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December 2008
Playoff FEVER: Next stop, Phoenix
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Falcons (11-5) are set to face the Arizona Cardinals (9-7) at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Phoenix.
The Cardinals have not hosted a playoff game since 1947. Talk about a home playoff drought.
How do you all like the matchup? The Cardinals’ high-flying passing attack against the Falcons’ power running game. Both defenses will be on the spot in this one or it could turn in a shootout.
The Cardinals need to find a running game and have turned to veteran Edgerrin James. Altanta will have to counter with a healthy Lawyer Milloy at safety to snuff out the big runs. His presence was missed Sunday when Steven Jackson gashed the defense for 161 yards.
Will the Falcons be able to stop the Cardinal’s three 1,000-yard receivers? Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston all have more than 1,000 yards receiving. This will be the biggest test the secondary has faced all season. They’ll need to play better than they did against New Orleans at the Georgia Dome when they had 15 passes defensed.
What will it take for the Falcons to beat the Cardinals?
(NOTE TO BLOGGERS: We are happy to host your conversations. We expect that you all will show RESPECT for each other. That means don’t threaten, defame or use racial insults and keep the chatter from personal attacks. If you think a post violates this guidelines, don’t escalate the situation. We had to close down the blog for a couple of days and will not hesitate to do so again if things get out of control. So those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings will cause commenting on the blog to be closed. LET’S MAKE THIS A FOOTBALL BLOG and take it in a fundamentally new direction.)
Playoff FEVER: Silencing of the Rams
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
FLOWERY BRANCH - Playoff FEVER! Can you feel it?
The Falcons have to take care of business and hope their old pals, the New Orleans Saints, come through with a big favor in order to wrap up the No. 2 seed and a bye week.
The Falcons have been ready to play in all 15 games so far this season. So you’d think a letdown in Game 16 with the No. 2 seed on the line, would be near impossible.
But the Rams are bad. They have dropped nine straight. Who could blame the Falcons for looking down on the Lambs, I mean Rams.
Obviously, having a letdown is not a part of THE PROCESS and won’t be tolerated by coach Mike Smith. So expect the Falcons to handle their business.
Now, on to the Carolina at New Orleans game. There’s a general consensus that the Panthers and the New York Football Giants are the two best looking teams from the NFC going into the playoffs. That was a heck of game they played last Sunday night.
The Saints could slow down the Panthers run game. It would be difficult, but at least that could happen. But the Saints don’t appear to have a plausible answer for the wide receiver Steve Smith and the Panthers’ passing attack. He should be wide open all day.
Stranger things have happened in the Crescent City. The Saints are undefeated at home this year and Drew Brees is 401 yards shy of the all-time single-season passing mark. There’s reason for Falcon fans to keep hope alive.
So, if we’ve got this playoff deal down right, a Falcons win and Carolina win means the Falcons are the No. 5 seed and headed to Phoenix week.
If the Falcons drop to the No. 6 seed - this would entail losing to the Lambs, I mean Rams - they’d be off to Minnesota or Chicago.
Isn’t this much more fun, talking about the playoffs instead of the top three players in available in the draft? It’s pretty good not to have Mel Kiper and Mike Mayock on speed dial, too. Can the Saints beat the Panthers? Tell us how? Will former Falcon exec Billy Devaney (super nice guy!!) be able to turn around the Rams?
Falcons soar into the playoffs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
MINNEAPOLIS - They need to rename the Metrodome. Just call it the Georgia Dome North.
The Falcons own the building. First, the 1998 Falcons came here and earned a trip to the Super Bowl. Ten years and four coaches later - Wade Phillips, Jim Mora, Bobby Petrino and Emmitt Thomas - they scooped up four fumbles and earn an improbable playoff berth.
Back to the playoffs for a team that wasn’t expected to do much.
That shovel pass to Jerious Norwood was sweet. Don’t know if Matt Ryan should be trying to dive into the endzone, but he’s a gamer.
Lawyer Milloy and Erik Coleman hold down the back of the defense like two guys guarding a Brinks truck.
Scenarios abound, thanks to the New York Giants overtime victory over the Carolina Panthers. The Falcons could finish as high as the No. 2 seed. They could be the No. 5 or the No. 6 seed.
A No. 2 seed would mean they have a first round bye and at least one home game.
A No. 5 seed would mean a trip to Arizona for a very winnable game.
A No. 6 seed would mean another trip back to Minnesota or Chicago. The Falcons swept the NFC North teams beating Detroit, Green Bay, Chicago and Minnesota.
How high can the Falcons soar? Are you making reservations for Tampa Bay? Ready to give the offensive line some respect? Can the Saints beat the Panthers? Will the Falcons snub a toe against St. Louis? Got you Christmas shopping done?
(NOTE TO BLOGGERS: We are happy to host your conversations. We expect that you all will show RESPECT for each other. That means don’t threaten, defame or use racial insults and keep the chatter from personal attacks. If you think a post violates this guidelines, don’t escalate the situation. We had to close down the blog for a couple of days and will not hesitate to do so again if things get out of control. So those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings will cause commenting on the blog to be closed. LET’S MAKE THIS A FOOTBALL BLOG and take it in a fundamentally new direction.)
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Playoffs start now for Falcons
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Before we get started, we should pay a silent tribute to the great Slingin’ Sammy Baugh who passed away this week. If you’re a real fan of the game, you have to know your history. For you trivia buffs, Baugh, Y.A. Tittle, Otto Graham and former Falcons coach Norm Van Brocklin are in any discussion about the greatest quarterbacks of all time.
The NFL didn’t start with Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, James Harris and Roger Staubach you know.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame site is a good place to check out the game’s all-time greats.http://www.profootballhof.com/
Also, our good friend Frank Hughes of the Tacoma News Tribune sent a note to the NFL writers group to point out that the classy Mike Holmgren has asked the fans to stay after the game. He wants to talk a lap around the stadium to thank the fans in his final home. I covered Coach Holmgren for most of his tenure in Green Bay. He made football pertinent again in Green Bay and the Pacific Northwest with three Super Bowl trips and one victory. Super guy and he was always fair to the media. Paranoid at times, but fair.
Now on to your Birds!
The playoffs start in Minnesota for the Falcons. That’s how they are approaching it. Forget about all of the scenarios. They don’t matter unless they win in Minnesota on Sunday.
The second most remarkable thing about this season - can’t top the rookie quarterback’s play — is that rookie head coach Mike Smith and his staff have had the team ready to play in every game. They haven’t had one clunker of a game. There have been mistakes, like a couple of block punts, a bad half at Tampa Bay, or the late TD drive to Denver. But they haven’t just stunk up the field for an entire game. So you have to think they will be ready for the Vikings.
The offensive line is the key to game. Minnesota’s defense, even without defensive tackle Pat Williams, will be the best unit on the field. They’ll have three Pro Bowlers — Kevin Williams, Jared Allen and Antoine Winfield — and a potential Hall of Famer in safety Darren Sharper on the field. The Falcons must spring Michael Turner loose on some runs to burn the clock. Also scoring TOUCHDOWNS in the redzone will be key.
Remember with the major colleges getting ready for their Bowl games, we have Saturday NFL games this week!
Here’s your NFC rooting guide: Dallas plays Baltimore on Saturday and Tampa Bay faces San Diego at 1 p.m. Sunday. Falcon fans are rooting for the AFC teams, Baltimore and San Diego.
The Falcons will hit the field knowing the outcomes of those two key games. The Philadelphia at Washington game is at the same time 4:15 p.m., while Carolina plays the New York Giants in the Sunday night game. Washington and the Giants are the teams the Falcons fans are rooting for to win.
How do you see the Falcons game against Minnesota? How many sacks will John Abraham have? How are the Falcons going to stop running back Adrian Peterson? Will the Falcons be able to open up enough room for Michael “The Burner” Turner?
Should be a great weekend. We’ll have some playoff clarity soon.
