The 2018 Falcons: My Final Take

[stingbee 290]

After all the dust and emotions settle, you see a few thing that affected the team the most.

If you look at the data, couple of things stand out. The Falcons defense allowed a lot of rushing yards which totally lead to losing some games (Cin, Saints, Cleveland, so forth). Atlanta defense couldn’t stop the run gap and runners running through the middle. The main culprit is losing your backbone of your defense by losing 3 players within the first 2 games. We also lost Grady for 2 or 3 games if I’m not mistaken. Losing Adrian Clayborn and Poe didn’t help the situation either. Senate played well, but he is a rookie and someone who is still learning. 

Solution: Getting Neal and Rico will bring back that stability in the backbone with a healthy Jones. Adding another big body will be key to stop the run. We have already seen the defense picking up steam after the return of Jones and adding Irvin to the mix. The draft should give the Falcons another body in the middle. 

Lack Of Rushing The Opposing QB: Although the Falcons have shown moments of great plays, this part of the defense needs to become more consistent and impactful. We need more sacks and more disruption on opposing QB’s. The loss of injuries had some impact on this part of the game.

Other Highlights:

VIC Beasley: I think the lack of edge rushing or consistency in this department affected the overall performance of defense. VIC is a decent player and a good guy. I think we finally discovered how to use him- less snaps and more of a key rotational player. The Falcons will get a decent bargain if they can restructure his contract, lower his Cap hit, and use him accordingly. He is not a bust like some of you claim, but he is also not worth $12 million or so. VIC knows that and the Falcons have leverage. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 4 year extension with lower Cap hit and lower salary. They could make his compensation around bonuses- incentives based on performance. 

Grady Jarret: He needs to be retained because he is a key player that is shown improvement year over year and plays with integrity and passion. We will get him signed for 5 years or so with very Cap friendly contract.

Bruce Irvin: He is similar to the likes of John Abraham for the Falcons— he brings experience, mentorship, and consistency. Sign him for 2 years with incentives and bonuses. 

Cornerback: We cannot get rid of Alford or Trufant at the same time. The Falcons have invested a lot of money on Tru. Both Corners were affected by major catastrophic injuries to the secondary that put more stress on their coverage. Alford will be gone in my book, and TRU will still anchor the cornerback position. Their is too much Dead Money on that contract. 

The Draft: The Falcons really need to add 2-3 major contributors to the defense to get back to the Top 10. They already have talent, but need to add depth. 

OL: This is the first priority for the Offense. They need to restructure Schraeder contract or let him go. Andre Levitre is gone due to injuries. Ben Garland could be a casualty as well or kept as a cheap insurance.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Falcons adding 2 new OL via draft or FA.

OL Cordinator: I wouldn’t just replace Sark just for the sake of change. You really need to make sure the replacement is not going to be too disruptive for the offense and especially Matt Ryan. I say keep Sark unless you find someone that is worth the change. Sark will be even more comfortable and in-sync with the position. Matt Ryan has that comfort zone with him and they have a good partnership. Matt Ryan is on the cusp of 40 touchdowns and the offense is good on 3rd down conversions. The running game was deeply affected by losing Freeman and the OL miscues due to injuries and Shraeder losing his touch. If they can fix this, Sark’s offense would have been better in terms of the running game. We fix the running game and OL, we will be a Top 3 offense. 

RB Position: Will the Falcons keep Freeman and sign Coleman? Will they add another big back via draft? This is the most fluid position due to Freeman’s injury and the uncertainty about him. The Falcons don’t want to go another season with Freeman getting injuried and then relying on Ito or Hill or another rookie. If the Falcons keep Coleman, then Freeman could be dropped by June 1st.  The Falcons will monitor Freeman’s offseason progress before signing Coleman— before Free Agency starts.  

Summary: The Falcons will be back in the playoffs because the team is only missing on a few positions. This team is not resetting because they already have the talent. The brotherhood and team bond is there— it showed during the last 2 wins. The team didn’t surrender and kept on fighting. You don’t have any drama in the locker. The guys are supporting each other.  Some fans make it sound like it is a doomsday scenario if the Falcons don’t fire a lot of players or staff. This team is better positioned than most teams with the losing record. 

I’m looking forward to 2019 and I believe in Thomas, Quinn and the rest of the organization addressing the needs. This is a good team with a solid organization. This team will reevaluate and do another due deligence. DQ knows it that next year is going to be very important for him and his regime in Atlanta. He knows he cannot afford having another losing record with the talent on hand. 

