I wonder if Petrino will turn out to be like his owner…quick to make a personnel decision that later turns out to be ill-advised.
Blank inherited Vick, but extended his contract big time after the Falcons advanced to the NFC championship game. Had he waited a year, he might not have made the same decision. Blank also quickly signed Warrick Dunn to a monster contract, soon after a dinner meeting. Dunn is a great citizen and has made a solid contribution, but it may not have been the biggest #### for the buck.
GM Rich McKay deserves some blame for many draft day failures, particularly receivers Jenkins and White. Injury-prone defensive lineman like John Abraham were given large contracts. The large payroll led to the loss of end Patrick Kearney.
At the end of training camp the Falcons cut kicker Billy Cundiff, who was more experienced than the stronger-legged Matt Prater. Prater was to relieve punter Michael Koenen of kickoff and long field goal duties, but washed out in two games. Ageless vet Morten Andersen was welcomed back, but now Koenen has his kicking duties back.
Now it appears Blank urged McKay to sign QB Byron Leftwich, who had lost his job in Jacksonville largely in part to not sharing his coach’s enthusiasm. While Leftwich was perhaps the best option available, the odds seem stacked against his success.
Leftwich Plusses:
1. Great arm
2. Tireless preparation & study of film
3. Plays hurt
Leftwich Minuses:
1. Immobile…joining a team with a weak defensive line. Joey Harrington has been sacked 13 times in two games, though in his career Harrington had one of the lowest sacks per game averages…notable considering he played for below-average teams.
2. Not the take charge type. Sounds like the guy we had last year.
Things you always wanted to know about James Brown, host of CBS's NFL Pregame show. Formerly Bradshaw's buddy (still is). Joked about his name. Well spoken, even without a teleprompter.
This morning I attended the “Buckhead Businessman’s Prayer Breakfast” put on by Church of the Apostles, at the Cobb Galleria. Saw pastor Michael Youssef, who’s older than I thought, and saw Eldrin Bell slip in by himself. Sat at a table with Bob Abernathy. There were 136 tables seating ten each, and most were full. Matthew’s baseball coach Tim Turner had invited me.
Bob Volyes introduced the speaker, James Brown, “JB” – the host of the CBS NFL pregame show, formerly on the Fox NFL pregame. I knew he was an Ivy Leaguer…Harvard. He went there because he was impressed by Bill Bradley. Drafted by the Hawks in the Maravich era but cut by Cotton Fitzsimmons, who told him he knew he’d be a success. JB told just a few stories, but mainly stuck to a timeline of his life.
Told why he switched back to CBS from Fox…partly because LA-based Fox dragged their feet, but at the same time got a nice offer from NYC-based CBS. Lives in DC…his mother was sick at the time. JB has recently lost 30 pounds, and looked good.
Voyles was reading a list of JB’s accomplishments, and stopped after noting that JB was a part-owner of the Washington Nationals…and Volyes asked how they were doing. Kind of a cheap shot. Later JB said the Nats were on the right track, and noted that he was a minority owner in more ways than one.
JB also mentioned Tony Dungy’s book, which Ceil read while sitting around the hospital when her dad had surgery. She loved it. I saw Dungy on Letterman. People had wanted Dungy to write a book for year, but he never took the time until the Colts won the Super Bowl. The book people told him it would take 6 months to write and 3 to publicize. Dungy didn’t have that time, so he prayed. God told Tony to write the book and not worry about the rest. He wrote it (with help) in 2 weeks and traveled for 10 days in July to publicize it, including hitting all the Letterman & Leno type shows. The book people expected to sell 100,000 during the book’s life…instead it sold 400,000 copies in a month.
Uni-Watch was asking for examples of players looking weird when making a late-career change in teams, and here’s what I jotted down this morning…
-----Original Message----- From: Murphy, David C. Sent: Monday, April 23, 2007 9:15 AM To: 'uniwatch@earthlink.net' Subject: uni-cameos...old school
Greatest ever was Unitas as a SD Charger, complete with blue high-tops. Hank Aaron as a Brewer. Babe Ruth finished his career as a Boston Brave. Eddie Matthews finished as an Astro. Stretch McCovey and Steve Garvey as Padres. Who did Warren Spahan finish with? The Mets, I think.
