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2011 Falcons Starting Lineup - babuka - 08-01-2011 10:21 AM
Offense Returns 9 of 11 starters in both '11' personnel and '21' personnel. Falcons will probably take a slight hit in performace at right guard in whoever replaces Harvey Dahl, the Falcons will probably get a boost of performance in Julio Jones replacing Jenkins.
QB - Ryan (better)
RB - Turner (non obvious passing situations) (same)
RB - Rodgers (obvious passing situations) (better)
FB - Mughelli (21 personnel) (same)
SW - Douglas (11 personnel) (better)
WR - White (same)
WR - Jones (better)
TE - Gonzalez (same - keeps in great shape despite age)
LT - Baker (better)
LG - Blalock (better)
C - McClure (worse - getting old)
RG - Mike Johnson/Reynolds (worse - no experience)
RT - Clabo (same)
Overall I have 6 guys/situations being better, with only two players being worse with one of those due to age.
Defensively the Falcons has its entire two deep back except for Brian Williams. They add DE Ray Edwards who will probably rotate heavily with Abraham and Biermann.
DE - Abraham (probably slightly worse due to age)
DE - Edwards/Biermann (better)
DT - Babineaux (same)
DT - Jerry/Peters (better)
MLB - Lofton (better)
SLB - Nicholas/Peterson (better?)
WLB - Weatherspoon (better)
SS - Moore (better)
FS - Decoud (better)
CB - Grimes (same?)
CB - Robinson (better?)
NB - Owens/Franks (?????)
Except for Abraham slowing down some due to age I expect the rest of the defense to all either stay the same or get better this year (obviously Mike Peterson will not, but I think Nicholas will step up and play some more SLB this year giving us a boost at that position). You have to assume that whoever wins the nickle back job Owens/Franks will be a better player individually than they were last year, but that don't mean they will be better than a healthy Brian Williams. Probably the biggest question mark on the team.
I think by looking at the how each guy should improve/degrade based on experience and injury history; and adding in the moves the Falcons made, it is really hard not seeing the Falcons being a better team in 2011 if they stay healthy.
RE: 2011 Falcons Starting Lineup - papachaz - 08-01-2011 10:35 AM
losing Dahl does not automatically make the RG position worse. check the stats and you'll see more of our sacks and pressures came over harvey, along with that one stupid personal foul penalty each game. reynolds is big enough, and has obviously worked his way through the practice squad (remembering that's where Dahl came from, someone else's practice squad).
i don't disagree that johnson/reynolds lack experience, but i don't think we're losing that much in Harvey.
also putting franks/owens together definitely means you have to put the ???? there. i remember how well owens played at the end of 09, and add together with owens having a back injury last year, and hope he'll be better. Franks wasn't even good enough by the end of the year for the coaches to want to risk putting him out there in the playoff game, so the jury is still WAY out on him. I'd hope he could earn a spot, he's big and fast. gotta love the size. also, i know we signed two more UDFA's CB, maybe we've found a diamond in the rough in one of those
RE: 2011 Falcons Starting Lineup - Beef - 08-01-2011 02:32 PM
I don't think it works like that with simple "better/worse" classifications. This isn't linear black and white stuff.
For instance, Ray Edwards will probably make things easier for Abraham AND our entire secondary. Abraham shouldn't be worse. Julio will force defenses to spread out deep and make it easier for Turner, our entire OL, and especially Roddy, HD, and Gonzo, not to mention Ryan. None of those guys should be the same or worse, they should all be better as a result. Quizz's ability to catch screens and dump passes will spread defenses out wide and help Julio and Roddy deep. If Jerry and Spoon add even more to the pass rush, they'll make things easier on the entire D as well.
Offenses and defenses are like exponential efficiency magnets. The more efficient they get, the more efficient they really get. That's why sometimes the addition of just one person or the filling of one hole can make an entire offense or defense jump up 5-10 ranks.
The additions of Ray, Julio, and Quizz, along with the natural improvement young players usually develop year to year, are going to make our team as a whole so much better that it's going to seem unreal.
RE: 2011 Falcons Starting Lineup - phalcon phil - 08-01-2011 06:34 PM
(08-01-2011 10:35 AM)papachaz Wrote: losing Dahl does not automatically make the RG position worse. check the stats and you'll see more of our sacks and pressures came over harvey, along with that one stupid personal foul penalty each game. reynolds is big enough, and has obviously worked his way through the practice squad (remembering that's where Dahl came from, someone else's practice squad).
i don't disagree that johnson/reynolds lack experience, but i don't think we're losing that much in Harvey.
also putting franks/owens together definitely means you have to put the ???? there. i remember how well owens played at the end of 09, and add together with owens having a back injury last year, and hope he'll be better. Franks wasn't even good enough by the end of the year for the coaches to want to risk putting him out there in the playoff game, so the jury is still WAY out on him. I'd hope he could earn a spot, he's big and fast. gotta love the size. also, i know we signed two more UDFA's CB, maybe we've found a diamond in the rough in one of those
Trust me when I say this. Addressing the DE position is going to make our entire secondary look much better. How many times over the last few years did we watch our db's hold receivers down for 5 or 6 seconds while our pass rush was knitting quilts letting qbs do the cabbage patch, txting their grandmothers, sudoku puzzles etc.. in the pocket? Our secondary has taken way too much heat due to the lack of performance in the trenches. Hopefully Ray Edwards is the answer opposite Abe and Biermann can be that spark plug to fill in.