Official Atlanta Falcons Thread

It didn't take long for the news to go bad. McClure hurt himself stretching this morning.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/s.../2008/07/28/mcclure_falcons_carted_field.html

Hutchins is also hurt.

 

He obviously needs to spend a little more time stretching in the offseason. Doesn't sound like it's too bad though.

 

I thought this was a pretty interesting article. Football Outsiders are comparing Turner and Norwood. Basically, they say Turner won't outplay Norwood and we wasted money signing him.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/2008/07/28/ramblings/every-play-counts/6402/

http://www.ajc.com/services/content...sign_jackson.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 Good news! Grady Jackson is a Falcon again!!!

 

At first I wondered why they signed Turner, but, Norwood's health can be suspect.

I'm still not sure that he was the right pick up, but we can't be sure until the season is underway.

 

Hutchins is out for the year. Dang!! Glad to have Grady back, though!

 

Ouch.

 

Chevis Jackson has the ability to step up- look for him to do so in this cover 2 system. The nickelback position will be a toss up between the rest of the CBs, but I guess Grimes has a good shot at winning it because our staff are really high on him.

 

Took my son and nephew to training camp yesterday. It was hot as a snitch out there but we had a good time. I didn't really get to focus too much on the play of specific guys because I was trying to keep up with the kids but I watched the QB's as much as possible. Ryan looked good sometimes and others, not so much. Actually, Shockley looked pretty damned good and I'm not high on him anyway.

 

Yeah, word in training camp is Shockley is looking really good and might even be competing for that starting quarterback job. I can see him making the roster and Harrington getting cut, but that's just me, and I've always liked Shockley. BTW, how did the other QBs look, RonMexico?

 

^ Ryan looked like a rookie. He would make a good throw then a bad one. He looks like he can make them all though but they didn't work on any real deep stuff. Redamn looked pretty good. I didn't notice Harrington that much but I was really trying to focus on Ryan.

 

Hopefully Harrington sucks so we can keep Shockley. Sounds harsh, but we need a decent back up who has a shot at having a breakout season. I don't think Harrington will get any better than he is now. He knows how to motivate the players, but I don't think he can really run an offense. Thanks for the update, RM.

 

Really wouldn't mind seeing them getting rid of Joey Sunshine. I heard on a local talk show that he is tocked b/c he feels he is entitled to at least be the #2, if not the #1. WTF?

 

^ Entitled? Release his butt now.

 

On Camp apparently Ryan is further showing inability on long passes and really floating them, any truth on this?

Signing Grady Jackson is the best news this team has had in along time,we now atleats have 1 viable vet in the middle.

 

I've read that Ryan's been floating some and zipping some in there due to inconsistent footwork. I'm sure he's just pressing a bit. Once he gets used to the speed of the defenders, it will be all right.

 

Yeah, he wasn't floating crap last night. He was throwing too strong, but once he settled down, he was alright.

 

Falcons looked better than expected from this fan's perspective. I guess it's easy to start believing all of the negativity in the national media if you hear it long enough.

I thought they spread the ball around nicely. A bit more passing than I anticipated. I would like to have seen Turner run it a bit more. Thought the OL played well enough for the 1st game. And even though the defense got burned on the ground a good bit, I thought they played with a lot of aggression and spirit. Something I didn't see much of last season.

All in all, good game... good start to the pre-season.

 

Agreed. I was really happy with the way most of the young guys did. Grimes looked good, Lofton and Beirmann both forced fumbles. Chevis Jackson and Fontenot got in some nice plays. Ryan looked poised and even called an audible on his first play. Baker protected well. Overall, the team is ahead of where I expected. The only negative I can say was that Weems is the goat of the game with all the drops and Elam missed a couple of field goals, though they were long ones.

 

The defense is looking very good so far, and as much as I though bringing Van Gorder in was a mistake, his play calling looks good so far. Even though Payton wasn't in the game last night, the defense was impressive.

Dunno about the playcalling in the redzone. We have Turner as out power back, and we were trying to bounce him outside, and pound Norwood up the middle. Also hope the WRs get better hands before the season begins. Other than White, they haven't impressed.

 

Some of the drops could be due to the rotating QBs. Once we settle on a starter, I would expect some improvement. I have been overjoyed by our DBs in the past two games. Grimes continues to show why Deangelo Hall was expendable, and Chevis Jackson, Fontenot, and some of the other new players have shown flashes of being competent starters.

I'm not saying we'll be pushing for a playoff spot, but a 8-8 record is a very real possibility.