Falcons Place CB Brian Williams On Injured Reserve, Sign S Jamaal Fudge

by Dave Choate on Oct 20, 2009 5:21 PM EDT in Falcons News

All we can really do at this point is wish Brian Williams well with his recovery and move on. With the Dallas Cowboys and their potentially potent passing packages on the way, the Falcons are going to need to put their best players on the field Sunday and are making moves toward that end.

First off, re-signing Jamaal Fudge is a good move. Fudge is familiar with the system and is not a total liability against either the pass or the run, so he can fill in at safety in a pinch. If the team wants to do something really creative with Thomas DeCoud, like play him at corner in nickel packages, Fudge can take a few snaps at free safety without killing us. Even if they don't decide to do that, we're not exactly loaded up with safety depth and William "C4" Moore's condition is unknown until at least tomorrow. I'm good with this.

What will be most crucial of all is how Brent Grimes plays and how Chevis Jackson, Tye Hill and Chris Owens step up now that Williams is gone. Grimes was picked on by announcers and pundits over the course of the last couple of weeks, but I've thought he's had a successful season so far and should be able to keep that up going forward. It's what happens after Chris Houston (he's another story entirely) and Grimes that will be closely watched this week.

My best guess is that Chevis Jackson ends up getting the bulk of the snaps to replace Williams, at least initially. If he plays well there, he can stave off Tye Hill and establish himself as the cornerback we have all been hoping he would be. If he doesn't, the team will turn to Hill, and they might get him involved a bit anyways just to see what he can do. It's not an ideal situation on paper, but thankfully life rarely works out in the way of black of white words. Coach Mike Smith has also said Hill will get his fair chance to compete, so I'm really working on a gut feeling here.

Weigh in, if you would.

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150 pounds.

Now that I’m done weighing in, I’ll give my opinion. :P

Chevis Jackson has the most game experience of the bunch. Correction, Hill may have more experience, Chevis has more Falcon Defense experience.

I don’t know much about Hill other than that he’s a former first round pick with tons of potential, he’s just been hampered by injuries. He’s still very young and could still be worth something in this league.

I do remember Chevis’s first INT of his career going 95 yards to the house against the Saints, so we know he can at least read Drew Brees.

It would help immensely if William “C4” Moore would stop detonating himself and quit getting hurt. We need every secondary player we can get, and it appears we haven’t made any trades today.

I like your idea of letting DeCoud play a little corner while sticking Fudge in at FS. DeCoud can play ball and he’s very mobile. I don’t know much about Fudge, either, but I do know he’s been a special teamer and has played some FS for us before, so it wouldn’t be a complete liability to throw him out there.

But one of the three (Chevis, Hill, Owens) will have to step up. Chevis, to my knowledge, has ideal height (around 6’ if i’m not mistaken). He at least looks that tall. It really wasn’t his fault he got beat by Olson. Olson is a fantastic TE and Jackson was on him when he caught it. There’s only so much you can do (Like drop Jamaal Anderson into coverage on 4th down in the red zone and let him swat at the ball. Brilliant move, in my opinion.)

Dallas will not be as tough a test as the Bears were. I’d game plan to stop the run and make Romo beat ya through the air. There’s my lengthy two cents.

by Zippo729 on Oct 20, 2009 6:12 PM EDT reply actions

We should really

take a corner first round next year. We desperately need it.

Its true. I'm a Falcoholic! I just can't live without Falcohol!

by phoenix falcoholic on Oct 20, 2009 8:01 PM EDT reply actions

I agree

I can’t think of anything else we need more than a corner

by orion12 on Oct 20, 2009 8:45 PM EDT up reply actions

I think we need to make sure the talent level is out there

We’ve had far too many first round busts at that position to invest anything but carefully. We could still use another running back, another wide receiver, a young tight end, further depth along the offensive and defensive lines, and a linebacker to groom behind Mike Peterson. Getting a shut down corner would be huge, but I’m not sure how realistic that really is.

by Dave Choate on Oct 20, 2009 8:55 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Dave

That’s every position on the field except for QB. I think at the very least, we have decent depth on the defensive line when everyone is healthy. I also think the WR core is very good with a healthly Harry Douglas added to our starters. I agree with orion that a corner is our most glaring need. Speaking of the secondary, how does everyone feel about Coleman moving to strong saftey. Good move or is the position in need of an upgrade in the offseason?

by NewAgeDirtyBirdFan on Oct 20, 2009 10:36 PM EDT up reply actions

I think maybe William Moore could take Coleman's spot

May be a little longer yet, though.

