raheem, who do you want for assistant coaches?” “Terry, make it happen. Money is no object.”
JB Falcon – January 25, 2024 at 9:49 pm—-Well…Turn out the lights, the party’s over. I don’t think anyone was overjoyed with the pick but it could have been worse. I was hoping that by some twist of fate we would have got rid of McKay. AB depends of him, for some unknown reason, to give him advice and McKay doesn’t know his azz from a hole in the ground about football. Hopefully Dewey’s wish come true and Raheem will surround himself with football genius’.
Flo – January 26, 2024 at 5:34 am—-I will try to have an open mind about Raheem Morris. Results speaks for its self and his results in the past were not exactly impressive.
Grits Blitz – January 26, 2024 at 7:40 am—-Did not see the Morris HC hire coming and first response was …underwhelming and not my top choice. Now that it’s done, I intend to give him a full 3-yr. opportunity to get the train back on the right tracks to be a consistent contender with a playoff berth by the 3rd year and growing optimism thereafter. Believe he now fairly deserves that much. (Yes, I believe in 2nd chances, but like Flo, I was not impressed with his HC experience in Tampa Bay over time. Hope it’ll be much different here so will begin by wishing him well. Agree with JLOM about the hiring of his OC & DC perhaps being make or break with his 1st two major decisions and such will reveal much to begin his regime. Dewey was spot-on with Morris’ selection. (Good one, Dewey…aka the Blank Whisperer! Didn’t know Blank had consulted you while meeting in his office prior to the announcement! U D Man.) Let’s face it, ANYBODY was going to be an improvement over Smith and, at least, there is now some hope for the 2024 season. Still believe Blank should’ve never let Harbaugh leave the bldg. the 1st time. Chargers got their man as their 1st choice and did not let him walk for a 2nd ATL interview. Good for them. Wonder why Blank waited all this time if Morris was his 1st pick all-along and all the interviewing with BB and many others? Some fans could equate this as Blank’s “lazy hire”. He already knew Morris and knew he’d take the job if offered for sure, Blank would not have to change anything really (BB only exposed his strange FO structure with McKay as his middleman & supposedly will now allow the GM & HC to report directly to him, although with some clubs the HC reports to the GM first), it check’s off Blank’s “minority fan base” box, and still allows Blank full control – whenever/wherever wanted – so I don’t see his meddling will be tapered in any way by a HC that would’ve insisted otherwise.
Grits Blitz – January 26, 2024 at 8:09 am—-Morris PROS: Is “experienced” as a HC and other coaching roles. As DC, he should know what it takes to put a formidable defense on the field as a priority to winning games with the right personnel and schemes. (Who knows, he may even prioritize trenches on both LOS!) Reports indicate he has many contacts in the NFL and has earned the respect of players & other coaches. ” ” , along with his coaching expertise, he is young enough to still have fire & enthusiasm which hopefully will translate to effective trust, motivations, and positive results for players & asst. coaches for developing a winning culture – for the long-term. Morris CONS: Was not a “proven winning” HC in ATL(interim) or Tampa Bay. (Hope this won’t be another episode of the Marion Campbell “Swamp Fox” redo!) Wherever he’s served and in whatever coaching capacity, bottom-line…has his team been significantly improved due to his direct coaching style & creativity as translated by on-field success & wins? We’ll begin to see soon via his asst. coaching hires and new players (still very much needed)…inc. trades, FA, resignings, & the draft. How he addresses the QB situation will be enlightening by remaining with Ridder, a FA, or a draft-up. (Maybe he’ll want to poach Stetson Bennett from the Rams, too.) Hope his OC hire will be creative and know how to properly utilize the personnel he has to their max. potential. Same for his new DC. (Wish he could’ve kept Nielsen, but too many chess moves to ponder so may he make the best of his new opportunity.)
H Meander – January 26, 2024 at 10:42 am—-It’s not that I am against Raheem Morris being hired as head coach, but I am honestly not very excited either. Follow this: Raheem Morris was already a HC for the Atlanta Falcons after they fired Dan Quinn and Morris went 4-7. He was with the Falcons for 5 seasons. So we go out and hire Arthur Smith, who had much less experience than Morris, effectively firing Morris when the Smith regime came in. Arthur Smith posts a three year old losing record and we fire him. We engage in the “Most Comprehensive Coaching Search of ALL TIME” and end up hiring the guy we fired when we hired the guy we just fired. Follow? I just hope we have enough to pay the top notch assistants that are out there so that we can have the best coordinators we can get. I am most concerned that this ownership and front office hierarchy seems to be very disfunctional.
Dewey – January 26, 2024 at 11:35 am—-Morris? I won’t hold previous coaching records against him…. 1- in tampa, for a few minutes he was the youngest HC in the NFL (only 32). 2-that tampa team was mortgaged to the hilt to win a Super Bowl for Gruden. Laden with big contracts on aging stars. It ended up being one of those “non-rebuild rebuilds”. Pretty much a no-win situation. He was the proverbial sacrificial lamb. 3-he didnt get his next HC gig until 9 years later taking over a 0-5 falcons team on an interim basis which the fact he went 4-7 on a rudderless ship (HC/GM fired. Players just trying to get something on tape for their next job, etc., etc., etc.). 4-he didnt get the chance to build a team at tampa (they were destructing) or atlanta (took over a team of players he had little to no input with coordinators that were not of his choosing, though i believe it was he who put ulbrech in charge of defense). He is not one of these HC’s who loses badly somewhere, miraculously immediately gets another HC gig and loses there even worse. He has coached on a lot of staffs. Hopefully hasn’t just learned what to do but also learned what NOT to do.I have no idea if Morris will be the savior of atlanta football or not. All i’m confident in saying is given all the choices, balancing experience with the balance of power (we would have eventually lost Fontenot with certain hires), I believe Morris was the best all-around choice. Guess we will all find out together if it was.
Falcons’ Fifty-seventh
Pinch hitting for Coop (who we hope returns to bat in 2024 and hit another grand slam masterpiece) is Med’s “ole” crystal ball, with some random rambles from the dugout.
The glass is more than half full for 2023.
The “ole” crystal ball is finally out of the repair shop. She’s mighty happy right now with her new rose-colored sunglasses while sipping on the Kool-Aid. Whether she’s really repaired or perhaps badly influenced by those sunglasses and Kool-Aid isn’t yet known.
Falcons @ Bears
Last year, the Bears were 3 and 14, averaged 19.2 PPG, and allowed an average of 27.2 PPG. They were 31st in run defense (on yards allowed per game) and 17th in pass defense (on yards allowed per game).
Similar to the old “People Purple Eaters” complaining in Vikings’ territory, the ’85 Bears defensive team is threatening to picket until Buddy Ryan’s son Rex Ryan is made the GM and HC to save the defense.
It’s cold and windy, with some light snow in the forecast.
The running game travels well, the short passing game works some, and our Falcons can smell a divisional championship within their reach by winning this game.
Neither Ridder nor Bears’ QB Justin Fields (this year’s “greatest thing since sliced bread”) have much success throwing deep in the wind.
Falcons play smash mouth football on the road in the “ole” Black and Blue division where running the ball was once the king. Koo is “cool” in the cold weather on a game winning field goal with not much time left.
In a very unusual change from some past years, our Falcons don’t use the late game strategy of using the “prevent us from winning zone defense” and the Bears don’t get within field goal range to try to tie the game and force overtime.
Falcons 20 – Bears 17
Stay tuned for weekly predictions on Med’s Rose-Colored Kool-Aid Crystal Ball.
| Week(s) | Opponent | Falcons Arthur Smith record |
| 1,15 | Panthers | 3-3 |
| 2 | Packers | 1-0 |
| 3 | Lions | 1-1 |
| 4 | Jaguars | 1-1 |
| 5 | Texans | 1-0 |
| 6 | Commanders | 0-3 |
| 7,14 | Buccaneers | 2-4 |
| 8 | Titans | 0-1 |
| 9 | Vikings | 0-1 |
| 10 | Cardinals | 1-1 |
| 12,18 | Saints | 2-3 |
| 13 | Jets | 2-0 |
| 16 | Colts | 1-0 |
| 17 | Bears | 1-0 |
| TOTAL | 16-18 |
The New Difference Makers
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Falcons Ready to Soar after Highly Successful Offseason
by Hamad Meander
I’m excited to have been asked to write a detailed article about the Atlanta Falcons 2023 draft. You will find this to be one of my most optimistic posts I’ve written, because even though I have some complaints about how we excuted the draft, I believe we got the right players to round off this roster.
First, let’s talk about what the goal should be. Directly attacking UGA fans who wanted Jalen Carter – if it is important for your professional football team to be stocked with your favorite college teams players, then there is an option for you now – The Philadelphia Eagles. I’ve never stated who my favorite college team as it has no bearing on what I want my professional team to be. The goal is to win a Superbowl, and the top three teams in the AFC and NFC were 1st, 2nd, and 7th in offense (AFC) and 3rd, 6th, and 8th in offense (NFC). The winner of the Superbowl was 16th in defense, but 1st in offense. This is an offense sport. The rankings of the defenses ranged from 1st (San Fran) to nearly last (Minnesota). To win it all in the NFL, you must be elite on offense.
