Samuel agrees to three-year, $18.5M deal as part of Falcons trade

[Hawksquawk]

The deal to send cornerback Asante Samuel to the Atlanta Falcons from the Philadelphia Eagles has been finalized, a source with knowledge of the situation told NFL Network's Albert Breer.View the full article

[coachx]

The article does not say what the Falcons are giving up to get Samuel.680 is reporting it is for a 6th round pick but may not be announced until before the draft Thursday.

[Dnice]

Welcome to Atlanta, Mr.Samuel.

[AHF]

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This topic has been moved from "General Discussion / Other Sports / Atlanta Falcons News" to "General Discussion / Other Sports".

[Dexmethylphenidate]

It's for a 7th round pick. Good deal for Atlanta. They got no 1st round pick but they got a probowl CB for peanuts.

[EazyRoc]

Hopefully, Samuel has a few good years left. That way we can shift Robinson to the nickel.

[jy23]

Hell of a deal if we got him for a 7th rounder. Need another pass rusher and this defense will be pretty damn tough to deal with.

[EazyRoc]

Hell of a deal if we got him for a 7th rounder. Need another pass rusher and this defense will be pretty damn tough to deal with.

I wonder how Tatupu will fit in.

[coachx]

Good deal for the Falcons, Eagles, and Samuels.1. Eagles save a ton of cap room without having to pay Samuels guaranteed money had they cut him.2. Samuels knew he would be cut if the Eagles could not trade him......he goes to a team that wants him for a pretty good contract.3. Atlanta gets Samuels for $18.5 mill over 3 years and a 7th round pick. (His old contract was $20 mill over 2 years in Philly).

[coachx]

I wonder how Tatupu will fit in.

Pretty well vs. the pass. If the Bucs get Richardson at RB we will miss Lofton when we play them but I'm more scared of Brews and Cam, in the division, then a RB.Tatupu strength is in pass coverage......which was the weakness of Lofton. Hopefully Tatupu can stay healthy. Dent should give him some compeition at ILB. I would expect Weatherspoon to shift over to ILB in the 3-4 defense. Edited April 26, 2012 by coachx

[AHF]

I am definitely glad we only gave up a 7th. I was worried it was going to be a 5th.All the Philly fans seem to be harping on his inability to tackle. I hope he takes that personally and comes out with a chip on his shoulder and ready to prove he can wrap people up.

[coachx]

Real GM is reporting the contract is 3 years and only $14.5 mill.......with performance incentives that could make it $18.5 mill over 3 years as the max.http://football.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/26970/20120426/samuels_deal_with_falcons_worth_$145m_over_three_years/

[jy23]

I wonder how Tatupu will fit in.

That's my dude as he is a usc alum but I'm a little worried about him in the running game. Hopefully the line can make up for that as we've been a damn good team against the run lately. Now I saw somebody else say we were running a 3-4 but i could have swore nolan said he was gonna keep us in a 4-3....and if he does switch us to a 3-4 I hope he doesn't move spoon inside, let that man run free on the outside and terrorize quarterbacks

[coachx]

That's my dude as he is a usc alum but I'm a little worried about him in the running game. Hopefully the line can make up for that as we've been a damn good team against the run lately. Now I saw somebody else say we were running a 3-4 but i could have swore nolan said he was gonna keep us in a 4-3....and if he does switch us to a 3-4 I hope he doesn't move spoon inside, let that man run free on the outside and terrorize quarterbacks

Spoon as OLB in a 3-4 ? You normally see longer players as 3-4 OLBs. 4-3 OLB are more like cover LBs such as Spoon. Spoon's arms are too short to beat 6'6'' LT's consistently.....which is what 3-4 OLB have to do.

The writing is on the wall that Nolan will run both 4-3 and 3-4 looks.

Falcons just worked out a 320 lb veteran NT that played for Nolan in 2010 with the 49ers. So they don't draft a NT he is the backup plan:

http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-falcons-blog/

Nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin visited Falcons

9:37 pm April 23, 2012, by D. Orlando Ledbetter

Defensive tackle Aubrayo Franklin during his stint with the 49ers. Paul Spinelli/The Associated Press

FLOWERY BRANCH – Veteran free-agent defensive tackle Aubrayo Franklin visited the Falcons on Monday, according to his representatives.

Franklin, a nine-year veteran, has played with Baltimore (2003-06), San Francisco (2007-10) and last season with New Orleans. He was a fifth-round pick out of Tennessee in 2003 by the Ravens.

Franklin, 31, is 6-foot-3 and 320 pounds. He played for Falcons new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, who was San Francisco’s head coach from 2005-08.

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[frosgrim]

Nolan's base is probably actually more like a 3-3-5 or a 4-2-5, especially when playing the Saints and other spread offenses. When they go up against the Panthers and Bucs, the more run teams, this year I expect them to go with a standard 4-3 to start and mix in 3-4 principles. If Nolan hangs around, the team will probably morph into a more base 3-4/3-3-5. The slot guy for the team now is Grimes. Astante and Robinson are pure outside corners that would struggle v. slot guys. Grimes should excel playing the slot. The best thing is that we won't have to see much more of Chris Owens who was just lost out there more times than not.

[coachx]

Nolan's base is probably actually more like a 3-3-5 or a 4-2-5, especially when playing the Saints and other spread offenses. When they go up against the Panthers and Bucs, the more run teams, this year I expect them to go with a standard 4-3 to start and mix in 3-4 principles.If Nolan hangs around, the team will probably morph into a more base 3-4/3-3-5.The slot guy for the team now is Grimes. Astante and Robinson are pure outside corners that would struggle v. slot guys. Grimes should excel playing the slot. The best thing is that we won't have to see much more of Chris Owens who was just lost out there more times than not.

Now that all teams play in the nickle version of their base defense 60 % of the time you would be correct.My only point was that Nolan will mix in both 3 and 4 down-lineman fronts...... unlike Vangorder who ran 4 man fronts 90% of the time. Edited April 27, 2012 by coachx

[jy23]

Hey if we run a 3-4 I'm all for it, I actually prefer it but i was just repeating what nolan said in an interview when he was first hired. He said something about our players being suited for a 4-3 base so he planned on keeping it that way but again I'm all for the change if that's what we're doing.

[EazyRoc]

Nolan's base is probably actually more like a 3-3-5 or a 4-2-5, especially when playing the Saints and other spread offenses. When they go up against the Panthers and Bucs, the more run teams, this year I expect them to go with a standard 4-3 to start and mix in 3-4 principles. If Nolan hangs around, the team will probably morph into a more base 3-4/3-3-5. The slot guy for the team now is Grimes. Astante and Robinson are pure outside corners that would struggle v. slot guys. Grimes should excel playing the slot. The best thing is that we won't have to see much more of Chris Owens who was just lost out there more times than not.

I actually think Robinson would better in the slot. He's pretty good against the run. Grimes is better on the outside compared to Robinson..

[frosgrim]

I actually think Robinson would better in the slot. He's pretty good against the run. Grimes is better on the outside compared to Robinson..

Looks like you are correct. The team said Robison will move into the slot. My concern is that Robison isn't that great in space. Having a sideline really helps him, while Grimes seems to be able to cover where ever he lines up. That said, the coaching staff knows a hell of a lot more about these guys than I do.