August 9, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Bradie Ewing (34) is carted off the field after an injury in the first half against the Baltimore Ravens at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-US PRESSWIRE

Bad news out of Flowery Branch and the Atlanta Falcons. In his first NFL game action, rookie fullback Bradie Ewing, projected by many to be the starter (if fullbacks even start anymore in the NFL) for the 2012 Atlanta Falcons. Ewing was in on a special teams play when he suffered a knee injury that head coach Mike Smith declared would keep Ewing out for the entire season.

This is certainly not good news, as the Falcons need all of the blocking they can get, especially when trying to convert short yardage situations. The Falcons drafted Ewing with the express purpose of being able to convert those short yardage situations, especially with running downs.

We have to now face reality, and reality is that the job is certainly in the hands of Mike Cox. He was the fullback last year, and he took over when Ovie Mughelli went down with an injury. Cox isn’t a huge blocker, and he isn’t overwhelmingly good at finding the right person to block, but there’s no doubt he’s serviceable. That’s not just me blowing smoke; serviceable in this case is being generous. I don’t expect the Falcons to use the fullback extensively anyways, but not having a very good one at disposal could be a problem.

December 5, 2010; Tampa, FL, USA; Atlanta Falcons fullback Ovie Mughelli (34) reacts with Atlanta Falcons offensive tackle Sam Baker (72) after he scored a touchdown during the first half of their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

Per a report I first heard from the AJC.com’s Jeff Schultz, the Atlanta Falcons have finally released veteran FB Ovie Mughelli. Mughelli was due more than $3Million against the 2012 salary cap, and obviously the Falcons have gotten a little wiser as to how to use that salary cap space. Now that the Falcons have cut him, they have an additional $3M to spend on free-agents or signing their rookies.

The writing has been on the wall for months. When looking at the Falcon’s salary cap situation, it was obvious that paying Mughelli $3M a year to play the FB position was not fiscally responsible. In a league where many teams don’t ever use a FB, the Falcons had more money wrapped up in the position than nearly any other team.

Things only got more clear when the people in the Falcons front office (including Thomas Dimitroff) decided to use a 5th round pick on Bradie Ewing. The fullback position does not require a tremendous amount of skill; his job is to smash defenders in the face and allow the runningbacks to make cuts off their blocks. The Falcons get Ewing, a guy with no NFL experience, but a guy who won’t be a tremendous dropoff from the production Mughelli brought. He will be as valuable a receiver as Mughelli was, and he can carry the ball nearly as effectively. Did I mention before that he is going to cost the Falcons a whole lot less? That certainly helps.

I think the Falcons were wise to cut Mughelli and free up additional salary cap space. With the Samuel deal and the restructuring of Justin Blalock’s deal, the Falcons had $4Million in cap space. With the release of Mughelli, the number is up to $7M. Granted, that is before the 2012 draftees are signed and given their money, but I imagine the final salary cap number after signing those players will be at least $3M. That would give the Falcons money to sign another free-agent (Marcus McNeill?) or to roll over into 2013 and create greater cap space in that season. It is sad to see Mughelli go, but I think that this is a business decision that is definitely better for the Falcons. His time here was good, but it was definitely time to move on from him. With Bradie Ewing, the Falcons finally can.

Dec 3, 2011; Jonesboro, AR, USA; Troy Trojans defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi (94) lines up against Arkansas State Red Wolves tight end Kedric Murry (85) at ASU Stadium. Arkansas State defeated Troy 45-14. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-US PRESSWIRE

There are very few players who are selected in the 5th round or beyond who become immediate starters, and this year’s crop of players isn’t much different. The Falcons draft picks from those rounds in 2012 don’t look much different.

With their first pick in the 5th round, the Falcons selected Bradie Ewing. He is a fullback from Wisconsin who did a whole heck of a lot of run blocking in his career as a Badger. He isn’t much of a receiving threat, but that’s not exactly the reason the Falcons drafted him. He is a backup plan at the FB position after this season. Ovie Mughelli isn’t getting any younger, and he is also a very expensive option at the position. Ewing is a very inexpensive player who will be able to bring all the different things Mughelli has to the table. I wouldn’t be completely surprised if he starts in 2012 and the Falcons release Mughelli depending on how Ewing performs in training camp. The position battle at FB will be interesting, as it has tremendous salary cap implications.

The second selection in the 5th round was Jonathan Massaquoi, a defensive end from Troy. He was very good in college, but his final season at Troy he turned in an average season. He was labelled by the guys from the NFL.com as a “tweener” meaning he is slightly small for the Defensive End position, but isn’t quick or athletic enough for the Outside Linebacker position in a 3-4. To make it quite clear, Massaquoi is not going to be a starter for the Falcons in 2012. He may never be a starter in the NFL. That being said, with his long arms and good strength, he brings a particular skill-set that could be invaluable in a rotation at D-End. I think he will be a similar player to Kroy Biermann; he will be effective on passing downs getting after the quarterback, but he will not be a 3-down type of player.

With their 6th round pick, the Falcons took Charles Mitchell, a safety from Mississippi State. Mitchell played corner in college before the coaching staff turned him into a safety. He has some ability from a coverage standpoint, but struggles covering man-to-man, and really isn’t exceptional in coverage. He is a hard hitter when running downhill in the run game, but even then, he’s nothing fantastic. The reason Atlanta took Mitchell is because he provides depth. Behind William Moore and Thomas DeCoud, there really isn’t much at the safety position of any consequence. Mitchell will provide emergency depth, but not much more.

Travian Robertson is a defensive lineman from South Carolina who was taken with the Falcons 7th-round compensatory pick. He is a far cry from a tremendous player, and he had a shocking lack of statistics to show from his time in college. He is, however, extremely strong and is the type of lineman who takes up blockers and frees up linebackers and other lineman to make plays or get to the ball-carrier. He can be stout at the point of attack, but he in and of himself does not make a lot of plays. Robertson could contribute something to the Falcons, but you will not be hearing his name in the same breath as Haloti Ngata.