freebird310 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 PALM BEACH, Fla. -- I got to spend some quality time with Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith at the owners meetings and I’ve got a bunch of different nuggets I’ll share with you over the coming days.I’m not going in any particular order, but I’m going to start off with Jacquizz Rodgers. Most of you know I rarely make predictions and I’m not going to break tradition, especially when we’re only in March. But if you asked me which way I’m leaning right now as far as a breakout player or most-improved player for the division in 2012, I’d say Rodgers.Part of it is based on what I saw out of Rodgers in a limited role last season. But I’m not a scout or a coach. My conversation with Smith about Rodgers is why I’m buying into this one. I could sense genuine excitement in Smith’s voice as he talked about the running back the Falcons drafted in the fifth round last season.There’s another factor at work here. That’s Atlanta feature back Michael Turner. Smith already has said several times this offseason the Falcons want to limit Turner’s carries going forward. Smith said that again to me and I asked him how the Falcons will make up for those carries. He’s not going to hand me the playbook or his game plan, but I think his answer was fairly telling.“Jacquizz figures into that quite a bit,’’ Smith said. “We drafted him to be a change-of-pace back and we found out very quickly that he’s a guy that is more than a change-of-pace back. Even though he’s short, he’s not little. He’s a guy we feel like we can integrate more into our offense.’’I have little doubt that’s going to happen. Rodgers only carried 57 times for 205 yards last season and caught 21 passes for 188 yards. But -- rare fantasy football advice here -- those numbers are going to jump.The Falcons found out Rodgers can run the ball better than they expected. They’ll run him more next season. They thought he could catch passes out of the backfield and he proved that. He’ll get even more chances.Heck, with new coordinator Dirk Koetter and Rodgers, the Falcons might no longer be the NFL team that utilizes the screen pass the least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INDFalcon Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 (edited) nice read. DK the OC will use Quiz in more of screen passes. That will obviously limit the carries to MT. I hope we get a fairly good LT and be okay of O-line end Edited March 28, 2012 by qbusa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clownorg Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I'm expecting alot out of him this year. He showed flashes last season but was severely underused by MM. I can't wait to see what this kid can do when utilized Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freebird310 Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 Man, god knows we got all the weapons we need to blow da fk up this year ......if Hill can improve our line play a few iotas, we gonna be some scary MFKers to deal with ............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radiohead Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I know he is a smaller guy, but he is MJD-esque.I'm still recovering from the shock that we were able to pick him up in the 5th Round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoLuvinMyFalcons Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 (edited) If use right in this new system, he could become a great weapon for Matty Ice. Edited March 28, 2012 by SoLuvinMyFalcons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick0ne Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Believe it when I see it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_The Iceman_Ryan Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Think Kevin Faulk for the Pats all those years...thats how I envision Rogers, maybe with a little more run oriented attack.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.