Falcons WR Finneran may be lost for season (1 Viewer)

[MKB4®]

UPDATE: Falcons WR Finneran may be lost for season

STEVE WYCHE

7/30/2006

Flowery Branch — Brian Finneran, the Falcons' top pass-catching wide receiver, could be lost for the season after suffering a "serious" knee injury during practice Sunday night.

Finneran, who had 50 receptions for 611 yards and two touchdowns last season, will undergo an MRI exam Monday morning, but the initial prognosis — though not identified — is not promising, coach Jim Mora said.

"Sometimes you plant and your knee gives," Mora said. "It looks like it's serious. I'm hoping for the best because he's obviously a critical part of this football team. We'll hope for the best but I'm not overly optimistic."

Finneran injured his knee in a non-contact passing drill, his knee giving way as he tried to make a cut.

The seven-year veteran, who made the roster as an undrafted free agent and is the No. 3 wide receiver, re-signed for three years with the Falcons this summer.

Mora said the personnel department is already exploring free agent options to bring in but salary-cap issues could limit the choices. In the short term, Jerome Pathon will be used as the third wide out. Rookie Adam Jennings will also get a shot to move into a more important role.

http://www.ajc.com/

 

[KnowledgeReignsSupreme]

####, that's bad.

More running for Vick though... that's good for fantasy.

 

[Couch Potato]

This will heat up the Lelie for Duckett speculation again.

 

[Sigfawn]

This will heat up the Lelie for Duckett speculation again.

As soon as Norwood shows he can handle RBBC, Duckett is as good as gone.

 

[wannabee]

This will heat up the Lelie for Duckett speculation again.

As soon as Norwood shows he can handle RBBC, Duckett is as good as gone.

Plus, Norwood has had three fumbles in five practices:Falcons | Norwood struggling to hold onto the football

Published Sun Jul 30 4:42:00 p.m. ET 2006

(KFFL) AtlantaFalcons.com reports Atlanta Falcons head coach Jim Mora said after practice Sunday, July 30, that RB Jerious Norwood has had three fumbles in five practices.

 

[LHUCKS]

Is it just me or do white WRs have an extraordinarly tough time remaining healthy.

 

[Couch Potato]

Is it just me or do white WRs have an extraordinarly tough time remaining healthy.

It's just you. Roddy and Dez are just fine.

 

[Shiver44]

Actually this is great news, fantasy-wise that is. He had 81 targets last year. That's 81 more passes towards White/Jenkins/Crumpler.

 

[Tau837]

I was already targeting Roddy White. This just makes him even more of a value, unless it has a major effect on his ADP.

 

[The Shizzle]

Who are Roddy and Dez I thought ATL was only Alge and Finn

 

[Nugget]

I thought Dez was a Viking?

 

[Couch Potato]

I thought Dez was a Viking?

LOL. The Roddy and Dez comment was in response to LHUCKS' white comment. I wasn't implying they were both Falcons (though Roddy is and Dez was...)

 

[wannabee]

Falcons | Finneran to have an MRI within 24 hours

Published Sun Jul 30 11:37:00 p.m. ET 2006

(KFFL) Michael Oldham, of AtlantaFalcons.com, reports Atlanta Falcons WR Brian Finneran (knee) is expected to undergo an MRI on his injured right knee within 24 hours. "Once we look at the film we'll probably see it was more of a non-contact injury than anything," Falcons head coach Jim Mora said following practice Sunday evening, July 30. "Sometimes you plant and your knee gives. It looks like it's serious, but we're going to wait until we get the MRI done to just confirm it." "We'll hope for the best, but I'm not overly optimistic," Mora added.

 

[msommer]

I thought Dez was a Viking?

LOL. The Roddy and Dez comment was in response to LHUCKS' white comment. I wasn't implying they were both Falcons (though Roddy is and Dez was...)

I think this calls for a :whoosh: to Nugget

 

[zamboni]

I was already targeting Roddy White. This just makes him even more of a value, unless it has a major effect on his ADP.

