Mid-Season Falcons Grades – Linebackers

As the Falcons are on a bye this week, it seems like a good time to analyse how our Falcons have played so far this year. We will be going unit by unit on the team over the next week or so. Now is the turn of the Falcons Linebackers.

• OLB Sean Weatherspoon (A+) – Spoon has been terrific this year contributing to the Defensive effort, with 2 sacks and 60 tackles (5th in the NFL). The second year pro has shown exactly why the Falcons selected him 19th overall in 2010 and he continues to develop as a player and as a leader on this Defense. In my view he should be in the pro bowl this year, without any doubt. Regardless of his play, his spoon celebration dance deserves an A on its own.

• MLB Curtis Lofton (A) – Lofton and Spoon are forming a potential dominating pairing for years to come, similar to that of Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs. Lofton is great in the run game, and has got 64 tackles this year (3rd in the NFL). He has also got an INT on the year.
• OLB Stephen Nicholas (B+) – Nicholas may not be as strong a run defender as the first two, but he has been solid and has done a great job in covering the pass. One role he has filled this season, is that of spying a mobile QB. He was terrific against both the Eagles (Mike Vick) and Panthers (Cam Newton) limiting their opportunities to get out and make plays.
• LB Mike Peterson (B) – Although Mike is on the back end of his career, he is still providing a lot for this team. On special teams, he is always around the ball and when he gets his opportunity on Defense, he does not make mistakes. His leadership of this unit, must not be overlooked and he has proven, to be one of the best value free agent acquisitions, of the Mike Smith era.
• LB Akeem Dent (B-) – At this stage Dent is mostly a special teams ace. He forced a fumble against the Lions on a kickoff return that swung the momentum in the Falcons favor. I’m interested to see what the Falcons’ plans for the 3rd round pick are in the future.
• LB Spencer Adkins (C+) – Another primary special teams player. He has not had that many game changing plays but he is still a solid contributor to this team. I was impressed by how he played in the preseason, would not be opposed to see him getting more snaps on D.

It will be the turn of the Defensive Backs tomorrow. Check back to Blogging Dirty for that and more!