Sports Columnists

By george

January 12, 2006 04:13 PM | Link to this

I am sorry to even respond to this but nobody is beating the Colts this year. Your previous thoughts on Brady and the Pats were right. Always go with your instincts.

By P

January 12, 2006 04:15 PM | Link to this

Best player in the game, with Peyton and LT. Watching him makes having Vick unbearable.

By Jim

January 12, 2006 04:52 PM | Link to this

You were correct in your assessment that Brady did not deserve to be MVP of the Super Bowl vs Rams. The story of that game was the NE defense shutting down the high powered Rams O.

By brewdawg

January 12, 2006 05:01 PM | Link to this

P- and every other vick hater out there- I promised myself that i would stop trying to talk sense into you, but vick has gone farther in the playoffs than L.T and just as far as Peyton, plus he is much more exciting than either of those players- though l.t. is definitely special to watch. Vick will never be the passer Peyton is- everyone agrees with that tired point- but with the right compliment of people around him, he will bring us a Super Bowl. I’m sick and tired of the crap people write on here about Vick. He’s a class-act and a proven winner. Lay the hell off of him or root for another team you bunch of losers.

By p

January 12, 2006 05:05 PM | Link to this

Brewdawg, lay off the sauce. We’ve alreadgy seen the best of Vick, now we’re watching him spiral downward.

By Johnny U.

January 12, 2006 05:42 PM | Link to this

Outside Atlanta, the Falcons situation is a joke, owing to the Blank-Vick dynamic. That is: Blank’s overpaying Vick place the Falcons in cap-hell for years to come; Blank’s coddling of Vick places a prima donna in the middle of the lockerroom, which equals c-a-n-c-e-r. And, watch for it to escalate if Vick ‘makes’ Blank draft dumb little bro, Marcus.

After the Falcons tank next year, Mora will be sacrificed at the Altar of ‘Ron Mexico.’

By Matthew

January 12, 2006 05:45 PM | Link to this

P, your ignorance is astounding. How about you give Vick a few years before you make a proclamation like that, moron.

Tom is the the best QB in football, if not the best player right now.

Tom Brady, not the overrated Shaun Alexander, should have won the MVP.

George, how can you be so certain? What has Peyton Manning ever done, going even back to college?

Peyton Manning is the Braves. When it matters the most, Peyton Manning will choke it all away. He will throw 4 interceptions in a game, and look around at his teammates like it was their fault. He will fail to be a leader in the hardest of moments.

Tom Brady is nothing but the absolute best leader when things need to get done. When great deeds on the gridiron need to be achieved, Tom Brady will see it through.

Tom Brady is Joe Montana.

Peyton Manning is Dan Marino.

Why all know how that ended, don’t we.

People will always love Manning more, because all of those numbers are sexy (forgetting for the moment that Brady led the league in passing yards this year after losing Charlie Wiess).

But when you need one QB to win a game with one minute left, when the whole season is on the line, when the Super Bowl is on the line… who are you going to pick?

Are you going to pick the QB who’s done nothing but choke away every chance he’s been given?

Or are you going to pick the QB who’s lifted less talented teams on his back to beat “better” teams, who’s won the big games time and time again, who has never backed down in the face of adversity?

Any of you out there who wouldn’t pick Brady are dead from the neck up. You’re morons. You’re geek-boy statheads who wouldn’t understand the game of football beyond your pathetic fantasy lives if it meant your life.

I’m not picking against Brady, ever.

Just like you would never pick against Montana.

And yes, Montana did lose his share of playoff games, even games he maybe should have won.

But you’d never, ever pick against him.

And you’re a fool if you ever pick Manning over Brady.

The Pats will win the Super Bowl, because they have the best QB in football on their team. And because they have the best coach.

By Matthew

January 12, 2006 05:52 PM | Link to this

Johnny U, you too are an idiot.

Vick’s contract doesn’t place the team in cap hell. McKay designed specifically so.

Why don’t you say that about Peyton’s contract, which pays mroe per year, but had a lower salary cap?

Maybe because Peyton is more your kind of QB (statue and white?)?

You shoulda stayed dead, Johnny U.

Your time spent pushing up daisies has made you very, very stupid.

BTW… I hate, hate mentioning race.

But I have to think, why else would Vick gather so much venom from so many different white males?

