Where did Jeff go?
He’s moved to a new location. Check him out on the new blogging platform and let him know what you think.
Home > Jeff Schultz > Archives > 2009 > January
January 2009
Pittsburgh can solidify status as greatest franchise
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If it seems strange that the most famous football city in America (Green Bay) suddenly is embracing arguably the NFL’s most inglorious franchise (Arizona), let Fuzzy Thurston scream why.
Well, not quite scream. Throat cancer has left the former Green Bay Packers guard whispering through a voice box. But when the subject of the Super Bowl and the potential historical ramifications of a sixth championship by the Pittsburgh Steelers was broached, it was like somebody plugged Thurston into a wall socket and he was back smacking heads in the Ice Bowl.
“Big deal. How many championships they got?” Thurston said over the phone. “We won our first one in 1929. We’ve won more than anybody else. If you want to compare, then compare. Anyone who thinks Pittsburgh is better can go shove it! We’re No. 1!”
He never was known for finesse.
It isn’t easy going against Packers history. But the fact Thurston is pulling for the Arizona Cardinals in today’s Super Bowl — “Let’s just say it would make things better” — illustrates his desire to defuse this potential debate. If the Steelers win, it will be their sixth championship, all in the Super Bowl era (after 1966), more than any other franchise.
Six would still be only half the Packers’ total championships. Nine of Green Bay’s 12 titles came before the NFL-AFL merger, and three came even before a playoff system. After winning the first two Super Bowls, Green Bay reached the playoffs only twice in the next 25 years, before the Brett Favre era.
Win today and Pittsburgh secures its position as the greatest franchise in the modern era. But the greatest franchise of all-time? Objections by Packer legends notwithstanding, the Steelers are in the conversation. In the past 37 years, they have had only seven losing seasons, reached the playoffs 24 times and won five Super Bowls and seven AFC titles.
They should be the blueprint for every franchise.
No team has had more stable ownership (the Rooney family). No team has a better track record for picking coaches (Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, Mike Tomlin). The Steelers build their roster with players, not stars or clown acts who can wreck a salary cap and blow up a locker room like some bad lab experiment. (See: Dallas, Washington, Oakland.)
There are coaches in this league whose complicated playbooks would give Stephen Hawking a headache. The Steelers? They just knock you down.
Even competitors can’t find anything to dislike about them.
“All of us in the business, whether you were a Steelers fan or not growing up, you always admired them,” said Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff, who also worked in New England. “Just look at their teams. They’re tough. They’re ornery. They’re hard-core football players. They’ve had the [Jack] Lamberts of the world. Even those of us who have grown up in this league, whether you were a scout or a coach, deep down you always thought you would’ve loved to be a part of that. You always knew that group had a solid, non-whimsical approach to everything.”
The Packers are the first floor of an NFL films library. It’s the franchise of Lombardi and Starr, Nitschke and Lambeau, Hutson and Taylor.
But just as the Steelers were a sad franchise until the 1970s — seven winning seasons in the first 37 years — the Packers also have had struggles: in the years preceding Vince Lombardi’s arrival, and then long after he left.
Pittsburgh actually has reached the postseason more times (25) than the Packers (24) — even if only because Green Bay’s first three championships were regular season titles (1929-31), before the NFL implemented a playoff system.
The Cardinals aren’t in this argument. They have more playoff wins this year (three) than in the previous 88 years combined (two). They backed into the playoffs with a 9-7 record but upset the Falcons, Carolina and Philadelphia in the postseason.
Thurston is hoping for one more upset, just to end this talk before it spreads like a virus.
His reaction when somebody suggests to him the Packers may drop a notch historically?
“I don’t know,” he said. “Nobody has ever said that to my face, probably because they’re scared.”
Permalink | Comments (28) | Post your comment | Categories: Falcons/NFL
Glavine anxious to pitch - for Braves
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This is not a John Smoltz situation. How do we know that? Because Tom Glavine and Frank Wren had breakfast together Wednesday morning in Alpharetta.
“I had oatmeal,” Glavine said.
Wren?
“He had oatmeal, too. Hey, gotta get ready for spring training.”
Who paid?
“He did. Business expense.”
This isn’t six years ago, when the Braves and Glavine debated about who lied, or who didn’t return whose messages, or who was the bigger, hard-headed, money-grubbing weasel. This isn’t three weeks ago, when Wren and Smoltz were closer to going at each other with blow torches than bonding over a high-fiber breakfast.
Glavine wants to pitch. Medical reports indicate he can pitch. The Braves appear open to him pitching here. Given the exodus of icons, the scorched earth left by Smoltz and the tumult this organization has seen in recent seasons, can that really be the sound of violins we hear in the background?
“Selfishly, I hope what happened to John helps me,” Glavine said laughing, when asked about a possible ripple effect. “But we’ve seen both sides of that. When you have three guys like myself and John and Greg [Maddux] pitch here, it would be nice to have at least one of us retire in a Braves uniform.”
No, this is not a Smoltz situation. In many ways, the question over Glavine’s ability to make a comeback is a greater surprise. Smoltz’s career evolved into a series of medical miracles. Comebacks shared space in Sports Illustrated and the New England Journal of Medicine. Wren spun things after the fact, claiming he never wanting Smoltz to leave for Boston. But it was clear the general manager never really believed Smoltz could overcome another major surgery. The lack of negotiations screamed it.
Glavine is more of a curiosity. He is coming off elbow and shoulder surgeries and he’ll be 43 in March. But resiliency has been a trademark of his career. He had thrown over 200 innings in almost every season of his career until last year. He had never been on the disabled list even once in 22 seasons until last April.
“I came back here to provide stability,” he said. “When I couldn’t, it was surprising and disappointing. All athletes struggle when the right time is to walk away. It would be ideal if you’re coming off a great season and you know you have nothing left in the tank. But that’s not usually the case. I want to come back because I still enjoy pitching. But there’s also a sense of unfinished business. If I come back and I have another injury-plagued year, then, yeah, I know it’s time to walk away. But I view last year as an aberration. I hate to walk away based on one year of not being healthy.”
Pitching camp is Friday. Spring training opens in two weeks. Glavine says he’s ready. He has been throwing with no pain in the elbow and only normal soreness in the shoulder. He was given a clean bill of health from Dr. James Andrews on Monday. He believes he can throw in a few spring games and be ready by opening day. The rest is up to the Braves.
Wren says he is open to bringing Glavine back as a back-of-the-rotation starter. It would be the right thing to do. But we’ve been here before.
One final notable difference between Smoltz and Glavine: If things can’t be worked out, don’t be surprised if Glavine retires. Smoltz had pitched his entire major league career with the Braves, bypassing free agency. Glavine went to New York for five years, and didn’t like the time away from his family. It’s the reason he came back.
