Atlanta Falcons Off-Season

Atlanta had two key need areas going into the off-season, a defensive end to replace Brady Smith and a safety. They've filled both of those holes already, in acquiring John Abraham from the Jets and picking up veteran safety Lawyer Milloy. What did they give up for Abraham? Just twelve spots in the first round draft. That was it. They went from 15 to 27. They maintain a first round pick and get a guy who amassed eleven sacks just a year ago.

Last season was difficult, especially due to injuries on defense. Brady Smith was out the majority of the season. Newcomer from Baltimore, Ed Hartwell went down early in the year. The secondary was shaken from beginning to end. They played several rookies and second year players, from rookies Jonathan Babineaux, Chauncey Davis, and Michael Boley to second year players Chad Lavalais and DeMorrio Williams. Rod Coleman, Keith Brooking, and DeAngelo Hall were stellar for the majority of the season, but the youth around them made rookie mistakes far too often. The key on defense this year will be stopping the run. Atlanta has great pass rushers in Patrick Kierney, Rod Coleman, and now John Abraham, but their front seven is anything but big. When Hartwell, Smith, and Lavalais were down and out last year, the Falcons struggled mightily in stopping the run and that's what ultimately burned them. They've got a great pass rush and a decent secondary. If they can prevent teams from rushing for 100 yards on a weekly basis, they'll be good to go on the defensive side of the ball. Hopefully, the rookies and second year guys can improve greatly from last year, especially with all the experience they got a year ago.

Offensively, the Falcons played very well against the mediocre and lesser teams, but didn't make their presence felt against the better ball clubs a year ago. The one exception I can think of is Tampa Bay. Atlanta's defense and special teams gave both those games away. The key ingredient for Atlanta's offense was Warrick Dunn. When he ran for 100+ yards, the Falcons usually went on to win. When he didn't, it was usually tough sailing for the Dirty Birds. One thing I noticed throughout most of the season was how much more conservative Atlanta was with their quarterback, Michael Vick. This could've partly been due to his nagging hamstring and knee injuries, but even then, it felt that Atlanta underutilized Vick's speed. The Falcons have a great 1-2 (thunde/lightning) punch at tailback with Warrick Dunn (lightning) and T.J. Duckett (thunder). They have a very solid and steady tight end in Alge Crumpler. Rookie and 2nd year receivers Roddy White and Michael Jenkins were inconsistent a year ago, but seemed to play better as the year progressed. Atlanta's offensive line seemed to hold up on the blitz more consistently than they had a year prior, but still were very average. So, all in all, the running game is very solid, the receiving corps is young but talented, and the line is pretty average. The wild card in the offense is Michael Vick. Some people (critics mostly) want to see Vick become a traditional quarterback, but no matter how hard they bash him, he'll never be a traditional drop-back passer. That's like asking Michael Jordan to be a sixth man or asking Shaquille O'Neal to be a three-point specialist. Jordan was one of the best players in NBA history. No matter how thin their bench was, Jordan should be starting. Shaq is a dominant presence on the inside. He's built like a football player. It'd make no sense to play him on the outside and not utilize his size. Michael Vick is one of the quickest players in football and without a doubt, the quickest quarterback in football. To not utilize that speed would be wasting one of his greatest talents and what makes him so unique and dangerous as a quarterback. Defenses all over the NFL want what the Vick-bashers want, for him to be a traditional drop-back passing quarterback. Why? Because they don't see anybody else like Vick in the regular season. If they could prepare for Vick and the Falcons like Bulger and the Rams or Carr and the Texans, they'd be thrilled. But, Vick brings something a bit different to the table. When a play has broken or nobody is open, instead of throwing the ball away and brining up a 2nd and 10, he can take the ball and gain 20-30 yards for a first down. Some will say that it can wear Vick out. The same could hold true for the defense. After chasing Vick around all game, they could be worn down. I bring this up, because it was reported just this past week that head coach Jim Mora Jr. watched and studied Missouri, Texas, and West Virginia and how they utilized their speedy quarterbacks. This move has gotten mixed reviews. I partially agree with both sides. One argument against this is that Atlanta needs to stay with one offense. If Vick got hurt, there'd be no way the backup could run the same offense as Vick. I agree with that statement. Another supporting the notion stated that Vick is a very unique athlete and his speed needs to be utilized. Again, I agree there. So, what do you do? How do you come to a medium? Maintain the west coast offense that they've run for the past couple seasons, but add a few more plays for Vick to run, probably from the shotgun formation. This way, if Vick got hurt, the backup could still run the offense efficiently. They could just scratch those few Vick shotgun plays out, but maintain the rest. That'd be no problem, I don't think. But, Atlanta needs to make use of Vick's talents. He throws a great deep ball, is better suited for the shotgun (because of his height), and is arguably the quickest quarterback in NFL history. Don't sit MJ on the bench and make him a sixth man. Don't let Shaq stand around on the perimeter and launch of three point attempts. And don't try to make Michael Vick a traditional drop back passer. Play athletes to their strengths and don't try to make them something they're not.

Because of the greatness of the Atlanta run game, the offensive output and consistency will largely depend on the progress in the passing game. This is especially true in terms of the progression between Vick and his young receivers, White and Jenkins. If they work hard in the off season and develop a rhythm with one another, this will be a tough offense to stop.

As always, the season's success will largely depend on injuries. The defense was battered and beat-up last year. It's hard to believe it could get any worse this season. With the added experience by the youngsters on both sides of the ball and the key additions made on defense, this should be another playoff caliber year for the Falcons, after the disappointing 2005 campaign of 8-8.