Falcons To Sign RB Aaron Stecker, Mull Bigger Role For Jason Snelling

by Dave Choate on Oct 27, 2009 3:17 PM EDT in Falcons News

UPDATE: Per Tom Curran's Twitter account, William Moore is out for the year. Tip of the Falcoholic cap to maddosc for delivering this terrible, horrible, no good news.

Recognizing the issues rampant in their running back depth chart, the Falcons busted a move.

Aaron Stecker is very familiar with the Saints, which no doubt was a driving force behind getting him signed prior to the this game. He's also a decent back with some special teams value, so he could get a little playing time right away. His biggest aid to this team will be planning for Nawlins, though, so don't expect him to ride up on a white stallion and save us from our ground games woes.

In related news, it sounds like the coaching staff is considering getting Jason Snelling more touches in the weeks ahead:

"Well, if he continues to run the ball like that, yes," [Coach Mike] Smith said. "He ran the ball very effectively.

"He's a guy who has come in and played fullback for us and the tailback position as well and Jason, every time he has gotten an opportunity, he has played very efficiently. He could warrant more touches."

I'll be interested to see if anything comes of this and how significant the bump in carries would be, but there are clearly changes afoot. Hopefully the biggest change we see against the Saints is Michael Turner blowing past 100 yards on five carries, but any improvements would make me pretty happy right about now.

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Hooray!

Remember how after the Pats game the Falcons brought several free agent DLs in for a look, partially as a motivational tool? I wonder if they’re doing the same thing here, in a fashion. It might not hurt to have Turner looking over his shoulder a bit.

by tom slick on Oct 27, 2009 3:40 PM EDT reply actions

Uh-oh...

via Adam Schefter’s twitter account: “Falcons today signed former Saints running back Aaron Stecker and placed rookie safety William Moore on injured reserve.” I didn’t realize this was a possibility for Moore.

by maddosc on Oct 27, 2009 3:57 PM EDT reply actions

Doh!

I hadn’t heard that until just now. I’ll update the story post-haste. Thanks maddosc!

by Dave Choate on Oct 27, 2009 4:04 PM EDT up reply actions

Crap

It’s on the official site, too. Christopher Owens better be careful out there – he’s next in line.

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

by orang3b on Oct 27, 2009 4:09 PM EDT up reply actions

ugh...

guess this is the painful repercussion of having such an elite draft class last season… wouldn’t that be awesome if all these guys were breakout players next season on top of next season’s draft class?

I’m just sayin.

know what you believe in and why you believe in it

by MentallyMIA on Oct 27, 2009 4:11 PM EDT up reply actions

NONONONONO

by acie4mvp on Oct 27, 2009 6:48 PM EDT up reply actions

They did that with Thomas Brown last year.

He’d been nagged by a groin or an ankle injury or something, so they just sat him for the year. It’s a shame. Moves like that can kill a career.

by Zippo729 on Oct 28, 2009 2:04 AM EDT up reply actions

He's a 2nd Rounder

Not a 6th, so he’ll get another chance. Hamstrings can linger, they figured he wouldn’t contribute this year anyway – just try again next year when fully healthy.

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

by orang3b on Oct 28, 2009 12:09 PM EDT up reply actions

Snelling is a beast!

A BEAST I say!!!!

Life is a garden. Dig it!

by Hardcore Falcon on Oct 27, 2009 4:00 PM EDT reply actions

quiet you

Reporter: How will you address all of the dropped passes?

Mike Smith: I don’t think that we were as sharp as we have been catching the football. It’s something that is very fixable. It’s VERY fixable.

by FrankyWren on Oct 27, 2009 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed!

Snelling deserves most of the touches on MNF. As far as Stecker is concerned, did they call Duece too? I wonder.

The NFL is a now sport. Building for the future is simply a loser’s line. Every game is virtually a playoff game. And, if the Falcon’s can’t win one of their tough games, they can forget the playoffs. 10 wins is probably not enough to get in this year.

Whoever said we’ll just be happy if we can have a winning season is a loser. This should have been another playoff season. You can’t learn how to win playoff games if you’re not in the playoffs. So Dimitroff better bring in some new speed and muscle, and try to win now.

by Teamfastpitch on Oct 27, 2009 6:32 PM EDT up reply actions

I agree and disagree

You can wreck your chances at long-term, sustained success by trying to win now at all costs. I’d rather have a crack at the Super Bowl starting next year for five years in a row than sell out for this year and not make it.

by Dave Choate on Oct 27, 2009 7:17 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

We can't make the moves for them....only speculate

Falcons management needs some options now and I don’t think many teams are offering anybody worth anything.

Is Aaron Stecker fast? Or is he a between the tackles runner?

by Teamfastpitch on Oct 27, 2009 9:15 PM EDT up reply actions

He's pretty fast

But time has lessened that speed. He’s pretty average at this point.

by Dave Choate on Oct 27, 2009 9:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah

Fast for a 33 year old.

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

by orang3b on Oct 28, 2009 12:10 PM EDT up reply actions

I'd totally accept his approach if ...

there weren’t all these contingencies flying around. Is our O-Line really getting it done? Is Turner 100 percent like he says he is? Is Snelling’s mediocre skill set at FB limiting Burner’s numbers?

