Quarterbacks

Who's on the roster?
#17 Dusty Bonner (6'2" 230, rookie, Valdosta State)
#11 Doug Johnson (6'2" 225, 3rd yr., Florida)
#15 Kurt Kittner (6'2" 221, rookie, Illinois)
#7 Mike Vick (6' 215, 2nd yr., Virginia Tech)

Projected starter: Vick
Top backup: Johnson

Newcomers: Bonner (undrafted rookie), Kittner (5th round pick).

Mike Vick has assumed the role as starting quarterback. Vick is the seen as the future of the Falcon franchise. The team opted to cut ties with Chris Chandler, the starting quarterback in Atlanta since 1997, this off-season. They felt it was time to see what Vick, their $62 million investment, can do.

Vick came out of school with limited experience playing the NFL-type game of quarterback. Although initial plans were for Vick to log some time each game, that eventually broke down midway through the 2001 season. So Vick did not add as much experience as initially hoped. But Vick did start twice last season in 8 games. Vick was a little inconsistent in his limited time on the field. He was plagued by sacks, fumbles, and bad passes. But along with the bad, there were flashes of the ability that caused the Falcons to select Vick as the #1 draft choice in the 2001 NFL Draft.

Vick has excellent running speed and one of the strongest arms in the league. Together that makes him a very dangerous player. Unfortunately, Vick hasn't done a whole lot of reading defenses and target progression, two major things he's worked on during the off-season. The team hopes that Vick can quickly learn these keys so desperately needed to succeed in the NFL. Vick will enter training camp the uncontested starter and will remain that way throughout training camp. There is a slim chance that Vick won't open the regular season as the starter, but that would only be if he had a horrific summer and Doug Johnson was truly outstanding. But so far, Vick has looked excellent in practices.

Despite entering his third training camp with the Falcons, Doug Johnson hasn't logged too many minutes during the summer. He played enough last year to beat out Eric Zeier for the third quarterback spot, but played very little in 2000. Johnson is expected to step up into the backup spot behind Vick. Both he and Vick will be learning as they go. Like Vick, Johnson has only 2 NFL starts, and both of his came at the end of 2000. At that point in his career, Reeves looked upon Johnson as the potential starter down the line. But that changed when the team took Vick in April 2001.

Johnson has a strong arm, in fact very strong, even when compared to that of Vick. Johnson hasn't been too successful in his novice NFL career, but he has shown enough intangibles that allow the coaching staff believe he's ready for the backup position. Johnson will receive a challenge for that spot from Kittner and Bonner.

Johnson's challenge will become even more evident if either Kittner or Bonner get off to a good start in training camp. Based off June's throwing camp, Kittner is well ahead of Bonner, but still a ways behind Johnson. But Kittner does not have to fret, since if he plays well in preseason, then he'll have a legitimate shot of earning the backup position. There is not much confidence in the Falcon front office that the team will keep Doug Johnson past when his contract expires, which is after the 2003 season. That may put a rush on Kittner's develop. This is an advantage for Kittner, as the team might want to "force" playing time in order to speed up his progress. Kittner is not gifted with a strong arm like Johnson and Vick, but at times in college he was very precise and played like a surgeon. He's known to be erratic at times, but that's expected anyway from young quarterbacks. Kittner has the toughness and experience (3.5 years of starting at Illinois) to make an early impact in Atlanta.

Bonner has a legitimate shot at making the roster, but showed he was far behind Kittner in throwing camp. Bonner played college ball at Kentucky and Valdosta State, in two offenses crafted by Hal Mumme that were highly productive. These offenses produced Brown quarterback Tim Couch and Falcon receiver Quentin McCord. Bonner has a stronger arm than Kittner, but it's not that much stronger. In college, Bonner was proficient at straight dropbacks and the shorter routes. He'll need to be able to throw the ball deep better.

Although there's a chance it could change, it's most likely that the depth chart entering training camp will emerge from training camp in the same order. Vick will be the starter, Johnson his backup, and Kittner filling the third quarterback role. That leaves Bonner out on a limb. But reports say that a new rule passed by the NFL allows a practice squad space for a fourth quarterback. I do not know much about this, whether it allows a 4th quarterback to carried as a 6th squad member or something else. But basically Bonner will be vying for the practice squad spot. If he outplays Kittner, then Kittner will definitely land here. Bonner will need a good camp though, as the Falcons won't keep a 4th quarterback unless he plays well enough to do so.

Salary Cap Sense

Seeing that Kittner and Bonner are really the only ones in danger of being cut, then let's break down what cutting each would cost. Since Kittner is unsigned currently, then his figures can't be figured out until he does sign. Cutting Bonner won't free up any space since he's not part of the 51-man roster, but it would save the team from paying $225,000. Bonner is the cheaper alternative to Kittner. And it's likely that Kittner will cost about $20-$40,000 more than Bonner.

Predictions

1. Michael Vick (starter)
2. Doug Johnson
3. Kurt Kittner
4. Dusty Bonner (cut)