I mean, he’s the winningest QB in the team’s f-ing history, you bunch of ignorant rednecks!

He’s the third winningest QB in the league!

He’s done good things for charity in the city, and he sells seats for the GA Dome, which on one in the history of this crappy franchise has ever done.

So why is he so reviled by all of you ignorant white males (I’m white, just not so ignorant)?

Even someone who deplores using race as a reason has to come to that conclusion after awhile.

There is no worse thing in this world than ignorance.

By Norm Van B.

January 12, 2006 06:05 PM | Link to this

No one mentioned Vick’s race except his apologists. And, no matter what a few deluded Falcons’ homers insist, his salary WILL be an albatross around this team’s neck for many a moon. There is just so much ‘cooking the books’ you can do nowadays — especially when the millstone weighs $118 million. Blank is a punchline around the league for the way he kowtows to Mediocre Mike.

Vick’s so-called “success” is relative only to this franchise’s wretched history.

If a QB hasn’t blossomed by now, he ain’t gonna.

You may now resume your pathetic race-baiting.

By mack daddy

January 12, 2006 06:10 PM | Link to this

Bradley…you’re not so stupid after all, I would put you on the all AJC team any time!

By Matthew

January 12, 2006 06:17 PM | Link to this

I wouldn’t have to unless it makes sense.

I guarantee you “Norm”, that about 1/3 of all Vick haters hate him not because of his play, but for other reasons, and that sickens me.

And his contract will not be an albatross. The salary cap rises every few years, but the salaries remain the same.

I’ll say it again, Manning’s salary is more than Vick’s. Vick got more upfront.

And if the team were to need extra money, I’d bet Michael would be willing to turn some of that money into guaranteed backloaded cash to ensure the team could get another piece to help win a SUper Bowl.

You people don’t understand a damn thing anout the salary cap, but you all want to dump on Vick for any reason.

You’re the same people who love Dan Reeves, although Reeves had two, yes two winning seasons here out of seven.

And in all of those years, those were ALL Dan Reeves’ handpicked teams.

Rich McKay is the best GM in football. He will get us the pieces we need. And in the next few years a the Falcons are celebrating their first Super Bowl ever, I don’t want to see any of you idiots at the parade.

You don’t deserve it.

By Larry

January 12, 2006 10:09 PM | Link to this

Matthew, stop indenting on every one of your comments. It makes it too hard for me to scroll past them and find something interesting.

Okay?

Thanks for your time.

This is annoying…

By PrimeTime

January 12, 2006 10:12 PM | Link to this

Matthew- calm down. The problem with all of this is that it’s impossible to point out something completely obvious without being labeled a racist or a hater. And “ignorant?” Thats the word liberals use when they know they can’t argue facts. The fact is that MV was not good this year, and he’s very highly paid and constantly shoved down everyone’s throats. That means he will be criticized. I guess I’m an ignorant redneck.

By Joe Willie

January 12, 2006 10:16 PM | Link to this

Look, Marshal Dillon, hollering “ignorant rednecks” every time someone criticizes Vick as inadequate is as predictable as it is preposterous. You played the race card; so did Johnnie Cochran. Is he your hero?

And, you can’t even argue in a cogent fashion. First, you state unequivocally that Vick’s outrageous cap figure will not have a negative impact on the team. (Never mind that objective and knowledgeable sources around the league know that it already has.)

Then, you back & fill and whimper that, if it does, ‘Ron Mexico,’ out of the goodness of his herpetic heart, would sacrifice his $ to succor Blank-man et al.

So you see how your positions are contradictory?

Not to mention that your scenario is totally hypothetical, i.e., a product of your fevered and deluded imagination.

Also, you choose to ostrich-size the fact that Special Treatment for Vick causes turmoil in the lockerroom.
If it escalates (by drafting the hoodlum Marcus, for instance), Blank will be even more of a laughingstock around the league than he is now for those sideline appearances with a doleful expression plastered over that cheesy mustache.

Dreams of a Super Bowl victory will cause hallucinations in the simple-minded.

So, keep dreaming (and smoking), pally.

By Slim

January 12, 2006 10:30 PM | Link to this

Hey Mark, (changing the subject). Are you planning to see “Glory Road” and write a blog entry or column about it?

