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Yes, the start of training camps is two months away, but it’s never too early to consider the coming season. A look at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the Falcons in 2012.

Dream scenario (13-3): Let’s note right up front that that dream record would also include at least two postseason wins, which would be a first in the era of coach Mike Smith, general manager Thomas Dimitroff and Matt Ryan. In their time, the Falcons have played the days after Christmas exactly like they’re the days after Christmas. There’s been a huge letdown when January has rolled around.

That’s putting an enormous amount of pressure on the Falcons. But that might be a good thing. Smith has said postseason failures have caused him to rethink how he does a lot of things. There’s little doubt those failures played a role in the hiring of new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter and defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, moves that might get the Falcons over the hump.

There are a lot of scouts and coaches around the league who believe Ryan was held back by former offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey and the defense never established any sort of identity under Brian VanGorder. The Falcons can score with any team if Ryan is allowed (and has time) to throw the ball downfield to Roddy White and Julio Jones. Nolan is preaching about the need to be more aggressive on defense.

Nightmare scenario (8-8 or anything worse): Let’s face it: The only way the Falcons are a .500 (or worse) team is if they have several major injuries or a huge implosion. This is a team that is loaded with individual talent on both sides of the ball. Or so it seems.

When coordinators go, head coaches and key players tend to lose their insulation. If Koetter can’t get more out of Ryan than Mularkey did, the Falcons suddenly have a huge issue at quarterback. If Nolan can’t get guys like Ray Edwards and Dunta Robinson to do more than they did for VanGorder, then maybe it’s not all about the coordinators or offensive and defensive schemes.

Owner Arthur Blank has said Smith isn’t on the hot seat, no matter what happens this season. But I think Smith is at least entering the same territory Tony Dungy once did in Tampa Bay. Smith is being labeled as a nice guy who can win a lot of games in the regular season but can’t win in January. If this team doesn’t win a playoff game, Smith officially is on the hot seat. If this team somehow fails to even make the playoffs, Blank might be forced to rethink his statement. This team is too talented not to win.

Let's take a look at the top headlines from around the NFC South.

Check out this Insider piece by Mike Tanier of Football Outsiders. No argument that the Falcons are looking for a return man, and the Saints could use some depth at cornerback. But I’m not so sure the Panthers are as much in the market for a No. 2 receiver as a lot of people think. I believe the Panthers are ready to let Brandon LaFell, David Gettis, Joe Adams and Kealoha Pilares compete for the spot opposite Steve Smith, and are hoping one of them will step up. I also think the Tampa Bay coaching staff is intent on going with Jeremy Zuttah at center. But it doesn’t sound like Tanier is a big Zuttah fan.

The sister of Tampa Bay defensive tackle Brian Price reportedly died from injuries she suffered in a car accident.

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank used the carrot of being a potential Super Bowl and World Cup host while discussing the new open-air stadium he wants with season-ticket holders.

Willie Roaf, who will be inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, reflects on why he left the New Orleans Saints for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Atlanta coach Mike Smith admitted in this radio interview that the Falcons are doing some “soul searching’’ after failing to win a playoff game the past four seasons.

Peter Finney writes that it’s time for Saints owner Tom Benson to get quarterback Drew Brees signed to a long-term deal. I couldn’t agree more. This situation has dragged on way too long. The Saints have dealt with a lot of turmoil this offseason, and getting their team leader signed to a new contract would accelerate the healing process.

Scott Fowler writes that the Panthers’ decision to put rookie Luke Kuechly at outside linebacker and keep Jon Beason in the middle for the moment is best for team chemistry. That’s true. Beason has been the leader of this defense for several years. It makes sense to at least let him open training camp in the middle. If a move needs to be made, it can come later.

Time for a look at the top Wednesday morning headlines from around the NFC South.

• I don’t know if it will change anything, but New Orleans linebacker Jonathan Vilma and defensive end Will Smith and former Saints Scott Fujita and Anthony Hargrove will have appeals of their suspensions for their roles in the bounty program heard by an arbitrator Wednesday. Even if nothing comes of this, this isn’t the end of the line. The NFL Players Association has filed a separate grievance with the league’s system arbitrator. They also have filed an appeal with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who issued the punishments in the first place.

• Although the Saints have a veteran coaching staff and roster, Jeff Duncan writes they already miss suspended coach Sean Payton. I think the Saints potentially can weather this one, but it’s going to be a process and some assistant coaches and some of the leadership among the players will have to step forward to help compensate for some of the intangibles that left the building with Payton.

