Man, I didn't know this about the Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The
Atlanta Falcons went 7-9 last year and had a very eventful offseason. For starters, the Falcons cut a ton of veteran players. Longtime stout cornerback
Desmond Trufant is gone. Former draft picks
Vic Beasley and
De’Vondre Campbell are gone, along with
Austin Hooper, Wes Schweitzer, Devonta Freeman, and
Adrian Clayborn. Although it makes sense why some of these moves were made, it’s still a lot to replace. To replace Freeman, the team took a gamble and signed enigma running back
Todd Gurley II. They traded for
Hayden Hurst to help soften the loss of Hooper. Pass rusher
Dante Fowler was brought in after his best season as a pro. And finally, they drafted
A.J. Terrell in round one hoping that he can start day one at cornerback.
Their big three of Ryan,
Julio Jones, and
Calvin Ridley remain Atlanta’s biggest strength. These three alone will win them some games. But If Atlanta wants a chance at being truly competitive, these three will have to carry them. Head coach Dan Quinn was almost fired in 2019 but was kept for one last chance to prove himself. The defensive side of the ball is Quinn’s calling card, but the defense finished with the third least sacks in 2019 and gave up the tenth most points per game. Entering this year, Quinn needs his top defenders
Deion Jones and
Keanu Neal to remain healthy. Neal specifically has only played four games in the last two seasons. For Atlanta to exceed middling expectations, the defense needs to stay healthy, the defensive and offensive lines need to improve greatly from a year ago, and Gurley needs to be a positive addition.
Man, they have lost a lot of great and very good players. Replaced them with mostly young and unproven guys. They may now be on par with Carolina! Yes!!!!!!