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2007 NFL Preview: Atlanta Falcons

By Dave Golokhov

2006 In The Rearview Mirror
Like in 2004 and 2005, the Falcons shot out of a canon at the start of the 2006 season with a 5-2 start. After wins in Carolina and Cincinnati, combined with home wins to Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay, the Falcons looked like they — once again — had turned the corner.

The rushing offense was once again fluid, even though the third head of the three-headed monster was swapped out. A smaller, quicker Jerious Norwood replaced the power supplied by T.J. Duckett, which proved to be a shrewd decision.

But as the Falcons' rushing game reigned supreme once again, just as it typically did during the Jim Mora/Alex Gibbs era, the rest of the was average or below average at every other facet.

On offense, quarterback Michael Vick still looked like a running back playing quarterback. His passing accuracy was so feebly inconsistent that by the end of the season, the coaching staff was experimenting with him at running back.

While a large share of the passing failures can be pinned on the guy who allegedly houses dog fights, there is enough blame to go around.

For starters, the wide receivers, Roddy White and Michael Jenkins, have been a bigger letdown than "Oceans 12" and "Oceans 13". White frequently drops passes while Jenkins is simply inconsistent.

Not helping the issues was the fact that the offensive line was far more capable of run blocking than pass protecting.

Both lines of scrimmage proved to be weakness for the Falcons.

On defense, the addition of Abraham was supposed to improve on the 37 sacks that Atlanta notched in 2005. But Abraham only played eight games.

On the opposite side, Patrick Kerney, a key pillar for the Falcons defense for many years, was limited to nine games also due to injury.

The Falcons' sack total did not improve in 2006 and with these playmaking defensive ends spending lots of time on the sidelines, the Falcons' defense — inherently — didn't make enough plays.

The secondary proved to be a weak link as the acquisition of free safety Chris Crocker proved to a mistake, while the signing of strong safety Lawyer Milloy didn't result as planned since he clearly lacked range in coverage.

At cornerback, the Falcons were banking on the development of rookie Jimmy Williams, which never progressed, and to finally at the cherry on top, "Pro Bowl" cornerback DeAngelo Hall was painfully burned up and down the field on numerous occasions.

In the past four seasons, the Falcons' pass defense has averaged a ranking of 24th, mostly because management has failed to find the right help.

The Falcons have spent first-day picks on Jimmy Williams and Bryan Scott, second-day picks on Etric Pruitt and Waine Bacon, and burned free agent money on Jason Webster. Throw in the acquisition of Crocker, who cost the Falcons a fourth-round pick, and it is plain to see the horrible track record in this secondary.

Only Williams and Crocker are still with the team and Williams, a cornerback by nature, has been shifted to free safety to replace Crocker. Even the signing of Milloy has been scrutinized.

The free agency mess goes a bit further. Inking Edgerton Hartwell has provided an injury-prone player who talks the talk, but rarely walks the walk. If Abraham is plagued by injuries yet again, soon I'll be adding him to this list.

While the secondary struggled, the front seven did have some bright spots. Keith Brooking always shines, but now has some company from rising star Michael Boley. The defensive tackle tandem of Rod Coleman and Grady Jackson are the football equivalent of Earthquake and Tugboat, and are quietly underrated.

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