The Falcoholic

Nicknaming The Atlanta Falcons Rookie Class

2012-05-26T16:30:04Z

One of our cherished traditions here at The Falcoholic is coming up with inane nicknames for players. Over the years, you've gotten everything from Big Snell to Cristobal Rojohombre to Optimus Grimes, and we're mighty (insert adjective) about that.

So it's time to turn our eyes to the incoming rookie class and figure out the best possible nicknames for all of them. Perhaps some, like Charles Mitchell, will be difficult to come up with. No matter. You guys are clever enough to overcome those meager challenges.

As always, you can vote with your Rec buttons. Come up with your best submissions in the comments.

Knowshon Moreno May Be Traded Or Released, But Should We Care?

2012-05-26T12:01:00Z

To answer my own headline, probably.

Knowshon Moreno was a first round pick who has not lived up to expectations, primarily because of his injury history. The former Georgia running back has played only 36 out of a possible 48 games over his first three seasons, and when he's been healthy he hasn't always been a starter.

That said, he's only 24 years old. He's got a 4.1 yards per carry career average and 9.0 yards per catch, proving his versatility. The only major problems with Moreno is that he is clearly not the elite talent people expected him to be, and he gets hurt too often. Those are issues, yes, but not a great reason to dump a player entirely.

Yet the Broncos are on the cusp of doing so. After using a first round pick on the guy, it's hard to blame them for thinking he's been a disappointment. If they're cutting him or letting him go, there's probably a dozen teams in the NFL who could find a use for him.

Are the Falcons one of them?

Probably not. The Falcons seem content to roll with Michael Turner, Jacquizz Rodgers, Jason Snelling and possibly Antone Smith/Dmitri Nance. That'll be good enough for their purposes this year, and I'm not quibbling with that depth chart.

If you could get a fairly versatile back like Moreno—remember that he's just 24 years old—for the price of a low-round pick or just a contract, though, would you re-shuffle the running back corps? I imagine you would, giving him a couple of years and an incentive-laden deal designed to get the best out of him. Moreno would be an intriguing backup to Michael Turner this year and a possibly match with Jacquizz Rodgers down the line. Given his relative lack of production to this point, he ought to come reasonably cheap, too.

At a low-round price, it's probably worth it. Moreno still has upside, has reasonable talent now and would make a nice backup. He and Jacquizz Rodgers could serve as Turner's primary backups, with Snelling serving as the fourth back/backup fullback. Moreno would add another receiving threat to the backfield and, as I mentioned, would be an option to compete for starts in 2013 and beyond.

What do you think?

Tony Gonzalez: No. 53 On NFL Top 100 List

2012-05-25T20:00:32Z

Two Falcons have cracked NFL Network's "The Top 100: Players of 2012" list. Now a third has come to light, as Tony Gonzalez comes in at No. 53.

Arguably the greatest tight end to ever play the game, Tony G put in another fantastic year in 2011. He finished with 80 catches for 875 yards and seven touchdowns. Despite critics thinking he may have lost a step with age, that didn't seem to be the case.

"I'm the old guy, and I'm 36 years old, so people always take that into account. That's the first thing they want to say, you've lost a step," Gonzalez said, but he followed up with, "I'm not here to complain."

We've seen that he can still be one of the best tight ends in the league, and Gonzalez believes he's at the the top of his game. "I think I can still do it at pretty much the same level," he said.

During the segment they talked about how Tony G has helped change the tight end position in today's NFL. "It's become a glamour position, and guys get the ball a lot," Gonzalez said. Tight ends get more attention than ever these days, and they can certainly thank the man with 1,149 career receptions for that.

Last season No. 88 was ranked seven spots higher, so age must be the biggest factor playing in here. He managed better stats in just about every category possible in 2011 than 2010. However, another year older means nothing to him.

Gonzalez was asked which young tight end "gets him the most excited" (their question, not mine). Unfortunately he responded with one of our enemies. "I like Jimmy Graham a lot. He's got the basketball background," he said. "I had a chance to really get to know him at the Pro Bowl, and what a great guy...He really gets it. He wants to work hard, he wants to be one of the best players in the league."

