Dominique Franks

Dominique Franks did not have an impressive outing against the Jacksonville Jaguars last night. While Chris Owens got the start in place of an injured Dunta Robinson at right corner, Franks got his opportunity to work with the first team as the nickel/slot corner. He proceeded to have a night where he was picked on several times.

In re-watching the game this morning, I paid close attention to Franks, tracking how many receptions he gave up in the game. In the end, Franks was targeted 9 times by Jacksonville passers, and they were successful in completing 8 passes against him. Those plays went for a total of 87 yards, with Franks having no pass breakups in coverage. For those unable to do the math, that means Jacksonville passers had a passer rating of 106.9 against Franks. The lone incompletion against Franks came on an overthrow by Blaine Gabbert to Jason Hill along the sideline. Franks also missed two tackles in the open field, which allowed guys like Cecil Shorts and Tiquan Underwood to get significant yards after the catch.

If there is a positive for Franks from last night, he did show some things as a blitzer off the corner. He rushed the quarterback three times. The first time he managed to hit David Garrard, although Garrard still completed a pass. A second time, he was able to jump to deflect a pass leading to an incompletion. A third time, his pressure forced an errant throw by Gabbert.

One of the strengths of Brian Williams, last year’s nickel back, was his ability to be an effective blitzer. Thus far, there doesn’t seem to be a huge dropoff from Williams to Franks. But despite positives there, as well as on special teams where Franks almost blocked Josh Scobee’s third field goal of the night, he still seems to be a work in progress in coverage.

Franks looked to be ahead of Owens in their competition for the open nickel spot after a disappointing preseason for the latter against the Dolphins. Owens did not have a great night against the Jaguars, and gave up receptions of his own in the second half. But for the most part in the first half when he was working with the starters on the outside, he was capable. He broke up a pass, made some stops in run support, and even forced a fumble.

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Garrett Reynolds and Mike Johnson are in a competition to earn the starting spot that was vacated by guard Harvey Dahl when he signed with the Rams before camps opened up. Right now, it appears Reynolds has taken the early lead in that battle.

Mike Johnson suffered a concussion during practice on Sunday and has been day to day since due to the Falcons following the league’s protocols on head injuries. Reynolds had been listed atop the depth chart at right guard on the team’s unofficial depth chart on Monday for this Friday’s preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins.

Johnson was a third round pick last year, while Reynolds was a fifth rounder the previous draft. Johnson worked almost exclusively at left guard last year, and Reynolds as the reserve right. Both players were inactive for all 16 games. But Reynolds probably has the leg-up at least as far as right-sided technique goes, having played a few games late in the year at right guard in 2009.

Reynolds has been noted for his size and nastiness, which is reminiscent of Dahl.

With the Falcons picking up 24 undrafted free agents, including yesterday’s addition of Georgia Tech wide receiver Kevin Cone, it is time to revisit what these two dozen players are bringing to the table in terms of this summer’s camp battles.

The undrafted rookies get somewhat a reprieve, since labor rules prevent veteran free agents from practicing until tomorrow. That means that these players all had the opening weekend to showcase their skills before some veterans were able to come in and outshine them.

Here is a position by position look at where these undrafted players fit in on the Falcons roster outlook:

Quarterback – As said before, Froman is a fourth arm that might have a shot at a practice squad position, but he’s not in a legitimate position to push for a roster spot unless there is an injury to either Chris Redman or John Parker Wilson. He’s more of a long-term developmental project for the Falcons.

Running Back – If the Falcons fail to bring back Jason Snelling, it certainly should increase the changes that Philip Sylvester can make the roster. But he’ll have to beat out both Gartrell Johnson and Antone Smith for that third running back spot. And his only way to do that will either to shine on special teams or show a short learning curve when it comes to pass protections. Snelling’s departure also increases the chances that either Thor Merrow or Lucas Cox can crack the roster as the backups to Ovie Mughelli at fullback. The team will be looking both at blocking ability and special teams production.