(Let’s stick to football! Everybody has been doing great!!! Even you VS2! Keep it going.)
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Abraham got jobbed by shallow Pro Bowl voters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THE BRANCH - Can’t wait to talk to John Abraham today during open locker room.
I know he’s ticked at not making the Pro Bowl, but has had some time to calm down. He had a family emergency and missed practice on Wednesday. Got a tip early about him not making the Pro Bowl and made some calls around the league.
There was sentiment is some locker rooms - including the NFC South — that was a little weird. Some contended that he has an easier path to his sacks because the Falcons rest him, wait until second-and-long, third-and-long and unleash him on the passer. Easiest job in the business, it was said. Crazy, but true!
That’s using your players smartly. But the players get one-third of the vote and Abraham didn’t win in some locker rooms because of that sentiment.
However, Abraham is a first alternate behind Carolina’s Julius Peppers, Minnesota’s Jared Allen and New York’s Justin Tuck. The Giants also move Tuck around and he even plays some tackle.
Rookie QB Matty “Ice” is also a first alternate.
I don’t understand the hype about Peppers. It seems like whenever he plays the Falcons, Todd Weiner gives him the business. I’ve seen him in about 8 to 10 games in person, and don’t remember one big play.
Also, it needs to be explained how not one Falcons linemen made it. They have paved the way for Michael Turner and the league’s top rushing attack. Also, they have cut their number of sacks from 47 to 13 with two games to play.
Center Todd McClure makes the group go, but left guard Justin Blalock is also having a fine sophomore campaign. Weiner could have gone just for playing on that reconstructed knee. Right guard Harvey Dahl and right tackle Tyson Clabo will get their shots down the road to if the Falcons keep winning.
Too many guys on the offensive line got in off of past reputations. That happens annually.
The Falcons could have had a third Pro Bowler. After training camp, they tried to sign running back and returner Clifton Smith to the practice squad. He was in camp with Tampa Bay and the Bucs came up with some extra cash over the practice squad minimum to sway his decision. Smith spent 7 weeks on the practice before being added to roster. The former undrafted rookie free agent from Fresno State (we featured him back in April in our AJC pre-draft series on returners the Falcons may look at)http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/falcons/stories/2008/04/17/faldraft_0418.html made it to Hawaii as the returner. The Falcons signed Ken Darby to the practice squad instead.
Well, if I were Gus Frerotte or Tarvaris Jackson I wouldn’t want to be facing the Double-Nickel this week. How many sacks do you think Abraham will get against the Vikings? Who’s going to win the battle of the top two rushers in the league? Can the Falcons repeat the Metrodome miracle of 1998?
(Keep our conversations on football. Trying the short notice since everybody has been doing so well.)
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Falcons: Defense is stepping up
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tampa Bay’s scoring drive right before halftime was scary.
Brian Griese was back in the pocket looking like his Dad throwing to Paul Warfield on that skinny post to Antonio Bryant for a touchdown. Bryant had seven catches for 106 yards in the first half. You just figured that if the Falcons didn’t do something with Bryant, that the second half would belong to Griese and Bryant.
After the game, cornerback Domonique Foxworth pointed out that the coverage in the secondary got tight. The better combination of zones spooked Griese into holding the ball a little longer and helped John Abraham get his sacks. He also noted that Grady Jackson even got a sack, so the coverage must have been tight.
Also, the move of Coy Wire into the lineup at strongside linebacker paid off. He took over Michael Boley’s position. Boley was used as a coverage linebacker in nickel situations. Don’t know if he was being punished for dropping that interception against New Orleans that would have sealed win or if they really think Wire is a better linebacker. No one wanted to explain the move and it got lost in the post-game shuffle yesterday.
With Wire getting off blocks and playing strong at the point of attack, the Falcons held the Bucs to 99 yards rushing, just a week after giving up 184 to New Orleans.
