Who's on the Roster?#9 Damon Duval (5-11 195, 1st, Auburn)
#4 Jay Feely (5-10 206, 4th, Michigan)
#13 Chris Mohr (6-5 215, 15th, Alabama)
#2 Glenn Pakulak (6-2 226, 1st, Kentucky)
Who's on the Roster?
#9 Damon Duval (5-11 195, 1st, Auburn)
#4 Jay Feely (5-10 206, 4th, Michigan)
#13 Chris Mohr (6-5 215, 15th, Alabama)
#2 Glenn Pakulak (6-2 226, 1st, Kentucky)
Starters: Feely (kicker), Mohr (punter)
Top Backups: Duval (kicker), Pakulak (punter)
Newcomers: Duval (free agent), Pakulak (free agent).
The Falcons special teams has always been a strength under position coach Joe DeCamillis. New head coach Jim Mora opted not to break up a good thing and retained DeCamillis.
Jay Feely once again returns as the Falcons kicker. But 2004, will mark possibly Feely's last in a Falcon uniform. Feely is one of the better young kickers in the league, but he still struggles in the clutch and particularly at home. Oddly enough, he kicks his best when outdoors and therefore is a bit of a liability during home games, when the team relies on him to make important field goals. Confidence in Feely is at an all-time low, and he needs to regain some of his own confidence and go to the next level this season as a consistent placekicker. The team will be looking for some of this restored confidence during the summer.
Pushing Feely will be first-year player Damon Duval. Duval was both a kicker and punter at Auburn, but was considered a better punter than kicker. He doesn't have great leg strength or accuracy, but has supposedly improved since his college days. He'll push Feely for the position, but is a huge longshot. If he has a good summer however, the Falcons could opt to keep him on their eight-man practice squad in hopes of using him more in 2005, since Feely's return beyond this season is questionable.
Chris Mohr will be back in a Falcons uniform, punting and holding for Feely. Mohr has good accuracy and placement on his kicks, despite having one of the weaker legs in the league. But DeCamillis has always preferred preventing teams from making returns and stressing accuracy rather than distance. And Mohr does this better than most in the league.
Mohr is in little danger of losing his job to backup Glenn Pakulak. Pakulak is a similar punter to Mohr in that his leg is more accurate than strong. He failed to impress in only three preseason games with the Steelers last summer, averaging 39.5 yards on 4 punts. But he did forced 2 of his punts to be fair catches, and another was placed inside the twenty. He too has little to no chance of unseating Mohr, but like Duval will have an opportunity to make the practice squad if he can match or better Mohr's performance during the preseason.
Derek Rackley will enter camp as the team's long snapper. He has not botched a single snap in four years since joining the team as an undrafted rookie, and the Falcons hope the streak continues. Rackley may also see some of his time being used at tight end more this summer due to the flux of that position, but he still will earn the job at long snapper.
Matt Stewart is listed as his reserve, but has worked little at the position during his pro career. He likely won't work much there unless Rackley suffers an injury. There is no third option listed on the depth chart, but it's most likely that the team will turn to either Todd McClure or Eric Beverly if injuries took their toll on the position.
For the first time since his arrival in Atlanta, Allen Rossum will not automatically earn the return jobs. Rossum will be challenged for both the kickoff and punt return duties.
The kickoff duties are a bit up in the air, but not the punt return duties. That's because the team drafted DeAngelo Hall, who returned five punts for scores during his brief college career at Virginia Tech. Rossum has been excellent on punt returns thus far during his stint in Atlanta, but the team would like to instill a big play element on returns that Hall potentially brings. Rossum's lone punt return for touchdown as a Falcon came last season, and despite also coming off a career-high 14.0 yards per return average, he will likely lose his job to Hall. But Rossum still may get opportunities over the course of the year to return punts. Since Hall is going to be counted upon to start at cornerback, he may find the punt return duties to be tiring, since only a select few players in the league start on offense or defense and are full-time returners. Because of this, and the team's wishes that Hall excel more on defense than special teams, Rossum may replace Hall at some point during the regular season.
Players like Willie Quinnie, Kendrick Mosley and Terrence Edwards may also get work on punt returns, but it's doubtful anyone will excel enough to supplant Rossum or Hall, the two more proven sources.
Kickoff as stated before is in somewhat of a flux. Rossum has not distinguished himself in that role over the past two years, which was a major reason why the team drafted LaTarence Dunbar in 2003. But Dunbar is gone now after an injury-riddled first year, which helps Rossum improve his chances of keeping his kickoff job. Pushing him will be Woody Dantzler, who did return a kickoff for a touchdown as a rookie with Dallas. Also pushing for time will be Derek Ross, who returned kickoffs for the Cowboys last season. Quinnie, Mosley, and possibly Jimmy Farris and/or Kevin Mathis might also get some work as kickoff returners.
Whoever wins this job will likely earn a roster spot, which is why this position is so important for two guys on the bubble like Rossum and Dantzler. Rossum has the edge due to his standout abilities as a punt returner and questions of how long Hall will retain that spot. But Dantzler is the new blood and exciting athlete that if he can outperform Rossum significantly during the preseason, will get the opportunity to handle the position.
Players like Artie Ulmer, Kevin McCadam, Jimmy Farris, among others return as they formed important parts of the coverage units last season. Gone are Travis Jervey, Gerald McBurrows, Twan Russell, and other key special teams players. But the team brought in players like James Fenderson, Etric Pruitt, and Eric Johnson mostly for the purpose of replacing those players. Also getting opportunities will be rookies Demorrio Williams, Quincy Wilson, Deryck Toles, Pat Ricketts, Curome Cox, and Rod Royal. Brandon Williams, Siddeeq Shabazz, Terrence Melton, Terrence Robinson, Terrence Edwards, Jeremy Allen, and Willie Quinnie are all bubble players that will need to distinguish themselves on special teams in order to have a shot at making the roster. The team is looking to rebuild its coverage units with some of these younger newcomers. If the newcomers aren't up to par, the team won't hesitate to use players like Chris Draft, Brian Finneran, and Matt Stewart to bolster the unit despite the trio being potential starters.
Salary Cap Sense
It's doubtful that the salary cap will really come into play here except on forming the coverage units. The team will keep the best kicker, punter, and return men and the cap should have little effect on who makes it and who does not. But for the coverage units, if DeCamillis is impressed with some of the younger and cheaper players, he could opt for them instead of some of the veterans. Veterans that are potentially on the bubble are Eric Johnson, James Fenderson, Kevin McCadam, and Jimmy Farris. Players like Toles, Wilson, Shabazz, and Quinnie would be cheaper alternatives.
Roster projection