The Draftermath: AJC Edition
As a member of the dying behemoth known as print journalism, I gotta give some props to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for absolutely blowing the doors out on their draft coverage. Rather than just praise them, though, I thought I'd cull the best and most interesting bits and present them here. Without further ado:
1. Even if you want to rain destruction on Arthur Blank's mansion in the aftermath of this draft, you can't hate on Harry Douglas. The dude seems very humble and intelligent, and he's also a Falcons fan who was hoping the team would take him:
"The was the best memory that I have," said Douglas, a wide receiver from Louisville who was selected by his favorite team on Sunday.
After a stellar career at Louisville, Douglas was selected in the third round and will have a chance to compete for the slot-receiver position with the Falcons.
"It feels good," Douglas said. "I'm really proud to be an Atlanta Falcon."
Yes, it does say "the was" the best memory he had. Whatever. The important thing here is that one of his greatest life moments was when the Falcons went to a Super Bowl, even though they got creamed so badly that I actually got sick after watching it. With a lot of talent and an attitude like that, Douglas can be a successful slot receiver or better in this league. I love the pick, and I hope Dig Doug can get a chance to flash his skills this year.
2. A day and a change later, the defensive tackle situation is no longer causing me to fly into fits of rage so violent that they make Mike Tyson look like a helpless baby bird. It's still a thorny issue though, and I'm not particularly happy to hear that Kindal Moorehead and Babineaux are penciled in as starters. I realize Trey Lewis is hurt, but you can't honestly expect Moorehead to start over him all season long, can you? Lewis is, in my humble opinion, the most skilled defensive tackle on the roster right now. He'll need a chance to bear that out over an entire season, yes, but he was perhaps the greatest steal of last year's draft and should get every chance to get his job back when he returns from injury. In the meantime, I pity any team dumb enough not to pound it up the middle against us.
3. Safety is going to be an absolutely critical area for this team next year, and Thomas DeCoud is going to be a key cog. Steve Wyche writes that DeCoud is a free/strong hybrid who could end up taking the backup job in either spot.
To me, this is an incredibly easy decision before anyone even gets on the field. Jimmy Williams was kind of a wasted pick and hasn't shown enough to indicate that he can be an upper-echelon free safety at the NFL level. On the other hand, you have athletic freak Daren Stone, who in very limited chances last year looked like he could really lock down the position. DeCoud should definitely take over Jimmy's spot and be groomed to steal Erik Coleman's job in a year or two. I don't know about you guys, but a DeCoud/Stone sounds pretty goddamn awesome to me.
4. Mark Bradley nails it here, calling for Falcons fans to believe in Dimitroff and to believe in this draft. While I find that hard to do considering that reasonable team building expectations weren't completely met, we all were hopeful before this. All we can really do is hang on for the ride and hope for the best. Failing that, the best we can do is all get roaring drunk.
5. This isn't completely AJC related, but I would like to know who your favorite pick of the draft was. Last year, I was extremely fond of Stone and David Irons, and this year I have to put my lot in with Harry Douglas. How about you guys?
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You've gotta like Douglas
Local guy, always been a fan of the team, all that stuff. He was a big hit with the ESPN crew, for what its worth. I believe Jaworski’s quote was “I dont like this pick, I LOVE this pick”. Yesterday, he was going on about how in all the film he watched of Brohm (and say what you will about ESPN, but Jaworski can break down film), Douglas’s abilities were the thing that jumped out at him again and again. Carter said he had a similar, but more polished, skill set than Wes Welker at this point. It would be nice to have a reliable slot man who can catch the ball on the move on a slant or a crossing pattern. That is something we haven’t had nearly enough of in Atlanta over the past few years.
by SG Standard on
Apr 29, 2008 9:01 AM EDT
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Sam Baker
My reasons for liking this move in spite of all the objections:
1. Of all our needs coming into the draft the greatest was LT.
2. If healthy, Baker could be an immediate starter.
3. Baker would definitely have been taken by the Steelers or Texans.
4. All remaining tackles will be RT or projects at LT at best.
Falcon Fans UNITE!
by Blue Falcon on
Apr 29, 2008 12:36 PM EDT
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BELIEVE IN DIMITROFF
After this draft I do not believe in Dimitroff, however, I am trying not to prejudge him. He did make some statements initially that gave me great hope for the future of the Falcons. The emphasis that was being place on the middle of the line of scrimmage was very invigorating and I believed that this administration had its head on straight. The current draft did not strengthen the line of scrimmage and Falcon Fans are looking at the same Offensive and Defensive Lines (with the addition of “BACKUP DEFENSIVE TACKLES”) that we have seen before. Coaching along can not make better blockers and tacklers at this point. However, after this draft we are given the bull that the Coaches now like the makeup of the Offensive and Defensive lines (What a crap!).
Personalities does not win games and in this case might lose more ticketholders!
I am going to purchase not 2 season tickets but 8 in an attempt to keep my friends and associates interested in the Falcons because it has gotten much worse than before the draft!
by remoley on
Apr 30, 2008 3:41 PM EDT
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