5 Guys Atanta should traget

[THE ICEMAN]

Got this off of bleach Reporter I like all of the FA guys accept the Mike Patterson pick up with Jerry and peters I think were good there but if there was a DT I'd get it would be Pat Williams still very good against the run and wouldn't take to many snaps away from the young guys Anderson,Jerry and Peters

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/694129-atlanta-falcons-free-agency-ray-edwards-and-5-players-who-should-join-the-flock/page/6

1.Charles Johnson, Defensive End

Charles Johnson is a low-risk, high-reward player who could be a humongous steal in the NFL free agency period.

At just 25 years old, he's a rather under-the-radar player, but he quietly recorded 12 sacks last year for the worst team in the National Football League.

Atlanta desperately needs depth at defensive line, no matter the specific position. Current defensive ends Kroy Biermann and John Abraham are solid, but they don't combine for solid three-down production, so strength in the rotation is key to Atlanta's up-front dominance.

Johnson would definitely be a great addition. He's a fresh player who could potentially outperform Biermann or be a long-term solution opposite of Biermann if/when Abraham retires or slumps.

Carolina will try to do everything within their powers to keep Johnson in a black and blue uniform in 2011, but Atlanta should definitely keep their radar on this kid.

2.Mike Patterson, Defensive Tackle

Best case scenario, Atlanta lands a dominating defensive tackle.

The Falcons have been slightly undersized and under-talented at tackle for a while now, especially since the loss of Grady Jackson, who held the line very well in 2008.

Current Falcons tackle Jonathan Babineaux is developing into a star, not to mention a potential Pro Bowl candidate, but he can't hold the line on his own.

Strength is needed at the other tackle position, which was manned by rookie Corey Peters in 2010. Peters had a ton of playing time, but his production was average and nonexistent on statistical rundowns.

Patterson would be a nice fit here. He's an underrated and cheaper option to some of the bigger names on the free agency wire right now, but he's a fantastic run-stopper and plays great in a 4-3 scheme, which would bode well for Atlanta.

3.Ike Taylor, Cornerback

Heading into 2010, most Falcons fans felt cornerback was the team's biggest need.

Coming out of 2010, with Atlanta's great cornerback tandem of Brent Grimes and Dunta Robinson, cornerback might have been a strength.

Grimes was a lock-down, play-making defender all season, and Robinson was productive when on the field.

Atlanta likely won't toy with their starting spots on the perimeter before the year begins, but if anything was evident from the NFC Divisional game, it was the fact that Atlanta desperately needs depth at defensive back.

Brian Williams is aging and average, and youngster Chris Owens became Aaron Rodgers' No. 1 victim during the 48-21 loss.

Defense obviously is a huge area of concern when teams spread Atlanta out. They need third and fourth cornerbacks who are just as talented and tenured as the starters.

Ike Taylor is an experienced and successful veteran who has fallen off the map just a tad in Pittsburgh. He will be free for the taking at a later date, and Atlanta should jump all over him or someone with a similar resume at cornerback.

4.Robert Gallery, Guard

This might be a risk, but it also could end up looking like a genius move.

Gallery was a first-round selection and apparent prodigy coming out of college, but now at the age of 31, we still feel like he's a work in progress.

Gallery has been constantly injured, which has taken away from the fact he's still a great player when healthy. His value has dropped drastically, which sounds terrible, but to Atlanta, that just means he's potentially a financial steal.

The Falcons have two free agents to sign back in 2011 with Harvey Dahl and Justin Blalock. Most believe Blalock will get the axe, especially if Atlanta can find a formidable option to replace him.

Could Gallery be the guy?

As potentially cheap and ultra-talented, he could be.

And if anyone would take a risk like this, it would be Thomas Dimitroff.

5.Ray Edwards, Defensive End

For the marquee, star-studded selection of this otherwise modest bunch, Ray Edwards falls as the last free agent in this list the Falcons should go after.

He's definitely the best defensive end left on the free agent market now that Tamba Hali is locked back up (no pun intended) with the Chiefs.

Edwards would be a more expensive option at defensive end compared to Johnson, but he's been a consistent performer for the Vikings and is just as youthful as Johnson.

He had just eight sacks last year, but is a great force against the run.

Unlike Abraham, who's mainly a pass-rusher, Atlanta needs a defensive end that can make run-stopping the feature of their game.

