AJC > Sports > Falcons > Blog > Archives > 2006 > November > 22
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Wondering about Mora fallout
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Very interesting day at the Branch. I’ll get to the on-field stuff in a minute.
Today was the first day the media was able to ask Falcons quarterback Michael Vick what he thought about his head coach’s father, Jim Mora, agreeing with a radio host that Vick was a “coach, killer.”
No. 7 was not too happy about those remarks. Vick called them “inappropriate,” but said that must be the way he feels and he had every right to express his opinion. Vick clearly measured his answers but you could sense that if he wasn’t bristling, he had been for the past two days.
It also wasn’t lost on Vick that the remarks came from his coach’s father. Vick called the situation “different…I’m speechless.”
Based on how Vick and the younger Mora interact on and off the field, it’s hard to tell if their relationship has taken a hit over this or of Vick feels that some trust between him and his coach could have been breached. Mora, the Falcons coach, said he and Vick get along well and that his father regrets making those remarks.
It will be interesting to see if this is the last of the fallout over the elder Mora trying to be honest as an analyst — and a father.
In other developments, it seems we keep going round-and-round about the Falcons’ audible strategy.
Vick said today that there are audibles, but only in the running game. He also said that there are no audibles to change a run play to a pass or vice versa. So it’s kind of like center Todd McClure said, there are audibles, but typically, they are to change the direction of the play and the protections.
Defensive end John Abraham (groin/abdominal surgery) returned to practice today and looked pretty impressive. Abe said he plans to play Sunday on a limited basis. Since he feels healthy and the damage has been repaired, he thinks there will be a play count but it could possibly be greater than the 20-play count he had against the Giants Oct. 15 — the last time he played.
