SB Nation User Blog: Dave the Falconer

Falcons And Ravens Notes, Before The Game

Dave the Falconer — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:14:09 -0000

Here's a couple notes about the upcoming game, courtesy of various outlets:

Check out Rexx's FanPost over on the side there, where he gives a brief look at what the Ravens will be playing for this week. If you're not already familiar with Rexx's work, be sure to visit Baltimore Beatdown to see what the Ravens have been up to. I've also contributed a FanPost to his site.
This is a few days old now, but eminent Falcologist Steve Wyche of the AJC looks at the backup quarterback battle and what rookies have a chance of starting and gives us a good look at who might get considerable run on Thursday. It's right here, in case you haven't seen it yet.
Starting QB candidates Kyle Boller and Troy Smith are both out, according to The Baltimore Sun, which means strong-armed rookie Joe Flacco is likely to get the start. I'm a big fan of Flacco (I picked him for the Falcons in our SBN mock draft), and I'll be interested to see how he looks out there. That said, I hope we sack him at least five times.
For those of you who are awake/around, remember that I'll have an open thread up for any of you who want to come shoot the breeze during the game. I'll be sadly working through most of the game, but I'll make every effort to be there when I can and hope you'll all show up.

The Atlanta Falcons Are Coming To Town

Dave the Falconer — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:44:35 -0000

So you want to know about the Atlanta Falcons, eh?

Hey, wait! Don't avoid eye contact! I can tell you're interested.

Well, your erstwhile opponent Thursday night is a team in a state of full-blown transition. We have a rookie QB who may or may not get to play much of the game (young Matt Ryan), a running back who has looked great but never has started (Michael Turner) and the most generically named coach in the NFL (Mike Smith). It's truly an exciting and scary time to be a fan of the team. If nothing else, you'll be seeing a team that's almost as unfamiliar to all of us as it is to you.

There's no telling how many starters will get run on Thursday, but you will see plenty of our young defense. There's not a single starting-caliber cornerback on our roster over the age of 25. Brent Grimes is a former undrafted free agent who has taken the team by storm and is incredibly athletic. I'm not sure how many of your receivers are up and running (lots of injuries, no?), but Grimes and rookie Chevis Jackson will be accompanying them downfield. We also have one of the most fearsome linebacking corps in the league, and hard-hitting rookie Curtis Lofton will be auditioning for a starting job. Also intriguing is the battle between Jason Snelling and Thomas Brown for third running back, with the bruising Snelling matching up against Brown, a sort of lesser version of Ray Rice (great player you got there, by the way.)

So you should see a competitive squad on the field, though Matt Ryan may not play all that much now that he's locked up the starting job. Here's hoping you guys enjoy the game, and best of luck on the season ahead!

Poll

Who will win on Thursday night?

An Impassioned Plea For Falcoholic Fantasy Football

Dave the Falconer — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:19:54 -0000

I really hate to have to come crawling to you, dear readers, but there's been a slight issue with our Flea Flicker Fantasy Football League that is demanding some attention. Due to some people dropping out, there are currently three open spaces in the league. If you don't have a team and you'd really like to get in, please shoot me an e-mail or just comment here.

Thank you for helping out The Falcoholic!

Falcons Get To 75 By Placing Two On Injured List

Dave the Falconer — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:55:03 -0000

Falcons Get To 75 By Placing Two On Injured List

The Falcons managed to get down to 75 players on Tuesday by putting T Renardo Foster on the Physically Unable to Perform list and NT Trey Lewis on the non-football injury list. We likely won't see either of them until midseason.

Adam Jennings Is Bulletproof

Dave the Falconer — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:09:43 -0000

The title of this post is the only explanation for this story:

Punt returner Adam Jennings, who muffed a punt against Indianapolis, came back with returns of 28 and 23 yards against Tennessee.

“I think that Adam has separated himself with the performance that he had on Friday night,” Smith said. “I know that Harry (Douglas) has got the skill set and could do it as well. It’s a two-man race, but I think Adam has pulled out in front in that area.”

Jennings won the punt-returning job last season, but has a penchant for fair-catching returnable punts. He had 19 fair catches on 30 returns last season and averaged a meager 6.2 yards a return. He had no touchdowns with a long return of 23 yards.

This is criminally insane. Maybe the coaching staff is seeing something from Adam Jennings that I'm not--maybe he can project his very soul into the end zone or something--but Jennings was not last year and has not yet been an effective returner. There's absolutely nothing in terms of physical evidence that says Jennings should take a roster spot from someone else if all he's going to do is return kicks.

I try to wish everyone well and put a bright face on everything, but there's no reason Adam Jennings should make the roster at this point when Harry Douglas can't possibly do any worse. Unless he blasts off a couple of 50 yard returns this weekend, I think Jennings ought to be looking for work elsewhere.

Thoughts?

Stabbing Guessward: Falcons Starters, Attempt Three

Dave the Falconer — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:42:49 -0000

You know the drill by now. With our bigger cut downs coming soon and the news of Matt Ryan starting, it's time once again to try to predict the starters. I am older, humbler, and wiser this time around, but you'll still probably disagree with some of my choices.

Discuss in the comments check it out after the jump.

