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Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Will third season be the charm for McKay, Mora?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
When the Falcons assembled for a mini-camp two years ago, it was against a backdrop of uncertainty. Michael Vick had been injured. The prior season unraveled. The owner got angry. The coach got fired.
Then Rich McKay and Jim Mora turned a mess into a team that reached the NFC title game, and suddenly everybody had the answers.
When they assemble for a mini-camp this weekend in Flowery Branch, the Falcons again will report against a backdrop of uncertainty. Raise expectations in year one, only to decompose in year two — that’s what happens.
When there is little track record for success, nobody gets the benefit of the doubt. Just the doubt.
Are the right players being picked? Are the right players being coached the wrong way? Greg Knapp — was he actually recommended by Steve Young? Whose bright idea was Ed Donatell, anyway? And shouldn’t Arthur Blank be more worried about fixing one franchise (Falcons) than putting his stamp on another (Braves)?
One good season fades. One bad season leaves an odor. Welcome to the third mini-camp.
Keith Brooking has been a Falcon for eight seasons. (I’m assuming that will be taken into consideration in the afterlife.) He says what he is suppose to say — that what other people think doesn’t matter. But he admits what other people think also isn’t a secret.
“Some people come up to me, and I know they’re pulling for us, but they’ll say, ‘We’ve got to have a better year. We’re gonna do it this year, aren’t we?’” the linebacker said Wednesday. “There’s a little doubt in their comments, as opposed to last year after going to the NFC championship game and being one game from the Super Bowl. It’s a totally different vibe.”
One good year. One bad year. Arthur Blank didn’t provide generations of Blanks with financial security by going .500.
Year three will break the tie, clarify analysis and possibly determine futures. Did we say, welcome to the third mini-camp?
When he was with Tampa Bay, Rich McKay was known more for his organizational skills than he was for choosing players. It’s why he and personnel chief Tim Ruskell made such a strong pairing. But after one year in Atlanta, Ruskell went to Seattle as general manager — and the Seahawks went to the Super Bowl.
McKay has worked hard this off-season to fix the Falcons’ defense. He traded for end John Abraham, signed safety Lawyer Milloy and drafted cornerback Jimmy Williams. But little has been done to help an offensive line that got Michael Vick buried last season. Not to suggest that defensive improvement wasn’t needed — but where does protecting the franchise’s most important player rank?
Mora could be one of the bright young coaches in the game. Or he could be a one-year wonder. Blank recently gave him a “contract extension,” but logic dictates that was more for appearances than supreme confidence. In reality, all Blank did was guarantee two option years on Mora’s deal. That’s comforting when it comes to mortgage payments, but Mora also knows he can’t miss the playoffs two straight seasons.
In year one, Mora provided the fire the team needed. It was apparent in that first day of mini-camp. In year two, the problem wasn’t fire. It was backdraft. Neither Mora nor the team, whose youth was magnified by injuries, handled adversity well. This mini-camp will set the tone for training camp, which will set the tone for the season, which will define Mora’s growth as a head coach.
Blank has not been an easy man to co-exist with this off-season. He is demanding when he wins, so you can imagine what he’s like when he loses six of eight down the stretch. It would not have been surprising if significant changes were made in Mora’s staff. Instead, there was only the firing of quarterbacks coach Mike Johnson.
Much has been made of Johnson’s replacement, Bill Musgrave. But the reality is that Musgrave is only the fourth most important coach relating to the offense — after Mora, Knapp (play-calling) and line coach Alex Gibbs (blocking schemes). Knapp’s offense has been erratic, and last season he managed the unthinkable — turning Vick into a boring quarterback. He and defensive coordinator Ed Donatell — who can’t point to personnel deficiencies this season — both have a third season to prove themselves.
Brooking said he “likes the doubters. I like people not believing in us.”
Whatever works. But it’s only natural that one good year and one bad isn’t going to comfort the masses. The odor tends to linger.
Permalink | Comments (105) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Jeff Schultz
Clueless in Augusta
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
Hootie. Billy. Who cares? If the members of Augusta National decide someday to replace Billy Payne with Homer Simpson as their chairman, so be it.
Then again, this notoriously cliquish group likely has a rule against bringing cartoon characters with strangely shaped heads into their ranks. Plus, they probably aren’t big on having any movie on the premises that isn’t entitled “Gone with the Wind.�
If such also is the case, well, so be it. The same applies to if they wish to declare that all of the sand traps during the Masters must have a purplish tint. You know, to make sure that the new chartreuse balls stand out.
And, if Augusta National members prefer to spend the night of the champion’s dinner dancing on top of coffee tables with lamp shades over their heads, we should just nod and move on with the rest of our lives.
See a pattern here? Augusta National is a private club, and whether the outside world likes it or not, its members have the right to look as clueless as they wish.
Permalink | Comments (62) | Categories: Quick Hit, Terence Moore