Let’s address the stupidity of the national pundits that think Bijan Robinson was taken too high or by the wrong team. They are wrong. In drafting Bijan, you are getting a home run hitter on the ground and a mismatch receiver out wide. This team, if coached well and with minimal injuries, is going to cause havoc for defensive coordinators to defend. We HAD to improve the offense, having averaged only 21.5 PPG last season. Of our 10 losses last year, 8 of them were (1) score losses. That is CRAZY! This team already looks like a +6 PPG roster from last season, which would put us near the top scoring average offenses in the league. What is there to criticize with that improvement on paper? You can say “But we had a 1,000 yard rusher already!” Philadelphia was 1st in the NFL in sacks and still took Jalen Carter. You can always improve a strength, and no offense to Allgeier, but Bijan Robinson is supremely more talented that Allgeier and can be used in many more ways.
Addressing what we did at 8 – the consensus was that if Tyree Wilson or Devon Witherspoon were available at 8, I think we would have selected either one, but thanks to the typical ‘after we are eliminated’ heroics, we won a couple of games and lost draft capital. When we got to 8, I think Bijan was the best pick over Gonzalez and Carter, as he is the least risky pick and will have the most immediate impact on the Falcons as a whole. I don’t think it should be discounted what Bijan brings to the team in character and polish either. Carter was not that guy. Having shown up at his pro-day overweight and unable to ‘finish the drill’ was a big red flag for me. It’s no different from showing up at a job interview in dirty clothes and not know what position you are interviewing to get. You had one job and you failed at it. I also was a Witherspoon>Gonzalez camper. I just didn’t see the fascination with Gonzalez other than he was big and fast. Witherspoon is a prototypical CB and could be put on an island today and be fine. Not as sure with Gonzalez.
Let’s get on with grading the draft.
8. Bijan Robinson – RB – Texas. Not really fair just to call him a running back – he is a complete offensive weapon. His three seasons in college, he amassed 3,410 yards rushing (33 TDs) and 805 yards receiving (8 TDs). Enough has been said already about Bijan – he is a needle mover on offense that will keep defensive coordinators sleepless trying to cover all of our options on offense. Picking up a few more 1st downs a game means our defense plays less snaps. Grade: A
38. Matthew Bergeron – OT/OG – Syracuse. Probably the biggest question mark of a pick the Falcons made. We traded our 44th and 110th pick to move up to 38th to select a player with first round potential. It is obvious the FO values versatility, as I would have picked John Michael Schmitz, who has a lower ceiling but higher floor and was more of a C/G than a G/OT. I understand this pick as we really don’t have an answer behind Jake and Kaleb, should one of them go down. However, this pick violated my ‘never trade up’ sensibilities when it was obvious there was going to be some OL help on the board with Tippmann, Schmitz, Torrence, and Mauch still on the board. Grade: C
75. Zach Harrison – DE – Ohio State. 6’5″ 275lbs that runs a 4.47 and jumps out of the building? Yes please. I really like this pick as there wasn’t a more athletic DE/EDGE in the draft, but one that needs more polish than a Will Anderson or Tyree Smith. We don’t need a lot of production from him this season, having Dupree, Campbell, and the host of other ends/rushers we have. He can learn better moves and angles and improve his game in 2023. There wasn’t anyone else on the board at 75 that packs this much potential. Grade: A
113. Clark Phillips III – CB – Utah. This is the savviest pick of the draft. Yes, he is only 5’9″ and ran ‘only’ a 4.51. The Falcons staff claim to have him clocked much faster though, and he is a 1st round selection if he were 6’0″. This guy is a freakin’ football player and is not intimated by larger WR. They say he will play the slot, but his boundary CB play is impeccable. This Jim Thorpe finalist grabbed 6 INTs last season. He plays bigger and faster than the measurements imply. Grade: A
224. DeMarcco Hellams – S – Alabama. This is a tough player to evaluate. 6’0 203lbs and ran a 4.57, not particularly explosive but led Alabama in tackles. We had to get more depth at safety, but there was a much higher graded S on the board from Iowa State, though his combine measurables weren’t any different than Hellams. I am guessing that the FO liked what they saw from the Alabama product they called “The Hit Man”, and he could certainly contribute heavily on special teams. He had a pretty bad game against Tennessee – looked out of position sometimes. Hopefully, the Falcons won’t ask too much from Hellams in coverage right away. Grade: C
225. Jovaugh Gywn – C/G – South Carolina. 6’2″, 297lbs. This is how guards/centers should be built with a lower center of gravity and a thick lower base. Former wrestler knows leverage and isn’t so tall he can’t get under defensive lineman’s pads. My source at USC says he was definitely the best OL they had on the team. I think he makes the roster and might even push for a starting job soon. Grade: A
Overall grade not including the consideration of Jeff Okudah for the 5th round pick and Jonnu Smith for a 7th: B
Overall grade including those guys: A
Overall grade of free agency + trades + drafts: A+
This was one of the most successful off seasons the Falcons have ever had – it sure helps to have cap room and money to spend. I only have two criticisms: 1. I wish we hadn’t traded up in the second round. When there is a night to sleep on between the 3rd and 4th round, that 4th round pick becomes even more valuable as you have all night to make your plans for pick 110. I would have been over the moon with John Michael Schmitz + Adetomiwa Adebaware vs. Bergeron alone. 2. Where’s my BBNT? I have started to believe that the Falcons philosophy is to lean on more athletic DT vs. a 344 lbs guy like Keondre Coburn. I still feel like we need a run stuffing, double team magnet that looks like a mountain. Maybe I’m wrong. I didn’t understand all the calls for a WR2. I consider Kyle Pitts a WR and never do I ever want to see him trying to block an EDGE. We are set at WR for the moment, and it appears we have a diamond in the round with UDFA Justin Marshall.
The Falcons are on the way to a playoff season led by Desmond Ridder – let me remind you of his college career: 10,239 yards, 87 passing TDs and 30 rushing TDs and 44 games won in 4 seasons. This is a very high quality QB with a lot of weapons to utilize behind a stout offensive line. Remember what I said at the beginning – the teams with the best offenses in the NFL win Superbowls. We are on the way to an elite season of offensive football with a much-improved defense with 7 new starters on the roster. Go Falcons!
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Predictions for a Year of Improvement
Greetings Cagers! It is that time once again. I come to you humbly today with my 10th annual season prediction. It is truly hard to believe this will be the tenth year, but I guess the gray in my beard does not lie. I started to follow the Cage the year Matt Ryan was drafted. It is a sad day for me to write my first column since his departure. I do like anniversaries though… silver, gold, platinum… Unfortunately, the 10-year anniversary is tin (someone had a punny sense of humor). Unfortunate, but appropriate… as our Falcons future is about that shiny.
Some of you have read each of my columns throughout the years and some will no doubt have no idea who the heck I am. The Cage has changed a lot since 2009, and I admit… I am not the regular I once was. I started following when I was a Major in the Army. On October 1st of this year, I will have been retired for 6 years. Some call me Coop, others reference the Colonel. But for those new just know, I am a diehard Falcons fan with a fierce love and absolutely blind faith. I try to be realistic, but I seldom achieve that goal.
I always like to update our status. We are still happy, healthy, and safe here in San Antonio. The better half looks to be on her last assignment before retirement. So, I might be writing these from a beach somewhere in 3 years. Last year we all got a little better. It looks like the country is out of COVID hell, and for the most part completely back to normal. I hope all of you and yours made it safely through. Every member of my family got it at least once. Fortunately, we all had mild cases.
For many of us, 2021 was a magical year. I was on the phone with my mom while watching the Braves clinch the World Series. I was traveling and in a hotel in San Francisco. The last time they won, I was on the phone with my Dad. I was in Hawaii on my first assignment. So, what a great bookend memory I have of those two calls. I already plan to travel should the Bravos make it to the WS this year.
Then… the game of games. Probably the single greatest sports day of my life… The Dawgs won it all. By sheer circumstance, my parents and my brother were able to join me at the house for the game. My darling bride (a Florida Gator) even dawned a UGA jersey, and we all went berserk when Ringo grabbed the pick 6. I will always yearn for the Birds to bring us a Superbowl, but I honestly breathed a lifetime sigh of relief that night. If I die tomorrow, at least I can tell St. Peter that we beat the Tide.
Breaking it DOWN!
Let’s look at some interesting facts about the schedule.
1. The Falcons play 1 nationally televised game this year. Last year we also only played 1 game, the Thursday night loss to the Patriots a week before Thanksgiving. This year we travel to Carolina for a Thursday battle. There are some games late in the season that are TBD in terms of time. These are flex spots to highlight big games. It is possible we could land one, but very doubtful.
2. Last year, we did not have back-to-back home games all year. We were the home team against the Jets, but that was in London. This season we have 2 sets of 2-game road trips and 2 sets of 2-game home stands. Pretty even split.
3. The Birds only have one short week this season, which is great news. We travel to Carolina 4 days after hosting the Chargers.
4. Travel is rougher this year (Dublin notwithstanding). We travel to Los Angeles and Seattle in back-to-back weeks. I wonder if we will just stay on the West coast? We also go north to Cincinnati, Washington, and Baltimore. However, none of those games worry me in terms of weather. Interestingly, we welcome 3 west coast teams (49ers, Cardinals, and Chargers) for 1 pm EST kicks in our house.
5. The Falcons will play a total of 11 games inside (I have no idea how to predict when our stadium will be open or closed, but I assume it will be closed in bad weather, so I chose to assume we are inside at home or at least in good conditions). We play the Seahawks, Bengals, Commanders, Ravens, Panthers, and Bucs outside for sure.