I don’t know, call me a skeptic, call me angry at Dave for starting the most nauseating cult following since Furbies … I’m keepin’ the faith.

Reporter: How will you address all of the dropped passes?

Mike Smith: I don’t think that we were as sharp as we have been catching the football. It’s something that is very fixable. It’s VERY fixable.

by FrankyWren on Oct 27, 2009 10:34 PM EDT up reply actions

a BEAST!

Life is a garden. Dig it!

by Hardcore Falcon on Oct 28, 2009 11:03 AM EDT up reply actions

Were you the kid that went around calling people "loser" in h.s.?

Because if you were, I want all those tears I cried back!

Reporter: How will you address all of the dropped passes?

Mike Smith: I don’t think that we were as sharp as we have been catching the football. It’s something that is very fixable. It’s VERY fixable.

by FrankyWren on Oct 27, 2009 10:32 PM EDT up reply actions

good to hear that we

are making some moves but 1) we’re in need of some secondary help. It’s obvious that Hill is not the CB we hoped for if he can’t break into the line-up over Grimes or Jackson. And 2) Not having a speedy Douglas or Norwood nor Ovie Mughelli is really hurting our offense.

by Fear Me on Oct 27, 2009 4:16 PM EDT reply actions

good move.

nothing wrong with a little motivation. sometimes your best players need some. i do believe a drop in some carries will get turner motivated……

by dunndada77 on Oct 27, 2009 4:44 PM EDT reply actions

REmember all those injury free days last season?

Yeah, gone. I’m convinced we’ll soon only be fielding JUCO players in very key positions.

You have opinions. We all do. Some of yours may have to do with the Falcons. Sign up today and share them.

by Adam Schultz on Oct 27, 2009 4:46 PM EDT reply actions

Was it orang3b...

…who argued in the off-season that we were going to regress to the mean for injuries this season? Because it sure as hell looks like it’s happening right now.

by Dave Choate on Oct 27, 2009 4:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Come one, come all, it's the incredible shrinking defense!

One NFL season only! No return of tickets, no refunds offered. Recovery limited to free agency availability. While supplies diminish.

You have opinions. We all do. Some of yours may have to do with the Falcons. Sign up today and share them.

by Adam Schultz on Oct 27, 2009 4:53 PM EDT up reply actions

Those odds

always get you in the long run.

by tom slick on Oct 27, 2009 6:20 PM EDT up reply actions

The dead bird outside the practice facility before training camp.

(Or whenever it was.)

…it really was an omen :o Half of the starters have died (of injury) on the Canton Trail, it seems.

by Zippo729 on Oct 28, 2009 2:07 AM EDT up reply actions

Yeah Dave,

Blame it on me!!

I just mentioned that the guys at Football Outsiders noticed the fairly injury-free season (I think we were the 5th healthiest team), and said it probably wouldn’t be repeated. They said it was an under-appreciated part of the turn-around, and the schedule – combined with the likelihood of more injuries – would make a return to the playoffs difficult.

That’s all this is: difficulty. A bump in the road. I didn’t write off the season when they wrote that, and I’m not folding up the tents now, either. We still have a good team here. If they lose to the Saints Monday, they’re not gonna be winning this division – but they’ll still be in the hunt for the Wild Card.

Look at the Eagles, for instance. Half their defense is on Injured Reserve. They brought back Jeremiah friggin Trotter, for crying out loud. Westbrook is injured again. They already lost to the unfathomably awful Raiders. But they’re right in the hunt for the NFC East, and I expect them to be there all season. They’re not pouting, they’re fighting!

In the immortal words of Emmitt Smith (who was trying to quote the great Jimmy V):

Don’t quit – don’t even quit.

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

by orang3b on Oct 28, 2009 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions

No, don't worry

I wasn’t accusing you of being a Negative Nancy Norwood, just saying that you appear to be correct.

by Dave Choate on Oct 28, 2009 1:46 PM EDT up reply actions

LIES!

"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 29, 2009 1:26 PM EDT up reply actions

THIEVES!

by Dave Choate on Oct 29, 2009 1:28 PM EDT up reply actions

WTF?

Is it just me or is our entire 2009 draft class a huge bust? I mean we KILLED last year in the draft, but this year we got two guys with known durability issues in the first two rounds. Sheesh. If Dimitroff hadn’t done so well in free agency, I’d say he’s having a sophomore slump!

On the other hand, look at the impact of the 2008 class – Ryan, Baker, Lofton, Biermann, Douglas, DeCoud. Jackson to a lesser extent.

by TomQ on Oct 27, 2009 4:56 PM EDT reply actions

Well, one thing to keep in mind

Sam Baker’s made a bigger impact this season. So has Curtis Lofton. Kroy Biermann really improved vastly in his second year, as has Thomas DeCoud. I think it’s unfair to judge these guys on lost seasons, and hopefully they’ll be second year wonders like most of this list.

by Dave Choate on Oct 27, 2009 5:03 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

And you might be sayin this about our 09 draft class next year this time.

So give it another year and we’ll see.

