Coaching Scheme vs. Coaching Flexibility

         Good evening Falcon fans, today I wanted to talk about coaching scheme vs coaching flexibility.  Which ones is more important? I am not sure there is a correct answer to this question,  it all depends on the coaches and the players on the team. Me personally I feel like the coaches should be the flexible ones in the bunch. Players only have the skill they have, you can't make a defensive tackle a defensive end just because you want him to be. Mike Nolan and Mike Smith found this fact out in 2013 and 2014.
       The perfect example of a flexible coaching staff is the New England Patriots. Bill Belch is a master of putting his guys in the best position to succeed according to the talent and skill level of the player. Belichick will switch his scheme week to week depending on who he has available and even on who his opponents are. One week he will come out with two tight end sets as the offensive focus. Then the following week as you are preparing for the two tight end sets, Belichick is preparing a power run game that is going to run you over.
        Some of the worst examples are just about every other coach in the league. Most coaches do a good job of bring in players that match and work well in the scheme that they coach. Those coaches know their scheme so well that they can look at a player in college or a free agent and see how that player may fit with their team. This is a tried and true method in the NFL that most teams live and die by. The problem with this method is when the coach wares out there welcome and moves on the players who are talented are left in limbo. The new coach my want to go in a different that doesn't fit the player's skill set. So most people will tell it's up to the player to adjust to the coaching staff but I don't really feel that way.
        If a player is expected to be the best at his job, shouldn't the coach be the best at his? What I  mean is, if you have a smaller running back who excels at one cut and go you wouldn't ask him to run it up the middle every time. You would run mostly zone blocking schemes hoping to open up holes for the back to cut to. Same thing with a QB, if you have a mobile type QB you asking for trouble by wanting him to be a pocket passer. Just ask Cleveland and Robert Griffin, by asking him to stand in the pocket read a defense and make a throw you are taking away his natural instinct that made him the player he was at Baylor. The reverse opposite can be true as well just ask our OC and Matt Ryan. Matt Ryan is a pocket passer who is best suited for timing route throws and play action passes. By asking him to roll out and turn his back to the line you are asking to do things he is not used or best suited for. So in these situations who needs to adapt the athletes or the coaches?
        If the coach can adapt then you can have a situation like New England. New England can consistently take players in later rounds of the draft that no one ones, no one cares about and turn them into pro bowlers. I could take the low hanging fruit and tell you about 6th round pick in Tom Brady but most people knows that story. The one thing no one talks about is the fact that the Patriots pass on him for 5 rounds before taking him. That tells me they didn't really know what they had until they got him in the building. When tell got him in there they began to learn Tom Brady learned what made him tick. So when they did put him in they had a good idea what his strengths and weaknesses were and played to them. I will tell that if Mr. Brady had went to a different team with a close minded coach we probably would not know who he was.

       As far as our Falcons are concerned I think we have two bright minded coaches in Dan Quinn and Kyle Shanahan. I just feel like we have two scheme locked coaches. ON the defensive side I think we are only going to get better as we bring in and develop guys who work well in Dan Quinn's 4-3 under scheme. He is already showing some ability to put guys in place to succeed such as switching Ricardo Allen from corner to free safety, also moving Vic Beasley to OLB/DE. As far as Kyle goes the jury is still out. Last year didn't to go well for the offense after about week five, when there was enough tape out there for opposing defense to guess what we were doing. Now I don't where the break down really came from, there are too many variables to really point fingers. That was also the time when Hankerson started to get hurt taking away our number 2 wideout. Roddy White just wasn't the same guy as he had been in the past so that just left Julio Jones and Freeman to really carry the load. You add that to a scheme that Ryan is not well suited for and you got last results. The hope is that this year Ryan will have made the adjustments necessary from him to work in this system because I am not sure Shanahan is willing to adjust on his end. At the end of the day adjustments have to be made its just a matter of who can and is willing to make them. As always Falcon fans keep you head up, eyes on the prize , and RISEUP   

Earlier last week I got a mention on /http://www.profootballrumors.com/ this site is a really great place to get all your NFL news and updates with out much fuss or chest beating I highly recommend you check them out

      
      

Falcon Defensive Outlook

        Hello again Falcon fans, I am back after a short time off. Today I will be taking a look at the Falcon 4-3 under defense, how does it stack up with the free agents and draftees that the teams has brought aboard so far.  I have already done a small break down on both the draftees and free agents so I won't be going into the individual players. More of how they fit and how they may fare on our team.

4-3 Under defense is a hybrid defensive formation that lines up with 4 down linemen and 3 linebackers. The four down linemen are more like 3-4 with and extra rush linebacker as a defensive end. What I am trying to say is the down linemen are more akin to what you would find in a 3-4 team, with a nose tackle and 3 tech defensive ends playing tackle slash ends. Where it gets different is the LEO position, that is a tweener kinda player normally to light to be much help against the run, but fast man that dude needs to be fast. I know what you're thinking, "right on that's why we drafted Vic Beasley" and your right...kinda. See Vic Beasley is exactly what you're looking for in a LEO rusher, that's why we are moving him to SAM linebacker but more on that a little later. For now we are going to focus on the front four.

