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Monday, March 10, 2008
Moves show team sticking to philosophy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Falcons’ recent signing of three defensive tackles, including former Carolina Panthers backup Kindal Moorehead, added depth to a need position and continued Atlanta’s economically streamlined free-agent approach.
The Falcons haven’t spent big in free agency - TB Michael Turner did sign a $34.5 million, 6-year deal, which is still relatively inexpensive for a starting tailback - or added a player who consistently started last season. That shows that new GM Thomas Dimitroff and coach Mike Smith are sticking to their philosophy of building through the draft and adding role players via free agency.
Using that approach, don’t be shocked if Atlanta trades down from the No. 3 spot in the April 26-27 draft to accumulate more selections later in the process. The Falcons have to bolster the offensive and defensive lines, middle linebacker and depth at nearly every position except for tailback. In adding at least one more relatively high draft pick and either a player or additional draft pick by coming off the No. 3 selection, Atlanta could get more talent at solid value.
That said, adding a stud player to anchor the offensive or defensive lines - like Michigan LT Jake Long or LSU DT Glenn Dorsey - might also go a long way in hastening the rebuilding process. Cleveland’s fortunes changed overnight with LT Joe Thomas keeping people off QB Derek Anderson and TB Jamal Lewis.
In terms of the additional defensive tackles that were recently signed, don’t take that as a signal that the Falcons might move off Dorsey. Those players have to make the roster, first off. They also are not viewed necessarily as starters, particularly at nose tackle, where Dorsey likely would play in the 4-3 front. Projected starter Trey Lewis could be down for awhile after re-injuring his torn ACL a few weeks ago and the Falcons have shown no interest at this point of bringing back Grady Jackson. Jackson could be in play if the Falcons don’t draft Dorsey. Then again, he might already have a job with another team by then.
In other news, Atlanta is expected to re-sign QB Joey Harrington this week after cutting him last week. Harrington would come back on a re-structured deal that would create some space under the salary cap. Harrington’s retention would signal a few things:
1) The jury is still out on Chris Redman and D.J. Shockley. Redman played well for four games but there are 16 over the course of a season, so who knows if he is for real. Shockley, meanwhile, is still recovering from a torn ACL sustained last preseason. Even before he got hurt, there was no guarantee that he would have beat out Redman for the backup job.
2) The veteran free agent pool is really shallow. Daunte Culpepper, Tim Rattay and some of the other available veterans haven’t seemed to get the Falcons’ too excited.
3) The Falcons won’t play a young quarterback right away. Atlanta would prefer easing a young player into the lineup, if at all, during his rookie season, which isn’t a bad way to go while you’re trying to solidify an offensive line.
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