Week 2 Thoughts

Jason Snelling's shined in the home-opener in place of an injured Michael Turner. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

(My thoughts on this week will be brief since I didn’t see much of any football.)

Great to see the huge offensive output, especially with Michael Turner out of the game. Good teams are supposed to blow out bad teams at home.

And after two weeks, it’s pretty clear that the Cardinals are bad, and the Falcons are very good.*

*At home.

Week 1 Thoughts

Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall runs away from the Falcons defense for the game winner in overtime. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Football, it’s so good to have you back. Don’t ever leave us again.

That’s all I can say after the NFL’s first weekend. Football is back and we’re all better off. Welcome back football, and really, welcome back happiness.

The Falcs’ supposedly high-powered offense faltered against the Steelers, who were sans rapist but not sans defense.

Finneran re-signs with Falcons

Veteran WR and fan-favorite Brian Finneran has signed a contract extension with the Falcons, according to the team’s website.  While Finny has had little impact in the passing game, with only 32 catches over the last two seasons, he provides a great locker-room presence and is a valued member of the special teams unit.  He also moves the chains, as 21 of those 32 grabs have gone for first-downs. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed. While this isn’t the type of deal that off-seasons are centered around, it’s nice to know that the “White Randy Moss” will remain in Red-n-Black.

Should Falcons go after Julius Peppers?

It’s well documented that the Falcons have a need at defensive end opposite of John Abraham. It’s also no secret that Julius Peppers wants out of Carolina. With Peppers heading for unrestricted free-agency, many are pointing to Atlanta as a possible destination for the 5-time pro-bowler.

AJC’s Jeff Schultz is convinced. But ESPN’s Pat Yaskinkas spoke with Thomas Dimitroff last week, and while he didn’t rule anything out, Dimitroff didn’t sound very eager to spend much money during free agency:

“First and foremost, we’re going to be very fiscally responsible. That doesn’t mean we won’t be active. If we think a player in free agency can really ratchet us to another level, we’ll contemplate it. If we see a player that is a fit like Tony Gonzalez was, then I’ll go to (owner) Arthur Blank and tell him that we want to pursue this guy.”

There’s no question Peppers would improve the Atlanta defense, but at what cost? He’s likely going to command a contract similar to his last one, which would once again make him the highest paid defensive end in football. What Dimitroff must decide, is whether paying upwards of $16 million for a 30-year old sack specialist would be beneficial long term, or if the team would be better served spending that money elsewhere, and giving either Lawrence Sidbury (1 sack year) or Kroy Biermann (5 sacks, 1 forced fumble in 2 starts) a legitimate chance to start opposite of Abraham. There’s also the possibility that the team addresses its pass-rushing need through the draft, but more than any other defensive position, it’s very hard for a rookie end to be a difference-maker right away.

I have no doubt that adding Peppers would give this defense a much-needed boost, but is it worth the sticker price?

With everyone back to 0-0, time for Dimitroff to get to work

The Saints won the Super Bowl.  Wow.  For any Falcons fan, that’s hard to stomach.  For a Falcons fan who spent the football season living in Baton Rouge, it’s a nightmare. I should’ve been happy for my adopted state, for my closest friends, for my father, a lifelong Saints fan, and for the people of New Orleans. But I wasn’t happy, far from it in fact. I was crushed.

That’s right, crushed. As soon as the game ended, I responded to the Saints’ newfound success with the bitterness of a 30-year old bridesmaid at her 20-year old sister’s wedding. Thoughts of jealousy consumed me. Cynical, even bitter thoughts. I caught myself making snide comments like “This will never last!” and “Who do they think they are, being happy like this? Where do they get off acting soooo damn happy?”

The same season that the Falcons finally exorcised their demons, and got over the whole “they’ve never had back-to-back winning seasons” thing, our arch-rivals had to go and one-up us. The only team in the NFC South as perpetually hapless and pathetic as us, is now a Super Bowl champion. “Who do they think they are?”

But with the Saints’ storybook season culminating last night, at least I know it’s over. I can take comfort knowing that it’s now 2010, and every team is 0-0 again.