• Here’s a column that takes issue with the prospect of taxpayer money being used to potentially finance a new stadium for the Atlanta Falcons. I totally understand the argument that the people of Georgia have other needs and that Falcons’ owner Arthur Blank already makes plenty of money. But, in today’s NFL, you need state-of-the-art stadiums to stay competitive. It may not be ideal, but the norm is for taxpayers to pick up at least some of the tab for a new stadium.

• Speaking of sports and the economy, let’s go a little outside the box. I don’t do much reading in the world of finance, but a former co-worker passed along this column by a financial planner, who writes that recent events have caused him to lose his life-long passion for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the NFL in general. The author concludes that professional sports are a waste of time, money and energy. I don’t necessarily agree with that, but he brings up some points worth pondering.

• Former Carolina Panthers running back Stephen Davis was inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame. Davis earned the honor exclusively for his spectacular high school career, when he was nicknamed “Little Herschel’’ after Herschel Walker. But I’ll always remember Davis for his role in the Panthers’ 2003 season. That year, Davis arrived in Carolina and instantly became the focus of the offense. Jake Delhomme, Steve Smith and Muhsin Muhammad each made some big plays along the way, but Davis was the glue to the Carolina offense as the Panthers went to their only Super Bowl.

• Brian Allee-Walsh has a theory that agent Tom Condon isn’t simply looking for a new deal for New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees. He speculates that Condon is trying to raise the bar for all quarterback contracts. There’s some logic in there because Condon’s agency represents nearly half of the NFL’s starting quarterbacks.

Atlanta Falcons

Team owner Arthur Blank offered words of wisdom Sunday while giving the commencement address at Auburn University.

Carolina Panthers

Joseph Person chronicles Carolina Panthers second-round pick Amini Silatolu's round-about journey to the NFL.

Quarterback Cam Newton is putting down even more roots in Charlotte -- buying a $1.6 million luxury condo in the city. Here are some pictures of Newton's new pad.

New Orleans Saints

The Times-Picayune's Mike Triplett argues that both the team and the NFL could be right in the Saints' bounty scandal.

Meanwhile, Peter Finney of the Times-Picayune advises New Orleans fans to move past the scandal.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers have signed former LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson. Speculation and rumors abounded when Jefferson tried out at Tampa Bay's rookie camp.

Jefferson wasn't the only signee out of rookie camp as Tampa Bay signed former Bucs cornerback Derrick Roberson and former Carolina defensive end Hilee Taylor.

Rookie running back Michael Smith hopes to land a spot on the Bucs' roster.

Time for a look at the Friday morning headlines from around the NFC South.

D. Orlando Ledbetter has an updated post-draft depth chart for the Atlanta Falcons. He takes a fairly conservative approach, which isn’t out of character for the Falcons, and doesn’t project any rookies as starters. But I think rookie Peter Konz has a decent chance to start somewhere in the middle of the offensive line.

New Orleans Saints fans have floated a lot of conspiracy theories since news of the Saints’ bounty program broke. Most of them imply the Saints did nothing wrong and point the blame at other people. But Jeff Duncan asks a couple of very good questions: What if what the NFL says is all true? What if the Saints really did run a three-year bounty program and repeatedly covered it up? As unpleasant as it might be to accept, that certainly seems plausible and it might be time to accept reality. The organization, coaches and front office already filed appeals and didn’t get any relief. The players can still appeal, but that might not make any difference. It might be time to start moving forward from this.

San Jose State receiver Michael Avila has been invited for a tryout with the Carolina Panthers during their upcoming rookie camp. Avila is a product of Seaside High School in California. Carolina coach Ron Rivera also is a Seaside graduate.

The Atlanta Falcons, led by owner Arthur Blank, went to work to try to help a troubled inner-city neighborhood.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, already pretty deep at defensive tackle, have added another one. They’ve signed Gary Gibson, who previously was a backup with St. Louis and Carolina. More importantly, Gibson played for Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano at Rutgers.

As it turns out, the Atlanta Falcons aren’t planning to jump over that playoff hurdle that’s been talked so much about.

They simply plan to plow right through it. The latest evidence came Friday night when the Falcons used their second-round draft pick (No. 55 overall) on Wisconsin center (more on that in a moment) Peter Konz.

It would have been very easy for the Falcons to overreact and do something crazy after an embarrassing January playoff loss to the New York Giants. Yeah, they could have made a leap in free agency for defensive end Mario Williams, which seemed to be the preferred rout by 99 of every 100 Falcons fans.

But the fact is, if the Falcons had landed Williams back in March, they wouldn’t be as good a team as they are today. Seriously.

Yeah, I know it sounds a little ridiculous to say the Falcons are better off without a guy who could have brought them double-digit sacks. But it’s the truth. Had the Falcons signed Williams, they would have had to gut their existing roster.

