SB Nation Atlanta: All Posts by Dave Choate

ESPN Has A List Of PED Suspensions For Every Team

2013-05-20T21:06:17Z

ESPN isn't always my favorite site in the world. Their analysis tends to be, to put it mildly, poor. They can still produce some mighty compelling content, though.

That's the case today, where ESPN produces a list of each team's suspensions for PED from 2010-2013. The relatively small number of suspensions either speaks to the lack of a PED problem in the NFL or a pretty lax culture around them, and I'd have to guess the latter. Regardless, it's an illuminating look at which teams and players have been hit

The Atlanta Falcons cash in somewhere in the middle of the pack for PED suspensions. Their two suspensions came from Robert James and Joe Hawley. Some teams have received no suspensions over those years, and a handful have only received one.

The leader? The Seattle Seahawks, who have five suspensions in the last four years. They're followed by the Denver Broncos and New York Giants with four each.

Your reaction to this interesting little article?

NFL Draft Could Be Moved To May

2013-05-20T18:42:05Z

NFL Draft Could Be Moved To May

NFL and NFLPA are on verge of pushing back draft to May and moving up start of league year to before combine, per sources.— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 20, 2013

Atlanta Falcons OTAs Happening Soon

2013-05-20T17:02:52Z

The off-season program begins in earnest with organized team activities, and we're rapidly approaching the start of those for the Atlanta Falcons. This is wonderful news.

OTAs officially kick off after Memorial Day, starting Tuesday, May 28th. They will last three days, and give us real fodder for what lies ahead in position battle and tweets from Roddy White. It's an exciting time all the way around, and the most interesting thing we've had since the draft ended. Sorry, rookie minicamp.

Here's what I'll have my eyes on early:

How Lamar Holmes looks
Whether PK Manley is actually 370 pounds, which he's not
How the rookies and UDFAs perform in these limited practices
Whether Mike Smith will wear his classic safari hat, and maybe complement it with a machete, which would be both frightening and motivating

What do you expect from OTA?

Projecting The Final Falcon Roster: Tight End

2013-05-20T12:00:08Z

Thus far, we've projected quarterback, running back, fullback and wide receiver for the Falcons. Those positions were all fairly easy to figure out, with the possible exception of what's going to happen down the depth chart at receiver. Today will not change that.

We're talking tight end, a position with a lot of intriguing talent. The Falcons have a Hall of Famer, a gigantic rookie with some interesting talent and a former draft bust who may still be a mighty useful player. That's not even mentioning some of the UDFA types on the roster right now.

This is a position of strength, in other words. Time to project it.

On The Roster

Tony Gonzalez, Starter
Levine Toilolo (R)
Chase Coffman
Tommy Gallarda
Andrew Szczerba
Adam Nissley

Now that you've got the names, tell us who you believe will make the final roster. I really like this Gonzalez guy, myself.

Sunday Night Falcons Open Thread

2013-05-20T01:30:34Z

May is the quietest month when it comes to football, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to talk about.

Discuss Falcons here!

Projecting The Final Falcons Roster: Wide Receiver

2013-05-19T12:00:08Z

The Falcons go into this season with perhaps the best starting wide receiver tandem in the NFL. Beyond that, it's a little murky.

This season, the team is likely to turn the reins at fourth and fifth receiver over to unproven players. They're likely to roll with the solid if unspectacular Harry Douglas in the slot once more. Once you get past Julio Jones and Roddy White, in other words, we're not looking at one of the team's strengths. Fortunately, White and Jones are insanely good.

Here's a look at who is on the roster at the moment. Based on this, project what who will break camp with the team.

On The Roster

Roddy White, Starter
Julio Jones, Starter
Harry Douglas
Drew Davis
Kevin Cone
Rashad Evans (R)
Marcus Jackson
Darius Johnson (R)
Martel Moore (R)
Tim Toone
James Rodgers

That's quite a list to choose from, and you're going to want to factor special teams value in here to some degree. That said, go to it!

The Saturday Night Atlanta Falcons Open Thread

2013-05-19T03:44:26Z

Got Falcons-related news and ideas on your mind? Here's where you can discuss them!

Projecting The Final Falcons Roster: Fullback

2013-05-18T12:00:07Z

Our roster projection series shakes, rattles and rolls its way on to fullback. This is not, admittedly, the most exciting position we'll cover.

The Falcons may not really need a full-time fullback on this offense, given that it's mostly pass-first and they have Jason Snelling as a sorta kinda fullback option. Ultimately, though, I have to believe they'll carry a lead blocker, and preferably one who can catch the football.

The choices here are fairly limited, as you'll see, but one of these guys is likely to stick on the final roster. The most interesting one is actually a converted defensive player, and that's an experiment I'd really like to see work out. Especially because I love the name Goggins.

On The Roster

Bradie Ewing, Maybe Starter?
Deon Goggins, Rookie
DeVonte Campbell, Rookie
Mike Cox, Veteran

Go ahead and project which one of these guys makes the final roster, or if it's a hybrid player like Jason Snelling or Ronnie Wingo who ends up handling fullback duties.

SB Nation Atlanta: All Posts by Dave Choate

ESPN Has A List Of PED Suspensions For Every Team

NFL Draft Could Be Moved To May

NFL Draft Could Be Moved To May

Atlanta Falcons OTAs Happening Soon

Projecting The Final Falcon Roster: Tight End

On The Roster

Sunday Night Falcons Open Thread

Projecting The Final Falcons Roster: Wide Receiver

On The Roster

The Saturday Night Atlanta Falcons Open Thread

Projecting The Final Falcons Roster: Fullback

On The Roster

Related Links

2013 RB depth chart

QB depth chart