Friday, February 25, 2011

2011 Offseason: Atlanta Falcons

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Matt Ryan and consider him something of a young Peyton Manning. While he is not there yet, remember that Manning was far from phenomenal early in his career, so I argue that the time has not yet come to question Ryan’s abilities in the pocket.

Ryan works very hard and will continue to improve; few people doubt that. But he could use a fast wide receiver who can beat the defense down field. Roddy White has that ability, but not against every cornerback. Matt Ryan’s arm is not exceptionally strong, but it is accurate and he puts the ball right on the money more often than not. Most of his interceptions come on passes where he just can’t zip the ball to his receiver quickly enough, like the one going into halftime against the Packers in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

Atlanta needs to figure out where their defense is. They have some very good players, but they also have some players who are unknowns because they haven’t been healthy for enough games. The Falcons’ coaches have to find away to judge which players are keepers and which need to go. As hard as their schedule was at times this season, it will be harder next year and they can’t afford to have a lackluster defense if they hope to have a fourth consecutive winning season.

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