Here are the Falcons game-by game rushing yields:
Detroit, 21 carries for 62 yards
Tampa Bay, 28-164
Kansas City, 33-184
Carolina, 33-107
Green Bay, 23-104
Chicago, 23-79
Philadelphia, 32-192
Oakland, 11-67
New Orleans, 17-105
Denver, 25-124
Carolina, 26-134
San Diego, 19-70
New Orleans, 30-184
Tampa Bay, 26-99
The Falcons need the run defense to be firm against Minnesota and the league’s top rusher in Adrian Peterson.
Abraham was a beast? Was it a good move to sit down Boley in favor of Wire? How about the play of the secondary in holding Bryant to one catch for two yards in the second half?
NOTE TO BLOGGERS: We are happy to host your conversations. We expect that you all will show RESPECT for each other. That means don’t threaten, defame or use racial insults and keep the chatter from personal attacks. If you think a post violates these guidelines, don’t escalate the situation. We had to close down the blog for a couple of days and will not hesitate to do so again if things get out of control. So those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings will cause commenting on the blog to be closed. LET’S MAKE THIS A FOOTBALL BLOG and take it in a fundamentally new direction.
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Garcia may not play on Sunday
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Flowery Branch - The Falcons just finished their last bit of preparation for Tampa Bay.
Coach Mike Smith went into the cafeteria to speak to the (non-football playing) employees during their holiday luncheon. They filled up bin full of gifts for the Marines’ Toys for Tots program.
The football employees may catch a break on Sunday. Tampa Bay’s Jeff Garcia re-injured his right calf this week and did not practice on Wednesday and Thursday. It was the same injury that sidelined Garcia for much of the exhibition season.
Even if he plays, he might be slowed just a bit in order for John Abraham to get some sacks or at least some hits on him. If Garcia has time, he’ll find his receivers and it could be a long day at the Dome for Falcon fans.
If Garcia isn’t ready to go, the Falcons would catch a huge break. The Bucs are down to their No. 3 quarterback Luke “Skywalker” McCown. He hasn’t played all year and only has seven starts over his five-year career. Brian Griese was going to test his bruised elbow today.
According to our good buddy Stephen F. Holder at the St. Pete Times, Skywalker took the snaps with the first team on Wednesday and Thursday.
Does it matter if Garcia plays? Will the Falcons be able to run the ball on the Bucs after they gave up 299 yards to the Panthers? Who’s the Falcons secret weapon (the non-star player who could major contribution)?
(NOTE TO BLOGGERS: We are happy to host your conversations. We expect that you all will show RESPECT for each other. That means don’t threaten, defame or use racial insults and keep the chatter from personal attacks. If you think a post violates this guidelines, don’t escalate the situation. We had to close down the blog for a couple of days and will not hesitate to do so again if things get out of control. So those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings will cause commenting on the blog to be closed. LET’S MAKE THIS A FOOTBALL BLOG and take it in a fundamentally new direction.)
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Follow the Carolina smackdown plan
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Boy, Carolina sure did put a smackdown on Tampa Bay.
Now the Bucs will roll into the Georgia Dome with a huge chip on their shoulders come Sunday.
The Falcons need to follow the Carolina blueprint. The Panthers pounded the ball up the middle for the first half. Then they went to some fairly simple toss sweep plays for power outside runs.
Did you see Carolina fullback Brad Hoover knocking the great Derrick Brooks on his butt? The Carolina blocking was great. That was some good old fashion hard-nosed football.
I’m not trying to figure out the playoff race yet. There are too many variables. I just know for the Falcons to have a chance they have to at least win two of three and may have to sweep.
Ten wins might not be enough. Last season, Cleveland went 10-6 in the AFC and was at home for the playoffs.
The Falcons will want to put some hits on Jeff Garcia early. So he’ll be tap dancing in the pocket like he was against Carolina.
Can the Falcons follow the Carolina plan? Will Tampa Bay sure up it’s defense? Can Roddy White run circles around Ronde Barber like Steve Smith was doing? If Jerious Norwood is not 100 percent recovered from that rib injury, should the Falcons give more carries to the hard-charging Jason Snelling?
