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Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Under Mora, no one-year wonders
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
Jim Mora says he doesn’t mention the Falcons’ history of frustration â€â€? in 39 years of trying, this franchise hasn’t yet had consecutive winning seasons â€â€? to his players, but sometimes that negative nugget arises on its own. And, rather tellingly, it gets dashed to smithereens.
“I was talking with Pat [Kerney, the defensive end] this week, and he said, ‘The heck with 9-7 â€â€? we want to win a championship,’ ” Mora said Wednesday. “We look at nine wins as something we’d pass on the way to 10 or 11.”
Or to the Super Bowl. The Falcons nearly got there last season, and more than halfway through preseason they look capable of going further this time. Yes, there are questions about the receivers â€â€? more about them in a moment â€â€? but there’s no doubting this team’s growing sense of self.
Little things have gone wrong, but little things go wrong everywhere. What’s notable about the Falcons is their grasp of the coach’s theme for this training camp. “We wanted to maintain and recapture that sense of urgency you have at the start of every project,” Mora said, “and the players have really embraced that. I really don’t even have to mention it.”
Billy Knight has spoken at length about the need to “change the culture” of the downtrodden Hawks. Mora uses the same word so often â€â€? “culture” â€â€? that he looked it up in the dictionary to make sure he was invoking it correctly. (He was. The irritating thing about Mora is that he tends to be right.) He didn’t come here from San Francisco to be part of a one-year wonder; he came here to win as big and as often as the 49ers used to win. And he’s on his way.
“You want an environment or a culture that’s conducive to winning,” he said. “A lot of that has to do with who you let in the door. It’s like the Braves or the Patriots: We’re looking for a certain kind of player, and we’re asking, ‘Do they fit what we want ourselves to be?’ … Last year we got rid of some guys who were slowing the boat down.”
Last year the Falcons were learning a new offense and a new defense and were acclimating themselves to a new coaching staff. They now know where to stand and what to do. With the mass substitution inherent in exhibition games, it’s hard to get a glimpse of any sort of continuity, but what you saw in the Falcons’ opening drive against Tennessee last week â€â€? a zippy march culminating in Michael Vick’s touchdown pass to Brian Finneran â€â€? seemed a sign of an offense beginning to find its stride.
“We’re less a West Coast offense and more â€â€? I don’t know â€â€? a Mike Vick movement offense,” Mora said. “Greg [Knapp, the offensive coordinator] is fitting our system to our players.”
Regarding players: Would Mora be comfortable starting the regular season with these wide receivers? “Yeah,” he said. “We’ve got a couple of young guys [Michael Jenkins and Roddy White] who are going to continue to get better, but Roddy [who has a bad ankle] has to get on the field. I think there’s been so much focus on the receivers that it’s gotten a little bit overblown. Think about Philadelphia’s success going to the NFC championship game: Before T.O. [Terrell Owens] got there last year, could you have named any of their wide receivers? What’s important is to be balanced and have the same strength we had in the running game.”
If you can run, you’ll be able to throw no matter how unassuming your wideouts might be. That’s basic football. The Falcons might not be the slickest crew in creation, but they’re getting pretty good at the basics. They don’t look like a team grown fat on sudden success. They look lean and hungry.
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NCAA foolishly caved in
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
When it comes to the controversy involving Native American mascots and imagery in college sports, the NCAA just blinked, and those associated with Florida State won the stare down.
Not good.
Not the fact that Florida State people apparently have that much power (make that too much power). Not the fact that those running the NCAA are showing that they are absolutely spineless. Not the fact that schools basically have the right now to do whatever they wish regarding mascots and imagery.
That is, if a school has something like Florida State’s political muscle.
Remember? After the NCAA announced earlier this month that “hostile or abusive� mascots and imagery from schools would be banned from postseason play, Florida State had a fit. The school goes by “Seminoles,� and those associated with Florida State wanted to keep it that way, with much help from Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, whose brother just happens to be the President of the United States.
It certainly didn’t hurt Florida State’s chances to get its way that its football coach is Bobby Bowden, known as Saint Bobby to the NCAA establishment.
Definitely not good. The NCAA either should have stuck with its original decision regarding mascots and imagery or declared that it would return to the status quo. As it stands now, Saint Bobby is the unofficial head of the NCAA.
Or is it Jeb Bush?
Permalink | Comments (76) | Categories: Quick Hit, Terence Moore
