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September 2007
Tip your cap to Petrino
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
That sound you heard … well, it was no sound at all. For the first time this calendar year, there was no storm buffeting the Falcons — no call for another town meeting; no further outcry over the absence of Matt Schaub; nary a discouraging word from DeAngelo Hall. There was only an actual team winning an actual game and luxuriating in the sound of silence.
“We’ve had to fight through the controversy,” Bobby Petrino said Sunday, and nobody has fought harder than this coach. The Falcons coulda/shoulda been a shambles by now, but one man has averted the collapse, one driven man with one heck of a plan.
The Falcons beat Houston — Schaub’s team, if you haven’t heard — and thereby exited the ranks of the winless. In the locker room afterward, Arthur Blank handed the game ball to the coach who’d just notched his first NFL victory, and never was a trophy more dearly earned. “He’s not going to let that happen,” said Blank, speaking of what many figured would be the imminent implosion of his team. “[Petrino’s] going to will it not to happen.”
He already has. Imagine if the Falcons, who opened training camp to PETA protests and a banner-streaming plane overhead and who fell to 0-3 after their Pro Bowl cornerback decided it was more important to win an argument than a game, had plunged to 0-4 by losing to the quarterback they let go. Imagine the angst that would have generated.
Now imagine its absence. Imagine instead this tempest-tossed team headed into the season’s second month on a warm wave of happiness.
Because that’s what transpired Sunday. For at least one sweet day, the Falcons stopped being a drama workshop and learned how it feels to be a normal NFL team. They did what they were supposed to do and got the result they were supposed to get. They executed Petrino’s offensive schemes and saw, for the second week running, that this stuff will work in the pros, same as it had for Louisville. They saw Hall sit out the first quarter because his coach had had enough of his raging egomania, and maybe they respected Petrino all the more for taking such a stance so soon in his stewardship.
“It’s been a tough situation,” Keith Brooking said. “But we faced it, and then we started 0-3. But we kept fighting and plugging away. … It hasn’t been easy, but we’ve moved forward.”
Petrino can work 50 more years and never have a tougher ride than his first nine months as the Falcons’ coach. Said Lawyer Milloy, who was drafted by Bill Parcells and who played for Bill Belichick: “[Petrino] has been outstanding. Being a rookie head coach, losing your starting quarterback … we are a reflection of him, and hats off to him, truly. He’s a guy you want to fight for.”
Speaking of hats: Petrino had gone without one against Carolina the previous week; he sported a white cap Sunday. The thinking? “Just trying everything to get a win,” he said, smiling. “Not that I’m superstitious, but you’ll probably be seeing a white hat for a while.”
Some teams would have waved the white flag by now. These Falcons seem to be grasping the notion that, for all they’ve endured, they can still make something of this season. Said GM Rich McKay: “Bobby hasn’t given in to the discussions or the excuses, and those are the two things you worry about.”
And now they face a more conventional worry — next week’s opponent. They’ve gotten past Michael Vick and Matt Schaub and MeAngelo Hall, and the guy in the white hat has kept his wits and his players’ attention. The Falcons don’t get a break from football for their efforts Sunday, but they did earn themselves a respite from all the stuff that has nothing to do with football.
“Since the [Vick] water-bottle incident [in January], it’s been nonstop,” Blank said. “We’re hopeful this can be a quiet week and we can focus on the Titans.”
Permalink | Comments (52) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Mark Bradley
Choice is right as Jackets find their cure
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
First, there was Notre Dame. A wipeout in South Bend. Georgia Tech’s stock rose like a bull market. Then Samford, nice little Samford, an easy means of giving bulk to the team stats. Then came Boston College, a worthy foe, but at home, couldn’t the Eagles have been had? Then news arrived that Michigan had wiped out Notre Dame, too. Maybe the Irish market had been overvalued.
Next came Virginia in Charlottesville, not one of Tech’s favorite places to hang out. But wait a minute, this wasn’t supposed to be a Wahoo year, and here they came. This was getting serious, from 2-0 to the bottom of the Coastal Division of the ACC. The silence was deafening, and meanwhile, Clemson was rolling along unbeaten, 4-and-0, and flexing its muscles. Clemson used to come to town for Bobby Dodd’s personal amusement, and that rankled Frank Howard. But those days are gone. The Tigers are no longer a delicacy on the plate of the big-city Yellow Jackets. They could slug it out with anybody, and here they came.
Second in total offense and passing in the ACC, leading scorer, leader in third-down conversions. If you had suggested to anyone with all his marbles that Clemson would kick a field goal in the first quarter and never score again, he’d have suggested a mental examination.
Mike Knobler had set forth his prescription for the Clemson cure in the Saturday paper, not that Dr. Knobler had it right on the nose, but the vitals were there. Tashard Choice had to be fired up, and he was an infernal flame the Tigers couldn’t put out. Taylor Bennett needed to improve his passing rating, and while that’s still in need of attention, he still kept order and managed to connect on seven of 15 launches for 67 yards. Then there was the order to keep the drives going and the Tigers backing up.
But this was the big one: Play defense early, and onward, and in the long run, this was defense’s day. This should not detract in any way from Choice and how much he contributed to the most vital stat of ball possession. Against the Wahoos, he was only half-Choice, not nearly physically ready to carry the load. This day, he simply ran the Tigers until they were out of breath and full of frustration. Thiry-two times the ball was his, and he delivered 145 of Tech’s 256 offensive yards and scored the only touchdown, which, in essence, put the Tigers away for the day. He made the most out of third downs and contributed mightily to that important figure of possession time.
In fact, Chan Gailey himself said he was shocked that Choice went as far as he did after a hamstring injury. “But if you stood in the locker room and heard him before the game and during halftime, it wouldn’t surprise you.”
Choice is an unusual young man, anything but a physical beast, 6-feet-1 and a trim 205 pounds. Frequently transfers don’t always work out this efficiently.
He had played behind the Heisman-hoopla-ed Adrian Peterson at Oklahoma, far removed from his home in Riverdale, and his mother, who was unable to travel. So, home he came, and it was no academic burden. He is on the All-ACC Academic Honor Roll, majoring in history, technology and society. On the field, he is what the old guard used to call a slashing runner, and apparently knows no fatigue.
Clemson kept its third-down efficiency high, but came up short on offensive consistency. And the field-goal kicker, Mark Buchholz, was 1-for-5 at his specialty. The thing was, Georgia Tech took charge of this game and never lost track of its purpose. Last year the Tigers’ James Davis had a track meet against Tech, 216 yards on foot. This Saturday at Bobby Dodd-Grant Field, the whole Tiger team was held to 34 yards on the ground.
There is new breath in the body, a thrumping spirit, and all this sandwiched around a day fraught with the interruption of something misconstrued as entertainment, during which we learned that Georgia Tech has an “official burrito.” Ole!
In Dogs’ backfield, two can play this game
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
Athens — Just thinking, while sitting here on Saturday at Sanford Stadium and watching the rising Knowshon Moreno shred the Ole Miss defense with his gifted legs when the already established Thomas Brown wasn’t doing the same.
Can’t we all just get along?
This doesn’t apply to the two Georgia running backs. They co-exist famously.
Once, along the way to Georgia’s slow-developing rout of 45-17, there was a timeout that featured an impromptu hip-hop act. The stadium’s big screen showed Moreno and Brown gyrating and smiling next to each other on the sidelines to “Crank That” by Soulja Boy. Later, when Moreno complemented Brown’s third rushing touchdown with a sprint to the end zone of his own, the two continued their tradition of leaping in the air and bumping body parts on the way down.
The problem involves nearly everybody else in the Bulldog Nation when it comes to Brown, Georgia’s starter at tailback as an accomplished senior, and the other guy who is the people’s choice as a redshirt freshman displaying more than a little razzle to go with his dazzle.
Which begs another question: Why not both? Few around Death Valley whine about Clemson’s splendid backfield of James Davis and C.J. Spiller. You may recall that Auburn had success with Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown. Georgia Tech has the duo of Tashard Choice and Jonathan Dwyer, and Arkansas uses Darren McFadden along with Felix Jones. Then you have USC’s brilliant runner for the moment.
Thomas Brown shrugged, while seeking to place the illogical into perspective after his game for the ages (11.2 yards per carry for 180 yards overall and those three touchdowns). “Maybe fans are reacting historically, because we’ve always had a lot of guys who have come through here and have kind of dominated by themselves,” said Brown, mentioning the usual suspects, ranging from Herschel Walker, Lars Tate and Tim Worley to Rodney Hampton, Garrison Hearst and Robert Edwards.
Added Brown, “People overlook the fact that we have so many talented guys in our program right now that you just can’t have one guy out there on the field. Guys are competitive, and we’re all fighting for time, and we all can be productive.”
Yes, they can, with Brown and Moreno at the forefront.
While Brown leads the Bulldogs in all-purpose yards and is their everyman as a kick returner and a member of their punt return and kickoff teams, Moreno is Georgia’s leading rusher and is second in receiving yards.
“I learn from [Brown], and what I learn is how to carry yourself, because he’s a good person on and off the field. So is Lumpkin,” said Moreno, referring to Kregg Lumpkin, another runner of note, who will make things even cozier in Georgia’s backfield when he returns next week from a hand injury. “I just look up to those guys. It’s an honor to have them on the team, and we’re just all out there having fun.”
In other words, they cover their ears to drawn out the needless controversy around them. Despite Brown’s brilliance, for instance, the other guy got the tightest hug from most of the 92,746. It wasn’t because of his spin move in the backfield in the first quarter that left defenders flat-footed while he raced for 25 yards. It wasn’t because he almost was tackled in the backfield on a play, kept his balance and gained 24 yards. It wasn’t even because he added three catches worth 28 yards to his rushing total of 90 overall.
It was because the stadium became the morgue in the third quarter, when Moreno was sandwiched between the ground and 310 pounds of Ole Miss’ Jerry Peria after one of his spectacular runs. Courtesy of what Georgia coach Mark Richt called a “frog splash,” Moreno had the wind knocked out of him, along with just about everything else, but he eventually rose to his feet.
The crowd screamed wildly for the people’s choice. In fact, it likely was the loudest cheer of the day. That’s fine, but here’s what the Bulldog Nation should know: There is enough barking to go around.
Petrino lost one Falcon at the start
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
He starred at Virginia Tech, was lauded for his athleticism and ability to make game-changing plays and projected as a franchise centerpiece. Now he is central to an embarrassing episode in Falcons history.
No, not Michael Vick.
If DeAngelo Hall’s future with the Falcons is not as dead as Vick’s, it’s only because this is just week four and Bobby Petrino hasn’t yet had his fill of contracts and egos and fled back to the college ranks.
But check back after the season when the LSU or Michigan job opens up.
This, we know: Coach and player don’t like each other. Expounding on personal relationships isn’t quite in Petrino’s makeup. But Hall says the two have had problems almost from the time the new coaching staff arrived. He believes he is treated differently than other veterans. He speculates his relationship with Petrino may have “went sour” when he told the coach before the season that he didn’t want to play on offense or return punts.
Asked twice if he thought he could play for Petrino long term, Hall paused before responding: “Some things would have to change, obviously. Like you said, some guys are made for college. Some guys are made for the NFL. If he wants respect given to him, he must give respect back.”
A week ago, Hall’s meltdown — an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty, following pass interference and personal-foul penalties in a span of five snaps — led to a Carolina touchdown and eventually the Falcons’ third loss of the season. It was the home opener, and fans saw Hall and Petrino argue on the sideline.
The next day, Petrino said discipline would be handled in-house. Two days later, Hall shot the windows out with his mouth and declared relative war over being fined $100,000 and benched for the start of today’s game against Houston. He’s appealing the fine. He held court for the media.
Petrino’s reaction: He smiled slightly and said, “I’m not going to let it upset me.”
But he knows he has a problem. Just ask Hall. Ask him anything.
He believes Petrino has a double standard in the way he deals with players: “From the moment their staff got here, I think I was interpreted as a young guy. I accomplished so much so fast. But I’m 23. We’ve drafted guys older than me. I’m still viewed as a guy who they can mold and turn into this or that, as opposed to a Keith Brooking who’s a 10-year guy and doesn’t get bothered about the way he tackles or strips the ball or any little teeny thing. That’s the way I want to be treated. I want to be respected. I don’t just walk up to people and [curse at] them all the time. But you can ask [former coach Jim Mora]: If he [cursed] me, I [cursed] him right back. That’s probably my biggest problem, that equality. If you’re going to talk to this guy that way, you should talk to everybody that way. If you’re not going to talk to X-Y-Z after he makes a mistake, then why, after I make a mistake or a penalty, are you talking to me a different way?”
He speculates saying no to playing some at receiver upset Petrino: “I was all for it at first. But when I got into a classroom, it was kind of information overload. I thought, ‘I need to learn what this defense does first.’ Maybe that rubbed him the wrong way.”
And saying no to punt returns: “Obviously it was a greater chance to get hurt. But we also had a pretty good one at the time in Allen Rossum. I said, ‘That’s really not me anymore.’ It was when I was coming out of college. But now I’m a corner first, not a punt returner or a special-teams player, like Devin Hester.”
And he kept going. The man’s an athlete. Stamina’s not a problem.
He denied ever telling Steve Smith last week, “I’ve been in as many Pro Bowls as you; I make more money than you,” as the Panthers’ receiver contended. Hall: “It’s a he said/she said thing.” (The problem: Only one guy has built up credibility.)
He clarified an incident before last season in which he drove Mora to a team-building function in his Lamborghini while other players watched from the bus. Hall said all players took the bus to the movie “Invincible.” He admitted giving Mora a ride to a team bowling tournament, but says some other players also drove cars. (The problem: It doesn’t change the fact that several veterans were upset by the incident.)
He doesn’t believe his close relationship with Mora created problems, but says he never was given a chance to get close to Petrino: “I came in trying to drum up something. But he’s a little different. He’s not as personable. He’s not as loving. I don’t know if it went sour when I said I didn’t want to play offense. I don’t know where it went south.”
Most of all, he denies any likeness to a player who cares more about himself than the team: “I’m not ‘MeAngelo.’ I’ve talked to other coaches and general managers in this league. That’s not how they view me. If somebody on TV calls me MeAngelo, that’s what they get paid for. Opinions are like noses: Everybody’s got one. Some are bigger than others.”
Is that your line?
“No. Keyshawn said it.”
Is talking to other coaches or GMs allowed, given tampering rules?
“I don’t think so. But no names were given out.”
At this point, it doesn’t matter. Hall’s contract expires after next season. But there will be a trade market after this one. He says he doesn’t want to leave. He recently bought a new home in Chateau Elan.
He says he and Petrino “have had a couple of conversations” since the blowup. “Is the air cleared? I think so,” he said.
But this isn’t 2004. The Falcons drafted him eighth overall with the expectation he would be a staple on defense for years, much like Vick on offense. One plan crashed and burned. The other is on a rapid descent.
“Coach Petrino inherited this team,” Hall said. “He didn’t draft me, so I don’t know if they want me here.”
When the defense takes the field today, Hall will be on the sideline. You might want to get used to it.
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Schaub trade was right move for Falcons at the time
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
It looks bad now, but trading Matt Schaub wasn’t a bad move. At the time, it was a sound transaction made for the right reasons. The Falcons dealt Schaub to Houston on March 22. Would anyone have believed then that an April 20 drug arrest of Michael Vick’s cousin would, in the course of 129 dizzying days, transform the franchise quarterback into a convicted felon?
On March 22, Michael Vick had never been charged with any crime. (For all the uproar regarding the water bottle, ask yourself this: Would any NFL team have cut its starting quarterback over an incident that yielded no charges?) He had taken to a new coach and a new offense and had, from all available evidence, taken control of his career. “He’s been phenomenal,” Rich McKay said in April. “I think you guys [in the media] have put it in his head: ‘This is it.’”
Let’s recall: Pretty much everything that happened over the winter was about Vick. Bobby Petrino didn’t just sign on to coach the Falcons; as he said, speaking of Vick four days after taking the job, “That’s why we’re here.” He had long dreamed of fitting his scheme to such a stylized talent, and now he had that chance.
As of March 22, Schaub was a career backup who’d started two NFL games. This wasn’t a case of the Falcons drafting Brett Favre and giving up on him after one season and four NFL passes. The Falcons had studied Schaub for three years and this is what they’d decided: He was good enough to start (and maybe win) somewhere, but not so good he’d ever start ahead of Vick.
Schaub would have become an unrestricted free agent after this season. The Falcons couldn’t keep him with a fat long-term contract because Vick was already making his $130 million, and Schaub wouldn’t have stayed as a No. 2 because he wanted to start. So, to get anything in return, the Falcons had to move him this spring.
On March 22, they traded Schaub to the Texans for Houston’s No. 2 choices in 2007 and 2008 and a swap of Round 1 positions in the April draft. The Falcons took defensive end Jamaal Anderson with the eighth pick of Round 1; they selected offensive lineman Justin Blalock with the Round 2 pick acquired from Houston. Both are starters already. That wouldn’t seem a bad yield for a backup quarterback.
The Falcons aren’t surprised Schaub is doing well in Houston, but nobody around the team ever bought into the revisionist theory that Schaub should have been starting here. The players saw Vick on a daily basis and knew full well that he routinely did things nobody else in football could do even once. Dumping on Vick the person has become a local pastime, but let’s not forget the reason we took note of Vick in the first place: He could play the game.
And he was about to play it for a better coach in a better system, and everyone in Flowery Branch was ecstatic over the prospects. Then Davon Boddie got arrested — funny how a marijuana charge mushroomed, kind of like a third-rate burglary bringing down a president — and a search warrant for the property at 1915 Moonlight Road was filed. On Aug. 27, Vick pleaded guilty.
Recalling the Falcons’ historic lack of sagacity is a source of continual hilarity. (Dumping Favre! Drafting Reggie Kelly! Hiring Marion Campbell — twice!) Already the Schaub trade is considered the latest in the line of royal whiffs, but it must be noted that this poor result wasn’t the product of a poor choice.
The Falcons were convinced they had the right quarterback. In a weird way, the trade with Houston only underscores their belief in Vick. Had they any hint of what would happen, they’d never have traded Schaub. Alas, they didn’t know the unknowable. To borrow Tom Joyner’s question to the evangelist Juanita Bynum: “If you’re a prophet, didn’t you see this coming?”
Don’t get self-righteous and say you knew, on March 22, that dogfighting would be the undoing of Michael Vick. Because you didn’t. On March 22, nobody did.
Permalink | Comments (132) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Mark Bradley
Schaub satisfies Birds’ munchies
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
And now, this update from the world of natural herbal remedies, while wondering why Michael Vick was ordered to wear an electronic anklet when a dog collar seems so much more appropriate.
A warehouse in Texas storing over 2,000 pounds of marijuana recently caught fire, causing firefighters to inhale fumes while extinguishing the blaze. None of the firefighters were drug-tested, but it’s believed to be the first time somebody actually tried to eat a tire, a hose and part of a barn.
Which leads us to this week’s revelation that Michael Vick flunked a drug test, reaffirming that his fake water bottle in the Miami airport must not have come with a fake urine sample.
It’s not known whether Judge Henry Hudson, who has never been high or even once giggled, will increase Vick’s expected jail time.
But with Vick, Mike Tyson and O.J. Simpson all potentially heading back to prison at about the same time, at least ESPN has the makings of another gutter-level Town Hall meeting. (Live From Leavenworth! It’s Saturday Night!)
What more wonderful timing for the Falcons. They’re 0-3 and the man who would replace Vick, Matt Schaub, returns to town with the Houston Texans.
I’m not necessarily advocating mind-altering substances. But when you’re a home underdog to the Texans, it’s a good time to escape reality. (Just do it before 10 p.m., because after that you’re confined to your house and you’re going to have send a friend out for the Nacho Cheese Doritos.)
Joey Harrington looked good last week. Or were those my clouds talking? Whatever. Smoke this: Falcons win one. (But take the three.)
Value meals
• Clemson at Fool Me Twice: Hello free-fall, my old friend. Georgia Yech outscored Notre Dame and Samford 102-17. Then they got slapped as favorites by Boston College and Virginia. At least this time the Jackets didn’t prolong the tease. They made the Cavaliers look good, which is something even Al Groh hasn’t been able to do. Must you ask? Clemson covers 4.
• Old Ms. at Georgia: For some reason, there’s concern that the Doggies may suffer some sort of letdown after letting the air out of the Saban balloon last week. Why? Just because Mississippi lost by only six points to Florida? The state has been built on “moral” victories since Vicksburg fell after two months. Or was that minutes? More of the same: Georgia covers 15.
• Bammy-FSU (in Jacksonville): If I understand this correctly, FSU has fired two academic advisers and implicated 23 athletes for cheating on tests given on the Internet, but none were football players who’ve actually played this season, which I guess means there’s a chance the Seminoles’ best players are cheaters but at least haven’t played yet, which is good for the future. Wait, that didn’t come out right. Take the gift 2-1/2 — but Alabama wins straight up.
• Auburn at Florida: The Gators could be missing two of their top weapons, Andre Caldwell and Percy Harvin. The Tigers lost to South Florida and Mississippi State. Checkmate! Gators cover 18 1/2.
• LSU at Tulane: When Tulane officials signed up for this game, did they get disability insurance written into the deal? Or did they just figure all of the LSU players would be working for the Tulane players one day anyway? Tigers win (duh), but I’m a sucker for 40 points.
• Bears at Lions: When he retires, Rex Grossman’s greatest career achievement will go down as turning Brian Griese into a viable option. Bears cover 2-1/2.
• Rams at Cowboys: Marc Bulger has bruised ribs, the Rams are 0-3 and owner Georgia “Dollar A Dance” Frontiere is running short on Face Spackle. Another 37 years of torture should even things up. (I’m from L.A. Still a little bitter.) Dallas wins 197-6.
• Steelers at Cardinals: Oh, and look: Allen Rossum returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown and didn’t get arrested, suspended, fined or stoned. He’d never make it here. Pitt covers the six.
• Chiefs at Chargers: Norv Turner (1-2) can tie Marty Schottenheimer (14-2) with a 13-game winning streak. Chargers cover 11-1/2.
• Raiders at Dolphins: If Miami (0-3) keeps losing, it can become the first franchise to go through seasons both winless and undefeated. On a related note, Ricky Williams has applied for reinstatement, but he can’t remember for what. Fish win one, but take the Raiders and 4.
Permalink | Comments (42) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Jeff Schultz, Tech / ACC, UGA / SEC
Carolina game showed Petrino’s offense does work
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
Lost in the wash of DeAngelo Hall’s Sunday psychodrama — speaking of which, you’ve doubtless noted how quickly Hall went from taking any disciplinary action (his words here) “in full stride,” to planning to file a grievance over said action — was something that actually augurs well for the Falcons. Not necessarily in the here and now, but absolutely for future.
That something: Bobby Petrino’s offense worked.
The Falcons amassed 442 yards against Carolina, and those were real yards. (As opposed to what Jim Mora called “empty yards,” meaning the kind run up when a team is two touchdowns behind and the opponent is arrayed in a soft zone.) Joey Harrington passed for 361 yards, which is more than Michael Vick — speaking of whom, can you believe he couldn’t go his first month as a convicted felon without messing up? — ever managed in an NFL game. Harrington, as has been noted, isn’t the greatest quarterback in the world. If Petrino’s scheme can make him look good, imagine what it might do for Matt Ryan or Andre Woodson or Brian Brohm.
More than just Harrington, everybody on offense benefited. Roddy White made plays. Heck, even Michael Jenkins made plays. (I’d still like to see much more of Jerious Norwood, but maybe that’s just me.) An offense that did nothing the first two weeks moved easily and consistently — the Falcons punted once in the first half — and should have built a fat lead. That only a skinny margin was generated, and that Hall essentially overrode it with his emoting, reminds us that these are still the Falcons, but maybe soon they’ll be something different, something better.
With any coach who moves from college to the NFL, the question is always: Will the same stuff work at a higher level? It didn’t for Steve Spurrier, but the belief here is that it will for Petrino. That’s assuming he gets enough players. That’s also assuming DeAngelo Hall learns to zip his lip, which is probably assuming too much.
Permalink | Comments (75) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Quick Hit
Vick’s apologists just want to see him play
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
He is a convicted felon who confessed and copped a plea, but they couldn’t care less. Dogfighting in the state of Virginia is illegal, but they couldn’t care less. He also was nailed by the feds for illegal gambling, but they couldn’t care less.
Not only that, his self-inflicted woes continue to mount, and include a lawsuit that claims he defaulted on a $2.5 million loan and a positive test for marijuana within days after his plea deal.
They couldn’t care less.
The same goes for how silly they sound by saying the media is picking on somebody who admits his guilt and keeps getting in trouble. The same goes for how even sillier they sound by ignoring the fact that their allegedly persecuted hero did get a second chance in his NFL life (the water-bottle thing). And a third one (the stolen-watch thing), and a fourth one (the-flipping-off-the-hometown-fans thing), and a fifth one (the stiffing of the U.S. congressmen in Washington thing), and a sixth one (the Ron Mexico thing).
So, after several hundred folks on Tuesday night represented many among the “they” by embarrassing themselves and an entire city on national television with senseless booing and hissing during what was supposed to be a civil debate, they couldn’t care less.
This is beyond disgusting, and it needs to stop. Those nationally and locally who keep suggesting that Michael Vick has become a martyr around Atlanta because of the city’s legendary ties to the civil-rights movement are spitting on the graves of Martin, Malcolm, Sojourner, Rosa, W.E.B., Booker T and Frederick.