QB Matt Ryan

RB Michael Turner

FB Ovie Mughelli

WR Roddy White

WR Michael Jenkins (early on)

TE Ben Hartsock

LT Sam Baker

LG Justin Blalock

C Todd McClure

RG Harvey Dahl

RT Todd Weiner

DE John Abraham

DT Jon Babineaux

DT Grady Jackson

DE Jamaal Anderson

OLB Keith Brooking

MLB Curtis Lofton

OLB Michael Boley

CB Chris Houston

FS Erik Coleman

SS Lawyer Milloy

CB Brent Grimes

K Jason Elam

P Michael Koenen

Falcons Sign Marcus Pollard

Dave the Falconer — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 03:27:56 -0000

Falcons Sign Marcus Pollard

The Falcons sign an aging tight end in Marcus Pollard, but the dude can (gasp!) actually catch. This doesn't bode well for Martrez Milner or Keith Zinger

Matt Ryan Is The Atlanta Falcons' Starting Quarterback

Dave the Falconer — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 02:45:10 -0000

via assets.espn.go.com

The writing had been on the wall for at least the last week, but the Falcons have finally confirmed what we all knew: Matt Ryan will start this year.

This is a monumental move for the franchise, a final shift from the misery and mire of the last year or so into a bright and blazing future. There will be struggles, sometimes difficult to overcome, and Ryan may find himself planted in the turf until his very bones ache. But there is reason to believe that he is capable and that he can grow into a true franchise quarterback.

We've had these dreams before. We've been let down by a truly astounding array of players. Maybe we ought to know better, but I know I don't. When I see Ryan line up behind center for the first time during the season, I'm going to be just as giddy as I was when it was Chris Miller, when it was Chris Chandler, when it was Michael Vick. One of these times, it really is going to be the change we're looking for, so why not now? Why not Matt Ryan?

All we can ask of each other is to show some patience with the rook, who is going to have a daunting learning curve ahead of him. He may even drag the whole team down with him from time to time, and I'm not expecting anyone to hold their tongue then. Still, this is a real opportunity, and a new page in the franchise's history. Let's embrace it while we still can hold our happy illusions, and maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised.

Good luck, Matt!

Falcons Trash Titans, 17-3

Dave the Falconer — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:02:42 -0000

A pre-season victory tastes just as sweet as any other victory when you really outplay your opponent. That was definitely the case Friday night, when the Falcons overcame some sloppy play of their own to beat down the Tennessee Titans by a score of 17-3.

Let's roll through the highlights and lowlights, after the jump:

HIGHLIGHTS:

The play of Matt Ryan and Chris Redman were critical in this game, and both delivered in a big way. Ryan was auditioning for the starting job and showed a stronger arm than most give him credit for; in fact, my knock on him is that he overthrew a couple passes last night. Otherwise, he efficiently moved the offense downfield , completed 15 out of 21 passes and managed a short TD pass. Redman played less but was almost as effective, going 9 for 11 and leading the team on another touchdown drive. The fourth game should be used to determine whether Joey Joe Joe or Shockley makes the team, but it's pretty clear at this point that Ryan is going to start and Redman should be a very capable backup.
Seeing Jason Snelling and Thomas Brown duke it out for the third running back slot was fantastic. Snelling ran 9 times for 46 yards, including an impressive 19 yard rumble, and at one point I raved to blackertai about how good he looked. Thomas Brown answered that call by running 7 times for 29 yards and a TD. This is way too close to call at this point, and I find myself wishing we could keep both in case of injuries. They're very different types of backs.
Kroy Biermann won't stop defying my expectations. The Falcons clearly saw the potential for a designated sack machine in this guy, and he's got one in each of the last two games. The usual caveats about backups come into play here, but Biermann looks like he could be a terrific pass-rushing specialist with time. Chevis Jackson also played the role of awesome rookie, snagging an interception.
It'd be unfair to ignore the receivers. Harry Douglas has the team's lone TD there, but it was Michael Jenkins and Brian Finneran who really impressed. Finn's a huge question mark still because we don't know how he's going to hold up through the season, but it was encouraging to see him doing damage all through the game. Jenkins needs to keep fighting hard to keep Laurent Robinson at bay, and this was certainly a good step in that direction.
The team played good, conservative football the whole game. The Falcons are never going to win pretty this year, but they may win a lot more ugly games than anyone originally thought.

LOWLIGHTS:

Jason Elam's close range field goal miss is no big deal in a pre-season game, but I don't want to see that ever again.
The offensive line, while solid, was also penalty ridden. Harvey Dahl in particular lost his cool a couple times and ended up with three penalties on the day. I think the line will be stronger than anticipated, but we can't have too many boneheaded mistakes or the offense won't get a chance to move properly.

FINAL:

Overall, this was a quality win. As I've said before, the Falcons are going to win ugly this season if they're going to win at all, so this is something you ought to get used to now. Still, our rookies almost universally did well and this team shows real signs of developing a gritty character through this season. The Titans aren't world-beaters, but this win is one that shows all the ways thing could go right.

Pre-Season Open Thread: Atlanta Falcons vs. Tennessee Titans

Dave the Falconer — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:06:17 -0000

This is the week where Matt Ryan gets a chance to win the starting job for the Falcons, save the princess from the dragon and ride off into the sunset. Can he triumph over evil (aka the Titans?)

Only time will tell! Until then, join me for this open thread extravaganza.

Who? Atlanta Falcons vs. Tennessee Titans, 7:30 p.m. ET

Where? Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia

Weather? The metal roof over our head will protect us from harm, friends!

Fun Fact? The Falcons will face former tight end and team great Alge Crumpler for the first time today.

Injuries? Nothing significant at this point.

Odds? Are you people made of money or something? These games, they mean nothing!

Foe? Jimmy at Music City Miracles will be blogging along on the trials and travails of the Titans, and he also might stop by here. Feel free to give him some good-natured hell if he does.

GO FALCONS! Let's tower over these Titans!