Atlanta Sports Talk

[NCB]

There is one good thing about our low finish this eason: better draft position!

I hear ya.

I would have to think the Saints would take Matt Leinart at #2.

[NCB]

C'mon UGA!

Get back from 14 down and show West Virgina how SEC schools play football!

[RiverwoodCLT]

Red color did not do so well yesterday in there. UGA better pick it up about 3 levels, fast. Now 31 to 14

Yesterday 44 - 11 and I was there. GO Panthers

Edited January 3, 2006 by RiverwoodCLT

[NCB]

31-28 Now it's really starting to get entertaining!

[ironchapman]

31-28 Now it's really starting to get entertaining!

Yep, and an entire quarter to go! (it could still go either way, though).

I'm still looking forward to the Rose Bowl. GO TEXAS!!!

[NCB]

I'm still looking forward to the Rose Bowl. GO TEXAS!!!

I completely agree, Go Texas!

[ironchapman]

38-35........not too bad. A lot better than it started out.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

I completely agree, Go Texas!

USC all the way.

but I'm not quite sure why.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

Not necessarily. The Falcons were plagued by a number of problems this season.

-We had one of our top defensive players knocked out in early October from a toe injury

-The above caused a realignment of our defensive line that cause Keith Brooking to move from the outside (where he's most comfortable) to take over the middle

-We had to bring in rookies (or inexperienced two year players) to take over other spots on the defensive line (either to replace Brooking or another injury)

^In a sense, it was our defensive line that lost the season (our season began to take a downturn after October, which, coincidentally, is when our defensive line began experiencing trouble).

Our offensive line was great (#1 rushing offense). We had Vick, Dunn Crmpler, and even a good back-up quarterback with Schaub.

I understand nothing's perfect and an injury (or more) shouldn't necessarily be a surprise, but it was the injuries plaguing the defensive line that made this season, not the Falcons as a whole, a bust (almost like our mediocre season a few years ago when Vick was knocked out, but we have matured enough as a team and developed our lines enough so that Vick isn't as vital...still a very vital player though...anymore).

Vick's passer rating for each season of his career.

2001 62.7

2002 81.6

2003 69.0

2004 78.1

2005 73.1

It will only get worse in the coming years as Vick gets older and the other teams have found out to contain him. He can't beat you by the air.

In the past it could be explained away by his winning record, but not any more.

He is not worth $100 million and he is taking up cap room that could be used for PRODUCTIVE players. More WRs for Vick is not going to the job done because he can't throw to them.

[NCB]

38-35........not too bad. A lot better than it started out.

Yea UGA really fought back and turned what looked like a blowout into a great game. But I have to say congrats to West Virgina, they played very well.

[ironchapman]

Vick's passer rating for each season of his career.

2001 62.7

2002 81.6

2003 69.0

2004 78.1

2005 73.1

It will only get worse in the coming years as Vick gets older and the other teams have found out to contain him. He can't beat you by the air.

In the past it could be explained away by his winning record, but not any more.

He is not worth $100 million and he is taking up cap room that could be used for PRODUCTIVE players. More WRs for Vick is not going to the job done because he can't throw to them.

Oh yeah, I understand. Vick's not exactly a quarterback as much as he is just a fast athlete. The only true quarterback on the team is Schaub, but he's not quite good enough (although still a very skilled and well rounded one) to play as the team's main QB.

We, at this point, are in some ways the opposite of Chicago. Chicago relies almost completely on defense to win a game because they have no offense. To win against Chicago, you need to wear down the defense (which is pretty much what Pittsburgh did).

For Atlanta, we rely mostly on offense because our defense is pretty weak. To win on us you need to contain Vick (which is most of our offense).

I'm thinking we'll focus on safeties and secondaries for the draft this year. Vick's not that bad yet.

Edited January 4, 2006 by ironchapman

[NcSc74]

No he is not that bad but someone needs to tell him not to listen to the critics and play his game. He makes more plays with his feet than his arm. It is time for everybody to stop trying to change him and let him play. Another thing that west coast offense=garbage. Vick has a gun for an arm and he needs an offense to bring that out. He could end up as a randall cunningham but the folks saying he will mature to be a steve young are nuts. All I have to say is run Vick run...sincerley yours from a Carolina Panther fan.

[ironchapman]

No he is not that bad but someone needs to tell him not to listen to the critics and play his game. He makes more plays with his feet than his arm. It is time for everybody to stop trying to change him and let him play. Another thing that west coast offense=garbage. Vick has a gun for an arm and he needs an offense to bring that out. He could end up as a randall cunningham but the folks saying he will mature to be a steve young are nuts. All I have to say is run Vick run...sincerley yours from a Carolina Panther fan.

100% agree. I get this from Falcons fans who are much more adamant about them than me. The Falcons need to find a better offensive coordinator soon, too.

[NCB]

No he is not that bad but someone needs to tell him not to listen to the critics and play his game. He makes more plays with his feet than his arm. It is time for everybody to stop trying to change him and let him play. Another thing that west coast offense=garbage. Vick has a gun for an arm and he needs an offense to bring that out. He could end up as a randall cunningham but the folks saying he will mature to be a steve young are nuts. All I have to say is run Vick run...sincerley yours from a Carolina Panther fan.

