Linebackers

Who's on the roster?
#56 Keith Brooking (6'2" 245, 5th yr., Georgia Tech)
#54 Chris Draft (5'11" 232, 4th yr., Stanford)
#46 Karim Grant (6'4" 243, rookie, Acadia)
#59 John Holecek (6'2" 242, 7th yr., Illinois)
#51 Jeff Kelly (5'11" 242, 4th yr., Kansas State)
#97 Patrick Kerney (6'5" 273, 4th yr., Virginia)
#90 Will Overstreet (6'3" 259, rookie, Tennessee)
#93 Fred Perry (6'1" 235, 1st yr., Southern Arkansas)
#53 Mark Simoneau (6' 234, 3rd yr., Kansas State)
#52 Matt Stewart (6'3" 234, 2nd yr., Vanderbilt)
#55 John Thierry (6'4" 262, 9th yr., Alcorn State)
#50 Artie Ulmer (6'3" 247, 5th yr., Valdosta State)

Projected starters: Brooking (right inside), Kerney (rush), Simoneau (left inside), Stewart (left outside)
Top backups: Draft (right inside), Holecek (left inside), Overstreet (rush), Thierry (left outside)

Newcomers: Grant (undrafted rookie), Holecek (free agent/Chargers), Overstreet (third round pick), Perry (free agent/CFL), Thierry (free agent/Packers)

The linebackers will feature a new look as the team goes from the classic 4-3 scheme to that of the 3-4. In the new defense, the linebackers will be the stars and playmakers of the defense. They will play a huge part in stopping the run, pass rushing, and defending the pass.

The future of the franchise may be Michael Vick, but the centerpiece and star of this team is Keith Brooking. Brooking journeyed to the Pro Bowl in his first year as a middle linebacker. Brooking was the twelfth overall pick in the 1998 draft, and began his career as a nickel linebacker. He started on the weakside in 1999 and 2000, until being moved inside last season to replace long-time Falcon star and veteran, Jessie Tuggle. Brooking took some time to adjust to the new position, but should be better this year. In the new defense, he will play the right inside linebacker position. They will blend both elements of the middle and weakside positions. Brooking's primary focus will be stopping the run. But he will play a key role in pass coverage also. Brooking will also be featured in blitz packages also. He will be relied upon as the nucleus of this unit and defense, and will be called upon to perform a myriad of duties. Brooking's intelligence couples his ability, and he should convert easily, if not at lightning speed.

Beside Brooking is expected to be Mark Simoneau. Like Brooking, Simoneau can play all three linebacker positions in the 4-3 scheme, but fits best as an inside guy in the 3-4 due to his lack of size. Simoneau is an all-around player that has spent the past two years playing as the team's nickel linebacker. When he has made starts, he has not disappointed either, leading the team to believe that he will earn the starting job this year. Simoneau is tough despite his lack of size, but has the speed to make plays in pursuit. He will probably be used more than Brooking in coverage, but will also make his presence known as a run stopper and pass rusher.

Pushing Simoneau will be veteran John Holecek. Holecek was employed by Wade Phillips in Buffalo for so many years, and was a solid starter. He is a tough run stopper that works best when he has a playmaker beside him. He had one in Buffalo in Sam Cowart. Brooking and Cowart are of similar abilities, so Holecek could have another productive year because of that. He could earn the starting spot due to his experience in the system, if Simoneau does not adjust as quickly as hoped. The team would prefer Holecek come off the bench, with a role more of tutor to young linebackers like Brooking, Simoneau, and Chris Draft.

Draft emerged as the starter on the weakside when Brooking made the move inside. Draft has similar skills to Brooking, as he is the team's second fastest linebacker. He does not have a lot of size though, so he plays best off the line. He's not great in coverage, but better than many of the others on the roster. But Draft is lost in the mix in 3-4, since he's much more suited to the 4-3 scheme. He will be a backup this year and make his mark on special teams. But Draft is good enough to definitely give Simoneau and Holecek a run for their money, despite playing as the backup to Brooking.

In the 3-4, outside linebackers need to be built like defensive ends. The Falcons have taken this one step further by employing former end Patrick Kerney at the position. Kerney had a breakout year with 12 sacks in 2001. But Kerney was not as dominant a pass rusher as the numbers lead one to believe. But Kerney has an excellent motor and the work ethic to succeed in the NFL. He is a question mark however as he could either flourish or fail with the switch to the 3-4. But one thing that is certain, he will work his hardest to play at a top level. Kerney came to the Falcons in 1999 as a quick, but undersized pass rusher. In order to boost his abilities vs. the run, he added much bulk and muscle. This did slow him down a bit, but the team has wanted him to drop some pounds in order to play the rush linebacker spot, and he has. This should allow him to regain his quickness, as he'll play more like a linebacker than defensive end. The team will use him in dual roles though, as he'll alternate between both positions depending on the situation. The team hopes that his production will exceed 2001. His main role will be to put pressure on the quarterback, but he will have to learn other things too. He will be used in coverage, something he is not used to. That may be his biggest obstacle, learning to think more like a linebacker.

