Vick going to prison?, Bobby Petrino fleeing the city? Star defensive back De'angelo Hall disgruntled? For the Altanta Falcon's and their fans, 2007 was nothing short of a nightmare. The team was in chaos, with the face of the franchise rotting in a Virgina prison and the head coach heading back to college after just one season. That spring saw many key veterans that had been with the team for years being cut left and right.
But while cleaning house it was Arthur Blank's decision to hire Patriots Assit Gm Thomas Demitrioff and Jags D coordinator Mike Smith that may have saved the Atlanta Falcons from another decade of mediocrity. Demitrioff's choice of Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan may seem like a no-brainer now but at the time it was a highley critized pick, with many of the Falcon's own fans calling the 08 draft just another bust among many of the teams' horendous drafts the Falcon's had become known for.
Considered one of the greatest one year turn arounds in professional sports, the 2008 Atlanta Falcon's go from everyone and his brother's perinal pick to go 1-15, to a playoff contender that was only 6 secs away from division champs. There were many memorable moments on the road to the playoffs this year. It all started week 1 against the Lions when Matty Ryan's first career NFL pass was (and who woulda thunk it,) a 60 yard strike to Micheal Jenkins for a touchdown. The Falcons would go on to get thier first win of the season but still leaving many sports pundits skeptic as to whether the Falcons were for real or not.
Fast forward to week 6 against the Chicago Bears. The Falcons are dominating in the statistical catigory on both offense and defense but can't seem to pull away and with 20 secs left on the clock Bears QB Rex Grossman hit Rashied Davis in the corner of the end zone to go ahead by 2 points and giving Falcon's fans everywhere heartache and frustration. But on the ensuing kickoff the bears make the mistake of squibing the the ball helping the falcons take the ball at their own 40. And they paid, oh how they paid when Matt Ryan hooked up with Jenkins again this time on a quick sideline route putting the Falcon's in kicking range with just 1 second left in the game! Falcon's Kicker Jason Elam (who missed a chip shot earlier in the game) drills the kick giving the Falcons a HUGE win at home.
Speaking of home, playing at the Georgia Dome proved to be huge for the Falcon's going an impressive 7-1 (3-0 in division play). Unfortunately they also went 4-4 on the road and it would end up costing them the division crown and possibly a first round bye. In the playoffs the falcons played a good game but turnovers would end up killing them, losing to the eventual NFC champions the Arizona Cardinals. So while 08 was a vast improvement over the prevoius season, the Birds still have plenty of room for improvement.
Here are my 5 wants for the Atlanta Falcons during the offseason
1)Draft or sign a Outside Linebacker. If there was one big glaring weakness this year it in my humble opinion was the Linebacking corp. Keith Brooking as been solid for much his carrer as a Falcon but he's getting up there in age. I'd like to see the Falcon's bring some younger talent to help bring in more speed to the defense and shore up the defense against both the air and ground attacks.
2) Find a new Defensive Cordinator. As a Georgia Southern student, I like (former GSU coach) Brian Van Gorder as much anybody but he made too many defensive scheming mistakes over the course of the season (possibly costing us a couple of games). Van Gorder has got to go(or at least take a back seat to Coach Smith in the play calling)
3)Make at least on big name move in the offseason. There are a couple names out there but for the Falcons, the need is once again on defense. Terrell Suggs, Albert Haynesworth (unlikely) or Julius Peppers (very likely) could all make immediate impacts at thier repective positions for the Falcons
4) Lets talk about the Offense real quick. Was pretty good this year. Not a whole lot you could point at and say improve but a few things we could address with either the draft or Free agency would be at the Offensive tackle and tightend positions. The falcons are not very deep at either position and an untimely injury could really hurt us there.
5) Overall Depth on defense (with emphasis on the secondary). The falcon's have several quality starters on defense but not a whole lot of depth. As mentioned above when the injury bug hits (and it always does, afterall this is football) you would like to know you have quality talent waiting on the bench ready to fill in at a moments notice. The secondary was exposed a little this year particulary with injuries at safety and conerback. I would like the Falcons to forgo the the usual hunt opf trying to sign one big player in the secondary for a huge contract and instead go after several solid quality low budget players that would help add some much needed backup.