Satchel Paige as an Atlanta Brave sometime the late sixties/early 70’s……so he would qualify for a MLB pension. Andy Messersmith as a Brave in the number 17 jersey…with the “nickname” CHANNEL on the back, to shrill owner Ted Turner’s Superstation. Namath as a LA Ram, Eric Dickerson as a Falcon, Jim McMahan as a Charger. Maravich and Dominique as a Celtic. The Packers Jim Taylor made the Sports Illustrated cover for the expansion Saints. Like you, Mays as a Met was no big deal. I also had memories of Ted Williams as the Senators manager…didn’t he mange the first Texas Rangers team? Some memories are from baseball cards. Billy Martin looked at home managing the Yankees, but not the Rangers. Catfish Hunter looked normal as a Yankee, after signing as a free agent.
Oakland A Bert “Campy” Campaneras visited my Cubs Fantasy Camp in the mid-nineties…wearing an Angels uni. Did he play there, or perhaps just a coach? Tony Perez finished up with the Phillies and/or Expos. Great Mets/Braves series this weekend. Ugly David Wright shoes. Seems like several Braves have taken to wearing pants high on Sundays…Kelly Johnson, Andruw, Francoeur, Langerhans…could be more, like Pete Orr. Now that I think about it, it probably started last year, or before.
Was Thursday's comments by Falcons' coach Jim Mora Jr. his way to get out of an impossible job: win with a team quarterbacked by 'coach killer' Mike Vick...he of the ten year contract?
Perhaps Mora Jr. knows Vick win never win a Super Bowl, so he's ready to move on...perhaps back to his beloved West Coast. Seems like after some of the moves he has made as head coach (his sideline cell phone chat, etc.), he may have to prove himself again as an assistant.
I like the guy, and couldn't blame him for looking for a better position, but whatever he does, it doesn't look like an easy road. Especially after tonight's close but no cigar loss to the Cowboys.
Uniforms are what I know. I turn on the NFL to see who’s wearing what. For years I’ve taken note of all the tweaks and overhauls. Got so into it that I started writing letters to teams and the NFL home office, since they keep such tight control on such matters.
Extra credit is given for the old school look…especially my beloved grey face masks. #### masks only look good when it matches the helmet color.
Here’s how the NFL current unis rank, from best to worst: 1. Giants. Old school home and away. Classic. 2. Colts. Ditched the blue mask, added black shoes. Peyton’s idea? 3. Chargers Throwbacks. Give me the powder blues any day, and the white helmet…all they need are the old yellow pants. 4. Raiders. Simple and unchanging, and classic. 5. Cowboys. The everyday look is classic, the white throwback helmet all the more so.
6. Bears. Even the navy pants are classic. But orange alternate jerseys? 7. Steelers. Loved it when they changed the number font. 8. Chiefs. Great look designed by owner Lamar Hunt. First to go with white facemasks. 9. Bills. Great call to go retro last year…complete with the striped socks. Even the newer white jersey with blue shoulders is a nice, unique look. 10. Jets. Went old-school like the Giants, but the green masks ruin the look. 11. Packers. What is it about green facemasks? Also dump that huge striped collar. 12. Browns. They went old school this year – then wore throwbacks on top of that! They finally noticed all those Jim Brown throwback jerseys everyone wears. 13. Redskins. The white on whites were a nice changeup. Throwbacks are the best. But ditch the yellow masks! 14. Bucs. Makeover several years ago was great…in every combination. 15. Saints. All the tweaks haven’t messed up the classic look. 16. Patriots. Winning makes these otherwise unremarkable outfits ok. Say it with me…grey masks would be better! Give me the striped throwback uni any day. 17. Cardinals. They kept the classic helmet, and the new look is ok…especially the white jersey with red shoulders. 18. Bengals. Winning can make anything look good. One of the best helmets. 19. Seahawks. Great helmet and logo, nice shade of blue. I like the tiny bits of green. A different look without being terrible. Loved the old jerseys with the logo on the sleeve. 20. Rams. Another great helmet, whatever the rest of the uni looks like. Nice colors. 21. Broncos. The overhaul several years back was ahead of its time, but it’s worn well. 22. Dolphins. Great logo, but the uni has been tweaked into mediocrity. 23. Ravens. They kept it simple…dark is great for football. Nice helmet and shield. 24. Jaguars. Forgettable unis made interesting with all the jersey/pants color variations. 25. Titans. Nice shades of blue. Cool shoulder trim. Cruddy logo brings it down. 26. Texans. Plain unis dull up the nice big helmet logo. 27. Eagles. Classic winged helmet hasn’t been #### up too much. Plain unis, after several sets of great looks. Remember Ron Jaworski? 28. Lions. Another great logo, but the uni has been tweaked to hell. On Thanksgiving they should break out the classic 60’s era look…those plain outfits do nothing for me. I’m not stopping with the grey masks. 29. 49ers. Rode their original throwbacks to the Super Bowl, then completely messed up one of the best unis in the NFL. At least they break out throwbacks every now and then. I hear there’s a move afoot to bring back the Montana unis. 30. Panthers. Worst logo in the NFL. Black and grey is nice, as long as the teal is only used for trim. Grey masks would improve the look.
