Just a question that doubles as a trip down memory lane this afternoon.

What was the first Falcons game you remember seeing, whether on the tube or attending? What do you remember about it, and how old were you when you saw it?

My earliest personal memory of a Falcons game comes from 1991, when I was a wee lad of just 7. They were playing the Saints in the Wildcard round, a game started by the immortal Chris Miller, who threw for three touchdowns that day, two of them to the equally immortal Michael Haynes. It was a game the Falcons won 27-20, and it forever cemented the idea that the Falcons should beat the Saints for me.

Share yours. gentle fans.

Hey guys, this is the first of hopefully many videos analyzing good and bad plays from each week of the regular season. I put a lot of love into this so hopefully you'll enjoy watching it as much as I had making it.

As always, I'm open to any suggestions as to how I can improve the videos to make them a better experience for you all. I'm gonna be churning these videos out at least 3-4 times a week, so your suggestions may not go in the very next video, but I will take them all to heart and see how it feels/looks.

Thanks for watching guys. Link to the play I'm describing is here. Feel free to watch it a time or two and then watch my video, if you have the time. If you don't, I have pretty easy to read circles that do a good enough job. haha

The first ever Anatomy of a Play video is here. Let's goooooo!

(Also, to those who I briefly talked with about me having a broadcasting voice, well, I've been told I have one, but I don't sound like DOL, no offense intended to anyone involved.)

Anatomy of a Play: Falcons at Bears - Michael Turner 53 Yard Run (via zippo729)

The final record was only 11-5, not the best mark in franchise history. They lost in the first round of the playoffs. That, in and of itself, would not suggest anything particularly remarkable about the 2008 Atlanta Falcons.


The circumstances make this one of the most impressive teams in Falcons history, nonetheless. With a rookie quarterback, rookie coach, rookie general manager, makeshift offensive line and chronically underachieving defense, the 2008 team still managed to go to the playoffs. They also fought their way out of the long shadow cast by Michael Vick, an achievement in and of itself.

This is the story of how a team that had three starting quarterbacks and a coach who quit partway through the season in 2007 managed to win 10 games and take the NFL by storm just a year later. This is the story of a team that laid the groundwork for one of the most successful runs in team history.

This is the story of the 2008 Atlanta Falcons.

Continue reading this post »

In this series, we're putting our couch GM skills to good use, taking a stab at whether certain key free agents will be back in red and black next fall. The franchise will probably surprise us, but it's the off-season, and this is what we do during the off-season.

Rojo Hombre - as he's affectionately known - might be the best backup QB in the league. But he's 34, and that means we need to move on, or something like that.

In any case, here are the top five reasons he's done as a Falcon:

(5) Need to groom a long-term replacement

Koetter intends to establish a new system. New terminology, new schemes, et cetera. Given Redman's age, if the team wants a long-term backup who can fill in capably if needed, then it makes sense to acquire and groom that person now.

(4) $

Redman doesn't make a lot of money (he made 2.3 million last year), but if we can pay someone the league minimum to do the same job, then it may allow the franchise to make some other needed moves.

(3) Versatility

Redman took less than five percent of our snaps last year. It might be a stretch, but if we could acquire an athletic QB with a decent arm, then perhaps we could give opposing defenses some interesting looks in the coming years. Then again, the last time we had a player who fit that description on the roster, things didn't play out so well.

(2) We don't need a "veteran" QB on the roster anymore

Ryan is certainly a work in progress, but he will be a fifth year QB this year. Having a vet holding the proverbial clipboard seemed necessary two or three years ago. But that's no longer the case.

(1) He's a commodity

As I stated above, he's pretty good. He's not a starter, but there are far worse backups in this league. He will complete at least sixty percent of his passes and despite his mediocre touchdown to interception ratio, he's been surprisingly efficient over the years. Other teams will give him a look.

So there you have it!

I think the determining factor here is his contract. Two million dollars in savings doesn't seem like a deal breaker, and maybe it isn't under normal circumstances. But given the number of free agents the team will look to resign, I see us going in a different direction.

Everybody else is talking about Mock Drafts and making them, so I thought I would keep the trend going. I hope I can do this.

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I too have been inspired by pierre02 and now mwalex's mock drafts. It's interesting to know what other Falcon fans are thinking when we are playing GM. In my previous post (which is a good read), I have outlined two O-linemen, Anthony Collins(LT) and Jeremy Zuttah(OG), who would be great younger and cheaper signings to sure up the offensive line.

First let me start out with a list of Free Agents I think would be great for Atlanta to sign:

1. Jeremy Zuttah- Offensive Guard - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2. Anthony Collins- Left Tackle - Cincinnati Bengals

3. Brandon Carr- Cornerback - Kansas City Chiefs (Assuming Brent Grimes leaves for FA)

This is a surprise FA signing that will definitely cause a great discussion.

4. Mario WIliams- Defensive End - Houston Texans (Assuming Abe is not resigned and the Falcons don't resign Curtis Lofton who Mike Nolan has come to believe is only a two down LB).

