Defensive Backs

Who's on the Roster?
#37 Aaron Beasley (6-0 206, 9th, West Virginia)
#29 Keion Carpenter (5-11 205, 6th, Virginia Tech)
#40 Curome Cox (6-0 197, rookie, Maryland)
#27 Cory Hall (6-0 213, 6th, Fresno State)
#21 DeAngelo Hall (5-10 197, rookie, Virginia Tech)
#23 Kevin Mathis (5-9 185, 8th, Texas A&M-Commerce)
#32 Tod McBride (6-1 208, 6th, UCLA)
#47 Kevin McCadam (6-1 219, 3rd, Virginia Tech)
#42 Etric Pruitt (6-0 196, rookie, Southern Mississippi)
#22 Pat Ricketts (5-11 180, rookie, Nebraska)
#34 Derek Ross (5-10 197, 3rd, Ohio State)
#20 Allen Rossum (5-8 178, 7th, Notre Dame)
#24 Bryan Scott (6-1 219, 2nd, Penn State)
#26 Siddeeq Shabazz (5-11 200, 2nd, California)
#36 Jason Webster (5-9 187, 5th, Texas A&M)
#25 Brandon Williams (5-11 186, 1st, Michigan)

Starters: C. Hall (free safety), D. Hall (left corner), Scott (strong safety), Webster (right corner)
Top Backups: McBride (left corner), McCadam (strong safety), Pruitt (free safety), Ross (right corner)

Newcomers: Beasley (free agent/Jets), Cox (undrafted rookie), D. Hall (1st round pick), Pruitt (6th round pick), Ricketts (undrafted rookie), Webster (free agent/49ers).

The Falcons secondary may have seen the biggest turnover from 2003 as the team tries to revamp a unit that was the league's worst.

Cornerbacks

The team brought in new starters to replace the older ones. Jason Webster was the big free agent addition. Webster has spent the past four seasons as a starter for the San Francisco 49ers. There have been times where Webster has struggled, and there have been times where he has excelled. Webster is a bit small, but has good speed and knows Jim Mora's defensive scheme. He'll be expected to be the leader of this fledgling and revamped unit. Webster has struggled much with injuries in the past. There are questions of how healthy he will be at the outset of this season, but thus far in mini-camps he has shown that he has lost little of his speed. Webster plays best in man coverage due to his lack of size and inability to be a physical presence. He is a pretty capable player in run support. But there are times where he gets abused by opposing quarterbacks and will give up the occasional big play. The team is asking him to be its top cornerback for the early part of this season, something he was never asked to be in San Francisco, where he played opposite Ahmed Plummer, who was always seen as their No. 1 guy.

But Webster may not have to lead the unit for very long. The biggest addition made in the off-season was the selection of DeAngelo Hall with the eighth overall selection. A lot of high expectations are along with Hall as he comes to Atlanta. Hall is already getting comparisons with ex-Falcon great and future Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, due to his excellent speed, confidence, and amazing punt return ability. Hall is a more physical against the run than Sanders was. He went toe to toe with many of the nation's top wideouts over the past two years including Miami's Andre Johnson and Pittsburgh's Larry Fitzgerald, each of the past two seasons' third overall selections, and came out on top. There are questions of how ready Hall will be. There is little doubt of his future performance, but the coaching staff is not sure how well Hall will initially adjust in training camp, preseason, and the early part of the season. There is going to be a big adjustment in the NFL, since he won't be facing great receivers occasionally, but now will be battling them on a weekly basis. But if Hall has a solid preseason, there is high hopes that he could challenge for defensive rookie of the year.

Hall's starting job is not completely secure, but the coaching staff is probably going to throw him to the wolves early in order to get him to learn on the fly. Pushing Hall for his starting job is incumbent starter Tod McBride. McBride was signed last year to solidify the nickel spot, but when the team's starters struggled throughout the first half of the season, the team promoted McBride into the starting lineup. McBride was not anything spectacular, but didn't give up as many big plays as his predecessors. He served simply as an adequate stopgap. McBride has excellent size and plays best in press coverage. McBride is expected to continue in his nickel role. When the team needs a matchup, and is afraid to put the smaller Webster on a larger wideout, McBride will be best used.

