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**Arizing540** · 02-07-2008, 03:18 AM

2013 Preview

After going 10-6 in 2011, Atlanta dropped to 5-11 in what they�re calling a rebuild stage. How far have they come during this rebuild? It�s hard to say as they were very active in the 2013 off season.

Retirements:

C Jeff Saturday, TE Doug Jolley, CB Charles Tillman, RB Lee Suggs

Of the 4 players lost, the only one who won�t hurt them was Suggs as he didn�t play a down in 2012. The other three were all starters at their respective positions, with Saturday being the longest tenured player of the 3.

Trade Market:

Few teams were as active as Atlanta in the offseason. Actually, I�m beginning to wonder if ANY team was as active. A total of 12 moves brought in new players, shipped out old players and added picks, while trading them away. Yeah, it�s a little confusing.

The first move of the off season for the Falcons brought in 6th year LT Nick Kaczur from Oakland. They sent their 2.4, 4.2, 5.4, 7.30 and the Giants 2nd round pick in 2014 for him. In one year as a starter, he had a 38.5 KRB% while allowing 6 sacks. Since coming over, he�s been signed for 4 years at $28 million. Obviously, the Falcons are hoping that he�s the guy to protect their QBs blindside for years to come.

Next, the Falcons got good value for the second overall pick in the 2012 draft. They sent the 1.2 pick to Miami for their 1.3, 2.30, and 3.11 pick.

Not waiting too long after that, Atlanta sent aging vets LT Eric Steinbach and DT Ryan Sims to Oakland in exchange for their 2.15, 5.26 2013 picks and 2014 3rd round pick. This is surprisingly good value as neither of these guys will be around much longer.

Next, in a surprising move, the Falcons sent their newly acquired 1.3, 2.15 and 3.11 picks along with their 4.1 selection to grab the 1st overall pick in the draft, plus C Jason Spitz. In Spitz, they get a 3 year starting center who has given up 10 total sacks and has a 30.1 KRB%. They�ve got to be hoping that he�ll be able to replace retired Jeff Saturday.

Atlanta then traded away their 2nd round pick in 2015 for a salary cap strapped Chicagos 3.8 and 4.7 picks.

In a move to bring in a backup for Lorenzo McKnight, the Falcons sent their 4.29 pick to Seattle in exchange for QB Tyrone McNeil.

Those pesky trading Falcons still weren�t done. They then sent their 2015 1st round pick as well as their 2014 2nd round pick to the Buffalo Bills for their 1.21 selection in this years draft.

Not happy with either Wilkerson or McCune as their starting middle linebacker, the Falcons moved their 2014 2nd round pick from Dallas as well as their 3rd in 2014 to Washington for MLB Dean Willis. Willis has only one season as a starter under his belt and that was in 2010 when he was with Houston. He was effective with 80 tackles, but I�m thinking that Atlanta wants a bit more than that out of him.

Next up, Cleveland. Atlanta moved their 2.30 pick for the Browns 2014 2nd (from Arizona) and their 2013 4.3 picks.

Atlanta then received pass rushing DT Craig Terrill from Tennessee for their 2013 7.2 pick. Not only can he rush the passer, but he was most likely brought in to mentor a younger option at DT.

The Falcons sent their 2013 3.8 pick to the Vikings in exchange for RB Deon Young. Kevin Jones is getting older and while able to still average over 4 ypc, he isn�t getting 20+ carries a game anymore. Enter Young. He will most likely split carries with Jones this season as both of them should average over 4 ypc and end up somewhere between 15 and 20 TDs.

In the final move of the off season, the Falcons sent DE Leo Page to the Texans for their 2nd round pick in 2014. This was a very good move for the Falcons as the Texans were probably frustrated with their inability to land a top flight DE.

Free Agency:

The Falcons added more than a few names during free agency. They grabbed highly sought after Punter Ernest Sayre. In their bid for a new starting TE, they signed 3 during free agency, bringing in Wombacher, Ojeda, and Wolfe. Split End Harvey Buckner was brought in from KC and should start opposite of 2nd year man Quinn Whiting. Beyond that, they brought in a slew of backups for their o-line, d-line, defensive backfield as well as others.