Contrary to the belief of many, this isn’t that complicated. When it comes to the slew of Vick apologists who continue to suggest they are engaged in a righteous cause, something was clear from the start. It became even more so Tuesday night as I sat as a primary target on stage at the Georgia World Congress Center, where I was a panelist (and bull’s-eye) during ESPN’s live town-hall meeting on reaction to the suspended Falcons quarterback.
Here’s what’s clearer: As a whole, the fanatical support that Vick gets from his apologists has little to do with their belief that this is another African-American victim of a biased judicial system. They just want him to play. Not for Vick’s sake, but for their sake. In other words, Vick apologists are perpetrating a fraud with their selfishness, and many of them don’t even know it.
They are angry they can’t see Vick zigzagging anymore through defenses. They are angry they can’t see Vick reaching the end zone anymore after becoming a Flying Wallenda near a pylon. They are angry they can’t see goosebumps rising on their arms anymore with just the thought of Vick sauntering from the huddle.
Mostly, they are angry they can see the Falcons going from extraordinary with Vick to less than ordinary without him.
There was the aftermath of that town-hall meeting, for instance, when a middle-aged man approached me with a pained look. He said he was upset that I kept “attacking” Vick, and that Mayor Shirley Franklin wasn’t at the town-hall meeting, because, “People just don’t want to give Michael Vick credit for doing so much for Atlanta.”
For instance? “He’s the reason we’ve been on ‘Monday Night Football’, ” said the man, with others in the vicinity nodding after his every word. “We never would have been on Thanksgiving Day without Michael Vick. He’s just done so much, and ya’ll just won’t give the young man credit for that. Ya’ll just want to keep tearing him down, because he’s Michael Vick.”
Let’s see: celebrity. That’s why Vick apologists say their guy is being persecuted by the feds, reporters, the NFL, his estranged father, animal-rights people, his boys from Bad Newz Kennels and anybody else they can name. Well, celebrity also is the reason Vick apologists are hugging their guy so tightly.
Right? Uh-huh.
Permalink | Comments (299) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Terence Moore
Braves need to keep Andruw
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
Bring back Andruw.
For one, as Braves manager Bobby Cox likes to say about the historically streaking Andruw Jones at the plate, “He has RBIs in his glove.”
For another, Jones remains on a distant but steady march toward Cooperstown. Even though he is barely 30, he already is a seasoned veteran in his 11th year. He has spent 10 consecutive seasons with 25 home runs or more, and he is on the verge of a 10th Gold Glove.
Everything else is secondary. The high strikeout totals. The low batting average. His struggles with runners in scoring position.
The Braves have a powerful enough lineup to compensate for most of Jones’ weaknesses. Not only that, who’s to say he won’t dramatically reverse his nearly two-year hitting spiral next year?
Jones could. If he doesn’t, the Braves still would have the guy who helped put the “Cy” in John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux.
Permalink | Comments (93) | Categories: Quick Hit
Yellow Jackets can’t find balance
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
From No. 15 in the nation to No. 6 in the six-team ACC Coastal Division in the span of two games: That’s Georgia Tech for you. But this is also Georgia Tech: a truly dangerous team when it isn’t expected to win, which it won’t be Saturday against Clemson.
By now, we know that you count the Jackets out, or in, at your peril. Whatever seems the most likely outcome is least apt to happen. (If they played football in the Bizarro World, Georgia Tech would be the flagship team.) It’s a weird way for a serious program to conduct business, but the unrelentingly understated Chan Gailey is, judging not on demeanor but on results, the weirdest coach alive.
“You worry about your team’s confidence [when it’s losing],” Gailey said Tuesday. “And when you’re undefeated you can’t be too cocky. There’s a balance.”
Only there isn’t. Not at Tech. Here’s a school that’s demonstrably great as an underdog, having felled seven higher-ranked teams in five-plus seasons under Gailey, but awful as a peer, having won only one of six games when both sides were ranked. Here’s a school that lives to grab people’s attention but never seems to know what to do with it. That’s not a balance. That’s a pogo stick.
Said fullback Mike Cox: “We like it when you all [meaning the media] say we’re not supposed to win. We use that as motivation.”
And what, Cox was asked, do the Jackets do when they’re favored? Do they draw strength from such a show of faith? “I usually don’t get too upset with that,” said Cox, using an apt word.
Tech has become the classic upsetter — too gifted and resourceful to be dismissed, too unstable to spend an entire season in the Top 25. (The Jackets didn’t receive a single vote in the latest Associated Press poll.) They should have won the ACC last season but didn’t, and only two weeks ago they were consensus choice as the best team in a conference undergoing a tectonic shift. Today Tech is 2 1/2 games behind Virginia, which isn’t very good, in the Coastal.
“I definitely didn’t think we’d be 2-2,” center Kevin Tuminello said. “But sometimes things like this happen.”
Sometimes? At Tech they happen on schedule: First the buildup, then the letdown. The good news for Jackets fans is that their team never stays down for long. Just as nothing is ever quite as sweet as it seems, neither are matters half as rotten as they might appear.
Two weeks ago Taylor Bennett was considered a clear upgrade over Reggie Ball; today Bennett doesn’t even rank among the ACC’s top 10 in passing efficiency. Two weeks ago Tashard Choice was a Heisman hopeful; today Choice, who has a bad hamstring, stands only fourth in his conference in rushing. But the flip side to this — with Tech there’s always a flip side — is that Choice and Bennett and the other Jackets are fully capable of dealing themselves back into the league race after stumbling twice at the start.
“Hard times come,” said Darrell Robertson, the stellar defensive end. “Everything’s not always going to be green.”
The hard times Tech can handle. It’s the good times that stump this curious band. Only two weeks ago analysts were slotting the Jackets into the Orange Bowl. Today they seem in danger of not going to any postseason game. But that, too, will change. They’ll wind up winning eight games, give or take, and gracing some not-very-exotic bowl. This is Georgia Tech, and that, for reasons unknown and surely unknowable, is what it does.
Favored against Boston College and Virginia, the Jackets lost to both. This time they’re underdogs. That means they’ll win.
Permalink | Comments (69) | Categories: Mark Bradley, Tech / ACC
ESPN ploy is laughable
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
THE TUESDAY COUNTDOWN
10: ESPN is holding a “Town Hall” meeting tonight in Atlanta to debate racial elements of the Michael Vick dog-fighting case. Well. That’s timely. What was their second choice? The Scopes Monkey Trial?
9: If you were wondering, the “E” in ESPN still stands for “entertainment,” not excellence.
8: How lame is this? It accomplishes nothing. It only attempts to stir up an issue that was illogical to begin with, has been dead since Vick plead guilty to fighting and killing dogs (of all colors, by the way) and two months since he was indicted — after which any racial elements of this case quickly subsided. Is anybody talking about this other than ESPN?
7: For what it’s worth, the event is not open to the public. It will be held at the Georgia World Congress Center but is an invitation-only event, hosted by Bob Ley. I believe it’s followed by an episode of, “Desperate Soccer Moms And The Bowling Alley Romances That Heal Them,” on ESPN-3, hosted by Jerry Springer.
6: There’s another tell-all book out suggesting “Marcia” and “Jan” of the “Brady Bunch” were close off the air. I mean, like, really close. I mean, like, you know, they didn’t just swap the sandwiches that “Alice” made them. So this follows revelations that “Greg” dated his “mom,” Florence Henderson. And a bunch of the “brothers” and “sisters” actually made out in “Tiger’s” doghouse. And “dad,” Robert Reed, was gay (probably because his “wife” was dating his “son.”) OK, I know the show is over 30 years old. But THIS, I want to see a “Town Hall” meeting about.
5: Coming soon: “My Name Was ‘Tiger.’ And I like cats.”
4: Feeling nostalgic? The Falcons and Saints are 0-3.
3: This isn’t exact science - we’re talking about the Falcons. But if DeAngelo Hall was going to be suspended, don’t you think it would’ve been done by now? And how would it look to suspend a player you didn’t even pull out of the game? Bet on a fine.
2: Dave O’Brien, our Braves dude and stream-of-consciousness blogmaster, suggests bringing back Tom Glavine would help fix the team’s starting rotation. I’ll take it one step further: the Braves began to seal their ‘07 fate before this season when they had a chance to sign Glavine and didn’t.
1: The Braves are three games back in the wild-card race with six games left. On a related note, MegaMillions is tonight.
Permalink | Comments (171) | Categories: Jeff Schultz, Quick Hit
Hall’s punishment will define Petrino’s leadership
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
Commenting for this blog will open on Tuesday morning.
Flowery Branch — The next move Bobby Petrino makes will define his tenure with the Falcons. It will determine whether the 0-3 Falcons are headed for a face-plant at the bottom of a ravine, or something at least bordering on respectable.
The NFL is a balanced league. It’s a weird league. It’s amazing how many games even a mediocre team can win with effort, unity and anything other than some egomaniacal, turbo-lipped cornerback who somehow believes success is determined by paychecks and Pro Bowls, not whether he actually helped his team win or led them to lose.
Football is about leadership. Bobby Petrino is the Falcons’ leader. His next move will lead the Falcons either a step forward or a mile down.
The message to DeAngelo Hall needs to be loud, and painful, and public. If the Falcons don’t suspend Hall, the punishment at least needs to give the man some humility. More important, it needs to scream to the team’s other 52 players that they don’t have another mush head in charge.
On Sunday, Petrino made a mistake. He didn’t pull Hall out of the game following his third-quarter meltdown. It was an odd decision for a man who embraces concepts like discipline and character. It sent the wrong message in an already fragile locker room.
On Monday, Petrino seemed to second-guess himself.
“Should I have pulled him out of the game? You know, I don’t know. Maybe I should have. But I made the decision not to,” he said.
The Falcons already have had do-overs at kicker and quarterback. This is Petrino’s do-over. Go soft, and this season has Jim Mora Disaster written all over it.
Mora was at his best when he coached with an edge, which was early in his tenure. He didn’t torment players but neither was he their pal. He had their attention.
That started to change in his second season. He started playing favorites with players, particularly with Hall. He became their pal. Discipline was lax. By year three, Mora had lost the locker room.
There was an incident in training camp when the coach organized a “team-building” outing to the movies. Players and coaches loaded buses to see “Invincible.” But Hall spun out of the parking lot in his Lamborghini. Mora not only allowed it, he jumped into the Lamborghini with Hall. Veterans watching from the bus were stunned.
Give Petrino credit for this. He discussed Hall’s meltdown with his team captains Monday, including Keith Brooking, Alge Crumpler and Lawyer Milloy. He said all the right things in a news conference. Mora would’ve droned on, “I love DeAngelo’s passion.”
This was Petrino: “[Winning is] the result of your behavior, how you conduct yourself in meetings, how you practice, how you prepare, what kind of attitude you have when the pressure’s on.”
Also this: “The thing I want to be is consistent. If it’s consistent, everybody understands how you conduct your business. There’s universal rights and wrongs to being a member of a team, and most all of the players understand that.”
Hall acted contrite Monday. That’s a start. But this isn’t about one apology for one stupid act in one loss. The Falcons are not a great team. This has the potential to be a very bad season. Petrino lost only nine games in four seasons at Louisville. He could hit nine here by November. This is when you set the tone. If Petrino doesn’t grab control now, he never will.
There are some positives. Joey Harrington, whether because a light switched on or the Byron Leftwich signing ignited a torch to his rear, played like a starting quarterback Sunday. Roddy White looks like a first-round pick. John Abraham is a force.
This is a new coaching staff with new systems. Players generally become more comfortable in systems as time passes. But it’s all for naught if they pull apart. Go soft on Hall and they’ll pull apart.
Petrino’s history suggests he doesn’t care what players think about him. There was a saying about the Hall of Fame hockey coach, Scotty Bowman: Players hated him 364 days a year, and on the 365th day they picked up their rings.
Nothing suggests Petrino cares about popularity contests. Now would be a good time to be unpopular with one guy.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Jeff Schultz
Hall loses mind and biggest game of 2007
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
It was the biggest game the 2007 Falcons will play, and they lost it because their All-Pro cornerback lost his mind. An undermanned team that doesn’t figure to win many (if any) games was undone in its home opener by the guy who styles himself as a difference-maker. Feel free to laugh. Or to cry.
The Falcons fell to 0-3, the dungeon from which there’s no escape, on a day when they outgained their opponent by 129 yards, a day when Joey Harrington looked, for one of the few times in his professional life, like Joe Montana. Bobby Petrino, who hasn’t yet presided over an NFL victory, saw his game plan overridden not because of any technical or physical breakdown but because DeAngelo Hall simply had to have the last word.
We return to the scene of the whine: The Falcons led 17-10 with 22-plus minutes to play. They’d amassed 355 yards to Carolina’s 136. They should have been further ahead, but John Abraham had just sacked Jake Delhomme to force the Panthers to try a 46-yard field goal. For the Falcons, the worst that could happen was that they’d lead by four. Or so you’d have thought.
As he left the field, Hall uttered a few exit lines. A flag flew. For the third time on the possession, he had been penalized. The first was a 37-yard interference call against Steve Smith, which can happen. The next was a 15-yard personal foul for smacking Smith on a running play, which shouldn’t happen but sometimes does. The third, for unsportsmanlike conduct after a defensive stop, cannot happen. Not once in a blue moon. Not ever.
“A couple of freak plays,” Hall would say later. “They were calls that could easily have gone the other way.”
Please. This could have been the football equivalent of Eric Gregg’s double-wide strike zone and there’d be no excuse. With his third penalty, Hall changed a winning game into an eventual loss. The Panthers took their gift first down and scored the tying touchdown. Then they scored again. There have been a slew of silly moments in this franchise’s sorry history — from Aaron Brown’s personal foul before the blocked punt against the winless Colts in 1986 to Eugene Robinson’s night in Miami to Michael Vick’s dogfighting spiral — but Hall falling to pieces belongs on any short list of the absolute dumbest.
Said Warrick Dunn: “You have to try to control yourself.”
Said Lawyer Milloy: “He’s an outstanding player who was doing an outstanding job [indeed, Smith had only one catch on the day]. … I was sitting on the bench [after Abraham’s sack]. … That’s not a good feeling; it’s just extra ball. … It was a turning point, but it wasn’t a single thing that beat us.”
Wrong. This turning point begat all the plays that would ultimately yield defeat. And what sentiments, you might be asking, did Hall feel the pressing need to impart? As Smith told reporters: “They were real minute — ‘I’ve been in as many Pro Bowls as you; I make more money than you.’ Just real immature stuff. Obviously the caliber of organization the Carolina Panthers are, they don’t have a guy like that.”
Said Hall: “I’m a leader. I take responsibility for my penalties.”
Yeah, right. A leader wouldn’t have put personal glorification above the common good. A leader would have known when to shut his mouth and let the scoreboard talk for him. A leader wouldn’t have then snapped at his coach, who was understandably upset and who should by rights have benched Hall for the rest of the game. Hall led, all right. He led a team that needs to win in the worst way to defeat — in the worst way. He made a difference, all right.
Said Petrino: “You cannot have that [meaning Hall’s penalties] happen when you’re in position to win a game.”
It took three weeks for these Falcons to reach even that modest point. It took one man two seconds to chuck it away. DeAngelo Hall? Call him MeAngelo Hall.
Braves’ rally proves they’re not dead yet
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
Well, maybe I was a bit premature. Maybe the Braves still can play a hand in this game of pennant see-saw. At least that’s the way their genial manager, Bobby Cox, sees it. Or to put it the way he said it, “We’re not dead yet.”
Then there was the disclaimer, “But we have to sweep the Phillies, no doubt about that. It’s gonna take a miracle.”
What happened at Turner Field on Sunday afternoon was more than merely game No. 156, but a sort of a replay of what the Braves have been doing on occasion this season, as if the game isn’t on until the seventh inning. They nap a bit, then suddenly came to the realization that time is of the essence. The early innings were neat and tidy and dull. Milwaukee took a lead that was looking right comfortable, 4-1, and the Braves couldn’t get out of their own way. Take the second inning, for instance. Andruw Jones, Matt Diaz, who’s hotter than a wood stove, and Corky Miller, filling in for Brian McCann, all reached on base hits. Yunel Escobar was hit by a pitch. Bases loaded. Out of all that, the Braves get one measly run and mosey along until the fateful seventh.
Then the last home game of the season began to take on the look of spring training, with a box score that looked like an airline board when all the flights are canceled. By the end of the day, six Brewers — an outfielder, three pitchers and two pinch-hitters — were paraded through one slot in the batting order. Manager Ned Yost was not around to see the finish. He showed his old boss (Bobby) that he isn’t the only one who can pitch a fit and get pitched. It was all over a play at second base in the seventh inning, when Jeff Francoeur over-slid the bag and was tagged when he dived back. But was he touched?
“Yeah,” Jeff said, “he [Richie Weeks] tagged me, but too late.”
Yost never left the field until he lathered umpire Chris Guccione, and every other one within range, with a siege of unamorous terms, then was gone. And after he left, it got worse. The Braves scored four runs, took the lead at 5-4, then Mark Teixeira hit a towering double in the gap between left and center field, the margin was padded with two more runs, and the final score was written, 7-4. Manny Acosta was rewarded with the decision, first in his major league life. Frankly, Yost dug his own grave when he lifted the starter, Chris Capuano, a Phi Beta Kappa pitcher from Duke University, who was rumbling along rather neatly. No one came to the rescue out of the bullpen, and with the Braves, it was like trying to bail out of a sinking skiff. They kept bailing and the runs kept flowing home.
Cox dipped deep into the bullpen, until hardly anyone known to the 44,088 patrons was left. And while on that subject, this ran the attendance for the season to 2,745,207, a nice gain of 7 percent on ‘06. It was some kind of “Fan Day,” and the old-fashioned fans that were distributed were put to good use on the 86-degree day. The stands looked like a collection of those windmills that produce electricity.
As they hit the road for Philadelphia and Houston, a rather awkward geographic meander, they have one possibility in mind. That the Mets and Phillies kill one another off in their personal series, after the Braves finish business in Philadelphia.
Then, looking forward to next season, will Andruw Jones be back? (His value was displayed Sunday when he made two of those wall-banger catches in center field.) Rarely does a player overrule his agent — in this case, the bullish Steve Boras — and exercise his personal choice of teams. Will Mike Hampton finally be able to repay some of the millions he has collected in inactivity? Can the Braves come up with the $13 million Tim Hudson is in line for? And how is life going to be under their new owners, Liberty Media, a neophyte in the baseball business?
Meantime, unless the miracle that Cox had in mind comes off, this was your last home-field view of the lads until the calendar turns a few more pages.
Permalink | Comments (28) | Categories: Braves / MLB, Furman Bisher
Dogs grow up with big win
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
Tuscaloosa, Ala. — This was the team we expected, the one that exorcised memories of losses to Vanderbilt and Kentucky with three straight wins last season, the one that opened the season by pounding Oklahoma State — the one that inexplicably missed the off-ramp on the way to the South Carolina game.
Georgia didn’t merely win a game Saturday night.
It grew up.
Matthew Stafford, showing a cool we witnessed a year ago when he was a freshman, took hold of a game in the most hostile and electric of surroundings. He threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Mikey Henderson in overtime, giving the Bulldogs a 26-23 win over Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
“This is huge for us,” Stafford said. “We’re so young. To win here, to win any game like this on the road in the SEC, is big. It felt like there were 200,000 people out there. This is a big moment for this team.”
The winning touchdown pass came after the Crimson Tide had taken a lead in overtime with a 42-yard field goal. It came after Georgia’s Brandon Coutu had missed a 47-yard field-goal attempt in the final seconds of regulation that could have won it. It came after Alabama had rallied from a 20-10 deficit to tie it.
That’s a sign of a team and a quarterback maturing.
This was not the same Stafford who struggled against South Carolina two weeks ago in the Dogs’ SEC opener. This time, he made plays that won the game. When things went wrong, he came back stronger.
After an interception led to Alabama tying the game 10-10, Stafford led two scoring drives.
And after Coutu missed the 47-yarder as time expired in the fourth, Stafford shook it off … and then started clapping.
“I was excited to play more football,” he said. “I wanted to get back out there. We all did. It’s a good sign for this football team.”
“He doesn’t let bad plays affect him,” offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. “Even when they tied they game, he brought us right back and got us into field-goal range. Even though we missed it, it was a huge confidence boost for the offense.”
Nobody knew quite what to make of the Bulldogs going into this one. They had played three games, looking alternately great (Oklahoma State), awful (South Carolina) and borderline disinterested (Western Carolina). Football teams like balance, but not in multiple personalities.
If a loss to Alabama wouldn’t have doomed Georgia in the SEC, it would at least have caused nightmarish, Ray Goff flashbacks. The Bulldogs last started 0-2 in the conference in 1993 under Goff (who opened 1-4 on the way to 5-6).
But this team looked different from the outset Saturday — not only from ‘93, but from the South Carolina game two weeks ago.
The Dogs drove for a touchdown on their first possession. They converted three straight third-down situations. Against the Gamecocks, the offense failed to locate the end zone for the first time in six years and went 3-for-18 on third down.
The early differences were obvious. Stafford looked in control, completing seven of his first 10 passes. The offensive line protected well and popped open a few holes for Thomas Brown and Knowshon Moreno. The play-calling? Bobo had Stafford continually expose the soft belly of the Alabama defense with short passes over the middle.
And there was something else the Bulldogs showed early and often: a little nastiness. Wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi leveled Crimson Tide defensive back Simeon Castille on a downfield block. Georgia DB Bryan Evans buried running back Terry Grant. Tackle Jarius Wynn ripped off quarterback John Parker Wilson’s helmet. OK, that’s a penalty. Not smart, but it’s good for street cred.
Things could have easily unraveled. They led 10-0, only to see Alabama come back with a field goal just before the half. They failed to convert when the Tide fumbled away the second-half kickoff. Then a Stafford overthrow led to an interception at the Dogs’ 37, setting up a 1-yard, tying touchdown run by Wilson.
But the Dogs came back. A 6-yard touchdown run by Moreno set up by three straight Stafford completions, then a field goal by Coutu. It was 20-10, and suddenly things weren’t so bright in Saban Nation. Go figure: $32 million contracts don’t come with guarantees.
Young teams don’t come with guarantees, either. But after a series of confusing outings, the Dogs took a step toward maturity Saturday. It just took a while.
Permalink | Comments (132) | Categories: Jeff Schultz, UGA / SEC
Still got the T-shirt from Tech’s last win at Va.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
Let’s look at it this way, not as a column but a letter to dear friends. There’s just too much out there today to settle on one thing.
So, Dear Y’all:
• A lot of you weren’t around when Scott Sisson of Georgia Tech kicked the field goal that beat Virginia in 1990. Charlottesville was alive with football fervor that day, Virginia ranked No. 1 for the third consecutive week — in the only season the Cavaliers have ever been ranked that high. The day was simply lush with sunshine and anticipation. Rich Murray, the UVA press guy, presented us with T-shirts that read, “I Was There When The Press Box Overflowed, Nov. 3, 1990,” and I still have mine. Sleep in it sometimes. Sweet memory.
• Alabama has come alive with anticipation of a revival of the old days when championships flowed into Tuscaloosa like a leaky beer tap. What I like most about it is that Wallace Wade finally is remembered as the man who started it all back in 1925. He was a genuinely fine man who took time for young fellows who needed his counsel. Most of all, he should be saluted as the only coach who both played in the Rose Bowl (a guard at Brown in 1916 with the great Fritz Pollard), then later took two teams to Pasadena as coach, Alabama and Duke.
• So Larry Munson takes a day off, and the Bulldog Nation goes into a state of mourning. Doesn’t everybody take a holiday now and then? Well, let me tell you how it is, as one who grew up deep in rurality and lived by the radio. Yeah, television is great, but there’s nothing like the friendship you develop under the influence of a radio voice. Take Pete Van Wieren and Skip Caray with the Braves. Radio voices are like next-door neighbors. They speak, they’re talking to you. It’s personal. Television can never have that kind of private connection, especially with all those busybodies butting in from the sideline. Hope you enjoyed Scott Howard, now that you know why all the fuss about Larry Munson’s day off.
• Tommy Barnes had been lingering on the brink for months, and now he’s gone, and with him goes an era of amateur golf. He was included in the foursome of Bobby Jones’ last round before surgery felled Jones. He was one of the protectors of old East Lake, helped keep it afloat until Tom Cousins could move in. He was the amateur’s amateur, as Stan Awtrey depicted him in his lovely story this week. But lest it be forgotten, for one day he was a pro. After finishing the Masters in 1950, he was talked into taking the job as head pro at a club in Miami. He never reported for work. When morning came, a light flashed on in his head. He didn’t want to be a pro. He called his would-be employers and bailed out. The purity of golf prevailed. He was the most enjoyable man I ever played golf with, only one who kept talking on his own swing.
• This won’t take long. I see that the Giants have fired Barry Bonds, though it may be viewed differently in some corners. Thing is, he is gone for now, and may it turn out to be that he is gone from baseball forever.
• Well, I guess the Braves’ race is over, though chances of playing a hand in the postseason were already pretty slim. When they lost to Milwaukee with Tim Hudson, the last train left the station. They just about had to sweep the Brewers, then the Phillies to set them up for the final series with Houston with any chance at all. They’ll watch from the sideline while the Mets and Phillies slug it out among themselves. Braves probably had no hope of passing the Padres, anyway. They’ve had to survive some strange player moves this season, but one glowing one was the farewell to Bob Wickman. They still hold on to one all-time record: Managerial ejections, something Bobby Cox is not proud of, but he wouldn’t take any of them back. That may be the longest losing streak in baseball.