But while cleaning house it was Arthur Blank's decision to hire Patriots Assit Gm Thomas Demitrioff and Jags D coordinator Mike Smith that may have saved the Atlanta Falcons from another decade of mediocrity. Demitrioff's choice of Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan may seem like a no-brainer now but at the time it was a highley critized pick, with many of the Falcon's own fans calling the 08 draft just another bust among many of the teams' horendous drafts the Falcon's had become known for.
Considered one of the greatest one year turn arounds in professional sports, the 2008 Atlanta Falcon's go from everyone and his brother's perinal pick to go 1-15, to a playoff contender that was only 6 secs away from division champs. There were many memorable moments on the road to the playoffs this year. It all started week 1 against the Lions when Matty Ryan's first career NFL pass was (and who woulda thunk it,) a 60 yard strike to Micheal Jenkins for a touchdown. The Falcons would go on to get thier first win of the season but still leaving many sports pundits skeptic as to whether the Falcons were for real or not.
Fast forward to week 6 against the Chicago Bears. The Falcons are dominating in the statistical catigory on both offense and defense but can't seem to pull away and with 20 secs left on the clock Bears QB Rex Grossman hit Rashied Davis in the corner of the end zone to go ahead by 2 points and giving Falcon's fans everywhere heartache and frustration. But on the ensuing kickoff the bears make the mistake of squibing the the ball helping the falcons take the ball at their own 40. And they paid, oh how they paid when Matt Ryan hooked up with Jenkins again this time on a quick sideline route putting the Falcon's in kicking range with just 1 second left in the game! Falcon's Kicker Jason Elam (who missed a chip shot earlier in the game) drills the kick giving the Falcons a HUGE win at home.
Speaking of home, playing at the Georgia Dome proved to be huge for the Falcon's going an impressive 7-1 (3-0 in division play). Unfortunately they also went 4-4 on the road and it would end up costing them the division crown and possibly a first round bye. In the playoffs the falcons played a good game but turnovers would end up killing them, losing to the eventual NFC champions the Arizona Cardinals. So while 08 was a vast improvement over the prevoius season, the Birds still have plenty of room for improvement.
Here are my 5 wants for the Atlanta Falcons during the offseason
1)Draft or sign a Outside Linebacker. If there was one big glaring weakness this year it in my humble opinion was the Linebacking corp. Keith Brooking as been solid for much his carrer as a Falcon but he's getting up there in age. I'd like to see the Falcon's bring some younger talent to help bring in more speed to the defense and shore up the defense against both the air and ground attacks.
2) Find a new Defensive Cordinator. As a Georgia Southern student, I like (former GSU coach) Brian Van Gorder as much anybody but he made too many defensive scheming mistakes over the course of the season (possibly costing us a couple of games). Van Gorder has got to go(or at least take a back seat to Coach Smith in the play calling)
3)Make at least on big name move in the offseason. There are a couple names out there but for the Falcons, the need is once again on defense. Terrell Suggs, Albert Haynesworth (unlikely) or Julius Peppers (very likely) could all make immediate impacts at thier repective positions for the Falcons
4) Lets talk about the Offense real quick. Was pretty good this year. Not a whole lot you could point at and say improve but a few things we could address with either the draft or Free agency would be at the Offensive tackle and tightend positions. The falcons are not very deep at either position and an untimely injury could really hurt us there.
5) Overall Depth on defense (with emphasis on the secondary). The falcon's have several quality starters on defense but not a whole lot of depth. As mentioned above when the injury bug hits (and it always does, afterall this is football) you would like to know you have quality talent waiting on the bench ready to fill in at a moments notice. The secondary was exposed a little this year particulary with injuries at safety and conerback. I would like the Falcons to forgo the the usual hunt opf trying to sign one big player in the secondary for a huge contract and instead go after several solid quality low budget players that would help add some much needed backup.
