Falcon's draft needs

[DrReality]

I'd forgotten about this guy. Hope he gets well.

The Falcons are waiting with bated breath for the return of nose tackle Trey Lewis from knee surgery.

Lewis turned in a promising rookie season in 2007 before suffering a knee injury. He was forced to spend last season on the injured reserve list after additional surgery.

“We have a lot of coaches on this staff as well as myself who are sitting on the edge of their seats to see exactly what Trey Lewis will bring to the field,” Dimitroff said. “We are looking forward to (seeing) what he may offer us.”

[mattlanta]

Some updates on the Falcons' free agents from Rotoworld:

The player rep for free agent CB Domonique Foxworth plans to meet with Falcons executives at the Combine to discuss a new contract.

The Falcons want Foxworth back, but he'll be a premier name on the market and won't come cheap. He's probably in search of at least $12M guaranteed.

It's crucial we re-sign Foxworth. Although he is replaceable, it will be very hard to replace him. Von Hutchins will come back healthy, true, but Von Hutchins is quite the small CB (he's a tad bit taller than Brent Grimes), so our CBs will look a lot smaller without Foxworth. Not only does Foxworth have the ideal size for a starting CB in this league, he is also a seasoned veteran who brings good leadership for our young batch of DBs.

Free agent SS Lawyer Milloy has stated that he'd like to finish his career with the Seahawks.

Milloy, 35, is close to new Seattle coach Jim Mora and is a native of Tacoma. He could back up Deon Grant there, but wouldn't be viewed as a starter.

I'm surprised to hear this. Milloy was almost preaching his desire to stay in Atlanta in the beginning and middle of the season. It's an understandable decision, but his leadership will be hard to replace. Losing him and Brooking on defense (in terms of leadership) will be a challenge to deal with.

[DrReality]

Falcons go for the ‘D’

By D. Orlando Ledbetter

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff points out that player evaluations do not hinge on the performance at one event, such as the Senior Bowl or the NFL scouting combine.

The Falcons will add more data to the information the scouting department has been collecting on the prospects for the 2009 NFL draft at the combine, which begins today.

Last year, the Falcons added major pieces on offense —- quarterback Matt Ryan and offensive tackle Sam Baker —- through the draft. This year, they will address a defense that leaked yards (348.2, 24th in the league) but not points (20.3, 11th) last season.

Here’s a look at five players on the Falcons’ radar at the combine:

CLINT SINTIM

Linebacker, Virginia

Played outside linebacker in the 3-4 alignment for the Cavaliers. Appears to have the speed and striking ability the Falcons covet. Was a four-year starter in the ACC and also played special teams.

LOUIS DELMAS

Safety, Western Michigan

A high-character guy, the kind the Falcons are trying to add. He works with youth and wants to build a Boys and Girls club in his hometown of North Miami Beach, Fla. Shined at the Senior Bowl. Was a four-year starter for the Broncos. A big hitter, with man-to-man coverage skills.

BRANDON PETTIGREW

Tight end, Oklahoma State

Described by his position coach Doug Meacham as a “classic tight end.” Pettigrew does the dirty work inside. He is also fast and athletic enough to get open on mismatches with linebackers and safeties down field.

BRIAN CUSHING

Linebacker, USC

Could be gone by the time the Falcons pick at No. 24. He’s 6-foot-4, 255 pounds and can run, has good lateral quickness and strength. A workout freak with just 6 percent body fat who eats five meals a day that are crafted by a nutritionist and delivered to him.

PERIA JERRY

Defensive tackle, Mississippi

Turned in a fine senior season and was named first-team All-American by The Associated Press. Had 47 tackles and 17 tackles for loss, which led the SEC. He also had six sacks and a fumble recovery.

[coachx]

CLINT SINTIM

Linebacker, Virginia

Played outside linebacker in the 3-4 alignment for the Cavaliers. Appears to have the speed and striking ability the Falcons covet. Was a four-year starter in the ACC and also played special teams.

Anyone know much about him ? I did not see ANY Virginia football this year.

Edited February 18, 2009 by coachx

[mattlanta]

Anyone know much about him ? I did not see ANY Virginia football this year.

From Draft Countdown:

Strengths: Excellent size...Long arms...Good athlete...Fantastic pass rusher and blitzer...Good strength...Tough...Physical...A powerful tackler...Looks comfortable in coverage...Does a nice job of taking on and shedding blockers...Decent range...Aggressive with a non-stop motor...Makes plays in pursuit...Solid instincts...Is intense and competitive...Offers some versatility...Productive...Has a lot of experience...A team leader.

Weaknesses: Relatively average timed speed...Limited reps in coverage...Hips aren't real fluid...Tends to play too tall...Will struggle to turn and run in man...Does not use his hands well...Didn't make many plays on the boundaries...Possible conditioning issues...Minor durability concerns.

