Peace Out Homie: Curtis Lofton Done as a Falcon?
by James Rael on Jan 21, 2012 11:28 PM EST
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In this series, we're making the best of content purgatory rosterbating a bit, projecting whether various free agents will be back in black and red next fall.
He's built like a dump truck. He's a founding member of the infamous D Block. And he's been a cornerstone of our defense since 2008. Curtis Tremayne Lofton is an unrestricted free agent, and let's be honest, he'll likely look to secure his financial future with this next contract. Can you blame him? Heck naw!
First, before anyone freaks out, let me just say that I fully expect him to be back. But for mitts and wiggles, let's consider why he might not be back. Without further ado, I bring you the top five reasons Curtis Lofton is done as a Falcon:
(5) He's too expensive
Four of our defensive starters are free agents, and something has to give. Lofton is a huge asset and you can't replace his leadership. Unfortunately, if TD and company decide pass rush and pass defense are the biggest priorities, then Lofton may find the contract we offer him less-than-ideal. Salary cap space isn't an issue for this team, but you can't have your cake and eat it too.
(4) Akeem Dent doesn't suck
To be fair, he didn't play much middle LB this year. Nonetheless, the coaching staff had nothing but positive things to say about the kid, and he's used to playing the Mike.
(3) We'll be a 3-4 defense by 2013
As you all know, there are no plans to make the switch this year. But that doesn't mean the Falcons brass aren't looking ahead. Lofton - while extremely talented - isn't as valuable in a 3-4 scheme.
(2) He's not fast enough to excel in a Nolan-run defense
Lofton has a good motor, and when there's no one around to block him, he'll log a sack here and there. But if the Falcons plan to blitz at a higher clip, perhaps they'll look for a middle LB with a bit more speed.
(1) Nolan doesn't have a cool mustache - and that offends Curtis
You don't offend Curtis. No sir.
I'm not gonna lie, it'd surprise the you-know-what out of me if they don't re-sign him. None of the aforementioned rationales sway me.
Discuss!
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Comments
Curtis Lofton Better Be Back
My humble opinion is that the Falcons are a young team for the most part. We have players that should really hit their stride the next 4 years. Lofton is a huge part of that. So I believe he is a priority and has shown the skills necessary to succeed in any defensive scheme. Nolan will put this kid to work in the right way. Lofton will stay and be a dominant player no matter the scheme.
I can't handle this kind of thinking right now. Head is still spinning.
Extremely nauseous from too much absinthe. Never touching that stuff again.
should've stuck with
Junior’s Midnight Moon
It's Great! To be! A Tennessee Vol!
True. Haha, haven't had any mountain dew in some years.
I often tell myself to simply stick to beer. I wish I would listen. Still feeling sick.
beer before
more beer… something good that rhymes with beer
It's Great! To be! A Tennessee Vol!
did you know
what the word “absinthe” stands for?
it originates from Greek, and there’re 2 versions of translating this word, and one of them is “undrinkable”
Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia
Makes sense
That stuff is horrible. And they don’t even sell the real stuff here in the states
by FLA_Falcon on Jan 22, 2012 7:37 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
And this from a people
Who quaff Ouzo on ice in the middle of the day. Yikes.
by TheAreopagite on Jan 22, 2012 12:08 PM EST up reply actions
And so the long dark off season begins.......
When we begin discussing that our leading tackler and the leader of our defense might not be resigned, we have officially run out of topics.
True That
Don't bother hanging yourself or shooting yourself, just watch Atlanta sports.
by InMattWeTrust on Jan 22, 2012 11:26 AM EST up reply actions
uhhhhhhhhhhh
whats this ???? surely you jest …… Lofton should be Falcons #1 Priority , If Not we are moving in the wrong Direction …
http://www.myspace.com/shredsplace
http://www.facebook.com/people/Tony-Thigpen/100001812990216
It's a fair question to ask
Personally, I think he’s a lock to re-sign. If the front office is really examining the team from top to bottom, though, it’s not an impossibility that they won’t re-sign him.
