Ask The Falcoholic!

We’ve been discussing that nonstop over at The Falcoholic this last week.

Personally, I’d rather see Batch. I know he’s the more experience option and he’s a better fit for the offense, but he’s about as average as they come in my mind. That’s not to say the Steelers couldn’t win with him, but I do believe the passing game would be less of a threat.

Dixon scares me because he’s so physically talented. You never know if he’ll take off for a ten yard score or throw a dart to Mike Wallace, or if he’ll huck a bad interception. He could be the better matchup for the Falcons, but I don’t like the aura of unpredictability around him.

http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/Tomlin-names-Dixon-the-starter/4ca26428-864d-4fc9-9e4f-d1defbda6a42

But it wasn’t happening in a vacuum.

You had Ryan himself dealing with toe injuries, Michael Turner out, injuries along our offensive line and a tough schedule. At the end of the day, he danced around in the pocket too much, but he still had a solid enough season.

With everyone healthy and another year of the coaching staff telling him to plant his damn feet when he throws, I think he’ll have a nice season. He’s not the next Peyton Manning, but he’s developing in an upper echelon QB.

We’re going to rely on Jerry to provide a pass rush push from the middle of the line, so he has to step up. Assuming he’s truly healthy, he ought to be good for 4-5 sacks and should open up holes for Kroy Biermann and John Abraham on the edges.

But I’d be happy for a third, and I do expect it….0-1 start or not.

By hitting him.

preseasons over. off with there heads

But I’m more excited about him making his 1,000th catch a winning touchdown pass.

i might have

would you only like the gents to rec? or are the ladies welcome too?

I think the Falcons will have to hit you with a balanced attack. Obviously your defense is pretty tough top to bottom, though I do like Roddy White on any of your cornerbacks. If we can get Turner around the edge and Matt Ryan can find White and Tony Gonzalez, I like our chances.

You’ll see a lot of four-man blitzes from the front four. Our defensive coordinator is a fairly conservative guy, preferring to leave the linebackers in coverage in case things go wrong up front, so the Falcons will be trying to limit big gains all game. You’ll see a lot of Kroy Biermann and John Abraham around the edges.

Our kick coverage is very, very good, and Michael Koenen is one of the best directional punters in the league. He’ll be looking to limit your return yardage all game. Kick and punt returner Erice Weems is very elusive, but I doubt he’ll break anything big for us.

Might want to ask over at the site. There’s gotta be somebody who loves playing tour guides.

All I know about him is that he kicks off better than Jeff Reed.

beerman

A former low-round pick out of Montana, Biermann has become a nasty sack machine. He posted five in limited PT last season. This year, he’s got a healthy Jon Babineaux and Peria Jerry next to him, and he’ll be a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks all season long. He’s a bit undersized, but very strong and quick, and he piled up three sacks and two forced fumbles in three pre-season games against first team offenses.

And how’s Weatherspoon progressing? I know Curtis Lofton is being bandied around as the breakout star this year (getting a lot of ink around ESPN), but I had some pipe dreams about us picking up Weatherspoon so he could play behind Ziggy Hood again just like at Mizzou, but alas it wasn’t meant to be

Jerious Norwood is lightning fast, when healthy. Jason Snelling is built like Turner and catches well out of the backfield. Antone Smith is the new guy, but he looks electric with the ball in his hands, as well.

I think they’ll spell Turner, though he’s still going to get far-and-away the most carries.

On the other side, it’s Biermann (see above). Lawrence Sidbury is a promising second year player who is developing into a nasty pass rusher. You can’t understate the potential impact in the middle of the line, either, where Jon Babineaux, Peria Jerry, Corey Peters, Vance Walker and Trey Lewis—yes, all five of our defensive tackles—have shown an ability to get to the quarterback.

The Falcons do like to jam at the line, and Dunta Robinson, Brent Grimes and Chris Owens are all physical corners for their size. We don’t run a true Cover 2, but you’ll see our coaches mixing that in from time to time.

We feel a lot better about our defense than in years past. We’re deeper, stronger up front and stronger in the secondary. This is probably a middle of the pack to bottom of the top of the pack (did that even make sense?) defense, but that’s considerably better than in years past. It sounds like you’re starting Dennis Dixon, too, so he may want to watch out for Grimes. He’s a little dude, but he can absolutely sky and he picked a ton of passes in limited starts last year.

this is, I believe, another Issac Redman reference.

They run for 50 yards and score.

True story: Kroy Biermann is dating one of the Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Big Snack going on a rampage over no longer being the biggest man in the AFCN?
Frank Summers turning up and hitting BA in the family jewels?
Punxy finally escaping and being sack tapped by Dan Rooney?

….being knocked out with a thrown Primanti Bros. sandwich. Those are heavy.

I don’t think you guys suddenly are going into the toilet without Big Ben. I think we’ll beat you, yes, but it’s going to be a close game.

We’ll see what’s justified come game time, I expect.

He’s probably good for 70-80, but it’ll probably come on 20 some odd carries. He’s going to grit his teeth and pound the ball to keep our offense balanced.

Honestly, we ought to have linebacker Stephen Nicholas shadowing Dixon. He’s arguably faster than Weatherspoon, has a few years in the league under his belt and is known for being a terrific athlete in pursuit. I’m hopeful that’s the matchup we’ll see.

most teams can’t afford 10 playmakers.