J.Mike's Missives

chris :
He didnt really do alot to turn atl around. Even warren from theres something about mary knew to draft matt ryan last year. they just needed a coach

Vat are you talking about? First of all, many Falcons fans wanted Glenn Dorsey in the first round and a quarterback later in the draft. Even so, out of our 11 draft picks, 3 started, 3 saw major minutes and 2 would have played if not for season ending injuries (LB James, RB Brown). Now with Jerry we have help at a depleted DT position. It would not have been smart to take a corner with this pick, because none of the CBs are solid enough to be as immediate an impact as Jerry. What many people fail to realize is that FOOTBALL GAMES ARE WON AND LOST IN THE TRENCHES. If we can control the line we will win ball games and Jerry helps us do that. Not to mention he frees up our, apparently under-appreciated, LBs. Lofton proved himself to be a legitimate prospect at ILB, so I really don’t understand what all this Rey Maulaluga talk is about. And Matthews does not fit with what our organization is trying to build on defense. They want high speed guys that will constantly be around the football. He is a strong hard-nosed NT from the SEC that played on a DL that had little talent and left him double and triple teamed all season. He is one of the best DTs in the draft and he has the potential to get bigger over his career (and he is only 1″ shorter than Hood, yet same weight). Moore was a good pick in the 2nd round because he is a fast, hard-hitting SS that makes big plays and has good hands. Moore fell this far in the draft due to a preseason injury that led to a less productive senior season. However, following his junior year he was considered one of the best safeties in college as well as was considered one of the top players in his class. He will provide good competition for the open S position and most likely be a contributor on ST. Owens is from a small school but he has good speed and was a good cover corner at San Jose St. He and local product Middleton should provide productive competition while trying to earn spots in the nickel and corner packages. Our DBs are underrated, while they do have lapses in coverage, part of that was a byproduct of a SS that was consistently out of position. After another year and some pointers from Foxworth, who demanded too much money, i feel they will be a lot better in an all-around improved defense. Sidbury Jr. will hopefully be an additional cog in the Smith defensive machine. He is an explosive pass rusher with LB speed (fastest DL in draft at 40 & 10) and a Dwight Freeneyesque spin move. He needs to improve his run defense, but he is a solid addition to DL. The important thing to remember is that the organization wants speedy playmakers that are going to fly to the ball every play and the staff isn’t afraid to substitute on defense. They are drafting versatile players that can play multiple positions in the scheme. We could see Davis and Anderson at DT this season or even Sidbury Jr. at some OLB. The Falcons drafted according to need and that’s all you can ask. Not only did they draft the best player on *their* board, the fist three picks were the ones they decided on coming into the draft. Not every player fits every system and the Falcons drafted players that they felt could make a real difference for the team. But perhaps the best contribution to our defense was the acquisition of Gonzalez (HoF TE for 2010 2nd rd pick=best offseason free agency move). He will help free up White, prevent defenses from stacking the box, and will prove to be an invaluable asset to Ryan in the red zone. Gonzalez also reduces the premier defenses, we face 6 this season, chances at dialing up pressure on Ryan. Our offense will eat up more clock and the defense will spend less time on the field. Not to mention the intangibles a player of his calibre brings to the locker room. Our draft picks are also intelligent, high character men. After seeing the draft, it is not too much to expect a Super Bowl in the near future. GO FALCONS!

@Mike
I was hoping for Matthews too, or at least Sintim in the 2nd Round. I was really let down that we didn’t grab Cornelius Ingram (TE/UF) in the 5th, the kid’s a 1st Rd talent but was injured last season, and Tony Gonzalez has maybe 2 years left in him.

Daniel Tuttle :I think that the pick for Peria Jerry was a way safer pick than taking Rey or Vontae for the following reasons. By drafting Rey we would have created a trainwreck at MLB with Lofton, Mike Peterson (brought in from JAX by Mike Smith,) and Rey, all true MLBs, fighting for one spot. This is not a 3-4 Defense fellas. We only need one MLB and I’m convinced that Lofton is that guy even if he has to move to OLB for a year or two so that we can get Peterson on the field for us. As far as an OLB goes, I think that all the guys that Dimitroff would have entertained taking ahead of P. Jerry were gone and we have some good young OLBs on our roster that Mike Smith feels pretty strongly about in Stephen Nicholas and that kid from ASU that we drafted last year. As far as Vontae Davis goes…… I mean come on guys! He was burned just as many times as he made great plays. The kid was inconsistent to say the least and he has questionable character issues. We don’t need a question mark added to a team tat is surely a Super Bowl Contender next year.

I agree completely, except Mike Peterson is an OLB. He only played MLB for a couple of years in JAX, but he’s naturally a OLB (Indy) and his position with the Falcons has already been addressed. He will play OLB.

MoundBred :

And Matthews does not fit with what our organization is trying to build on defense. They want high speed guys that will constantly be around the football.

While I agree with most of your post, you really have absolutely no idea how ridiculous that statement was. Clay Matthews was the fastest of ALL LINEBACKERS. LOL. He fits in fine with what we wanted, however, it’s pretty obvious that Dimitroff valued Perry more.

Jerry > Hood, tho. That’s not even close to being debatable.

