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Chichevache
Feb 17, 2010

One of the funniest posters in GIP.

Just not intentionally.


What is Hard Knocks?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SujX3iMqGB8
Hard Knocks is an HBO special that follows one NFL team from the start of training camp all the way through the preseason. The focus is usually on the incoming rookie class, though they will also focus on veterans struggling to earn a place on the roster. This season the focus will be on the Atlanta Falcons who entered the 2013 season as possible Super Bowl contenders and finished with a dismal 4-12 record.

Previous Hard Knocks seasons have followed the Jets, Dolphins, Bengals, Ravens, Cowboys, and Chiefs.


Athanatos posted:

Starts this Tuesday, August 5th 10pm EST.



The Purpose of the Thread
This thread will be both a place for Falcons training camp discussion as well as a GDT for those of you viewing the show live.

Falcons of Note

Sean Weatherspoon gives a tour of the Falcons facility and introduces you to most of the important figures in the franchise. This is absolutely worth watching.


Mike Smith: Head Coach

Since becoming the head coach of the Falcons in 2008 Smith has led the team to five consecutive winning seasons and four postseason spots. Last year was his first losing effort with the Falcons.

Thomas Dimitroff: General Manager



Matt Ryan: Quarterback


Roddy White: Wide Receiver



Roddy White has been the premier Falcons receiver for nearly a decade and holds a significant amount of their franchise records. He's also notable for getting in trouble on social media. Hopefully the Falcons PR staff doesn't keep the cameras away from him.







Prince Shembo: Linebacker

Incoming rookie from Notre Dame. During the combine he admitted that he was the player who was accused of raping Lizzy Seeberg, who killed herself after facing incredible harassment and abuse from Notre Dame for reporting a rape.

Incoming Rookies
code:
1 	6 	Jake Matthews 	Offensive tackle 	Texas A&M
2 	37 	Ra'Shede Hageman 	Defensive tackle 	Minnesota
3 	68 	Dezmen Southward 	Free safety 	        Wisconsin
4 	103 	Devonta Freeman 	Running Back 	        Florida State
        139[A] 	Prince Shembo 	        Linebacker 	        Notre Dame
5 	147 	Ricardo Allen 	        Cornerback 	        Purdue
        168[B] 	Marquis Spruill 	Linebacker 	        Syracuse
6 	None[B]
7[B] 	253[A] 	Yawin Smallwood 	Linebacker 	        Connecticut
        255[A] 	Tyler Starr 	        Linebacker 	        South Dakota


Position Battles to Watch For
With the loss of starting middle linebacker Sean Weatherspoon the Falcons will be looking for players capable of filling in his role. At the moment Paul Worrilow and Joplo Bartu are the front runners.

GoAT Tight End Tony Gonzalez has retired, leaving a gaping hole at TE. No one can replace him, but Bear Pascoe and 6'8" Levine Toilolo will most likely be listed as tight ends going into the season.

Preseason Schedule
Friday, August 8th Dolphins 4 PM PST
Saturday, August 16th @Texans 5PM PST
Saturday, August 23rd Titans 4PM PST
Thursday, August 28th @Jaguars 3PM PST

Previous Hard Knocks Threads
2013 Bengals
2012 Dolphins



How Can I Watch Hard Knocks?
Unfortunately the only way to view the show legally is through an HBO subscription. The NFL Network will occasionally rebroadcast old episodes, but the Falcons season probably won't show up there until 2015. You may be able to find a stream, but I'm pretty sure it is a bannable offense to post it in this thread. If the mods approve I can add one to the OP.

:siren:Streams have been approved by the mods:siren:
I found one HBO stream so far, but no guarantee that Hard Knocks will be shown at 7PM PST, or even at all, since the stream is clearly not American.
http://www.stream2watch.me/live-tv/hbo-live-stream

I'll keep the OP updated so if Falcons fans and Fiz have anything to add, like actual write ups for Dimitroff and company, I'll put them in the OP.

Chichevache fucked around with this message at 01:41 on Aug 6, 2014

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Grittybeard
Mar 29, 2010

Bad, very bad!

Damnit now I'm pissed off all over again that Spoon won't be around. Also totally unsurprised Matt Ryan sits around the Falcons facility watching family feud.

Athanatos
Jun 7, 2006

Est. 1967
Starts this Tuesday, August 5th 10pm EST.

Chichevache
Feb 17, 2010

One of the funniest posters in GIP.

