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Home > Terence Moore > Archives > 2008 > August
August 2008
Falcons’ offensive line shaky at best
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
To tweak the famous words of Rick Pitino just a bit, Mike Kenn isn’t going to walk through that door. Neither is Jeff Van Note, Bill Fralic, Bob Whitfield or anybody else who was at least pretty good as an offensive lineman for the Falcons.
What the Falcons have now on their offensive line is pretty scary.
The only sure thing is Todd McClure, because he has spent most of his decade in the NFL as a starter. The other four spots are filled with those ranging from the unproven to the aching.
Sam Baker is a rookie at left tackle, the most important spot on the offensive line for a team with a right-handed starting quarterback. And the Falcons have a right-handed starting quarterback. They also have second-year player Justin Blalock at left guard trying to show that his rocky first season was just a fluke. Who knows about the mostly obscure Harvey Dahl at right guard? Then there is Tyson Clabo, previously an NFL guard, who started at right tackle last season after Todd Weiner suffered a major knee injury.
This isn’t good when your starting quarterback is Matt Ryan, a rookie with so many other things to fret about at a position that historically isn’t kind to rookies.
Now consider this: 133. That’s how many sacks the Falcons’ offensive line allowed during the past three seasons. Only six NFL teams allowed more in that stretch. And, remember, the first two of those seasons featured Michael Vick as the Falcons starting quarterback, which means that not even No. 7 could use his swift feet to keep from getting smacked to the ground.
There is hope for the Falcons, however, because they have veteran offensive line coach Paul Boudreau this season with his accomplished resume and sensible approach. That’s opposed to his predecessors — Mike Summers, a lifetime college guy, and Alex Gibbs, architect of that cut-blocking approach.
Hope Ryan likes to run.
And duck.
Permalink | | Categories: Falcons/NFL
ACC should stick to basketball
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you go by what occurred for most of Saturday night inside the Georgia Dome, Clemson isn’t as good as advertised, which is wonderful news for Georgia Tech. In contrast, Alabama is significantly better than you could imagine, which is woeful news for Georgia.
Then again, this is more likely: The ACC should stick to basketball. At least when it comes to its embarrassing matchups against the SEC.
This was more about Clemson than Alabama. This was about whether the Tigers could go through an entire college football season without stopping along the way to play as if they had swallowed a large chunk of Howard’s Rock.
This was about whether Clemson could start the process by spending the game in an absolutely ear-shattering environment doing what it had to do.
It had to beat Alabama. Instead, Clemson was humiliated in a 34-10 loss, because Alabama kept doing what it had to do. Let’s just say there are a bunch of sore Tigers this morning. They were battered, bashed and bruised by an Alabama power game that was straight from Bear Bryant’s smash-mouth playbook. That’s why, for the longest time, Clemson looked sort of intimidated by it all.
Scared, in fact. The famously precise Cullen Harper nearly threw an interception on Clemson’s first play. Then, on the next play, a jittery Jamie Harper fumbled the ball away to Alabama. The Tigers continued to replace any signs of a roar with a distinctive purr from there. Silly penalties. Dropped passes. This supposedly was the best team in the ACC taking its No. 9 ranking against a supposedly young and inexperienced No. 24-ranked team from the SEC that just hoped to improve each week.
In other words, this was a brutal day for a conference that had Virginia Tech losing earlier to East Carolina from the mighty Conference USA. The Clemson game was worse, because given the decades-long inferiority complex involving the ACC in football regarding the SEC, Clemson also had to beat Alabama for that reason.
Plus, this inaugural Chick-fil-A College Kickoff had the feel of a Bowl Championship Series game. That’s where the Tigers ultimately want to be. So, with a constant roar coming from the equally split crowd of red for Alabama and orange for Clemson, the Tigers had more than a few reasons to play inspired.
It rarely happened.
To hear the national pundits tell it, these Tigers are gifted and special. We’ve heard that before, especially during the past two seasons, when Clemson couldn’t keep from vanishing down the stretch despite a slew of talent everywhere. Two years ago, the Tigers were ranked No. 10 nationally after winning seven of their first eight games. They lost four of their last five. Then came last year, when they hinted of joining the elite by December after going from No. 25 overall in early September to 12 slots higher by the end of the month.
Clemson lost two of its last three to become just another good team at 9-4 overall, 5-3 in the ACC.
That said, such a collapse shouldn’t happen this time for the Tigers. Take it from their orange and noisy followers in T-shirts that declared, “If the thunder don’t get ya, the lightning will.” The thunder is power runner James Davis, and the lightning is his swifter partner, C.J. Spiller. If you add Harper and his usually accurate arm to the mix, along with seven of 11 starters back from last year’s defense, the Tigers should sprint beyond goodness.
Unless an SEC team is nearby.
Permalink | | Categories: Tech/ACC
Georgia’s instructions for a 12-0 season
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Despite a schedule that suggests otherwise, let’s ask the question: What must Georgia do to go undefeated this football season, starting Saturday in Athens against Georgia Southern through that little event in Jacksonville in November to the national championship game in Miami?
Here we go.
• Georgia Southern: Don’t get cocky. Never mind that Georgia Southern isn’t Appalachian State this season, especially since 17 of the 22 players on the Eagles’ two-deep depth chart will take the field for the first time Saturday. Tiny teams can shock gigantic ones, but only if those gigantic ones forget they’re supposed to crush those tiny ones.
• Central Michigan: Ignore the “Central” in front of Michigan. This team from Mount Pleasant has been more impressive in its conference in recent years than that other team from Ann Arbor. The Chippewas have taken the past two Mid-American Conference titles, and they are MAC favorites again this year.
Ever hear of Dan LeFevour? He’s Central Michigan’s starting quarterback, and he rushed and passed for more yards last season than some Heisman Trophy guy named Tim Tebow.
• At South Carolina: Hold your ears during the week. South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier enjoys whipping the Bulldogs with his players and his tongue. He did so often at Florida, and he did so last season between the hedges with an inferior South Carolina team. Georgia can’t fall for Spurrier’s mind game, and they’re coming.
• At Arizona State: Remember the USC of the Pac-10 is way more potent than the USC of the SEC. The point is, Arizona State is among the top challengers to that other USC (otherwise known as Southern Cal) in the Pac-10, which means Georgia must treat this as a BCS-caliber game.
This also will be one of the few trips ever for the Bulldogs out of the Southeast, so they must keep from getting spooked by a flight longer than a couple of barks from their Uga mascot.
• Alabama: Imagine that Bryant-Denny Stadium is between the hedges. Otherwise, the Bulldogs could get lulled into complacency with Alabama at home this season. As for last season, Georgia won for just the second time ever in Tuscaloosa.
So, to keep the edge, the Bulldogs need to play mind games with themselves against a rising but flawed team that nevertheless could shock them.
• Tennessee: Think revenge. It’s ridiculous that the Volunteers have taken three of their past four games from Georgia. Just like Alabama, Tennessee lacks Georgia’s quality and depth. As a result, no way the Bulldogs should lose this time to Tennessee, not unless they cringe with fear instead of with anger at the sight of orange.
• Vanderbilt: Send chocolates and flowers to the Commodores, either literally or figuratively. Remember? After the Bulldogs’ last-second victory in Nashville last season, they stomped on Vanderbilt’s logo at midfield. An angry group of Commodores could interrupt their rebuilding year to upset the Bulldogs.
• At LSU: Listen to anything and everything that coach Mark Richt has to say about Death Valley. Obviously, he knows what he’s doing, especially when it comes to scary places. Under Richt, Georgia is 25-4 in an opponent’s stadium, and that includes 9-2 against ranked opponents.
• Florida (Jacksonville): Don’t fret over the fuming Gators. And, yes, they will do something crazy to counter Georgia’s excessive celebration in the end zone last year after scoring the game’s first touchdown. It’s just that Georgia can’t be preoccupied with whatever the Gators might do at the expense of blocking and tackling.
• At Kentucky: Forget something and remember something else. First, Georgia has to forget about whatever happened the week before in Jacksonville. In contrast, Georgia has to remember that they lost the last time they traveled to Lexington in 2006.
• At Auburn: Send whatever chocolates and flowers are left over from the Vanderbilt game to Auburn. Just a guess, but coach Tommy Tuberville and his War Eagles probably weren’t pleased last season when Richt turned Georgia’s home game against Auburn last season into a “blackout” game, where players and fans wore all black.
This already is an intense rivalry game, but Georgia should be prepared for more sizzle to the fire in this one.
• Georgia Tech: Practice against the triple option every day. One reason this offense works well is the element of surprise. This is the Yellow Jackets’ first year under Paul Johnson, the architect of that offense, and they’ll be better with it by the time they roll into Athens after Thanksgiving.
The Bulldogs don’t want to resemble turkeys either before or after that game, and they won’t. Not if they follow what we just suggested — and get lucky.
Really lucky.
Permalink | Comments (18) | Categories: UGA/SEC
Johnson finds plenty of faults in Tech rout
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
They passed on the first play. That was different. They’re never supposed to throw in this run, run and then run some more offense.
Plus, despite the Yellow Jackets’ bashing of mostly pitiful Jacksonville State with ease Thursday night at Bobby Dodd Stadium, there was Paul Johnson, interrupting his calm during much of the first half with a red face and a speed hop toward his Georgia Tech center who just botched a snap to his quarterback.
When you’re a perfectionist as a head coach, and it’s all about your offense during your first season in town, you always want to make sure the corpse is dead by shooting it again and again.
That Tech led 27-0 at the time along the way to a 41-14 blowout meant nothing to Johnson. Neither did all of those other little signs of hope for his triple option offense that rarely is used or seen among major colleges. His B-back, Jonathan Dwyer, already had more than 100 yards rushing, and his quarterback, Josh Nesbitt, already had 61 yards rushing while nearly attempting more passes before halftime (nine) than his Navy team averaged per game (10) last season.
It’s just that Tech had more than a few ugly moments during their fancy scrimmage disguised as their season opener, and Johnson responded accordingly.
And loudly.
We already told you that Johnson wasn’t (ahem) pleased that center Dan Voss blew that snap to interrupt the Jackets’ drive for more bullets in the Jacksonville State corpse. He also screamed up close and personal at Zach Krish after the reserve guard returned to the sideline in the third quarter after he jumped offside to blow a fourth-and-short attempt for Tech inside the red zone. Then there was Johnson yanking off his headphones before engaging in a one-way shouting match with Bret White after his high snap caused Scott Blair to miss badly on a short field goal attempt.
It’s all about the offense. Which means, whenever you mention anything involving Georgia Tech football this season, it’s all about Johnson, because he is that offense. He invented the plays. He calls the plays. So, whatever the offense does in his first year as the Yellow Jackets’ head coach after successful stints at Georgia Southern for five years and Navy for six years after that, he’ll take the credit or the blame.
This should be interesting.
Well, it better be. If nothing else, Johnson’s triple option offense needs to entertain until his players fully know what they’re doing with A-back, B-backs and all of those other kind of backs in this thing.
“Our fans are very excited by this offense, because they understand it’s a little different, and one of the things we try to do here in our athletics program is, we need to be good and different,” said Georgia Tech athletics director Dan Radakovich, watching a lively crowd of 45,706 spend much of the pleasant evening cheering the Jackets in general and Johnson’s offense in particular. “You can’t line them up all the same way being here at Georgia Tech, and that was one of the main reasons I thought Paul Johnson was a great fit for us with what he does.”
Jacksonville State doesn’t count much in the big picture, by the way, because the Jackets used their size and speed to overwhelm their Division I-AA opponent as much as that quirky offense. Never mind the Gamecocks are the favorites to win the Ohio Valley Conference. What will count regarding Johnson’s offense will be what the Jackets do against their ACC brethren and other legitimate teams.
Like beginning next week at Boston College.
Permalink | Comments (55) | Categories: Tech/ACC
Glavine believes Braves will bounce back
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If John Smoltz or Tom Glavine says something is so regarding the Braves’ past, present or future, I believe them.
For the most part.
They’ve earned the benefit of the doubt as future Hall of Famers.
For the most part.
Here’s the reason for my waffling: The other day I asked Glavine if he thought these wretched Braves of 2008 remind him of the ones of two decades ago that lost 106 games. “No, because with those teams, we were so bad that there was no light at the end of the tunnel,” said Glavine, who finished his rookie season back then with a 7-17 record and 4.56 ERA.