You have opinions. We all do. Some of yours may have to do with the Falcons. Sign up today and share them.

by Adam Schultz on Oct 27, 2009 5:03 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

You are both right...

of course. I’m just lamenting the fact that, with exception to decent performances in the first two games by Jerry, we have gotten NO immediate impact from this years crop. Maybe Owens has made some plays on special teams. Last year, Ryan, Baker, Lofton, Douglas, and (to a lesser extent) Jackson all had rookie year impacts.

I probably shouldn’t have used the word “bust,” but this year’s draft class hasn’t had nearly the impact of last year’s class (which was AMAZING).

But you know what? We’re 4 and 2 and that’s pretty good.

by TomQ on Oct 27, 2009 7:07 PM EDT up reply actions

Whatever Happened to the Screen Pass and Draw Play?

I hope that whoever plays in the backfield, the Falcons will occasionally try to keep the defense honest with screens and draws. Doing so on Sunday might have given Ryan time to throw and Turner the opportunity to break a long run.

by striped shirt on Oct 27, 2009 5:35 PM EDT reply actions

Absolutely

I wonder how many screens & draws we have in the playbook, we don’t run them nearly enough.

by tom slick on Oct 27, 2009 6:26 PM EDT up reply actions

You know, what with all the mentionings of the 08 and 09 draft classes

It seems like I can’t remember ANY of the 09 draft class. Let’s see. Jerry (out), Moore (out), Owens (special teamer), Middleton (Jaguars), Reynolds (OL depth), Adkins (Phenomenal athlete, work in progress to my understanding), Sharpe (I think we picked him, practice squad player), Sidbury (A beast in progress)

In comparison to the ‘08 class: Ryan (Duh), Baker (Duh), Lofton (Super Duh), DeCoud (Starter getting stronger by the week), Douglas (damn you injuries, would be starter, duh.), Jackson (Can play ball, in my opinion. Took a Brees pass 95 yards to the house in the Dome last year. If he can read Brees, he’s GOT to have some talent, somewhere in there.)

I think it’s unfair to compare the two draft classes. We hit about 15 home runs in ‘08. In ’09, we’ve had some backups step up their game and Jerry was a home run in the making, I believe. That being said, where was DeCoud last year? Where was Beerman last year? See what I’m getting at? I think we’re trying to evaluate this draft class too soon. The experts say to give it 3 years or so before you label it good or bad.

One thing that worries me is our pass rush. Abraham hasn’t quite looked the same since the MIA game (when he dominated, and i mean DOMINATED) Jake Long. Like Pat Yasinskas has said on espn.com, you’ve gotta wonder if Abraham’s age is starting to catch up to him. I’d been wondering that myself coming into this season. Beerman is looking good, but he’s not quite where he needs to be yet. Plus he’s playing special teams and that can’t possibly help his motor any. Snelling is playing special teams, too. That can’t help his run game any, either.

But we can’t evaluate draft classes based on rookie impacts, because if we did, Peyton wouldn’t be playing pro ball right now. Neither would Tom Brady. Heck, I don’t even know what year Brady is in in the NFL. Realistically, how many Matt Ryans come through the draft in a year? In a decade? Very, very few do. I’m hoping Stecker is one of Comrade Dimitroff’s diamonds in the rough he likes to find, although at 33, Stecker can’t possibly move like he used to.

One last rant for the NO game. The 30 yard TD to Weems on Sunday was a great play, but I wish it hadn’t happened, and I’ll tell you why. It kills the surprise factor on Monday night for the Saints. The idea behind it is brilliant, but now that it’s been run in a game setting, the Saints will see it, and whenever Weems goes into the backfield, the Saints will know what to do. I hope the Birds run some form of that play against the Saints, but the surprise element of it is gone, unfortunately. Could have been a nasty, nasty weapon to employ against them.

by Zippo729 on Oct 28, 2009 2:02 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Rec'd

by Dave Choate on Oct 28, 2009 11:32 AM EDT up reply actions

One correction Zippo

Sharpe was an Undrafted Free Agent, and you forgot Vance Walker. Agree 100% that we need to wait until next year (at least) to judge this class.

About John Abraham:
I’ve been charting the games this year to try to come up with numbers for pass coverage, and I have been absolutely shocked by how much Abe drops into coverage on a “Zone Blitz”. This may be part of the plan to keep him on the field (heck, he might’ve been doing it last year – that I don’t know), but I do know one thing: Our one true bonafide pass-rushing threat is spending about 5 plays per game backpedaling away from the QB. I would be reluctant to criticize VanGorder, except it rarely works! (the Bears game when JA98 dropped into a mid-zone is one glaring example of when it did work.) The blitzers (usually a Linebacker and the slot/Nickle Cornerback on the opposite side of the dropping DE) generally don’t get pressure, because most of the time, they are tipping their hand pre-snap. If I can see it on tape, I know an NFL Quarterback can see it, and make the correct adjustments. This one zone blitz package is probably driving me more crazy than anything else this year: more than Turner’s decline, more than the injuries, etc. At least I (sorta) expected those problems.

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

by orang3b on Oct 28, 2009 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs