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07/13/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When presented with the phrase "Atlanta Falcons cornerback" in one of those word-association tests, the first term that might spring to mind is "brash".
The two biggest stars to play that position in the organization's history were the outrageous Deion Sanders, who earned three Pro Bowl citations as a Falcon in the early stages of his career, and DeAngelo Hall, who made some big plays for the team during the Jim Mora era, even if his on-field motor never quite matched the horsepower generated by his mouth.
Heck, even '98 Falcons Pro Bowler Ray Buchanan was a rap-album-making sound- byte machine who got into a legendary war of words with the Broncos' Shannon Sharpe during the ramp-up to Atlanta's first and only Super Bowl to date.
The Falcons' newest standout at the position, offseason free agent pickup Dunta Robinson, is not likely to generate the Q rating of any of the figures mentioned above. The less flashy Robinson has heretofore spent his NFL career making statements on the field, as opposed to the various mediums preferred by his Atlanta predecessors.
The 2004 first-round pick of the Houston Texans has plenty of confidence, but prefers to display it with his helmet on.
"You will see [in] the way he carries himself an element of swagger we definitely are looking for on this football team, to help this young defense and to help this young secondary," Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff said soon after the team signed Robinson in March. "We are really excited about having Dunta help this team move in that direction."
Robinson was a steadying force for a Houston defense that went through myriad changes - from both a scheme and personnel standpoint - during his six years there. He had six interceptions as a rookie in 2004, and soon after found opposing quarterbacks less than willing to throw in his direction. Still, the Texans refused to give the South Carolina product the type of contract he wanted, with the effects of a serious 2007 knee injury perhaps dissuading them from making a long-term deal. Robinson was given the franchise tag in 2009, much to his chagrin, and widened the gulf between himself and the organization by publicly accusing general manager Rick Smith of reneging on a promise not to tag him. (Robinson also famously wrote, "Pay me, Rick" on his game cleats).
Houston chose not to franchise Robinson again in 2010, giving the Falcons the opportunity to swoop in and sign the Athens, GA native. Robinson, the only notable veteran addition the Falcons made during the offseason, was handed a six-year, $57 million contract including $25.5 million guaranteed.
"It's a great situation for me," Robinson said upon his introduction to the team. "I feel wanted here and anytime you feel wanted you're willing to go out there and lay it on the line every Sunday. Facing great receivers brings out the best in me so it's definitely going to be fun."
In keeping with his enhanced financial profile, Robinson is being counted on for leadership and consistency on a secondary that went begging in both departments during much of a disappointing 2009 campaign. Atlanta finished 28th in the NFL against the pass last season, with a smallish group of corners getting out-muscled as often as they were beaten deep.
Young players like the scrappy Brent Grimes and then-rookie Christopher Owens were counted on perhaps too heavily, and would-be lynch pins Chris Houston (since traded to the Lions) and Brian Williams were disappointing before being lost to season-ending injuries.
Though Grimes, Owens, and Williams are all back, there is little question that the tone of this cornerback group will be largely set by the newcomer Robinson, who has drawn raves from head coach Mike Smith for his physical nature.
"I think the thing Dunta has is a complete game," Smith said in March. "We talked about his ability to tackle, and that is very important. I think tackling is a lost art in this league ... that's the thing that stands out the most in regards to his skill set."
Below, as the sixth installment of our eight-part "GameChangers" series, we look at five incoming defensive backs will enter their first year in a new uniform as central figures in their team's 2010 development:
5. Joe Haden, CB, Browns (rookie, Florida) - When the Browns dealt for NFL veteran Sheldon Brown in the days preceding the 2010 Draft, it was speculated that Cleveland - which had been linked to Haden for weeks at the No. 7 slot - might be done at the cornerback position. After all, the solid Eric Wright was still in Cleveland as a potential bookend to Brown. But Mike Holmgren pulled the trigger on the physical Haden anyway, quickly transforming the Cleveland secondary into one that should give opposing quarterbacks pause. A weak 4.57 40-time at the scouting combine may have scared some off of Haden (he rebounded for a 4.39 at Florida's pro day), but he has tremendous football instincts and sufficient game speed to be a high-quality NFL corner for the next decade. The Browns will ease Haden in slowly, perhaps using Haden mainly in sub-packages early on, but it won't be long before he's an every-down corner in C-Town.
4. Antrel Rolle, S, Giants (free agent, from Cardinals) - Though Robinson's contract raised some eyebrows, in that a player who had never reached a Pro Bowl was made the second-highest-paid corner in the game, it was the five- year, $37 million deal that the Giants gave Rolle that generated even greater astonishment. Rolle was viewed by many as the third-best defensive back on his own team in Arizona, behind Adrian Wilson and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and the Cardinals actually released Rolle, who never quite lived up to his top-10 promise in five years with the team, in March. Still, there was no question that the Giants needed secondary help, and the only way they were going to get a potential impact player was to reach for one and cross their fingers that it worked out. There's a lot at stake in that regard, as Kenny Phillips is attempting to come back from a career-threatening knee injury and third-round safety Chad Jones' own career could be over after a serious car accident. If Rolle doesn't live up to his contract through strong play, it's going to be bombs away on the Giants secondary.
3. Earl Thomas, S, Seahawks (rookie, Texas) - The Seahawks may have carved out the future of their organization in a nine-pick span of the April draft, selecting Thomas moments after tabbing Russell Okung to be their starting left tackle of the next decade and perhaps beyond. Seattle's defense has long lacked consistent secondary playmakers, a situation the 5-10, 195-pound Thomas - who had 32 passes defended in 14 games with Texas a season ago - should help alleviate almost immediately. What new head coach Pete Carroll and the Hawks liked best about Thomas was his versatility, as he is capable of playing a traditional center-field, free safety role and can also cover receivers capably when needed. Look for the NFL's third-worst pass defense of a year ago to take an immediate step forward with Thomas as a center piece of the secondary.
2. Dunta Robinson, CB, Falcons (free agent, from Texans) - Worried about whether Robinson will be able to hold up against the likes of NFC South stalwart receivers like Marques Colston and Steve Smith? Robinson isn't. "I've gone against Marvin Harrison twice a year for five or six years. Reggie Wayne, I've seen him twice a year every year. Though there are great receivers in this division, I'm used to going against great receivers. I guarded every team's best receiver last season. I've had my experience. I'm actually looking forward to playing against those guys, lining up and getting in their face and just going to battle." Robinson's first inter-division battle will come on Sept. 26 against Colston and the defending Super Bowl Saints, a game that should offer plenty of indication whether Atlanta has narrowed the gap in the NFC South.
1. Eric Berry, S, Chiefs (rookie, Tennessee) - Logic dictated that the Chiefs were going to draft Berry No. 5 overall when they were on the clock this past April, but since this was the same team that shocked the world by selecting Tyson Jackson third the year before, and there were audible whispers that GM Scott Pioli wasn't fond of taking safeties early, all bets were off. Ultimately, though, Berry was such a can't-miss prospect that Pioli resisted the temptation to over-think things. Like Thomas, Berry has the versatility to line up anywhere in the secondary, though he projects long-term as a playmaking safety in the Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu mold. Like Polamalu, the 5-11, 200-pound Berry is a fearsome hitter. Like Reed, Berry is a menace when he gets the ball in his hands, and could help out on returns in addition to his work on defense. Wherever new coordinator Romeo Crennel chooses to line him up, Berry is already the face of a Kansas City unit that will be looking to far surpass its 2009 rank of 30th in NFL total defense.
Next up at the Line of Scrimmage: 2010 GameChangers Part VII - Running Backs
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My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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