Should Smitty have gone for it?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
NEW ORLEANS - Up early, about to board the plane back to the ATL.
Ran into one of my frat brothers in the security line. Frat had been up playing “tonk” all night with his family. He said, “Make sure I get to the gate, team.”
“No problem,” I said.
Then he said, “Why in the hell didn’t the Falcons go for it on fourth down?”
Couldn’t give him an answer. That was the game right there. Smitty didn’t feel the Falcons fans’ pain. They would have been OK rolling the dice right there. Smitty said he went with the odds.
That made me think of something former Ohio State coach John Cooper used to say. “Woody” Cooper would say, “Y’all want to always gamble. But you want to gamble with MY money.”
Heck, yeah. OPM! It’s always good when you gamble with Other People’s Money.
Don’t know how Smitty feels about that. But that fourth down-and-5 from their 35, was the game. The defense hadn’t stopped the Saints for most of the day. He had to remember the 294-yard torching in the fourth quarter of the last game. Pierre Thomas looked like Samkon Gado, another undrafted free agent to shred the Falcons defense a few years back.
Maybe Smitty should have gone against the odds. Maybe he saved the season by not going for it. Maybe it’s time to learn how to stop the draw play.
I don’t know, but we sure can talk about it here all day. Should Smitty have rolled the dice? What’s up with the run defense? Did Saints coach Sean Payton out-scheme defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder with a nice screen and draw game? Matty Ice was on fire! You voting for Roddy White for the Pro Bowl?
It’s time to board. Frat’s on the plane and there goes Jeff Schultz, too. Will jump back in when I get to Branch.
Baker to miss NFC South showdown
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
NEW ORLEANS - Birds are on the field going through their final workout.
They are pumping that hot T.I and Rhiana song “Living Your Life” over the Superdome speakers.
The Saints caught a break from the federal judge in Minnesota and defensive end Will Smith and running back Deuce McAllister were ordered re-instated for this game.
Sam Baker is inactive. He will miss his 7th straight game.
Falcons inactives: D.J. Shockley (3rd quarterback), wide receiver Laurent Robinson, cornerback Brent Grimes, safety Antoine Harris, linebacker Tony Gilbert, center Ben Wilkerson, left tackle Sam Baker, defensive end Simon Fraser.
Saints Inactives: Joey Harrington (3rd quarterback), Safety Terrence Holt, cornerback David Pittman, running back Mike Bell, guard Jamar Nesbit, tackle Jermon Bushrod, wide receiver David Patten and defensive end Josh Savage.
Some folks are starting to take the Falcons seriously. Pro Football Weekly has the Falcons rated 10th in their weekly power rankings. The New Orleans Times- Picayune has the Falcons rated 8th in their power rankings.
There are still some non-believers. The ESPN radio dude Colin Cowherd dismissed the Falcons’ winning as “smoke and mirrors” on his show this week.
ESPN Emmitt Smith is a believer. On his pre-game segment, he said he doesn’t think the Falcons have an easy road, but likes the balanced offense to pull them through. He said he expected them to win today and next week against Tampa Bay.
They didn’t have the sound up in the press box, but I saw Fox’s Pam Oliver’s report on Fox. What was she talking to Smitty and Abraham about?
Both teams have retreated to their locker rooms. We’re about 25 minutes away from kickoff.
Send along your final scores? Who’s going to win this tilt? Can the Saints cover the Falcons’ receivers?
Will drop back by during the game for questions and will be on hand for halftime questions.
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Falcons ready for big NFC South weekend
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just finished looking at the Pro Bowl ballot on NFL.Com.
Fan voting for the Pro Bowl concludes on Tuesday. Falcons players, because of the lack of nationally televised games this season, will likely need a bigger voter turnout to push them over the top.
Fan voting counts for one-third of the total, along with voting from players and coaches. NFL players and coaches vote on Thursday and Friday.
The online ballot is in alphabetical order so Roddy White is at the bottom of the receiver list.
