Atlanta Falcons' Struggles Highlight Thomas Dimitroff Draft Failures

[FentayeJones]

The Atlanta Falcons’ struggles highlight the draft failures of general manager Thomas Dimitroff.

The Atlanta Falcons completed their monumental collapse, and they did it by playing out one of the worst games in franchise history: losing 38-0 to the Carolina Panthers, who have taken a stranglehold on the NFC South.

Despite the hot start to the season, and the fact that they’re still not mathematically out of the playoff hunt, it looks more and more likely that the Falcons will miss the playoffs for a third straight season.

The team’s weakness in the trenches on both sides of the ball has become painfully evident over not just these past six games, but also throughout these past three seasons. The Falcons’ roster looks like one of the least talented in the NFL. In fact, Pro Football Focus ranked it as such these past two seasons.

People have begun pointing the finger at general manager Thomas Dimitroff for these failures, and that’s exactly who it should be pointed at.

At the end of the day, the Atlanta Falcons have struggled as a football team for three straight seasons, because of the terrible job Thomas Dimitroff has done when it comes to drafting players, maybe the most important part of building a football team.

And nobody knows that better than Dimitroff himself, someone who was the director of college football scouting with the New England Patriots before accepting the GM role with the Falcons.

Dimitroff had a wonderful draft in 2008, where he delivered the likes of Matt Ryan, Curtis Lofton, Thomas Decoud, Harry Douglas, and Kroy Bierman, all of whom were either eventual pro bowlers or solid team contributors.

Since 2008, however, its been all downhill for the Falcons when it comes to the draft. Let’s take a year by year look at Dimitroff’s player selections from 2009 and on. (Note: I will not put up the 2015 draft class as they are still in their rookie season: there hasn’t been enough time to really evaluate them).

2009: DT Peria Jerry (1st round), S William Moore (2nd round), CB Christopher Owens (3rd round), DE Lawrence Sidbury (4th round), CB William Middleton (5th round), OT Garrett Reynolds (5th round), LB Spencer Adkins (6th round), DT Vance Walker (7th round)

2010: LB Sean Weatherspoon (1st round), DT Corey Peters (3rd round), OG Mike Johnson (3rd round), C/OG Joe Hawley (4th round), CB Dominique Franks (5th round), WR Kerry Meier (5th round), S Shann Schilinger (5th round)

2011: WR Julio Jones (1st round), LB Akeem Dent (3rd round), RB Jaquizz Rodgers (5th round), P Matt Bosher (6th round), OG Andrew Jackson (7th round), DE Cliff Matthews (7th round)

2012: C/OG Peter Konz (2nd round), OT Lamar Holmes (3rd round), FB Bradie Ewing (5th round), DE Jonathan Massaquoi (6th round), S Charles Mitchell (6th round), DT Travian Robinson (7th round)

2013: CB Desmond Trufant (1st round), CB Robert Alford (2nd round), DE Malliciah Goodman (4th round), TE Levine Toilolo (4th round), DE Stansly Maponga (5th round), S Kemal Ishmael (7th round), S Zeke Motta (7th round), QB Sean Renfree (7th round)

2014: OT Jake Matthews (1st round), DT Ra’Shede Hageman (2nd round), S Dezmond Southward (3rd round), RB Devonta Freeman (4th round), LB Prince Shembo (4th round), CB/S Ricardo Allen (5th round), LB Marquis Spruill (5th round), LB Yawin Smallwood (7th round), LB Tyler Starr (7th round)

A good draft class is one which a GM is able to hang his hat on as the foundation of a team for years to come. That’s what the Matt Ryan draft class of 2008 was for Dimitroff. Behind that class, the Falcons aspired to five straight winning seasons, culminated with two 13-3 seasons and a trip to the 2012 NFC Championship game.

However, consistent misses within in the draft can hinder a team for years on end. And we begin those misses with 2009. Despite having all of his picks to work with that year, Dimitroff managed to select just one impact player, and that was William Moore.

In fact, Moore is the only player in that 2009 draft class to stay on the team past his rookie contract. He made the Pro Bowl in 2012, but it looks like even he might be off the roster by next season, due to the fact that he’s so injury prone.

The rest of that draft was terrible. Peria Jerry was a massive first round bust who never had any impact. Christopher Owens was only good in special teams, but you expect far more than that out of a third rounder. He was also constantly abused in the secondary due to his height. Nobody else made any real impact.

First round picks in football are more valuable than in any other sport. They are the players that must carry the franchise to its high points for years, and missing on back to back first rounders without finding any late round gems can be crippling down the line.

