2012/2013

[ssumpter22]

So assuming everyone stays healthy on our team. I wanted to see what we Falcons fans thought about our team. Lets put our top 5 defensive and top 5 offensive players for the Falcons this upcoming season. I also want to see who you Falcons fans think will be the most improved player on each side of the ball and who the most important pick up this off-season will be.

Offense
1. Julio Jones - he missed some games last season and still put up great numbers, if he continued to improve this off-season I'll honestly put him as the #2 best receiver in the NFL behind Calvin Johnson, but that's to be determined.
2. Matt Ryan - this is a huge year for Matty Ice, he put up his best numbers last year and has 2 top recievers, Tony G, Harry Douglas in the slot and add J. Rogers to the mix and he should just keep getting better. Regular season he will be fine, but this post-season will defines Mr. Ryans career.
3. Roddy White - still our #1 receiver, but Julio will surpass him this year or next, one of our offensive leaders and will cut down on the drops this season. look for another 100 catches 10+ touchdowns from our #1.
4. Tony G - the best tight end ever doesn't get old or tired, it seems like our robot will have another top 5 season at tight end.
5. Harry Douglas - it takes 2 years to fully recover from serious knee injuries and this guy has the quickness and speed to flourish in the slot. our new OC will put the ball in his hands more often in the new pass happy league and Harry should have a fine season in the slot.

Defense
1. Asante Samuel - if this guy plays like we all know he can, we can say lockdown, premier corner with a 2-3 years left in the gas tank should up everything in the secondary (picks, pass defends, and help the dline).
2. Sean Weatherspoon - the new leader on the defensive side of the ball is our heart and fire on D. This guy will makes the plays we need him to make and will keep our intensity above 100%.
3. Dunta Robinson - with the new pass happy league its important to have 3 good corners. We got Grimes and AS on the outside, Dunta is the perfect Nickel back, he plays the run hard, he is quick and very fast for in the first 5-10 yards off the LOS. He will be the best Nickel back in the league.
4. Ray Edwards - "injuries" slowed him all last season. this guy is a monster at 6'6 270. he will come in this season and give us 8-12 sacks and make it worth the money along with holding linemen and slowing opposing teams run games.
5. William Moore - time to take the step into the Elite Safety realm. he has been good when he isn't hurt, maybe he can stay healthy for a season and show his full skill set.

Most Improved Offense
Jacquizz Rodgers - he will catch screens, catch passes out of the backfield, line up on the outside and with improved pass protection he will be on the field more, look out for him to hit the NFL hard this season
Most Improved D
Corey Peters - he will surpass Babineux as our #1 DT and will continue to generate pressure up the middle and keep opposing teams running games out of a groove. look for his sacks and QB pressures to continue to rise.

Most Important Pick Up of the Offseason
I could go a ton of different directions with this one. Asante is the obvious choice, but I'll just keep him as the guy we all know will do well for the Falcons. I'm going to go in a different direction and choose 2 players. First, I'll put Peter Konz, Wisconsin O linemen are usually great in the NFL, especially as of lately. We will plug him in at guard this season then he will be our center for the next decade. On D our new MLB, Lofa Tatupa, will be a beast again. He missed a year or 2 because of his knee's, but like I said about Harry D it takes 2 years to get back right. He will put up huge numbers and be a great addition to the team.

[scar988]

Konz isn;t going to be our center for the next decade. everything I've been hearing points to Konz at RG for the foreseeable future with HAwley at center.
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[matt2roddy]

Offense:
1. Mattyice: He's gonna take the next step in everything this year. He'll prove to us all just how elite of a quarterback he is.
2. Julio: Our physical freak of a wide receiver has finally had a full offseason to develop chemistry with Matt. Not to mention he is a year older and has a year of NFL experience behind him now.
3. Roddy: He's Mr. Consistent for us. He's consistently a great receiver. I just hope he doesn't drop so many passes this year. Him and Julio both.
4. Tyson Clabo: One of the best right tackles in the league. Him keeping Matt upright will be a huge factor in us getting to where we want to go.
5. JacQuizz: I think this is his breakout year guys. He wants a payday. He puts stuff on Instagram all the time about how motivated he is. We'll start him off with a smaller role in the offense, but as the season progresses and Koetter sees what he can do, Quizz will be relied upon heavily. Again, that is just my prediction. If I wanted to be safe here I would put Tony G at 5.

