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Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Hope rises out of ashes of QB mess
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
This is the tale of two quarterbacks. One, the new Michael Vick standing, before a rapt audience declaring his newly forged relationship with God. The other, a journeyman of modest achievement, first in line to be his successor as a Falcon, Joey Harrington. The day was Aug. 27, and the lives of the two would intersect only in the most disparate of ways.
In Richmond, Vick would stand before a judge and plead guilty to a hideous felony, then take the podium at a hotel nearby and reveal a Michael Vick none of us had ever perceived. He threw himself on the mercy of the people in a subservient manner that caused a response of compassion. It was revealing of an inner Vick none had ever known. Impeccably clad, no flashing jewelry, stern features, kind of pleading in a way, deporting himself in a manner that reached for your heart.
No further cause here to go into a repetition of his misdeeds, only a gnawing query of how an athlete of such extraordinary talent could have lowered himself to such depths for his private amusement? For one thing, he had been over-endowed with a contract of riches that was hugely excessive. One hundred thirty millions of dollars to fling or carry a football? Arthur Blank’s impulsiveness was fed by the dramatics that Vick brought to the football field. Vick had found his Midas. That relationship will be abruptly severed once the Falcons reclaim what they can of the huge bonus that preceded it all.
For all your hopes and dreams, you have seen the last of Michael Vick clad in his Falcons No. 7. While he stood before a crowded press herd, sopping up his confessional like a sponge in Richmond, Arthur Blank stood before an audience equally thirsty for his benediction to an era, though ever so brief, in Atlanta. Their divorce as employer and employee was being declared. It was a morose conclusion to what had been blessed with glorious promise.
Later that evening, the other quarterback would take his place, previously occupied by Vick, in the Georgia Dome. He is the traditional type, take the snap, drop back, find your target, deliver the ball. The Falcons were playing their third preseason game against Cincinnati. Joey Harrington had been picked up off the street, so to speak, a matter of desperation in the view of Vick’s defection. His rival for the evening would be a Heisman Trophy winner, Carson Palmer, a glittering star when the two played in the Pac-10. Harrington had been a star at Oregon, but far from the glitter of Southern Cal and Palmer, and was drafted by Detroit, later traded to Miami, which was a form of rejection.
His ascension as the successor to Vick became automatic. He was all they had. What a predicament for Bobby Petrino, new on the job. There was no mourning. If he ever mentioned Vick’s name, it never got beyond the gates at Flowery Branch. He put his team on the field, rounded up a couple of spear-carriers to back up Harrington, and said “bring ‘em on,” a term attributed only to me.
Now, this was critically coincidental. The day of Vick’s plea in Richmond, Harrington would get his introduction to the home fans. Many caroused outside in defense of Vick. Many inside wore shirts bearing Vick’s name. The Dome was smatteringly attended, but somehow the crowd seemed to grow, as did its approval of Harrington as the game wore on. He completed eight of his first nine passes, often under a hard rush. But he held his ground in the pocket and fired bullets. Touchdown passes were completed to Adam Jennings and Jerious Norwood, and Roddy White dropped one in the end zone, causing some to wonder just which Roddy White this was. (That’s also the name of the Falcons’ event director.)
Harrington put his firm clasp on the job. It wasn’t one of those games that fluttered with exciting plays, but most encouraging trend was, once in the lead, the Falcons had the defense to hold it. Petrino was conspicuous by his inconspicousness. No nose for the camera. What he put on the field bore his signature. Like a well-fitting pair of gloves on a pair of hands, it seemed, he and Joey Harrington having their opening night together. One performance does not a season make, or even establish a trend, but there was something the Falcons were quite proud of.
After Harrington had left the field to Chris Redman and Casey Bramlet, it was revealed to the press box that Harrington’s passing rating was 118, the kind of stuff of which the road to Canton is paved. Foolish thought, oh, how foolish, but it was a treasured testimonial for one exceedingly nerve-racked day in the life of the Falcons.
Permalink | | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Furman Bisher
Bennett already steady for Jackets
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
Georgia Tech recently had a quarterback who had skill and passion but was prone to emotional face-plants. There really wasn’t any reason to dislike Reggie Ball. It’s just that after four seasons, Tech fans were sick of watching a whiffleball in a windstorm.
The Yellow Jackets open the season Saturday at Notre Dame. We can’t predict how Taylor Bennett will react to the seemingly out-of-whack expectations set up by his three-touchdown flash dance in the Gator Bowl or the inevitable descent that interrupts any young quarterback’s season. But don’t expect emotions to be an issue with this guy.
Bennett has already endured the toughest setback for a Tech quarterback — Calvin Johnson’s departure. He found out in January when his cellphone made that unfortunate you’ve-got-a-really-bad-text sound.
“I was in Arizona taking a shower, and I could hear somebody sent me a text message,” he said. “I knew right away it was Calvin, because he was supposed to make his decision that day. I got out and picked up the phone and the message just said, ‘I’m leaving.’ I wanted to take my phone and throw it against the wall.’ No kidding.”
Probably serious. But he recovered. Get used to it.
