How do you feel about itto/hill/Ollison/Barner going into 2020?

[Godzilla1985]

On 1/10/2020 at 3:51 PM, athell said:

Not great.  Ito next up to go.  We need to draft one.  Our last 2nd or 3rd imo.

Who are your targets at those picks?

[Ergo Proxy]

On 1/10/2020 at 7:45 PM, TheFatboi said:

Needs to be Freeman/Hill/Ito/Ollison and Barner comes back as returner again. 

If Free restructures, I'm good. I don't want to take a RB unless we have to.

I'd much rather go interior OL/future C in round 2 than try to grab a RB this year unless it's a clear BPA type situation.

Of course, we might be taking a TE if we let Hooper walk.

Honestly, that's the rub with all these mocks pre-draft...

A run on a position leaves remaining guy not the BPA at a now thin/dry position that could leave you overdrafting by position based drafting regardless of board.

Sometimes we are mocking based on perceived needs/roster focus and ignore big board/possibility of short-term vet allowing you to avoid over-drafting a need and getting BPA; a guy you are targeting on big board basically with however you grade them out.

[Knight of God]

5 hours ago, Falcons Fan MVP said:

I think they trust Freeman to block more than the other running backs. He is also a good receiver.

Like I said. We are a passing team. No defense or run needed

[Rise]

On 1/10/2020 at 3:42 PM, Redswingline2 said:

We will draft a RB in the first 3 rounds this year.  I really feel that we could see one in the 2nd round.

Falcons may trade-up for a second 1st Rounder for the RB they want. They "need to hit a home run" there. Dirk  tends to stick with the established and experienced RBforbmost of the snaps. Whoever that will be, he will start.

[Lethal]

12 hours ago, Godzilla1985 said:

Who are your targets at those picks?

Dobbins or Harris, tho who knows how the board plays out.

[Boise Falcon Fan]

I'm all in for Swift.  Bring him home TD! He'll make the offense better, and he'll help the defense by keeping the other teams off of the field.

[isproab]

Like we have a guy that is maybe 2nd string and a bunch of "others".  I do like Ito.  I'm concerned that he get blasted in pass pro and is done for the rest of the season.  Hill, Ollison and Barner and not starting RB's.

I'm a big fan of J.K. Dobbins and Swift.  I see no reason why they don't go in round 1.  I have seen Swift mocked in the 1st and JK in the second.  If I don't have a guy I like at 16, I would slide back a couple of times to get one of these RBs.  Not sure if the Falcons are willing to go OL in the 1st again.  I'm not sold on Gross-Matos yet.  I would like to see how he works out, but I do think he has the potential to fit for Atl.  Epenesa i'm not big on.  Brown, Simmons, Kinlaw...none of them may be there.  I really like Murray, would he be there and would the Falcons take LB?  Depends on what they do with Campbell.

[Tribal Chief]

Since this dude is respected so much I figured I’d drop this. 
 

 

[Lethal]

Just now, ya_boi_j said:

Since this dude is respected so much I figured I’d drop this. 
 

 

I agree with him, but I also have concerns about Free's longevity if he is still here.  Ito same concern and I am not sold on Hill or Ollie as a lead dog.  I am down to fix the coordinator and blocking AND bring in a dynamic back.  No reason I guess to not do both considering the depth of the rb class imo.

[Tribal Chief]

1 minute ago, athell said:

I agree with him, but I also have concerns about Free's longevity if he is still here.  Ito same concern and I am not sold on Hill or Ollie as a lead dog.  I am down to fix the coordinator and blocking AND bring in a dynamic back.  No reason I guess to not do both considering the depth of the rb class imo.

RBBC and feed the hot hand. Without fixing the scheme itself and improving the blocking, it doesn’t matter who you put back there. There’s no Saquon Barkley in this draft. Probably won’t be for a few years. You don’t need a true lead back, just need a consistent run game. 

[Lethal]

5 minutes ago, ya_boi_j said:

RBBC and feed the hot hand. Without fixing the scheme itself and improving the blocking, it doesn’t matter who you put back there. There’s no Saquon Barkley in this draft. Probably won’t be for a few years. You don’t need a true lead back, just need a consistent run game. 

Yea, I am hoping Quinn's comments over the run game hold true come next season because Dirk sure as **** needs all the help he can get to get the run game going.  You know how much I love Free, just seems like old boy can't play a full slate anymore.  Ito is even more prone.  Think we need some young, fresh blood back there.

[Tribal Chief]

1 minute ago, athell said:

Yea, I am hoping Quinn's comments over the run game hold true come next season because Dirk sure as **** needs all the help he can get to get the run game going.  You know how much I love Free, just seems like old boy can't play a full slate anymore.  Ito is even more prone.  Think we need some young, fresh blood back there.

On the flip side those young, fresh legs can get drafted and suffer the same fate. There’s no guaranteed fix, just a whole lot of wants lol. Each time the line actually blocked worth a dam every running back involved performed well, even Free. Lindstrom seems to be the key to a productive run game. A true decision is going to have to be made at LG. Peeps keep saying sign this guy or that guy, I haven’t looked but I don’t think it helps the cap to cut brown or carpenter until next offseason so probably stuck with them. 

