An Atlanta Falcons Mock Offseason

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May 8, 2010; Flowery Branch, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff watches the action from the sideline at the Falcons mini camp held at the Falcons Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-US PRESSWIRE

I have seen a variety of these type of posts on various forums and websites, so I thought it was about time we got into the mix. The basic idea of these is to have fun predicting every aspect of the off-season from the use of the the franchise tag all the way through to the draft. There are infinite combinations to this and i expect you will disgaree with me on some of the points. Tell me where you disagree and post your own mock offseason in the comments section.

So before i get started pretending i am Thomas Dimitroff we need to know how much cap space we have. According to ESPN’s John Clayton via Pat Y’s NFC South blog the Falcons have $30.6 million in cap space this year and i will aim to get our team assembled under the cap. For convenience i will average the contract evenly over the years. In practice this doesn’t always happen but would get to complicated for me otherwise. We start with our own free agents.

Resign

CB Brent Grimes – Via the franchise tag – $10.6 million
LB Curtis Lofton – Signs for 6 years, $36 million. $6 million a year.
DE/OLB John Abraham – Signs for 2 years, $6 million. $3 million a year.
FS Thomas DeCoud – Signs for 3 years, $4.5 million. $1.5 million a year.
FS James Sanders – Signs for 2 years, $3 million. $1.5 million year.
CB Kelvin Hayden – Signs 1 year, $1 million.
C Todd McClure – Signs for 2 year, $2 million.
RB Jason Snelling – Signs for 1 year, $1 million.
LB Mike Peterson – Signs for 1 year, $1 million.

Leaves

WR Harry Douglass
WR Eric Weems
DE Kroy Biermann
QB Chris Redman

Salary Cap Casualties – Cut from current roster

FB Ovie Mughelli – Save $3 million on the cap
LT Sam Baker – Save $2 million on the cap
DT Jonathon Babineaux – Save $4 million against the cap.

So heading into the free agent period the Falcons have $11 million in cap space.

Free Agents

LT Marcus McNeill (Assuming his release from San Diego) – 2 years $4 million. $2 million a season.
DT Paul Soliai – Signs for 3 years, $15 million. $5 million a year.

Those signings would leave $4 million to fill out the roster with a few camp bodies and enough to sign our draft picks.

Draft

2nd Round (55th overall) - Clemson TE Dwayne Allen – If available will be a great selection and be the heir apparent to Tony Gonzalez.

3rd Round (96th overall) - Oklahoma DE/OLB Frank Alexander – A dangerous pass rush specialist that would be very dangerous in a 3-4 or 4-3 scheme.

5th Round - LSU G Will Blackwell – Adds another competitor into the interior line battle. Played on a strong physical SEC powerhouse.

6th Round - Southern Miss QB Austin Davis – A nice developmental prospect that could become a real nice backup to Ryan. Has plenty of arm strength to fit into Koetter’s vertical passing game.

7th Round - Alabama WR Marquis Maze – His injury history will drop him down draft boards but could become a steal and would replace Weems on the roster as a WR and PR.

So after all these changes let’s take a look at what the depth chart would look like.

Depth Chart

QB – Matt Ryan / Austen Davis / John Parker Wilson

RB – Michael Turner / Jacquizz Rodgers / Jason Snelling

FB – Jason Snelling / Mike Cox

WR – Roddy White / Julio Jones / Kerry Meier / Marquis Maze / Kevin Cone

TE – Tony Gonzalez / Dwayne Allen / Michael Palmer

LT – Marcus McNeill / Will Svitek

LG – Justin Blalock / Will Blackwell

C – Todd McClure / Joe Hawley

RG – Mike Johnson / Joe Hawley / Will Blackwell / Garrett Reynolds

RT – Tyson Clabo / Will Svitek / Garrett Reynolds

LE – Ray Edwards / Lawrence Sidbury / Cliff Matthews

DT – Paul Soliai / Peria Jerry

DT – Corey Peters / Vance Walker

RE – John Abraham / Frank Alexander

ROLB – Sean Weatherspoon / Spencer Adkins

MLB – Curtis Lofton / Akeem Dent

LOLB – Stephen Nicholas / Mike Peterson

RCB – Dunta Robinson / Chris Owens / Darrin Walls

LCB – Brent Grimes / Kelvin Hayden / Dominique Franks

FS – Thomas DeCoud / James Sanders

SS – William Moore / James Sanders / Shann Shillinger

KR – Marquis Maze / Jacquizz Rodgers

PR – Dominique Franks / Marquis Maze

K – Matt Bryant

P – Matt Bosher

For those who are interested, here is the 3-4 look for the defensive personnel.

RDE - Corey Peters / Peria Jerry

NT – Paul Soliai / Corey Peters

LDE – Ray Edwards / Vance Walker

ROLB – John Abraham / Frank Alexander / Spencer Adkins

ILB – Curtis Lofton / Sean Weatherspoon / Stephen Nicholas / Akeem Dent / Mike Peterson

LOLB – Lawrence Sidbury / Frank Alexander / Cliff Matthews

I am sure many of you will disagree with aspects of this. Tell us what you think and what you would do differently by sticking your thoughts in the comments box below.