31. Vikings. The makeover is a disaster, spawning all these “worst uniforms” columns. Minnesota started out with a great uni, and has gone downhill ever since. 32. Falcons. Great logo update overshadowed by all that ugly trim. What’s with that ‘stripe’ on the pants? The different color combos are fun, and Vick makes anything look better. Thanks, Reebok.
No surprise the Gator Bowl doesn't want Tech. They sign a contract with the ACC, then every year the bowls try to finagle and cherry pick. Tech doesn't travel well, but 4 of the last 5 bowls were out west...Emerald Bowl, Champs Sports, Humanitarian (Boise), Silicon Valley, Seattle Bowl. At least now GT has an AD who digs into these things BEFORE Tech gets the shaft. It's all about the money for the bowls, and teams fall in line so they can practice an extra 5 weeks.
Colin Cowherd is similar to 680's John Kincaid, whose sole talent is making listeners mad. Kincaid says he likes coaches like Bill Parcells who get on players publicly (you see how long Parcells lasts at any one place, and the shape of the team he leaves behind). But when Arthur Blank says that everyone's performance will be under review, and that an 8 - 8 record is unacceptable, Kincaid thinks that's too much pressure for professional football players making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
Kincaid is still upset at the way Terrell Owens upset his Philadelphia Eagles' apple cart. Despite the fact that he likes Parcells, Kincaid refuses to rank the Cowboys among the NFL's best teams...because of Owens. At least Buck Belue quite often puts Kincaid in his place.
GOLF: Tiger knew it would be tough to win at East Lake, though he said he definitely would play next year if he qualifies. He came in second in both China and Japan, no doubt making mom happy by playing over there. In Japan he was tied for the lead with P. Harrington going into the last round, and led by something like 4 shots with 6 holes to go. Then Harrington went 6 under for the last few holes to force a playoff, and birdied both playoff holes to win.
Get that free Callaway Golf magazine? Did you get the recent one with Arnold Palmer on the cover? Amazing story about all the stuff he's saved in his barn in Latrobe PA.
Fans are quick to list one or two reasons why they say the Falcons are losing. It’s a little more complex than that. In no particular order…
10. Injuries to Key Personnel. Every team has injuries, and Atlanta has been hit as hard as anyone. Jets fans are laughing, regarding the oft-injured John Abraham signing. TE Algie Crumpler has aches and pains, and long gone is WR Brian Finneran…one of Vick’s favorite targets. Rookie RB Jerious Norwood. But the Ravens had almost as many, includind a guy named Lewis…and are what, 8 – 2?
9. Coaching Staff. Fans are more ready to fire the coaches than blame higher paid players. Should coaches have to motivate NFL players? Game plans are another matter. Greg Knapp’s scripted plays gained an average over 4 yards per play, but later unscripted plays averaged much less. Once the number one rushing team in the league, now Knapp wants to throw. To placate the QB’s feelings? Keep Mora, fire Knapp.
8. Receivers drop passes. Some say it’s Vick’s fault, that he throws too hard. Excuse? Finneran could catch Vick’s passes. They’re not all bazooka shots. Still, there’s blame to spread around here.
7. Vick’s Leadership Skills. How many other successful QB’s sit alone on the bench? Sure he’s tired and takes a beating…perhaps more than any other QB (17 hits from Raven defenders). But the nature of the position demands a leader…the toughest position in sports for a reason. Which brings us to…
6. Vick’s Lifetime Contract. Might as well play him, since Blank is paying him all that money…right? Peachtree Bart was benched, and it made him a much better QB. Is it political? Do they play Vick to keep the fans happy? I hope Mora has a deal with Blank to keep his job.
