A Very Falcoholic Discussion: Atlanta Falcon Leadership

by Dave the Falconer on May 18, 2009 8:00 AM EDT in Editorial Comment 7 comments

The other day in a profile of William Middleton, I actually professed that I liked the young cornerback's intangibles. He seems to be a natural leader, I said. What is wrong with me?

You see, I'm a believer in on-the-field talent above almost anything else. If you're a great football player, you don't get to run around and off people, but what you've done by 4 p.m. ET most weeks is a pretty good determination of the football player you are. That doesn't mean there's no room for anything else, just that it's the trump card by which all trump cards should be judged.

That said, this is a team that has let go of a lot of veterans, so leadership is a commodity you'd like to see. We have a lot of talented young guys who can probably lead on offense, but on defense it's nice to have veterans like Mike Peterson, who seems to be embracing his new role.

The question for today, then, is whether leadership means anything, and who is likely to provide it on these 2009 Atlanta Falcons? Ruminate for a bit and fire away!

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Mike Peterson will be the defensive leader.

While Abe and Lofton are great role models, MP just seems to police things on the whole. During camp he was hemming and hawing at the rooks, letting them know where to line up in a defense that he hasn’t been with that long. That’s the kicker; with guys like him helping our young ones on the defensive side of the ball, the chance of the defense rising above the sum of its parts is greater. I can’t wait to see him this season. He looked monstrous in camp.

And I really think Ryan will continue to bolster his position as field general this year. I think he’s going to step it up and start garnering even more control.

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

by tlozwarlock on May 18, 2009 8:47 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree with Peterson

I’m still mildly concerned about how he’ll perform on the field, but there’s plenty of time to worry about that. He seems like he’ll embrace the role of defensive leader, and you love to see that.

by Dave the Falconer on May 18, 2009 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

when you really need a leader

You really need a leader on the field when your return man muffs the opening kick-off, fumbles, and the opponent walks in for a quick TD, then holds you for three and out, then scores again with only half the time gone in the first quarter. THAT’s when you need leaders—-on both sides of the ball. And similar things happen to every team during a season.

by gfweis on May 18, 2009 10:55 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The falcons leadership role this season is key..

to a succesful defensive season. Offfensively Ryan is the general at thats it- nuff said.
Defensively however we don’t have Brooking anymore so our leader and playcaller is gone- enter Mike Peterson, he can easily step up and be the leader of our defense and most likely will. He is a faster and better playmaker than brooking has been the last couple of years. But my gut feeling tells me that our defense will work as 3 seperate units by leadership- peterson the LB guys, abraham- the d-line, and lofton for the secondary guys, but they will work together as one good unit on the field. I know our defense will be much improved this season because MIke Smith has more of the players he needs to run the defensive schemes he like to run, big crashing d-line that constantly harrases the opposing Qb, a lb core thats fast and blitzes a lot, and a secondary that can play the run and do a decent job in coverage as well. We now have 90% of the weapons he needs, not 60%. We will be better and with an offense that should average 25+ points a game we will be hard to beat.

by ATLsince1972 on May 18, 2009 10:59 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

i agree

with you except i have a feeling coleman might step up to lead the secondary.

by iloveroddywhite on May 18, 2009 6:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I see

Coleman stepping up in the Secondary. From what I’ve heard he has been gaining alot of good reviews lately. In fact he played pretty well last year. I also think that while MP will step up as a leader for the LBs i think that the coaching staff wants Lofton to take that roll. I think Lofton will also be the one dealing with the play calling.

"If you can’t get excited for Ryan throwing to Gonzalez, you’re either a robot or clinically dead. Or you’re a zombie robot, which is just plain awesome."
Dave the Falconer

by Pregame with Pabst on May 19, 2009 10:00 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs