Looming Large: DeAngelo Hall

In week two, the Jaguars will take on the most talked about team in the NFL currently, the Atlanta Falcons. Although the Falcons have been talked about due to the criminal nature of their former starting quarterback, Michael Vick, the Jaguars will have a different Falcon to concern themselves with, also a former Virginia Tech Hokie, cornerback DeAngelo Hall.

DeAngelo Hall is one of the very fastest players in the league, and one of the best cornerbacks in the entire NFC. Hall can keep up with virtually any NFL wide receiver, as his superior speed and athleticism is usually not found on the defensive side of the ball. Hall has 12 career interceptions in just three years, and two returns for touchdowns, despite teams mostly throwing away from him.

With the Jaguars having an unproven set of wide receivers, DeAngelo Hall will certainly be capable of shutting down an entire side of the field when he suits up at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium on September 16th. Hall can also affect the game on special teams as well, as the Falcons will occasionally line him up to return kickoffs or punts. Hall has a career average of better than 31 yards per kickoff return.

With the Falcons entering Jacksonville in a few weeks with Joey Harrington as their likely starting quarterback, and a banged up, aging Warrick Dunn, Atlanta's best hope for victory is to play a low-scoring, defensive affair, and hope that someone can make a big defensive or special teams play. The most likely candidate to make one of those big plays is DeAngelo Hall.


Charlie Bernstein is the Editor-in-Chief of JagNation.com, and a regular syndicated contributor to FoxSports.com, Sirius NFL Radio, and Sportsillustated.com. Charlie is also a member of the Pro Football Writers Association, and is a columnist for the New Smyrna Observer.