The Falcons will likely try to run the ball early and often in the 2008 season.  Michael Turner was brought in as a free agent in 2008 and he carry the load in the running game for the Falcons.  Turner is a good power runner with enough speed to get down the field.  Turner played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Chargers last season and he carried the ball 71 times for 316 yards (4.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 4 passes for 16 yards (4.0 avg).  Look for Turner to double his career totals if he can stay healthy in 2008 for the Falcons.  Turner has now played in 59 games (1 start) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 228 times for 1,257 yards (5.5 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  He has also caught 11 passes for 71 yards (6.5 avg).

Jerious Norwood’s game complements Turner’s well as he is a speed burner really make big plays on the edges of a defense.  Norwood played in 15 games (2 starts) for the Falcons last season and he carried the ball 103 times for 613 yards (6.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 28 passes for 277 yards (9.9 avg).  Look for Norwood to have another good season as he’s quite a dynamic player on offense.  Norwood has now played in 29 games (2 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 202 times for 1,246 yards (6.2 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also has caught 40 passes for 379 yards (9.5 avg) in his career.

2nd year man Jason Snelling will likely be the #3 RB for the Falcons this season.  He played in 7 games (0 starts) for the Falcons in 2007 and he carried the ball 13 times for 43 yards (3.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He didn’t catch any passes last season but that will likely change in 2008.

Rookie 5’9″, 199 pound running back Thomas Brown out of Georgia will battle Snelling for the #3 RB in 2008.  Brown never was the main man in the running game at Georgia.  He carried the ball 148 times as a senior at Georgia for 779 yards (5.3 ypc) with 10 TD runs.  Brown has averaged 661.5 yards rushing and 5.8 TD runs per season in his 4 years at Georgia.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B

The Falcons have signed free agent safety Deke Cooper.  Cooper will likely challenge for a starting safety job this year in Atlanta.  Cooper played in 16 games (15 starts) for the Panthers last year and he made 59 tackles, defensed 4 passes and intercepted 3 passes.  Cooper has now played in 73 games (37 starts) in his NFL career and he has made 216 tackles, has 1 sack, has defensed 12 passes and he has 6 interceptions.  This was a good move for the Falcons this late in free agency.

It will be interesting to see how the Falcons handle rookie QB Matt Ryan.  One train of thought is to let him take his lumps like the Manning boys did and let him learn on the job.  The other thought is to let him watch and learn for a year like Steve McNair and Carson Palmer did.  Ryan is no doubt more talented than either Chris Redman and Joey Harrington and it’s up in the air how much he could actually learn from those two guys based on their careers to date.  With that in mind it makes sense to start Ryan if he beats out both Harrington and Redman in training camp.  The Falcons could also protect him in his first season by running a conservative offense.  After all, they did spend a lot of money on new RB Michael Turner and they still have the lightning quick Jerious Norwood too.  It makes more sense to just start Ryan this season but we will see how the Falcons handle it.

Chris Redman was effective last season after replacing Joey Harrington late in the season.  He had last appeared in a NFL game in 2003 with the Ravens before reemerging last season in Atlanta.  Redman has a decent arm and he’s a pretty smart guy who played well in limited action last season.  Defenses will be ready for him this time around because they will have a lot of game film to look at so Redman will probably have to adjust his game a little bit.  He will likely be the starter if the Falcons don’t deem Matt Ryan ready to go.  Redman played in 7 games (4 starts) for the Falcons last season and he completed 89 of 149 passes (59.7%) for 1,079 yards with 10 TD passes and 5 interceptions (90.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 8 times for 16 yards (2.0 ypc).  Redman’s numbers were a marked improvement over his career numbers so you have to wonder if it was a fluke or not.  Redman has now played in 17 games (10 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 195 of 347 passes (56.2%) for 2,190 yards with 17 TD passes and 10 interceptions (79.5 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 21 times for 28 yards (1.3 ypc).