5. Offensive Line. Draft picks are spent on WRs and DBs instead of protecting Vick, who continues to get hit and sacked.
4. GM Rich McKay. Many say it’s folly to use first round picks on WRs (unless you’re Calvin Johnson)...that receivers picked in later rounds can be just as productive. Hey, that’s the way most fantasy drafts work.
3. Vick’s Fumbles. QBs fumble more than any other position, mostly due to blindside hits. UGA freshman Matthew Stafford broke into the open against Auburn, didn’t protect the ball, and had it knocked loose. Later in the game he was running with both hands on the ball. If Stafford can learn, why can’t Vick? Many of his fumbles have come when he took off on scrambles.
2. The Defense has to do too much. It’s hard to win when you’re averaging 12 points a game. A defense already worn thin from injury is asked to pick up an offense that just threw an interception or fumbled, giving the opponent excellent field position. When this happens over and over, cracks appear in the dam.
1. Players giving less than their maximum effort. I’m sure tackling Jamal Lewis isn’t fun. But pay me the NFL minimum and I’ll do my best. Losing to bottom-dwellers like Detroit and Cleveland should be embarrassing, but after the game players laugh and joke around instead of being mad at themselves. Being old school, this baffles me.
As a kid going to Falcon games, one of my favorites was QB Bob Berry, who played here from 69 – 73 or so. I was 10 – 14 and was eating up Falcon football. He led them to their first winning season. He certainly wasn’t the greatest, but was usually among the league leaders in completion percentage. Went to the Pro Bowl in 1969, when Van Brocklin coached and took several Falcons. Uni-Watch had a link to photos of the 1971 starting QBs, which included Berry. He always had this double bar face mask that was comically huge in relation to his helmet. In the 1969 photo the mask is large, but in later years he got one even bigger. I searched for more photos with no luck…but did find a link to him…now a real estate agent in Colorado. I plan on writing him a short email, asking for info on his facemask.
Here’s the links from the Uni-Watch Blog…Football historian Mark Bolding, whose excellent web site was spotlighted here two weeks ago, has added a new section to his site, focusing on starting QBs at various points in NFL history. Among the visual highlights: a good look at the Packers’ 1950 jersey; the Rams in canary yellow; the Saints wearing heavily white-outlined uni numbers (and dig all those stripes!); the Eagles’ double sleeve stripes; Joe Namath wearing a knee pad outside his pants; and the Broncos in red pants. The full section is available here. … Well, this sure didn’t take long (you can order your own here).
This last link is a takeoff t-shirt of the D’backs new red-trimmed unis. I also spotted an error from 1971…the Saints photo link lists #14 as Billy Kilmer (who was 17). Instead, Ed Hargett was 14. Readers also deemed the red Bronco pants to be orange…though they did seem more red to me back in the days of Floyd Little.
Last night I researched 2007 schedules for SF and Oakland (and Boston). The SF web site already has the all-star game logo up, which includes a ball splashing into the Cove. The A’s site has info on their new stadium plans, which is similar to SD. On the BoSox site I checked out photos of rookie outfielder David Murphy, who was called up in September and played 20 games for the big club …only 23 ABs…hit one HR, but didn’t hit .240.
I still am hung up how teams can get fired up and play well against good teams, then lose to bad teams. Do bad teams like Detroit and Cleveland only rise up and play well against average teams, but not the excellent teams? Or is what separates excellent teams from average teams the fact that excellent teams usually beat who they’re supposed to beat…the bad teams and average teams…even though most everyone is fired up to give them a good game?
Coaching has something to do with it. The players have to have it inside as well. Some say it’s hard to get up for every game. Maybe not MLB or NBA, but in football, why not? If you only play 16 games in 365 days, seems like you ought to be ready. Sure, everyone has an off day, but with all the coaches in press boxes, etc, adjustments ought to be made. I like what the Showtime Lakers used to do. Before the season started, they took out the schedule and marked down which games they had to win…against bad teams, the first games of back to back games, etc. Their plan was to win the games they were supposed to. They’d be naturally fired up against the better opponents and play hard, and they’d win their share.
The Colts and Patriots win most of their games. It’s hard to win them all, but rarely do they lose to bottom-feeders. They win despite the fact everyone is fired up to play them. Same with Ohio State, USC, and Michigan. The Bears are flawed…not a good offense. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady most often overcome dropped passes to win games…and rarely fumble when the game’s on the line. Once yesterday Vick scrambled left for a first down. On the replay I noticed an open receiver that Vick should’ve been able to see…a completion would’ve resulted in about 5 more yards. But perhaps Vick was tired of receivers dropping balls, and he wanted to make sure they got the first down. If so, good for him.
When you judge an NFL season, how much do you factor injuries? Every team has them, just some more than others.
Louisville beats WVa in an emotional home game, and then a week later loses an emotional road game to Rutgers. Clemson beats GT, then loses to VT and Maryland. Good teams…someone must lose. I hate the stupid mistakes…jumping offsides as the kicker misses the FG. At least they were gunning to block to kick.
GT wins a squeaker over UNC. The defense played well, but unless Tech gets the offense going, they’ll have a tough time against UGA and Wake…two teams that looked are good Saturday. Lose those two and they can’t expect a good bowl game (though doesn’t the ACC loser go the Chick-fil-A Bowl?). Wake looks ready…I think they’ll beat out Maryland and BC. Tech would have a hard time with all three. Maryland has improved since GT beat them.
Nice win by UGA…good pressure by the defense, take the lead, then run clock and not make mistakes. The GT/UGA game could turn out similarly. Stafford ran down the field and didn’t take care of the ball…fumble. But next time he covered the ball. At least someone learned.
Sunday night on Sports South they followed the Hawaii football team as they traveled to Atlanta, practiced at Tech, and played in Tuscaloosa... ...Jerry Glanville and June Jones were the main characters. June is so laid back that he probably enjoys having Glanville around to command all the attention, so June can sit back and scheme for the offense.
CPA says…Watching yesterday’s game made me thankful I am not a more passionate Falcon fan…how do you play so good for 2 weeks and then so bad for the next 2… with the Falcon defensive injuries, I thought they might lose the game due to their defense, but it was their offense…
That is the thing with the NBA – with the back-to-backs, you see a lot of games like the Hawks/Sonics game on Saturday where the Hawks fatigue showed in there Free Throw shooting which lost the game for them (similar to how they beat Cleveland a few days earlier)… it is funny with basketball that as much running around as you do, the key indicator to fatigue is when you are shooting FT’s with the clock stopped...
My dad was a huge Falcons fan…he actually had season tickets for years, until I started playing HS ball in the 70’s, so I went to bunches of Falcons games, just a few Tech games. We went to several Braves games a year as well, but I didn’t go to many when I was at Tech…though I wish I had. I started liking baseball more thanks to Bart Giamatti. What made me not like football as much had a little to do with all the losing years of GT and the Falcons. I liked Montana’s 49ers and teams that would beat the teams they were supposed to…that’s what frustrates me so about football…on any given Sunday… In baseball the last place team may beat the Yankees every now and then, but not half the time. It took me years, but now I understand that in the postseason that most often the hottest team at the moment wins. One day I'll explain it more clearly.
I fell behind on my SI’s…I used to read them pretty much cover to cover, except for hockey, horse racing, and motor sports. Lately I’ve been catching up, finishing 2 or 3 a week, so the stack is getting smaller. But I don’t read as much of it as I used to. I heard Rick Reilly on the Dan Patrick show this week.
I’d just as soon Sheffield stay with the Yanks than go to the Mets…not that the Mets would get him. Will Zito go to the Mets?
The CPA says…I think the Yankees and Mets will both go after Zito… maybe he will learn from Hudson and Mulder and stay in the AL…
I thought it was no coincidence that Boras timed that press release the same day the players and owners reached an agreement to extend the labor contract… Andruw may want that money, but I don’t think he will get it – even from the Yankees/Red Sox/Mets etc… He does not seem willing to take a discount to stay in Atlanta…. At least he should put up big numbers in his contract walk year…
It was fun to see Sheffield pitch a fit about the Yankees excercising his contract…
Football was actually my favorite sport to watch until the NFL went on strike in ’82… After that, the NFL never seemed as important to me as it did before…
I was catching up on my SI’s last night and reading the NBA preview issue… I agree that Battier should help Houston…
Thursday night Ceil was watching Clemson, and I was having so much fun watching them lose that I didn’t turn it to baseball until the game was over. Tim Robbins was on Letterman, he took his sons to the Mets game 7 loss. His boys were bummed afterwards and weren’t talking. One of them changed his ring tone to REM’s “Everybody Cries”.
Clemson had it tough, coming off the big win at home, having a short week and tough place to travel to, and a hostile crowd on the road. VT did a good job stuffing the run. Someone said Clemson bussed to Charlotte to take a plane (but maybe it was Greenville), flew to Washington, and bussed to the game. Seems like it would be shorter to bus the entire route. I may Mapquest it. My FBI friend, a Clemson grad living in Fredericksburg, may have taken his son to the game.
Tech very well could’ve lost to Miami…this showed us what kind of team they have….a little. They needed to kick Miami while they are down, even though Miami wanted revenge for last year. With all this rain, the field will be a factor. With the RBs they have, GT should run the ball better. The more they run, the easier it will be to pass. One day I’ll write contrasting how emotional football is compared to baseball…why so many love football, but why I like baseball better.
SI says Jarrett Jack will be the starting PG in Portland, that the team voted after last season, and the players liked Jack better than Telfair and the other guy, so Portland traded Telfair to Boston. Houston should be even better by adding Shane Battier…he’ll make Yao Ming and Tracey McGrady even better, and they have Juan Howard as well. Too bad Marvin broke his finger. The Hawks will be wearing those Dominique-era unis for several games throughout the year. The Hawks and Thrashers are giving away those mini-statues this year, like the Braves did. Must be the rage.
Since the Falcons are tied to his contract, Mike Vick will probably stay and the coaches will be replaced instead.
The people on the AJC blogs are saying that Vick was more productive when Dan Reeves was coaching. John Elway said that they would run Reeves’ offense for 3-1/2 quarters, then Reeves would tell Elway to do whatever he needed to do to win the game.
SI's Lang Whitaker won’t like my earlier Vick comments
We're going up for the Maryland – Clemson game on November 4th...more Game Notes to look forward to! I’m worried about the Tech – Clemson game…hopefully Clemson is getting the big head and will come out flat. Seems like they’ve only played patsies besides Boston College and FSU, and FSU hasn’t been tearing it up this year. I won’t get my hopes up…Tech could just as easily lose as they could win.
The Falcons aren’t getting a equitable return on their investment in Vick. He kept dropping the ball in the pocket for no apparent reason. They’d be much better using that money for something else, and play Schaub or DJ. My pet peeve has always been pro and college receivers that drop passes…both the Falcons and UGA had three this weekend. Funny that today’s AJC blogs are saying that Vick was more productive being coached by Reeves.
We had the usual busy weekend…Friday I got home, the kids were all gone, but Ceil and I were exhausted…our neighbor knocked on our door with Falcon tickets, giving me and Will something to do Sunday. With my back hurting so I normally would’ve rested Sunday, but Will had never been to an NFL game.
Will & I ate at Subway and drove downtown, finding a good parking spot near the Tabernacle. We hung out at Falcons Landing a bit, and made it to our seats an hour before kickoff…watching the kickers and punters, then the QBs warm up. Vick threw less than half as many in warm-ups that Eli did. Ex Kentucky QB Jared Lorenzen is still a Giant, and he’s still huge. The Giants warned up with four lines of receivers taking throws, with two lines going each way down the field. That makes sense, since you always have at least three QBs to warm up. That made me look to see who the fourth passer was…punter Jeff Feagles, who was throwing as well as Lorenzen. Perhaps the Giants will fake a punt later in the year.
I didn’t take notes…wish I had, though I would’ve gotten some weird looks. On the radio that morning 790’s Chuck Oliver had said that Saturday night at home he had charted the plays of the Auburn / Florida game. The upper deck row 20 seats were high, but we had a great view, even though they were on the 20 yard line. With all the tailgating and jersey wearing, the crowd was late getting to their seats…well after the game had started. I can understand a late crowd for a 7 pm weekday Braves game, but not a Sunday Falcons game…one of eight home games. The pregame fireworks were nice, but there was a haze that took most of the game to clear.
Jay Feeley…every time he came out to kick, the fans would boo. I heard several comments of how he never made kicks while he was with the Falcons, when in fact I’m pretty sure that not only was he the most accurate kicker in Falcons history, he was so good that the Falcons let him go free agent than have to pay him his value. Last year he had the bad game in Seattle, but l think he’s done ok since then.
Bob Whitfield…another ex-Falcon who had written a SI article about training camp. He was playing left tackle, the new glory position that SI had run a feature article about. The only athletic thing I saw Whitfield do all day was push…I hardly saw him run all day.
