Compared to other things star Atlanta Falcons receiver Roddy White has said, this is pretty mild stuff. Actually, it’s so mild it would barely register no matter who said it, but here’s the quote about last year’s playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers that’s making the rounds:

We were a better team than those guys. We went out there, and we didn’t perform at our highest level.

This week, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers sort of responded to this or something like it:

I know some of the comments that have been made this offseason have been borderline disrespectful about what happened in the game, but basically we went down there and beat them, and they were the No. 1 seed. I’m sure they’re upset about that.    

The Falcons were the No. 1 seed and had beaten the Packers in the regular season. White has reason to think Atlanta was the better team going into the postseason, but the second game itself and every week of NFL football since has proven otherwise. If the Packers want to use that quote as motivation, then all right.

It’s been a strong week for once and former Falcons saying stuff about Rodgers and company, though.

For more on this game, venture to Falcons blog The Falcoholic and Packers blog Acme Packing Company.

After hypothesizing about what the final roster will look like and what players will perform well, today I’m going to take another dive into the realm of hypothetical: what if the Falcons had not been able to trade for Julio Jones?

Draft day trades of that caliber usually don’t work out. Originally, the Falcons had attempted to work out a trade with the Bengals to draft standout UGA receiver AJ Green. The trade was rumored to have fallen through at the last minute, with the Bengals electing to draft a WR to a team that has major holes on the offensive line and defense. Mike Brown isn’t always the most reasonable man.

So, for kicks, let’s just assume the Browns trade also fell through. The Falcons would have picked at the No. 26 spot, where it’s reported they were heavily targeting OT Gabe Carimi, who in reality went to the Bears a few picks later. Had that happened, the offseason might have gone in a much-less exciting, more Dimitroff-like direction.

For starters, Carimi is a right tackle, a bruiser in the running game. His arrival would likely have meant the end for Tyson Clabo, who was heavily coveted by the Bills this offseason. With Clabo in Buffalo, he would likely have been beaten for five sacks by Cameron Wake, sucked into Ralph Wilson’s void and never be heard from again (at least Bills fans would be happy).

That also means the Falcons would have kept Dahl. The Rams, who would have then lacked the sufficient number of former Falcons to survive, might have tried harder to pry Jason Snelling away from Atlanta instead of Norwood.

Finally, no Julio leaves a big gap at receiver. Falcons fans likely have to endure another season of Michael Jenkins starting at receiver. With Jenkins still around, Mike Mularkey refuses to pass the ball unless on third down, claiming “Jenkins is the best run-blocker in the history of the game.” Matt Ryan shakes his head in confusion.

No big trade for Julio Jones means a “boring” offseason for the Falcons. No Julio means the Falcons get absolutely zero national attention, and remain in relative obscurity despite finishing 13-3 last season. Heck, no Julio means I probably don’t survive the lockout and turn to watching soccer. Anybody want to join the Alex Morgan fan club with me?

For more on the Falcons, check out The Falcoholic.

This Jeff Schultz column really caught my eye this morning. Schultz writes that it’s time for the Atlanta Falcons to turn quarterback Matt Ryan loose.

I couldn’t agree with Schultz more, and I’ve been saying the same thing all offseason and, as best as I can recall, all of last offseason. There no longer is any reason to place any limitations on Ryan. It’s time to take the gloves off.

The kid came into the league in 2008 looking like Peyton Manning when the Falcons let him run the no-huddle offense. I thought they’d let him run it more and more the past two seasons, but that hasn’t been the case. That needs to change.

Ryan also can throw the deep ball, but the Falcons really haven’t let him do that. Instead, he spent too much time last year dumping off passes to tight end Tony Gonzalez and that wasn’t generating much after the catch.

Ryan’s got three years of experience now and, although he’s won a lot of regular-season games, he’s yet to win a playoff game. There’s a reason for that. The Falcons haven’t let him win a playoff game because they went against Arizona in his rookie season and against Green Bay last year with game plans that didn’t really give Ryan a chance to shine.

In talking with people on the coaching staff and front office this offseason, I’ve gotten the impression they realize it’s time to make some slight changes. Coordinator Mike Mularkey doesn’t have to blow up his playbook and start from scratch. He just needs to make some strategic tweaks and, more than anything, some slight philosophical changes.

He needs to let Ryan throw downfield more often and the Falcons have set the wheels in motion for that. They drafted receiver Julio Jones and sent Michael Jenkins, who couldn’t get downfield unless it was as a pass-blocker, packing. Jones should be able to be the kind of “explosive’’ player the Falcons talked about so much during the offseason. And they’ve got a proven explosive receiver in Roddy White.

Let Ryan chuck the ball downfield to those two guys. Keep Gonzalez as a safety valve, but don’t use him as a crutch. Run Michael Turner a reasonable amount because he’s good, but work rookie Jacquizz Rodgers into the lineup. He can catch passes out of the backfield and could also fit the profile of an explosive player.

Mularkey also needs to scrap the rollouts. Ryan doesn’t really like them and isn’t all that great at them. Let Ryan simply drop back and throw downfield.

If the Falcons handle this thing right, they’ll have added another explosive player. That will be Ryan and, if he’s allowed to do more, he just might be the most explosive Falcon of all.

Read More: Atlanta Falcons

The NFL lockout has Tony Gonzalez thinking about retirement, not that he hasn’t been publicly pondering the end of his pro football career for months now anyway. As Troy Heinzman somehow predicted, a lockout could mean the end of Gonzalez’ time as Atlanta Falcons TE, according to a Sporting News interview of the future Pro Football Hall of Famer:

Would I sit out a whole season and come back — probably not, honestly. At this point, at my age, I don’t know if that would be smart of me to do something like that. But I’m enjoying the offseason, working out and preparing like I always do.

That would mean the team would end up dealing a No. 2 pick for only two seasons, which is about the worst personnel impact a lockout could have on the team. I’d still say it was worth it, based on the milestones the team probably wouldn’t have achieved without him and the culture of success he helped develop, but it would be highly unsatisfying to see him leave without accomplishing the goal he came here for.

Especially due to something as stupid as a lockout.

For more Falcons, visit The Falcoholic.

By: AP Photo/Dave Martin, File

FILE – In this Aug. 19, 2010, file photo, Atlanta Falcons linebacker Stephen Nicholas (54) looks on during the first quarter of a pre-season NFL football game against the New England Patriots at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

Stephen Nicholas and other Atlanta Falcons linebackers are planning to work out together this offseason if the lack of a new collective bargaining agreement means there are no team workouts.

The Falcons normally start their offseason workouts (OTAs) in late March. There were no players at the practice facility on Thursday as labor talks continued in Washington.

Nicholas, a restricted free agent, said in a telephone interview Thursday he is planning to work out with Curtis Lofton, Sean Weatherspoon and Mike Peterson away from the team’s facility. Peterson also is a free agent.

Nicholas says the goal is “to keep the linebacker camaraderie going” even though all may not re-sign with the team.