 

Happy Holidays!!!

Edited December 29, 2018 by stingbee

[Falconsin2012 8,487]

Nice write up. I would like a new RB coach and WR coach.  Move Morris to DB coach and Asst Head Coach like he was in 2016.  Quinn needs an experienced coach to help in-game

Edited December 28, 2018 by Falconsin2012

[falconidae 17,649]

Don't see that the Falcons have much leverage with Beasley. If they rescind the 5th year tag, he'll be an FA and someone will overpay him.

[FalconFanSince1970 18,115]

6 minutes ago, falconidae said:

Don't see that the Falcons have much leverage with Beasley. If they rescind the 5th year tag, he'll be an FA and someone will overpay him.

Beasley needs to go off Sunday for me to want him back and to boost his value on the open market. He's been pedestrian outside of the year he took advantage of Sombrero and Robinson. I think he belongs in a 3-4 and would be more effective.

[Boise Falcon Fan 785]

8 minutes ago, falconidae said:

Don't see that the Falcons have much leverage with Beasley. If they rescind the 5th year tag, he'll be an FA and someone will overpay him.

Agreed.  He will not be back, because someone will pay him.  He has a big name, and just a couple of years ago, he had a bunch of sacks.  Sacks = Money

[Boise Falcon Fan 785]

 I thought it was a pretty good write up, but I do have some issues.  The defenses inability to stop the run, and the lack of a pass rush is more on the poor defensive line play.  Sure losing your stud LB didn't help, and the safeties are very important, but the lack of consistent, inside rush was the biggest deficiency with this defense IMHO.

[Caddieman 1,031]

Coleman is good as gone. I like him but if he doesn’t have a hole the size of a Mack truck, he goes down with one hand on him. Free is 10 times the better runner than him. And get ready to see Grady walk, he wants Arron Donald money! That ain’t happening. And we got to pay JJ with two years on his contract. If we redo JJ we ain’t going to have space for a big Grady contract.

[kiwifalcon 10,429]

2 minutes ago, Caddieman said:

Coleman is good as gone. I like him but if he doesn’t have a hole the size of a Mack truck, he goes down with one hand on him. Free is 10 times the better runner than him. And get ready to see Grady walk, he wants Arron Donald money! That ain’t happening. And we got to pay JJ with two years on his contract. If we redo JJ we ain’t going to have space for a big Grady contract.

How do you know that is true with the Julio and Grady contracts?

Do you know something else we don’t?

Do you have prior knowledge of the contracts people coming and going and how all the money works 2-3 years down the track?

This is how this works most of it is all timing and these contracts pretty much can be made to look like what they want to look like.

The idea we can’t sign a couple of guys because of speculation at best is out there saying this is grossly over rated and just not correct.

[Caddieman 1,031]

3 hours ago, kiwifalcon said:

How do you know that is true with the Julio and Grady contracts?

Do you know something else we don’t?

Do you have prior knowledge of the contracts people coming and going and how all the money works 2-3 years down the track?

This is how this works most of it is all timing and these contracts pretty much can be made to look like what they want to look like.

The idea we can’t sign a couple of guys because of speculation at best is out there saying this is grossly over rated and just not correct.

If you read the title it says “my final take” This was my take on the subject. That’s all. You disagree, good for you. Bet I’m right on Coleman.

[CraigSmackDaddy 1,605]

Good post.  I think Alford, Levitre, and Coleman are gone.  I really thought Beasley was going to have a better season.  Can’t pay him 12 mil for next season so hope the FO figures out a way to lower his hit, I’d still like to keep him.  

[Pacific_Falcon 2,997]

Can't disagree with much, but something needs to change with the coaching staff, starting with that bum Armstrong. I don't know what to do about MM and Sark, particularly MM because I don't know if another DC would make a difference given the scheme. Someone else posted that MM's points per game given up as a DC is actually pretty good, but I don't know, when I'm watching the games there is apparently some semblance of genius I am completely missing. With Sark, I think he's one of those 'stick to his guns' guys - he might throw an interesting play or two in there, but by and large he has a blueprint and he doesn't seem to adjust it much to how the game is going or the defense he's playing against. That part of things I have a huge problem with.

