Sports Columnists

By Matt Lehr

November 28, 2006 11:41 AM | Link to this

I haven’t forgotten about last week’s column, Schultz. You’re still a dead man.

By Chris

November 28, 2006 11:51 AM | Link to this

It drives me crazy to constantly hear people continue to make excuses for Michael Vick. Good quarterbacks make their receivers look good if they’re good enough. Michael Vick isn’t. His passes are all over the place…in front behind beside his receivers etc… Let’s for once put the blame squarely on who deserves it, and that’s Michael Vick.

By Jason

November 28, 2006 11:59 AM | Link to this

Old: In the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes

New: In the future, everyone will be the head coach of Alabama for fifteen minutes

By UGA BABY!!!!

November 28, 2006 12:02 PM | Link to this

It’s simple. When every single one of your draft choices and free agents underachieve the problem is coaching.

By Big O

November 28, 2006 12:05 PM | Link to this

I am not an Alabama fan, but I know they have PLENTY. Do you not understand the money that is to be made, and the pure adoration waiting, for the man who can actually make the Tide a winner again? I’d say that there are several pretty fair country coaches who would love to make $2 million or more a year and be the head coach at one of the most storied football programs in the country.

I honestly do not mind if Alabama loses to, say, Auburn or Tennessee, but somebody will turn that program around because there is so much to gain if they do. If I remember correctly, Tennessee beat UGA about 9 or 10 times in a row just 5 or 6 years ago, and then Georgia returned to prominence. Oh, I forgot, they have fallen again … . they lost to Vandy AND Kentucky this year.

By Pepe

November 28, 2006 12:09 PM | Link to this

Chris - You left the main one off your list…their hands. Vick has plenty of room to improve, but so does the whole team. Vick is not the problem…

By Ryder

November 28, 2006 12:18 PM | Link to this

That’s right Chris very good analysis, did that take a lot of thought?

…let’s blame Vick for allowing that Hail Mary to be caught at the end of the first half…

While we’re at it, let’s blame him for dropping a pass my six year old daughter would’ve caught…

Oh yes let’s also squarely put the blame on Vick for not being allowed to call an audible when he sees NINE MEN in the box…yes, we must blame him for that

let’s blame him for not being able to block for himself, therefore giving him time to either make a throw off his back foot or run for his life….

I don’t excuse his actions, even though I know in the heat of the moment these things do happen…it’s shortsighted people like you that like to pigeonhole him for everything that goes wrong because your wet dream Schaub isn’t behind the center

I’ve seen Schaub at UVA and if you were to put him behind this excuse of an offensive line he’d be crushed.

Next time take a look at the WHOLE team before you start shooting off!

By Charles

November 28, 2006 12:21 PM | Link to this

Not bad for a Tuesday, Jeff. Why is Blank roaming the sidelines? He ain’t no Jerry Jones! Vick should be the one on the sidelines - bench him and start Schaub.

By Tom

November 28, 2006 12:25 PM | Link to this

Vick’s (and the Falcon’s) problem is not his passing ability, it is his character. Before his display of the “Dirty Bird” I saw him look away and roll his eyes as Arthur Blank came up to the bench and patted his leg near the end of the game. Hopefully he is no longer taking Blank’s confidence in him for granted after his post-game meltdown. There is no way such a spoiled pouting child is going to overcome adversity and lead his team to a come-from-behind victory the way a Peyton Manning would. Having said that, I doubt that Peytom Manning could have won that game given the drops, lack of pass protection and consistently poor playcalling that Vick was forced to endure. This team needs some key adjustments to be competitive starting with the firing of Greg Knapp as soon as possible.

By tokyobrave

November 28, 2006 12:29 PM | Link to this

Thank you for saying what so many are thinking about the racial double standards in place today. I mean Steve Lyons got canned for joking about Hispanic heritage for crying out loud and Irvin is not even suspended? I am the last person that would be going PC. I hate all the PC crap in the world, but if we are to have it - and we do - then all races need to be evaluated the same.

By H2F

November 28, 2006 12:33 PM | Link to this

When Mike Price emoted to that unfamiliar woman in his hotel bed, “She’s rollin’! She’s rollin’!”, Alabama officially became a laughingstock.

