AJC: Jamaal Anderson May Continue To Start At Defensive End
by Dave Choate on Jul 29, 2010 8:00 AM EDT
in Falcons News
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PrintGot your attention with that one, didn't I?
Yes, Mike Smith actually said on the record to good ol' D. Orlando Ledbetter that Jamaal Anderson is going to continue to play left defensive end in the team's basic packages, and will rotate in to defensive tackle when the situation calls for it. Of course, it's not as simple as that.
Well, I had a long, thoughtful and reasonably well-written post after the jump here, but my blogging software cheerfully gave me the finger and didn't save nearly an hour's worth of work. Goddamnit.
Since I do have to hang upside down from my ceiling and sleep at some point, let's hit the high points of why this really isn't a good idea.
If JA98 is getting a share of say 200-350 snaps this season, and half of those or more are at defensive end, Mike Smith is really doing this team a disservice. I always hesitate to hammer him hard, because his decisions so rarely go terribly wrong. But Anderson doesn't have any business starting outside for even a small share of the snaps.
I get what Smith and the rest of the coaching staff want to do here. They'd like to get a true rotation going, one that brings every player's strengths to bear and keeps the team fresh. It's a great idea, but let's be clear on one thing: Jamaal Anderson cannot rush the passer, and he's unlikely to suddenly blossom in the way that Kroy Biermann did in 2009 or Lawrence Sidbury might do in 2010. Unless the opposing team's running back is wearing a neon sign that says "RUNNING STRAIGHT AT JAMAAL ANDERSON," you probably don't want him in the game often. I know it probably sounds like I enjoy beating up JA98, but that's not really true. I just calls 'em like I sees 'em, and what I sees is a guy who really should be spelling Duff Man and L-Sid with some rotational snaps at defensive tackle at best.
If Smith is really hellbent on turning this into a true rotation, he'd be wise to make sure Anderson's low on the priority list. He's had three full seasons to prove to us all that he's capable of turning into the sack artist he was always supposed to be, and he's done little outside of prove solid against the run. That's valuable, but not so valuable he should be getting a significant share of snaps. Smith's comments are just cryptic and coach-y enough that I'm concerned this might be the case.
Your thoughts?
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Agreed
JA98 should not be starting at DE and I’d be hesitant to start him at DT. It goes beyond just what you’ve outlined above though. In BVG’s system, the DE gets dropped back into coverage a large amount of time because of the zone blitz BVG is so fond of. What little good JA98 provides on the line is immediately nullified when he is forced to play in coverage. He can’t stop the run if he is 15 yards downfield and I’m pretty damned sure JA98 isn’t a ball-hawking machine.
Keep him at DT with the occasional rotation into the DE spot.
As for your blogging woes, may I suggest you write in an outside program and copy paste? I’ve lost enough long-winded fan-posts on SBN to have learned that lesson years ago.
"Everybody talks about SEC speed. The 27 fastest guys at the (NFL) combine, how many of them were from the SEC? Three. But if you say it enough, everybody will believe it."
-CPJ
"You could spend the next fifteen seconds of your life watching a man and a tiger scream together, or you could be an idiot."
Fact.
Hey, welcome back!
And I’m with you. There’s little to no indication that he’s anything more than average when he drops back.
Since I started this blog in 2006, I’ve only lost perhaps two or three stories. It’s so reliable that I just stopped copying and pasting from word, and for once, it came back and bit me in the butt.
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you’re that guy that keeps having spaws with “Truthspitter” on Peachtree Hoops right?
I belong to NO ONE...and no one belongs to ME.
by brotherbrown on Jul 29, 2010 2:28 PM EDT up reply actions
Jesse's been around since the early days of The Falcoholic
He’s an old friend of the site.
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aye…this youngblood (me) doesn’t know much.
I belong to NO ONE...and no one belongs to ME.
by brotherbrown on Jul 29, 2010 2:34 PM EDT up reply actions
Doesn't matter
You guys are all fantastic. I’m thrilled with the way the site has grown over the years, but I do fondly remember the first ten or so consistent commenters I had when the site was basically a ghost town.
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Yep
I-Ronin, Hamburger(?), and a few others of us, back when you had to have an individual account for each and every one of the SBN affilated sites (can you say hassle!?)
This was the best Falcons site then and it still is now. I haven’t been around much mainly because of GT and the Hawks combined with one long football off-season. But as I told Jason on FTRS, this site blew up with people and there was just too much noise to read through. I just figured I’d wait the off-season out and jump back in when things started to gear up, like now!