Greg Huseth

I think McNeil would be a bargain/well worth our money at even $4 million a year. We need that LT position solidified.
Greg Huseth

I think McNeil would be a bargain/well worth our money at even $4 million a year. We need that LT position solidified.
okfine69

Ok, you made me think, do research,and even math,but this is what I came up with.
Resign

Curtis Lofton 6yr 36mil. 6
James Sanders 2yr 3mil 1.5
Kelvin Hayden 1yr 1 mil
Todd McClure 1yr 1mil
Mike Peterson 1yr 1mil
Kroy Bierman 2yr 3mil 1.5

Leaves
Harry Douglass
Eric Weems
Chris Redman
Brent Grimes
John Abraham(retires)
Thomas DeCoud
Jason Snelling

Cap cuts
Sam Baker 2mil
Ovie Mughelli 3mil

Free Agents
Lt Marcus McNeil 2yr 4mil 2
Wr Anthony Gonzalez 2yr 2mil 1
De Mario Williams 4yr 60mil 15

Draft
2 CB Brandon Boykin cover skills, ball hog,playmaker
3 TE Ladarius Green pass catching te(we will teach him to block)
5 FS Tramaine Thomas likes to get his hands on the ball
6 FB Emil Igweagu athletic with good hands could really fit this offence
7 WR T.J. Graham small,quik,fast,seperates(wes welker?)and a great return guy,this guy could be a steal in the slot

Hey, I gave it a shot but its all fun anyway
okfine69

Ok, you made me think, do research,and even math,but this is what I came up with.
Resign

Curtis Lofton 6yr 36mil. 6
James Sanders 2yr 3mil 1.5
Kelvin Hayden 1yr 1 mil
Todd McClure 1yr 1mil
Mike Peterson 1yr 1mil
Kroy Bierman 2yr 3mil 1.5

Leaves
Harry Douglass
Eric Weems
Chris Redman
Brent Grimes
John Abraham(retires)
Thomas DeCoud
Jason Snelling

Cap cuts
Sam Baker 2mil
Ovie Mughelli 3mil

Free Agents
Lt Marcus McNeil 2yr 4mil 2
Wr Anthony Gonzalez 2yr 2mil 1
De Mario Williams 4yr 60mil 15

Draft
2 CB Brandon Boykin cover skills, ball hog,playmaker
3 TE Ladarius Green pass catching te(we will teach him to block)
5 FS Tramaine Thomas likes to get his hands on the ball
6 FB Emil Igweagu athletic with good hands could really fit this offence
7 WR T.J. Graham small,quik,fast,seperates(wes welker?)and a great return guy,this guy could be a steal in the slot

Hey, I gave it a shot but its all fun anyway
BloggingDirty

@okfine69 Nice work! Splashing the cash on Mario Williams would be exciting!
BloggingDirty

@okfine69 Nice work! Splashing the cash on Mario Williams would be exciting!
MattEdwards2

Okfine69 I agree with most things u said except for getting rid of grimes Decoud and instead of signing Anthony Gonzalez I think we should pick up randy moss because he has the height and experience but everything else seems good and for the prices on moss would be maybe a couple million for a couple years that’s it but for grimes we can go 5 years around 40 million and Decoud 3 years 10 million or maybe a bit less 9 million for the three years what do u think
MattEdwards2

I also really hope we pick up Mario Williams that should be our main focus first
MattEdwards2

Okfine69 I agree with most things u said except for getting rid of grimes Decoud and instead of signing Anthony Gonzalez I think we should pick up randy moss because he has the height and experience but everything else seems good and for the prices on moss would be maybe a couple million for a couple years that’s it but for grimes we can go 5 years around 40 million and Decoud 3 years 10 million or maybe a bit less 9 million for the three years what do u think
MattEdwards2

I also really hope we pick up Mario Williams that should be our main focus first
okfine69

MattEdwards2 I agree Randy be a better fit at alow price(he didn’t say he wanted to play again until after I did my mock). As far as DeCoud and Grimes, this is why I don’t have them back.
DeCoud is simply not a very good safety, I feel he has the talent level of a good backup. You can pay a good backup safety that much even if you are forced to start him(though I personally think sanders is a better safety).
Grimes is a cap casualty (if you saw my comment on “Grimes set to be franchised?” You know how much I love him). We don’t have enough to sign him,Lofton,and Williams. I think when you consider pay, skill level, and team need those two should take priority over Grimes.
okfine69

MattEdwards2 I agree Randy be a better fit at alow price(he didn’t say he wanted to play again until after I did my mock). As far as DeCoud and Grimes, this is why I don’t have them back.
DeCoud is simply not a very good safety, I feel he has the talent level of a good backup. You can pay a good backup safety that much even if you are forced to start him(though I personally think sanders is a better safety).
Grimes is a cap casualty (if you saw my comment on “Grimes set to be franchised?” You know how much I love him). We don’t have enough to sign him,Lofton,and Williams. I think when you consider pay, skill level, and team need those two should take priority over Grimes.
Greg Huseth

Im not sure we want Randy Moss, the player released by three teams in the span of one year, a potential locker room cancer, who has not played in a full year. Just doesn’t make sense.
Greg Huseth

Im not sure we want Randy Moss, the player released by three teams in the span of one year, a potential locker room cancer, who has not played in a full year. Just doesn’t make sense.
MattEdwards2

Moss would give us a third receiver especially if Harry Douglas leaves and his height and deep threat ability would be a great addition and with roddy white, Julio jones, tony Gonzalez, and randy moss with Matt Ryan passing the ball is just way too dangerous and we could get him for a very low cost
MattEdwards2

Moss would give us a third receiver especially if Harry Douglas leaves and his height and deep threat ability would be a great addition and with roddy white, Julio jones, tony Gonzalez, and randy moss with Matt Ryan passing the ball is just way too dangerous and we could get him for a very low cost