By Curly

November 28, 2006 12:36 PM | Link to this

Reggie Ball has one more year left. Just found out he requested for a medical redshirt because he did not know what he was doing his first 4 years.

By ben

November 28, 2006 12:40 PM | Link to this

Who cares whether we beat Wake Forest or not. Just the fact that we’re playing Wake Forest for the “title” shows how bad the ACC is this year. Gailey and Ball have taken all the excitement out of this season by smugly leaving Calvin Johnson out of the offense and not apologizing for it. Hey Alabama: Why not hire the ACC division champion coach?

By Tom

November 28, 2006 12:48 PM | Link to this

Oh, and I forgot… We need to keep Roddy White as far from here as possible. Where do people from Siberia get banished to?

By FU2

November 28, 2006 12:49 PM | Link to this

Yep, the dropped balls are all Vicks fault. If he’s so fast, then why doesn’t he throw the ball, run down field, and catch it himself? I guess he’s just too lazy.

By Rick

November 28, 2006 12:53 PM | Link to this

Shultz, You’re a classless hillbilly with slave blood in your veins.

FU

By Average Joe

November 28, 2006 01:08 PM | Link to this

Race card, black and white double standards…

I don’t get it… I never have, and I never will…

Why is there a double standard? Charles Barkley can say what he wants, Michael Irvin says what he wants, Rush Limbaugh says “Donavan Mcnabb is looked at as a great quarterback because he is black” he compared his numbers to Brad Johnson and gets canned.

I said a few months back on the AJC blog – after the Hawks took another black player – that I would like to see the Hawks take some white guys. As a white guy, I just want some affirmative action! Needless to say, I was chastised for saying that—called everything including racist. Now, if you look at the facts, the black viewer started tuning in when Tiger Woods came on the scene like never before—I know he is only ½ black. NASCAR is trying like crazy to get “diverse” drivers so that a diverse group of viewers will watch. It is fact that white, black or green, you pull for your own race, and want to tune in and watch them. Why do you see all the Asian kids wearing Ichiro jerseys? Why the double standard?

60% of the US population is white, but 20% of the basketball/football athletes are white—I just want some equality.

By honest_abe

November 28, 2006 01:52 PM | Link to this

ya ya ya…. boooo hooo all i know is donovan mcnabb was able to lead a meager philly team to the nfc championship game with receivers comparable to atlanta’s….

i’m sick of prefacing every single one of my posts… but i USED to adamnantly support/defend mike vick. but if you can’t see that he still hasn’t progressed as a QB then you’re blind. granted he has a mediocre offensive line and his receivers are pathetic… but mike vick has no pocket presence. even when he does have time he rarely steps up into the pocket with his eyes downfield. instead, he tucks and runs. for someone that is elusive, i was shocked to see him run down by a defensive tackle. either he doesn’t feel pressure well or he just likes getting hit by abnormaly big men. when’s the last time you’ve seen vick hit a WR (not TE) in stride??? think hard because you won’t be able to think of one instance… when balls are going to your right then to the left and up and over and under … i feel bad for these receivers they don’t know where the ball is headed… or even if the ball is actually going to be passed… there’s no rythm on offense and that lays at the feet of mike vick and gregg knapp…. too many people want to complain about play calling when execution is what has been lacking. trust me when i say this. i realize it isn’t even close to being mostly vicks fault that this falcons offense has struggled…..BUT, he is the the QB and they make the big bucks for a reason… because the performance of an offense lays at the QB’s feet.

case in point…. eli gets all the blame for a under performing giants offense…

bryon leftwhich gets the blame.. and eventually replaced..

jake plummer, drew bledsoe, mark brunell are all examples of people that got all the blame when their team didn’t live up to expecations. whether this criticsm is deserved is irrelevant. instead, the blame is what comes with playing that position. the falcons have flopped how much of that is vicks fault? who know’s… all i’m saying is they lost to detroit and cleveland and there should be some accountability somewhere!

this issue is not black or white… rather it is a performance issue. not directly but the team as a whole. one shouldn’t have placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of drew bledsoe as dallas had a horrendous pass protection.. yet he still got benched…

sorry for the long post..

By RickyD

November 28, 2006 01:57 PM | Link to this

Breaking News!!!! U(sic)GA to retire Reggie Ball’s jersey during halftime of the Chik-fil-a Peach Bowl for allowing them to beat Tech the laast 4 years!!!