Added Glavine, “I think with this team, you look and go, ‘Oh, man.’ You get a couple of guys here and there healthy, and they’re back next year. And if you make a splash or two with a free agent or even a trade - I mean, this team has a chance of being right back in the thick of things next year.”
Until then, there is this year for the Braves, and it features them tumbling down the National League East standings in a hurry with issues at the plate, on the mound and in the field. Sound familiar? It should, because this sounds like most of those brutal years for the Braves during the latter 1980s in general, and 1988 in particular.
That Braves team of 20 years ago finished with a 4.09 ERA. This one has a 4.41 ERA. Then again, this team is hitting better than that one (.267 to .242). Plus, despite a slew of errors in the past month, this team is fielding better (.983 to .975). It’s just that most of the statistics for this team are dropping instead of rising.
So do you agree with Glavine’s suggestion that this is just a bump in the road that doesn’t compare to 1988? Or do you think the ugly days live again for the Braves - and will for the foreseeable future?
I say it’s just a bump. A gigantic one, but not an insurmountable one.
Permalink | Comments (51) | Categories: Braves/MLB
Tech’s offense won’t work this year
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One of these years (sooner rather than later, by the way), Georgia Tech will become a triple-option monster during its ACC schedule and beyond.
Not this year, though.
This year, Paul Johnson’s offense, which is rarely used among major college programs, will spend more time scaring the players he inherited this season than their opponents.
A-backs? B-backs? So, with three other folks in the backfield with the quarterback, why isn’t there a C-back? And since Johnson has Y-backs, why not Z-backs, as if his Tech players would perfect such a thing these days, anyway?
The good news is that the Jackets aren’t rumbling, bumbling and fumbling as much from all of this running, pitching and diving on nearly every play as they did during spring practices. The bad news is that the Jackets won’t become proficient with their new offense until later this season. Or longer than that. Give it another recruiting class or two, and Tech’s offense will become significantly more potent than the one Navy used to reach five consecutive bowl games under Johnson.
That said, there is a difference between now and the start of Johnson’s Navy career in 2002. Back then, he left his wonderful stint at Georgia Southern as head coach to transform Navy into the nation’s third-best rushing team after the Midshipmen finished 35th the year before. In fact, under Johnson, Navy spent four of the past five years leading Division I-A schools in rushing, including a record three straight years through last season.
It’s just that Navy already was an option team when Johnson arrived. Tech had a pro-style offense under previous coach Chan Gailey. That means the Midshipmen featured more of the right personnel for Johnson’s offense from the start compared to the Jackets’ current situation.
One more thing: The key to any offense is the quarterback — especially with the triple option — and sophomore Josh Nesbitt is evolving into the Jackets’ starting quarterback during and after their home opener on Thursday against Jacksonville State. Nesbitt played little last season, but he played a lot as a senior at Greensboro High School, where the team passed nearly 45 times per game.
Nesbitt might throw nine times per game under Johnson.
Yeah, this will take awhile.
(Editor’s note: Want a different take on how Tech’s new offense will fare? Mark Bradley says the option offense will thrive in ‘08.)
Permalink | | Categories: Tech/ACC
Why UGA won’t win it all: The schedule
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s the schedule, stupid.
Ever since Yale, Princeton and Harvard mostly alternated as national champions in the latter 19th century, nobody has been crowned the king of college football with three losses or more.
Two losses? Well, LSU had such a distinction last season. According to history, though, that was a fluke. Prior to the Tigers, no two-loss team had finished at the top of the Associated Press or United Press International polls since Minnesota. We’re talking 1960.
Now consider this: Georgia will have at least two losses, probably three, and not because of Georgia. It will be because of road games at South Carolina, Arizona State, LSU and Auburn, along with consecutive home games against Alabama and Tennessee. There also will be that little event in Jacksonville against a Florida bunch that continues to fume over the Bulldogs’ excessive Dog-pile last year after they scored the game’s first touchdown.
Oh, and did we mention the SEC championship game? If the Bulldogs make it that far, they’d likely face highly ranked LSU, Auburn or Alabama during a rematch from earlier in the year.
I know. Georgia is the rage from Sports Illustrated to the coaches’ poll. The theory is that, with all of that talent and an accomplished coaching staff, Georgia could go undefeated or lose once.
But what about the schedule?
“The way we look at it, it’s not a tough schedule that we suddenly have to deal with. For us, this is just another SEC schedule,” said Georgia cornerback Asher Allen, who has a point, but only to a point. The Bulldogs regularly have schedules in this vicinity, and they did well enough with their schedule last season to finish 11-2. Still, they didn’t reach the championship game of the Bowl Championship Series. They didn’t even win their division.
That also was a schedule without rare trips for the Bulldogs to the West (Arizona State) and to Death Valley (LSU). That also was a schedule before the Gators had a whole year to fume over Georgia’s end-zone silliness in Jacksonville. That also was a schedule lacking back-to-back SEC monster games (Alabama and Tennessee).
So, if the Bulldogs do prosper with such a schedule, they shouldn’t become kings of college football.
Try kings of the Earth.
(Editor’s note: Want a different take on how UGA’s schedule affects the Bulldogs’ chances of winning the national championship? Mark Bradley says this is the year.)
Permalink | | Categories: UGA/SEC
Georgia’s punt return guessing game
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Surely this punt-return talk involving Knowshon Moreno is just a tease. You don’t replace the No. 24 on the back of somebody who can run you toward a national championship in college football with a gigantic bull’s-eye.
So Moreno as Georgia’s Reggie Bush will never happen.
I think.
Have you ever heard political pundits use the term “October surprise?” Well, maybe coach Mark Richt is planning a “November surprise,” when his Bulldogs are scheduled to meet the hated Gators on the first Saturday of that month.
This is how that “November surprise” would work: You do what Richt just did, and that is, you mention out of nowhere that you’re using splendid runner Moreno on punt returns in closed practices. Then you suggest it is doubtful but possible that Moreno would perform such a role in games. After that, you never use Moreno on punt returns from August through October, but you keep your SEC opponents guessing along the way. South Carolina. Alabama. Tennessee. Vanderbilt. LSU.