I completely agree as well, and I'm a New Orleans Saints fan.

[NCB]

Well the Hawks seemed to play pretty well against the Chris Paul-less Hornets last night.

[ironchapman]

Well the Hawks seemed to play pretty well against the Chris Paul-less Hornets last night.

WE'RE ON A WINNING STREAK!!!! (2 games)

Seriously, though, after football, I keep my eyes on hockey until baseball starts (basketball isn't much to watch around here.) The Thrashers have been predicted to make the play-offs for the first time in franchise history and we have Kovalchuk to thank for that (or at least a good bit of it).

[NCB]

^What is the support for the Thrashers like in Atlanta?

For the most part, around the New Orleans area, hockey doesn't even seem to be considered a sport. The only thing that matters around here is football, and basketball if the Hornets are doing well.

As for me, I enjoy watching NHL playoff games, but don't pay much attention to the NHL during the regular season.

[ironchapman]

^What is the support for the Thrashers like in Atlanta?

It's pretty low-key here, but they frequently outsell the Hawks (who usually have about 13,000 at their games). I've seen numbers at 19,000 at times, so it's pretty good. We know they exist and there's a sizable fanbase for them, but they are far from the watercooler talk of the Falcons or Braves. After football, sports as watercooler talk pretty much dies down until football drafts and basball begins.

The good part of them being low-key is the fact that tickets are frequently availiable for a hockeyteam we actually have an excuse to watch now (they have a good season this year).

[atlmangum]

It's pretty low-key here, but they frequently outsell the Hawks (who usually have about 13,000 at their games). I've seen numbers at 19,000 at times, so it's pretty good. We know they exist and there's a sizable fanbase for them, but they are far from the watercooler talk of the Falcons or Braves. After football, sports as watercooler talk pretty much dies down until football drafts and basball begins.

The good part of them being low-key is the fact that tickets are frequently availiable for a hockeyteam we actually have an excuse to watch now (they have a good season this year).

I think if they can make the playoffs people will start to get interested in them. Its good that we have a star on the team that you can identify the franchise with (Kovulchuck). Are the Thrashers still shown on Turner South?

[ironchapman]

I think if they can make the playoffs people will start to get interested in them. Its good that we have a star on the team that you can identify the franchise with (Kovulchuck). Are the Thrashers still shown on Turner South?

Yep, they're still on Turner South. They also have quite a few games with tickets for sale, if anyone's interested.

Thashers Schedule, Tickets, and Networks

Kovalchuk has probably been the best thing to happen to this franchise in the ways of positive publicity (Dany Heatley gave us quite a bit a while back with the wreck, but it's not exactly the type you want). He's an excellent player and has high expectations (wants to be the best Russian Player ever).

[ironchapman]

JAGODSZINKSI JOINS PACKERS

Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy began filling out his coaching staff on Sunday by naming Jeff Jagodzinski offensive co-ordinator.

Jagodzinski, 42, spent the last two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. He served as tight ends coach in his first campaign before moving to the offensive line this past season.

I wish him the best of luck there. Maybe he'll be able to help make the best of another former Falcon, Brett Favre (whose talent has been wasted by some of the past offensive coaches).

[ironchapman]

Any thoughts as to how the Braves will do this year? I've noticed what appears to be a lot of good or relatively good players asinging with them while perusing Google's news search for Atlanta headlines. They've also traded off a few good ones to other cities in the process. The rookies of last year (like Francoeur! ) have also had a chance to mature some.

Even with the Falcons doing so well (even though that it can be argued that they didn't this season, but I think they'll improve if the injuries don't get us again.), I still think that it's baseball where Atlanta can do the most bragging about having a good (or at least relatively) pro sports team.

I think we'll make the pennant again (though not the one we want).

Edited January 22, 2006 by ironchapman

[NCB]

^I hope the braves do very well. They're my 2nd favorite team in the league, behind Houston.

[ironchapman]

^I hope the braves do very well. They're my 2nd favorite team in the league, behind Houston.

GRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!! The Astros aren't very popular here at the moment.

[atlmangum]

Any thoughts as to how the Braves will do this year? I've noticed what appears to be a lot of good or relatively good players asinging with them while perusing Google's news search for Atlanta headlines. They've also traded off a few good ones to other cities in the process. The rookies of last year (like Francoeur! ) have also had a chance to mature some.

Even with the Falcons doing so well (even though that it can be argued that they didn't this season, but I think they'll improve if the injuries don't get us again.), I still think that it's baseball where Atlanta can do the most bragging about having a good (or at least relatively) pro sports team.

I think we'll make the pennant again (though not the one we want).

I think the Bravos will be fine this year. Its going to come down to how we play against the other teams in the NL East. I think, as always, it will take us a month or two to fill some holes (closer and leadoff hitter). But once the guys get adjusted to thier new roles by June, we should start to make our march to another division crown.