Atlanta Falcons Starting Center: Hawley or Stone?

With the Atlanta Falcons bringing in a new offensive coordinator in Kyle Shanahan, the Dirty Birds will switch from a man blocking scheme to a zone blocking scheme this season. Pretty much what that means is that offensive line will attack specified areas of the field as opposed a specific defensive player. It’s predicated on agility and foot speed to establish a strong running game.

Shanahan and his father Mike, former two-time Super Bowl Champion Head Coach with the Denver Broncos, have been able to run the football everywhere they’ve gone. From Denver to Houston to Washington to Cleveland and now to Atlanta, the Shanahan ZBS will transform a previously lackluster running game. Many personnel changes came this offseason to account for scheme fit.

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The only position on the offensive line that the Atlanta front office did not meddle with was at center. Atlanta feels comfortable with the two guys that helped ease the burden felt by longtime C Todd McClure’s retirement after the 2012 season. Those two centers have been Joe Hawley and James Stone.

Hawley earned the starting job midway through the 2013 season as Peter Konz was largely ineffective. Joe kept his starting job through last year’s training camp and into the season. Unfortunately for Hawley, an ACL tear ended his season abruptly in Week 4 against the Minnesota Vikings.

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His replacement ended up being undrafted rookie free agent out of the University of Tennessee James Stone. In his first season with the Atlanta Falcons, Stone played in 12 games and started at center in 9 of them. Stone’s rookie year was a major success playing for former Offensive Line Coach Mike Tice. James played well alongside his fellow interior lineman Guards Justin Blalock and Jon Asamoah.

Since both centers have played well for the Falcons, who ends up being the man that snaps the ball to Matt Ryan in 2015: Joe Hawley or James Stone?

Hawley might be better suited to play in Shanahan’s offense because he’s a little smaller and quicker that James Stone. Hawley is 6’3″, 297 lbs. while Stone is 6’4″, 306 lbs. It’s not a huge difference but it might be noticeable in a zone blocking scheme that relies so heavily on agility.

That being said, Hawley is still recovering from a torn ACL and may not play at full speed for some time. That would mean more reps with the first team offense for Stone. Should James take advantage of getting more first-team snaps in Hawley’s absence, he might have a better grasp of the offense by the time the season arrives.

It’s really going to boil down to who plays better in the preseason. If he proves that he’s quick enough, I think it might go to James Stone. But should he struggle to keep up as Hawley gets closer to feeling 100%, Joe could earn back his starting job as the Atlanta Falcons starting center.

Keep an eye on this position battle this summer. Atlanta has two competent centers on its roster and the competition should only bring out the very best in both offensive linemen.

Next: Paul Worrilow: Even Better In 2015?

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