The Need For A Veteran Pass Rusher In 2012

Other than that I think Sid will be a good pass rusher, just not sure about him playing against the run. I love Kroy but he hasn’t shown any real improvement, I hope he proves me wrong this preseason. Matthews…I really can’t form an opinion on him at this time. Ray better bring his A game this season, I believe he will.

Abe was the only consistent force all year, we can get by with Grimey gone, we could probably even get by with Lofton gone, but if Abe walks we have to get a veteran to fill his shoes. But honestly I would rather keep him here, he’s a leader, and his tattoos are awesome

Sign Avril (he is only 26 and had 11 sacks this year) seeing as how that’s a long term answer. John will only have one more Decent year left why be in this same situation next year? I say go get Cliff resign lofton and Draft or Sign a Corner. (then if we have money left sign Abraham or Mathis so we can have a Giants type of D going)

Has always been what I feel is the cornerstone of the defense. If these guys can stop the run and put pressure on the passer, then you will have a great defense with little regard to who is behind them as DB’s and Safefy’s. However, in watching some very good DC’s over the years, I will have to amend by judgement. A good DC will compensate where there is a weakness. He will send a LB, CB or S if the pass rush is weak, gaining pressure by adding additional blitzers. Does that weaken the other areas….yes. But a good DC knows the strengths of his unit as well as the weaknesses and can pull additional help from the strong points to help out the weaker areas. So, I think that Nolan will do what he does best; align the team so that each player will maximize their talent to become a cohesive unit. If Abraham stays, fantastic. If he leaves, Nolan will find another way to exert pressure on the passer.

We need to move on to another agressive, younger, pass-rushing DE. We need to re-sign Lofton, sign Avril type of player, and sign a LT (Gaither or McNeill). Our goal should be to make sure that our O-line is right and our front 7 on the Defense is ready on day one of camp. We should still be sitting pretty good in cap space after those three signings. And since we don’t have a 1st round pick we should be fine with signing our draft picks and other FAs.

Either Mathis or Mario Williams, Let Biermann go and have Ray,Sid,Matthews ad our DE along with either mathis or mario. Im hoping Ray has a better year next year and that sidbury emerges as a good pass rusher. I would also be all for trying to sign Laron Landry to replace decoud. But overall our priority list should be LT(mcneil,gaither) RG(nicks,grubbs) after we fill those two positions, then we go help the defense out

Color him gone and here is why. The Falcons will value him based on his recent stats on the team. What is lost in that is he was the only pass rushing threat the Falcons have and thus garnered much attention from opposing teams.Other teams with at least one passer rusher already in the fold, will realize that Abe’s stats will greatly increase with some help on the Dline. Thus, he will be worth more to some other teams.

Where that leaves the Falcons is not in a good place just as you say Dave. Let’s say they sign a DE that can actually rush the passer (Mathis would be Edwards II, he gets stats opposite Freeny), he will be in the exact spot Abe is in, the only pass rusher.

Real problem, and to fix it you don’t need one guy, you need two.

We need space eaters, I think Nolan’s scheme will help the pass rush. The focus will be on the oline IMO because 0 points in the playoffs is unacceptable

If and only if Abe walks, would be to re-sign Lofton let Grimes go and sign Mario, I think that Mathis is only great when he has help on the other side and i dont think anyone on our d-line except for Abe gets double teamed much. Mario is dominant it took a couple few years but he came into his own the last year or so take away this past season from being injured. You figure Grimes is gonna walk either way, you sure up Lofton and let Abe walk based on age, and get Mario along with the new scheme Nolan is bringin in, who knows what could happen, I know this isnt a fantasy league we’re in, it would cost alot of money to sign him, but i mean if its a possibility or reality you have to try you have to put the best team on the field, I think maybe we can sure up some of the o-line within the orginazation and new scheme too, we have to concentrate on puttin pressure on the qb, look what that did for the Giants, thing about it is tho Abe being from SC loves Atlanta because its close to home, thats why he wanted to come here from the Jets, you may sign him for a smaller deal than most ppl think if he again doesnt want to get to far from home

Opposing tackles ABUSED him. Edwards is not an elite pass rusher. Never was. . . never will be.

The real problem is that the interior pass rush SUCKS. If the Falcons had a tackle who could collapse the pocket, the edge rushers would be more effective, as would the DBs.

EVERY YEAR it’s IF Babineaux does this or IF the other tackle, now Peters, can rush a little better, or IFJerry can get some penetration.

Screw IF. The Falcons need a BEAST in the middle. . . then franchise Grimes, let Lofton and DeCoud walk, move Robinson to free safety and if he can’t cut it there, kick his ass to the curb, too. Robinson was below average in coverage when he played in Houston. Why should he be any better in Atlanta? I can hear it now, “But Robinson is a hard-nosed tackler for a corner.” Yeah, and Michael Jenkins was a good blocker for a receiver. How did that work out?

Of course, if money were no object, there’s always Mario Williams.

…that Mathis benefitted from playing opposite Freeney. Just a hunch that he’s a solid second-fiddle, but not, umm, “lead fiddle”. lol

Not interested in signing Avril especially for the price he will command. Seriously, he got a free ride at Detroit due to all the concentration on other top defenseive players on the Lions. He has never experienced a double team nor has a defense been dedicated to stop him. Again, anyone decent athlete put in his position would have rolled out the sacks.

Hey here’s an idea. Let’s try drafting a decent blue chip DE prospects in the earlier rounds. No small school undersized in the 4th. And yes the pain of Jamaal lingers forcing us to pass up Mathews one place ahead with Jerry.