And that was exactly my point. Cornerback may be the most glaring need, but we still could use depth pretty much everywhere on the roster.

by Dave Choate on Oct 20, 2009 11:10 PM EDT up reply actions

I see your point

However, we don’t need 1st round talent at all of those positions. We have plenty of talent that is young enough to grow in Weems and Douglas, not to mention that White and Jenkins are only a few years in. If we plan on keeping Norwood around, then I think we’re not in the need for a 1st round RB. The defensive line seems fine to me and we have a couple of big young guys on the offensive line, or at least enough that we don’t have to pick one up in the first round. I’d say LB and secondary is where we should be looking to invest first round talent at this upcoming draft.

Of course, that doesn’t mean we skip immense talent just because it’s not one of those two positions. If there is a stud player there, you got to take them.

"This is America, if we can’t self-righteously look down on others and blame them for our faults, the commies win."-----Cormican on Bleeding Green Nation w/r/t fans overreacting to the Eagles signing of Michael Vick

by Jesse28 on Oct 21, 2009 8:55 AM EDT up reply actions

Yup

You get depth later in the draft. First rounders are supposed to be impact players. I’d probably say OLB first, to replace Mike Peterson the next year (he’s 33 and signed a two year deal).

CB: I’d think Dimitroff would have to be really unhappy with the progress of Chevis and Owens to pick another Corner relatively high in the draft
DT: impact player is supposed to be Peria Jerry
OL: maybe, depending on what happens with Dahl and Clabo’s contracts (they just signed one year tenders)
WR: Roddy, Jenkins, Douglas, #4, and Weems – nope (not high pick, at least)
RB: even if they let Norwood walk, I doubt they’d spend higher than a 3rd rounder, considering Turner’s huge contract

"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein

by orang3b on Oct 21, 2009 9:46 AM EDT up reply actions

And you know what else?

Is it just me or does anyone else feel like the secondary is all so young and new that it’s difficult to judge exactly what we’re dealing with? Houston is still a young guy, maybe he’s not getting the coaching that’s needed to help him progress. Outside of Coleman, and Houston, none of our guys have played three full years yet. Maybe we can look at bringing someone into the organization to help teach these kids, like Green or Sanders.

by Jesse28 on Oct 21, 2009 9:51 AM EDT up reply actions

You made me

Go look up the Defensive Backs Coach: Alvin Reynolds. He seems to have a good resume (his Secondaries were good when he was the Secondary Coach). One thing to note, though:

Reynolds was a standout Strong Safety at Indiana State (1978-1981) and received two votes for the Heisman Trophy as a senior.

Is it possible that he is better at coaching Safeties than Cornerbacks? I don’t know, but:

In 2006, Cornerback Rashean Mathis led the club with a team-record eight interceptions en route to a Pro Bowl bid as Jacksonville set a franchise high with 20 INTs.

Interesting, at least…

"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein

by orang3b on Oct 21, 2009 10:03 AM EDT up reply actions

Haha

I was being lazy and didn’t know the guys name, sorry. That is interesting, but how many in our secondary had the same level of talent coming out of college that Mathis did? Although, he’s not very popular down here right now. I listen to the local sports show and he has been getting ripped a bit for lazy play I guess. I’m sure the Jags SB guy could provide more insight on that one.