Now it’s Nov. 1 in Jacksonville, and it’s the Florida game, and it’s one more thing for the hated Gators to fret over instead of blocking and tackling: When will they use Moreno on punt returns? Will they use Moreno on punt returns?
Of course, Georgia never does.
“Well,” said Richt over the phone from Athens, with his pause suggesting that Moreno as Georgia’s Reggie Bush just might happen, “I would think we would do it before [the Florida game]. Yeah. We might have more than one guy [returning punts]. If we gain some confidence in somebody besides Knowshon, that guy might be our man, you know, and we won’t have to talk about it anymore.
“There are some others who have some talent back there, but Knowshon is certainly fielding the punts well. He’s shown that he can make people miss, and he has a knack for weaving in and out of these blocking schemes. So we definitely like what we see back there.”
Translated: Moreno as Georgia’s Reggie Bush will happen. That means he is destined to become more than that driving and twisting tailback who rushed for more than 1,300 yards last season as a freshman. That means he is going to get a slew of touches during Georgia’s attempt at becoming one of the few to remain No. 1 from the preseason through the end of the ultimate game of the Bowl Championship Series.
That means Caleb King, Richard Samuel and the rest of those behind Moreno on the depth chart should start eating all of their Wheaties. They may get more work than expected this season. With Moreno returning punts, foes on return teams will run faster and hit harder. If the evil Gators are involved, you can multiply everything we just said by a bunch.
“Let’s face it. Anybody who has the ball in his hands, all 11 folks on the other team are trying to knock him out, you know?” Richt said. “At least on a punt, there’s space. A guy might be able to get a shot on him, but most defenses across the country are going to have an unblocked safety at the line of scrimmage trying to take a shot. When you get the ball inside on a handoff, there’s all 11 coming around.
“[Moreno] is an impact player, and it’s not very often you can get your best runner out in that much open space. I imagine that could scare the heck out of opponents.”
Yeah, and Bulldog fans.
Permalink | Comments (93) | Categories: UGA/SEC
Tech’s success will be later rather than sooner with Johnson
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In the long run, Georgia Tech will be just fine with Paul Johnson as its head football coach. You’ll continue to see bowl games for the Yellow Jackets, but more along the lines of the Gator instead of the Emerald. You’ll see division titles and maybe even an ACC championship or three.
You know those things are in the Jackets’ future, because the equivalents to those things were in Johnson’s past. There were his two Division I-AA championship teams at Georgia Southern, and then there were his six seasons of making Navy relevant again for the first time in decades.
As for the short run involving Johnson at Tech, well, uh, hmmmm.
That’s a tough one.
The Jackets are exactly a week from opening their Johnson era at home against Jacksonville State, and they’ll have only a few certainties. They’ll have a magnificent defensive line. They’ll have as many as 15 freshmen and sophomores among their 22 starters. They’ll have Johnson’s rarely used triple-option offense that may scare Tech players more often in the beginning than their foes. They’ll also have new uniforms.
This means what for Tech? Nobody knows, not even Johnson.
“I think I have a feel for what the team is athletically, but how we’re going to react in situations, and how we’re going to do things, I think those things are still in the flow and in the mix,” said Johnson on Wednesday from his office beyond the north end zone at Bobby Dodd Stadium. “We’re not going to find out much until we get thrown into that mix. Once the bullets start flying, the leaders will emerge, and then we’ll have a better idea of all of that stuff.”
Stuff like whether the Jackets have a grasp of Johnson’s triple-option offense that gave them fits in the spring. It always will be about that offense this season.
During the spring, by the way, players were going left when they were meant to go right, and turnovers were an epidemic. In fact, just getting the quarterbacks to keep from fumbling the snap from center was a major task. That has remained a task, but it has become a minor one. The bobbling also has decreased overall these days.
That said, Saturday’s scrimmage still had a slew of players treating the football as if it was sizzling to the touch.
“Some days, it looks like we’ve got things down, and the next day, it looks like we don’t have a clue,” Johnson said. “The thing about the offense is that we have a large part of the base of it in. And the neat thing about it is, it’s not going to change. We’re going to practice it every day, and we should get better as we go along. We should be better at it in October than we were in September. Hopefully, as they play, they’re going to find little nuances that help them out, and they’ll see different things they can do.”
Until then, the Jackets will struggle on offense to keep from embarrassing themselves, especially early.
After Jacksonville State, Tech will play consecutive ACC road games against Boston College and Virginia Tech. Johnson eased into a smile that suggested he knows something we don’t. “This team could be vastly underestimated or all the pundits could have it right, because the kids who are going to play haven’t played,” Johnson said, before suggesting his smile really was only a smile. “Quite honestly, I don’t know what to expect, either.”
Permalink | Comments (46) | Post your comment | Categories: Tech/ACC
The Falcons can lose without them
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Now Joe Horn is gone, courtesy of the Falcons cutting the four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver on Tuesday. This follows the forced exits over the last few months from Flowery Branch of veterans Warrick Dunn, Rod Coleman, DeAngelo Hall and Alge Crumpler.
Good moves, all.
In the eternal words of Branch Rickey after he traded future Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner from the woeful Pittsburgh Pirates during the early 1950s, “We can finish last without you.”
Here’s the point: With most of those guys, the Falcons spent the last three seasons going from mediocre (8-8) to bad (7-9) to worse (4-12). With any of those guys still around, the Falcons would continue to go through this year as the antithesis of a Super Bowl team. That is to say the Falcons aren’t going anywhere great for a while.
So, if you’re in charge of the Falcons, featuring a new general manager and a new head coach, why not switch to younger players? If nothing else, why not just get some different players?
Let’s say the Falcons had kept Dunn, an NFL dinosaur at 33, but a nice ambassador for this Michael Vick-damaged franchise. With Dunn, the Falcons wouldn’t have gotten Michael Turner. Not only is Turner seven years younger, but he is flashing signs of being more than just the backup running back that he was to LaDainian Tomlinson with the San Diego Chargers.
Hall? Too much yapping and not enough starring. Coleman and Crumpler? Highly injury prone. The same goes for Horn, who says he is healthy now after missing much of the Falcons’ workouts of spring and summer with a hamstring problem.
