EDITOR’S NOTE: AtlantaFalcons.com will travel to the Combine this week to cover the Falcons decision makers and help you get to know what athletes could be available for the team in the 2010 NFL Draft. Click here for more information and to share your thoughts.
Two years ago I made my first trip to the NFL Scouting Combine with an empty notebook and just one expectation — hard work. That week the Falcons learned they’d pick third in the 2008 NFL Draft and any and every position was on the table for consideration.
The coin toss — this time to decide the No. 19 and 20 pick — is about the only similarity between the Falcons 2008 and 2010 trips. The venue has changed to Lucas Oil Stadium and the Birds have shored up almost every position. Now General Manager Thomas Dimitroff and his staff can focus on a smaller pool of players and get even more intense with research.
The Combine remains the perfect setting to get that extra look at raw ability (If you need a little refresher on the drills run at the Combine, click here), talk to athletes and get reassurance on any current or past medical issues. More than 300 draft hopefuls will be in attendance.
Let the speculation begin…
I know I’m ready for some more hard work.
Mock Draft 1.0: Falcons select Brandon Graham, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I went through several versions of a mock draft in 2009 and decided — out of interest of time and sanity — to tone it down and go with one or two versions in April. A lot can change after free agency, so I look forward to D. Led’s “2.0″ look.
Weekend mailbag, ESPN.com
Blockbuster trades were added Dimitroff’s arsenal last season when the team acquired All-Pro tight end Tony Gonzalez. Could we see this two years in a row?
Mel Kiper leads the way with BSU’s Wilson, Examiner.com
Take a look at some of the mock drafts that matter most. For more on Kyle Wilson, take a listen to my interview with Scott Wright with DraftCountdown.com.
The Atlanta Falcons and their New Found Hope (Part 1 | Part 2), The Falcoholic
Special thanks to “tlozwarlock” for quoting me in Part Two. A successful piece here highlighting expectations. They’re getting higher with each consecutive winning season. Since the Falcons just recorded the first back-to-back winning campaigns I’d say they’re astronomical at the moment.
10 small school players to watch at the NFL Combine, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This year, you’re guiding me on what to report on at the Combine.
Will Kroy Biermann emerge as the needed pass rusher for the Atlanta Falcons in 2010?, Examiner.com
This certainly would lead to more creative nicknames for the Biermann.
DE Jason Pierre-Paul Could Be First Round Pick For Falcons, The Falcoholic
Those are a lot of letters to get on the back of a jersey.
The Worst Five Falcons Draft Picks of the Decade, Bleacher Report
A list no one wants to read, but probably has to be made at least once every 10 years.
NFL considers rules changes to combat concussions, The Washington Post
Falcons president Rich McKay will be in the news a lot over the next few months (he always is when there’s talk about health or competition).
Shedding Light On Epilepsy, HealthNewsDigest.com
Click here to see Jason Snelling talk about his epilepsy story.
36 Comments
who are our players that we have to franchise on our team??
J.Mike
saw a cool Chiefs site where they keep up with every player the Chiefs has talk to at the senior bowl, east vs west shrine game, and will post who they met at the combine.
Is there a chance that you can post a list of the guys that the Falcons interview at the combine ?
I actually just posted a blog post talking about the “tags.” Teams don’t have to franchise anyone, though it can be applied if the front office chooses.
J.Mike
saw a cool Chiefs site where they keep up with every player the Chiefs has talk to at the senior bowl, east vs west shrine game, and will post who they met at the combine.
Is there a chance that you can post a list of the guys that the Falcons interview at the combine ?
I won’t be posting who the team interviews at the Combine since all of those are closed, private sessions. I will however post all interviews the AF.com team does with prospects in the media room.
OK…. Cool
I THINK IN DRAFT WE SHOULD GET A CORNERBACK(LIKE JOE HADEN ) OR WIDE RECEIVER BECAUSE LAST YEAR THE CORNERS WERE NOT DOING GOOD AND A SLOT RECEIVER TO GO WITH WHITE AND JENKINS OR A NEW 2ND STRING RECIEVER LIKE DEZ BRYANT OR JORDAN SHIPLEY…BUT NOT A LB OR LINEMAN IN THE FIRST ROUND
Pat Angerer, Rennie Curran two late round players that have great upside go get them falcons lol
J. Mike
is there a possibility that we are able to get Free Agent such as Vincent Jackson or Miles Austin for WR?
how about we draft a guy like myron rolle because he is a great athlete and he might fall to the third round. He has incredible upside.
I see us tagging Harvey Dahl although I wouldn’t want to be in the room when they tell him. Last year we tagged Michael Keonen so I hope we work out his contract.
we shoul draft someone like Sergio Kindle. LB/DE. we need both LB and DE and he can fill one of the two. John Abraham only getting older and Mike Peterson getting old. Sergio Kindle could be if not, THE ANSWER !
aww yes a random thing anyone ever realise that Thomas DeCoud looks like Drake the rapper? kind of haha
i think if we sign J.Peppers and draft that brandon grham in the draft then our D will be unstopable this year. what do yinz think??
we dont need pappers hes not worth the money but b grham was highly under rated coming out but be has some eyes on him now he’ll be a good pic if he’s still on the bored. in plp talk about ja 55 like he cant play any more hes always been under rated since he was here but his a great player
i really dont want to see the falcons pick up a cb in the late rounds. ether high pick or move on to other needs. i think we could use a de and they will be the most available and that includes kindle
If mot Peppers, than maybe Bosh?? we need another DE to go with ABE, and maybe Graham if we Draft him. what do yinz think??
