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Thursday, October 26, 2006
All aflutter over the Falcons
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Who knew that the Falcons would be a lightning-rod subject for something other than Michael Vick? (There is another round of that, too, but later in this blog.)
Well, two of the more visible grandes hommes of the AFC North (formerly the Central, but, alas, these are geographically challenging times) took aim on Blank’s Boys in midweek comments sure to resonate through the weekend.
Big Ben thinks one Atlanta defender in particular is a Dirty Bird who made dastardly comments during Sunday’s win by the Falcons but he won’t say who it is.
Given the knockout punch he received during the game, how could he remember? Roethlisberger’s latest injury has some wondering whether it’s worth it to risk his long-term future by getting back in so soon, i.e., against the 1-6 Raiders on Sunday. Here’s another voice saying give the Super Bowl MVP a break.
Big Ben says he’s fine, he will practice Thursday, and that Chauncey Davis’ helmet-on-helmet hit was a clean one.
Davis, slated to start for the injured John Abraham, may be starting to get a reputation for hard hits.
Since Pittsburgh’s No. 7 is generally in a joking mood, he might be amused by The Onion’s totally satirical headline about his concussion: “Ben Roethlisberger Relieved To Suffer Football-Related Injury.”
As for this Sunday’s contest along the Ohio Riverfront, Bengals WR Chad Johnson’s aiming his guns at DeAngelo Hall, who’s not interested in matching him word-for-word.
Johnson, who’s sort of T.O. without going too far over the top, is the third Bengals SI cover boy in the last five months. Here’s one guess that former UGA star David Pollack, who suffered a broken neck against the Browns last month, might be worthy of such treatment as well.
Johnson’s opposite number, misbehaving WR Chris Henry, may be activated for Sunday’s game, but coach Marvin Lewis isn’t saying whether he will.
Yes, Cincy has had a rash of bad boys, including another ex-Bulldog, suspended-for-the-season LB Odell Thurman, who may not return to the fold. Bengals fans thrash that subject about.
As for Atlanta’s No. 7, this fantasy wonk says don’t get too excited about Vick based on his outstanding numbers from the Steelers game.
Here’s sort of a left-handed compliment to the Atlanta scheme triggered by the southpaw Vick: “The high school offense works!”
Boomer Esiason is a bit more charitable regarding Vick (scroll down to bottom of story): “If you play like this on a consistent basis, you can justify your contract.”
A better question might be: What exactly do you do to justify yours, Boomski?
Phil Simms, who actually saw Vick play in person Sunday while serving as color analyst for Fox, says: “He can play for my team any day.”
Marvin Lewis also remains mum on defending Vick and if he prefers him running or throwing:
“That’s my business. You’re not going to put me out there like that. He can do either one. He proved it last week.”
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