Just not intentionally.

Grittybeard posted:

Damnit now I'm pissed off all over again that Spoon won't be around. Also totally unsurprised Matt Ryan sits around the Falcons facility watching family feud.

Yeah, the video is a bit out of date (Burner Turner), but Weatherspoon is such a fun and pleasant guy that I had to add it. Most of my opinions of the Falcons are negative, but he really brought some humanity to the team.

RIP Gonzo and Decoud
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldeDg8aG7Bc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvBt0Kb_moM

pigdog
Apr 23, 2004

by Smythe

Chichevache posted:

How Can I Watch Hard Knocks?
Unfortunately the only way to view the show legally is through an HBO subscription. The NFL Network will occasionally rebroadcast old episodes, but the Falcons season probably won't show up there until 2015. You may be able to find a stream, but I'm pretty sure it is a bannable offense to post it in this thread. If the mods approve I can add one to the OP.

For what it's worth, my NFL GamePass newsletter said this year's and also last years' Hard Knocks episodes would be viewable from there this season, at least with some packages.

Grittybeard
Mar 29, 2010

Bad, very bad!
It seems like the SAS mods used to be fine with HBO streams as long as it wasn't a PPV event, but that might have changed (or I could be remembering wrong).

dont hate the playa
May 12, 2009
I love the Falcons and don't really care too much if others find them bland. Maybe that will change for some after hard knocks. In the past the Falcons have been relatively strict on who they drafted based on character. I think this past year has seen a shift in that idea with an emphasis on getting "tougher."

For example here is about the meanest thing I have ever heard Julio Jones say. For him this is the equivalent of telling Richard Sherman to go suck a dick.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ1ki3GFUAc

Some more videos.


Julio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uosTUGDIdx0

William Moore
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfLeM5I0wsw

Jacquizz Rodgers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJqAdFDnLfc

dont hate the playa fucked around with this message at 21:18 on Aug 2, 2014

Chichevache
Feb 17, 2010

One of the funniest posters in GIP.

Just not intentionally.

Claw Massage posted:

I love the Falcons and don't really care too much if others find them bland.

Matt Ryan makes Russell Wilson looked like Andre Reed.

Alfred P. Pseudonym
May 29, 2006

And when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss goes 8-8

This season is gonna get way more interesting when the Falcons fall victim to the impending Ebola outbreak in Atlanta.

No Butt Stuff
Jun 10, 2004

Can't believe I forgot about the shithead, Prince.

Ehud
Sep 19, 2003

football.

My favorite moment from our Hard Knocks season was Matt Moore taunting Tannehill about not knowing the divisions.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-hard-knocks/0ap2000000209162/Hard-Knocks-Tannehill-doesn-t-know-his-divisions

lol @ Matt Moore cheesing to the camera

Hard Knocks is a good show and even if you think a team is boring you should watch it

Kalli
Jun 2, 2001



Grittybeard posted:

It seems like the SAS mods used to be fine with HBO streams as long as it wasn't a PPV event, but that might have changed (or I could be remembering wrong).

I suppose the boilerplate response of: I don't care about people linking streams, but probably best to stay away from like torrents / downloads.

Chichevache
Feb 17, 2010

One of the funniest posters in GIP.

Just not intentionally.

Ehud posted:



Hard Knocks is a good show and even if you think a team is boring you should watch it

I absolutely agree, I don't mean for the thread title to discourage people from watching the show, I just couldn't think of anything better. :effort: Half the fun of Hard Knocks is seeing the players off the field and realizing how cool some of these guys are. Last season's Bengals camp turned me into a James Harrison fanboy, even if I don't approve of his head hunting.

Edit:

Kalli posted:

I suppose the boilerplate response of: I don't care about people linking streams, but probably best to stay away from like torrents / downloads.

Sounds good to me. If someone finds a stream for it let me know and I will add it to the op.

Chichevache fucked around with this message at 02:45 on Aug 3, 2014

weird Asian candy
Aug 23, 2005

Ask me about how my football team's success determines my self worth, and how I wish I lived in New Orleans.
Nicely done on the OP, Chich.

Homerism aside, I actually think this is going to be a pretty entertaining season. The Mike Smith brand of football is safe and boring, but the Falcons have some characters that should make it fun. Sucks about Spoon, he really would have brought it up a notch with his personality and the DBlock sessions he was lead on.