(signed) Yours truly, Me
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Furman Bisher
Tech graveyard kills ACC hopes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
Charlottesville, Va. — They were done Saturday when Virginia wasted no time zipping ahead for keeps in the fourth quarter after a muffed punt deep inside Georgia Tech territory.
No, they were done four minutes later, when what was a lively gathering of 57,681 inside Scott Stadium became as silent as Thomas Jefferson’s tomb at nearby Monticello. The change was attributable to Tech wide receiver Correy Earls spending just shy of an eternity with a possible neck injury on the field before his gentle departure on a stretcher.
Actually, when you’re talking about the Yellow Jackets’ chances of reaching the ACC championship game by avoiding a second consecutive loss to start conference play, they were done as soon as their schedule said “at Virginia.”
Few campuses are more scenic than Jefferson’s little creation. Woodrow Wilson went to school here. So did Bobby and Ted Kennedy, along with Katie Couric. In fact, nearly every year, somebody or something is ranking this area sitting at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains as the definitive place to live.
Guess none of those folks bleed old gold and white.
To Tech, this is an absolutely ghastly area, especially since Virginia now has spent eight consecutive games since 1990 swatting the Jackets within these city limits.
This makes no sense.
“Every year’s different. Every team’s different. It’s just the way it’s happened,” said coach Chan Gailey, whose Tech teams have just happened to lose in Charlottesville three times in as many tries. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, or maybe it’s just one of those sports things. “I guess,” Gailey added. “I don’t put much credence in that kind of stuff.”
So what is it? “I really couldn’t tell you,” said Tech quarterback Taylor Bennett, thinking, before raising his eyebrows. “What? It’s been 17 years since Tech last won here? We’ve played in tougher stadiums. I don’t believe the atmosphere has anything to do with it.”
Goodness, no. Virginia fans are more festive than feisty. Plus, there isn’t a rock for the home team to rub, which is the case for Clemson at Death Valley, located next to a spooky cemetery. There isn’t the tomahawk chop or the war chant that echoes throughout Tallahassee. Well, Virginia does have a horse that gallops around the stadium, but Sabre isn’t as famous as Florida State’s Renegade.
Here’s what it is: When the Jackets play Virginia on the road, they do more to lose than to win.
Period.
This time, the normally sure-handed tacklers for Jon Tenuta’s defense were often sloppy in the clutch. That wasn’t good, especially since Virginia’s Cedric Peerman joins Tech’s Tashard Choice among the nation’s most prolific running backs that few people talk about. With a lot of help from the Jackets, Peerman averaged nearly five yards per carry for 138 yards overall and a touchdown.
Then there was Tech’s shaky passing game. Again. After a wonderful throw for a 56-yard touchdown to Demaryius Thomas on his opening drive, Bennett digressed from there (17-for-40 overall for 230 yards and that touchdown). He also was victimized by dropped catches that even a poor man’s version of You Know Who with the Detroit Lions would have caught. The ugly combination caused the Jackets’ offense to keep settling for field goals (three) instead of touchdowns in an eventual 28-23 loss.
There also were all of those injuries for the Jackets. The starting backfield. A crucial wide receiver. The punt returner (which contributed to that muff by the backup). A safety. The center on occasion. Nothing was as horrific as when Earls laid motionless for nearly 20 minutes after making a block.
“Emotionally, that affected us a lot, because we’re a big family as a team, and that always has been our main thing,” said safety Morgan Burnett, a freshman from College Park who was among those pressed into service after one of those injuries. He responded with an interception.
It wasn’t enough.
Nothing ever is enough for the Jackets around here.
Permalink | Comments (47) | Categories: Tech / ACC, Terence Moore
Calm Dog Richt a tough act to follow
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Athens — When last Georgia headed for Tuscaloosa, Pat Dye claimed the Bulldogs lacked an edge. Five years later, some wonder if Georgia has lost its edge.
Mark Richt doesn’t believe his program has misplaced anything. On the contrary, he believes the Bulldogs can beat Alabama tonight — “I think we’re going to win every time we hook it up” — and can still take the SEC East. He believes in his system, which has, lest we forget, generated four seasons of 10 or more wins, three division titles and two conference championships since 2001.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in what we’re doing and how we’re doing it,” he said. “I believe in the process. I believe we’re doing things the right way. … Our process is outstanding. If we continue to apply it, we’ll continue to have success.”
Funny how things work. The managerial equanimity seen as a key component of the 2002 breakthrough — a Dye-repudiating victory in Bryant-Denny Stadium was one of three road triumphs that breathless autumn — is now being viewed in some sectors as a liability. Richt finds this amusing, to a point.
“People need not to confuse toughness with a guy going berserk. … I’m not going to say my demeanor is perfect, but [back in 2002] people were writing, ‘Oh, this guy’s demeanor is unbelievable.’ I was being praised for it. Now we lose a game and there’s something wrong with my demeanor. I guess that’s what sells papers,” Richt said.
Success on the order of Richt’s needs no hard sell. He might not be the finest coach in the college game, but he’s a fixture in any sensible top 10. His record in opponents’ stadiums is an astonishing 22-3, which would seem a powerful indicator of resourcefulness and resolve. And this latest team, which never figured to be Richt’s strongest, should grow more robust with time.
“Offensively, there are two positions where you have to go at [the players’] pace,” he said. “One is quarterback and the other’s the offensive line. Last year we chose to live through having a true freshman [Matthew Stafford] at quarterback, and no matter how good you are, there’s a learning curve that’s not going to let you play consistently enough to have [a championship] year.
“Now Stafford has matured, and I can’t remember in all my years of coaching having an offensive line so young. … Past this season, we should have a veteran quarterback and a veteran line, but we knew coming in there was a hole in our recruiting. Some guys got hurt and some guys didn’t make their grades and some guys didn’t do things the way we wanted and we had to let them go.”
Here Richt steers as close to sarcasm as he ever does. “Not that I’m trying to be a tough guy. Because that’s what tough guys do - throw people off the team.”
He admits he and his players were “sick” over the South Carolina loss, but he manages to retain some sense of balance. “It’s a game of strategy and psychology and physicality, if that’s a word, and sometimes you can do everything perfect - and I’m not saying we did - and not win the doggone game. And I don’t know if we [meaning coaches and players but mostly fans] give the opponent enough credit.”
Not since 2001, Richt’s first season here, had Georgia lost so soon. “Early-season losses can be discouraging, as any loss can be, but they can help you find ways to correct things. … I believed we’d have as good a chance to win the league this year as any other year, and I still believe we could. The question with a team this young is: When we do mature and hit our stride, will we still be in the race? Are we going to be good enough early to be in the race?”
Richt mentions Steve Spurrier, who noted in his arch way that Georgia has lost five consecutive games against SEC East opponents. “Coming into the season, you control your own destiny. Now Spurrier and South Carolina have control over us. But I think they have LSU this week.”
He cocks an eyebrow. “It’s just by chance I knew that.”
His team might be 0-1 in the league and an underdog against Alabama, but Richt is nonetheless having a fine day. He just spoke with Charlie Ward, the 1993 Heisman winner who’s working with a high school team in Houston, and Richt, via phone, helped his former pupil concoct a game plan. He’s about to go power-walking with strength coach Dave Van Halanger. And, as ever, Richt has some reminder inked on his palm. (It’s a quirk: “If you write something on a piece of paper, you can lose the paper.”)
If this coach were to sport a Note-To-Self tattoo regarding the direction of his program, it wouldn’t read, “Get edgy.” It would read, “Stay the course.”
Permalink | Comments (81) | Categories: Mark Bradley, UGA / SEC
Weekend predictions: Alabama looks fishy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
While the Georgia football team held top-secret practices this week because, as it turns out, that’s why they couldn’t knock anybody over in the South Carolina game, “Science” magazine reported some really shocking news last week.
Researchers at Tokyo University, which also can’t knock anybody over and yet somehow has eluded the SEC as a non-conference opponent, secretly used salmon as surrogate parents to hatch baby trout. This is a major scientific breakthrough, and great news for researchers in Flowery Branch, where they’re attempting to cross two cast-off quarterbacks in hopes of hatching season-ticket renewals. But I digest.
The Japanese scientists injected sperm-growing cells from rainbow trout into sterile Masu salmon, who, I’m guessing, were about to go the adoption route.
Which leads me back to our little Trembling Chihuahuas. They had closed practices this week. With any luck, they were held in Tokyo, because they need to be injected with a new personality.
They looked weak against South Carolina. They didn’t look much better against Western Carolina, which largely exists to make you look good.
Alabama is 3-0 under Nick Saban, who I’m fairly certain is the tragic result of crossing Pinocchio with snake sperm. He is a disciple of Bill Belichick. So you can understand why Mark Richt would suddenly be concerned about his practice turning into a YouTube production.
Nothing secret about the game: It’s ESPN’s GameDay.
But the result? Shocking! Salmon spawning trout! Dogs and Blocks, living together!
Take the 3 1/2. But the world learns: Bowsers in an upset.
Pros, Lies and Videotape
Panthers at Falcons: I don’t know why the Falcons wouldn’t let Byron Leftwich wear No. 7. Seems to me it would’ve been a great way to clear some inventory in the gift shop. Joey Harrington is a really a nice guy, but that’s not a warm embrace he’s about to feel. Carolina covers 4.
Chargers at Packers: Marty Schottenheimer got fired because he went 14-2 and lost to New England by a field goal in the playoffs. Norv Turner is 1-1 and just got drilled by the Patriots on national TV 38-14. As a head coach, he’s a pillow in Tombstone. But: Methinks L.T. goes nutso this game: Chargers win and cover the 41/2.
Lions at McNabb: Let me say that I believe I’m being edited differently because I’m not Presbyterian. Eagles win, but take Detroit and 6 1/2.
Colts at Texans: Matt Schaub is 2-0. I know, but it’s market correction week in Houston: Colts cover 6.
Bills at Patriots: Roger Goodell didn’t suspend Belichick and took some heat. So now he’s backtracking and wants to see more videotapes. What next, dust for prints? You’ve got a better chance still finding somebody on the grassy knoll. Pats win, but I invoke the NFL/two-TD rule: Take the Bills and 16 1/2.
Titans at Saints: Is it just me or was Reggie Bush better when he was lying about his parents living illegally in a free house? Saints cover 41/2.
Semi-pros, Lies and Videotape
Yech again: It’s one thing to lose to Boston College. It’s another to get completely waxed on your home field (total yardage: 527-267?) by a team you were favored to beat. But then it wouldn’t be a Chan Gailey team if it all made sense. Lose at Virginia, and the Clemson game suddenly becomes the plug in the drain. Tech covers 3.
Florida at Mississippi: Something you may not know: The Gators have lost three straight games in Mississippi. I figure this will go down in history, like the fact Custer actually ducked a few arrows. Florida covers 23.
Poultry at LSU: Steve Spurrier said this week, “I don’t want our guys to go down there with false belief that we have a great chance to win this game.” Know the difference between that and the doomsday talk of Georgia week? This time he’s right. If they don’t hyperventilate, Tigers cover 16 1/2.
Arkansas State at Tennessee: The Vowels ran for 37 yards in Gainesville. Now, if Phil Fulmer actually ran 37 yards, that would be something. (Thank you. Try the veal.) Tennessee wins, but the line’s too big. Hey, 19 (and a half), we can dance together.
Kentucky at Arkansas: If Rich Brooks wants another contract extension, he had better push for it soon because Andre Woodson’s leaving in January. Kentucky 3-0? And they haven’t even played Georgia yet! Enough: Arkansas covers 6 1/2.
PROFIT MARGIN
In summation: Slimski
Last week: 7-4 straight up, 5-4-2 against the line
Quarterly report: 20-9 straight up, 16-10-3 against the line
(Totals have been adjusted to reflect a loss erroneously credited to win total last week, thanks to alert readers who clearly have no life, no job and no purpose other than to give me grief, which is amazing considering we’re not related. Also, as clarification spread “pushes” are credited as ties, because, dude, I’m not Vito the Bookie and that’s the way they do it in Vegas, less the “juice.” )
Permalink | Comments (147) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Jeff Schultz, Tech / ACC, UGA / SEC
I think I was right last time
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
Time once more for one of those “I think” things. I think you’ll find this to be the best ever. If you don’t, I think you’re wrong.
I think Byron Leftwich will be starting within a month.
I think Georgia is man enough.
I think Matt Ryan is the best passing college quarterback I’ve ever seen in person. (Note that I didn’t say the best quarterback per se: I’ve also seen Archie and Peyton Manning, Charlie Ward, Matt Leinart and Vince Young. They were pretty good, too.)
I think the Hawks will make the playoffs.
I think the Thrashers will make the playoffs.
I think the Falcons will … not make the playoffs. (Had you going, didn’t I?)
I think Jon Tenuta is slightly overrated.
I think Willie Martinez is more than slightly underrated.
I think the Braves would give a lot of money to have Adam Wainwright back.
I think it’d be funny if the Mets didn’t win their division and the Yankees won theirs. And I don’t care much for the Yankees.
I think Charlie Weis has gotten more money out of a close loss — Southern Cal 2005 — than any coach in the history of sports.
I think Andruw Jones, who’ll want upwards of $18 million, deserves closer to $8 million. Call that a Weis-sized gap.
I think Auburn is looking at six losses.
I think Louisville misses Bobby Petrino, and vice versa.
I think the Angels and Padres will reach the World Series.
I think, therefore I’m done.
Permalink | Comments (37) | Categories: Quick Hit
Leftwich at least provides more hope than Harrington
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
Flowery Branch — How can you not like Byron Leftwich?
I mean, really?
He has that infectious smile of Magic Johnson. He acquired a fearless reputation when he broke his shin during a college game, was carried down the field on the shoulders of teammates and overcame a 17-point deficit. Courtesy of his strikingly quick wit, he could take his act on the road.
He just can’t play as efficiently anymore. He gets hurt too much. He also has a goofy throwing motion. And did we mention his mobility is slightly better than that of a goalpost?
Even so, the Falcons signed Leftwich to become another backup statue to the one that starts at quarterback. There also is this matter of the Falcons’ invisible offensive line. As a result, defenders have toppled that starting statue with blitzes from everywhere for 13 sacks to drop the Falcons to 0-2.
So, in an effort to improve their plight, the Falcons just got another immobile quarterback to go with Joey Harrington and Chris Redman, who hasn’t thrown an NFL pass in four years courtesy of back and shoulder problems.
Yeah, this makes sense.
But Leftwich does have more of an upside than the Falcons’ starting statue. While Leftwich’s career record as a starter is 24-20, the other guy is 23-45. Plus, Leftwich always has been the people’s choice in his locker room. He is something like a Chris Tucker at 6 feet 5 and 250 pounds, but he has an arm just shy of Brett Favre velocity.
Speaking of Favre, when he played for the Falcons 15 years ago before getting traded with his Hall of Fame gifts to the Green Bay Packers, he also wore his famous No. 4. Now Leftwich will do so with the Falcons after four years in Jacksonville wearing No. 7.
“I mean, we all know that No. 7 is Mike’s number,” Leftwich said Wednesday, referring to Michael Vick, the former Falcons starting quarterback who will have a longer set of numbers on his new uniform as a convicted felon for illegal dogfighting.
Added Leftwich, at his stall in the Falcons locker room, “I figured that I was just going to pick a number, and No. 17 didn’t look good on me.”
Leftwich laughed, saying, “I’m trying to look as slim as possible, so I figured I’d pick No. 4.”
As for that statue thing, which contributed to defenders crushing Leftwich enough in the Jacksonville backfield to miss 15 of his past 21 starts in the regular season due to injuries, he laughed again. Then he said, “Like I’ve always joked and mentioned since the day I got released [by the Jaguars two weeks ago], I’m not the slowest quarterback. I’m just the slowest black one.
“That’s just the truth. I might surprise some people. I’m not that slow, y’all. I just look slow. I’ve got like a Randy Moss stride.”
Still, there were more than a few reasons the Falcons joined their 31 peers in ignoring Leftwich during all that time he was available. In addition to that statue thing, there was that injury thing. Two years ago, Leftwich missed the Jaguars’ last five weeks before the playoffs with a fractured left ankle. He later started well in their playoff game against the New England Patriots (11 straight completions), but he stumbled toward an 18-for-31 day in passing for 179 yards, no touchdowns and an interception.
The Leftwich slide was on, with the former Marshall star becoming inactive for the final four games of last season courtesy of that same ankle. Then he was released before this season and replaced by David Garrard.
How’s the ankle now?
“I haven’t felt this good, and that’s the thing, because my ankle has been bad [since that 17-point comeback he generated over Akron], and I was naive or not smart enough to know that my ankle was really that bad,” said Leftwich, suggesting that everything is now eternally fine with his health.
The Falcons can only hope. Otherwise, they’ll be more of the punch line than the ones for Leftwich’s jokes.
Permalink | Comments (25) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Terence Moore
Richt’s rightfully scared
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
Roger Goodell blew it.
Look. The revelation of Bill Belichick’s cheating ways is affecting just about every football team at every level - including the one that barks at the University of Georgia.
I mean, Mark Richt, the anti-paranoid coach, closed Bulldog practices this week to outsiders for the first time ever.
That’s because Georgia plays at Alabama on Saturday night, and Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban once worked for Belichick, the New England Patriots coach, who finally was busted for using a video camera during games to swipe opposing team’s defensive signals.
Like mentor, like pupil.
You’ve got to think that way if you’re Richt or anybody else facing a team whose coach once worked with a guy whose three Super Bowl titles should include asterisks.
In case you didn’t know, other teams, ranging from the Green Bay Packers to the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Jacksonville Jaguars, have accused Saban of espionage in the past. Nothing was done. The NFL hierarchy implied by its silence that “everybody does it.”
The truth is, such things always have taken place in the league, but not with such arrogance and blatancy.
So this punishment for Belichick from the NFL commissioner’s office was outrageously soft: $500,000 fine, and the loss of a first-round draft pick if the Patriots reach the playoffs, or the loss of their second-and third-round picks if they don’t.
The guy should have been fined AND suspended for at least two games. That, and he should have been forced to replace his hoodie on the sideline with a suit.
Permalink | Comments (105) | Categories: Quick Hit, Terence Moore
Falcons reacting late, correctly
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
If you’re Arthur Blank, this is what you’re thinking: It’s the week of the home opener, there’s the prospect of several thousand empty seats Sunday and a good chance your starting quarterback may be booed the moment his feet hit the turf (which presumably will happen before his butt hits the turf, though we can’t be certain).
If you’re Bobby Petrino, this is what you’re thinking: You came to Atlanta with a reputation as an offensive whiz, and your team has one touchdown in two games, which basically means Joey Harrington, the aforementioned soon-to-be-booed quarterback, is making you look bad. And you don’t like to look bad.
If you’re Rich McKay, I have no idea what you’re thinking. But I’m not sure that matters much anymore.
The Falcons signed Byron Leftwich on Tuesday. This came a day after they met with him, which came a day after McKay said: “We’re not doing anything this week.”
Either McKay has no concept of time, or the flames coming off the heads of Blank and Petrino singed McKay’s ill-laid plans.
Blank, whose office e-mails are written in red, denies he exerted any pressure on McKay to make a move. He sounded relaxed on the phone Tuesday night after finishing a round of golf. He insisted that every personnel decision is “a Falcon decision,” even if Leftwich is the same quarterback that McKay never seemed enamored of in the past.
But neither was Blank mute.
“He didn’t feel any pressure from me,” Blank said. “It’s not my position to sit down with Rich and say, ‘Sign this guy.’ But I certainly raised the question [about Leftwich’s availability]. Given his experience and the fact he’s had some good results and he went to the playoffs, and all of his stats are pretty good, I thought he was somebody we should look at. He’s a big guy with a strong arm. I certainly encouraged Rich to look at him and then make the right decision.”
This is the right decision. It’s just a late decision.
The Falcons’ offense is a mess partly because of Michael Vick’s insanely stupid pastime but also because of the way the Falcons reacted to it. The front office appeared either paralyzed or in denial when Vick was indicted July 17 - when it was clear that he was done for the season and done as a Falcon. Had Leftwich or another competent veteran quarterback been acquired a month ago to compete with Harrington, maybe they’re not sitting at 0-2.
Leftwich is not perfect. He is not magically going to make the team’s other problems go away or likely turn the team into a playoff contender. But he is the best option out there. His career numbers (51-36 touchdown-interception ratio, 58.7 completion percentage, 80.5 rating) indicate he has a better chance of succeeding than Harrington (72-79, 55.5, 68.3 rating). He certainly can’t be worse.
Petrino spoke almost glowingly of Harrington at times in camp. But we haven’t heard a lot of good since. On Monday, Petrino said Harrington is playing too conservatively because he’s overly concerned about throwing an interception. That’s somewhat coach-speak for: The man has no guts.
Leftwich has flaws. He has been injury-prone and, like Harrington, has been known to take too many sacks. But this is the NFL. It’s Week 3. Did you expect Unitas? Anybody available at this time is going to have flaws: too old, too green, too slow, too injury prone, erratic, never developed. It’s what you get now.
“I feel hope - I don’t feel anger or sadness,” Blank said about the rest of the season. “This is a 16-game season. It would be the worst thing to write the season off after two games. It wouldn’t be fair to the players, the coaches, the fans or anybody.”
Leftwich will be on the sideline Sunday. But it won’t be long before Petrino exercises his new option. It shouldn’t have taken this long.
Permalink | Comments (22) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Jeff Schultz
Falcons could use more mulligans
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
The Tuesday Countdown:
10: Rich McKay said the Falcons wouldn’t consider bringing in another quarterback until they were further “downstream.” On Monday, Byron Leftwich was in the building.
9: I’m guessing McKay just got a geography lesson: streams can lead to falls.
8: What would the Falcons’ primary concern be in Leftwich’s physical? That he has a pulse?
7: But wait! There’s hope! This is the 15th time in franchise history the Falcons have started at least 0-2 (ugh). They finished with a losing record 12 times. The other two years, they actually made the playoffs. If you can remember when, you truly have no life.
6: Dazzle your friends at keg parties with this: 1991 — Jerry Glanville (aaaagggh!) started 0-2 in his second season, but finished 10-6 and won a wild-card game before losing in Washington. 2002 — Dan Reeves started 0-2 but finished 9-6-1 under Michael Vick, who engineered a wildcard upset in Green Bay before losing in Philadelphia.
5: The Carolina Panthers are coming off a loss to Houston. Well. They should be in a good mood.
4: It can’t be just coincidence that Roger Goodell announced on NBC that his investigation into “Spygate” is still open only after he was criticized for not suspending Bill Belichick. Count this as the commissioner’s first reversal.
3: Nothing against Morten Andersen. But wouldn’t it be great if every NFL team received a mulligan after two games? Just think. The Falcons saying, “On second thought, we’ll take Matt Schaub back.” The Chargers: “On second thought, Norv Turner’s a wallflower.” Bobby Petrino: “On second thought, I like Louisville.”
2: If Fan Appreciation Day is like other Braves’ game, they’ll be giving away leads.
1: How do you choose sides between O.J. Simpson and whatever degenerate wants to buy or sell his memorabilia?
Permalink | Comments (70) | Categories: Jeff Schultz, Quick Hit
Can’t cross fingers and hope for Hampton
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
December 2004: The Braves trade for Tim Hudson and announce their intention to re-deploy closer John Smoltz as a starter. “We’re going back to the old-fashioned way,” GM John Schuerholz says, “with dominant pitching.”
September 2007: The Braves have two stellar starters, which isn’t the same as possessing dominant pitching. The Braves have been really good this year when Smoltz and Hudson start, but that’s only 40 percent of the whole. And that 40 percent has been responsible for 64 percent of this rotation’s quality starts and 55 percent of its wins.
Forget having a No. 3 starter, or even a No. 4. The 2007 Braves tried to fill out their rotation with a No. 5 (Chuck James) and bunch of No. 6s (Mark Redman, Lance Cormier, Buddy Carlyle). This season died when Mike Hampton hurt himself yet again and was buried when Kyle Davies became a nervous wreck.
For the second year running, the Braves have hit well enough to be a playoff team but won’t qualify because they haven’t pitched. For the better part of 15 years, we around here were treated to rotations where guys like Smoltz and Steve Avery and Kevin Millwood were billed as the No. 4 starter. Asked Monday if that had spoiled us, Braves and fans alike, Chipper Jones laughed and said, “Tex, why don’t you answer that?”
Standing nearby, Mark Teixeira conceded the Texas Rangers weren’t exactly four-deep in starting pitching. “We weren’t even ‘a’-deep,” he said. “When Kenny Rogers left, we lost our ace.”
The good news for the Braves going forward is that they have two aces under contract for next season. The bad news is that there’s no hot young pitcher on the order of Phil Hughes (Yankees) or Tim Lincecum (Giants) or even Mike Pelfrey (Mets) in the chain. The bad news is that the Braves could well be tempted to pencil in Mike Hampton, who hasn’t pitched since August 2005, as their No. 3 man. This should not happen. This cannot happen.
The Braves have gone too long waiting for Hampton to heal (and to justify his immense salary, which will be $15 million in 2008). If he heals and wins 15, great. But such a possibility shouldn’t prevent the team from making every effort to sign or trade for a bona fide over the winter. That, see, has been the problem. The last big-time starting pitcher the Braves acquired was Hudson.
Said Jones: “I can’t say I wouldn’t like an insurance policy. That way if Hamp doesn’t make it back, we’re covered. If he does, that makes us instant contenders.”
