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2009 NFL Draft Retrospective: Defensive Tackle Peria Jerry

This is the first in a series of articles examining players from the 2009 NFL Draft. The Falcoholic will also be putting together a retrospective on the 2009 season when the collective brain trust has sorted out just what happened this season. First up, first-round defensive tackle Peria Jerry.

It'd be fair to say that the Falcons expected a lot from Jerry in his first year in the NFL.

After all, the team elected to draft the Ole Miss product in the first round, ahead of possibilities such as linebacker Clay Matthews and cornerback Vontae Davis. A line with no pass rush capabilities outside of John Abraham and sometimes Jonathan Babineaux desperately needed someone to bring the quarterback-related pain, and Jerry looked happy to oblige. After all, a 290 pound tackle typically isn't being drafted to just sit there and plug a hole.

Sadly, we don't and won't know what Jerry would have done in 2009 because of a season-ending injury, a bad omen that eventually was capped by half the team being devoured by steam-powered robotic sharks. It seemed like that, at least. In our brief glimpses of him, Jerry showed that he had the ability to make his way around interior offensive linemen and beeline for the quarterback, though he didn't produce any sacks to show for it. In fact, he had only one tackle in two games.

That makes it difficult to project Jerry's future success. He has the physical tools to succeed, though injuries are going to continue to be a concern down the line. If Jamaal Anderson stays at defensive tackle, Jerry's immediate role would likely be that of a passing-down DT, creating havoc in the middle with the USS Babineaux while Anderson takes over in clear rushing situations. I do believe the team saw enough talent in Jerry to make him a three-down lineman, which leaves Anderson's eventual fate unclear.

So basically, what I'm trying to say is that I have no idea what Jerry will do next year. If he stays healthy, I expect he'll collect a few sacks and worm his way into both the defensive tackle rotation and our hearts. If he doesn't, my expectations can go all the way down to zero. Just like 2009, all I know is that I expect something. Do you, dear readers out in Readerland, have any thoughts?

Initial Draft Grade: A

Final Draft Grade: Incomplete

Poll
How would you sum up Peria Jerry's 2009 season?
Awesome. I don't look at "facts" or "stats"
13 votes
Terrible. I judge people for what they haven't done
27 votes
Incomplete. The guy lost his whole season
322 votes
I still say his name sounds backwards
45 votes

407 votes | Poll has closed

Comment 18 comments  |  0 recs  | 

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A? I respect your opinion, but...

I can’t give this draft an A at this point. I think he has potential, for sure, but we knew he had injury concerns when we drafted him and, sure enough, he was injured (twice, actually). I feel like we got both him and Moore when we did (value picks) because both had injury concerns. It was a gamble, and we will have to wait to find out if it was worth it or not. But the longer they stay injured, the less value they have. I’d give this draft an “I” for incomplete, though I’d like to give it a F+.

by TomQ on Jan 11, 2010 9:02 AM EST reply actions  

Sorry, maybe that was unclear

If you click on that link, that’s the grade I originally gave Jerry following the draft last spring.

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by Dave Choate on Jan 11, 2010 10:34 AM EST up reply actions  

Sorry, Dave.

I just noticed that. My eyes were drawn to the red linky highlight, I guess. You are indeed the man. A thousand pardons!

by TomQ on Jan 11, 2010 11:41 AM EST up reply actions  

on top of him being injury prone

he was also a 25 year old rookie. he may end up with a short injury riddled career

If peeing your pants is the coolest, consider me Miles Davis

by BigSkee on Jan 11, 2010 1:56 PM EST reply actions  

Good point

I don’t hold his age against him, per se. If he’s healthy from here on out, he could have a seven or eight year career, retire at age 33, and still be successful.

