The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has landed the Atlanta Falcons' depth chart against the Chicago Bears, so now we know who the starters are. You know, because we had no idea before.
It's still cool to see just how much talent the Falcons have lined up to take on a team that went to the NFC Championship Game just last season. When you can line up Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, Roddy White, Julio Jones and Tony Gonzalez on offense and bring John Abraham, Ray Edwards, Jonathan Babineaux, Curtis Lofton, Brent Grimes and others to bear on defense, you've done something right.
They'll take on a talented Bears team that is currently shooting itself in the foot by starting Roy Williams and Devin Hester over Johnny Knox and Earl Bennett, who are just better receivers at this point in their careers. Matt Forte is still a huge threat on the ground and Jay Cutler can toss five touchdowns as easily as five interceptions in any given game, so I'm thankful that the Falcons have upgraded the secondary.
The interesting points on the Falcons' end? Todd McClure is listed as a starter, despite having a 100% chance of missing the game. Kelvin Hayden is listed as the fifth cornerback. James Sanders is behind William Moore, the coverage yin to to C4's run-stopping yang. Will Svitek is the backup tackle for both Sam Baker and Tyson Clabo. And finally, Corey Peters is listed as the starter, which has to be taken as a good sign.
In short, this is a healthy, talented team. That may not be news, but it's still good to have our faith re-affirmed from time to time, especially leading up to the first game of the 2011 season.
Thoughts about the depth chart?