I think I'm most excited to see Hageman wreck people, and to see Tice and Cox turn these bitches into "violent" players, which has been their mantra all offseason.

Chilichimp
Oct 24, 2006

TIE Adv xWampa

It wamp, and it stomp

Grimey Drawer
Steven Jackson injured his OTHER hammy, and now his health and durability are in loving question. He's expected to return week 1 and be the bell-cow back, but Devonta Freeman might be a rising star. Watch his progression closely if you give a gently caress.

Free Safety is a god drat graveyard. There is almost no one left on the market worth taking a shot on except Ed Reed who is pretty loving old. Dwight Lowery (our high risk/reward signing) was considered to be the favorite, but a stiff breeze gave him a concussion during the first scrimmage game of the year. His last concussion literally ended his season, so I doubt we'll be seeing much of him. Watch Dezmen Southward, if/when he returns, as he's a raw recruit who has a mild knee injury... all things point to him or Kemal Ishmel being the starter, if Lowery can't come back from this.

The Atlanta OL was the very literal worst offensive line in the NFL in 2013 (maybe 2nd worst behind Miami). Jon Asamoah is a loving beast, Jake Matthews is getting fuckloads of praise and by all accounts hasn't actually given up a "hit" on Matt Ryan all of camp thusfar. The right side of the line should be solid as a loving rock, so the more interesting things to watch there are Baker on the left and Hawley at center. Hawley and Konz are both going to be competing for the starting gig, although Konz performance in 2013 might mean it's Hawley's to lose regardless. Baker is an injury prone wreck, but an average tackle when healthy. Between Ryan Schraeder and Lamaar Holmes both looking good, (both pretty raw, but Holmes got a shitload of experience in 2013 looking pretty bad in the 2nd half of games) Baker might find himself flying a bench.

THERE IS NO PASS RUSH. There's a chance that the snake oil I've been getting sold on middle-weight guys like Massaquoi comes through this season, but outside of Mass stepping up and taking 10 or so, I don't think anyone else has a shot at contending for this extremely important role.

All signs point to 2nd round pick Ra'shede Hageman being a hard worker, but still raw. I doubt he cracks as a starter, but you could see him as the rotational guy on the right, behind Babineaux.

weird Asian candy
Aug 23, 2005

Ask me about how my football team's success determines my self worth, and how I wish I lived in New Orleans.
To add onto what Chili already posted, for me, the big storylines that should get the most airtime are this:

Matt Ryan/OLine - Like has been said, Atlanta's OL was an absolute monstrosity last year and Matt Ryan spent most of his time on his back. Bringing in Jon Asamoah and drafting Jake Matthews, along with the hiring of Mike Tice as OLine coach, the Falcons are trying to not only get nasty up front but also keep their franchise QB upright. The one play that sticks out from last year was when Matt Ryan scrambled to the right, slid, Kenny Vaccaro diving into him which resulted in Ryan hurting his hip and yet no members of the OLine stepped in to protect their QB. This won't happen this year under Tice's tutledge.

RBs - Stephen Jackson's first year in Atlanta was a bust plain and simple. Jaquizz Rogers is a good player, but is not a 3 down back, and Jason Snelling retired in the offseason. Atlanta drafted Devonta Freeman out of FSU, and there are mutterings that Freeman is actually pushing Jackson for starting minutes/snaps and that was before Jackson hurt his hamstring. Freeman should be a good one to follow on the show. He has a ton of upside, and is NFL ready right now.

Julio Jones - After breaking the same foot that he had a screw surgically implanted into after a previous break, the Falcons sorely need Julio to return to form. He is a top 3 WR when healthy, which has been hard to come by in his short career. Under Armor apparently made a cleat just for Julio to protect that foot, so I'm sure one of the focal points of the show will be his progression to getting back on the field.

Levine Toilolo - Can the giant ex-Stanford TE replace the gaping hole at TE that Tony Gonzalez left? By all accounts, he is already a better blocked than Gonzo, but how much will he be integrated into the offensive system? Rumors are the Falcons will use their TE's as blockers mainly, go with 3-4 WR sets, and just use their big TE's in the red zone.