The plan is for Hampton to pitch somewhere over the winter. “So we’ll have an idea [going into spring training],” Bobby Cox said. But crossing your fingers isn’t a strategy. The Braves must actively pursue another arm to slot behind Smoltz and Hudson and in front of Hampton and James. (Joe Blanton of the A’s, say.) And no, arms never come cheap, but we’ve seen these last two years the cost of simply trying to make do.
“We should have a good club next year,” Cox said, but a club is only as strong as its rotation. Nobody knows that better than this organization, which rode its various rotations to 14 division titles. Said Jones: “We had it a certain way for so long, but when the names on the back of the jerseys changed, we became accustomed to a different lifestyle between the lines.”
The last two weeks of September used to be the time when Cox rested some regulars and set his rotation for the postseason. For the second year in a row, the shank of September is now an occasion for pondering what might have been. The Braves haven’t won more than three consecutive games since the weekend after the All-Star break, and that makes perfect sense.
Winning streaks are a function of rotations. This rotation was dysfunctional. It’s time to fix it.
Permalink | Comments (89) | Categories: Mark Bradley
Falcons 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.
Permalink | | Categories: Terence Moore
FedEx reaches proper conclusion
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
There would be no “Georgia Quadruple” for Zach Johnson. There would be no victory for the size 54-XLs. There would be no repeat for the defending champion, Adam Scott, who turned his final round into a parade of bogeys. But there would be, at last, redemption on Sunday at East Lake for Tiger Woods, and how timely. And this time he left no doubts and took no prisoners. The margin was eight strokes, over Mark Calcavecchia and Johnson.
Tiger not only finally won the Tour Championship on this course, but the bonus that came with it was the first FedEx Cup, and as it will be recorded in the history of golf, it was as it should be. The leading golfer in the world, playing out the hottest season on the tour, dominated the field of 30 and in so doing, brought “the chase” to the proper conclusion, which nobody could deny. Though in Woods’ eye, it was not as much the inaugural cup as it was winning the tournament, which he had made clear earlier. He could have finished second and still won the Cup, but of the possibility of that, he said before, “If I lose the tournament and win the FedEx Cup, I don’t think I’m going to be happy that I lost the tournament.”
Not having that to deal with, there was the more pressing matter of his negative relationship with the East Lake course. Five times before he had played in the Tour finale here, and five times he had left empty-handed. He had finished second to Phil Mickelson one year, but on other occasions had been taken to the cleaners on Sunday. One year, leading Retief Goosen by four strokes, the South African crushed him by four. Another year, the rustic Texan, Bart Bryant, beat him for the championship by six strokes. Another he finished 20th, very un-Tiger-like.
This year he went out Sunday afternoon with a comfortable three-stroke lead, and who did he have to beat? A 47-year-old veteran, Calcavecchia, who ranks 54th in the world, and has a well-fed figure that stirs up memory of Porky Oliver. Porky was more than just corpulent, he was a gifted player, and one of the more classic pairings in Masters history was his head-to-head clash with Ben Hogan in Hogan’s dominant year of 1953.
As unlikely a pair as were they, Hogan trim as a sprinter, Porky quite befitting his nickname, so were Calcavecchia, the portly one, and Woods, as trim as a whippet, it was a final pairing that left little to imagination. It wasn’t as if Woods isn’t capable of falling victim to a Sunday slump, as previously suggested, but it seemed that some super force was driving him here. What he put together were rounds of 64-63-64-66, for a total of 257, tying the third lowest score in PGA Tour history held by Mike Souchak and set at a municipal course in the Texas Open of 1955 in San Antonio. The record is held by Tommy Armour III, 254 in the Texas Open of 2003, also in San Antonio, but at a different course. Second lowest, in case you wondered, is held by this same Calcavecchia, 256 set in the Phoenix Open of 2003.
Chasing rainbows has not been a plank in Woods’ golf campaigning. “You don’t start off the year chasing awards,” he said. “You know if you win golf tournaments, it takes care of everything else. That’s the way I’ve always looked at it.”
Sunday had not been an effective “closing” day for Woods in Tour Championships. His lowest Sunday score was a 68 in his first Championship at Southern Hills in 1996, but that only served to ease the pain of a 78 he’d shot on the second day. This round of 66, of course, was his lowest on closing day at East Lake and, truth to tell, the rain-soaked course was a sitting victim from start to finish. Tiger himself said earlier, “I can’t remember too many golf courses that have been easier.”
The money, ah, the money. Well, Tiger collects $1,260,000 on the spot for the Tour Championship. Then there’s the heralded sum of $10 million that comes in deferred payment and can’t be collected until he retires, or reaches the age of at least 45. Said to be the largest payout in sports history, which has been questioned in some quarters, but in the long run, what does it matter? Whatever it may be, it won’t be anything until it moves into his account. Or his grandchildren’s.
The finger points at McKay
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
Jacksonville — It has been a relatively calm past few weeks for the Falcons, one free of indictments, pleas and late night dog jokes. But there’s an obvious drawback to that. Now we’re being subjected to the product, free of distractions.
The Falcons are 0-2. They have scored one touchdown in two games. The question isn’t: How many games will they win? The question is: Whom can they beat?
Don’t link all of this to the absence of Michael Vick. Even with Vick, a sub-.500 quarterback over the past two seasons, this isn’t a team built to succeed.
Joey Harrington already has been sacked 13 times. If he survives two more games, he’ll be honored with a new spleen.
The kicker, Matt Prater, blew a 44-yard field goal try last week in Minnesota. Turns out, that was a season highlight. He missed two more kicks Sunday, one from 26 yards, which is 5 yards longer than an extra point, which I suppose would matter if the Falcons scored more touchdowns.
Logic dictates Prater has played his final game. But given other personnel decisions, it’s clear that logic and the Falcons aren’t best buddies.
“Football players are the most optimistic people before kickoff,” tight end Alge Crumpler said. “No matter what’s going on, there is always a sense of optimism after that Star Spangled Banner, the flyover and the fireworks. But that ain’t gonna win the games for you.”
No. Talent wins games. Intelligence wins games. Athletes working toward a single purpose — that wins games. The Falcons fall short on all three. And that falls on the general manager, Rich McKay.
Mistakes in free agency and the draft have been addressed before. But the Falcons’ actions, or lack thereof, in dealing with the quarterback issue are particularly disturbing. It makes you wonder just how strong of an objective winning is this season.
There was speculation the team would make a trade with Washington for Mark Brunell, who played for Bobby Petrino in Jacksonville. Didn’t happen. There was talk the team would pursue Daunte Culpepper. They had two weeks from the time Vick was indicted (July 17) to when Culpepper signed with Oakland (July 31). Didn’t happen. Now there’s Byron Leftwich, who was cut loose by the Jaguars. So far: nothing.
Are we missing something?
Harrington isn’t the team’s only problem. He just isn’t the solution. He’ll make a nice pass but then fail to spot an open receiver. He continues to hold the ball too long, leading to sacks.
As Crumpler said, “We’ll make a big play, then turn around and have a third-and-forever.”
It took 16 possessions this season to score a touchdown. That starts with the quarterback.
McKay: “It’s something we’ll continue to look at, but it’s not as though we have a lot of options.”
Doing nothing — that shouldn’t be the option.
McKay said the team considered Leftwich. “We looked at where we were in terms of our first two guys and basically we all felt he wasn’t a good fit. It doesn’t mean we won’t talk about it downstream.”
Uh, downstream? At what point is a quarterback problem considered critical? There doesn’t seem to be a sense of urgency in the front office, and that generally doesn’t play well in the locker room.
Brunell, Culpepper, Leftwich — even the “retired” Jake Plummer — all have flaws. But wouldn’t any have been an upgrade over a depth chart of Harrington-Chris Redman-Casey Bramlet?
“We know it’s gonna be hard — we know it,” Petrino said. “We know it’s gonna be a game each week where we have to make plays in the fourth quarter to win games. But we haven’t been able to get it done yet.”
Petrino is a talented coach. Don’t pin this mess on him. It starts with the pieces he was given. It starts with decisions like signing an oft-released kicker like Prater instead of keeping Billy Cundiff because Prater is longer on kickoffs. As if this offense doesn’t really need three points.
McKay admitted that experiment has flopped. Well, that’s one admission.
“In my job, you always should and will be measured by wins and losses and the decisions you make,” McKay said. “You don’t try to run from that. You stand up to it.”
That’s a nice sentiment. But standing up to your shortcomings doesn’t really help if you’re wearing blinders.
Permalink | Comments (190) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Jeff Schultz
Song remains the same for Tech
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
This was the game that was supposed to show how much the ACC has changed. It turned into the game that showed how much Georgia Tech hasn’t.
For as much good as Chan Gailey has wrought in his five-plus seasons here, his Jackets always, always, bump their heads on a ceiling. Whenever Tech folks get to thinking, “This year’s going to be different,” this year turns into more of the same. Having gotten people excited by beating Notre Dame by 30 points and by scoring 69 against Samford, the Jackets took the field at Bobby Dodd Stadium for a prime-time showdown and got themselves summarily smacked.
This doesn’t mean Tech turned into a bad team overnight., The Jackets are, as ever, a solid bunch. They’ll win a lot of games before they’re through. Still, what transpired Saturday night indicates this team has miles to go before it can think about its stated goal, which is to win the ACC title.
For one thing, Boston College is apt to be waiting should Tech happen to play its way to Jacksonville, and BC didn’t just beat the Jackets — it owned them. It stacked 512 dizzying yards on Jon Tenuta’s proud and seasoned defense, and quarterback Matt Ryan, whom Chan Gailey had likened to Philip Rivers and Brady Quinn, had a bigger night than either of those worthies ever had against this school on this field.
Ryan completed 30 passes for 435 yards, and from the first series it was apparent Tenuta’s blitzers couldn’t reach him. (Jeff Jagodzinski, the Boston College coach, used to be the Atlanta Falcons’ line coach in tandem with the weirdo Alex Gibbs, and clearly Jagodzinski knows something about protection.) It was 14-0 at the half and 21-0 after three quarters, and the only surprise was that it was still so close.
The first part of any plan against Tech is to blunt the blitz. The second is, and will be until he proves he can beat an opponent deep, to make Taylor Bennett throw. BC stacked the line to deny Tashard Choice, which is basic strategy, but not every team has the defenders to make it work. The Eagles do. Choice finished with 31 yards on 15 carries and left late in the third quarter with a hamstring injury. Bennett completed 20 of 39 passes, but only one of those went for longer than 17 yards.
Say what you will about Reggie Ball, but even on his wildest days he held out the potential of making a big play. Remember that night three years and five days ago when he and Calvin Johnson made a slew of them to undo Clemson? If Bennett isn’t as erratic as Ball - not many quarterbacks are, or have ever been - neither does he possess the same occasional upside. (And let’s not forget that Bennett’s one big game as a passer came in the Gator Bowl when Johnson, who has since departed, snagged nine of those 19 completions.)
Bennett didn’t have to throw to beat Notre Dame because the Irish couldn’t tackle Choice and because the defense yielded nothing. (And, as we’re learning weekly, Notre Dame really isn’t much of a measure.) But there will come times along the ACC trail when the quarterback has to pull his weight, and that didn’t happen Saturday. The Jackets managed six first downs and 78 yards in the first half, and that level of offense wasn’t about to overhaul Ryan on his night of nights.
Give BC its due. The Eagles saw this game as their moment of arrival, and they rose to that moment. But the Jackets, who had known their share of signature victories under this coach, cannot be happy having authored yet another crashing comedown. They were outgained by 260 yards on their home field. They were never really in a game they were favored to win. They’re 0-1 in a conference they aspire to conquer.
Reality can be a pain. Repeated reality stings even worse.
Permalink | Comments (69) | Categories: Mark Bradley
Young Florida makes it look easy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
Gainesville, Fla. — The basketball team received their rings before the game. Then the football team played its first SEC game as if last season’s title was the start of another trend.
You thought this was over?
“We haven’t gone anywhere,” running back Brandon James said. “We believe we’re this good.”
Again.
Nine starters were lost from the defense. The quarterback was making his first SEC start. You think, “There’s a window this season.”
Not so much. Georgia fans, your nightmare continues.
Florida dumped Tennessee 59-20 on Saturday. Weird things can happen between now and bowl season. But young college teams seldom start this strong and then fall apart. They get better.
The Gators played 46 freshmen and sophomores. They’re supposed to be on this side of the learning curve. So who was learning and who was teaching Saturday in the Swamp?
This was second-year quarterback Tim Tebow’s first SEC start. He threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more. He threw for 299 yards and rushed for 61. In short, he personally outscored Tennessee, 28-20, and outgained the Volunteers 360-298.
“He passed his first test — he’s got 40 left in his career,” said coach Urban Meyer, who seemed determined not to have the postgame news conference turned into a Tebow-for-Heisman campaign. “All he does is he comes in, he works out and he sits in the office all day long. But it’s one game. We’ve got a long way to go.”
Yes, but few could have anticipated this. The Gators already have an improbable basketball-football-basketball threepeat going. Now they have opened the season looking at least as strong as a year ago, winning three games by a composite score of 167-54.
They have won 10 straight since a loss at Auburn 11 months ago. There should be tape of the game somewhere, in case you’re looking for evidence.
Even David Pollack, the former Bulldog in attendance as a broadcaster, had to begrudgingly admit: “They’re good.”
He stood on the field for the final few minutes, surveying the sea of screaming, blue-shirted fans in the stadium. Then he held up his hand with a Georgia class ring, saying, “Still representin’ the G.”
But when asked how he imagines Georgia fans are feeling about more potential Gator domination, Pollack smiled and put on his TV hat: “I’m not supposed to talk about that anymore.”
Talk about this:
The first Gator to touch the ball was James. He returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown.
The second Gator to touch the ball was Markihe Anderson. He intercepted an Erik Ainge pass at the Florida 9.
Tennessee had three straight red-zone possessions that went interception-field goal-field goal. Florida had three straight possessions that went touchdown-touchdown-touchdown and covered 198 yards in less than eight minutes.
They scored on a punt return.
They scored twice on quarterback keepers.
They scored on a 19-yard reverse by Percy Harvin.
They scored on an 18-yard fumble return.
The quarterback also threw for two scores. How so very boring.
The backup quarterback, Cameron Newton, ran over a Tennessee defender.
Meyer? It was hard to tell if he was trying to get people to forget about Steve Spurrier or remember him. In the fourth quarter, with a 49-20 lead, he elected to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Gators’ 35. Of course, Tebow gained a yard for the first down. On the next play, he completed a 44-yard pass to Louis Murphy to set up a field goal.
A little piling on?
Get used to it. Meyer is now 7-0 against Florida’s biggest rivals (Tennessee, Georgia, Florida State), and he appears to be stepping on the gas pedal early.
Defense figured to be an issue this season, but the Gators held the Volunteers without a rushing first down. This was the worst loss in Phil Fulmer’s career, the school’s worst in 26 years.
Tebow was near flawless. He completed one pass while falling, and two others underhanded. Overall, he was 14-of-19. He didn’t get sacked. The lone interception was the result of his receiver cutting a route short.
He was Mr. Air and Ground, and Tennessee couldn’t stop either. After the game, he circled the field, slapping hands with fans, soaking it up.
Another celebration. You should be used to it by now.
Permalink | Comments (24) | Categories: Jeff Schultz, UGA / SEC
Poor, proud old East Lake yields a 60
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
My God, have they no respect for posterity? The image of Bobby Jones? The self-respect of the grand old course where he chiseled out his fate with golf?
All week long East Lake had been victimized, saturated with rain, greens about the consistency of fudge, lying there unprotected against the surge of the 30 highest-rated golfers off the PGA Tour. Saturday, the assault peaked under the guise of the Tour Championship (presented by Coca-Cola) en route to the FedEx Cup, otherwise known as Finchem’s Folly.
General Oglethorpe discovered Georgia in 17-something. Zach Johnson, already the Masters and AT&T Classic champion, lay claim to another third of it. The bright and starry-eyed son of Iowa blew the hinges off the course with a solid round of 60, and that broke the record that Geoff Ogilvy, U.S. Open champion a year removed, had just tied. Not that Johnson has any chance of the big prize, even if he shoots another 60 today, for Tiger Woods is still the man in the lead, safely en route to the first FedEx Cup, and the accompanying $10 million pot he now leaves in the hands of the PGA investment pros.
Johnson isn’t eligible. Only five are, and four, Steve Stricker, Phil Mickelson, Rory Sabbatini and K.J. Choi, all are left in Woods’ fumes. Today, though, Zach Johnson was the story, for all the birdies that Woods could slap on the scoreboard. The man from Des Moines was taking most of the bows, flirting, as he did on this magic soil, with the elusive score of 59.
“When you start thinking about a number, it’s not a good thing,” he said. “Shooting a 59 or winning at Augusta are two totally different things. I have no idea what I shot at 18 in Augusta, but I had a pretty good idea what I shot today.” It hit him, he said, about the time he eagled the 15th hole, a par-5.
Johnson has won three tournaments in his PGA Tour career, all in Georgia, peculiarly: The AT&T when it was BellSouth in 2004; of course, the jewel in his crown, the Masters last April, followed by the AT&T in May. “I don’t know what it is about Georgia,” he said, “maybe the land, the grass, the people.”
He fell into a sort of a summer slumber thereafter. “I guess it was just the whirlwind life. I was just getting used to the clutter and chaos that goes with winning a major. All good stuff, I mean.”
Setting a record at East Lake is by no means a ticket to the winner’s circle here. Birdies and eagles started popping up on the leaderboard like popcorn in a popper. Out of nowhere came Mark Calcavecchia, 47, a sleeping giant whose game came awake. Right behind came Sergio Garcia, all in a line of pursuit. But Woods, taking note of all the pursuers in his wake, turned on the juice himself on the back nine. You talk about a “chase,” this was what this was supposed to be all about, I’d suppose.
Spectators have rarely, if ever, had a more roaring afternoon at a Tour Championship. Johnson was already in with his 60 when Woods birdied 11, 14, 15 and 16, and missed another on 18 with one of his infamous lipouts.
Thus, the field charges into today with Calcavecchia three strokes off Woods’ 191, Garcia two behind Calcavecchia, and finally, at 197 comes Johnson. Ogilvy’s 61 left him tied at even 200 with Padraig Harrington.
Poor, proud old East Lake was left in tatters. All the skills of designers Donald Ross, George Cobb, Rees Jones and intermittent tweakers had no defense for these lustful attackers. The course record of another day once was a 63, set by Bobby Jones himself, now left in the cobwebs of time.
And for all the fears and wringing of hands about the state of the greens, suffering from summer drought and broiling sun, there has yet a complaint to be filed.
East Lake lies there a helpless victim, and in parting, let me leave you with the nomination for surprise gamer of the week, the portly Calcavecchia, who, comparing his fitness to Woods the other day, said, “He could run from here to downtown. I couldn’t run out of a burning house.”
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: Furman Bisher
All in all, brilliant and brutal
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
Athens - No such thing as nitpicking regarding Georgia football with a little trip to Tuscaloosa on the horizon. So let the nitpicking begin. For instance: After Matthew Stafford was a mighty part of the South Carolina disaster the week before, he needed a lot of things on Saturday to help scrape his ego off the floor of Sanford Stadium.
As a result, this was either a brilliant move by the offensive brain trust or a brutal one.
Try both.
With Western Carolina already breathing heavily to start the third quarter, and with Georgia preparing to face mostly real teams the rest of the season, the Bulldogs’ offensive brain trust asked Stafford to run a draw that he cut to the left while everybody else went right.
Actually, this was more brutal than brilliant. You don’t put your key guy in a position to have something snap, crackle and pop in a meaningless situation. Fortunately, for the Bulldog Nation and that offensive brain trust, Stafford slid away from danger at the end of his 22-yard sprint.
Sounds like the Bulldogs’ offensive brain trust got a little carried away. Or did it? Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo forced a laugh after the Bulldogs’ 45-16 rout, and then said of his third-and-4 call for Stafford, “Well, you know, us offensively, we need something good to happen, and that was the best play in that situation. We were not coming into this game thinking we’re going to hold anything back. We’re in a situation where we need to build confidence offensively.”
No question there, especially after Stafford helped Steve Spurrier extend his smirk Between The Hedges with a lackluster evening (completing 19 of 44 passes for 213 yards and an interception). This was a few days after Georgia coach and accomplished quarterback guru Mark Richt declared Stafford the most talented quarterback he’d ever coached. You can understand Richt’s giddiness, because Stafford spent Georgia’s opener against Oklahoma State completing
18-of-24 for 234 yards and two touchdowns.
Thus the bottom line: Stafford could become the SEC’s next significant quarterback, but right now he is that only in spurts.
Which brings us to more nitpicking, starting with early in the first quarter when Georgia spent its opening drive reaching the Western Carolina 20-yard line against a defense noted for stopping nobody. That defense didn’t stop the Bulldogs, because the Bulldogs stopped themselves. They settled for a field goal after Stafford delivered consecutive incomplete passes to Sean Bailey. The last one featured Stafford throwing one way and Bailey running another.
Then came later in the first quarter when Stafford tripped over running back Knowshon Moreno in the backfield for a
7-yard loss.
Stafford fumbled before that, but only because he was overpowered when a Western Carolina defender zipped untouched across the line of scrimmage.
“For whatever reason, we didn’t start out the way that we should have, because we were kind of sluggish, and going into next week [at Alabama], we can’t do that,” Bailey said. “We came back and regrouped on the sidelines, and we said that we have to start playing our game.”
Georgia’s offensive game begins and ends with Stafford, the true sophomore who completed a slew of passes on the Bulldogs’ final two drives before halftime to produce touchdowns. Suddenly, a 10-6 lead was 24-9 at halftime, and Stafford was only a few minutes into the third quarter away from finishing the afternoon with 14 completions in 20 attempts for 174 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Oh, and about Stafford’s slide after his long run. He eased into a smile, saying, “[Western Carolina safety Chris Collins] kind of hit the back of my leg, and that’s what kind of threw me into that slide out of bounds.”
Did we say brutal?
Permalink | Comments (36) | Categories: Terence Moore, UGA / SEC
Tradition meets tradition on a soggy football field
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
With a hint of brightness on Friday night threatening to interrupt the dark clouds over Brookwood Stadium, Bill Boswell squirmed next to his wife in the home stands. “I was hoping it would rain, because I hear Valdosta has a good passing game,” said Boswell, an Atlanta accountant and proud father of the Broncos’ No. 82, studying the heavens.
This was before tradition met tradition on a soggy high school football field.
Nobody south of Massilon in northern Ohio has more national championships than Valdosta (nine to six). In addition, Brookwood has done enough since its state championship in 1996 to challenge Valdosta, Lowndes, Parkview and others among the lordly as Georgia’s program of now.
Well, maybe Brookwood isn’t Georgia’s program of RIGHT now, because the Broncos were 0-2 when Valdosta’s buses rolled into Snellville. It’s just that those losses were by a total of four points, and Brookwood began exactly the same way last season before streaking into the playoffs. Remember, too, that the Broncos are months removed from the horrific news of Daniel Peek, their starting quarterback who was killed in a vehicle crash before the start of spring practice.
So tradition is grieving these days in cardinal and Vegas gold. The bottom line for Brookwood: There is tradition. That tradition involves more than just winning frequently before a large and giddy following. That tradition involves the Broncos rubbing a specially placed horseshoe on their trip from the fieldhouse to the field. That tradition also involves the Broncos eating the same pregame meal that consists of a hamburger patty, a baked potato, a piece of bread and a cookie.
Keeling Harrell shook his head on the other side of the stadium, where tradition wore black and gold while screaming for the Wildcats. “Hey, man, I’m going to tell you something,” said Harrell, 40, a maintenance worker for the Valdosta school system. Before we continue, to say Harrell is an ardent Wildcats backer would be the understatement of the early millennium. He has attended “as many Valdosta games as possible” since his sister took him to his first one when he was in the sixth grade.
This time, Harrell was on the road in the midst of Brookwood’s state-of-the-art facilities, complete with a perfectly manicured field and something called a Broncovision scoreboard. You also had Brookwood’s enthusiastic fan base that became even more giddy when the school band marched into the vicinity playing the Florida State fight, which has become Brookwood’s fight song.
Said Harrell, “This atmosphere here ain’t got nothing to do with Valdosta. Valdosta is on a different level. That’s always on the minds of everybody. The Wildcats. What them Wildcats going to do? I understand Brookwood has a fine program, and I don’t put nothing past them, but it’s just not the same.”
An eavesdropper nodded a few seats away, before saying, “Back home, they’d have the stadium packed by now, 15,000 strong.”
And tradition? So you really want to know about tradition? Harrell laughed, then said to the eavesdropper and his visitor, “Look. When they come out of their locker room in Valdosta, they bang their helmets against an old tin roof that’s been there for, oh, what — 50 years? I don’t know how long. Other than that, we just come out and play football. That’s all that it’s about.”
If so, Valdosta’s tradition just slid behind that of Brookwood.
Big time.
The Broncos kept scoring, and their visitors kept doing nothing worth mentioning. Before long, a 17-0 lead for Brookwood in the first half became a 37-6 blowout.
Brookwood did all of that during an occasional drizzle. So, with apologizes to Boswell, the only thing that dampened Valdosta’s passing game was Brookwood’s defense.
Either that, or the mystical powers of that horseshoe.
Permalink | Comments (12) | Categories: High School, Terence Moore
The Tour Championship (not really)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
This ain’t gonna work. That being said, let me direct your attention to the adjoining insert that reads, “My Opinion.”