The reason I thought about it is that Houston and the others seem to have a good deal of talent, and are physically skilled enough, but they just don’t seem to get the little things right a lot. Like getting their head around and looking for the ball, or biting on double moves. Idk, was just a thought and I ran with it.

by Jesse28 on Oct 21, 2009 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions

Well hopefully

TD would do his homework (doesn’t he always?) and get us a good corner. Maybe not use our first pick on the highest rated corner out there, I don’t think that’s the kind of strategy we follow. I do however think that cornerback should be our first priority, and whether that means getting one in the first round, or getting a corner that’s just as solid in rounds 2-3, I don’t really know. I guess that’s why I’m not the GM :P

by orion12 on Oct 20, 2009 11:11 PM EDT up reply actions

I feel like

we’re relatively deep at Safety. We have decent safety play now from Coleman and Decoud. We still don’t know what we have in Moore, so I feel like we shouldn’t look at safeties yet. I feel like WR is a position of strength, especially with the playmaking emergence of Eric Weems (he’s reminding me a bit of Harry Douglas, actually) Cornerback, LB, TE seem like our most pressing needs.

Its true. I'm a Falcoholic! I just can't live without Falcohol!

by phoenix falcoholic on Oct 20, 2009 10:45 PM EDT reply actions

At the rate we're going...

We may want to take a scat back in the first round. Turner looks like he turned 30 this year and Norwood can’t stay healthy.

I think we’re fine at LB. We will need a starter to replace Mike Peterson in the next two years. We’re set with Lofton and set with Nicholas for the next 6,7, heck, 10 years. Coy Wire is a good short-term LB and a great special teamer. Spencer Adkins is still a work in progress, I assume. He may end up taking over Peterson’s spot when Peterson takes off.

I think we do need an Asomugha-type DB. The only time you’re gonna find those is in the first round (if even as late as we’ll be picking this year)

by Zippo729 on Oct 21, 2009 8:51 AM EDT reply actions

Thoughts

1) I agree that re-signing Fudge was the logical move.

2) While DeCoud supposedly did play some Cornerback in college, do we really want to risk weakening two positions (CB and FS) to compensate for one injury? He’s been great at Free Safety – I say leave him alone.

3) I agree that Grimes is the most crucial part of all of this. If he steps into the full-time starting spot, can he continue his great start to the season?

4) Something we haven’t really talked about – is this going to change VanGorder’s approach to play-calling? In Nickle situations, he’s lined up Houston and Grimes on the outside receivers, with Brian Williams sliding inside to cover the slot guy. By my count (excluding the Bears game) he’s run the 5-man zone blitz 26 times already. That zone blitz is one defensive back and one linebacker rushing the QB, with one DE dropping into a short zone in the flats. It’s not Brian Williams every time (I don’t have the exact count, but Coleman blitzed several times), but I’d say he was the DB rushing the majority of the time. What’s BVG going to do? Blitz Chevis? Slide Grimes inside to the slot and rush him? Ditch the zone blitz altogether? (or at least not nearly as frequently, which wouldn’t bother me one bit…) This may take away one of BVG’s favorite toys.

"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein

by orang3b on Oct 21, 2009 10:23 AM EDT reply actions

Hmm, depends

If it means better overall play calling, then so be it. I’d really hate to see him try to force something just because he likes it instead of making the scheme fit the talent.

by Jesse28 on Oct 21, 2009 11:48 AM EDT up reply actions

i wish

he’d blitz chevis permanently, god knows he doesn’t cover. that jam on olsen wouldn’t have dented tissue.

by dirtyburs on Oct 21, 2009 1:27 PM EDT up reply actions

game tape

just watched the game film for the first time, and i thought grimes looked really good against chicago.
i’ve been a nay-sayer from the start, but with the exception of the missed tackle against sf that led to the score, i have been pleasantly surprised this season with his coverage and clutch performances. sunday night he had two sure tackles on third down slants that prevented a first down, and he stayed pretty close on most of his match ups.

i feel like the sainst may have crushed our dbs either way, but overall i think our secondary can survive this season, especially with this ever-improving pass rush.

by dirtyburs on Oct 21, 2009 1:26 PM EDT reply actions