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DEL.ICIO.USFalcons players know where they stand
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
Flowery Branch — If nothing else, the rapidly imploding Falcons lead NFL teams in the most times having their players get punted, passed and kicked by the honest tongue of their head coach.
This is a good thing, by the way, and a refreshing one. No more Mister Mora’s Neighborhood, a fantasy land that existed for the other guy even when the Falcons were barely ordinary during the last two of his three years in town.
Now the Falcons have Petrino’s Place, and it’s a developing soap opera, but the star of the show isn’t acting when he speaks.
He’s serious. For instance: Falcons quarterback Joey Harrington is playing like somebody with a career record of 23-45 as a starter, (in other words, he is playing like a loser), and their head coach is declaring as much in public. Said Bobby Petrino on Monday at Falcons headquarters, describing Harrington’s role in the team’s pathetic 0-2 start in the NFC South, “He just needs to open it up and play with confidence. Play to go win the game.”
Of an offensive line that has allowed 13 sacks with relative ease, Petrino said many of them occurred when the Falcons had “max protection,” which is beyond absurd.
Of a running game that has digressed from leading the league in rushing the past three years to struggling so much that its longest run in Sunday’s 13-7 loss in Jacksonville was 8 yards, Petrino said the backs have to hit the holes “a little harder.” (In other words, the linemen are run blocking better than you think. Either that, or they have partners in crime.)
There are so many other examples of candor since Petrino’s hire in January, but here are several more recent ones. He chastised his placekicker after the first game, when Matt Prater went 1-for-2 in field goals along the way to 1-for-4 overall - and out the door.
He also did a rarity for a coach following the Jacksonville game by admitting that the Jaguars were successfully “attacking” overmatched Lewis Sanders at cornerback. “There’s no question about that,” added Petrino.
Now we’ll just have to wait and see whether Petrino’s blunt ways with this previously pampered bunch will push the Falcons players closer to winning or whining.
It’s a toss-up. Remember the Falcons are only months removed from the Jim Mora days, when the previous head coach was such a buddy to his players that he used to sniff ammonia caps with them on the sidelines during games. He had Snoop Dogg and DMX blaring through speakers to start practice. Then there was that time when the Falcons went as a group to see a movie. The story goes that while everybody else rode the team buses, Mora followed behind with DeAngelo Hall in the cornerback’s Lamborghini.
“It took a little while to get used to Coach Petrino, because Coach Mora was in the locker room all the time, and some people say that he was too friendly with the players,” said center Todd McClure, in his ninth year with the Falcons. “Then you go to a coach like Bobby Petrino, who comes in and cares about winning games and is all about football.”
Sounds like Dan Reeves, Mora’s predecessor, who took the Falcons on their only Super Bowl trip and turned them into the first team ever to win a playoff game in Green Bay. He was as straightforward as they come, but he spoke from decades of experience as a former NFL player and coach. In contrast, Petrino hasn’t been a head coach before at the pro level. He has been a college head coach noted for blistering players. Such a combination often has led to revolts in NFL locker rooms (see Tom Coughlin and Butch Davis).
So, courtesy of Petrino’s tongue, is it going to be winning or whining for the Falcons?
“I mean, that’s the business. It’s the honesty of it,” McClure said. “We have to get better. If you’re Coach Petrino, there’s no reason to beat around the bush. You know?”
We know. So does Petrino. Just ask him, and he’ll tell you.
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