Hard Knocks & Hard Liquor LIVE from Flowery Branch: The OFFICIAL 2014 Atlanta Falcons Season Thread

[AVXL]

Are we ready for primetime?

The HBO Hard Knocks cameras are rolling, Julio is back, Spoon & Tony are both gone and Smitty/Dimitroff might be on its last legs (depending on this season/your perspective...I don't think they survive not making the playoffs/not having a winning season. They need at least one, if not both, to happen.)

EDIT: Falcons projected depth chart & position by position analysis are posted below. Props to D Led at AJC.com/Falcons for the info

Falcons brehs ASSEMBLE


@The ADD @#1 pick @FreshFromATL @Stone @The Dogg @charmander @Teal. @ATLien @Atlrocafella @Atlboss @Rickdogg44 @FutureGOAT @JBoy @The_Sheff @Sly Cookin @Hollywood Co@Bruh Man 5th Flo @Moose_Greyjoy @1BadBamaFan @KushGawd @iamstr8fire @Sleepy @Tommy Tuffnuts @Rebel Soldier@GlitchBoy @daemonova @Town @King Biko @freddykruegeronapill @rip928 @Mr Hate Coffee @jmspro @King Karim @steezy @Falcons258 @Kaedus @fwest1
My nikkaz, we post among greatness

If you a Falcons breh who doesn't see your name, post up so we can add you in here

BONUS: ***FREE DAPS & REP for anybody who negs a Saints fan at any time for ANY reason***

Training camp BEGINS on Friday, July 25th

2014 Home & Away schedule:

2014
Home:

Carolina
New Orleans
Tampa Bay
Chicago
Detroit (in London)
Cleveland
Pittsburgh
Arizona


Away:

Carolina
New Orleans
Tampa Bay
Green Bay
Minnesota
Baltimore
Cincinnati
NY Giants

 

[AVXL]

FLOWERY BRANCH – The first appearance on HBO’s “Hard knocks: Training camp with the Atlanta Falcons” is less than two weeks away.

The first show will air on Tuesday, Aug. 5 at 10 p.m. There will be an encore showing each week on Wednesdays at 11 p.m., culminating with the Sept. 2 season finale.

To help the TV producers out, we’re releasing our projected depth chart today (see below) and a couple of candidates for the longshot angle. Each year, they seem to pick out some obscure player who’s a longshot to make the team.

A couple intriguing candidates are wide receivers Geraldo Boldewijn and Freddie Martino.

How in the heck did Boldewijn get from Amsterdam to Boise State. He’s 6-4 and 220 pounds. He appeared kind of raw over the offseason. Perhaps assistant head coach/wide receivers Terry Robiskie can mold him into a NFL player.

Boldewijn caught 87 passes for 1,151 yards and six touchdowns over four seasons at Boise State. He played one year of high school at Capital High School in Boise, earning all-conference honors after growing up in the Netherlands.

Martino, a NCAA Division II record-setting receiver, played at North Greenville University, a tiny


HBO should dedicate one camera to Roddy White if they want some hilarious stuff. He’s a funny guy. Here, White throws to fellow receiver Darius Johnson during mini-camp Tuesday June 17, 2014. BRANT SANDERLIN /BSANDERLIN@AJC.COM

Christian school in Tigerville, S.C.

He was a four-year starter and caught 296 passes for 3,766 yards and 26 touchdowns. Last season he set the NCAA Division II record with 146 catches and a school-record with 1,680 yards receiving.

HBO will have a 30-person crew in Flowery Branch and will shoot more than 1,500 hours of footage.

Last season, the Cincinnati Bengals and the 11-time Emmy-award winning show averaged 3.6 million viewers per episode.

The best season was 2010 with Jets coach Rex Ryan’s bombastic style and then the “Let’s go eat a gooddamn snack!” line. Also, that was the year Antonio Cromartie tried and failed to name all nine of his kids. That was funny, but also kind of sad.

Hopefully, the Falcons are out practicing the names of their kids and can remember them all.