The salary-cap space Williams would have taken up would have prevented the Falcons from keeping guys like receiver Harry Douglas, safety Thomas DeCoud, defensive end John Abraham, center Todd McClure and running back Jason Snelling. They might not have been able to fit cornerback Brent Grimes under the salary cap with the franchise tag. Even if they did, they would have had to have made some dramatic moves -- like releasing receiver Roddy White, running back Michael Turner or fullback Ovie Mughelli.

Any or all of those moves seemed possible in the immediate aftermath of the loss in New York. But owner Arthur Blank, who earlier in his tenure may have been prone to overreacting, sat down with coach Mike Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff and coolly came up with a plan on how the Falcons can take the next step.

Smith and Dimitroff have had four straight winning seasons, but have yet to win a playoff game. When you’ve had four straight winning seasons, you don’t blow a team up. You keep it together and fix the things that are wrong.

Without flash, that’s precisely what the Falcons have done and Friday night was just another step.

“We were really honed in on the offensive line as you can imagine,’’ Dimitroff said, moments after selecting Konz. “We need to get more stout on this offensive line.’’

There’s no doubt about that. Let’s consider this item from ESPN Stats & Information: The Falcons were one of 10 teams to average less than 4.0 yards per rush between the tackles last season. That came despite the fact they have a bruising runner in Turner.

The Falcons also didn’t do a great job of protecting quarterback Matt Ryan. That failure was the major reason why all the downfield passing we heard about after the Falcons traded up to draft Julio Jones didn’t fully materialize last year. The Falcons were soft up front and it cost offensive line coach Paul Boudreau his job.

Other than left tackle Sam Baker, a first-round pick in 2008, the Falcons really haven’t made huge investments in their offensive line. The arrival of Konz changes that.

Although he played center at Wisconsin, Dimitroff said “we’re listing him as a guard/center right now’’.

It’s no big secret McClure is at the end of his career. He’s 35 and it shows. The Falcons brought him back as insurance, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be their starting center on opening day. Guard Joe Hawley also can play center. Hawley also could factor into the situation at guard, where he played last season along with Justin Blalock and Garrett Reynolds. Add Konz to that mix and it’s pretty clear the Falcons are going to throw all their guards and centers onto the field in training camp and the preseason and see which of the three emerge as the best trio.

“Let’s come in here and have some great competition and see who can protect Matt Ryan the best,’’ Dimitroff said. “We want production and we want guys who can finish. In Peter, we have a guy who can do both of those.’’

Look, I’m not saying a guard/center from Wisconsin is going to come in the second round and push right through that hurdle all by himself. Konz is just a part of the puzzle and maybe fans can finally see that picture coming together now.

There’s a reason why Atlanta didn’t have a first-round pick this year. Jones was the first-round pick for last year and this year and he’s better than any receiver in this year’s draft. There was a reason why the Falcons didn’t make to splurge in free agency. They didn’t have the salary-cap room to do it without ripping a good team apart.

Little by little, they’ve made moves that have them gaining speed as they head for that hurdle. Just this week, they traded a late-round draft pick for four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel and quickly signed him to a cap-friendly deal.

In theory, Samuel should team with Grimes and Dunta Robinson to give the Falcons one of the league’s best cornerback tandems. In theory, Konz should team with all those other offensive linemen to make the Falcons tougher up front.

Yeah, there still are a few needs -- the pass rush, depth at tight end and maybe some more help on the outside of the offensive line. The Falcons are well aware of all that. They’ll address those needs in the rest of the draft and after it when the time and the price are right. But, now, you can see their offseason plan taking shape.

If the Falcons had gone out and paid a fortune for Williams, they wouldn’t be making solid, safe picks like Konz because they’d be desperately trying to repair all the other damage they did to their team.

As we told you a little bit ago, a league source said the Atlanta Falcons have declined an opportunity to be the featured team on HBO’s “Hard Knocks" this summer.

Now, let’s delve into this a little deeper so we can understand why the Falcons made this decision.

First off, the Falcons explored the possibility of being the featured team very thoroughly. There was intrigue throughout their building and the franchise fully realized that appearing on the show during training camp could help greatly in raising the national profile of a franchise that hasn’t been all that successful until recent years. Virtually every department in the building was involved in discussions about whether the Falcons should accept the invitation.

This wasn’t an easy decision, and the Falcons did have serious interest. In the end, though, they declined. The decision should not be viewed as a knock on the show, the source said. The Falcons saw plenty of positives, but they ultimately decided it was in their best interest – and in the best interest of their fans – to turn it down.