Path to the Playoffs
As I covered last year, this is nowhere near as easy as before. An extra game, the change in playoff format, etc. The simplest way is to win your division in which you have 6 head-to-head games. If you win all of them, you are in the driver’s seat. But 9 seems like a minimum number of wins to secure at least a wildcard spot. I need more time to see what trends develop under the new system we find ourselves in. Frankly, there is very little hope of seeing our Birds in the playoffs this year (this… is foreshadowing), so let’s just hope for improvement.
PREDICTIONS!
1. Sunday, Sep 11th vs. New Orleans 1:00 pm: Well, this is a hell of a way to start. The Saints played last year without Drew Brees and now Sean Peyton is gone. On our side, we went through Mora, Petrino, Smith, Quinn, Morris, and Dimitroff. One could argue that Matt Ryan was as good as Drew Brees or at least pretty darn close. However, there is no argument that the Saints had better coaches than Atlanta for a decade and a half. Now we have Arthur Smith who starts his sophomore year after a boring rookie season. The Saints bring in a Raider’s retread who wasn’t very good before. Our Birds are dealing with the sins of TD as we navigate cap hell this year. The Saints kicked that can down the road another year. So, on paper they have the better roster this year. But it feels a lot like a regression to the Aints and the same ol’ sorry ass Falcons. What will that mean on this somber day? Nothing. These teams still hate each other. But I think we always play each other better on the road. Saints 22 – Falcons 17 (0-1)
2. Sunday, Sep 18th @ Los Angeles 4:05 pm: Another season, another chance to play the world champs. It seems like we always get a run with the defending champs. I wish this was in Atlanta. I’d love to see Matt Stafford choke in Georgia again. What is there really to say here? They are one of the top 3 teams in the league and we are fighting the Seahawks (sans Russell Wilson) for preseason bottom rankings. They think we are even worse than the Jets. The Jets!!! With Matt Ryan at the helm, if Calvin Ridley wasn’t an idiot… maybe we could give this team a contest. We probably still lose, but with Marcus “The Duck” Mariota, no real running back, and an unproven unknown receiving corps, the Falcons will have to lean on their defense. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Birds lose big. Rams 31 – Falcons 13 (0-2)
3. Sunday, Sep 25th @ Seattle 1:00 pm: Circle this game on the calendar. Birds vs. Birds! Preseason predicted 2 worst teams in the league. No Wilson, no Ryan, and no defense at all. We had some historic battles against Seattle. Great wins, a heart-breaking loss… man… good times. I wonder when or if Arthur Smith will decide to give Ridder a start. This feels too early in the year, but why not? I don’t think anyone thinks the duck is our future. He is a 2-year bridge. But we should find out about Ridder sooner than later. There is a great crop of QBs coming out next year. If Ridder isn’t the guy, we need to know so we can draft one. Unless Ridder is your long- term backup, and you plan to target a QB anyway. But I think we still see the duck this week and I think he plays well back close to Oregon. Don’t get excited with this win though. The Seahawks should be a dumpster fire as well. But is better to have a happy Sunday versus the alternative. Falcons 20 – Seahawks 12 (1-2)
4. Sunday, Oct 2nd vs. Cleveland 1:00 pm: Who thought we would make a run at Deshaun Watson? I honestly never did. On the record, I am thrilled we didn’t get him. Regardless of his talent, this team is financially destroyed, and Watson would have guaranteed a decade of losing. We need a rookie QB under a rookie contract. This next statement is not meant to be controversial or divisive… just an observation. I watched for 14 years as some Atlanta fans hated Matt Ryan for no other reason than he wasn’t Michael Vick. Some hid behind takes based on football play, but I think some simply wanted an African American QB. Is it possible that the pursuit of Watson was an attempt to satisfy that desire? Maybe. There is no question that Watson is a stud. In my opinion better than Vick and right now better than Ryan. But there is no way that move makes any sense when you consider the cap hit for Ryan and the Watson salary demands. Frankly, I am more convinced than ever that Arthur Blank is more concerned with selling tickets than winning games (and THAT is the point of my observation). Anyway, it is just a thought. Regardless of QB play, this game with be Nick Chubb shredding our defense. Cleveland won’t have a great year, but they will have a great game on this day. Browns 31 – Falcons 9 (1-3)
5. Sunday, Oct 9th @ Tampa Bay 1:00 pm: Another year, another Tom Brady game. Ugh, I really hate this dude. I get it, he’s the GOAT. But just die already. Kid’s got alligator blood! Hangin’ around, hangin’ around. Will this be his last season? Hell! Who knows? One of the most painful things about being a fan of this team is that the two teams we could always look to and say, at least we ain’t them (Saints and Bucs) both have Superbowl trophies. Heck, the Bucs were the worst amongst us, and they have 2. Anyway, the Bucs will be competing for a division title, and we will be getting Shawshanked by Tom “Bogs” Brady and the Sisters again. I do like where our secondary is heading, but we still won’t be able to pressure the QB. Tom Brady without pressure is unbeatable. Period. Bucs 38 – Falcons 18 (1-4)
6. Sunday, Oct 16th vs. San Francisco 1:00 pm: The Birds welcome the Trey Lance led 49ers to town. The opponent reminds me a bit of the Falcons coming off losing the Superbowl. Good for the next year or two but starting to age and trend down. They do have the young, new QB which we didn’t… but keep an eye on that defense. Arthur Smith is a boring coach, but fundamentals can get you somewhere. Better blocking, better tackling, conservative play-calling, and… all of a sudden, you’re in a game you shouldn’t be. I also love playing west coast teams traveling east for a 1 pm kick. I like our boys to pull one out here. Very close with a last-minute finish. I am calling on Koo with a 53-yard kick to win the game. Falcons 16 – Niners 14 (2-4)
7. Sunday, Oct 23rd @ Cincinnati 1:00 pm: Cincy really struck gold with Joe Burrow. This franchise has been so bad for so long, there are a lot of similarities in our franchise. Matt Ryan was the best QB in the history of the franchise by a mile. And, for a decade, we had a competitive to really good team. Will Joe Burrow continue to overcome inept management like Ryan was able to do? Which is a good point to look back at our front office. I hope the new GM is building a winner, but I remain skeptical of ownership, and its future. I also still wonder about the senior football strategists that are advising that man. This should be a good game for Cincy. They are the better team with a better QB. But I do like the Falcons to play steady ball the more the year moves on. Our defense will start to trend toward middle of the road, and our offense will be steady though not explosive. We will start playing closer games that will give some hope for next year. This Sunday though… Joe Cool will be too much to overcome. Bengals 27 – Falcons 20 (2-5)
8. Sunday, Oct 30th vs. Carolina 1:00 pm: Ah yes, our good friends the Panthers come to town. You know, we played them in week 8 last year. I think when you have a bad team, you are an afterthought to the schedulers. I get it I suppose. Would you put the Panther and Falcons on MNF? I didn’t think so. The most interesting thing about our likely cellar dwelling comrades from the north is that they also have an underwhelming first round QB veteran and a 3rd round rookie. However, maaaaybe this guy could be good. Will we see Corral vs. Ridder or the duck vs. the “D’arn? It really doesn’t matter here. Both of these teams are bereft of talent save a diamond here and there. We have Pitts and they have McCaffery (when he is healthy). This game will be decided by coaching. Matt Rhule is serviceable and might be better than Arthur. I am the first to criticize our coaching and I think Arthur is the most boring coach since Dan Reeves. But I haven’t seen him lose games like Smith and Quinn did with poor management and play calling. Don’t get me wrong, he is no Belichick. But maybe bland and consistent will help this team play more disciplined and win games. Yes. I believe it will. But not this day. Panthers 18 – Falcons 10 (2-6)
9. Sunday, Nov 6th vs. San Diego 1:00 pm: San Diego is another team on the come with a young stud at QB. The Chargers are a legitimate playoff team that probably has more wins in front of it than losses. Plus, we all love those unis. I hope they wear the powder blue. It will be great to see our stadium filled with them. Thank God at least the fans came out for the Braves. A huge contingent was in Houston for the WS. Boy it sucks when the opposing team does that to us. Good thing I can’t go to a Falcons’ games anymore. The Chargers are better than us across the board. The Birds are just going to be very bad this year. But this will be one of those games where we play above our heads and the foe will be jet lagged and off their REM cycle. Birds steal a game they should never have been in. Our duck throws less ducks than their duck who throws 2 picks (gotta thank the misses for that gem). Falcons 27 – Chargers 24 (3-6)
10. Thursday, Nov 10th @ Carolina 1:00 pm: Hey, didn’t we just play these guys?!?!? Remember when they had Cam Newton, and he was actually good? You member… he won the MVP, they went to the Superbowl… How stuck in mediocrity have they been since losing the big game? Multiple QBs, coaching changes, promising years that fell apart. Yes, I am still talking about the kittens. But if the Birds, Saints, and fairly soon the Bucs aren’t careful, this entire division could end up like Carolina. I am oft accused of being too big of a fan of Matt Ryan. Yep, I overlooked the waning arm strength, the untimely picks… But I never overlooked the numbers. Most wins, yards, completions, TDs, MVPs and playoff wins of ANY QB in franchise history. Was he Favre, Manning, Montana, or Brady? No. But he was 10 times better than Vick, Bartkowski, and well… hell there is no one else worthy of even mentioning. Pay attention to the next two years. If Ridder or the duck don’t become something none of us believe they are, we better draft a franchise QB in the top 3. Otherwise, take a look at the kittens… cause it will be us. And just like mediocre teams do, the Panthers lose to the team they beat just 2 weeks ago. Falcons 31 – Panthers 13 (4-6)