That’s what Dimitroff did in 2010: he once again missed on a first rounder, in Sean Weatherspoon. The linebacker out of Missouri had some nice moments with the Falcons, and had a really nice year in 2012. After that season, however, he could never stay on the field, constantly getting injured. Weatherspoon was a second straight first round pick who did not stay on the Falcons past his rookie contract. That constitutes a bust.

The 2010 draft class was a second straight failure, as not a single player from it is on the roster five years later.

The 2011 class featured the big trade up to get Julio Jones, who has become the best wide receiver in the NFL. The problem is that when you trade away as many first and second rounders as Dimitroff traded for Jones, you better make up for it by hitting on a lot of your other picks, and that just hasn’t happened. The result has been a lack of depth, and not much talent within the trenches, years later.

The only players still on the roster from that 2011 class are Julio Jones and the punter selected in the sixth round, Matt Bosher.

The 2012 class was a sight for sore eyes, and Dimitroff’s worst class. Peter Konz was selected in the second round, and brought in to be the team’s center for the next decade. That’s what you expect out of a second round O-Lineman after all.

Konz ended up becoming one of the worst offensive lineman to play for the Falcons. Almost as bad as him was third round offensive tackle Lamar Holmes. Overall there is nobody from the 2012 draft class still on the roster, and nobody made any real contribution in their time with the Falcons.

The 2013 class consists of just two starters: Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford. Kemal Ishmael also has a future with the team, as he was one of the very few late round gems uncovered by Dimitroff. Just two years later, it looks like only those three players will have ever made an impact on the Falcons, from that 2013 class.

Dimitroff finally got it right with an offensive lineman in 2014, drafting Jake Matthews who looks like a franchise left tackle. Second rounder Ra’Shede Hageman has lost some playing time to 2015 fifth rounder Grady Jarrett due to inconsistency; Devonta Freeman and Ricardo Allen are the team’s other starters and look like very good picks.

The knock on the 2014 class, however, is that just one year later the Falcons have already cut the third, fourth, fifth, and seventh round picks from the class.

When you look at these draft classes, it’s clear that Dimitroff has not put enough emphasis on the importance of the trenches. He’s taken just two offensive lineman in the first two rounds (Jake Matthews; Peter Konz) over the past seven years (including the 2015 draft). And he took a pass rusher just once (Vic Beasley in 2015).

Another important factor here is that Dimitroff doesn’t like to spend a lot of money in free agency, always trying to preserve cap space. You must be able to build through the draft to be able to effectively save that money without sacrificing team success, and Dimitroff has done a terrible job at that.

The Falcons had the best offensive line in football in 2008, with the likes of Todd McClure, Harvey Dahl, Justin Blalock and Tyson Clabo (this line was not built by Dimitroff, it was already there when he came to Atlanta). Dimitroff ended up eventually replacing those lineman with the likes of Peter Konz, Lamar Holmes, Garrett Reynolds, Joe Hawley, and now guys like Mike Person, Chris Chester and Andy Levitre.

The result has been what one would expect. The offensive line with the core led by Mcclure gave up just 17 sacks in 2008 (a league low), 27 sacks in 2009 (8th fewest in the NFL), 23 in 2010 (3rd fewest), 26 in 2011 (6th fewest), and 28 in 2012 (7th fewest).

By the summer of 2012 Dahl was in St. Louis, Clabo was in Miami, and McClure was forced into retirement to make room for the center of the future: Peter Konz.

In 2013 the offensive line was not properly replenished through the draft or free agency, and it ended up consisting of Konz, Hawley, Holmes, Blalock, and Reynolds (Sam Baker was on IR). That season the group gave up 44 sacks (10th most), and in 2014 they gave up 31 (around league average. The number would have been higher, but Matt Ryan developed a very quick release in light of the poor protection).

This year the Falcons are on pace for league average once again, ranking 14th in the NFL with 28 sacks given up through 13 games.

But the point is that Dimitroff largely ignored getting possible high end offensive lineman to Atlanta through the draft (or through spending in free agency), to instead bring in cheap alternatives and mid round draft picks.

And if the offensive line was ignored, you could say that the need for pass rush has been completely neglected. John Abraham was the team’s sack maker between 2008-2012; and he ended up getting cut by Dimitroff following the NFC Championship run as a cap casualty, despite the fact that Abraham was willing to take less money to stay. The next season, he got double digit sacks and made the pro bowl as an Arizona Cardinal.

