What we learned from the Falcons' draft

By STEVE WYCHE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/28/08

Five things we learned about the Falcons' draft:

1. The selection of QB Matt Ryan with LSU DT Glenn Dorsey (Kansas City) on the board could spark Mario Williams-Reggie Bush-type debates.

2. By selecting only LT Sam Baker, the Falcons must feel injured offensive linemen (Todd Weiner, Renardo Foster) are getting healthy and that the downturn in play along the offensive line last season was scheme related.

3. Maybe veteran free-agent nose tackle Grady Jackson will get a call because a defensive tackle was not selected, even though that seemingly was a need.

4. The drafting of California safety Thomas DeCoud, a hybrid, could put Jimmy Williams in an even more precarious position — if DeCoud isn't used at strong safety, where competition with Daren Stone to be Lawyer Milloy's backup could be fierce.

5. The philosophy of building from the inside out, whether horizontally or vertically, gave way to adding depth on the flanks on both sides of the ball on the second day of the draft.

What I learned from the Falcons' draft...

Same ole Falcons...going with the sexy picks and not doing enough in the trenches...

!ff/:

I think only Ryan falls into that set. The rest seem like lesser known workhorses.

(singing) You think Ryan's SEXy, you want to KISS him! (/singing)

Do you see the name Rob anywhere in my title? No, I thought not. Besides, by sexy pick I meant the popularity of the QB position, not actually the player himself.

And we also got a RB, WR, and a few flashy defensive backs.

Was that REALLY more important than bolstering the lines?

Nope. I went WTF? too, but here we and they are, so I'm assuming we'll get what we need in UDFA or june 1 cuts.

It was a joke. The least you could do is play along and make a Joey Harrington joke.

Killjoy..... :angry:

I'm working on it. BTW, did I see a Harrington in the draft this weekend? Or was I more delusional than usual?

I didn't notice. I hope he's not a QB. Or a CB.

Or any position that requires mental toughness.

Harrington is physically tough as nails, but my GOD he has a fragile psyche!

Chris Harrington. I remember the name too, but not sure what his position is.



heh, heh... I said... "position"

WTF?

Can you quit crying already. You knew the Falcons needed a QB. I explained all this to BTalon and got him converted but apparently your head is so far up DOrseys ass you cant see what TD has in mind. Let me know when the shit falls out of your ears and you are willing to listen to reason.

Excuse me? I'm rather complacent with all of our picks. Here we are, there we go, so what if we did not all get the picks we wanted? We never do. We never picked anyone bad (I think) I've been being patient and mentally trying to correlate the picks. I'm fine with who we picked, and am waiting to see who we might get yet in FA. I hope like hell you did not direct that @ me. Yeah some picks made me go WTF? but I'm smart enough at least to know that the GM and staff know more than I do.

He didn't. It was directed at the other fuckface.

And btw, Rob, you didn't convert BT. He was high on Ryan before that conversation, or at least was pretty resigned to that pick. You can't convert a believer. Only non-believers.

And BT. If I'm lyin' on ya, then... bite me.

Oh yes...

It`s true, I went on and on for weeks about the need to draft an elite QB.
I just was not sure if Ryan was ''that guy'' and right up until draft day, I thought they would draft Dorsey 1st if he was there.

I was wrong.

If you're going to hack my convention, do it properly. Used Braces for BB tags or angle brackets for html tags. Parenthises are for n00bs

BTW. I was pretty disappointed we grabbed a QB with the first pick. I don't watch much college ball so I wouldn't really know shit about the players we drafted, but the Falcons are alway skipping the trenches in favor of spit and shine picks they hope will make the fans happy.

Even you were saying WTF after the Douglas pick. I saw it :)

I'm just a dumb fan so I don't know what the overall strategy is. I'm just totally shocked (and so are many fans and sports writers) that we didn't do more in the trenches.

I could have certainly lived with the Ryan pick if we did more to fix the lines but we didn't...

At least we drafted an O-lineman in the 1st for the first time in 15 years. That was a nice positive at least.

YOUR "convention?"

Someone thinks highly of himself....... :rolleyes: tyheb

TD was on 790 this morning, and he basically said that once they drafted Ryan, they KNEW that the o-line and d-line prospects were thin. They dropped off dramatically after the first 2 rounds, not only in terms of talent but also in terms of fit for our scheme and organization (see Carl Nicks, as one example). And when we had the run on Tackles in the 1st, it cost us our ability to make noise at those positions in the 2nd because we had to trade up to get our OT. So we addressed it as much as we could. They knew Ryan was a trade-off, but it was one they were willing to make.

TD also said the guys we brought in as FA DTs were solid, get-dirty competitors, and while they aren't "splash" guys, they will do well for us this year. My take is that we will probably address the lines early next year and either hope the draft is deeper for both lines or just take linemen early and in FA to bolster things.

