fan since 1968

I like Raekwon, but I heard the Unintentional Grounding say his poor pad level was akin to that of Ra'Shede Hageman.

It's nice to know that our guys don't quit, or conversely, that our quitters are more talented than those of the Panthers.

The safety bit on play action.

I would have but the CBS affiliate in Chattanooga didn't see fit to show the game. Maybe they were doing us a favor.

I didn't remember that. There's a lot about that season that I've tried to forget just like I'm trying to forget about this season.

It reminds me of when we wouldn't trade Tony Gonzales in his last season. Extra picks are like gold. You never know when you'll need one to trade for a Ty Sambrailo or Jordan Richards.

Bill Walsh couldn't do much with our current collection of lineman. I didn't think we could miss Chris Chester and Andy Levitre so badly. Maybe we can improve on Sark, but the critical need is for young, strong and talented linemen with upside.

Flapper? I may be a cockroach but I will never flap! Seriously, I have my ideas but I will be thrilled to be proved wrong by the Falcons, should they persist in doing things I may not agree with. My ego means nothing, The success of the team means everything,

Actually, I've been an AFMB member since the days of Dan Reeves. I just hardly ever post until something rouses me out of my stupor.

I apologize in advance for the length of this post. It's a real tl;dr special, but you brought up some interesting points and I want to vomit up my thoughts. How can a team exploit its talent if the part of the team that is always involved in every play? Ryan can't use his weapons if he's running for his life? How can our RBs make plays if they're constantly being hit at or behind the line? How can the talents of Deion Jones be utilized if the line is being driven back? How can our secondary cover people if the QB has all day to throw? Is it simplistic and old-fashioned to believe in the importance of line play, and the need to prioritize it? Thursday nights game was a prime example of the importance of line play. We would have done much better if we were at full strength, but even at our best we could not match what New Orleans had. You mentioned the fact that the last ten years have been the best in the Falcons' history. But there was another period that could have matched or exceeded that. In the late 1980s the Falcons built one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. They drafted Warren Bryant and R.C. Thielemann 1-2 in 1977. They drafted Mike Kenn, a should-be Hall of Fame tackle 1st in 1978. They used high picks on DLs Wilson Faumuina and Don Smith, who weren't great, but were contributors. The RBs were third rounder William Andrews and fourth rounder Lynn Cain, The WRs were ex-WFL star Alfred Jenkins, Buffalo castoff Wallace Francis, and seventh rounder Alfred Jackson. They didn't use a first rounder until 1980, when they drafted TE Junior Miller. The team rode its' young veterans and a strong rookie class to the best record in the league. They were bound for the Super Bowl but lost a late lead to Dallas, the worst moment in Falcon history before 2017. Even with the loss, the future was bright. A national magazine called the Falcons "The Team Of The Eighties". They fell victim to an injury to pass rusher Joel Williams and the advent of the 49ers in 1981, rhen were eliminated in the first round of the 1982 playoff tournament. After the season ended Rankin Smith fired coach Leeman Bennett and the team lost its' continuity and never recovered. The point of this wall of text is to illustrate a time in Falcon history when they had a great deal of success from building inside-out. I'm sixty years old, maybe I'm blinded by fossilized and simplistic thinking, but I still believe in the fundamental importance of line play. I respect yout thoughts, but I still believe that we haven't taken enough active measures to improve our offensive line. If it's deemed to risky to use a high pick on an OL then we need to think about trading picks for young veterans with potential, and to be financially the next time a Kevin Zeitler enters free agency. We need to stop paying money for average players on the downside of their careers.

I'd be thrilled to draft Greedy Williams if we had already taken care of our lines.

In addition to his talent, Wilkins seems to be a Dimitroff type player. He reminds me of Sean Weatherspoon in the personality/intangibles department.

As much as I would hate it, it might be better to trade Julio for draft picks now. What's the use of having him if the the weakness of our lines will always limit his and the team's potential? We now have Ridley to fill the number one receiver role. It's a waste to have two number ones if the team has foundational flaws. Other than the QB position, we have a poor foundation in that our lines are weak. We do a good job at acquiring talent at peripheral positions but the lines are what the rest of the team work off of.

You're right, but he's a lot smarter when he agrees with me.

I've heard Michael Lombardi say that poor lines don't travel well.