The amount of work you guys must put into it amazes me. And to think I almost volunteered to write when you first offered it up.
"Everybody talks about SEC speed. The 27 fastest guys at the (NFL) combine, how many of them were from the SEC? Three. But if you say it enough, everybody will believe it."
-CPJ
"You could spend the next fifteen seconds of your life watching a man and a tiger scream together, or you could be an idiot."
Fact.
I forget how I ran into this site
I was reading it for a while last summer, then I decided to join and find my place.
The closest to any friends I have in my life for now.
I belong to NO ONE...and no one belongs to ME.
by brotherbrown on Jul 31, 2010 12:23 AM EDT up reply actions
Yes, that would be me.
Do you see the fallacy of his handle?
"Everybody talks about SEC speed. The 27 fastest guys at the (NFL) combine, how many of them were from the SEC? Three. But if you say it enough, everybody will believe it."
-CPJ
"You could spend the next fifteen seconds of your life watching a man and a tiger scream together, or you could be an idiot."
Fact.
not directly
But one thing I noticed he (or whatever gender that person is) doesn’t have respect for other people’s opinions, and think he’s the savior of the site with his own opinions. It’s fine that he does as odd as they are, but doesn’t back them up with anything viable.
Nothing personal about Mike Woodson, but something wasn’t being done with the team. We need a change. However his understudy Larry Drew might be more of the same, but we’ll see by this season, then we can say the problem was Woody or something else. But any idiot should see we needed to do something with the Hawks, although I’m not too hot with what they done so far in the draft.
I belong to NO ONE...and no one belongs to ME.
by brotherbrown on Jul 31, 2010 12:28 AM EDT up reply actions
Yeah
I can get pretty fired up but I always try to back my opinions up with ojective statistical evidence. That cat just wanted to drop f-bombs on everyone and claim we all had zero ‘basketball knowledge’.
Either way, I agree, something had to change with the Hawks.
"Everybody talks about SEC speed. The 27 fastest guys at the (NFL) combine, how many of them were from the SEC? Three. But if you say it enough, everybody will believe it."
-CPJ
"You could spend the next fifteen seconds of your life watching a man and a tiger scream together, or you could be an idiot."
Fact.
hell, he shouldn't be on the team at this point...
much less starting at DE… There has got to be something there- on tape, on the practice field, in the bedroom, somewhere- that has kept him on the team so far. I am all for trying to hang on and get some value for the money they’ve paid him, but he has got to be in the “cut your losses” stage of his contract lifespan by now. Maybe he has shown something in the offseason that gives him this one “last chance” this year…. Here’s hoping he has a really short leash that gets yanked if he ain’t gettin’ it done in the first game or two. I am also hoping, really really hoping, that he proves us all wrong and finally blows up for us this year. 15 sacks and a nickname like “Sackzilla” and a “damn what took you so long f*cker?” or something like that. I, for one, would love to eat crow and have him prove us wrong.
I have no vampire experience, but I have hunted werewolves. I shot one once, but by the time I got there, it had turned back into my neighbor's dog.
Love the rant
But I think he has some place on the team as a young, versatile guy who can occasionally spell starters. Significant snaps are a mistake.
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At this point I agree
But to Heath’s point, maybe all he was missing was a truly dominant DT. I love Babs as much as the next guy, but after him we have been kinda light the last few years. I’m sure it hasn’t made things easy for Abraham, and I’m definitely not even remotely trying to speak of the two in the same breath, but I have to imagine that they are all related, even if it’s a marginal. So, maybe, just maybe, there is something the coaching staff sees that they think they can take advantage of with two talented DT’s such as Jerry and Babs.
"Everybody talks about SEC speed. The 27 fastest guys at the (NFL) combine, how many of them were from the SEC? Three. But if you say it enough, everybody will believe it."
-CPJ
"You could spend the next fifteen seconds of your life watching a man and a tiger scream together, or you could be an idiot."
Fact.
Sackzilla, JA98 ain't
I’ve been waiting to be proven wrong for a LOOOOONG time with that particular Razorback. It seems JA98’s particular talent lies in not getting injured.
Why, God, why?
WHY
You have opinions. We all do. Some of yours may have to do with the Falcons. Sign up today and share them.
