Warrick Dunn led the way for the Falcons on the ground.  He registered his fifth season of 1,000+ yards rushing this past year.  Dunn played in all 16 games and carried the ball 286 times for 1,140 yards (4.0 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also caught 22 passes for 170 yards (7.7 avg) with 1 TD grab.  For his career, Dunn has played in 150 games (133 starts) and has carried the ball 2,256 times for 9,461 yards (4.2 ypc) with 43 TD runs.  He also has caught 426 passes for 3,771 yards (8.9 avg) with 15 TD catches.  The Falcons will probably lessen Dunn’s workload next season to keep him fresh and give Jerious Norwood more carries.

Rookie Jerious Norwood had a great rookie season and made everyone quickly forget about T.J. Duckett.  Norwood played in 14 games and carried the ball 99 times for 633 yards (6.4 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 12 passes for 102 yards (8.5 avg).  Look for his playing time and numbers to increase next season.

Fullback/halfback Justin Griffith is the perfect backup for the Falcons.  He’s a good runner, receiver and blocker.  He played in every game last season and carried the ball 19 times for 106 yards (5.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 23 passes for 168 yards (7.3 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  For his career, Griffith has played in 60 games (48 starts) and he’s carried the ball 81 times for 378 yards (4.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also has caught 87 passes for 621 yards (7.1 avg) with 9 TD catches.

Marlion Jackson only played in 1 game as a rookie and carried the ball 1 time for 2 yards.

Michael Vick became the first NFL QB to ever rush for over 1,000 yards in a season, but he didn’t throw the ball that well this season and he was a major factor in the teams disappointing finish to the season.  Vick started all 16 games and completed 204 of 388 passes (52.6%) for 2,474 yards with 20 TD passes and 13 interceptions (75.7 QB Rating).  He also ran the ball 123 times for 1,039 yards (8.4 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  For his career, Vick has played in 74 games (67 starts) and he’s completed 930 of 1,730 passes (53.8%) for 11,505 yards with 71 TD passes and 52 interceptions (75.7 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 529 times for 3,859 yards (7.3 ypc) with 21 TD runs.

Matt Schaub didn’t start a game this season but he completed 18 of 27 passes (66.7%) for 208 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 interceptions (71.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 7 times for 21 yards (3.0 ypc).  For his career, Schaub has played in 38 games (2 starts) and he completed 84 of 161 passes (52.2%) for 1,033 yards with 6 TD passes and 6 interceptions (69.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 24 times for 123 yards (5.1 ypc).

It will be interesting to see how Coach Petrino handles the QB situation next season. 

 

Bobby Petrino has been given a 5 year, $24 million dollar contract to lead the Atlanta Falcons into battle.  Petrino compiled a 41-9 record in 4 seasons at Louisville.  He led the Cardinals to their first Big East Championship and BCS appearance.  The Cardinals prevailed in the Orange Bowl 24-13 over Wake Forest.  The interesting thing with this hire is that Petrino is a coach that favors the passing game, so it will be interesting to see what Michael Vick’s role will be for the Falcons.  It’s possible that the Falcons might trade Michael Vick and start Matt Schaub.  This will be a very interesting off-season for the Falcons.

The Falcons just couldn’t see fit to continue of with Jim Mora as their head coach.  Mora’s dad described Michael Vick as a “coach killer” in the media and Mora stated that he would leave the Falcons immediately if presented the head coaching job at his alma mater…the University of Washington.  Those factors plus the fact that the Falcons underachieved this season, finishing at 7-9 all contributed in the dumping of Mora as head coach.

Mora coached the Falcons for three seasons and compiled a record of 26-22.  He also was 1-1 in the playoffs with the Falcons.