Falcons Courting Free Agents L.J. Smith, Daniel Loper
by Dave Choate on Mar 6, 2009 8:00 AM EST
in Falcons News
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PrintBREAKING UPDATE: D. Orlando says Loper has re-scheduled his Falcon visit to an unspecified date.
Free agency is starting up in Atlanta, albeit with a lot of clanks and thunks.
The ever-informative D. Orlando Ledbetter over at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tells us that L.J. Smith's courtship with the Dirty Birds went pretty darn well, but he plays it cool when our intrepid reporter asks him if a contract is imminent:
When asked if they were working out a deal, Mackler said, “Call me tomorrow and I’ll let you know what’s going on.”
Oh, you do go on!
I've made peace with an L.J. Smith signing at this point. As I said just yesterday, if he comes for a low enough cost, he's worth the dice roll and just might provide the pass-catching presence we've been missing. You may have noticed that I can talk myself into things relatively easily, too.
The most interesting piece of the article has nothing to do with L.J. Smith, though. Instead, it comes in the brief mention of free agent offensive tackle Daniel Loper, who could well be the most underrated signing of the off-season if Thomas Dimitroff and Mike Smith can get their paws on him. At 6'6" and 320 pounds, he has the size to stick at tackle but can also play guard, and he's only 27 years old. He's been used as a backup in Tennessee, but I could see him actually starting at right tackle and holding his own there.
If this team could fill the hole left by Todd Weiner's retirement, potentially upgrade tight end and perhaps get a little veteran leadership at linebacker or defensive end, it'll be a pretty nice start to replacing some guys who really helped make us successful last year. It also helps to remember that nobody--not even me!--is bigger than the team.
Your thoughts on Smith & Loper?
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Loper
gets in the game a lot for a backup. That points to his ability to hold his own. For his size DOLB says hes a polished pass blocker… at 320? nice feet. Maybe Dahl can teach him how to be nasty and how to take his job and move Clabo inside.
Titans OL was very good last year, so if this guy played its because he has talent. Btw, I love the fact we are getting BIGGER up front.
" No, I think I'll sit in the balcony " - Abe Lincoln
Me too
Loper’s been a guy I’ve had my eye on for the last couple of seasons, so I’m thrilled to hear that he’s visiting. I hope they snap him up today.
These moves are sound.
And I’ll tell you why: they free up draft choices. The Comrade is a draft minded guy but he wouldn’t pick FAs that he didn’t think would not make an impact. Case in point: Michael Turner.
Then again, Turner had shown flashes of greatness while backing up LT (and I ain’t talking about Lawrence) in San Diego. Smith has shown the ability to get the job done, but not in the past year or so. The real question is: can Ryan get Smith the ball? The answer is yes, I believe he can. Give someone an opportunity to shine and they will. It’s basically just up to LJ’s ability, which is the big question mark here.
"If the Falcons ever manage to win a Super Bowl in my lifetime, I'll french kiss a toilet." - a friend.
Question mark
It’s there, no doubt, but I will say that we’re probably shortchanging Mike Smith and Mike Mularkey by assuming that Smith wouldn’t work out.
All about salary
My satisfaction with any LJ Smith deal comes down to dollars. If he’s cheap, fine. If he asks for anything more than, say, $2 million per, it’s a wrong move.
I'm pretty indifferent when it comes to LJ Smith
My only concern, as Josh noted, would be his money – as long as he’s cheap, I don’t have a problem with signing him. I wouldn’t foresee him being very useful, but it’s not like he would be blocking any of our young players.
GRRrrr....
rescheduled? Please be a conflict that doesn’t involve another team bringing him in.
" No, I think I'll sit in the balcony " - Abe Lincoln
Lions agreed to terms with OL Daniel Loper on a one-year undisclosed contract.
That explains the rescheduling of his Falcons visit. Loper’s versatility could have the Lions thinking about keeping Jeff Backus at tackle. Detroit could then select Aaron Curry or Matt Stafford at No. 1 instead of grabbing a left tackle.
Source: Detroit Free Press
that's a shame
well that sucks… this is gonna take all my fandomness to rely solely on the draft to lead the falcons to our first consecutive winning season.
Does optimism for the Falcons have a limit? Mine’s getting close… come on TD – I sure would love yet another surprise year.
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