The Falcons want all their focus for the 2012 season to be solely on the field. This makes plenty of sense. The Falcons are facing a critical season. They’ve had four straight winning seasons, but haven’t won a playoff game in that span. After losing to the New York Giants in a January playoff game, owner Arthur Blank, general manager Thomas Dimitroff and coach Mike Smith pledged to do everything in their power to get the team to the next level.

Instead of making a major splash in free agency, the Falcons chose mostly to retain their own players. There’s a strong belief in the building that new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter and defensive coordinator Mike Nolan will bring a change in schemes and attitude that could take the Falcons a step forward.

As intriguing as “Hard Knocks’’ was from a business and marketing standpoint, the decision ultimately came down to football. The Falcons didn’t want to put added pressure on Koetter and Nolan as they tried to install new schemes. Although the Falcons generally are a quiet team, they did recognize some potential dangers in opening all their doors to cameras for training camp. Receiver Roddy White can be outspoken and flamboyant at times and having cameras on him at all times could have presented the potential for controversy. There are a few other players on the roster that also could have brought some risk if the Falcons had decided to open things up.

In the end, the Falcons decided to go about their business quietly. I think that sends a pretty strong message. They’re focused totally on taking the next step and they want to do it by doing everything the right way on the football field. “Hard Knocks" might have brought them attention in the short term.

But the best and purest way the Falcons can enhance their national profile is going out and winning games, especially playoff games.

In this recent column, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank talked quite a bit about the importance of continuity.

He cited it as a reason why the Falcons didn’t make a big splash in free agency. That pretty much backs up the philosophy that’s been recited by the Falcons since the arrival of general manager Thomas Dimitroff and coach Mike Smith in 2008 -- draft well, keep your core players for the long term, and supplement them with free agents when necessary.

You’ve got to give the Falcons credit for practicing what they preach. This offseason marked the first time that a big portion of a Dimitroff/Smith draft class became eligible for free agency, and the Falcons did a good job of keeping the players they wanted. They re-signed receiver Harry Douglas, safety Thomas DeCoud, and defensive end Kroy Biermann. Quarterback Matt Ryan and offensive tackle Sam Baker, the top two Atlanta picks from 2008, remain under contract. The Falcons did lose middle linebacker Curtis Lofton, a player they had interest in keeping.

The Falcons gave Lofton an offer before free agency, but he had a different figure in mind. Lofton ended up signing with New Orleans for a lot less than his original asking price, and the Falcons are prepared to move on with either veteran Lofa Tatupu or second-year pro Akeem Dent in his place. Ryan is likely to get a contract extension at some point, and the Falcons might use the final year of Baker’s contract to make a decision on if he’s a long-term answer.

I just got some numbers that back up what the Falcons have been saying. When it comes to retaining drafted players, the Falcons are among the league leaders in the Smith/Dimitroff era.

Of the 32 players drafted by the Falcons since 2008, 26 are on the roster. That’s 81.3 percent, which puts the Falcons second only to the Minnesota Vikings, who have an 82.1 percent retention rate in that same time frame (the percentages were current as of early Tuesday afternoon). For the sake of comparison, Denver ranks last in the league by retaining only 48.6 percent of the players drafted since 2008. For more context, Tennessee (77.8 percent) and Houston (75 percent) are the only other teams with a retention rate of 75 percent or better.

Most of the rest of the NFC South also has fared well in retaining draft picks since 2008. Tampa Bay, which has been preaching a philosophy similar to Atlanta’s, ranks No. 7 in the NFL at 70 percent. Of the 31 players the Buccaneers have drafted since 2008, 21 remain on the team.

Although the Saints have had the second-fewest number of picks since 2008, their retention percentage is fairly high at 68.2 percent. Of the 22 players New Orleans has picked, 15 remain on the roster.

Carolina is the only NFC South team in the bottom half of the league in retention. The Panthers are No. 21 at 61.8 percent. They’ve had 34 picks, and 21 remain on the roster.

The Atlanta Falcons shocked more than a few of their fans when they didn’t go after defensive end Mario Williams in free agency.

As owner Arthur Blank explained in this column from Saturday, coach Mike Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff chose to stick with continuity instead of making splashy moves. Salary-cap considerations factored into that.

There was speculation that the Falcons would let veteran defensive end John Abraham leave when he revealed before the start of free agency that he wanted a deal worth $12 million per season. Abraham didn’t get that kind of money on the open market and he’s back with the Falcons on a three-year contract that averages $5.5 million.

Abraham will turn 34 next month, but the Falcons still believe he can be the key to their pass rush. He had 9.5 sacks last season and 13 in 2010.