Not only did Dimitroff never bring in a second player who could consistently get to the quarterback opposite of Abraham, but he also never ever replaced John Abraham when the South Carolina product was cut.

As a result, since Dimitroff took over the reigns as general manager, the Falcons have never been in the top 20 in sacks generated. In that department, Atlanta has ranked 29th in 2013 (32 sacks), 31st in 2014 (22 sacks), and are last this season (15 sacks).

It’s never been more evident that the NFL is a passing league: to be successful you must be able to get to the opposing quarterback and bring him down. Thomas Dimitroff, however, has never put much emphasis in finding players who could do that.

For the first time ever, Dimitroff drafted a pass rusher early in the draft, in 2015. That player was Vic Beasley. That high end pass rusher draft pick came seven years too late, however.

The Atlanta Falcons are staring down the barrel of their third straight losing season. This implosion isn’t something that happened over night. It has been gradually happening on every draft night for Thomas Dimitroff’s past seven years. And these past three years have been a culmination of that failure.

http://bloggingdirty.com/2015/12/19/atlanta-falcons-struggles-dimitroff-draft-failures/4/

[Clark Kent™]

He definitely jacked up the 2012 draft soooo bad. His intentions were good by going O line with his first two picks. Too bad Konz and Holmes ended up busting. One of his worst draft picks in my opinion. If those picks would have worked out and actually been solid O lineman, we would have been in such a better position these last few years.

But to his defense, getting Chester, Person, Polumbus, and Asamoah was obviously because of Shanahan, Quinn, and Pioli since those guys played for them previously. So thats not all on TD. And that should go to show everyone that he isn't picking the players by himself. He is getting who the coaches want.

And i actually give him credit for getting rid of Clabo. Miami picked him up and he graded out as one of the worst RT's in the NFL if my memory is correct.

[Nino11]

Laid out those drafts do look pretty ******

[high impact]

Well sad to see all the failures that this team has picked. It sure would be nice if they could hit on close to 50%.

[ukfalc]

Hmmmm...

When looking back at old drafts, you have to remember that players become eligible for unrestricted free agency after 4 years, so you ability to keep players is limited. This article describes the 2010 draft as a second straight failure, but we found 3 guys in that draft who were more than capable long term starters (Spoon, Peters and Hawley). Plus our 2nd round pick was spent on Tony Gonzalez, who was obviously never going to still be contributing in 2015, but gave elite production in his time here. I don't remember many on here complaining about the Gonzalez trade at the time, but now people are complaining that we don't have a 2nd rounder on the team from that draft.

As for 2012, much of our value in that draft was traded away in 2011 for Julio Jones. When you trade away your 1st and 4th picks in a draft and are also picking close to the back end of each round, there is a limit to amount of talent that you will come away with. We didn't have a single pick in the top 50, and only picked twice in the top 150 picks of the draft. The majority of OL selected in the 3rd round of the draft don't even become full-time starter in this league. We spent our top 2 pick on linemen, but then got rid of the OL coach who would have been heavily involved n their scouting/selection and have changed blocking systems (twice?) since then.

The same goes for the front 7 Defensive players picked in 2013-14. They were picked because they were supposed to fit Nolan's 3-4 hybrid defense, but within 2 years Nolan is gone and we are now looking for different player types to fit a 4-3 under system.

When you draft players for specific schemes, but then change coaches and schemes, it is hardly surprising that some of your players will no longer be good scheme fits and the new coaches will want their own guys. That is part of the price you pay for having a coaching merry-go-round, rather than establishing continuity.

[birdz4i]

Hmmmm...

When looking back at old drafts, you have to remember that players become eligible for unrestricted free agency after 4 years, so you ability to keep players is limited. This article describes the 2010 draft as a second straight failure, but we found 3 guys in that draft who were more than capable long term starters (Spoon, Peters and Hawley). Plus our 2nd round pick was spent on Tong Gonzalez, who was obviously never going to still be contributing in 2015, but gave elite production in his time here. I don't remember many on here complaining about the Gonzalez trade at the time, but nowpeople are complaining that we don't have a 2nd rounder on the team from that draft.

As for 2012, much of our value in that draft was traded away in 2011 for Julio Jones. When you trade away your 1st and 4th picks in a draft and are also picking close to the back end of each round, there is a limit to amount of talent that you will come away with. We didn't have a single pick in the top 50, and only picked twice in the top 150 picks of the draft. The majority of OL selected in the 3rd round of the draft don't even become full-time starter in this league. We spent our top 2 pick on linemen, but then got rid of the OL coach who would have been heavily involved n their scouting/selection and have changed blocking systems (twice?) since then.