11. Sunday, Nov 20th vs. Chicago 1:00 pm: Justin Fields returns to Georgia. What would have happened with Justin instead of Jake for UGA? What would have happened had we traded Matt a couple years ago and drafted someone like Fields? So many ifs. Management’s handling of Matt Ryan’s move was… well Falcon-esque. They got the least they possibly could for him while crippling the team and embarrassing the entire city in the process. Where is my bag with the holes cut out…ah… there it is… wipe that Varsity chili off…ah, there we go. Ok, I like Cordarelle to have really big game here. The Bears are a decent team whose hopes ultimately ride on the arm, and legs, of Fields, and they have some other pieces. But they are not good enough to pencil in the win column against inferior teams. Talk about opposing fans, I predict the dome will be more than 50% Bears’ fans. They will sit on their hands for 3 quarters as the Birds and Patterson run all over the Bears. But the 4th quarter will belong to Fields who leaves us wondering if Kirby missed out in another QB controversy. Bears 23 – Falcons 17 (4-7)
12. Sunday, Nov 27th @ Washington 1:00 pm: Yay! The Football Team picked a mascot. I am so glad the Red Tails were chosen. What a great homage to a fantastic and deserving group of men who should truly be memorialized in our nation’s capit… wait… what’s that… oh… not the Red Tails? Oh, got it. The Birds travel to DC to face the Red Hogs, and I predic… what? What do you mean they didn’t choose the Red Hogs? Well, it wasn’t my favorite but ok, the Birds face the Red Wolves in an ep… oh weeping Jeebuz!!! What?!?!? Wait, what??? You can’t be serious. So, you’re telling me Cleveland chose the Guardians and Washington chose the Commanders? What in the name of Joe Brandon has come of our no spine country? I guess we will have to rename the Braves. Let me put on my snowflake hat… hmm… got it! The Atlanta Asthmatics. Or how about the Atlanta Actuaries? Damn this country needs a layer of thick skin. Washington is currently given a 74% chance of beating the Falcons. Must be the same folks who said Hillary was gonna win. Look, this isn’t a very good team. The NFC East isn’t much better or different than the South and Carson Wentz is not very good (if healthy enough to play here). I have a feeling a certain Bearcat will lead the Birds to his first win in DC and we will start to say, hey… this team aint that bad. Falcons 27 – Commanders 24 (5-7)
13. Sunday, Dec 4th vs. Pittsburgh 1:00 pm: We welcome Pittsburgh to town. Another team transitioning from a franchise legend (I still prefer Bradshaw… actually drinking his bourbon at the moment) to a new reality. The Steelers chose a Pitt kid to take the reins. We will see how this year’s crop of QBs does, but this particular kid would have been my pick. No shade on Ridder, I think they are comparable. But I like Pickett’s upside a bit more. Unfortunately, I don’t think either are 10-year franchise guys. This game will be close, and we will manage to hang in there. But coaching will win out and they have the better guy with more experience. Steelers go for 2 with no time on the clock to escape with the dub. Steelers 18 – Falcons 17 (5-8)
14. Sunday, Dec 11th – BYE Late in the season. But this year it won’t matter (more foreshadowing). The season is already done by this point.
15. Sunday, Dec18th @ New Orleans TBD: I plan to visit New Orleans in the Spring. The kids have never been. I think it is important to show them what hell on earth looks like. The squaller, depression, and depravity that is New Orleans. The weather sucks, the team sucks, and the fans are downright terrible human beings. Even Mardi Gras is overrated and sucks. About the only thing they got right was the food. I’ll give the Cajuns that… they can make some tasty vittles. Just don’t let them know you’re a dirty bird. Don’t need no voodoo poison in your café ole. It is the week before Christmas. Some think the Saints will contend for the division this year. Sean Peyton even picked them to beat the Bucs… of course he did. But you read it here first, they will be no better than our Birds or the Kittens. And this is an annual grudge match. Winston throws 3 picks, there is a brawl, and 7 players get ejected. Falcons WILL NOT lose this game. Falcons 33 – Saints 22 (6-8)
16. Saturday, Dec 24th @ Baltimore 1:00 pm: In our QB driven league, we have another interesting situation here. Lamar Jackson is having a contract dispute (deadline set for Friday, 9 Sep by which I hope to have this written). Not sure what is going on with either side. Jackson is a great QB, and the Ravens are a great organization for a QB to grow in. But who knows how these things happen? I mean, you would never see a team shop for a QB who is likely to get suspended up to a season after sexually assaulting over two dozen women… allegedly… only to upset the greatest player in franchise history… would ya’? I assume Jackson will be playing for the Ravens, and I think they will be a playoff contender or very close. They will need this game and the Falcons will be hoping to get an early flight home for Christmas. Remember all that hope from the Washington and New Orleans game? It will die an excruciating death as the Birds get blown out. Ravens 31 – Falcons 6 (6-9)
17. Sunday, Jan 1st vs. Arizona 1:00 pm: Happy New Year! Welcome to 2023. Thankfully the boys will be home the rest of the year. But with 9 losses already, they know they won’t be leaving again… not to play football anyway. Instead, they welcome another team with a really good QB who can’t seem to play nice with his team. Murray similarly went through contract issues this offseason. The big question is will he play up to expectations, or rest on his laurels now that he has the money. The Birds will play better after the embarrassing loss in Baltimore which leads to players and coaches feeling some heat from the press and the fans, though no one significant will be fired. Our boys play better, but the Cards need this game and we officially let the 2022 season go. Cardinals 23 – Falcons 20 (6-10)
18. Sunday, Jan 8th vs. Tampa Bay TBD: Mercifully, this will be the last game the Falcons ever play against Tom Brady. The Bucs will be heading to the playoffs (to lose to San Francisco), and we will be picking 6 th overall in the Spring. That should be just about right to miss any great QB. I don’t like this prediction any better than you will, but it is where we are. It is unfortunate, we got so close in 2016, and are now back to one of the worst teams in the league. The highest win total prediction I have seen for our team is 4, so this is actually really optimistic. The good news is that we should be better next year. We look to have more cap space than almost anyone. It will give Fontenot a chance to show us what he can build. But 6 wins this year would be a miracle with the constraints he had to work with in the past offseason. Goodbye Matt Ryan. Good luck in the playoffs. You are a Ring of Honor guy in my book. Hopefully you can complete your HOF career with a little… “luck”. Bucs 31 – Falcons 13 (6-11)
What’s your Predictions???
Training Underway at the Branch
Training camp is here, and it’s time for the Cage to roll out some reasons why the Falcons can exceed expectations. Rebuilding with a new quarterback? Take a look at some examples from NFL history, when teams with poor records the previous year restarted with a new quarterback, and then saw turnarounds that few outside those teams’ locker rooms predicted.
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1992 San Diego Chargers
The 4-12 Chargers traded for QB Stan Humphries, and after starting 1992 at 0-4, made the playoffs. San Diego was in the Super Bowl two years later.
1999 St. Louis Rams
After a 4-12 season, who can forget when backup Kurt Warner came from nowhere to win a Super Bowl?
2001 New England Patriots
After Belichick’s first season at 5-11, Bledsoe’s week 2 injury brought in somebody named Brady, who took them to 11-5 and a Super Bowl.
2003 Carolina Panthers
Panthers brought in Saints backup Jake Delhomme after a 7-9 season. It was John Fox’s second season (Arthur Smith style), and they went to 11-5 and a visit to the Super Bowl.
2008 Miami Dolphins
They got hold of Chad Pennington in August. He won his second Comeback Player of the Year by taking the 1-15 Dolphins to 11-5.
2008 Atlanta Falcons
After the Falcons all-time low point — Michael Vick’s dog fighting and Bobby Petrino’s abandoning ship — Mike Smith took over the 4-12 team and with rookie Matt Ryan brought the team to 11-5. They lost to the eventual NFC champion Cards in the playoffs. Smith earned Coach of the Year, Ryan earned Offensive Rookie of the Year.
2012 Indianapolis Colts
Andrew Luck was the number one pick, and he replaced the injured Peyton Manning to take the 2-14 Colts to 11-5.
2013 Kansas City Chiefs
After Andy Reid was fired by the Eagles, he came to the Chiefs and took them from 4-12 to 11-5. He acquired QB Alex Smith from the 49ers.
2016 Dallas Cowboys
In Dak Prescott’s (number 4 pick) first season he replaced the injured Tony Romo and took the 4-12 team to 13-3.
2017 Philadelphia Eagles
Free agent QB Nick Foles did not disappoint when replacing the injured Carson Wentz. He took the 7-9 team to 13-3, dominated in the playoffs, and won the Eagles a ring.
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Each success had different reasons for it, and the frequency of such worst-to-first turnarounds isn’t high. But you gotta like the vibe coming from the Branch. This is the time of year to “Speak it into existence!”
The Falcons’ Direction?
Question of the Day
by Med
Geej, I wish I had more confidence about the direction than I have. Are we headed into the Twilight Zone where outside the box thinking becomes the new model for the NFL (e.g., basketball type players at WR and TE), headed into Zombie Land where there’s also quicksand, or headed on to the Yellow Brick Road so we can get to Kansas (strike that – to the Lombardi trophy)? O well, a Med random ramble is all you get.
In any business, a fundamental question is whether you have the money you need to possibly succeed. In the NFL world of billionaire owners and multi-million dollar owners, all the owners have the money to succeed. However, the salary cap tries to level the playing field amongst those owners so that the question becomes whether a team has the salary cap money to succeed. Spending cap money poorly punishes a team and puts it at a disadvantage.
