Blogging Dirty

Too Early for Predictions: Harry Douglas

Robert Stephens — Sun, 26 May 2013 03:43:47 +0000

October 7, 2012; Landover, MD, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Harry Douglas (83) runs with the ball against the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

I just got back from a long car ride from Florida and am feeling pretty tired. I wanted to do my predictions for Roddy today, but I’m really in a Harry Douglas kind of mood. I don’t usually hear a lot of love for the Falcon slot receiver. That’s probably because he is so severely overshadowed by all the receiving talent on the roster. With the best tight end of all time, two of the top five wide receivers in the league, and now two pass catching running backs, this guy can get forgotten about. In fact, he can catch a lot of heat by not really being on that level.

When it all comes down to it, Harry Douglas very well could be the number two guy on any given team. He could even be the number one guy on a few teams. He doesn’t run extremely precise routs and his hands aren’t suction cups, but he can beat defenders and he absolutely can come down with an important catch (see miracle catch against the raiders last year.) My point being he does his job, and he does it pretty damn well. But it is real hard to get great numbers with three great players in front of you.

Last year, HD had 38 receptions for 395 yards. That probably doesn’t rank very high amongst other team’s slot receiver, but it must be considered that most team’s slot guy is usually the second choice. Third if they have a good tight end. Considering the amount of targets, Harry Douglas wasn’t the third choice, or even the fourth choice. That’s right; four other players were targeted more than HD. Pulling out 400 yards and a touchdown as the team’s fifth receiver is still pretty impressive.

The Falcons do still love to pass and if they want to make another run to the superbowl, they need several players to step up. Douglas is one of those players. He doesn’t have to have superstar numbers, but if he can grow just a little bit, it could make another huge difference in the season. He’s young and he’s smart and I know he can, but how much of a chance will he get? With Jackson’s receiving ability, HD may even slip as the sixth choice for Matty Ice. I’m sure he’ll make the best of what he is given.

Look for him to make 30 Receptions and 350 yards, but 4 touchdowns. Atlanta loves misdirecting and I believe they use that in the red zone. I’ll bet on seeing 4 times throughout the season and once or twice in the playoffs where Matt Ryan drives down the field using Julio, Roddy, and Tony as if Harry never existed and surprise them with a wide open catch in the end zone.

Harry Douglas is much better than his numbers show. He needs to be planned against and if a team forgets about him, they will pay. Stats don’t tell the story of Harry Douglas. Any Falcons fan can tell you how much of an underrated game changer this guy can be.

How do you think this guy does next year?