I'm thinking the same thing - he's been on my radar for awhile. Hopefully, people still look at Jenkins just as much.

 

[Jason Wood]

I was already targeting Roddy White. This just makes him even more of a value, unless it has a major effect on his ADP.

Hey JWB...when you say targeting, in what round and what role? I agree that Roddy White is intriguing as a player with upside, but I wonder how the reality of playing for the Falcons limits his ability to reach said upside?The Falcons threw for 2,907 yards as a team last year, up from under 2,700 each of the prior two seasons. Let's say you think Vick will improve again and push the Falcons to 3,100 yards passing...what percent of the receiving totals do you envison White grabbing?

I guess if you think White netting 800 yards and a 5 TDs = someone to target, , but I'm trying to get a sense if you think he could do better and, if so, how much?

 

[trader jake]

Is it just me or do white WRs have an extraordinarly tough time remaining healthy.

 

[Tau837]

I was already targeting Roddy White.  This just makes him even more of a value, unless it has a major effect on his ADP.

Hey JWB...when you say targeting, in what round and what role? I agree that Roddy White is intriguing as a player with upside, but I wonder how the reality of playing for the Falcons limits his ability to reach said upside?The Falcons threw for 2,907 yards as a team last year, up from under 2,700 each of the prior two seasons. Let's say you think Vick will improve again and push the Falcons to 3,100 yards passing...what percent of the receiving totals do you envison White grabbing?

I guess if you think White netting 800 yards and a 5 TDs = someone to target, , but I'm trying to get a sense if you think he could do better and, if so, how much?

Posted this in Roddy White, Possible sleeper???:

Last year, the Falcons attempted 451 passes, and the WRs caught 118. Here was the breakdown:

+----------------------+----+-----------------------+----------------------+| Name | G | RSH YARD AVG TD | REC YARD AVG TD |+----------------------+----+-----------------------+----------------------+| Romby Bryant | 3 | 0 0 0.0 0 | 0 0 0.0 0 || Brian Finneran | 16 | 0 0 0.0 0 | 50 611 12.2 2 || Michael Jenkins | 14 | 0 0 0.0 0 | 36 508 14.1 3 || Jerome Pathon | 8 | 0 0 0.0 0 | 1 18 18.0 0 || Dez White | 6 | 0 0 0.0 0 | 2 25 12.5 1 || Roddy White | 16 | 4 12 3.0 0 | 29 446 15.4 3 |+----------------------+----+-----------------------+----------------------+Who here thinks Finneran will catch 50 again? I don't. In 2004, he was the #3 receiver with 23 catches, though he did also miss 4 games.Consider targets. Last season, here were the WR targets:

Finneran 81

Jenkins 71

Roddy 68

Dez 10

Pathon 3

Roddy White had only 29 catches last season, but he was targeted often. Clearly he was raw last season, and has potential for significant improvement this season. That could lead both to catching more of his targets and to being targeted more frequently.

I could easily see White adding one catch per game, even if WR catches don't increase. That would leave Jenkins & Finneran to split the the other 70 from this trio last year. This would push him to 45 catches. If he maintains his ypc and TD % averages, that would give him a statline like this: 45/693/5

Last year, that would have ranked as WR37. I think that qualifies as sleeper material... FBG says his current ADP is WR57.

Now, is that the ceiling, either for White or this passing game? No. Add 50 more plays as was discussed earlier and call 20 of them passing plays, which would give Atlanta 471 passing attempts. WRs have caught ~26% of Atlanta's passes over the past two years, so that means a few more catches for the WRs. If White is the leading receiver, that could give him a few more catches.

