Upcoming Falcons Offseason.....

[Dukegotgame]

Here is a list of things the Falcon's should do this offseason that I think have a good chance of happening:

Fire Reeves and hire a offensive head coach who can utilize Vick, Dunn, Duckett, etc

Sign a big play WR.... TO, Boston, Holt are all free agents.... I would target TO, and maybe try to sign a guy like Peerless Price who would be a perfect fit with a start playing with him like he has now in Buffalo

Move Brooking back to OLB.... this guy is incredibly fast and can tackle with the best of them, but he can simply not play MLB... he just cannot seem to shed blockers, and I do not see him as a playmaker like Lewis or Urlacher..... if he wants that kind of $$$ show him the door

Sign Takeo Spikes.... this guy is fed up with the Bengals.... he is a pro bowl calibur player, but doesn't get any attention in Cincy... I have a feeling he would like to come back to ATL

Draft EJ Henderson.... he is a great MLB, and can be a playmaker and eventual perrinal pro bowler, and contribuate as a rookie.... draft a SS in the 2nd to 3rd round.... there is some great safety talent in this draft that will no doubt be overlooked.... I am actually pretty content with Keion Carpenter at FS, but overall with need more talent here

Figure out this RB situation... Duckett should be the full time back, Dunn can be used as a 3rd down pass reciving back and we could him 10 or so touches a game in that role and he would be very effective..... it is soo hard to share the role as a running back b/c you can never get into the rythm.... like Dunn said if a RB gets his touches, he will break one. Just look what happened aganist New Orleans. Also the O Line suffers from constantly changing from different RB's especailly with the contrast in running styles with Dunn and Duckett

Post your ideas/thoughts/opinions.... I will post more later

[Traceman]

give credit where credit is due. NONE of the so called experts thought the Falcons had a bats chance in [censored] to be competitive this year and yet Reeves not only has them competitive, they look like a playoff contender. As for Reeves' handling of Vick, what more could you possibly ask for? Vick is 2nd to only Brett Favre in passer rating in the NFC and he is killing teams with his legs as well. His development from last year to this year is nothing short of incredible and Reeves has to get a lot of credit for that. A LOT of Falcons fans were actually saying that Doug Johnson looked like the better QB in the preseason and that they felt the team had a better chance to win with Johnson than Vick. Reeves said that was preposterous and Vick's play is showing that Reeves was 100% correct. The team has scored 30+ points in 4 of the 6 games that Vick has started despite the fact that we don't have a speed receiver on the team. NOBODY thought the offense was going to play as well as it has and Reeves deserves credit for making that happen.

I agree with you on several points:

1) I think the Falcons HAVE to go out and sign a big play receiver who can stretch the field next year.

2) I think Brooking is a very good player and I do think he can play in the middle but he's no Ray Lewis or Brian Urlacher and should not be compensated as such. If his salary demands get too great, I wouldn't resign him and I think EJ Henderson would be a very good draft pick in his place. I can definitely see your point about Brooking's weakness regarding shedding blocks. That is one reason he makes so many plays 3-5 yards downfield. He's still young though so hopefully he will continue to improve with that part of his game.

3)I like Spikes and I'd LOVE to have him but if we're going to spend FA dollars to upgrade the defense, I'd rather see us go out and spend those FA dollars on a run stuffing defensive tackle, another DE opposite Kerney or even a top flight FS or SS rather than give Spikes big dollars. I think LB play is the LEAST of this team's concerns. Stewart, Thierry, Holocek, Brooking, Ulmer, Simoneau, draft and Rogers are all better than average and I think Overstreet is going to be VERY good once he gets healthy next year.

I don't think the RB situation is going to be that much of a problem, in fact, I like it. Duckett is going to become the feature back, its just a matter of time. Dunn is going to get a lot of PT and I think that's great because it will keep them both fresh. In addition, its nice to know that both are capable of getting the job done when one or the other can't go. There was a HUGE drop off from Jamaal to any of our backs over the last few seasons but now, we can still run if Duckett or Dunn is out. Dunn's ego may be a problem but he is a good guy and he wants to win. I think it will all work out.

Finally, I'd like to see them continue to upgrade the offensive line. They are playing VERY well right now but they are not dominant and I'd love to see what Duckett, Dunn and Vick could do behind a great line.

All in all, I have to say that I'm VERY happy with where the Falcons are right now. If someone had told me we'd be 4-3 going into this game before the season started, I would have been VERY happy with that and I still am. Now, we just need to take care of business one week at a time and I think the playoffs are a realistic possibility. Go Falcons!