Julio Jones says he’s “feeling great” in offseason recovery from foot surgery. His recovery will be one of the big story lines of HBO’s Hard Knocks. (BRANT SANDERLIN/BSANDERLIN@AJC.COM)

PROJECTED 2014 TRAINING CAMP DEPTH CHART

OFFENSE

WR11 Julio Jones, 13 Darius Johnson, 14 Courtney Roby, 18 Freddie Martino, 89 Bernard Reedy,

LT 72 Sam Baker, 76 Lamar Holmes, 74 Terren Jones

LG 63 Justin Blalock, 68 Gabe Carimi, 67 Adam Replogle

C 61 Joe Hawley, 66 Peter Konz, 62 James Stone

RG 75 Jon Asamoah, 69 Harland Gunn

RT 70 Jake Matthews, 79 Mike Johnson 73 Ryan Schrader

TE 80 Levine Toilolo, 86 Bear Pascoe, 82 Mickey Shuler, 81 Jacob Pedersen, 49 Brian Wozniak

WR 84 Roddy White, 83 Harry Douglas, 15 Geraldo Boldewijn, 16 Julian Jones, 87 Tramaine Thompson

QB 2 Matt Ryan, 8 T.J. Yates, 12 Sean Renfree, 9 Jeff Mathews

RB 39 Steven Jackson, 32 Jacquizz Rodgers, 35 Antone Smith, 33 Devonta Freeman, 30 Josh Vaughan, 34 Jerome Smith

FB 42 Patrick DiMarco, 45 Maurice Hagens, 43 Roosevelt Nix

4-3 DEFENSE (with an extra line for the nickel back)

RE 95 Jonathan Babineaux, 50 Osi Umenyiora, 96 Jonathan Massaquoi, 90 Stansly Maponga

DT 99 Tyson Jackson, 91 Corey Peters, 92 Travian Robertson

DT 96 Paul Soliai, 97 Peria Jerry, 98 Cliff Matthews, 65 Donte Rumph

LE 77 Ra’Shede Hageman, 98 Malliciah Goodman, 49 Tyler Starr, 64 Nosa Equae

OLB 71 Kroy Biermann, 48 Brenden Daley, 45 Jacques Smith

MLB 55 Paul Worrilow, 52 Tim Dobbins, 54 Yawin Smallwood

OLB 59 Joplo Bartu, 53 Prince Shembo, 51 Marquis Spruill, 46 Walker May,

RCB 21 Desmond Trufant, 28 Javier Arenas, 37 Ricardo Allen,

NB 26 Josh Wilson, 27 Robert McClain, 28 Javier Arenas, 41 Dezmen Southward

LCB 23 Robert Alford, 24 Jordan Mabin, 43 Devonta Glover-Wright

SS 25 William Moore, 36 Kemal Ishmael, 40 Kimario McFadden, 22 Zeke Motta

FS 20 Dwight Lowery, 41 Dezmen Southward, 29 Sean Baker

SPECIALISTS

K 3 Matt Bryant, 6 Sergio Castillo

KO 5 Matt Bosher

P 5 Matt Bosher

KR 17 Devin Hester, 28 Javier Arenas, 14 Courtney Roby

PR 17 Devin Hester, 27 Robert McClain, 28 Javier Arenas

LS 47 Josh Harris

H 5 Matt Bosher

TRAINING CAMP SCHEDULE

Date Practice Times (public availability)

Tuesday, July 22 Rookies report

Wednesday, July 23 Veterans report

Friday, July 25 Practice 3:30 – 5:50 p.m. (open to the public)

Saturday, July 26 Practice 3:30 – 5:50 p.m. (open to the public)

Sunday, July 27 Practice 3:30 – 6:05 p.m. (open to the public)

Monday, July 28 Practice 3:30 – 6:05 p.m. (open to the public)

Tuesday, July 29 Practice 3:30 – 6:05 p.m. (open to the public)

Wednesday, July 30 Players’ Day Off (No Media Availability)

Thursday, July 31 Practice 3:30 – 6:05 p.m. (open to the public)

Friday, August 1 “Friday Night Lights” at Archer High School (Lawrenceville)

6:45 – 9:10 p.m. (open to the public)

Saturday, August 2 Practice 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. (open to the public)

Sunday, August 3 Practice 3:30 – 6:05 p.m. (open to the public)