It’s pretty well determined who the likely winner is at East Lake this week, which is beside the point. The Tour Championship once was aimed at determining the best player of the year, and while that hasn’t always worked out — would you believe that Tiger Woods has won it only one time since it came into play in 1987 (and that wasn’t here) — this is different. This is for ten million bucks and a trophy called the FedEx Cup.
One year, Bart Bryant won this tournament with a score of 263, six better than Woods. Did that mean Bart was the player of the year? No, nor will the FedEx chase be that decisive every year, though it presumably is the target this time. One publication concluded it moot last week with a headline, “Looks Like It’s Over.” It could be prophetic, but remember, it ain’t over till it’s over.
There are differences among the Tour members as wide as Grand Canyon. Sports Illustrated published an opinion piece by one player whose identity was withheld. Running free and unhindered, this player ran the gamut of complaints, and the list filled nearly a page, all of which have been loudly debated at one time or another. One matter had to do with Tour members having a voice in policy. “They say we discuss the issues, but that isn’t true,” it reads. “I’ve been to meetings where they’ve said, ‘We have three options. Which do you prefer.’ It’s already done. Why don’t they let us vote on stuff like the FedEx Cup?”
It would have been more palatable had the speaker been identified, but the important thing was the fact that all the issues have been batted back and forth like a ping-pong ball. In the first place, there are too many sets of figures, the earnings list and the FedEx points, all of which are dumped going into the four-tournament playoff. Then another set of numbers in the Barclays, Deutsche Bank and BMW tournaments, leading into the Tour Championship. That confuses even pros experienced at trying to keep up with life on the tour.
Stewart Cink is a player held in high regard by his peers and who serves on the Tour Policy Board. He snapped his brethren to attention with an open letter chastising fellow members. “We need to be smarter in the way we handle our individual opinions. The players as a whole seem to have forgotten we are all part of a bigger plan here,” he wrote. “Success and growth of the FedEx Cup … hinges largely on players embracing the playoff system.”
Also embracing the “company line,” concluding with this poetic observation: “A rising tide buoys all ships.” I like that.
Well-spoken, carefully phrased and coming from a person of Cink’s character, it should be sobering to a company of players. But not enough to unclutter the mess which finally came to a head at this particular juncture. Isn’t there something wrong with this final stage, when in a field of 30 qualifiers, only five are left with even a whisper of a chance of winning the Cup? Shouldn’t every player in this field be eligible? Or, is the Tour Championship really not the championship of the tour?
Oh, well, I’ve said it. I look at the program and it says, “The Tour Championship” at the top. At the bottom, “Playoffs/FedEx Cup.” Which is it? It’s not good politics to take such a blunt approach, but when $10 million is the prize and so many investors are disgruntled, seems the thing to do. On the other hand, it was indeed inspiring to see those two old crocks, Mark Calcavecchia and Woody Austin, lumbering down the fairways together, even if they can’t win the vaunted chalice.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: Furman Bisher, Golf
Wheeler has seen Jackets’ potential
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
Florida State has lost already. Virginia Tech and Miami have lost badly and are changing quarterbacks to boot. The reigning league champ — Wake Forest, in case you’ve forgotten — has lost twice. The path is clear for a new ACC power to emerge, and that emergence could well occur here Saturday night.
Georgia Tech plays Boston College in what could be the first of two meetings. They could see one another again in Jacksonville on Dec. 1, the Jackets as repeat winners of the Coastal Division, BC as Atlantic champ. But Philip Wheeler isn’t thinking that far ahead. Having been at Tech since 2003, he knows not to count on anything.
Wheeler was a member of the two teams that beat Auburn and a part of famous victories at Miami and Virginia Tech. He was also on hand when the Jackets lost at Duke, and last season he saw his team rise to 9-2 only to lose the final three games. Even now, with the Jackets a rousing 2-0 and ranked No. 15 in the land, Wheeler regards that unraveling as a touchstone.
“It’s a motivational thing,” he says. “It seemed to make us work harder. We didn’t ever want to feel the way we felt after those three games, to have no shot at redemption.”
When the new season commenced, the Jackets went to Notre Dame with the mind-set, Wheeler says, “that we didn’t want them to move one inch.” Indeed, there were times that dominating day when the Irish would have viewed a one-inch gain as an achievement. The 2007 Tech defense looks as unyielding as its immediate predecessor, which is saying something, and Wheeler himself appears exactly as he did a year ago, which is to say one of the best linebackers on any campus.
He’s smallish and fast, ideal for Jon Tenuta’s blitzing blueprint, and he has, as the football argot goes, a big motor. He also has an extravagant amount of hair. He isn’t a big talker, but he believes this year’s team can be better than the 2006 version. “The young guys,” he says, “have a tradition to live up to.”
And that’s true. In its unassuming way, Tech has built nicely. The Jackets haven’t won as many as 10 games in any of Chan Gailey’s five seasons, but neither have they finished with a losing record. The national consensus is that this program is a robust entity lacking only the proper follow-through to be considered among the elite.
Which is where Boston College comes in. Win Saturday night and the Jackets would be 3-0 for only the second time under Gailey — the first time, in 2005, they lost their fourth game by 44 points — and would stand a fighting chance of being undefeated and ranked in the top 10 when Virginia Tech comes to town on Nov. 1.
The time is past, Wheeler says, when Tech will be satisfied to bleed out seven victories. Last year’s team fell four excruciating points short of the Orange Bowl. “That stayed in our mind. The ACC championship — people play for one of those.”
Wheeler signed with Tech out of Columbus Shaw at a time when nobody knew what to make of the Jackets. They’d just lost to Georgia 51-7 and to Fresno State in the Silicon Valley Classic, now defunct. And Wheeler’s commitment wasn’t one to make the recruiting mavens gush. “I knew I had talent,” he says, “and I was ranked nationally, but I wasn’t one of the very top players.”
He is now. He’s on the watch list for three awards — the Lombardi, Bednarik and Nagurski — and he’s as old-school as any of those famous names. He doesn’t take the field doing a Ray Lewis dance (though he considers Lewis, along with Takeo Spikes, his playing model). He readies himself thusly: “I sit back and watch everything that’s going on. I like to be tuned into everything.”
Tune in Saturday night, and you’ll see him at work. You’ll see Philip Wheeler and his team attempt to plant a gold-and-white flag atop the ACC.
Permalink | Comments (35) | Categories: Mark Bradley, Tech / ACC
Takes more than spies to save these Falcons
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
Know what Bill Belichick really needs? A good nickname. B-chick. Crazy Eyes. Agent 86.
Because even if you don’t consider the NFL’s most covert and paranoid coach videotaping another team’s hand signals particularly felonious, the man should be indicted for sheer stupidity.
How does the highest-profile coach on the highest-profile team not only ignore a commissioner’s directive but has his team official cheat-o-grapher stand on the field in New England sweats with the camera?
“You did what, Max?”
“Sorry Chief, but my shoe phone’s …”
“Max, you can’t bring a video camera on the field.”
“But chief, it’s not a real video camera. See, I keep my jewelry in here.”
“No Max, that’s the water bottle.”
“Oh yeah.”
The Falcons haven’t been caught cheating yet. That’s comforting. They’re kind of like that old joke about Rice in the 1980s when every other school in the old Southwest Conference was on probation: If they are cheating, nobody cares.
Give them a video camera.
The signals.
The playbook.
Twelve receivers.
Would it make a difference?
Sunday, the Falcons are 10-point dogs to a team (Jacksonville) that opened the season with a home loss to Tennessee. That’s what happens when you make the Vikings’ defense look like the ‘62 Packers.
I saw Bobby Petrino smile this week. Can’t figure out if he knows something we don’t, or he’s just two weeks from rooming with Cheswick, Martini and Randall P. McMurphy.
But if I read the signals correctly: Jags win. But won’t cover the 10.
Semi-Pros
— Boston College at Buzz: The Yellow Jackets have outscored their first two opponents (Division I-AA Samford and Division II Notre Dame), 102-17. A win over Boston College also would move them to 2-0 over Catholic schools, further indication that the Vatican’s recruiting has really fallen off. Tech covers seven.
— Western Carolina at Georgia: The Dogs have devolved again, this time from No. 11 back to Trembling Chihuahas. Now they get a chance to punch a I-AA team in the mouth. The Catamounts have allowed 97 points in two games. If they put up more of a fight than a two-inch rawhide stick, something’s wrong. Unofficial line: 29 1/2. Officially: covered.
— Tennessee at Florida: The difference between the Gators losing a receiver and the Volunteers losing a cornerback is the Gators can still pass, while Tennessee’s defense — feh. Loser’s tied with Georgia. Winner’s tied with South Carolina. That still doesn’t sound right. Florida covers 7 1/2.
— Arkansas at Alabama: Nick Saban’s return has seen him step on Western Carolina and Vanderbilt. This might be a good time to ask for the check. (Sneak preview: Darren McFadden had a 70-yard touchdown run against the Tide as a freshman.) Take the gift three. But Arkansas wins this in an upset.
— 0-2 at 0-2: The only difference between Charlie Weis and Lloyd Carr is one still works for a brainwashed fanbase. Les Miles, your table is waiting. But until then: Michigan wins the Battle of the Busts (and the 7 1/2 is covered).
Pros and Cons
— Bengals at Browns: The Browns played their starting quarterback (Charlie Frye) one half, and then traded him. If nothing else, they move past the Falcons in the Proactive Power Rankings. But they still stink. Cincy covers 6 1/2.
— Packers at Giants: Tom Coughlin says Eli Manning’s shoulder injury isn’t as bad as first feared. Was that the good news or the bad news? Pack in a pick ‘em.
— Chargers at Patriots: Hey, here’s an idea for Roger Goodell: Make Tom Brady wear a microphone and announce the play before each snap. On second thought, he’d still win. Pats cover the 3 1/2.
— Texans at Panthers: Matt Schaub won last week to become 1-2 all-time as an NFL starter, except in certain parts of Georgia, where Sasquatch roams and he’s already won three Super Bowls. Punt the 6 1/2. Going with Carolina in my mind.
— Vikings at Lions: You’re about to find out how bad a team the Falcons lost to last week. Detroit covers three.
Financial report
— Last week: 8-3 straight up, 6-4-1 against the line.
— So far, so good: 14-4 straight up, 11-6-1 against the line.
— Lock of the week: Sunrise, 7:20.
— Early Fall Special: Buy any three selections and win a copy of Weekend Predictions’ new software, “G.M. Translator.” For example, we type in: “Our future is still incredibly bright!” (from Portland’s Kevin Pritchard after Greg Oden had season-ending knee surgery). “GM Translator” says: “Refund? I’m sorry, you must be in a bad cell. Hello? Hello …”
Permalink | Comments (111) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Jeff Schultz, Tech / ACC, UGA / SEC
‘Boo’ to bland monikers, sport
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
It’s not that I’d planned it this way, but since the Tour Championship developed a serious weather hiccup opening day, I’ve reached into my pantry of backups. You’ll get enough of the warfare at East Lake elsewhere, anyway, now that the required thunderstorm has appeared. Besides I’ve had this thing bouncing around in my head since Boo and Bubba came aboard the PGA Tour. You see, golf just isn’t big on nicknames in these times. You know, like baseball. Now, there’s a game for names, but, alas, time and manners and propriety have imposed restrictions on some of them: Shanty Hogan, Moose Solters, Dummy Hoy, Schnozz Lombardi and the most horrid of them all, Mule Haas.
“Mule” was asked one day why that was his nickname. “Because I look like one,” the old outfielder said.
Some nicknames have disappeared from print out of presumed propriety, but not from the dugout. Bill Nicholson was known as “Swish” because he struck out so often, Charley Wagner was called “Broadway” because of his lust for the night life. Any kid who looked as if he had walked a few rows behind a plow became “Rube.” A paunchy one became “Jellybelly.” The pitcher, Van Lingle Mungo, had such a melodic name it required no embellishment. Some songwriter published a lilting little tune about him. The title, “Van Lingle Mungo,” just rolls off the tongue.
Once upon a time golf was a ripe field for nicknames. Cary Middlecoff was “Doc,” because he had practiced dentistry in the service. “Wild Bill” Mehlhorn earned his title the hard way, climbing a tree near the 18th green of a tournament he was leading, aimed at disturbing the player challenging him. In spite of the interference, the challenger won. “Wild Bill” deserved to fall from the tree and break a leg, but he didn’t.
Snead was “Slammin’ Sam,” Hogan was “Bantam Ben,” Walter Hagen was “The Haig,” Lee Trevino was “Merry Mex,” and Clayton Heafner was known as “Candy Man” because he drove a candy truck. Jim Barnes was never addressed as anything but “Long Jim,” except by a few pros who didn’t hold him in warm regard. He was both tall and long off the tee. And I don’t know but what “Wiffy” may have been Wiffy Cox’s real name.
Nicknames just naturally go with games that boys play on into manhood, but somehow or another tour players have moved away from it, distracted by things of a more serious nature, such as money and public image. A sort of classical trend has developed in some latter-day names. We have among us Heath, Camilo, Geoff, Brett, Henrik and of course, Eldrick, which leads to the one nickname that rises above all. Eldrick was endowed as “Tiger” by his dad, and there is no name more recognizable in sport today. (And in case you’ve wondered what K.J. Choi’s initials stand for, it’s Kyung-Ju.)
Boo Weekley and Bubba Watson came from the same neck of the woods in Florida, and each has carved his own niche on the tour. Bubba led the PGA Tour in driving distance last year, and he’s in the lead again, but on the sideline as they play into the FedEx Cup finale this week, but not Boo. Weekley came into East Lake ranked 21st in this field, and to make it all the sweeter, he played his way out of the back of the tour guide.
Heath Slocum, referred to above, Weekley and Watson all developed their games in the panhandle neck of Florida, the towns of Milton and Bagdad, surrounded by military bases. Naturally, both were prime targets for the nicknames they bear. Boo speaks pure Panhandle Floridian, but as he proved at the PGA Championship, you wouldn’t want him keeping score for you. Sergio Garcia is our witness here.
There is a Bo on the tour, but that’s Van Pelt’s real name. And there’s a Briny, but that’s Baird’s real name. And there’s a J-Byrd, which is what some pals call Jonathan Byrd. But when it comes to creative nicknames, don’t look to the PGA Tour for originality, except perhaps in the privacy of the locker room.
Permalink | Comments (7) | Categories: Furman Bisher
Falcons should sign Leftwich — now
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
Joey Harrington is 23-44 as an NFL starter. There’s a quarterback available who’s 24-20. If I’m the Falcons, I sign Byron Leftwich today.
Maybe Harrington will work out. (In his defense, he did complete 23 of 32 passes against Minnesota, and one of the two interceptions wasn’t his fault. It was Michael Jenkins’, who looks like the worst first-round pick this franchise has made since … Bruce Pickens? Steve Broussard? Aundray Bruce?) But Harrington won’t last through September if he’s going to get sacked six times a Sunday, and the thought of Chris Redman as the No. 1 quarterback is even more disquieting.
So: Why not Leftwich? He has been a starter. He has thrown more NFL touchdown passes (51) than interceptions (36). He can deliver the deep ball. (Whether any of the Falcons’ receivers can get deep is another matter.) He can’t run, but neither can Harrington. At worst, he’d be a more viable backup than Redman. At best, he might be able to win a couple of games for a team that won’t win many.
As mentioned earlier this week, these Falcons don’t have much time. The happy talk of preseason, already a fading memory, will be rendered totally inoperative if these first four games end without a win. (And the fourth of those games, as luck would have it, will be against Matt Schaub and Houston. Imagine if the Falcons fall to 0-4 by losing to the quarterback they jettisoned.) If nothing else, hiring Leftwich would send the message that this organization is doing what it can to keep this season from going really bad really fast.
The season can and probably will go bad anyway. But that doesn’t mean the Falcons should surrender. Give Leftwich a call. Try as I might, I don’t see a downside.
Permalink | Comments (183) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Mark Bradley, Quick Hit
This UGA bunch needs an alpha Dog
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
Athens — More than anything else, with the horror of South Carolina and that Spurrier guy threatening to haunt the rest of Georgia’s football season, these gifted but raw group of Bulldogs need somebody who can growl while throwing a chair across the locker room.
Somebody who can make sure Georgia doesn’t sleepwalk on Saturday at Sanford Stadium against pitiful Western Carolina before trips in two of the next three weeks to Tuscaloosa and Knoxville. Somebody who can make sure the Bulldogs realize they can become puppies in a hurry, especially since they’ll also spend pre-Halloween facing Vanderbilt, which shocked Georgia at home last season, and Florida, which slams Georgia all the time.
That somebody is …
“Uh,” said Asher Allen, a sophomore cornerback for Georgia, thinking and thinking. “To be honest, we don’t have that person. Well, not yet, but if I had to say a name, I’d say Kelin Johnson. He really has been the guy who has been out there, making sure everybody is ready at practice, doing the small things, and also making sure the young people know what’s going on.”
Yeah, but what about the growl thing and chair thing?
Redshirt freshman safety Reshad Jones frowned, saying, “Kelin is not that type of guy, but I’d say that he is a vocal leader. He speaks what’s on his mind, and he’ll come out and make plays when needed.”
The same goes for center Fernando Velasco, among the seniors cited by Georgia coach Mark Richt as rising team leaders. Then, upon further review, Richt added, “I’d say Fernando is No. 1 [as a leader] on the team. But you know, defensively, we’ve got a bunch of guys. I’ve been pleased with [defensive end] Marcus Howard. Kelin is doing a nice job. Jeff Owens is a junior, and he’s doing a good job. Brandon Miller — quiet, not a big rah-rah guy, but he’s playing outstanding, and he works hard, and he gets emotional on game day. He’ll rally the troops.”
All of that’s fine, but that’s not the point. If the Bulldogs wish to go from their early deficit in the SEC East to bowling in the BCS, they’ll need what they’ve always had when they’ve finished better than good.
They’ll need THE leader.
Thomas Davis. Greg Blue. David Pollack. D.J. Shockley. The Stinchcombs (Jon and Matt). Eric Zeier. David Greene. Frank Ros. Will Witherspoon. John Brantley.
This isn’t an optional thing for the Bulldogs. This is a must thing, and this won’t come from Richt or any of his lieutenants. “Coaches will always ride herd and try to keep the standards at a certain level, but when you have players that will make sure that everybody is doing what they ought to be doing, that’s a huge deal for your team,” Richt said. “The leadership, in my opinion, has to come from within the ranks to have a great football team.”
It happened last season, when Georgia dropped four of five games, including a fiasco to Vanderbilt and another to Kentucky. Before long, the Bulldogs were sprinting into 2007 with consecutive victories over nationally ranked Auburn, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.
The thing is, Tony Taylor and Tra Battle were THE leaders during that stretch, but they are in the NFL now.
Now what for the Bulldogs, or should we say who?
“I remember during the South Carolina game that we were going out there for a kickoff return, and playing the amount of snaps I was playing, going out there for special teams, you’re tired,” junior tight end Tripp Chandler said. “But Kelin was in my ear, B-Miller was talking to me, just leadership all around from our seniors giving you confidence to help you get through.”
Sounds like leadership by committee at Georgia.
Whatever works.
If it works.
Permalink | Comments (92) | Categories: Terence Moore, UGA / SEC
PGA life evidently not as easy as it looks
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
Now, we all know that golfers playing the PGA Tour have the softest life in sports, short of fast race horses. Horses have to account to no one. No nagging wife. Somebody else raises their kids. Nobody spying on their night life. In fact, no night life.
Look at the jollies of being a Tour golfer, courtesy of Phil Mickelson, who was appearing before a cast of journalists at East Lake on Wednesday:
“We get to play golf for a living. It’s a wonderful deal.”
“We get to make our own schedule.” No team, no nasty manager to obey.
“It’s very difficult,” but they get to travel with their kids when they choose to.
They have agents to cover any glitches. A caddie carries their weapons. Courtesy cars await, keys in the switch.
But through all these hardships, they must be fresh mentally and physically. So a fellow needs some time away from tournament pressure and the ordeal of playing all those “outings.” Oops, “outings?” Yeah, after the Congressional, an “outing” around Washington, and after the PGA Championship, another “outing.”
An “outing” is not your kind of picnic. It’s another day’s work, presenting your celebrated body for a round of golf that some corporation pays a king’s ransom for. Not required. Nothing to do with Tour business. It’s the player exercising his own corporate self.
“For me, it’s 10 out of 13 weeks in a row, starting back at the AT&T National, the Scottish Open, the British Open, two weeks in Europe, then to Akron, then the PGA Championship, then I have four days off before a four-week stretch with the FedEx Cup,” Mickelson said, inserting all those unforced “outings” in between.
Then you have school starting and you go on from there, the golfer’s marathon. So he wins one of the FedEx prelims and takes a bye. Tiger Woods did, didn’t he? “You’re trying to practice and work out and trying to have family time … it doesn’t allow you to play your best every single week for months on end.”
Whew, he’s wearing me out. Just the day before, Rory Sabbatini once again had barked out his challenge: Play all the four FedEx events, or forfeit. “We’ve all learned to take what he says with a grain of salt,” was Mickelson’s retort.
This is, as you may have determined by now, a house divided. Some players prefer cash payment on the 18th green Sunday. Some simply go along with company policy. You see, there’s more than just than the $10 million prize up front. There are 25 millions to be distributed down through the rest of the 30 players.
Tour commissioner Tim Finchem had a press conference Wednesday afternoon and painted it all with a golden tone. Crowds great, TV ratings great, players excited, “a successful run,” as he put it, “not to say it can’t be done better.”
For one thing, telecasts on the Golf Channel have been atrocious. Continuity non-existent. Weekends on the major networks haven’t been much better, and I’m a watcher. I’ve bought into the Golf Channel since its first month. After all that time, I have to say the quality is just above stagnant. So there.
Thus, I have this to propose: If the Tour is as muchly concerned as it seems about bucking football, U.S. tennis championships, and one it seems not to have heavy on it mind, the major league pennant races, I suggest that the official PGA Tour season come to a close with the Tour Championship the last week of August. That leaves time for the Fall Series, as they call it, before the first snowflake and wintry storm. And all those guys outside the exalted FedEx class can have a race of their own to the exempt line of 125.
Permalink | Comments (10) | Categories: Furman Bisher, Golf
Hawks should have one owner
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals ruled that Steve Belkin can’t shove aside the rest of the Atlanta Spirit folks to become the Hawks’ sole owner. Or that he needs to try again in court, or that he should just go away, or that he must put Dijon sauce on his crab cakes.
 |
| AP |
| Hawks GM Billy Knight (left) refuses to shake hands with Steve Belkin (right) in a 2005 courtroom encounter. |
Who knows?
This is for sure: Even if Belkin is ousted — to the delight of Billy Knight, the Hawks’ general manager whose hands are apparently allergic to Belkin’s — the Hawks still will have about seven owners too many. If you include the estranged Belkin, they have eight right now.
One owner, please.
Nothing against the other guys with the Hawks, but either of the extremely knowledgeable and always personable Gearons (Michael Sr. or Jr.) would do just fine. When it comes to pro sports, there is a reason why most world championships have gone to teams owned by an individual instead of a corporation or a consortium.
Anyway, I knew this Atlanta Spirit thing was headed for divorce court within 24 hours of its first news conference. That’s because Belkin left an Alexander Haig message on my answering machine.
To paraphrase, “Contrary to what was said in the news conference that all eight of us are equal in ownership with the Hawks, I’m more equal than the others.”
Did I say the Hawks should have one owner?
Not Belkin, please.
Permalink | Comments (16) | Categories: Quick Hit
Questions abound about Tour payoff
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
Two years ago, come November, Tim Finchem, Esq., the Brian France, the Roger Goodell, the Bud Selig, the David Stern of professional golf, stood before a bunch of sweaty bodies at East Lake Golf Club and spoke of this dream of his. He had a “chase” of his own in mind that, indeed, did have some resemblance to NASCAR’s seasonal curtain call. The FedEx Cup he’d call it, representing a linkage to Federal Express, through nothing more peculiar than a contractual arrangement.
So, there we were, and here we are two years later, still knitting and patching, doing some spitting and some polishing, trying to decide how best to give a $10 million bonus away. And even what kind of name to give it, an annuity (nay) or a deferred payment (yup).
Frankly, friends, we have been through this before, and I can say to you, I find nothing duller to read or write about. This is a work in progress, as they say, an infant still in diapers. Just a day ago we sat in one of those player press conferences and somebody asked Stewart Cink, who’s a member of the players board, if there are changes coming.
“Are there plans?” he said. Then, he said if you have a suggestion, call Tim Finchem, his phone line is open 24 hours a day. So there you are, you can have a part in remodeling the FedEx Cup chase. Actually, this is nothing more than the same old Tour Championship with a $10 million bonus for the winner. Not now, paid later, with accumulated interest, and this is where it gets murky. The way I get it, you can’t collect until you retire from competition, and that can be your own choice. Now, that would seem to hit the Champions Tour a lick in the chops. All these great champions win the FedEx Cup, collect the $10 million plus interest, and decide to retire at 50 and there goes a big-time name off the elders tour.
Fred Funk said the other day he had a question: “If I win the FedEx Cup, am I $10 million richer in real money? This is where I’m confused.”
Unfortunately, as it turns out, little Fred won’t have that financial matter to burden him. He didn’t make it this far.
Scott Verplank is a golfer with connections in deep financial waters. He told Tim Rosaforte the other day he’d rather take the dough now, pay the taxes and do his own investing. “I’ll take my $6.5 million, give it to T. Boone Pickens to invest and see where I’m at.”
