2011 players the Falcons have shown interest in

[blizzard_falcon 2,444]

I dont get why fans are not as high on Nicholas as they are... I have been saying this for 2 years... He is a really good LB... I feel like we should blitz him more also.

I agree with what someone said earlier... Lofton is a weak link in the pass game... He is a sure tackler vs the run but he missed tackles in coverage....

I know the staff really wants Lofton to be a "three down" player, but the evidence is against him. They knew better than to have Peterson on the field for passing downs last year, so hopefully they can recognize the same weakness in Lofton.

For any obvious passing situations, I really hope our two backers are Spoon and Nic in a nickel defense, or just Nic in a dime defense.

And, yeah, I would love to see Nicholas AND Spoon given more of a chance to rush the passer this season. We all know we've got to generate more sacks, and they could be part of the solution.

[takeitdown 4,189]

I know the staff really wants Lofton to be a "three down" player, but the evidence is against him. They knew better than to have Peterson on the field for passing downs last year, so hopefully they can recognize the same weakness in Lofton.

For any obvious passing situations, I really hope our two backers are Spoon and Nic in a nickel defense, or just Nic in a dime defense.

And, yeah, I would love to see Nicholas AND Spoon given more of a chance to rush the passer this season. We all know we've got to generate more sacks, and they could be part of the solution.

Agree, but an alternative that I wanted them to pursue last year was simply to drop an extra safety in on nickel. Imagine William Moore and Spoon as your two LBs. You don't lose much in run defense, and gain a lot in pass defense. Then you put your two FS's back at safety. It's a good way to work 3 safeties in, and a great way to get more pass defense in the game on obvious passing situations.

This of course worked better when we still had Coleman, but the logic applies.

[Polar Bear Jones 105]

Kendall Hunter

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/NFL-source-Kendall-Hunter-to-visit-Patriots-Eagles-Buccaneers-Falcons-Chargers-and-Saints.html

[hudson 130]

Agree, but an alternative that I wanted them to pursue last year was simply to drop an extra safety in on nickel. Imagine William Moore and Spoon as your two LBs. You don't lose much in run defense, and gain a lot in pass defense. Then you put your two FS's back at safety. It's a good way to work 3 safeties in, and a great way to get more pass defense in the game on obvious passing situations.

This of course worked better when we still had Coleman, but the logic applies.

Watch yourself on here, thinking outside the box leads to haters and flamers! BTW i agree

[atljbo 21,719]

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Da'Rel Scott/RB/Maryland worked out privately for the New England Patriots and will be doing so with the Atlanta Falcons in upcoming days.

[MSalmon 11,150]

Nicholas is not the problem. He was our most consistent LB all year and is still continuing to improve. If we can resign him for anything reasonable then we definitely should.

We can keep beating around the bush, but the real problem in our cover 2 defense is that we have a MLB that is abysmal in coverage. Lofton is a beast in run support, but its virtually impossible to run an effective cover 2 without a great coverage LB in the middle.

I hate to get in this conversation in a way. But the real problem with Nicholas is fiscal. Depending on how this CBA garbage pans out, he could be an expensive guy--in terms of what he brings to the table. He is a very good all round LB. But the fact is there are teams-the lions come to mind--that could outbid us. the reason i point them out is they are starting to get a very nice core of young defensive players (delmas and suh for example) and grabbing--even overpaying a bit--a proven and consistent vet LB like Nicholas makes sense for them.

Us, on the other hand, depending how this CBA stuff works out and our past picks--remember James and Adkins are still on might opt for a rookie pick (think Carter) and take a chance with a higher ceiling guy.

Lofton IMO will only improve. A healthy Weatherspoon and Carter would be awesome.

BTW i think Martez will be a MLB in the NFl

An intriguing prospect at OLB IMO that we talked to would be Robert Sands WVU. Very rangy, pretty good safety but i think he'd be an outstanding OLB

[madman88 1,066]

Agree, but an alternative that I wanted them to pursue last year was simply to drop an extra safety in on nickel. Imagine William Moore and Spoon as your two LBs. You don't lose much in run defense, and gain a lot in pass defense. Then you put your two FS's back at safety. It's a good way to work 3 safeties in, and a great way to get more pass defense in the game on obvious passing situations.

This of course worked better when we still had Coleman, but the logic applies.

sorry i would think this would be a great idea, but wat if a draw came? i rather have a LB taking on a 300+ lineman then a S.... thats the only thing that would scare me about that, otherwise i like it...

[Ny's Finest Falcon 85]

Have we scouted any 1st round prospects? Except for our workout coming with Houston i have not read anything of us scouting 1 legit first rounder. Really starting to think or goal is to drop back into the second and grab a player like Jernigan, Acho or Ryan williams

[Ny's Finest Falcon 85]

Oh yeah and hankerson of course but we havent even help any kind of workout with him yet thats been reported. Just figured i add him to the list so people on here dont freak out that i didnt

[takeitdown 4,189]

sorry i would think this would be a great idea, but wat if a draw came? i rather have a LB taking on a 300+ lineman then a S.... thats the only thing that would scare me about that, otherwise i like it...