Monday, August 4 Combined Practice w/Tennessee 3-5:30 p.m. (open to the public)

Tuesday, August 5 Players’ Day Off (No Media Availability)

Wednesday, August 6 Practice 3:30 – 6:05 p.m. (open to the public)

Thursday, August 7 Pregame Walkthrough (No Media Availability)

Friday, August 8 Falcons vs. Miami Dolphins

Georgia Dome

7:00 p.m. ET – CW69

Saturday, August 9 Practice 4:30 – 5:45 p.m. (open to the public)

Sunday, August 10 Players’ Day Off (No Media Availability)

Monday, August 11 Practice 3:30 – 5:50 p.m. (open to the public)

Tuesday, August 12 Practice 10:00 a.m. – 12:35 p.m. (open to the public)

Wednesday, August 13 Combined Practice w/ Houston Texans (Houston, TX)

Thursday, August 14 Combined Practice w/ Houston Texans (Houston, TX)

Friday, August 15 Pregame Walkthrough (No Media Availability)

Saturday, August 16 Falcons at Houston Texans

NRG Stadium

8:00 p.m. ET – CW69

Sunday, August 17 Players’ Day Off (No Media Availability)

Monday, August 18 Practice 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. (closed to the public)

Break Camp

 

[The ADD]

Another season of Ledbetter not breaking a single story

 

[DerrtySouthpaw]

#atlhoe2k14

 

[Akata Man Bromo]

*post-up to watch the best WR duo in football cook*

 

[AVXL]

New Coaches: We’ll start our countdown by looking at the new assistant coaches. Mike Tice, Wade Harman and Bryan Cox were added to the staff this offseason.

Special teams:

FLOWERY BRANCH — The start of the Falcons training camp is two days away. The first practice is set for Friday, July 25.

We started our countdown by looking at the new assistant coaches Mike Tice, Wade Harman and Bryan Cox. Today, we’ll start a position-by-position look at the roster.

We’ll peek at the special teams, which finished last season ranked 26th in the league.

The big offseason pick up was the addition of Devin Hester, perhaps league’s best-ever return man.

Hester, 31, has posted staggering numbers over his stellar career.

“Devin Hester brings a ton of experience and a ton of ability,” assistant head coach/wide receivers Terry Robiskie said. “He brings a lot of records (with him). He’s already told me that he’s in the record books in the NFL. He reminded me of that already. The thing that I had to remind him of is that he doesn’t have any records with me. None of those records he has are helping me.”

Special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong is looking forward to unleashing Hester.

“He knows what the home run ball looks like,” Armstrong said. “I think that one thing that I really enjoy is the way that he’s approaching it. He’s approaching it like a pro. He’s not approaching it like, ‘hey, I’ve been there before.’ He knows and understands that this is a different team. A new team. He’s taking that professional approach to it.”


Falcons linebackers Joplo Bartu (59) and Yawin Smallwood (54) run through drills during the mini-camp. Atlanta Falcons players workout during the second day of mini-camp at the team’s facilities in Flowery Branch, Wednesday, June 18, 2014. KENT D. JOHNSON/KDJOHNSON@AJC.COM

Armstrong expects Hester’s presence to lift the entire group.

“When guys know that somebody is back there that …knows how to hit it, they are going to start blocking (better),” Armstrong said. “That sense of urgency will pick up.”

The Falcons experimented over the offseason with how to utilize Hester. He’s slated to mainly be the kickoff returner and possibly earn spot duty as the punt returner.

“He’s done the punts,” Armstrong said. “We haven’t quite gotten to that part of it. We’ve got some options, which is a good thing. Arenas was back there, (Robert) Alford, Harry (Douglas), (Robert) McClain and Hester (over the offseason.)”

Hester was the league’s leader in kickoff-return yardage with 1,436 on 52 returns last season.

The Falcons averaged 8.3 yards on punt returns, which ranked 20th in the league. They averaged 24.4 yards on kickoff returns, which ranked 10th.

“We’ve got some depth at the position,” Armstrong said. “We’ve always had to find a guy. We’ve kind of built some depth.”

Armstrong was also experimenting with his coverage units.