“John has been our most productive pass-rusher since we’ve been here,’’ Smith said at the recent NFL owners meeting. Chronologically, his age may say one thing, but his body says another. John will still command how they’re going to block him and that’s going to open other options for (new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan) and what we want to do schematically.’’

The Falcons don’t have a first-round draft pick and may pursue another pass-rusher at some point in the draft. But they still view Abraham as their top threat up front. Defensive end Ray Edwards, Atlanta’s big free-agent signing last year, had just 3.5 sacks last season. The Falcons are expecting more out of Edwards, as well as rotation players Kroy Biermann and Lawrence Sidbury. They also want more production out of the middle of their defensive line. Defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux had just one sack after producing a combined 10 sacks in 2009 and 2010.

“You don’t want to have just one guy that’s getting all the production,’’ Smith said. “You want other defensive linemen and linebackers being productive pass-rushers. If you look at Coach Nolan’s 14 years as a defensive coordinator, he’s been one of the most productive on third down. You want to have a scheme that puts added pressure on the quarterback on third downs."

Given the way Atlanta Falcons fans have reacted to what the team has done (or, more accurately, not done) this offseason, I was expecting Arthur Blank to pull out earmuffs as he reached into his pocket just before the start of an interview last week.

It didn’t happen. Instead, the owner of the Falcons pulled out a pair of sunglasses. This was a rare step outside during the NFL owners meetings in Palm Beach, Fla. He slipped on the shades, surveyed the Atlantic Ocean, sat down on a bench and started explaining, in great detail, the course his team has chosen.

Maybe this will, once and for all, stop all the screaming in Atlanta about how the Falcons didn’t pursue LB Mario Williams and didn’t really do much of anything in free agency. Blank has a detailed answer for that and, when you listen, it should all start to make sense.

There was a moment when I looked directly at Blank, but could have sworn I was seeing and hearing Gene Hackman. It was almost exactly like the scene in “Hoosiers," where the basketball coach played by Hackman firmly tells a referee “my team is on the court" after a player fouls out and the coach elects to go with four players instead of turning back to a player who had defied orders.

Blank has said, “My team is on the field."

Yeah, the marquee free-agent signings have been linebacker Lofa Tatupu and guard Vince Manuwai. And Atlanta fans aren’t exactly jumping up and down about the fact that the Falcons re-signed defensive end John Abraham and center Todd McClure; it wouldn’t have surprised anyone if they decided to retire. Throw in the re-signing of role players Thomas DeCoud, Jason Snelling and Harry Douglas, and it’s easy to see why a lot of Atlanta fans believe the Falcons haven’t done a single thing to get better after ending last season with an embarrassing playoff loss to the New York Giants.

But Blank has an explanation, so let’s hear it.

“I feel good about where we are,’’ Blank said. “I know we didn’t make a big splash going into free agency. But that really wasn’t our intention going into this year. We really felt we had a lot of talent. We were fortunate that we had the opportunity to bring in the two new coordinators and a few other coaches. At some point, it’s not even a matter of if the contents are correct. Sometimes, it’s a matter of who is delivering the message and whether the players are hearing it or not.’’

The man makes a good point. The 2011 Falcons team that went 10-6 (and didn't play with much consistency) was essentially the same team that went 13-3 and played with a great deal of consistency in 2010. The 2012 Falcons have largely the same roster as the previous two teams. In the eyes of Blank, general manager Thomas Dimitroff and coach Mike Smith, the problem last season and the reason this team hasn’t won a playoff game under the current administration isn’t about the roster.

Maybe the roster was just fine, but the coaching staff and the schemes were holding back the Falcons. Offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey left after the season to become head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder left after the season to become the defensive coordinator at Auburn. Both men left on their own, but I get the impression that if they hadn’t, they might have been shown the door.

Let’s be honest here. Mularkey’s offensive system reached its peak in 2010 and didn’t get any better even with the addition of talented rookie receiver Julio Jones last season. VanGorder’s defense was solid but never dominant, which was a disappointment because the Falcons have some individual talent on defense. Mularkey has been replaced by Dirk Koetter, and VanGorder has been replaced by Mike Nolan.

“I love the selections that Smitty and Thomas made,’’ Blank said.

I get the sense that the days of QB Matt Ryan rolling out and almost always checking down are over. I get the sense that the days of sitting back in the Cover 2 are long gone.

“Dirk and I have had numerous discussions in terms of what our players are capable of doing,’’ Smith said during the meetings. “I think, first and foremost, you have to design your schemes toward what the players are capable of doing. We’ve spent a lot of time identifying the strengths and weakness of all our guys and what they do well and what they don’t do well, and we want to put together an offense that accentuates their strengths.’’

