From the college ranks… The Great Quarterback Search A Statistical Review by just ”little ole” me Part II: Draft Prospects With the signing of Kirk Cousins, and the trading of Desmond Ridder to Arizona, we can move on from Quarterbacks currently in the NFL to Quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft that Atlanta may consider drafting to backup and learn behind Cousins.  While I am going to use some of the same statistical categories, the data available for college players is not as extensive as the NFL data.  Another thing to keep in mind is that not many of the college Quarterbacks compet ..read more

The Great Quarterback Search A Statistical Review by just ” little ole” me Part I The Atlanta Falcons like a number of other NFL teams are in the market for a dependable Quarterback to run the offense during the 2024 season. There is no question that the Quarterback play of the 2023 season was a major component that resulted in a 7-10 record and ultimately the firing of Head Coach Arthur Smith.  It is now up to GM Terry Fontenot and new Head Coach Raheem Morris, along with others in the Falcons organization, to find the right player to put the team back on course for the playoffs th ..read more

Greetings for the New Year, Cagers! 2024 marks the fifteenth year we’ve been running, which makes this blog the grandfather of Falcons blogs. We started back at the Atlanta Journal Constitution, with D3 as our captain. Some of you will remember his colorful, heated observations about our Falcons, then just one year into Matt Ryan’s run, and the Smitty/Dimitroff era. 2009 was the first year in Falcons’ history that the team had winning records in back-to-back seasons. The Cage started off in educated optimism, which is our foundation to this day. It’s been a pleasure to continue our discussion ..read more

They’re saying that the Falcons’ 2023 schedule is on the easy side, based no doubt, on the strength of last season’s results. It’s a curious stat, if not useless. When the average NFL roster turnover from year-to-year shows a mere 56% return rate (Over two years, it’s a return rate of 35%.), teams are so re-configured that a strength of schedule notion is firmly planted in the rearview mirror. Getting the ship turned around. So, concerning the Falcons’ 2023 schedule, what exactly is in the rearview mirror? Going down the games, here’s a look at the Falcons’ all-time record against the schedule ..read more

Desmond Ridder picked #74. Through thirteen games the Falcons have lost eight of them, six by one score. The Falcons outrushed opponents in those six losses by a total of 956 to 706 yards. With even slightly better quarterback play, it’s reasonable to conclude the Falcons could have won some of those games. If they’d won just two of them, they’d now be sitting on top of the Division with a 7-6 record. Other teams have made significant quarterback switches this season (notably the Saints and the Panthers), either due to injury or performance. But only one team has brought in a rookie—San Franci ..read more

Leaning on Mariota. Greetings Cagers! It is that time once again. I come to you humbly today with my 10th annual season prediction. It is truly hard to believe this will be the tenth year, but I guess the gray in my beard does not lie. I started to follow the Cage the year Matt Ryan was drafted. It is a sad day for me to write my first column since his departure. I do like anniversaries though… silver, gold, platinum… Unfortunately, the 10-year anniversary is tin (someone had a punny sense of humor). Unfortunate, but appropriate… as our Falcons future is about that shiny. Coop keeping the trad ..read more

All aboard the Missouri Railroad! Training camp is here, and it’s time for the Cage to roll out some reasons why the Falcons can exceed expectations. Rebuilding with a new quarterback? Take a look at some examples from NFL history, when teams with poor records the previous year restarted with a new quarterback, and then saw turnarounds that few outside those teams’ locker rooms predicted. ______________ 1992 San Diego Chargers The 4-12 Chargers traded for QB Stan Humphries, and after starting 1992 at 0-4, made the playoffs. San Diego was in the Super Bowl two years later. 1999 St. Louis Rams ..read more

The goal was to qualify for the playoffs. Didn’t happen. Will Arthur Smith change his approach against the Saints, using this game to give snaps to players he wants to evaluate for 2022? No. He made himself perfectly clear by declaring that his job description is to win football games, period. The Falcons want to beat the Saints on home turf and end the season the right way. Best play of the year? That said, it must be highlighted that Smith gives any and every player the right to earn snaps in games. From the practice squad on up, if a player demonstrates competence, he will get his snaps—an ..read more

Hey– we’re teenagers now! Happy 2022, Cagers! This marks thirteen years of our existence—not too shabby! Looking forward to many posts to come, and celebrating the progress of the Falcons team to we’re indelibly devoted. Here we go with the first game of the year, and not to be down about it, the likely first game of our off-season. Sure, I’d be ecstatic to see the Falcons put it all together against the Bills, but I’m prepared to take the long view. Although only one team at has secured a playoff spot in the AFC, the Bills are hanging out at the fourth spot in a seven-team field. They share a ..read more

After Todd Gurley fell into the endzone too soon, Matthew Stafford got the winning touchdown for Detroit with 1:04 minutes left on the clock. That was last year. Dan Quinn. Ancient history. Mercedes Benz Stadium opened for the Falcons and Atlanta United in 2017. While home field has proved hugely advantageous for the soccer team, in the last two years the Falcons’ record there stands at two wins, eleven losses. Arthur Smith, so far, is winless there. Our next home opponent is the two-win Detroit Lions, a good opportunity to reverse the Falcons’ struggles at the Benz. Problem is, the Lions two ..read more