“I’m trying to massage it out. I’m trying to move guys around and not let them stay in one spot for the spring,” Armstrong said. “I have to find out what they can do. We tried to move them around so we could get a better idea of what they can do.”

The Falcons covered punts well in 2013. They gave up 7.6 yards per return, which ranked 8th in the league. They need to improve the kickoff coverage team. The Falcons gave up 24.8 yards per return, which ranked 25th.

“Last year, we ran into the snag where we had so many injuries that so many of the guys that we were training, ended up being starters,” Armstrong said. “We were training on the run.”

Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News annual ranks the league’s special teams units. The league’s 32 teams are ranked in 22 categories and assigned points according to their standing – one for best, 32 for worst.

The Falcons were ranked 26th in the league with 408.5 points last season.

 

[NoMoreWhiteWoman2020]

we in here :dreblessed:

 

[Hollywood Co]

Praying for health then wealth

Let's eat fellas

 

[Atlboss]

Make or break season. Blank ain't playing that bullshyt this year

Mike Smith you have been put on notice

 

[AVXL]

Defensive backs:

Today, we will look at the defensive backfield, where they’ll be some fierce competition for the starting nickel back and free safety positions.

Here’s our projected depth chart for the defensive backfield.

RCB 21 Desmond Trufant, 28 Javier Arenas, 37 Ricardo Allen,

NB 26 Josh Wilson, 27 Robert McClain, 28 Javier Arenas, 41 Dezmen Southward

LCB 23 Robert Alford, 24 Jordan Mabin, 43 Devonta Glover-Wright

SS 25 William Moore, 36 Kemal Ishmael, 40 Kimario McFadden, 22 Zeke Motta

FS 20 Dwight Lowery, 41 Dezmen Southward, 29 Sean Baker

Arizona wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald believes that second-year player Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford will be a solid starting duo at cornerback.

“Both guys had really strong seasons last year,” Fitzgerald said. “They are going to continue to get better.”

Trufant and Alford should improve from practice.

“They are playing against Roddy and Julio every day in practice and they are getting great, great looks going against Matt Ryan every day,” Fitzgerald said. “You are not going to get better competition. Those guys (will be ready) when it’s time to play.”

Wilson comes over from the Redskins. He’s set to enter his eighth season in the league and is projected to win the nickel back spot. He has played 102 games, with 81 starts. Last season, Wilson started all 16 games and posted a career-high 93 tackles.

Lowery is projected to win the starting free safety position, while rookie Dezmen Southward is groomed to be the longtime starter.

“The biggest thing is we need a safety to start and that’s what he’s competing for,” defensive coordinator Mike Nolan said. “Hopefully, he’s that guy. If not him, then one of the other guys will have to do it.”

None of the other free safeties on the roster have played significant NFL snaps.

Lowery has started 41 of 68 games over six pro seasons and has earned a reputation as a solid cover man. Plus, Lowery has played in a defense similar to Nolan’s.

Also notable is Lowery’s history of solid tackling: Pro Football Focus credits him with 21 missed tackles in 212 career attempts with 40 “stops,” which it defines as tackles resulting in offensive failures. Tackling was a major issue for Thomas DeCoud, who according to Pro Football Focus had 12 misses in 62 attempts with 13 stops in 2013. He was released and has signed with Carolina.

Allen is a rookie to keep an eye on. He was drafted to be a nickel back and was a ball-hawk for the Boilermakers. He had 13 interceptions and 22 pass breakups over his career. In 2013, he had eight interceptions.

Over his career, Allen set a school-record with four career interceptions returned for touchdowns.

Motta suffered a neck injury last season and his status for the season is unknown.

Also, Glover-Wright, an undrafted cornerback from Campbell High and Utah State, has the size and speed the Falcons covet.

Linebackers:

Today, we’ll look at the revamped linebacker corps.

The three linebackers who started in the NFC championship game after the 2013 season must be replaced. Stephen Nicholas was released, Akeem Dent was traded to Houston and Sean Weatherspoon suffered a season-ending ruptured achilles tendon on June 10.

Here’s our projected depth chart for the linebackers.