In other words, the Falcons aren’t going to be handing the ball to Michael Turner 300-plus times a season. They’re going to try to take some shots downfield with Jones and Roddy White, and they’re going to get versatile second-year running back Jacquizz Rodgers more involved in the offense. They also will try to put Ryan in a position where he can go from being a good quarterback to an elite one.

Smith said he’s had similar discussions with Nolan, the former head coach of the San Francisco 49ers who has had success as a defensive coordinator elsewhere. Nolan is noted for producing aggressive defenses. Some minor tweaks to attitude and scheme could provide an upgrade over the VanGorder units that never were able to establish any sort of identity.

Blank made quite a bit of noise after the loss to the Giants about how simply getting to the playoffs wasn’t good enough. He wants his team to win playoff games and contend for the Super Bowl.

That really hasn’t changed. But after the heat of the moment cooled a bit, Blank, Smith and Dimitroff sat back and realized they weren’t all that far from where they wanted to be. Early in his days as an owner, Blank was portrayed as hands-on and reactionary. I don’t think those descriptions really fit him anymore and I think he’s learned from his past. I think Blank is at a stage where he remains plugged in but trusts Smith and Dimitroff to make the football decisions.

“I went back and studied this over a long period of time in the NFL and studied the great teams,’’ Blank said. “Consistency is very important in terms of leadership with coaches and players. The great teams, what they have done is they’ve kept their head coaches for a longer period of time, kept their general managers for a longer period of time, and they identified early enough their core players and they extended them. The football staff has done a great job of identifying the players that can help us and keep them.’’

The salary cap also was a factor in the Falcons’ approach to the offseason. Pursuing Williams or some other big names in free agency would have meant sacrificing continuity. The only key player the Falcons lost was middle linebacker Curtis Lofton -- and that was a calculated loss. Lofton wanted a lot of money and Atlanta placed a limit on his value. If the Falcons had made just one or two big free-agency moves and kept Lofton, guys like Abraham, McClure, DeCoud, Douglas and Snelling wouldn’t be on the roster. The team would have had to cut other players to free up cap room. The Falcons could have made a splash, but it would have left them with all sorts of holes.

“What you have to look at is, this is not like baseball,’’ Blank said. “There are limits. This is real money and not monopoly money … one of the beauties in the NFL is that in July and August fans of every team think their team has a chance to go to the playoffs or to go to the Super Bowl and win it. The salary-cap system forces you to make some tough choices. Thomas and Smitty and their staffs made these choices because they believe they were the ones that will give us the biggest bang for the buck going forward. I certainly tested their logic and asked questions, but I think their plan was all very sound and well-formulated.’’

Like it or not, Blank is putting his team (the one chosen by Smith and Dimitroff) on the field this fall. You might not like it now and that’s fine with Blank. He thinks you’ll like it a lot more as the season goes along.

We’ve been talking a lot about the Buccaneers and Panthers and what they may do in the draft and that’s mainly because they’re the only two NFC South teams with a first-round pick.

The Saints don’t pick until the third round, but now that we’re into April, it’s a good time to start talking about the Falcons and what they might do in the second round (at No. 55 overall).

A lot of people are talking about Atlanta getting a left tackle. But you don’t usually find future All-Pro tackles deep in the second round. The Falcons could take a tackle somewhere in this draft, but coach Mike Smith recently made it sound like the team will give Sam Baker one more chance.

When asked about tackles that might be available in the second round, ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay ticked off a group (Florida State’s Zebrie Sanders, Cal’s Mitchell Schwartz and Mississippi’s Bobby Massie) that he referred to as "third-tier offensive tackles."

“Bobby Massie would probably be the best available and maybe best case scenario coming out of Mississippi,’’ McShay said in a recent conference call with the national media. “I don't know that he's going to fall all the way there, but if he does it's a possibility. Zebrie Sanders from Florida State, there is a good chance he'll be there. He kind of fits what they want to do. He fits that Florida State zone-blocking scheme, and I think he has the athleticism to play left tackle, but I'm not necessarily convinced of it. It's always hard to plug your left tackle, and it's not going to be easy to do.’’

I’m not sure it makes sense for the Falcons to take a “third-tier offensive tackle’’ with their first draft pick. They were reluctant to play interior linemen Joe Hawley and Mike Johnson right away when they drafted them in the middle rounds in 2010. I don’t see them being more willing to play a rookie right away at left tackle.

McShay brought up another interesting scenario for the Falcons with their second-round pick and this guy should be familiar to Atlanta fans. McShay mentioned Georgia cornerback Brandon Boykin as a possibility and he did it enthusiastically.