The Braves balked with Smoltz. Now he’s in Boston. If they balk with Glavine?
“I don’t know how willing I am to go somewhere else,” he said. “I’d really have to think long and hard about leaving. I suppose if I feel good and the Braves don’t want me and a contender phones me in May or June, I could see leaving in that scenario. But that’s so far down the road.”
And on Wednesday, they shared oatmeal, five minutes from Glavine’s house. There wasn’t even a food fight.
Permalink | Comments (150) | Post your comment | Categories: Braves/MLB
McGwire the face of baseball’s steroid era
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
And now for the Tuesday Countdown:
(As Rene Descartes would say if he philosophized today: “I blog, therefore I am.”)
10 - Here goes: Barry Bonds is no longer the face of baseball’s steroid era. Mark McGwire is. The reason why can be stated in three words: Hall of Fame.
9 - I’m not saying one is any more of a cheater than the other. They both juiced. They both lied. They both did what they did for the same reason all cheaters do what they do: money, fame, ego. The difference is that I firmly believe Bonds will be voted into the Hall of Fame when he is eligible, as will Roger Clemens. Why? Because even without drugs, they would have had Hall-worthy credentials. Not McGwire.
8 - I have a Hall of Fame vote. Couldn’t help but notice McGwire’s vote total in his third year of eligibility dropped from 23.6 percent to 21.9 (well short of the required 75 percent). Voters aren’t getting over the steroid era. If anything, they’re souring on McGwire even more. And that was even before his brother, Jay, wrote a tell-all book “out of love,” claiming he’s the one who introduced Mark to steroids in 1994. McGwire won’t get into the Hall because he, more than any other high-profile player, is perceived as a laboratory creation who would not have Hall credentials without the use of performance enhancing drugs (although Sammy Sosa is close). Bonds is an all-time great whose numbers just got stupid because of a syringe. McGwire is an all-time fraud. When future generations Google “baseball and steroids,” McGwire will be leading in page views. Speaking of which …
7 - Mira Sorvino. Kelly Rutherford. Carly Smithson.
6 - So here on the Internet, gateway to real-time scoreboards, American Idol blogs and so, so many women that reinforce the sound investment advice given to graduate Benjamin Braddock — “Plastics, Benjamin” — it’s all about page views. That’s what I’m learning. So from now on you might see me occasionally lead the Tuesday Countdown with top Internet searches. I’m all about cheap marketing tools here. And, yes, this space is for sale. Also, today’s page views are up to 7,434,121, according to the crowd-counters of the Atlanta Spirit. Where was I? So, I was going to go with some obvious searches: Lindsay Lohan drunk and stupid, Rod Blagojevich nosehair, Nick Saban Satan. But it turned out the top three searches Tuesday morning — according to Yahoo! Buzz, linked by Google, oddly enough — were Mira Sorvino, Kelly Rutherford and Carly Smithson, only one of whom I’ve actually heard of (Sorvino) and none of whom can name a starting Steeler. (Transition back to real life.)
5 - Pittsburgh 20, Arizona 16. I would bet half of my 401k on it, if I had half of my 401k.
4 - I’ve heard from quite a few people, either through email or after-column posts, about last Sunday’s column on Jordan Schafer. He denied using HGH or any performance-enhancing drugs despite last season’s 50-game suspension. At least half of you don’t believe him. That’s fine. For those who keep asking why I didn’t nail him to the wall, it’s simple: I don’t know what to believe. What makes this different from most suspensions is HGH is not tested by baseball, so cases are built on circumstantial evidence, such as a statement from somebody who claims they saw him with a box of vials of HGH. But investigators never disclosed their findings. Also, from day one, Schafer and his father were upset about the suspension and said there were things they wanted to say but were being advised not to (for whatever reason), whether by attorneys, the league or the Braves. So they moved on — at least until the other day. We’ll likely never know for sure what happened. Unless McGwire’s brother writes another book.
3 - News-and-rumor accumulator ProFootballTalk.com says DeAngelo Hall may be close to a “major offer” from the Washington Redskins. It referenced a recent six-year, $48 million deal with a $12 million guarantee that was reported by the Washington Post. Question: Is somebody still watching Virginia Tech highlights?
2 - Speculation of the week: That Michael Vick will sign with San Francisco, former home to one of the most revered quarterbacks (Joe Montana) in NFL history, and also one of the most protest-happy and liberal spots in the universe. I’ll believe this when I see the PETA Dog Fighting Team.
1 - Matthew Stafford. Matt Ryan. Real Moronic Mind-numbing House Twits of Atlanta.
Permalink | Comments (26) | Post your comment |
Braves prospect Schafer denies using HGH
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If Jordan Schafer was concerned that his reputation in baseball would forever be tarnished by last year’s 50-game suspension for using human growth hormone, the cleansing process probably started Saturday.
Schafer, the Braves’ top prospect and potential future center fielder, denied ever taking HGH or any other performance-enhancing drug for the first time Saturday. He blamed the suspension on “being caught hanging around a bad group of people,” and not speaking up when he was aware that doping was going on around him.
Schafer initially balked at discussing specifics about the suspension, which came down last April, saying: “There’s not much to say about it. I took my penalty. I took my punishment. Really I’m just trying to move on.”
He reiterated previous comments about “accepting responsibility,” apologized to the Braves and added, “I should’ve made better choices with my life. Now I choose my friends wisely.”
But when pressed about his use of performance-enhancing drugs and failing a test, he said: “I’ve never failed a test. I’ve taken 20 drug tests, and I’ve never failed one. I didn’t take anything.”
Baseball tests for performance-enhancing drugs but not HGH. Schafer was suspended for anecdotal evidence in an investigation of HGH. It has never been disclosed what that evidence was.
Schafer said he spoke to Braves general manager Frank Wren last April before the suspension was announced, commenting, “Frank told me what was going to happen and he wanted to know, ‘Are you going to apologize?’ At first it was really rough for me to accept. I was thinking, ‘This isn’t right.’ I wanted to fight it. But I was told there was nothing I can do. I really couldn’t appeal it. And I didn’t want to go to the media, where I was like Barry Bonds or Rogers Clemens. People think poorly of them just because all they do is deny, deny, deny. Whereas [Andy] Pettitte came out and took responsibility for his actions and the fans are giving him a second chance.
“So I was taking responsibility for what I did — and I was wrong for being around that. I should’ve never gotten around the situation. I never took a steroid or anything to make me better. But at the same time, I knew what was going on and I hung around those people and I didn’t say anything.”