So, if you’re in charge of the Falcons, you clear your old (as in age and otherwise) roster as much as you can, you cover your eyes, and then you hope 2009 will be better than your upcoming woes of 2008.
Permalink | Comments (60) | Post your comment | Categories: Falcons/NFL
Braves don’t lose hustle despite losing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Braves haven’t stopped losing, but you know what? They also haven’t stopped hustling. “No, they haven’t,” said Tom Glavine, the disabled pitcher of yore, referring to the struggling youngsters and veterans throughout the home clubhouse on Monday at Turner Field. Then Glavine added, “To be honest with you, they should be playing hard.”
That’s true. As second baseman Kelly Johnson put it, with his Braves sinking further into oblivion after Monday’s 5-0 loss to the pitiful San Francisco Giants, “We’ve got a young team, and when you’re a player in this situation, you’re trying to establish your career. You’re motivated by what could be. On top of that, it’s just out of respect for your teammates, your manager, your coaches, fans and yourself.”
Yeah, but it’s like this: Sometimes, with 162 baseball games stretching forever, the hustling vanishes. The Philadelphia Phillies are winning, and it happened to them, when reigning MVP Jimmy Rollins was benched for failing to sprint to first base on a dropped pop fly. The Tampa Bay Rays are winning, and it happened to them. The gifted B.J. Upton was benched for loafing on a double-play grounder.
The Boston Red Sox are winning, and you know it happened to them. They shipped the insufferable Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers after they realized Manny being Manny was synonymous with Manny playing them for fools in the field, on the bases and at the plate.
Such issues haven’t happened to the otherwise imploding Braves, owners of one winning month this season. They’ve had other issues, though. After left fielder Omar Infante caught a line drive on Monday in the first inning, he trotted toward the Braves’ dugout. It was the second out of the inning, not the third, which is why the Giants’ Dave Roberts tagged up from third base and scored without a throw.
Infante’s gaffe was more a lack of focus than of effort. “We have meetings about [giving your best], because the last two years before this, we didn’t get knocked off until the last week or 10 days before it got bleak,” said Braves manager Bobby Cox, referring to the 2006 and 2007 seasons that followed the Braves’ record streak of 14 straight division titles. “Right now, it would take a miracle for us to get back in it. But you play for pride. You play for the fans. People pay good money to watch us, and you’ve got to give them a show.”
The ongoing show for the Braves is wretched. As a result, much less than the announced crowd of 18,113 came to Monday’s finale against the Giants, but that’s more folks than the Braves of the late 1980s often attracted at home during an entire week. Glavine remembers, because he was there, when the Braves were destined to lose 100 games before the first pitch of each of those seasons.
Any comparison between the Braves of then and now? “No, because with those teams, we were so bad that there was no light at the end of the tunnel,” Glavine said. “I think with this team, you look and go, ‘Oh, man.’ You get a couple of guys here and there healthy, and they’re back next year. And if you make a splash or two with a free agent or even a trade — I mean, this team has a chance of being right back in the thick of things next year.”
First, the Braves have to get through this year, and that’s the problem.
Permalink | Comments (43) | Post your comment | Categories: Braves/MLB
With Falcons, it’s all about appearances
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So the hot dogs are warmer and the beers are colder at Falcons games these days at the Georgia Dome. You may yawn now, because it’s never about that other stuff in professional sports, especially in the NFL, where Al Davis delivered a truth for the ages: Just win, baby.
Actually, at this stage for the Falcons after regressing each of the past three years (8-8, 7-9, 4-12), combined with their horrors of last season (dogfighting, Bobby Petrino, imploding), it’s like this: Just look decent, baby, even during an otherwise meaningless preseason game.
Oh, well.
Maybe next week.
Then again, the Falcons did have some nice moments Saturday night against an Indianapolis Colts team that was missing all-everything players Peyton Manning, Bob Sanders, Dwight Freeney and three other starters. The Falcons’ Michael Turner looked like more than just the backup that he was to LaDainian Tomlinson. At times, he even looked like LT. Then there was Brent Grimes continuing to impress as DeAngelo Hall’s replacement at left corner without the silliness. And, if Turner was running well, that means the offensive line was flashing signs of decency for a change.
The thing is, the Falcons had enough brutal moments to make many of their turnstiles threaten to rust during the regular season from lack of use.
“Yeah, there’s a lot of pressure on us, because we know we have to do things to keep people coming to the [Georgia] Dome,” said wide receiver Roddy White, who contributed to some of the Falcons’ nice moments. While trying to extend a two-minute drill near the end of the first half, Matt Ryan scrambled right and then left with his $72-million arm on 3-and-10 from the Falcons’ 16. He found White for 15 yards. Moments later, Ryan completed an 11-yarder to White with the Falcons eventually sprinting to the Colts’ 38.
That’s when Ryan looked more like another one of those overmatched NFL rookie starting quarterbacks in waiting. For the record, Ryan hasn’t been named the starter, but that will happen sooner than later. Anyway, he ruined what was a wonderful drive by throwing short of Brian Finneran and watching the Colts’ Kelvin Hayden finish a 67-yard interception return with a poor man’s version of Deion Sanders dancing toward the end zone.
Ryan had company in misery. His replacement, Chris Redman, threw an interception with the Falcons at the Colts’ 13. There also was another interception by D.J. Shockley, his second of the preseason. Adam Jennings had a punt bounce out of his hands for a fumble that was recovered by the Colts deep inside Falcons territory.
Despite monster runs by Turner that helped push the Falcons into the red zone on their two opening series, they managed just field goals. In fact, there was an ugly blast from their Petrino past, when the Falcons decided to get fancy on third-and-short in the red zone (translated: no straight-ahead approach) and tried to use the east-west running of Jerious Norwood. Minus four yards.
Just look decent, baby.
So, when it comes to the post-No. 7 Falcons, it’s not about all of those changes to the Georgia Dome this season, ranging from red-and-black seats to replace the old green ones to better restrooms to fancier concourse areas. It’s not about Freddie Falcon firing even more cheap T-shirts to the crowd with his air gun or that tired use of flames threatening to scorch the dome’s Teflon ceiling during pregame introductions for the Falcons.
It’s about the Falcons looking much better than this.