“He's just so fast,’’ McShay. “Everything he does is fast. I think his instincts need to improve. I know his instincts need to improve. He's late diagnosing some throws. When they put him in the zone, he can get lost a little bit, and that's not really his strength. But he's such a good athlete. He can absolutely fly. His vertical leap is just insane. He's just so physically gifted. You see the suddenness, the explosiveness. To me, maybe he's just a nickel corner, but maybe you get production out of him on the offensive side if you're creative enough. You definitely get production out of him and potentially some big plays in the return game.’’

Hmm, I have a tough time seeing Smith, who usually is viewed as a conservative type, letting someone play offense and defense. But, then again, maybe owner Arthur Blank can get in Smith’s ear about that possibility. Blank has developed a pretty strong relationship with Deion Sanders, who once played a little offense in addition to cornerback. Sanders also was a top-notch return man.

That’s a skill that could make Boykin particularly attractive to the Falcons. They recently let return man Eric Weems leave via free agency.

Sometime this week, Arthur Blank and Matt Ryan will get together. It’s something the owner of the Atlanta Falcons and his quarterback do every offseason.

It’s nothing overly formal and shouldn’t be looked at as Ryan’s performance review -- that’s done by the coaching staff and general manager Thomas Dimitroff. This meeting is generally more about Blank and Ryan discussing the state of the franchise, and that means they’ll also touch on Ryan’s development.

At the NFL owners meetings last week, I asked Blank for a summary of what he plans to discuss with Ryan and if he has any specific message for his quarterback.

“He’s grown as a quarterback,’’ Blank said. “He’s grown as an individual. He’s obviously a great team leader. People recognize that and identify with him. He’s exactly what you would want in the CEO of a business. He’s the first to work and the last to leave. He works the hardest and studies. He provides all kinds of leadership on and off the field. I’m thrilled where he is.’’

It’s one thing to be thrilled, but I don’t think Blank, Ryan, the coaching staff and front office are satisfied with what the Falcons accomplished last season. Although Ryan had the best statistics of his career, the Falcons went 10-6 and lost in the first round of the playoffs. They have yet to win a playoff game since the arrival of Ryan and coach Mike Smith in 2008.

It’s pretty safe to assume that fact will be brought up when Blank and Ryan meet.

“He understands this, that to become an “elite’’ quarterback in the league, you’ve got to win playoff games,’’ Blank said. “Smitty understands that. Thomas understands that. I think we’ve done a remarkable job the last four years considering it took us 42 years to have any back-to-back winning seasons. But there are three seasons in the NFL. There’s a preseason, a regular season and a postseason. We haven’t played well in the postseason. Smitty understands that, Thomas understands that and we need to change that. And Matt certainly understands that as well.’’

I asked Blank what Ryan has to do to take that next step. The owner sounded like he believes his quarterback remains headed in the right direction.

“All the things he’s doing are things he has to continue to do," Blank said. “He has to continue to have humility. He has to continue to be willing to learn and grow. He has to be excited about the opportunity to get better and I think he does all that. I think the worst thing you can see in a leader whether it’s on a football team or in business, is to see someone say 'I’ve gotten as much as I can get and I’ll just keep performing that way.' But you have an opportunity to grow throughout life, professionally as well as personally. I think he has that mentality. It’s not just words with him. He really believes that. We’re fortunate to have him as our franchise quarterback and look forward to a long relationship with him."

We got off to a very fast start in Friday’s NFC South chat, with lots of questions about the Saints’ scandal, what’s left in free agency and the upcoming draft. We had to end the chat a bit early because the news broke that Sean Payton plans to appeal his suspension and I had to run to write an analysis piece.

But we still covered a lot of ground. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights:

Brian (Atlanta GA): SO can you please give me an answer to this. I understand the punishment handed down to the Saints coaches. What I can't understand is the loss of draft picks. How in anyway is that a punishment to the ones involved? it seems to me like that is a punishment to the fans and the Saints organization. We (the fans) didn't do anything wrong!!! PLEASE help me understand!!!

Pat Yasinskas: I think it's supposed to be a punishment for the organization. I get your point about it impacting the fans. But, unfortunately, I think you're paying for the sins of your team.

Trevor (SC): Would the Panthers really consider Kuechly in the 1st? I know Davis making it back is no sure thing but that is an expensive backup plan. plus the fact they would have to move Beason. Seems like they would be better off finding a guy later in the draft who can spell both OLBs.

Pat Yasinskas: From what I've heard, he's a possibility. I know everyone seems to think they're going with a DT or a DE and that is possible. But I don't think they're locked in on definitely going with a defensive lineman by any means.

