(Welcome all! With the NFL becoming more of a passing league, the “Cover 9@9” blog is here for you every Wednesday at 9 a.m. We try to get to everything about the Atlanta Falcons from the Hometown Huddle to how exactly the defense gave up 475 yards to the Mighty Cleveland Browns. We're ramping up for the start of training camp this week with a look at how the Falcons should play first-round draft pick Vic Beasley. -– D. Orlando Ledbetter)
1. THE BEASLEY PLAN: When the Falcons return for training camp, the team's No. 1 objective will be to improve the defense.
We don’t have to review the numbers here, but after finishing last in the league the unit must improve against the run, pass, running on the field and off the field.
That’s where first-year head coach Dan Quinn’s plan to use first-round draft pick Vic Beasley will become vitally important.
Over the offseason, Beasley lined up at right and left defensive end in the Falcons 4-3 under scheme and Quinn has said that Beasley will get some of the Leo position reps, too.
The Falcons list Beasley at 236 pounds and that may just be to light anchor against the run at defensive end. Former defensive end John Abraham played at 255 and some teams tried to slow down his pass rush by attacking him in the run game.
Beasley should be an asset on passing downs, but perhaps one of the heftier defensive ends will get the call against the run.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
It may be instructive for the Falcons to look at what's happened to former Georgia standout Jarvis Jones in Pittsburgh. After being selected 17th overall in the 2013 draft, Jones was rushed into the starting lineup and did not flourish immediately.
Legendary Pittsburgh Post-Gazette beat writer Ed Bouchette points out that might have been a disservice to the franchise and to Jones. He goes over the history of how the Steelers have handled some of their outside edge rushers to support his point.
Here’s what Bouchette, who was honored during the 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony in Canton, Ohio as Pro Football Writers of America's 2014 Dick McCann Award winner, wrote in a recent blog post:
The Steelers should have started Worilds and eased Jarvis Jones into the lineup the way they did LaMarr Woodley his rookie season, spotting him in passing situations to let him rush the quarterback. That history lesson is a reason they are more likely to use rookie Bud Dupree the way they did Woodley, by using him in small doses to spell Arthur Moats at left outside linebacker and letting him have a little success before they throw him in fulltime.
At the rookie symposium Beasley told the NFL Media's Tiffany Blackmon that he "I'm a every down player."
He’s correct, but Beasley, like Jones, just might not be an every down player right away.
Some have compare Beasley to Bruce Irvin, who played outside linebacker for Quinn in Seattle. Beasley is listed as an outside linebacker by the Falcons.
It may be instructive the Irvin, of Stephenson High and West Virginia who was selected 15th overall in 2012, didn't start as a rookie. He was used as a pass rusher and had eight sacks.
The Falcons must improve drastically on defense, but they balance that need by making the correct decision on how much to put on Beasley’s plate early in his career.
All they have to do is look at how the Steelers handled Jones, who projected to start in 2015. He has started 11 of 21 games and has just three sacks.
The Beasley watch party is on.
2. FALCONS MUM ON McKAY FRONT: Falcons president Rich McKay has been eligible to re-apply for re-instatement to the league's powerful NFL competition committee since June 30.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Nearly a month later, we don’t know if he has re-applied, if the application is pending or if he’s waiting to re-apply with the blessing of owner Arthur Blank, who may feel that his talents are needed in town more to help with the launch of the new Stadium and the continued uphill battle with selling PSLs.
McKay will surface when he can and Blank will inform us on his schedule. The league has been quiet on the issue, preferring for the Falcons to handle the inquiries.
The NFL fined the Falcons $350,000 and took away its fifth-round pick in the 2016 as part of the punishment.
McKay, an attorney, had been a longstanding member of the committee took over as the co-chair of the committee from the late George Young in 1998.
The NFL concluded McKay was unaware of the artificial crowd noise but “bared some responsibility for ensuring that team employees comply with league rules.” A league investigation found that Roddy White, the former director of event marketing was directly responsible for the noise.
3. McKAY'S SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: McKay's committee has played a key role in trying to revolutionize aspects of the game in recent years from the tackling rules to the most recent change to the scoring system. The first such change in 103 years.
In part because of the extra-point scoring change, McKay was listed as the 10th-most influential person of the 2015 NFL season by Peter King's TheMMQB.com.
4. COMMUNITY CORNER: The Falcons are accepting nominations for the 2015 Community Quarterback Award. This program recognizes volunteers throughout the state of Georgia (ages 13 and over) who exemplify leadership and dedication to bettering their communities.
Each month during the 2015 season, September through December, an Atlanta Falcons Community Quarterback of the Month winner will be selected. Each winner will receive a $1,000 grant from NFL Foundation to support the organization served. An Atlanta Falcons Community Quarterback MVP will be selected by a panel of civic and community leaders and announced at the annual Atlanta Falcons Community Honors Dinner. The MVP will receive an additional $4,000 grant to the organization served.
Nominations will be accepted July 20 – November 11, 2015 and winners will be announced monthly beginning in September.
The four winners will be recognized at the Sunday, December 27 home game against the Carolina Panthers.
5. QUINN'S CREATIVITY WILL BE KEY: Falcons coach Dan Quinn was listed at the 53rd most influential person of the 2015 NFL season by the MMQB.com. Here's the link to the full list.
Writer Robert Klemko doesn’t believe the Falcons have enough muscle upfront to forge a meaningful turnaround on defense. He believes Quinn will need to be creative to turn around the defense.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Is Quinn a legitimate solution or an overhyped product of Pete Carroll’s highly successful defensive foundation in Seattle? Here’s the key difference between Seattle and Atlanta, and the most immediate challenge for Quinn in 2015: In Seattle the front four was talented enough to create pressure in the pass rush. In Atlanta it will be necessary to manufacture a pass rush. Quinn’s creative side may just decide the NFC South in 2015.
