FLOWERY BRANCH -- The countdown can kick into overdrive this weekend.
Coach Mike Smith, who’s been out in Montana, and general manager Thomas Dimitroff, who’s been out cycling with Lance Armstrong, return to the office Monday.
The rookies report Tuesday, veterans on Thursday and the first practice is set for Friday.
We started our countdown 10 days out.
Countdown to camp: Day 10 – The new coaches
Countdown to camp: Day 9 – Special teams
Countdown to camp: Day 8 – Defensive backs
Today, we’ll look at the revamped linebacker corps.
The three linebackers who started in the NFC championship game after the 2013 season must be replaced. Stephen Nicholas was released, Akeem Dent was traded to Houston and Sean Weatherspoon suffered a season-ending ruptured achilles tendon on June 10.
Here’s our projected depth chart for the linebackers.
OLB 71 Kroy Biermann, 48 Brenden Daley, 45 Jacques Smith
MLB 55 Paul Worrilow, 52 Tim Dobbins, 54 Yawin Smallwood
OLB 59 Joplo Bartu, 53 Prince Shembo, 51 Marquis Spruill, 46 Walker May
Kroy Biermann, a defensive end by trade, spent a lot of time with the linebackers last season before rupturing his Achilles tendon in the second game of the season. He’s really a hybrid who allows the Falcons to shift from the 4-3 to 3-4.
Worrilow and Bartu, both undrafted rookie free agents, ended last season as starters. Worrilow led the team in tackles with 137. Bartu was third with 96.
Both need to make major improvements if the defense is going to be much better.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Last season, Worrilow played 491 snaps and missed eight tackles at inside linebacker and was ranked 45th in the league by Pro Football Focus. He played 309 snaps at outside linebacker, had four missed tackles and was ranked 25th in the league.
Bartu played 789 snaps at outside linebacker, had 12 missed tackles and was ranked 22nd in the league.
“I think that’s going be a very interesting dynamic when we go through our training camp,” Smith said at the end of minicamp. “We’ve got two guys that started for us last year.”
The Falcons also plan to force-feed information to fourth-round pick Prince Shembo, who has a shot to crack the starting lineup.
“We’ve got Prince Shembo, who we are very excited about,” Smith said. “He’s picked up the system very well. He doesn’t have any experience, but we will get him a lot, I can assure you that, in the preseason.”
One of the hallmarks of Smith’s early teams here in Atlanta was that they were certain tacklers, who were rarely out of position. Over the past couple of seasons, the tackling techniques have slipped drastically.
“We have spent an inordinate amount of time on that in this offseason,” Smith said. “We have to be a better tackling team. We can’t let the ball get to the second-level and put our defensive backs out in space.
"Even though some people believe that we didn’t tackle well in the secondary, well the ball shouldn’t have reached the secondary.”
CMGd Single Player - AJC
(NOTE: Video was shot before Sean Weatherspoon's injury. Nolan has some insightful comments about Worrilow and Bartu.)
The Falcons added veteran linebacker Tim Dobbins.
He spent his first four seasons in San Diego where he played in 62 games with 10 starts. In 2008, he registered career highs with 78 tackles (42 solo), one interception and three forced fumbles.
In 2010 under Nolan, Dobbins played in 16 games with six starts and finished the season with 43 total tackles. A native of Nashville, Dobbins played collegiately at Iowa State.