If a team has the salary cap money it needs to possibly succeed, then the next question is whether a team has the management to succeed. For our Falcons, that makes owner Blank first, GM Fontenot second, and HC Smith third. With Smith also effectively serving as the offensive coordinator, that makes defensive coordinator Pees fourth (IMO).
Show me the Money
While painful to overcome the punishment from poor spending under some prior GM (almost $63 million of dead money limiting cap spending in 2022), the deck has pretty much been cleared for 2023 and potentially for years after that.
I really like the possibilities for what can be done on a brand new ship not weighed down by contract mistakes from the past. But, I have no certainty as to how management will spend money once it has a pocketful of salary cap money. If spent poorly again, Zombie Land will return.
The Owner – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The Good: Arthur Blank wants to win. While he certainly would also like to make money, he hasn’t traded off really good players merely because he thought he would make him more money by paying some other player less. There was some former owner who did that. Arthur Blank was basically the opposite with his “Falcon for Life” dumb talk.
The Bad: Besides his “Falcon for Life” dumb talk, have you seen some of the suits he wears? Has anyone told him it is 2022 – not a 1922 meeting with Al Capone? LOL.
The Ugly: I have no evidence of the following, but the pursuit of QB Watson sure did seem like there was some owner pretending to be Elmer Fudd and saying “I’m going to get that wascally wabbit Watson”.
The GM
To me, there are three primary areas for which a GM is responsible (after a HC is in place): Manage the Cap, the College Draft, and Free Agent Signings which includes pro free agents and undrafted college free agents.
At this time, I am extremely pleased with Fontenot’s cap management in his less than 18 months as GM. While painful, we have, in a way, gone from a pauper to a rich person starting in 2023. While some “kicking the can down the road” was necessary last year to be able to sign the top 2021 draftees and a couple of lower mid level free agents in 2021, there has been no “kicking the can down the road” this year — unless Grady Jarrett’s extension gets counted because of a belief he will be overpaid under the extension.
This year, after RB Davis was cut, the Falcons either had or almost had all the cap space needed to sign all of the 2022 draftees, with several easy options (e.g., cut Sheffield, restructure Jones’ contract, and use of some “void” year for an extension of someone) to have more than enough to sign all of the 2022 draftees and to start a “rainy day” fund.
I also liked Fontenot getting Fowler to agree to a huge pay cut in exchange for bonus incentives last year.
Side note: While I would have preferred for Matt Ryan to stay and go ahead and “kick the can down the road” some more for Matt Ryan, a GM can only play the cards he is dealt and the chase for a “wascally wabbit” probably made Matt Ryan feel like he was being divorced from his old status as a “Falcon for Life”. Just a wild, out of left field, guess on that one.
To me, it is too early to judge the college draft picks so far. Our fellow Cager Dewey once posted great stats about odds of success based on rounds in which a player was drafted and the years it takes to really be able to judge a draft class. Based on some old writings by Dewey (who always did more research than I have ever done about the NFL) and without yet having read anything which contradicted Dewey’s writings, I am in the wait and see category for the eventual results of who has been drafted under Fontenot’s management. Side note: I read something not long ago that was surprising to me about the 2021 “starters” from the 2021 draft. The article was skimpy on what the definition of a “starter” was, but whatever the definition was the report was something like fewer than all of the first round picks were starters in 2021, fewer than six second round picks were starters in 2021, and there were fewer than six starters amongst everyone selected in the third round onward (with Mayfield one of them). There’s the real random ramble you were holding your breath for in anxious anticipation. ROFL.
The process of shifting to a different scheme or schemes that a HC, OC, and/or DC want to use only adds more time to being able to see results materialize when good players that don’t fit the new scheme leave and have to be replaced. Perhaps that is part of why several Cagers have commented they expect it to take three years (from when Fontenot and Smith were hired) for our Falcons to become good.
With respect to this year’s draft, I recommend anyone who has not yet done so to look at JLOM’s YouTube posts while the draft was occurring to learn more about the draftees and consider how they might help our Falcons’ get on the Yellow Brick Road. Side note: there’s more later about that topic.
With respect to signing of free agents (which was Fontenot’s primary area of responsibility with the Saints), Fontenot (IMO) has done very well with the limited cap funds he has had. How he will do when the Falcons have a pocketful of salary cap money with “Falcon for Lifer” Blank in the background is very uncertain to me. The chase for a “wascally wabbit Watson” doesn’t seem to me like something that Fontenot would have unilaterally started.
The HC
Rookie Head Coaches get better at game management type decisions … right? I hope so, but DQ didn’t progress as much as I had expected. A new direction would be Smith getting better.
Some good things IMO:
The attempt to make a culture change from a “rah rah – all is good in the brotherhood” to a “football bully” attitude seems to be a better direction.
There seems to be a clear direction for what type of offense and what type of base defense that Smith wants to install, but it is too early to know if he will veer off the path as time goes by. It seems crystal clear that different types of offenses and base defenses can be successful. If that was not true, then there would be no variations amongst the 32 NFL teams. With the last two HCs, they seemed to have wondered off their path (or were perhaps prevented from following their chosen path) and ended up in quicksand. For one example, DQ wanted a Shanahan type offense because he thought it was the toughest to defend against. Great, DQ got the young Shanahan to be the first OC under DQ and our Falcons had one of the ten best offenses in the history of the NFL in DQ’s second year, but then DQ didn’t follow that path with either of the next two OCs. For another example, former HC Mike Smith really wanted our Falcons to follow the base 3/4 defense path because that had been his calling card, but instead of that … he wondered off that path and only “tweener” steps were taken which resulted in our Falcons caught between two different paths for a base defense.
Many years ago, many of us hoped that TD would bring the Patriots’ way with a new general manager. We didn’t get that, but Smith sure seems to have some Belichick in him.
Side note: I want Smith to wear a hoody whenever we play the Patriots in New England. I will be ROFL if that happens because …. You can guess why. If you don’t instantly guess why, consider the body builds, faces, and demeanors. Could any of us guarantee [5classic Belichick] we would guess correctly as to who was shown on the television from a long range television camera?
Bear with me for this whole paragraph before you start throwing a beer at the “bear” request merely after reading the next bare sentence. Smith got Pees to come out of retirement. Yes, the Falcons defense was terrible last year. Yes, Pees isn’t a spring chicken and might retire again at any time. But, consider that Pees was the DC for several teams which consistently ranked as having a top 10 defense, Pees would have known the bad salary cap situation and the defensive players the Falcons had under contract for a shift to a base 3/4 defense, and he still came out of retirement to be Smith’s DC. To me, that seems like Smith has the type of leadership that others who have worked around him before will follow. Smith’s ability to get Pees to come out of retirement seems to indicate a good direction. Of course, on the other hand, maybe Pees lost all his money betting on the horses and Pees was the only one desperate enough for money to agree to be the DC of last year’s defense. Side note: get your bets in now for the Kentucky Derby. [6winner] If you can’t, I have hired a bare bear who will accept all donations to Med’s beer account.
The DC
I was excited about DQ becoming HC. I was finally back in the Atlanta area and had some time to read things about defenses that I knew so little about. I could see how a shift from a traditional base 4/3 defense to a “4/3 under/over” base defense could happen pretty quickly and without large scale changes in defensive personnel. While I was definitely part of the Missouri “show me” group back then (and still am), I was one of the few Cagers who thought our Falcons could realistically compete for the Lombardi within two years.
This time, my best guess has been three years at the earliest. Part of that guess is that I didn’t see how a shift to a successful base 3/4 defense with the players the Falcons had and the then existing salary cap handcuffs could be accomplished faster.
While I like Pees’ track record, he’s not a younger version of Houdini. Even if he was, I doubt a magic trick would work for long.
So, IMO, it is at least a 3 year journey down the path for a full shift to a base 3/4 defense.
A long time ago, the keys to a base 3/4 defense were OLBs, a NT, and at least one really good ILB. My guess is that, with the years of the NFL shifting more and more into a passing league, there has to be some change from the old keys. But what? Let me know when you know because I sure don’t yet.
Anyway, it seems to me that 3 defensive picks this year in the second and third rounds were sure intended to help in the shift. There was a potentially great ILB drafted and two “Edge” players who might or might not be able to play as traditional OLBs. Some college DEs have learned how to play as an OLB in the NFL, but some have not. At worst, maybe both of them can pass rush well in nickel/dime defenses where they won’t be asked to do anything besides pass rush and watch out for somebody in the flat like they did as a DE in college.
Since Pees didn’t retire again (not so far anyways), my money (all the way up to two and a half cents this year) is that Pees approved of all three draft picks including drafting LB Andersen much earlier than projected by many “professionals”.
Over many decades, I have been known to sometimes miss the forest because I was only looking at some of the individual trees. Perhaps LB Andersen isn’t just a tree that will be planted as an inside LB. Perhaps he will be planted as primarily an OLB. He’s got the size and many of the other athletic ability gifts to be an OLB. Position shifts from the college game to the NFL game happen a lot.
But Where’s the Beef (for a BBNT)?
I was disappointed the Falcons didn’t draft a BBNT. Perhaps I should not have been disappointed because, from what I have read, Pees has historically preferred an attacking 3/4 defense instead of the two gapping defense system for defensive linemen. Perhaps I should stay disappointed.
From what little I have read so far, the attacking method has many variations where a true BBNT isn’t as important as it once was for a base 3/4 defense. In an attack style, the interior defensive linemen might attack particular gaps to free up one or more LBs to attack through a different gap or gaps or one defensive lineman might defend two gaps while others attack.