Running back is going to be competitive for Michael Turner with Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson, Washington’s Clinton Portis, Dallas’ Marion Barber and New York’s Brandon Jacobs. You get to vote for three.
Matt Ryan has a shot at quarterback. You get to pick three.
John Abraham should be a lock at defensive end with his 12.5 sacks, second in the NFC. Dallas’ DeMarcus Ware leads the league with 15 sacks, but he’s listed as an outside linebacker.
Center Todd McClure should get some consideration. He hasn’t given up a sack this season and has anchored the resurgent offensive line.
Cornerback DeAngelo Hall and tight end Alge Crumpler were the last Falcons to make the Pro Bowl back after the 2006 season.
The Falcons didn’t enter the season with a national profile, but there are still getting some national attention on the pre-game shows.
Pam Oliver from Fox was at the Branch on Wednesday working on a Falcon related package.
Our buddy Steve Wyche, NFL.Com Senior Writer, stopped by to do a piece on Roddy White, where White credits Joe Horn and the Petrinos — Bobby AKA as “Mr. Happy” and Paul - for saving his career. Here’s the link: http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80d04e20&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true
Also, it looks like Tampa Bay is taking the Falcons pretty seriously according to Chris Harry’s Inside the NFL column in the Orlando Sentinel, “The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play their first Monday night game in more than two years next week when they go on the road to face the Carolina Panthers. That means the Bucs will get an extra day to prepare._Jon Gruden and his staff put it to good use Monday. They began advance work on the Atlanta Falcons.Seriously.” Here’s the link: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/football/orl-nflinside0208dec02,0,7485139.column
The Falcons can help their Pro Bowl bids by beating the Saints in the Superdome for the first time since 2002.
With defensive end Will Smith out and the Saints on the smallish side at defensive end, the Falcons should be able to run the ball with The Burner.
The key will come down to containing the Saints passing attack again. I don’t know if the Falcons can get another 15 pass breakups, three interceptions and one sack on Saints QB Drew Brees. But it will take another mercurial effort like that to pull this one off. Also, Reggie Bush will be playing his second game since knee surgery. He didn’t play in the previous game.
A big thing to watch for is if rookie Thomas DeCoud has to start at free safety. I expect Erik Coleman to be ready, but if he can’t go all out with his quadriceps contusion, DeCoud will get to show his talents.
Should be a big NFC South weekend, with Tampa Bay and Carolina playing on Monday Night Football. A lot of Falcons fans wanted to know how they should be rooting for in this one. Carolina is the team to root for. Theh Falcons have a win over the Panthers and need Tampa Bay to come back to the pack. Carolina also has a tougher schedule down the stretch with games against Denver, the New York Giants and New Orleans.
Who are you voting for in the Pro Bowl? Which Falcons deserve to make the trip to Honolulu? Ready for Sunday’s big tilt in the Big Easy? Can the Falcons basically eliminate the Saints from the playoff race? Who needs to step up to stop Reggie Bush in this?
Also, I plan on getting to the Dome early on Sunday and posting a pre-game report and will try to get to your questions at halftime.
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Big Grady dodges the ‘roid cops, for now
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Falcons probably want Grady Jackson’s four game suspension issue with the league to get settled sooner rather than later.
He can play as long as the appeal process is ongoing. If it goes past Sunday’s game against the Saints, Jackson would be in danger of missing a playoff game, you know, should the Falcons qualify.
Jackson’s suspension would linger into next season if they don’t make the playoffs.
Now the best possible scenario for the Falcons would be if Jackson’s suspension gets overturned. But given commissioner Roger Goodell’s “Wyatt Earp” approach to enforcement of the league’s policy, that might not be the case.
The league didn’t buy the “big guy” trying to lose weight argument. It seems pretty clear that Jackson wasn’t taking the papaya extract to mask any steroids. It’s unlikely the big Williams boys from Minnesota were masking either.
Boy, losing the Williams boys, sure makes that Dec. 21 trip to Minnesota a more pleasant one for center Todd McClure and guard Justin Blalock and Harvey Dahl.