@Ryan
Your statement is far more ridiculous than mine and you have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. Aaron Curry, maybe you’ve heard of him, ran a 4.56 at the combine and Matthews ran a 4.67. The OLB we drafted out of Miami, Spencer Adkins, ran a 4.3 so I’m really confused about where you got your information. I think you mistakenly heard that when they were reporting how Matthews was the only USC linebacker that had a faster 40 time and more bench reps than the USC kicker (Maybe we should have drafted the kicker to play LB). He is the fastest USC LB, stop making him more than he is. Part of the problem is that people like you who don’t know what you’re talking about got caught up in the USC hype as well as the hype around other players that have glaring weaknesses in their games (i.e. Johnson and Allen, I wish them both much success). One thing that you have to realize is that even if you are knowledgable about the game, you won’t necessarily understand all the picks because we are not privy to the same information as the teams. I don’t understand the doubt. Dimitroff’s track record is astounding and now he’s in charge. He loves to scout talent and lives for the draft. I’m pretty sure a guy like that knows more about finding talent than we do. As I said Dmitroff himself said that the first 3 picks were who they wanted prior to draft day, and I think it would be safe to assume Sidbury Jr. was as well. They addressed four main areas of need in the first 4 rounds, got exactly who they wanted, and you people will still doubt them until we win 12 games (Quote me now it will happen this season). We didn’t need a LB early because we have Lofton, Wire and now Peterson (the last two may not even start, open competition). Releasing Brooking, Boley and Foxworth (although keeping him would’ve been nice) was necessary and does not leave the defense as depleted as you think. Boley was lacking in pass coverage and was often out of position. And Brooking finally showed everyone in the biggest play of the season why I wanted him gone for the last 4 seasons. (I couldn’t take another year seeing him running 8 yds behind Westbrook on a dig that the latter turns into a 20+ yd play.) Also improving the DL will free up the LBs, because with at least two people to double team (between Abraham, Babineaux and Jerry) there will less OL making it to the second level. Improving the DL will also help the secondary because we will have a legit pass rush. I don’t care how good your DBs are they can’t defend pro wide outs if the QB has 7+ seconds without any pressure. And despite what you think our CBs aren’t that bad. Most of the big plays against our D were a result of blown coverage. Thats why after most of those plays you see the CBs arguing with the Safeties cause someone (often Milloy) was out of position. You can’t see the entire secondary on TV so just because you see someone get beat it doesn’t mean it is their fault. In my opinion our defense last yr was underrated, even by our fans (shame on you). Now I know we ranked 24 in yds/g, 21 in pass yds/g, 25 in rush yds/g and ranked poorly in other categories, but those stats are misleading and I’d figure the people watching the games would realize this. In the stat that really matters, pts/g, we ranked 11, surrounded by Bucs then Panthers. Last year we had a bend-but-don’t-break defense. We gave up plenty of yards and let the offense chew up clock on drives that started inside their 20, but when it got to where it mattered our defense cowboyed-up and made some stops. I think that we will improve in that aspect and with the new additions (and subtractions) and another year in Smith’s system we will be a top 15 defense and stand a good chance of being top 10. The offense is going to be extremely beneficial to the success of the defense, and I truly believe these guys will get the job done. They spent a lot of face time with these early draft picks and gave them private workouts. Which makes me believe he opportunely recovered from his injuries and will be a legitimate force at SS. He is good at stuffing the run and pass coverage. If he can perform to his potential (and I’m assuming he will, because I trust the Falcons management) he will be one of the top value picks in the draft. And if they drafted anything like last year (not to mention Dmitroff’s track record) when 6 picks where key contributors to the team then we can expect good competition from these rookies to fill the vacant positions.

Ryan :
@Mike
I was hoping for Matthews too, or at least Sintim in the 2nd Round. I was really let down that we didn’t grab Cornelius Ingram (TE/UF) in the 5th, the kid’s a 1st Rd talent but was injured last season, and Tony Gonzalez has maybe 2 years left in him.

Really? I thought Gonzalez was only 32 and one of the best conditioned athletes in the league. If you think that Ingram will be as good as him in 2, or even 5, years you are crazy. We didn’t need a TE this draft, we can get a young one later. But Gonzalez will remain a premier receiver until 2012, and don’t be surprised if he is still productive in 2015. Think about what he accomplished and the team he did it for. He is underrated due to the fact that most people don’t see him play on a regular basis, because of the team he played for. The same reason why LaDanian Tomlinson isn’t truly appreciated like he should be as the greatest running back in the game, prior to the last couple of injury-plagued seasons.

1. The game is won and lost in the trenches.
2. There is a reason why Dimitroff has the reputation he has.
3. The Falcons office has seen alot more private workouts, tape, practices, etc. on current, former, and drafted falcons players than you. Maybe they are really impressed with how some players have been developing that we haven’t seen cuz it’s not our job to watch them.
4. Personally, I think the USC linebackers are overrated. Pac-10 + USC talented D-Line = Overrated Linebackers
5. Time will tell.

i like this pick alot. we are very weak at the dt position but also could have used a lb as well. i like jerry and think he will be great in our system and really help abraham stay on top at de.