1. The no-spin zone: The Falcons may be favorites to win the NFC South, which is considered one of the weaker divisions in the league, but they are not yet considered a championship contender like they were under Mike Smith and Dan Quinn.
Our good friends, Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks, over at “Move the Sticks” podcast, went through every team and tried to determined if they had a championship foundation.
To have a championship foundation, a team must have a talented quarterback, three big-time offensive playmakers, three quality offensive linemen, two feared pass rushers (inside or outside), and three elite players on the back end of the defense.
They also used a color system to determine where the players’ ranked. A “blue” player in a top-five or top-10 player at his position. (The Falcons don’t have one, according to the Jeremiah and Brooks. I’d offer up right guard Chris Lindstrom and Jessie Bates III as “blue” players.).
A “green” is a solid, dependable starter. A “yellow” player has some type of concern: age, injury or contract.
A “pink” is an unproven young player, who you hope can ascend to be a “green” or “blue” player.
A “purple” is an unproven player with “blue” potential and is generally reserved for rookies.
“Kirk Cousins is a yellow at 36,” Jeremiah said. “The playmakers, Bijan Robinson, Drake London and Kyle Pitts, all greens. (Ages) 22, 23 and 23. Hopefully, the make the leap this year. At least one of those guys gets his way into the blue category with better quarterback play.”
Offensive line-wise, Lindstrom (26) should be a blue. Center Drew Dalman and right tackle Kaleb McGary are greens and Jake Matthews, 32, is a yellow.
Things get murky on the defense.
“When you get to the pass rushers, this has been the issue,” Jeremiah said. “They’ve got Arnold Ebitketie at 25, Ruke Ohorhoro this year. Those guys are pink or purple. You have Grady Jarrett and he’s a yellow. Those are your pass rushers.”
They didn’t even mention the linebackers. Secondary also is a question mark.
“Jessie Bates should be a blue, but we have (him) listed as a green here,” Jeremiah said. “A.J. Terrell is a borderline blue, but he’s a green and then Clark Phillips, would be a pink. That’s the group there. Obviously, they need those young guys on offense, at least one or two of those guys to ascend.”
Brooks also believes it’s time for some the Falcons’ young talent to surface.
“We talk so much about the Falcons,” Brooks said. “I feel like for the last two years, we’ve talked about, man this should be one of the best offenses that we’ve seen. Look at all of the weapons they have outside. Kyle Pitts, Drake London and Bijan Robinson. At some point, they have to take the next step.”
The Falcons also have a first-time NFL coordinator in Zac Robinson.
“I’m really hopeful and optimistic that Zac Robinson is going to do a really good job of putting this offense in a position to really make a lot of plays. They are going to need a quarterback, whether if it’s Kirk Cousins or Michael Penix Jr. to help these other guys touch the ball enough so they can have an impact that allows us to say, hey these are blue chip players.”
So, the bottom line.
“For me, their whole thing is they need a pass rusher to emerge,” Jeremiah said. “They need those offensive players to step up to where they were drafted and hopefully the quarterback play helps them do that.”
2. Camp Thomas and Salyer: Former UGA and Pace Academy standouts Andrew Thomas and Jamaree Salyer held a youth football camp Friday at the high school.
“Just to get the kids out here,” Salyer said. “I know the biggest thing for us is being able to interact with the community. That was big for me growing up because I didn’t have a lot of role models. I didn’t see a lot of role models. I was lucky enough and fortunate enough to be able to come to a school like Pace Academy and be able to know that there were bigger things for me.
We want these kids to understand the same thing.”
Salyer is from Decatur.
“It’s been a beautiful journey,” said Salyer, who helped Georgia win a national championship. “I enjoyed every step of it. I felt like, it wasn’t a perfect journey. There was some perseverance along the way. But I hit some big milestones and I’m proud of myself and my teammates that helped me along the way and coaches as well. It’s very special when I look at my journey thus far. Hopefully, bigger things are coming. Chasing a Super Bowl now.”
3. Salyer hopes to settle in a guard: Because of injuries Salyer had to play left tackle as a rookie and held his own. He was moved to right guard last season.
“For sure, at the end of day, the more you can do, the longer you’ll stay around,” Salyer said. “I know that teams need guys at different positions. If you’re one guy who can play a lot of different positions, then you’ll stick around a lot longer.
“I just try to keep honing in on all of those skills. At the end of the day, I’m at guard right now so I’m going to try to carve out a career there. I was able to capitalize on those opportunities early on and I want to keep doing that throughout my career.”
The Chargers beat the Falcons 20-17 on Nov. 6, 2022, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Salyer started and played all 69 offensive snaps at left tackle.
“I enjoyed it,” Salyer said. “I had played in Mercedes-Benz before (as a Georgia Bulldog). It was cool to be there as a pro. Kind of experienced it from that perspective. Playing against the Falcons, I grew up here and watched the Falcons my whole life, so it was kind of full circle moment for me.”
The Falcons play at the Chargers on Dec. 1 this season.
4. Thomas on the camp: Thomas made second-team All-Pro in 2022 and is off to a great start to his NFL career after being selected fourth overall in the 2020 draft.
“Jamaree and I went here to Pace Academy,” Thomas said. “We played here. We won a state championship in 2015. We decided to do a camp. You always want to give back. It’s a great turnout. A lot of former teammates and coaches were out there supporting the camp.”
Thomas, a native of Lithonia, had an uplifting message for the youth.