From left to right
LEO: Starter-Reed/Upshaw     Nickel package- Clayborn
3-Tech: Starter- Shelby       Nickel Package-UpShaw
Nose Tackle:  Starter-Jarrett  Nickel Package-???
5-Tech: Starter- Hageman     Nickel Package- ???

Ok so as you can see I am trying to give starter and sub guys cause lets face we live in a sub-package world. In this day and age it's really hard to peg who is a starter and who is not because Dan Quinn lover his line rotations. I think the like of Hageman, Jarrett, and Shelby will get the lion share of snaps with the other guys being put in when the offensive play calls for it. I see a mix of Reed and Clayborn at LEO. They both have the speed to get to the QB and the size to help in the run stopping game, and that's where Beasley with kinda of a problem. The 3-tech in this was built for a guy like Shelby. Shelby is a bigger DE how is a great run stopper with some pass rush ability which is what you want from your 3-tech. This offseason the Falcons let go of nose tackle Paul Soali and named Grady Jarrett to the same spot a few weeks later. That should tell you what the coaching staff thinks of this young man and his game. He is a great run stopper with more to his game. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line and that is what Jarrett brings to the table. Not only is he a great run stopper he also gives you some upfield penetration. That's good for TFL and sacks all day long. If Jarrett can push the pocket cutting off the QB's ability to step up (something Soali didn't do much of) the sacks will come.
    The 3-tech maned by Hageman should be an upgrade over Jackson last year. Hageman is coming into his third year hopefully that means he has it put together. Hageman has everything you want in a DE 3-tech strong, powerful, and fast. If all this comes together for him it could be a special year. All of these internal moves kinda show why the Falcons didn't draft a pass rusher. Hageman, Jarrett and Shelby give you that interior rush that keeps QB's up at night. Reed and Clayborn give you the edge rushe we need and that just leaves the head scratching move of Beasley.
     Linebackers in a 4-3 under are super important not only do they have to be fast they have to be agile and smart.

Weak-side linebacker: Wheeler/ Campbell
Middle linebacker: Deon Jones
Strong-side linebacker: Vic Beasley

Our linebackers are pretty straightforward. Philip Wheeler should start out as our starting weakside linebacker but my hope is by mid to late season Campbell will show himself ready and take over for him. Now you will notice that I didn't list any nickel players, that's because when the team goes into Nickel Packages Vic Beasley will move from his SAM linebacker spot and drop down to DE kinda like what Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil do for their teams.
     I am so glad that you asked me why our number 8 overall pick from a year ago is already moving spots(oh you didn't ask...well you should have). This move allows the team to make the most of number 44 athletic ability and pass rush skill. By moving Beasley we should get better at two spots, least that is the hope anyway. Beasley is going to be a solid if not great pass rusher, but he can also be a help on covering tight ends and running backs coming out of the back field. Reed on the other not that great in coverage but a good run stuffer and hopefully and better version of Beriman as far as getting after the QB.
      So that's the front 7 in a nutshell. It will be a shell game of players with the term stater used loosely. The package of player that are subbed in and out on a play by play basis will be enough to make your head spin but I am confident that Dan Quinn will put our guys in the best spot to succeed. That just leaves the back end of the D. Trufant and Alford are locked in in my mind at corner. Allen with another year at free safety should start to shine and Neal as our strong safety should be fun I highly recommend you looking him up on youtube just to see what kind of violence that kid plays with.
     Hopefully this help shine some light on how our defense unit will shape up, only time will truly tell. Now we turn our sites to OTA and training camp where the cream will rise to the top along with our hopes and dreams. Good night my fellow Falcon fans and as always #riseup