DLine/3-4 Base/Cox - After a sub par defensive showing in 2013, all indicators point to the Falcons switching to a 3-4 base defense, which is more what Mike Nolan's specialty is than anything. The Falcons went out and beefed up their DLine through free agency and the draft by bringing in DT Paul Soliai from Miami, DE Tyson Jackson from Kansas City and drafting promising but raw DT Rashede Hageman. These signings, along with current solid players like Jonathan Babineaux and Corey Peters, should provide the Falcons with a stout run defense, freeing up the young linebackers to attack the QB. Travian Robertson has been having a monster training camp so far, I'd expect some screen time for him. Atlanta also went out and signed Bryan Cox as DLine coach in an effort to bring more violence to the line, which has been evident thusfar in camp. Hagemen recently punched an OLinemen and has since gone to the locker room with a hand injury.

Linebackers - The Falcons have an extremely young, and extremely intriguing linebacker core. Sean Weatherspoon was undoubtedly the heart an soul of the Defense, and he went out in the offseason with a torn achilles, most likely indicating his departure from the Falcons. Paul Worrilow played well in Spoon's stead last year, turning lots of heads, and has become the emotional leader and signal caller on this defense. He looks like he could be a special player for a long time. Another name that not a lot of people have probably heard of is Joplo Bartu, who came in to take over duties last year after Kroy Biermann went down early on in the season. Like Worrilow, Bartu also showed a lot of promise and should only be better in his second year. Osi Umenyiora has apparently dropped weight and looks better than he has in a while, and their rookie class of Prince Shembo, Marquis Spruill and Tyler Starr have reportedly had good camps thus far. I'd also suspect UDFA Jacques Smith also get a lot of screentime, as he has been reportedly been tearing up camp.

DBs - I would expect to see a lot on 2nd year players Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford, who were thrown to the fire their rookie years and played extremely well. Trufant may be a special corner, he is a very gifted athlete with great football instincts. Alford, to a lesser degree also played well and it looks like Atlanta found their starting corners for years to come out of the same draft. Keep an eye out for Dezmen Southward, who turned heads at the Senior Bowl (which the Falcons coaches were a part of). He is a physical freak, and should see the field sooner rather than later if newly added Dwight Lowery's brain can't stay unconcussed.

Special Teams - Devin Hester looks to bring a much needed jolt to one of the worse special teams in the league. I was down on the signing, until I realize Hester lead the league in KR yardage last year. If he can even be a shell of what he was with the Bears, it will be an improvement, and the Falcons now have a new toy in the best returnman in the history of the league. Soulja Boy should be loving awesome with the Dome crankin' and if/when he returns one that place is going to go nuts. Rumors are Hester has been putting some time in on offense as well as a #4 WR, which I hope does not turn into a thing.

The other player I would suspect you would see a lot of is UDFA WR Bernard Reedy. People have been going nuts over what this kid has been doing out on the practice field, making everyone look stupid and getting himself wherever he wants on the field. This kid may have played his way into a WR4 spot on the squad, letting Hester just focus on special teams and keeping him the gently caress away from the offense.

weird Asian candy fucked around with this message at 23:55 on Aug 3, 2014

BlindSite
Feb 8, 2009

Ehud posted:

My favorite moment from our Hard Knocks season was Matt Moore taunting Tannehill about not knowing the divisions.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-hard-knocks/0ap2000000209162/Hard-Knocks-Tannehill-doesn-t-know-his-divisions

lol @ Matt Moore cheesing to the camera

Hard Knocks is a good show and even if you think a team is boring you should watch it


The other part with Matt Moore when he was being told that Garard was going to start, Tanny be the main back up and him be relegated to the 3rd QB and his "yes sir, no sir" answer while his rage and disappointment simmered was incredible to watch. I felt so bad for him.

MJBuddy
Sep 22, 2008

Now I do not know whether I was then a head coach dreaming I was a Saints fan, or whether I am now a Saints fan, dreaming I am a head coach.
I loving hate the falcons.


Gonna watch every week and boo verbally the entire time.



But in reality the only team I follow anywhere near as closely as the Saints are the Falcons because I hate them, so I'll probably really enjoy this, especially for everyone getting upset when Julio's leg falls off in a pre-season game.

quote:

Bringing in Jon Asamoah and drafting Jake Matthews, along with the hiring of Mike Tice as OLine coach, the Falcons are trying to not only get nasty up front but also keep their franchise QB upright.

I know when I think "protect the quarterback" and go out hiring someone, I target the guy who I remember protecting Jay Cutler so well.