More importantly, is it possible for the WRs to get more passes this season? I think so. In 2002, Vick's best passing year, WRs caught 28.6% of Atlanta's 479 passing attempts. Entering his third year with the same coaching staff & offense, I could see Vick's confidence as improved, plus he is healthy unlike last year. So I could see him looking downfield more. If the WRs could catch 28.6% of 471 passes instead of 26%, that is 135 catches for the WRs, 17 more than last year. Again assuming White is the #1, or at least co-#1, that could be 7-10 more catches for him over the numbers I showed earlier. That could get him to 55/847/6... WR28 last year.

Finally, consider his splits from last season:

First 8 games: 8/94/0 receiving, with 23 targets

Last 8 games: 21/352/3, with 45 targets

If he was able to carry his second half performance forward to this year and maintain it all season, that would be 90 targets and 42/704/6, which last season would have ranked as WR35.

Looks to me like there is a reasonable chance for White to end up in the WR30-W40 range, and he is currently being drafted far below that. Hence, he would seem to be a good value.

And followed up with this in WR White Preparing For Breakout Year:

The latest ADP posted at FBG shows him at WR53--very good value there.

Also, it is worth noting that, while the average performance of Vick's WR1 hasn't been good, as posted previously in this thread, Finneran posted 56/838/6 and was WR31 in 2002. Not coincidentally, that season was Vick's career high in passing attempts. If his passing attempts go up this year, White could have a surprisingly good year.

There are certainly those who have written off Vick and decided he simply isn't capable of improving as a passer. Those people will tend to ignore White. But anyone who thinks Vick still has potential to improve his passing, like I do, should be targeting White.

His ADP has climbed a bit in the past week, as he is now at WR49, around the 150th player off the board. Others being taken around him include Mark Clayton, David Givens, Isaac Bruce, Joe Jurevicius, Brandon Lloyd, Chad Jackson, and Amani Toomer. I'd take him before most of those guys, if not all of them.Basically, I'll be looking to get him in the mid 40s or later at WR. I don't necessarily target a specific round, just a relative rank within position. When I made my first post, he was at WR57 ADP, so he was an awesome value there. If he continues to climb slowly, he may reach the point where I'll stop targeting him. We'll see.

 

[Jason Wood]

Great Reply JWB ...I missed that Roddy White: Sleeper thread the first time around.

 

[Defending Champs]

The Atlanta airwaves are now claiming Finneran is out for "a while". At the beginning of the day it was season ending, now it's "a while".

I don't think they really know just how bad it is yet though any injury will beef up the chances the others will see.

I have a feeling the Falcons will be signing some form of 3rd down type posession WR. Currently, they really have a couple speedsters with developing hands. Finneran was a bit more proven in regards to Vick being comfortable with him.

 

[SSOG]

This will heat up the Lelie for Duckett speculation again.

Here's the problem with the Lelie for Duckett speculation.Atlanta offered Duckett for Lelie. Straight up. Denver didn't want it. Unless they're willing to sweeten the pot, the fact that one of their WRs is hurt isn't going to make Denver any more likely to accept this time than last time.

I wouldn't mind seeing Duckett go to Denver. I grabbed Duckett in one league as a pseudo-handcuff for Ron Dayne. I just don't see it happening at this point. Here's hoping I'm wrong.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

I think jerome Pathon is on this team...I know he doesn't seem interesting to anyone but in 2002,2003, and 2004 he put in 3 good years in NO with 500+ yds in 3 straight seasons as a #3WR and he scored 4 TD in 2 of those years.

You want a deep sleeper...there you go. I have not been impressed with Jenkins or Roddy but the Falcons are a run 1st, toss it to Alge 2nd, Vick scramble and take off 3rd type of team...that isn't gonna change anytime soon IMO.

 

[Defending Champs]

I think jerome Pathon is on this team...I know he doesn't seem interesting to anyone but in 2002,2003, and 2004 he put in 3 good years in NO with 500+ yds in 3 straight seasons as a #3WR and he scored 4 TD in 2 of those years.

You want a deep sleeper...there you go. I have not been impressed with Jenkins or Roddy but the Falcons are a run 1st, toss it to Alge 2nd, Vick scramble and take off 3rd type of team...that isn't gonna change anytime soon IMO.

