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Sunday, January 1, 2006
Which is the aberration — this season or last?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
After most of his players exited the field, throwing sweat bands — and unused vital organs — to fans as souvenirs, Jim Mora reached into his pocket, pulled out a red replay challenge flag and tossed it into the stands.
Nice try. But all of the reviews in the replay universe aren’t going to overturn what we just witnessed.
When a team starts 6-2 and opens with a win over the one opponent that figured to stand in its way for a Super Bowl berth, you come to expect things.
When a team closes 2-6 and loses five straight games to playoff contenders, you start to realize things.
Maybe this season isn’t an aberration.
Maybe last season was the aberration.
The Falcons have problems. They don’t just have problems that were evidenced Sunday, when they broke a sweat running through the tunnel before the Carolina game, then pretty much put the jalopy in park and got steamrolled by the Panthers, 44-11. They have problems which have been apparent for some time and lately just became too mutant-like to ignore.
Mora, the alternately peppy or volcanic Falcons coach, said after Sunday’s game that he was “upbeat.� He repeated the word three times, believed to be a record for a team that trailed 44-3 at the two-minute warning.
“We’ve created a culture that will prove to be a winning culture for many, many years,� Mora said. “If you’re looking at the big picture, it’s exciting.�
Let’s go this far: The Falcons have an owner, a general manager and a coach who appear dedicated and capable. But what just unfolded doesn’t foreshadow excitement. What just unfolded was the mother of all reality checks.
Follow up an NFC title run by barely missing the playoffs, then it’s easy to rationalize things: You tweak, you add a safety, you devise a blocking scheme that doesn’t get the quarterback smacked by a Winnebago every other series. But follow up last season with this kind of plummet, then it becomes clear the problems aren’t few.
Until a Matt Schaub-to-Roddy White touchdown pass with 1:18 left, this game was on track to be the Falcons’ worse home loss since 1967. DeShaun Foster had a 70-yard touchdown run on 3rd-and-1. Steve Smith, one of the game’s best receivers, was left uncovered on another score. Carolina scored on its first six possessions. When it finally punted, the Falcons fumbled.
Is this really when Mora should be reminding everybody, even half-joking, of the modest accomplishment of going .500 after a winning season?
“I’m a glass half-full guy,� he said.
Is that a glass — or a thimble?
Drink this up: The Michael Vick-led offense failed to produce a touchdown in three of the team’s last four losses. Mora and offensive coordinator Greg Knapp have managed to take the most exciting athlete in pro sports and turn him into an unexciting, unproductive commodity.
Fact: Vick was more productive under Dan Reeves. In his last healthy season under Reeves (2002), he threw 16 touchdown passes with only eight interceptions, and ran for another eight scores. In each of the last two seasons, Vick has thrown fewer scores (14 and 15), more interceptions (12 and 13) and run for less touchdowns (3 and 6).
“It’s not just me — it’s not just Michael Vick,â€? the quarterback said. “I’ve got other players around me, other people. I’ve got coaches who are trying to put people in a better position to succeed. If it was just me, put me out there one against 11 and see what happens.â€?
He’s right about that. The Falcons have an offseason to figure out what kind of offense they actually want to run, because whatever they’re doing now isn’t working. They have an offseason to bury some of these bodies on the defense, because nobody this side of the CFL should be subjected to this secondary again.
Mora referenced the franchise’s “40-year problem� of failing to post consecutive winning seasons. But the problems don’t begin or end there. The last time we witnessed this kind of performance, owner Arthur Blank took out an ad apologizing to fans.
There’s your replay. After further review, who imagined this season would be set up for more apologies.
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