NORWOOD OR MCFADDEN COULD BE FALCONS LEAD BACK

As this year's coaching carousel continues to spin, one thing is for certain, the Atlanta Falcons just switched offensive philosophies. Gone is the Bobby Petrino spread offense, short circuited by Joey Harrington over throws and Michael Jenkins drops. Replacing it will be a return of the power rushing attack. Where's T.J. Duckett when you need him?

New Falcons coach Mike Smith comes from the Jacksonville Jaguars system, where the offense sports two smash mouth backs and a game-managing quarterback. His offensive cooridinator is Mike Mularkey, who was the offensive cooridinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the early 2000s. Everywhere he's been, that team has been able to to run the football effectively. This is good news for those eye-balling Jerious Norwood or Warrick Dunn. If the staff believes that Dunn still has gas in the tank like Fred Taylor did in 2007, he could still be worthy of an occasional fantasy start or an every week third-back starter in extremely deep leagues (10-12 plus team leagues).

Needless to say, the Falcons will not lean heavy on Dunn, which means another Falcons running back could make a fantasy impact similar to Deangelo Williams or Maurice Jones-Drew did in the most recent season. Smart money is that it will be third year man Jerious Norwood. He's got game-breaking speed and might be suited best in a 10-12 touch role, but Mularkey is known for creating inventive plays for role or part time players. The only major drawback for Norwood is his inability to stay healthy. The rigors of the regular season seem to take it's toll on him in each of his first two seasons.

There is no question that the Atlanta Falcons will be looking to bring a new quarterback to camp for '08, but something tells me that Mike Smith might already be on a short lease by virtue of having to work for an antsy owner like Arthur Blank. Mularkey has a history of having moderate offensive success with quarterbacks of the pedigree of Joey Harrington at the helm, so it wouldn't surprise me if the Falcons draft a legit franchise back like Darren McFadden instead of Matt Ryan.

In the NFL, rookie runners generally make bigger impacts than rookie quarterbacks. The most recent example, Adrian Peterson, proves a young stud can win several more games for you, which is exactly what Mike Smith is hoping for for his first season.

Baltimore Blah

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti set his franchise back by hiring an inexperienced coach, John Harbaugh. I could be completely wrong here, but this roster is a veteran laiden team. One that won 13-games in 2006. In fact, I felt the Ravens were a good free agent QB away from making an impact in 2008. Now the Ravens could set themselves up to a pre-mature rebuilding. One more subpar year and this team will start to dismantle it's current core of players. The firing of Brian Billick wasn't completely unreasonable, but the subsequent hiring of the new coach was.

Dolphin Running Backs Have Value

Whoever ends up carrying the load in Miami, will be a guy you can comfortably put on your fantasty roster. If all goes well, Ronnie Brown could finish with what he started in '07. He added power to his game after the '06 season, showing that the guy is willing to work. Then there is the extention of Ricky Williams contract. With a young Lorenzo Booker averaging 4.5 yards a pop and catching 28 passes, the fins have depth.

Additionally Bill Parcells and new coach Tony Sparano prefer running attacks versus the flash of a passing game. Parcells and company might give the current depth chart of quarterbacks a chance to win the job in '08. If either John Beck or Cleo Lemon wins the starting job, look for the Dolphins to lean on two Miami running backs.