Fresh off their NFC Championship game appearance, the Falcons, like all NFL teams, have some tough choices to make to become cap compliant. Their cap figure is currently around 119 million, which while under the cap, doesn’t really provide them with the financial elbow room to keep all their prospective free agents. Good organizations like the Falcons, prioritize and identify their own productive players and lock them up. While  free agents take up much of our conversations during the offseason, championship teams are built in the draft. Keeping your core  players is vital to  acquiring the Lombardi trophy, just look at the rosters of the 2 Super Bowl participants Baltimore and San Francisco.

Here then is my Falcons To Do list (before free agency and the draft)

1. Extend the contract of Matt Ryan,if they wait until Flacco signs his new deal it will only cost the Falcons more money, in addition Ryan’s extension will create cap space in the short term.
2. Resign LT Sam Baker, if you are going to commit to 100 million or so on your qb, it makes sense to protect the investments blind side.
3. Resign S William Moore who has developed into a pro bowl caliber player.
4. Decide on either Brent Grimes or Dunta Robinson. Grimes coming off an injury will be too expensive to franchise again, if he is healthy commit to a reasonable multi year deal or let him walk. Ask Dunta,who hasn’t performed to the level of his contract,to restructure and take a pay cut. My feeling is that IF Grimes is healthy, he is the  vastly superior player.
5. Grovel and beg Tony Gonzalez to come back!