Can we just assume I inserted like 10 gifs that I found but are too large to host of the Bears O-Line letting people run past them and sacking Cutler without making contact (or looking at them, or moving in their direction, and definitely not yelling "poo poo JAY MOVE")? Or just watch any game from 2010-2012.

quote:

Special Teams - Devin Hester looks to bring a much needed jolt to one of the worse special teams in the league. I was down on the signing, until I realize Hester lead the league in KR yardage last year. If he can even be a shell of what he was with the Bears, it will be an improvement, and the Falcons now have a new toy in the best returnman in the history of the league. Soulja Boy should be loving awesome with the Dome crankin' and if/when he returns one that place is going to go nuts. Rumors are Hester has been putting some time in on offense as well as a #4 WR, which I hope does not turn into a thing.

It's a lot of shadow numbers, to be fair. Hester taking kicks out of the back of the endzone to the 20 isn't doing anything other than potentially opening a shot at a long gain, which is fine, but it has the risk of fumbles. Hester is good enough to generally get to the 20, so it's very low risk and pads a total yards stat sheet (Sproles set the all purpose yard record by having a decent year as a slot WR/RB and taking every punt and kickoff to the 20 instead of taking the fair catch). Now that kick-offs are closer, taking it out is a bit riskier for the typical returnman, so Hester's ability to still get to the 20 is more valuable (Courtney Roby, who Atlanta signed and is basically a D version of Hester that the Saints had, in that he returned kicks and played special teams but was officially a #4 WR and wasn't very good at it, had similar numbers to Hester in 09-10 because everyone could take it out of the endzone then). Hester is probably a pure upside player on the field, but his stats are mostly worthless because of the hidden cost/value in taking the ball out of the endzone at all. Instead, I'd just look at his big gain rates vs his salary to figure out if he's worth it. He'll get the whole year no problem, save injury.

Other than that, pretty solid overview. Grantland also has a great piece on the team: http://grantland.com/features/atlanta-falcons-matt-ryan-2014-nfl-preview/

I hope the team goes 4-12 happy football everyone.

Doppelganger
Oct 11, 2002

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
Walton Goggins is an interesting take. I've always thought Matty Ice looks like a cross between Billy Bob Thornton and David Hornsby from Always Sunny.

A.o.D.
Jan 15, 2006

The Suffering of the Succotash.

Chichevache posted:


Thomas Dimitroff: General Manager



Game of Thrones joke goes here.

Chilichimp
Oct 24, 2006

TIE Adv xWampa

It wamp, and it stomp

Grimey Drawer

MJBuddy posted:

I know when I think "protect the quarterback" and go out hiring someone, I target the guy who I remember protecting Jay Cutler so well.

Can we just assume I inserted like 10 gifs that I found but are too large to host of the Bears O-Line letting people run past them and sacking Cutler without making contact (or looking at them, or moving in their direction, and definitely not yelling "poo poo JAY MOVE")? Or just watch any game from 2010-2012.

Yeah, the thinking is... that Tice was awesome when he was the OL coach for the Vikings and the Line in Chicago was improving before he was promoted to OC in Chicago, which proved to be his undoing. His successes might have caused him to be promoted ahead of his abilities.

Only one way to find out... Atlanta is hoping we get the Vikings Tice.

edit: Haha, Tice facts,

Wikipedia posted:

He played tight end in the National Football League from 1981 to 1995 with the Seattle Seahawks, Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings.
During Mike's time with Seattle, his teammates referred to his eating style as "Mike Tice's Lunchout" in a humorous parody of the then popular video game, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!

That's funny because

Chilichimp fucked around with this message at 13:39 on Aug 4, 2014

MJBuddy
Sep 22, 2008

Now I do not know whether I was then a head coach dreaming I was a Saints fan, or whether I am now a Saints fan, dreaming I am a head coach.

Chilichimp posted:

Yeah, the thinking is... that Tice was awesome when he was the OL coach for the Vikings and the Line in Chicago was improving before he was promoted to OC in Chicago, which proved to be his undoing. His successes might have caused him to be promoted ahead of his abilities.

Only one way to find out... Atlanta is hoping we get the Vikings Tice.

edit: Haha, Tice facts,


That's funny because



I'm not sure if that's true though.

I think the sympathetic take is that when he was O Line coach they were playing martyball and that system is "gently caress the QB" and once he was promoted to OC they switched to Tice ball, obviously, and the line went from fighting for the worst in the league to just not very good.