While Falcons coach Mike Smith refuses to disclose the contingency plans, they have been getting Kindal Moorehead and Jason Jefferson more involved in the tackle rotation just in case Jackson doesn’t win his appeal.
What should the Falcons do? Should Grady keep fighting “the Man” or just sit down the last four so he could play in the playoffs?
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The San Diego aftermath
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SAN DIEGO - Just chilling out at the San Diego Airport this morning and not expecting to fly out any time soon.
It’s a little after 5 a.m. and the fog is pretty thick. A couple of planes that were supposed to fly in last night got diverted to Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Was supposed to get out of here at 6:10 a.m. to go to Chicago and get back to the ATL around 5:30 p.m. Now, I’m just hoping to make kickoff for MNF. Don’t really mind doing the hanging out at the Airport thing.
But the Falcons are back - they chartered out last night after the game — and Carroll Rogers will on the beat for us today, checking in with Coach Smitty and a few other things today. So let’s give Carroll (some of you might know her from her Braves coverage with the DOB) a shout out. “Go Carroll! Have some fun on the beat today.”
Just a couple of things from the game:
The Falcons out-hit the Chargers. Chevis Jackson had a big hit on Chris Chambers.
Rookie Kroy Biermann got his first sack too.
Also, when you start winning some of the national writers start to show up at the games and I got to see a couple more of my friends yesterday. They had nice things to say about the Falcons.
John Clayton from ESPN was in the house. I first met John several years ago, before he became a big star. He was working in Tacoma, Washington. He was beast of a beat writer on the Seahawks. He taught me how to cover the combine back in the 90s before the access was great. He had a little spot outside the Hoosier Dome where all of the coaches and execs had to walk and he knew everyone back then. Awesome.
But let me get back on track. John was marveling at quarterback Matt Ryan. He couldn’t believe Ryan’s poise, stature in the pocket and his accurate passing. We could only come with two bad throws in the game. The miss to Jenkins in the endzone and we figured that one pass to Roddy White in the endzone was probably a millisecond early.
John is coming to the ATL of the Tampa Bay game.
My man Bill Williamson, ESPN.com AFC West writer, was in the house, too. We go back to our days covering the Packers in the 1990s when he was at the Appleton (Wis.) Post Crescent.
Bill said “That’s a pretty solid football team you’re covering. It’s got to be fun.”
My fellow Howard alum Jim Trotter was at the game for SI.Com. Michael Silver from Yahoo! Sports was in the house. Met him before, but don’t know him. He’s not a part of the D. Led media posse, but I hear he’s a pretty cool dude.
Just some other stuff while I’m just sitting here.
Fan voting for the Pro Bowl teams continues through Dec. 9. Fan voting counts for one-third of the total, along with voting from players and coaches.
Fans can vote on the internet at NFL.com/probowl.
Was checking ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown show while getting ready for the game yesterday and former Falcon Chuck Smith was featured on a segment on the art of teaching pass-rushing techniques.
Smith, through his company Defensive Line Inc, has been training defensive linemen and pass-rushing outside linebackers since 2000.
Smith, who had 58 1/2 career sacks, has tutored Seattle’s Patrick Kerney, New York Giant Osi Umenyiora and Tennessee’s Albert Haynesworth.
Smith said all pass rushers need at least three moves, a setup move, a counter move and a finishing move.
When a team is winning, they also get more than a passing mention on the pre-game shows. And there was a Falcon feature on Michael Turner on Countdown, too. (I used to like FOX’s pre-game show the best, but I can’t stomach Terry Bradshaw’s antics anymore.)
Cris Carter (Middletown Ohio’s finest) talked about the Falcons’ under-rated offensive line and Turner’s cut back runs and his ability to run after contact.
Well, that’s plenty for you all to kick around. Since I’m kind of Airport bound and may have a huge layover in the Windy City, I’ll check back in often today for questions, vents, rants, etc.
I’m going to find the Airport Starbucks. There has to be one in here somewhere. I saw a Nathan’s, but I’m not sure how good the hot dog folks can do breakfast.
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