The same goes for the front 7 Defensive players picked in 2013-14. They were picked because they were supposed to fit Nolan's 3-4 hybrid defense, but within 2 years Nolan is gone and we are now looking for different player types to fit a 4-3 under system.

When you draft players for specific schemes, but then chage coaches and schemes, it is hardly surprising that some of your players will no longer be good scheme fits and the new coaches will want their own guys. That is part of the price you pay for having a coaching merry-go-round, rather than establishing continuity.

don t bother, its all tds fault.

[*Old Pappy Falcon*]

He can go anytime before the season ends............fine with me.

[capologist]

Best oline in 08? Umm, no.

I can't really call Weatherspoon a bad pick because you really can't foresee injuries like that. I liked the pick (as did most) at the time. Funny it doesn't mention Hawley. Releasing him was a mistake. It's not that Hawley isn't replaceable because he is. The problem is that we clearly didn't have anyone better on the team when we cut him.

The knock against the trenches is also not really on TD as he simply played along with what Nolan and Smitty told him they wanted. I do think the 2014 draft was better and 2015 looks promising. I'm really in favor of 1 more year to see where it goes with TD/DQ combo...

[Falcanuck]

Hits: Ryan, Julio, Trufant, Alford, Freeman, Jake, Hageman (somewhat), Spoon & Moore (minus injuries)

Misses: everyone else

Completely moronic fire-worthy picks: every 3rd round pick

*not including the 2015 draft

[insight]

Hmmmm...

When looking back at old drafts, you have to remember that players become eligible for unrestricted free agency after 4 years, so you ability to keep players is limited. This article describes the 2010 draft as a second straight failure, but we found 3 guys in that draft who were more than capable long term starters (Spoon, Peters and Hawley). Plus our 2nd round pick was spent on Tong Gonzalez, who was obviously never going to still be contributing in 2015, but gave elite production in his time here. I don't remember many on here complaining about the Gonzalez trade at the time, but nowpeople are complaining that we don't have a 2nd rounder on the team from that draft.

As for 2012, much of our value in that draft was traded away in 2011 for Julio Jones. When you trade away your 1st and 4th picks in a draft and are also picking close to the back end of each round, there is a limit to amount of talent that you will come away with. We didn't have a single pick in the top 50, and only picked twice in the top 150 picks of the draft. The majority of OL selected in the 3rd round of the draft don't even become full-time starter in this league. We spent our top 2 pick on linemen, but then got rid of the OL coach who would have been heavily involved n their scouting/selection and have changed blocking systems (twice?) since then.

The same goes for the front 7 Defensive players picked in 2013-14. They were picked because they were supposed to fit Nolan's 3-4 hybrid defense, but within 2 years Nolan is gone and we are now looking for different player types to fit a 4-3 under system.

When you draft players for specific schemes, but then chage coaches and schemes, it is hardly surprising that some of your players will no longer be good scheme fits and the new coaches will want their own guys. That is part of the price you pay for having a coaching merry-go-round, rather than establishing continuity.

Everybody realizes these decisions are not easy but that's what TD is getting paid to do. He has a whole staff dedicated to assist him in building a winner and he has failed. It's really that simple, you can't hold players accountable when you don't hold upper management to the same standards.

Edited December 20, 2015 by insight

[MoFalconsFan56]

Dude seriously tho looking at all of these drafts how many of us HONESTLY wouldn't have had better drafts!? 80% of this message board are a bunch of idiots and they could've drafted better than TD. What a shame

[etherdome]

Hmmmm...

When looking back at old drafts, you have to remember that players become eligible for unrestricted free agency after 4 years, so you ability to keep players is limited. This article describes the 2010 draft as a second straight failure, but we found 3 guys in that draft who were more than capable long term starters (Spoon, Peters and Hawley). Plus our 2nd round pick was spent on Tong Gonzalez, who was obviously never going to still be contributing in 2015, but gave elite production in his time here. I don't remember many on here complaining about the Gonzalez trade at the time, but nowpeople are complaining that we don't have a 2nd rounder on the team from that draft.

As for 2012, much of our value in that draft was traded away in 2011 for Julio Jones. When you trade away your 1st and 4th picks in a draft and are also picking close to the back end of each round, there is a limit to amount of talent that you will come away with. We didn't have a single pick in the top 50, and only picked twice in the top 150 picks of the draft. The majority of OL selected in the 3rd round of the draft don't even become full-time starter in this league. We spent our top 2 pick on linemen, but then got rid of the OL coach who would have been heavily involved n their scouting/selection and have changed blocking systems (twice?) since then.

