Thanks everyone for spending time Sunday on the blog and the FalconsLIFE Message Boards debating the Falcons draft. I’ve seen words ranging from “trust” to “terrible” and everything in between.
We’re all fans and entitled to opinion.
CLICK HERE FOR NFL.COM FALCONS DRAFT ANALYSIS
I just want to remind everyone that you can’t judge anything until you’ve seen players perform on the NFL field. We still have some time to wait on that.
Here’s what some experts are saying about the Falcons draft…
Peter King, SportsIllustrated.com
“Key to long-term success of this draft is whether interior linemenMike Johnson and Joe Hawley can plug holes at guard and center in the next two to three years.”
Rob Rang, NFLDraftScout.com (B-)
“(Sean) Weatherspoon is an ideal in Atlanta’s cover-two scheme, as is third-round pick Corey Peters, an underrated defensive tackle who several teams were targeting.”
Charley Casserly, CBSSports.com
“The third-round pick from Kentucky was not rated that high in the fall but seemed to rise. He has good quickness to go along with his size.”
FoxSports.com (B)
“…Missouri OLB Sean Weatherspoon, possibly the most complete linebacker in the draft. He can cover and also rush the passer.”
The Bird Cage (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) (B-)
“Thomas Dimitroff certainly filled a lot of needs in terms of depth, but only a few players stick out as having an immediate impact (Weatherspoon, Franks). TD didn’t go for the flashiest names and was criticized by many fans and experts alike, but he gets the benefit of the doubt and this Falcons team doesn’t need the marquee names that it used to and is committed to building a well-rounded, tough, intelligent team with high character and excellent work ethic. Did many fans hear of Kroy Biermann, Chris Owens, or Thomas DeCoud at the time?”
“The Falcons started the draft off well with the selection of Missouri linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, but just like a few other teams they started to reach for prospects rather than drafting for value.”
“I really like Sean Weatherspoon as a prospect, and I know all three prominent pass-rushers – Brandon Graham, Derrick Morgan and Jason Pierre-Paul – went off the board before No. 19, but Atlanta should have done something to ensure themselves of Graham or Morgan.”
30 Comments
Great Draft… no huge names but good solid picks. I like the kid Meier out of Kansas. I also heard that we are looking at WR Wolf out of UNLV as an undrafted FA. Another good WR like Meier in the Welker/Chrebet mold. Just what we need to complement White. Is that true?
Hey j.mike any word on the undrafted free agents we signed? N if so what happened to the lb from arizona we worked out? I want that guy, he looks like he sheds blockers really well.
exactly i think we are going to do great i cant wait for this season to start i think we should sign the K from alabama if he fits the falcons needs and with that last signing for the undrafted FA our depth for every position to me seems filled great job T.D and M.S!!
Don’t be surprised if the Falcons cut the following players before training camp:
Trey Lewis (replaced by Corey Peters)
Thomas Johnson (replaced by Vance Walker)
Quinn Qijnnaka (replaced by new Mike Johnson)
Bret Romberg (replaced by Joe Hawley)
Brian Finneran (replaced by WR pick Meier)
Coy Wire (replaced by Spencer Adkins or Rober James)
Will Svitek (replaced by Garrett Reynolds)
The only ones I regret leaving are Finn, of course, but we can’t keep him on the field, Wire, great person and tough special teamer, and Thomas Johnson, loved his comeback from being out of football and his grit. Unfortunately, for players like this the NFL stands for “Not For Long” as the great Jerry Glanville used to say. Coach Smith and TD wanted to get younger, faster, and more passionate. Getting rid of Houston and Hill from the secondary was a major victory as both players were coach killers, especially Houston.
Leigh Tiffin – K from Alabama. He’s great kicker
That Kicker from Alabama would be a huge pick up if we do sign him. We definately need to, if we haven”t already, go ahead and sign him. This would put a cap on our kicking needs as we have already signed Keonen. Congrads on our draft picks. I know everyone will contribute to our future success. Like I said in my last posting, we are going to be NFC south champs, NFC champion ship contendors, and hellraisers in the NFL baby!!!! WOOOOOOO!!!!!!! LET’S GO FALCONS!!!!!!!!!