By comot

November 28, 2006 02:04 PM | Link to this

Michael Irving…you’re right about how he keeps his ESPN job, how short is our memory of his past drug use. He of all people should be the last to judge anyone about behavior or morality.He needs to just shut up and please fade away!!!

By Eli

November 28, 2006 02:09 PM | Link to this

There’s no question Vick has regressed over the past couple of years, but that’s a result of poor coaching, not a lack of ability. When you see him have games like he had against Cincy and Pittsburgh back-to-back, it becomes obvious (to me, anyway) that the potential for greatness has not disappeared. Mora, Knapp and their merry band of idiots have stifled Vick’s development and turned him into a mental basketcase with very low confidence. Once this worthless coaching staff is shown the door, Blank can get down to the business of hiring someone who actually knows how to handle a talent like Vick. He can still be a Hall of Fame QB with the right staff (and a couple of WRs with both a right AND left hand). Don’t lose hope, Falcons fans…the future of this franchise wears #7, so we may as well learn to deal with the warts that have sprung up under Jim Mora and start freezing them off asap.

By Michael

November 28, 2006 02:20 PM | Link to this

Rick, the man’s last name is Schultz. Are you really dumb enough to think he’s a “hillbilly”, as you put it?

Idiot.

By Najeh Davenpoop

November 28, 2006 02:32 PM | Link to this

Off the top of my head, Vick hit Michael Jenkins in stride on a crossing route on 3rd down on Sunday.

Jenkins dropped it.

Only one of many accurately thrown balls by Vick on Sunday, let alone this season.

Average Joe, I’m sure there are plenty of Matt Frieje jerseys on sale at Philips Arena.

By jack

November 28, 2006 02:39 PM | Link to this

I have upheld Mike Vick for years. Is this a Vick blog? Oh, well. He puts AIS and that equals Big Bucks. He is not a QB, (although our receivers suck in the worst sense of the word receivers). He is a very good runner. Go to Schaub and check him out before we lose him after this season. If he bombs, then we will not have to say we screwed up letting him get away…and for probably nothing in return. The coaches should make the receivers sleep, shave, shower and *t with the ball for the rest of the season. Offensive coordinator needs to go. Blank, stay off the sidelines. Mike Irving is Flashy but is a bullish, pushy, know it all wantabe comic that in the end is an IDIOT….always has been, drugs and all. Mora, may be worse than Dan Reeves. Back to Blank…Arthur, you deserve more from the product on the field than you are getting….and so do the fans.

By honest_abe

November 28, 2006 02:41 PM | Link to this

lol one of many accurately thrown balls on sunday.. if that isn’t one of the funniest things i’ve seen today.. thank poop for the humor

By mslc

November 28, 2006 02:54 PM | Link to this

Do the falcons still have a president/general manager? I thought Rich Mckay was supposed to be the “second coming”. With all that has happened with the falcons the past couple of weeks, if he has addressed any of the issues or shown his face, I must have missed it. Where is his steadying hand during all the conflict? Help me out here if I missed something.

By Ken Whisenhunt

November 28, 2006 03:00 PM | Link to this

Do the Falcons even have a receivers coach, and if so, what has he been doing all year. It’s not like all the dropped balls are a new problem. Somebody needs to be held accountable, and since you can’t just cut Jenkins, White, and Lelie because of the salary cap ramifications, their coach needs to be standing in the unemployment line.

P.S.-Give me a call. I wouldn’t mind relocating.

By Ken Whisenhunt

November 28, 2006 03:02 PM | Link to this

Do the Falcons even have a receivers coach, and if so, what has he been doing all year. It’s not like all the dropped balls are a new problem. Somebody needs to be held accountable, and since you can’t just cut Jenkins, White, and Lelie because of the salary cap ramifications, their coach needs to be standing in the unemployment line.

P.S.-Give me a call. I wouldn’t mind relocating.

By Calvin

November 28, 2006 03:05 PM | Link to this

Why don’t some of you wise sports analysts think about the implications of the Tech fumble and Georgia run back for touchdown play? Does anyone really believe that the ball was loose when the Georgia player picked it out of the pile and ran with it? Since the officials couldn’t see what happened, maybe they made the right call, but isn’t it far more likely that the ball was handed from a down Georgia player to the one who ran it back? Shouldn’t every team now be practicing that play now that we know it can work? Tech should practice it too. Have a code- word for ‘let go, I’m on your side’.