Chilichimp
Oct 24, 2006

TIE Adv xWampa

It wamp, and it stomp

Grimey Drawer

MJBuddy posted:

I'm not sure if that's true though.

I think the sympathetic take is that when he was O Line coach they were playing martyball and that system is "gently caress the QB" and once he was promoted to OC they switched to Tice ball, obviously, and the line went from fighting for the worst in the league to just not very good.

Well, as I said, there's only one way to find out... and that's to watch the line perform in 2014. Knock on wood, but there's really no getting worse. They were loving awful in 2013.

Moreso than Tice, I'm glad to get Matthews and Asamoah who are instant and huge upgrades on the right and I'm hoping for a healthy Baker. If those 3 things happen, the O Line should go back to average/above average. And all joking aside, Matt Ryan is loving incredible and with an above average O Line and a healthy Julio Jones... watch the gently caress out, NFC South, because the birds are going to run up some points on you.

Our defense is a sieve, though, so the Saints are probably still going to lolstomp the Birds in the Superdome.

weird Asian candy
Aug 23, 2005

Ask me about how my football team's success determines my self worth, and how I wish I lived in New Orleans.

MJBuddy posted:

I loving hate the falcons.


Gonna watch every week and boo verbally the entire time.



But in reality the only team I follow anywhere near as closely as the Saints are the Falcons because I hate them, so I'll probably really enjoy this, especially for everyone getting upset when Julio's leg falls off in a pre-season game.


I know when I think "protect the quarterback" and go out hiring someone, I target the guy who I remember protecting Jay Cutler so well.

Can we just assume I inserted like 10 gifs that I found but are too large to host of the Bears O-Line letting people run past them and sacking Cutler without making contact (or looking at them, or moving in their direction, and definitely not yelling "poo poo JAY MOVE")? Or just watch any game from 2010-2012.


It's a lot of shadow numbers, to be fair. Hester taking kicks out of the back of the endzone to the 20 isn't doing anything other than potentially opening a shot at a long gain, which is fine, but it has the risk of fumbles. Hester is good enough to generally get to the 20, so it's very low risk and pads a total yards stat sheet (Sproles set the all purpose yard record by having a decent year as a slot WR/RB and taking every punt and kickoff to the 20 instead of taking the fair catch). Now that kick-offs are closer, taking it out is a bit riskier for the typical returnman, so Hester's ability to still get to the 20 is more valuable (Courtney Roby, who Atlanta signed and is basically a D version of Hester that the Saints had, in that he returned kicks and played special teams but was officially a #4 WR and wasn't very good at it, had similar numbers to Hester in 09-10 because everyone could take it out of the endzone then). Hester is probably a pure upside player on the field, but his stats are mostly worthless because of the hidden cost/value in taking the ball out of the endzone at all. Instead, I'd just look at his big gain rates vs his salary to figure out if he's worth it. He'll get the whole year no problem, save injury.

Other than that, pretty solid overview. Grantland also has a great piece on the team: http://grantland.com/features/atlanta-falcons-matt-ryan-2014-nfl-preview/

I hope the team goes 4-12 happy football everyone.

To be fair, when I said protecting the quarterback I more meant not letting players get cheap shots on their quarterback without retaliation. He has reference many times on emphasizing violence and punishment, whether that translates to actual production who knows. Even Arthur Blank has made references to their softness in previous years and them needing to become more tough in the trenches. Also, Mike Tice the OC was pretty laughable and did a horrendous job. Mike Tice the OLine coach, took a horrendous group of patch work linemen and actually made them decent-ish. The talent Atlanta has on the line is much better than what Tice had to work with in Chicago.

Hester is an upgrade simply because Atlanta hasn't had a good return man since Weems left years ago. I have seen every Bear game for many, many years and I have seen Hester running more horizontally than vertically and it usually ends badly for him. Hopefully they emphasize him planting his foot and heading up field like he did in the old days.

Thanks for the link to grantland, I'll check it out! All BS aside, I just hope it's a good, healthy season for everyone and we can see who the better team is just by play and not by injury.

MJBuddy
Sep 22, 2008

Now I do not know whether I was then a head coach dreaming I was a Saints fan, or whether I am now a Saints fan, dreaming I am a head coach.
Atlanta's defense is weird in that the pass rush is bad but if they get any variance at all their front seven will have a good game. They're not built to pass rush worth a drat so if they can get a rush it's house money. Their LBs are very weak sans-spoon and their CBs could end up being good (though releasing Asante still feels dumb, injury prone and all) because they played very well for rookies, and yeah the safeties are a problem. Might not be a problem in the NFCS in general if Cam can't get better at passing and who knows what Tampa will become this year, but if they can throw it up to VJax and Evans I'm not sure how Atlanta responds. But the line looks good for creating a wall.