Also pushing time for the nickel position is veteran Aaron Beasley. Beasley too is a bigger cornerback that plays best in zone and press coverage. Beasley is also a capable run stopper as well. Beasley is not much of a fit for man coverage, and will probably only be used situationally at cornerback. But he brings veteran leadership to a young unit and the team will rely on him to help mentor many of the younger players.

The most intriguing backup on the roster is Derek Ross. Ross is clearly the team's second-most talented cornerback behind Hall. But Ross has been in trouble already in his short NFL career due to his work ethic and attitude. It drove him out of Dallas last season, after being a starter as a rookie in 2002. Ross showed good promise that year and looked like a building block for the future, but then regressed a bit and never was on the same page with the Cowboys new coaching staff. He hopes to change that in Atlanta, and has already indicated his premature release has served as a wakeup call for him. He only played in a pair of games last season, and didn't look particularly impressive. But that is completely understandable due to his short time on the roster. This summer, the team expects him to hit the ground running. Ross, despite his talent is probably not in a position to take away the starting position from Webster, but he is the hopeful for being the nickel cornerback. And if Hall does struggle early, the team would probably plug in Ross. But it all depends on his performance during preseason. He has the best combination of size and speed and gives you a potential all-in-one player that can match up with bigger wideouts, play the run, and run with the smaller wideouts. Ross's problems have not stemmed from his on-field performance, but rather what goes on upstairs, and that bears watching the summer.

Also pushing for time is Kevin Mathis. Mathis is a veteran player that has served as the team's nickel corner for the past two years. He's the veteran of the unit, and usually plays at a consistent level. He's past his prime, and no longer an option as a starter unless the team is really pinched, but he is a steady veteran that the team knows can play the nickel spot and be capable in that role. He played quite a bit over the second half of last year in that role. He may not make this year's roster. Right now he's considered the sixth cornerback on the roster, and assuming that Hall, Ross, and McBride show things during this summer, the team is not in need of holding onto him. He has only been a stopgap at the nickel position, and the team is looking for its youngsters, particularly Ross and McBride, to step up and fill that niche. Mathis however is a solid player and is pretty decent in man coverage and run support, and has most of his problems come from his lack of size. But in the past, he's managed to come out of hiding and make a big play every once and again, including one last year that won the game against the Panthers in Week 14. But he's still a longshot to make the roster.

Pushing Mathis for a potentially final sixth cornerback position is Allen Rossum. Rossum has a better shot at making the roster due to his special teams abilities as a returner. Rossum has served as the team kickoff and punt returner each of the past two years. But this will be the first summer, where he is not guaranteed to win at least one spot. Because of this, and his lacking ability on defense, he will have an uphill battle to make the roster. But Rossum knows the coaching staff and has extensive experience with them, and it will be hard to cut him, despite his lacking abilities on defense. He struggles due to lack of size and his speed is not apparent often because he gets lost in coverage. But his future as a Falcon will rest on what he and other players can do as returners rather than his defensive performance. He would only be used in the lineup if the team was really plagued by injuries and had little alternative.

The rest of the unit is not competing for a roster spot, but a chance to be on the practice squad.

Brandon Williams spent a week on the team's roster in the season finale and might be considered the forerunner. At Michigan, Williams never was more than a nickel cornerback, which sort of bodes against him, but the team clearly likes his abilities on special teams more than anything else. He has a shot as the team tries to solidify a special teams unit this year with a lot of new blood.

But he will have difficulty taking spots away from two undrafted rookies in Pat Ricketts and Curome Cox. Ricketts is an overachieving player that impressed with his work ethic and is a "coach's player" meaning he'll do everything you ask him. He worked his way up at Nebraska from a walk-on into a senior starter. His best abilities come in run support, but he has managed to make plays against the pass over his career. He's a possibility as a practice squad player because he's likely to endear himself to the coaching staff despite not having the most athleticism or talent for the position.