OFFENSE
WR11 Julio Jones, 13 Darius Johnson, 14 Courtney Roby, 18 Freddie Martino, 89 Bernard Reedy,
LT 72 Sam Baker, 76 Lamar Holmes, 74 Terren Jones
LG 63 Justin Blalock, 68 Gabe Carimi, 67 Adam Replogle
C 61 Joe Hawley, 66 Peter Konz, 62 James Stone
RG 75 Jon Asamoah, 69 Harland Gunn
RT 70 Jake Matthews, 79 Mike Johnson 73 Ryan Schrader
TE 80 Levine Toilolo, 86 Bear Pascoe, 82 Mickey Shuler, 81 Jacob Pedersen, 49 Brian Wozniak
WR 84 Roddy White, 83 Harry Douglas, 15 Geraldo Boldewijn, 16 Julian Jones, 87 Tramaine Thompson
QB 2 Matt Ryan, 8 T.J. Yates, 12 Sean Renfree, 9 Jeff Mathews
RB 39 Steven Jackson, 32 Jacquizz Rodgers, 35 Antone Smith, 33 Devonta Freeman, 30 Josh Vaughan, 34 Jerome Smith
FB 42 Patrick DiMarco, 45 Maurice Hagens, 43 Roosevelt Nix
4-3 DEFENSE (with an extra line for the nickel back)
RE 95 Jonathan Babineaux, 50 Osi Umenyiora, 96 Jonathan Massaquoi, 90 Stansly Maponga
DT 99 Tyson Jackson, 91 Corey Peters, 92 Travian Robertson
DT 96 Paul Soliai, 97 Peria Jerry, 98 Cliff Matthews, 65 Donte Rumph
LE 77 Ra’Shede Hageman, 98 Malliciah Goodman, 49 Tyler Starr, 64 Nosa Equae
OLB 71 Kroy Biermann, 48 Brenden Daley, 45 Jacques Smith
MLB 55 Paul Worrilow, 52 Tim Dobbins, 54 Yawin Smallwood
OLB 59 Joplo Bartu, 53 Prince Shembo, 51 Marquis Spruill, 46 Walker May,
RCB 21 Desmond Trufant, 28 Javier Arenas, 37 Ricardo Allen,
NB 26 Josh Wilson, 27 Robert McClain, 28 Javier Arenas, 41 Dezmen Southward
LCB 23 Robert Alford, 24 Jordan Mabin, 43 Devonta Glover-Wright
SS 25 William Moore, 36 Kemal Ishmael, 40 Kimario McFadden, 22 Zeke Motta
FS 20 Dwight Lowery, 41 Dezmen Southward, 29 Sean Baker
SPECIALISTS
K 3 Matt Bryant, 6 Sergio Castillo
KO 5 Matt Bosher
P 5 Matt Bosher
KR 17 Devin Hester, 28 Javier Arenas, 14 Courtney Roby
PR 17 Devin Hester, 27 Robert McClain, 28 Javier Arenas
LS 47 Josh Harris
H 5 Matt Bosher
Date Practice Times (public availability)
Tuesday, July 22 Rookies report
Thursday, July 24 Veterans report
Friday, July 25 Practice 3:30 – 5:50 p.m. (open to the public)
Saturday, July 26 Practice 3:30 – 5:50 p.m. (open to the public)
Sunday, July 27 Practice 3:30 – 6:05 p.m. (open to the public)
Monday, July 28 Practice 3:30 – 6:05 p.m. (open to the public)
Tuesday, July 29 Practice 3:30 – 6:05 p.m. (open to the public)
Wednesday, July 30 Players’ Day Off (No Media Availability)
Thursday, July 31 Practice 3:30 – 6:05 p.m. (open to the public)
Friday, August 1 “Friday Night Lights” at Archer High School (Lawrenceville)
6:45 – 9:10 p.m. (open to the public)
Saturday, August 2 Practice 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. (open to the public)
Sunday, August 3 Practice 3:30 – 6:05 p.m. (open to the public)
Monday, August 4 Combined Practice w/Tennessee 3-5:30 p.m. (open to the public)
Tuesday, August 5 Players’ Day Off (No Media Availability)
Wednesday, August 6 Practice 3:30 – 6:05 p.m. (open to the public)
Thursday, August 7 Pregame Walkthrough (No Media Availability)
Friday, August 8 Falcons vs. Miami Dolphins
Georgia Dome
7:00 p.m. ET – CW69
Saturday, August 9 Practice 4:30 – 5:45 p.m. (open to the public)
Sunday, August 10 Players’ Day Off (No Media Availability)
Monday, August 11 Practice 3:30 – 5:50 p.m. (open to the public)
Tuesday, August 12 Practice 10:00 a.m. – 12:35 p.m. (open to the public)
Wednesday, August 13 Combined Practice w/ Houston Texans (Houston, TX)
Thursday, August 14 Combined Practice w/ Houston Texans (Houston, TX)
Friday, August 15 Pregame Walkthrough (No Media Availability)
Saturday, August 16 Falcons at Houston Texans
NRG Stadium
8:00 p.m. ET – CW69
Sunday, August 17 Players’ Day Off (No Media Availability)
Monday, August 18 Practice 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. (closed to the public)
Break Camp
Q&A with Falcons QB T.J. Yates
Falcons to practice with Titans, Texans in training camp
Falcons coach Mike Smith will try to rebound from first losing season on Hard Knocks
Sam Baker is back to help line re-establish its identity
Falcons WR Roddy White: 'Hard for me to deal with' death of a brother
How much the Falcons rookies will be paid
Rookies getting advice on NFL life
Open competition in training camp will be good for Undrafted Rookies
Sean Weatherspoon suffers season-ending Achilles injury
What's next for Sean Weaatherspoon?
What's next for the Falcons at linebacker?
Falcons minicamp is open to the public
VIDEO CORNER
Sean Weatherspoon to miss 2014 season
Matt Ryan on Harry Douglas' contribution to the offense
Falcons defensive line coach Bryan Cox
Falcons tight end Levine Toilolo
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