Guerry Clegg: Falcons join the restructure zone
Well, here we go again. First the Hawks, then the Braves, and now the Falcons.
Talking here about the tearing down and rebuilding of Atlanta's major sports franchises. It seems like the restructuring of Atlanta's teams is an endless as the road construction.
We can only hope that the Braves and the Falcons will be as successful as the Hawks have been. Beginning in 2012, Danny Ferry overhauled a roster full of bad contracts and one-dimensional players and turned the Hawks into an NBA title contender.
But underscore the operative words there: beginning in 2012. Those first two years, the Hawks were as mediocre as a team can get -- 82 wins, 82 losses. They made the playoffs both seasons simple because the Eastern Conference has been awash in mediocrity. But Atlanta fans could be patient because it was clear the old model would never work. Besides that, they are the Hawks. The fans base is not exactly passionate.
Then came the Braves. Despite their denials that they've conceded these last two seasons at Turner Field, they're clearly targeting 2017 and their first season in the new Cobb County stadium as their return to the National League elite.
Or so they hope. For their sake, they'd better be right. Abandoning Turner Field was already unpopular among the fans as it was. Imagine the P.R. disaster it could be if they open the new ballpark with a bad team.
Now it's the Falcons' turn. They've already changed head coaches, firing the most successful coach in team history, Mike Smith, and replacing him with an unproven coach in Dan Quinn. Yes, highly respected, but unproven just the same. And they've kind of sort of restructured the front office, redefining the duties
of Thomas Dimitroff and Scott Pioli.
Next came news last week that the Falcons released four veterans in two days. First to go was running back Steven Jackson. Then it was wide receiver Harry Douglas, offensive guard Justin Blalock and defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi.
Jackson and Massaquoi won't be missed. But Douglas and Blalock have been very productive players for the last several seasons. Both probably have some good years left in them.
It's all about reallocating money under the salary cap. Oh, they have football reasons as well. Blalock supposedly doesn't fit the mold of the leaner, more mobile lineman required to execute new offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan's zone blocking system. Douglas would be deemed more expendable with the presence of Devin Hester as the third receiver, plus a shift toward a stronger running game under Shanahan and the desire to sign a tight end who can catch.
But all the moves were designed to clear cap space. The Falcons are not alone. Other teams have released veterans in anticipation of the opening of free agency next week. The Falcons are expected to be one of the more active teams in free agency. Those moves cleared up an additional $12 million in cap space. Some of that will be spent on keeping Julio Jones for the long-term. The rest, ostensibly, will be free to upgrade where the Falcons need help -- which is to say just about everywhere except quarterback, receiver, and kickers.
Still, it's hard to get too excited given some of the free agent pickups in recent years: Ray Edward, Dunta Robinson, Osi Umenyiora, Steven Jackson, Tyson Jackson.
Since taking the Falcons' job the day after the Super Bowl, Quinn has been immersed in studying the personnel he inherited, and presumably giving his input to Dimotroff and Pioli as to the players he wants to bring in.
That's the normal process. New coach wants his own players. But results are seldom immediate. It usually takes two or three years for a coach to overhaul a team.
Meanwhile, traffic is backed up on 285 northbound. You might want to consider alternate routes until construction is finished.
-- Guerry Clegg is an independent correspondent. You can write to him at sports@ledger-enquirer.com
This story was originally published February 28, 2015 at 5:01 PM with the headline "Guerry Clegg: Falcons join the restructure zone ."