Not the best news
I was looking forward to JA98 playing DT because that might be his last shot at staying on the team. If he has added some size in the offseason then he will be slower than last season. MS DE’s are typically fast and JA98 never really fit that description. Having JA98 at DE also takes away snaps from the young guys that could use the increase playing time.
On top of all of that BVG is a dumb@$$. The zone blitz did not work AT ALL last year. It makes no sense to use DE’s in pass coverage for two primary reason – 1) ATL’s LB’s can’t rush the passer, 2) I would think out LB’s are faster than the DE’s so running down a RB in the flats is much harder (especially with older guys like Abraham). JA98 is terrible in pass coverage.
I agree, this has to be JS98’s make or break year. If he doesn’ t improve dramatically then he should be gone.
It's the look on his face that gets me, but
He’s on a short leash.
Rule #1: Double tap.
by Ball Hawk on Jul 29, 2010 9:28 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Yup
You must be referring to the “tell me about the rabbits, George” look he always seems to have.
by concretejunglez on Jul 30, 2010 6:28 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
JA98 is valuable but
only if the rotation is right. The guy does not need to be in for passing downs, period, unless he finally shows something early in the season. Remember Smith has 4 preseason games to test everything out…his comments here are pretty ominous but he’s not bound to the them for the regular season or anything. I think we’ll see more Biermann than he’s letting on.
It's a great move...
Opposing offenses will be so shocked he’s still out there, they won’t be able to function properly.
The QB, with so much free time on his hands, will take up knitting.
The WRs, now getting open way to much, will freak out and start covering each other.
The OL will get uncomfortable with always having JA98 safely in their arms from the start of the play to the finish that they’ll just stop blocking him altogether (it won’t matter for he’ll still just stick to them like he’s on Madden).
The RBs, they aren’t even on the field (for JA98 is too good against the run). They will be busy reading the latest Twilight novel on the bench. It’s good stuff. It will suck them in…
Then when the team is all out of sorts (and wearing nice new knitted sweaters), the Beer-Man will come into the game and crush everything in his path…
Genius.
by Jman781 on Jul 29, 2010 9:51 AM EDT reply actions 4 recs
of course....
we were all just too short-sighted to comprehend the master plan. I see it all clearly now, and I pronounce you a true football guru with Yoda-like insights, though, unfortunately, lacking in his distinct communication skills. I refuse, however, to blame you for this, nor will i tolerate any attacks on the genius of the knowledge you provided, because of the clear, concise, bland, and un-Yoda-like delivery of this vital, and let’s face it, brilliant, strategy by our beloved Falcons coaching staff. Work on this you will, hope I.
I have no vampire experience, but I have hunted werewolves. I shot one once, but by the time I got there, it had turned back into my neighbor's dog.
If the "suck them in" is a pun on vampires
I will break you in half.
But Rec’d for awesomeness, nonetheless.
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I have tried
to think of any and every excuse to why JA98 has not performed. At first I was saying that maybe during his rookie year, he had college coaches (dumb Puketrino). His sophomore year I was thinking that he finally got a real coach and you might as well count it as his first year. I saw how he was close to getting sacks and blamed it on awful coverage with Brooking, Houston, and Milloy. His third year I had no more excuses and pretty much gave up on him being the pass-rusher we hoped he would be. Now that he has bulked up, I think he will be even SLOWER. I hope I’m wrong but I doubt it.
I agree with Heath
The coaching staff must see something, I don’t know what it is, either JA is giving them half his paycheck or there’s still some untaped potential.
Just to note something though, watching JA over the past year it seemed that he could get near and rush the QB it was all about finishing. Sometimes he would just miss the QB, or just not know how to finish correctly. I know he’s pretty much a bust at this point, but the optimist inside me thinks it’s not unreasonable to hope for 5 sacks…
Australian Atlanta Falcons Fan EST 2003
Falcons are my life,
Falcons are my soul,
I watch them through all the strife,
Until they get that Superbowl.
I don't understand
For the past two years, all i’ve heard is “Jamaal Anderson needs to perform, or I see him leaving the team before training camp is over”. Now he’s gained weight to play DT, and Smitty wants him playing DE?
Maybe it's just a smoke screen.
Opposing coaches love it when you obviously have your head up your butt. What better way to keep them from scheming to compensate for unknown quantities (BeerMan and ElSid) than have them scheme for a known lack-of-quantity (you-know-who) and then surprise them with quality.
C’mon, a guy can dream, right?
