Falcons

By Wes

October 2, 2006 04:12 PM | Link to this

I still believe that in running downs, Hartwell will be a great addition.

Basically, when Grady comes on to the field Hartwell should be out there. The middle of our defense would hold about 600 pounds.

I like our LB’s as is and I think Hartwell will be a great compliment on running downs.

By rian

October 2, 2006 04:13 PM | Link to this

Interesting stuff Steve…I agree that between Boley and Demo we have two young studs as our bookend linebackers. I was not aware they thought about moving Boley to safety (though I do remember hearing tons about Demo playing there) but that just goes to show you the raw athleticism the guy possesses. How Hartwell fits back into this is going to be really tricky because I have been a Falcons fan for a long time, but do not remember any linebacking group with this kind of chemistry working. Also, I like seeing Boley at D end because he is strong enoug to take on a Tackle/Tight end but way too fast to be contained by one. By the way Norwood turns on the gas when his shoulder pads get pointed towards the end zone…fun to watch this young collection of talent Rich has assembled.

By KneeJerk

October 2, 2006 04:21 PM | Link to this

Ed who?

By Keeping it real !!!

October 2, 2006 04:31 PM | Link to this

We have our line backer NOW. Mr. hartwell welcome back but you are not a stater until some one get hurt! But glad to have you back. let’s see how your hunger is for this game, are you the real deal or a want -a-be!

By Reasonable Dawg

October 2, 2006 04:32 PM | Link to this

The defense as a whole is the playing as good as any that I can remember. They seem legit. Some Falcon Defenses in the past have done well but I have never had this much confidence in our D. When the schedule came out, I saw these next four games following the bye as daunting, but now I feel confident about winning 3 of 4 if not all four.

ps. Looking at our D, we did not need Abraham because the D is good without him. But having him coming back after the way he started makes this D elite.

By Jeff

October 2, 2006 04:39 PM | Link to this

No way Hartwell should be inserted into the starting lineup. I know that a player isn’t supposed to lose his position due to injury, but the guy hasn’t played in a year. Put him on speical teams.

By mountain_jim

October 2, 2006 04:39 PM | Link to this

Agree Boley is looking like great, and the defense really looked a lot better with Kerney back with 2 working arms.

We are going to need every bit of that defense if the red-zone and passing games don’t improve greatly.

Receivers other than Lelie still crappy though.. I can understand why Alge is in a slump, he did not get the offseason and preseason work to be his usual self,

but for a first rounder Roddy still is not timing his routes or his jumps correctly to the ball. That long endzone throw could have been his if he had jumped later and with more authority. Still hit him in the hands though. Lelie showed him how it’s done on his long one.

Does anyone here think it’s time to consider bringing in a new WR coach next season? The lineman turned WR coach Stewart is not getting near the performance out of 2 #1’s as New Orleans gets out of their 7th round rookie.

With his inability to catch balls he gets his hands on, poor timing on balls in the air and poor route-running, one has to wonder whether (early in his 2nd year I know) Roddy was a bad pick in the first or whether the Falcons need to upgrade the WR coaching.

Lots of folks ragging on Vick, but other than his one stupid throw, he put the ball where only his guys could catch it, unfortunately they often still can’t catch balls I saw the top WRs catch all day yesterday. (I sure love NFL Direc Ticket! - without that I would not have seen the Atlanta game or many of the others I watched parts of)

By BlindHomer

October 2, 2006 04:42 PM | Link to this

Too bad they won’t be playing the mighty (ha, ha) Tampa Bay and Arizona offenses all year long because we need the D to continue to score until th eO sovles its Red Zone problems.

By Brian Hunt

October 2, 2006 06:06 PM | Link to this

Mountain_Jim, I’ve posted here before that George Stewart is not getting it done as WR coach. His only success as a WR coach to me was T.O. Nobody else that he’s coached has really lit it up and both of Atlanta’s WRs have the ability and desire.

By Greedy

October 2, 2006 10:13 PM | Link to this

I thought our team played well at times. I was there!!! Vick will continue to improve. Please, Please look at the route running of WR> Its p** poor at best.Good points about the talent that we have brought in. We need to get norwood the ball on some screens as well. I would like to see our creative offensive coordinator(lol) play him at slot some like the saints do with bush, this will put even more pressure on teams with all the speed we have. norwood can catch the ball as well as our wr beside ashlie , does anybody remember the great catch he made against the bucs. Play the guy please mora. Let him do kickoffs to, please , damn !!!

By Michael

October 2, 2006 11:26 PM | Link to this

Before the season started I said on these blogs. That the Falcons have a very very good team! Both on the Offense, and Defense. Look at the make up of the team. They aren’t any weaknesses! They’re strong at every position, including the back ups! Now I must admit that the receiver’s thus, far is hurting the offense. But give it time, or I should say them time. They will get much better as season goes on! I say it’s time for Mr. Brooking to sit down or take a lesser role on the defense. Their’s no way that he should start in front of Demarrio, I don’t care how many pro bowls he has been too! He’s not better! I think that he really has to comes too grip with it just like Tuggle, had to when he was replace by him. Now I also happen too agree with some people, with what they say about Heartwell! I don’t think that he should be put back into the line up! I think the has got too earn his way back onto the field.

