Since the start of free agency, they left to door open for five starters to leave and they waved good-bye to all of them. The team only elected to re-sign reserve defensive end Chauncey Davis.

Heading up the list of cast-offs was 11-year veteran Keith Brooking, the last player remaining on the roster from the franchise's only Super Bowl team. He signed with the Dallas Cowboys.

Also allowed to leave were cornerback Domonique Foxworth (Baltimore Ravens), linebacker Michael Boley (New York Giants), defensive tackle Grady Jackson (Detroit Lions) and safety Lawyer Milloy.

The remaining key veterans are defensive end John Abraham, more of a leader by example, and safety Erik Coleman, who's now the team's top returning tackler.

The veteran purge is general manager Thomas Dimitroff's signal that the Falcons are entering the second phase of the rebuilding program. He's following the New England model of building through the draft.

He considers it a more cost-effective way to build and more easily controlled than dealing in the free agent marketplace.

"(The draft) is a way of putting your team together in the style of play and with the kind of players you want," Dimitroff said.

One major under-pinning is, if the team doesn't believe a guy will fit its operation, then they won't draft him.