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Hey, I have a question.
Where are the Falcons headed in free agency? http://t.co/EoV5TGOoFF
— vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) January 31, 2014
I see that you had the same question, Vaughn McClure! Let's see what the answer is.
"I honestly don't care about many positions in free agency," Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff told ESPN.com. "There's only a select few that I'm really that interested in. I haven't really tallied up the strength in some of those other areas. Suffice to say that they are some good football players out there that are going to help teams in need of increasing their toughness, strength and grittiness.
This jibes with everything we know about the Falcons' focus this offseason. It's not a secret that the team needs to address both lines and potentially add depth through free agency, and their focus will be on those lines and maybe at safety and linebacker. Dimitroff won't come out and say that, of course, but it's safe to assume he's not talking about wide receiver here.
Also of interest is Mike Tice's interest in Willie Colon, the former Steelers guard who was a 16 game starter for the Jets a year ago. Colon is 30, but he's quite capable and would seem to be a obvious upgrade without an enormous price tag attached. I'd keep that name in mind.
Broadly speaking, this kind of focus is the right one, assuming the Falcons have correctly identified the positions that need the most love. It allows them to strike on the impact free agents they most want while teams are chasing other priorities, potentially cutting down the number of suitors for certain positions. Don't more than a couple of bigger name free agents, as I wrote earlier today, but the Falcons will be addressing positions of need.
Grittiness is Dimitroff's word of the offseason, by the way. It's brought to you by David Eckstein.
