Competition Marks Atlanta Falcons' OffSeason Plans

The Atlanta Falcons came into the off-season with many immediate needs, especially on the defensive side of the ball.  Through the draft and free agency, most, if not all, of those needs seem to be filled on paper.  There will, however, be some interesting positional battles heading into the team’s OTA’s and training camp. 

Tony Gonzalez will be bring an immediate pass catching threat from the Falcons Tight End spot, a position that was little used last season outside of blocking purposes.  The trade of Laurent Robinson and the extension of Michael Jenkins pretty much assures the starting receiver spots, with Roddy White, Jenkins, and emerging star Harry Douglas rounding out the primary three. 

The offensive line remains in tact, with the possibility of backups to earn some added playing time this off-season.  Positional battles on the offensive end appear to be mainly consisted of backup roles at this point. 

That leads us to the defensive side of the ball, which got more than just a makeover this off-season. 

Third year defensive end Jamaal Anderson heads into the 2009 season labeled by many fans and sports writers as a bust, with an unsightly two sacks in his first two complete seasons in the league.  Anderson has shown some improvements in his pass rushing repertoire, however it seems that the coaching staff has grown a little impatient while waiting for his production to match the lofty expectations. 

Anderson saw his playing time dip last season to career backup Chauncey Davis, who excelled in his new increased role.  Davis was resigned in the off-season, so it appears Anderson needs to work hard this season to fight off Chauncey for the starter’s label. 

With the amount of money tied into Anderson’s contract, there is every reason to believe the Falcons want him to be the starter this year.  Defensive line coach Ray Hamilton has been working very hard with Anderson this off-season, breaking down film of the league’s all time best pass rushers.

Anderson has also had a renewed intensity in the weight room, hoping to become faster and stronger than he has been in the first two seasons.  Anderson should make huge strides in 2009, however if he doesn’t, look for Chauncey Davis to swoop in for more playing just like he did a season ago.

Another interesting battle will be for the starting safety spot opposite surprising star Eric Coleman.  The loss of Lawyer Milloy left a huge void to fill at safety, whether it is at free or strong safety because of Eric Coleman’s versatility.  Atlanta drafted Thomas DeCoud in the third round of last year’s draft, and he is most likely going to be called upon with much more frequency in the coming year. 

DeCoud has the combination of speed and strength that suggest he can be a very good safety in the league one day.  The problem is that he had very little experience at the safety position in college, and only accumulated 6 tackles in 2008. This uncertainty in his ability to handle full time duties at safety, as well as his value on special teams, led the Falcons to select William Moore in the second round of the ’09 draft.

William Moore possesses a similar skill set as DeCoud, with more size and better ball skills.  Moore was also a two year starter at safety for Missouri in the Big 12, and should be much more ready to step in and contribute at safety than DeCoud was last season. 

The table is set for an intense competition this off-season.  Will DeCoud’s one year in the Falcons’ system overcome Moore’s impressive physical attributes and college production?  Only time will tell on that one.

A plausible outcome could be a bit of a compromise, allowing both players to get in the action in some sort of a rotation.  Coleman has the ability to rotate at both safety positions, giving the Falcons the luxury of playing Moore at SS on running downs and DeCoud at FS on more obvious passing situations.  This might be a good way for the team to utilize both players’ skill sets, while shielding the rookie from getting beat on too many deep passing plays early on. 

The other positional group that should get a lot of competition early on will be at outside linebacker, a very important piece to Atlanta’s base cover two.  Last season, it became painfully obvious to many Falcons fans that the unit lacked speed and stoutness at the point of attack.

Keith Brooking was very productive for a 33 year old veteran; however, it was clear in many situations that his lack of speed and quickness made him a liability that opposing offenses could take advantage of in the flats. 

Also Michael Boley struggled last year to adapt to Mike Smith and Brian VanGorder’s new defensive scheme.  Boley, coming off a career season in 2007, was more of blitzing, penetrating linebacker with more freedom to make aggressive moves to the quarterback in the previous regime. 

In the new system, linebackers were called upon to stop the run first and blitz less frequently.  This took away much of Boley’s value to the team and eventually led to his benching later in the season.  Boley is now a Giant, leaving the Falcons the task to find a more suited replacement in their current system.

The Falcons look to replace these two starters with familiar and not so familiar options.  In the one notable free agent signing of the off-season, the team brought in disgruntled linebacker Mike Peterson to reunite with Mike Smith and give some leadership to a young defensive roster. Peterson is currently in line to replace Brooking on the weak side, and should bring more speed and quickness to the table, without sacrificing the ability to stop the run.

Peterson started his career on the outside, but became notable for his contributions in the middle for the great Jacksonville defenses of the last couple of seasons.  Many people doubt this transition so late in his career; however, Mike Smith knows Peterson’s abilities very well from his days coaching the defense for the Jaguars.   

Peterson has also stated numerous times that he has cross-trained as an outside linebacker in Jacksonville and is comfortable in that role.  Look for him to secure the WLB spot fairly early in the process this off-season.

That leaves the other outside linebacker spot left to be filled.  Rumors had it that the team was looking to fill this need in the draft, but when Peria Jerry fell into the Falcon’s lap, the team was left with no other choice but to look in house to solve this opening.

Stephen Nicholas appears to have the early lead at securing the SLB position this fall.  Nicholas was drafted early in the fourth round in 2007, and has had experience at both OLB roles for the team over the last two seasons. 

Nicholas is a versatile backer with the size and strength to hold up better at the point than Boley could a year ago.  His issue could be in zone coverage, as he has had little experience in that department in his young career.  If Nicholas can show that he can be trusted on passing downs, look for him to round out a stronger linebacker core than many experts expect this season for the Falcons.

If Nicholas struggles in this new role, look for Coy Wire to give him a reason to be concerned.  Wire took over for Boley at the end of last season and has the experience to contribute without being a complete liability. 

Wire is bit on the older side and doesn’t possess Nicholas’ potential in the long run.  That being said, the Falcons can not afford to be patient this season, and Nicholas could be moving back over to back up Peterson if he shows to be ineffective.

The 2009 training camp should be intriguing to say the least for Atlanta, and there are many positions up for the taking this Fall.  Competition is usually a good thing, and the Falcons showed last year that they are not afraid to put younger guys in key roles with many responsibilities. 

Atlanta has a much tougher schedule this year, and these early positional battles could lay the framework for a boom or bust type season for this very young team with tremendous expectations.