Unpredictability seems like a good idea to me, but multiple mistakes or lack of appropriate personnel to try to cover for just one mistake could lead to …. something not good. Just guessing about that “something not good” of course.
What’s an older style random ramble without some “out of the box thinking” and/or a joke?
- The Falcons did draft at least a part time BBNT. His last name is Shaffer. Think about that. Had to practice against Jordan Davis, Devonte Wyatt, and Travon Walker. I bet he learned about some of what works for a BBNT, DT, and DE.
- The nice men in white coats are now going to cut off my internet privileges for that last paragraph.
GO FALCONS. Division contenders this year. Next year, Super Bowl contender. The year after that, JB Falcon’s perfect undefeated season.
Welcome to the Falcons 2022 Draft Class
falcon21 We need to go too the Big Man store early in this draft, not Toys-R-Us.
Hamad Meander That might be one of my favorite short posts ever. Big Man Store vs. Toys-R-Us. Classic! Seriously, NFL football is a big man’s sport. We need lots of those guys. I wouldn’t be upset with 5 of our 9 picks being linemen on both sides of the ball. Wouldn’t you love the first 10 guys off the bus to be over 6’6″ 300+? just “little ole” me With the 1st pick in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft The Jaguars select DE Travon Walker.
Round One
#8 – WR Drake London – 6-4 – 219 – USC
just “little ole” me With the 8th pick in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft Your Atlanta Falcons select WR Drake London
Hamad Meander I’m nearly done with this franchise of stupidity.
falcon21 I thought TD was not the GM anymore, guess I was wrong. Not a good pick in my eyes, basically a wasted pick for a rebuilding team.
just “little ole” me April 28, 2022 at 9:11 pmLondon has been compared to Mike Evans and Larry Fitzgerald. He led the NCAA in TDs before breaking his ankle. He was the only weapon on USC’s offence. The defense knew they were throwing to London and still could not stop him.
Gman April 28, 2022 at 9:16 pmI like it!!
JB Falcon You gotta admit our WR bucket was darn near empty. On the bright side, he could be another JJ. On the bad side, he’s already had a JJ broken ankle.
Med First off – thankfully not a QB at # 8. Looks like we are putting together a basketball team for converting 3rd downs and scoring TDs in the red zone. Two big Falcons’ weaknesses last year on offense. London also appeared to block in the running game from what I have read and what little I have seen. A type of WR that HC Smith’s offense prefers. London has also played outside and in the slot. Motion options galore with Pitts, London, and Patterson. From an opposing defensive’s perspective, who is where and who is suppose to cover him. While teams might have one taller CB or safety to try to cover Pitts, not many have two. While I personally would have preferred a defense player at # 8, there was a huge need at WR. Let’s see where it all goes. 4 more picks tomorrow (unless we trade up).
Arno “First off – thankfully not a QB at # 8.” Huge relief. If that had happened, we’d be waiting for a new GM and HC.
The Time is NOW The question for now is are the Falcons done for the day, or are they gonna jump back in to the back of the first round (at the cost of significant draft capital) to pick a QB? I hope they don’t, but I’ll watch to see.
Med What a run on WRs. Those big contracts for FA WRs and trades of WRs to avoid potential salary cap problems with a highly paid franchise QB seem to be having an effect.
JB Falcon Wasn’t London the first WR drafted? And by TF/AS. Maybe they figured, or knew, something we didn’t? We got 8 more picks to see what they’re up to.
just “little ole” me Atlanta did not trade back into the 1st round!!! *wipes the sweat off his brow while releasing a sigh of relief*
falcon21 First round last draft we draft a TE, this draft we draft a WR. We still cannot protect a QB and we still can’t sack a QB. I guess that’s the way the Falcons build a team, lol.
Paddy O Still AB’s pursuit of shining toys.
Now, most of the BBNT are gone, plus the better DE’s.
LB still has some top flight talent there, as well as OG – but, arguably the two best OG’s are already off the board – which is surprising – OG is usually underated/under represented in the 1st RD.
Paddy O Color me shocked that Trayvon Walker went #1 overall; but the Jags are drafting #1 for a reason. Once again, the Falcons ignore the BEST college conference in the country. They could have drafted Cross, then Pickens. At where they drafted, I preferred Bama’s Williams or Olave, but they showed some good highlights from London. We’ll see.
John+Waynesworld We have 4 picks today and there is a part of me that is getting pretty sick of the Falcons ignoring the obvious talent of the Georgia Bulldogs. Take away the significant attendance increase as a bi-product of the union as well as the young men having extra incentive to play well with UGA fans, friends and family all rooting for them. Many former Bulldogs players are succeeding in the NFL and have been for decades, with very few disappointments but here, we can count the number of UGA players drafted by the Atlanta Falcons over the past 30 years on one hand: 1994 – Mitch Davis 2006 – D.J. Shockley 2007 – Martrez Milner 2008 – Thomas Brown 2011 – Akeem Dent During that same 30 years they have drafted 3 players from Kent State, 4 players from Fresno State and 5 players from Southern Miss. We have a National Champion in our back yard who just had 5 players picked in the 1st Round with 9 more still on the board. The Falcons are a rebuilding team and have needs at nearly every position. I believe today is a watershed moment between the Atlanta Falcons and a significant percentage of its fanbase.
Hamad Meander JWW – I tend to decouple my love for my college alma mater with my abusive relationship with the Atlanta Falcons. It is strange, as you stated, that the Falcons tend to steer away from UGA players. I would have been thrilled with Jordan Davis at 8, not because of any connection to UGA, but because he is big as a mountain and just slightly slower than the WR we just picked. I agree also that picking players from the SEC would seem to be a good strategy, as the conference produces more NFL talent than others and wins the NC just about every year. The biggest problem I have with our first round pick is that is seems to be a reactionary and almost panic pick. The market for WR has gone wild, but like anything (stocks and housing especially), do you buy stocks when they are screaming up or buy the dip? I buy the dip almost exclusively. A receiver does not move the needle much when you can’t protect your QB or sack the opponent’s QB. A monsterous DT moves the needle because he improves the edge rushers angles, he takes double teams off of your 3T, and cleans the gaps for the linebackers to fill.
John+Waynesworld Thanks for the reply, HM. It wasn’t the pick itself, which I think is a sound selection. London has been compared to some elite, big-man WRs that we would love to have playing for the Falcons. Every living NFL fan knows the Falcons have almost zero WRs on the roster. It was just the more I researched the lack of a Falcon-UGA connection, the more amazed I was at the numbers and the time that has passed. It still sticks in my craw that in 2014 & 2015 we badly needed a Center and the previous regime wouldn’t even take a flyer on undrafted 4-year UGA starter David Andrews when they had nothing but ineffective journeymen (Gino Gradkowski, Mike Person & James Stone) as their choices. Concerning the Jordan Davis pick, I agree with you. I always thought he was one of the safer bets and he only lasted 5 more selections.
Arno If the Falcons had to solve the WR problem in the first pick, at least they got a battering ram. Along with Patterson and Pitts, it shows a mauler approach to the roster that Smith is taking. To me, that gives hope that in day two, we’ll see some more BBs.
Gman Such negativity lol. We still have 8 picks left. As I said before they know A LOT more about what they have,what to expect, and their plan for the future than we do. Enjoy the ride and give this FO the benefit of the doubt for a couple years. If after next year when they have the piggy bank available and they blow it, then I will start complaining. Until then they are working within a tight budget and picking who they believe will help the most. PS I like the pick. Now if they don’t address the trenches AT ALL, I’ll have to question it. I suspect we’ll see at least 1 maybe 2 LBs tonight.
JB Falcon We are in agreement on that outlook.
Flo-Ri-Duh Guess I am just stubborn and unrealistic: Tristan Wirfs (OT) in 2020 draft was my desire for the Birds. Instead Tampa trades up a few spots and takes him just ahead of Birds draft pick. PFF Grade 84.6 (excellent) [ Wirfs was named 1st Team All Pro.] Falcons drafted Terrell who is good but not 1st Team All Pro OT good. Penei Sewell in the 2021 draft – passed over by Birds to take a TE that scored ONE TD. He’s still my choice over Pitts. Sewell’s rookie season PFF Grade 77 Falcons draft Pitts (TE) who scored one TD and got a lot of yards because they had no one else to throw too. I like Pitts but he’s not as valuable as a future ALL PRO OT. Evan Neal (OT) 2022 draft – my selection for Birds – taken one pick ahead of Birds. Birds draft a WR who has Julio Jones size but not his athleticism. JJ ran a 4.31 40. London was timed at 4.57 40. Since a WR’s 40 time doesn’t mean they will / won’t be successful I will reserve judgement for now and hope he is successful. All three OT’s are destined for ALL PRO (my opinion). When – when – when will the Birds’ front office show respect for what wins the Super Bowl – the trenches? Not impressed with AB / TF first draft but they were rookies. Still – I saw little promise beyond Pitts. The chairs on the Titanic got replaced but the story is still the same. The OL / DL has little to no talent and the coaches aren’t making them better. Arthur Smith should know better.
MR Pennyworth I see there is some mixed reaction to the team selecting Drake London in the first round. I cannot claim that I know much more than what I have heard on the draft shows. I did see former Carolina receiver Steve Smith talking about the numerous receiver transactions that occured on day one of the NFL Draft. Smith seemed to have varied opinions, but he did like the selection of London to Atlanta. He said that Atlanta needed tall receivers with a large catch radius to help Mariota’s ability to complete passes. It was a position that needs improvement. I am looking forward to the remainder of the draft. I wish our selections the best and hope that they perform beyond expectations!
just “little ole” me Atlanta just traded up to pick 38
just “little ole” me Falcons get pick 38 Giants get picks 43, 114(4th)
Round Two
# 38 – EDGE Arnold Ebiketie – 6-3 – 256 – Penn St
just “little ole” me In the Second round of the 2022 NFL Draft with pick number 38 your Atlanta Falcons select DE Arnold Ebiketie
just “little ole” me Ugh…why trade up for him?!!!