Joey Harrington re-signed with the Falcons thinking that he would have a fair shot to win the starting job in training camp but he will most likely be holding a clipboard and watch Matt Ryan and Chris Redman play.  Harrington wasn’t awful last season but he was still below average.  He has the tools to be a good QB but he often throws the ball where he shouldn’t resulting in a game altering turnover.  Harrington played in 12 games (10 starts) for the Falcons last season and he completed 215 of 348 passes (61.8%) for 2,215 yards with 7 TD passes and 8 interceptions (77.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 14 times for 33 yards (2.4 ypc).  Harrington has not lived up to his potential coming out of college and he’s running out of time to turn things around.  Harrington has now played in 81 games (76 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 1,424 of 2,538 passes (56.1%) for 14,693 yards with 79 TD passes and 85 interceptions (69.4 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 142 times for 402 yards (2.8 ypc).

D.J. Shockley will try to win the #3 QB job in training camp but the odds are stacked against him.  The only real thing he has going for him is that he went to college at Georgia.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  D+

This was a very odd pick for the Falcons as Zinger wasn’t even a good college player.  In fact he only caught 3 passes in his last two years with LSU.  Zinger played in 41 games at LSU and he caught a whopping 15 passes for 209 yards (13.9 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Zinger has nice size at 6’4″, 270 pounds so he could develop into a good run blocker at the end of the offensive line at least.  The Falcons should have taken a chance on a better player with this pick.

Wilfrey Fontenot started all four seasons in his college career at Arizona.  He is only 5’9″, 174 pounds but he runs a 4.45 40.  Because of his size he will have a hard time sticking in the NFL as he’s not physical enough to handle big receivers or running backs at the NFL level.  He played in 46 games (all starts) at Arizona and he made 174 tackles, had 7 interceptions and broke up 25 passes.  Special teams is likely Fontenot’s best chance to make the team.

The Falcons didn’t have to look far to find a running back here as Brown played his college ball at Georgia.  Brown is a small guy at 5’8″, 199 pounds but you would never expect that he’s a power runner but he is.  He runs a 4.55 40 so he’s not a burner but his success runs in his fearlessness and toughness.  He played in 40 games (27 starts) at Georgia and he carried the ball 529 times for 2,646 yards (5.0 ypc) with 23 TD runs.  He also caught 39 passes for 372 yards (9.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Brown also has value on special teams as he can return kicks.  This was a solid pick by the Falcons.

Kroy Biermann will likely have to switch to linebacker from defensive end because of his size.  He is 6’3″, 242 pounds but he is a fast high motor player.  He played at Montana so one has to wonder whether or not he will be able to handle the jump in competition.  He made 72 tackles, had 15 sacks and forced 5 fumbles at Montana last season.  Biermann will likely help on special teams but it might be a while before he works much at linebacker.

Robert James was a playmaker at Arizona State but he had injury problems as he often hurt himself delivering big hits.  He is 5’10″, 230 pounds and he runs a 4.6 40 which is pretty good for a player his size.  He is a maximum effort player who will likely be a backup linebacker and a special teams ace as a rookie.  But he has the potential to eventually win a starting job at linebacker in the future as long as he can stay healthy.  James has played in 42 games (19 starts) in his career at Arizona State and he made 175 tackles, 20 tackles for a loss, had 5.5 sacks, broke up 13 passes and had 5 interceptions.  This was a good pick for the Falcons.

The Falcons made a solid pick in getting safety Thomas DeCoud in the 3rd round as many experts expected him to go a tad earlier.  DeCoud brings the pain as he often tries to drive through a ball carrier.  He has only played a year and a half as safety for California so he’s still learning on the job.  He is 6’1″, 196 pounds but he only runs a 4.57 40.  DeCoud would be better off at strong safety because of his hitting ability and lack of big time speed.  He played in 45 games (16 starts) at California and he made 198 tackles, broke up 8 passes, had 1 interception, forced 2 fumbles and recovered 2 fumbles.  He will likely be a starter in the near future for the Falcons and he will no doubt be an assassin on special teams starting this season.

The Falcons overdrafted WR Harry Douglas as a lot of draft experts had him going in the 5th or 6th round.  He is small at 5’11″, 170 pounds but he times fast at 4.43 in the 40.  But, his speed doesn’t often translate to the football field but he’s very tough often putting his body at risk going over the middle.  Douglas played in 47 games (28 starts) at Louisville and he made 173 catches for 2,915 yards (16.8 avg) with 15 TD grabs.  This will likely be a good pick for the Falcons as long as Douglas’ body can take the pounding it will likely take.