Atlanta Falcons 2005 Preview

By Hugo Guzman  |   Sunday, August 14, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

Atlanta Falcons
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When you have a first-year president/general manager, a rookie head coach and two new coordinators and you still advance to the NFC Championship Game, what do you do for an encore? If you're the Atlanta Falcons, you try to keep bucking up the defense and get faster all the way around.

That clearly was the plan of president/GM Rich McKay and his staff in the offseason, when the Falcons made their lone big free agency score a big one by acquiring former Ravens linebacker Edgerton Hartwell and then drafted for defense and speed.

"We kind of went into this draft saying we don't have a starting position we're nervous about," says McKay, who drafted speedy UAB wide receiver Roddy White in the first round and then used five of the Falcons' final seven picks on defense. "We went into this draft with the simple formula that we wanted to try to bring some guys to the defense that No. 1, fit the scheme, and No. 2, added a little juice, a little speed."

They still have plenty at quarterback, of course, where Michael Vick will follow his second Pro Bowl season with the idea of expanding the passing attack. The Falcons, though, plan to jump-start themselves with defense, a formula McKay was familiar with in Tampa before joining the Falcons.

Quarterbacks
So secure are the Falcons in Vick and backup Matt Schaub that before the draft McKay listed quarterback as one of two positions the team absolutely would not use a pick on that weekend -- the other was deep snapper. Vick's second Pro Bowl berth was based mostly on his penchant for spectacular plays -- he rushed for 902 yards, third-most in NFL history for a quarterback. Everybody in Atlanta realizes the passing game must improve. Offensive coordinator Greg Knapp believes Vick is ready to take the next step or two as a passer.

"He knows the concepts (of the passing offense) better (than a year ago)," Knapp says. "General experience and knowledge of the scheme allows the quarterback to work into a progression mode that takes him instead of one and two progressions, to three, four and five."

Schaub started one game as a rookie last season, and he was average in a loss at New Orleans. But he looked good at times in the preseason, and he has a great grasp of the offense. Schaub may one day be proficient as a full-time starter in the NFL.

Running Backs
Warrick Dunn re-structured his contract to help create salary cap room for the Falcons, and the nature of the re-configured deal and his age (30) might, just might, make this his last season with the Falcons. There's been no reason to date to run him off. Dunn was quite productive last season, rushing for 1,106 yards and nine touchdowns, but he should've been a bigger part of the passing offense (career-low 29 receptions, no scores). He had quite a complement in T.J. Duckett, the 6-foot-0 254-pound bruiser who rushed for 509 yards and eight touchdowns.

Fullback Justin Griffith, who was leading the Pro Bowl voting at his position when he broke his leg late in the season, looked fine at the team's April mini-camp.

Receivers
For all the fuss generated by the Falcons' first-round selection of White, who caught 71 passes as a college senior while leading the nation with 1,452 receiving yards, another young wideout figures to make a bigger difference.

Michael Jenkins, who was a first-round draft choice out of Ohio State in 2004, will compete with Dez White at split end. Although the 6'4" Jenkins caught just seven passes as a rookie, many believe it was more because he was under-deployed than because he was slow to catch on. Flanker Peerless Price led Atlanta wideouts with 45 receptions last season, 13 coming in the final two games, when two-time Pro Bowl tight end Alge Crumpler (48 receptions) was out with a knee injury.

Offensive Linemen
The only significant newcomer to the offensive line is Matt Lehr, who signed as an unrestricted free agent after playing for the Cowboys and Rams last season. He figures to compete with Michael Moore at left guard. In bigger news, former line coach Alex Gibbs, universally lauded last season for straightening out Atlanta's offensive line, will be in a consultant's role this season, similar to his role during his final three seasons in Denver. Gibbs will be around plenty in the spring and summer, though, and never far from the phone of new line coach Jeff Jagodzinski, the former tight ends coach.

Defensive Linemen
Atlanta has linchpins in Pro Bowl left end Patrick Kerney (career-high 13 sacks) and tackle Rod Coleman (career-high 11.5 sacks), who should've gone to the Pro Bowl. But after cutting starting nosetackle Ed Jasper and key reserve Travis Hall, the Falcons created some offseason issues along the defensive line.

Starting right end Brady Smith will turn 32 in June, and he typically battles several nagging injuries each year. The team drafted Chauncey Davis out of Florida State in the fourth round, and he might be forced into the role of No. 3 end.

Jasper will be replaced by Chad Lavalais, who played better than his fifth-round draft status last season. He should continue to progress once he gets his weight in check.

After signing free agent Brandon Mitchell (Seahawks), and using a second-round pick on Iowa defensive tackle/end Jonathan Babineaux, who led the Big Ten with 25 tackles for a loss and 11 sacks, and a seventh-rounder on South Carolina's Darrell Shropshire, the Falcons believe they've plugged the hole in this dike.

Linebackers
The Falcons may be faster at linebacker, too, or at least more versatile. Hartwell, who will replace Chris Draft at middle linebacker, may not be any faster than Draft, but he's about 15 pounds heavier, and team officials are betting more than $8 million (signing bonus) that he's quicker to the holes.

Atlanta will be quicker, but smaller, at strong-side linebacker, where second-year speed demon Demorrio Williams will compete with former Eagle Ike Reese to replace Matt Stewart. Four-time Pro Bowler Keith Brooking is back on the weak side.

Defensive Backs
At best, the Falcons' secondary was average last season, and they got away with it because the front seven was considerably better than average. The thinking goes like this: In his second year, left cornerback DeAngelo Hall should improve dramatically, particularly if he doesn't miss six games, as he did as a rookie. Everybody else is going to be one year deeper into the system. That said, the Falcons found themselves with safety issues in the spring. Bryan Scott, who's expected to move from strong to free safety, had shoulder surgery when an old injury failed to improve in the months after the season. He's down until mid-summer. Keion Carpenter, who played well at free safety in 2002 before being replaced in 2003 and missing 2004 with a knee injury, has been installed as the starting strong safety.

Specialists
Kicker Jay Feely left in free agency -- to the Giants -- and punter Chris Mohr was cut. Enter Todd Peterson, the 11-year veteran who most recently was with the 49ers, and Toby Gowin, a veteran punter who is coming off the worst statistical season of his career. Allen Rossum was again fabulous returning punts but rather ordinary as a kickoff return guy. That's part of the reason the Falcons used a sixth-round draft choice on Michigan State running back DeAndra Cobb.

Final Analysis
All of Atlanta's key statistical leaders from 2004 are back except for Feely, and coaches truly believe the passing offense that was so mundane at times last year will be better. The Falcons better hope so because they have a difficult schedule this season, including games against both Super Bowl teams.

It will be hard to replicate the unique chemistry of last year's team, and a couple of injuries in the wrong places could leave Atlanta very young on defense. Should the Falcons stay fairly healthy in key spots, they're probably going to be in a battle with the Panthers to repeat as NFC South champs.
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About Hugo Guzman

Trying to bring an objective approach to NFL analysis.
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