“Dreamers often lie…”

We all like to sit around and dally in a solid, score-festing game of Madden every once in a while. Occasionally you may even fantasy draft your own team and stack one side of the ball with unreal athletes at the skill positions to where it is almost inevitable that you will score on every possession (if not every play). Could we ever see this sort of “dream team” in real life though? We have seen these “all-star” collabor players flock to one team in the basketball professional ranks on a number of cases recently, (Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh with the Heat and Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, and, dare I say it, Jeremy Lin with the Knicks), but will a true “dream team” ever really unfold in the NFL?

The Falcons have a lot of wiggle room to play with in terms of resigning players and bringing in free agents. Before I get too crazy, let me make it clear that the first order of business should be to re-sign Curtis Lofton to a long term deal. He has been the anchor for that defense, and he and Sean Weatherspoon have a very bright future in the new Mike Nolan schemes. The second order of business should be to either re-sign Brent Grimes, or go grab Carlos Rogers from the 49ers or Lardarius Webb from the Baltimore Ravens through free agency.

Now its time to go a little crazy…..

To say these next thoughts are a long shot would be a drastic understatement. The probability of these next situations happening would be equal to a hail mary thrown by Julio Jones from our own goal line reaching the opposite end zone in the air and caught by Matt Ryan for a Super Bowl victory. Not likely…..However let’s have a little fun!

Have you seen the free agent market for offensive skill players? Better yet, have you seen the free agent market for wide receivers? This list is stacked. With new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter coming in from Jacksonville, I’m sure he is licking his chops with the wide receiver power he has now, rather than the absence of talent he’s had for awhile in Jacksonville. What if he got greedy and wanted more…

“He is bright,” says head coach Mike Smith on Koetter. “He understands the intricacies of the vertical passing game, but he also wants to be able to run the football which is very important in the NFL.” The Falcons in the Mike Smith era have always been able to pound the rock, and the addition of Julio Jones last season gave the Falcons the big play ability. It seems to me that the Falcons could be looking a lot more into three and four wide receiver sets. Could you imagine if they added one of these names to the roster for Matt Ryan to chuck the ball to? Dreams can be fun….

Vincent Jackson- What a freak! Just think…. Julio Jones and Vincent Jackson streaking up the outsides while Roddy White works the seams and the middle. If Matt Ryan got in trouble, he could just throw a jump ball to either sideline and let his play makers go get it. Could you imagine how this would open up the center of the field for Tony Gonzalez to work. We could just call the offense

the tip drill, because we would win every jump ball. Play-action pass? Who needs it with those four guys stretching the field?

Mike Wallace- I don’t think there is anyone in the league faster than Mike Wallace. Koetter is apparently the expert on the vertical passing game, but I don’t think it takes a genius to tell Jones and Wallace to sprint up the field and catch the ball. Those two guys would stretch the outsides like Mr. Fantastic. Matt Ryan would just have to hike the ball, take one step back, and throw it as far as he could, and he still wouldn’t be able to out throw either guy. Safeties would have to play like 50 yards back in order to have a chance (and that would be with them starting off back peddling).

Marques Colston- I mainly put him on here because I’m sick of him beating the Falcons up on third down. His sure hands would hopefully help Roddy White, who led the league in drops. Colston could work the slot and own the middle through crossing routes and post ups much like he did in New Orleans. He is also a huge target. He would be a great safety blanket along with Gonzalez for Matt Ryan.

Randy Moss- Yes! He is coming out of retirement. Aside from his bad attitude and the “quit” in him, he is an unbelievable athlete

and future Hall of Famer. You talk about being able to stretch the field….He has the hands of Chris Carter with the speed of Mike Wallace. I wouldn’t want to headache in terms of off the field (and sometimes on the field) stuff, but its fun to think about…

Other notable names: DeSean Jackson, Wes Welker, Reggie Wayne, Dwayne Bowe, Steve Johnson, Mario Manningham, and Brandon Lloyd.

In all reality, I love Harry Douglass and I hope the Falcons are able to resign him. We both attended the University of Louisville at the same time, so I’m rather partial to him as a player. If the Falcons can’t make ends meet wit him though, there are many valuable slot receivers that can be given a look. I personally like Preston Parker, who emerged very nicely in the second half of the season for the floundering Tampa Bay Bucs. I also like Early Doucet out of Arizona. I’m curious to see if the Falcons will make a run at Mike Sims-Walker because of his familiarity with the system having played in Jacksonville and having some success.

The off-season is a great time to dream, and with the free agents out there this year, the dreams can be quite elaborate. Time will tell whether we wake up. Otherwise, the “dream team” could make Falcon fans sleep well at night.