Sometimes you get a sense for whether a kid will have a tendency to pop a spring. Ball was walking blowtorch from the time he stepped on campus. The only question was whether he would ever find the “low burn” indicator.
“Reggie was an unbelievable competitor,” said coach Chan Gailey, choosing his words carefully. “That worked for him sometimes and against him sometimes. But more for the good than the bad.”
Gailey on Bennett: “He’ll be fine.”
That was easy.
The Jackets are loaded with returning starters. But they lost the best player in the country. You can spin it any way you like — a great running game, great offensive line, great balance — but you don’t take a player like Calvin Johnson off a roster and get better.
So the season’s pretty much up to Bennett.
No pressure or anything.
“I don’t mind,” he said, smiling. “If I fail, I’ll just say we lost Calvin.”
He gives the standard response on pressure, that he’s his own worst critic. It turns out his mother is a close second. Wendy Jones would take him to summer camps when he was in high school and quiz her son in diners on defensive coverages.
“I didn’t know anything,” Bennett said. “My mom would pull out sugar packets in the restaurant and start asking me questions. I was trying to figure out what ‘cover 4’ meant and certain blitzes and stuff like that. Now when she sees something in a game, she’ll ask what happened on a certain play and we’ll get out the sugar packets.”
Now he speaks football. As well as Russian and Spanish. The former he took for three semesters, mistakenly believing it fulfilled his language requirement for his International Affairs majors. (For some reason, Tech recognizes only Spanish, French and German for the major. I guess in Tech’s world, the U.S. and Russia don’t have International Affairs.)
But it hasn’t dissuaded from Bennett’s desire to visit Russia or follow up on his career aspirations. He wants to be a spy.
Now might be a good time to design a few misdirection plays.
“I’d like to do something for the Department of Homeland Security, or maybe CIA,” Bennett said. “I don’t want to be like a secret undercover spy who goes around shooting people. But I’d like to be involved in operations abroad. The whole idea of clandestine services sounds interesting.”
South Bend is three days away. This is generally when nerves start to build. Bennett: “Nervousness comes from not knowing things.”
I know. Sounds too good. You think: He’ll walk into the stadium that even he refers to as, “The Holy Land of college football” and his knees were wobble.
But he didn’t look nervous in his last start. He doesn’t seem intimidated now. The whole spy thing? Makes perfect sense to Gailey.
“He’s got that kind of preparation — a little bit of sneakiness to him,” Gailey said.
“If things don’t work out for him in football, I would trust him to safeguard our country.”
Somewhere between eight wins and world peace would suffice.
Permalink | Comments (39) | Categories: Jeff Schultz, Tech / ACC
No Blank check coming from Vick
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
THE TUESDAY COUNTDOWN
10: I understand completely the Falcons wanting to recoup $22 million in bonuses from Michael Vick. But they probably have a better chance of selling Vick jerseys for full retail than getting all of that back.
9: Going after the money is the right thing for the Falcons, primarily because it can create salary cap space. It’s right for the league because it sends a message to players who jump the rails in their personal life and mistakenly believe it won’t hurt them financially. Who knows, the Falcons might even be able to navigate the long and complex process of winning a judgment. But …
8: They only regain the cap space if they actually collect the money from Vick, not merely win a judgment. Those are two different animals. Just ask the Goldmans (and, no, I’m not comparing Vick to O.J. Simpson, so take your finger off the e-mail button). Vick isn’t about to say, “You’re right. Here’s my ATM card.”
7: We know Vick has made a lot of money but we don’t know how many assets he actually has, to what extent they’re shielded and how much money is actually buried in a hole between two palm trees on a remote island in Fiji. So good luck, Mr. Blank. This won’t be as easy as, “Cap space, aisle six.”
6: Even as a media member, I agree there should be certain rules of etiquette for press conferences. For example, there was the reporter who Monday dipped into the wrong bag of clichés when he asked Arthur Blank if he planned to “keep his players on a shorter leash.” Ugh.
5: Gotta admit. I’m so worn out by the perceived racial fallout of the Vick case that I actually liked seeing a picture in ajc.com of three white guys in Vick jerseys holding up a sign that read, “I will redeem myself.”
4: And now for something completely different: I’ve been collecting a few items from local sports teams for a benefit auction. The Braves last week were nice enough to send me two autographed balls. One by John Smoltz, the other by Bob Wickman. I do believe one has just become a chew toy.
3: It would be nice if at least one of the Falcons’ Virginia Tech products (Vick, DeAngelo Hall, Jimmy Williams) didn’t turn into a punch line. But Hall isn’t helping. Last night he had “I Own U 85” — a reference to Cincinnati receiver Chad Johnson — shaved into his hair. Johnson burned him for five catches for 83 yards and a touchdown in less than three quarters. Clearly, Johnson owned Hall — and I’m not talking about his scalp.
2: Yes, that was Hank Aaron, relaxed in a room full of reporters Monday at Blank’s foundation office, calmly answering all questions — fully realizing not even one would include the words “steroids” or “Bonds.”
1: Four days until college football Saturday. Oh, how I long for the relatively amusing crimes of the SEC.
Permalink | Comments (135) | Categories: Jeff Schultz, Quick Hit
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