Falcons 2012 Offseason

[Robb4242]

My first go at the 2012 Falcons offseason. I know there are probably some unpopular moves in here, especially with our current roster players. But I think we can fill a lot of problem areas with the FAs & draft below along with adding some needed depth. I just needed something to do to get my mind off the playoff game this week for a little while so I decided to work on this a little earlier than I normally do. Please comment & tell me what you think.

Falcons current players

resign

Curtis Lofton (long term)

John Abraham (2 or 3 year deal)

Brent Grimes (2 or 3 years)

Kelvin Hayden (1 year)

Todd McClure (1 year)

Michael Palmer (1 year)

James Sanders (1 year)

Jason Snelling (doubt he resigns, but try)

Vance Walker (2 or 3 years)

Eric Weems (2 years)

Joe Zelenka (2 years)

Don't resign

Kroy Biermann

Mike Cox

Thomas DeCoud

Harry Douglas

Chris Redman

Free Agents

Demetrius Bell OT Buffalo - good young tackle that's still learning the game. With the way our draft is set up this year & no pick in round 1, we're not going to improve at OT through the draft and I'm a firm believer that we have to improve LT. Svitek is not great, although this board seems to believe that after watching Baker for so long. We need to upgrade both LT & RG and we have a better chance of upgrading the positions by getting a LT in FA & RG in the draft. That's the reason I don't have us signing a guard in FA.

Kyle Arrington CB New England - The Patriots switched to a 4-3 base D this year and went to more zone on the back end. It may not have made huge overall improvements to the Patriots defensive problems, but it really highlighted the skills of Arrington. With us wanting to play zone, having a good zone corner is a must. Start Arrington & Grimes then let Dunta play the nickle. Draft a FS that's solid in zone coverage and we're on our way to building a good pass defense. Right now we're a little too mixed up in the secondary with Dunta a better matchup corner than zone corner & DeCoud who isn't very good in zone coverages. Address the CB issue in FA & the FS issue in the draft.

Manny Lawson OLB Cincinnati - I do like Nicholas, but we definitely need good depth at LB. Peterson, my guess, may not be back next year & I think having Nicholas to back up both the Will & Sam with Spoon & Lawson starting will make us better.

Matt Roth DE Jacksonville - With the Ray Edwards signing last year & a resigning of JA55 this year (albeit a short contract), I doubt we tie up very much money into the position in FA. Matt Roth who will be coming back after missing the last 7 games this year may be available at a decent price if he decides to return to football.

Patrick Crayton WR San Diego - He's been a disappointment since he left Dallas, but IMO that's because Dallas used him correctly and the Chargers did not. Crayton is a good slot receiver and would be a solid veteran #3 receiver. I'm not a big HD83 fan and I see him as an expendable piece. Crayton would be an upgrade for a 1 or 2 year deal.

2012 Draft

2nd - Markelle Martin FS Oklahoma St - Probably the best FS in the draft, but still only 2nd round talent. He is adept at playing zone, and I've been loudly complaining about DeCoud because I think he's weak in zone coverage and one of the primary reasons we tend to give up big plays deep in our zone coverages, especially on 3rd downs. But not only is Martin good and aware in zone, he's a big hitter. Receivers will really be hearing footsteps when in soft spots of the zone between him & Dunta, not like with DeCoud.

3rd - Kevin Zeitler OG Wisconsin - Effective short yardage blocker, my how we could use that. There may be 1 or 2 OGs rated a little higher on the board when we pick here, but I like this guys strength & ability to get to the 2nd level.

5th - Philip Blake C Baylor - Big and strong, something we've been missing at the center position for a long time. Stong enough to move the NT 1-on-1 and quick/agile enough to get to the 2nd level on screens. Older than you would prefer though (26).

6th - Chris Greenwood CB Albion - Not highly ranked on most boards......YET. This guy has great speed and at the level of ball he's playing at right now, he's a lock down corner. I think he's going to show off in the offseason senior games & the combine. I think you will hear more about this kid soon.

