D. Orlando Ledbetter has two great interview recaps of Atlanta Falcons Head Coach Mike Smith and General Manager Thomas Dimitroff discussing the evaluations of last years team, preparations for this years draft, and preparations for free agency. These were conducted at this years Scouting Combine.

Here are some bullet points from the Mike Smith interview:

Q: Could you talk about your evaluation of the defense, by front line, linebackers and secondary groups?

We did not play the pass as well as we’d like. It’s something that we definitely have to address. Statistically we were not close to where we need to be or want to be. I think that’s twofold. One, we address the pass rush and number two, is that we improve our secondary play. Those are areas that we definitely will want to address. I’m pleased with our young corners. Brent Grimes had six interceptions this season. Christopher Owens had an opportunity to play when our starter went down. I think that we have three young corners that can play and can continue to grow, but they are very, very young.

So really not an answer in there as to what they will be looking for in the first round of the upcoming draft. Although he did praise the Corners that we already have.

Q: In your division, it looks like Carolina is losing Julius Peppers. Could you talk about how it will be facing Carolina without him? And whether he might be a candidate to help your own pass rush?

A: Well, I can tell you this. Having Julius Peppers out of the NFC South will be a good thing. He’s been an outstanding player for a number of years. He’s a guy that you always have to be aware of and where he’s aligned. You always have to scheme to try to protect your quarterback.

Q: As far as, will you guys look at him?

A: (Smitty can’t answer and risk a tampering fine, but does a nice side-step). As far as this year’s free agent class, it is not as deep as usual.. There are not as many numbers. We’ll do our due diligence on every free agent that is available. We’ve been spending a lot of our offseason, not only on the personnel side but also with the coaching staff watching tape.

Obviously Smith can’t answer a direct question involving Peppers. It does sound as though they will be evaluating every possibility although Dimitroff’s answer on this question is a lot more detailed.

Now a couple of points from Thomas Dimitroff:

OPENING STATEMENT: How is everyone doing? This is my 21st combine and honestly I never get tired and continue to be ramped up by the thought of new and improving additions to our team. Going into 2010 for Atlanta, (there is) no question that we have a lot of work to do. We have a lot of . . . actually I think where we need the most improvement is in the side of consistency. We talked about that last year. That was the one element that I think was lacking across the board. There’s room for evaluation at every level. Myself included and we are looking forward to continuing to improve and this is a great place for us to start. So, with that, any questions? I’ll be happy to try to answer.

I like the fact that he sees consistency as one of this teams big issues as I think it has been a big problem.

Q: Are you all in a position to go after Julius Peppers?

A: When the 5^th comes around and we’re ready to focus on free agency, we’ll can really focus on it, we’ll be open to considering any possibilities. We’ll research it hard. That’s part of our jobs. We’ll look at all of the players that are of interest to us and who we deem as good fiscally responsible moves. That will be an important thing for us as a team.

Again kind of reiterates that they will concentrate on free agency once that period begins and evaluate everyone that they might be interested in. Being fiscally responsible has been a trademark of Dimitroff since he came to the Falcons and it will continue. When it comes to Peppers they will see what kind of offers get thrown his way.

ESPN.com has the updated draft order with the winners of the coin tosses:

INDIANAPOLIS — The order of the NFL draft’s first round was made official Friday, as the Jacksonville Jaguars won a tiebreaking coin toss with the Chicago Bears to earn the 10th pick for the April 22 selections.

That puts the Denver Broncos at No. 11, after Denver acquired the Bears’ first-round pick in the Jay Cutler-Kyle Orton trade.

The Tennessee Titans will pick 16th after winning their coin toss at the scouting combine with the Panthers, which gives the San Francisco 49ers the 17th pick after a trade with Carolina.

The Falcons will choose 19th and the Houston Texans 20th after Atlanta won its toss.

The draft’s first round will be held Thursday night, April 22, followed by Rounds 2-3 on Friday and Rounds 4-7 on Saturday.

Information from ESPN.com senior writer John Clayton was used in this report.

