As this ESPN article so aptly notes, the Falcons could use a little dose of good news. I'd consider signing your top draft choice AND your highly regarded second round cornerback AND a promising fifth round cornerback to be very good news indeed. As a man in the desert of bad publicity, I could practically get drunk off of this stuff.
Jamaal Anderson got a five-year deal that's laden with sack-based incentives, which encourages him to be as aggressive as hell. I don't know if he'll beat Davis out or not, but I'd be very surprised if he didn't earn his way into the starting role by late in the year. He's got physical tools that Chauncey Davis doesn't have, and I am a big Chauncey fan. I'd be willing to predict a six or seven sack season out of Anderson if he starts right away.
In other great news, the AJC reports that Chris Houston and David Irons have signed. I would consider it a major upset if Houston didn't start opposite DeAngelo Hall. Lewis Sanders has never been great, and he has two last names. As we all know, guys with occupations for first names (Lawyer Milloy, Priest Holmes, Garbageman Jones) excel, but I'm a little more leery about the twin surnames. There's no doubt Houston will have growing pains, but that's why Sanders and Irons will be there to spell him. I don't really expect Irons to do much his first year, but I'm very optimistic that he can be a good corner in the future.
So that leaves the last unsigned pick as...Justin Blalock. Honestly, I thought Blalock would be one of the first to sign, but I'm not overly concerned. It would be nice to get him into camp right away, though, because I think he'll be starting at guard immediately. If he inks a deal before training camp, we've got a full complement of rookies to look forward to. We've had some pretty nice draft classes over the last couple of years, but I can honestly say this is the most excited I've been since Byron Hanspard stole my heart.
Wow, a happy post. Forgot what that looked like, didn't you?