He declined to go into further detail about what he knew, but said: “Somebody out there was trying to get me. Somebody was trying to attack me. It was totally wrong. But again, nobody forced me to make those decisions and hang around those people. I accept that responsibility.”
Wren did not directly respond to Schafer’s claims, saying, “My only comment is that Jordan has handled the past year appropriately. He has been working hard to be a part of the club. We want to look forward.”
Schafer was considered the Braves’ heir apparent to Andruw Jones in center field. The acquisition of Mark Kotsay last season was viewed as a one-year bridge to the rookie. But the suspension knocked out 50 games and set Schafer back. He hit .269 with 10 homers and 51 RBI in 84 games with Double-A Mississippi.
Even with the position unsettled going into spring training, Schafer acknowledges that he might have to start the year with Triple-A Gwinnett. But he is OK with that.
“I’m just glad it’s all behind me and I can have fun again,” he said. “Before I always wondered what people thought of me.
“It feels good to kind of get this off my chest. This is me. I don’t want people to think badly about me. But I understand some will have their own opinion. Some will talk behind your back. I can understand why some people wouldn’t like me or wouldn’t want me to succeed. But at the same time, I’ve moved on.”
He repeated apologies. He repeated that he was “around stuff, and I shouldn’t have been there.”
“Like they say: If ‘You hang around dogs long enough, you’re going to catch fleas,’” he said.
He also understands why players would be tempted to use performance-enhancing drugs.
“There’s always pressure in the game,” he said. “Unless you’re Chipper [Jones] or a Hall of Famer, there’s always somebody there to take your job. Unfortunately people make bad decisions.”
He is only 22. For some reason, he feels older.
“The past year really has made me grow and mature a lot,” he said. “You find out who your friends are. You find out who you can trust. You find out a lot about yourself as a person, what kind of character you have, and sometimes you want to fight back and get mad at them. But you have to step back. You made your own choices. You made your own mistakes. You have to blame yourself for things that happened.”
More on Schafer
• Schafer suspended for 50 games
• Schafer was targeted of baseball’s new investigative department
• Schafer returns swinging from suspension
• Braves’ prospect talks about his time in the minors
• Schafer injured in winter ball
Permalink | Comments (107) | Post your comment | Categories: Braves/MLB
Former Falcon teammates struggle to deal with Dronett’s death
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ten years later, some of the names come to mind easily. Chris Chandler and Jamal Anderson, Chuck Smith and Travis Hall, Jessie Tuggle and Ray Buchanan.
We remember Morten Andersen’s kick. We remember Terence Mathis’ resolve. We remember Dan Reeves overcoming heart bypass surgery to coach an NFL punchline to a 14-2 record and a Super Bowl berth.
How long would it take before we remember Shane Dronett?
“He was the foundation of our line,” Smith said. “Falcons fans will never know how important he was. People should understand the significance of Shane Dronett.”
Today, he is a topic, but for all the wrong reasons. Shane Dronett’s life ended Wednesday morning, suddenly and tragically.
Two months after reuniting with former teammates on the 10th anniversary of the Falcons’ Super Bowl team, Dronett was found dead at his home in Duluth. Gwinnett County police responded to a 911 call, during which a female caller said she believed her husband had committed suicide. That was confirmed Thursday, but all other details have been withheld out of consideration for the family.
Shane Dronett is dead at 38. He recently had surgery for a brain tumor. We may never know all that followed that.
Death can be a difficult thing to make sense of. Endings like this make it worse. Former teammates are still struggling to get their arms and minds around this.
Tuggle knew about the brain tumor. But he saw Dronett in November at the reunion and, “He was in a great mood. He acted normal. I had no earthly idea anything was wrong. But sometimes people are hurting on the inside and you never know.”
Smith said he is “sad and shocked. Tears came to my eyes when I heard.”
Lester Archambeau said, “I couldn’t make it to the reunion. But I saw him a few months ago at the gym. He was upbeat.”
Travis Hall might have been the closest to Dronett of his former teammates. He returned a phone call Thursday out of courtesy but cut it short.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s really kind of hard to talk about this right now.”
Football is not for soft men. Dronett defined toughness. He grew up in small-town Texas: born in Orange and raised in Bridge City (population 8,600), just off the northern coast of the state. He played football and grew into an All-American at Texas. He boxed and grew into a Golden Gloves champ.
“A Texas backyard brawler,” Smith said. “Shane was a great dude. But he was not a guy to be messed with.”
As Alex Bernstein discovered. A free agent offensive lineman, Bernstein got into a scuffle with Dronett during a training camp drill in 2000.
“Wasn’t much of a fight,” Reeves said. “It was one of those one-punch deals.”
Bernstein left the field with a dented jaw and a chipped tooth. Dronett went on to the next play.
The 1998 season was a special one for the Falcons. The defensive line was a big reason why. While the team went 14-2, the defense ranked fourth in points allowed, eighth in total yardage and second against the run.
The front four — Dronett, Smith, Hall and Archambeau — shared in 30 of the team’s 38 sacks and forced 12 fumbles (four by Dronett). They formed a nickname: “The Bomb Squad.”
“The other guys were kind of conservative,” Smith said. “But when we came up with the ‘Bomb Squad,’ Shane said, ‘I’m Nitro!’ “
It didn’t necessarily fit his personality (training camp, notwithstanding). Smith remembers Dronett always giving hugs. Archambeau remembers him as a prankster who would crank call teammates in hotels.
“He was the perfect teammate, not just as a player but as a person,” Archambeau said. “You don’t get to pick the guys you play with. But he was a flat-out keeper.”
Reeves drafted Dronett with Denver. He later signed him in Atlanta. A year later, they went to the Super Bowl. Despite the loss to the Broncos, 1998 remains the high-water mark for the franchise. It started up front.
“The defensive line were real leaders for us that year,” Reeves said. “We had a bunch of veterans who had been around a while and suffered and came together. It was a close group.”
A special team in a special season. But today we remember only Dronett.
Permalink | Comments (44) | Post your comment | Categories: Falcons/NFL
Job statuses for Andruw, Hewitt, Felton
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Tuesday Countdown…
10: Watched the inauguration celebration on HBO the other night. Bruce Springsteen closed the show singing, “This Land Is Your Land.” Sigh. He never does “Rosalita” any more.
9: This is nothing quite like the list of prop bets for the Super Bowl. BetUS.com’s list includes odds: •Springsteen’s halftime show (the favored playlist at 5-2: Glory Days, My Lucky Day, Badlands, Born To Run). •A wardrobe malfunction by band members (wife Patti Scialfa is 2-1. Clarence Clemons unfortunately is only 4-1). • The first food product thrown on the field (caught by a camera) will be a soda (2-1). (Nachos are 10-1.) •Santonio Holmes and J.J. Arrington are tied at 2-1 as the most likely players to get arrested during the week. •The River Dance is only 9-1 as a possible first endzone celebration, just ahead of The Worm (8-1). •And, on a more traditional note: The Steelers are favored by seven, with an over/under of 47.