“Definitely, for the young kids, it’s a lot more tangible,” Thomas said. “They can see a kid who grew up the east side and going to a great institution like Pace Academy, then going to the University of Georgia, ended up getting drafted and now playing in the NFL. This makes it a lot more tangible. They can see it and maybe it just gives them motivation to continue to chase their dreams.”
5. Falcons must find a pass rush: We’re going to keep bringing it up until the Falcons get into the top half of the league in sacks. We’ll count hurries, knockdowns and altered throws along the way, but there’s nothing to replace the good ol’ sack.
Outside linebackers coach Jacquies Smith knows that his players have to set the edges in the run game first. But he plans to focus on getting off the ball first.
“Getting off the ball is the start to every play,” Smith said. “You’ve got to get in a good stance, get off the ball, and I think being able to set that precedent as far as being up the field and having that penetration in this scheme, that’s going to allow us to be able to do that. I think it’s going to help a lot.”
Assistant head coach/defense Jerry Gray knows the benefit of a furious pass rush.
“In Green Bay and Minnesota, we got after the quarterback,” Gray said. “Let’s get after the quarterback. Trust me, if you get after the quarterback, a defensive back loves you.”
Some try to dismiss the sack and will settle for getting the quarterback off platform or off his spot.
“We call it disruptions,” Gray said. “How can you disrupt the quarterback? If you can disrupt the quarterback and get him off his timing, throw the ball when (he doesn’t want to), get him off the spot and do those things, that helps everybody else on our defense.”
Gray knows the alternative is if the quarterback is back in the pocket reading a book and then picking apart the secondary.
“If he can sit back there and pat the ball, pat the ball,” Gray said. “It doesn’t matter who you have rushing, you’re going to be in trouble on the back end.”
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
6. Shaffer update: The Chargers selected Salyer five picks after the Falcons selected former Georgia lineman Justin Shaffer with the 190th overall pick. “I know that I met with them at the (NFL Scouting Combine) and the Senior Bowl,” Salyer said of the Falcons. “I had great interviews with them, but after that, I didn’t really hear from them much.”
Salyer has been in touch with Shaffer, who was cut by the Falcons this offseason. “I think he had a minicamp invite with Carolina,” Salyer said. “I think he’s still trying to figure it out. I think he’ll land on his feet somewhere.”
7. Falcons’ 90-man roster analysis: Need to get ready for training camp? You can review our position-by-position analysis.
Part 3: Wide receivers/Tight ends
8. First open practice is Saturday: The Falcons will hold their first open practice for the fans at 6 p.m. Saturday at Seckinger High in Buford.
Because of ongoing construction at the team facilities, the Falcons will not conduct any open practices onsite.
Entry will be free, with the gates opening at 5 p.m. until capacity (about 10,000) is met.
The second practice is set for 6 p.m. Aug. 2 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Tickets cost $5, with the proceeds benefitting support Emory Healthcare. Falcons season ticket members can begin accessing tickets Wednesday via the member’s Red Zone email communication and non-members can begin purchasing July 8 at AtlantaFalcons.com/trainingcamp.
Credit: WSBTV Videos
9. Depth chart: Here’s the working depth chart heading into training camp:
OFFENSE
QB – Kirk Cousins, Taylor Heinicke, Michael Penix Jr., John Paddock
RB – Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier, Avery Williams, Carlos Washington Jr., Jase McClellan
FB – Robert Burns
WR – Drake London, Josh Ali, Austin Mack, Greg Washington, Dylan Drummond
Slot WR – Rondale Moore, Ray-Ray McCloud
TE – Kyle Pitts, Charlie Woerner, John FitzPatrick, Austin Stogner, Ross Dwelley
LT – Jake Matthews, Tyler Vrabel, Barry Wesley, Andrew Stueber
LG – Matthew Bergeron, John Leglue, Ryan Coll
C – Drew Dalman, Ryan Neuzil, Jovaughn Gwyn
RG – Chris Lindstrom, Kyle Hinton,
RT – Kaleb McGary, Storm Norton, Jaryd Jones-Smith
WR – Darnell Mooney, KhaDarel Hodge, Chris Blair, Isaiah Wooden, Daylen Baldwin, OJ Hiliare.
DEFENSE 3-4 alignment
DE – Zach Harrison, Kentavius Street, Demone Harris, James Smith-Williams, Brandon Dorlus
NT – David Onyemata, LaCale London, Tommy Togiai, Eddie Goldman, Zion Logue
DT – Grady Jarrett, Kentavius Street, Ta’Quon Graham, Prince Emil, Ruke Orhorhoro
LOLB – Arnold Ebiketie, Bradlee Anae, Kehinde Oginni
LILB – Kaden Elliss, Donavan Mutin, Milo Eifler
RILB – Troy Andersen, Nate Landman, JD Bertrand
ROLB – Lorenzo Carter, DeAngelo Malone, Bralen Trice
CB – A.J. Terrell, Antonio Hamilton, Jayden Price, Anthony Sao
Nickel CB – Mike Hughes, Dee Alford, Trey Vaval
FS – Jessie Bates III, Micah Abernathy, Tre Tarpley III
SS – DeMarcco Hellams, Richie Grant, Lukas Denis, Dane Cruikshank
CB – Clark Phillips III, Natrone Brooks, Kevin King
SPECIAL TEAMS
K – Younghoe Koo
P/H – Bradley Pinion, Ryan Sanborn
LS – Liam McCullough
PR – Ray-Ray McCloud or Avery Williams
KOR – Ray-Ray McCloud or Avery Williams
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