The same goes for the front 7 Defensive players picked in 2013-14. They were picked because they were supposed to fit Nolan's 3-4 hybrid defense, but within 2 years Nolan is gone and we are now looking for different player types to fit a 4-3 under system.

When you draft players for specific schemes, but then chage coaches and schemes, it is hardly surprising that some of your players will no longer be good scheme fits and the new coaches will want their own guys. That is part of the price you pay for having a coaching merry-go-round, rather than establishing continuity.

Thank you, UKFalcon. You have nailed it. This franchise has never established a brand because it can not decide what it wants to be. Coaches and philosophies are changed far too often, leaving a continuous mismatch between personnel and schemes.

I know that I am in the minority, but I'd prefer to stick with Shanahan for at least one more season. If ther is truly a rift between him and Ryan, then I would reluctantly let Shanny go. But, if Ryan approves, I'd like to keep Shanny and continue to build the right OL for the job.

[etherdome]

The Peria Jerry pick made sense at the time. A penetrating DT was needed badly to fit the defensive scheme. Jerry's entire career was derailed by a terrible knee injury. Even though Jerry had a knee history, the medical checks cleared him and he was regarded as low risk. We all know what happened and it makes the choice look terrible.

Personally, given the scheme, that pick made sense to me. I know people will scream that Matthews should have been the pick, but he would have languished in our 4-3 system.

You choose players that fit your scheme. TD did that and keeps doing that with poor results. Defensive and offensive strategies have been changed like bath water at Flowery Branch. It makes sense to finally remain consistent with philosophies. For that reason, we should keep the coaches that we have and work to acquire the personnel that fits our schemes.

Edited December 20, 2015 by etherdome

[FalconFanSince1969]

Hits: Ryan, Julio, Trufant, Alford, Freeman, Jake, Hageman (somewhat), Spoon & Moore (minus injuries)

Misses: everyone else

Completely moronic fire-worthy picks: every 3rd round pick

*not including the 2015 draft

The patriots have one 3rd round pick that's done something in the NFl since 2001. Ellis Hobbs. That is basically it. Why do people on this board think 3rd rounders are premium picks or something? I doubt there's even a 10% success rate in the 3rd round. That's the problem with these draft discussions. The expectations aren't even on the right planet.

[ukfalc]

Everybody realizes these decisions are not easy but that's what TD is getting paid to do. He has a whole staff dedicated to assist him in building a winner and he has failed. It's really that simple, you can't hold players accountable when you don't hold upper management to the same standards.

But he did build a winner. When he took over we looked like a team that was years away from even bring competitive, but he turned it around in 1 off-season and we had the best cumulative regular season record in the NFC from 2008-12. OK so we didn't turn that success in to a SB win during those 5 years, but that can easily happen to good teams.

Why can't TD's critics at least acknowledge that and at least give him some credit and respect for 2008-12, rather than pretending that the good things never happened and talking about TD like we've been 4-12 for the last 8 seasons? I'd have a lot more respect for their position if they did. Too many people see issues in black and white terms, and lack the capacity to see or ackowledge the merits in both sides of an argument and to recognise that the truth almost always lies somewhere in the gray area between the extreme positions.

It is perfectly fair to question where we've gone wrong since 2012, but sweeping broad statements like "TD can't draft" and "TD can't evaluate talent" are idiotic and over simplistic. Aside from the fact that comparisons with TD's peers show otherwise, the issue is nowhere near as black and white as that. The moves we've made were made for a reason, and have to be looked at in their proper context at the time they were made.

As I see it, the early success simply wouldn't have happened if we "couldn't evaluate talent" or "couldn't draft". The real issue here is how a team can rebuild so quickly with such considerable success, but then totally fail to sustain and build upon that success. Is it down to a flawed building/re-building philosophy (selling out to win immediately, trading away too many picks, not building from the inside out etc), a lack of continuity in the staff and schemes, misfortune with injuries to too many high picks, poor coaching hires, or did our FO and scouting department decline in their ability to evaluate players? If it is the former then you also have to question how much of that is down to the GM, or whether he is being dictated to or put under pressure from above?

[Godzilla1985]

Dude seriously tho looking at all of these drafts how many of us HONESTLY wouldn't have had better drafts!? 80% of this message board are a bunch of idiots and they could've drafted better than TD. What a shame

As said above. We're not being paid an ungodly salary to make these picks. Gel boy has and has failed.