8. There are six Super Bowl winning coaches out of work: Mike Holmgren (hiatus), Mike Shanahan (fired), Bill Cowher (hiatus), Jon Gruden (fired), Brian Billick (fired) and Tony Dungy (retired). Wonder what the odds were of that.
7. Andruw Jones is still looking for a job. Just a guess here, but unless he’s willing to come to spring training as a non-roster player to prove himself, he’s going to stay unemployed — particularly where it concerns the Braves. Here’s why….
6. Look, I realize I’m in the minority: I think Jones can still contribute, even with his issues. The problem is the backdrop. He used to be a star for the Braves. The team’s message this offseason has been, “We’re turning the page on everything and everybody.” General managers, as a rule, don’t like former stars and/or starters around when they’re trying to turn a page. They want fans to focus on the new. The Braves’ depth chart in centerfield is a huge question mark: Josh Anderson-Gregor Blanco-Jordan Schafer. But those three are really no more of a question than Jones.
5. Georgia Tech athletic director Dan Radakovich just gave Paul Hewitt a vote of confidence. And what did you expect? I’m not saying the Jackets don’t need to start winning. But Hewitt has one of the nation’s top recruiting classes coming in next year. Did you really think a coach was going to be fired in those circumstances?
4. The flipside: Dennis Felton. He didn’t get a vote of confidence from Damon Evans. He basically got a “Check with me later.” I wrote last March before the SEC tournament that Felton deserved one more year to prove himself, given the mess he inherited from the human grease spot, Jim Harrick. But thus far, Felton has not made the most of the Bulldogs’ unlikely run to the SEC title, either on the court or in recruiting. He is in trouble. And he should be in trouble.
3. Yes, I know about the economy. But the attendance at the Hawks’ MLK Day game against Toronto was an embarrassment. The crowd was announced at 17,119 but that’s only one more reason why we should completely ignore attendance figures in the NBA and NHL. They’re often fabrications. There were no more than 10,000 people in the building. And for whatever reason, the local populace still hasn’t locked onto the Hawks.
2. Can you tell me why the Thrashers have won two in a row over the NHL’s Nos. 25 (Toronto) and 23 (Nashville) teams and it’s been hailed as a turnaround?
1. Somehow I get the feeling we’ve heard the last about the BCS from Barack Obama.
Permalink | Comments (42) | Post your comment |
Banged-up Hawks hanging tough
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With six air balls, two missed lay-ups and — citing the analysis of one Joe Johnson — “a lot of bonehead plays,” this wasn’t one of those games you watch and think, “Wow, those Hawks are really coming along nicely. I’ll think I’ll take four season tickets.”
But it’s actually games just like Monday’s that can help define a team’s season — a good season. A 2-6 stretch had followed a 21-10 start. The defense had become soft. Injuries had taken out two starters and Monday took out two bench players.
The only happy guy was Speedy Claxton, because he finally had somebody to talk to.
But what did the Hawks do Monday? They won, 87-84. It wasn’t poetry. Nothing rhymed and certainly nothing flowed. The opponent, Toronto, wasn’t great. (The Raptors already are on their second coach of the year and are 8-20 since Nov. 30.) But this isn’t the BCS. In a week, nobody will be remember how the Hawks won, just that they did.
A team needs ugly wins as much as it needs the ones that play out nicely on national TV. Ugly wins often say something about toughness and resolve. That doesn’t mean the Hawks are there yet. This win was largely an escape. The Hawks missed easy and open shots. Mike Bibby blew a lay-up when the closest Raptor was two states over. The Hawks trailed most of the game (after 9-8) and didn’t take the lead until early in the fourth (68-67).
But it’s worth noting that this generally has been the kind of game they’ve lost.
“I’m just glad we won,” said Johnson, whose off-balance, three-point shot with 12.5 seconds left gave his team the 87-84 lead. “This is a tough time for us. We’re so bogged down with injuries right now that everybody has to step up. It wasn’t pretty, but somehow we made it happen.”
Al Horford still has a swollen knee. Marvin Williams still has headaches, the residual of a concussion. In the same sequence Monday, Josh Smith was poked in the eye following a rebound and Acie Law was kneed in the quad. Smith returned, but Law was told that he’ll be out seven to 10 days. Reserve Mario West left with an ankle sprain.
Law also hit his head on a TV camera as he limped to the locker room. Welcome to Mike Hampton’s world.
For most of the second half against Toronto, the Hawks featured Josh Smith (who played over 43 minutes) and four guards: Johnson (45), Mike Bibby (43), Flip Murray (34 off the bench) and Maurice Evans (33).
“It wasn’t pretty but we sort of turned it into an ugly match,” Smith said. “It might be that way for a while, with Al and Marvin out. We have to get closer as a team.”
It would make coach Mike Woodson’s day. The Hawks trailed by 11 in the first half and nearly lost to a Raptors team that shot two of 18 from three-point range and is missing two starters (Jermaine O’Neal and Jose Calderon).
Lately, Woodson has wondered just how tough his players really are.
“When we lost Josh Smith early I thought we were as tough as any team in the league mentally, as well as physically,” he said. “We’ve kind of lost that edge a little bit. But when I look at our schedule and where we are today, we’re right on pace with where we thought we should be.
“I’m not in a panic stage right now. If we stay on target we have a chance to win 45-plus games. Surely we’ll make the playoffs if we do that.”
We’ve learned not to assume greatness. But a win certainly means the bottom isn’t falling out.
Permalink | Comments (14) | Post your comment | Categories: Hawks/NBA
Dale Murphy not bothered by lack of Hall love
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So I phoned Dale Murphy Thursday to ask about the Hall of Fame and this is the first thing I heard: “Whoa! Hey, hold on! [Pause] Sorry about that. Just hit a snow bank.”
“Um, should I change the subject?”
“Oh no, it’s that. We’re still digging out [of the snow] here and Nancy’s driving. I’m just a passenger.”
Which somewhat dovetails into Murphy’s Hall of Fame status. Eleven years and he’s still just along for the ride. Earlier this week, the former Brave was named on only 62 of 539 ballots — or 343 short to reach the mandated 75 percent for induction. Murphy’s total equaled 11.5 percent.
“At least I went up a couple of points this year,” he said.
Awkward moment.
I had to break it to him that he actually dropped from 13.8 percent last year.