Draft Wrap Up

       The 2016 NFL draft is done and in the books(sad face). Now its time to take a look at the picks that the Falcons made. Entering the day with five picks the Atlanta Falcons made six selections. With those picks the team hauled in a SS,LB,TE,LB,G,and WR, not to shabby.
      Well that depends on who you ask. As the picks where coming analyst give them grades, grades I tell you, how can you grade pick before the ink drys on the draft selection card. I mean grades for a player before year three seems silly to me much less before a college kid even gets to the building. None the less that is exactly what happens every year. This the media as a whole gave the Falcons a D. I think that's a little harsh, this draft from top to bottom really lacked the star power form the last few years draft class. The few guys who had the star talent you look for have ticking time bombs for knees in Jaylon Smith and Myles Jack. Both could be stars or both could never play a down.
      In a way that made this draft very interesting because teams could go in a lot of different directions. That leads me to the point i made in my last post about mock drafts and big boards, they are at best educated guesses. So armed with that knowledge mocks are a guess made by people who have never been paid by an NFL team to do this for a living, never had to put there lively on the line and say yes this is the guy we should take. So forgive me when I could careless what the Kiper/Mcshay, PFF's, and Analyst who have never worked in the NFL before have to say.
      As i sit here and write this the NFL network is playing "The Greatest Moments in Draft" on T.V. and the played the Kipper vs Tobin bit. In 94 Kiper said the Colts should have taken Trent Dilfer. Yes that Trent Dilfer the butt of all QB's need a Super Bowl win to be great argument. Which proves my point that no one not even the GM's making the pick know how these college kids are going to transition to the NFL. The best you can do is to pick the guys anf hope what you saw on tape will work well with what you have on roster already. When the coaching staff and the front office sits down and watches tape of the guy that is the most important part of the process. I mean a guy can test off the charts and be a dud on Sundays we see that all the time. But the opposite can happen a guy can test like and average joe but when the lights come on, on Sunday they turn into a monster. Now the scouts get a feel for the type of players the coach want and bring him the info on a guy that the coach may not know about. The country is big with a lot of player out there its the scouts job to dig that info up for the front office and coaching staff. What I am trying to say is no one has the right answer on how a big board should shake out. Every team is different with there own needs and own idea of who fits there system, so to say a player is a reach is just stupid. With all that being said lets jump into our teams "reaches" and "stupid" picks and i will take a stab at how i think they will fit with this team (giving you my stupid opinion)

Round 1 Pick 17 overall Keanu Neal SS  6'1'' 216lbs

Keanu Neal is a beast off a strong safety we cut Willy MO in the off season well here is your replacement. He is a in the box safety with coverage and blitz skill. He ran a 4.62 40yd dash at the combine and was a top performer with a 38'' vert with a 135'' broad jump. Explosion is the name of his game whether its speed and the violent hits he hands out on a regular basis. Neal should come and start day one, setting the tone in the middle of the filed, you know on those third down we saw last year with RB's and TE's running wide out. Not with Neal roaming out there. Some people said he was a reach at 17 and I call B.S. on that notion. It has been reported that had we waited until day two Neal would have been long gone by our number 50 pick. Both the Jets and the Steelers were taking heavy interest in Neal. So TD did what he is tasked to do he went and got the guy that Quinn wanted. Make no mistake this is the guy Quinn wanted, he spent reciuting him in college be for he went back to coach in the pros. So is this pick a reach, in a word NOPE. We got the guy we wanted. Here is a highlight of Neal


Round 2 Pick number 52 overall Dieon Jones LB LSU

Deion Jones is the type of player we have heard Dan Quinn talk about Fast and Physical he ran a 4.59 40yd dash at the combine and posted college stats of 152 tackles 20 for loss with 5 sacks, and that with out being a full time starter until his senior year. There is much more I can say about Jones that a highlight real wouldn't do better. I will say this though The falcons traded back a few spots here and pick up our six round pick that we traded to get Andy Levtire so good on you TD. Here that highlight real i was talking about.

Round 3 pick number 81 overall Austin Hooper TE Stanfford

Yeah he made that catch. Austin Hooper was our 3rd round pick out of tight end U I mean Stanford. This kid has the size and speed you look in a move tight end something we have mean missing since Tony G. hung it up. Now the Falcons could have made this and all defense draft and i don't think anyone would have cared, but they chose to go balanced and help the other side of the ball with a well rounded tight end. I watched the PAC12 championship game to get a better feel for this kid. Let me tell you that was harder than it should have been, but when you have a super start like Christian Macafrey you feature him early and often so i was not to upset. What i did notice how ever Hooper is a very willing blocker and when he was called to do so he answered the call. Hooper should come and start off the season ahead of Toilolo on the depth chart and get in on two TE sets with Tammie early on. The hope here is that by 2017 season Hooper is the starter with Toilolo backing him up and coming in to block on 2 TE sets.

Round 4 pick number 115 overall De'Vandre Campbell  LB Minn.                                                      

Campbell is a wild card to me. He has the size, speed, and agility to play all three LB spots. Now i am not going to sit here and tell you that i watch a ton of game film on him, but i did watch the Michigan game and he was all over the field. Tackles for loss, covering RB and tight ends. Heck he even rushed the passer a few times from a DE spot. During the off season he trained with former Falcon Chuck Smith to help improve his speed rush. I think Campbell has a chance to come in a blow the skirts off the coaches in a way they might not have counted on. AT 6'4'' 232lb he ran a 5.29 40yd dash but looked faster on film. High end could be a KJ Wright type player low at better version of Kroy Beriman. Sub package rusher for sure.

       I am not going to go in to to much detail on our 6th and 7th round pick not because I don't think there worth it. More because that late in the draft players tend to be more of a project and its hard to tell where they might end up.

      

       In summary I feel like the team addressed some major needs and when you couple that with the free agency period I think the Falcons have had a good off season so far. Only time will tell how these players turn out, that is up to the players themselves and the coaching staff. As always here at the Flacon's Eye View i just try to provide the reader with a different way to look at things, so keep your eyes towards the prize and #Riseup.