By Kevin

January 13, 2006 12:01 AM | Link to this

You Vick lovers are stupid in my opinion. Our offense was horrid horrid horrid this year. Blame Knapp but Vick is the one running around and CONSTANTlY missing his receivers. His stats have gone down each year. So to tell me he is worth $100 million is crazy. I would take almost any other QB than Vick. Vick has had 4-5 years to learn to throw the ball and guess what?? He still can’t hit the open guy. So why dont you Vick lovers stop rooting for a horrid team and hope for a new QB

By Kevin

January 13, 2006 12:06 AM | Link to this

Oh yeah MAtthew(stupid fan)-MAnning’s contract is more because umm geee he produces a whole lot more. Vick produces pretty much nothing. Lowest rated QB. MAnning may have not have won a Super Bowl but atleast he is in the playoffs unlike the Falcons. Manning is way better..and way better means more money. Vick sucks and should be paid $5-6 million a yr if that based on his production.

By Birdbrain

January 13, 2006 01:45 AM | Link to this

We have a potential “Brady-Like” QB in Schaub, the problem is it will take a “situation” like Bledsoe for the Vick apologists to see it. The day that Schaub walks is the day that the franchise retreats another 5 years.

By rjbowlin

January 13, 2006 06:36 AM | Link to this

Brewdawg —As far as I read no one was claiming to hate Vick. The initial statement was: “Watching him makes having vick unbearable.” Vick might be great but having something better can be, well….better. The statement was made in reference to Tom Brady, Peyton was only mentioned in passing, and I’ve yet to read you compare Vick to Brady.

—As for those who may hope for Peyton to win this year. If that is the case we can all morn as an era fades. An era when good coaching, combined with a hard working TEAM in humbleness works to overcome the skills of the other teams and the blatant media favoritism given most often to the opposition. That was the case the first 2 Superbowls that Tom Brady and the Patriots won. It took 2 Super Bowls for the patriots to earn the media respect that Peyton got for just showing up on the field. They did it through hard work as a TEAM. They ran out on the field as a Team. Together they won those Superbowls. Not some self agrandizing quarterback and a really great running back.(Peyton/Edgerin James) Not a quarterback with an exceptional(though socially inept reciever. (McNabb/T.O.) A team of Very good, very humble,very dedicated proffesionals. If Peyton wins, the media will finally get the hero they’ve been wanting, and the league will be back to looking for the really exceptional 2 or 3 players to put on their crappy teams so they can get to the superbowl. The Patriots have given us an era that we may not see for a long time, anywhere. If Peyton and the colts win, we all lose.

By Larry

January 13, 2006 07:57 AM | Link to this

Just released:

The 2006 comprehensive updated scouting report on Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Michael Vick after 5 NFL seasons.

1. He can run fast
2. He can throw a tight spiral.

End of report.

By Mike

January 13, 2006 10:29 AM | Link to this

I am an MV fan; however, I was truely disappointed in his play this year. I am not going to chastise him though. Understanding the maturation process that is involved with playing the game prevents me from doing so. However; I will say this, I truely believe that if Shaub was the starting QB, we would be in the playoffs right now. I know alot of you are going to disagree with that, but from what I have seen, Shaub seems to be in more control and more relaxed under center than MV does. His vision of the receivers is wider also. Observing him check off receivers to find someone open is paramount for a QB. Roddy White and Michael Jenkins have more receptions from Shaub than from MV. Why is that? He has better vision. And the receptions are further down the field. It seems that Shaub is able to distribute the ball to various receivers rather than Crumpler and Finneran. That is all anyone heard this year was Vick to Crumpler, then it was Vick to Finneran. I have to agree with Birdbrain (lol…sorry funny name). If we lose Shaub, we regress. I like the actions of Vick on the field when he is on his game, but when he’s not…it is pathetic, there is no middle of the road play out of Vick.

By galan

January 13, 2006 10:30 AM | Link to this

The newspaper sports writer got it right when he said, “Michael Vick is like a northern theme park. He shuts down after Labor Day.”

As a long suffering Patriot fan … who has followed them from their first season in the old AFL … it’s the greatest sports fan’s feeling in the world to root for them to continue to win and win and win. Cheer up Falcons’ fans … if you wait long enough … and live long enough … you, too, may experience the feelings of the current Patriots’ fans.