I Love Vanilla, but not with my Football By Bobby G. Copperhead

Bobby G Copperhead — Sat, 25 May 2013 03:21:41 +0000

Ice cream and Cake but not Football. Vanilla is bad when it’s a description to Football.
“When a great team loses through complacency, it will constantly search for new and more intricate explanations to explain away defeat.” That was a quote from Pat Riley, but I wonder how many would have guessed Mike Mularkey ?
If the 2013 Atlanta Falcons are going to make the playoffs again this year and as all in Falcon nation hope win a ticket to the Super Bowl they will have to rise up in many area’s of play from a year ago, with a tougher schedule and some prime time match ups on slate. Even with a nice draft and of rumors of Seymour coming aboard I think the defense will be challenged from opening day each and every game.
If you look at the 2013 schedule it is set up with teams who own very good offenses and led by very good quarterbacks. Nolan and company this year may be a little better as we all hope, but just look at the 2012 December 9th game footage and realize a little better may not be enough to get Atlanta back to playing in January. Cam Newton threw for 287 yards and ran for 116 also. Carolina is not in par with a New England offense we see on Prime time Sunday night, a Rogers led squad in Lambeau or even close to the best of the west we met last January. If the defense gets a little better it will be because the offense has done the same.
The Atlanta Falcon offense was a solid unit last season, a headache for even the best defenses.
But how does the offense stray away from a previous owned habit of being predictable and too vanilla?
Tough to improve the side of the ball that gave us the fifth best quarterback in yardage, two pro bowl caliber receivers each with over 1,100 yards and a tight end who was fourth in touchdowns at that position in the league. The Atlanta offense was 7th in scoring for 2012, and it is nice to know that of the six in front of them the birds beat four of them (Saints, Skins, Giants and Broncos) and did not play Green Bay and New England but they will this year. Falcon Faithful will knowingly answer the question of how to improve the offense with the running game upgrade, and we all certainly hope so. An offense that can eat clock, get short yardage first downs, keep a pass rush at bay and mix the passing game the likes that the Falcons have will have a top shot at a ticket to the Bowl. Steven Jackson springs hope, Jaquizz may even be more dangerous this year, but success ultimately falls on the offensive line and Vanilla might be the flavor of the month. The O line position battles and play will be the preseason biggest task. Could it be so simple that the pieces fall in place early, Jackson and Jaquizz hit holes and consume time of play like the days of Turner the Burner ? Bradie Ewing comes in and becomes a star. Wish and hope and pray but only time will tell.
Dirk has to keep vanilla out of the playbook and inject a few second options if things don’t go as planned which happens a lot in all sports. The Birds best weapon is flight. We can improve even a super stellar unit with a few well laid schemes. The screen pass was introduced last season and can even get better with Jackson. I strongly suggest a serious preseason look at two tight end sets. The New England team that comes in week four uses it as their biggest weapon, and Atlanta has the talent and size at the position to certainly send a few red zone headaches at the defense. The Pats use the sets nearly all for pass, but checking the size of Toilolo and Coffman the Birds can shuffle in some runs, shuffle pass plays with the extra bulk as a two option call. Whether a war, video game or football season, you really can never have too many weapons. While on the subject of weapons, the slot has to improve as a real threat. H.D is a good receiver, is at prime age, but one touchdown in 2012 must improve. Backup Drew Davis is a little bigger, a little younger, had fifty less targets and caught as many touchdowns as H.D in 2012. I’d like to see a Smitty styled competition at the slot in preseason. It only takes some sprinkles and a few chopped nuts, maybe some chocolate syrup drizzle to make vanilla a whole different treat, and that’s no Mularkey.

Too Early for Predictions: Julio Jones

Robert Stephens — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:31:01 +0000

Dec 9, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) makes a catch in the second half at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Julio Jones is one of the most explosive young players in the NFL. After only two years as a pro, he secured his spot as one of the top receivers. I have had many debates on how good Julio Jones is. Most people try to compare him to A.J. Green and most are in agreement that Green is better. That’s just simply not true. Some people don’t want to put Julio as a top 5 receiver in the NFL. But I implore you to come up with five receivers that are legitimately better than Julio. Green, the one most commonly compared to Julio has more receiving yards. Of course he does. He’s the number one guy and the Bengals don’t have a lot of receiver behind him. Look past the receiving yards and you see that Julio leads him in just about every category. Throw to Julio as many times as Green is targeted and I guarantee you that Julio will be known as the better receiver with no argument.

I can really only think of two players in the entire NFL that can be thought of as better and that is Calvin Johnson and Roddy White. A case can be made for Andre Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald, but they are aging. Having two of the top five receivers in the NFL on one team and one of the best tight ends in the history of the NFL is great for a quarterback. But I digress; I just get so hyped up on these receivers.

Last year, Julio Jones caught 79 passes for 1,198 yards, 15.2 yards per catch and 10 touchdowns.

Those are impressive numbers for a sophomore season. Those are even more impressive for the number two receiving option for a quarterback. Even more impressive than that is that Matt Ryan has five reliable targets. Julio is progressing beautifully and will someday be a top pass catcher. He still needs a little work on his rout running, but we all see his capabilities and with a little work, that won’t even be an issue. Sometimes he does drop the occasional ball, but his hands are so great, that’s hardly a factor. He’s also one of the fastest guys on the roster and one of his biggest talents is just flat out beating a defender in a foot race.

Julio Jones is the future of Atlanta’s wide receivers. He’s making strides to becoming the number one option in Atlanta and even possibly the best receiver in the league at one point. But I don’t think it’ll be this year. I do, however, think he’ll make another push to being the go-to option. I’ll cut to the chase and predict another amazing season.

I believe that 2013 looks like this: 85 receptions at 15.3 yards per catch and 1,300 yards.

I think Roddy White will still have a slightly better season, but Julio is on his way to stardom.

What are your predictions?