The Falcons have enjoyed remarkable stability with their starters Womens Sherrick McManis Jersey , but haven’t been able to hold on to quality depth for long."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Library FalcFans Podcast on The FalcoholicContact ahoo Falcons NewsYahoo Falcons Team PageYahoo Falcons ReportYahoo Falcons Depth ChartYahoo Falcons TransactionsYahoo Falcons PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕The evolution of the Falcons OT position, 2008-2018New,11commentsThe Falcons have enjoyed remarkable stability with their starters, but haven’t been able to hold on to quality depth for long. EDTShareTweetShareShareThe evolution of the Falcons OT position, 2008-2018How have the Falcons enjoyed such success on offense over the last decade-plus? Having a Hall of Fame caliber wide receiver and quarterback helps, as does having innumerable quality weapons to throw to and hand off to, and as we’ve chronicled the Falcons have been quite blessed in that regard.But you don’t go anywhere without some semblance of a quality offensive line, particularly tackles. While the Falcons have some notable missteps over the years at both left tackle and right tackle, to say nothing of their depth, tackle has pretty reliably been the most stable and potent position along the offensive line in the Matt Ryan era. Let’s review the history. Falcons OTsYearLTRTOT3OT4OT5YearLTRTOT3OT4OT5After longtime Michael Vick blindside protector (read: right tackle) Todd Weiner hung them up following the 2008 season, the Falcons would have four straight seasons with the same set of starting tackles. Sam Baker had some genuinely good seasons when he was healthy, most notably 2012, but injuries to his back in particular kept robbing him of games and effectiveness and led to the team replacing him after the 2013 season. Tyson Clabo, meanwhile, was a rock solid right tackle with the requisite nastiness as a run blocker to be an asset on those Michael Turner-focused teams from 2008-2012. It’s not exactly a coincidence that the Falcons were pretty darn good from 2008-2012 with their skill position players and a stable Charles Leno Jersey , quality line, but things started to go downhill in 2013. Baker was banged up and ineffective and Lamar Holmes was at best passable at right tackle that year, and injuries forced the Falcons to cycle through a murderer’s row of lousy and unproven tackles including the immortal Jeremy Trueblood, Sean Locklear, and (blessedly) Ryan Schraeder. It was Schraeder’s play in his limited opportunities, where he looked obviously better than a crispy Trueblood, that would vault him into a starting job opportunity in 2014.Somehow, Atlanta managed to lock down their left side with Jake Matthews (who has been good-to-excellent since an injury-marred rookie season) and Schraeder, an undrafted gem who turned in four good-to-great seasons at right tackle before enduring a lousy 2018 that saw the team part ways with him. All told, the Falcons followed up four straight years of the Baker/Clabo duo with five straight years of Matthews/Schraeder, with just one awful year in between. That’s a mix of luck and skill, and now the team is hoping to get another (at least) five years out of the duo of Matthews and first round draft pick Kaleb McGary. While the starters have largely been a success story, the depth has not. Will Svitek and Ty Sambrailo are the only two guys who have served multiple years as swing tackles for Atlanta and had any success doing so, with the team largely cycling through passable backups like Tom Compton and less passable ones like Trueblood. With Sambrailo’s third straight year as the swing tackle looming, he figures to be the biggest success story of the era http://www.thebearslockerroom.com/authentic-joel-iyiegbuniwe-jersey , which is not necessarily a ringing endorsement of this team’s ability to find depth. Their efforts to plumb the draft for that depth have also mostly been failures, with Garrett Reynolds spending most of his time at tackle, Quinn Ojinnaka not doing much in his stint in Atlanta, and Lamar Holmes getting a real shot he couldn’t capitalize on.At the moment, though, the future is bright at the tackle position. Matthews has emerged as one of the better left tackles in the NFL, McGary’s got evident talent if nothing else, Sambrailo’s a more than passable swing option, and Matt Gono’s still here and still intriguing. WIth guard following, though, the story won’t be quite as happy for our Falcons the next time we return to this series. The accepted mantra throughout the