FanPost

New slogan for 2019: "No Excuses" ; should there be any excuses for anything less than a good season?


A revamped offensive line, new coaches and players, heck even the head coach as defensive coordinator; injured players from last year alleged to be on schedule to return with a vengeance. There should be reason for renewed optimism but what if expectations are not met? Are there any acceptable excuses for a repeat of 2018? Hopefully the injury bug is a thing of the past yet would that even be a viable excuse? The injuries of 2018 exposed roster flaws, talent overestimation and an overall lack of depth. Now, this should have been addressed somewhat via the draft and free agency and in the case of the offensive line it has in spades.

On the other hand, the glaring problem of a leaky run defense was addressed in minor ways in the additions of Tyeler Davison and Ra'Shede Hageman yet it remains a question mark. The pass rush was addressed vicariously through Quinn signing Vic Beasley to the 12.8 million option yet little else was done. The belief it is clear is that there is enough in the trenches to stop the run, enough edge talent to generate pressure and the injured defenders returning is all that is necessary for a successful campaign....hence "No Excuses".

The question is whether or not any excuse would be acceptable for an unacceptable result. Curiously no defensive tackle prospects were drafted other than "project" Jon Cominsky so their confidence in the interior defensive line is high. Obviously the team still has faith in players who underperformed when put on center stage, such as Duke Riley so their confidence in the talent level and their personnel decisions much be high. However, two things are troublesome.

The first is that automatic placekicker Matt Bryant was released in lieu of Georgio Telvecchio. Nothing against him as he filled in admirably in Bryant's absence yet why release a kicker who was a proven commodity in pressure-packed, game-winning situations in order to save money? Until he proves to be as clutch, this decision looms as a potential season altering move if Telvecchio is not up to muster.

Secondly, the interior run defense was the Achilles Heel of the defense in 2018 and while Davison is a good run defender, he is only 308 pounds and cannot play every snap. This leaves the answer to the porous run defense question to Deadrin Senat, Grady Jarrett and Hageman, provided he makes the team. With strong tackles with girth still remaining in later rounds, the Falcons ignored them all. If the run defense still is dominated by massive offensive lines as was the case against Philadelphia and a few other teams, will you accept the overused excuse that "We didn't maintain our fits" used by Quinn after such thrashings?

Let's cut right to the chase: Will you accept any excuse for less than a playoff season?

<em>This FanPost was written by one of The Falcoholic's talented readers. It does not necessarily reflect the views of The Falcoholic.</em>