Your average OLB is 235-240, while the SS is about 220. It's not a huge difference, and we're talking on 3rd and 6+...you want them to run, and feel like your LB, SS and 2 back safeties can stop it. You're slighly disadvantaged against the run, but you're not trying to hold them to a 1 yard gain anyway, so you'd rather them run.

And it's worth being slightly disadvantaged against the run to gain so much advantage against the pass in clearly pass situations.

[Snelling44 234]

Keep in mind not all of our workouts have been made private and they probably won't be until after the draft.

[hawkeye 158]

QB Adam Froman

During his pro day, Froman had extensive sit-down interviews with the Falcons and Chiefs.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20110316/SPORTS/110319581/1010/SPORTS?p=2&tc=pg

[hawkeye 158]

Auburn running back Mario Fannin, who played at Lovejoy High, was invited to the NFL scouting combine and performed well during the school’s pro day recently.

Fannin said that he’s met with Falcons informally and has interviewed with them.

“I’ve talked them a couple of times,” said Fannin, who’s 5-11, 228 pounds.

http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-falcons-blog/2011/03/21/falcons-have-met-with-auburn-rb-mario-fannin/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_falcons_blog

[atljbo 21,719]

link

Eric Edholm

Arizona C Colin Baxter will visit Jaguars, Dolphins and Falcons. #nfldraft

A late round sleeper C/G

[hawkeye 158]

Twitter

NFLDraftBible

#Mike Mohamed, former #Cal linebacker, is scheduled to workout for the #Atlanta #Falcons on April 8th.

[hawkeye 158]

#Mizzou DE Aldon Smith's going to workout for the #Ravens, #Patriots, #Broncos, #Dolphins, and #Falcons. #NFLdraft

[atljbo 21,719]

#Mizzou DE Aldon Smith's going to workout for the #Ravens, #Patriots, #Broncos, #Dolphins, and #Falcons. #NFLdraft

yea... sound good

I would trade up for Aldon or RK

[Rai 674]

yea... sound good

I would trade up for Aldon or RK

me too

[head busta from augusta 278]

yea... sound good

I would trade up for Aldon or RK

I will cosign that!

Edited March 22, 2011 by head busta from augusta

[atljbo 21,719]

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Georgia’s Akeem Dent, who had a great Pro Day on Tuesday in Athens, came away with a private workout invite from the Falcons for April 14.

[blizzard_falcon 2,444]

Since this hasn't happened in a while, here is an updated list of the players we seem to be looking at:

DE: Aldon Smith (Missouri), Justin Houston (Georgia), Sam Acho (Texas), Allen Bailey (Miami)

LB: Mike Mohamed (California), Akeem Dent (Georgia)

S: Robert Sands (West Virginia), Anthony Walters (Delaware)*

TE: Jordan Cameron (USC), Stephen Skelton (Fordham), Corday Clark (McNeese State)*

OT: Anthony Castanzo (Boston Colleg)

C: Colin Baxter (Arizona)

WR: Jonathan Baldwin (Pittsburgh), Jerrel Jernigan (Troy), Edmund Gates (Abilene Christian), Denarius Moore (Tennessee), Dwayne Harris (East Carolina), Ricardo Lockette (Fort Valley State), Vidal Hazelton (Cincinnati), Tyler Beiler (Bridgewater)*

QB: Pat Devlin (Delaware)*, Adam Weber (Minnesota), Adam Froman (Louisville)

HB: Ryan Williams (Virginia Tech), Kendall Hunter (Oklahoma State), Noel Devine (West Virginia), Da'Rel Scott (Maryland), Mario Fannin (Auburn), Taiwan Jones (Eastern Washington), DuJuan Harris (Troy)

*indicates players whose Pro Days we intended and it is implied that is who we went to evaluate

[Polar Bear Jones 105]

Quinton Carter safety Oklahoma

link

[blizzard_falcon 2,444]

Quinton Carter safety Oklahoma

link

This has to be a smokescreen for some really uneducated teams, right? I really can't see us drafting a safety in the 2nd or 3rd round... :blink:

[atljbo 21,719]

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A few teams wanted to see more of Hurd: Baltimore, New England, New Orleans and Atlanta. My guess here is he's a mid-round guy.

G 6'7 316lbs Zach Hurd

He is def a Falcons type mauler G.

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Purdue defensive end Ryan Kerrigan is scheduled to visit the Buffalo Bills and conduct a private workout for the Atlanta Falcons next week, according to a league source with knowledge of the situation.

[Polar Bear Jones 105]

Ryan Kerrigan

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Ryan-Kerrigan-to-visit-Bills-work-out-for-NFC-team.html