Offense could be insane or horrible depending on Juilio's foot. I feel like the Roddy re-up is ill timed and it's a lot of dead money to carry into 2016 with an old WR (whose production really hasn't dropped off as much as it should have).

I hope that backfires.

Chilichimp
Oct 24, 2006

TIE Adv xWampa

It wamp, and it stomp

Grimey Drawer
I mean... Atlanta has it's roster problems, and they haven't really addressed them all.

gently caress Mickey Loomis forever for matching the Bush deal.

Josh Lyman
May 24, 2009


The Falcons stay at the Georgia Tech hotel the night before home games, including the preseason.

PhotoVideobomb opportunities abound.

weird Asian candy
Aug 23, 2005

Ask me about how my football team's success determines my self worth, and how I wish I lived in New Orleans.

MJBuddy posted:

Atlanta's defense is weird in that the pass rush is bad but if they get any variance at all their front seven will have a good game. They're not built to pass rush worth a drat so if they can get a rush it's house money. Their LBs are very weak sans-spoon and their CBs could end up being good (though releasing Asante still feels dumb, injury prone and all) because they played very well for rookies, and yeah the safeties are a problem. Might not be a problem in the NFCS in general if Cam can't get better at passing and who knows what Tampa will become this year, but if they can throw it up to VJax and Evans I'm not sure how Atlanta responds. But the line looks good for creating a wall.

Offense could be insane or horrible depending on Juilio's foot. I feel like the Roddy re-up is ill timed and it's a lot of dead money to carry into 2016 with an old WR (whose production really hasn't dropped off as much as it should have).

I hope that backfires.

For sure they did not address the pass rush whatsoever. No argument there. I think the argument is in that switching to a 3-4, they have the big bodies up front to clog the holes so their linebackers can go nuts, pin their ears back and attack the QB. It's the first season they will be attempting this, so I will reserve judgement until I see how it actually looks on the field. I feel like they could be really good, and also really bad. The switch worked for the Saints in record time, I'm not expecting that because they have better talent, but there is precedence for a quick turnaround.

I think the offense will return to one of the best in the league. Julio looks great, feels great, and with him and Roddy both coming in healthy, they should get back to one of the top wr duo's in the league.

Chilichimp
Oct 24, 2006

TIE Adv xWampa

It wamp, and it stomp

Grimey Drawer
I hope Bab's can be his slippery dick self and get into the backfield and cause some loving sacks/TFL like he did in 2012.

He's old though, and likely just starting while Hageman gets some more polish. If Hageman can pull his poo poo together, we might have the solution to the pass rush already on the roster, but... that's just wishful thinking for next year, and isn't likely to happen in the current season.

If Hageman gets 5 sacks in 2014, I will buy his loving Jersey.

If he gets 10, I'm buying one for Shath Hole too.

Doppelganger
Oct 11, 2002

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

Chilichimp posted:

I mean... Atlanta has it's roster problems, and they haven't really addressed them all.

gently caress Mickey Loomis forever for matching the Bush deal.
What's the story there?

weird Asian candy
Aug 23, 2005

Ask me about how my football team's success determines my self worth, and how I wish I lived in New Orleans.

Chilichimp posted:

If Hageman gets 5 sacks in 2014, I will buy his loving Jersey.

If he gets 10, I'm buying one for Shath Hole too.

Wooooooo! Toxx that mother fucker! :)

dont hate the playa
May 12, 2009

Doppelganger posted:

What's the story there?

Falcons were in need of a safety, any safety, so they tried to sign Bush from the Saints. Falcons fans got excited because the Saints looked cap strapped as usual. Saints still were able to match the offer.

Chilichimp
Oct 24, 2006

TIE Adv xWampa

It wamp, and it stomp

Grimey Drawer

Doppelganger posted:

What's the story there?

Bush was a RFA this season and Atlanta needed a Safety and offered him a modest contact which he accepted. It was assumed that after the Bryd deal you wouldn't want Bush anymore and would let him slip for a modest offer (especially with the cap problems in NO and the Jimmy Graham ruling still pending at the time).

