So Many Holes, So Many Questions, So Few Cap Dollars

[FalconFanSince1970]

OK this is a pre-free agency, pre-draft look at the state of the current Falcon roster. We are sitting about $20M under our adjusted cap of $124M. We could probably eek out another $8M or so by re-structuring Ryan, Roddy, Bryant and maybe Blalock. Possibly cut a couple scrubs like Jelly to get to around $30M under. We have lots of holes to fill, still need a few upgrades and need to sign our rookie class. Let's take a look at the positions:

QB - with McCown a UFA, do we go with only two QBs, sign a free agent, or draft a rookie QB for the third spot?

WR - do we upgrade the slot position or just ride with HD and hope he doesn't trip over any more hash marks? Are Davis and Cone OK for the four and five spots? If not, do we sign a free agent, or draft a WR?

TE - how in the world do we fill the void left by TonyG? Re-sign him, pray that Coffman beasts, sign a free agent like Cook, or draft one of the big three (Eifert, Ertz or Escobar)?

RB - after releasing Turner last week, how do we replace his 800 yards and 10 TDs? With Quizz, Snelling, Bush, Steven Jackson, some other free agent, or a rookie RB?

FB - after we cut Usucka, we re-signed MyCox who improved as the season wore on. He is now a UFA. Do we re-sign him, take a chance on a virtual rookie like Ewing coming off the IR, sign a free agent, or draft a FB?

OT - do we sign SackMaker for $6-7M, let him walk and start Holmes, re-sign VeeTek, sign a free agent, or draft yet another LT?

OG - how do we stop the merrygoround Dimi created by letting Dahl walk? Do we go with Konz again, re-sign Reynolds or some other free agent, or draft a hoss?

C - if we leave Konz at RG, who plays center? Hawley, a free agent, a rookie, or do we re-sign Mud Duck?

DE - with Abe being kicked to the curb, Nolan's ten four-sack theory could be put to the test. What do we do? Sink $10M into Avril/Kruger, sign an aging Freeny/Osi, hope Sugar Bear can develop a Mass/Matthews/Sid, or draft a DE at #30?

DT - how do we stop the run while getting more interior pressure? Sign Sammie Lee, or draft one of the rookie hosses? Do we go ahead and make the switch to a 3-4 now? If so do we need a classic 3-4 NT, or should we stand pat with a bunch of UTs?

LB - are we OK with our current LB unit or do we need an upgrade? How in the world do we get our LBs to cover TEs while spying all the option QBs we face in 2013 (Kap, Wilson, RG3, Cam)?

CB - with only Asante, Franks and the two practice squad corners on the roster, do we re-sign Grimes, re-sign McClain, sign another free agent, or draft someone like the Honey Badger in the mid rounds?

S - do we re-sign WillyMo, or go after a Goldson? Will Mitchell and Schillinger be adequate back ups? If not do we re-sign Hope, another free agent, or draft a rookie?

KR - is Quizz really what we want as a kick returner? If not do we draft someone to improve this part of the return unit?

PR - it was obvious Franks wasn't the answer. Was HD any better? Do we sign a free agent, or draft a burner?

ST - many don't realize how important a gunner like Weems, Antone and Owens were. With all three gone now, how do we fill these two spots? Re-sign Owens? Antone? Go free agent, or try the draft?

Well Dimi will definitely have to earn his money this year. Keep in mind he will only have about $20-30M cap dollars to work with. WillyMo, SackMaker, Grimes, TonyG, SJax, Bush, Freeney, Osi and the rookie class will each eat up $4-6M in cap space. He will either win the GM of the Year award again, or flounder in some of the mistakes he made over the last five years. I wish him well. I think he will be hard pressed to field a roster better than the 2012 roster. I expect him to re-sign 8-10 of our free agents, add one or two vets and pick up two or three rooks that will have an impact in year one.

What would you do?

