33-year old, 10-time Pro Bowler Tony Gonzalez is back for another season as the starting TE for the Falcons.  He played in 16 games (all starts) for the Falcons last season in which he caught 83 passes for 867 yards (10.4 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  Gonzalez has now played in 206 games (190 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 999 passes for 11,807 yards (11.8 avg) with 82 TD grabs.  I think Gonzalez will put up better stats than last season as long as Matt Ryan doesn’t miss any games in 2010.

31-year old Justin Peelle is more of a blocker than a receiver.  He played in 15 games (8 starts) for the Falcons last season and he caught 12 passes for 115 yards (9.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Peelle has now played in 124 games (58 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 112 passes for 888 yards (7.9 avg) with 11 TD grabs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR FALCONS TEs in 2010:  A

30-year old Ovie Mughelli and 29-year old Dan Klecko bring the pain with their lead blocking.  Mughelli is 6′1″, 260 pounds and he’s like having an extra lineman in the backfield.  He played in 14 games (7 starts) for the Falcons last season and he carried the ball 4 times for 10 yards (2.5 ypc).  He also caught 7 passes for 51 yards (7.3 avg) with 1 TD  grab last year.  He has now played in 84 games (40 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 27 times for 83 yards (3.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Mughelli has also caught 45 passes for 339 yards (7.5 avg) with 3 TD grabs in his career.

Dan Klecko is even bigger than Mughelli at 5′11″, 275 pounds and he’s a former DT so you know he’s tough.  He did not play last season.  Klecko has played in 63 games (6 starts) offensively in his career and he has carried the ball 2 times for 5 yards (2.5 ypc).  He also has caught 10 passes for 56 yards (5.6 avg) with 1 TD grab in his career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE FALCONS FBs in 2010:  B-

28-year old Michael Turner has been awesome since coming over from the Chargers as a free agent two years ago.  He played in 11 games (all starts) for the Falcons last season and he carried the ball 178 times for 871 yards (4.9 ypc) with 10 TD grabs.  He also caught 5 passes for 35 yards (7.0 avg) last season.  He has now played in 86 games (28 starts) in his six years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 782 times for 3,827 yards (4.9 ypc) with 33 TD runs.  Turner has also caught 22 passes for 147 yards (6.7 avg) in his NFL career.  Turner is one of the very best power runners in the NFL as he’s like a bowling ball with legs.  He takes a lot of hits that way and the Falcons missed him why he was out last season.  They need him to stay healthy in 2010 to have the offense operate on all cylinders.

26-year old Jason Snelling was the top backup for the Falcons last season.  He played in 14 games (2 starts) for the Falcons last season and he carried the ball 142 times for 613 yards (4.3 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  Snelling also caught 30 passes for 259 yards (8.6 avg) with 1 TD grab last year.  Snelling has now played in 37 games (3 starts) in his three years with the Falcons and he has carried the ball 170 times for 718 yards (4.2 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He has also caught 38 passes for 348 yards (9.2 avg) with 1 TD grab in his NFL career.  Snelling proved last season that the Falcons can count on him to produce whenever he’s on the field.

26-year old Jerious Norwood was banged up a lot last season.  He played in 10 games (4 starts) for the Falcons last season in which he carried the ball 76 times for 252 yards (3.3 ypc).  He also caught 19 passes for 186 yards (9.8 avg) with 1 TD grab and he also returned 1 kickoff for 39 yards.  Norwood has now played 4 years for the Falcons appearing in 55 games (6 starts) in which he has carried the ball 373 times for 1,987 yards (5.3 ypc) with 7 TD runs and he has also caught 95 passes for 903 yards (9.5 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Norwood also has returned 117 kickoffs for 2,987 yards (25.5 avg) in his time with the Falcons.  Norwood is the fastest back on the Falcons but he’s also the most brittle.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR FALCONS RBs in 2010:  A-

The Falcons hope that 25-year old starting QB Matt Ryan can rebound from a so-so 2009 season.  He played in 14 games for the Falcons last season and he completed 263 of 451 passes (58.3%) for 2,916 yards with 22 TD passes and 14 INTs (80.9 QB Rating).  Ryan also ran the ball 30 times for 49 yards (1.6 ypc) with 1 TD run last year.  Ryan has now played in 30 games in his two years with the Falcons and he has completed 528 of 885 (59.7%) for 6,356 yards with 38 TD passes and 25 INTs (84.3 QB Rating).  Ryan also has carried the ball 85 times for 153 yards (1.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs in his young career with the Falcons.  The Falcons are a much better team when Ryan is under the center as they are 20-10 (66.7%) in games he’s started during the regular season in his first two years.

32-year old Chris Redman is back as the #2 QB in 2010.  He played in 6 games for the Falcons last season and he completed 69 of 119 passes (58%) for 781 yards with 4 TD passes and 3 INTs (78.4 QB Rating).  Redman also carried the ball 6 times for 4 yards (0.7 ypc) last season.  Redman has now played in 23 games in his NFL career and he has completed 264 of 466 passes (56.7%) for 2,971 yards with 21 TD passes and 13 INTs (79.3 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 27 times for 32 yards (1.2 ypc) in his NFL career.  Despite only having a 4-8 (33.3%) career record as a starting QB, Redman is still a solid backup as he proved last year with the Falcons.

27-year old John Parker Wilson and 24-year old D.J. Shockley will duke it out in training camp for the #3 QB on the Falcons in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE FALCONS QBs in 2010:  B+

2nd year man Matt Ryan will try to build on his outstanding rookie season in 2009.  The Falcons got Ryan a new toy in TE Tony Gonzalez which should really help loosen up the defense over the middle of the field.  Ryan has a good arm and he’s smart beyond his years.  Look for improvement this season from Ryan will him possibly making the Pro Bowl.  Chris Redman will be the #2 QB for the Falcons again in 2009.  Redman doesn’t have a great arm but he can still make all the throws needed to succeed.  He’s been a good mentor to Ryan and he would probably be at least a league average QB forced onto the field due to injury.  D.J. Shockley comes to camp as the #3 QB for the Falcons but he will have to fight undrafted rookie John Parker Wilson for his job.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON:  A-