The left outside linebacker spot will be manned by either Matt Stewart or John Thierry. Stewart gets the advantage because unlike the rush linebacker position, this will be more of a linebacker rather than end/pass rusher. This position will line up over the tight end and have similar duties to that of a strongside linebacker in the 4-3 scheme. But the victor of the competition will get many more opportunities to get upfield than in the previous scheme. Stewart has not been spectacular since joining the Falcons a year ago, but has shown enough to make the coaching staff believe he's ready to start. He has pretty good size, strength, and speed. He can play in coverage and play vs. the run. In college, he was used as a pass rusher quite a bit, so he has experience there. Basically, Stewart has all the tools to succeed here, it's just a question of if he's ready and how good he will be.

The team likes Stewart over Thierry because of Stewart's history as a linebacker. Thierry has played both end and linebacker in his NFL career, but most of the time has been spent playing the former. Thierry is a good pass rusher, but has never been more than an average to above average starter at the end spot. He looked good for a time with the Browns in 1999 at the linebacker position, but by season's end had moved back to end due to injuries. The team will hope that Thierry can be a decent starter if Stewart does not win the job. But his primary role will be as a situational pass rusher. He and Kerney should be a formidable duo on third downs.

Also playing the outside is rookie Will Overstreet. Like Thierry and Kerney, he's a converted end, but luckily for Overstreet, he will begin his NFL career with the conversion, making it easier. Overstreet has similar attributes to Kerney, with a good motor, quickness, and speed. Overstreet did not have a lot of strength, and could be easily overpowered by blockers in college. Thus he was miscast as a defensive end due to his limitations. He will be groomed to take over for either Kerney or Stewart at one of the outside spots. Right now, he will serve as Kerney's backup at the rush spot. If things go right, Overstreet will see limited action because of the presences of veterans Kerney, Thierry, and Stewart, but he'll get some playing time in order to rush the passer, his specialty.

The Falcons will fill out this unit with one or two more players. The most likely choice is Artie Ulmer, who was the team's leading tackler on special teams last year. Ulmer was a defensive end in college, but has the versatility to potentially play all four linebacker spots in the 3-4. He could do so in the 4-3. But his primary role will be on special teams. One of the younger players will have to play particularly well to unseat him there.

Jeff Kelly is the next most likely choice if two more players are kept. Kelly started for much of the 2000 season when Jessie Tuggle was out with injury at the middle linebacker spot. Kelly has similar abilities to Tuggle, with good size and strength, and can be an excellent run stuffer. But Kelly lacks great speed and has been known to make mistakes. But the team was quite high on Kelly a year ago before he suffered a knee injury that kept him out of the 2001 campaign. If he's completely recovered, then he has a legitimate shot of making something happen. But if he does make the team, he likely won't play much besides special teams.

Also pushing for roster space are outside linebackers Karim Grant and Fred Perry. Both hail from Canada, as Grant is from there, and Perry has played each of the last three seasons. Grant played end in college, but has been making a successful transition to linebacker thus far. He is a sleeper to make the roster. If he impresses on special teams, the Falcons may find room for him on the practice squad. Perry played end in the CFL, and has pass rushing skills along with lack of size. He is a long shot to make the roster, but a good summer could have him finding a home on the practice squad also.

The team is not going to keep more than 10 linebackers on the roster, but nine seems like a more likely figure. They will probably keep nine and then a tenth on the practice squad. Of those nine, probably only six will extensively see the field, while the others make their impacts on special teams.

Salary Cap Sense

Thierry and Holecek will have to worry since both will count $450,000 against this year's cap. If some of the young players play particularly well and if either of them are less than good, they may find themselves unemployed at the end of August. But there are others that have higher figures than both players. Both Kelly and Draft will count $563,000 against the cap, while Simoneau ($522,000), Ulmer ($450,000), Stewart ($407,000), and Overstreet ($388,000) all have moderate cap figures also. But amongst those guys, only Kelly and Ulmer look like they have a shot of getting cut. For this, it seems unlikely the Falcons will keep more than nine linebackers, especially since both Kerney and Brooking have cap figures that exceed $1 million. The Falcons may be forced to keep one or two good players in order to save cap space.

Predictions

1. Brooking (starter)
2. Simoneau (starter)
3. Kerney (starter)
4. Stewart (starter)
5. Thierry
6. Holecek
7. Draft
8. Overstreet
9. Ulmer
10. Grant (practice squad)
11. Perry (cut)
12. Kelly (cut)