NFL that stretches to its fandom is that each game in the schedule is equally important.Then we get to late November and all of December and forget that bromide.It’s happening again, and there’s nothing wrong with it.Think about how huge Kansas City’s stunning win at New England to kick off the season seemed to be. Doesn’t look so momentous right now with the Chiefs nose-diving in the AFC West while the Patriots do their usual tsunami over the AFC East.The league and many of the pundits who follow it couldn’t find enough hyperbole for the first Sunday nighter, the Giants at Dallas.Well, the Giants are in range for a top-three draft choice — and just benched Eli Manning, if you can imagine — and the Cowboys are plummeting out of contention.So while there are games throughout September and October Womens Nick Kwiatkoski Jersey , it’s not until Thanksgiving hits that we can truly define what the BIG games are.And beginning last week, they’ve arrived.The Vikings are involved in a bunch of them, even though coach Mike Zimmer keeps espousing the company line.“Go out and win as many games as you can and try to get in (the playoffs) and play as many games as you can at home,” Zimmer says. “But we have to win and we have to take one game at a time. Talking about it doesn’t do anything.”Actually, talking about it is all kinds of fun. So here are the games that should really matter and are worth getting excited about through Christmas.WEEK 13Carolina at New Orleans; Minnesota at Atlanta; Philadelphia at Seattle; Detroit at Baltimore.Mostly NFC matchups; the conference has been the far more interesting, with a slew of top teams as opposed to the top-heavy AFC (New England, Pittsburgh).The NFC South, clearly the best division in football, gets the spotlight in the Big Easy and the ATL. The Panthers-Saints game is for the lead in that sector and matches a pair of squads showing the kind of balance that works deep into January. For once, this isn’t just about Cam Newton and Drew Brees, but about the running games and the defenses.“We know what is at stake,” Panthers cornerback Captain Munnerlyn says. “We took it personal last time because they beat us in our house. We have a chance to play them in their house and take the lead in our division. I’m back this week and I’m excited.”Atlanta is showing signs of finding its 2016 form, and will be severely tested by Minnesota’s marvelous defense. Watch for how Falcons star receiver Julio Jones and Vikings under-the-radar pass catcher Adam Thielen perform. Both are on fire.While the Seahawks are banged-up, penalty-riddled and not-so fearsome at home anymore, the Eagles can take another major step atop the conference.Both the Lions and Ravens have wild-card aspirations and can’t afford a stumble.WEEK 14New Orleans at Atlanta; Minnesota at Carolina; Seattle at Jacksonville; Oakland at Kansas City; Philadelphia at Los Angeles Rams; Baltimore at Pittsburgh.WOW!The nastiest rivalry in the NFL Prince Amukamara Jersey , Ravens-Steelers, in the Sunday night game, possibly Baltimore’s last chance to make any headway in the AFC North. Another road go-round for the Vikings in the NFC South, where that division’s most-heated rivalry has the Saints at the Falcons. We’ll know a whole lot more about that sector after these games — and perhaps a whole lot more about how strong the Vikings are.While both the Raiders and Chiefs have hit mediocrity, their matchups always are noteworthy for intensity. AFC South leadership will still be in question.The Seahawks and Jaguars both will need this game, whether for division title hopes or wild-card chances. And the Eagles are staying out west after the Seattle contest for a matchup of the top two selections in the 2016 draft: No. 1 Jared Goff vs. No. 2 Carson Wentz.Week 15New England at Pittsburgh; Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City; Los Angeles Rams at Seattle.Very possible division deciders in KC and Seattle. Plus, by far, the AFC’s most intriguing confrontation, most likely with home-field advantage for the conference championship game on the line.Week 16Minnesota at Green Bay; Atlanta at New Orleans; Los Angeles Rams at Tennessee.OK, the Vikings probably will be playoff-bound and the Packers won’t, but hopefully we’ll get a glimpse of Aaron Rodgers again, back from his broken collarbone.Falcons-Saints for the second time in three weeks, with lots on the line. And maybe a playoff-relevant home contest for the Titans against a Rams team headed to the postseason.And these don’t even consider the final weekend of all divisional matchups.