How many more days, Lord, must I walk through the wilderness?
great article
I don’t really understand this one either. The more optimistic side of me hopes that this is really a great idea that Smith has implemented because he knows something none of us knows about JA and that he’s on the verge of being awesome. But since every shred of evidence in existence screams the opposite is true, the more logical side of me says “why the #$%! would you even consider this?”
When I look at this situation, i see that Jamal Anderson is to the Falcons kind of what Nate McLouth has been to the Braves. Yeah, he’s technically a body that’s out on the field which by definition makes him a “player”, but his contribution is so minimal (and in some cases actually hurts the team) that he may as well not even be out there. The problem is that he rarely actually HELPS the team.
So if i’m gonna see this guy on the field for 200 or 300 snaps, i’m almost guaranteed not to get anything out of that DE position. It’s like just putting a tackling dummy out there who is a minor inconvenience to the opposing team but doesn’t pose any real threat to hurt them. That’s kind of a problem, but it also should make the decision pretty easy. You know that player #1 isn’t giving you anything, you know you have players #2 and #3 (Sidbury and Biermann) who are young and hungry and have promise, so what could you possibly lose by having them rotate at that other DE spot? In the unlikely scenario that they don’t give you anything, guess what? That just puts you right back where you were with JA, so you haven’t lost anything. Moving JA can’t hurt you… it can either have no impact or it can help you.
So a decision that seems like a gimme is not being made, and that’s what confuses me.
by cheshire falcon on Jul 29, 2010 11:56 AM EDT reply actions
I think we may be are overplaying this slightly …
JA98 participated in a total of 565 defensive snaps last year (only 528 of those defensive snaps came at DE).
Kroy participated in a total of 499 defensive snaps last year. All of his defensive snaps were at DE.
Do the math. JA98 only took 29 more snaps at DE last year. And we clearly thought of JA98 as “the starter” …
When all is said and done this year, if JA98 shifts inside enough, Kroy is very likely to get more snaps at DE.
And you could very well be right
I’m just not entirely sure what Mike Smith means here. The point isn’t whether JA98 gets more snaps than Biermann, it’s if he approaches the same number of snaps. Because he shouldn’t.
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by Dave Choate on Jul 29, 2010 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions
I actually agree ...
Believe it or not, according to PFF, Kroy was actually more valuable vs the run last year.
To that effect, JA98 was exceptionally bad vs the run in ‘08. There’s this misconception that JA98 excels versus the run, which isn’t exactly true.
I would argue that the fact that he's better against the run than the pass
Makes us all believe he’s better against the run than he is. I certainly am down with your hypothesis here.
I think we can totally agree that Biermann ought to get the lion’s share of snaps at left end.
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this is all im gonna say before you all lynch me
i have a wierd feeling that he is going to be decent this year. i kno i kno, he has been one of the worst… wouldnt say football but ill say player. i bet he looks at this blog, i bet he hears it from fans. this guy has to be getting pretty fed up with all this crap. so if u you are lookin at the JA…. go fu(k yourself
Weatherspoon1stFalconsPick???
by JJWatt1stfalconspick on Jul 29, 2010 1:37 PM EDT reply actions
I hope he does
I don’t dislike Jamaal Anderson the person, just JA98 the player. If he picks it up, we’ll all be happy.
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Steve Smith once said that about Jake Delhomme
I belong to NO ONE...and no one belongs to ME.
by brotherbrown on Jul 29, 2010 2:46 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
LOL!
he really did. As much as I want to hate Steve Smith as a rival he really is a fun guy to watch and he sure does love the camera.
know what you believe in and why you believe in it
by MentallyMIA on Jul 30, 2010 11:15 AM EDT up reply actions
The good news...
is that the bar is so incredibly low at this point. He can only pleasantly surprise us.
Fear does not exist in this dojo, does it? NO, SENSEI! Pain does not exist in this dojo, does it? NO, SENSEI! Defeat does not exist in this dojo, does it? NO SENSEI! - John Creese, Kobra Kai
by DonnyBrasco on Jul 29, 2010 11:36 PM EDT up reply actions
No lynching here
One of the greatest things that could happen to the defense is if JA98 has a decent year. If he can get between five and eight sacks that would be a huge load lifted off the other guys. Also, that might reduce BVG’s propensity for that stupid zone blitz.
Actuallllllllllyyyy........
If memory serves me right, Dave>poo>JA98> Jennings
Just saying. We can’t lose sight of the big picture.