By Ken Whisenhunt

November 28, 2006 03:06 PM | Link to this

Do the Falcons even have a receivers coach, and if so, what has he been doing all year. It’s not like all the dropped balls are a new problem. Somebody needs to be held accountable, and since you can’t just cut Jenkins, White, and Lelie because of the salary cap ramifications, their coach needs to be standing in the unemployment line.

P.S.-Give me a call. I wouldn’t mind relocating.

By VICKLUVA

November 28, 2006 03:07 PM | Link to this

Chris the same receivers caught the same balls from the same quarterback (MV7) against the Steelers and the Bengals. All of Drew Brees’ passing on Sunday were not accurate but his receivers went up and got the ball and made some plays. Does Vick need to improve? Yes, but when he does throw on target they need to catch the ball. BOTTOM LINE!

By cityofdecatur

November 28, 2006 04:04 PM | Link to this

THIS SEASON IS LOSTStart Schaub let Vick play some wide out it will be an improvement at both positions. And think of the sandlot posibilties. Can’t be worse then where we’re at.

By Roswell Ed

November 28, 2006 04:10 PM | Link to this

Michael Irving is an embarassment and a joke.

No insight + no charisma + 0 language skills= M Irving

What a bum?

What ever happened to Jimmy THE GREEK?

By Roswell Ed

November 28, 2006 04:12 PM | Link to this

Officer that’s my friend’s crack pipe.

By Brendan

November 28, 2006 04:22 PM | Link to this

Maybe Pam and Kid Rock realized they weren’t getting headlines anymore, and thought, “why bother?” The whole marriage might have been a PR stunt, anyway.

On to Michael Irvin and ESPN “standards and practices.” Hmmn. Michael Irvin gets caught in a crack house, with a crack wh—re, while doing CRACK, and gets to keep his job at ESPN. ESPN is nothing more than an apologist network for athletes, as has been shown time and time again. White people should be offended by Irvin’s remarks. And Irvin should be sent to “Sensitivity training.”

By KC

November 28, 2006 05:04 PM | Link to this

Personally I hope they DON’T bench Vick and play Schaub. I think he could handle it but we would still lose. The problem is not just the players but starts with the Coaches - and Artie Boy! Blank hired Mora because he felt some kind of connection? Yeah, that’s a great way to approach business… in fact I think I’ll start buying stocks based on how I feel about their names…

Artie should have waited for Rich to get up to speed and do his job! Do your job by letting others do theirs. Its the coaches who need to go - time for a Regime Change. If Mora isn’t going to own up to the fact that his people aren’t getting it done then get rid of all of them.

Back to Vick: there is too much money invested in him to get rid of; and I am really not sure another team actually wants him. Are mumblers good thinkers???? I have a cousin who is a mumbler…guess I answered my own question.

By TD

November 28, 2006 05:18 PM | Link to this

Irvin should be in jail and so should Rush. you get busted with dope you should do the time.

By Luv 2 hate Me

November 28, 2006 05:19 PM | Link to this

Michael Irving is a crack head. Anybody who can gets arrested on several coke charges and still able to get a job on TV. Now what’s wrong with that HDTV picture? ESPN hasn’t seen the first or the last of M Irving’s crazy mouth talk. I’m a African American male and I really don’t care for him.

By Chuck

November 28, 2006 05:24 PM | Link to this

Tiger Woods is NOT 50% black. He is 20% black. Mostly Asian and minority black. The racist blacks keep annointing him the king of their race becuase of his accomplishments. Heck, he didn’t even marry a black.

By Rell

November 28, 2006 05:24 PM | Link to this

I know Vicks passes arent perfect but what quarterbacks passes are? Im not just a Falcons fan but im a fan of the game. I watch as much football on saturdays and sundays as I can. And anyone else that does knows that QB’s passes arent always perfect. Some of Bradys passes are off the mack but his players make plays for him, all of Brees’s passes werent always on the mark but Horn and the other guys made plays. But when Vick does make a good pass those guys have to make the catch. When he threw that ball to Jenkins he wasnt even open but Vick put it only where he could catch it and he dropped it. It makes me sick when I watch other games and I see those recievers make good plays for their QB’s. Just simple things like coming back to the ball and beating corners in one on one coverage.

