There was, I confess, a time when I referred to the Atlanta Falcons' brain trust as smart (Jim Mora), smarter (Rich McKay) and smartest (Arthur Blank). In my defense, that time was more than a decade ago. In the here and now, I wouldn't use any of those words to characterize this organization. I would use ...
What's the opposite of smart?
It takes hard work to botch the NFL combine. All you have to do is show up in Indianapolis, watch guys run around in shorts, ask a few questions and not overeat at St. Elmo's. The enterprising Falcons managed to botch the combine. Assistant coach Bryan Cox shoved an Arizona scout, for which he apologized. Now comes word that a so-far-unnamed Falcons assistant asked Ohio State's Eli Apple: "Do you like men?"
The Falcons have apologized for that, too. If you're keeping score, that's one combine, two apologies. Ye gods.
According to Apple, the unnamed coach also said: "If you're going to come to Atlanta, sometimes that's how it is around here. You're going to have to get used to it."
So: If you get drafted by the Falcons, you can look forward to dealing with a bunch of morons on a daily basis. We around here have gotten used to it. Lucky us.
More good news: An NFL spokesman has told Pro Football Talk that the league will "look into" the matter . And maybe that's the only way to keep the Falcons from embarrassing themselves at the combine. Strip them of all their draft picks -- they lost one for fabricating crowd noise -- so they'll have no reason to attend.
Further Falcons reading:
Further Falcons reading: Cutting Roddy White was the right move. Shoves at the combine: The Falcons are at it again. Yikes. The Falcons' 2016 schedule is the NFL's toughest. The Falcons cut Durant after one year, and I say, "Hmmm." A defensive coach to offense? The Falcons again stump the band. Value bet to win the next Super Bowl? ESPN's Tuley says the Falcons. The Falcons retain Dimitroff, so I guess it's still all Smitty's fault. ">At issue: Should the Falcons pursue DE Charles Johnson?
Cutting Roddy White was the right move.
Shoves at the combine: The Falcons are at it again.
Yikes. The Falcons' 2016 schedule is the NFL's toughest.
The Falcons cut Durant after one year, and I say, "Hmmm."
A defensive coach to offense? The Falcons again stump the band.
Value bet to win the next Super Bowl? ESPN's Tuley says the Falcons.
The Falcons retain Dimitroff, so I guess it's still all Smitty's fault.
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