Sean Weatherspoon To Start For Falcons Over Stephen Nicholas?

I got nicholas lofton and spoon starting week 1

If we get 3 or 4 games out of Mufasa then its all good. I remember last year he was pretty disruptive early on. I’m pretty sure coach has some kind of rotation anyway, im betting Peterson and Nicholas will split playing time.

But I think he’s better than anyone gives him credit for and makes an bigger impact to our defense than most realise.

….if Spoon starts over Nicholas and not Peterson. There’s a fire in Nicholas that the backups don’t have, and I’ve seen it in both preseason games that I’ve witnessed. It’s obvious that Peterson still has some ability, but he’s gotten older and having him start now is only going to retard the development of the young core set of LBs that we have. It is imperative that we get Spoon, Police, and Bull starting in week 1, because they are easily our best 3 LBs, even if stats say they aren’t our 3 best.

is he is still terrible is pass coverage. Not saying that Peterson is better though. Do we have another LB other than Lofton that is decent is pass coverage?

and yes the Hernandez play is part of the equation for me. In pass coverage he will be facing QB/TE tandems as good as Brady/Hernandez many times during the season. Also, while it was a good throw, Spoon was playing the TE and not the ball, he never saw the pass coming. Wasn’t it Chris Houston that always got drilled on this very same board for not looking back for the ball? Does Spoon get different considerations because he was a 1st round draft pick?

He is a rookie LB that did not play the pass well in college nor has it played it very well so far in pre-season. To assume he’s going to be “decent” during the season expects a lot or indicates low expectations for his pass coverage. I hope he plays the pass well but it is going to be a challenge for him, but he is talented and can do it.

In a perfect world Weatherspoon would be the replacement for the aging Peterson, but if Peterson and Spoon and performing at a higher level than Nicks and gives the team the best chance to execute, so be it. The fact that this is even a possibility makes me a little disappointed in Nicks though.

the ATL wasted a draft pick. One major knock against Spoon coming out of college was his less than stellar pass coverage skills, or I guess we should overlook that, right?

Hernandez at WR? Okay, good point, but if you watch football you’ll see that the move is to more WR-like TE’s. Does that mean that Spoon cannot cover the more athletic TE’s? Guess by your admission that would be the case.

I should have made myself a little more clear about the comparison between Houston and Spoon. No, I don’t expect Spoon to perform at the highest level already, but somone has pretty high expectations if he is being considered to start, and my point was he is still poor in pass coverage. Your point is valid about Houston being a veteran and should be played better. Only time will tell if Spoon will make adjustments or not.

As far as Spoon turning around too late goes, WHO CARES?! He missed the play. In pass coverage the defender can play the ball, the opposing player or the QB. Spoon was focused solely on the TE and that is a rookie mistake. He can learn adjustments, well I hope he can. This is not about making excuses about why he blew the play because he blew it regardless of the reasons why, but he is a rookie.

Also, the only time on offense you know the ball is coming to you is if you’re the primary receiver. The other WR’s try to get open in case the primary guy is covered. At that point anyone that is open is fair game.

What it boils down to is that you are a Spoon fan and I’m not.

It doesn’t really matter who’s starting or not. WHY?? Because CMS is gonna use these guys in a rotation by putting in MO primarily on 1st and 2nd down – when a team will likely run the ball, to go along with nickels and lord lofton, THEN on passing downs-primarily 2nd and 3rd – (pasing team or running team dtermines 2nd down, plus down and distance of course) we’ll see spoon in with nickels and lofton.
 Now lets say that CMS does still have a woddy for mopete, then I would be ok with him starting- FOR NOW! He will be great the first 3-5 games then mo will slow down a step or two even – thats when spoon takes his job PERMANENTLY!!
 So guys, I definitely don’t think it’s worth argueing about at all, I actually think we have it pretty good at LB this year!!

P.S. – What if we switch to a 3-4 out of nowhere and ALL 4 guys are in the game!!! Whoa!
Thanx for readin’

With Abe, Pirahna Jerry, and Duffman as the 3 up front!! That eliminates the JA experiment once and for all!! I would actually take Mo over JA on any given down!! WHY? Cuz Mo is way smarter than JA, and can actually make a big play or two.

I like to call him MoPete – he always seems to need to give just a little bit MO on every play.
 I think you hit on something there also DBC. Peterson is starting probably because the first team we play will primarily be a running team, so might the cards too in week 2, so therefore the reason CMS is starting MO. Maybe, could be. don’t know though. lol

so early and put pressure on him. There are other ways of playing him but it’s crazy to put him out there if he isn’t ready, no matter how we feel about him personally.