The Time is NOW I don’t get the trade up. Pees must like him…
just “little ole” me idk…there are a bunch of pass rushers still available. If it was for David Ojabo I would understand, but not Ebiketie! TF is showing he continues to be a poor trader!
Arno Yeah– I had him penciled in at 43.1, read a little more about him, and then scratched him off! DE was a huge need…..
The Time is NOW At least it wasn’t for a QB.
Paddy O worthless trade up; nobody else was taking him before us – another McGary dumbass move; AB hires idiots for GM
John Waynesworld Just got back, effed up my mock. Love the pick though. I saw some sites having him pretty high up in the rankings throughout this process. Strengths•Brings all he has into his initial punch off the snap. • Snakes into gaps to disrupt zone plays.• Consistently beat the back-side cutoff versus Iowa.• Good discipline and recognition reading mesh point.• Skilled rusher with active, accurate hands.• Subtle, efficient movements help to grease the edge.• Good job of flattening his angle to the quarterback.• Possesses inside stab hand to displace over-setting tackles.• Has some charge in hands for speed-to-power shots.• Special teams experience, including two blocked kicks in 2021.
The Time is NOW Summary from Dane Brugler of The Athletic (yes, ranked 28): 28. Arnold Ebiketie, Edge, Penn State (6-2, 250) Ebiketie explodes off the edge and stresses blockers with his arc acceleration, active hands and relentless play personality (registered at least one tackle for loss in 11 of 12 games in 2021). Though he uses his length well as a pass rusher, he struggles to consistently anchor, lock out and free himself to contain the run. Overall, Ebiketie needs to improve his refinement as a rusher and reliability vs. the run, but he is a long, twitched-up athlete with the motor and mentality to develop into a starting NFL pass rusher.
Flo-Ri-Duh “Arnold Ebekitie (DE), Penn State – PFF’s 33rd ranked player and 6th ranked DE. He transferred from Temple to Penn State and proved his 2020 production was no fluke. He beat up on quality tackles en route to a 90.5 pass-rushing grade and 52 pressures. ” (pff.com) I studied his game film – has a variety of pass rush moves – super quick off the ball and plays very physical. 6’2″ 250 lb. In 2021 season had 9.5 sacks / 18 TFL / 62 TKL / 2 blocked kicks / 2 fumble recoveries. – could be a 3-4 LB in Pee’s system. (nfl.com) *All that said I did not use nfl.com this year. There are better sources…Probably as good as available in Rd 2 and he has no serious injuries like achilles which can be tricky to recover from.
# 58 – LB Troy Andersen – 6-4 – 235 – Montana St
just “little ole” me In the Second round of the 2022 NFL Draft with pick number 58 Your Atlanta Falcons select LB Troy Anderson
The Time is NOW I like the player, picked him in the 3rd. Would’ve preferred Travis Jones, but what do I know?
Flo-Ri-Duh Troy Anderson (LB) – I had Chad Muma in 2nd Rd and Troy Anderson in 3rd. right player – wrong round….Tremendous athlete but has only played one very productive season at the LB position. After a learning curve, if they can coach him up, he could be a good one. Passed on Nakobe Dean due to rumored inuries.
Hamad Meander You guys know I love this pick. I mocked him about 1,000 times to the Falcons. Thank you! My faith is restored.
Arno Most pleasing pick yet.
Hamad Meander I’m pretty pleased with BOTH 2nd rounders. Wish we had another pick that round – it was juicy.
Med Really good RAS like LB Quay Walker, with both going far earlier than I expected.
Anderson is inexperienced (and coming from a smaller college) and might take more time to learn the NFL than many college ILBs would have. I hope the Falcons’ nation (which includes far more than Cagers) doesn’t start complaining about him as soon as he has hiccups or doesn’t play much in his rookie season like they have for many of last year’s picks. I don’t think the Falcons would have picked him this high without Pees’ blessing. Pees has more experience than either our HC or OC and has a track record that causes me to have more confidence in him than many Falcons’ fans do. Side note: Congrats for having more faith than I did in Anderson. I will be rooting for him.
The Time is NOW Travis Jones is still there
Round Three
# 74 – QB Desmond Ridder – 6-4 – 235 – Montana St
just “little ole” me In the Third round of the 2022 NFL Draft with pick number 74 Your Atlanta Falcons select QB Desmond Ridder
The Time is NOW They’d better be right.
just “little ole” me Did they not watch the Alabama game? He will face that level competition in the NFL!
Arno Can do it again next year, if it doesn’t work out. But what a damm expensive experiment.
just “little ole” me They won’t. They will say they need to give him 3 years to develop and we will miss out on getting a QB from a much better QB class! I would rather have taken a chance on QB Cole Kelly on Day 3. Easier to justify taking a QB two years in a row that way.
Hamad Meander Why? Where are my linemen? Don’t understand – are we hoping Riddler is our QB in 2023? Why waste a 3rd if we are going to be in play for a top QB next draft?
John Waynesworld I like the pick. That is one determined looking guy. Good, quality college player too, taking a small school to the biggest stages, where so many others couldn’t.
Gman Me too. I like it. And not until the 3rd rd.
Med I’m o.k. with not going Davis at # 8, but count me as preferring Jones instead of a QB at that point in the draft. Flo-Ri-Duh Desmond Ridder (QB) was my fave of the QB’s in this draft. His comparison is Marcus Mariota – before he was injured. Early on Mariota
# 82 – EDGE DeAngelo Malone – 6-4 – 240 – Western KY
just “little ole” me In the Third round of the 2022 NFL Draft with pick number 82 Your Atlanta Falcons select OLB DeAngelo Malone
The Time is NOW I like it.
just “little ole” me He is one of the guys I really like. I had him as a 3rd – 4th round selection.
John Waynesworld I guess we will have to wait until Day 3 for that ‘outside-the-box’ pick of an SEC player.
Paddy O how do teams in the NE value GA players higher than the Falcons???
Flo-Ri-Duh Birds keep their tradition of snubbing UGA players in the draft. Stupid is as stupid does….
Gman Maybe it’s an AB thing. Who knows. I was hoping we’d invest in Nakobe Dean.
just “little ole” me I am thinking a 2nd WR, CB, and maybe a punter with our 5th and two 6th round picks
falcon21 How about throwing in a O-linemen?
just “little ole” me F21 – What I want and what I think they will do are two very different things! I would love to have an O-Lineman!
Gman Still like to see Jamaree Salyer
just “little ole” me I agree! He can play OG and OT in a pinch. He did a good job against the #2 overall pick DE Hutchinson and he faced all those UGA defenders on a daily basis!
just “little ole” me In the Third round of the 2022 NFL Draft with pick number 102 the Dolphins select LB Channing Tindall. I had him ranked higher than LB Anderson. We will see who plays better.
Paddy O no way Anderson played against the same level of opponent as the GA players did. THis is a redux of the 2012 draft, at least to me.
just “little ole” me That’s the end of Day 2. Joins us tomorrow for a full final day of the 2022 Draft!
Gman I’m excited. I like the draft so far. I’d like to see us snag Salyer or Schaeffer in the 5th.Maybe OT Vrabel in the 6th. Between the Punter and S Poa Malu in the 6th. However, I bet we take a TE in the 5th.
Paddy O short summary so far: we suck more than the 2012 draft
Med How do you really feel? LOL.
Paddy O The 2012 draft: Peter Konz OG Wisconsin 3 91 Lamar Holmes OT Southern Mississippi 5 157 Bradie Ewing RB Wisconsin 5 164 Jonathan Massaquoi LB Troy State 6 192 Charles Mitchell DB Mississippi State 7 249 Travian Robertson Nobody really contributed. Which is why the team lost momentum in the next few years.
Thus far: 8 London – need at WR; we’ll see 38 Ebikitie – we’ll see if his lack of elite competition at Penn is exposed (also unnecessarily lost a draft pick moving up) 58 Anderson – so many better LB’s on the board when we took this guy 74 Ridder – will contribute to the wheels spinning of 2022, which may give us a Jaguars feel – as we again draft in the top 10 (really 5) next year 82 Malone – this guy is not even on the prospects list from fanspeak; most likely could have been had as an UDFA Still have not done much at all to improve either line, and still could use another TE, WR, RB. Colts on the other hand, have drafted as predicted. WR, TE, OT, S. All positions of need. Perhaps TF did MR2 a gigantic favor. How do the Falcons take zero players from the National Champion home college team? How??
Med That 2012 draft was even worse than most of the bad Lions and bad Browns’ drafts. I still remember TD being so proud of getting a “first round talent” in the third round with Holmes.
Paddy O Some guys like the Anderson pick – but, how do you explain the Malone pick? He looked like a UDFA to me. Regarding the two LB, if we had taken Dean and Harris, I’d be fine – even if they did not work out. These are both flyers.
Arno Not how I wanted it to go, but some think it was a steal for the Falcons to take the first QB off the board. Along with the first WR….