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There isn’t likely to be a ton of turnover at this position. Like some of the other offensive positions, the primary focus will likely be on getting Tony Gonzalez ready for the regular season.

Like quarterback, there may be an open competition for who serves as his primary backup. The Falcons are likely keen to see what progress, if any, Michael Palmer has made during this off-season. Palmer flashed ability as a reserve receiver, and any improvements he’s made as a blocker can go a long way to push incumbent backup Justin Peelle. As of the end of last year, Peelle was the superior inline blocker, while Palmer flashed a bit more of a skillset as an H-back. The Falcons make ample use of the two-tight end formation. That may decline somewhat with the introduction of Julio Jones at wide receiver, but it’s not going to be completely scrapped. Which means any competition between the two is important for the success of the offense.

Also in camp are Robbie Agnone and Marquez Branson. Neither player is likely to get a lot of opportunity to make headway as far as a roster spot. Although things could change with the introduction of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, under old rules, it appears both would be ineligible to make the team’s practice squad this fall. So in the case of both, they will need to shine in limited opportunities during the preseason and display enough upside that makes the coaches feel they are worth developing long-term.

While it’s still unknown when exactly NFL training camps will open, this is about the time of year when we begin to start looking at what is going to happen when they do. As typical, it’s time to take a position-by-position look at what to expect when camp does commence and what roster battles will unfold for the Falcons. If/when, undrafted and veteran free agency occurs, subsequent and corresponding updates will be made.

At the quarterback position, it’s unknown if the Falcons will try and bring in a fourth arm without any form of free agency. But even if they do, whomever that player is will face long odds to get significant reps. Without a typical off-season and the possibility of a condensed preseason schedule, the Falcons will probably be giving Matt Ryan more reps than usual to get him ready for the regular season.

It means that a premium will be placed on passers that know the offense and can remain functional and ready without a ton of reps. If there is going to be a position battle at this position, it may come in the form of an open competition for the No. 2 spot between Chris Redman and John Parker Wilson. Redman is entering a contract year, and Wilson his third year in the system. The time is ripe for Wilson to push Redman enough to outright take the job or at least inspire enough confidence that the team can opt to not bring Redman back.

But again, due to the team’s desire to get Ryan ready for the season, they are not going to spare a ton of snaps. So whomever wins the job is really going to have to hit the ground running. It’ll be interesting to see if Wilson’s extra time spent at Camp Exile will benefit him.

Chris Owens

A little more than ten months ago, a lot of expectations were heaped onto cornerback Chris Owens. And Owens failed to live up to those expectations in 2010.

Last summer, Owens was expected to compete for a starting job, but Brent Grimes did not relent and did not look back. While Owens struggled, Grimes flourished as a starter and made his first Pro Bowl. Owens began the season as the team’s nickel back and slot corner, but he did not play at a particularly high level through the first six weeks of the season. Then with Dunta Robinson out in Week 7 due to a concussion, Owens was thrust into the spotlight as a starter. And he had one of the poorest performances from a Falcons corner in recent memory. So bad that it made Tye Hill and Chris Houston’s heads spin. And it did not go unnoticed by the coaching staff, as Owens was benched in favor of the declining veteran Brian Williams. But with Williams out against the Packers in the playoffs, Owens was again thrust back into the spotlight, and he once again came up wanting.

This summer, Owens is the incumbent at the nickel spot with Williams not expected to be re-signed. The team did not add a cornerback in the draft, and doing so in free agency does not look quite so promising given the current state of the labor situation. Owens won’t be handed the job, as he’s expected to be pushed by last year’s fifth round pick Dominique Franks.

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OG Andrew Jackson

The Falcons used their final two picks of the 2011 draft on a pair of linemen. They took Fresno State guard Andrew Jackson with the initial pick and then closed out their draft class by taking South Carolina defensive end Cliff Matthews.

Both players have the potential to add capable depth to the roster and have talent that could be worth developing down the road, but could find it tough to get over the initial hurdle of just making the team as rookies.

