Atlanta Falcons Year-End Report

Sometimes pictures just say so much, don't they? (This was actually taken last year during the 27-0 disaster in Tampa Bay.)

What word describes a season that started off 6-2 and ended 2-6?

Disappointing.

What word describes a team that sent 6 players to the Pro Bowl (tied for most in the NFC) but missed the playoffs?

Underachieving.

Of course, not all players underachieved...there were several bright spots on this team, so I decided to break this report down into the good, the bad, and the ugly.

THE GOOD

DeAngelo Hall: The sophomore cornerback tallied 6 INTs, which tied him for sixth among NFL cornerbacks. He also returned a few punts when Allen Rossum was hurt, averaging 10.3 yards per return (it would have been MUCH higher and there probably would have been a touchdown or two if it wasn't for some illegal blocking...) This kid is going to be one of the elite shutdown defenders in the league.

Warrick Dunn: Finished 8th in the league in rushing. His 1416 yards this season eclipsed his previous career high of 1133. At 5'9 180 lbs., he was never afraid to run up the middle either. I actually think he's a better power running back than TJ Duckett (who we will get to in a bit...)

Keith Brooking: Was placed in a rather unfortunate situation having to move to middle linebacker when Ed Hartwell was injured. But he did very well in that role anyway, collecting 88 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, and a career high 4 interceptions. He was also the leader of the defence...there were quite a few potentially big plays that Brooking stopped because he was the only one who recognized what was going on.

Michael Jenkins: Sophomore wide receiver who literally developed right before our eyes this season. The former Buckeye went from only 7 catches for 119 yards (he could never get open) and no TDs last season to 36 catches for 508 yards and 3 TDs this season. Had he stayed healthy, these numbers would have been much higher, and I expect big things from him next season. Consider him Peerless without the dropsies and at a tiny fraction of the cost.


THE BAD

Michael Vick: Vick is here because it appears he has regressed as a player. His passing yards increased from last season, but his completion percentage went down and so did his rating. He rushed for 597 yards, down significantly from his total of 902 last season. I used to shrug off his passing statistics because the team would win games when he was playing. The team was 11-3 last season when Vick took the majority of the snaps and 7-1 at home. Yes, he did make the Pro Bowl despite all this so-called regression, but I stuck him down here because the team takes quite a cap hit because of it. Another season like this one and he will be forced to restructure.

Jonathan Babineaux: Babineaux was forced to play defensive end quite a bit due to Brady Smith being injured most of the season, but unlike Brooking, he didn't have a lot of success. Babineaux is supposed to be a tackle, and I'm certain he'll do quite well in that role, but man did he struggle this season.

Todd Weiner: He can do his job as a run blocker (quite well, actually) but he's nothing as a pass blocker. When the blitz comes from the outside, Weiner is usually chasing after the guy...sometimes he's on the ground, or watching as Vick gets cranked yet again. His counterpart on the left side (Kevin Shaffer) wasn't much better. If Rich McKay doesn't use pick #16 on a safety, I hope he uses it on a tackle.

Allen Rossum: Underachieved, big time. In ten games as a second string cornerback, he only had 10 total tackles, no INTs, no sacks, no pass deflections. A punt returner who made the Pro Bowl last season, he only saw an 8.5 yard average and did the fair catch more times than I care to mention despite looking at quite a bit of open field in front of him. He fared slightly better as a kick returner averaging 22.6 yards but that's not worth the money the Falcons paid him.


THE UGLY

Greg Knapp: Needs to be fired. He called far too many passing plays when the running game was obviously working, and when Dunn was having a great game, he'd take him out and put Duckett in instead. He wouldn't let Mike Vick be Mike Vick, calling the pocket passing plays instead. It worked briefly, but then teams got wise to it and realized Atlanta's O-Line wasn't very good. The only person on the field who didn't seem to realize it was Greg, as he tended to stick with his gameplan even when it was obviously not working. Get Ty Detmer to coach the offence, I'm completely serious. But Greg goes into the ugly section instead of the bad because he won't be fired...he and Jim Mora are old buddies from their days with the 49ers.

TJ Duckett: I think this is a new NFL record. TJ had two games in which he rushed for negative yards but had 5+ carries in every game. He went from being a possible starter on any team in the league to being dead weight and a waste of cap space. He had 380 yards on 121 attempts, compared to last year when he had 509 yards and 104 attempts. He used to be paydirt in short yardage situations, but he sure did get stuffed a lot this season...

Bryan Scott: It seemed like Bryan Scott could never stop the pass going over the middle. He was benched late in the season for this. The Falcons safeties are a lot like the Oilers goaltenders...depth up the wazoo but no #1 guy. I think Rich McKay should draft Jason Allen or Jimmy Williams and move Bryan back to strong safety.

Dez White: Went from starting WR in the preseason to 3rd stringer behind Roddy White (a rookie!) and Brian Finneran. In 6 games (3 as a starter) he had 2 catches for 25 yards. The only bright spot was that one was a touchdown. This continues the downward swing for the Dezbian whose receiving yards have been going down since 2002.