By brewerfaninATL

January 13, 2006 10:36 AM | Link to this

Matthew: Just wondering…did you start to notice him in 2001, like just about every other bandwagon morons who call him Joe Montana, or did you actually SEE him perform in college? Yeah, every one knows he went to Michigan, they always show what college a player went to at the beginning of the game, but did you actually SEE him play in college? I guess what I’m getting at is, yeah, in hindsight maybe he should have been drafted before the 6th round and maybe Bill Belicheck shouldn’t have been let go by the Browns. My question to you is when did you jump on the Brady-Belicheck bandwagon? My guess is probably right after Super Bowl 36 when they “supposedly shocked the world” over the overrated Rams, right? I guess the first time I felt Brady might have a decent shot to make to the NFL was back in the Orange Bowl in the 1999-2000 season against Alabama, who had Shaun Alexander at RB. He brought his team back so many times that game and ended up winning the game because Bama missed the extra point in like the 800th overtime. The shocker of it all is that Michigan’s starting QB was another Drew guy, this time Henson. Brady relieved him and the rest is history. But I guarantee you no one, I repeat NO ONE, ever expected Brady to become what he is now.

Also, what if the Colts don’t make it to the Super Bowl this year or any other year? Why would it automatically be Peyton’s fault? What if he completes 35-40 for 510 yards, with 5 TD and no INT’s, but they lose 45-41? I guess you’ll still say Peyton was the one to blame, right? Just like Dan Marino who never won a Super Bowl. It wasn’t his fault his defense got torched against SF in the Super Bowl, yet everyone says Marino blew it. Same with Fran Tarkenton. Bottom line is this: Brady is a fine QB, as well as Peyton. One should not be judged on Super Bowls alone. Put Brady in Indy’s system and Peyton in NE’s system and see what the results would be. But, please Matthew, spare us all of the Brady is GOD and is Joe Montana talk, especially when you probably had no idea who he was until Super Bowl 36.

By brewerfaninATL

January 13, 2006 10:51 AM | Link to this

birdbrain: You ARE a birdbrain! Schaub is Tom Brady? Are you nuts? When has he ever performed like Brady, ever? Shoot, in his head to head match-up with Brady this year, Schaub lost to Brady. I guarantee you if Vick were playing, the Patriots would have been on their heels because he brings a whole different dimension to the game. Not saying Atlanta would have won, but who knows? Now if the Falcons coaches would be smart they would let Vick do what got him to the NFL in the first place. If they do then he’ll take you far. Schaub? No way, Jose! He has done absolutely NOTHING to make anyone think he is a Tom Brady clone.

By Larry

January 13, 2006 01:12 PM | Link to this

I never watched Brady play in college, nor did I even know who he was until he upset the Rams in the Superbowl. Whats your point? Is that illegal or something? Big-10 college football is boring and the Patriots were unwatchable before the Brady-era. I’m on the Brady band wagon now though!

By brewerfaninATL

January 13, 2006 02:07 PM | Link to this

Larry: No, you’re just another bandwagon jumper, that’s all you are. Just like most everyone on here who bows at this boring Big 10-er’s feet…funny how YOU are one of them! I could care less if you think the Big 10 is boring, in fact I wouldn’t expect anything else from someone as obtuse as you are! I bet you didn’t start liking the Braves until 1991, right? I thought so!

By Larry

January 13, 2006 05:22 PM | Link to this

Since when does liking the successful athletes makes someone obtuse? For the Braves, I started liking them a lot more in 1991. Seeing Murph’s one-man-show back in the 80s was always something spectacular. Of course, thats probably something a guy like you doesnt know how to appreciate. You probably need ESPN to spoon feed sports to you, right? I thought so!

By brewerfaninATL

January 13, 2006 09:53 PM | Link to this

Something I don’t appreciate? Huh, gee, last time I checked the Brewers, who happen to be my favorite team, haven’t had a winning season since ‘92, haven’t been to the post-season since ‘82. If that isn’t being appreciative and loyal to the team you love, I don’t know what is! I happen to be a very loyal fan to my teams (Brewers, Packers, Bucks, and Badgers) and I will ALWAYS love them, win or lose! I’m not saying you aren’t a loyal fan to your teams, but I get miffed at people who change their loyalties whenever the newest hotshot comes in and ditch their teams when they have a losing season. That is not a true FAN, that is a bandwagon jumper…and there are plenty of those around, especially on these blogs!