In both cases, they were drafted at positions which are relatively deep for the Falcons. Arguably, the two deepest spots on the entire roster: offensive guard and defensive end. While it’s no secret that the Falcons face questions at both spots, they have done a good job accumulating depth there.

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John Parker Wilson

John Parker Wilson’s name has pinged the radar of Falcons fans twice this off-season. The first was when he became the face of Verizon Wireless’ “Know it Forward” anti-sexual assault campaign. The second was when his name was mentioned in articles discussing the team’s player-organized workouts due to his ability to help his ex-Crimson Tide teammate Julio Jones get acclimated to the Falcons offense.

That’s exactly two more times than anything we’ve seen to date from Wilson.

Wilson was arguably the top prospect among a 2009 class of undrafted quarterbacks that have managed to make some minor waves since. In New England, Brian Hoyer has carved out a niche as the No. 2 behind Tom Brady. Chase Daniel is carrying the clipboard behind Drew Brees in New Orleans. Graham Harrell is expected to push Matt Flynn behind Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay this summer. And Hunter Cantwell has an opportunity to compete for the No. 2 spot behind Joe Flacco in Baltimore this season.

All five players have arguably done as much to date as any of the eight non-first round quarterbacks drafted ahead of them (the most notable of which is the Colts’ Curtis Painter).

Wilson will face a similar challenge this summer to what Chase Daniel faced a year ago with the Saints. Daniel faced direct competition against veteran Patrick Ramsey for who would claim the No. 2 spot behind Brees. Daniel won.

It’s unlikely that the competition that Wilson faces with veteran Chris Redman will result in a zero sum in which one stays and the other goes. But there is that potential, if Wilson can put together a strong summer.

The ability to do so will be dependent on if the league and players can come to an agreement which will not shorten training camp and the preseason. Wilson will likely need all four games to put up enough of a body of work for the Falcons brass to place that much trust in him.

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S Shann Schillinger

Shann Schillinger was the Falcon’s final choice in their 2010 draft class, taken in the sixth round out of Montana. Schillinger wound up playing in fifteen games this year, missing the season finale after breaking his ankle in the Falcons Monday Night loss against the Saints in Week 16.

For the year, Schillinger took a grand total of 3 snaps on regular defense, which came in the garbage minutes in a blowout win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2. He recorded no tackles on defense, but did get 8 stops on special teams, including 2 stops on kickoff coverage that earned him a little by via Moneyball.

Overall, it was a pretty non-descript season for the rookie safety, who turned 25 on Sunday. But Schillinger could be in a position to make a bigger impact with the team in 2011. Since fracturing his ankle, the team let go of veteran safety Erik Coleman and did not take a safety in the draft, as some expected them to do. That means that Schillinger will enter this summer as the team’s top backup at safety. A vital position considering how injury-prone safeties are at this level.

It’s probable that the team’s hope for Schillinger’s future is one of the reasons they chose not to bring back Coleman for the final year of his contract. Schillinger won’t be pushing either of the starter’s but he could be taking a page from starting free safety Thomas DeCoud.

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LB Akeem Dent

While much of the post-draft debate has centered on whether the Julio Jones trade-up was a good move or not, the biggest question mark of the Falcons 2011 draft class is arguably the next player they took off the board: Georgia linebacker Akeem Dent.

There is very little question of Jones’ skills. The only question there is whether the Falcons gave up too much to acquire those skills and only time will tell. But one wonders whether Dent has the skills that merited the Falcons taking him with a late third round pick.

My initial reaction was that Dent was not worth that high a pick, particularly for a 4-3 team like the Falcons. Dent fits best as an inside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme. That is the best scheme and role where he can maximize his skills at the NFL level. Playing in a 4-3 is not likely to maximize his skillset, which leaves questions of what the Falcons saw in Dent that many others, including myself did not see.

So I went back and watched some more tape on Dent to see if I could figure it out. Here is what I saw…

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