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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Falcons safety William Moore was arrested Tuesday afternoon for traffic and moving violations. He was released from Gwinnett County jail late Tuesday evening. Moore was arrested for speeding, driving with a suspended license, and failure to appear in court.

Citing sources, Pro Football Talk reports that the arrest stemmed from Moore’s failure to pay a speeding ticket from several months ago. Moore had two tickets, resolved the first one, but then had the second one go unresolved. Which led to the failure to appear in court and the suspension of his license.

According to PFT, the issue is likely to be resolved fairly quickly, and seems unlikely to cause any further discipline by the league after the lockout is resolved.

Babineaux: A Difference Maker in Week 2?

I certainly know a lot of Falcon fans were disappointed with the outcome of last week’s game. I was too, but if you had read my preview of the game then you knew exactly what was coming. I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I think I pretty much nailed that matchup. I’m trying for two in a row.

I watched the Cardinals-Rams game from last week to get prepped for my analysis of this game. And after seeing that game, I have to say that the Rams should have won that game. The Cardinals truly got outplayed, but if not for three interceptions by Sam Bradford, they probably would have lost.

That being said, I don’t expect the Cardinals to lay down for the Falcons. But I don’t see them as nearly a formidable matchup as the Steelers were.

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D. Orlando Ledbetter of the AJC reports that the Falcons expect several players to return to action in next week’s preseason game against the Miami Dolphins after missing some time. Among them are safety William Moore, cornerback Dunta Robinson, defensive tackle Peria Jerry, cornerback Brian Williams, and running back Jerious Norwood.

All five players have yet to suit up for a game this preseason. Typically, the third preseason game is the one in which the team’s starters get the majority of their playing time. And Robinson and Jerry are expected to hold down starting positions this season. Head coach Mike Smith indicated in his post-game press conference that the team had been targeting most of the injured players to return for this third preseason game from the start.

Moore has missed time by re-aggravating a groin injury he suffered in the spring. The former second round pick has seen very little action to date for the team in the past two seasons.

Robinson was held out last week with a hamstring injury, although he indicated in a television interview that he could have played had it been a regular season game. The team erred on the side of caution to allow the injury to heal.

Jerry still has lingering issues from the knee injury he suffered in September of last season and has been limited in practice since training camp began at the end of July. Williams is in the same boat.

Norwood too has been limited for most of camp with a hip flexor.

The Falcons were able to get wide receiver Harry Douglas and safety Matt Giordano back from injury for last night’s preseason game. Douglas (knee) and Giordano (groin) were held out of the Chiefs games. Douglas responded with a pair of receptions for 13 yards. It was his first action since 2008, after missing all of the 2009 season with a knee injury. Giordano had two tackles in his first action in a Falcon uniform.

It’s time to look at a handful of players whose stock is up or down based on their performances through the first game of the preseason.

Stock Up

Kroy Biermann, DE - Expectations that Biermann would be able to step up his game were not let down with a good preseason opener. Two tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble indicate that Biermann seems poised to build off a breakout year as a pass rusher.

Dominique Franks, CB – He is not in the mix to be a starter this year, and probably doesn’t have a realistic shot of winning the nickel role, but Franks has reportedly had a strong camp so far, and continue to flash his ability in the game against the Chiefs. He showed his tackling ability with two good sticks on Chiefs receivers. He missed another tackle by taking a bad angle and gave up another long play in coverage, indicating that he still has a ways to go before he can be a reliable contributor on defense. But if his tackling ability is any indicator, Franks should be a valuable contributor early on special teams. Chris Owens had a similar path a year ago, going from special teams maven into regular contributor on defense by year’s end.

Kerry Meier, WR – We continue to hear nice things about the fifth round pick who has snagged everything so far at camp. Meier finished the preseason opener with two catches for 27 yards. He isn’t likely a serious option to fill in time for the vacant Michael Jenkins, but if Meier continues to play at a high level, he may get opportunities on offense rather than being relegated to special teams duty only. He has a chance to pass Eric Weems as the teams’ No. 4 receiver with Jenkins out of the lineup.

John Parker Wilson, QB – It seems the Falcons decision to enter camp with only three arms (one short of the usual in the NFL) seems to be a smart move since Wilson has performed at a level that makes a fourth arm pointless. Wilson didn’t have a great night statistically, completing 8 of 16 passes for 80 yards, but shined at times making some really good throws and showing his NFL arm.

Stock Down

William Moore, S – Moore has missed time by re-aggravating a groin injury he suffered in the spring. Many expected Moore to be a serious challenger for a starting position at strong safety, but he has yet to prove he can remain healthy for a long enough stretch to give the coaching staff something to think about. Barring some absolutely brilliant performances in the remaining preseason games, it would appear Erik Coleman is locked in as the starter for at least another year.

Antone Smith, RB – Despite leading the Falcons in rushing on Friday night’s game against the Chiefs, Smith had at least two key drops in the passing game. He is in direct competition with undrafted rookie Dimitri Nance for a potential fourth running back spot on the depth chart. Given that spot’s role likely to be limited to third downs and special teams, whichever of the two proves to be the more reliable receiver would likely go a long way to settling the competition.

The safety position may feature one of the few legitimate competitions for a starting position.