[Exp]

This article is written like it came from here. Its full of poor arguments and obvious bias.

[Karst41]

Lest we forget about the refuges from Jacksonville.

[g-dawg]

Hmmmm...

When looking back at old drafts, you have to remember that players become eligible for unrestricted free agency after 4 years, so you ability to keep players is limited. This article describes the 2010 draft as a second straight failure, but we found 3 guys in that draft who were more than capable long term starters (Spoon, Peters and Hawley). Plus our 2nd round pick was spent on Tony Gonzalez, who was obviously never going to still be contributing in 2015, but gave elite production in his time here. I don't remember many on here complaining about the Gonzalez trade at the time, but now people are complaining that we don't have a 2nd rounder on the team from that draft.

As for 2012, much of our value in that draft was traded away in 2011 for Julio Jones. When you trade away your 1st and 4th picks in a draft and are also picking close to the back end of each round, there is a limit to amount of talent that you will come away with. We didn't have a single pick in the top 50, and only picked twice in the top 150 picks of the draft. The majority of OL selected in the 3rd round of the draft don't even become full-time starter in this league. We spent our top 2 pick on linemen, but then got rid of the OL coach who would have been heavily involved n their scouting/selection and have changed blocking systems (twice?) since then.

The same goes for the front 7 Defensive players picked in 2013-14. They were picked because they were supposed to fit Nolan's 3-4 hybrid defense, but within 2 years Nolan is gone and we are now looking for different player types to fit a 4-3 under system.

When you draft players for specific schemes, but then change coaches and schemes, it is hardly surprising that some of your players will no longer be good scheme fits and the new coaches will want their own guys. That is part of the price you pay for having a coaching merry-go-round, rather than establishing continuity.

2012 NFL Draft results (from mid 2nd to early 4th rounds)

#2-50) Peter Konz, OL - Wisconsin (Falcons) - out of football

#2-60) Keleche Osemele, OL - Iowa State (Ravens) - Falcons scouted him heavily - very good starting offensive guard

#3-75) Donald Stephenson, OL - Oklahoma (Chiefs) - starting offensive tackle

#3-76) Brandon Brooks, OL - Miami, OH (Texans) - starting offensive guard

#3-91) Lamar Holmes, OL - Southern Miss (Falcons) - out of football

#3-95) Tony Bergstrom, OL - Utah (Raiders) - back-up center that was pressed into starting and has done well

#4-98) Gino Gradkowski, OL - Delaware (Ravens) - Falcons back-up

#4-99) Ben Jones, OL - Georgia (Texans) - starting center

As you can see, every single option in these rounds - and I did not skip any - was a better option than the two the Falcons selected. This does not happen by accident - Thomas Dimitroff and his team of scouts have no uckfing idea how to find offensive linemen - they cannot do it unless they have a top 10 pick.

Before someone say "yeah but Konz was a center" well Tackles play guard and guards play center in the NFL - Konz was drafted as a center (per Falcons) and Ben Jones (from home state of Georgia) was also a center. The talent was there, Dimitroff cannot find it.

[FentayeJones]

2012 NFL Draft results (from mid 2nd to early 4th rounds)

#2-50) Peter Konz, OL - Wisconsin (Falcons) - out of football

#2-60) Keleche Osemele, OL - Iowa State (Ravens) - Falcons scouted him heavily - very good starting offensive guard

#3-75) Donald Stephenson, OL - Oklahoma (Chiefs) - starting offensive tackle

#3-76) Brandon Brooks, OL - Miami, OH (Texans) - starting offensive guard

#3-91) Lamar Holmes, OL - Southern Miss (Falcons) - out of football

#3-95) Tony Bergstrom, OL - Utah (Raiders) - back-up center that was pressed into starting and has done well

#4-98) Gino Gradkowski, OL - Delaware (Ravens) - Falcons back-up

#4-99) Ben Jones, OL - Georgia (Texans) - starting center

As you can see, every single option in these rounds - and I did not skip any - was a better option than the two the Falcons selected. This does not happen by accident - Thomas Dimitroff and his team of scouts have no uckfing idea how to find offensive linemen - they cannot do it unless they have a top 10 pick.

Dam

[Power I]

100% agree G-Dawg. Clearly I'm more a fan of power football, but the ZBS can work very well with the right players. Those players won't be brought in under Dimitroff.

