FanPost

Fixing the Falcons in three easy steps

What I am going to attempt to do is show a plan, the Falcons can follow, and take a 6-10 team to a Super Bowl contender in one off season. Yes, I don't think this team is all that far away even with our glaring defensive short coming. I welcome all comments and criticisms that I am sure will come with these moves.

1) Do not overreact. What I mean by this is that we do not have to blow up the roster to fit our presumed head coach's schemes. The overlying belief here is that our previous head coach and defensive coordinator mismanaged the talent Atlanta already has. We can all agree that later in the year Hageman was probably our most eye popping defensive lineman but he road the pine way too much to impact most games.

I want to be clear in that I believe our running a multiple front scheme did not allow the players to focus on doing a specific job and created confusion and miscommunication on the field. I place most of that blame squarely at the feet of Mike Nolan. I want to believe he is the one that pushed Dimitroff and company to pick up players suited for a 3-4 defense but constantly ran nickel packages. I also suspect that he is responsible for allowing Tyson Jackson and Paul Soliai to be left on the field in obvious passing situations when we had players better suited for the job on the bench; see Jonathan Massaquoi.

2) Sign these three free agents- Greg Hardy (no matter how expensive he is), Adrian Clayborn and Malcolm Smith. I know there are questions marks regarding Hardy's availability going into next season but that is why I threw in Clayborn. What Hardy represents is the best defensive free agent out there and someone whose defection hurts a division rival. I love to hurt teams within our division. He does provide us with a pass rusher that other teams will have to game plan against and provides enough versatility to be moved from end to tackle on passing downs.

Clayborn represents someone that can be a solid, if unspectacular, bridge to Greg Hardy's on field return. He has enough talent to be Atlanta's clear number 2 pass rusher and to provide constant pressure from the other side. This signing also allows us to keep Mass fresh and available on passing downs. Here to Clayborn is versatile enough to slide inside on third and long situations.

The signing of Malcolm Smith allows us to have a player that has shown himself to have some coverage ability and someone that already knows the incoming defense.

3) The draft- Our mission should be clear and that is to draft guys that can get after the quarterback. With the first two picks Atlanta should take the best possible pass rushers available at defensive end and linebacker. Seeing that Atlanta is picking eighth I believe Shane Ray or Randy Gregory are still going to be available. Either one of those guys would be a prized player for Atlanta and instantly upgrade our pass rush. In the second round I would love for Atlanta to take Nate Orchard, the linebacker from Utah, or Denzel Perryman from the U. If the Falcons re-sign Spoon these guys can come in and learn the defense for a year before taking his spot but if we let Spoon walk they would be better than all of the other linebackers on our current defense. From this point on we concentrate on upgrading our depth and possibly finding someone to challenge Toilolo for the starting tight end spot; even if I think Altanta will probably bring in Tony Moeiaki, currently a backup in Seatle but drafted by Scott Pioli.

<em>This FanPost was written by one of The Falcoholic's talented readers. It does not necessarily reflect the views of The Falcoholic.</em>