Are Tank Johnson, Igor Olshansky Options For The Falcons?

by Dave the Falconer on Feb 7, 2009 8:00 AM EST in Editorial Comment 5 comments

Today's discussion stems from an e-mail from a reader and this thread at the Atlanta Falcons forum. This intrepid reader made a case for two defensive tackles who he thinks might be able to help out our interior pass rush. Because pretty much everybody agrees that's one Atlanta's top concerns this off-season, I thought I'd throw these out here for discussion purposes.

The first name he gave was Tank Johnson, who you may recall as living up to his name during a couple of arrests. Johnson has kept his nose squeaky clean during a stint in Dallas, but he'd basically be a project tackle with a history, as he wasn't too successful during his time with the Cowboys. With the right coaching staff in place (which we do have), I could see him being a worthy gamble. At the same time, there's nothing to suggest that he hasn't topped out as a player, which makes him much less worth it. Maybe if the Falcons could give him some sort of incentive-laden contract, but even then I don't think he's a lock to perform any better than Trey Lewis.

The second name is a bit more intriguing. Igor Olshansky of the Chargers has met incentives and can opt out of the last year of this contract, making him a free agent. An extremely strong player who is capable of playing either defensive end or defensive tackle, Olshanksky would provide quite a bit of versatility to our line. At age 26, he's still pretty young and wouldn't be incredibly expensive to get.

Over in the forums, there's a healthy debate on whether Olshansky could grow to become as good as Albert Haynesworth. I don't know if that's really a topic that I'd care to weigh in on, but I do know that he's good enough to at least rotate in and play tough at multiple spots along the line. His sack numbers are not great, though, so he might need a little more help than a guy like Haynesworth. With a number of targets in hand and most of the really top tier defensive tackles likely to be off the board by 24, I think we could do a lot worse than picking up Olshansky.

If nothing else, his name would make it easy to give him a nickname.

Poll

Who would you rather have?

Tank Johnson

13 votes

Igor Olshansky

44 votes

A draft pick

28 votes

A wall made of titanium

23 votes

108 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 5 comments

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Comments

I want fresh talent.

Igor is intriguing but I want someone we can lock for six years and develop, especially with our head coach being so defensively minded.

"If the Falcons ever manage to win a Super Bowl in my lifetime, I'll french kiss a toilet." - a friend.

by tlozwarlock on Feb 7, 2009 10:15 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

A Tank or a Large Russian?

Johnson has too much baggage. I think that if the Falcons can persuade Olshanky to uproot from the West Coast (I believe he was born in the Ukraine, but has been raised on the West Coast — I know that’s not a big thing in the big picture, but it may be important to him), he might be worth it, although I think he has had a relatively serious knee injury (from which he appears to be completely recovered). I remember two years ago being very impressed by Olshansky’s play, and he definitely has the kind of size, strength and motor you want. Perhaps with a recovering Trey Lewis (unless the coaches have already made a determination to let him go?), and the guys like Babineaux that they have in place, they could really develop some depth on the D-line.

I would go back to what I have said in earlier posts: offensive line appears to have more quality depth in this draft, and the outflow of junior skill position players may enable us to seriously upgrade the offensive line in front of Ryan.

by OkieFalcon on Feb 7, 2009 12:04 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

No No No No No haha. We can not get Tank Johnson we will overpay him and we have options to spend money on, and he is a major headcase.

"The only time the Mets win is in the offseason"

by Falconzfan284 on Feb 7, 2009 2:46 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Tank Johnson.

I can remember him being a very good defensive tackle in Chicago, however that was with a very nice rotation of defensive tackles so I think for Johnson to be effective he has to have a good solid rotation and a nice coaching staff.

I am not making the case that we should pick him up because like Falconzfan284 says;

We can not get Tank Johnson we will overpay him

But if he was to come here there would be three things that would need to be assessed prior to his possibility to join this team.

1. Character issues (Such as cuffufle’s with the law)
2. Effectivness as a player (Which I think might not be that great)
3. Money issues (as mentioned previously.)

I don’t think it is time to go out and get FA that would be not that much use in the long term, remember Ed Hartwell? Supposed to be a prolific linebacker…not so prolific now.

New Orleans Hornets: The most inconsistent team in the NBA.

by Grayson on Feb 7, 2009 6:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs