Last night, for the first time in the past three seasons, the Falcons took a step back as a franchise. In front of a crazy crowd at the Georgia Dome, the Falcons crumbled under the pressure of the playoffs.
The third year quarterback who has garnered comparisons to Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, threw the worst interception I have ever seen in a big game. The Hall of Fame tight end who was brought to Atlanta two years ago to win a Super Bowl, managed only one catch, and then missed the rest of the game with an injury. The coach who resurrected this franchise with his steady hand and professional approach was left to just watch helplessly as his team was dismantled for the world to see. Funny how we didn't see Arthur Blank on the sideline at the end of last night's game.
No last night's game was not apart of the master plan for the Falcons. When they lost on the road in the playoffs two years ago, the thought was that this team had no where to go but up, and that it was an amazing turnaround from the 2007 season. Some people might be inclined to think the same thing after last night, but those people aren't considering the modern NFL.
You don't get dynasties these days.
Wait! What about the Patriots?
The Patriots won three Super Bowls in four years, but when they won their first Super Bowl in 2001, they were huge underdogs to the Rams, and their leader was still a wide-eyed kid who had yet to really become the quarterback we have seen for the past few seasons. During their prime, yes the Patriots won back to back Super Bowls, but that only further proves my point.
When opportunity knocks in the NFL, you better answer fast. Injuries change NFL seasons more than any other sport. The Patriots can tell you about that when Tom Brady got hurt in 2008 after setting the world on fire in 2007, but losing to the Giants in the Super Bowl. Brady hurt, season over.
The Falcons stayed healthy for the most part this season. They earned the NFC's number one seed, a bye in the first round, and had their two biggest concerns (Saints and Eagles) lose last week. Sure the Packers are a good team, this is the playoffs! You don't get to play teams like Carolina in the playoffs.
This franchise has done amazing things in the past three seasons. Yes they have a lot of pieces in place to continue to be a force in the NFC. But you can't take anything for granted in the NFL, and when things fall your way, you had better capitalize and get the ring.
This afternoon, either the Bears or the Seahawks will advance to play the Packers in the NFC title game. And Falcon fans will sit back and wonder, what might have been?
What might have been is the thought that this town is used to wondering, but for the Falcons, let's just hope that they take this loss as a very painful lesson. Because there is no guarantee that this team will ever have a clearer path to the Super Bowl than the one they had this season.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
NFL Playoff Preview: Wild Card Weekend
The NFL playoffs get underway on Saturday afternoon with the defending Super Bowl Champion Saints visiting the champions (read survivors) of the NFC West, the Seattle Seahawks. On paper, this one shouldn’t really be close. The Saints went 11-5 this season and seem to be hitting their stride late in the season. Despite a Week 17 loss to the Bucs, the Saints have all of their weapons healthy and primed for another run to the Super Bowl.
The Seahawks on the other hand, were the last team to clinch a birth into the playoffs. They beat the St. Louis Rams on Sunday night to win the west, and the right to host a playoff game, despite their 7-9 record. That is right; they had a losing record on the season.
Drew Brees is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and Sean Payton has the experience of leading the Saints to the promise land one year ago. The Seahawks don’t even know who their quarterback will be, and Seahawks coach Pete Carroll wouldn’t exactly be my first choice to lead anything.
Saints 30 Seahawks 13
Saturday Night features one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the NFL, and one of the biggest talkers in the history of the NFL. Peyton Manning leads his Colts into the playoffs for a record tying 9th consecutive year. Rex Ryan took the Jets to the AFC Championship Game last year, only to fall to these same Colts. Ryan said earlier in the week that it was “personal” for the Jets, and for Ryan, who has only managed to beat Peyton Manning once in the six times the two have faced each other.
Manning is without many of the weapons that he is accustomed to having come playoff time. However, Manning has confirmed his greatness by leading backups into the NFL’s second season. The Colts defense will have to contend with second year quarterback Mark Sanchez. In the playoffs, you look to the quarterback to lead you to victory. I think this will be a close game, and in a close game, give me the League’s Most Valuable Player rather than the League’s Most Inconsistent Star Who Isn’t Really a Star.
