From our eyebrow-raising files:
At safety, the team decided not to re-sign veteran Lawyer Milloy and will likely go with second-year S Thomas DeCoud, who barely played last season.
I know it's early yet and a lot could change and there's gumption involved, goshdarnit, but this is the first serious suggestion I've heard that DeCoud could seize a starting role over William "C4" Moore at strong safety. The coaching staff has been careful to praise both players so far, a good move considering we're not even into August, but lo and behold, someone has an answer to our battle-related questions. You may recall that our own scientific poll revealed that Moore was a heavy favorite in this battle.
The article is from Scout.com's Adam Caplan, who also has this to say about our defense as a whole:
The bottom line is this defense has way too many questions to answer again. It's probably going to be a while before the defense becomes a strength and not a weakness.
This raises the rather intriguing question of whether Caplan knows Moore and DeCoud well and has an inside track, or if he's simply opining based on what he's seen of DeCoud. His points about the defense not having a ton of depth are valid at linebacker and arguably along the defensive line, but I do believe we're well-stocked in the secondary. If his article is any indication, it will be all uphill for the Falcons are they try to prove that last year's mostly grim defensive numbers (especially dealing with pressure up front) will not be repeated.
Your thoughts?