Edwards would be perfect for that and still has the ability to antagonize quarterbacks.

Edited May 21, 2011 by joe 1982

[Borat]

Johnathan Joseph?

[HouTexFalcon]

I like Joseph over Taylor all day. I also beleive Taylor wants more money than he is worth, because he seems real high on himself. Though I could be mistaken.

I seriously doubt we take a guard if one of ours walk, I beleive we will benefeit more if we snag a T like Matt Light. If we do grab a guard, he would have to be a definite upgrade. Maybe Logan Mankins.

[I Even Bleed Red]

Big FA signing: As much as I would love Aso, C. Johnson makes the most sense for us. We can then get a cheaper CB for depth.

I would like the Mike Patterson pick up!

Edited May 21, 2011 by I Even Bleed Red

[I MUS WRITE]

Jonathan Joseph /Charles Johnson/FA LB would be good additions. Resign Claybo/let Dahl walk -start Johnson- . I think jose V has a chance to be special this year.

[dirtybird1989]

I like Joseph over Taylor all day. I also beleive Taylor wants more money than he is worth, because he seems real high on himself. Though I could be mistaken.

I seriously doubt we take a guard if one of ours walk, I beleive we will benefeit more if we snag a T like Matt Light. If we do grab a guard, he would have to be a definite upgrade. Maybe Logan Mankins.

Taylor has won 2/3 superbowls. I'd be high on my self to.

[Dem Birds]

Joseph is a starter, he's going to want starter money and to start. Ike Taylor will play NB.

[T.Mays]

Manny Lawson he can fix the LB coverage issues right away. And he can provide a decent pass rush from the LB spot. And to those who want JJ he price tag will be the same as D Rob.

[Robb4242]

Disagree with some/agree with some.

1. Should Falcons target Charles Johnson? Sure, but should they go after him at all costs? No. Johnson is anything but low risk. He's a 1 year starter who did have an excellent year (in a contract season). I do think it's worthy to note is that of Johnson's 11.5 sacks, 8 came in a 6 game stretch at the end of the year when teams were not overly concerned with Carolina. He had a great stretch of 6 games in 1 year of starting and is that enough to spend the money and possibly draft picks that it's going to cost to get him? Huge question marks with him and he represents a huge risk for the price he will demand.

2. Mike Patterson is a solid player, but I really don't get the write-up. Patterson & Peters are the same player, so why go out and replace a ROOKIE, who played well AS A ROOKIE with a guy who is a vet but brings nothing more to the table besides experience? Patterson has played 6 years & 2010 was his worst statistically, could he be beginning a downward spiral & if so do we need to buy in on that? Patterson outweighs Peters by 5 lbs, so he's no more beef in the middle than Peters. Patterson posted a total of 37 tackles this year, compared to 33 for Peters. 5 more pounds of beef and 4 more tackles going into his 7th season over a rookie who posted the 34th most tackles of every DT in the league this year (34th really isn't that bad, especially for a rookie, considering half the league runs a 4-3, so there are roughly 48 starting DTs in the league). Is it giving up on Peters really worth it at this point? Nope.

3. I like Ike. I think this would be a good NB pickup but only at the right price.

4. I kinda like Gallery, but I think Johnson is going to be a really good OG and he's going to get the spot if Blalock leaves. Not sure about Gallery at RG. I wouldn't mind the pickup though, especially if we lose both guards in FA.

5. Edwards, solid player who plays well with strong talent on the DL with him. The big question mark is can he do it without Allen, Williams & Williams?

[shockerfalcon]

Disagree with some/agree with some.

1. Should Falcons target Charles Johnson? Sure, but should they go after him at all costs? No. Johnson is anything but low risk. He's a 1 year starter who did have an excellent year (in a contract season). I do think it's worthy to note is that of Johnson's 11.5 sacks, 8 came in a 6 game stretch at the end of the year when teams were not overly concerned with Carolina. He had a great stretch of 6 games in 1 year of starting and is that enough to spend the money and possibly draft picks that it's going to cost to get him? Huge question marks with him and he represents a huge risk for the price he will demand.