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No Way
U don’t just let tha leader of ur defense walk, I’m sorry….and if there’s ever a time we need leaders it’s now.
by DirtyBirdzUp on Jan 22, 2012 2:28 AM EST via iPhone app reply actions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4kd9iwJl2Q
That is all.
by Turner_The_Burner on Jan 22, 2012 3:56 AM EST reply actions
Don't bother hanging yourself or shooting yourself, just watch Atlanta sports.
by InMattWeTrust on Jan 22, 2012 10:40 AM EST up reply actions
Not worried at all
and pardon me for saying this but you’re reaching on most of your points man. Lofton is a run stopping mike in a pass obsessed league. I’m willing to bet his contract is smaller than both abe and grimes. Plus, MLBs dont have too much of a rushing responsibility in the 3-4. That falls on the OLB.
by AU Falcon on Jan 22, 2012 4:31 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Of course he's reaching on his points, guys.
But this is a series in which we examine the possibility of re-signing or not re-signing all of our current free agents, at least the important ones anyway. He says at the end of the post that none of these arguments seem like legitimate reasons to let Lofton leave in free agency, but it’s still a question worth asking.
This is my corn. You people are guests in my corn.
I agree with everyone else, by the way.
I doubt we’ll see any posts from people who don’t agree. Lofton is the leader on our defense, and will only assume that role to a larger degree when veterans like Abe, Perterson and Grimes inevitably leave in free agency. I hope he gets a long contract from us.
This is my corn. You people are guests in my corn.
I cant see us not resigning him. If we didn't it would be michael boleyn all over again.
"I'm about rings now"
~Arthur Blank
by CollegePark4Life on Jan 22, 2012 8:44 AM EST reply actions
He plays an extremely fungible position
And saving money on those positions is key to the Patriot Management System™. You can pretty easily draft linebackers, and if they’re high enough on Dent already they might just let him walk, garner a compensatory pick, then sign a leftover veteran when the season starts. It probably won’t happen, but there are good reasons for letting it happen.
?
If MLBs are so fungible and replaceable and unimportant,then why use a high draft pick on the position to begin with.I think you’re making the case,if i understand correctly,that the GM should be fired for using a second round pick on a MLB,when he could just as well churn FA scrubs at the position.
I know very few people that would agree with that analysis.Most would say that strength up the middle of a defense is crucial to success.
If the Falcons ever reach the point where they invest a high draft pick in a MLB,he becomes consistently top 5 in the NFL in tackles,and can’t afford to re sign him to his second contract,we will know that they are hopelessly churning the roster and are trapped as a fringe playoff team at best.
Finally,the Patriots are successful because they put as high a premium and priority on line of scrimmage performance,on both sides of the ball,as any franchise in football.Teams that consistently do that are in a better position to mask and protect weaknesses in the back sevens and offensive skill sets.if there is a philosophical model to take from the Pats,lets be the next lineman factory in the tradition of the Pats,Ravens,Steelers,Giants and Packers.
Fungible positions are precisely the one's you draft.
They’re also the one’s to which you never give big money contracts. You draft them, pay them less than their value, then you let them walk.
If I’m so off base, name off the big linebacker contracts we’ve spit out in free agency? We haven’t any: we let Brooking and Boley walk because we offered them low level contracts, while re-upping the inexpensive contracts of backup-special team linebackers like Nicholas and Peterson.
Let me also diagram your argument: Linebackers play in the middle. The middle is important, see the patriots offensive and defensive lines. How does that follow for linebackers again? Disagree all you want, but this FO operates with the belief that linebackers are fungible.
by TheAreopagite on Jan 22, 2012 12:14 PM EST up reply actions
It's a backward theory
When he was cut,Keith Brooking was a 12 year veteran,all with the Falcons,played out 5 contracts worth over $80 million and his best years were behind him.Boley was a punk,malcontent trouble maker on whom the Giants took an inexpensive gamble in the hope he would grow up and reach his good potential.Good for him and the Giants that he did grow up and has had a really good career.But he was a young problem in the Falcons culture at the time.
We can hope that 7 or 8 years from now that Lofton has given us a long and outstanding career as our defensive QB,in the tradition of Nobis,Brezina,Tuggle,and Brooking.
No way they let The Police go.
With Lofton and Spoon, we have two pieces of an elite 4-3 linebacking core. Both guys are smart and talented enough to make the switch to a 3-4, though they maybe not as effective in this system they should still be in the top tier of linebackers in the league. And for the record, I don’t expect the 4-3 to be completely eliminated from our playbook for at least 2-3 years.
by Joey Dickerson on Jan 22, 2012 10:11 AM EST reply actions
Are you serious? He is the staple to our D trench. I know about Dent and ‘Spoon but they can’t do it as good as him. The Monster probably isn’t coming back and our pressure is going to get even worse. He’s a smart veteran and I bet if 5-0 wasn’t there, than ‘Spoon wouldn’t have had the season he had. We have a scary threat with someone trying to hit you with a kitchen utensil and a police officer rushing in behind him. All of our D is going to take a hit with the Predator and Grimey most likely leaving. If our next great veteran leaves than our D will go crazy, not to mention we have to learn a new style from MN.
