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January 18, 2012 | Author Anthony Stalter
http://www.falconsfocus.com/tag/paul-boudreau/
If you got caught up in the hiring of Mike Nolan you may have missed the news on Wednesday that the Falcons will not bring back offensive line coach Paul Boudreau.
There’s no question that the offensive line took a significant step backwards this season, which is why some view the release of Boudreau as a good thing. But it’s hard to fault Boudreau (who is a good coach) for the overall lack of talent that was given to him.
[hil]Thanks to Boudreau, the Falcons played as a tight, cohesive unit from 2008 through 2010[/hil]. But it wasn’t his fault that Thomas Dimitroff couldn’t feasibly re-sign Tyson Clabo, Justin Blalock and Harvey Dahl last offseason and thus, had to spend 2011 playing musical chairs at right guard. And it wasn’t anyone’s fault that Todd McClure also missed the first few weeks of the season due to a knee injury.
Dimitroff also reached for Sam Baker in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He knew he had to acquire someone to protect Matt Ryan’s blindside and when he saw all of the other top left tackles flying off the board, he essentially wasted the picks the Falcons acquired in the DeAngelo Hall trade to snatch up Baker.
But Baker was never a first-round talent and worse yet, his lack of size and reach made him a poor fit as a left tackle in the NFL. Most scouts determined that he would be a right tackle at the next level, although even that was a stretch. He’s also been an injury risk dating back to his days with USC, which is yet another thing that wasn’t Boudreau’s fault.
In my eyes, the real reason Boudreau isn’t being brought back is because his style doesn’t fit the direction the Falcons want to go offensively. [hil]Boudreau has a knack for working with smaller lineman and ran more of a man-blocking scheme under Mike Mularkey[/hil]. Chances are Dirk Koetter wants to implement a scheme that is more zone-oriented, although we won’t know for sure until the Falcons hire a new offensive line coach.
Dimitroff has also been drafting bigger linemen over these past couple years, so a move away from Boudreau was imminent. Dimitroff had a chance to draft Boston College’s Matt Tennant (the top-rated center on the board) in the 2010 draft and instead selected Joe Hawley, who is 6’3” and 310 pounds. Hawley was viewed as a power run blocker, which obviously fits the scheme the Falcons want to stick with under Mike Smith. Garrett Reynolds, who stands 6’7” and is 317 pounds, was also known as a run-blocker coming out of North Carolina. He was the contingency plan at right tackle in case Tyson Clabo left via free agency last year and after failing at right guard, he’s now basically relegated to backup duty. Mike Johnson, who played in Alabama’s pro-style offense while in college, was yet another player drafted by Dimitroff based on his size (6’6”, 305 pounds) and run-blocking abilities.
When you put everything together, this wasn’t a surprising move by the Falcons. Again, I think the decision had less to do with the team’s struggles this year and more to do with scheme. Boudreau was a fine coach and shouldn’t be made the scapegoat for the Falcons’ issues up front, especially when it comes to the lack of development with Baker. He’ll do well at his next destination and hopefully Dimitroff finds someone who fits into Koetter’s system here in Atlanta.
http://www.falconsfocus.com/tag/paul-boudreau/
If you got caught up in the hiring of Mike Nolan you may have missed the news on Wednesday that the Falcons will not bring back offensive line coach Paul Boudreau.
There’s no question that the offensive line took a significant step backwards this season, which is why some view the release of Boudreau as a good thing. But it’s hard to fault Boudreau (who is a good coach) for the overall lack of talent that was given to him.
[hil]Thanks to Boudreau, the Falcons played as a tight, cohesive unit from 2008 through 2010[/hil]. But it wasn’t his fault that Thomas Dimitroff couldn’t feasibly re-sign Tyson Clabo, Justin Blalock and Harvey Dahl last offseason and thus, had to spend 2011 playing musical chairs at right guard. And it wasn’t anyone’s fault that Todd McClure also missed the first few weeks of the season due to a knee injury.
Dimitroff also reached for Sam Baker in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He knew he had to acquire someone to protect Matt Ryan’s blindside and when he saw all of the other top left tackles flying off the board, he essentially wasted the picks the Falcons acquired in the DeAngelo Hall trade to snatch up Baker.
But Baker was never a first-round talent and worse yet, his lack of size and reach made him a poor fit as a left tackle in the NFL. Most scouts determined that he would be a right tackle at the next level, although even that was a stretch. He’s also been an injury risk dating back to his days with USC, which is yet another thing that wasn’t Boudreau’s fault.
In my eyes, the real reason Boudreau isn’t being brought back is because his style doesn’t fit the direction the Falcons want to go offensively. [hil]Boudreau has a knack for working with smaller lineman and ran more of a man-blocking scheme under Mike Mularkey[/hil]. Chances are Dirk Koetter wants to implement a scheme that is more zone-oriented, although we won’t know for sure until the Falcons hire a new offensive line coach.
Dimitroff has also been drafting bigger linemen over these past couple years, so a move away from Boudreau was imminent. Dimitroff had a chance to draft Boston College’s Matt Tennant (the top-rated center on the board) in the 2010 draft and instead selected Joe Hawley, who is 6’3” and 310 pounds. Hawley was viewed as a power run blocker, which obviously fits the scheme the Falcons want to stick with under Mike Smith. Garrett Reynolds, who stands 6’7” and is 317 pounds, was also known as a run-blocker coming out of North Carolina. He was the contingency plan at right tackle in case Tyson Clabo left via free agency last year and after failing at right guard, he’s now basically relegated to backup duty. Mike Johnson, who played in Alabama’s pro-style offense while in college, was yet another player drafted by Dimitroff based on his size (6’6”, 305 pounds) and run-blocking abilities.
When you put everything together, this wasn’t a surprising move by the Falcons. Again, I think the decision had less to do with the team’s struggles this year and more to do with scheme. Boudreau was a fine coach and shouldn’t be made the scapegoat for the Falcons’ issues up front, especially when it comes to the lack of development with Baker. He’ll do well at his next destination and hopefully Dimitroff finds someone who fits into Koetter’s system here in Atlanta.
