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We hope you enjoyed your Labor Day goings-on, but now it’s back to business. Specifically: Birds Business. The offseason doldrums have at last receded, and we have real, actual, meaningful football on Thursday — rejoice! As you begin counting down the minutes to the Falcons vs. Eagles, be sure to get up to speed on all of your Falcons news from over the weekend.
Roster whittled down to...52?
Cut day is always a difficult one around the league, and it’s simply a part of the football business that nobody really enjoys. With that in mind, the Falcons bid adieu to a large group of players, nine of whom have been assigned to the practice squad.
There were a couple of legitimate roster surprises, headlined by linebacker Richard Jarvis making the squad and the Falcons cutting bait on former fourth-round pick, OG Sean Harlow. The other surprise? Atlanta still has one open roster spot, and are reportedly looking to add a veteran after week one. Of course, with yesterday’s news that Josh Harris is battling a hip injury, that final roster spot may be reserved for long snapper Jeff Overbaugh.
Safety Dance
The Ron Parker signing seemed a natural fit in Atlanta’s secondary, but his preseason suggested otherwise. Parker had a dreadful showing against Miami’s third and fourth stringers last Thursday, and as such, was a cut casualty on Friday afternoon. The Falcons jettisoned Parker shortly after they secured the services of safety Jordan Richards via trade with New England.
A Cowboy returns
The Falcons were notoriously burned last year when they tried to stash fifth-round rookie running back Brian Hill on the practice squad and he was snapped up by the Cincinnati Bengals. The Wyoming Cowboy is back, however, as the Falcons have signed Hill to their practice squad.
A familiar face is back with the #Falcons as they've signed former fifth-round draft pick Brian Hill to the practice squad. By adding Hill the Falcons have now filled out their 11-man practice squad. https://t.co/jDLwWgHvFq
— William McFadden (@willmcfadden) September 3, 2018
It’s a comical turn of events, one that played out as Falcony as possible. Welcome back, Brian.
What position needs work?
In the wake of final roster cuts, the mind begins to wander. How does the team stack up against other NFC South competition? What can we realistically expect from the offense and defense? Does Thomas Dimitroff jog in place at stoplights to keep his heart rate up?
It’s these burning questions that we attempt to illuminate here at The Falcoholic, and our own Matt Chambers took a look at the roster post-cuts and identified three weak positions heading into Thursday’s tilt against Philadelphia. We’re in very solid shape as the season draws near, but there’s of course room for depth improvement.