By Rell

November 28, 2006 05:26 PM | Link to this

Oh yea! Am I the only guy that wonders why D. Hall and Chris Crocker has gotten beaten on that same pass route about 6 times this year, the same route!!!

By Russ Brock

November 28, 2006 06:28 PM | Link to this

I can not stand listening to loudmouth Michael Irvin spill out his insane tripe. He defends the indefensible T.O. as if T.O. is the victim of the media and the fans. He makes me sick. Both of them make me sick.

By Michael Irvin

November 28, 2006 07:05 PM | Link to this

Are ya’ kiddin’…I can get away with doing the Yay-Yooooo, having a pipe in my car, multiple ho ho ho’s and sayin’ any damn thang I want.

Screw everybody! I’m Michael Irvin.

By Kenny Scott

November 28, 2006 07:26 PM | Link to this

Man, I could sure use 100 pounds of pot right now!

By Boots

November 28, 2006 07:37 PM | Link to this

To even discuss Vick’s strengths, weaknesses and race has become boring! And, I wouldn’t waste my time with Michael Irvin. His comments are loud, boring and ignorant. What I want to focus on regarding Schultz’s blog is that Vick must grow up and understand that the QB is the heart, the sparkplug, the leader, the thermostat of the team. He needs to assume this mantle and enthusiastically challenge his talented teammates to attain their potential. Pouting, shrugging shoulders and rolling eyes won’t feed the dog. TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR TEAM. THAT’S WHAT YOU’RE BEING PAID THE BIG BUCKS TO DO!

By DIRTIE BIRDIE

November 28, 2006 08:40 PM | Link to this

did anyone else notice deion throwing mike vick under the bus for being classless for flipping the bird?

although i understand where vick was coming from and how frustrated and fed up he was with everything and everyone of course the flipping the bird thing was absolutely immature and classless and inexcusable.

but it is not the crime of the century.

but that is not my point.

Who the heck is Deion to call someone else classless?

I love Deion.

he is the greatest CB there ever was and DHALL just insults the legacy of Prime Time by comparing himself to good ole Neon Deion.

BUT Deion did some very classless things in his career.

The Tim McCarver thing was a perfect example of how classless, immature, childish, and crass Deion could be when he wanted to be.

Now, I have always hated Tim McCarver.

Always have and always will.

In fact, I wish that somebody would go Deion on him every time McCarver showed up to a ballpark.

Something about that man irritates me to no end.

BUT the bottom line is that the Deion incident with McCarver was completely classless and he never apologized for it.

At least Vick apologized for the childish and inexcusable thing he did on sunday.

Now, some might say well deion is just older and wiser and has learned from the error of his ways and is just trying to help out mike vick by pointing out how classless and inexcusable mike vick’s finger incident was?

AS Lee Corso would say: Not so fast, my friend.

If anyone had read the New York Post on nypost.com on October 26, 2006, you would have seen that Deion was presented with the perfect opportunity to apologize for that mccarver incident and to finally say the right thing about it. Did Deion take the bait? No, my friend, he did not. He showed himself to be as classless today about the incident as he was about almost 15 years ago.

Here is an excerpt:

Q: You have spoken so much how have you learnt during your career. One of the things that people think about as maybe not a highlight was when you dumped the water on Tim McCarver after the NLCS in 1992? Do you regret that and have you ever reached out to McCarver to say, “I wish I hadn’t done that,” even though I know he said some derogatory things about you?

A: I’m not going to say that I regret that and I was wrong. I was acting out of my age and the environment, which I grew up on. If someone does something to you, you do something to him. Yes, I have gone to him to allow him to understand what really was going on. I don’t think he really understood what really was going on. Do you?

Q: I know he had said some things about you on-the-air and then in the [1992 NLCS winning] celebration, you got some ice water and dumped it on him?

