SB Nation - Jamaal Fudge

Falcons Place S Jamaal Fudge On I.R., Sign S Charlie Peprah

Dave the Falconer — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:19:04 -0000

Some years even your depth can't escape the dreaded injury bug.

That's right, folks, that cursed little bastard has dug his plague-encrusted fangs into Jamaal Fudge, knocking everybody's favorite backup safety out for the rest of the season. This is especially unusual because the team never disclosed what happened to Fudge, who had mostly played his time out on special teams in 2009. We wish him well.

His replacement is kind of an intriguing guy, or at least he would be if he wasn't doomed to spend the rest of the season warming the bench. Charlie Peprah was an effective special teamer for the Green Bay Packers, jarring two fumbles loose in 2007 and generating 37 total tackles during his three years there, and he could be a valuable piece of our kickoff return coverage team. If nothing else, his name will be fun to say for the rest of the season. Peprah peprah peprah.

In the big scheme of things, this is a blip on the back of an atom zipping its way through the universe, but it does illustrate just how heavily we've been hit by injuries this season. Let's hope Fudge is the end of it.

Thoughts?

Falcons Place CB Brian Williams On Injured Reserve, Sign S Jamaal Fudge

Dave the Falconer — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:21:46 -0000

Well, it's official.

All we can really do at this point is wish Brian Williams well with his recovery and move on. With the Dallas Cowboys and their potentially potent passing packages on the way, the Falcons are going to need to put their best players on the field Sunday and are making moves toward that end.

First off, re-signing Jamaal Fudge is a good move. Fudge is familiar with the system and is not a total liability against either the pass or the run, so he can fill in at safety in a pinch. If the team wants to do something really creative with Thomas DeCoud, like play him at corner in nickel packages, Fudge can take a few snaps at free safety without killing us. Even if they don't decide to do that, we're not exactly loaded up with safety depth and William "C4" Moore's condition is unknown until at least tomorrow. I'm good with this.

What will be most crucial of all is how Brent Grimes plays and how Chevis Jackson, Tye Hill and Chris Owens step up now that Williams is gone. Grimes was picked on by announcers and pundits over the course of the last couple of weeks, but I've thought he's had a successful season so far and should be able to keep that up going forward. It's what happens after Chris Houston (he's another story entirely) and Grimes that will be closely watched this week.

My best guess is that Chevis Jackson ends up getting the bulk of the snaps to replace Williams, at least initially. If he plays well there, he can stave off Tye Hill and establish himself as the cornerback we have all been hoping he would be. If he doesn't, the team will turn to Hill, and they might get him involved a bit anyways just to see what he can do. It's not an ideal situation on paper, but thankfully life rarely works out in the way of black of white words. Coach Mike Smith has also said Hill will get his fair chance to compete, so I'm really working on a gut feeling here.

Weigh in, if you would.

The Miami Dolphins Game Discussion: Get Pumped!

Dave the Falconer — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:00:49 -0000

by John Bazemore - AP

Where's that Matt Ryan pass headed against the Dolphins? (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

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In case I've forgotten to mention this, Jamaal Fudge was cut in the wake of Brian Williams' signing. That resolved, we can all go back to our dreary lives.

This here thread is sort of a bridge, albeit one made of paper and string, between the present and questions with The Phinsider, great content from co-blogger tlozwarlock and my own usual pre-game ramblings. No pressure, tloz.

For those of you who haven't joined the discussion-type threads here before, this basically serves as a clearinghouse to talk about anything even remotely related to the Miami Dolphins game. Do you think Matt Ryan is going to torch the team's young secondary? Are you planning on heading to the game and looking to meet up with other fans for tailgating? Did you really, really enjoy Flipper? Then you're welcome here.

I'll get things rolling by mentioning that I think this is going to be a high-scoring game, and I'm going to break my only rule about terrible predictions and call for something like a 31-27 Falcons win. The biggest threat in this game will be from a balanced Dolphins offense, with at least four quality receivers who could create matchup problems in our secondary, and the Falcons will similarly attempt to bludgeon Miami with Michael Turner and a healthy dose of Matty Snowballs. There will be no survivors.

Go to it, all!

Atlanta Falcons Cut Seven Players, More Yet To Come

Dave the Falconer — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 12:00:37 -0000

by John Amis - AP

Jason Snelling stiff-arms the first round of cuts. And also the Ravens. But that's less important. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

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We knew the axe would be falling again following Thursday's pre-season game against the Baltimore Ravens, and it claimed seven Friday afternoon.

There's not a name on this list that blew me away, but this signals that bigger names are to come. Perhaps the biggest surprises were Chandler Williams, who had been excellent in special teams duty but probably didn't show enough as a receiver to stick around, and Ben Wilkerson, who had been a sturdy backup center for the better part of the last two seasons. Cornerbacks Glenn Sharpe and Tony Tiller were clearly heading out, safety Erick Brock was only a mild surprise and Ryan Stanchek and Adam Speer weren't long for this offensive line. This is depth on its way out.

With a 4 p.m. deadline Saturday to cut all the way down to 53, we haven't seen the last of the cuts, and it's likely that a few rookies from the 2009 draft are on the block. Feel free to discuss your own thoughts on the roster and who will make the final team, and I've posted my own 53-man following the jump. Let's see what Saturday brings.

QB Matt Ryan
QB Chris Redman
QB John Parker Wilson
RB Michael Turner
RB Jerious Norwood
RB Thomas Brown
FB Ovie Mughelli
FB/RB Jason Snelling
WR Roddy White
WR Michael Jenkins
WR Brian Finneran
WR Marty Booker
WR Eric Weems
TE Tony Gonzalez
TE Justin Peelle
TE Keith Zinger
T Sam Baker
T Tyson Clabo
T Garrett Reynolds
T Michael Butterworth
G Quinn Ojinnaka
G Justin Blalock
G Harvey Dahl
C Todd McClure
C Brett Romberg
LS Mike Schneck

DE John Abraham
DE Jamaal Anderson
DE Chauncey Davis
DE Kroy Biermann
DE Lawrence Sidbury
DT Jon Babineaux
DT Peria Jerry
DT Trey Lewis
DT Vance Walker
OLB Mike Peterson
OLB Jamie Winborn
OLB Stephen Nicholas
OLB Coy Wire
MLB Curtis Lofton
MLB Tony Gilbert
CB Chris Houston
CB Brent Grimes
CB Tye Hill
CB Chevis Jackson
CB Chris Owens
SS Eric Coleman
SS William Moore
FS Thomas DeCoud
S Jamaal Fudge
S Antoine Harris

K Jason Elam
P Michael Koenen

Poll

Is Dave the Falconer's final roster projection realistic?

You can see into the future! Get out of my head!

30 votes

Don't quit your day job...if you even have one

20 votes

I'm going to wait and see before passing judgment

19 votes

What, no Steve Bartkowski? This is an outrage!

30 votes

99 votes | Poll has closed