Jets 20 Colts 26
On Sunday, the Ravens visit the Chiefs in a game that I wouldn’t even watch if you paid me. I don’t think there is a more team as good and boring as the Ravens. Their only interesting player, Ray Lewis, is about 50 years old, and seems to have a lot more bark these days than bite. CBS really got the shaft having only this game to televise this weekend. I’ll make a pick, but I don’t care in the least.
Ravens 17 Chiefs 13 (The real losers are people who watch this game)
Wild Card weekend ends with what I believe will be the best game of the weekend. Mike Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles take on Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. Although the Eagles will be playing at home, the cold won’t have any effect on the Packers, which will take away some of the home field advantage.
Everyone in the world knows about Mike Vick’s story. His comeback this season has been remarkable. However, Vick has never been to a Super Bowl, and has been injured on more than one occasion this season. Vick sat out last week’s game because of injury, and there has been no word about whether he will be 100% for the Packers game on Sunday.
Aaron Rodgers has to be the cockiest quarterback in the league, who has no reason to be cocky. Rodgers always seems to play with a chip on his shoulder, and argues with the officials about as well as he throws. He is a good quarterback, but it makes you wonder if he has the mental toughness to go on the road to win a playoff game.
The Packers have not had a running game all season, and I wouldn’t expect them to find one on Sunday. The Eagles have had big problems in their secondary, but without having to respect the running game of the Packers, they should be able to at least limit Rodgers ability to throw the ball. Vick is the difference in the game, because of his ability to improvise and stay out of the clutches of the Packer’s Clay Matthews.
Packers 26 Eagles 30
If the Wild Card games work out as I predict, the matchups for the Divisional Playoffs would be as follows:
AFC:
Ravens @ Patriots
Colts @ Steelers
NFC:
Saints @ Falcons
Eagles @ Bears
Who Dat guy who don’t want to play them Saints again? That would be me.
GO SEAHAWKS!
The Seahawks on the other hand, were the last team to clinch a birth into the playoffs. They beat the St. Louis Rams on Sunday night to win the west, and the right to host a playoff game, despite their 7-9 record. That is right; they had a losing record on the season.
Drew Brees is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and Sean Payton has the experience of leading the Saints to the promise land one year ago. The Seahawks don’t even know who their quarterback will be, and Seahawks coach Pete Carroll wouldn’t exactly be my first choice to lead anything.
Saints 30 Seahawks 13
Saturday Night features one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the NFL, and one of the biggest talkers in the history of the NFL. Peyton Manning leads his Colts into the playoffs for a record tying 9th consecutive year. Rex Ryan took the Jets to the AFC Championship Game last year, only to fall to these same Colts. Ryan said earlier in the week that it was “personal” for the Jets, and for Ryan, who has only managed to beat Peyton Manning once in the six times the two have faced each other.
Manning is without many of the weapons that he is accustomed to having come playoff time. However, Manning has confirmed his greatness by leading backups into the NFL’s second season. The Colts defense will have to contend with second year quarterback Mark Sanchez. In the playoffs, you look to the quarterback to lead you to victory. I think this will be a close game, and in a close game, give me the League’s Most Valuable Player rather than the League’s Most Inconsistent Star Who Isn’t Really a Star.
Jets 20 Colts 26
On Sunday, the Ravens visit the Chiefs in a game that I wouldn’t even watch if you paid me. I don’t think there is a more team as good and boring as the Ravens. Their only interesting player, Ray Lewis, is about 50 years old, and seems to have a lot more bark these days than bite. CBS really got the shaft having only this game to televise this weekend. I’ll make a pick, but I don’t care in the least.
Ravens 17 Chiefs 13 (The real losers are people who watch this game)
Wild Card weekend ends with what I believe will be the best game of the weekend. Mike Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles take on Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. Although the Eagles will be playing at home, the cold won’t have any effect on the Packers, which will take away some of the home field advantage.