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by Dave Choate on Jan 11, 2010 3:10 PM EST up reply actions  

I still didn't see how he got injured

On the play he was injured, the cameras never showed a replay of Jerry in the play in question. I don’t know if he landed ackwardly or someone ran into him. I just wondered you know.

by brotherbrown on Jan 12, 2010 1:39 AM EST up reply actions  

I was really

disappointed when he got injured but that’s part of the game. Like many of you, I saw a lot of potential. The funny thing is that we ended up being okay in the middle of our D-line against the run with Babs, JA98, Johnson, and Walker; and that was the concern at the start of the year. It ended up being a lack of production out of our D-ends. Now if we can mesh the 2008 defense with the 2009 defense, we’ll be okay in 2010. Oh and the 2008 offense.

by Fear Me on Jan 11, 2010 2:50 PM EST reply actions  

True dat...

I actually thought our D tackles did very well this year. I don’t think we really missed Jerry at all, to be honest.

I think Bierman will continue to improve. I would like to see him start again next year. He’s only got two years of experience, and he (in my mind) was fairly productive. He NEVER gave up on a play (made a lot of tackles from behind).

Abe was the biggest disappointment. Love the guy, but he didn’t do too much this year.

It’s funny – I’m actually pretty happy with our current lineup on D. I know I sound crazy, but I don’t want to change our secondary from the last two games. LBs are solid (maybe there’s a better alternative to Nicholas), and our line wasn’t terrible (IMO). Perhaps a new DE would be good, but maybe Sidbury can step it up next year and join Bierman on the edges. Babs and Walker in the middle. Okay, I’m crazy. That’s all.

by TomQ on Jan 11, 2010 3:32 PM EST up reply actions  

Gotta Disagree

While we did end up with a pretty stout run defense, we almost never got pressure on the QB. When Jerry was playing, he took a few double teams and made Abe and the other DEs look good. If he can stay healthy, I think he’ll really help us. We played good defense the past few games, but we can’t be content with what we have.

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

by phoenix falcoholic on Jan 11, 2010 4:29 PM EST up reply actions  

I feel like theres a lot of potential for Jerry

and all-around I feel pretty good about our defensive line. Babs is way underrated, and we have a bunch of young guys like Bierman, Sidbury, and Walker all seem pretty solid. The one thing we need is a pass rushing DE to take some pressure off of and eventually replace Abe.

by orion12 on Jan 11, 2010 5:21 PM EST reply actions  

Where are we projected to pick in the upcoming draft?

by acie4mvp on Jan 11, 2010 6:38 PM EST reply actions  

I believe we have the 19th or 20th pick

we flip a coin with the Texans to see who goes first.

by orion12 on Jan 11, 2010 11:06 PM EST up reply actions  

I must say...

Jerry’s injury really hindered our pass rush. He showed a tonne of promise in the pre-season. I am hoping he can stay healthy the rest of his career, but something tells me he wont.

Australian Atlanta Falcons Fan EST 2003

by Grayson on Jan 11, 2010 7:14 PM EST reply actions  

Jerry

Not much to say that hasn’t already been said; the issue I have is that a knee injury like the one Jerry suffered typically takes 2 full years to really “come back” from. Meaning, I don’t think we will see what he is really capable of in 2010.

In regards to being satisfied with what we have on the defensive line, thats a big big mistake. With all due respect to Bierman and Sidbury, both of whom I have high hopes for, they will not be enough. I think it takes 4 to 6 good pass rushers to truly have a great pass rush. This doesn’t have to be solely on the line, but also from the linebacker position.

by Hamburger on Jan 11, 2010 11:12 PM EST reply actions  

I like Perry

but that dosn’t mean that I don’t think we should pick up someone w/ his size and girth via draft/ fre agency . I also think the Birds should pick up proven pass rushing DE ( Abraham isn’t getting any younger ) and a shutdown ( for lack of a better phrase) corner besides that , as it sits right now ( someones bound to be lost during the offseason ) I’d say the Birds have a damn good Defense going . Just 2 or 3 tweeks and I think the Birds match up w/ anybody…. now on with the Offense…P.S….I get ( ) crazy

by TRUBIRD1 on Jan 11, 2010 11:16 PM EST reply actions  

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