Notes: Was a four-year starter in the ACC...Named 2nd Team All-ACC in 2008...Led the entire country in linebacker sacks as a senior...Played through a serious shoulder injury in 2006 that eventually required surgery...Started his final 49 games with the Cavs...Could project outside or inside...Best fit at the next level will likely come on the strongside in a 4-3 scheme or outside in a 3-4...Big, versatile 'backer who makes a ton of impact plays...Excellent pro prospect who could end up being a stud in the NFL like Ahmad Brooks was supposed to be.

[frosgrim]

Thanks for the write up on Sintim.

Dude sounds like the real deal. Having a guy like that play as a Sam LB would be tremendous.

From the list posted on the AJC, I would go

1. Cushing

2. Sintim

3. Jerry

4. Pettigrew

5. Delmas

Frankly, if any of those five guys are there at 24, the Falcons are getting a tremendous player.

[mattlanta]

From Rotoworld...

NFL Network's Adam Schefter doesn't believe there's any chance the Falcons would pass on Oklahoma State TE Brandon Pettigrew if he fell to them at No. 24 overall.

It's worth noting that the Atlanta newspapers also hinted at this marriage. Schefter suggested Pettigrew may go as high as No. 11 to Buffalo. Despite a lack of ideal vertical speed, Pettigrew is by far the top TE in the draft.

I'm not that big of a fan on drafting Brandon Pettigrew in the first, but it looks like the player I wanted the most (B.J. Raji) in the beginning of the year will not fall to us. It would be good to have an all-around tight end on our roster - especially with Pettigrew's caliber. I wasn't sure we would draft Pettigrew at all earlier because I thought we would want to stay as far away from players like him as possible (he had an incident a while ago where he attacked a police officer).

As long as we don't pass on Michael Oher or B.J. Raji in the first round when we draft Pettigrew, I will be happy.

[AHF]

I hate Michael Johnson... I predicted that his stock would fall dramatically in the beginning of the year and was hounded by the members over in FalconsLIFE (official forum of the Falcons). I predicted then that he'd fall out of the first round, and look where his stock is now... He's going to be a pure bust, and it's not worth it to invest in a project defensive end like Johnson when we can get impact players that are NFL-ready but still have a high ceiling.

In the second round, I'm very interested in us getting Louis Delmas (S). Many scouts are comparing him to Bob Sanders without the injury problems. My mock draft a while ago had us drafting Raji (now it's unrealistic... also let me toot my own horn here and say that I was also predicting Raji would jump up the draft boards up to potentially Top 15 in the beginning of the year) in the first, Delmas in the second, and Freeman in the third. I forget who I had us drafting in the later rounds, I think Eric Wood (Ctr) in the fourth and Bear Pascoe (TE) sometime in the fifth.

Here is what the MMQB says about Johnson from the combine this morning:

d. Nobody's got much good to say about a player who apparently majored in taking plays off at Georgia Tech, defensive end Michael Johnson.

[DrReality]

As much as I'd like to see us take a defensive player, and the list is impressive of what might fall to us, taking a TE like this guy would help the defense by cranking up the offense. A TE that can go over the middle would help us on third downs and keep the defense off of the field and make the other offensive guys better.

[frosgrim]

As much as I'd like to see us take a defensive player, and the list is impressive of what might fall to us, taking a TE like this guy would help the defense by cranking up the offense. A TE that can go over the middle would help us on third downs and keep the defense off of the field and make the other offensive guys better.

I could very well be that Pettigrew falls to 24. At somepoint there is going to be a run on positions. There are considerable number of quality LBs in the draft, but once a few start to come off the board, the run will be on to get into the game. Much like the OT last year.

I still put Pettigrew as #4 on the list. A game-changing WOLB would do wonders for the Falcons defense.

[Atlsportfanz]

I just don't like the idea of using 1st round dollars on a position that isn't featured very much in Mularkey's schemes. As an OC, I can't recall him ever using the TE as a legit weapon. I would rather us use our first round pick on either lines or secondary. My biggest hope is that we trade back and pick up a couple of extra picks.

Also, our draft needs will probably change a lot after FA comes. (If you remember last year, there was some talk about taking McFadden but that changed as soon as we signed Turner). So a lot can change in the next couple of weeks.

[DrReality]

the OC never used a TE but we've never had Ryan. That would be such a weapon for him to dump over the middle. But I also like the idea of trading down to more picks. That would be a great thing for our defense and TD is so good at finding gems that it could be a coup.

[frosgrim]

the OC never used a TE but we've never had Ryan. That would be such a weapon for him to dump over the middle. But I also like the idea of trading down to more picks. That would be a great thing for our defense and TD is so good at finding gems that it could be a coup.

You only trade down if:

1) you don't see value at your spot

2) you see value a little lower

The real problem with the trade down scenario is, what do you get in return? Trading down makes sense when you have a top 10-15 pick, but at 24 the only thing you are going to pick up is a bottom of next round pick, e.g. the #28 pick in the 3rd. That really doesn't seem like much or even worth doing.

It all ends up hinging on what is going on in the draft. There are going to be 2 big runs in the first round. OLT will be the first run and then the OLBs. At 24 the Falcons have a shot at one of the OLBs, but I am not sure that they will have the same shot lower than that.