Comments on: Falcons lose first-rounder Jerry for the season

By: stanjam

stanjam — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:00:18 +0000

The Patriots are almost sure to come out running hard this week. With an unsure Brady, and teams keying heavily on the Patriots pass attack, I think they will get back to at least a balanced run attack.

By: SaintsBucsPanthersSUKK

SaintsBucsPanthersSUKK — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:19:35 +0000

DT Thomas Johnson will start in place of Peria Jerry. Here’s a little bedtime reading, via cut & paste:
Moving forward immediately means that Thomas Johnson will take over Jerry’s spot, Mike Smith said. Johnson, 6-foot-2, 304 pounds, played two games for Dallas in his rookie year of 2005 and then 11, including three as a starter, for Houston in 2006.
Until this season, he had not played in a regular season game since then, as he had been cut by the Texans after their 2007 training camp and the New York Jets after their 2008 camp.
During those seasons out of football, Johnson worked out in case a call came and even spent four months teaching ninth-grade physical education in his native Memphis.
He called the opportunity to return to the NFL “a blessing.”
During training camp, he impressed early in the first preseason game with a sack inside the 10-yard-line that forced Detroit into a field goal. He had one assist on Sunday against Carolina and one solo tackle against Miami in the opener.
“At that position, everyone’s always looking for defensive linemen,” General Manager Thomas Dimitroff told AtlantaFalcons.com about Johnson in August. “We always are. And I think in this situation our personnel staff [was] being diligent about scanning the names and us getting him in there having the idea that he would fit into our scheme. Most important is the fact that he rose to the occasion and showed that he had something to prove.”
Dimitroff said Johnson’s strengths are “a nice combination of quickness and explosion with the ability to show a real strong lateral leverage.”
Johnson, who weighs about 10 pounds more than Jerry, said Jerry’s pass rush from the interior line will be missed.
“It’s a blow ‘cause Peria brings something different than I bring to the team,” he said. “He brings quickness and pass rush ability and speed. I’m more of a kind of power guy. It’s going to hurt us but we have other guys who can fill in and take over.”
But wait, there’s more!:
To get that inside pass rush, the Falcons may play defensive end Chauncey Davis more at tackle. Davis, 262 pounds, plays both end and tackle and in obvious passing situations he has played tackle in a group with Kroy Biermann and John Abraham at the ends and Babineaux as the other tackle.
Davis said he had not yet spoken to coaches if he will play more inside.
“We just have to deal with it and keep moving on and other guys are going to have to step up to take part in our defense,” he said.
In the Falcons’ first two games, the defensive line has been one of the defense’s strengths, as it recorded four sacks in Week 1. Now its depth will be tested and if Walker is to contribute, he’ll have to learn the ropes quickly.
“Vance, I think he brings a lot of power, strength and size on the d-line,” Johnson said. “I know he’s excited, I just got done talking to him. I’m excited for him.”
courtesy of atlantafalcons.com

By: comment_submission_error

comment_submission_error — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:43:35 +0000

That’s unfortunate. I loved that guy just because he wears his name backwards, and he’s done already.

By: SaintsBucsPanthersSUKK

SaintsBucsPanthersSUKK — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:00:20 +0000

DT's Trey Lewis & Vance Walker should be able to fill in adequately. If not, make the trade for Jacksonville's John Henderson. He's old and highly paid and had a down year last season but a reunion with coach Mike Smith could be a good thing. What size ring does John Henderson wear??? >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>

By: FixorrepairD

FixorrepairD — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:46:45 +0000

Sure glad the Lions did not take this guy. The Lions have a history of taking undersized, injury prone guys who never pan out despite initial upside. Recent examples: Boss Baily, Kevin Jones, Brian Calhoun, Drew Stanton, among others…

By: BasicInstinct

BasicInstinct — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:42:05 +0000

Grady Jackson?
Matt Jones?
How about Michael Crabtree?
Nah,
I know, Mike Golic!

By: sim448

sim448 — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:33:44 +0000

not good for a team that is going to face a pissed off patriots team on sunday.

By: slipkid

slipkid — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:25:39 +0000

they should have gone and signed peria’s brother fusilli to replace him!

By: NFLPERDIEM

NFLPERDIEM — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:09:50 +0000

NPD

By: atlantafalCANS

atlantafalCANS — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:00:02 +0000

Horrible news….time for Trey Lewis to step in and be the man!

By: ty@thelionsinwinter

ty@thelionsinwinter — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:45:07 +0000

many Lions fans were rooting for them to take Jerry with the second first-rounder (the pick that was used on Brandon Pettigrew). It’s ironic, because he’d be a perfect fit for outgoing coach Rod Marinelli: undersized, maxxed-out frame, a very high work ethic, and questionable upside.
While it’s ridiculous to speculate on whether or not Jerry’d have been injured if drafted by the Lions, I think it’s clear that Mayhew, Schwartz & Co. could not have “fixed” the worst defense ever assembled by drafting Peria Jerry.
Peace
Ty @ The Lions in Winter
http://thelionsinwinter.blogspot.com