Link to ESPN Story

The off season machine is in full swing and here just to catch up  are some story lines that could directly or indirectly affect the Falcons:

Free Agents

• DE Julius Peppers – The biggest defensive free agent out there. He will be expensive but he is an impact player. We have heard the rumors in the past so it is natural for the Falcons to be rumored but ultimately I think the price tag will outweigh the production.

• CB Dunta Robinson – This guy is someone that I would love to see in a Falcons uniform but probably not at the price tag that it is going to cost. I think the Falcons will look at him but if last year’s negotiations with Dominique Foxworth prove anything its that the Falcons are not going to try and overpay for someone who may or may not be a #1 corner. I don’t see this one as likely.

• RB Ladanian Tomlinson – This would reunite the Turner and Tomlinson that was so successful in San Diego but this time it would result in a switch in roles. Not likely due to the price tag yet again.

• RB Bryan Westbrook – I am intrigued by Westbrook because he is such a good receiver. His career was basically everything that I hoped Jarious Norwood could become. I think Westbrook would thrive in a third down role. The question is injuries? Like Norwood he has been injured a lot and their are no guarantees that he could make it through a season. I do think though he would come a lot cheaper.

Draft:

• The coin flip between the Falcons and the Houston Texans for the 19th pick will occur today at the scouting combine. So the Falcons will know for sure where they are picking after today.

• The combine started yesterday and continues throughout the weekend.

• Rumors out of Falcons camp is that they will be scouring the combine scouting the top corner backs. There is a strong feeling that the Falcons will take a corner or a pass rushing Defensive End with their first pick.

Hello my name is Kris Willis and I am pleased to announce that I am the new lead blogger for Blogging Dirty. I am also lead blogger for the Atlanta Hawks blog Soaring Down South. I have been with the FanSided network for about two months and I appreciate the opportunity to take over blogging about the Falcons. I am looking for interactions from fans out there and look forward to getting into some good discussions.

There is a lot of things going on now as the Falcons prepare for the NFL draft and for Free Agency. We are going to drive right in with some potential players that they may be targeting in the draft or as free agents. With the scouting combine beginning today the off season is now in full swing and I have a lot of catching up to do. I am looking forward to the challenge.

Multiple sources are reporting that Pete Carroll will be announced as the new head coach of the Seattle Seahawks after the surprise firing of Jim Mora Jr.

 I am not going to go on about how I feel about Mora being fired and that it is something I am completely against but because of a statement I read today on ESPN.com: “Carroll was fully expected to be introduced by the Seahawks as early as Monday, assuming they comply with the Rooney Rule this weekend.”

 Now for those of you who don’t know what the Rooney Rule is… The Rooney Rule, established in 2003,^[1] requires National Football League teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operations opportunities. The rule is named for Dan Rooney, the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the chairman of the league’s diversity committee, and indirectly the Rooney family in general, due to the Steelers’ long history of giving African Americans opportunities to serve in team leadership roles. It is often cited as an example of affirmative action. This is from Wikipedia by the way.

 I am 100% for the Rooney Rule and I have to say that the statement above from ESPN.com is just kind of offensive to me. The article goes on to say that Leslie Frazier the Vikings defensive coordinator is a candidate to be interviewed but he is unwilling to do so if Carroll has already been promised the job. So, for this I say of course he does! What person wants to interview for a job if there is no chance of getting it?

 The Seahawks are a franchise that went from proud and well managed to something less than that over the last couple of years and this latest issue just solidifies my viewpoint.

 Now the Seahawks are not the only franchise that has gone through the motions to hire the guy they want and they won’t be the last. But I pose this question. Why do we have a rule if it is not being followed the way it should be?

  The best guy for the job is not always the guy who gets it but with so many good to great black coaches out there like Lovie Smith, Mike Tomlin, Raheem Morris and Mike Singletary it isn’t because of lack of talent. The NFL is at the end of the day an old boys club almost all rich older white men and the fact that at the end of the day the NFL is a business and blatant racism is bad for business.

  I ask myself why people would subject themselves to interviewing for jobs they know they have no chance of getting and then I think why does anyone ever do anything like that? job advancement is the answer and the possibility that they will finally have their ship come in and they will get their chance to head up their own NFL club.

                                              I want to hear from you. What do you think?