2013 Draft:

1.1 � CB Chad Neasman � There�s a reason that the Falcons dropped from the 2nd position in the draft to the 3rd position and then turned around to move to the first position. Neasman�s that reason. He�s already rated in the top 5 of the leagues corner backs. There�s really no knocking the Falcons here as he�s a definite improvement over anything they had before. The only potentially different thing that they could�ve done was to turn their 1.3 pick into multiple 1sts and 2nds, thus filling more holes.

1.21 � RDT Damon Bromell � Bromell will be teamed up in the middle with Wirthel and force teams to think twice about rushing up the middle. He has a couple of question marks. His ability to see a play as it unfolds as well as his endurance are concerns that some scouts had, but the Falcons seemed to have less of an issue with as they traded up to get him.

4.3 � FB Brock Crane � Not having a full back on their roster (save newly acquired Vince Frderick) meant that they needed to address this during the draft. Crane should get the start out of the gate, but there are some concerns regarding his attitude as he had some legal problems while he attended Wyoming.

4.7 � LT Curtis Sutter � In an effort to add depth to their offensive line, the Falcons selected Sutter with their final pick of the draft. He won�t see much starting time as Kaczur and Winslett are entrenched as the starters.

2013 Outlook:

The Falcons added a lot of new pieces this off season and how well they come together will ultimately determine how well they perform. After ranking 9th in ypc and 11th in ypg last season, they will be hard pressed to match that as they�ve added 2 new offensive linemen and a new full back to their running attack. How well they gel will determine if they�re able to stay in the top ten for ypc.

Can Atlanta improve on their 25th ranked passing attack? Adding Buckner should help out quite a bit, but how much does losing Doug Jolley hurt them? McKnight will be entering his second season as the signal caller and his ability to limit mistakes will surely have a direct effect on the effectiveness of their passing attack.

After ranking 20th in rushing defense last season, the Falcons are hoping that their additions will make a significant impact. Once again, how well the newcomers come together will ultimately decide how well this defense performs. Can Willis be the middle linebacker that the Falcons were hoping for? Will Bromwell be able to replace the experience lost after Sims was shipped to Oakland?

Atlanta ranked 14th against the pass last season and that will most assuredly get better with the addition of Neasman. Sutter and Jackson will now be freed up to double team opposing receivers as Neasman should be able to handle one-on-one matchups with ease.

The Falcons are still behind the Panthers and Saints in the NFC South, but can they overtake the Buccaneers? I believe that Atlanta will finish no better than 8-8, and realistically, probably closer to 6-10 in their continued rebuilding process.

02-09-2008, 12:08 AM

Great write up!

Down here in Atlanta we have high hopes for the year! We know better than to think about the SuperBowl just yet but there's a lot of excitement for this team. We still have 2 1sts and 2 2nds next year so the rebuild isn't over.

Team breakdown

QB - Excited to see what young kid McKnight can do now starting his 2nd full season as a starter. He's grown a lot since his first start last year and seems to have a lot of intangibles necessary for the position. McNeil is a great backup for minimal costs and is a stud kick holding. Perfect for the backup

RB - 51-51-42. Seems like a pretty decent stable of backs. Kevin Jones is a little older and no longer the clear cut front runner, but should keep his starting role and be spelled more often by Young. Snowden is a great 3rd back and top notch gunner on special teams. Gotta play special teams if you want those last roster spots.

FB - A little nervous about 4th round pick Crane. Not sure what will happen with the red flag. A little raw right now but will hopefully develop into a decent starter by next year.

TE - Excited about the Ben Watson pickup. A mentor with great hands and pass blocking. Should be a huge benefit to McKnight. All the TEs have good hands although I'm not expecting much out of the backups.

FL - Daum unfortunately lost a lot in camp this year. Still the starter over young Whiting but they should share a lot of time this year.

SE - Pretty excited to get Buckner in FA. He'll see the ball a lot more here in Atlanta and with some solid play could finally have found himself a home. Williams is still in his familiar backup role and 5th WR Lowe is still more of a punt returner.

C - Not too excited about Spitz with his 1 for blocking strength, but there wasn't much out there after Saturday up and retired on us. Sanderson's still a decent backup.

LG - Wrotto is one of my favorites, probably because he was a 3rd round draft pick. An easy round to hit or miss in. He's turned into exactly what I was hoping for. A large road grader that can still pass block and plenty of endurance. This guy should be around for a long time.

