Issue No. 1: How much of an impact will Tony Gonzalez make on their offense?
Answer: When watching Atlanta's offense last season, one thing stood out. They
clearly needed a physical presence in their passing game that was willing
to go over the middle and could also be a factor in the red zone area.
Journeyman TE Justin Peelle started 11 games for the Falcons last season, but
only produced 15 receptions. Clearly, general manager Tom Dimitroff knew he
needed to find an upgrade at tight end, so he traded for perhaps the best player
at that position over the past 20 years in Gonzalez.
With Gonzalez aboard, teams will now have a tough time figuring out how they
will cover all of Atlanta's passing weapons if they're on the field at the same
time. For instance, if Michael Turner is in the backfield, Roddy White is out
wide with Gonzalez on the field, how will teams try to defend this? And I
haven't even mentioned Harry Douglas playing in the slot.
If Gonzalez wasn't added this year, I think teams would have started to load up
the box against Matt Ryan and made him throw. With Gonzalez in the fold playing
underneath and White down field, I can't see how teams can double team either of
them. With those two players as big factors, Turner and Jerious Norwood will get better
rushing lanes to run through.
While tight ends haven't exactly flourished statistically under offensive
coordinator Mike Mularkey during his tenure as a coordinator, head coach, or tight ends coach, Gonzalez
will still be active. The best numbers achieved under Mularkey were from Jackie
Harris (62 receptions) in 1995 (Mularkey coached the tight ends for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that season) and in 2006 (Mularkey was the offensive coordinator
for the Miami Dolphins that season) from Randy McMichael (62 receptions). The
difference between those two tight ends and Gonzalez is that he commands the
ball and defenses must account for him anywhere he's on the field. He's clearly
the missing link for this offense to be complete.
Issue No. 2: Can the defense take a big step up this season?
Answer: This is by far the biggest issue that this football team has to deal
with in 2009.
Last season, the Falcon defense finished 24th in yards per game, ranked 21st
overall against the pass, and ranked 25th overall against the run.
Getting consistent pressure on the quarterback seemed liked a daunting task as
this defense posted a very average 34 sacks. While veteran DE John Abraham
posted 16 sacks, no other defender posted more than four sacks. Head coach Mike Smith and defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder must find another way to get
pressure on the quarterback. In nickel situations, third-year DE Jamaal Anderson
moves inside and backup DE Chauncey Davis replaces Anderson outside, but
Anderson and Davis combined for only six sacks last season.
The run defense lost mammoth interior lineman Grady Jackson in free agency, but
the hope is that first-round pick Peria Jerry will pick up some the slack. One
of the underrated stars of this defense is fifth-year DT Jonathan Babineaux.
He'll give the defense some badly needed push up front and is capable of being a
disruptive force against opposing offenses.
At linebacker, the coaches are probably dealing with a star in the making with
second-year MLB Curtis Lofton. But questions remain outside. Veteran LB Mike Peterson will line up for Smith at WLB, a position he really has seen little
time at during his 10 years of play. Smith knows Peterson well from their time
with the Jacksonville Jaguars together, but Peterson, 33, has to prove he has
something left in the tank. What Peterson certainly is capable of providing is
good leadership. At SLB, third-year pro Stephen Nicholas is slated to start, but
he didn't start a game in his first two seasons. The team also lacks any
discernible depth at any of the three linebacker positions.
The secondary is a part of the defense that really needs to show significant
improvement this season. While the back four defenders didn't give up a lot of
touchdowns, they gave up a decent amount of yards last season. Who starts
opposite third-year CB Chris Houston remains an issue. While some believe it
will wind up being Von Hutchins, some believe he's better off playing in nickel
situations or at safety. Former undrafted free agent Brent Grimes began last
season as a starter, but he got benched and never really recovered. The hope is
that second-year CB Chevis Jackson will push Hutchins during training camp. At
safety, the team decided not to re-sign veteran Lawyer Milloy and will likely go
with second-year S Thomas DeCoud, who barely played last season.
The bottom line is this defense has way too many questions to answer again. It's
probably going to be a while before the defense becomes a strength and not a
weakness.
To get caught up on all the latest breaking news
around the NFL along with insider analysis, sign up for
Adam Caplan's Twitter
Updates.