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How will Glavine be remembered?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This felt like a wake. Even so, those who run the Braves didn’t announce the death of Tom Glavine’s career in Atlanta after he was beaten, bruised and then buried by the suddenly ruthless Chicago Cubs on Thursday night at Turner Field.
Four innings. Seven hits. Seven earned runs. Four walks, including one with the bases loaded. Two homers allowed, both landing near Mars. We’re not talking about a vintage trip to the pitcher’s mound for a 42-year-old veteran returning after missing two months with a damaged left elbow.
All of that is the little picture when it comes to Glavine these days. As for the big one, it’s been 14 years since the foolish viewed this first-ballot Hall of Famer as baseball’s Great Satan over his vocal stance for the players association during the Mother of All work stoppages in sports, and some folks still haven’t let it go.
Let it go.
Please, let it go.
Maybe that’s happening. Despite Glavine’s miserable evening, the booing either was soft or silent, but he still isn’t the people’s choice in the Braves Nation compared to Aaron, Murphy, Niekro and the rest.
“Because of that, I’m more saddened for him that he wasn’t able to pitch the whole year. He deserves a great send-off for all the things that he did,” said Braves pitcher John Smoltz, a Glavine teammate for most of the past two decades. They both were around during the wretched late 1980s for the franchise, and both were among the catalysts that pushed the Braves from worst to first before spurting to a record 14 straight division titles.
Terry Pendleton was part of that string, too, but only as a slugger. “I’m not sure about this, but I would hope that Tom would be remembered as a left-hander of consistency, and one who showed up every time he got the baseball, he showed up to beat you — with or without his best stuff,” said Pendleton, now the Braves’ batting coach. “He should be remembered as a gentleman, as a class act, one who wanted to see everybody succeed and who was willing to help one and all.”
Unfortunately, Glavine will be remembered in a two-fold way by the foolish. He’ll be remembered as the guy who wouldn’t stop yapping during that 1994 strike (even though the bulk of the fans’ anger should have been directed toward the greedy owners). Second, he’ll be remembered as the guy who left the saintly Braves for the evil Mets.
This is how Glavine should be remembered: He was the stoic face of the Braves during their transition from bad to good. Only three left-handed pitchers in baseball history have more victories than Glavine. He pitched the opening eight innings when the Braves clinched their only world championship in town with a 1-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians. He always was the ultimate professional no matter the status of himself or his team. He had the guts to stand by his convictions when it wasn’t popular with the public in general and the foolish in particular.
The point is, those among the enlightened should enjoy Glavine while they can, because these are his final years, months or even weeks with a Braves franchise that he helped make famous.
Who knows if this Cub clubbing was the beginning of the end for Glavine or just an ugly but brief pitstop? What we do know is that when it comes to the choppers and the chanters, Glavine deserves better. He deserves only cheers — from now until Cooperstown.
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Don’t believe in curses, jinxes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just last week, Georgia’s football team became the cover darling of Sports Illustrated. Then, to begin this week, the Bulldogs suffered a huge loss (literally and figuratively) when offensive tackle Trinton Sturdivant departed for the rest of the season with his damaged knee and his nearly 300 pounds worth of Matthew Stafford protection.
Hmmmm.
And maybe you heard: Brett Favre is working for the New York Jets these days instead of the Green Bay Packers. Is that Vince Lombardi flipping over in his grave to scream, “What the (bleep) is going on out there?” Consider, too, that, Favre is the featured player on the front of this year’s John Madden Football video game that recently was released.
Hmmmm.
Given all of that, combined with the supposedly hexed Chicago Cubs in town to face the Braves, let’s talk curses.
Do you believe in such things regarding sports? More specifically, given the Sturdivant injury, is Georgia’s No. 1 ranking in danger courtesy of the so-called Sports Illustrated jinx?
I say no. That’s because there isn’t a Sports Illustrated jinx. If you’re a national magazine, and if you put enough athletes or teams on your cover each week over the course of decades, you’re going to have a lot of them flip, flop or choke. That is, if they don’t have several guys suffer something like a season-ending knee injury during a routine pile-up.
There isn’t a Madden curse, either. Stuff happens, especially when it comes to NFL players. Eddie George. Daunte Culpepper. Marshall Faulk. Michael Vick. Ray Lewis. Donovan McNabb. Shaun Alexander. Vince Young. They’ve all joined Favre since 2000 in having various issues after they appeared as Madden cover folks.
Not impressed. The same goes for the Cubs failing to win it all since 1908 and not even reaching a World Series since 1945. They’ve just had more than a few shaky players, horrendous managers and dysfunctional teams. They’ve also had bad luck, (‘69, Leon Durham, Steve Bartman), but bad luck doesn’t translate into a billygoat curse.
The bottom line is, if Georgia doesn’t win the national championship this season, it will be because of Georgia and its monster schedule. Sports Illustrated, John Madden, billygoats, the bogeyman or their supposedly spooky equivalents won’t have anything to do with it.
Agree or disagree? Oh, and if you disagree, when is the last time you saw Big Foot in your living room?
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Thankfully, Caray’s humor will keep him alive forever
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This was so Skip Caray on Monday afternoon at Cathedral of Christ The King, because it was a celebrity roast disguised as a funeral mass. The Braves team bus was more than 30 minutes late. That’s why somewhere from The Great Beyond, those packed inside the massive sanctuary almost could hear a wisecracking voice say, “Is this a Fox broadcast?”
You shouldn’t frown during an earthly farewell when the person leaving was more into smiles. Exhibit A: Harry Christopher Caray, Jr.
Just take it from Bill Bartholomay, the Braves’ chairman emeritus who was among those who hired Caray during the dreadful mid-1970s for Atlanta baseball. “We did not have good teams, so it was important that those communicating for us were personalities. You just couldn’t be average. You had to be special, and he was certainly that.”
Many seconded Bartholomay’s opinion of Caray before, during and after a two-hour service that was filled with more joy than sadness. Let’s put it this way: Those in charge of such things should have replaced the organist with a drummer. After all, rim shots were needed more often than not, starting with Monsignor Tom Kenny uttering seconds into his homily, “As Skip would say, ‘Stay tuned and don’t turn off your sets.’ ” Then, Kenny added, “Caray is coming home. Can he make it?”
