Falcons give new meaning to term “down lineman”

By Darrell Laurant  |   Friday, November 30, 2007  |  Comments( 0 )

Atlanta Falcons
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Quarterback is far from the only problem for the Atlanta Falcons at this point in the season.

Thursday, the team put 10-year veteran offensive tackle Todd Weiner on injured reserve, shutting him down for the season. Of course, no one could accuse Todd of being a whiner -- he also had knee surgery Thursday, for the second time this year.

And he'll have lots of company on the sidelines. Starting left tackle Wayne Gandy blew out a knee early in the season, and so did his replacement, Renardo Foster. Then rookie Doug Datish got hurt, as well.

Optimists in the front office and the sidelines still say the Falcons will be a good team down the line. Right now, though, the line is down.

At this point, the Falcons have two second-year men, Quinn Ojinnaka and Tyson Clabo, manning the tackle spots. Ojinnaka, out of Syracuse, is somewhat undersized at 292 pounds. Clabo, from Wake Forest, has never played tackle before.

These are reasons why Bobby Petrino's team ranks 28th in the league in total offense. And while it's true that quarterbacks Joey Harrington and Byron Leftwich haven't reminded anyone of John Elway, it's hard to play the position with large, unfriendly defenders in your face.

The irony is that this is a year the Falcons could really have used Michael Vick, who would at least have had the mobility to escape the continuous pass rush.

Weiner is expected to be healed by spring, but Gandy's future is uncertain. Given the O-line situation, it's hard to imagine a serviceable free agent quarterback signing with the Falcons until that changes. No QB likes to get hit on every down, not to mention what a porous line can do to a passer rating.

Indeed, the line is rapidly becoming even more of a concern than quarterback come draft day. There's no point in bringing in someone like Brian Brohm if he can't be protected.
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