6. MATT RYAN'S SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: Matt Ryan was rated at the 67 most influential person for the upcoming season.
New boss, new coordinator, same old Matt Ryan. The (30)-year-old has been the model of consistency over seven seasons: four consecutive 4,000-yard passing seasons and no missed starts since 2009. Despite the consistency on offense, two straight losing seasons spelled the end for head coach Mike Smith and Dirk Koetter's uptempo offense. New offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, veteran of Houston, Washington and Cleveland, brings a dedication to the running game, an array of play-action concepts and an appreciation for the deep middle of the field, which just so happens to be Julio Jones's bread and butter. Former Colts and Broncos tight end Jacob Tamme, a free-agent pickup and longtime Peyton Manning favorite, addressed the inevitable Manning comparison questions with high praise and high expectations for his new QB: "Hard for me to go anywhere and not feel like I was falling off a cliff, having been around Peyton my whole career so far. So this is one of the four or five, six places where [I] could come and not feel like that."
7. JULIO JONES CONTRACT PROJECTION: All of the Falcons front-office decision makers will be back in town at the start of next week and movement could be made on wide receiver Julio Jones' contract extension.
The Falcons were able to get Matt Ryan’s contract extension done before the start of camp in 2013, but they had been working on that one for awhile.
There hasn’t been much work on Jones’ deal. But since the market is now set, it shouldn't take long to finalize his contract.
The average of franchising Jones twice should be $15.4 million per year at a minimum. The $14 million per year average of Thomas and Bryant's deals is a little less than their two year franchise tag average of $14.1 million per year. A similar approach should put Jones' extension average in the $15.25 million per year neighborhood. His guarantees should be comparable to Thomas and Bryant's considering Jones would conservatively make a little under $41 million through 2017 with the year-to-year approach.
8. ATLANTA FALCONS 2015 COUNTDOWN TO CAMP: We started our countdown to training camp 11 days out of Monday. We started with the wide receivers followed by the quarterbacks and the running backs this morning.
Here’s the schedule:
Thursday – Fullbacks/Tight ends
Friday – Offensive line
Saturday – Defensive line
Sunday – Linebackers
Mon., July 27 – Cornerbacks
Tue., July 28 – Safeties
Wed., July 29 – Special teams
Thur., July 30 -- Assistant coaches (non coordiantors)
Friday, July 31 – First day of practice.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
9. YOUTH FOOTBALL CLINIC -- TEACHING TACKLING: More than 300 coaches attended the youth football clinic at Westlake High School on Saturday hosted by the Falcons.
Former linebacker Buddy Curry gave an entertaining and impassionate plea to the coaches about teaching the proper tackling techniques, better organizing their practice and instilling discipline in their young players.
He encouraged the coaches to get USA Football Certified and that could gain access to all of the practice plans, drills and film that they need.
Here are my iphone notes from the lecture:
FALCONS YOUTH FOOTBALL CLINIC at Westlake High - July 18, 2015
Buddy Curry at Falcons youth coaches clinic on Sat July 18, 2015
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Main themes
- Discipline
- Manage Expectations (Parental management)
- Handling winning and losing
Main coaching themes
- Fundamentals Everyday -- Create muscle memory through daily drills
- Every time center snaps, hit something.
- Incorporate competition into your drills --- Make it fun!
- Practice kids in the position they will play in the game. They need reps.
THINK ORGANIZATION
--Game Plan for practice (Don't forget your water breaks)
--USA Football practice plans
--Have intensity and tempo
--Show some intensity and passion
--Insist that linemen stay lower than their opponents -- Make the linemen the featured unit of the team.
--Put your best coach on the linemen
--Have your offensive plays scripted out. Run them daily. Stay with the script on game day.
HEADS UP TACKLING
- Hit with shoulder -- Heads up
- Wrap
- Lift -rip up and through
- Stations Basic of tackling – on the USA Football websites
ROOKIE MINICAMP VIDEOS
VIDEO: Meet Falcons 2nd round pick CB Jalen Collins
VIDEO: Meet Falcons 3rd round pick RB Tevin Coleman
VIDEO: Meet Falcons 4th round pick WR Justin Hardy
VIDEO: Meet Falcons 5th round pick DT Grady Jarrett
VIDEO: Meet Falcons 7th round pick OT Jake Rodgers
VIDEO: Meet Falcons 7th round pick CB Akeem King
AJC's 2015 NFL DRAFT COVERAGE
Falcons pick Vic Beasley, pass on Todd Gurley
Scouting report: Vic Beasley the next DeMarcus Ware or a one-trick pony?
Grady Jarrett escapes fire before Falcons draft him
MARK BRADLEY COLUMN: Vic Beasley: The right pick at the right time
JEFF SCHULTZ COLUMN: Falcons' Quinn determined to fix pass rush in draft
STEVE HUMMER feature on first-round pick Vic Beasley
Falcons add CB Jalen Collins in the second round
Falcons add RB Tevin Coleman in the third round
Falcons' draft bios round 2 through 7
PHOTO GALLERY: Meet the Falcons draft class
VIDEO
Vic Beasley plans to be a double-digit sack guy
Thomas Dimitroff and Dan Quinn on the first round of the draft
Falcons coach Dan Quinn on 4th round pick WR Justin Hardy
Dimitroff and Quinn on 5th round pick DT Grady Jarrett
Quinn on 7th round pick OT Jake Rodgers
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