[Hibachi 435]

Somebody call Blank and hire this guy in the front office. We should win the SB by 2023

[stingbee 290]

Regardless, we will have a busy offseason with the upcoming draft and some movement in the FA market. Plus, some changes in the coaching front as well. Thomas and DQ need another good draft to keep filling the holes in the team. This is an important draft for the team to be considered as one of the contenders going forward.  

Edited December 30, 2018 by stingbee

[octoslash 9,532]

The biggest weakness on this team is the offensive line; a near-overhaul is going to have to happen or we're in for another year of poor-to-average rushing, and Matt Ryan running for his life.  Nothing is more important than protecting him, and the Falcons did a pretty bad job of it this year. 

[MAD597 5,014]

You are using injuries as to much of an excuse. Our coaches and depth need to be able to step up when we have injuries. Instead we fell apart. We need better depth all around as we saw this year, we need more size and strength on both Lines as well.

[GATXBOI 597]

Great write up hit some very key points. I think Quinn should go back to controlling the defense. Go get a proven NFL coach to run this offense. Definitely take Morris away from the WR. Draft a running back to compliment Freeman and draft and grab OL in FA. Beef up DL. Let these guys walk:Vic, Teco, Hardy, Davis, Hall, Levitre, Alford, McClain, Reed, Shelby, Garland and Shaub.

[stingbee 290]

Okey, so Sark is gone... Based on my premise, the only person that makes the dismissal valid is a guy like Gary Kubiack. He mastered this scheme the Falcons are longing for and the perfect fit. It doesn’t make sense to replace Sark with another young OC-the Falcons need stability and experience. 

Since DQ is going to do double duty, he wants the OC to be someone that is seasoned and even with HC experience. This way he will have the seasoned OC and a good Co-pilot managing the team. 

Gary Kubiack has a offense, system and a great organization with Atlanta. It would be stupid for him not to accept this opportunity with an elite QB, and other great weapons. 

 

[JeffAtl 106]

On 12/28/2018 at 2:06 PM, falconidae said:

 If they rescind the 5th year tag, he'll be an FA and someone will overpay him.

You are right, but better someone else than us.

[stingbee 290]

Just now, JeffAtl said:

You are right, but better someone else than us.

If we lose him, then I think we will be compensated via a Compensatory pick for losing him to another team. 

[JeffAtl 106]

7 minutes ago, stingbee said:

If we lose him, then I think we will be compensated via a Compensatory pick for losing him to another team. 

Unfortunately, not in this case since we picked up the option and then rescinded it. 

I wonder why there was such rush to pick up the option?  Brotherhood?

[stingbee 290]

Thx for the clarification... DQ has put a lot of time developing Vic... I think they feel like his best spot is a rotational player, not the player they had drafted for—A restructured contract should keep him here. I think he likes to stay and be part of this Brotherhood. VIC is a good guy... 

[The Vent King 1,899]

In short:

d line

o line

depth

until this all gets fixed it won’t matter what coordinators we bring in here

[Stray Dog THA GAWD 3,278]

"Welcome back, Smitty."

[Ergo Proxy 6,215]

On 12/30/2018 at 1:04 PM, GATXBOI said:

Great write up hit some very key points. I think Quinn should go back to controlling the defense. Go get a proven NFL coach to run this offense. Definitely take Morris away from the WR. Draft a running back to compliment Freeman and draft and grab OL in FA. Beef up DL. Let these guys walk:Vic, Teco, Hardy, Davis, Hall, Levitre, Alford, McClain, Reed, Shelby, Garland and Shaub.

 

5 hours ago, stingbee said:

Okey, so Sark is gone... Based on my premise, the only person that makes the dismissal valid is a guy like Gary Kubiack. He mastered this scheme the Falcons are longing for and the perfect fit. It doesn’t make sense to replace Sark with another young OC-the Falcons need stability and experience. 

Since DQ is going to do double duty, he wants the OC to be someone that is seasoned and even with HC experience. This way he will have the seasoned OC and a good Co-pilot managing the team. 

Gary Kubiack has a offense, system and a great organization with Atlanta. It would be stupid for him not to accept this opportunity with an elite QB, and other great weapons. 

 

Good takes. I also think if Kubiak is genuinely considering a coordinator return and don't know why he'd consider a Broncos return over Falcons situation.

[GATXBOI 597]

25 minutes ago, Ergo Proxy said:

 

Good takes. I also think if Kubiak is genuinely considering a coordinator return and don't know why he'd consider a Broncos return over Falcons situation.

Right