Good luck, Scott. I hope you have better luck than I had when I invested a little pot in T. Boone’s Mesa Company a few years ago. I will say this, that after I wrote him a letter of disgruntlement, he was crotchety enough to reply, crotchetly, I might add.
However, first things first. There have been disturbing releases out of East Lake of late that these greens may be below the high standards the players set for their game. You see, the Tour Championship has always been played here in November, after the seasons had changed and autumn grass was firmly set. Yes, we’ve been short-changed for rain and over-baked with heat. Three or four greens show traces of acne. At least some have been re-sodded in places. Don’t look too bad to Mark Calcavecchia. Don’t look too bad to the average handicapper, but remember, these guys are picky about courses they play. They wouldn’t have played some of the British Open courses 30 years ago. Sheep don’t mow too evenly.
Got a suggestion: To paraphrase wee Willie Keeler’s admonition in baseball, “Hit it where it ain’t,” meaning the bad stuff.”
In the long run, there’s nothing about the greens that should tilt the outcome in one direction or another. They’ll all be putting the same surfaces, and the good putters will putt well and the shaky putters will putt shakily. “I’ve seen a lot worse greens than these,” Mark Russell, the PGA Tour tournament director, said, while a thunderstorm broke loose outside, and with that we bury the matter.
In the long run, they can change the date to get away from the early heat of college football — the pros don’t matter — the major league pennant races, and other human interferences, but not to coin a phrase, you don’t go messing around with God.
Permalink | Comments (10) | Categories: Furman Bisher, Golf
Bulldogs too soft, coach lacks fire
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
Athens — According to legend, a wonderful source, football’s roots can be traced back to 1823, when William Ebb Ellis, a student at the Rugby School of England, picked up the ball during a soccer game and started running with it.
This obviously was against the rules, and I’m guessing Ellis’s decision led to an opponent’s forearm shiver and seven-man dog-pile — fairly well completing the blueprint for American football.
I’m not sure who the Georgia Bulldogs are today. But they look a lot closer to Ellis than anybody on top of the dog pile.
There are all sorts of theories as to why Georgia lost to South Carolina, not the least of which has to do with Steve Spurrier, needles and a little puppy voodoo doll he keeps on his nightstand. Matthew Stafford was off target. His receivers were off kilter. His offensive coordinator was off his rocker.
But here’s another possibility: They’re soft, and their coach is lacking in the verbal equivalent of a forearm shiver.
This Georgia team, while young, appears as fast and talented as any in some time. To compare the skill level of the two teams last Saturday was nonsensical. On paper, it was all Georgia. On an electrocardiogram, it was all South Carolina.
One simple rule of football: When a quarterback can’t throw and a receiver can’t catch and a coach seemingly can’t see, it’s amazing what knocking somebody on their butt will accomplish. We didn’t see that from the Bulldogs in the last game. We also didn’t see smoke rising from the neatly combed hair of coach Mark Richt. Both are problems.
Despite all of Richt’s success in Athens, most notably in making the Georgia program relevant again, his teams sometime lack an emotional or physical edge. Some maladies can be attributed to youth. But you wonder whether the Bulldogs’ first SEC game of the season might have ended differently if only there was a blowtorch nearby.
Richt said Tuesday of his team’s mental and physical toughness, “I’m just trying to gauge their maturity level,” and he alluded to the offensive line’s inexperience.
And then: “As far as toughness, you develop that over time. I wouldn’t say we’re not a tough football team. We certainly need to get tougher.”
Let me translate: “No, but yes.”
Richt used to be soft on crime. Telling Odell Thurman to run stadium steps wasn’t going to fix the problem. But it was residual from Bobby Bowden’s school of discipline. Eventually, Richt changed. Even he grew tired of the arrests and the criticism. He got tougher.
Until recently, Richt called the offensive plays. He had become worn down. He had slipped in other areas of his job. So he nominated Mike Bobo to start calling the plays. The decision was probably the right one, even if Bobo isn’t the most popular man in Athens this week.
Now it might be time for Richt to evolve in another area. Sometimes it’s good to coach with a gentle hand. Sometimes a sledgehammer is better.
“Because I’m the face of the program, I’m not usually screaming in anybody’s ear very often,” he said. “Sometimes I do. There are some choice times in the locker room or in practice that people don’t normally see.”
He said he would raise the decibel level “if that’s what we need.”
“Like Coach T [strength and conditioning coach Joe Tereshinski], he’s Mr. Motivation. He’ll be like, ‘Coach, you’ve got to go berserk on them sometimes.’ And I’ll say, ‘Well I didn’t go berserk at halftime of the Virginia Tech game and we did OK.’ There have been times when I’ve gotten after them pretty good and you end up losing the game anyway. I’ve got to be who I am. If I’m going off and it’s out of character, those guys can smell if you’re being genuine or not. Sometimes the best thing to do is make sure we get a good plan rather than go berserk on somebody.”
This week, the Bulldogs play Western Carolina. No blowtorch necessary. But when SEC play resumes in Tuscaloosa, Richt might want to remind them that this is still a collision sport. And you can’t just pick up the ball and run.
Permalink | Comments (187) | Categories: Jeff Schultz, UGA / SEC
Win one soon, or Falcons fall apart
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
Flowery Branch — It’s barely week 2, and already the clock is ticking faster than Morley Safer’s pocketwatch. The Falcons have only so much time — two more games, three at the outside — to prove to themselves and a skeptical public that they, contrary to the misdoings in the Metrodome, aren’t the worst team in pro football.
To listen to Bobby Petrino on Monday was to hear a coach who believed his team wasn’t as lousy as the outcome — 24-3 against a not-very-good opponent — made it seem. “It looks like a bad score,” he said, “but we were right in the game with 7:53 to go, and halftime it could’ve been 7-6 or even 6-0 in our favor.”
And if this had been another game for another team in another season, that notion wouldn’t have sounded nearly so wishful. Even good teams have bad luck and bad days. But nobody expected these Falcons to be much good, and when their wretched opener fit those worst-case scenarios to a capital “W” … well, that lifted no one’s spirits.
So the clock’s ticking, and either these Falcons win a game before the month’s out or they’ll have become what everyone else anticipated them being and they swore they wouldn’t become — a hopeless case, a lost cause, the utter dregs of NFL 2007. And it won’t be enough to look good and lose (or, as happened Sunday, to look slightly better than the score would indicate): Only a victory will suffice. More than one would be nice, but at this point even one looks problematic.
“We need to get a win,” Petrino said, and then he laughed. (Petrino doesn’t traffic in small talk, nor does he have much appreciation for the blatantly obvious.) “This will challenge our attitude and challenge our togetherness. But we’ll learn more about ourselves and our ability to keep a good attitude, and eventually it will [pay off].”
Perhaps it will. Perhaps Joey Harrington will preside over a touchdown drive before long. Perhaps Joe Horn will prove he can still get open. Perhaps Wayne Gandy will block somebody. Perhaps Jerious Norwood will get more than seven touches some given Sunday. Perhaps Alge Crumpler’s trick knee will hold up for 15 more games. But right now the Falcons appear to possess a sound new offense but too few playmakers.
“Completing 71 percent of our passes and converting 50 percent on third down, I would have said we’d have had a win,” Petrino said, but that’s what happens when the biggest play made by a quarterback is a big fat negative. Harrington threw the ball to defensive tackle Kevin Williams on the Falcons’ first series, and Williams returned it for a touchdown that kept the visitors from getting the lead they’d planned on having. (The idea was to get ahead early and make second-year quarterback Tarvaris Jackson throw.)
Afterward, Harrington said Williams was fooled so completely he wasn’t where he should have been, a strange thing for a quarterback to say. (Who threw the ball, anyway?) But that’s what you get with a guy who has started 67 NFL games and lost 44 of them, who has thrown 79 interceptions against 72 touchdowns. Harrington isn’t out there because the Falcons saw him as the quarterback of their dreams. He’s out there because the quarterback of their dreams is unavailable.
“We’ll watch the video,” Petrino said, “and we’ll continue to work and coach. And [the players] are going to see on video what opportunities were there.”
Opportunities, alas, aren’t to be confused with reality. The Falcons thought they would win Sunday, and they lost by 21 points. Things could get really bad really fast, and if they do the Falcons will be looking toward another clock. The draft is scheduled for April 26, 2008. These guys could well have the first pick.
Permalink | Comments (102) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Mark Bradley
Hard to be positive after opener like that
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
Minneapolis — If this is indicative of things to come for the Falcons, they already are history for so many reasons. We needn’t go further than this: Courtesy of their 24-3 blowout Sunday at the Metrodome to begin the post-Michael Vick era, they were more defensive after the game than they were during it.
Such is the way of losers. When your offense is pathetic for an entire afternoon, and when your defense gets torched by a gifted running back who nevertheless is making his debut as a rookie, and when your play is lethargic in general, you whine in the aftermath about anything or anybody but yourself.
What a mess, and not only because the Falcons were a deadly combination of bad and boring. If one corner of the visitors’ locker room wasn’t imploring media folks “to stay positive” and to stop “being so negative,” the other side was doing the same.
So what about the stuff that really should matter to the Falcons, which is having a team under first-year NFL head coach Bobby Petrino flashing signs of imploding with another horrific outing or three?
“I mean, we want to be great, because we spent this whole minicamp and training camp running to the ball, trying to stop the run and that whole mentality, but we didn’t respond the way that we should,” said cornerback DeAngelo Hall, among those who refused to ignore the Falcons’ horrors by trying to shift the conversation. “We obviously had spurts where we did stop the run, but we had them backed up too many times and let them off the hook. We all have to look in the mirror to see what we have to do to get better and to get this team better.”
Just in case that mirror is a little foggy for the Falcons after their silly yapping about criticism, here’s some help. They allowed Adrian Peterson to rush for 103 yards and catch a pass for 60 more yards and a touchdown. They had no hurries or sacks of Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, not to be confused with Fran Tarkenton anytime soon. They relinquished six sacks. Their offense never reached the red zone. They saw quarterback Joey Harrington throw two interceptions and saw his 61.8 passer rating drop his record as an NFL starter to 23-44.
Sounds like the Falcons miss the other guy who is headed for prison after his dogfighting issues. In fact, five years ago, when the Falcons were last at the Metrodome, the other guy weaved his way through the Vikings’ entire defense in overtime for victory and continued his sprint from the end zone to the locker room.
Added Hall of Vick, who, if nothing else, was as dramatic as the current Falcons are dull, “We haven’t been preparing with him. He hasn’t been on the field with us. I mean, it’s not like the guy has been with us in minicamp and throughout training camp, and all of a sudden he’s not there for the game.”
That’s true, but there only was one No. 7, among the all-time elite of athletes. Given his highly publicized fall from NFL star to convicted felon and his sentencing that is three months away, the Falcons are smothered by his shadow. Whether they wish to admit it or not.
“I know what people are getting at when they ask [about Vick], but how do I lead? How do I take care of these young guys and keep them focused on the task at hand?” said tight end Alge Crumpler, one of the Falcons’ five captains. “When I get home and shoot a text message to Mike, that’s on my time. When I walk through the door at Flowery Branch, I’m working for the guys we’re suiting up. Period. I’m not going to sit here for 16 weeks and play the ‘what if’ game.”
The Falcons just need to play the game. Period. That’s opposed to the blame game.
(Commenting has closed and will resume Monday morning.)
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Tormentor enjoys the flashback
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
Athens — Feeling nostalgic now, are we?
Steve Spurrier comes to town and suddenly a football team buckles at the knees. The offensive coordinator can’t call a play. The quarterback can’t spot or hit an open receiver, and when he does, somebody drops the ball.
The head coach feels bold enough in the third quarter to rubber-stamp a trick play on fourth down, but he talks himself out of going for a tying touchdown on fourth down from the opponent’s 15 - with less than five minutes remaining.
“This wasn’t a shock,” Spurrier said Saturday.
What would you expect him to say?
As a Gator, Spurrier was 11-1 against Georgia. As a Rooster, he was 0-2. Consider this a market correction. The Bulldogs lost 16-12.
One coach was beaming. The other should have felt humiliated.
Mark Richt hadn’t lost to South Carolina since 2001 (then coached by Lou Holtz). That also was the last time the Georgia offense failed to produce a touchdown (14-9 loss). It was in Richt’s first year in Athens and his first SEC game. More wonderful memories.
Spurrier would have you believe these teams are relative equals. Nothing coming in said that.
A week ago, South Carolina allowed 252 rushing yards to a school from Munchkinland, Louisiana-Lafayette. Its starting quarterback Saturday, Blake Mitchell, has spent a career being a knucklehead and was coming off a suspension. The Bulldogs merely were coming off a dismembering of Oklahoma State, during which quarterback Matthew Stafford played as advertised and as needed.
Because Stafford is young, you expect a slide back once in a while. You don’t expect a face plant. Last week: 18 of 24 passing, two touchdowns. This week: 19 of 44, no touchdowns, one interception, three sacks.
When somebody asked about drops, Stafford responded appropriately. “I missed guys,” he said. “They were open. Personally I could’ve played a whole lot better.”
Players could’ve played better. Coaches could’ve coached better. Spurrier basked in it all.
It was like a bad acid flashback.
Fans booed Georgia’s offense, and booed Spurrier as he was heading into the tunnel at halftime. He acknowledged them by waving.
He commented he was getting an ovation. Or was it boos? “I didn’t realize I was that important to them.”
In his first year in Columbia, Spurrier won games at Tennessee and at home against Florida. Those were big.
Last season, he came within a point of the Gators in Gainesville and upset Clemson. Also big.
But this was a victory in an SEC opener against the school he has tormented most. Bigger.
Everybody played a role, particularly Richt and play-caller Mike Bobo. The Bulldogs went 3-for-18 on third down. Two red-zone possessions netted two field goals.
Stafford was buried in the third quarter on a fourth-and-2 play, a delayed play-action in which he played out the fake too long and got smacked by a blitzing Gamecock.
Spurrier: “They tried that sleeper play. They tried that two years ago. It was funny. I think they might file that play.”
The man never misses an opening.
Late in the game, the Dogs trailed 16-9. They were driving. But after consecutive runs by Knowshon Moreno netted 21 yards, Bobo didn’t call his name again. Oops. Three straight incompletions left a fourth down on the South Carolina 16. But Richt elected to kick a field goal rather than go for the tying TD. Why?
“We thought we could stop them and get the ball back and we did,” Bobo said. “But we couldn’t execute in a two-minute situation.”
How does this happen?
Opportunities, they had. On the opening drive, Gamecocks cornerback Carlos Thomas twice kept Georgia drives going with personal fouls (one for a late hit, the other for yelling at an official who presumably called the late hit). When one player gives you 30 yards, you should come away with something. The Dogs came away with a missed 48-yard field goal.
Georgia was blessed with another extended possession late in the half when Carolina was flagged for roughing the punter. But that was followed by three straight incompletions. Boos rained down. Spurrier loved it.
Welcome to reruns.
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Falcons need Dunn more than ever
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
To paraphrase the words of an old gospel song, if the Falcons never needed Warrick Dunn before, they sure do need him now.
That’s on and off the field. Dunn knows it, too. “Probably when you talk to people who research and do studies, they feel like the Falcons are going to have to do more to recover their image,” said Dunn, the NFL’s secretly great running back who nevertheless has been openly superb during his 11 seasons as a role model outside of shoulder pads.
Which brings us to this: Given the highly publicized ugliness surrounding Michael Vick’s conviction for dogfighting, the Falcons’ ownership and management is obsessed with trying to separate themselves from the quarterback that they designated as the face of the franchise. As a result, the Falcons’ regular season begins Sunday in Minneapolis, along with the paranoia of their politburo.
Actually, that paranoia is just continuing. It used to be that the Falcons’ politburo would assign Big Brothers from its public relations staff to surround Vick at all times during interviews — as in coddling, which contributed to many of Vick’s issues. Now Vick is headed to prison, but those Big Brothers are still around. They’ve become even more prevalent in the Falcons locker room, because their new assignment is to swoop in from the shadows to monitor the proceedings of any player conversing with any media person.
Dunn glanced at the two Big Brothers rushing toward his locker this week in Flowery Branch during an interview. Then he forced a chuckle and said of the Falcons’ heightened PR push, “It’s the focus groups. I guess they feel like that these are things that you need to do to improve such and such. But as players, we’re just going to rely on the guys who have been around here. Lawyer [Milloy]. Wayne [Gandy]. Alge [Crumpler]. Keith Brooking. Guys who have played in this game a while, but guys who also have been there and done it.”
Guys such as Dunn, an ongoing miracle, with more rushing yards in his NFL career (9,461) than any active player not named Edgerrin James or Fred Taylor. This is some trick for somebody who packs maybe 180 pounds around a frame of maybe 5 feet 9. Plus, courtesy of his 32-year-old legs, he is ancient for a running back. He also had back surgery to start training camp.
Even so, Dunn plans to start every game of a Falcons season for the fourth consecutive time.
Good. The more of Dunn for the Falcons, the better. This isn’t only because he can use his prolific running, catching and blocking to ease the transition from the frequently erratic but always dangerous Vick to however you would describe his replacement, Joey Harrington, owner of a 23-43 record as a starter in the NFL. This is mostly because Dunn’s eyes, nose and everything else were more suited than those of Vick to become the face of the Falcons franchise, anyway.
There is Dunn’s Homes for the Holidays program to help single mothers become first-time home-owners. He was selected as one of Oprah’s “Angels.” He has been recognized by more than a few publications as everything from a good guy for the ages to one of sports’ most influential persons. He also won the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award.
“Myself, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve wanted to do more. Not just with the things that I do, but to get more involved in teammates’ activities and different things that go on in the city,” Dunn said. “I want to do those things, because I care about what happens to people. It isn’t just for the headlines. Any time any of us has time to do something, I’m sure guys are going to step out, and it’s not going to be because it’s being stressed from upper management that, ‘You guys have to do this.’ “
No, but upper management wouldn’t mind as much. It has those Big Brothers around to prove it.
Permalink | Comments (41) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Terence Moore
A rout is a rout by any name
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
Well, what did you expect? Georgia Tech just beat the heck out of Notre Dame last week, and, “we are the Samford Bulldogs!” Little ol’ Samford from Birmingham, just dropping in to pick up the check. This is not the kind of visit Pat Sullivan is accustomed to making to Grant Field, before it became Bobby Dodd Stadium. He used it twice as a platform to make his case for the Heisman Trophy, and he won it in 1971, his crowning season as quarterback at Auburn. Before his men of Samford University left the field Saturday, press box historians were having to dig back through the ages to the infamous 220-0 Cumberland game of 1916 in search of matching records.
By the way, in case you haven’t noticed, the only two Heisman Trophy winners now head coaches in the USA both happened to be in our state at the same time. Sullivan won it in 1971 and Steve Spurrier, winner in 1966, had an appointment in Athens Saturday night. You see, Heisman Trophy winners usually choose to take their game to the NFL, where even if they don’t make it, there’s money in endorsements and other baubles.
Oddly, both Spurrier and Sullivan had their fling in the NFL, but neither lit it up. This is Sullivan’s second run at head coaching, a considerable retreat from the years he spent at Texas Christian. His six-year tour at that level didn’t turn out shiningly, so he came home as an assistant at Alabama-Birmingham. He is just a homebody kind of guy, anyway, and when the job at Samford opened right there where he grew up, he was available, and here he was on Grant Field again, but this time the worm had turned. You get to the Samfords of world football and your own little football paladium has only 6,500 seats, you have to make sacrifices to balance the budget, and this was budget-balancing day for Samford, by the crushing score of 69-14.
It still wasn’t the worst licking Samford ever took, though the name was Howard College then. In 1920, Centre College of Kentucky shredded the Bulldogs, 120-0, this the same Centre College that destroyed (I jest) Harvard, 6-0, in the greatest college upset of all time — until last Saturday in Ann Arbor.
On the Georgia Tech side, the 45 points in the first half were the most scored in a first half since the 126 scored against Cumberland in 1916. There were various and sundry other scoring records broken, or tied, or approached, more than concerns even Chan Gailey. And speaking of coach Gailey, who happened to coach at Samford in the season of 1993, he was just dishing out a taste of the medicine he suffered that season. Central Florida laid 48 points on him and Troy State followed up with 52 while he left a record of 5-and-6.
Now, what he got out of this game was the satisfaction of having Taylor Bennett put his passing touch on display. This was not a “lackluster” performance, referring to prior grading of his day at South Bend. He completed eight of nine passes for a modest 85 yards, then took a sabbatical. Thereafter, Georgia Tech kept the ball on the ground mainly. The offensive high command was trying to keep the scoring down, but the nervous lads from Birmingham weren’t gracious recipients. Dropped passes, jittery passing, fumbles and careless tackling set them up like ducks on a pond.
Tashard Choice stayed around long enough to collecet ll0 yards, then, too, retired to the sideline, and in result, Jonathon Dwyer, a freshman from Kell High in Marietta, led the ground game with 138 yards and three scores. Names and faces uncommon to the crowd of 40-some thousand kept rolling off the sideline onto the field, and the Jackets kept rolling along. (Oh, and speaking of rolling, the Model-A Ford mascot, made its return from the disabled list, leading the team onto the field, as is custom.) By the end of the game, Bennett and Choice were but sweet memories,
Gailey was naturally was pleased as could be, and as is custom, careful not to allow himself to be too cheerful. Poor Pat Sullivan, on the other hand, handled his situation as well as the captain of any wounded ship. “We were like a deer in headlights,” he said, and then outlined the misbehavior of his troops like a father in pain. Next week, the Bulldogs drop back to their own level with Presbyterian College, and the Jackets brace for the invasion of Boston College, fellow member of the ACC fraternity.
Permalink | Comments (26) | Categories: Furman Bisher
Witnesses to something ‘magical’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
Even when it was over, Jeff Francoeur wasn’t quite willing to concede. Ronnie Belliard’s liner had dropped cleanly into right field, and by all rights that should have quashed John Smoltz’s masterwork six outs shy of culmination.
But the right fielder Francoeur, being young and indomitable, took the ball on one hop and thought for a long instant about trying to throw Belliard out at first base. “If Tex [first baseman Mark Teixeira] had been on the bag, I’d have probably tried it,” Francoeur said. “But I’d have probably thrown it into the dugout.”
Imagine how that would have been. A no-hitter preserved on a 9-3 groundout. In the history of baseball, had such a thing ever happened?
It didn’t happen Friday night, either. Overriding his impulses, Francoeur simply returned the ball to the infield. But that’s how it is when history is at hand: Nobody wants to see it slip away.
“That’s what I told these three knuckleheads,” said paying customer Jon Nalepa of Walton, pointing to his 12-year-old son and his son’s two friends after the 7-1 win. “They didn’t realize what they were watching. I told them, ‘Watch this — you may not ever see something like it again.’ “
And his reaction when Belliard messed everything up? “I was disappointed,” Nalepa said.
Pretty much everybody was. Said Smoltz: “It had a chance to be a magical night … Unfortunately I ran out of gas.”
Seeing Belliard’s single, vacationing Matthew Will of Biloxi, Miss., said, “I groaned for a second.”
Only an inning before, Will and the other Turner Field patrons had cheered when Austin Kearns’ grounder in the hole was ruled an error on rookie shortstop Yunel Escobar. “I’d never heard people cheer an error before,” Will said.
For the record, the 40-year-old Smoltz wouldn’t have been the oldest man to work a no-hitter. (Nolan Ryan did it at 45.) Smoltz wouldn’t have even been the oldest to throw a no-hitter at Turner Field. (Randy Johnson was 40 years, eight months and eight days old on the night of his 2004 perfect game against the Braves.) Still, it would have been something to see, and not just for the customers.
“There’s disappointment [when it doesn’t happen],” Francoeur said. “To do something like that at his age — not saying he’s old — would have been unbelievable.”
Here Francoeur laughed. “OK, I’ll say it. He is old.”
Did Smoltz have no-hit stuff? “He has no-hit stuff every night,” said pitching coach Roger McDowell. Was McDowell deflated that Smoltz came so close? “It would have been a great thing for him. [A no-hitter] is something that doesn’t come along very often.”
Will had never seen a no-hitter, he said, and his girlfriend, Samantha Newman, hadn’t even seen a big-league game in person before Friday night. The two will try again to witness something extraordinary tonight.
“We’ll be here [for Saturday’s game],” Will said. “I think Chuck James is pitching then.”
Permalink | Comments (20) | Categories: Braves / MLB, Mark Bradley
Can Spurrier get it done at Carolina?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
Columbia — Steve Spurrier is funny in a funny sort of way. He doesn’t really crack jokes. He doesn’t spin slice-of-life yarns. What makes him entertaining is that he, alone among football coaches, is incapable of hiding his feelings. He’s 62, but he has the emotional filter of a 9-year-old boy — which is to say, none at all.
If he’s happy, he looks and acts happy. If he’s disgusted — this is the really good part — he tells you so. He might not actually say, “I’m disgusted,” but he’ll wince and roll his eyes to such exaggerated degree that there’s no missing the message. (A printed transcript doesn’t begin to do justice to a Spurrier news conference.) And if this week’s message happens to contradict a just-launched PR offensive … well, too bad.
Spurrier spent the offseason suggesting that South Carolina, the program he has coached since 2005, is ready to win an SEC championship. Given that the school has been playing football for 113 years and still doesn’t have a winning record — the Gamecocks are 516-517-44 — and has managed only four bowl victories and one conference title of any kind (the ACC in 1969), this struck many as a reach.
