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Orange Blooded [4068]
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What has been draft reaction in Atlanta?
Apr 28, 2024, 10:29 PM
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Media reaction to the Falcons’ draft results are generally portrayed as awful, with some saying Ruke was the worst pick of the draft. What do Atlanta media and fans say?
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All-In [30513]
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Re: What has been draft reaction in Atlanta?
Apr 28, 2024, 11:28 PM
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Ruke is the unfortunate byproduct of the backlash of the stupid QB pick in the first round. If the The falcon had addressed a real need in the first round and then nobody would be saying a thing
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All-American [591]
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Ruke was a reach w/o question****
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Apr 29, 2024, 10:01 AM
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110%er [5183]
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Re: They Know What Its Going To Come Down To ---
Apr 29, 2024, 12:51 AM
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If Grady Jarrett can get a hold of Ruke...then Ruke can only mess up Ruke and his opportunity. What it comes down to though is the big uglies on the O-line and their defense. That team is looking a little loaded in some areas. Coaching calls/play calling will also be key.
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Orange Blooded [3664]
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Re: What has been draft reaction in Atlanta?
Apr 29, 2024, 8:04 AM
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Ruke was their “steal” in the draft .. it went south for them on their first pick .. drafting a QB (with Cousins already there)…and could have drafted back to get him.
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All-American [591]
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They could have traded back...
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Apr 29, 2024, 9:25 AM
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and still had Ruke-
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Athletic Dir [888]
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Re: What has been draft reaction in Atlanta?
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Apr 29, 2024, 9:16 AM
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Not in Atlanta but a life long Falcons fan. The Penix pick was brutal. For an organization that seemed to be in win now mode to draft a QB that will likely sit for a couple of years just didn't make sense. There are way too many holes on both the OL and DL. There isn't a WR on the roster that just gets open underneath. I hope Rondale Moore can fill that need. I loved him at Purdue. There is a big need for CB2 opposite AJ. And the most glaring need, a bona fide pass rusher, was there to be taken or trade back and still get one. I think Ruke is a great human and will have a long and steady NFL career, much like DJ Reader. A better scheme fit would have been T'vondre Sweat. Jimmy Lake runs a lot of 3-4 base. I hope I am wrong about every reaction I've had to these picks but it really seems like there was a hardline plan to trade back and they just couldn't get a partner and the entire draft came unraveled from there.
I do think Penix has the most stable base for a long NFL career, if he can avoid the injuries that wrecked him at Indiana. I think that 8th pick was draft capital that could have been spent more effectively. The argument is if they think Penix is a 12 year Pro Bowl caliber QB, then that pick was perfect. I also get that they expect to be drafting in the 20s the next couple of years with Cousins and won't have another opportunity to draft a QB.
The picks and my alternatives:
Michael Penix Jr., QB, No. 8 (first round)
-Trade back, Turner, Latu, Nate, Odunze if they stayed there or even one of the OTs
Ruke Orhorhoro, DT, No. 35 (second round)
- T'vondre Sweat, AD Mitchell if not Odunze at 8
Bralen Trice, OLB, No. 74 (third round)
-Jonah Ellis, Zak Zinter, Roman Wilson
Brandon Dorlus, DT, No. 109 (fourth round)
-D'vontez Walker, TJ Tampa, XT
JD Bertrand, ILB, No. 143 (fifth round)
-Rattler if not Penix, Trotter, Jamari Thrash
Jase McClellan, RB, No. 186 (sixth round)
Casey Washington, WR, No. 187 (sixth round)
Zion Logue, DT, No. 197 (sixth round)
No idea what was up with 2 of these 3 picks. McClellan is a big name this late but with Allgeier and Robinson already on the roster there's a lot of other ways to go here. Casey Washington blocks well, SMH. I know it's late and they are longshots to even make and stay on the roster but oof. Could have had Tyler Davis. If you valued Ruke, how did you not see Tyler Davis on film? Logue is a BIG dude, I'm not really upset with that pick. I think James Williams is an interesting NFL project, a 6'4" "safety". I think he would have been a better flyer that late.
