Concerned that the Leftwich/Falcons marriage will

[sturt]

...be less than beneficial for either party.

It comes down to what little I know of the reputation of the Falcons' offensive line.

Lord Byron's troubles in Jacksonville, by my measure and others', could always be traced back in one way or another to an o-line that the Jags seldom fortified with top talent from FA or the draft... when Byron is able to get consistently adequate time, he is consistently more than adequate.

Couple that with the failure of the Jags to find an adequate replacement for Jimmy Smith (who teamed with Leftwich regularly for big plays), and that was a recipe for what has transpired in the last month.

I'd like to think that the Falcons can provide what the Jags didn't.

Anyone wanna offer me some reassurance???

[Lascar78]

The only reassurance is that he will certainly be better than Joey Harrington. When the O-Line lets a man through, Harrington takes the sack, Leftwitch will let it fly.

There is no question that he helps. He doesn't make the Falcons great or anything. Leftwich is a poor starter. Harrington is an average backup. I'll take it at this point.

[sturt]

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When the O-Line lets a man through... Leftwitch will let it fly.

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I'd like to be as optimistic as you, but I'm not... perhaps his decision-making is sharper than Harrington's, but failing that, the Leftwich wind-up is known to take a split-second longer than most.

I wish Byron had waited a while longer to watch Grossman crash and burn yet again... that would have been a very, very smart move on the part of both the Bears and Byron. He can perform surgery on defenses when he's got some quality surrounding him.

[AHF]

I also thought Chicago was the best fit for him. That said, he is a definite upgrade from Harrington.

[ecc423]

for 2 years...means hello Darren McFadden...i hope.

[TroyMcClure]

We are undergoing a radical change on the offensive line. It will take time. We led the NFL in rushing for the last 3 years. Even taking Vick's numbers away, they were a solid top 10 rushing team. They were also the 2nd lightest line, behind the Broncos. The scheme we are now using requires big lineman that can push people over on the run and allow for deeper drops and patterns. We just don't have them right now. I am a huge Leftwich fan. He sees the field like Marino, but his windup hinders him. Still, if you protect him he is fun to watch. Byron has moxie... and you can't teach that. I think he is a perfect fit for Petrino. We just need to protect him... And suck really bad the rest of this year! Leftwich and McFadden would be a nice combo.

[AHF]

You are right about needing help on the OL. In fact, we need a lot more talent on both lines, IMO. It would nice to have an OL that could both open running lanes and pass block.

[sturt]

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I think he is a perfect fit for Petrino.

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That's a big point I really hadn't thought much about... Byron may not be a fit with the O-line, but there's a lot of reason to think that he and Petrino will really mesh. He's a great "system" QB because he's very smart... and Petrino, of course, is known for his offensive genius, so maybe this can work.

Never been a Falcons fan, but I guess I am one now.

[DJlaysitup]

It could go either way, but I think his arm strength to stretch the field with the long pass will be a big plus for Petrino's system and help to open up the middle of the field for Crumpler. If the opposing safeties are forced to provide support on the deep routes, Crump will be covered by a LB more often. Also, if he hits the hot read slants we may not get blitzed as much (of course our receivers are going to have to be on the ball and run the right routes).

I'm worried about our O line, but I'm also worried about our receivers getting separation and catching the damn ball. We've spent multiple 1st round picks on WRs and so far we haven't gotten our money's worth.

Mortenson said he is a real good locker room guy, strong and pretty accurate arm, and is relatively fearless, so maybe he can help to make this season respectable.

[Traceman]

I think Byron might surprise a lot of people with his play. He is not mobile but he is smart, pretty accurate and he throws a nice deep ball. Joey seems reluctant to even TRY to throw the ball downfield.

It will be interesting to see if our receivers can get on track with Byron under center. Roddy White looked good last week. If Crumpler can get healthy, I think we could see a significant improvement in our downfield passing game which should open up the running lanes for Warrick and Jerious.

Like others have said, it would be great if Byron COULD be the longterm answer as I LOVE McFadden. Just thinking about platooning Jerious and McFadden next year gets me pretty excited.

[frosgrim]

IMO, the Falcon passing game is hindered by all sorts of issues:

-New offensive line schemes where the players don't know each other yet

-Harrington playing scared/conservative/unsure-- I think this is due to his problems with the Lions and then being put into a new offensive system. Byron will have some of the same issues, if you don't know where your hot read is, then its hard to make those snap throws. Experience is really the only cure for this issue.

-No running game to speak of. This is in part due to the o-line and Dunn's back issues.

In all, I think Byron will be an upgrade over Harrington. I just wish that the Falcons had signed Byron a month ago when the Jags let him go. One thought on my part is that McKay wants to tank the season to get a high pick and get a star QB. Blank, however, doesn't want any part of tanking thus forced McKay to sign Leftwhich. Just my thoughts on the situation.

I agree with AHF, we need more talent on both lines. IMO, we need to address the o-line first at this point. Blalock looks like he'll be a good guard for us. It is too bad that we have to spend our first rounder on a QB, as a left tackle is sorely needed. If I am McKay, I spend the first round pick on a QB (Brohm or the kid from Kentucky). And then both the second and third rounders on o-linemen, preferably a left and right tackle.