[Guest Dirty Bird Nation ®]

Qb- Ryan(sign him to extension), DD

WR- We're fine, but let Drew Davis and Harry Douglas battle it for the 3rd spot just for good measure.

TE-Resign Tony persuading him to take a friendly cut if he really wants to win

Rb- Sign Sjax, hopefully he'll take a small contract, assuming he voided his last year in St.Louis to be with a contender

Fb- use Ewing

Ot-Resign Baker, and then Svitek gets vet min

OG- Use FA to bring someone to compete with Reynolds

C- Let Mud Duck walk and start Konz

De- Sign Kruger, resign Abe for less( he still wants to be a Falcon)

Dt- Use a 1st round pick

Lb- We switch to 3-4, start Abe, Babs, and 1st round pick at line, start Beerman, Kruger, Weatherspoon, and St. Nick at Linebacker

Cb-We have Samuel, try to see if we can get Grimes or Dunta for cheap, at this point they're both worth the same.

S- Resign Hope, Mitchell looked good too. Hate to lose W.A.R, but too many injuries. We let Hope and Mitchell battle for starting spot

KR/PR-Hold open competition

Gunner- Beerman doess a pretty good job, and i'm sure someone on the team can tackle on ST

That's what the ideal off-season would be.

Edited March 3, 2013 by Dirty Bird Nation

[FalconFanSince1970]

By the way I forgot to mention that we are at least one short at several positions just to field a 53 man roster. Including QB, RB, TE, OT, CB, FS, SS, and DE. Especially thin at RB/FB with only Quizz, Snelling and Ewing under contract. Unless we fix this we will could be filling key positions with the likes of Vaughn, Szcerba, Schillinger, Gunn etc.

[Dirtybird#11]

Qb- Ryan(sign him to extension), DD

WR- We're fine, but let Drew Davis and Harry Douglas battle it for the 3rd spot just for good measure.

TE-Resign Tony persuading him to take a friendly cut if he really wants to win

Rb- Sign Sjax, hopefully he'll take a small contract, assuming he voided his last year in St.Louis to be with a contender

Fb- use Ewing

Ot-Resign Baker, and then Svitek gets vet min

OG- Use FA to bring someone to compete with Reynolds

C- Let Mud Duck walk and start Konz

De- Sign Kruger, resign Abe for less( he still wants to be a Falcon)

Dt- Use a 1st round pick

Lb- We switch to 3-4, start Abe, Babs, and 1st round pick at line, start Beerman, Kruger, Weatherspoon, and St. Nick at Linebacker

Cb-We have Samuel, try to see if we can get Grimes or Dunta for cheap, at this point they're both worth the same.

S- Resign Hope, Mitchell looked good too. Hate to lose W.A.R, but too many injuries. We let Hope and Mitchell battle for starting spot

KR/PR-Hold open competition

Gunner- Beerman doess a pretty good job, and i'm sure someone on the team can tackle on ST

That's what the ideal off-season would be.

No sorry i cant even hold it in first off St.Nick needs to be cut in order to get a few dollars in the bank for us,also forget tony he is just dead wait because of his age yes he will always be a great TE but were trying to get younger not older. Moore has to come back and Hope as a starting safety is hilarious i would be surprised if he is even on the team in 2013. No to resigning abe we realeased him for cap purposes only now along down the road if he is avaliable near preseason time sure bring him back but just resign him instantly NO. Harry Douglas needs to walk and we should consider tavarress king or ace sanders as a possible 3rd option. Dunta NO Grimes YES but we should consider Tyrann Mathieu as a potential punt returner and kick returner for us along side as a part time nickel corner with McClain Grimes and Samuel we would have one of the best CB groups in the league.

[kiwifalcon]

I just hope we don't spread ourselves to thin try to fix everything I hope he hones in on 2 area's and drafts accordingly and gets the needed FA's so as mentioned the draft becomes alot clearer.

