Atlanta Falcons: A Wish List for the Second Half of 2014

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Play Southward/Hageman – Dezmen Southward and Ra’Shede Hageman were the two big projects that the Falcons drafted this year but surprisingly they have been two of the more consistent rookies so far. Hageman had a pretty rough time of it the first few weeks of the season but recently he is playing much better and is making a case for more snaps. At this point, with the defensive line playing as it is why not play the rook some more? Dezmen Southward was a player not many had heard of when the Falcons drafted him in the third round and as a result a lot of people (myself included) were not huge fans of the pick. However, after 8 games Southward is one of very few players who I am actually legitimately excited to see develop as the season goes on. Southward has all the physical tools required, he is big, strong, long and has speed to burn. The biggest issue for Dez was always going to be the mental side of the game and while he has only seen a handful of snaps this far the signs are definitely positive. With Kemal Ishmael struggling in coverage why not play Southward as the SS and play Ishmael more as a hybrid LB/S type?

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