News » ATLANTA FALCONS (11-7)OPEN CAMP: July 27

Falcons practice facility, Flowery Branch, GeorgiaLAST YEAR: One year after Authentic Patrick Peterson Jersey reaching Super Bowl, Falcons finished third in NFC South and lost to Philadelphia in second round of playoffs. Quarterback Matt Ryan, working under new coordinator Steve Sarkisian, had decline in production from 2016, when team led NFL in scoring. Ryan still signed five-year, $150 million deal in offseason. Good news is young defense, led by speedy linebackers Deion Jones and De'Vondre Campbell and safeties Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen, allowed 318.4 yards per game, significant drop from 371.2 in 2016.IMPORTANT ADDITIONS: G Brandon Fusco, rookie WR Calvin Ridley Youth Robert Nkemdiche Jersey , TE Logan Paulsen, CB Justin Bethel, rookie DT Deadrin Senat, QB coach Greg Knapp, RB coach Bernie Parmalee.IMPORTANT LOSSES: DT Dontari Poe, DE Adrian Clayborn, WR Taylor Gabriel, FB Derrick Coleman, TE Levine Toilolo.CAMP NEEDS: Spotlight will be on WR Julio Jones after team announced it won't renegotiate his current $71.5 million contract. Jones has three years remaining in five-year deal. Jones did not attend minicamp, and training camp holdout could be major distraction to "brotherhood" atmosphere promoted by coach Dan Quinn. Defensive front will be concern following losses of Poe and Clayborn. Senat could have opportunity for immediate playing time, if not starting role. Ridley needs to prove he can handle No. 3 receiver spot behind Jones and Mohamed Sanu and be ready for even bigger role.EXPECTATIONS: Ryan is 33, Jones is 29 Youth Ricky Seals-Jones Jersey , RB Devonta Freeman had two concussions, including one in preseason, and knee injury last season, and RB Tevin Coleman could be free agent after this season. These are all alarm signals as window for current offense is narrowing. While young defense is emerging as team's strength, Atlanta's offense needs to re-emerge in second season with Sarkasian if team can have real hope for second Super Bowl appearance in three years. Addition of Fusco should add more stability to interior offensive line. Competitive NFC South doesn't lessen expectations. Anything less than 10 wins and another postseason would be disappointment.Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes and additions for Revenge of the Birds Well, the plan was to introduce some of the new staff members yesterday, but the Cardinals and law enforcement had different plans.So, today we make some announcements about the site.First off, I wanted to thank any and everyone that applied for the positions Jeanna Thomas posted for Revenge of the Birds.I was actually floored by the number of applications.We were gifted some assets by the SB Nation head council and we have used those, in my opinion, well for the 2018 season.I wanted to introduce three of the additions and changes thus far.First, Walter Mitchell has been added to the staff as the Deputy Manager and my right-hand man.A fantastic writer and editor Youth Justin Pugh Jersey , I am excited to get things moving with Mitch09.We’ll be debuting a couple of new twists, including a weekly (maybe more) Facebook Live show.Next up, you saw his debut article today, John Buckley is coming out as one of our longform writers.His piece on Slowing the Josh Rosen Hype train is what you can expect a couple of times a week from John, as he brings his own spin on the Arizona Cardinals to RotB.Finally, the third addition and one of the key additions this offseason is that of Redbird Thunder becoming our community manager.You know him from the boards, he is a diehard fan and now he is going to be part of the backbone of giving you, the readers, more of a voice.That means, more FanPosts, which leads to promoted FanPosts and hopefully a larger platform for aspiring writers.We have added some more talent as well and I look forward to introducing them over the next couple of weeks.