[maorifalcon]

I think if we work the Lines, the rest will follow eh, Maybe add a few upgrades on D and see what happens

[Tuggle'2]

Yeah we have a lot to take care of. Its kind of overwhelming to think about. On a lighter note , I completely forgot about Polite even being on the team. I was like Usucka? WTF?

[Guest Dirty Bird Nation ®]

No sorry i cant even hold it in first off St.Nick needs to be cut in order to get a few dollars in the bank for us,also forget tony he is just dead wait because of his age yes he will always be a great TE but were trying to get younger not older. Moore has to come back and Hope as a starting safety is hilarious i would be surprised if he is even on the team in 2013. No to resigning abe we realeased him for cap purposes only now along down the road if he is avaliable near preseason time sure bring him back but just resign him instantly NO. Harry Douglas needs to walk and we should consider tavarress king or ace sanders as a possible 3rd option. Dunta NO Grimes YES but we should consider Tyrann Mathieu as a potential punt returner and kick returner for us along side as a part time nickel corner with McClain Grimes and Samuel we would have one of the best CB groups in the league.

If you think that we will be drafting someone like Matthieu you have another thing coming. He'll never get through the falcon filter ever. Not to mention the secondary and CBS weren't even the real issue with the defense. It was the d line and linebackers. If we were sure about cutting hd and nick wouldn't we have done it with the others?

[mumblesjr]

MARCH 12th

[dmo_dlo]

What I would do:

QB - I'm fine going with two QBs, if we have seen development from Davis. Otherwise bring McCown back.

WR - I would draft a WR, as early as 2nd, to be a playmaker if Tony is not coming back or even if he does. I like Da'Rick Rogers who has lots of off field issues but I think our locker room can handle his issues. TD has alluded to us taking risks on character issues now that we have established vets.

TE - I think Tony will come back. In any case, I will not draft an early one but bring back Palmer and ride with Coffman and a mid to late round rookie (say Fauria).

RB - It seems we are looking for proven FA in SJax but I would prefer a rookie in the 4th round as this is a very deep class of RBs. Someone like Jawan Jamison, Stacy, or even late guys like Rex Burkhead. This is a really deep class of RBs so I really don't like spending valuable money on a FA RB.

FB - Ewing, no question.

OT - This is the toughest one to answer and will entirely depend on what Holmes has shown. If he has shown promise, then we can't sign Baker as his signing will bury Holmes as a career backup. I think we will try to keep Baker, but I personally don't want to. This is an exceptionally deep FA class for tackles so I can't see Baker getting too much money.

OG - I would bring a vet for RG, even Reynolds back, or Schwartz.

C - Konz backed up by Hawley.

DE - It seems we are going to spend some of our money on a FA here. I would like Spencer and Kruger with an eye on moving to more of rush from OLBs. There are a number of options in the draft as well. Unless someone really good falls I don't see us drafting one in the first though. I can see someone like Datone Jones who would play multiple roles however.

DT - This is where I would spend our first most probably. A few good ones in J Williams and Hankins (don't like B Williams). Pat Sims would be an interesting FA as well.

LB - We are not OK and we have to find a good cover LB with rush skills. This is a tough position to fill, and I think we'll have to gamble on a mid round prospect and live another year with what we have.

CB - I'm not on board with bringing back Grimes. I would sign a FA (I like Eric Wright who will be released) and draft one in 3rd or 4th. I can also see us drafting a CB in the first if Rhodes or Trufant are there. McClain is apparently under contract, and I won't be against bringing back Owens after he tries the market.

S - The only FA we should consider is Moore but this is a deep safety class and we can get a good one to develop in 3-5. I would try to bring back Moore unless he's all about money.

KR/PR - Just go with what we have in HD and Quizz or if our rookie WR has return capability

[FalconFanSince1970]

If you think that we will be drafting someone like Matthieu you have another thing coming...

If we pass on the Honey Badger in a round that he is a BPA in, we need another thing coming. We currently have Asante, an aging corner that can't tackle, plus Franks who's another Dimi CB bust, and two practice squad corners on the roster. That's it.