2. Mike Patterson is a solid player, but I really don't get the write-up. Patterson & Peters are the same player, so why go out and replace a ROOKIE, who played well AS A ROOKIE with a guy who is a vet but brings nothing more to the table besides experience? Patterson has played 6 years & 2010 was his worst statistically, could he be beginning a downward spiral & if so do we need to buy in on that? Patterson outweighs Peters by 5 lbs, so he's no more beef in the middle than Peters. Patterson posted a total of 37 tackles this year, compared to 33 for Peters. 5 more pounds of beef and 4 more tackles going into his 7th season over a rookie who posted the 34th most tackles of every DT in the league this year (34th really isn't that bad, especially for a rookie, considering half the league runs a 4-3, so there are roughly 48 starting DTs in the league). Is it giving up on Peters really worth it at this point? Nope.

3. I like Ike. I think this would be a good NB pickup but only at the right price.

4. I kinda like Gallery, but I think Johnson is going to be a really good OG and he's going to get the spot if Blalock leaves. Not sure about Gallery at RG. I wouldn't mind the pickup though, especially if we lose both guards in FA.

5. Edwards, solid player who plays well with strong talent on the DL with him. The big question mark is can he do it without Allen, Williams & Williams?

Great post though I would have to disagree with your assesment of cj. Teams might not have cared about the panties but you gotta believe they cared about protecting their qb. We sure as heck didnt care about them but I know we were playing hard along the ol to protect ryan. So I dont get your reasoning for cj putting up big numbers during that six game stretch. Maybe if you were talking about a wr or rb id buy it. To me ray is the riskyer pick cuz like you said can he produce with out playing along side 3 pro bowlers and a very solid lb corps behind him

[shockerfalcon]

Disagree with some/agree with some.

1. Should Falcons target Charles Johnson? Sure, but should they go after him at all costs? No. Johnson is anything but low risk. He's a 1 year starter who did have an excellent year (in a contract season). I do think it's worthy to note is that of Johnson's 11.5 sacks, 8 came in a 6 game stretch at the end of the year when teams were not overly concerned with Carolina. He had a great stretch of 6 games in 1 year of starting and is that enough to spend the money and possibly draft picks that it's going to cost to get him? Huge question marks with him and he represents a huge risk for the price he will demand.

2. Mike Patterson is a solid player, but I really don't get the write-up. Patterson & Peters are the same player, so why go out and replace a ROOKIE, who played well AS A ROOKIE with a guy who is a vet but brings nothing more to the table besides experience? Patterson has played 6 years & 2010 was his worst statistically, could he be beginning a downward spiral & if so do we need to buy in on that? Patterson outweighs Peters by 5 lbs, so he's no more beef in the middle than Peters. Patterson posted a total of 37 tackles this year, compared to 33 for Peters. 5 more pounds of beef and 4 more tackles going into his 7th season over a rookie who posted the 34th most tackles of every DT in the league this year (34th really isn't that bad, especially for a rookie, considering half the league runs a 4-3, so there are roughly 48 starting DTs in the league). Is it giving up on Peters really worth it at this point? Nope.

3. I like Ike. I think this would be a good NB pickup but only at the right price.

4. I kinda like Gallery, but I think Johnson is going to be a really good OG and he's going to get the spot if Blalock leaves. Not sure about Gallery at RG. I wouldn't mind the pickup though, especially if we lose both guards in FA.

5. Edwards, solid player who plays well with strong talent on the DL with him. The big question mark is can he do it without Allen, Williams & Williams?

Great post though I would have to disagree with your assesment of cj. Teams might not have cared about the panties but you gotta believe they cared about protecting their qb. We sure as heck didnt care about them but I know we were playing hard along the ol to protect ryan. So I dont get your reasoning for cj putting up big numbers during that six game stretch. Maybe if you were talking about a wr or rb id buy it. To me ray is the riskyer pick cuz like you said can he produce with out playing along side 3 pro bowlers and a very solid lb corps behind him

[Robb4242]

Great post though I would have to disagree with your assesment of cj. Teams might not have cared about the panties but you gotta believe they cared about protecting their qb. We sure as heck didnt care about them but I know we were playing hard along the ol to protect ryan. So I dont get your reasoning for cj putting up big numbers during that six game stretch. Maybe if you were talking about a wr or rb id buy it. To me ray is the riskyer pick cuz like you said can he produce with out playing along side 3 pro bowlers and a very solid lb corps behind him

I guess my biggest thing is going after players who have 1 year of starting or 1 really good year out of 4 seasons. When it comes down to it, both of those guys would make me nervous about throwing a lot of money their way. But if both were here, I'd probably make CJ the offer first. They are the top 2 DE FAs without a doubt.