Everyone in the world knows about Mike Vick’s story. His comeback this season has been remarkable. However, Vick has never been to a Super Bowl, and has been injured on more than one occasion this season. Vick sat out last week’s game because of injury, and there has been no word about whether he will be 100% for the Packers game on Sunday.
Aaron Rodgers has to be the cockiest quarterback in the league, who has no reason to be cocky. Rodgers always seems to play with a chip on his shoulder, and argues with the officials about as well as he throws. He is a good quarterback, but it makes you wonder if he has the mental toughness to go on the road to win a playoff game.
The Packers have not had a running game all season, and I wouldn’t expect them to find one on Sunday. The Eagles have had big problems in their secondary, but without having to respect the running game of the Packers, they should be able to at least limit Rodgers ability to throw the ball. Vick is the difference in the game, because of his ability to improvise and stay out of the clutches of the Packer’s Clay Matthews.
Packers 26 Eagles 30
If the Wild Card games work out as I predict, the matchups for the Divisional Playoffs would be as follows:
AFC:
Ravens @ Patriots
Colts @ Steelers
NFC:
Saints @ Falcons
Eagles @ Bears
Who Dat guy who don’t want to play them Saints again? That would be me.
GO SEAHAWKS!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Urban Meyer Resigns..... Again
Déjà vu all over again for Florida. It was less than 1 year ago when the college football world was shocked to hear that Urban Meyer was stepping down at Florida for health concerns. Meyer shocked the world again when he took it all back 24 hours later. Now today, the world is once again shocked to hear that Urban Meyer is walking away.
Unlike last year, medical reasons seem to have no part in the decision. Family is apparently the basis for this decision. However, it does seem a little funny that Meyer decided to leave after his worst season in Gainesville, with no real hope of a dramatic turn-around next season.
Yes Meyer won two national titles at Florida, but the first of those titles he won with mostly Ron Zook’s players, and the second of those titles he won with Tim Tebow. I’m not saying that Meyer isn’t a good coach, but sometimes great coaches are the products of great players, and we will never know how good Meyer is because he never won anything without Tebow.
Meyer’s two national titles returned Florida to the top of the college football world, but his exit leaves many questions in Gainesville. After a 7-5 season, there is another great recruiting class coming in, but will his exit make any of their commits think twice? Even with Meyer, Florida wasn’t in a position to return to national prominence next year, so with John Brantley at QB what can we expect from Florida in 2011?
Those questions will be asked, but the biggest question is the most obvious: Who will take over one of college football’s premier programs. Florida is one of the five best jobs in the country, and there is almost no coach in America who wouldn’t consider the position if it were offered. Dan Mullen will be the first name out of everyone’s mouth because of his success at Mississippi State, but Mullen hasn’t really proven himself on the national stage. Getting Mississippi State to a bowl game doesn’t make you the next great college coach. Charlie Strong is in the same position at Louisville. Having only 1 year of head coaching experience would make him a questionable hire even though he has strong ties to the program.
After you get past those two names, the fun really starts. Bob Stoops coached at Florida under Steve Spurrier. Could Florida AD Jeremy Foley convince Stoops to leave Oklahoma for the bright lights of the SEC? Butch Davis won a national championship in the state of Florida when he coached Miami, could Davis return to the state as the Gators next headman? Jon Gruden wants to coach again, would he consider a move to the college world? Bobby Petrino has to be getting a little antsy at Arkansas. With Mallet heading to the NFL, would it be time for the master of abandonment to head for the greener pastures of Gainesville? Could the Ole’ Ball Coach rekindle some of his ole’ magic and return to the Swamp? I hear Bobby Bowden has some free time, maybe he could lead the Gators against the ‘Noles in 2011. (Just kidding about that last one)
There will be no shortage of rumors and people who think they know what is going to happen in Gainesville now. The truth will play itself out over the next few weeks, but don’t expect the search to last too long. If a new coach isn’t in place before Christmas, it could really hurt the Gators in recruiting.