Now for my Mock Draft:

2nd Round: Josh Norman- 6'2, 190lb CB- Coastal Carolina - Norman had an excellent East West Shrine Game where he showed excellent cover skills. His impressive play also go him a late call to the Senior Bowl where again he showed he excelled against stiffer competition. Norman has natural fluid hips and has a natural burst to the ball. He can play great in zone coverage, but he shines in man press coverage. He is physical and pushes receivers off their routes. Has a bit of character concerns but should hold him back from being drafted high. I would love to get him in the third round as a value pick but he wouldn't make it that far.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj1RwYJwinc

3rd Round: Brian Quick- 6'5, 220lb WR- Appalachian State -Quick is a big and physical receiver who is a former basketball player. He displays a nice burst of speed in tight space. Even though he doesn't have great speed, he shows enough to be able to stretch the field. His route running needs improvement but he has great body control and uses his size and height to shield off smaller corners. He has been compared to Vincent Jackson from the San Diego Chargers and also has be called a poor man's Brandon Marshall. Two names that I'm sure he doesn't mind being compared to. He would fit in and benefit greatly from leaning from Roddy White, Julio Jones and Gonzo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh5X0_c1DZo

4th Round(Compensatory Pick): Ladarius Green - 6'6, 236lb TE- Louisiana-Lafayette-Green is a tall TE but a bit undersized for the position. So with the disclaimer mention, Green is an excellent receiving tight end. He has great hands and uses his body to shield off smaller defenders. He has very good speed for a tight end which allow him to get open in the middle of the field. The only knock on him is he will need to improve on his blocking and getting off the line better when he is not split out wide. That's something I'm sure he can learn from playing with the greatest TE of all time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIY2E556BdY

5th Round: Bernard Pierce - 6'0, 218lb RB - Temple - Pierce is a physical specimen at 6'0 218lbs with his great ability to cut and great inline speed. He reminds people of Matt Forte and James Starks. He doesn't have Forte's 4.4 forty but as a former track guy he can burn defenders in the open field. He runs hard which will remind you of Starks. Has had a huge career with Temple rushing for over 1,000 yards in two of his three seasons. He has to improve on his pass catching skills but with coaching will be an asset in any passing game. Coaches are weary of the level of competition he's faced.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEgLQdGi7fM

6th Round: Adrian Hamilton - 6'3, 255lb DE - Prairie View A & M - Hamilton is a DE who pops out on film. He's faster and stronger than the competition he faced this year. But don't let that fool you. Hamilton had signed a letter of intent with Oklahoma State to play but they wanted to grey shirt him. So he went to Texas Tech as a walk-on and played with players like Michael Crabtree and Graham Harrell. The only reason he didn't continue playing for Texas Tech is because he couldn't afford the school anymore. Hamilton is a speed edge rusher who has been compared to our own John Abraham. He amassed a staggering 20.5 sacks as a senior. I don't care what level of competition, it's had to get 20.5 sacks in a year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XU34I3duRw

7th Round: William Vlachos - 6'1, 300lb C - Alabama - Vlachos is a two-time National Champion with the Crimson Time. He has started 35 consecutive games. He plays with a low base/pad level which allows him to get under defenders and gains leverage quickly. He snaps the ball and gets hands on the defender quickly in one motion and is as technically sound as any center in the game and remains very coachable. The only knocks on him is his height which is a problem sometimes for taller QBs when they get under center and he has short arms and doesn't excel is space. He's been compared to Jeff Saturday and our own Todd McClure. If he can play to either of their levels, then he would be a steal in the 7th round.

Sorry because I can't find highlight film from William.

Well there you have it. I'm sure some player's stock will go up after the combine. I eager to hear what you all think.

UPDATE: The first (of hopefully many) videos for the Anatomy of a Play series will start tomorrow. I am working on it as you read this. I've encountered a ton of road bumps, but this will happen, so help me God. Also, I haven't actually recorded any video yet, and I can tell you that I'm going to have to watch this one 10 second play about 50 times to get every angle of it. That being said, I can't wait to see what you guys think! :)

Read this article first, then come back and think to yourself, "What does that have to do with the Saints or Packers?"

Obviously, it doesn't, but that's not the point. There's a little bit of...how shall we say, roundabout thinking in here, but hopefully I'll be able to deliver the message I have in my head.

The play in question was that ~40 yard pass to Manningham where Belichick basically said the plan was, "Take away Cruz/Nicks. Make them throw it to Manningham/Pascoe."

Now, how does that apply to NO and GB? Well, it's simple. The game plan, as it should always be, is to take away their top targets and force throws to their other targets. Forcing throws to other targets means that the QB takes a little longer to make a decision (since he has to progress through his reads).

For most teams, this means throwing to their #3 or #4 target, which is oftentimes not on the same level as the first two.

But the real question is "What do you do when #3 and #4 (and in GB/NO's case, #5) are also really good?"

In most offenses (if not all of them) the TE is usually not the first read, unless the play calls for it specifically. If your TE (or 3rd option) is better than the defense's third option, then they'll be open most of the time, which is what makes them look so good at times.

What do you do as a defense if all 5 options are a bona fide receiving threat? It's sensible, but not practical (due to the sheer amount of money it would cost), to have 5 equally talented defensive backs covering the 5 options (or 4 DBs and 1 Spoon).

So what would you do in that situation? Are we just doomed forever? Should we try to force turnovers? What's your move?