A: What he said about me that “It was an act of total selfishness” to want to participate in two sports on the same day. OK, now being in the television business, I understand how friends take care of friends. He was a friend of John Schuerholz and I’m sure he was prompted to say some things that he didn’t even know the totality of them. Why I was so angry was because I had a contract with the Atlanta Falcons to be a football player from August until the end of the season. My contract ended with the Braves in June so I’m hoping the Braves out in anyway possible, pinch-running, doing anything I need to do to help an organization and I’m not even under contract. So really it was an act that I was doing was misconstrued as being a selfish thing. He didn’t have his facts right. The facts weren’t even right in how he portrayed it. That is what upset me.

So it is clear that almost 15 years later and Deion still can not apologize for a classless thing he did when mike vick was just starting junior high school.

So who really is the classless guy, Deion?

Vick apologized. Why doesn’t Deion apologize to McCarver already?

the justification Deion offered explains his frustrations at the time and why he did such a classless thing.

BUT Deion’s justifications merely provide explanations and not excuses for what he did.

There is no excuse for why Deion has not yet apologized.

Is he still not man enough to do it yet?

If you remember McCarver taunted him at the time and told him afterwards, “you’re a real man, deion. you’re a real man.”

Deion and Vick did classless things.

At least Vick was a real man about it and aplogized about it the next day.

Deion still is not enough of a real man to apologize for it 15 years later. So who is the classless guy, Deion?

By Tony

November 28, 2006 08:42 PM | Link to this

It really doesn’t matter whose fault it is: Vick, Mora, Knapp, receivers, defense. The only thing that matters is winning, period! To quote Styx, “You are fooling yourself if don’t believe it.” Just ask Peyton Manning. Probably the greatest quarterback of all time, but if he doesn’t win a Super Bowl, it won’t matter.

Nobody will care that Vick threw for 50 yards if they win. That is the bottom line.

By bk hawk

November 28, 2006 09:31 PM | Link to this

Tonight ESPN Vick said,”He did not want MORA fired, that he was okay with his coaching. I would say from Sunday and Mondays Blog 95% want MORA FIRED< LIKE YESTERDAY.

By You chicken farmers

November 28, 2006 09:36 PM | Link to this

Atlanta is at best a bigger Jacksonville. You could put a poll on this web site asking if people prefer Pepsi or Coke and it would turn into a racial arguement.

Why do you comment about sports anyway? You don’t attend games, when was the last time any of your teams had a legitimate sellout? Where seats were filled by Atlanta fans?

Al Qaeda wants to kill all of you and you’re fighting among yourselves about sports! Hey, what’s that hissing noise? Hey Jethro go check your still! Moonshine’s burning!

By galiberal

November 28, 2006 10:39 PM | Link to this

I didn’t see Michael Irvin’s comments about Tony Romo, and I don’t know if either of them are descended from slaves.

I’m a white man who, like many Southerners, only recently discovered African heritage in my bloodline, but that has absolutely nothing to do with what you know I’m about to write.

For reasons we all know full well, the institution of slavery should never, never be used in any way as an attempt at humor, not even on a sports show, not even by an African-American. Everyone should be held to that standard, and if we’re going to fire others for using it, then Mr. Irvin should go as well.

By the way, Schultz, keep up the good work. I’m a fan.

By James Stephenson

November 29, 2006 07:03 AM | Link to this

Calvin,

I watched the replay last night, you could clearly see the ball was loose when Taylor picked it up. Heck, his muscles never even tensed up as he pulled it up.

Face it, it sucked if you root for GT, but that was a clear fumble. I think some people in the pile must have been more intent on hurting another player than grabbing the ball. I mean you can actually see the ball between that tech player’s legs.

By Mony

November 29, 2006 09:36 AM | Link to this

1: You, the Georgia Tech fan: Put the finger away.

Nope, that’s me, an Alabama fan, giving you the finger IDIOT! Although, I’m sure, we all have to stand in line to do it.

Bama will get a good coach! The most storied college football program in the South will have no problem.

By Tim Bragassa

November 29, 2006 10:46 AM | Link to this

Hi Jeff, Thanks for visit. I really enjoyed meeting you and your wife last night. I would like to take good care of you with your Honda car interest. Let me know if the offer works on the 2006 Accord EXL V6.I will be here after hours today if convenient for you all. Off Thursday but again will be here if you want to revisit. Tim 770-330-0648

By White Buoy

November 29, 2006 11:05 AM | Link to this

Don’t you people know that blacks can’t be racists? Both of my children were taught so in school - by teachers who were black. Coincidentally, neither of them knew what “race” even means till it was hammered into their heads - by teachers who were black. One came home one day thinking he was a racist simply because he is white. They quickly learned that there is a double-standard when it comes to black/white relations; what can be said; and who can say it. Kids have it so easy now days. It has taken the rest of us most of our adult lives to figure all this out. Just writing this makes me a racist. See - it is never to late for a stupid cracker to learn.