Meyer will coach his last game at Florida, in Florida, when the Gators take on Penn State in the Outback Bowl. That game will now feature two coaches who couldn’t be any more different. Joe Paterno has been at Penn State for 44 years. Paterno has won two national titles in that time, and is the winningest coach in FBS history. Through good times and bad, he has stuck with Penn State and Penn State has stuck with him. He has been offered the head coaching job at Michigan and the Pittsburg Steelers at different time in his career and chose to stay in Happy Valley. Paterno is coming back for a 45th season at Penn State in 2011, where is salary will be somewhere around $550,000 (modest by today’s standards).
Meyer made $18.5 in his 6 years at Florida. He will now take a year off and probably surface at ESPN or CBS as a commentator. He will get the itch to coach again in a few years, and he will have his pick of a job when that time comes, but Meyer has proven that he is committed only as long as it works for him, so buyer beware.
Unlike last year, medical reasons seem to have no part in the decision. Family is apparently the basis for this decision. However, it does seem a little funny that Meyer decided to leave after his worst season in Gainesville, with no real hope of a dramatic turn-around next season.
Yes Meyer won two national titles at Florida, but the first of those titles he won with mostly Ron Zook’s players, and the second of those titles he won with Tim Tebow. I’m not saying that Meyer isn’t a good coach, but sometimes great coaches are the products of great players, and we will never know how good Meyer is because he never won anything without Tebow.
Meyer’s two national titles returned Florida to the top of the college football world, but his exit leaves many questions in Gainesville. After a 7-5 season, there is another great recruiting class coming in, but will his exit make any of their commits think twice? Even with Meyer, Florida wasn’t in a position to return to national prominence next year, so with John Brantley at QB what can we expect from Florida in 2011?
Those questions will be asked, but the biggest question is the most obvious: Who will take over one of college football’s premier programs. Florida is one of the five best jobs in the country, and there is almost no coach in America who wouldn’t consider the position if it were offered. Dan Mullen will be the first name out of everyone’s mouth because of his success at Mississippi State, but Mullen hasn’t really proven himself on the national stage. Getting Mississippi State to a bowl game doesn’t make you the next great college coach. Charlie Strong is in the same position at Louisville. Having only 1 year of head coaching experience would make him a questionable hire even though he has strong ties to the program.
After you get past those two names, the fun really starts. Bob Stoops coached at Florida under Steve Spurrier. Could Florida AD Jeremy Foley convince Stoops to leave Oklahoma for the bright lights of the SEC? Butch Davis won a national championship in the state of Florida when he coached Miami, could Davis return to the state as the Gators next headman? Jon Gruden wants to coach again, would he consider a move to the college world? Bobby Petrino has to be getting a little antsy at Arkansas. With Mallet heading to the NFL, would it be time for the master of abandonment to head for the greener pastures of Gainesville? Could the Ole’ Ball Coach rekindle some of his ole’ magic and return to the Swamp? I hear Bobby Bowden has some free time, maybe he could lead the Gators against the ‘Noles in 2011. (Just kidding about that last one)
There will be no shortage of rumors and people who think they know what is going to happen in Gainesville now. The truth will play itself out over the next few weeks, but don’t expect the search to last too long. If a new coach isn’t in place before Christmas, it could really hurt the Gators in recruiting.
Meyer will coach his last game at Florida, in Florida, when the Gators take on Penn State in the Outback Bowl. That game will now feature two coaches who couldn’t be any more different. Joe Paterno has been at Penn State for 44 years. Paterno has won two national titles in that time, and is the winningest coach in FBS history. Through good times and bad, he has stuck with Penn State and Penn State has stuck with him. He has been offered the head coaching job at Michigan and the Pittsburg Steelers at different time in his career and chose to stay in Happy Valley. Paterno is coming back for a 45th season at Penn State in 2011, where is salary will be somewhere around $550,000 (modest by today’s standards).
Meyer made $18.5 in his 6 years at Florida. He will now take a year off and probably surface at ESPN or CBS as a commentator. He will get the itch to coach again in a few years, and he will have his pick of a job when that time comes, but Meyer has proven that he is committed only as long as it works for him, so buyer beware.
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