“Did I? Really? Oh, man. A friend of mine told me I went up a couple. Well, I guess I look real smart. But it shows how close I’m paying attention.”
Bert Blyleven gets passed up for enshrinement again and calls the process “complete crap.” Murphy gets passed up and drops into typical golly-gee-speak: “I’d love to get in, don’t get me wrong. But I’m OK with it.”
Maybe he shouldn’t be OK with it. Two Most Valuable Player Awards. Five Gold Gloves. Four Silver Sluggers. Seven All-Star Games. Seven seasons with 30-plus home runs, and 398 homers in his career (which ranks 46th all-time). A six-season span (1982-87) in which he averaged 36 home runs and 105 RBI.
The strange thing about Murphy’s Hall candidacy seems less relevant than ever. People debated the merits of his career in his last few seasons. Now he’s an afterthought. And consider this little known tale from Opening Day in 1993, when he closed out his playing days with the Colorado Rockies.
“I remember being introduced as a future Hall of Famer,” Murphy said. “We were in New York. I had just gotten picked up and I wasn’t starting or anything but they were introducing the whole team, and the announcer at Shea Stadium says, ‘Future Hall of Famer, Dale Murphy!” I was like, OK, I’ll take it. After that, you kind of start thinking about it more.”
Knee problems led to a late career decline. The Braves traded him to Philadelphia late in the 1990 season — just before the franchise’s startling rise. Murphy struggled with the Phillies and Rockies. People tend to remember those seasons more than the early ones. Voters look at his career batting average (.265), 1,748 career strikeouts and limited playoff resume (one series) and think: Nice guy, but not good enough.
Utah had a hard enough time getting first-place votes in the BCS, and it went undefeated. It follows that one of the state’s most famous residents isn’t expecting a break.
There have been some humorous moments along the way. In 1999, Murphy’s first year on the ballot, the Braves told him they wanted to induct him into their own Hall of Fame at Turner Field. But Murphy was living in Boston with his family at the time, supervising missionaries. He told them the church frowned on him leaving town and the honor would have to be postponed.
Fast-forward one year: Murphy walked into his office one day and his secretary was hysterical. “She starts screaming: ‘You made it! You’re in the Hall of Fame! They just called!’ ” Murphy recalled “I said ‘What?’ But it was just the Braves Hall of Fame. It was nice, but I kinda knew about that one.”
In Cooperstown, he’s 0 for 11. Hall rules allow a candidates to stay on the ballot for 15 years. Murphy has four to go. Jim Rice just made it in his final year. (The two actually are comparable in home runs, RBIs and runs, but Rice had 341 more hits.)
“I’m not going to campaign for it,” Murphy said. “I’ve never been like that.”
He’ll always have Shea Stadium.
Permalink | Comments (89) | Post your comment | Categories: Braves/MLB
Tuesday Countdown: Derek Lowe’s big, fat $60M contract
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
10: I understand the desperate need for a starter and Derek Lowe’s leverage played huge roles in the decision. But don’t you find it interesting that Braves general manager Frank Wren, who didn’t want to take any “risks” with the pitching staff next season, just gave a four-year, $60 million contract to a 35-year-old?
9: Lowe is solid but not what you’d call spectacular: 68-60 with a 3.91 ERA over the last five years. He has averaged 206 innings in that span. A $15 million a year pitcher? No. But he’ll help. Given the collapse of Pompeii, Wren didn’t have much of a choice. But if Lowe starts to look his age in two years, this contract has the potential of being a Hamptonian albatross.
8: Tim Tebow had surgery Monday to remove a bone spur from his shoulder. Georgia had surgery to remove Tebow’s foot from … whoa, look at the time!
7: I was going to do a column on this last week. Unfortunately I was interrupted by the Braves’ ejection of John Smoltz. So now I’ll now just throw it out into the blogosphere. Who would you rather be: Tim Tebow or Matthew Stafford? Because I’ve polled about 10 people and the results might surprise you.
6: Here are your two choices: Tebow: College football legend with possibly no NFL future. Stafford: College football star (but well short of legend) with a certain NFL future and a $70 million contract. Stumped? Here’s a little more to make you think. Tebow: Heisman Trophy winner (with possibly another to come), two national championships (with possibly another to come), two SEC titles (with possibly another to come) and universal admiration. Also, an endless supply of hot-and-cold running blondes. Stafford: No trophies and no titles but a bunch of wins and a nice bag of stats and significant but not universal adoration. Also, an endless supply of hot-and-cold running blondes (that seems to be their common trait). This really is not meant to be a knock on Stafford. I’m just asking: Would a $70 million contract (at least $35 million guaranteed) be enough to make you forget about all of that other stuff? Because for me it would. But …
5: Asked my wife. Asked several friends. Asked Mike Bobo, the Georgia quarterbacks coach. “I’d rather be Tebow,” he said. “But that’s probably because I knew I didn’t have the talent to play in the NFL. I think it depends where you grow up. I grew up in Georgia and playing college football was my dream. Matthew grew up in Texas, and his dream has always been the NFL.” All but two people said they would rather be Tebow. I asked my wife about the money. Her response, alluding to Tebow: “He’ll find a job.” Your thoughts?
4: Speaking of legends: Buck Belue is a one. He’s also one of the nicest guys you’re ever going to meet. For those who haven’t heard, Belue is suffering from Bells Palsy — facial paralysis. That’s why Belue has been absent from his afternoon sports talk show with John Kincade on 680-The Fan. For those who want to know more, here are links to a Peach Buzz item on Belue and Buck’s blog on BuckBelue.com.
3: Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice certainly are worthy of Hall of Fame induction. But so are these guys, who were checked on my ballot: Andre Dawson, Tim Raines, Jack Morris, Bert Blyleven.
2: Mark McGwire? No. I don’t have a no-Hall policy for steroid users. It comes down to this for me: If I believe a player would’ve been a Hall of Fame performer without steroids, I’m voting him in. I don’t believe McGwire would have had HOF numbers. Conversely, Barry Bonds had Hall credentials before he (allegedly) started juicing. So yes, I’m voting him in when he’s eligible.
1: For what it’s worth, I’d settle for being Joe Cox.
Permalink | Comments (124) | Post your comment |
Hawks will go as far as Bibby takes them
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Even before Sunday’s 15-point home loss to a sub-.500 team that ended in boos and suddenly left some wondering, “Is this when the trap door opens?” Rick Sund made it clear that he hadn’t been sucked in by those previous weeks of bliss.
“This is really the year for us to see how this team comes together,” the Hawks general manager said. “We’ll evaluate it at the end of the year.”