David W (Atlanta, GA): Hey Pat - with Julio really coming alive in the last few games of the season, do you think he surpasses Roddy as Ryan's favorite target this year?

Pat Yasinskas: No, I think they can have a very healthy balance between the two. I think that's what Smith and Koetter want.

Nathan (Orange County): I was a big supporter of drafting defense at #5 but I have been thinking...would the defense have been better if the offense wasn't consistently going three and out? Hard to play at 100% when you are always on the field. I think TR is the smart play but MC might be the safer choice.

Pat Yasinskas: I lean towards Claiborne, but can see either scenario.

Ryan (Raleigh formly Tampa): Where do you see John Kasay landing? Or do you see him retiring?

Pat Yasinskas: Up to John. If he wants to keep playing, I think there's a market for him. But it might be one of those deals where teams go through camp and either aren't happy with their kicker or have an injury.

Matthew (Tampa ): With Vincent Jackson, how much does Freeman improve?

Pat Yasinskas: A lot. He's got a WR that can get open downfield. Should make the entire offense better.

John (Salisbury NC): I know Arthur Blank has said Mike Smith is not on a hot seat but during your sit downs with him at the owners meeting did you notice any different sense of urgency about him or body language?

Pat Yasinskas: If anything, maybe a little less sense of urgency. More of a sense of "We've got a talented team, we made some good changes to our coaching staff and that will make us better." I'll share more from Blank with you next week.

Adam (Asheville): Shouldn't Stewart be worth a first? He's only 25 and has a 200+ yard rushing game against the Giants on his resume. Since the Browns are in need of a RB could you see them trading Stewart and the 9th pick to move up to the 4th pick?

Pat Yasinskas: He's also had a chronic foot issue since college. That might limit his value a bit.

Here's the complete transcript of Friday's NFC South chat.

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Atlanta’s Arthur Blank isn’t the only NFC South team owner supporting commissioner Roger Goodell’s decision to hit the New Orleans Saints with harsh penalties for their three-year bounty program.

Blank weighed in on the topic earlier Tuesday. Tampa Bay Buccaneers co-chairman Joel Glazer echoed some of Blank’s sentiments later Tuesday evening.

“Player safety and the integrity of the game are paramount,’’ Glazer said. “That’s what our fans expect of the NFL and from Day One, the commissioner has made that a priority of his -- player safety and the integrity of the National Football League. I think everybody agrees there’s no place for that in the National Football League. I think the commissioner’s actions were necessary for many reasons and I think everyone supports the commissioner and his decision-making process. You never want to see that type of thing happen. It was an important step to get that out of the game.’’

For the record, New Orleans owner Tom Benson has not publicly addressed the media on the issue. Carolina owner Jerry Richardson politely said he didn’t wish to discuss the situation publicly.

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- For the first time since the story of the New Orleans Saints’ bounty program broke, we’ve got an NFC South owner commenting publicly on the situation.

It’s not New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson. It’s Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank. During a break in the owners meeting, Blank was asked for his reaction to the heavy punishments given to the Saints. Blank stood firmly behind NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s decisions.

“I think the league has handled it well and appropriately,’’ Blank said. “One of the other owners made this point, but I told the commissioner I totally agree with him, the NFL, outside of our stadiums, the only things we really own are our reputation, our integrity, our shield and the relationship and trust we have with our fans and our sponsors. Anything that’s done that violates that or hurts that, is something that has to be dealt with. My view is that everything the commissioner has stood for since 2006, which has to do with the shield, the trust, the fans and player safety, etc. really that goes completely in the opposite direction based on the New Orleans experience.

“I think he dealt with it appropriately. I think it will be one of the most significant decisions he’ll ever make as the commissioner. I think he’ll be the commissioner for the next 30 years and I think people will look back and say he sent a message to the teams, the players, the coaches, everybody in the NFL and sent a message to the fans that 'This is not what we’re going to have in this league.' I think it was appropriate. Obviously, it’s going to be a hard hit on the Saints, but they’ll recover and time will move on and it will be fine.’’

I asked Blank if he was angered when he saw the details the NFL released from its investigation on how specific players were targeted for bounties. Blank’s team plays the Saints twice each season and the owner has millions of dollars invested in quarterback Matt Ryan and other players.

“I mean, Matt wasn’t one of the players named,’’ Blank said. “But, on the other hand, I’d be hard put to believe that he wasn’t a target at some point, whether he was named or not.

“There’s just not place for that in the game. It’s a tough game and you’re supposed to be physical, etc. but there’s a line there. It’s not even a fine line. It’s a bright line that you just can’t cross.’’