I still have faith in this past draft developing a few starters and hopefully a star in Beasley. Beasley might move to linebacker sooner rather than later, but Quinn should've been hired along with a new GM for a new era. This feels like a lost year because it feels like a tryout year for every player, which is what I thought before the season started, but the 5-0 start got my hopes up.

Looking back at the season the way I thought it was makes it easier, but we didn't find anything. Freeman might be a gem, but I'm still hesitant on that. Maybe Allen is a starter. The rest haven't proven anything and in my opinion, it's time to hit the reset button on personnel and the FO. It should've been done last year, but oh well.

We need a new FO and to build around Jake Matthews, Desmond Trufant, Vic Beasley, and Julio Jones. Matt Bosher, Devonta Freeman, Robert Alford, and Grady Jarrett are keepers. Jalen Collins, Tevin Coleman, and Justin Hardy deserve time to develop. Literally all other players can go.*

*Matt Ryan won't go, but he is NOT a solution to the problems. He requires everything around him to make him better and not the other way around, which doesn't justify his contract. He will be here next year and if it's more of the same he needs to go.

[g-dawg]

But he did build a winner. When he took over we looked like a team that was years away from even bring competitive, but he turned it around in 1 off-season and we had the best cumulative regular season record in the NFC from 2008-12. OK so we didn't turn that success in to a SB win during those 5 years, but that can easily happen to good teams.

Why can't TD's critics at least acknowledge that and at least give him some credit and respect for 2008-12, rather than pretending that the good things never happened and talking about TD like we've been 4-12 for the last 8 seasons? I'd have a lot more respect for their position if they did. Too many people see issues in black and white terms, and lack the capacity to see or ackowledge the merits in both sides of an argument and to recognise that the truth almost always lies somewhere in the gray area between the extreme positions.

It is perfectly fair to question where we've gone wrong since 2012, but sweeping broad statements like "TD can't draft" and "TD can't evaluate talent" are idiotic and over simplistic. Aside from the fact that comparisons with TD's peers show otherwise, the issue is nowhere near as black and white as that. The moves we've made were made for a reason, and have to be looked at in their proper context at the time they were made.

As I see it, the early success simply wouldn't have happened if we "couldn't evaluate talent" or "couldn't draft". The real issue here is how a team can rebuild so quickly with such considerable success, but then totally fail to sustain and build upon that success. Is it down to a flawed building/re-building philosophy (selling out to win immediately, trading away too many picks, not building from the inside out etc), a lack of continuity in the staff and schemes, misfortune with injuries to too many high picks, poor coaching hires, or did our FO and scouting department decline in their ability to evaluate players? If it is the former then you also have to question how much of that is down to the GM, or whether he is being dictated to or put under pressure from above?

I have not seen anyone - and I'm as big a critic of TD as anyone - deny that Dimitroff helped turn franchise around and made great moves in 2008 - he did that and no one can take that away from him. Drafting Matt Ryan was the single best move in the 50 year franchise history of our Falcons - no doubt! What is funny is I am very critical of Dimitroff now but I give him credit for the Julio move - which was an obvious winner - but you crap on that move and say it was forced and one of reasons Falcons are struggling - I find that ironic.

The problem is - for the Dimitroff fanboys - the success the Falcons had from 2008-2012 is not a lifetime achievement award that is supposed to mean you have job security for another 10 years thereafter. Even in the course of the Falcons unprecedented 5 year winning run, the seeds were being sown for the Falcons ultimate destruction. While Dimitroff gets credit for presiding over the 5 years of success - it was not like he personally had 5 years of success - many of those draft and free agency years were bad.

Like all employees, you get judged on the totality of your tenure but being the "Sales God Hero" of your company in 2008 does not mean you get to stay employed if you have not sold your weight the last three years.

Dimitroff has obvious weaknesses - OL/DL/LB - he has shown absolutely ZERO proficiency to draft those positions - in 8 years. The sample size is too big to ignore - it is not a fluke that he has been so bad in those areas - it is a lack of ability to pick those positions. Dimitroff has to be held accountable - and it is not to punish him but it is to find someone that can help this franchise.

[Power I]

Dimitroff gets credit from me for three players: Matt Ryan (it was the right move, regardless of my current feelings), Michael Turner, and Tony Gonzalez.

Michael Turner was the most underrated move he ever made. Without Turner, Dimitroff and Smith didn't even make it to the 5 year mark and we all would've been having this conversation 4 years ago.

[insight]

But he did build a winner. When he took over we looked like a team that was years away from even bring competitive, but he turned it around in 1 off-season and we had the best cumulative regular season record in the NFC from 2008-12. OK so we didn't turn that success in to a SB win during those 5 years, but that can easily happen to good teams.