Loomis matched the contract and Rafael Bush is going to be your back-up FS, likely playing in big-nickel packages for 2.8 mill/year for 2 years.

It really kind of ruined an otherwise pretty awesome off-season for Atlanta. Rafael Bush was stashed on Atlanta's practice squad out of college, but Denver hired him out, and then he went to the Saints while Atlanta believed Thomas DeCoud wasn't poo poo. Now here we are. Probably starting either a 7th round pick from 2013, or a 4th round, raw recruit from 2014... The Dragon is going to be unleashed on Atlanta a whole loving lot.

MJBuddy
Sep 22, 2008

Now I do not know whether I was then a head coach dreaming I was a Saints fan, or whether I am now a Saints fan, dreaming I am a head coach.

Chilichimp posted:

Bush was a RFA this season and Atlanta needed a Safety and offered him a modest contact which he accepted. It was assumed that after the Bryd deal you wouldn't want Bush anymore and would let him slip for a modest offer (especially with the cap problems in NO and the Jimmy Graham ruling still pending at the time).

Loomis matched the contract and Rafael Bush is going to be your back-up FS, likely playing in big-nickel packages for 2.8 mill/year for 2 years.

It really kind of ruined an otherwise pretty awesome off-season for Atlanta. Rafael Bush was stashed on Atlanta's practice squad out of college, but Denver hired him out, and then he went to the Saints while Atlanta believed Thomas DeCoud wasn't poo poo. Now here we are. Probably starting either a 7th round pick from 2013, or a 4th round, raw recruit from 2014... The Dragon is going to be unleashed on Atlanta a whole loving lot.

Ryan ran 3+ safeties almost the entirety of last year with Bush/Vaccaro/Harper so he absolutely wanted a decent #3 safety, especially after Vac and Harper both left injured at one point last year and depth was so important.

Saints were a 3-4 in name, but we ran out of a base nickel the entire season because our OLBs all died in pre-season.

Chilichimp
Oct 24, 2006

TIE Adv xWampa

It wamp, and it stomp

Grimey Drawer
Base big-nickel is baller as gently caress, apparently.

MJBuddy
Sep 22, 2008

Now I do not know whether I was then a head coach dreaming I was a Saints fan, or whether I am now a Saints fan, dreaming I am a head coach.

Chilichimp posted:

Base big-nickel is baller as gently caress, apparently.

Apparently it is when you've got two pro bowl DE/OLBs and safeties that can shift in and out of the box and coverage.

We ran a 3-5 against run heavy teams but absolutely could not deal with the play action pass the entire year as a result.

Doppelganger
Oct 11, 2002

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

Chilichimp posted:

Bush was a RFA this season and Atlanta needed a Safety and offered him a modest contact which he accepted. It was assumed that after the Bryd deal you wouldn't want Bush anymore and would let him slip for a modest offer (especially with the cap problems in NO and the Jimmy Graham ruling still pending at the time).

Loomis matched the contract and Rafael Bush is going to be your back-up FS, likely playing in big-nickel packages for 2.8 mill/year for 2 years.

It really kind of ruined an otherwise pretty awesome off-season for Atlanta. Rafael Bush was stashed on Atlanta's practice squad out of college, but Denver hired him out, and then he went to the Saints while Atlanta believed Thomas DeCoud wasn't poo poo. Now here we are. Probably starting either a 7th round pick from 2013, or a 4th round, raw recruit from 2014... The Dragon is going to be unleashed on Atlanta a whole loving lot.
Oh, I remember that. Thought you meant Reggie Bush and I didn't know what the gently caress.

I'm a doofus!

TasmanianX
Jan 7, 2009

Just Kick 'Em

Alfred P. Pseudonym posted:

This season is gonna get way more interesting when the Falcons fall victim to the impending Ebola outbreak in Atlanta.

I'm on the ground floor here. But the jokes on you, Atlanta has the serum and we aren't sharing.

FizFashizzle
Mar 30, 2005







TasmanianX posted:

I'm on the ground floor here. But the jokes on you, Atlanta has the serum and we aren't sharing.

There's a sick irony that a contingency plan for Ebola in atlanta likely involves firebombing it.

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weird Asian candy
Aug 23, 2005

Ask me about how my football team's success determines my self worth, and how I wish I lived in New Orleans.
Tonight's the night, folks! Set those dvr's to record, episode 1 airs tonight at 10 EST. :toot:

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