Of Shuffling: The Roddy White Story

Very interesting article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution from yesterday by Steve Wyche, which I encourage you all to read at www.ajc.com (free registration required). The gist of it is that there will be some personnel moves next week, which I will break down in order of importance:

1. Ashley Lelie becomes the No.2 receiver for Atlanta, leapfrogging Roddy White, who is apparently sick with dropsy. Critical, really. I think White's going to develop into a good receiver for the Falcons before too long, but Lelie's just flat out outplayed him thus far this year. White's posted 10 catches for 79 yards against Lelie's 12 for 208, which helpfully points out Lelie's potential as a deep threat. I don't expect this to be a permanent move or anything, but Lelie's going to get a chance to succeed until White can prove he has sure hands. Lelie may actually help White by opening some routes for him underneath, so I don't see a downside here.
2. Jason Webster will not be replaced by draft pick Jimmy Williams. I find Mora's faith in Webster to be a little puzzling, frankly. Within Wyche's article, there is mention that Mora partially blames one of the safeties for not helping out on coverages. Having watched a decent bit of film from last week's game, I can't say I really see it. I'm more inclined to think that Webster simply blows his coverage from time to time, and that that's less a function of Crocker or Milloy missing out than Webster simply having a massive brain fart. Personally, I'd like to see Williams get a little playing time at Webster's expense, but we'll see if Mora's faith is justified.
3. Quinn Ojinnaka might get his first start this season at left guard, with Tyson Clabo moving to right guard to take the place of the once again injured Kynan Forney. Personally, this scares the hell out of me. Forney's particularly good at run blocking, and Clabo and Ojinnaka do not a Lehr and Forney make. They may step right in and be effective; Ojinnaka in particular is highly touted by the coaching staff. But that's a hell of a lot of inexperience to carry against a Bengals front seven that's quick and active. Hopefully Forney can play on Sunday and we can put the dueling young guards on hold for a while.

And that's basically it. The article was up too early for Abraham's injury to be noted, so let's throw Chauncey Davis in there, too. One hopes these moves (and lack thereof) will prove effective against the Pumpkin Cats.