It's that magical time of year when scouts look at prospects like they're 300 pound bags of potential and we all care deeply about what they say.

Yes, the NFL Combine begins today. Today we get a sense of how the draft might shake out before it shakes out another way entirely and we're all surprised and/or outraged. It's the day when some guys raise their stock by showing up in crazy shape and others plummet because of a real or perceived lack of dedication.

Given that the Falcons don't have a first round pick, the most ballyhooed prospects are ones that don't necessarily interest me. What I want to see is who might slide a little bit and put themselves in range of the Falcons in the second round, and who might freefall their way to the Falcons in later rounds. It'll happen to somebody.

Talk your way through the muddle, everybody. We've got a week to figure this all out.

Over the next week, The Falcoholic will review the 2011 drafts of the three other teams in the NFC South. Today, it's the New Orleans Saints.

I don't need to tell you how much of a pain the New Orleans Saints have been in recent years. Unfortunately for the Falcons, their 2011 NFL Draft ensures they're not going to drop off a cliff.

The rivalry between the Falcons and Saints is a long one, often marred by the fact that neither team was all that great. These past few years, the fortunes of the two teams have changed, and the rivalry has heated up as a result. The Saints drafting a top young running back and the Falcons drafting Julio Jones have as much to do with beating up on the likely NFC South title contenders as they do getting to the Super Bowl.

Join me after the jump and I'll break down the Saints' draft for you. Better put on my gloves.

Continue reading this post »

Over the next week, The Falcoholic will review the 2011 drafts of the three other teams in the NFC South. Today, it's the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Buccaneers were one of the biggest surprises of 2010.

The Atlanta Falcons beat them twice last season, but it wasn't exactly a cakewalk. After having a couple of bad seasons, the Bucs came together under a young head coach, a talented young quarterback and some nice complementary pieces.

They're not likely to get any worse after their current draft, unfortunately. After the jump, let's break down their 2011 NFL Draft picks, which were geared at improving a leaky defense.

Continue reading this post »

The ideal rushing attack in today's NFL features a battering ram and an elusive scatback, a combination that gives teams a balanced set of backs to bludgeon opposing defenses with.

In an ideal world, the Falcons would already have that attack in place. In practice, however, Jerious Norwood has been underutilized or hurt for much of the last three seasons. That, in turn, has put an even heavier burden on workhorse Michael Turner.

In the 2011 NFL Draft, the Falcons got their new lightning in Jacquizz Rodgers. The question now becomes how they'll use him.

Continue reading this post »

The 2011 NFL Draft has come and gone. With an opportunity to digest the five picks made by the Atlanta Falcons, I'm ready to deliver my draft grades.

This morning I covered the fact that many major draft pundits, including famous hair champion Mel Kiper Jr., are giving this grade somewhere between a C and a B. That factors in the massive trade that landed the team Julio Jones, an approach that I'm planning to adopt myself.

As many of you have noted, these kinds of grades are essentially useless. I indulge in them only to give you a glimpse of what I think of the draft class of 2011 and to foment further discussion on what you all think of the selections. After all, if we can't talk about these kinds of designations on a blog, what the hell are we doing here?

My grades are based on potential and, in my mind, how the guys will fit with the Falcons and their production in 2011 and beyond.

If you're willing to take the jump with me, I'll take you kids to school. Join me!

Continue reading this post »

We had to know that with the Falcons' massive draft day trade, grades for the Atlanta Falcons have been all over the map. Yours truly will be much sunnier than most, but you'll have to wait a few hours for the landing.

You'll want to get caught up on a handful of grades thanks to Jason Kirk's excellent compilation post, which includes CBSSport's Rob Rang and Pete Prisco each delivering a B-. Meanwhile, ESPN's winsome draftnik Mel Kiper Jr. gave the Falcons a C+, which is entirely expected given his tendency to hate anyone who drafts ever.

Somewhere north of that is USA Today, who gives the Falcons a B. And on and on into eternity.

It's fun to grade drafts, but of course this is just an exercise is opining and puffing up expert credentials in the immediate aftermath of an event too big to grade so quickly. For that reason, these are fun to look at, vaguely instructive and not much else. C'est la vie.

Since the fun part is all that matters, deliver your draft grades in the comments. As I said earlier, my draft grades will land this afternoon.

Hearken back to the 2008 NFL Draft, if you would. You may remember an Atlanta Falcons team in shambles rising with a keening scream and a flash of flame, a phoenix created by a brilliant draft and one huge free agent signing. It was a glorious time, even if we didn't know it at that moment.

The next two drafts were less compelling. While the 2009 and 2010 drafts brought quality players, there was nothing transformative about either. In fact, they were distinctly complementary in nature, patiently building depth and adding starters on defense.

During those two years, you could be forgiven for wondering whether the offense was being neglected. The addition of Tony Gonzalez was huge, of course, but wide receivers were late rounders, running backs were ignored and the quarterback depth chart remained the same. It was easy to imagine that with a 13-3 record in 2010, the Falcons would elect to continue the beautifully plodding pace they'd cultivated, addressing key defensive needs and continuing to build depth as they moved toward a Super Bowl.

But the 2011 NFL Draft tells us a different story.

Continue reading this post »

The Atlanta Falcons finish a fantastically productive 2011 NFL Draft by picking up South Carolina defensive end Cliff Matthews.

Matthews could have gone as early as the fifth round, so to get him late in the seventh round is a characteristically shrewd value pick from the Comrade. Though not the most productive player in college--he had just 4.5 sacks in 2010--Matthews is a lanky end with explosive ability as an end. He's more athletic and hard-working than most of the defensive ends picked in front of them, so you can see why the Falcons are attracted to him.

A lack of massive strength and a suite of pass-rushing moves means he's got to be viewed as a project for the team, but with Kroy Biermann, Chauncey Davis, Jamaal Anderson and Lawrence Sidbury on the depth chart ahead of him at the moment, there's not a lot of need to rush him along. That will allow him to bulk up a little bit and learn the playbook.

I don't want to be too bold in my predictions, but I like Matthews enough to believe that he could be a fixture in the rotation by 2013. That's fantastic for a seventh round pick, and it's a testament once more to how well this team drafts.

So that's our 2011 NFL Draft. We'll have draft grades and more discussion in the days and weeks ahead, but for now, talk about Matthews!