A lot of people have been asking “why didn’t we get another tight end?” but I was told that we had picked up Collin Peek from Alabama from free agency. If that’s true I can testify as a student at the university that Peek is a real player and was an unsung hero to the championship run last season. He really reminded me of Dallas Clark to some extent.
I agree dave as long as we keep the best 53 n dress the best 45 on gameday regardless of draft status like jenkins n anderson I’m happy.
If your watched the Weatherspoon Press confernece, im sure you felt great about the pick…I can tell Sean will be a major impact in years to come with Curtis. My only concers are kicker and Tight End, we have no long term plans in those positions, but we can still win the super bowl without them
New England always had a B- or C+ grade on their drafts throughout their unbelievable run over the past 10 years. The Falcons are going to do the same…Fly under the radar men and then go kick arsss!
In Dimitroff we trust. Don’t ever jump to conclusions about a draft class until the players hit the field. The same way that Dimitroff used picks in New England is the same way he’s doing here. And who wouldn’t want a Falcons team to win 3 championships in 5 seasons? Exactly. If we are continually a playoff team, we will continually have middle-of-the-pack draft picks, barring any trades. With that being said, Dimitroff is bringing the same philosophy to Atlanta, and we should all be excited about any player we select. Look at it…who was Asante Samuel before Dimitroff drafted them? (We got Brent Grimes)…who was Vince Wilfork? (We got Peria Jerry). So let’s don our Falcons gear and get ready to eat some Panther burgers after we double-slap a Saint and hijack 2 Buccaneer ships! GO FALCONS!!!!
When I hear the phrase “draft for value” I cringe. What’s the point of getting a 3rd rounder in the 5th round if he doesn’t fit your scheme or a need? TD drafts for need and, while I don’t think he’s the shrewdest guy at moving around, he targeted and got the guys he wanted. So what if he took a guy 10 picks to high, if he got his guy? Late round picks are over-valued.
Quinn Ojinnaka, Thomas Johnson, Trey Lewis, Brett Romberg, Robert James are all on the bubble IMO. Atlanta keeps two reserve OT’s so Svitek and Reynolds should fill those roles. Finn is a tough one, he may stay for one more year to help get Meier up to speed. Atlanta didn’t do much in the WR area so I don’t see them getting rid of Finn for an unproven 5th round draft pick. Matt Giadorno and Shillinger will battle it out for the reserve FS spot. The UDFA’S are basically viaing for practice squad spots along with our practice squad guys from last season. A lot of times these guys are just bodies for the team to beat up on during training camp.
It always is interesting to see peoples opinions about the draft. I’ve learned over the years not to get to riled up from what media say. I like the draft & trust our front office as well as the whole Falcon organization. Its comical reading some of the arm chair coaches comments. Lets just say I’m glad your not in charge. I think the Smith’s maybe listen to you when they own the team. LOL Hey J. Mike, do you think we’ll see some screen plays this year? I was wondering why we never run them last year….
i agree i trust TD and MS so i liked our draft i hope we found some pro bowlers
I like the drafting of interior linemen on both sides of the ball. Peters should eat up a lot of space and should be a nice complement to Peria Jerry next year. In addition to having him back next year, don’t forget, William Moore should be back healthy. With Weatherspoon in the mix along with Robinson, we are looking at “adding” four impact defenders next season (Jerry, Spoon, Moore, Robinson). We were middle of the road on defense last year and should be able to crack the top ten, hopefully with some more turnovers forced.
The Meier pick was a little questionable as I wonder if we could’ve waited another round on him and possibly done some moving to draft DE Ricky Sapp out of Clemson (he wasn’t taken until the fifth round).
All in all, it was a solid draft. Both lines should be improved and we got a LB with playmaking ability.
falcon fans!!! tim buckley is another vick type qb but can throw!!!! foreal check him out!!!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFv7RlKuS1k
falcon fans!!! tim buckley is another vick type qb but can throw!!!! foreal check him out!!!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFv7RlKuS1k
We’ll have to wait to see what happens come mini camp and training camp, but right now Buckley is listed as a receiver and will play that spot for the Falcons.
This has to be one of the worst Falcon draft ever. Going into this up coming season our need was to have someone that could put constant pressure on a passer. Did we ever sniff in the area of a pass rusher? How can we expect to compete in this division with no movement at all toward a defensive end. Are we expecting Jamal Anderson to have a come out year? I think the jury should still be out for Thomas Dimitroff and Mike Smith. Everyone in our division out performed us. At least there was an opportunity to help Ryan with a couple of playmakers.