[Lethal]

2 minutes ago, ya_boi_j said:

On the flip side those young, fresh legs can get drafted and suffer the same fate. There’s no guaranteed fix, just a whole lot of wants lol. Each time the line actually blocked worth a dam every running back involved performed well, even Free. Lindstrom seems to be the key to a productive run game. A true decision is going to have to be made at LG. Peeps keep saying sign this guy or that guy, I haven’t looked but I don’t think it helps the cap to cut brown or carpenter until next offseason so probably stuck with them. 

For sure.  I think Lindstrom being back there full time will have an overall positive impact on the line, especially Kaleb.  If we can shore up our LG spot, that would go a long way.  One of the two can be cut, and I don't remember which off the top of my head but one of them can be...want to say Brown but I have gotten it wrong before so not 100%.  I liked Gono back there, not sure whose wife he doinked but he never saw the field.  I think a lot is also going to depend on Mack.  He did not look good early on and while he came on strong at the end, it does give cause for concern.

Point remains, I really don't trust Dirk to get the run game going...I'll believe it when I see it.

[Tribal Chief]

6 minutes ago, athell said:

For sure.  I think Lindstrom being back there full time will have an overall positive impact on the line, especially Kaleb.  If we can shore up our LG spot, that would go a long way.  One of the two can be cut, and I don't remember which off the top of my head but one of them can be...want to say Brown but I have gotten it wrong before so not 100%.  I liked Gono back there, not sure whose wife he doinked but he never saw the field.  I think a lot is also going to depend on Mack.  He did not look good early on and while he came on strong at the end, it does give cause for concern.

Point remains, I really don't trust Dirk to get the run game going...I'll believe it when I see it.

One thing to remember. If the team falls behind fast, you gotta know to expect them to ease away from the run. It’s going to instantly turn into a 40 attempt game with a few runs sprinkled in. That’s one of the main factors that no one has mentioned. During the final stretch they ran the ball a ton more per game compared to the first 8 when they were losing in every game

[Lethal]

1 minute ago, ya_boi_j said:

One thing to remember. If the team falls behind fast, you gotta know to expect them to ease away from the run. It’s going to instantly turn into a 40 attempt game with a few runs sprinkled in. That’s one of the main factors that no one has mentioned. During the final stretch they ran the ball a ton more per game compared to the first 8 when they were losing in every game

Oh for sure.  I made reference at one point that Matt's record when attempting 30 or fewer passes was something like 40-7 or something ridiculous.  Gotta get out of the gate quick, mistake free, and let the game come to us.  We forced way too much last year due to early brain farts.

[Tribal Chief]

3 minutes ago, athell said:

Oh for sure.  I made reference at one point that Matt's record when attempting 30 or fewer passes was something like 40-7 or something ridiculous.  Gotta get out of the gate quick, mistake free, and let the game come to us.  We forced way too much last year due to early brain farts.

Yup. That played a huge part in the lack of run game. There’s only a few teams in the league that are going to continue running when losing buy 2 or more scores

[Ergo Proxy]

6 hours ago, ya_boi_j said:

Yup. That played a huge part in the lack of run game. There’s only a few teams in the league that are going to continue running when losing buy 2 or more scores

IMO we just didn’t incorporate a solid run game early in games consistently as well but the defense getting blown out by halftime...

Same tweet by that guy had a response:

If we going to a more bruising style yet with Morgan being the OL coach still we just gonna wear a new kid out fast. Fix the root and add a RB if it’s right pick at the right spot but yeah...

I’m leaning towards keeping Free; restructure?, and hoping to keep Hill. You can’t count on Ito from a health standpoint. Hasn’t made it through a single NFL season so far without IR...

I’d rather invest elsewhere than RB this season. Fix OL, address defense and figure out if TE actually becomes a need depending on Hoop. Prioritizing RB right now for Dirk and Morgan; whether ZBS which makes RBBC make more sense or inside zone/gap hybrid from this year, just seems overkill UNLESS you just a missing a RB alone and have all the other pieces.

To me, we need another 2nd or 3rd rounder on Defense/OL or again TE pending Hoop, etc.

[Tribal Chief]

2 hours ago, Schwarzwald said:

IMO we just didn’t incorporate a solid run game early in games consistently as well but the defense getting blown out by halftime...

Same tweet by that guy had a response:

If we going to a more bruising style yet with Morgan being the OL coach still we just gonna wear a new kid out fast. Fix the root and add a RB if it’s right pick at the right spot but yeah...

I’m leaning towards keeping Free; restructure?, and hoping to keep Hill. You can’t count on Ito from a health standpoint. Hasn’t made it through a single NFL season so far without IR...

I’d rather invest elsewhere than RB this season. Fix OL, address defense and figure out if TE actually becomes a need depending on Hoop. Prioritizing RB right now for Dirk and Morgan; whether ZBS which makes RBBC make more sense or inside zone/gap hybrid from this year, just seems overkill UNLESS you just a missing a RB alone and have all the other pieces.