The monsignor eventually suggested that the Braves radio and television announcer who died two Sundays ago is “safe” in heaven. This was before the jokes and the stories kept coming. The impromptu comics ranged from some of his former broadcast partners to his personal doctor to a current Braves player. You want to know how zany (or shall we say appropriate) this was? Even John Schuerholz left his normally stoic role as Braves guru to do his version of a standup routine during what was called remarks of remembrance.
Former Braves pitching great Phil Niekro shook his head in the aftermath outside of the church, saying, “It was sad for me that Skip died, until guys started talking in there. I became a bit more alive.”
Everybody did, because Caray was as vibrant as ever through those who kept producing chuckles and laughs while recalling their life with the ultimate voice of the Braves for the past 33 seasons. There was Pete Van Wieren, for instance, one of Caray’s former broadcast partners, quipping after he studied the filled pews, “In the late 1970s, when we weren’t drawing this many people to the ballpark …”
Rimshot.
Soon afterward, Ernie Johnson Sr., another one of Caray’s broadcast partners, told anecdote after anecdote — all of them hilarious — before mentioning with a straight face, “I didn’t know where Skip was coming from half the time we were working.” There was Charlie Wickliffe, Caray’s personal doctor. He alluded to his patient’s prolific days as a heavy drinker by saying, “He often told me, when I die, you’re going to have to stand up in front of a bunch of people and tell them what happened.” Near the end, Braves pitcher John Smoltz mentioned how Caray once described first baseman Ryan Klesko’s clumsy efforts in left field like this: “Ryno is running the right routes. They’re just not getting the ball to him.”
Double rimshot.
With apologies to the remains that sat inside the casket across the way, this wasn’t that old familiar, “So long, everybody.” This was “Hello, everybody” regarding the Skip Caray who will live forever through those jokes and stories.
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Ryan should be the starter
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jacksonville — All of this is a needless tease. It didn’t matter, for instance, that Chris Redman started at quarterback Saturday night during the Falcons’ preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Plus, Joey Harrington and D.J. Shockley will continue to do the unnecessary with cameo roles in what is billed as an open competition.
It’s a sham. It’s also a shame, especially since all of this is zapping away precious reps from the other guy. Sooner rather than later, Matt Ryan will move from his bottom spot on the Falcons’ depth chart to the top for about $72 million reasons. We won’t even mention that he was the No. 3 pick overall in this year’s draft.
Here’s another thing: Ryan completed seven of eight passes at one point in (ahem) relief of Redman, and he also had a touchdown pass of 25 yards along with other nice moments. Remember, too, that this is a franchise that wants folks to see their starting quarterback and think “potential” or “overpaid” or anything else that doesn’t trigger memories of “No. 7” or “dogfighting.”
So you can ignore what Ryan likes to say about the inevitable. “The big thing is, we [the quarterbacks] all have been out here competing, and that’s what the coaches wanted,” Ryan said. “I think everybody has been doing a good job and working hard and trying to be better and trying to be the guy out there on the field.”
Sounds good. The same goes for what Falcons coach Mike Smith likes to say about the inevitable. “Well,” Smith said, easing into a grin, “I think the next three weeks, we’re going to get a lot of clarity in terms of where we are at the quarterback position. To really put a timetable on it, I think it’s a little bit early.”
Actually, it isn’t. Ryan will start this season. And never mind that rookie NFL quarterbacks often have a better chance of juggling a nose tackle on their head than looking productive.
The Falcons have to start Ryan, mostly by default. So Smith’s objective for Ryan in this one was to see if his rookie was looking, well, let’s review what Smith said during the week: “The big thing is poise, and then, of course, execution. Those are the things you want to see, especially with a young quarterback. How they handle the different situations that occur. How they handle the huddle. Right now, of course, we want to see him execute our offense.”
Let’s start with poise: Mostly good. Then again, the Falcons had Ryan spend his nearly 25 minutes in the first half firing in a hurry against Jacksonville’s notoriously potent front seven. He did fumble a snap, and he was sacked twice. Even so, he recovered nicely after his play-action, rolling-to-the-right completion of 13 yards for a first down to Michael Jenkins was overturned by instant replay. Ryan ended the drive with his 25-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White.
What about execution? Not much on Ryan’s first series, exemplified by his first throw of the night sailing wide of White on a screen attempt. Then things changed during Ryan’s second series when he used a cadence that forced Jacksonville defenders to jump offside on two straight plays. That eventually led to White’s score after Ryan pushed the Falcons 74 yards on 11 plays.
Translated: Ryan was decent enough to be named the starter right now.
You know, for better or worse.
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Teammates must crack down on UGA knuckleheads
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Athens — It only takes one, two — and in the University of Georgia’s case, eight knuckleheads or so — to interrupt the wonderful vibes around a highly praised football team. For example, the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs of Sports Illustrated, the coaches’ poll and other stuff had more than a few guys spend the past eight months embarrassing themselves, the university, their teammates and the entire Bulldog Nation.
That’s old news. To keep this from becoming current news again with Georgia sitting 23 days from opening a season in search of a national championship, somebody around here must get better at keeping the knuckleheads away.
No, not university officials, ranging from president Michael Adams to athletics director Damon Evans. And, no, not Mark Richt, who actually is tougher than you think. With penalties for his knuckleheads that often go beyond university guidelines, Richt has done about as much as a coach can do in these situations.
It’s up to the peers of those Georgia’s knuckleheads.
Where are those peers? They’ve been either non-existent or invisible during this lengthy stretch of off-season ugliness for the Bulldogs. In other words, those peers have yet to surface as team leaders who would shove a chinstrap down the throat of a knucklehead wannabe, and that has to change in a hurry.
“We do have a lot of experience and a lot of guys who have led in the past. Plus, [quarterback Matthew] Stafford has started to become more vocal, and [wide receiver] Mohamed Massaquoi is vocal,” said Asher Allen, Georgia’s star cornerback, with rising leadership skills as a junior. “But the big thing is, we have a lot of example leaders. Sometimes, those are the best ones, because you can say do this and do that, but if you’re not doing those things, then it’s like, ‘Well, OK,’ to the younger guys.”