Don't bother hanging yourself or shooting yourself, just watch Atlanta sports.
I have to place a lot of hope in Nolan
He’ll get more out the current roster and hopefully add a pass rusher. Spoon may become our scary pass-rusher. I can see Abe going and Grimes too, but I could also see both of them come back for less than the open market price.
absolutley no reason to let him go
out of all the free agents, he is THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE TO KEEP. I can handle losing Abe and Grimes, but not Lofton. no way that should happen
If Halladay, Lee, and Hamels all break their arms while playing tag in the clubhouse, We'll be set
by suicide bunting is a sin on Jan 22, 2012 10:52 AM EST reply actions
A lot depends on Lofton.
He’s been a really good MLB in our 4-3, but he hasn’t been a superstar. That’s not to say he couldn’t be, but he isn’t yet. He also hasn’t been enough of a leader of the defense. With all the poor tackling and breakdowns I can’t say that I ever remember him getting on guys on or off the field about it. No player only meetings of the defense, etc. He’s a bit too low key to be the leader.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Lofton and think he’s a really good MLB. However, if he prices himself too high then I can easily see him being let go.
by drmondo667 on Jan 22, 2012 10:52 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
I really don't believe Nolan will begin his tenure with the Falcons by letting his QB walk
You can question Lofton’s speed or athleticism if you like, but what you can’t do, is question his football IQ. He always has everyone lined up and ready to go before the ball is snapped. How many times, just in Falcon’s games, have we seen the other team’s D jumping around and trying to get themselves in positions at the last second. That doesn’t happen to our D, because it’s just plain common sense that you don’t argue with the Police.
Really?
No matter what he wants, he should get. The most important FA on the team.
by DesertFalcon on Jan 22, 2012 11:25 AM EST via Android app reply actions
I think Abe and Turner are gone unless we
can get Turner back for less money, geez, makes me cringe to say that cause he has shouldered so much of the offensive load.
I Don't Want Him To Leave
But if a team in FA offers him a contract that’s way more then he should get paid then yes hell walk I love curtis he’s my fav falcon but as a LB he doesn’t have that many game changing plays he had 2ints this year and 1 sack, to invest big money a LB he has to be all over the field making plays in coverage and on running plays, while Willis,Lewis,Beason are the only few lb worth big money, I want to keep curtis but for what he’s worth don’t want to give a good player a great players nfl contract, plus if he dose leave dent will play first two downs, then spoon will shift in for dime and nickle packages
by Nedk23 on Jan 22, 2012 2:03 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Yikes ...
Caveats don’t go far with some of y’all. Or maybe those of you with the “Really?!” and “You’ve got to be kidding!” comments don’t read posts in their entirety.
Like I said above, I don’t see them not re-signing him. But free agency is a balancing act. While Owens and Franks filled in adequately during Grimes’ absence, unless the coaching staff believes they could fill that role permanently, the front office will take a hard look at re-signing our #1 corner. And to that effect, many of you were less-than-content with the pass rush this year. If you cringe at the notion that we’d let Lofton walk, what are your thoughts about rolling with Biermann as a starter?
Look, I’m just trying to generate conversation, but if you really think the Falcons brass isn’t mulling their options, then you’re either incredibly short-sighted or you just don’t get it. I’m 90 percent sure he’ll be a Falcon, but you can be sure the team is looking at this as a business decision, ultimately doing what’s best for the team as-a-whole.
Oh God!!!!!!! Why would u say such a thing
Atlanta Superbowls
by Atlanta Superbowls on Jan 23, 2012 12:44 PM EST reply actions
gone gone and gone
If there are other teams willing to pay more than FO deams necessary, yes we will loose them. Abe, Grimey, Lofton, Bierman, If the offers are not overwhelming, then we match them. With the high talent of our backups, some may be let loose.
bravesfan1957
Very good points
Personally I think we need to bring him back but your right if we don’t it isn’t the end of the world. Dent is good but to counter what you said about Lofton not being fast enough, Dent is the same type player. For me he’s top priority but if we let him go I’ll be content assuming we bring in the right fa’s.
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