[Rai]

My first choice players to sign taking into account talent and cost:

DE - Charles Johnson

CB - Josh Wilson

LB - Stephen Nicholas or James Anderson

S - Danieal Manning if he wants a back-up role that can rotate

OT - Jared Gaither

OL - Marshal Yanda (LG/RG/RT)

[Borat]

I guess my biggest thing is going after players who have 1 year of starting or 1 really good year out of 4 seasons. When it comes down to it, both of those guys would make me nervous about throwing a lot of money their way. But if both were here, I'd probably make CJ the offer first. They are the top 2 DE FAs without a doubt.

While he only has started for one year, the previous two years he posted 6 and 4 sacks respectively. We shouldn't downgrade his value just because Fox wasn't the best of coaches.

[shockerfalcon]

I guess my biggest thing is going after players who have 1 year of starting or 1 really good year out of 4 seasons. When it comes down to it, both of those guys would make me nervous about throwing a lot of money their way. But if both were here, I'd probably make CJ the offer first. They are the top 2 DE FAs without a doubt.

I can understand that but remember he played behind peppers and ruckers. I actually love the fact that when given the chance he came up big. My jury is still out on edwards cuz of who he played along side. I know some viking fans who felt he shouldve been in double digits cuz the attention was on the other three guys most of the time. At least we know cj can play with garbage and still produce.

[Big Bubba]

Disagree with some/agree with some.

1. Should Falcons target Charles Johnson? Sure, but should they go after him at all costs? No. Johnson is anything but low risk. He's a 1 year starter who did have an excellent year (in a contract season). I do think it's worthy to note is that of Johnson's 11.5 sacks, 8 came in a 6 game stretch at the end of the year when teams were not overly concerned with Carolina. He had a great stretch of 6 games in 1 year of starting and is that enough to spend the money and possibly draft picks that it's going to cost to get him? Huge question marks with him and he represents a huge risk for the price he will demand.

2. Mike Patterson is a solid player, but I really don't get the write-up. Patterson & Peters are the same player, so why go out and replace a ROOKIE, who played well AS A ROOKIE with a guy who is a vet but brings nothing more to the table besides experience? Patterson has played 6 years & 2010 was his worst statistically, could he be beginning a downward spiral & if so do we need to buy in on that? Patterson outweighs Peters by 5 lbs, so he's no more beef in the middle than Peters. Patterson posted a total of 37 tackles this year, compared to 33 for Peters. 5 more pounds of beef and 4 more tackles going into his 7th season over a rookie who posted the 34th most tackles of every DT in the league this year (34th really isn't that bad, especially for a rookie, considering half the league runs a 4-3, so there are roughly 48 starting DTs in the league). Is it giving up on Peters really worth it at this point? Nope.

3. I like Ike. I think this would be a good NB pickup but only at the right price.

4. I kinda like Gallery, but I think Johnson is going to be a really good OG and he's going to get the spot if Blalock leaves. Not sure about Gallery at RG. I wouldn't mind the pickup though, especially if we lose both guards in FA.

5. Edwards, solid player who plays well with strong talent on the DL with him. The big question mark is can he do it without Allen, Williams & Williams?

You believe that because the other teams saw no threat of the Panthers to win, that they didn't care about their qb getting the crap knocked out of them?

[d#d#d#]

You believe that because the other teams saw no threat of the Panthers to win, that they didn't care about their qb getting the crap knocked out of them?

Clausen? probably not

[Knight of God]

I'd actually prefer Johnson over Edwards now that I'm really looking into it. I did, however, want to draft him in '07

I had wanted Okoye or Willis. Either one and then pick up Johnson in the second...oh well. We got Anderson and Houston...yay

[Karst41]

I love Topics that are based from some idiots post on

the Belcher Report.

Robert Gallery ? You got to be F'n kidding me.

[Borat]

Clausen? probably not

Naw dawg he meant the other team's qb

[HouTexFalcon]

I'd actually prefer Johnson over Edwards now that I'm really looking into it. I did, however, want to draft him in '07

I had wanted Okoye or Willis. Either one and then pick up Johnson in the second...oh well. We got Anderson and Houston...yay

If we had those to originally, I beleive we would not even be hollering about a new DT and better play from our LB's. That would've been nice.