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Sunday, December 24, 2006
Mora’s team turns soft, unwatchable
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
There will be no firing on Christmas. If Jim Mora wanted a security blanket to wrap himself in, well, there it is. That’s as good as it gets.
Another loss, but he gets another game. Another fizzled season, but he gets another game. Another home finale with a double-shot of protests from season-ticket holders (some show up and boo, some don’t show up at all). But today, we open presents.
“I’m not into announcements,” Falcons owner Arthur Blank said when asked if he was considering firing Mora before the team’s final game next week in Philadelphia. “We’re just trying to win a football game.”
At times Sunday, you wondered.
The Falcons lost 10-3 to the Carolina Panthers. They lost to a team that had lost four straight and most recently was dismembered by Pittsburgh, 37-3. They lost to a quarterback (Chris Weinke), who hadn’t won a game since the opening game his rookie year (17 losses and five years ago). They allowed 183 yards rushing to the NFL’s 27th-ranked attack. (The Panthers ran for 88 in the previous two games, but they had 72 yards on their first possession Sunday.)
Time of possession? It read like an Oklahoma-Baylor game: 42 minutes to 18.
Trying to win a football game? You wonder.
If this was a must-win game, how do players trying to save their season and their coach’s job look on a day off? If Jim Mora loses his job next week — and Hanukkah lasts eight nights, not Christmas — it will be because of games like this.
A team loses four straight home games. A team loses must-win games to inferior opponents. A team crumbles in November and December, when NFL identities are cemented.
Arthur Blank does not want to change coaches again. It’s no fun to admit you picked the wrong guy. It’s no fun to start over. It’s no fun to pick a replacement, particularly when you look at the field of candidates and think, “Where’d everybody go?”
But Blank can’t ignore the signs. Two years ago, the Falcons went to the NFC title game in Mora’s first season. But everything that has happened since then screams that year one was an aberration.
The Falcons have become soft. They have become unwatchable. Injuries are not an excuse — they are a test. Look at what Andy Reid has done with the left-for-dead Philadelphia Eagles. Look at what Jeff Fisher has done with Tennessee.
On some teams, players follow their coaches. On some, they just say they do. The Falcons have stopped following Jim Mora. They are soft. They are unwatchable. If Mora is all about passion and fire, why does his team so often lack it? Where’s the edge? Where’s the concern for keeping your job?
Mora admitted that after the team drove to a field goal on its first possession, “There was a period when there wasn’t a lot of energy.”
Does that sound like a team fighting for survival? Does that look like players following their coach?
The Falcons have gone from 11-5 to 8-8 to probably 7-9 (assuming things go as expected in Philadelphia). For all the talk about bad plays, dropped passes, missed blocks, here’s one simple reason why they’ve regressed: They don’t knock anybody down.
Quarterback Michael Vick unwittingly delivered a shot to Mora’s gut in the interview room. “We should be ranked among the elite in this league and we’re not,” he said. “… The talent level is there.”
Which tells you there is either a disconnect between players and coaches, or coaches are making the wrong decisions. They are equally indicting.
The Falcons burned a timeout in the third quarter because they couldn’t get the right players on the field. They also drew a penalty for having too many players on the field. They also lost for the 16th straight time when trailing going into the fourth quarter. So much for coaches winning a game for you.
Blank declined to say much about Mora’s status Sunday, other than today’s news-free plans. But he seemed relaxed, even joking with media members. It was almost like he had no decision to make, or he’s already made it.
“Let’s change the subject,” he said, turning to me. “How do you like the new rabbi?” And in case you’re wondering, Rabbi Greene is working out just fine, thank you. He is safe, well beyond Christmas.
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