Success is a fragile thing in sports. The Hawks are finding that out. They’ve gone from winning 10 of 12 to losing three straight, the last two bathed in ugliness: 102-87 in Orlando and 109-94 to Philadelphia at Philips Arena on Sunday.
“We just gave up too many points,” guard Mike Bibby said. “Unless we get back to playing better defensively, and we stop letting people make plays to beat us, we’ll have problems.”
It’s appropriate that Bibby should make the statement. How this season goes — and where this roster goes — starts and ends with him.
Bibby is the point guard, the floor leader, the piece the Hawks were missing until a trade 11 months ago. The deal with Sacramento started to pull the Hawks together, even if it couldn’t save Billy Knight’s job and, for that matter, came with no guarantees for Mike Woodson’s.
Recent results notwithstanding, things have clicked for most of this season. Even with the current “rut” (Woodson’s word), the Hawks are 22-14. The team has chemistry — at least, when players don’t defend like they’re in REM state.
The Hawks are viewed as one of the league’s up and coming teams. The problem with such labels is it assumes too much about the point guard position and Bibby’s future.
Bibby is playing without a contract beyond this season. That’s not going to change.
Sund has a history of letting guys play with expiring contracts. One year in Seattle, his team played with nine impending free agents. The Sonics won the division. Do you think he’s going to change now?
Bibby has shown an ability to compartmentalize. The contract status hasn’t affected him.
“My mom always told me, ‘Don’t worry about things you can’t control,’ ” he said. “So I’m not.”
Bibby won’t be traded. There is no reason to mess with a team that, for the most part, has blended well. Bibby and Joe Johnson are one of the league’s best backcourts. If the Hawks did start to fall apart this season, it’s far more likely there would be a coaching change than a roster change.
Never mind the up-and-coming tag. The Hawks have to win now. Sund knows. They must assume the window for success is small. Next year, Bibby might be gone. Joe Johnson will be entering the final year of his contract. See how quickly things can change?
“For me, it’s always been that way,” Woodson said. “I can’t look toward the future. When I took over, even though they gave me a four-year deal, I wasn’t guaranteed I would last each year. I’ve always tried to coach year to year. You have to try to get something accomplished now.”
He alluded to Bibby’s uncertain future adding, “Mike understands the situation. He’s been around long enough to understand the dynamics of what’s going on and what he’s going through right now. He’s handling it very well, knowing that he’s a free agent and anything can happen.”
Going through training camp with the Hawks has helped Bibby. So has staying healthy. His attitude? He told Sund in off-season meetings that the Hawks could be a legitimate playoff threat if everybody accepted their roles.
“That really resonated with me,” Sund said.
Said Bibby, “I’m not worried about how many points I score or how many assists I have. I’m just trying to bring us as many wins as possible. Everybody looks good if we win.”
The Hawks’ best player Sunday was the one without a contract next season. Bibby finished with 22 points, eight assists, two steals and four rebounds. It might be a good time for everybody to follow their leader.
Permalink | Comments (19) | Post your comment | Categories: Hawks/NBA
Smoltz deserved better from Braves
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Even through the anger and frustration and cold-slap realization associated with this winter that it’s suddenly not cool to be a Brave, one could manufacture legitimate excuses.
Maybe a free agent used them. Maybe an agent lied to them. Maybe an opposing general manager made ridiculous trade demands.
But this is different. There is no rationalization for this. John Smoltz, a career Brave, a certain Hall of Famer, the postseason gold standard for this franchise and baseball in general, asked for a reasonable contract. The Braves countered with something just north of cab fare to the airport.
Atlanta just lost John Smoltz and Frank Wren just lost the benefit of the doubt.
The Boston Red Sox are guaranteeing Smoltz $5.5 million. The Braves offered $2.5 million. They might as well have hung up the phone.
Do you know what the $3 million difference amounts to? It’s 3.3 percent of last year’s payroll. It’s $40 million less than they paid Mike Hampton in the last three years. It’s 7,400 hotdogs per home game. (The cheap ones.)
The Braves are now a faceless franchise — because the only remaining face, that of Chipper Jones, is under a paper bag. Jones was livid after speaking with Smoltz late Wednesday night. He hadn’t calmed down much by Thursday.
“With all of the gambles that the Atlanta Braves have taken over the years on players, for a couple of million more dollars, you don’t gamble on John Smoltz when he tells you he’s going to be back?” Jones said. “After everything that’s happened to this organization this winter, the players and the fans need something good to happen. The one silver lining we had was John Smoltz being back in the lineup this year.”
He said some teammates “lost a father figure. I lost a brother. If he’s retiring, that’s one thing. But for him to playing somewhere else is unacceptable.”
Smoltz is coming off major surgery. When Dr. James Andrews finished attaching hardware to the pitcher’s right shoulder seven months ago, the assumption was that his career finally was over. We have seen Smoltz navigate medical miracles before, so it’s not surprising his rehab has exceeded expectations.
But this isn’t about that. For all we know, he may throw one pitch in Fenway Park next season, grab his right shoulder and walk off the mound.
What’s key here are two words: risk-reward. In the best-case scenario: Smoltz comes back strong, triggers every incentive bonus and earns over $10 million.
In the worst-case scenario, his career is over. But the Braves could have viewed $5 million as a thank you gift. In baseball’s economic world — and certainly for a legend and a career-franchise player — $5 million is the change bucket.
Smoltz deserved that. He went from starter to closer and then back to starter when nobody thought he could make either transition. He is the only pitcher in major league history with over 200 wins and 150 saves. He is 15-4 in the postseason for a franchise others associated with October failure.
Oh yes, and this: He has passed up chances to pitch for more money elsewhere in free agency, most notably for the Yankees, because he wanted to remain in Atlanta. His children are here. The school he helped build is here. Bobby Cox is here.
What kind of message does this send to players, to fans, to other free agents? This isn’t a budget issue. If the Braves are to be believed — and who really knows now — they have at least another $25 million to spend on payroll. That’s because here we are in January and they can’t get anybody to come here. Their starting rotation is Javier Vasquez, Jair Jurrjens and flip a coin.
If they played three times a week, maybe they could hang in a division race.
“I don’t care how many anchors or staples or whatever are in his shoulder,” Jones said. “If I’m gambling on one guy, it’s John Smoltz.”
It’s one thing for a declining team to struggle to sign a free agent. But to kick a legend and franchise centerpiece to the curb over pocket change is far worse. This wasn’t even a close call.
Permalink | Comments (365) | Post your comment | Categories: Braves/MLB
Ga. Tech wins, but, man, was it ugly
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There is a general understanding going into any basketball game between Georgia and Georgia Tech that it’s not going to remind us of Duke-North Carolina or Syracuse-Georgetown.