The battle may come between incumbent strong safety Erik Coleman and second-year player William Moore. It was obvious last season that when the Falcons took Moore in the second round of the draft, they envisioned him as a starter. But an injury early in camp derailed his chances of winning that job. And the Falcons plugged in Thomas DeCoud at free safety, and moved Coleman from his natural spot to the strong safety position. Coleman was serviceable as a starter, but his drop in production from 2008 to 2009 indicates that he is not a natural fit at his current position. So if Moore puts together a strong summer, then odds are he can win that position, and Coleman will be relegated to utility reserve.

But the Falcons won’t force Moore into the starting lineup after missing almost the entirety of his rookie year due to injury. They can afford to give him another year to develop before putting him into the lineup. The key for Moore’s chances of winning the job is if he can show that the mental awareness and discipline is there for him to man the starting position. Knowing his assignments in coverage are key for his success.

But after those three players, the competition is wide open. The Falcons may only need to keep four safeties because Coleman can play two positions. And that fourth spot will likely come down to Matt Giordano or Shann Schillinger. And who wins that battle will likely be largely dependent on who plays well on special teams this summer, since that is primarily what that player will do in the regular season. Giordano has more experience, but Schillinger is a rookie draft pick and thus has more long-term value. That probably gives Schillinger a slight edge in the competition.

Gabe Derricks and Rafael Bush are two undrafted free agents that will be in the mix and with good summers of producing on special teams and making some plays on defense could land practice squad roles.

Shortly after news that Moore would be healthy to participate, the Falcons have changed their mind on 2009 second round pick William Moore’s status for this weekend’s minicamp due to a minor pectoral injury suffered while weight-lifting per an AJC report. Also Jonathan Babineaux will be held out due to a minor shoulder injury. Neither injuries are considered serious per the report, and will miss this weekend’s five practices to prevent further damage.

D. Orlando Ledbetter of the AJC reports that 2009 second round pick William Moore has been cleared to participate in the Falcons upcoming minicamp this weekend. Moore was limited to only two appearances last season after undergoing knee surgery in August, and then suffering a hamstring injury during the season which forced him onto injured reserve.

Per the report, fellow 2009 rookie Peria Jerry will not participate in the minicamp due lingering issues from a knee injury he suffered in Week 2 of last year. Cornerback Brian Williams and wide receiver Harry Douglas also will be held out as they recover from torn ACLs. Per Falcons head coach Mike Smith, all three of those players are not expected to participate in organized team activities later in the month and should return in time for training camp later this summer.

Looking back over the Falcons-related news from the past week…

Owner’s Meetings

The media got a chance to hear from the Falcons top brass during this week’s owners meetings. D-Led has a nice write-up on a Q&A session that occurred there with head coach Mike Smith. We learned that Smitty supports the changes to overtime, although that’s not too surprising since Rich McKay is co-chair of the competition committee, and the Falcons should be on board with all the proposals.

We also learned from Smith during the week that defensive tackle Peria Jerry and wide receiver Harry Douglas, both recovering from season-ending knee injuries last year won’t be participating in spring mini-camps and OTAs, but will be shooting to return at the end of July for training camp. Matt Ryan and Michael Turner are back and ready to go now. And safety William Moore is simply “progressing” with no known timetable on when he will be completely recovered from his injury a year ago. (Source: Pat Yasinskas, ESPN)

Extra Paycheck

Brent Grimes and Thomas DeCoud were the biggest earners this year for the Falcons in the performance-based pay system. (Source: D-Led, AJC)

Also interesting to note that Falcons safety Erik Coleman has been the biggest earner overall since the league instituted the system in 2002. (Source: Tim Yotter, Scout.com)

Beefing Up the Middle

The Falcons appear to be very interested in getting stronger up the middle along their offensive line, having scheduled several workouts this week with draft prospects. They are working out three center prospects this weekend: Matt Tennant (Boston College), J.D. Walton (Baylor), and Ted Larsen (N.C. State). The team also has unspecified upcoming workouts with Maurice Pouncey (Florida) and Mike Iupati (Idaho) who are often predicted to be first round picks. Indiana offensive tackle Rodger Saffold also will work out with the Falcons this past week, who many project as a possible guard. (Sources: FalcFans Draft Central)

They are being speculated as a potential destination for Miami Dolphins guard Justin Smiley. (Source: Armando Salguero, Miami Herald)

Draft Notes

The Falcons had a busy week of visiting pro days, attending those of N.C. State, Connecticut, and Central Michigan this past Wednesday. They checked out UNLV’s on Thursday. You can find out more information on which prospects the Falcons are targetting at FalcFans Draft Central.

To make room for running back Aaron Stecker, the Falcons placed rookie safety William Moore on the injured reserve. Moore had been sidelined most recently with a hamstring injury.

Moore was a second round pick for the team this past April, and marks the second of this year’s draft class to wind up on the injured reserve. First round pick Peria Jerry was injured in the team’s second game.

Moore had only been active for two games, and recorded two stops on special teams vs. the Chicago Bears, his lone production for the season. Moore had knee surgery in August, and missed much of the summer, eventually losing his competition for a starting safety position to Thomas DeCoud.

The team also adjusted their practice squad today. Cornerback Glenn Sharpe was placed on the practice squad-injured list, and the team added safety Eric Brock to replace him.