When the Giants scored their last TD there was still well over five minutes to go in the game. The lead was only 13, but still huge numbers in the crowd left. I’m wired different, I guess…if I make such an investment in time and money on something that only happens eight times a year, I’m going to get there early and stay late. Amazing all the people that did the opposite…unless they were given tickets, which certainly could be the case. A fan chugged a squeeze bottle of ketchup for Falcon tickets, and the announcer asked “what would YOU do for Falcon tickets?” I heard a little girl behind me say “not much”!
There was a lot of standing to watch the game, which I tried to avoid to safe wear and tear on my back. The huge video screens came in handy, as did the guy next to me who didn’t stand much either. He actually dozed off during the game, as did the more rabid fan in front of me. The game wasn’t slowed by a lot of plays being replayed and reviewed…only one, which was hilarious. A Giant ran for a TD, but the replay seemed to clearly show him step out of bounds. The crowd erupted, and only then did Coach Mora walk out and throw his red flag on the field. The call was probably closer that it looked, but it was overturned. Of course the Giants then had a first and goal, and promptly scored.
A lot bothered me about the MNF game...when they got down near the goal line, for starters. I thought they ran the ball ok, but the whole game it seemed to be 3 and out. Everyone says the receivers are bad, and I guess they're right. I'd rather have Duckett backing up Dunn than that Lelie guy from Denver...at least he caught one pass.
And I love Morten Andersen, but his time may have passed. I mean, he's my age! Like the Braves would've done better had they gotten a good closer to begin the year, same with the Falcons kicker. But Morten should improve once he gets his timing down a bit. But kicking is the least of their problems.
I still say what happened to the Falcons is what happened to UGA last week, and will happen to GT this week. As Richt said after squeaking by Colorado 14-13..."the players hear their families and the media telling them how good they are" and get the big head and not play as hard, and lose.
No way GT beats Va Tech for that reason, even with two key VT starters out. Too bad, as it looks like Clemson, FSU, and Miami look beatable this year...Tech could go into the UGA game with one loss. I could see those 18 year olds on the flats think they're something after winning 3 straight, forgetting that it was Samford, Troy, and UVA.
What did you think about the GT throwback uniforms last week? You know I loved them.
Just when we get over Jenny Ewing's death, Ceil's good friend's 11 year old son goes to school healthy and basically has a stroke. Yesterday he had brain surgery at Piedmont, with a 10% chance of not surviving. The surgery when as good as it could've, so hopefully he'll recover 100%.
His dad is the one that works for Turner, composing music. He's won two Emmys, one for last year's Travis Tritt Turner South Braves commercial. He also did the current Braves commercial with M C Hammer, Dale Murphy, Sid Bream, and Phil Niekro.
Driving back from Orlando last Friday, I wanted to get back into Georgia before getting gas, to get it cheaper. I was cruising along and noticed the gas gauge had dropped to empty. Usually that means I still have a gallon or two, but I wanted to be more careful on the highway. I spied a billboard touting gas for $2.139 sixteen miles ahead at the Adel exit, so I made that my goal. Making it to the exit, I noticed two stations had regular for $2.099...even better. I picked the BP station, as it looked cleaner and more modern.
The BP had twelve hoses, but there was only a lone pickup truck filling up in the middle. I pulled up on the outside, and noticed that while regular 87 octane was indeed $2.099 and hi-test also at the advertised $2.299, the mid-grade 89 octane registered on the pump at a price of $1.909 per gallon. The sign said it should be $2.199. I checked another pump...it too read $1.909.
Being a good citizen (ok, I didn't want to pay $2.199), I went inside and asked the clerk. He said it should be $2.199, and went outside and discovered the error. We checked the middle pump, and I noticed the pickup was filling up with the more expensive lower grade 87 regular grade. Meanwhile, I was able to fill up with the mid-grade 89 octane for only $1.909 a gallon, a savings of 29 cents a gallon!
No relation to Dale! Lifetime Georgia boy...enjoys visiting the rest of the USA. The CPA is my buddy with a finger on the pulse of MLB. I'm a GT grad who also appreciates UGA. Love the Braves & MLB, tolerate the Falcons, Hawks, & Thrashers. A worker bee enjoying Little League & ballet - my excuse for not having hours to write & research. More ramblings can be found at www.sacrifice fly.blogspot. com