As regional rivalries go, you just hope it turns out better than Kent State-Toledo.
Unfortunately, nothing unfolded Tuesday night to raise expectations for March. The teams combined for 34 percent shooting and 34 turnovers (and that total might’ve been held down by a scorekeeper covering his eyes like everybody else for fear of going blind).
But say this for the Jackets. If Tuesday’s come-from-behind 67-62 win was any indication, they at least have the ability to overcome themselves. That might be the most discernible difference between the programs right now.
“That was kind of ugly,” said forward Gani Lawal, whose dunk following a Zack Peacock miss with 20.6 seconds left put Tech ahead 64-60, its largest lead of the game. “We came out kind of shaky, but we wanted to stick it out.”
It helps to get demoralized, even when jump shots are making those sounds usually reserved for old Chevys hitting lamp posts.
But what’s worse: The team that starts the game making only four of 20, (Tech), or the team that can’t pull away from the one shooting only 4-for-20?
The latter, as it turned out. The Jackets led 2-0 and not again until 54-53 with 5:44 left after a steal and jumper by Zach Peacock.
“The way we shot today was like we shot in practice the day before,” Peacock said. “But coach was preaching, ‘I don’t care if you miss the shot, run back down the court like you made it.’ “
Tech jumps into conference play in earnest Saturday at Maryland. As a general rule, teams that shoot 26-for-72 from the floor (1-for-11 from three-point range) don’t win a lot of games in the ACC.
But there is this: The Jackets swept Georgia in football and basketball for the first time since 1998. Tech ended the Dogs’ seven-game series win streak that season, just like this year.
It’s such a monumental achievement, maybe the Jackets should engrave the score on a ring. Again.
“It might not be a bad idea,” Peacock said, laughing. “Seize the moment.”
The Jackets might not have convinced many that they’ll pose a threat to many in the ACC. But losing this would’ve been a crusher. The last time the Bulldogs played at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, they were celebrating an implausible SEC championship in March, after the tournament was displaced from the tornado-wrecked Georgia Dome.
Coach Paul Hewitt realizes he has a skilled but unpolished team. The idea is to keep getting better, get a consistent effort and become a mentally tougher bunch than the Jackets of recent years.
Tech gets points for that. The Dogs led by as much as 13 in the second half at 45-32 before the Jackets started to will themselves to a comeback. They crashed the boards. They dove for loose balls. They got tougher inside. Eventually, some shots even began to fall.
A three-pointer by Lance Storrs caught Georgia at 51-all. Peacock put the Jackets ahead to stay at 62-60 with a drive with 1:20 left. With less than a minute remaining, Lewis Clinch missed a jumper but dove on the floor for a rebound. Lawal’s dunk followed moments later.
Hewitt didn’t like everything he saw, but at least there were a few seeds for something better.
“We have to create an identity for ourselves,” he said. “We’ve got to have an identity that we’re a team that’s going to hustle and scramble and get loose balls.”
You take what you can get. Finesse will have to wait.
Permalink | Comments (58) | Post your comment | Categories: Tech/ACC, UGA/SEC
Falcons should keep Milloy around
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
And now for the Tuesday Countdown:
10 - The roster makeover in Flowery Branch this off-season won’t quite leave the smell of napalm that last year’s did. And yes, some moves in order: Keith Brooking works hard and cares deeply but doesn’t have it any more. Michael Boley’s play declined, won’t be worth the money he wants it free agency and, oh yes, has that little charge of battery on his wife hanging over his head. But Lawyer Milloy? Hold everything …
9 - Milloy was a physical wreck by the end of the season. His legs obviously don’t work like they used it. The Falcons need more speed on the defensive side of the ball. But this is one case where leadership and resolve compensate for age (35) and deteriorating skills. There should be a place for him somewhere on this roster. Young players follow him like a coach on the field, and the defense wouldn’t have been nearly as opportunistic this season without him.
8 - And by the way: The belief all along was that Milloy wanted to finish his career in Seattle (he grew up in the Northwest and attended Washington). But if you’re him, would you rather go to the Seahawks right now, given the direction of that franchise, or stay here, given the direction of this one?
7 - Give Thrashers coach John Anderson points for honesty, clarity and humor. This might be the greatest post-game quote I’ve ever seen: “Our give-a-crap level was like at zero.”
6 - If only for his recruiting skills, Rodney Garner is the single most important coach employed by Georgia not named Mark Richt. Losing him to Tennessee would have been a huge blow. But chances are that one day, he’ll get a head coaching offer.
5 - I might be totally wrong about this but I don’t think a projection about where Matthew Stafford might go in the draft - first, third, seventh, whatever - has any impact on his decision. For some kids, the decision is pure financial (and there’s nothing wrong with that). But Stafford doesn’t have a crying financial need now and I don’t sense it’s the end-all, be-all for him. Really what it comes down to is this: Does he want to continue playing college ball for one more year?
4 - Is Gene DeFilippo a short-sighted blowhard, or just the first athletic director with an iron set of … well, you know. I think the latter.
3 - DeFilippo is the athletic director at Boston College who appears on the verge of firing his football coach, Jeff Jagodzinski, for interviewing for the New York Jets job. There’s conflicting reports about whether there’s a clause in Jagodzinski’s contract prohibiting him from interviewing for an NFL opening in his first seasons (he has coached two). But at the very least, it seems there was an understanding between the two parties that the coach would stay for at least three years. So now DeFilippo is upset that Jagodzinski is breaking that promise and may have lied about his interest in the Jets’ job. Frankly, I don’t blame him, and job-hopping by college coaches has long since gotten out of hand.
2 - The Hawks have won 10 of their last 12 and the only losses in that span came by three points to Boston and two points at New Jersey. OK. I’m starting to think this isn’t just a phase.
1 - Close your eyes, Bulldogs: Florida 41, Oklahoma 27.
Permalink | Comments (67) | Post your comment | Categories: Falcons/NFL
This wasn’t how the Falcons’ story was supposed to end
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Glendale, Ariz. — This was the team you expected in September. The team before the unlikely metamorphosis, the one before the rookie quarterback and the unassuming coach and the beleaguered owner who really would’ve settled for a little peace and quiet and maybe two Tylenol somehow became the NFL’s feel good story.
They couldn’t block. They couldn’t run. They couldn’t defend. The rookie of the year quarterback looked, well, just the rookie part. Penalties. Turnovers. Maybe even a little stage fright.
Everything you expected for 16 games? It showed up in the 17th. In their first playoff appearance in four years, the Falcons lost to Arizona, 30-24.
Feeling a little unsatisfied? You should. This isn’t the time for polite exit applause.
