by J. Michael Moore, Atlantafalcons.com Managing Editor
Joey Harrington would have the same unquenchable thirst for victory this weekend even if he wasn't facing a team he's seen seven times in five seasons. Yes, Sunday's season opener brings back memories good and bad, passes incomplete and complete, but Minnesota isn't the same team Harrington threw seven touchdowns against as a Lion. It's not even the same team he threw for 254 yards against as a member of the Miami Dolphins last season.
Things have changed for Harrington, too. New team. New offense. New city.
"With the nature of this league I don't know how familiar the opponent is going to be," Harrington said. "Team turnover, there seems to be a lot of it over the years. However, yeah, I have played a few games up in the Metrodome. I've heard that Viking horn and seen the fireworks when they score. So, I know a little bit about that place. I know what to expect; I know it's going to be loud. It is truly one of the loudest stadiums in this league and you have to be prepared for it."
Even now, after nearly a month of swearing his allegiance to the Falcons as their new head coach, there are so many questions for Bobby Petrino about his past, present and future. For instance: Which is it? Does Petrino consider himself to be a pro coach or a college coach for the long run, and given his self-inflicted controversy over it all, what does this mean for his longevity (or lack thereof) in Atlanta?
Here’s why I ask: During Petrino’s four seasons of leading the University of Louisville to football prominence, he often spoke of cherishing the collegiate lifestyle to that of the pros. He regularly told Cardinals athletics director Tom Jurich that working in the college ranks was more suitable for raising his family. He even signed that 10-year contract last summer to coach Louisville just shy of forever.
“For me and my family, Louisville is my home,” Petrino said back then at his news conference. “I also wanted to make sure that everyone understood — and I know I’ve said it — that this is where my family wants to be and where I want to be.” Now Petrino says boldly that he always knew in recent years that he would leave the college game. Huh?
“Everything I’ve done from the time I left the [Jacksonville] Jaguars was within mind that, ‘when I come back to the NFL,’?” said Petrino, causing some head scratching during his impromptu interview with reporters in Miami during Super Bowl week. He was with the Jaguars from 1999 through 2001 as quarterbacks coach for two seasons before becoming Auburn offensive coordinator. In contrast, Petrino’s other 18 years in coaching were on campuses, ranging from his native Helena, Mont., to Ogden, Utah to Reno, Nev. His college resume included his ugly flirtation in the shadows with trying to secure the Auburn head coach job that his former boss Tommy Tuberville already had. Plus, despite receiving a hefty raise from Louisville, he interviewed at LSU after Nick Saban left for the Miami Dolphins.
"His college resume included his ugly flirtation in the shadows with trying to secure the Auburn head coach job that his former boss Tommy Tuberville already had."
This is just what Arthur Blank deserves, someone that might throw him under the bus. This is getting better every week.
In 1972 the Miami Dolphins had two 1000 yard rushers. Boy, did that make the headlines. They had Larry Csonka who rushed for 1,117 and Mercury Morris who ran for 1000. The 1972 Miami Dolphins. Perfect. 14 - 0.
In 1976 the Pittsburgh Steelers had two of their own. Franco Harris had 1, 128 while Rocky Bleier had1,036. The 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers. Chuck Noll, Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann.
The 1985 Cleveland Browns had Kevin Mack with 1,104 and Earnest Byner with 1,002. Marty Schottenheimer and rookie quarterback Bernie Kosar. Central Division Champs.
Yesterday, Warrick Dunn and Michael Vick reached 1,082 and 1,022 respectfully for the 2006 Atlanta Falcons. This only happens about once every ten years folks. Where is the celebration? Well, when you only score three points and lose the game it doesn't appear appropriate to celebrate, but later, this will be looked back on as a tremendous accomplishment for the offensive team.
Vick, Andersen and Dunn could have record-setting day Sunday ROGER MOONEY Bradenton Herald Staff Writer
"TAMPA - Michael Vick has had bursts of 10 or more yards this season with greater frequency than Tiki Barber, Frank Gore and Larry Johnson. You expect it from those three. They are running backs. But Vick? A quarterback? Yeah, you expect it from Vick, too.
"He's a magician," Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden said. "Any mistake and you're in trouble." Vick needs only 40 rushing yards to pass former Chicago Bears quarterback Bobby Douglass into first place for the most yards gained by a quarterback in one season. Douglass rushed for 968 yards in 1972. Vick's 929 yards this season has him third behind Douglass and Randall Cunningham, who rushed for 942 yards for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1990. But there's an even bigger prize to be gained Sunday afternoon. Vick needs 71 yards to become the first quarterback to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
"I'd like to be able to say I rushed for 1,000 yards this season," Vick told reporters earlier this week at the Falcons' practice facility in Flowery Branch, Ga. "It's going to mean a lot to me, even though it seems like I didn't try hard to get there."
But wait,
There's more history to be had Sunday. Falcons kicker Morten Andersen needs seven points to pass Gary Anderson for first place on the NFL's all-time scoring list. Anderson, who made an NFL record 538 field goals, had 2,434 points during his career. The 46-year-old Andersen, who was signed Sept. 19, two days after former (editor, former?) Atlanta kicker Michael Koenen was 0-for-4 against the Bucs, has made 537 field goals. He has scored in an NFL record 342 consecutive games, a streak that dates back to Dec. 4, 1983 when Andersen kicked for the New Orleans Saints against the New England Patriots.
"It just means you've been around for a long time. You've had good people around you, and you've had good fortune," said Anderson, who's in his 24th NFL season and has played in an NFL record 364 games.
But wait . . .
Atlanta running back Warrick Dunn is just 48 yards shy of his third straight 1,000-yard season and fifth of his career. In keeping with Sunday's theme, he and Vick are just steps away from taking their place in NFL history as just the fourth teammates to rush for more than 1,000 yards in the same season. The others are the Miami Dolphins' Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris in 1972, the Pittsburgh Steelers' Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier in 1976 and the Cleveland Browns' Kevin Mack and Earnest Byner in 1985. Dunn (134 yards) and Vick (127) ran wild against the Bucs in their first meeting this season, a 14-3 victory at the Georgia Dome. "I think the first time we caught them off guard," Dunn said of Atlanta's spread option offense.
None are as dangerous as Vick, who's had 39 rushes of 10 or more yards this season and owns three of the top four rushing days by a quarterback in NFL history. "He plays the position differently then we're used to seeing it," Falcons coach Jim Mora said. "When you turn on the TV and watch Mike Vick, you're usually going to see something you didn't see on a football field."
Against the Bucs on Sunday, you might see Vick run into the record books.
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