When the Falcons brought in Dunta Robinson as a free agent from the Houston Texans, he hogged most, if not all, of the attention in the Falcons' secondary. After all, Robinson was coming in to fix a pass defense that was fifth-worst in the NFL in 2009. What we failed to realize is that the key member of the secondary may have been here all along in Mr. Brent Grimes.
↵Grimes was awarded the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Seattle Seahawks but he has been the MVP of the secondary through much of the season. I know, you could say that Robinson is being avoided and opposing quarterbacks try to pick on Grimes and that leads to many more playmaking opportunities for the fourth-year pro. That could be true but the fact remains, Grimes is still making those plays. And let's not forget, every interception he makes is done so 24 feet in the air.
↵Over the last two seasons, only one player (Asante Samuel) has more interceptions than the 11 Grimes has picked off. He led the Falcons with six last season and has added five more in 2010. Robinson does make the secondary better but don't overlook No. 20 on the other side. Drew Brees did just that earlier this season and paid the price with an interception and a 36-yard return from Grimes in the Falcons' 27-24 win.