Falcons GM: Don't Blame Peter Konz for Peter Konz

I'm not arguing that Konz cannot turn into a good player. I am certainly saying Konz is currently a terrible player.

.@Atlanta_Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff said RG instability had negative trickle-down effect on C Peter Konz. Still thinks he has good upside

— Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez) January 10, 2014

Does that make sense? I'm not so sure, but there are a few things here worth noting.

Yes, playing next to a bad lineman can hurt your play. There is no question a player will be best when not stuck trying to compensate for someone playing terribly next to you. But it only trickles-down so far. Konz was typically our worst offensive lineman and struggled at both center and guard. But maybe he learned how to struggle from watching Reynolds? You just can't blame everything on Garrett Reynolds. However, I was going to get this article up on Friday, but you know, Garrett Reynolds.

Maybe Reynolds blames his poor play on having to take snaps next to Konz.

Garrett Reynolds is gone. The right guard position was basically Reynolds. Instead of saying, for instance, "I believe our new OL coach Mike Tice can develop Konz," we got, "Reynolds is so bad he drags down other players to his garbage level." As far as GM talk goes, this is akin to the Lannisters sending their regards. I'm pretty sure I shouldn't link that video clip.

I figured it was unlikely we would see Reynolds in Atlanta next year, but after this comment, a Bobby Petrino return seems more realistic.

We will be getting at least one new guard. Anytime I can piece together info from this team I get pretty excited. Even if everyone on the Falcoholic agrees our biggest need is X, odds are Dimitroff will ignore this position and draft Y. I think I'm on year three or four of thinking we should be taking a defensive end in the first or second round. That, obviously, has not happened. Not even close. Atlanta at the bottom of the league in sacks/pressures in a division with Drew Brees and Cam Newton? BOOM. Jonathan Massaquoi in the fifth round.

So hooray! The guard position may be at the top of our needs, so expect to see Atlanta make a run in free agency or early in the draft for a Reynolds replacement.

Konz will be getting another year. Sorry James. Offensive linemen will typically get beaten left and right their first few years. If you are Sam Baker, then you will typically get beaten left and right for your entire career. Anyways, it is too early to get rid of Konz. He has too much potential to cut and Atlanta made a big, if poor, investment in him not even 24 months ago.

That is a lot of things to pull out of one quote, but at least we have an idea on where Dimitroff wants to go in the offseason.