I would love to see us re-sign Grimes and McClain, then draft the Badger. Start Grimes and Asante. Put McClain in the slot. Let Tyrann, Franks, Johnson and Thompson battle over the dime with Honey B guaranteed at least a fifth spot and the return duties.

[FalconFanSince1970]

McClain is apparently under contract

I keep hearing this. When was it announced? Anyone have a link? I'm under the impression he is a RFA.

[PokerSteve]

If we pass on the Honey Badger in a round that he is a BPA in, we need another thing coming. We currently have Asante, an aging corner that can't tackle, plus Franks who's another Dimi CB bust, and two practice squad corners on the roster. That's it.

I would love to see us re-sign Grimes and McClain, then draft the Badger. Start Grimes and Asante. Put McClain in the slot. Let Tyrann, Franks, Johnson and Thompson battle over the dime with Honey B guaranteed at least a fifth spot and the return duties.

The Hash Bagger will never be an Atlanta Falcon. Grimes wants too much money, he's older, he is small and gets hurt easily and, oh yeah, he has no heart. Franks is worthless and has got to GTFOOH. Baker has shown us his best capability this past season, and it wasn't good enough to pay him what he thinks he's worth. Bye-bye Baker, hello Holmes. Nicholas....not good enough. Moore...gets hurt constantly, very inconsistent play and not worth what he wants.....gotta GTFOOH. DeCoud....expendable, just run-of-the-mill. If the Falcons can part with Abe, DRob and Turner, they can certainly survive without all the players I just mentioned and that will provide enough cap room to sign some impact free agents who have proven they can produce. The rest of our needs, like RB, TE, WR, PR can be drafted.

Edited March 3, 2013 by PokerSteve

[FalconFanSince1970]

The Hash Bagger will never be an Atlanta Falcon. Grimes wants too much money, he's older, he is small and gets hurt easily and, oh yeah, he has no heart. Franks is worthless and has got to GTFOOH. Baker has shown us his best capability this past season, and it wasn't good enough to pay him what he thinks he's worth. Bye-bye Baker, hello Holmes. Nicholas....not good enough. Moore...gets hurt constantly, very inconsistent play and not worth what he wants.....gotta GTFOOH. DeCoud....expendable, just run-of-the-mill. If the Falcons can part with Abe, DRob and Turner, they can certainly survive without all the players I just mentioned and that will provide enough cap room to sign some impact free agents who have proven they can produce. The rest of our needs, like RB, TE, WR, PR can be drafted.

Dam bro it looks like you think we need to scrap the whole roster and go into rebuilding mode. I'd take the Hash Bagger, Grimes, WillyMo and Nic off that list.

[Ryan2JulioTD]

Thats how i feel at a strip club

[delaigle]

ok heres what the Falcons have got under contract When FA starts --as of now

Defense

DE Massaqoui

DT Babs Robertson

DT Peters Jerry (Regis)

DE Bierman Matthews

WSLB Spoon James

MLB Dent (Schiller)

SSLB Nicholas {Adkins}

CB Samuel {T. Johnson}

CB McClain Franks (Thomson)

SS

FS DeCoud Mitchell Schillinger

offense

WR --10

TE --Coffman Gallarda (Nissley) (Szczbra)

LT Holmes

LG Blalock Manley (McClendon)

C Konz Hawley

RG Johnson Gunn

RT Clabo

QB Ryan Davis

RB Rodgers Snelling (Vaughan)

FB Ewing

(Practice Squad)

{ just re-signed}

Edited March 3, 2013 by delaigle

[FalconFanSince1970]

ok heres what the Falcons have got under contract When FA starts --as of now

Defense

DE Massaqoui

DT Babs Robertson

DT Peters Jerry (Regis)

DE Bierman Matthews

WSLB Spoon James

MLB Dent (Schiller)

SSLB Nicholas {Adkins}

CB Samuel {T. Johnson}

CB McClain Franks (Thomson)

SS

FS DeCoud Mitchell Schillinger

offense

WR --10

TE --Coffman Gallarda (Nissley) (Szczbra)

LT Holmes

LG Blalock Manley (McClendon)

C Konz Hawley

RG Johnson Gunn

RT Clabo

QB Ryan Davis

RB Rodgers Snelling (Vaughan)

FB Ewing

(Practice Squad)

{ just re-signed}

Scary. Flat out scary.