Cox is a bit more of the opposite, being the clear favorite amongst the trio in terms of pure talent. Cox has good size and is a physical corner, but he doesn't have great speed. He's a player in the mold of McBride, which could help him make the roster. But for all three players, it may come down to who is the best on special teams that could potentially make the practice squad.

The Falcons will keep at least five cornerbacks, but might also carry a sixth, depending on how their return units shape up.

Safeties

Although the roster didn't receive much change at this position, the team hopes the players improved over the past year so that it will appear different in 2004.

Bryan Scott, the second-year player is now the leader of the unit. Scott will man the strong safety position. He has good ability, with size and speed. He can match up against wideouts due to his experience at cornerback. He began last year as a reserve corner, but the coaching staff saw that he was a project at that position and moved him to his natural safety spot. Scott is a potential solid all-around safety since he can play the run and cover. But the team wants him to become more physical in run support, since he's a capable tackler, but the team is looking for a hard-hitting enforcer at the strong safety position.

Cory Hall is also returning to the starting lineup. He was out of much of 2003 with injuries and failed to make a favorable impression when he did manage to play. But Hall will have a year under his belt, and should be improved. He has good athleticism and is an above average run stopper. He just needs to put himself in the position to make more plays and become more consistent.

Neither player is really in danger of losing their starting positions, but will be pushed. Kevin McCadam is the expected dime safety. McCadam has impressed during the summers, but has failed to make the most of his opportunities during the regular season. He's a capable run stopper, but finds himself out of position too often to make a play, and still is struggling in coverage. But the team likes his special teams abilities, and he's in no danger of being cut because of that.

McCadam is the frontrunner for the third safety position, but will be pushed by Siddeeq Shabazz. Shabazz is a capable run stopper as well, and too struggles in coverage. But he may be a more physical run stopper than McCadam and has the hard-hitting enforcer attitude that the coaching staff likes. Like McCadam, he's played both free and strong safety during his brief stint in Atlanta, which helps due to added versatility. But unless Shabazz can really make an impact on special teams or shows great improvement versus the pass, he has an uphill battle for a roster spot.

Also pushing for time is rookie Etric Pruitt. Pruitt is a hard-hitting safety that plays fast and tough, and too plays his best in run support. But he too needs work in coverage. He'll be the backup free safety to Hall, but is not expected to make a big impact on defense this year. He has a bright future ahead of him, but the coaching staff for now is setting the goal of him contributing mostly on special teams. His playing style really fits that area of the roster, and as he develops a bit more against the pass, he should earn playing time on defense.

An intriguing possibility at this position is cornerback Aaron Beasley. Beasley has been taking reps at free safety during mini-camps due to the knee injury of Keion Carpenter. Before his injury, Carpenter was considered the frontrunner for the dime safety spot due to his experience at starting at both safety spots in the past two seasons. But with him out, the team lacks a veteran presence on the bench. Beasley has been working at the position, and due to his ever-decreasing speed may become a viable option at this new position. But it's doubtful he will take a starting position away from Hall, and it's questionable even if he will continue to work at safety into training camp. But Beasley makes a good fit at the safety position due to his size and abilities as a run stopper. He could potentially push for time, and maybe earn the dime spot if he is a quick learn.

In all probability, the team will keep four safeties on the roster.

Salary Cap Sense

The salary cap could play a role in who stays and who goes. Because of their high cap figures, McBride and Rossum could face the chopping block as well as Mathis. Cutting Rossum would free up the most money in $875,000, with McBride equaling $775,000 in cap savings, and Mathis at $750,000. Beasley's dismissal will save $480,000 and Ross will save $380,000 against this year's cap. It's likely that one of the first trio will be cut, with the possibility of two. For the safeties, the team will save more money if it released McCadam over Shabazz (about $75,000 difference).

Roster Projection

1. Webster (starter)
2. D. Hall (starter)
3. C. Hall (starter)
4. Scott (starter)
5. Ross (backup)
6. McBride (backup)
7. Beasley (backup)
8. Rossum (backup)
9. McCadam (backup)
10. Pruitt (backup)
11. Carpenter (injured reserve)
12. Cox (practice squad)
13. Mathis (cut)
14. Shabazz (cut)
15. Williams (cut)
16. Ricketts (cut)