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All-American [591]
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Calling Cousins 30 seconds before...
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Apr 29, 2024, 9:32 AM
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the inane #8 round 1 selection of Penix was the epitomy of adding insult to injury. The front office seems to operate with the fickleness of a teenage girl: w/o self awareness, head in the clouds, and the attention span of a mollusk-
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Athletic Dir [888]
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Re: Calling Cousins 30 seconds before...
Apr 29, 2024, 10:11 AM
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After that the conspiracy theorists went nuts. "Terry Fontenot (former Saints executive) is a plant in the organization to ruin the franchise." Obviously, these guys didn't live through the really bad years. You could build a HOF level roster of terrible draft picks and absolute whiffs. They hit a couple of homeruns but far more swings and fall down, not just misses.
For example the Bengals have just 1 HOFer in their history, Anthony Munoz.
The Falcons have 9 that played at least 1 season in Atlanta. Claude Humphrey is the only one that was draft by Atlanta and played his prime years there. Every other player was brought in after great careers elsewhere (Dickerson, Gonzalez, Morten Andersen) or traded/left before they got going, Favre and Prime.
Remember Aundray Bruce, Bruce Pickens, Shawn Collins, Steve Broussard, Mike Pritchard, Tony Smith, Michael Booker, Jamaal Anderson (DE), Takk McKinley, Peria Jerry, Sam Baker?
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All-American [591]
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William Andrews was great player...
Apr 29, 2024, 8:59 PM
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in a short time frame, Hof level play for 5-6 years. Was LB Jesse Tuggle a falcon draftee?
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All-Pro [679]
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Re: What has been draft reaction in Atlanta?
Apr 29, 2024, 11:23 AM
[ in reply to Re: What has been draft reaction in Atlanta? ] |
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I agree with the edge rusher evaluation. The Falcons haven't been in the Top 10 in sacks going on 20 years. Grady will enjoy mentoring but needs help from the outside.
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All-Pro [679]
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Re: What has been draft reaction in Atlanta?
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Apr 29, 2024, 11:06 AM
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Keep in mind the Falcons are under NFL investigation for tampering with Kirk Cousins and their Head of Football Operations is on the NFL rules committee, so the bar is low. The Cousin's signing at $180M and the Penix pick (though an overreach according to "experts") are like Pickles and Chocolate. Individually, neither is a bad move but they don't go together. Considering the Falcons are likely to lose a 2d or 3d round pick next year due to tampering that's a lot of collateral to be tied up in one position. Nobodies going to run a two QB set. If you read any assessments that doesn't cover both
the Cousins signing and the Penix draft, they're being disingenuous. Individually, it's logical but you can't separate the two.
The local sports talks are in two camps. The Falcon's broadcast station is scratching their heads but the "Benefit of doubt" and "Let's wait and see" water carriers are in lock step. The competition down the dial is crushing them including former Falcon, Brian Finneran.
I think the shock of Penix helped deflect the Ruke reach. In my opinion he could have been had later. Do the Falcons look better on paper? Yes. Can they win the division with either Cousins or Penix? Yes. Could they be a better team next year? I think dropping back and getting either Dallas Turner or Jared Verse along with picking up an extra pick or saving the $180 million and picking up a proven commodity like Chase Young would have helped more than two years of Penix wearing headphones on the sideline.
*I'm fully expecting the Falcons to have the most expensive backup QB in history before this ends. I watched Chris Chandler get drug until Michael Vick was brought in from the sidelines. The Falcons have put their (21-38 record) coach in a tough situation.
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Orange Blooded [2115]
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Re: What has been draft reaction in Atlanta?
Apr 29, 2024, 1:06 PM
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Those fans also thought AJ Terrell was a terrible draft choice. Who knows how it will work out but Ruke has a lot of upside.
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Replies: 12
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