In case you’re wondering, none of Georgia’s “example” leaders or otherwise was among the knuckleheads arrested for everything from rubbing the belly of a pregnant woman to numerous alcohol-related things. Just this week, Richt announced that he had suspended a sixth player. This time, it was junior linebacker Darius Dewberry, guilty of destroying a parking-lot control arm at a local hospital along with smashing four pots containing plants. Dewberry isn’t among the Bulldogs’ leaders, either.
That’s great. This isn’t: When a local or national newscast mentions another arrest of a UGA football player, it doesn’t specify the pedigree of the knucklehead.
We’re back to the need of those ranking as Georgia’s football leaders to make everybody in their locker room understand that the silliness of one will effect the reputation of the whole. “Obviously, you have to have leadership from the coaches, which we have, but as a player, you hear it every single day from coach. It’s coach, coach, coach,” said senior fullback Brannan Southerland, easing into the solution to the Bulldogs’ knucklehead problem. “When you hear it from the seniors, and when you hear it from guys who are your friends that you look up to, it has a little deeper meaning that you have to change.”
Added Southerland, “You’ve got new senior leaders busting their butts and going through the same things you are. And, when you’re one of those in leadership, you can lead by example, or you can lead by getting in a young player’s ears.”
It sounds good. So why hasn’t it been happening, or is it happening? For verification, keep checking the various police blotters.
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Caray should stand tall at Turner Field
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
They’ve got a statue of Harry Caray outside of Wrigley Field. So, given the death this week of Skip Caray, Harry’s son and the Braves’ broadcasting icon for more than three decades, you know where I’m going with this.
Somewhere, near those Hank Aaron, Phil Niekro and Ty Cobb statues in Monument Grove at Turner Field, there should be a fresh one of the younger Caray.
It’s a no-brainer.
Consider this: Dale Murphy, along with Aaron and Niekro. Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Ted Turner. Chief Noc-A-Homa. When it comes to the combination of longevity and notoriety regarding “Atlanta” Braves baseball, the name “Skip Caray” surpasses them all.
Now consider this: There were two comings of Skip Caray. The first Skip mostly was a wisecracker whose mission was to keep you watching and listening despite a slew of dreadful Braves teams during the 1970s and 1980s. The second Skip kept the one-liners coming, but he proved often throughout the Braves’ record sprint to 14 consecutive division titles that he was a wonderful baseball announcer, too.
“Here comes Bream …
“Here’s the throw to the plate …
“He iiiiiiiissss …
“SAFE.
“Braves win!
“Braves win!
“Braves win!
“Braves win!
“Braves win!”
Finally, consider this: You can make the case that Skip was more legendary with the Braves than Harry was with the Cubs. After all, Harry spent 16 seasons with the Cubs while Skip was with the Braves more than twice that long (33 seasons). Sounds like statue material to me.
I’ll end with a couple of personal remembrances of Skip. First, after his father died 10 years ago, I wrote a column about my splendid dealings with Harry through the years as a fan and then later as a reporter. Skip sent me a touching letter of appreciation.
Second, I last chatted with Skip about a week ago in the home dugout at Turner Field. He told story after story (humorously, of course) about covering the Moscow Games in 1980. Despite his fragile appearance — courtesy of his various illnesses during the previous few months, he sounded like the old Skip.
That is to say, Skip sounded like a guy who should never be forgotten by the chopper and the chanters. A statue would do the trick nicely, thank you.
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Brewers’ Yost a lot like Bobby Cox
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here’s yet another reason Bobby Cox bashers need to stifle: He is baseball’s Bill Walsh, which means he has produced a slew of wonderful clones. That’s why Cox officially is watching his battered and bruised Braves slump toward the offseason, but he unofficially is managing the strikingly healthy and fairly potent Milwaukee Brewers in a playoff race.
It’s just that Cox is doing the latter through the body of Ned Yost.
“Well, not really, because Bobby is still the best manager in baseball,” said Yost, who studied Cox as a Braves coach for 12 seasons. Later, after joining the Brewers in 2003, you’d think all of that Cox insight would have given Yost a nice edge during something like Milwaukee’s trip to Turner Field over the weekend.
Yost shrugged, despite victories on Friday and Saturday before Sunday’s 5-0 loss. Then he said, “Bobby will do things, and you’ll think, ‘Why did he do that?’ And then four innings later, you’ll see exactly why. He puts himself in a position to win four innings before. I might be able to do it for two innings, but I’m not capable of doing what he does.”
Still, give or take a slew more ejections for Cox, Yost is Cox, and Cox is Yost. The same is true of Fredi Gonzalez, another Cox disciple, who is keeping his Florida Marlins in a three-way scramble in the National League East with the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets.
Speaking of the Phillies, their bench coach is Jimy Williams, the eternal Cox third base coach who tried to manage like his mentor in stints with the Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros.
This is flirting with Walsh territory, all right, when the San Francisco 49ers icon triggered a coaching tree with Mike Holmgren, George Seifert, Sam Wyche, Dennis Green and others. Then the branches became the likes of Andy Reid, Mike Shanahan and Tony Dungy. That tree now includes those from Lovie Smith to Falcons coach Mike Smith.
Most of Walsh’s guys have their version of the West Coast offense — or, at the very least, Walsh’s system of running a franchise and handling players.
Sounds like Cox’s guys.
“From talking to players on the Brewers, a lot of them talk about similar things that players would say when talking about Bobby,” said Braves pitcher Tom Glavine, around Cox for most of his two-plus decades in the major leagues. “They talk about how Ned runs his team, how he runs spring training, how he deals with players, and all those things compare to Bobby.”
None of that is coincidental, said Yost, who is taking his Cox training to its ultimate level these days.
Call it the postseason-run level. Yost was around Cox during most of the Braves’ sprint to a record 14 consecutive division titles. “I learned from Bobby that, during this time of year, you can’t control the situation,” Yost said. “You can’t control that guy getting a hit, even though you want to, so don’t stress over it. Don’t throw a scene if he doesn’t get a hit. You have to stay constant in your approach. You can’t go crazy, making lineup changes every time something happens.
“Then, if you’re staying level, and the players see that, they’re going to stay relaxed. We have to realize that we have really talented players, and it was like that when I was in Atlanta.”
It’s the same now in Atlanta, except they’re also really injured players.
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