OLB 71 Kroy Biermann, 48 Brenden Daley, 45 Jacques Smith

MLB 55 Paul Worrilow, 52 Tim Dobbins, 54 Yawin Smallwood

OLB 59 Joplo Bartu, 53 Prince Shembo, 51 Marquis Spruill, 46 Walker May

Kroy Biermann, a defensive end by trade, spent a lot of time with the linebackers last season before rupturing his Achilles tendon in the second game of the season. He’s really a hybrid who allows the Falcons to shift from the 4-3 to 3-4.

Worrilow and Bartu, both undrafted rookie free agents, ended last season as starters. Worrilow led the team in tackles with 137. Bartu was third with 96.

Both need to make major improvements if the defense is going to be much better.

Last season, Worrilow played 491 snaps and missed eight tackles at inside linebacker and was ranked 45th in the league by Pro Football Focus. He played 309 snaps at outside linebacker, had four missed tackles and was ranked 25th in the league.

Bartu played 789 snaps at outside linebacker, had 12 missed tackles and was ranked 22nd in the league.

“I think that’s going be a very interesting dynamic when we go through our training camp,” Smith said at the end of minicamp. “We’ve got two guys that started for us last year.”

The Falcons also plan to force-feed information to fourth-round pick Prince Shembo, who has a shot to crack the starting lineup.

“We’ve got Prince Shembo, who we are very excited about,” Smith said. “He’s picked up the system very well. He doesn’t have any experience, but we will get him a lot, I can assure you that, in the preseason.”

One of the hallmarks of Smith’s early teams here in Atlanta was that they were certain tacklers, who were rarely out of position. Over the past couple of seasons, the tackling techniques have slipped drastically.

“We have spent an inordinate amount of time on that in this offseason,” Smith said. “We have to be a better tackling team. We can’t let the ball get to the second-level and put our defensive backs out in space.

“Even though some people believe that we didn’t tackle well in the secondary, well the ball shouldn’t have reached the secondary.”


The Falcons added veteran linebacker Tim Dobbins.

He spent his first four seasons in San Diego where he played in 62 games with 10 starts. In 2008, he registered career highs with 78 tackles (42 solo), one interception and three forced fumbles.

In 2010 under Nolan, Dobbins played in 16 games with six starts and finished the season with 43 total tackles. A native of Nashville, Dobbins played collegiately at Iowa State.

 

[Hollywood Co]

Looking at the depth the one thing that's stands out is that we actually DEPTH now.

Hate losing Spoon but I'm not stressing with athletes they've bought in.

 

[AVXL]

Defensive Line

Today, we’ll look at the revamped defensive line.

The Falcons signed two free agents in defensive end Tyson Jackson and defensive tackle Paul Soliai and drafted the mammoth defensive end/tackle Ra’Shede Hageman in the second round of the draft. They also re-signed defensive end/tackle Jonathan Babineaux, defensive tackle Corey Peters and defensive tackle Peria Jerry.

Here’s a FILM REVIEW of what to expect from Jackson and Soliai.

Here’s our projected depth chart for the defensive line.

RE 95 Jonathan Babineaux, 50 Osi Umenyiora, 96 Jonathan Massaquoi, 90 Stansly Maponga

DT 99 Tyson Jackson, 91 Corey Peters, 92 Travian Robertson

DT 96 Paul Soliai, 97 Peria Jerry, 98 Cliff Matthews, 65 Donte Rumph

LE 77 Ra’Shede Hageman, 98 Malliciah Goodman, 49 Tyler Starr, 64 Nosa Equae

Soliai, 30, formerly of the Miami Dolphins, signed a five-year, $33 million dollar contract. A total of $14 million of the deal is guaranteed.

The 340-pound former Pro Bowler is set to anchor the defense. He’ll play tackle in the 4-3 and nose tackle in the 3-4.

“Coach (Mike) Nolan, I have a great relationship with him,” Soliai said. “He kind of taught me how to play the position.”

Jackson, 28, who was the No. 3 overall pick of the 2009 NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, signed a five-year, $25 million contract after becoming an unrestricted free agent. A total of $11 million of the contract is guaranteed.

Jackson, a former LSU Tiger, is expected to help improve the Falcons’ run defense.

“It’s simple,” Jackson said. “You have to stop the run in order to get after the quarterback. We are going to start taking care of that first and we are going to see what happens from there.”