To me, we need another 2nd or 3rd rounder on Defense/OL or again TE pending Hoop, etc.

Hard to incorporate anything efficiently when you’re losing every week. 

[CraigSmackDaddy]

Not good.  Ito has potential but seems to stay banged up.  Love Free but probably time to cut ties.  We need to draft a back in the 2nd or 3rd IMO.  

[Ergo Proxy]

11 hours ago, ya_boi_j said:

Hard to incorporate anything efficiently when you’re losing every week. 

True but even in games we had leads it was spotty at best.

Now, when we finally got a solid starting OG in Lindstrom the unit took off; albeit against weaker defenses.

However, just to contrast with/without look at the games vs Panthers; who had the worst DVOA run D in the league when we played them each time (idk their end rank)...

In Carolina, with no Lindstrom and coming of beating NO with a better ground effort...we were shut down on the ground but won because we had a great defensive showing and pretty good pass game.

In Atlanta, Lindstrom comes in and we run for the most we have all year.

[Tribal Chief]

Saw this early and pulled up some footage. Unless he skyrockets he’s projected to go between rounds 2-3. He’s the only one I would draft. Y’all can have your pure bruisers

 

 

[caponine]

4 minutes ago, ya_boi_j said:

Saw this early and pulled up some footage. Unless he skyrockets he’s projected to go between rounds 2-3. He’s the only one I would draft. Y’all can have your pure bruisers

 

 

Agreed !! Get this man 

[Draftnut57]

On 1/10/2020 at 3:56 PM, k-train said:

I feel like Hill has developed nicely into a solid backup. Don't think he would do anything special w/ the lion's share of the carries, but as a reserve he brings some nice things to the party. Could be like a faster Jason Snelling for us.

I'm hopeful for Ollison, but am far from convinced he's "the power back we need." I feel like too many folks here are giving him a pass just because of his size. Everyone got so wrapped up in the idea of getting a bigger back that they seemed to not care whether that big back was actually any good or not. So far, his vision looks absolutely terrible. I fully understand that it's hard to gauge anything from his numbers since he was mostly getting goal line carries, but still... that 2.3 YPC isn't pretty. To my eyes, he never really looked particularly punishing or powerful, but like I said, I'm hopeful he'll improve in year two.

Ito Smith never did enough when he has been healthy to make me think he's ever gonna be anything more that a backup. Sure, I suppose he could a offer similar skillset & serve as a poor man's Freeman to an extent... but is that even the kind of back Koetter wants/needs for his scheme? I think if we cut Free there's probably more to it than just financial ramifications. It'd likely also have to do with wanting to feature a different style of RB moving forward. So I would think there'd be very little reason to keep Ito around if you're getting rid of Freeman, as neither would really be a fit for what the team would be doing.

Barner is maybe worth keeping due to return abilities (which means he'd be active every week & thus can be an emergency backup). That said, what he offers outside of return duties is minimal & for the big plays he made as a return specialist, he also made plenty of head scratching decisions... some of which were nearly disastrous, and not things a guy with his experience should be doing at this point. I don't think he outright should be awarded a spot, and should have to again beat out competition to earn that spot on the roster.

Thanks for your thoughts ,, Saved me a lot of typing ,, Because this is just about exactly how I feel about our backs also.. I know I'm Hill's biggest fan .. But he has given me more reason to be every time he gets a chance to run the ball. I say they should saddle him up and ride him for at least a half of a game.. Ratchet it up with him and see what he can do when he is the starter.. I believer he can be a very good starter, And don't think we have seen his best play yet simply because they haven't given him a whole game to play.

[FalconFanSince1969]

2 minutes ago, Draftnut57 said:

Thanks for your thoughts ,, Saved me a lot of typing ,, Because this is just about exactly how I feel about our backs also.. I know I'm Hill's biggest fan .. But he has given me more reason to be every time he gets a chance to run the ball. I say they should saddle him up and ride him for at least a half of a game.. Ratchet it up with him and see what he can do when he is the starter.. I believer he can be a very good starter, And don't think we have seen his best play yet simply because they haven't given him a whole game to play.

He had two whole games to play

21 carries 60 yards

15 carries 30 yards.

 

So amazing.

[MasterBateser]

14 minutes ago, Draftnut57 said:

Thanks for your thoughts ,, Saved me a lot of typing ,, Because this is just about exactly how I feel about our backs also.. I know I'm Hill's biggest fan .. But he has given me more reason to be every time he gets a chance to run the ball. I say they should saddle him up and ride him for at least a half of a game.. Ratchet it up with him and see what he can do when he is the starter.. I believer he can be a very good starter, And don't think we have seen his best play yet simply because they haven't given him a whole game to play.

 

12 minutes ago, FalconFanSince1969 said:

He had two whole games to play

21 carries 60 yards

15 carries 30 yards.

 

So amazing.

Gonna repeat it because he keeps ignoring it.