The Falcons have gotten a lot stronger on the offensive l

ine and have arguably the best starting five of Matt Ryan’s career. Depth is also strong at guard and tackle Marcus Cooper Jerseys Stitched , but what about center? Who will be Alex Mack’s backup when the 2019 season begins?"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Library FalcFans Podcast on The FalcoholicContact The FalcoholicFalcons StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Falcons NewsYahoo Falcons Team PageYahoo Falcons ReportYahoo Falcons Depth ChartYahoo Falcons TransactionsYahoo Falcons PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕Who will be the Falcons’ backup center in 2019?New,27commentsThe Falcons have gotten a lot stronger on the offensive line and have arguably the best starting five of Matt Ryan’s career. Depth is also strong at guard and tackle, but what about center? Who will be Alex Mack’s backup when the 2019 season begins?EDTShareTweetShareShareWho will be the Falcons’ backup center in 2019?Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY SportsThe Falcons added a ton of offensive line help in the 2019 NFL Draft, with two first-round picks bolstering the group. G Chris Lindstrom and RT Kaleb McGary will be the presumptive starters heading into training camp, giving Atlanta arguably the strongest starting five that they’ve had during Matt Ryan’s entire career. Depth at guard and tackle is also strong, with players like Ty Sambrailo and James Carpenter providing valuable veteran insurance.A point of concern remains, however, at center. Alex Mack has been an awesome addition (arguably the best of Dimitroff’s tenure) who has been quite durable, but the Falcons have virtually nothing behind him. If Mack misses any time, who steps in? Atlanta has only a few options at this point, but let’s take a closer look.Adam GettisThe first of only two players that the Falcons added this offseason with actual experience at center, Adam Gettis has had a very unremarkable NFL career thus far. He’s managed to stick around the league this long after being drafted in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft Youth Tarik Cohen Jerseys , which is deserving of praise, but Gettis only has one career start to his name and hasn’t seen NFL game snaps since 2016. Athletically, Gettis is clearly a fit for the Falcons. But as a journeyman who has failed to make a mark anywhere thus far in his career, he’d be an uninspiring option if he was forced to step in for Alex Mack.Chandler MillerThe far more intriguing option, in my opinion, is UDFA addition Chandler Miller from Tulsa. Miller started a school-record 50 consecutive games, showcasing his durability, and was named to the 2018 Rimington Trohpy Watch List for the nation’s best center. While he’s a little on the small side for the NFL at 6’3, 297, Miller will have fewer issues at that size playing center. Miller is young and proven at center, which nobody else on the roster can claim at this point. I’d expect him to get every chance to earn a roster spot as Mack’s primary backup.A cross-trained guardAtlanta has a bevy of guards on the roster, so it might make sense for them to try and cross-train one (or more) at center. It was rumored that Sean Harlow had gotten snaps at center in previous training camps Tarik Cohen Jerseys Stitched , and the Falcons mentioned that they believed rookie Chris Lindstrom could play center in a pinch. It’s worth wondering if James Carpenter—who I believe will wind up as the team’s primary interior backup—has any experience there, as that would make him even more valuable as a reserve. Still, trusting a cross-trained player with little real experience at a new position is a risky proposition at best.A free agent addition or tradePerhaps the most likely option if Gettis or Miller fail to impress, the Falcons could look to add another veteran option to serve as depth behind Alex Mack. This could come via free agency or via trade, but there are usually a number of interesting names that become available towards the end of training camp. Some interesting names that are still out there in free agency today: John Sullivan, Stefen Wisniewski, and Travis Swanson.What do you think, Falcons fans? Who will be the Falcons’ backup center when the 2019 season starts? On Sunday, Vikings receiver Adam Thielen came very close to publicly calling out quarterback Kirk Cousins. On Monday, coach Mike Zimmer echoed Thielen’s point, in a very simple, matter-of-fact way.“There’s times you’ve just to pull the trigger Youth Eddie Jackson Jerseys ,” Zimmer told reporters a day after the Vikings lost to the Bears in Chicago, 16-6. “And you’ve just got to believe that you’re gonna make the throw.”Zimmer previously pointed out that Cousins “completed a lot of balls” on Sunday. And he did, connecting on 27 of 36 throws. But he missed some opportunities down the field, as Thielen lamented on Sunday.“I think there were some times he might have gotten rid of it a little bit too soon,” Zimmer said regarding Cousins. “But you know when you’re getting pounded a few times, sometimes you’ve got to take the quick throw.”Zimmer disputed a reporter’s characterization that Cousins was “gun shy,” but when saying that Cousins needs “to pull the trigger,” isn’t that the message?Ultimately, Zimmer has no choice but to keep trying to make chicken salad out of a high-priced but low-performing passing game.“This team won’t be judged in September,” Zimmer said. “In the NFC, the leading team has three wins. We’ll just keep fighting and keep going.”That’s fine, but it’s not hard to figure out how the next 12 games will unfold. At Giants Eddie Jackson Jerseys Stitched , win. Eagles, win (maybe). At Lions, loss. Washington, win. At Chiefs, loss. At Cowboys, loss. Broncos, win. At Seahawks, loss. Lions, win. At Chargers, loss.If that’s how it plays out (assuming a win over Philly), the Vikings will be 7-7 heading into a pair of season-ending home games against the Packers and Bears. The Green Bay game will be played in prime time, which based on Cousins’ history isn’t good news. And the Chicago game may have a playoff berth riding on it. Which based on Cousins’ history also isn’t good news.There’s still time for Cousins to alter a future that seems to already be written for the 2019 Vikings Youth Devin Hester Jerseys , but he’s going to have to find in himself on the fly something that, based on 20 games with the Vikings, just doesn’t seem to be there.It’s that undefinable but very real quality that some quarterbacks have, and some don’t. It’s the ability to make the big play in the big moment, without being freaked out by the pressure or the implications of success or failure in that precise spot. Getting it done in those moments creates confidence, and that confidence can grow and infect the team, leading to the big moments no longer feeling quite so big — and allowing guys like Joe Montana, with the season on the line in Super Bowl XXIII, to point out to his teammates that he could see John Candy sitting in the stands.We know the quarterbacks who can deliver in a big game and a big moment. We know the quarterbacks who can’t. If Cousins is ever going to move from he latter category to the former, he needs to do it soon.