7th - Aaron Corp QB Richmond - He was Mark Sanchez's backup at USC in 2008 and would have been the starting QB at USC in 2009 if he didn't fracture his fibula in camp before the 2009 season. That gave the starting job to Matt Barkley. After 2009 Corp transferred to Richmond, where he played behind a substandard OL, but he still performed well. Has the arm strength & football IQ to make it in the NFL. Reminds me a little of Matt Ryan.

UDFA

Tyler Shoemaker WR Boise St - Reminds me a little of Wes Welker although he's bigger. Will become a good slot receiver IMO. Faster than he seems and has the ability to break the first tackle and go to the house. He may get drafted late, but if not he's a guy I would be on the phone with immediately after the draft is over.

Frank Trotter DE Memphis - Moved outside to DE this year & responded well with 12 TFL and 5 sacks. He's a guy who would fit our DL philosophy, someone who can play DE or move inside and play as a 1 gap DT in passing situations.

Caleb McSurdy ILB Montana - We've had pretty decent success raiding the Montana Grizzlies in the past and I think this guy could be another success for us. McSurdy has a nose for the football, averaging about 10 tackles per game for the last 2 years since becoming a starter. He's a good blitzer from the Mike position. He would be an asset to the special teams unit early on in his career.

[vel]

You really think we sign 5 free agents after normally only signing one or two?

[Robb4242]

You really think we sign 5 free agents after normally only signing one or two?

I wouldn't consider Crayton or Roth big signings. I would consider it more like 3 main signings and 2 secondary ones. You are right in that it would be a little different than what we've done in the past. Although, TD has actually averaged a little over 8 FA signings per year since he's been here if you consider the entire offseason, not just the mid-Feb to mid-March period when the early rush goes on. He's just spread them out and hasn't been a big player early in the FA game that often. He would need to have Bell, Lawson, & Arrington signed by mid-March & I don't think that's unreasonable. For Roth, it's probably going to be closer to the start of the season before he signs anywhere, because I think he's really going to debate on whether to play again or not. Crayton may be hanging around in FA for a while and could be an April/May signing bringing him in after the draft and before the start of OTAs.

[AEFalcon]

Robb,

Not disagreeing with your post but I would rather resign Biermann than an injuried Matt Roth. At least we know what we got with Biermann....rotational DE, all out effort, good special teamer and good team-mate. With Abes history with injuries and getting up in years I do not see how Roth helps. Keep Biermann who understand his role.

Edited January 6, 2012 by AEFalcon

[vel]

Nicholas just resigned to a solid contract, not back up money. Lawson won't be coming here. 5 years, $17.5M. Not happening.

I doubt we sign Arrington. We will have our 3 top corners as Grimes, DRob, and Franks more than likely. The fact that Arrington was signed to a 2 year contract in June makes this null and void any way.

I will just stop there and say I don't like it. OK draft though.

[Robb4242]

Nicholas just resigned to a solid contract, not back up money. Lawson won't be coming here. 5 years, $17.5M. Not happening.

I doubt we sign Arrington. We will have our 3 top corners as Grimes, DRob, and Franks more than likely. The fact that Arrington was signed to a 2 year contract in June makes this null and void any way.

I will just stop there and say I don't like it. OK draft though.

Missed that on Arrington, thought I double checked all of the FAs I was looking at. I should probably just stick with doing the drafts, I've never really liked all the FA stuff that much anyway.

[cnasty]

A lot of decent insight, if nothing else. We certainly have some things that we need to address this offseason.

[PapaJoe]

FIXED =

2nd - Markelle Martin FS Oklahoma St - Probably the best FS in the draft, but still only 2nd round talent. He is adept at playing zone, and I've been loudly complaining about DeCoud (Master of the TOO-Shallow Angle) because I think he's HE IS weak in zone coverage and one of the primary reasons we tend to give up big plays deep in our zone coverages, especially on 3rd downs. But not only is Martin good and aware in zone, he's a big hitter. Receivers will really be hearing footsteps when in soft spots of the zone between him & Dunta, not like with DeCoud.