Good-bye, nightmare season, hello dream offseason. Thomas Dimitroff now has a chance to do what he does best, and that is to crush the draft and free-agency.  He has a chance to do what  Saints GM Mickey Loomis did last summer, and that’s rebound from a disappointing season, one that saw no playoffs, and build his team into a Super Bowl champion. With 9 draft picks, including either the 19th or 20th of the first round, depending on a coin flip with the Texans, (tails never fails, TD, tails never fails) and the impending removal of the salary cap, Dimitroff will be afforded every opportunity he needs to improve this team.

So fear not, Falcs fans, someday soon we’ll find the one for us. If the Saints can do it, it really can happen to anyone.  With apologies to Lions fans, we’re catching that damn bouquet.

Everybody Leaves: Why Atlanta fans can relate to Matt Saracen

Shut up! Shut up! You don’t care about me, you left me for a better job! Your daughter left me for a better guy! Carlotta left me for Guatemala, and my dad left me for a damn war! EVERYBODY LEAVES ME!

What’s wrong with me?

That’s the heart-wrenching transcript of this scene from the show Friday Night Lights, which if you haven’t seen, you should, as it’s probably the best sports-related TV show since The White Shadow, and one of the more underrated shows of the last decade. For poor Matt Saracen, the QB of the fictional Dillon Panthers, it’s a justified reaction.  Everybody does leave him. His girlfriend, his other girlfriend, his coach, his father, they all leave him.  Everyone but his grandmother, suffering from dementia and unable to look after herself.  For two solid seasons, we feel sorry for Matt, but he refuses to feel sorry for himself.  Episode after episode, he handles his overwhelming responsibilities, to his coach, to his town, to his family, with a stone-cold demeanor, refusing to crumble.

That’s what makes the “EVERYBODY LEAVES ME!” scene in the bathtub such a harrowing moment. Saracen, the nice boy with way too much on his plate, finally realizes that he should feel sorry for himself, as his life pretty much sucks.

While Atlanta sports fans don’t have it quite as bad as Saracen, it’s pretty damn bad.  We don’t have a grandmother with dementia to look after, just a city known for its lifelessness, joblessness, and general emptiness. What we do share with Matt, is the sense of abandonment, the sense of nobody else giving a shit about us, the feeling that something might really be wrong with us.

First it was Michael Vick.  He left us for prison.  Then it was Andruw Jones, he left us for obesi-er-mediocrity. Now hockey star Ilya Kovalchuk is leaving us, headed to New Jersey after refusing to accept the highest contract ever offered to an impending free agent, effectively murdering hockey in Atlanta. That’s right, a star player wants to leave Atlanta even after receiving the highest monetary offer allowable, as well as the largest in the history of his sport. What is wrong with us?

Now, the anxieties and nail-biting will shift to the Atlanta Spirit ownership group’s other impending star departure, as the Hawks’ Joe Johnson is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer.  While he hasn’t outright said yet that he’d prefer to leave, Joe turned down a 4 year, $60 Million offer to stay in Atlanta past this summer, and plans to enter free agency. Joe came here 5 years ago because he wanted to be here, and now, after enjoying much individual and team success, it looks like the four-time All-Star might be primed to leave. What is wrong with us?

Sure, Chipper Jones is still here, and Brian McCann and Matt Ryan have long-term deals in place that will keep them here for another decade.  But in the city where its custom to expedite franchise players for .40 on the dollar, where star QBs go to Federal Prison for dog-fighting, our coach leaves for a second-rate SEC school in the middle of the season, and franchise players turn down maximum contract offers, the Matt Saracen in every Atlantan wonders if, or when, they might leave us too.

Senior Bowl Preview Part 2

Before I get into the South roster, and which players Falcons fans in particular should be watching Saturday, I’d like to thank NFL Network for its coverage of the week’s practices.  For pathetic losers like myself, it’s great mid-afternoon viewing.  Mark Mayock, in particular, keeps me in stitches with his creative vocabulary. Where else could we hear Dexter McCluster compared to Percy Harvin in terms of “explosion and propulsion”?  (The NFL, where propellers happen!)

