Ah, kicker. The only position on the field where a man who sailed on Magellan's crew can still succeed in the NFL. It's a position of need for the Falcons, but it's not a glaring one, and it's still hard to take a kicker seriously. With that in mind, the second roster breakdown begins!
Vitals: Sir Morten Octavius Agamemnon Turok Andersen, Esquire
Breakdown: My favorite ancient Danish joke machine was drafted by the Saints in the fourth round back in 1982, and has now bounced between five teams during his long and distinguished career. Back in the day, Andersen was known as an accurate, powerful kicker who was regularly among the league's best. When the Saints finally released him after his limbs began to fall off, the Falcons picked him up for the first time and watched him kick ass all over again. Andersen now holds the all-time league record for scoring and managed to hit 25 out of 28 field goals last year. He clearly lacks that once famous leg strength, but he's still solid from short-to-mid range and provides extreme veteran leadership for a young and confused team.
The major knock on Andersen is that he's been kicking so long that his leg is actually fossilized. He may kick effectively for four more years, or he may suddenly collapse on the field, Dry Bones style, and never play again. The Falcons could also use someone with the leg strength to nail field goals consistently from 40+ yards. If not for the almost allergic reaction to the idea of carrying two kickers on the roster, I'd imagine drafting a youngster or swiping someone like the Chiefs' Justin Medlock to be mentored by Andersen would be a bright idea. As it is, the Falcons are likely to look for a kicker who carries a little less baggage in the age department. If they don't find one, they should be comfortable giving Andersen another year on the squad, because this is a team that's likely not going to light the world on fire no matter who the kicker is.
Because of these weaknesses, it would be unfair to give the kicking position too high of mark. Still, you have to admire Andersen's consistency, even as you fear for his life out there. There's no room for improvement here barring a pickup, however, so let's go middle of the road.
Final Grade: C