NOT A BAD DRAFT. ONLY ONE BIG NAME, BUT REMEMBER NO 2ED PICK. I FEEL WE DID REAL GOOD AFTER THE DRAFT. LOOKS LIKE A COUPLE OF GOOD TE’S. AND A LONG KICKING ACCURATE PLACE KICKER. WHEN JERRY WENT DOWN WE NEEDED GOOD BACK UPS. WHAT HAPPENED TO WARREN DONAVIN?I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THE SEASON!!!
man we should pick DE carlos dunlap from Florida instead picking joe hawley.
better draft than last years peria jerry, but td is the man in atlanta. If it wasnt for him than atlanta would be nowhere near where they are today. im tired of people saying we need a rush end, if we need one that bad i guess we should have forgotten about sean weatherspoon and traded up in the draft. td is the best general manager in the nfl that any team will ever have. with seans versatility to protect the pass and stop the run, well do good with curtis lofton in there to help stop the run and we beefed up the line as well to help stop the run. well have a better defens period. no questions about it. better take sean than a rush end
There must be something wrong with Brandon Lang or otherwise we would have drafted or signed him already.
the jaguars just released big john henderson he is is one of smittys boys from jacksonville lets sign him he will require double teams all day this will allow abraham and beirman to put up double digit sacks numbers or if we dont get him we need a defensive end what about a trade for osi umenirya what do the giants want for him but if they want too much then big john will do remember in 08 when abraham had 16.5 sacks you can accredit that to big grady jackson for requiring double teams all of our dt weigh 300 lbs or less we need more beef on the d line we have some athletic pass rushing dt’s but no monster 325+ tackles that require double teams so come on dimitroff and smitty we have three ex jaguars on the roster already peterson,williams and fudge one more could no
I 2 wanted a DE especially after we passed on the DE from USC when we picked last in the 3rd round GRIFFIN was just sittin there and we just passed him over ,but we as fans have 2 move on an trust TD and Smithy , I was happy when i saw that we signed 15 UDFA we do need 2 get younger I know that 86 is great an a model citizen maybe they can give him a job with the organization an if the new crop of WR there are really that good .Only 2 WR that could can do things thats WHITE an DOUGLAS , if the new corps are really good then bye JENKINS I feel good about WR’S Buckley, Wolf see we didn’t get a TE in the draft but we signed TE’s Coin Peek from ALa an Micheal Palmer from Clemsom but we need a good DE we lookin at Emmanuel Stephen from Ole Miss News flash New England released OLB THomas one last thing does any 1 think we need a new D fence Cordinator or new defence schemes GO DIRTY BIRDS 4 LIFE
I think this years draft gave us some depth at needed positions. Despite what some may say I think we played all cards well. I think weatherspoon can make an inpact on both the run and pass defense. I like the move up to get dominique franks, I think he will give us some help in our nickel packages. I’m also very interested in WR meier, I think he is a guy that can come in and help us move the chains on 3rd downs. I’m very excited about the upcoming season. Comments or questions email, atlantafan84@gmail.com
overall, it was a medium to good draft for us IMO. TD is one of them managers that instead of filling all needs rightaway fill up other positions for the long run and money wise . he ll probrably dig for a DE through undrafted free agency, or feel that the DE position is fine the way it is with the emergence of kroy bierman. he may start over jamal anderson who has 1 or 2 years left on contract. either way jamal anderson will probrably be gone by the end of this year and thats when he ll draft a replacement or dig through free agency 2011. even though many say we had a bad draft, dont underrate TD, remember how they thought we had a bad one when he first came in the office and then the next thing you know we were a playoff contender for 2008. Everyone(even the fans) were like OMG!!!! : O
i think the falcons did a great job in the draft because they got players that can help them in the future. we arleady have 3 good defensive ends so give them chance and they will prove to everyone. also weatherspoon was oustanding pick because i believe the falcons have a front seven that’s going to kill the league watch.
GO GET JOHN HENDERSON!!!!!!!!!!! GO BIRDS
how about that wr from kansas. that once played QB. could we use him in a wildcat offense. like a ronnie brown?
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