Matthew 28:3..."And his clothes were white as ICE!" The Official 2017 Atlanta Falcons Season Thread

How do the 2017 Atlanta Falcons finish the season?

  • Wild Card

    Votes: 6 8.6%

  • Division Winner

    Votes: 10 14.3%

  • NFC Champion

    Votes: 1 1.4%

  • Super Bowl Champion

    Votes: 25 35.7%

  • *Insert cornball 28-3 joke from a fan of a team that hasn't made the playoffs in years* :beli:

    Votes: 9 12.9%

  • No playoffs

    Votes: 19 27.1%
  • Total voters
    70
  • Poll closed .
AVXL

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Falcons' Jalen Collins: Depth chart drop 'ain't nothing to be down about'
8:26 PM ET
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    Vaughn McClureESPN Staff Writer

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- No one expected Jalen Collins to retain his starting job from the end of last season, not with one-time Pro Bowler Desmond Trufant back from a pectoral injury.

But many believed Collins, a 2015 second-round draft pick from LSU, would remain in a backup cornerback role for the Atlanta Falconsgoing into 2017, considering he started the Super Bowl in place of Trufant.

Such hasn't been the case through the first five practices of training camp, and it's somewhat mysterious. During Tuesday's padded practice, Collins found himself on the field opposite undrafted rookie cornerback Jarnor Jones and lined up to cover undrafted rookie receiver Reginald Davis III. Collins was running with the third-string defense in this particular 11-on-11 drill, going against an offense directed by fourth-string quarterback and undrafted rookie Alek Torgersen.

Tom Brady about six months ago.

"Of course, it sucks," Collins told ESPN regarding his drop down the depth chart. "Everyone wants to be out there flying around and competing and stuff. But at the same time, it's not all about me. It's about my brothers and just trying to help those guys.

"It ain't nothing to be down about. ... I don't feel like it's a situation where they don't believe in me or don't trust me or anything like that. They're just trying to give everybody else some extra reps; guys that haven't been in situations like that."

Collins' defensive reps have been limited to start camp, and his reps with the bottom of the roster players have been definitely noticeable. Trufant and Robert Alford are the starters, and C.J. Goodwin and Deji Olatoye have been the two typically running with the second team. Akeem King, who was injured last season, has shown up more than Collins. And even starting nickelback Brian Poole has seen more reps outside at corner than Collins on certain days.

So what exactly is going on with Collins? Is he in the doghouse with the coaches for some reason?

"He's not getting as many [reps], and that's just from a coaching decision," coach Dan Quinn said. "There might be days when he gets more. So for me, we've got [18] guys back there. We're trying to work it all the way through. For me, tomorrow, it could be different."

Is Collins being disciplined for violating team or NFL rules? Remember, he came to the Falcons with some red flags after failing three drug tests at LSU. Once with the team, Collins was suspended without pay for the first four games of his second season for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances.

Teams don't talk about whether a player failed a drug test, at least not publicly. The NFL office sends out news releases announcing suspensions related to such violations.

"It's nothing like that," Collins said, insisting no such trouble has led to his demotion. "It's strictly just trying to get guys with a little less experience, trying to get those guys their reps."

Collins mentioned multiple times, "I've been in this situation before." He was heavily criticized after starting just two games as a rookie despite talk of him having first-round talent. The Falcons raved about the 6-foot-1, 203-pound Collins' length and overall playmaking ability, but it didn't show up during his disappointing first year.

Then last year, Collins showed signs of promise after Trufant went down nine games into the season. Collins started six games during the regular season and had two interceptions. Then he started all three playoff games, although he regressed in a 34-28 overtime Super Bowl loss to New England.


There have been no whispers about the Falcons giving up on Collins or seeking to trade him. The preseason games might give him a chance to work his way back up the depth chart, whether that means making a splash play on defense or excelling on special teams.

Collins was asked if he expects to be on the 53-man roster to start the regular season.

"Yeah," he said. "I know everybody's out here trying to get better, and I know Coach has the team's best interest at hand. I'm just out here trying to help as much as I can.''

Quinn talked about where Collins needs to improve moving forward.

"From Jalen, we're always going to challenge him and play him outside quite a bit," Quinn said, "and so playing at the line of scrimmage and playing really aggressive there. And then finding his role on [special] teams, where he's a gunner. ... He's off to a good start. We're not down on him."
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Not sure what's going on with Jalen...I think he makes the Final 53 because he's talented and gives us great depth in the secondary but something is obviously up where CJ Goodwin (who made a great sliding INT today) has seemingly passed him up or no worst than at the same level as him on the depth chart. I think preseason is gonna determine where he ultimately sits, but man, breh made so many plays down the stretch starting for us it's hard to see him get passed up that quickly in one offseason
 
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Day 5 of Training Camp! Tak makes his debut, Wes vs. Garland is still ongoing, CB CJ Goodwin with the play of the day

Falcons training camp Day 5: On guard: Ben Garland was first up today at right guard followed by Wes Schweitzer as the two competitors continue to get equal opportunities to win the starting job. Nothing really stood out for either player Tuesday, at least not from the media's view of the action. Injury update: WR Julio Jones still did not participate in 11 on 11 drills coming off foot surgery, but he looked his normal self catching passes in individual drills. Fellow WR Taylor Gabriel continues to be limited while recovering from a lower leg injury. Overheard: While assistant head coach Raheem Morris was being interviewed about the receivers and what more can be done in the red zone, Mohamed Sanu playfully yelled in the background, "The beauty of our offense is getting Sanu the ball. Sanu is always open. He's like 7/11 out there."

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Vaughn McClure, ESPN Staff Writer
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Save the Super Bowl hangover talk.

It's payback time.

You can't stop the Atlanta Falcons, writes Bleacher Report's Tyler Dunne. And second-year linebacker De'Vondre Campbell is jumping into the conductor seat to ensure the train isn't derailed this time around.

One bit of Dunne's piece stood out:

Campbell can invigorate the defense, but he also knows true revenge starts with the quarterback. One year prior, Cam Newtonsulked at his Super Bowl postgame press conference—and his team proceeded to sulk all of the next season. A 17-2 team finished 6-10 and missed the playoffs. Campbell's not shy. Those Panthers "felt sorry for themselves" in 2016, he says, because Newton set a tone.

"I did not like that, man," Campbell says. "You're the quarterback of this franchise. You lost. Get up there. Be a man. And talk about it. You can't get it back. There's nothing you can do about it except go up there and be a man about it. … He's the captain of the team. They sulked so much that it definitely affected them last year if you ask me."

The Panthers took on the personality of their QB.

The Falcons will, too.

Newton smiled and dabbed his way to an MVP award and a Super Bowl appearance in 2015, but came crashing back to Earth last season. He completed an abysmal 52.9 percent of his passes, averaging just 6.9 yards per attempt. His total touchdowns dropped from 45 to 24.
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That's my underrated, 2nd year weakside LB :banderas:

@Morose Polymath @Jparker90 @distinguishedNOW @Killah Ray not gonna like this :mjlol:
 
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