Hawks Training Camp Thread: August 3-20

[TTown]

Curry signs. 34 mil guaranteed, 60 total. Largest rookie contract ever for a non-QB.

At least he's in.

[Bulltalk]

Curry signs. 34 mil guaranteed, 60 total. Largest rookie contract ever for a non-QB.

At least he's in.

Actually, from first glance, it's a little higher than I thought he'd sign for based upon the others. I hope he's set upon trying to live up to it. That would be a tall order.

Anyway, like you said, he's in now.

[Danny Darko]

I'm surprised the market didn't get a little more frugal this year.... I blame that on the Jets.
But Curry's contract is long, so not as bad as it seems. Good to have him back on track.

I think Jennings is gone with the signing of Fisher.

[Bulltalk]

I'm just a tad annoyed that Jones and Trufant are down with injuries. I think I'm paranoid after last season.

[Ex-hippie]

I'm just a tad annoyed that Jones and Trufant are down with injuries. I think I'm paranoid after last season.

Frankly the news sounds really discouraging for both of them. With Jones, maybe we can manage; it will allow the team to get an extended look at Locklear at the LT position and see what things look like beyond 2009. Trufant, though, really worries me. I don't want to be in the position of praying that Travis Fisher was a great find and Ken Lucas gets back to his old form.

[Bulltalk]

I'm just a tad annoyed that Jones and Trufant are down with injuries. I think I'm paranoid after last season.

Frankly the news sounds really discouraging for both of them. With Jones, maybe we can manage; it will allow the team to get an extended look at Locklear at the LT position and see what things look like beyond 2009. Trufant, though, really worries me. I don't want to be in the position of praying that Travis Fisher was a great find and Ken Lucas gets back to his old form.

It could also open the door a bit to regret and second guessing about our pick of Aaron Curry this year in the draft. Personally speaking, I'm okay with the pick in that everything I've read regards Curry as being one of the best linebacker prospects to come around in a long time. But all I really have to go on so far is You Tube.

If Curry isn't "uber" like we hope and expect, I could become vulnerable to slipping a tad into that camp, as I thought at the time that one of the top LT's amongst a strong class of LT's, or even possibly our QB of the future in Sanchez made the most sense to me from a purely importance-of-the-position standpoint. The Denver trade certainly went a long way towards easing my QB drafting worry. But if Curry is merely real good, and, say, Eugene Monroe turns out to be a stud LT...well you get the picture.

[Sweezo]

Like you guys, I am more concerned about Trufant's potential loss than I am about Walter Jones. As much as I like Jones, we have guys put in place to replace him. This team can probably do just fine in the ZBS with Locklear and Willis at tackle.

But I don't think we have the CB depth to lose Trufant. I like Wilson, but as a nickel corner. The minute he starts going up against taller WR and Kelly Jennings takes the field as a nickel back...my heart will begin to sink.

[Bulltalk]

I'm starting to get a Marcus Tubbs feeling about Chris Spencer.

[Danny Darko]

I'm starting to get a Marcus Tubbs feeling about Chris Spencer.

Oh yeah... I think Spencer's body can't handle itself.

Also, I'm thinking that Tru is out for most of the year, Lucas is gonna be good, and it's wilson who may disappoint.

I'm pretty worried about our line without jones, Spencer, and Locklear getting beat alot. Willis almost seems to be a better tackle to me than Sean.

Oh I feel really confident in our run game now that we have Edge.

[Bulltalk]

I'm starting to get a Marcus Tubbs feeling about Chris Spencer.

Oh yeah... I think Spencer's body can't handle itself.

Also, I'm thinking that Tru is out for most of the year, Lucas is gonna be good, and it's wilson who may disappoint.

I'm pretty worried about our line without jones, Spencer, and Locklear getting beat alot. Willis almost seems to be a better tackle to me than Sean.

Oh I feel really confident in our run game now that we have Edge.

What good is any player, no matter the talent and physical gifts, if they can't keep themselves on the field?

[Bulltalk]

Well the conjecture is that Trufant will be out for the first 6 games of the season. There was a rumor on NFL.com that Jones could be out a lot longer than people are expecting. Spencer, of course, injured again.

Damn. The injury thing is annoying the hell out of me. Injuries are part of life in the NFL, but we've just been decimated the last few years. We've already lost 3 out of our starting 5 offensive linemen to injuries in Jones, Wahle, and Spencer. The offensive line has now become the biggest concern. Thank God for the moves that led to the Unger pick. That pick is turning out to be HUGE for us. We are so reliant upon Sims, Locklear, Willis and Unger now playing well. F*ck! If one more of these guys goes down....is the OL going to turn into what the WR position was for us last year?

[Danny Darko]

Yeah... jeesh as little as you see trades I would love to pursue the thought that Jackson/Tapp and a pick to some team looking for ends could get us a solid backup O-lineman.

[Sweezo]

Tapp's a necessary piece. There's no guarantee that Kerney or Redding can make it through the season healthy, and Tapp's one of the few true pass rusher we have.

Jackson though...completely moveable. I am not sure what value he has, and wonder if he might be someone that could be traded for an OL who needs a change of scenery.

[Ex-hippie]

If the team trades Jackson for an O-lineman, I would at least want it to be someone who is similarly situated: a relatively young player with upside despite a lack of production thus far. Make it an apples-for-apples trade. Gosder Cherilus comes to mind. He was a higher draft pick than Jackson, but he's also considered an even bigger bust after one year (though it might only be because he was exposed more because of his playing time).

[TTown]

Only caught a bit of the game Saturday, but Housh looked really good.

[Danny Darko]

If the team trades Jackson for an O-lineman, I would at least want it to be someone who is similarly situated: a relatively young player with upside despite a lack of production thus far. Make it an apples-for-apples trade. Gosder Cherilus comes to mind. He was a higher draft pick than Jackson, but he's also considered an even bigger bust after one year (though it might only be because he was exposed more because of his playing time).

Exactly the guy I'd want... good call.

I don't know if we need both Tapp and Reed. Agreed Jackson would be a a better guy to move and probably worth more to other teams too.

[Ex-hippie]

So the team goes 4-0 in the preseason. Awesome. Just like the '08 Lions did.

Obviously, the "preseason is irrelevant" mantra will likely come up, though it isn't entirely true. FO did a study on this a few years ago and there is, in fact, a correlation between preseason record and regular season record. Not a terribly strong correlation, but a correlation. Of course, that doesn't factor in the possibility that your preseason schedule might be against what is considered the weakest division in the NFL, where 3 of the 4 teams are among the worst in the league. Still, at least we're not seeing evidence that the season will be a disaster, which makes this better than a year ago.

[Sweezo]

The record is irrelevant, but what we saw on the field is completely relevant. For example:

--Hass looks healthy
--The OL is slowly getting the hang of the ZBS
--Carlson is better than he was at this time last year
--Shotgun formations, play-action passes, and screen passes will be used a lot more than we are accustomed to
--Butler gives this team a small but relatively sure-handed threat downfield, and probably renders Branch obsolete
--Housh is a great fit
--We have far better depth on the DL this year than we have in awhile
--Curry's getting a feel for the NFL and can blitz, cover, and cover the run
--Tatupu's going to have to adjust to a new style of play
--Jon Ryan looks like an effective punter

For the most part, I liked what I saw. I'm not sure about the pass protection or the defensive backfield, but I think the team will be pretty good and fighting for the division with Arizona.

[Danny Darko]

well put and I agree. With that.... on to the regular season thread!

[Ex-hippie]

Lawyer Milloy is still alive?

Although you don't have to be alive, technically, to be an upgrade over Brian Russell.