RG - I'm just hoping Smiley doesn't retire too soon. Still a solid Guard (6th overall) with 3 years on his contract. Currently ranked 4th in the league for guards.

LT - Hard to find a LT. We gave away a lot of picks and then worked out a very reasonable contract to keep Kaczur here for the next 4 or more years. I'd be stoked if he got 2nd Team All League again this year. Not too much faith in rookie Sutter as he may not see much playing time.

RT - Winslett. Had a few people ask about him in the offseason but like I said, it's hard to find good tackles. Solid bars, a mentor, and a good all around RT for decent money. Together the two are 5th overall in the league.

P - Picked up highly touted Sayre in the offseason. I think I might be punting a lot this year. I needed someone booming punts down the field.

K - New pickup in Nugent. Was gonna get one in the draft but they kept going earlier than I thought. Decent bars and came from a limited selection of kickers. Should see a lot of work this year.

LDE - Kelsay is back and still looking strongout. Ended a holdout in camp though and now won't resign for any more years. Probably gonna be his last year in Atlanta. Pretty much expect to use one of the two first round picks on a DE next year now.

RDE - Blackwell really stepped it up in camp and allowed us to deal Page who had been great but was getting older as well.

LDT - Gotta love JJ. Best DT in the game and in only his 4th year. He'll never leave Atlanta.

RDT - Passed up on Darrown in the draft for Neasman and needed a DT bad. Probably over paid with a future 1st and 2nd to jump back into the first at 1.21 but hopefully Bromell will make me proud. Has a lot of potential and could really benefit playing next to Wirthel. Already ranked 5th in the league for DTs and Brommell has a lot of room to grow.

SLB - Picked up Alston in FA but he dropped hard in camp. Tempted to just stick with 2nd year SLB Burroughs who has more potential. I'm gonna hate having all that money in Alston as my backup. Probably alternate these guys more than I should

MLB - I'm excited to get Willis this offseason for fairly cheap. His contract is even cheaper. Should finally get the playing time he's deserved and can hopefully lead this defense.

WLB - Parise and Harden. Still got this dumb dilemma. Parise is a little older, costs more and is demanding a trade. Nobody will take him. And he gets malcontent if not starting. Harden is a little better and a little younger. Average all around guy. Neither are exciting though. Position needs a serious upgrade.

LCB - Bring on Neasman. Gained 5 current points in preseason. Already the 4th best CB in the game at 73/78. Can't wait to see what he finishes the year at. Makes me scared having him as the KR, but with a 100 for KR there's no way he ain't doing it. Bartlett should be a great mentor and backup as well.

RCB - Sutter's been with Atlanta for a while now and shouldn't be going anywhere for a while. A solid RCB that's gonna see a lot of balls this year with Neasman on the other side. Good a solid backup in Jackson as well. Actually ranked 6th in the league for CBs. Cupboard looked bare at the end of last season.

SS - Washington might have lost his first step but is still on of the top SS's in the game. Just got a nice new contract and should finish out his career here. Will Farrell has some good potential and I really like where his play diagnosis is headed. Safeties just don't ever seem to progress much on my teams though. He's gonna have to do it as a backup. Not too thrilled if Washington goes down.

FS - Hoffman's still here too. Still as good as ever. A great FS. Hopefully he can stay healthy. If not, we do have two really good young FS's behind him. They're both pretty equal but I couldn't cut either of em as I like their potential. Will be interesting to see if one separates himself from the other this year. Ingalls currently has the nod since he's a gunner with 93/97 special teams.

I really like this team and can hopefully plug some of the holes with our four picks in the first two rounds next year.

I like the team so much I finally stopped hiding behind the login of FalconsMgr and had Arizing put me back to Nthinch.

To add to the excitement of the new season and a new outlook in Atlanta, we unveil our new banner courtesy of MarkG ...