Propellers aside, let’s take a look at some players to watch from the South:

South Team

• Eric Norwood, OLB, South Carolina- Norwood is more of an undersized defensive end than a true outside linebacker, but he rushes the passer like few others in this draft.  Whether or not he can play in the 4-3 remains to be seen, but the Falcons could take a shot at Norwood if he’s there in the mid-rounds.  Paired with Abraham on passing downs, he could greatly assist in getting pressure on the quarterback, which was a glaring weakness of the team this year.  Projected Round: 3rd
• Cameron Sheffield and Brandon Lang, LB/DE, Troy- I mention these two together because as a tandem they were highly productive in college, combining for 14.5 sacks. Troy has a proud tradition of pass rushers which includes DeMarcus Ware and Osi Umenyiora.  Sheffield is practicing as a linebacker in Mobile, and its unclear if Lang has the size to be a 4-3 defensive end either, but they’ve both had solid weeks of practice and could be solid pass-rush options in the draft’s second day. Projected Round: 3rd-5th
• Jimmy Graham, TE, Miami- There are several solid tight end prospects on the South roster, including Alabama’s Colin Peek and USC’s Anthony McCoy. But Graham is intriguing for two reasons: his 6’6 255 frame, and the fact that like Tony Gonzalez, he’s a converted hoops player. Graham averaged 18 minutes a game for the Hurricanes basketball team before trying football as a senior.   This is certainly a project but the athleticism and untapped potential is tantalizing.  In a loaded tight end class, he could be there for rounds 4 or 5.  Projected Round: Late 3rd/4th

Senior Bowl Preview Part 1

With the Super Bowl two weeks away, and just one Falcon in the Pro Bowl that nobody wants to play in (or watch for that matter), there’s only one football game that matters this weekend.  The top seniors in college football are in Mobile, AL this week, working with NFL coaching staffs and auditioning for scouts, leading up to the annual Senior Bowl game this Saturday.

While much has been made about Tim Tebow’s disappointing performance so far, and Terrence Cody looking more like Proposition Joe from “The Wire” than a top prospect, there are plenty of other players to check out if you’re a Falcons fan. Here are some players to keep an eye on this Saturday:

North Team

• Sean Weatherspoon, OLB, Missouri Listed at 6’0, 241, Weatherspoon is a two-time finalist for the Butkus Award, which goes to college football’s top linebacker.  He’d be a great addition to the LB corps, infusing some youth while still maintaining the size and toughness of veteran starter Mike Peterson. Projected Round: Late 1st/Early 2nd
• Kyle Wilson, CB, Boise State Wilson has had such a great week of practice in Mobile, he is likely playing himself into the first round. Brent Grimes and Chris Houston continued to get picked on by bigger WRs last season, and second-year Chevis Jackson and rookie Chris Owens failed to emerge, making cornerback a position of need for the third-straight Falcons draft.  At 5’10, 190, with prototypical speed, Wilson has supplanted FSU’s Patrick Robinson as the number one senior cornerback, and Dimitroff would have to take a long look at him if Weatherspoon and the other top linebackers are off the board. Projected Round: Late 1st/Early 2nd.
• Daryl Washington, OLB, TCU Washington was overshadowed by teammate Jerry Owens, was equally important to TCU’s defense, leading the Horned Frogs in tackles last season as an inside linebacker in the 4-2-5. A bit on the lighter side at 6’2, 226, he uses his speed and quickness to get into the hole.  Washington could easily step in to the weak side LB spot currently occupied by Coy Wire or the become a successor to Peterson on the strong side. If Dimitroff opts to pass on a linebacker in round 1, Washington could be a steal in the third round. Projected Round: 3rd
• Ed Dickson, TE, Oregon A big target at 6’4, 244, Dickson was very productive in the Pac-10 and graduates as Oregon’s all time leading receiver among tight ends.  While it’s not a need pick, Dickson would provide great value if selected in round 3.  It’d be hard to turn down a productive young tight end who could someday take over for Tony Gonzalez. Projected Round: 3rd