I can't disagree with this until I see otherwise, however the hype around Atlanta right now is R. White.Pathon actually signed an extension right before the season if I remember correctly. Terms were not disclosed at the time of signing.

 

[MKB4®]

Finneran out for season with torn ACL

7/31/2006

Receiver will miss '06 with torn ACL; surgery scheduled for Thursday.

http://www.ajc.com

 

[dickey moe]

Finneran out for season with torn ACL

7/31/2006

Receiver will miss '06 with torn ACL; surgery scheduled for Thursday.

http://www.ajc.com

:(

 

[zamboni]

Finneran out for season with torn ACL

7/31/2006

Receiver will miss '06 with torn ACL; surgery scheduled for Thursday.

http://www.ajc.com

Too bad - I feel for the guy. He always struck me as a guy that didn't have the greatest skills, but a hard worker nonetheless. Sort of a poor man's Wayne Chrebet.

 

[cws3030]

any chance ATL tries to trade for lelie or porter

 

[Two Deep]

This will heat up the Lelie for Duckett speculation again.

Here's the problem with the Lelie for Duckett speculation.Atlanta offered Duckett for Lelie. Straight up. Denver didn't want it. Unless they're willing to sweeten the pot, the fact that one of their WRs is hurt isn't going to make Denver any more likely to accept this time than last time.

I wouldn't mind seeing Duckett go to Denver. I grabbed Duckett in one league as a pseudo-handcuff for Ron Dayne. I just don't see it happening at this point. Here's hoping I'm wrong.

Lelie is a cancer to Denver, why not trade him for a downhill running back. If they like Dayne you would think Denver would like a bigger, faster, younger version of Dayne. They could then trade Dayne to another team (say the Eagles) for some 5th - 7th round pick. I think Duckett would thrive in the Denver Offense. As a side note rumors have it that Denver has been trying to trade Lelie to the Bears for Thomas Jones, which screams we are not overly confident in our running back situation.

 

[SSOG]

This will heat up the Lelie for Duckett speculation again.

Here's the problem with the Lelie for Duckett speculation.Atlanta offered Duckett for Lelie. Straight up. Denver didn't want it. Unless they're willing to sweeten the pot, the fact that one of their WRs is hurt isn't going to make Denver any more likely to accept this time than last time.

I wouldn't mind seeing Duckett go to Denver. I grabbed Duckett in one league as a pseudo-handcuff for Ron Dayne. I just don't see it happening at this point. Here's hoping I'm wrong.

Lelie is a cancer to Denver, why not trade him for a downhill running back. If they like Dayne you would think Denver would like a bigger, faster, younger version of Dayne. They could then trade Dayne to another team (say the Eagles) for some 5th - 7th round pick. I think Duckett would thrive in the Denver Offense. As a side note rumors have it that Denver has been trying to trade Lelie to the Bears for Thomas Jones, which screams we are not overly confident in our running back situation.

First off, Lelie's not a cancer in Denver. At the moment, outside of the media, he's a non-issue. He's not in camp, he's not in the locker room, and he's not missed. I don't think there's any negative effect on team chemistry if he holds out the entire season.Second off, why are you so convinced that Duckett is a bigger, faster, younger version of Dayne? If that was true, then don't you think the Broncos would have traded for him when they had the chance? I'm not at all convinced that Duckett is better than Dayne, and think there's a chance that even if he winds up in Denver, he stays behind Dayne on the depth chart. Which is even less likely now that Mike Bell's playing like he is.

Third, just because they'd like to add some runningbacks doesn't mean they aren't confident enough to go into the season with what they have. From what I've heard, they've spent more time trying to add a TE, and I'm sure they'd also like a DL in exchange... but they're also willing to go into the season with what they have there, too.

I just really don't see Lelie for Duckett happening unless Atlanta throws something in to sweeten the pot.

 

[Defending Champs]

Then it won't get done, it's that easy.