falconidae Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Been noticing when people put up threads that my reaction to a lot of them is " This is a big/critical year for ..." So, I thought I'd make a list.TD- great job in the off season, he needs the youngsters he drafted on D and the Olinemen he's stockpiled to come through. The Oline needs to be better this year because of his picks. Jerry, Spoon and Moore need to be the playmakers on D. If those things happen, then we can rely on TD's picks and the future looks bright.Smith- needs to take the next step as a coach, to me that means loosening the reins of the offense and defense. He's been conservative in his approach to protect his young QB and young D. Time to open up the playbook on both sides.Also, I never again want to hear " We didn't practice against that" like we did after the Eagles game last year.MM- Think he's gotten a bad rap because Smith has had him play a really conservative style, let's see what he does with all his new toys and a mature QB.BVG- Looks like he finally has the Dline pieces he need to make his D work. Want to see a D that looks more like the D in the second NO game.Don't want either side of the ball to abandon what they've done, just expand on it. Want an O than can move seamlessly from a 2 TE FB set to a 4 WR set from play to play, and a D than can go from bend but don't break to attacking from play to play. The more looks you can give another team, the better off you are.Ryan- needs to work on mechanics and to win a playoff game. Think if he does the first, the second will come. Baker- if he's going to mature into a good LT, this will be the year. His development has been slowed by injuries, but he needs to step it up this year.HD/ Meier- WR spots are wide open, need to step and claim one. If both of these players catch 30 balls this year, Ds are in a world of trouble stopping this O.Jerry- Like Baker, career development delayed by injury. Think he's the critical piece for an Elite Dline. If he collapses the pocket on a regular basis, opposing offenses are going to be hurting. If Edwards, Babs, Jerry & Abe ALL have to be double teamed, it's going to be a fun year.Spoon- got to stay healthy and give us that playmaker he showed us glimpses of last year.Moore- the same, stay healthy, improve on last year.Edwards- Be a really good year for him to break into double digit sacks.Sidbury-time to show us something.A winning season and a playoff run means this team has turned the corner and become an upper echelon team in the NFL.I don't think all that happens, but I think enough of it will that this team does have a winning season and a playoff run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vel Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 I honestly think we will see vast improvements across the board. HD is back. Jerry is back. Spoon and Lofton are healthy. We added playmakers in Julio, Quizz, and Ray. DRob gets another year in the system. Our OL will give Matt more time as he will see fewer blitzes from 8 man fronts. Sidbury finally gets the leash taken off of him. I think MM and BVG are going to unleash heell this season. They have too many pieces not to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchdoc57 Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Agree on most points, but I do have a question. I was an O Lineman and have watched Baker from the beginning and I just cant understand why so many people are down on him. The most difficult line position is LT and over all Baker has done pretty good. All LT give up a sac now and then...but they are going up aganst the other teams best pass rusher, while Baker can improve I dont see him as being as bad as some people tink. IMHO he is better than average.Sid has not played enough to have shown anything so I see this as a make or break camp for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falconidae Posted August 2, 2011 Author Share Posted August 2, 2011 I honestly think we will see vast improvements across the board. HD is back. Jerry is back. Spoon and Lofton are healthy. We added playmakers in Julio, Quizz, and Ray. DRob gets another year in the system. Our OL will give Matt more time as he will see fewer blitzes from 8 man fronts. Sidbury finally gets the leash taken off of him. I think MM and BVG are going to unleash heell this season. They have too many pieces not to.Yeah, I'm thinking this is going to be a really good year to be a falcons fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thempizzle Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Baker has been the focus of harsh critics for some time. I'm not so sure that its all that warrented. He was given a ton of pressure right off the bat and has dealt with the adversity fairly well despite injuries. I'm excited about this season for him if he can maintain a good bill of health. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wahoofan45 Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 I don't see where all this hype for Sidbury is coming from. The guy is lucky just to see the field, and that was before we got Edwards. Now who's he gonna play over? Biermann or Davis? I just don't see it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falconidae Posted August 2, 2011 Author Share Posted August 2, 2011 I don't see where all this hype for Sidbury is coming from. The guy is lucky just to see the field, and that was before we got Edwards. Now who's he gonna play over? Biermann or Davis? I just don't see itThe only point I see in his favor from last year is that they kept him on the active roster, didn't put him on the practice squad. Makes me think the FO didn't want to risk losing him.As I said, these are players/coaches with something to prove this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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