"Everybody talks about SEC speed. The 27 fastest guys at the (NFL) combine, how many of them were from the SEC? Three. But if you say it enough, everybody will believe it."
-CPJ
"You could spend the next fifteen seconds of your life watching a man and a tiger scream together, or you could be an idiot."
Fact.
by Jesse28 on Jul 30, 2010 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Wouldn't want to forget that, certainly
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it's suppose to be Dave 9000x>poo Poo is (P90x)00x> Petrino
Darn Tony Horton!
I belong to NO ONE...and no one belongs to ME.
by brotherbrown on Jul 31, 2010 12:36 AM EDT up reply actions
looking at this*
Weatherspoon1stFalconsPick???
by JJWatt1stfalconspick on Jul 29, 2010 1:38 PM EDT reply actions
“Go @#% yourself” = “Get your #$@% out there, sic em (the QB), and make us proud!”
I belong to NO ONE...and no one belongs to ME.
by brotherbrown on Jul 29, 2010 2:48 PM EDT up reply actions
sounds like pre-camp talk to me
i expect we may hear or see a different story when the season starts.
Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I don't like that attitude. I can assure them it is much more serious than that. - Bill Shankly
by armchair quarterback on Jul 29, 2010 1:45 PM EDT reply actions
Your concerns Dave are well merited
But like Dimitroff’s moves, it seems that everything is done for a reason, and ultimately knows what they are doing. We didn’t like what they were doing for most of the year on defense and offense, but it primed many of our youth to get some experience and thrown into the fire. It let us see our true weakness to build for the 2010 draft.
Now in this case we know JA98 like Jenkins at receiver hasn’t proved much worth at DE and seems more valuable at DT. But without Anderson at DE we only have 5 DE’s and about 7 DT’s
DE Chauncey Davis, Sidbury, Biermann, Abraham, and then Anderson
DT Jerry, Peters, Babs, Walker, TJohnson, T Lewis, then Anderson
The Depth at DE is actually smaller at this time versus DT, and I’m sure Smith would like to keep flexible positional players around. (Maybe Klecko another DT/FB might make the team and become the next Peyton Hillis incase Mughelli needs a Robin- remember what he did to us against Denver). Apparently he must be doing something good at DE to have Smith to place him there at all that we aren’t seeing or haven’t learned to measure. Fact is, he’s a body, and somethings in games that’s all you need to keep teams honest and rest other players.
For right now, we don’t know if he will actually start at DE, it was said he could. And it could all be a media ploy just like Jerry’s and HD injury being Mum up until now.
I belong to NO ONE...and no one belongs to ME.
or,, or
he could be jesus in disguise, and as soon as we beleive in him he will ascend and become the albert hanysworth ( no work ethic) of the de’s
Weatherspoon1stFalconsPick???
by JJWatt1stfalconspick on Jul 29, 2010 3:41 PM EDT reply actions
not*******
i need to start spell checkin haha
Weatherspoon1stFalconsPick???
by JJWatt1stfalconspick on Jul 29, 2010 3:42 PM EDT reply actions
ok, maybe because
He is good against the run is why he will be in more snaps at DE. And on passing the Beerman comes in. So automatically he gets more snaps.
by CollegePark4Life on Jul 29, 2010 4:16 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Hmmm,...JA98
is not that good against the run. It just looks that way because he is terrible (so far anyway) against the pass.
Almost sacks
Is there a stat for almost sacks? No not qb pressures, I mean the kind where JA finally(kinda sorta) gets to the qb huffing and puffing but only after said qb has comfortably completed a 19 yarder over one of our smurfs. Bet he’s awesome in that stat.
I think JA 98 will look better with Jerry, Dunta and Spoon on the field
He’s always open. He catches a lot of balls. He’s un-guardable, no matter how old he is
Hell I
Could look good at de with them out there.
by CollegePark4Life on Jul 29, 2010 7:51 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
If you were TD or Smitty
would you trade for JA98?
"Once down is no battle."
Robert Furst
What on earth can you get for him?
I belong to NO ONE...and no one belongs to ME.
by brotherbrown on Jul 31, 2010 12:38 AM EDT up reply actions
CMS`s comments
They where read by me 3 or 4 times.
Deciphering what he said and what he might have indicated?
He never really said how much Anderson would involved into the base rotation, except to say he would split time in between DE / DT and the approximate number of snaps for the sub and base sets.
That could be interpreted as him stating there is an open camp for starter at DE?
Good coach speak for sure.
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