Quote:
Originally Posted by Texanskin
comparing our obvious O line needs to a team that drafted glen dorsey is apple and oranges....this entire year we SAW what the need is for our team. Tony romo (who is elusive) was killed without line protection!!! If our O line was like the jets or ravens I'm ok with QB pick...matt ryan had a GOOD LINE. Any rookie behind a bad line = david carr, alex smith...name a rookie who blossumed behind a poor line...NONE
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Thats the thing though going into 2008 the Falcons line was in worse shape then the Skins were this year. In 2008 their starters were coming off a year were they had given up
edit: 47 sacks (the skins gave up 46 in 2009). The only real new addition was Sam Baker who missed a lot of time due to injury (8 games played 5 starts).
Now I'm not saying we just go into next year with the same starters . Far from it, but what I do want is to draft a QB with the 4th pick if the front office thinks that Clausen or Bradford can be a star. The right QB can make all the difference and in reality gives us the best chance to compete for a championship on a regular basis. Now if they think that neither of those guys can be a star then please, by all means, draft Okung or Davis. You won't hear me complaining at all.
However my point being that there have many times when fans for other franchises have called for the safe picks over the QB's. Sometimes they were right (asking the Raiders to draft Calvin Johnson over JaMarcus Russell) and other times they were wrong (asking the Falcons to draft Glen Dorsey over Matt Ryan). For the first time in a long time, I'm truly comfortable with letting the football people make the decisions.
Anyway heres a scouting report on the Falcons O-Line going into 2008:
2008 Offensive Line Breakdowns: The Bunk -- NFL FanHouse
The Atlanta Falcons: Welcome to hell on earth Matt Ryan. Ever wonder why Joey Harrington's career never got a fair shake? Everywhere he went, he had no time to throw. And Matt Ryan, you are about to find out exactly how it feels. Right tackle Todd Weiner underwent major knee surgery and will likely not play. First-rounder, Sam Baker will start at left tackle, but unless he can block five guys simultaneously, stick a fork in this offense. Center Todd McClure and right guard Kynan Forney are veterans, but the rest of the line is totally up in the air and very inexperienced.
2007 Sacks Allowed: 47
2007 Yards Per Carry: 3.9
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Again they went into that season with virtually the same O-Line they had in 2007. Sam Baker was the only real addition. It's also worth noting that in 2008 the line gave up only 17 sacks.