[delaigle]

Scary. Flat out scary.

Really? I was much more scared at this time last year

[FalconFanSince1970]

Really? I was much more scared at this time last year

Really?

With Mass over Abe?

Coffman over TonyG?

McClain over Grimes?

Rodgers over Turner?

No SS over WillyMo?

I am much more concerned in 2013 than I was at this point in 2012.

[falcon90]

No sorry i cant even hold it in first off St.Nick needs to be cut in order to get a few dollars in the bank for us,also forget tony he is just dead wait because of his age yes he will always be a great TE but were trying to get younger not older. Moore has to come back and Hope as a starting safety is hilarious i would be surprised if he is even on the team in 2013. No to resigning abe we realeased him for cap purposes only now along down the road if he is avaliable near preseason time sure bring him back but just resign him instantly NO. Harry Douglas needs to walk and we should consider tavarress king or ace sanders as a possible 3rd option. Dunta NO Grimes YES but we should consider Tyrann Mathieu as a potential punt returner and kick returner for us along side as a part time nickel corner with McClain Grimes and Samuel we would have one of the best CB groups in the league.

What the heck, dead weight?

[Kayoh]

McClain is an ERFA so if we offer him a contract (we will) he has to accept it, his only other option is to retire from football all together.

[dmo_dlo]

Really?

With Mass over Abe?

Coffman over TonyG?

McClain over Grimes?

Rodgers over Turner?

No SS over WillyMo?

I am much more concerned in 2013 than I was at this point in 2012.

Last year at this point of the season we did not have Grimes, Samuel, Gonzalez, Abe, Konz, Decoud, Nicholas, Biermann, Douglas, McClain, Snelling, and McClure. So yeah I think we are in better shape this year. Not much better but better as we have a first rounder this year.

[delaigle]

Really?

With Mass over Abe? Last year Abe was the FA

Coffman over TonyG? Last year Gonzo was the FA

McClain over Grimes? Last year Grimes was the fA

Rodgers over Turner?

No SS over WillyMo?

Plus Walker, Bierman, DeCoud, Douglas, McClure and about 11 others

I am much more concerned in 2013 than I was at this point in 2012.

Edited March 3, 2013 by delaigle

[dmo_dlo]

The way to think about it is like this:

On offense we need 3-4 new starters (two OL, TE, and possibly a RB, though it could be RB by committee). We also need 2-4 backups (OL + RB + WR +QB).

On defense we also need 4-5 starters (1 DT + 1 or 2 DE [if KB has the other spot] + 1 S + 1 CB) assuming we stay with LB starters in Nicholas, Spoon (and Dent limited basis). We also need 4 depth players (1LB + 2CB + 1S).

That's a total of 7-9 starters and 6-9 depth players. You would hope to find 2 starters from your first two rounds, and 5-7 FAs, including our own who might be returning such as TG or Moore or Baker. I think what's really important is to get a couple of starter material players from rounds 3-5 which we have failed to do under TD.

[delaigle]

McClain is an ERFA so if we offer him a contract (we will) he has to accept it, his only other option is to retire from football all together.

Not sure about this he played in all 16 games with the panthers in 2010

was with Jax all 2011 but played in 0 games

I think he was in 15 Falcon games in 2012

do not think he's a ERFA maybe a RFA but I thought the Falcons originally signed him to a multiyear deal and he's only finished 1 year.

Edited March 3, 2013 by delaigle