Falcons pick right time to make big move, get Julio Jones, per AJC Jeff Shultz

[nativefalcon]

Jeff Schultz


Falcons pick right time to make big move, get Julio Jones

9:13 pm April 28, 2011, by Jeff Schultz



Julio Jones will help the Falcons open up their offense after averaging nearly 15 yards per catch at Alabama.

FLOWERY BRANCH – Last week, I had a private conversation with a general manager (guess who?) of an NFL team (duh) about his team’s draft plans. Because of what just happened, I feel safe in concluding that the Falcons’ Thomas Dimitroff won’t mind if elements of that conversation now go on the record.

Me: “Go get A.J. Green. He’ll probably have the greatest impact of any player in the draft.”

Dimitroff: “How do you think people would react?”

Me: “More than half will love you. The rest will think you spent too much and should draft for defense. But I’m guessing you won’t do it.”

Dimitroff: “Why not?”

Me: “You won’t want to trade that much for one player. You’re conservative.”

Dimitroff: “Hah! So what you’re saying is, if I make a trade, you’ll write that you goaded me into it.”

Me: “Yeah, probably.”

And then we laughed and I eventually hung up the phone believing Dimitroff would stay at 27th or possibly move up no higher than five picks for a defensive player he coveted. I was wrong about Dimitroff. He’s not conservative. He rolled the dice and made a move that, while expensive, was a risk worth taking.

The Falcons dealt a boatload of draft picks to Cleveland Thursday night to jump up from 27th overall in the first round to sixth overall, where they drafted Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones.

Dimitroff had said he wanted to add an “explosive” element to the Falcons. He did that, and in doing so made a significant statement about this franchise’’s goals and expectations. He attempted to swing a deal for a pick as high as No. 2, ostensibly to get Georgia’s Green. But he said a deal for Cincinnati’s fourth pick never was close, calling a rumor to the contrary as a “pre-draft flurry inaccuracy.” He had known for a “few days” that the Falcons would land the sixth or seventh pick, which would land them Jones.

The Falcons gave up their first-, second- and fourth-round selections this season and a first-rounder next year for Jones. That’s a lot. But Jones is a playmaker. He’s a burner. He ran a 4.34 at the NFL scouting combined despite having a fractured foot. He gives Atlanta potentially the best set of starting wide receivers in the NFL.

Does this fix the defense? No. But it enables the Falcons to make plays, open up the offense and take over games when they couldn’t in the past.

The Falcons were not going to get a difference-maker on defense in this draft. Linebacker Von Miller, who went second overall to Denver, was the only defender they truly coveted.

And before you start complaining that Dimitroff has ignored the defensive side of the ball, consider something: Since taking over as general manager in 2008, the Falcons have spent heavily with first- and second-round picks and free agency on defense. Chronologically: Linebacker Curtis Lofton, safety William Moore, defensive tackle Peria Jerry, cornerback Dunta Robinson and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon. That’s five players on defensive, compared to four early picks or acquisitions on offense (Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, Sam Baker, Tony Gonzalez).

NFL teams sometimes have a limited window in which they feel they can make this move. This is the Falcons’ window. They went 13-3 last season, then they went face down against Green Bay. They needed a splash.

Dimitroff and the organization still have a hangover from the 48-21 beatdown at the hands of the Packers. The Falcons are at the point now where people are going to start focusing more on the team’s postseason results (0-2) than the regular season (33-15).

“With expectations ramped up as they were in 2010, obviously the cut was that much deeper,” Dimitroff said recently. “As an organization, when you put your heart and soul into something, it’s that much more difficult to step off when there’s an abrupt end, like the kind of defeat we had with Green Bay.

“Am I over it? Personally? Probably not completely. But that’s what adds to some of my drive at this year’s draft.”

It drove him to make a big move, and it was a risk worth taking





http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2...lio-jones/

[Drathdon]

Well written.

[DemBirds]

The fact that there really wasn't any other defensive players that intrigued them makes this make all the more sense. I say bravo to you, TD for nutting up and doing what had to be done.

[Red Falcon]

well said, i'm excited about this pick

[ggp]

I know that most people felt that we needed to draft a DE. We saw the need for an improved pass rush. The problem is that this draft did not offer many sure-fire pass rushers. The only true impact pass rusher was Von Miller. Every other DE or OLB in this draft had serious down sides.

Quinn (brain tumor) and Bowers (bum knee) are terrific talents but have significant medical issues that limit their longevity in the league. The rest of the top DE's are slower, more powerful guys that are probably better fits in a 3-4 front.

Sheard, Houston, and Reed are not worthy of first round status.

So, barring a trade for Peterson or Miller, we made the right move.