Why can't TD's critics at least acknowledge that and at least give him some credit and respect for 2008-12, rather than pretending that the good things never happened and talking about TD like we've been 4-12 for the last 8 seasons? I'd have a lot more respect for their position if they did. Too many people see issues in black and white terms, and lack the capacity to see or ackowledge the merits in both sides of an argument and to recognise that the truth almost always lies somewhere in the gray area between the extreme positions.

It is perfectly fair to question where we've gone wrong since 2012, but sweeping broad statements like "TD can't draft" and "TD can't evaluate talent" are idiotic and over simplistic. Aside from the fact that comparisons with TD's peers show otherwise, the issue is nowhere near as black and white as that. The moves we've made were made for a reason, and have to be looked at in their proper context at the time they were made.

As I see it, the early success simply wouldn't have happened if we "couldn't evaluate talent" or "couldn't draft". The real issue here is how a team can rebuild so quickly with such considerable success, but then totally fail to sustain and build upon that success. Is it down to a flawed building/re-building philosophy (selling out to win immediately, trading away too many picks, not building from the inside out etc), a lack of continuity in the staff and schemes, misfortune with injuries to too many high picks, poor coaching hires, or did our FO and scouting department decline in their ability to evaluate players? If it is the former then you also have to question how much of that is down to the GM, or whether he is being dictated to or put under pressure from above?

2008 was TD's finest hour, drafting Matt Ryan and acquiring Micheal Turner through free agency. We needed both positions and they were the best players available so there is nothing real magical there.

If anything the coaching staff deserves HUGE credit for building a contender with a rookie QB and so many inherited players from prior schemes. The 2008 team was still composed with Rich Mckays players and those are the players who have withstood the test of time. This is nearly 100% TD's roster picks now and it's an absolute mess. There are talent deficiencies all over the place.

[madman88]

Hmmmm...

When looking back at old drafts, you have to remember that players become eligible for unrestricted free agency after 4 years, so you ability to keep players is limited. This article describes the 2010 draft as a second straight failure, but we found 3 guys in that draft who were more than capable long term starters (Spoon, Peters and Hawley). Plus our 2nd round pick was spent on Tony Gonzalez, who was obviously never going to still be contributing in 2015, but gave elite production in his time here. I don't remember many on here complaining about the Gonzalez trade at the time, but now people are complaining that we don't have a 2nd rounder on the team from that draft.

As for 2012, much of our value in that draft was traded away in 2011 for Julio Jones. When you trade away your 1st and 4th picks in a draft and are also picking close to the back end of each round, there is a limit to amount of talent that you will come away with. We didn't have a single pick in the top 50, and only picked twice in the top 150 picks of the draft. The majority of OL selected in the 3rd round of the draft don't even become full-time starter in this league. We spent our top 2 pick on linemen, but then got rid of the OL coach who would have been heavily involved n their scouting/selection and have changed blocking systems (twice?) since then.

The same goes for the front 7 Defensive players picked in 2013-14. They were picked because they were supposed to fit Nolan's 3-4 hybrid defense, but within 2 years Nolan is gone and we are now looking for different player types to fit a 4-3 under system.

When you draft players for specific schemes, but then change coaches and schemes, it is hardly surprising that some of your players will no longer be good scheme fits and the new coaches will want their own guys. That is part of the price you pay for having a coaching merry-go-round, rather than establishing continuity.

you talk like wer

Thank you, UKFalcon. You have nailed it. This franchise has never established a brand because it can not decide what it wants to be. Coaches and philosophies are changed far too often, leaving a continuous mismatch between personnel and schemes.I know that I am in the minority, but I'd prefer to stick with Shanahan for at least one more season. If ther is truly a rift between him and Ryan, then I would reluctantly let Shanny go. But, if Ryan approves, I'd like to keep Shanny and continue to build the right OL for the job.

you talk like we're the browns..

Blank is one of the more patient owners in the NFL.

Some of y'all just need to accept the fact that TD hasn't done a good job.

Some need to realize that TD is the catylist of why this team Is struggling.

The more and more some ppl try to defend him, the more and more the logic makes no sense.

I seen someone bring up Nolan and the scheme.

What players did TD bring in to help Nolan out?

Two UDFA LBS in worrilow and bartu.

Two CBS, alf and tru

Goodman a rookie DL

I still feel sorry for Nolan and what he had to work with, and y'all ignore the lack of talent and blame the coach. Smh