In a bit of jujitsu, the Gamecock Club took a televised comment from ESPN’s Lee Corso — “I don’t think Spurrier can win the SEC or national title, I don’t care if he coaches here 400 years” — and made it the focal point of a fund-raising campaign. Go to letsshowcorso.com and you’ll find a message from Spurrier, highlights from signature victories over Tennessee, Florida and Clemson, plus an animated game where the user can toss footballs at an unconvincing likeness of Corso.
South Carolina proudly unveiled this Web site and screened the video on the scoreboard at Williams-Brice Stadium just before last week’s opener against Louisiana-Lafayette. And what was Spurrier saying after the halting victory over the Ragin’ Cajuns? That perhaps the naysayers had a point.
From his Sunday teleconference: “We’re just a bunch of average stiffs. We don’t need to think we’re any good.”
From his Tuesday media briefing: “Maybe I’ve overstated our team by throwing out some goals. ‘That guy’s crazy. What’s he talking about?’ “
And this: “Those two teams [Clemson and Florida State in their televised Labor Day game] were flying around, going crazy on defense. If we can get to that level defensively, we can talk about the SEC seriously instead of maybe just dreaming about it.”
Part of Spurrier would love to believe his Gamecocks can win at the highest level because he’s smart enough to make any team win. But that’s the tangle: Is a great coach — which Spurrier indisputably was at Florida, where he took six SEC titles and the 1996 national championship — still capable of greatness when presiding over a program that has known only mediocrity?
Said Corso: “Eighty percent of the college games I ever saw were won by the guy with the best players. Hello? You don’t outcoach people in the SEC. If anybody can win the SEC at South Carolina, it’s Steve Spurrier. I’ve said that a million times. … But Paul Dietzel won a national championship [at LSU], and he couldn’t do it [at South Carolina]. Lou Holtz won a national championship [at Notre Dame], and he couldn’t do it. Those are all facts.”
The wily Holtz lifted the Gamecocks from 0-11 in 1999 to 8-4 in 2000 and 9-3 in 2001, beating Georgia twice running. But Holtz still retired with a losing record in his six South Carolina seasons, which would indicate there’s a ceiling on what even the absolute best can achieve.
But here’s this from Holtz: “I absolutely think Steve Spurrier can win the SEC. It’s very difficult to take a program at the bottom and win a championship with it, but we made it respectable. … They have an excellent stadium, good facilities and championship fans. I’ve talked to Steve, and he thinks he can do it. And he’s already beaten Tennessee and beaten Florida, and he could possibly beat Georgia Saturday night.”
And what of his ESPN colleague’s skepticism? “If you go check Lee’s record,” Holtz said, “I think you’ll find it’s not 100 percent.”
On this issue, however, Corso has it right. It’s one thing to pick off Tennessee or Florida or Georgia in a given season, quite another to do it with regularity. Spurrier has coached as well at South Carolina as he ever did in Gainesville, but this has enabled him to go 7-5 and 8-5, not the 9-2 and 10-2 of his first two Florida seasons. (FYI, the Gamecocks have only had one 10-win season — Joe Morrison did it in 1984.)
Back to Louisiana-Lafayette. At Florida, Spurrier’s teams would win that sort of game 62-14. South Carolina won 28-14 and needed a defensive stop to do it. Said Spurrier: “I was hoping we were past that kind of game. We’re not past it the way we’ve been playing. … We’ll try to fix it, but maybe we’ll figure out that this is the best we can do and we are what we are.”
Also this: “We stopped Wofford [in a 27-20 victory last season], and we stopped Louisiana-Lafayette, but I hope one day we won’t have to depend on a goal-line stand to win that kind of game.”
Much has been made of Spurrier’s latest recruiting class, adjudged the nation’s seventh-best by Scout.com. But it must be noted that four SEC schools were still rated ahead of South Carolina, and that at least half the league’s entries possess a tradition the Gamecocks conspicuously lack. As defensive end Eric Norwood, who’s from North Cobb High but who grew up in Texas, said: “I’d never heard of South Carolina.”
Asked what his perception of South Carolina was when he was coaching Florida, Spurrier said: “Our view was like everybody else’s — they were a little bit above Kentucky and Vandy [in the SEC East] and not quite on the level of Tennessee and Florida and Georgia. That’s about where we’ve been and who we were.”
About here, another coach would have fallen back on his Talking Points — we’re changing all that, we’re bound for glory, et cetera. Spurrier being Spurrier, he took the unvarnished tack. “Heck, Kentucky finished ahead of us last year,” he said. “So maybe they’re being viewed as ahead of us.”
This doesn’t mean Spurrier is conceding anything: If all else fails, there’s always the chance the Evil Genius will conjure up something. (He’s the best seat-of-the-pants coach ever.) But Corso’s point — that you don’t scheme your way to the SEC title — figures to be borne out over time. Owing to Spurrier’s magnetism, South Carolina has begun to accumulate good players. Florida, Georgia and Tennessee amass great players as a matter of course. Not coincidentally, the Gamecocks’ all-time record against those programs is 20-84-7.
“The first two years I tried to be realistic and talk about winning more games than we lost,” Spurrier said. “But then I started to think we had a chance to [win the SEC], and I put that in the back of my mind. And if we could manage to win this game on Saturday or some other games, we might have a chance. We’ll know a lot more about our team after the game Saturday.”
And that sounded optimistic enough. But only two minutes earlier, the cold-eyed Spurrier had said: “Maybe our best team is down the road.”
One game into the season that both he and the long-suffering legions of Gamecocks fans targeted as their time of arrival, the Ol’ Ball Coach is already wondering if he has the resources. And, just maybe, if Corso’s 400 years will be time enough.
Permalink | Comments (67) | Categories: Mark Bradley, UGA / SEC
Say cheese! It’s NFL Week 1!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
After too much Pacman, Tank and Ookie, record suspensions and the first opening of an NFL Properties store in Leavenworth, the NFL season begins in earnest Sunday for all remaining law-abiding players, or at least those on parole.
The stress of this offseason clearly has become too much for fans, as evidenced by an incident this week in Des Moines, Iowa, when, and I’m not making this up, a father charged his son with assault after having a bag of Cheetos thrown in his face.
Patrick Hamman threw the bag with such accuracy and force, according to The Associated Press, that it hit his father’s glasses and caused a cut on the bridge of Michael Hamman’s nose. The police report said, “Michael’s T-shirt was also covered in Cheeto dust.”
Patrick later admitted he was on methamphetamine at the time of the argument. Fortunately, that’s not considered a significant violation these days in the NFL, and several teams immediately requested film of the throw.
Which leads us to: Joey Harrington vs. Tarvaris Jackson. My kingdom for a Cheetos bag. One team will win. The other will get Brian Brohm.
Actually, with new coach Bobby Petrino, the Falcons might have fewer problems on offense than defense, where the line is suspect and the secondary includes Jimmy Williams, who’s still looking for a position, and maybe a career.
Two bad teams. Take the one getting points: Falcons and three.
In fact, let’s call an upset. But duck.
Faber College (where Knowledge is Good)
— Brand X at Georgia: Ever buy those one of those plain-wrap products? Looks the same, don’t taste the same. Then you have to go home and argue with your kid for 17 hours and yell, “Froot Oops are just as good! Now shut up and eat!” See, that’s what Steve Spurrier has become. Looks the same, sometimes acts the same. But where’s the bravado, the gloating, the wins? Since leaving Florida, he’s become a generic. He’s a box of “Spur-E-Ar’s!” The Redskins beat him down. At least that made for a shorter fall to South Carolina. This week, the Gamecocks come to Athens. The line is 4. Somebody’s still worrying too much. Doggies cover.
— Samford at Tech: Chan Gailey teams don’t come with guarantees against softies. But let’s just say Appalachian State is the best thing that could’ve happened to Tech players who might otherwise be overdosing on Irish Spring. No line. But let’s say Jackets by two touchdowns.
— Alabama at Vanderbilt: Despite the hiring of Nick Saban, Vandy has climbed two points to only 3 1/2-point underdogs. Gee, I guess everybody didn’t get the memo. Roll-over, Tide? Tempting. But no. Bammy covers.
— Southern Ms. at Tennessee: Vowels running back LaMarcus Coker is back after being suspended for “a medical condition.” Hey, we can all relate. Back in college days, I once mixed Flintstone chewables with Welch’s grape juice and, like, I saw God. A “medical condition” also once led me to eat two cheeseburgers, three bags of Doritos, nine Reese’s and a shoe in a span of 20 minutes. Come to think of it, it’s been way too long since I’ve had “a medical condition.” OK. Where was I? Oh yeah, Tennessee covers 10 1/2.
— Notre Damaged at Penn State: What would they have done to Ty Willingham if he had coached the worst opening-game loss in Notre Dame history? Fortunately, Charlie Weis looks the part. This should be enough to make Joe Paterno feel 90 again. Lions cover 17.
NFL Six-Pack
(I drank one)
— Philly at Green Bay: This will be the 34th meeting between Brett Favre and Donovan McNabb, dating back to the Yalta Conference. Winner gets an artificial knee. Eagles cover 3.
— Bears at Chargers: San Diego fired Marty Schottenheimer, who went 14-2, and replaced him with Norv Turner, who has a career head-coaching record of 58-82-1. We’re all still waiting for the punchline. Fortunately, there’s Rex Grossman. Chargers cover 6.
— Dolphins at Redskins: Mark Brunell has been demoted to third string, which wouldn’t be so bad if anybody could name the first two. I’m feelin’ Miami and 3 on the road.
— Giants at Cowboys: I’m guessing both teams would be in favor of calling off the game in favor of a public stoning of Tiki Barber. Meanwhile, how does the Wade Phillips/Tony Romo duo rate in Dallas lore? Gimme the Giants and 5 1/2 (but Dallas straight up).
Lions at Raiders: Detroit’s stock has never been higher, which immediately tells you it’s still September. But I’ll bite: Take the gift 2 1/2, but Lions win it straight up.
Permalink | Comments (53) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Jeff Schultz, Tech / ACC, UGA / SEC
Petrino says season not a lost cause
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
Flowery Branch — Contrary to popular belief, Bobby Petrino carries no golden ticket in his wallet bearing the words, “The 2007 season won’t be held against you. (Signed) Arthur M. Blank.” Even if he’d been granted such a waiver, Petrino wouldn’t use it. He wants these games to count. He wants the skeptical world to behold what he and his team can do.
Nobody expects Petrino to win without Michael Vick — hence the prevailing Free Pass Theory — except Petrino. He believes in himself and his system. He believes he can win with pretty much anybody. He believes, really and truly, the Falcons have a chance to make the playoffs.
Conventional wisdom, as we know, holds otherwise. Best guesses on the Falcons’ record begin at 6-10 and proceed downward. Most first-year coaches would welcome this absence of pressure. Petrino, as we’re constantly learning, isn’t most coaches.
“I’d rather have high expectations,” he said Thursday. “And we do have high expectations. We expect to win, just as everybody in this building expects to win.”
Outside the building, a weird dynamic exists. Given all the months of upheaval, it feels as if the Falcons have already played their season. (Smiling, Petrino concedes the point: “It does seem like we’ve been here a long time.”) But the schedule didn’t get wiped when the franchise player became a convicted felon. Sixteen games remain, starting Sunday in Minneapolis. Sixteen games to prove there’s life after Vick.
Petrino didn’t want it this way. “I was looking forward to coaching [Vick],” he said, “and I was excited about the potential I saw in mini-camp and OTAs [organized team activities].” But everything changed the day Vick was indicted, from which point the coach made sure his team acted as if the quarterback was gone at least for the season if not forever.
“It ended up being a good thing,” Petrino said, speaking of this pragmatic approach. “I don’t know that everybody thought that at the time. Maybe some of the players thought he could get through it and come back to the team … But now [with the guilty plea] there’s a finality to it. We know he isn’t going to be back this season.”
So the guy who came here to make the most of Vick must persevere with Joey Harrington. If he’s disappointed, Petrino doesn’t show it. A coach’s job is to make the most of whatever he has. He likes what he saw of Harrington in preseason — “It was important to win a couple of games,” said Petrino, whose team won three of four — and doesn’t believe the new quarterback has maxed out. “I think he could have executed a few more times. But he did a good job keeping his poise. And how he reacts is how the team will react.”
If nothing else, the past two months showed us how Petrino reacts to untoward events. He keeps coaching, is how. Nobody has ever had to wrangle a more unruly preseason. Camp began at the time Vick was being arraigned, and the first home exhibition came nine hours after his guilty plea. It’s tempting to label Petrino unflappable, tempting until the man concedes he sometimes feels flapped.
“I get nervous,” he said. And how does this manifest itself? “I lose weight.” He holds up his arm. “I can’t wear my watch in practice now — it slides off.”
He will not, however, feel jittery come Sunday afternoon. He’ll be coaching, and he has coached long enough to know he’s good at it. Rather than viewing the season ahead as a lost cause, he sees only a challenge, same as when Louisville had to play the rest of 2006 after losing tailback Michael Bush in the opener.
And that supposed free pass? Every coach knows there’s no such thing. (Was Dan Reeves given a pass when Vick broke his leg in 2003?) Said Petrino: “Heck, if things don’t go well [in any given season], you might get fired.”
Permalink | Comments (185) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Mark Bradley
Spurrier sounds more human
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
A confession: I never really thought Steve Spurrier was evil. I just thought my goofy little tag — Evil Genius — sort of fit Georgia fans’ perception of their nemesis: A really smart guy plotting world domination and chortling all the while.
Like Lex Luthor. Like Simon Bar Sinister. Like Doctor Doom.
Another confession: I’ve actually warmed to Spurrier in recent years. I considered him a graceless egomaniac when he was winning all the time at Florida, but now that he has been humbled a bit — first in D.C., now at South Carolina — I find him almost likable. He still says what he thinks, but he no longer thinks he and his teams are unbeatable. He doesn’t have fun at other people’s expense nearly so often. I actually enjoy listening to him now.
I was in Columbia for Spurrier’s press briefing Tuesday, and I laughed out loud two or three times. Once was when he said of his offensive line’s performance in the season opener: “They played OK sometimes. They got smashed sometimes. We got knocked on our butt by Louisiana-Lafayette.” He started out trying to give a compliment but couldn’t quite bring himself to follow through. Classic Spurrier.
I don’t think South Carolina will win Saturday night in Athens, nor do I think the Gamecocks will win the SEC anytime soon. (Regarding that topic, I’ve written a little something for Saturday’s paper. Consider yourselves warned.) But I have to admit: When Spurrier said, “This isn’t the last year I’m going to be coaching here,” I was actually glad. I never realized how much I’d missed the ol’ E.G.
Permalink | Comments (69) | Categories: Mark Bradley, Quick Hit, UGA / SEC
‘07 turmoil not that bad to Cox
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
The frequent losses are strange enough for any team among the post-1990 Braves. If you add all of that to those rare moments of turmoil in a Bobby Cox clubhouse, you get the feeling the venerable manager is stumbling through uncharted territory.
Thus the Braves’ free fall in the National League standings.
Thus you would be wrong, according to Cox, sitting inside his little bunker Wednesday near the home dugout at Turner Field. This was before the Braves dramatically interrupted their implosion with three runs in the bottom of the ninth to shock the Philadelphia Phillies 9-8 amid much leaping and shouting from the field to the stands.
But back to those moments of turmoil for the Braves, with Cox shrugging and saying, “No difference at all this year compared to past seasons. Honest. I’m being very candid with you. Nah. It’s been absolutely no difference.”
Well, maybe. Even when life was dandy for the Braves along the way to 14 consecutive division titles, five pennants and a world championship, Cox dealt with mess. It was just hidden mess. “Remember the Otis Nixon thing?” said Cox, referring to the loss of his leadoff hitter and center fielder for the 1991 World Series after Nixon’s cocaine-related suspension from baseball. So you just know that Cox was forced to handle other issues back then involving Nixon and whatever else, but Cox did so behind the scenes.
There also were those Deion Sanders things. They ranged from his dousing of announcer Tim McCarver in anger with buckets of water after winning a pennant to his shuffling between the Braves and the Falcons in the middle of a season to the dismay of some teammates. Cox quietly defused the situations. He did the same after John Rocker played amateur sociologist for Sports Illustrated with his observations from a New York subway train.
But this?
This is different.
In contrast to those occasional messes that still led to the playoffs, we have these constant messes that are pushing the Braves toward nothing good. For starters, utility player Willy Aybar reported late to spring training and vanished into the night near the start of the regular season due to issues with drinking and drugs. “You know, you can sniff things out when you’re around people long enough, and that one totally shocked everybody,” Cox said of Aybar, who has yet to play this season after entering a rehabilitation center for substance abuse.
Then there was closer Bob Wickman, sliced from the roster last month by popular demand. He ranks among the leading candidates in Braves history for the all-time Most Despised Teammate Award. When he wasn’t infuriating Braves players and coaches with his selfish attitude, he was blowing saves.
Oh, and after Atlanta native Kyle Davies was shipped to Kansas City this summer, he said he preferred the atmosphere surrounding the lowly Royals to that of the “uptight” Braves. Cox grimaced, before responding, “I don’t feel like our clubhouse is like that at all. Guys are laughing, having fun, and I try to make it that way. I mean, there was a lot of pressure on him personally to perform, so maybe that’s it.”
Probably, because Davies ranks as the only player ever to rip a Bobby Cox clubhouse in public.
In addition to all that, you also had that highly publicized spat between Braves leaders Chipper Jones and John Smoltz. It led to a conference in the manager’s office with batting coach Terry Pendleton serving as referee, bailiff or something. “Ah, that was absolutely nothing,” said Cox, shaking his head while easing into the biggest smile.
So does this mean the 66-year-old Cox plans to stick around when his contract expires at the end of the 2008 season? He paused, saying, “Well.” Then he paused some more, before adding, “I’m good through next year. Let’s put it that way.”
Let’s put it another way: If the Braves discover ways to win consistently again, those moments of turmoil will slide back into the shadows, and Cox likely will stay even longer.
Permalink | Comments (58) | Categories: Braves / MLB, Terence Moore
Pro sports run by spin doctors
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
Let’s see. Commissioner Roger Goodell just told ESPN that illegal dogfighting isn’t rampant among NFL players. Said Goodell, “This is an isolated case to Michael Vick from all the information we have.”
Then there is NBA commissioner David Stern’s insistence that Tim Donaghy was a “rogue” official involved in gambling on league games and providing inside information to high-stakes gamblers on the sport.
Oh, and what’s this ridiculous talk about a massive steroid problem in baseball?
Despite ongoing news of players getting busted for the use of performance-enhancing drugs, commissioner Bud Selig says it only proves that the game’s testing program is working.
Hmmm. Goodell, Stern and Selig also want us to believe that Lee Harvey Oswald really was the lone gunman in Dealey Plaza.
Permalink | Comments (8) | Categories: Quick Hit, Terence Moore
New Tech AD redefines success
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
The first time he met with his coaches, Dan Radakovich kept his comments brief. E-mail probably would’ve been quicker. But even the simplest mandates sometimes carry more weight when they’re delivered with eye contact.
“I met with them just prior to the first news conference,” the Georgia Tech athletics director recalled Tuesday. “I said, ‘Guys, I don’t have a whole lot of time here. There are only two things that are important to me: Win and don’t cheat.’ You can do that here.”
Tech won a football game at Notre Dame the other day. They dumped a national program on national television with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. They have raised expectations. Again.
Maybe this year turns out to be special. Or maybe the Jackets go on to lose to Maryland and Army and North Carolina, and settle into the usual secondary-bowl abyss. This much we know: secondary-bowl abyss — not going to cut it any more. Never should have.
Tech athletics seem in the midst of a reprogramming. Academic standards aren’t seen as obstacles. Nothing, Radakovich says, should be seen as obstacles.
Did someone open the window?
“There’s the way the ball bounces, there’s the way the whistle blows, there are a lot of things that go into an athletic competition that would cause a team to win or lose,” Radakovich said. “But where we are, where we play, what our school is — none of that makes that list. I look at those as being positives. Academics are a challenge here. But they’re a challenge at a lot of places.”
Why did this take so long?
For too long by too many, Tech has been viewed as this little curiosity off the interstate, an engineering school that sometimes had a pretty good basketball or baseball team — but generally was big-footed by Georgia in the fall.
It made no sense. Tech is a major school, in a major conference, in a major city. Why the minor-league mindset?
Radakovich replaced Dave Braine about 18 months ago. It was Braine who made the mistake of saying the Jackets “will never” win nine or 10 games consistently because of its academic standards. His objective might’ve been to take the pressure off of coach Chan Gailey. Instead, he cut him off at the knees. That quote probably became an opponent’s opening salvo in recruiting.
Radakovich was asked about Braine’s remarks. He didn’t hesitate when asked if he would ever utter such a thing.
“It’s not in my gene pool,” he said.
Gailey said he hasn’t felt any additional pressure to win since Radakovich replaced Braine, who hired him. But all that tells you is that Gailey has never been about settling.
If Tech football hasn’t quite been off the radar, it certainly has resembled a dot, relative to the blob in Athens. There is something inherently wrong with that. This isn’t about ACC vs. SEC, or seven-win Tech vs. Georgia’s generally richer history. Success goes beyond that. Radakovich wants winning teams, and he wants them on your mind.
Last year, he hired Wayne Hogan, the former renowned sports information director at Florida State who more recently had been the athletics director in Montana. Hogan, given the title of associate AD for public relations, understands the situation. He said it’s not much different than in the late 1970s at FSU, when Florida dominated the state’s consciousness. The Seminoles, helped by affable Bobby Bowden, became one of the most accessible, media-friendly programs in the country.
Tech, Hogan believes, has spent too long putting up barriers with the public and the media.
“Georgia Tech, from what I can gather, has been a very closed society,” he said. “We’ve been borderline elitists. We’ve spent most of our time here on the corner of Bobby Dodd Way and Techwood Drive, and that’s where I think our rival has done a better job than us. If you go out in this city and go to the sports banquets, the Touchdown Clubs, there’s Damon Evans, Mark Richt, Larry Munson. Georgia does a great job of being out there. We need to do that.”
This week, Tech hosts Samford. The game will not sell out. Georgia fans show up for Georgia. Tech fans show up for the opponent. Maybe that will change.
Winning consistently would help. Expecting to win — that’s a start.
Permalink | Comments (92) | Categories: Jeff Schultz, Tech / ACC
Braves struck out on 2007
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
What you do is, get in line, take a number, then say your piece. The Braves have been vulnerable since before the All-Star Game, but I’ve been a coward. I never had an appetite for filet of crow (well done, please). This season never had a chance from the start. Mike Hampton’s arm goes again, before he even throws a money pitch. Trade for Mike Gonzalez and his arm explodes. (That always looked like a strange delivery to me.) But that’s OK, John Schuerholz had Bob Wickman on a long leash.
(Sorry I brought that up, but while on the subject, whatever became of Dan Kolb?)
Then, though in dire straits for pitching, they trade for a first baseman. Mark Teixeira was a good catch, but when you’re starving for starters, you give up half the gold in your farm system for a first baseman? That included the brightest prospect in your realm — let me see if I can spell it — Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Schuerholz gambled well when he passed on Marcus Giles for Kelly Johnson, but trading Adam LaRoche for Gonzalez left a gaping hole at first base. Scott Thorman simply wasn’t ready for daily duty yet.
Thus, the trade for Teixeira. But take a closer look. When Teixeira arrived from Texas, the Braves were 55-51. Now as they head into the sunset they are 70-68 as of Labor Day. The bench, even with Thorman, physical specimen that he is, is woeful. If Chris Woodward and Pete Orr could combine their batting averages, swell, but individually .192 and .190 are sad. Where do you turn for pinch hitters? Mainly to Matt Diaz, if it happens to be his day for platooning. And even there, after such an admirable start, Willie Harris has lost his glow.
Then you have the peculiar case of Andruw Jones. Barely hitting his weight on the nose, but leading the team in home runs at 24, and second in RBIs at 84. Sometimes seeming to have his swing under control, then again lunging at a pitch like a guy falling out of a tree. On top of that, having to deal with his dictatorial agent is like trying to deal with Adolf … no, make that Adolphe Menjou.
Now, to pitching. Used to be as long as it was John Smoltz or Tim Hudson, it was blue skies. After that, well, it was cross your fingers. Chuck James ran low on fuel, and of your next choices, one was pitching in a Korean mystery league a year ago this time, and the other was ferrying between Atlanta and Richmond. Throughout the whole season, the most reliable performer has been an import from Australia, but Peter Moylan only gets an inning or two, peachy earned run average and a baffling delivery. Some time I’d like to see just how long he could go, surely no worse than some of his bullpen brethren.
Now let’s take a turn away from the gloom. No manager could expect more than Bobby Cox has gotten from Jeff Francoeur, Brian McCann and Johnson. Francoeur has reined in his swing, developed occasional patience at the plate, and there is no better right fielder in the league, combining defense and all. McCann, he was an all-star catcher the first day he was called on to handle Smoltz.
Johnson’s name brings up something puzzling. In Florida the other night, caught short after a flurry of pinch-players, Cox dispatched Pete Orr to left field, a position he had never played. Johnson, meanwhile, remained at second. He had broken into the majors as a left fielder. Why not send him to left and Orr to second, his native position? Instead, the insecure Orr bungled a play in left, setting up the eventual deciding run.
Oh, well, just a thought. Who’s to second-guess a manager who has won a division championship 14 of the last 15 seasons, and who set another major-league record this season? Getting sent to the showers by irritated umpires a record number of times doesn’t make Cox proud, and it’s nice to mind your manners and not bring it up. He has more serious matters on hand, and I’m afraid, if I’m to get around to what this was intended to be all about, the less said of it, the better. My conclusion is, the race has been run, and not very smartly. As I look back over it, what puzzles me most is a $5 million layout for an overweight, unathletic one-inning pitcher. As I’ve always said, closers will kill you, one way or another.