By BraveDawg

November 29, 2006 11:19 AM | Link to this

No one questions Vick’s talent. Vick can be a great QB, but probably not with the Falcons. He needs an offense that can adapt to his style. We have tried and failed: do you force him to stay in a constantly-collapsing pocket, or let him keep running around forcing his receivers to abandon their routes?

The offense does not execute; it is based on what Vick does once he gets the ball, which appears to be unscripted with no intent or plan unless it is a run all the way.

The best NFL offenses do not play street ball. Every player knows what they are supposed to do on every play, and they do it over and over. Improvising is only done when the play or the route is busted or the pocket collapses. (Ever heard of the term “well-oiled machine” - where each player executes on every play and nobody gets in their way or keeps them from achieving their goal?)

Everyone knows that Vick feels more comfortable rolling out, but he hasn’t shown good judgement about when to stay in the pocket. He doesn’t wait for his receivers to get open. He doesn’t look the linebackers or the safeties off. He throws into double or triple coverage. Once he leaves the pocket, nobody knows what’s going to happen, including his own teammates.

You can blame the O-line or his receivers and backs, and maybe they do need improvement, but what is a lineman or a back supposed to do when the play calls for him to block his man to the outside, and all of a sudden the quartback shows up there?

Just because Vick is good at improvising doesn’t mean that the rest of his team is or should be. (How many of them came from a college or pro team that didn’t teach them how to “run the plays”?) I am not downplaying Vick’s tremendous runs or other great plays he has made in both winning and losing efforts; all the blame is not to be laid at his feet. But most quarterbacks run on purpose - to draw the linebackers in or to distract the corners from their coverage. But Vick doesn’t scrample with those intentions - he just starts running and then he tries to figure out what to do.

Now the fact that the offense isn’t a “well-oiled machine” is definitely the coaching staff’s fault. Design your offense, then go and get the type of players that will make it succeed. Atlanta, on the other hand, went and got a Quartback first, then tried and failed to design an offensive plan around him. Now they need to face reality: if you can’t succeed with one guy (or coach, or QB), then you have to find someone you can succeed with.

We would all like to see Vick (and Mora) succeed in Atlanta, but it’s not going to happen. Vick needs to move on to a team that knows how to utilize his talent, and we need to get over the fact that we’ve failed. As every new year shows us, there are plenty of other good QB’s out there. Now let’s go get one that fits into our offensive scheme (if we can decide on one) and surround him with the tools he needs to be great. We’ve spent too much time trying to find the right tools for Vick, and although I believe they do exist, I just don’t believe that they exist here.

By op

November 29, 2006 11:54 AM | Link to this

How do I feel about Tech’s season if they lose to WF? Frustrated!!! Reggie Ball on a good day is an offensive threat, but on a bad day is a huge liability. And you could see from the first couple of series that he didn’t have it. He bootlegged out of the pocket and threw out of bounds several times when there was little or no pressure from UGA. Once Ball starts moving, he cannot or will not look to see who is open. I cannot believe that Taylor Bennett would be worse than Reggie on a bad day. I cannot understand why Chan can’t jerk Ball out of the game when he’s being stupid. I cannot understand how you can have a Calvin Johnson and not attempt to get him the ball at least once every 3 or 4 plays. I’ll bet Michael Vick would give his middle finger to have CJ on his team.

By gamerson

November 29, 2006 02:27 PM | Link to this

It’s the ‘Vick Flick’ Falcon cheer….let’s see the fans adopt it at the next home game.

By Brandon

November 30, 2006 12:40 AM | Link to this

Schultz:

I have not forgotten about your article following the Monday night game at the Superdome.

You wrote: “This doesn’t mean they won’t make the playoffs (they will). It doesn’t mean the Saints will make the playoffs (they won’t). (Clip and save.)”

I know the season isn’t over yet, but has your tune changed?