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Mike Smith: Falcons Not Looking For Receiver Help

Let's just go ahead and mark FrankyWren's words.

I actually find Mike Smith's quick vote of confidence for the in-house options to be somewhat comforting. Unfortunately for us, Kerry Meier was ticketed for a backup job and special teams role, so that's a hole that does have to be filled. Fortunately, Smith believes the answers are already here.

As ESPN's Pat Yasinskas notes, last year the Falcons basically went into full-fledged panic mode following the loss of Harry Douglas, signing the ancient duo of Robert Ferguson and Marty Booker. While we're all going to wonder what might have been with Meier, the Falcons aren't dealing with the loss of a third receiver this time around. They're dealing with the loss of a promising reserve.

That gives the team a little more flexibility. Obviously, Brian Finneran and Eric Weems are the favorites to make the roster, and it's going to take a hellacious pre-season jump from someone else to make it. At this point, Troy Bergeron seems like the likeliest guy to bump Finn off the roster. It's far from ideal, but clearly the team likes the competition they already have going in camp.

At this point, it's probably time to set our expectations low for any of these guys. Roddy White, Michael Jenkins and Harry Douglas will probably account for at least 85% of all the targets for our receivers, so if Weems, Finneran, Bergeron or anyone else can make the best of the 30 or so passes that come their way, all will be well. I'm going to reserve judgment until we see who breaks camp.

Your thoughts?