The most interesting part of his interview, though, came at the end when he was asked about Matt Ryan. Gonzalez explained how the no-huddle offense put so much pressure on No. 2 last season, and they'll be running less of that in 2012. He also said he hopes Koetter will just "let him (Ryan) go out there and play." I think we can all agree we hope the new OC will loosen the reigns on the offense, which should allow Ryan to have one of his best seasons yet.

Only three tight ends are ranked ahead of Tony G on this list. I'd say they did a fair job placing him in the rankings. Your thoughts on any/all of this?

Which Falcon Will Be In The Best Shape Of His Life?

2012-05-25T17:00:23Z

It's a cliché as old as the cosmos. Every year, there's at least one player who proclaims himself to be in the best shape of his life. Sometimes an amazing season follows said proclamation, while other times nothing is different. It's a poor bellwether for a great year, I'll say that.

Still, it's kind of a fun storyline to follow. That's particularly true since the Falcons have a healthy mix of older dudes (John Abraham, Matt Bryant, Todd McClure) and heretofore unproven players (Lawrence Sidbury, Spencer Adkins, Dominique Franks, etc.) Someone among that group is going to show up for training camp looking like he Hulked up, and my guess is that it will be one of the guys from the latter list. When you've got something to prove, it helps to at least look the part.

While it may be great sportswriter fodder, it's also

Place your (meaningless) bets, ladies and gentlemen.

The Atlanta Falcons Are Somehow Underrated

2012-05-25T12:00:52Z

How could a team with huge regular season success over the last four years and no playoff success be underrated? Shouldn't they be overrated, you ask?

No, I answer. Let me tell you why the Atlanta Falcons are actually being undersold.

Vegas has them at nine wins. Pundits ignored their draft. No less an expert than Bill Barnwell scoffed at the team's lack of upgrades for their ground game, which is not actually a major need. The tendency to know as little as possible about the Falcons causes analysts to fall back on familiar tropes about the Falcons. They're not good enough. They'll fall short. The Saints are the model franchise and the Panthers and Buccaneers got better. The Falcons are just the other team in the NFC South for some.

It's remarkable what a lack of playoff success will do to your reputation among the chattering classes. If you want proof of that, look no further than this resoundingly idiotic USA Today article on Peyton Manning. Manning will go down as one of the best quarterbacks ever to play a game and has won a Super Bowl, but somehow he—and he alone—has a disappointing playoff history. This is lunacy. Matt Ryan and this entire team have been dinged for their lack of playoff success, as well.

And it's lunacy with the Falcons. The playoff results have been undeniably disappointing, and the Falcons will have to get better. But they're getting there nearly every year because they're a tough team chock full of talent, and whatever you may think of their chances, they don't deserve to be a team relegated to the background.

You don't have to believe the Falcons are a 13 win team. I don't, myself. But you have to acknowledge that with coordinators who should be an upgrade, talent that has won close to 50 games over the last four years and few major personnel changes, there's no reason to believe this team is going to fall off the face of the earth in 2012. In fact, I'd say that with a rocky off-season going on for the Saints, there's a good chance they'll return to the post-season.

That's what I think. How about you?

Who Will Break Out For Atlanta In 2012?

2012-05-24T20:00:21Z

The talk of a 2012 breakout player for the Falcons is underway, so I figured I'd jump in with my own opinion. Julio and 'Spoon were two guys who exploded onto the scene last year. Who can we expect to really step up this time around?

Knox Bardeen identified a few potential breakout candidates recently. Quizz, Ray Edwards, 'Spoon, El Sid and Julio were all on his watch list. The Famous Dave Choate also noted that Quizz was Pat Yasinskas' pick to be the NFC South breakout player of 2012.

It appears we have a handful of guys to pick from. Which player, though, is really destined to receive the title of Falcons Breakout Player of the Year? Keep in mind that award doesn't officially exist.