I am not sure why alot of falcons fans want to draft an early WR. We do not need a WR. HD will be back and he is a perfect slot WR. Maybe a late round WR or a free agent but we need the first and third round picks to be defense. Preferably first round CB like Kyle Wilson or Joe Hadyn. Falcons have like 5 good nickel CBs but no NO 1 CBs. If we would have drafted a good corner last year Falcons prolly would have made playoffs. DE is a need but not as big as CB. I personally believe that Bierman will break out huge this year.
Also Cromartie and Nmandi may be on the trade block. If falcons can swing either of those players they should jump all over it.
I think they should sign peppers to save the first pick for something much needed. Which we all would agree on, a Safety or Cornerback. What I seen last year were holes in the secondary. Signing peppers could help bring pressure along with the d-line we have. That would leave room to go for a good secondary player in the draft. Players like Taylor Mays. Than build the linebacker spots n the rest of the team. If anything needs to b done this year, start with the secondary. Thats if the d-line problem is already fixed. Pierre-Paul is a talent young man, but I don’t think he will b able to give this team the burst we need that first year. As owner or whom ever handle the business. I would go for Peppers; if moneys the issue I would release a few players. With Peppers you are going to get big plays; but start building team from that point.
It slipped my mind. If the Falcons do go for a DE n not a CB. They should at least think about signing someone like Sharper. But again, I would go for Peppers. Him n Abraham being vet., both hungery for a ring, we can get the pressure we needed along with a draft pick we really need.
bierman is a good player. and the falcons feel set with who the have a safety now with colman and decoud. and there is no worthy mid 1st round big(tall) corners . we have 2 0r 3 ppl that can stop up and be a #1 not to look by free a.
accept p cox but some plp think he’s not a mid 1 round pic
WE NEED Rennie Curran FROM GA AND A GOOD WR TO GO WITH WHITE I WONT MY TEAM TO WIN THIS YEAR GO FALCONS.
If we aquire Safety Darren Sharper,and DE Julius Pepper in free agency ;Then draft LB Sergio Kindle in the first round, our defense should improve good enough to compete for the division crown! On offense with WR Harry Douglas returning from injury,and WR Mike Jenkins having another lack luster year.WR should be our next pick.Can you say WR Mardy Gilyard!
I agree we are okay at the safety postition. Decoud really stepped up this year and is looking like he might soon be a pro bowler. Signing peppers would be idiotic. He is old like Abraham and he will want to much money.
But no they do not have ne corners that are capable of number 1. Houston has had plenty of chances and should be a second with grimes at nickel and possibly Owens or that guy they got from rams at dime. Only missing link is a number 1 i say trade 1st pick for nmandi or cromartie. Or possibly a three way trade with chargers since they want a rb for Cromartie.
Falcons have drafted bust after bust at the corner postition. Deangelo is the only decent corner they drafted recently. Its time to go get a proven corner. Either get best corner in free agency or a trade. Possibly Bodden from Pats. He might be a free agent.
BSU’s kyle Wilson is the best CB in the draft. He just isnt getting the hype because he is from BSU.
I think Moore-DeCoud will be a great safety tandem. Leave them be. Bring in a corner(possibly Cromartie or a draft pick. I happen to like Kyle Wilson), and work on the D-Line. We will be much better with Jerry back in the lineup next season. Notice how our defense dropped off after Jerry went down? And draft an OLB to take Peterson’s place eventually.
i think we should go out and bring in Sharper to bring William Moore along as an understudy for 1 season. give Sharper a 1 year deal, to bring along Moore to get him ready, what do yinz think??
i think we should go secondary in first round. either pat robinson cb or rashad jones safety. robinson is dirt fast, can cover,and tackle. prob can play safety 2. jones if u have figured out is a coach in the secondary, excellent ball skills. Both of these guys will fit perfect in falcs schemes, both are playmakers! why graham when we have sidbury, bierman, abraham,davis. whats the difference between eric berry and rashad jones? both from atl?
Gilyard, Mardy and rased jones from ga. go falcons
i think we should look at corner in the first round someone like joe haden from florida a fast guy whos physical grimes and owens got ripped the past year i think go for haden or maybe even taylor mays of usc, kyle wilson of boise syaye is also available in the draft…itd be really great to brong one of them in and sign peppers put him on the line with abraham, jerry (when he gets back), anderson, and our offense is pretty good juss another solid wideout and theyre set…so if we could somehow pull ^^that off we can be a team to beat in 2010…
you know what i’m just gonna let it slide. so long as we win Superbowl !
Peppers and Abraham are not old. That’s just to start out this post. The Falcons need there own identity for the Superbowl crown so we don’t need Sharper. It will only be said that we picked him up because he helped the Saints to a superbowl win. That might not be important to some of you, but it is to me. We need to get Peppers and Cromartie, if we can, and pick up Taylor Mayes in the draft. This is a Superbowl caliber fix for us.
dude ! we don’t need mays ! we already got William Moore ! he too was a top safety ! we need someone like Sergio Kindle or Kyle Wilson .
We need DE/OLB/CB
Getting Kindle could be good as he can play both OLB and DE. i’d leave him at OLB and start with and pass rush at times.
or Kyle Wilson as he can help the secondary and benefit us in special teams. makes it easier for the offense to score points.
Peppers and Abraham peaked many years ago. Both have two years left max. There is no reason to get Peppers. Biermann is going to be a stud. Remember how much better he got this year? When he was a rookie he was a lurp and got pushed all over. He is getting bigger and will progress every year. I predict he has 10 plus sacks next year!