[Traceman]

have to be able to stay healthy. A front four of Abraham, Jackson, Coleman and Anderson should be a strength if not THE strength of the team. When Coleman gets back, teams won't be able to double both Abraham and Anderson. One of them will be in a one on one situation in virtually every passing situation.

I too wish the Falcons had signed Leftwich 2 weeks ago BUT I understand why they didn't. Bringing in Leftwich before Harrington even threw a pass in the regular season would have likely destroyed what little confidence Harrington had. After two games of little to no production from Joey however, signing Leftwich will either light a fire under him (I always hated the fact that he had no competition for the job) or expose him as the backup that most think he is. In addition, I think the price we paid for Leftwich is significantly less than what we would have paid him 2 weeks ago. He is basically making quality backup money and I think that is a good deal for us.

[frosgrim]

I agree with you that the d-line right now is actually in descent condition. It could use another young mammoth tackle soon, however. That is why I think the next draft has to be about the QB and o-line primarily. Also, McKay has to be banned from drafting another receiver. A TE is fine as Alge is getting longer in the tooth, but no WRs.

I also see your point on not signing Byron 2 weeks ago or whenever it was he was released. I think Harrington needs more time in the offense before we can make a full evaluation, but the early numbers are ugly. Unfortunately, Byron is going to have to be in the offense for a while until he gets used to it as well.

[AHF]

On the D-Line, I don't see a lot of depth and I see too many injury risks. In terms of guys to build around, the only guy who looks like he will be with the team in 4 years is Anderson.

Coleman and Abraham are questionable in terms of health and Jackson isn't here for much longer. I still see this as a big area of need in terms of future drafts - particularly given how rarely real DTs come available in FA.

[DrReality]

He is a talented guy, but the cards are stacked against him. O line problems, hitch in his delivery and the time to get comfortable with the new system put him at high risk to take a beating.

The trick is staying healthy in light of this. I think he could be a good fit with Petrino if he can survive. I do applaud the Falcons for doing something. Otherwise they were looking at an unmitigated disaster. Now it is only partially mitigated!

[Zone034life]

As for the D-line, Trey Lewis and Montaviuos Stanley had pretty good games against the jaguars. I look forward to seeing if they can duplicate that this sunday. A replacement has to be found for grady next season and if it is the draft keep an eye on the kid from fresno state and another from Texas A&M. Jamaal Anderson has done the opposite of what he was labeled to be thus far. He has stood up well against the run but has yet to show that great pass rushing ability we all heard so much about. That is fine because with Abe on the other side it gives him sometime to learn on the job.

The o-line is in a worst place than the d-line because there is a lack of overall talent. The bad part about it is the entire right side are veterans that have been given extensions recently. They all have been underachieving and not earning there keep. Kennan Fornay was overrated by the previous regime and I hope petrino realizes this. McClure is a hard worker who earned a starting position in the gibbs scheme but not fit in the current one. Weiner is just not that powerful and also isn't a good fit. Believe it or not I am glad if Renardo Foster and Justin Blaylock start the rest of the season on the left side. For one they both fit the scheme. They are also young and can grow together. Although they will have there hands full this week. It also will be a good test to see if Foster can be a player or not. If so it may allow the Falcons to draft mcFadden with the first pick and go after Max Starks in FA.

[DJlaysitup]

Gibbs' offensive line philosophy is about the hardest system to switch away from since his "type" of players (smaller, quicker) basically don't fit into a big power O-line system. You pretty much have to replace everybody and that takes time. I would think we have to address the O-line in the next draft. In reality, if Leftwich is OK and Norwood improves, we may be best off just picking nearly all offensive and defensive linemen in the draft.

[AHF]

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In reality, if Leftwich is OK and Norwood improves, we may be best off just picking nearly all offensive and defensive linemen in the draft.

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Kind of like the start to our draft last year.

Another option on the RB front would be signing Michael Turner to a FA deal. He is going to be good and is a lot stronger than Dunn or Norwood.

[Traceman]

I think both guys are pretty solid young players who have potential but neither are surefire starting caliber players. I wouldn't be mad if we went after a Glen Dorsey in the draft depending on who else is available.

At DE, I think we can definitley use more depth. Chauncey Davis is a hardworker he is just not that talented. That is the reason I was BEGGING Rich McKay to take Charles Johnson in the 3rd (It looks like Laurent Robinson can be a player though if he can get healthy).

[Traceman]

I think they both have the physical talent to be good, they just need to keep working on understanding the pass protections. Still, Foster was no worse than Gandy had been in the passing game. Gany was borderline horrible against Minny. I think that there will be a learning curve for those two that only PT can fix. At any rate, I thought they were better in the run game than Weiner, Forney and McClure.

As for the draft, a McFadden/Norwood combo at TB would be terrific. I love Warrick Dunn but if I could get McFadden, he would be the odd man out in my opinion. Both McFadden and Jerious are versatile enough to run both inside and outside and both can catch the ball out of the backfield. I could even see lining them both up in the backfield and then having one of them go in motion and line up in the slot. No linebacker in the league is fast enough to keep up with either of those guys in a one on one matchup.