FalcFans Forums

Other positions:
QB: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=15531
RB: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=15731
FB: viewtopic.php?p=100261#p100261
WR: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=15758
TE: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=15761
OL: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=15782

Grading Key: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12444

Falcons in bold. Rookies denoted by an asterisk (*)

1. Haloti Ngata - 7.13
2. Kevin Williams - 7.09
3. Richard Seymour - 6.79
4. Jay Ratliff - 6.50
5. Vince Wilfork - 6.43
6. Albert Haynesworth - 6.39
7. Kyle Williams - 6.38
8. Darnell Dockett - 6.27
9. Jonathan Babineaux - 6.26
10. Kris Jenkins - 6.10
11. Shaun Rogers - 6.09
12. Ndamukong Suh - 6.08
13. Casey Hampton - 6.06
14. Mike Patterson - 5.90
15. B.J. Raji - 5.89
16. Aubrayo Franklin - 5.86
17. Tommie Harris - 5.85
18. Pat Williams - 5.82
19. Kelly Gregg - 5.81
20. Brandon Mebane - 5.80
21. Jason Jones - 5.79
22. Tony Brown - 5.77
23. Jamal Williams - 5.76
24. Corey Williams - 5.70
25. Sedrick Ellis - 5.65
26. Sione Pouha - 5.65
27. Randy Starks - 5.63
28. Gerald McCoy - 5.58
29. Antonio Garay - 5.57
30. Chris Canty - 5.54
31. John Henderson - 5.52
32. Brodrick Bunkley - 5.48
33. Tommy Kelly - 5.45
34. Paul Soliai - 5.44
35. Barry Cofield - 5.42
36. Ryan Pickett - 5.40
37. Ma'ake Kemoeatu - 5.39
38. Domata Peko - 5.39
39. Glenn Dorsey - 5.38
40. Terrance Knighton - 5.37
41. Tyson Alualu - 5.34
42. Colin Cole - 5.34
43. Marcus Stroud - 5.29
44. Rocky Bernard - 5.25
45. Fred Robbins - 5.24
46. Anthony Adams - 5.21
47. Amobi Okoye - 5.21
48. Gerard Warren - 5.19
49. Dan Williams - 5.18
50. Ahtyba Rubin - 5.16
57. Marcell Dareus - 4.88*
61. Nick Fairley - 4.81*
64. Roy Miller - 4.77
66. Corey Liuget - 4.74*
67. Tony Hargrove - 4.73
69. Ziggy Hood - 4.71
78. Remi Ayodele - 4.67
79. Tank Johnson - 4.67
81. Stephen Paea - 4.66*
84. Corey Peters - 4.64
87. Geno Atkins - 4.64
89. Peria Jerry - 4.63
92. Brian Price - 4.61
95. Phil Taylor - 4.60*
97. Kentwan Balmer - 4.59
100. Derek Landri - 4.59
101. Earl Mitchell - 4.58
112. Marvin Austin - 4.54*
116. Terrence Cody - 4.54
119. Jarvis Jenkins - 4.52*
123. Thomas Johnson - 4.50
127. Nick Hayden - 4.49
130. Arthur Jones - 4.46
131. Kenrick Ellis - 4.45*
135. Drake Nevis - 4.43*
136. Vance Walker - 4.43
142. Terrell McClain - 4.40*
146. Sione Fua - 4.38*
149. Trey Lewis - 4.36
164. Michael Jasper - 4.08*

Well, as normal, I'll pick a beef with someone on the list. 11. Shaun Rogers - 6.09

He's had 17 total tackles in 15 games last year and his laziness is a cancer in the locker room. He's been on the decline since 08.

He's more like 20-25 in my book going into this season.

Rogers came off the bench last year in Cleveland, and that's why his tackle numbers were so low. He was used primarily as a pass rush specialist, and did a good job with that, having 2 sacks and 11 QB hits. For comparison sake, all 4 of the Falcons DTs last year combined for 10 QB hits.

He's never been known for his dynamite work ethic, but he is basically the Julius Peppers of the DT position. When he wants to be, he is as dominant a player as anybody in the league. Now he hasn't always wanted to be and particularly these past few years in Cleveland, he never really bought into the Mangini regime. But under Romeo Crennel in '08, he was a Top 5 DT. And I think that ability is still there, and we'll see if it emerges this year in New Orleans.

Jerry or Peters are going to need to make a big step up in play for the def line to progress. While left def end is question Smith's defense as to have def tackles rush the passer also. It can't be just Babs alone doing the job. Looking at the overall team the Falcon's could have a need at left tackle,def end and def tackle if things don't go well for the team this coming year. The law of averages says at least one of the three is going to produce (Bierman,Baker or Jerry/Peters) but this is certainly something to look out for in the upcoming season (provided there is one).

If Peters plays like he did for the last 4 or 5 games of 2010 for the next 16 of 2011, then he'll be a solid player for us. The problem is that Peters was pretty mediocre to bad for the other 12 or 13 games of the season.

It's going to be interesting to see where our DTs are going to be at the end of this year. We've had 2 really solid DT classes the past two years, and all we got out of it was Peters. Who I think can be a good NFL player, but whether he develops into a capable to good starter remains to be seen. That would correspond being ranked somewhere in the Top 40-45 DTs on this list.

As for Jerry, I really don't know. I was never super high on him coming out of Ole Miss. Thought he was a nice player, but thought we coudl have gotten much better value in the late 2nd/3rd round. And it's interesting to note that of the 4-3 DTs chosen between picks #55 and #90 (our 2nd & 3rd round picks that year), all of them have higher grades than Jerry:

56th pick. Fili Moala (4.70 grade)
62nd pick. Sen'Derrick Marks (4.64 grade)
72nd pick. Terrance Knighton (5.37 grade)
81st pick. Roy Miller (4.77 grade)

Hopefully that changes after this year, especially when one considers that Moala, Miller, and Marks have been fairly mediocre thus far in their NFL careers. The 3rd year is typically hte year where D-linemen tend to break out if at all.