Flo-Ri-Duh The 1st QB came off the board in the 1st Rd – pick #16 – Kenny Pickett – to the Steelers. Ridder was the 2nd QB picked. He will be the 1st backup QB off the bench for the next several years at the very least. He will make a decent backup – which they don’t have now. So the pick is not a total waste. They need a backup behind the injury prone Mariota. And – who knows, Ridder may turn out better than we think. The question is will he turn out like JaMarcus Russell or Russell Wilson (who was also drafted 3rd Rd)?
Paddy O Considering how mediocre Mariotta is, I think Ridder gets snaps next year.
The Time is NOW A couple of thoughts on our 2 Edge rushers. I think we traded up for Ebiketie because SEA had 2 picks before us and they needed an edge rusher. SEA used one of these picks to take Boye Mafe, who Brugler had ranked 20 slots lower than Ebiketie (28 to 48). I’m guessing the Falcons felt similarly about those 2 prospects.
Brugler had DeAngelo Malone slotted at 82. Here’s his summary: 82. DeAngelo Malone, Edge, Western Kentucky (6-3, 243) With his burst and speed, Malone runs the arc extremely well and shows the ability to win the corner, flatten and close. With his struggles to stay square at the point of attack in the run game, he is at his best in space, where he can show off his versatile athleticism. Overall, Malone is a speed-reliant rusher with questions about play strength and position fit, but he is a quarterback hunter with the athletic traits and God-given acceleration to make plays. He can be an effective role player as a stand-up edge rusher or linebacker who will play primarily on passing downs.
Gman Good draft so far. Some of the picks that we predicted for 2 and 3 are still on the board so they seem to have done their homework. Now get us an OL, TE, and another WR. Or Big Butt Ridgeway. They’ll be plenty of leftovers tomorrow for other spots. PS. Looks like Grady must be staying. Stay POSITIVE go get some of this beautiful sunshine.
Hamad Meander I don’t feel I’ll need to post a “I hate Dimitroff” post after this draft, as it is addressing some needs and hasn’t been a value waste for the most part. I think the entire draft could have been much more exciting for me had we picked Travis Jones, DT over Ridder to completely revamp our pass rush. I hate incomplete measures, and this pick would have completely transformed our pass rush. I’ve been a huge fan of Troy Andersen for a long time and love his potential in this defense. Ebeketie and Malone are exactly what we needed, and I’m not freaked out over trading up to get the first guy. Again, not liking half measures, if this is a complete rebuilding year, I would have preferred a trade down from 8 and adding more picks. I felt we needed at least 11 rookies in this class to season for 2023. We are only getting 8 new players. I think that is not enough. As far as drafting Ridder. Ok, So drafting a rookie QB next season won’t be a 100% necessity, and that’s actually ok. What if we are in a position to get Will Anderson Jr. next season to just blow the top off of our pass rush? What if we can add the top DT next season and have lots of draft capital. Well, then the Ridder pick allows us to do so. He’s a pretty good QB that needs some work – not unlike any rookie we would get next season outside of Bryce Young. This is not a perfect draft so far, but it’s pretty good. I hope our 5th and 6th rounders are solid today – we need a RB, SS, and OG.
John Waynesworld I am optimistic about this draft. Last year’s draft seemed like a 1st year mulligan draft, with the obvious addition of a cornerstone Tight End and several possible fits. Smith and Fontenot had a year to look at this roster and in this one they addressed obvious needs and the future. I have to agree what Wyche said on the Network last night, This team is rebuilding and these draft pieces are building blocks for the future. Whether they think they can find quality O-Linemen in the last 3 rounds or if they stick with their roster plus a few free agents, we shall see.
The Time is NOW From Jeff Schultz: Moving on now. Because the Falcons had a good quarterback in Matt Ryan. They often lost, anyway, for a number of reasons but mostly because this was not the team you wanted to back you in a bar fight. Smith and Fontenot maintained they stuck to their draft board Friday, and they picked players as they fell to them. But not really, not completely. They traded up five spots with the New York Giants to get Ebiketie, who transferred from Temple to Penn State, dubbed himself, “Doctor,” because, “’I’m the doctor of the pass rush” and backed up that moniker with 9.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss in 2021. Andersen and Malone also are known for their physicality. It’s not a coincidence. Smith became a coveted head-coaching candidate because of his creative play design, but he has preached the need for more toughness on both lines of scrimmage since he arrived in Atlanta. “If you’re going to say that stuff and you don’t go get those guys, you’re just a hypocrite,” he said. “If you want a tough team, go get guys who are tough. You can certainly push guys and enhance their development. But in my experience, if you don’t have the strategy and you don’t follow through, you’re just fluff.” …even London has an edge to him.
just “little ole” me Punter run in the 4th round!
The Time is NOW The Falcons are on the clock.
Round Five
# 151 – RB Tyler Allgeier – 5-11 – 224 – BYU
just “little ole” me In the Fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft with pick number 151 Your Atlanta Falcons select RB Tyler Allgeier
just “little ole” me road grader, some fumble issues, was said to have the best RB vision in the draft
Gman Hmmm a little surprised. Probably the end of Mike Davis.
Med The RB room sure does seem overloaded. Mike Davis does seem like a logical cut candidate because of the cap savings. Perhaps Falcons will carry three true RBs – Davis, Allgeier, and one of Huntley, Ollison, and Williams, with Patterson as a combo RB/WR taking a roster spot that might normally go to WR # 6 (or even WR # 5).
The Time is NOW Yeah baby! Allgeier!
Med Once again, would have preferred a NT. However, if going to draft a RB this year, I think that’s good value in the fifth round.
Arno Do I see a hint of Michael Turner in this guy?
Hamad Meander Love this pick!!!! Tyler Allgeier is a TD machine.
Med Hope that meant a touchdown machine – not a Thomas Dimitroff machine. ROFL. I’m not even drinking and can still do bad jokes.
Med Besides no GA player yet for the Falcons, not even an SEC player yet fir the Falcons. I wonder how many other NFL teams didn’t pick an SEC player yet.
Flo-Ri-Duh Tyler Algier (RB) was the #1 guy I had for the Falcons in my mock – but 1st pick 6th instead of 5th Rd. Right player wrong round again! I picked Troy Anderson (LB) for the Birds as the second 3rd Rd pick but he was chosen with the first 3rd Rd pick. Off by a hair – got to work on that. I had Jamaree Salyer (OL) as my 1st player in the 5th Rd for the Birds and last I looked he’s still undrafted. Falcons have drafted zero interior linemen on either side of the ball – yet their interior DL / OL sux. Go figure.
Round Six
# 190 – G Justin Shaffer – 6-4 – 314 – UGA
just “little ole” me In the Sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft with pick number 190 Your Atlanta Falcons select OG Justin Shaffer
Paddy O i personally thought he had more upside than Salyer; apparently somebody with the ATL thought so too. This will hopefully end the Mayfield at LG experiment.
just “little ole” me Finally got your SEC and UGA player!!!
John Waynesworld Woof!
Hamad Meander Was about to post the same – knock two off the kick draft questions. Hopefully this will quell the criticism of nit picking UGA/sec players
# 213 – TE John FitzPatrick – 6-7 – 262 – UGA
just “little ole” me In the Sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft with pick number 213 Your Atlanta Falcons select TE John Fitzpatrick
just “little ole” me Not that I don’t like Fitzpatrick, but why take a slow TE when there was a 6’3″ 230 lbs WR that runs a 4.37 (40), has a large catch radius, and would at minimum be a beast on Special teams and a contributor in the passing game, was still available. Tanner Conner has similar measurables to Megatron! was he not worth the flyer at pick 213??????
Med Cagers that watched a lot of Georgia:Your thoughts?
just “little ole” me he was used mostly as a blocker, average hands, average speed
John Waynesworld Big, gutsy competitor, played 2021 with a broken foot. Increased his upper body strength since the championship and supposedly impressed at the UGA Pro Day. Very good blocker. Similar to Lee Smith. We will see how the foot has healed.
Paddy O I was hoping he was a good blocker. The new Toilolo.
JB Falcon Our last two picks were borderline back-ups at best. imo
The Time is NOW Thanks to Arno for getting the mock draft competition organized and tallied! This is the first time the Falcons have drafted 4 of the guys I picked out (even if they all weren’t at the correct pick). Not sure whether that’s a good sign or a bad omen, but I’m sticking with the sign theory for the time being. Go Falcons!!!!!!!
Med I will take that as a good sign (until proven wrong). Biggest thanks goes to Arno of course. I also thank all those who played the Cage mock draft game and hope even more will play next year.
just “little ole” me That wraps up the 2022 NFL Draft thank you to all who joined us. Hope you got at least one player that you REALLY wanted! Go Falcons!!!
JB Falcon I’ve always related football to racing, my hobby years ago. After the season is over we take our car home and prepare for next year. We have just left the Speed Shop with a bunch of brand new parts and may pick up some used ones by trading/buying with other teams. Some of them will improve the car more than others but all of them should fit. It’s just a matter of installing them and getting them all to work together. Next step is to head to the track/field to try it out and practice, practice, practice. We’ll need to do a lot of tweaking and experimenting to get the best possible performance. When the race/season starts it will be totally up to the driver/FO. Even the fastest/best team on the track/field can lose races/games if not executed properly.
Gman Very happy with this draft. I guess it means that Grady and Deion are staying. Looking forward to seeing these kids perform.
The Time is NOW I was also pleasantly surprised. We still need help in the trenches on both sides of the ball, but we got some nice developmental pieces to start a culture change and a rebuild (if all goes well). I’m encouraged with the direction.
Paddy O the Shaffer pick saved it for me; we can now see if Mayfield can play RT.
The Falcons Cage 