02-15-2008, 09:22 AM

Neasman Watch

Week 1 - 3 TAK, 1 Asst, 2 Caught, 1 INT - No Progression
Week 2 - 4 TAK, 4 Caught, 1 Defensed, 1 INT - Gained 3 in current (76/78).
Week 3 - 2 TAK, 2 Caught, 1 Defensed, - Gained 3 current, 1 future (79/79)
(Hyperextended Elbow, Doubtful, 2 Weeks)
Neasman came out of the draft 68/78. After 3 games he's already 79/79 and his bars show that he still has 88 points of growth left. His first injury though. Hopefully this isn't a recurring theme.
Week 4 - Out with injury
Week 5 - bye
Week 6 - Must've been rusty. 5 TAK, 1 Asst, 5 Caught, 0 Defensed. Averaged 28.8 on 4 kickoff returns.
Week 7 - Back in the groove totally shutting down his side of the field. 2 Assts, 0 caught, 0 defensed. Averaged 29.8 on 4 kickoff returns. Still at 79/79 though.
Week 8 - Solid game against the pass. 1 TAK, 0 Caught, 2 Defensed. 1 KR for 19 yards.
Week 9 - 5 TAK, 2 Asst, 4 Caught, 1 Defensed. But the big news - Neasman jumped to 82/82 and is now the 2nd highest rated CB in the game. Still has 60+ points of green bars to grow.

...

Neasman finished the year 85/85 and is the top rated CB in the game. He also still has 38 green bar points left to grow. Can he top 90?

His overall season stats weren't great. Missed one game to injury and started all the rest. Finished with 2 INTs and 14 D'd vs 35 caught for an 81.9 PD%. Above average and not bad for a rookie. Can't wait to see how he does in 2014.

05-10-2008, 11:30 AM

Picking at the top of the draft again, although this year through trading, the Atlanta Falcons select their cornerstone DE in Chuck Ward.
There was a huge hole at LDE after Chris Kelsay refused to negotiate and walked away from Atlanta this offseason.

Quotes from the War Room conversation with Nthinch after the pick...

"...the chance to get star players doesn't come around too often. We had talked to a few teams and were extremely excited to pull off this trade the night before the draft..."

"...We had Chuck Ward at the top of our board the entire time. We knew we were getting either Ward or Alexander and would've felt extremely fortunate with either of them..."

"...Ward just crushed the competition at the combine. He's a beast. And lining him up next to DT Wirthel is going to be exciting!"

**Hinch** · 09-07-2008, 11:03 AM

2015 Draft Notes - Pre camp

1.30 - WR Eddie Royal - 28/60 (15% developed)
2.2 - QB Erik Ainge - 6/60 (10% developed)
2.30 - C Mike Pollak - 29/65 (30% developed)
4.15 - T Barry Richardson - 14/61 (28% developed)
5.8 - OLB Jerald Rayburn - 17/58 (26% developed)
6.7 - K Brando Coutu - 33/60
6.9 - P Vincent Oliver - 33/49
7.2 - OLB Mel Wagner - 15/46
7.9 - OLB Kroy Biermann - 23/44

2015 Draft Notes - Post camp

WR Royal - 33/60 (+5, 0)
QB Ainge - 8/51 (+2, -9)
C Pollak - 34/61 (+5, -4)
T Richardson - 19/54 (+5, -7)
OLB Rayburn - 19/51 (+2, -7)
K Coutu - 33/54 (0 -6)
P Oliver - 33/46 (0, -3)
OLB Wagner - 16/38 (+1, -8)
OLB Biermann - 25/41 (+1, -3)

Other camp notes

FA FB Leonard jumped from 67/67 to 70/70 and is now the #1 rated FB in the league.

LT Curtis Sutter went from 32/46 to 34/34. No green left in bars.

LDE Haralson dropped from 33/45 to 28/37
LDE Winslett dropped from 30/40 to 33/33
RDE Bromell changes from 48/55 to 50/50
LDE Chuck Ward jumps from 70/80 to 76/80!

RCB Barnhill changes from 31/55 to 38/38 after going to summer league.

**Arizing540** · 12-29-2008, 10:54 PM

2016 Preview

They are coming off a rough season last year. It looks as if this team made enough moves to possible make some noise this season. It starts with the coaching staff. There are talks that they will be going with 2nd year man Erik Ainge. He played solid last season. If this team wants to be a serious contender they need to go with an experienced player in Xavier Canales. He is coming off a monster season in leading Tennessee to the Championship game. He threw for over 3900 yards and 33 TD�s with only 4 s while completing over 70% of his passes. On Defense look for DE Chuck Ward to have a monster season. He is going to terrorize QB's this season. JJ Wirthel is one of the better run stuffing DT's in the league. They have what every playoff teams needs. Two shut down CB's in Chad Neasman and Calvin Borders. This defense could help them make a playoff push in december

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