I absolutely love the Robinson Signing.......but

[Jaymadd]

I am nervous about our pass rush. Robinson will help our secondary, but IMO the bigger problem that revealed itself as the season progressed was our lack of pass rush. I know that Jerry is coming back from his injury, but he has two things going against him 1) getting back to 100% physically and mentally, 2) he is pretty much still a rookie. Too many games the QB had too much time in the pocket to throw the ball. We proved that we have what it takes to stop the run, but this is two years in a row that our pass rush has been questionable, in 2008 Abe accounted for more than 50% of our production, and in 2009 we could not get consistent pressure on the outside. I am a big fan of having DE that can rush the passer consistently.

I just hope and pray that we take a DE in the 1st.

Just a Day in the Mind of Jaymadd

[Zanka]

Draft Brandon Graham. He is the answer at LDE

[supremedarius]

I do not think Graham is the answer at LE. I think we could take a look at Charles Grant. I think we will bring in a veteran end before the draft and that will leave us to basically taking Spoon at the 19th spot..

[Jaymadd]

I do not think Graham is the answer at LE. I think we could take a look at Charles Grant. I think we will bring in a veteran end before the draft and that will leave us to basically taking Spoon at the 19th spot..

I hope that we dont take a look at Charles Grant. Graham would be a good pick at LDE, I prefer Emerson Griffen from USC, his has good speed, good size, has a very quick first step, and show that he is good against the run.

[2ColdRyan]

yes i hope that management is not resting on their laurels

we just need a few more smaller pieces to the puzzle

[2ColdRyan]

I do not think Graham is the answer at LE. I think we could take a look at Charles Grant. I think we will bring in a veteran end before the draft and that will leave us to basically taking Spoon at the 19th spot..

this is not a bad idea, what was the reason saints parted with grant in the first place?

[Jaymadd]

this is not a bad idea, what was the reason saints parted with grant in the first place?

Because he was no longer effective and got fat

[supremedarius]

I hope that we dont take a look at Charles Grant. Graham would be a good pick at LDE, I prefer Emerson Griffen from USC, his has good speed, good size, has a very quick first step, and show that he is good against the run.

Graham is a pure RE. I just would rather go with the safest bet, LB

[Jaymadd]

Graham is a pure RE. I just would rather go with the safest bet, LB

Acutally Graham fits better at LDE in a 4-3 than RDE IMO, he is not the quickest DE. He is stout against the run and plays with good leverage so he can play LDE.

[GuerillaOntology]

We are not going to solve all our problems in the FA.

[A SAINT in the ATL]

this is not a bad idea, what was the reason saints parted with grant in the first place?

Because he TOOK the $$$ and RAN.. went from 13.5 sacks to 2 after the $$$$..

[MR Falcon]

Acutally Graham fits better at LDE in a 4-3 than RDE IMO, he is not the quickest DE. He is stout against the run and plays with good leverage so he can play LDE.

Graham would be a good addition at LDE for us and with Abe or Biermann at RDE would be a monstrous pass rush, with the rest of our DE rotation. We should have a better pass rush this yr, for sure regardless who we pick at DE. Plus we could get some coverage sacks due to the signing of Robinson as our #1 CB, with resigning Williams also.

[youngbloodz]

I don't know man. We do need help bad on the line at DE. But I believe Spoon could be a great LB for us.

[supremedarius]

Acutally Graham fits better at LDE in a 4-3 than RDE IMO, he is not the quickest DE. He is stout against the run and plays with good leverage so he can play LDE.

I am looking at from the Safety point of view so he would RE but whatever the case, I do not want him. Better fit for a 3-4

[Jaymadd]

I am looking at from the Safety point of view so he would RE but whatever the case, I do not want him. Better fit for a 3-4

What safety point of view :wacko: He can play in a 4-3 or 3-4, I like him, but i do prefer Griffen

[Jaymadd]

I don't know man. We do need help bad on the line at DE. But I believe Spoon could be a great LB for us.

Nothing against spoon but 1st round DE playing up to their potential would be much more valuable to our team than a 1st round LB playing up to his potential.

[maxatlanta]

I think we should expect improvement even without bringing in anyone on the DL. Don't misinterpret that though- hopefully we'll see at least 1 impact player brought in.

My point really is that Abe went from 16.5 sacks to 5.5. He didn't look bad and I expect him to improve on 5.5 this season. Jerry was disruptive before he got hurt. His return should make a big impact(according to TD). Babs was money last year, but he also has improved every season he's been in the league. Biermann had 5 sacks and is a player on the rise. All four look likely to improve on last year's production.