Hageman, 23, could give the unit a major boost. He’ll play defensive end in the 3-4 and tackle in the 4-3. The Falcons moved the 6-foot-6, 318-pounder around a lot over the offseason.

New York Jets wide receiver Eric Decker played his college football at Minnesota with Hageman.

“He’s an animal,” Decker said. “When I came in, they were playing him at tight end and they put him on the other side of the ball and that’s where he belongs, you can tell. He gets after it.

“He’s a workhorse. He’s long. He’s big. He’s strong. He’s got the tools. Now, for him it’s translating what he does physically and learning the mental part and having longevity in his career.“

The Falcons, who finished with 32 sacks last season, will have to manufacture a pass rush. With the bigger players inside, defensive end/linebacker Kroy Biermann, designated pass rusher Osi Umenyiora and defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi are the best pass-rush options.

Massaquoi had a strong offseason and could be primed for a breakout season.

Offensive line

Today, we’ll look at the revamped offensive line.

The Falcons signed guard Jon Asamoah in free agency, drafted right tackle Jake Matthews with the sixth-pick overall and are hoping that left tackle Sam Baker returns to form while coming back from knee surgery.

Here’s our projected depth chart for the offensive line.

LT 72 Sam Baker, 76 Lamar Holmes, 74 Terren Jones

LG 63 Justin Blalock, 68 Gabe Carimi, 67 Adam Replogle

C 61 Joe Hawley, 66 Peter Konz, 62 James Stone

RG 75 Jon Asamoah, 69 Harland Gunn

RT 70 Jake Matthews, 79 Mike Johnson 73 Ryan Schrader

Last season, the Falcons allowed pressure on 37.6 percent of their dropbacks, according to profootballfocus.com. The offensive line was given responsibility for allowing 32 of 44 sacks. The quarterback was hit 42 times additional times and hurried 190.

Somehow, quarterback Matt Ryan survived.

The rushing attack wasn’t much better.

The Falcons averaged 77.9 yards per game and 3.88 yards per play, which both ranked 32nd in the league.

Ryan knows that the Falcons must improve their blocking if the offense stands a chance of returning to elite status in the NFC. He said that the linemen worked hard in the weight room over the offseason.

“Those guys have made a conscious effort to get into the weight room and to move weight,” Ryan said. “I’m fired up about it.”

 

[rip928]

We giving out that work this season. Aints.
Panties. Flabby young bucs.

 

[Motife43]

I'ma definitely be at a few games, if anybody hits one let me know. Might be able to get yall in the suites

Realistically, I'll be happy with a playoff berth and at least a win in the playoffs this year. Then in 2015, it's Super Bowl or bust, or Mike Smith is out the door.

 

[AVXL]

Tight ends

TE 80 Levine Toilolo, 86 Bear Pascoe, 82 Mickey Shuler, 81 Jacob Pedersen, 49 Brian Wozniak

If you want to see tight end Tony Gonzalez this year, you can find him on CBS.

After five stellar seasons with the Falcons he retired. He played the 12 previous seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Falcons are going to take the committee approach to replacing his productivity.

In the two seasons with Dirk Koetter as the offensive coordinator, Gonzalez caught 93 passes for 930 yards and eight touchdowns in 2012 and 83 passes for 859 yards and eight touchdowns last season.

Gonzalez averaged 81.8 catches over five seasons with the team. Of his 409 catches, 267 went for first downs, or 65.2 percent. He played a major role in helping the offense move the chains.

The Falcons signed Bear Pascoe in free agency, and Levine Toilolo returns for his second season. Also, Mickey Shuler, Jacob Pedersen and Brian Wozniak are tight ends on the roster.

“It will be spread through the tight ends and then throughout the wide receivers,” Koetter said. “There will be some more runs in there and then more (passes) to the running backs. But it will be a combination of all of the rest of the guys. We just won’t target the true tight end as much as we have in the past.”

The 6-foot-8 Toilolo is considered a redzone option. He played in all 16 games last season and had 11 catches for 55 yards and two touchdowns.

Pascoe, 28, played five seasons with the New York Giants. He’s started 31 NFL games and played in 66. He has 38 career catches.