By Ken Strickland

October 2, 2006 11:43 PM | Link to this

Did anybody notice how often GJackson caved in the left side of their Oline? He has gotten better each game. Not bad for a player starting the season with no training camp, limited conditioning and experience with his teammates. He is now making tackles, instead of just occupying blockers, and is now pressuring the QB. With the return to health of Abraham and Hartwell, our DEF will allow us to compete with anybody. MOUNTAINJIM, I think RWhite is a talented, but very inexperienced and unrefined receiver. I also think he has been rushed into the starting lineup prematurely. Our OFF line is not designed to contain a pass rush long enough for our current pass routing scheme to develop.

By KneeJerk

October 3, 2006 06:02 AM | Link to this

I thought Stewart was Special Teams coach in SF

By D-Man

October 3, 2006 08:32 AM | Link to this

I Love the Falcons team but I am truly hating Greg Knapp’s play calling…exclusivly on 3rd down’s!! People, Fans, Please pay close attention to Greg Knapp’s plays on 3rd downs, and red zones calls, its proposturous… I can’t take it, damn is it that hard to at least watch other teams and evalute what works for your team in the red zone I mean your 20 yards away from the freaking end zone, and you have the fastest damn offense in the league with the fastest quarter back what the hell is the problem!! Greg Knapp retire and lets bring in a real offense coordinator or even a college offense coordinator would get this job done….ohh and two more new coaches, special teams and WR coaches!! I am sure many agree!!!

By mountain_jim

October 3, 2006 08:44 AM | Link to this

from the http://www.atlantafalcons.com/team/coachbio.jsp?id=1942

Stewart played as a guard. He started coaching as a an offensive line coach, then special teams for some years, then receivers coach. His resume claims supporting his ‘greatness’ as a WR coach talk about T.O’s and Tai Street’s performance under him. I doubt he had much to do with T.O’s success in San Fran, T.O. had the raw talent to be good under whoever.

Anyway, it’s results I am seeking - and so far his receivers unit just does not look well-coached imo, for whatever reason.

I still have hopes for Roddy to settle down and be good - after all Jenkins looks alot better in his 3rd year than 2nd, so we will see.

By Betting Man

October 3, 2006 09:56 AM | Link to this

“No one thinks that right now they are good enough to compete for a Super Bowl, but they are laying the foundation to position themselves for a playoff push.”

A playoff push is analogous to competing for a SB. You can’t have the latter w/o the former.

I for one think the Falcons can compete for a SB, so “no one” is a bit pretentious.

Good breakdowns on Falcon’s Vision, btw.

By Ken Strickland

October 3, 2006 12:42 PM | Link to this

With RColeman, a healthy Abraham, Kerney and Hartwell, an improving GJackson, with vastly improved S’shire and Davis as backups, the DEF will be the Falcons key to success. Our OFF, during the coarse of the season, will create ample opportunities to score pts. If our DEF remains reasonably healthy, from this point on, the Falcons will definitely be in the SB hunt. Also, Hartwell is a better option at MLB. Brooking is excellent at lateral pursuit and falling back into zone pass coverages. However, he does not excel at fighting off blocks or attacking the line of scrimmage. Last yr, Hartwell’s ineffectiveness was likely caused by CLavalais offering absolutely no protection or resistance to blockers. With GJackson up front, there will be a new script written for Hartwell.

By E.Hill

October 3, 2006 02:01 PM | Link to this

Demarrio Williams should be mentioned more. He has played solid for the falcons since last year. Even K.B., Keith Brookings is Ballin. Heck the whole Defense. We have a team thats ready for the Super Bowl. They are still holding back. You can tell by how they are playing, Crumpler missing pass, yeah right. Keep it up Dirty Birds!!!!!!!!

By parks

October 3, 2006 02:19 PM | Link to this

I’m very int to see how they play this Hartwell thing …I don’t know how you take any of these LB’s out of the rotation ..Williams played like a beast last year also …Boley is turning out to be great…Nothing needs to be said about Brook..With Abe back this this D is going to soar… It is just me or it’s seems to me that the coaching staff told Coleman to focus more on run D more this year …He seems to have gained weight and is playing more gap control vs tring to time the snap and get to the QB all the time

By Andy

October 3, 2006 03:57 PM | Link to this

I am sure Hart will be back in the middle, but closely monitored to see if he improves an already better run D.

Great interview with Vick. I like to hear from him in an extended peice. Maybe you can do this each 4 games / quarter?

As an aside, I thought it was funny how much of a rush Vick seemed to be in at the end of his PC on Sunday. He was looking to PR guy to see if his 10 minutes were up. My question based on this, how long are coaches and players supposed to talk to you and the rest of the media during PC and other times during the week?