“There’s not a lot of positives right now,” said Keith Brooking, who played on a Super Bowl team as a rookie and knows better than anyone about limited windows of opportunity. “I feel like I’ve been stabbed in the heart. Losers look at things like, ‘Well, we turned it around. We went 11-5.’ That’s not the way I look at things.”
You think, “But the future looks great.” But do you ever really know? In 2004, the Falcons reached the NFC title game against Philadelphia with a rookie coach (Jim Mora) and a highlight reel of a quarterback (Michael Vick). Then the sinkhole opened. That was the franchise’s last postseason appearance before Saturday.
Coach Mike Smith has referenced “the process” after every game. Who figured after so many improbable moments that the process’s ugly stepsister finally would show up.
Matt Ryan’s first regular season pass was a touchdown. His first playoff pass was an interception. The season and the playoff followed accordingly.
This was Ryan’s 21st game (including exhibitions), which is nine more than a typical college season. It showed. He missed receivers. He forced passes into coverage. He sometimes didn’t react well to Arizona’s pass rush, which was constant because the Falcons couldn’t run. He completed 26-of-40 passes, was intercepted twice and sacked three times.
Ryan again denied hitting a wall or hiding an injury. (“I felt fine. I felt the same as I have all year,” he said.)
If he was being truthful, then opposing defenses simply found a gear that Ryan wasn’t ready for.
He wasn’t the same quarterback in the last four weeks. His reactions showed it and the numbers confirm it. He had 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions in the first 13 games, but four touchdowns and six interceptions in the last four.
He also was sacked seven times in the last four games after being dropped once in the previous five. Part of that is protection. But it’s also pocket awareness.
“I think he’d like to have some throws back,” Smith said. “But this is a new experience for him and it’s a new experience for our football team.”
The Falcons were punched in the mouth. It’s not that they backed down. They just seldom had much of a counter.
After a dreadful start, they put together a few nice drives near the end of the half, capitalized on a turnover and somehow held a 17-14 lead at the break.
Then came the self-immolation. On the second offensive play of the second half, Ryan’s handoff never made it to Michael Turner. The ball hit Turner’s elbow as Arizona’s Darnell Dockett was in his face and popped loose. Antrel Rolle picked up the fumble and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown. Arizona took the lead, and that was it. The Falcons next five possessions: punt-punt-interception-punt-safety.
This was not the solid, controlled team we saw most of the season. But, really, nobody in the Falcons’ locker room wanted to talk about that team, anyway.
“Fans were ready to give us a pat on the back no matter what happened, because of last year,” Lawyer Milloy said. “We fought through the preseason when people were overlooking us. We fought through us just being just a sympathy story until people said, ‘These guys are for real.’ But that’s why this hurts so bad. You never know what’s going to happen with a team. You can’t anticipate how a team will gel.”
For 16 games, we forget what they were supposed to be. One game reminded us.
Permalink | Comments (459) | Post your comment | Categories: Falcons/NFL
Let’s talk Falcons playoff football
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hi all. Been to Phoenix a bunch of times but it’s my first time to this new stadium in Glendale. It’s nice enough on the inside but it possibly might be the ugliest new structure on the face of the earth from the outside.
The exterior walls are all silver/metallic panels, with a white retractable roof. I suppose the (lack of) color scheme has something to do with the heat factor in the desert. But it looks like some alien space craft sitting in the middle of a sand dune. As Ledbetter yelled out from the backseat of the car as the stadium came into view, “The Mother Ship!”
It’s perfect football weather outside right now — in the high 60s. But the roof is closed. Why?
“Team decision,” a Cardinals spokesman said.
Well, that clarifies it.
Meanwhile, down on the field, coach Mike Smith decided to accessorize with something special this game: He’s wearing his Super Bowl ring, the one he won with Baltimore eight years ago. I’m thinking Ray Lewis from eight years ago would’ve been a bigger help, but it was a nice thought.
So here’s a few thoughts on the game. I’ll check back periodically and comment when I’m not doing more important things, like taking notes or eating or tracking my special Fantasy League weekend playoff draft.
If I was in Las Vegas and walked into a sports book this morning and it said, “Falcons -2,” know what I’d do? Turn and walk in the other direction and play some blackjack.
Two things concern me. One is the Arizona quarterback. The other is the Falcons’ quarterback.
I know Kurt Warner is, like, 79 years old and has a tendency to turn the ball over. But he has the ability to get rid of the ball quick and that could neutralize the Falcons’ pass-rush — which might be questionable, anyway, with John Abraham not at full strength.
I’m not concerned about Matt Ryan’s nerves or him folding on the playoff stage. But I wonder about him physically. I don’t know if he’s tired or the Falcons are hiding an injury. Or both. But he hasn’t been the same quarterback the last three games that he was for most of the first 13.
Did some quick math: In the last three games, Ryan has completed only 38-of-68 passes (55.8 percent) for two touchdowns and four interceptions with four sacks. In the first 13 games, he was 227 for 366 (62 percent), with 14 TDs and seven interceptions.
He was sacked 12 times in first eight games but only once in the next five.
In the Rams game last week, he missed high a lot. Sometimes that’s an indication of forcing the ball when you’re trying to work through, like, an injury.
Hey, I’m not a doctor or a trainer or a mind-reader. I’m just saying: He hasn’t been the same player.
So now watch him throw for 300 yards and four touchdowns today.
What’s in the Falcons’ favor? Mainly their running game obviously, which allows them to control tempo and the clock.
Maybe also the will of guys like Lawyer Milloy and Abraham, veterans who never expected this season to develop the way it did and have wanted desperately to get back to the playoffs.
Maybe also team morale. It doesn’t help when a guy mouths off about his playing time the week of a playoff game, like the Cardinals’ Edgerrin James did this week.
Finally, here are the odds on the 12 playoff teams to win the Super Bowl from an online sports book.
New York Giants 3/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 5/1
Carolina Panthers 6/1
Tennessee Titans 7/1
Indianapolis Colts 8/1
Philadelphia Eagles 11/1
San Diego Chargers 11/1
Baltimore Ravens 14/1
Atlanta Falcons 20/1
Miami Dolphins 25/1
Minnesota Vikings 28/1
Arizona Cardinals 40/1
The longest odds on the exact matchup: Arizona vs Miami or Baltimore at 100-1.
The shortest odds: The Giants vs. Tennessee or Pittsburgh at 5-1.
Interestingly, the Falcons are listed as the odds-on favorite to score the most points of all the playoff teams this weekend at 3-1.
That’s all for now. Please, no musical requests. I’ll leave that to O’Brien.
Permalink | Comments (910) | Post your comment | Categories: Falcons/NFL
Services »