Defense:
1. Abraham: He's been our best defensive player for years now. I expect to see his numbers improve even more because of our secondary.
2. Asante: Picking between him and Grimes was a really tough choice, but in the end I think Asante will have a slightly better season at corner.
3. Grimes: Hes been a lockdown corner for us for 2 years now. Hopefully his knee is all healed up and he is ready to give us another spectacular season of CB play, this time on the right side.
4. Weatherspoon: The guy that is supposed to step it up and be the leader for this defensive squad. He played fantastic for us last year and is only getting better. Expecting a big treat from him. Who knows, he very well could be #1 on this list next year.
5. William Moore: All signs point to a breakout year and elite season at safety. I still question his ability to stay healthy, but if he were to do so I would defiantly say he has it in him, especially in contract year.

Most improved:
Harry Douglas: 3 years removed from his injury now, I expect him to be utilized in this offense a lot more and establish himself as one of the better slot receivers out there.
Akeem Dent: Another guy who has worked hard in the offseason. He loves thev game of football and will do whatever it takes to win the starting MLB job. This will be his first year starting and he will only be a 2 down LBer this year, but I still expect him to make an impact and prove to us why he needs to be an every down player.
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My 2011 Adopt-A-Falcon: 1st Team All Rookie Linebacker Akeem Dent!!!
2012 Adopt-A-Falcon: CB Asante Samuel

[adam9]

I'm going to do our top 5 players on offense and defense. Then the top 5 overall I am going to anticipate watching (progression wise or role players mainly).

Offense:
1: Julio Jones- I'm thinking he will be the best player on the field for us this season. He hasn't proved it quite yet, but he for sure has the raw ability and with this full offseason and a new OC, I think he flourishes..

2: Matt Ryan- I think he has received way too much blame for our offense last season. He was in a tough situation last season with a shaky OL and a WR he had off timing with. I think he proves himself as a top 7 QB in the NFL next season.

3: Roddy White- He has been great throughout his career. Last year he struggled with drops, but he is physical and runs superb routes. If he fixes his hands this season I think he is our main possession WR next season (in my terms meaning he will lead our team in receptions).

4: Justin Blalock- He and Clabo are the best OL players we have, and McClure is strong as well. The key for our OL success is our LT and RG play. After losing Dahl we never got a good fill out of anyone and Baker sucked last season, however the year before I thought he was one of the top 15 LTs in the league, which isn't awful. Back to the point Blalock is a good force on our OL and I think really has come into his own on our line (last season I thought he was phenomenal although the year before he was just okay).

5: Tony Gonzalez- Even this late into his career he is a top TE. He is also Matt's comfort blanket and plays an important role for our offense. I think this might be his last season, but he totals some good stats and proves he has been phenomenal throughout his whole career.


Defense:
1: Sean Weatherspoon- I think he proves to be our vocal leader and best defensive player next season. If we utilize him right I think he will have more tackles this season than last season and should have 5+ sacks. I would bet he makes the Pro Bowl this season.

2: Asante Samuel- Not over-hyping our new player or anything, but I think he is the best DB on our team. I wouldn't be surprised for him to lead our team in INTs. I'm really banking on this being the year our secondary is actually good in pass coverage.

3: John Abraham- He is a force on the line, the problem is he doesn't get the sacks to show for it. I think he totals some good sacks this season and proves he is a force.

4: Brent Grimes- He is a playmaker. He has exceptional skills, sometimes he gets beat, but he is pretty good in man coverage. I think the changing of DCs helps him. I'm hoping for a good season from Brent.

5: William Moore- William is an exceptional player and really can be a playmaker at times, 2 problems in him. The first being his health. He HAS to stay healthy this season and I hope he does. The second is his form of tackling. He hardly ever wraps up his tackles, he banks on hitting them hard in the chest and hoping to just drill them, sometimes it makes big hits and FF or a pass breakup, other times it makes for missed tackles.

I will anticipate to see this season:
1: Julio Jones- This one is easy. He will play good, but how good? I think his potential is sky high, although in his first season in the league you did see some things he could improve on. Also let's hope he stays injury free this season.

2: Lofa Tatupu/Akeem Dent (starting MLB spot)- This one is also easy to me. I see him starting at MLB for us this season. If he returns to about where he was with the Hawks I think it would be a huge thing for our defense. Also with this #2 spot I will add Dent. If he proves to be the better player to start, then I would be happy seeing him on the field as well.

3: Jacquizz Rodgers- If he wants to be our main back one day, he needs to prove himself in this coming season. I think he does it, but that's just a feeling. Hopefully we won't have to spend a high round pick on a RB to replace Turner in a draft in the near future.

4: Bradie Ewing- I would like to see if he can be the FB he was in college. If he is then getting Ewing would be a key addition this offseason. Ovie will be missed if Ewing isn't great.

5: TEs behind Tony Gonzales- I want to see if we have anybody to step up. I think Palmer has potential, but I would also like to see Galarda or LaMark to step up. If we see enough potential we might not have to spend a high round pick on a TE to replace Tony.
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