Mitglieder » Who will fill the Falcons’ last roster spot

Well Stitched Alex Mack Jersey , now that we have an idea of who the Atlanta Falcons kept and let go, we have 52 guys who will be on the sidelines each Sunday. Well, as you know, NFL teams have 53 players on the roster. So Atlanta’s one short. The roster, as of now, is stacked to the brim with talent and promise, and not many spots have much breathing room at all. We don’t expect any new faces around these parts: quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, defensive tackle, safety, cornerback...oh Youth Alex Mack Jersey , and kicker, punter, long snapper. Ricky Ortiz should also hang on to that fullback spot.So that basically leaves defensive end and linebacker as the two potentials. With Richard Jarvis making the team, linebacker has six spots and could maybe take another, but if that’s the case, why not keep Celestin? If you’d like to whittle down the options here, that basically means it’s looking like a pass rusher. Now, that doesn’t mean it’s for sure a pass rusher (heck, maybe there’s a random guard somewhere they want to claim), but it feels likely that it’ll be a pass rusher. Gold Rush Could it be one acquired via trade? Unlikely. The Falcons aren’t looking for a starter; just a guy to salt the ice a bit at the spot. Vic Beasley, Takk McKinley and Brooks Reed will all rotate in and out to affect the QB, while Derrick Shelby assist against the run and do a little rushing himself; ditto for Jack Crawford, who’s versatile. The Falcons do need some depth, though Stitched Vic Beasley Jersey , and could afford to rotate a guy in and out to make sure the top guys aren’t getting too much run early in the year. There will be no shortage of names to pop up as the day wears on, but two stick out: Vikings DE Brian Robison and Saints OLB Hau’oli Kikaha. Robison was a surprise cut in Minnesota, a stalwart Viking who had about a nine-sack ceiling but would never dip below four a season post-2011 after entering the league in 2007. Minnesota has a bevy of riches in its trenches, which might signal why Robison is now looking for work. He’s also 35 and might be entering the twilight of his career. As a flat-out cut, he’ll be allowed to go wherever he wants, so watch for Robison to eye a contender. He’ll have his suitors. Could one of them be Atlanta? He’d be very sound depth at the spot and could help filter in here and there. If injury hits that spot, you feel better about everything with a guy like Robison in tow. Kikaha was a second-round pick by the Saints in 2015 and has never struggled to flash his talents when healthy. But that’s been the problem, his health. He played his entire rookie season before missing all of 2016 with injury. He also ended 2017 on the IR after a decent campaign. He’ll be subject to the waiver wire, and someone will no doubt want to get him in their system and see what he’s got. Could one of those teams be Atlanta? Maybe he could come into his own with a change of scenery and new training plan. Regardless of where this goes, pass rusher feels like the most likely spot for where the last roster spot goes, unless we’re in for a stash-and-dash claim at a random spot. We’ll see where Sunday takes us here. ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons‘ defense has one primary goal entering Sunday’s game against Dallas: Slow down Ezekiel Elliott and make Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott try to beat them with his arm.The Falcons will need all their resources to corral Elliott, who leads the NFL with 93 runs of 10 or more yards over the last three years.Atlanta coach Dan Quinn says his defense, which gave up 211 yards rushing in last week’s loss at Cleveland, must maintain gap control against a patient Youth Vic Beasley Jersey , powerful running back.“He can wait to set up a block and stick his foot in the ground and really explode,” Quinn said. “Oftentimes, you can see him take a handoff and see a read about to happen, then he can change the direction and really explode. I would say the second piece of that is he’s really effective as a pass catcher, too.”Atlanta’s struggling defense was hoping to get a boost from the return of middle linebacker Deion Jones, who hasn’t played since breaking his right foot in the season opener and was ruled out a couple of days after rejoining the active roster. When healthy, Jones is the Falcons’ best defender. He calls the plays, is stout against the run and is fast enough to cover running backs and receivers in coverage.Jones’ injury and season-ending surgeries for starting safeties Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen have been too much for the Falcons to overcome. They rank third-worst in average yards allowed and fourth-worst in scoring average.Elliott is coming off a dazzling performance — 19 runs and six catches for 187 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns — in a win at Philadelphia. But the Cowboys had to stay the course early when Elliott had just seven yards through the team’s first two possessions.“Honestly, at the beginning, it was a little bit tough sledding,” Elliott said. “We made some good adjustments. We have to have the same mentality going into this game.”Dallas’ defense faces a tough challenge in matching up against Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan and star wideout Julio Jones, who has reached 10,000 yards receiving quicker than any player in NFL history.So, there isn’t much wiggle room for either team. Both are 4-5 and trying to stay in the playoff hunt.Here are things to know about the Cowboys-Falcons matchup:THIN D-LINEThe Cowboys started practice this week with five defensive linemen sidelined by injuries: David Irving (ankle) Stitched Matt Ryan Jersey , Taco Charlton (shoulder), Maliek Collins (knee), Daniel Ross (calf) and Antwaun Woods (concussion).Collins and Woods both played more than 60 percent of the snaps against Philadelphia. If either can’t play against the Falcons, the depth on the interior line will be tested.Dallas might not be able to use Tyrone Crawford outside as much to ease the load on DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory. Lawrence, who has battled shoulder issues this season and has a history of back trouble, played a season-high 90 percent of the snaps against the Eagles.FIGHTING FOR RESPECTFalcons cornerback Desmond Trufant is enduring his toughest year as a pro with five dropped interceptions, the worst coming on Cincinnati’s game-winning drive in Week 4.Trufant, a first-round pick in 2013, takes the blame for not playing consistently sound fundamentals.“I’m judging myself harder than anybody else can,” he said. “So it is what it is. It’s the league. I’m in the spotlight. I’m earning what I’m earning. It just comes with it. That’s just how it goes. I’m in that position. I’ll just keep working, attack the issues, stay humble. I’ve been here before. I’ll just keep working.”COMPARING PICKSThe Cowboys were high on Calvin Ridley going into the draft, having spent plenty of time with the former Alabama receiver and needing a replacement after releasing Dez Bryant, the franchise’s career leader in touchdown catches Youth Matt Ryan Jersey , in a cost-cutting move in the offseason. Instead, Dallas went with Boise State linebacker Leighton Vander Esch at No. 19. The Falcons chose Ridley seven picks later.Both teams are pleased.Vander Esch set a rookie franchise record with 19 tackles against the Eagles, according to the coaches’ count. Ridley leads all rookies with 500 yards receiving and has been a strong complement to Julio Jones.LOOKING BETTERPrescott was steady in leading 75-yard drives for touchdowns in the fourth quarter last week, each of which answered a TD from the Eagles. It has been an inconsistent season for the 2016 NFL Offensive Rookie the Year as he ranks 33rd in average yards passing, but Dallas coach Jason Garrett says the team ignores outside criticism.“Well, we don’t spend much on that,” Garrett said. “We spend most of our time on ourselves and what we need to do to be better. That’s every one of us. Every coach. Every player. And we love Dak. Dak has done some really great things for our team in the 2½ years that he’s been our starting quarterback. He’s continuing to grow as a player.”STAY STRONGRyan needs the threat of play-action, but that’s hard to maintain when the Falcons’ running game starts strong and fades. It’s been a frustrating trend all season.“We just need to stick with it,” he said. “Last week, we just played from behind most of the third and fourth quarter, which makes it difficult to run the football. I thought that we had our opportunities. We did some nice things in the run game last week, so staying in front of the chains and staying ahead and the score is key to keeping our run game rolling.”