Either way, TD sounded like he had a solid plan. I trust his judgment.

I just hope that when Ryan flames out in the NFL, which he is going to do, and Dorsey goes on to a great career the same Ryan defenders man up and admit they were dead wrong.

I don't wish that at all. As a Falcon, I hope that Ryan becomes the next Peyton Manning or Tom Brady.

I don't care about Dorsey since he's in the AFC but I hope Sedrick Ellis is a complete bust in NO... :)

Based upon what do you conclude Ryan "is going to" be a bust?

That's what I thought... We are on the 2-3 year rebuilding plan.

I really really hope we do more to fix the lines in the next draft.

Since our "franchise" QB is a rookie and TD even admits that we didn't do enough to fix the lines, have they written off the 2008 season?

I didn't get that impression.

"Written off" the Super Bowl? They'll never say that, but probably.

"Written off" the playoffs? Probably not, but I doubt anyone is saying "we'll make the playoffs at least," either.

"Written off" the season? No. I think they intend to be competitive. I'd be happy with 6-10 or 7-9 this season. I don't think it's realistic to expect much more than that.

I watched him play in college. He has a pop gun arm that is not accurate beyond 25 yards down the field, his deep ball flutters like a duck and just hangs in the air waiting to be picked off. He piled up passing numbers against bad college defenses and when he played against good collegiate defenses he got exposed. At no point in time did he ever raise up his team's level of play or make them a better football team against equally talented teams.

There is absolutely nothing about him that makes me think he should be a NFL starter let alone a "franchise" quarterback.

On the flip side.
When Ryan developes into one of the top QB`s in the League (and he will) all the doubters come clean and admit they were wrong. nr6

I didn't like the Petrino hire, but I went along with it.
I didn't like drafting Anderson last season, but I went along with it.

I think that drafting Ryan was more of a PR move to show inconsequential media types that we have "moved on" with respect to the former QB. That apparently was more important than taking a player who would have made this team better from day 1.

IMO, we took an overhyped northeastern QB based mostly on the biased opinion of the "experts" in Bristol. When we could have had a DT who dominated the best conference in college football and is already better than any DT on our roster. If this turns out the way I think it will, it will be Dimitroff's lasting legacy, established in his first draft.

But I have no choice but to go along with it. With the guaranteed money that Ryan will make, if he flops it will cripple this franchise for at least 5 years.

I wished Bruce and Darion Connor really were the "next LT' as promised too. :(

What is ironic to me is that I felt all season that Ryan was just another Joey Harrington and yet here we are having Harrington on the roster and just wasted the third pick in the draft on Joey version 2.0.

I know how you feel. I called out Pestinko before the hire and after it. I got absolutely trashed on the official MB site for being against Pestinko and telling people he would show his true colors. Boy was I right.

I also questioned how good Jamaal Anderson would be and that we should have drafted Okoye to play UT since Coleman was on his way out. I think I got that one right as well.

Ryan is going to bust and we'll be stuck with him for 3-4 years. :(

ADD IN: I also want to see a lot of promise in our rookies.

I agree. I think it would be a mistake for fans to expect more. We'll see the typical "Fire TD" and "Fire Mike Smith" threads on the OMB but we gotta give at least 2-3 years to see if we can rebuild with a new scheme, etc...

6-10 with the rookies showing a lot of promise would be good enough for me for 2008.

Then in the 2009 draft and FA, FIX THE %#$# LINES!

I think you're both wrong to make such conclusions.

I have had my concerns about Ryan and I was very vocal about not taking him at #3 but I have to hope that people like TD and Mayock see something that I am not seeing.

I'll give 2-3 years for Ryan to show me something on the field before I label him a bust or the savior of the franchise.

Interesting. I watched him play in college too. He doesn't have the STRONGEST arm, but it isn't a "pop gun" either. His deep ball does flutter, but remember he was often having to air out passes beyond his range because his receivers didn't get open and he was scrambling to keep the play alive. It's not like every time he sets back on a deep ball it just died on him. He actually threw some very nice deep balls at BC. And when he plays within himself, he is THE most accurate passer in this draft at all ranges. Flacco has a better deep ball, for example, but he is nowhere near Ryan's class across the board.

You say "he piled up passing numbers against bad college defenses," but 1) that's not true (GT had a good defense hampered by an awful offense last season, and Ryan picked them absolutely apart), and 2) Ryan HAD A BAD OFFENSE -- he and Cherilous were the ONLY notable players on the entire offense. You can't fault him for playing what you call "bad defenses" (and I call "mediocre teams") without also realizing that he had crap wide receivers and no running game AT ALL. Ryan WAS that offense.