Permalink | Comments (59) | Categories: Braves / MLB, Furman Bisher
Bobby Bowden needs a new shtick
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
THE TUESDAY COUNTDOWN
10: I’m sure Jeff Bowden - who resigned under pressure — would never want anything bad to happen to his father’s football program. But how do you suppose he felt seeing the Florida State offense - under new coordinator Jimbo Fisher - get smacked by Clemson? If you’re a Noles fan, whom do you blame now?
9: FSU might very well rebound and win the ACC this season. But the only reason a team would have that deer-in-the-headlights look in its opener is a lack of confidence, and that goes directly to coaching.
8: Whatever Bobby Bowden was doing for most of his 97-year career, the shtick ain’t working now.
7: A lot of people are going to dump on John Schuerholz now for not doing more to re-build the Braves’ pitching staff. You have to wonder how different things would be if injuries didn’t crush Mike Gonzalez and Octavio Dotel; if Bob Wickman didn’t turn into a whining prima donna; if Kyle Davies didn’t fall to pieces; if Mike Hampton didn’t get hurt - again.
6: And more importantly, I’m really upset Kate Walsh got married.
5: Interesting. Despite all of the doom-and-gloom projections, over/under projections on the Falcons’ win total this season (6 to 7) have been relatively unchanged since Joey Harrington officially replaced the other guy. Also, they’re only three-point underdogs in Minnesota, which basically means the teams are even (home teams get a field goal in point spreads).
4: Thanks to the e-mailer who pointed out a big reason why the Michael Vick case can’t be a race issue: “Didn’t he kill dogs of all colors?”
3: I’m guessing all of those old Marian Hossa-is-going-to-be-traded rumors are officially dead, given that the team keeps using his image on AJC.com season-ticket ads.
2: I was in my first of three Fantasy League drafts the other day. My last two picks were Randy Moss (15th round) and Brett Favre (16th). I’m just trying to sell tickets.
1: Joey Harrington. Still on the board.
Permalink | Comments (31) | Categories: Jeff Schultz, Quick Hit
History says Braves still have a shot
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
With the season shrinking, the New York Mets refuse to lose, and every once in a while, the Braves actually win. That isn’t the best scenario for the choppers and the chanters, especially since mediocrity began taking the field with their heroes after the All-Star break.
It’s just that stuff happens in baseball. Even though the Braves trail the Mets in the National League East by 7 1/2 games and sit behind much of the Western Hemisphere for the wild card, well, you know …
Stuff happens in baseball. Said Bobby Cox, the astute manager, analyzing his Braves on Monday at Turner Field after a 5-1 romp over the Philadelphia Phillies, “So we’re just going to have to run a streak here and see what happens.”
Stuff may happen for the Braves, because it has happened before. During The Last Great Pennant Race, they trailed the San Francisco Giants by 10 games before finishing with 104 victories to the Giants’ 103.
“We were all in the outfield watching the big screen [at old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium] as the Giants lost,” said Braves president Terry McGuirk, his eyes sparkling with the memory.
Added McGuirk, “We just have to keep our dobber up, because from here to the end, it’s all about pressure. And we should be loose, because we sort of made a very tough road for ourselves. The other guys are going to be extremely tight. All you can hope for at this point is to apply pressure and see what happens.”
This time, the Braves threw a noose around the Phillies’ neck and kept yanking. In other words, the Braves did what they need to do. Which was what they used to do throughout their record streak of 14 consecutive division titles through 2005.
Timely hitting. Crisp fielding. Solid starting pitching, followed by the bullpen using more water than gasoline on fires. Said catcher Brian McCann, who poked a two-run double into the corner, “It’s a step. It’s another step toward getting us close to the playoffs.”
In contrast, the Braves took several steps backward last weekend after scoring just four runs during the Mets’ three-game sweep. But stuff happens in baseball. I mean, there was 1964, when the St. Louis Cardinals trailed the ancestors to these Phillies by 6 1/2 games with 12 games left to play.
Those Phillies didn’t win the pennant, by the way.
Remember 1969? Everybody likes to mention how the Chicago Cubs choked away a World Series trip in September, but there also was that surge for the ages (or at least for the latter part of the decade) by the Miracle Mets. “You also had the New York Giants back in the day, and that was the most exciting comeback I’ve ever heard about,” raves pitcher Tim Hudson, recalling Bobby Thomson’s 1951 dramatics, as in “The Giants win the pennant, the Giants win the pennant, the Giants win the pennant.”
From the other side of the Braves clubhouse, Mark Teixeira mentioned the 2002 Oakland A’s, “They won 20 games in a row, and they eventually made it to the playoffs,” said Teixeira, of a team that surged from 4 1/2 games behind in early August to an insurmountable lead of four ahead in early September.
Oh, and Teixeira’s father, John, played high school baseball with Bucky Dent, the Great Satan around Boston. It was Dent’s blast in 1978 that sealed the New York Yankees’ ridiculous sprint from a 14-game deficit to send the Red Sox home for the rest of October.
“We were Orioles fans living in Baltimore, so [Dad] sort of mentioned something about that [Dent] home run to me whenever the Red Sox or Yankees came to town,” Teixeira said, before returning to the present, where the Braves have just 24 games left to make stuff happen. “It’s not something that we talk about all day long, but we sit around and go, ‘You know what? We can do this. We can still do this.’”
Yes, they can.
Will they?
The problem for the Braves is, Dent is retired.
So is Thomson.
Permalink | Comments (73) | Categories: Braves / MLB, Terence Moore
Georgia quells upset jitters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
Athens — News of two major football crafts capsizing in the Midwest blew from South Bend and Ann Arbor, and coming just before you kick off on your home field, a fellow wonders how that might weigh on the minds of the lads in your own precinct. Everything is new. It’s the first game of the season, and not even a coach can read the mood of a bunch of college kids.
Not even Charlie Weis or Lloyd Carr. They must have thought they knew. Could Georgia coach Mark Richt be any different? First games can be treacherous. At least Georgia players knew about Oklahoma State. It’s in Oklahoma. Michigan players had no idea that Appalachian State sprouted from a teachers college, and is in Boone, North Carolina. No more than those Harvard players knew what Centre College was back in 1921, the first and greatest upset in college football before this one. Don’t laugh, Harvard was a power back then.
Well, it didn’t take Georgia long to exorcise the jitters. First offensive play, Matthew Stafford stuffed the football into Thomas Brown’s stomach and the Bulldogs running back cruised into the end zone. Less than one minute of play and the Bulldogs had the lead. The Cowboys had made it simple. The snapper had fired the ball over the punter’s head and Mohamed Massaquoi tackled the desperate would-be kicker on A&M’s — oops, sorry — State’s 14-yard line.
Oklahoma State would tie the score later, but truth to tell, the outcome would never be in doubt again. That’s the way a coach likes a first game to go. Establish your ground, give the other team no reason to think they have a chance. Understand, that’s easier to say now that you know the score was Georgia 35, Oklahoma State 14.
Those faceless mystics who decide what the “line” should be had looked at this game with some caution. Six and a half points was as far they would go with the Bulldogs. The Cowboys hadn’t made this trip to sightsee Athens. They had a quarterback Georgia had tried to recruit out of Houston — Bobby Reid. They had a big, rangy end on the order of Calvin Johnson — 6-foot-6 Brandon Pettigrew. They had the leading rushing offense in the Big 12 last season, second in scoring to Texas. They had such expectant backing that their colors filled the third-level aerie like a cloud of orange across the way, and even T. Boone Pickens, their generous benefactor, and his court, made the trip. Left early, though, I heard later.
And not without good reason. What Georgia put on the field was a show of talent that surprised many a Bulldog, some so young it seemed they were barely out of the cradle. Fourteen real, live, actual freshmen got into the fray. One, Bruce Figgins from Columbus, built for heavy duty, caught a touchdown pass. Probably the most productive first-timer was one we’d been reading much of lately, Knowshon Moreno, a redshirt freshman from New Jersey. He has moves that discourage tacklers, and in the process, led his mates carrying the ball, 73 yards in 20 carries.
You’d read much about Mike Bobo as the new play-caller. One-time Bulldog quarterback, surely knows the requirements for the work, but when you take over from the head coach, you’re under a microscope. Based on what you saw Saturday in Sanford Stadium, you had to like his results. For one game, at least.
Young Stafford collected a few merit badges for his work. He’s not one of your pull-it-down-and-run quarterbacks, but that’s not what he’s there for. Passed for two touchdowns, got off on a couple of lumbering scrambles, mainly to save his life. When it came to excitement, you had to leave it to Mikey Henderson, who’s barely larger than a horse jockey. He got away on the most exhilarating dash of the evening, ran about a mile and a half to pick up 63 yards, returning a punt that set up Georgia’s last touchdown. He darted, he dodged, he picked up a block here, another there and wove his way through traffic like a sports car on the freeway.
That was it. Pretty nice evening for a Bulldog’s night out, and all those among the 92,746 on scene. Next week: “Gamecock Time,” starring Steve Spurrier.
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Braves playoff chase is history
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
It’s over now — the division race, the wild-card chase, everything. We know it and the Braves know it. Late Sunday afternoon Jeff Francoeur spoke of the immediate future in the professional way, saying, “We’re not giving up,” and “We’re still going to play hard.” Finally he offered something approaching a concession: “It was unbelievable with our record we were even in it.”
The Braves are 69-68. Since the beginning of the 2006 season they’re 148-151. It’s not a raging fluke they’ve fallen to pieces these last 18 days; the oddity is that it took so long. But on Sunday even the old reliable failed: The Braves and John Smoltz couldn’t beat the Mets and Tom Glavine and, as Smoltz allowed, “If we wanted any chance at all, any glimmer of hope, we had to win today.”
But they didn’t win once in this series. They managed an extra-base hit only in the 27th and last inning of the three-game set, and only then did they score a run on an actual hit. (Their first three runs of the weekend came on a wild pitch, a sacrifice fly and a groundout.) And that’s the story of the season: When at last the Braves stopped hitting, they had nothing else.
“The pitching’s been good basically all year,” Bobby Cox said Sunday in one of those Cox-isms you know even he doesn’t believe. The pitching hasn’t been good all year. Sixty percent of the rotation has been substandard, and inexorably the laggards dragged down the two horses. Smoltz and Tim Hudson both lost over the weekend, and this whole we’ve-still-got-a-shot thing was predicated on the assumption those two would never lose. Alas, even Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale couldn’t win ‘em all.
Said Chipper Jones: “The amount of pressure on John Smoltz and Tim Hudson is tremendous. We haven’t gotten enough wins late in the rotation, and you see it starting to wear on Smoltzie and Huddy. Especially when our offense is struggling like it is now, they’re so uptight.”
The Braves made the biggest move of any team at the trading deadline, landing Mark Teixeira and thereby rounding off what should be the National League’s best batting order. But you don’t win division titles with batting orders. (Ask the Phillies.) You win with rotations. (Ask the Braves of the 1990s.) For all the fuss made over Teixeira — team president Terry McGuirk fairly gushed, and two guys from Auburn wrote a funny little song — the cold truth is that the Braves are 14-17 since his arrival.
This isn’t to suggest Teixeira has been anything shy of terrific. He’s batting .310 with 10 homers and 32 RBIs in 30 games as a Brave. By way of comparison, Fred McGriff hit .310 with 19 homers and 55 RBI in 68 games as a Brave in 1993. Those Braves, by way of contrast, won 51 of those 68 games.
“The biggest [recent] deadline moves, in terms of hullabaloo, have been the Braves getting Teixeira and us getting Freddy McGriff,” Glavine said Friday. “And Teixeira has probably had a bigger [statistical] impact than Freddy did for us. But we [meaning the ‘93 Braves] had fewer question marks everywhere else. This team had question marks we didn’t.”
This team has sought for five months to find someone who could assume the duties of the long-suffering Mike Hampton, who hasn’t thrown a big-league pitch since July 2005 and on whom way too much importance was placed. Francoeur was still keeping the faith Sunday, saying, “If you think about next year, we’ll have Smoltz, Hudson and Hampton — three No. 1 guys.”
The 2007 season will be remembered as a fizzle because the Braves never found a No. 5 guy, let alone a No. 3 or a No. 4. They got further than they should have through the kindness of their opponents, but now the Mets and the Phillies and the Diamondbacks and the Padres have turned surly. And now it’s over on Labor Day weekend, the time when pennant races are supposed to begin; over because the team that once had all the pitching keeps waiting for Mike Hampton.
Permalink | Comments (134) | Categories: Braves / MLB, Mark Bradley
Petrino’s here, Vick’s gone — bad timing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
Say what you will about Michael Vick the person — by now, pretty much everybody has said pretty much everything — but no one can dispute that Michael Vick the player is a singular talent. And those who think quarterback Joey Harrington will offset Vick’s loss are living in the land of make-believe.
Reality check: Vick’s record as an NFL starter is 38-28-1; Harrington’s is 23-43. Vick has been to three Pro Bowls, Harrington to none. Vick has presided over two playoff victories; Harrington hasn’t yet reached the postseason.
As smart as head coach Bobby Petrino is, he cannot turn Joey Harrington into Michael Vick. And Petrino, we should remember, never bought into that Vick-isn’t-a-real-quarterback rot. On the week he took the job, Petrino’s first words to this correspondent about coaching Vick were, “That’s why we’re here.”
To be precise, Petrino is here because Jim Mora failed to maximize what Arthur Blank and Rich McKay believed, correctly, to be a gifted roster. But a disproportionate chunk of that talent was housed in No. 7, who’s now a Falcons player in name only. Minus Vick, this team looks infinitely less imposing. Minus Vick, there are only three or four difference-makers on the roster, and that’s too few to make an aggregate difference.
It would have been nice to see what Petrino could have made of Vick, and it’s reasonable to assume this coach will make the most of Harrington. Alas, there’s not much to be made. Harrington throws the ball to the wrong people too often — he has 77 career interceptions against 72 touchdowns. (Vick’s ratio, since you asked, is 52 interceptions to 71 touchdowns.) The Falcons won’t lead the league in rushing again because Harrington won’t gain 100 yards. (Vick, as we know, had 1,039 in 2006.)
The guess is that Petrino will do his absolute best with what he has, but in the end he won’t have nearly enough. Jerious Norwood could and maybe should emerge as the new Warrick Dunn, which isn’t to say the old Warrick Dunn is anywhere near finished, but Alge Crumpler’s knee might not hold up and the wide receivers are still nothing special. The play-calling will be upgraded, but it won’t take long to grasp that Greg Knapp, for all his limitations, was operating with better players.
When all else failed for Knapp, as it often did, there was still the possibility that No. 7 would do something sublime simply because he (and only he) was Michael Vick. Harrington, who wears the unlucky No. 13, cannot approximate such capability. Harrington can only hope to manage a game and hope the defense will hold up its end, and this defense, with injuries along the front and uncertainty at the back, isn’t ready to bear such a load.
The guess is that Petrino will coach well enough to give his team a chance in almost every game, but ultimately his team, through lack of manpower, will flub most of those chances. It’s weird how things work out: Mora had enough players but didn’t know how to deploy them; Petrino, who would have known, doesn’t yet have enough players.
After the (mis)doings of the spring and summer, it would be easy for the Falcons to fall to pieces come the fall. Petrino won’t let that happen. His team will go 5-11, but it will be an honorable 5-11. They’ll play hard and they’ll be resourceful and they’ll give every indication that, given another good draft and a new franchise quarterback, they’ll know what to do when the requisite resources arrive.
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Dogs’ win much better than beating a cupcake
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
Athens — The trouble with playing your opener against somebody decent is that — duh — you could lose and mess up your nice pretty season. (Ask the former genius Charlie Weis.) The benefit is that if you win, you can’t say you haven’t been tested. And being tested early is, provided you pass the exam, a wholly beneficial thing.
As the Georgia historian Jeff Dantzler noted Saturday, most every big Bulldog autumn has begun not with a whimper but with a bang. Each of Georgia’s last 10 championship years commenced with a victory — or, in the case of 1968, a famous tie on the new-fangled Astroturf of Neyland Stadium that Sports Illustrated labeled “A Rouser On A Rug” — against a brand name. (Yes, we’re including the now-feared Boise State, which came here and got blitzed on Sept. 3, 2005.)
Think about it. Would Herschel Walker have become an instant legend had he trampled Joe Blow from Kokomo, as opposed to Bill Bates of high-falutin’ Tennessee? Would the breakthrough Bulldogs of 2002 have had the wherewithal to win at South Carolina and Alabama and Auburn if they hadn’t been pushed to the limit by Clemson on opening night?
Oklahoma State, as has been noted, isn’t to be confused with Utah State or Arkansas State or Western Kentucky. The Cowboys hold membership in the brawny Big 12 and are largely bankrolled by the billionaire T. Boone Pickens, who was on hand with Mrs. Pickens, who was wearing orange slacks. (Christian Dior? Karl Lagerfeld? Donna Karan?) OSU beat both Nebraska and Alabama last season — granted, this would have seemed a bigger deal 35 years ago - and arrived bearing a statistically imposing offense. Mess around with the Cowboys and you might get lassoed.
Georgia didn’t mess around. This wasn’t a wipeout-from-the-very-first-minute on the order of that Boise State thrashing, but it was comprehensive enough to indicate the Bulldogs are primed yet again. Said tailback Thomas Brown: “There was a lot more hype because it was Oklahoma State.”
To their credit, the Bulldogs answered every Cowboy challenge and were clearly the more talented and more disciplined side. If they didn’t do anything that made you say “wow” — or, this being Georgia, “woof” — it was only because Georgia under Mark Richt has established such exalted standards.
Matthew Stafford threw the ball only to teammates. Brown and Knowshon Moreno ran hard and well. (It’s already apparent Knowshon knows all about the spin move, which he popped to spectacular effect in the first half and called “mostly reaction.”) The receivers dropped only one pass.
The defense yielded two touchdowns but held the Cowboys to 266 yards, 145 off last season’s average. Said tackle Jeff Owens: “We knew they were a great football team and we had to stop the run early and take all their momentum, and that’s what we did.”
It not quite artistry, this was still more than a simple exercise. Georgia scheduled outside its Southern comfort zone and lived to tell about it. This augurs well for next week, when the Evil Genius comes calling, and the weeks beyond. Lest we forget, one of the reasons last season went so wrong so fast was that September had been so soft.
The 2006 Bulldogs got to 5-0, barely, without playing anyone of consequence. Then Tennessee rolled into town and rolled out having scored 51 points. Georgia would win only one of its next four games, infamously losing to Vanderbilt and Kentucky. These Bulldogs won’t lose so many. These Bulldogs should win at least 10.
Sure, they could’ve posted bigger numbers against lesser opposition, but that would have served no purpose. There’s nothing to gain by picking on some small helpless school like Appalachian State.
OK, bad example.
Permalink | Comments (68) | Categories: Mark Bradley, UGA / SEC
Tech looks like No. 1 underrated team
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
South Bend, Ind. — There were nearly 4,300 Georgia Tech fans stretched across the upper portion of Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday in the brilliant sunshine. Their view was lovely, and not only because they were eye level with Touchdown Jesus just a couple of punts away.
They also had a splendid view of the nation’s most underrated team, but only with an asterisk.
Here’s the asterisk: When the Yellow Jackets actually play a decent team (you know, as opposed to whatever Notre Dame is these days), they’ll need to show more potency and imagination on offense beyond the legs of Tashard Choice.
No question, you win championships with running and defense, and Tech has mastered the fine art of both. It’s just that somehow Taylor Bennett has to pass better in his first season as the designated anti-Reggie Ball, and somehow John Bond has to call plays better in his first season as the designated anti-Chan Gailey.
Otherwise, Tech won’t do what it should do, and that is shock the college football world for not paying attention. I mean, why weren’t the Jackets ranked in the two biggest preseason polls? They returned eight starters from a stifling defense. They have Choice, the ACC’s leading rusher last year, along with four returning starters on the offensive line, a nice set of receivers and a solid kicking game.
“But then you listen the whole week, and they’re talking about how everybody else can do something, and nobody mentions Georgia Tech, and everybody seems to forget that we were [ACC] Coastal Division champions,” said the garrulous Choice, who was as much on a roll with his mouth after the game as he was with his feet during it. He rushed for 196 yards and two touchdowns, mostly because he had to.
In other words, don’t be deceived by the final score of 33-3. This often resembled the Tech offense that couldn’t escape staleness last season despite having the great Calvin Johnson and Choice.
Yes, there were those 10 direct snaps to running backs. And, yes, before the blowout became official, Bond sought to mess with the minds of Notre Dame defensive coaches by inserting third-string quarterback Josh Nesbitt into the game for a running play. And, yes, there was that 31-yard pass completion in the first quarter that featured a nice throw from Bennett and an even nicer catch from the other Johnson (James).
Then … nothing.
Well, nothing that showed that Tech’s offense totally gets it. Field goals are nice (five by Travis Bell), but touchdowns are better. This is especially so if you’re Bond, and your stated goal is to have your unit became as historically potent as the defenses of Jon Tenuta.
“We really didn’t hold anything back [in the playbook]. We were coming to South Bend to get a win, but certainly, if we had thrown the ball a little bit more consistent, you might have seen a little bit more different passing game the second half,” said Bond, referring to Bennett’s shaky performance along the way to completing 11 of 23 passes for 121 yards. “We got to where we could see that we were wearing them down, and we thought we would just pound them a little bit.”
No problem there. You always go with what works. Then again, these aren’t the same Irish who won all of those national championships, produced all of those Heisman Trophy winners and concocted all of those football miracles. This is a Notre Dame team that had to use three different quarterbacks, lost three fumbles, relinquished nine sacks and looked generally clueless.
So the Jackets took advantage of Notre Dame’s ineptness, which was fine. It’s just that the ACC doesn’t have many teams with such ineptness, which is why Tech has to become more on offense than just a lot of Choice and a little of everybody else.
Permalink | Comments (126) | Categories: Tech / ACC, Terence Moore
Real football, without Hollywood subplots
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
The opening of the Georgia high school football season this weekend was interrupted by only natural causes: thunder, lightning, the occasional green quarterback whose timing is still a bit off on the inside slant.
The good news: MTV and its ill-conceived programming were nowhere close to us.
See, there is this natural law in sports: They lose their level of purity as they ascend to higher levels. In football, innocence decreases as you go from dirt lot to rec league, rec league to high school, and high school to Big State With Rich Overbearing Coach U. The stakes get bigger. Economics begin to dictate decisions. Novel concepts like playing for the fun of it get stomped on.
We witnessed some of the good Saturday in the Georgia Dome. Over 600 players from eight high schools playing four games in something called the Corky Kell Classic.
Just football players, students, parents, cheerleaders, painted faces, painted torsos and bands. Nobody on probation, no drug scandals, no federal indictments. Remember what that was like?
“It’s what attracted me to high school football to begin with,” said Jimmy Dorsey, the longtime McEachern coach. “It’s at the grassroots level of sports. You’re dealing with kids who for the most part are still playing for the fun of it.”
As opposed to, say, what we’re witnessing now in Hoover, Ala., where a high school sports nightmare is being played out. For two years, MTV hatched a virus called “Two-A-Days,” a reality show about the Hoover High football team.
The Alabama school system pimped itself out for a reported $20,000 a year. Cameras followed the main characters — high school kids — through the hallways, and at practices, and in those wonderful made-for-TV private moments.
It turned high school football into a bad cliché. A maniacal coach (Rush Propst), leading goofball players, ogled by dimwitted cheerleaders named Brittany. What — no orgy in the teacher’s lounge?
MTV has now descended on a high school in Louisiana for season there. Meanwhile, consider the wreckage it left behind. There’s an investigation into possible grade fixing for football players. The principal, Richard Bishop, was dumped. No telling if they’ll ever find the body. Propst may soon be out of a job himself, not merely for the alleged academic fraud but for reported indiscretions in his personal life.
Some of this might’ve happened without MTV. But logic says the cameras and the theater made it worse.
“I watched that show a couple of times,” Dorsey said. “I didn’t enjoy it. It gave us all a black eye. The way that was portrayed has nothing to do with high school football. It seemed like there was always a connotation of something sexual going on. And I wouldn’t have my job if I behaved the way that [coach] behaved. If that’s what it’s come to to be successful, I don’t want to be successful. We’re tough, but I’m not going to talk to my players like they’re dogs.”
McEachern and Parkview, two former powerhouses on the road back, met in the Dome. It was just the kind of game you wanted, two teams desperately swapping leads. The Panthers took a 25-22 lead with less than seven minutes left on a 5-yard run by quarterback Clayton Wilkin, then held on when McEachern missed a field-goal try in the final seconds.
Real football. No Hollywood subplots.
“I’m always proud to play in a game like this,” Parkview coach Cecil Flowe said later. “The first time we brought the kids here, they were awestruck, just looking around at everything.”
Flowe’s program has been in the spotlight before. Parkview won three straight state titles, from 2000 to 2002, with consecutive 15-0 seasons. Last season the Panthers dipped to 5-6, their first losing record since 1991. The win over McEachern, Flowe said, “starts to get the bad taste out of your mouth.”
Should Parkview ascend to the top again, MTV shouldn’t bother calling Flowe. He would never allow his program to become a TV script.
“I suppose some things are reality, to a degree,” he said. “But it also exposes your program to a lot of stuff that you just don’t need. It can only lead to something negative. This is high school football, not a big-time college program. People need to realize that.”
There’s your reality show.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Categories: High School, Jeff Schultz
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