FanHouse Chris Houston

The last thing the Atlanta Falcons wanted on Sunday night was to lose Brian Williams to a season-ending knee injury. But Williams landed funny in the fourth quarter of the Falcons 21-14 victory over Chicago and tore his ACL, forcing Williams to be placed on injured reserve, where he'll miss the rest of the season and require reconstructive surgery. Now, the 18th-ranked Atlanta pass defense must find a new cornerback somewhere on their roster.

"This will be an opportunity for Tye Hill, Chris Owens and Chevis Jackson", said head coach Mike Smith in a press conference Monday. Those three will compete for time in the secondary, playing alongside cornerbacks Brent Grimes and Chris Houston.

The Atlanta Falcons are in St. Louis tonight to take on the Rams in week two of the NFL's preseason. Friday night is going to be a pivotal game to begin answering many questions that the Falcons have about depth chart issues and final 53-man roster considerations.

Here are three scenarios to keep your eye on.

Who is going to end up being the third wide receiver?
When Harry Douglas went down with a season-ending ACL tear, the Falcons had immediate openings for a punt returner (see later comments) and a third wide receiver. The team signed veteran free agents Robert Ferguson and Marty Booker soon after the Douglas injury and they are now competing with Brian Finneran and Eric Weems for that No. 3 spot.

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- The Atlanta Falcons head to Detroit to play the Lions this Saturday, August 15 for their first preseason game. The team has released a preseason depth chart to show an early glimpse at where players stand. You need to remember that the Falcons are less than two weeks into camp and the start of the regular season is still more then a month away. There are many things that can and will change between now and then.

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. --With Roddy White working out on his own in Alabama while holding out from training camp, the last thing the Falcons needed was an injury to a wide receiver. Unfortunately, that's just what happened to Harry Douglas today in one-on-one drills.

Douglas was bumped at the line by Chris Houston and, as the two fought to break free from one another, Douglas went down. And he stayed down for approximately five minutes before a cart drove onto the field and took him to the trainers' room.

Douglas, who was scheduled to be the Falcons' slot receiver this season and maybe even compete with Michael Jenkins for time at the No. 2 spot, was seen after practice leaving the facility on crutches, putting next to no weight on his left leg.

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- The Atlanta Falcons finished the 2008 season ranked 24th overall in team defense allowing 347.9 yards per game. In response to this lackluster performance, the Falcons used all but one of their 2009 draft choices on the defensive unit. That's brought a lot of youth and energy to training camp this week and it's created a different kind of atmosphere.

Third-year cornerback Chris Houston answered affirmatively as to whether or not the defense has a chip on their shoulder announcing they were, "hungrier than hungry".

Rookie cornerback Chris Owens spoke about linebacker Mike Peterson's monumental ability in the locker room to get the Falcons' defensive unit fired up before practices. Peterson, along with veterans Erik Coleman and Houston, has been, "getting in our ears, especially the rookies", Owens said.

The Atlanta Falcons ended their preseason on a high note yesterday, defeating the Baltimore Ravens 13-10. Most of the starters sat out in attempt to avoid unnecessary injury, but that did not take away from the intensity of the game. The reserves hit the field knowing this was their final shot to make an impression; their final shot at winning a job in the NFL.

Although his position was already secure, back-up quarterback Chris Redman went out and played a very good first half. And while he did tail off toward the end of his stint, he ended the night going 13 of 23 for 119 yards and a touchdown. Redman was then replaced by Casey Bramlet who went four of seven for 68 yards -- his statistics look better in the box score than he did on the field. Bramlet holds onto the ball entirely too long and doesn't appear to have very good arm strength.

Wide receiver Vincent Marshall made quite an impression last night with a very beautiful bobbling catch. Unfortunately, he probably won't make the final roster, but could be a very solid practice squad/emergency player.

It also appeared that the kicking battle went down to the wire. Will it be Billy Cundiff or Matt Prater? My money is still on Cundiff, but Prater looked good on both kickoffs and field goals last night (outside of the 44-yard miss).

With each pick of the FanHouse mock draft, we get into the head of an NFL general manager and let you know who he'll pick and why.

The Jets have many needs going into the draft but by far the most pressing is cornerback. With Aaron Ross and Chris Houston still on the board it's basically a toss-up but I'll go with Chris Houston. I know a good portion of you are saying "well, I'm glad he's not our GM" but hear me out.

Houston's stock has risen significantly since most of the first mock's came out. Shortly after the football season ended an early mock promptly came out that had Houston going late in the first round and readers ripped into the author claiming he was a second round pick at best. So why has his stock risen so high? The answer is simple; Houston is a hard worker. He's worked his ass off throughout the offseason and done everything he can to generate interest from NFL franchises. That dedication never goes unnoticed and this time is no different.

Houston's size and overall athletic skill is so appealing that some mock's have him going as high as 18. Even ignoring the value at 25, he is exactly the kind of corner the Jets need right now. He is good at jamming a wide receiver, doesn't back down from anyone, breaks to the ball quickly and is very fluid. His one downfall seems to be his coverage awareness; something that can easily be fixed by a good NFL coach.