Ben Hartsock is on injured reserve. Long live Justin Peelle!
The Falcons find themselves in an odd situation. Without Hartsock around, Peelle is going to get his first chance to be a featured tight end on an NFL team. He's got a relatively small window at the end of the season to prove that he's good enough to stick around beyond this year. Personally, I find it hard not to root for the guy.
First of all, Peelle catches well. In today's NFL, few teams survive for the long haul without an option at tight end, and Matt Ryan is growing increasingly comfortable with the Peeller. He's not--and probably never will be--a potent blocker, but I think he could be very effective in a tandem with someone like Hartsock.
It would help the Falcons immensely if they could cross one more position off their draft needs list, and it could happen if Peelle just operates at the level he has been the last several weeks. Given very real needs on the offensive line, defensive line and in the secondary, it'd be nice to see him get a few catches a game from here on out and maybe a couple of touchdowns.
Thoughts on Mr. Peelle?