Let's start by examining the guys already named. Quizz seems to be a favorite in everyone's mind because of his versatility. We know Dirk Koetter loves the screen game, an area the 5-foot-6, 196 pound running back can thrive in. If the Falcons give him enough playing time, Quizz can make a huge impact.

'Spoon is now a leader of the defense. He was a monster in 2011, so I'm not sure he can even be considered here. But, as Knox notes, he'll be calling the plays, seeing more action on third-down situations and basically causing havoc wherever he can. It's scary to think we haven't even seen the best of him.

Speaking of scary, Julio caught 54 balls for 959 yards and eight touchdowns in just 13 games during his rookie campaign. If not for a nagging hamstring issue, who knows how good he could have been?

He'll have a full offseason to train and a new vertical passing scheme to work with. This could be a breakout year coming off of a breakout year for Jones.

Edwards and Sidbury need to break out in 2012 for the sake of Atlanta's pass rush. El Sid was on the field for 207 pass-rush snaps last year, in comparison to Edwards' 661 (stats given from Knox), but Sidbury still managed a half sack more than Edwards. I think we'd all welcome a huge increase in production from either of the two in Mike Nolan's new system.

Now that I've gone over the aforementioned list of candidates, allow me to give two of my own.

1) Dunta Robinson: He still has the big contract, but his spotlight has diminished a bit. Asantae Samuel will push Dunta to the inside, a move the he might have needed.

Robinson hasn't really lived up to everyone's expectations. Still, he's a talented, physical DB who should win a lot of his matchups now. I think he has something to prove with his job being taken right away by a new guy. Hopefully this will inspire Dunta to bring his A-game every week.

2) Harry Douglas: HD was somewhat of a victim in Mike Mularkey's offense. We've seen what he can do when they consistently utilize him in the passing game (see Week 10 of 2011). Julio and Roddy receive a ton of attention from opposing defenses, and with Tony G back for another year, someone has to be open, right? Koetter's new offense should allow Douglas to see more action, and I think he can handle it.

I'm not necessarily making a pick at this point, but these are the two guys (aside from Quizz) I think should be kept on breakout watch. Who do you think will be the breakout player of 2012?

A Falcoholic Photo Caption Contest, Part Two

2012-05-24T17:01:04Z

The first time we tried this, the clear winner was HappySour, who compared Julio Jones to a column of fire. Not that far-fetched.

We're at it again. Come up with your best caption for the photo above—please don't be wildly inappropriate—

Remember to vote with your Rec buttons. And...go!

What Do More Nickel Packages Mean For The Falcons Defense?

2012-05-24T12:00:21Z

If there's one major defensive change we'll see in 2012, it's the increased rollout of nickel packages on defense. Bank on that.

Okay, it's not that major. It's not like Brian Van Gorder never rolled three deep at cornerback, or that he wouldn't occasionally get James Sanders on the field. It will happen more often under Mike Nolan, and it will typically involve trotting out Brent Grimes, Dunta Robinson and Asante Samuel at the same time. That's pretty devastating.

It will mean some basic changes to how this defense functions compared to previous incarnations over the last four years. While none of these will be remarkably profound, we'll hopefully be left with a defense that's simply better than it used to be.

After the jump, my take on more nickel.

Less effectiveness against the run, at least on paper. Teams favoring the nickel can stop the run and stop it well, of course. The Falcons have the personnel to do just that if anyone in the NFL does. But taking an athletic, hardy linebacker off the field in favor of a defensive back inevitably puts a little dent in the proceedings.
A better presence against the pass. Given the team's relative weakness against opposing passing offenses, this is a huge boost. Putting three quality corners on the field in addition to two safeties gives the pass rush a little more time, avoids the abject fail that is putting a linebacker on a speedy wide receiver and gives quarterbacks a few more fits. We like that.
More creative blitz packages. This should be a given regardless of how often the Falcons use the nickel, but the Falcons should be able to give teams some unique looks by sending a defensive back off the edge and creating problems for immobile blockers up front. I'm not saying it's going to increase the team's sacks tenfold, but I bet you at least a couple of poor quarterbacks will face the wrath of a defensive back this season.

There will, of course, be more changes. Suggest yours in the comments.