Who's on the roster?
#33 Ashley Ambrose (5'10" 187, 11th yr., Mississippi Valley State)
#21 Juran Bolden (6'2" 207, 4th yr., Mississippi Delta CC)
#34 Ray Buchanan (5'9" 186, 10th yr., Louisville)
#20 Allen Rossum (5'8" 178, 5th yr., Notre Dame)
#26 Adrian Sadler (5'9" 184, 1st yr., Rice)
#23 Eric Sims (5'10" 177, rookie, Eastern Kentucky)
#37 Darrick Vaughn (5'11" 193, 3rd yr., Southwest Texas State)
#24 Fred Weary (5'10" 181, 5th yr., Florida)
Projected starters: Ambrose (right), Buchanan (left)
Top backups: Rossum (right), Weary (left)
Newcomers: Bolden (free agent/CFL), Rossum (free agent/Packers), Sadler (free agent), Sims (undrafted rookie), Weary (free agent/Saints)
For the third consecutive year, the Falcons will team the duo of Ray Buchanan and Ashley Ambrose at the cornerback positions. Once a major strength, this unit became suspect last season by giving up many big plays. But with the presence of new defensive coordinator, Wade Phillips, and defensive backs coach, Emmitt Thomas, the Falcons hope they can bounce back.
Despite a down year, Ray Buchanan is still probably this team's best cornerback. Buchanan was scorched often last season due to his over-aggressiveness. Ray likes to gamble and tends to win much of the time, but last year he got bad hands. Buchanan lacks size, but is tough and strong for his size. He is physical in run support, and blames part of his problems last year with having too many duties in that area. Phillips and Thomas pledge changes, as both he and his counterpart will have less to do in that area. As a result, Ray has dropped weight in the off-season in order to add more speed.
Ambrose was the team's best cornerback last year, as he gave up less plays than Ray. But seemingly, he could have looked equally bad if quarterbacks had not picked on Ray as much. Ambrose has never been a stellar corner, but has been excellent when teamed with others. He is larger than Ray, but not as physical as a cover man or in run support. Phillips' new style should enhance Ambrose's abilities even more.
They are the uncontested starters. The team was disappointed with the play of last year's nickel back, Darrick Vaughn, and decidedly upgraded the position in the off-season with three additions: Fred Weary, Allen Rossum, and Juran Bolden.
Weary comes to the Falcons from New Orleans. Weary lost his starting job last year, after starting in 1999 and 2000. He ended the 2000 season with a knee injury, and when he came back was just the nickel back. In New Orleans, Weary played in a cover-2 scheme, and excelled there. So it's questionable if he will adjust quickly and ably to the Falcons' scheme, which puts more emphasis on man-to-man coverage rather than the zone. But of the newcomers, Weary has the most ability, and should win the nickel back spot.
Rossum is the second in line to take away Vaughn's nickel spot. Rossum is an undersized kick returner that has shown some promise in the secondary, but that has only been short-lived. The team hopes that Rossum's speed will help him on defense. He's been pretty much untested as a cover man, but the Falcons feel that he's ready to make the step up. He will be the first candidate to push Vaughn as the top backup behind Ambrose. The team is counting on him to handle the punt return jobs. If he performs poorly there and is less than impressive on defense, then he may not make the roster. But as long as the team likes him better than anyone else on punts, then he has a roster space waiting for him.
Bolden is a big target that was originally chosen by the Falcons in the 4th round of the 1996 draft. He was cut by Reeves in 1998 because he made too many mistakes in coverage. Bolden has always had the skills to compete, but probably needed more seasoning. He got that since playing for the Falcons, logging much time in the CFL in 2000. Bolden is excellent on special teams, but he'll need to show more than special teams aptitude to make the roster this year.
With the three additions, it could leave Darrick Vaughn out in the cold. But Vaughn learned a lot in 2001 due to his woes. He was not supposed to be the nickel corner, but an early season injury to Conrad Hamilton forced him to handle the job the entire season. Vaughn could potentially be a good starter, since he has pretty good man coverage skills and is big enough to be a force in run support, but did not show enough of those abilities last year. If his confidence remains high, his poor 2001 season could do wonders for his performance in 2002. Vaughn will enter camp working as the fourth cornerback, so it will be up to Rossum and Bolden to take that role from him. Unless something unexpected happens, Vaughn won't be cut because he's too valuable as a kickoff returner (4 touchdowns in two seasons).
Eric Sims and Adrian Sadler make up the rest of the unit. Both are unlikely to earn a roster spot with six much better corners ahead of them. But both will have the opportunity to earn a spot on the practice squad. Sims is the better shot at exploiting that space, since he's younger. Sadler played in NFL Europe this spring, which historically equates to not making the roster in camp. That gives Sims the edge. Plus Sadler was a nickel back in the weaker league, thus pointing to a deficiency in talent. But I will note that Sadler did play well in that role.
The Falcons will definitely keep five cornerbacks. But they probably want to keep a sixth cornerback, but that will depend on many circumstances. If Rossum and Vaughn look good defensively this summer, enough so that they look like the can be regular defensive performers outside their special teams' roles, then it is less likely a sixth corner will be on the roster. That sixth man slot will most likely be filled by Bolden. But the team may find it necessary to keep a sixth cornerback to keep their depth and starters fresh. With Rossum and Vaughn returning punts and kickoffs, they could wear down if asked to be regulars on defense also. That bodes well for Bolden. But this is all moot if Bolden plays very well this summer, since the team won't cut him if that happens.
>Salary Cap Sense
The cap should not be a major factor in who makes the roster. Both Ambrose and Buchanan will have high cap figures, but both are not in danger of being let go. Rossum's cap figure will be about $860,000, while Weary will count around $750,000, Bolden $450,000 and Vaughn will sport a $370,000 cap figure. That accounts for quite a bit of the cap, but the Falcons probably won't cut or keep a cornerback based off his cap number. If that were the case, then Rossum's job would be in more jeopardy than it currently is.
Predictions