It didn’t seem like much, but Falcons corner Von Hutchins went down on the first day of training camp with a foot injury. No big deal. What was called a “tweaked ankle” by head coach Mike Smith on Saturday, however, became a season-ending trip to the injured reserve for Hutchins, the first camp casualty for a Falcons team that can ill afford any.
With the Falcons already starting two corners (2007 second-rounder Chris Houston and former free-agent acquisition Brent Grimes) with less than two seasons of NFL experience, the secondary shuffle was already slim. Now, David Irons, Wilrey Fontenot, Antoine Harris and 2008 third-round pick Chevis Jackson will compete for the nickelback slot Hutchins occupied. The problem: Hutchins has more experience (five seasons) than his replacements combined (four). To add some depth, the Falcons signed rookie free-agent Glenn Sharpe (Miami).
One plus on Tuesday was the return of massive defensive tackle Grady Jackson. After being inexplicably released last season after seven games, Jackson was re-signed to help a Falcons defense that ailed against the run without him. While it doesn’t say much for the Falcons’ front to have the 6-foot-2, 345-pounder come in and immediately become the best defensive tackle on the roster, Jackson’s mass in the middle will be a great boost for keeping offensive linemen off of the linebackers. He collapses the pocket as well as any nose tackle in the NFL (league-best 13 tackles for loss in 2006). With the loss of Hutchins and the gain of Jackson, the defense gets better and worse on the same day.
Horne can be reached at ehorne@scoreatl.com.
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