You say "at no point in time did he ever raise up his team's level of play or make them a better football team against equally talented teams." I say he was the ONLY guy raising the level of play on the team. Who the hell was making plays around him while he just managed the game? Ryan was the entire offense! The VT game is a great example of that -- his TEAM was not playing well, and MATT RYAN engineered a 4th quarter drive to win the game.

The Harrington comparison is off by quite a bit. Ryan played in a pro-style offense, and is a solid QB prospect. He is NOT projected as a "top 5" QB in the NFL, and he probably never will be. But a more apt comparison is McNabb, Brees, or Eli Manning, not Joey Harrington. McNabb and Eli were drafted awfully high in the 1st round, and I'd take either as my franchise QB (though I absolutely despise Eli Manning's whiny, prima donna ass).

You're being too hard on Ryan by a mile.

As one of the "trashers," I also admitted there and admit here that you were right about Petrino in the end. But that doesn't mean you're right about everything. In the end, you guessed right about Petrino. You're not a GM or scout. You're not a talent evaluator.

And I'd say you were wrong about Petrino's coaching ABILITY (which was the basis of your criticism of him as a "college coach"). It was his player management and character that did him in. His scheme worked.

You say 2-3 years on this draft, but Anderson is a bust after 1 season? Can you not see that you are being inconsistent on your expectations based upon whether you like someone or not? What if Anderson has a breakout season or is converted to DT and becomes a stud?

I guess I just don't get the Debbie Downer schtick.

Yes, I am being too hard on a defensive end that was a healthy start for all 16 games and totalled a STAGGERING zero sacks. Those are the kind of numbers that truly impress. The guy was such a complete and total non factor I remember every game day thread where several people would ask "Is Anderson in the game? Is he even playing?"

As for Ryan, you got that VT game all wrong. He was horrible the entire game against a good defense and got lucky for one drive. Now if the NFL will only play a prevent the entire game so Ryan can dink and dunk to pad his stats we'll be set. nr6

You even agree he has no arm. Defenses are going to know that and ignore any kind of vertical threat or worse try to sucker him into trying it, knowing his pop gun arm will leave the ball in the air for an easy pick six.

And to add about Pestinko, I was 100% proven correct that his college coach schtick wouldn't cut it in the NFL. Did you not read the interviews or hear them from players after the season? He had no clue how to run the offense, the Oline didn't even know their own blocking schemes because Pestinko would change them on game day same as the playbook. He was a disaster as a NFL coach.

Ditto on that. As our new QB, I'll give Ryan the time it takes to develop. I won't write him off as a bust after a couple games, or one year...but I'm not that confident either.

I hope hope hope that Dimitroff really saw something special in this kid, that he can develop into a top-notch QB in this league.

Ridiculous on all 3 counts.

Anderson started at DE as a ROOKIE. No, he had no sacks, but he DID have some impact plays and "near sacks." If he regresses, you were right all along. If he improves, he's hardly a "bust." And Okoye had a good rookie year, but it's way too early to call that one as well.

Ryan did not have a horrible game against VT. And I thought you said he didn't play any good defenses? How in hell did he "get lucky" when things went well but "play horrible" when they were going bad? His receivers didn't do anything to help him out the entire game, and once again the running game was nonexistent. He was harassed, sacked and hurried the entire game because Cherilous is the only player worth a crap on that o-line. Not only did he engineer the drive that you call a product of "luck," but he had to score the game-winning TD TWICE because of a holding penalty. He also engineered a prior scoring drive to make it 10-7, so the "prevent defense" line is bull. You either did not watch the game or are intentionally skewing what happened.

Finally, I did NOT "agree he has no arm." Go back and read what I said. Again, you are apparently intentionally skewing things to make him look bad. What I said was his deep ball DOES flutter at times, but I ALSO said he threw some very nice deep balls at BC. The flutter was primarily due to him not having his feet set because he was running for his life, a problem that is easily corrected with better pass protection and proper coaching on footwork. He is also unafraid to throw the deep ball, something that VASTLY distinguishes him from Harrington.

Anderson had at best one play all season last year in that he caused a fumble that Deangelo Hall ran back for a touchdown. One play for 16 games? WOW! Color me impressed. 67hhers56

I said Ryan only padded stats against bad defenses and looked bad against good defenses. So you can stop this "skewing" argument since you are apparently doing the same thing yourself. Ryan looked horrible the ENTIRE GAME against VT and got lucky at the end of the game. I watched that game, he was clearly overmatched and only the idiocy of VT to switch up to prevent defenses allowed him to do anything in that game.

Even the scouts that are on high on Ryan admit he has no deep ball. Go read any scouting report about him and they all agree with me: no deep ball. And you *want* him to keep throwing deep? n7rryb