If we are honest about our CB play last year, it was the weakest position on our team. That does affect the pass rush, and with the signing of Robinson and Owens/Grimes progressing(and addition by subtraction with Houston), there will be improvement.

We've already got good vet depth with Davis, and a good developmental pass rusher in Sid. So inspite of last season, our DL is actually pretty strong. Hope that puts your mind at ease, at least a little. If we go DE in the first I'll still be excited, but mostly because Abe won't be around forever.

[supremedarius]

What safety point of view :wacko: He can play in a 4-3 or 3-4, I like him, but i do prefer Griffen

If you are the Safety in the D, he would be a RE. Tis all

[caveman]

I do not think Graham is the answer at LE. I think we could take a look at Charles Grant. I think we will bring in a veteran end before the draft and that will leave us to basically taking Spoon at the 19th spot..

I don't see why people think TD is done in free agency. In a year where a contract can be front-loaded to some extent and we don't have a 2nd rd. pick, I think the Falcons might try to fill another need before the draft.

I would rather have Kampman, but I'm not against C. Grant as a cheaper option.

If the Falcons are ****-bent on staying in a 4-3 defense for the foreseeable future, Spoon should be our #1 pick.

[Jaymadd]

I don't see why people think TD is done in free agency. In a year where a contract can be front-loaded to some extent and we don't have a 2nd rd. pick, I think the Falcons might try to fill another need before the draft.

I would rather have Kampman, but I'm not against C. Grant as a cheaper option.

If the Falcons are ****-bent on staying in a 4-3 defense for the foreseeable future, Spoon should be our #1 pick.

Actually they need DE if they a intent on staying in a 4-3, DE's are much much more important in a 4-3 than a OLB

[Ake Man]

I am nervous about our pass rush. Robinson will help our secondary, but IMO the bigger problem that revealed itself as the season progressed was our lack of pass rush. I know that Jerry is coming back from his injury, but he has two things going against him 1) getting back to 100% physically and mentally, 2) he is pretty much still a rookie. Too many games the QB had too much time in the pocket to throw the ball. We proved that we have what it takes to stop the run, but this is two years in a row that our pass rush has been questionable, in 2008 Abe accounted for more than 50% of our production, and in 2009 we could not get consistent pressure on the outside. I am a big fan of having DE that can rush the passer consistently.

I just hope and pray that we take a DE in the 1st.

Just a Day in the Mind of Jaymadd

Im curious if you would take JPP from USF if he dropped to 19

[Jaymadd]

Im curious if you would take JPP from USF if he dropped to 19

I dont know, that is tricky. I like his quickness and how fast he gets off the line, he lacks that lower body strength to be consistently effective against the run, but he has a ton of potential and he also has a very good work ethic, so with Coach Ray I would be very interested in JPP>

[rugger8]

I totally agree that we need to do something to improve the pass rush. Really, if we stand pat, I think it will be better than last year, with Jerry back, and an improved secondary (not only the addition of Robinson, but Grimes and Owens were looking good late in the season, and they'll both be more experienced). With Bierman developing as nicely as he has, and hopefully Sidbury on a similar path, It'll be better. That said, we were so bad last year in that area that simply 'better than last year' doesn't say a lot and isn't enough.

We do need to improve, and it's looking like the best way to improve the pass rush at this point will be through the draft. We need to plan for life after Abe. I don't know enough about the college guys to have much of an opinion on who to draft, but I always love a 1st round DE if they are a good value.

...all that said, it also sounds like Weatherspoon could improve the front 7 quite a bit as a whole.

[O Falcão Risohno]

I dont know, that is tricky. I like his quickness and how fast he gets off the line, he lacks that lower body strength to be consistently effective against the run, but he has a ton of potential and he also has a very good work ethic, so with Coach Ray I would be very interested in JPP>

Yeah, if he drops then I'm all for Jason Pierre-Paul.

[hakim24]

Brandon Graham is just not a 4-3 LDE. He is just too undersized. He did play the run well in college, but he won't be playing Illinois and Western Michigan OTs. If the staff doesn't mind an undersized guy, Biermann should be the front-runner.

Everson Griffen has a LOT of potential, but he didn't produce much in college. Right now, I just think he is a great athlete with very raw skills. I couldn't put stock into him helping our pass rush immediately.

The best thing we can do is to continue to let Biermann and Sidbury develop. As long as Abe is in the fold, we really have no room to add another DE imo.