New Georgia Dome Color Scheme

What's not to like about this paint job? Image by Pouya Dianat of the AJC. For a broader gallery and a bigger version of the photo above, check the AJC's site.

Note: You think the SEC West teams didn't like playing UGA in the Georgia dome before. Wait til they get a load of this paint job.

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Brian Van Gorder: 3 games from Unemployment

With Bobby Petrino's mid-season move from the Atlanta Falcons to Arkansas Razorbacks, one talented, nomadic assistant coach may be on the move again. Brian Van Gorder will likely be in search of work three games from now.

I've heard poorly sourced rumors that connect him with the defensive coordinator positions at South Carolina (Nix is out), Arkansas (Petrino will need a DC), and Georgia Tech (Tenuta may leave on his own or otherwise).

If he leaves the Falcons as expected, it would be:

2004 - University of Georgia (Defensive Coordinator)
2005 - Jacksonville Jags (Linebacker Coach)
2006 - Georgia Southern (Head Coach)
2007 - Atlanta Falcons (Linebacker Coach)
2008 - ?

Despite some never ending grumbling about Willie Martinez from our fan base...including me (particularly his ability to create a defense that pressures QBs), it should be noted that the Dawgs finished first in the SEC in sacks, second in third down conversions allowed (34 percent) and second in fewest redzone TDs allowed.

UGA also finished in the Top 3 among SEC teams in most major defensive categories this year. In other words, BVG is not coming back as defensive coordinator. Nor realistically should he be allowed to do that given the borderline insane way that he manages his career and complete inability to find happiness professionally...or the quality job that Willie did this year (other than the UT debacle). If we let him back in as DC, who's to say he doesn't blow himself up and leave to become special teams coach for the Montreal Alouettes in a year or two.

That said -- it wouldn't hurt my feelings to bring Van Gorder back as a linebacker coach should we have an opening there for any reason. We also might have an "in" with him given that his son Malloy is currently a walk-on for the Dawgs. The type of "in" that creates some semblance of professional stability?

I would wager that his family would be thrilled to have him on staff with the Yellow Jackets. A move like that would keep the family from moving...again. I personally would have no beef with him working for any of our rivals. The guy has bills to pay and mouths to feed.

But as Kyle King mentioned earlier today, it will be incredibly interesting to see where he lands. Heckuva a good coach and good man, but clearly the guy has no earthly idea how to manage his career or find happiness professionally. Makes you wonder how this story evolves.

See Also:
-- When going gets tough. Van Gorder Bolts GSU - GSB


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Arkansas lands Falcons Coach Bobby Petrino

Updated: In 1976, Lou Holtz quit the New York Jets as Head Coach midseason with a 3-10 record to become the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks. In 2007, Petrino has done the same thing. He turned in his resignation to the Falcons, and now he's the new head coach of the Razorbacks.

For Arkansas, it's nothing short of a home run hire. However, Petrino is a douche. Leaving the Falcons mid-season is a douche move, but he's an exceptional college football coach. The net result of the SEC Coaching Shuffle is Ole Miss and Arkansas both upgraded. Here's some reaction to the news:

-- Arkansas hits homerun - AOL
-- SEC's new bad boy - AL.com
-- Another classy coach - Sun Sentinel
-- Razorback players wanted Herring - Northwest Arkansas
-- 10 things SEC fans should know - AJC
-- Allure of SEC too much - MSNBC
-- Petrino never up to the job - AJC
-- Petrino and Tuberville reunited in SEC West - AJC
-- The SEC is ridiculous - Roll Bama Roll
-- Falcons better off with blank slate - Sporting News
-- Worst Falcons Season Ever - AJC
-- Petrino headed to Arkansas - Hawgs Illustrated ($)
-- Petrino to Arkansas - FanBlogs
-- Bobby P leaves Falcons for Razorbacks - Arkansas360

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Shockley's Big Break?

Image: Jim Hipple

Unless you woke in a ditch this morning, you know that Mike Vick has been ordered by the NFL not to report to the Falcons camp. You may also know that the State of Virginia will likely join the Federal Government in their pursuit of Vick. Even as Surry County backs off. You may not know that the State of New Jersey is also considering investigating Vick for dog related offenses.

So here sits DJ Shockley. Suddenly, the #2 quarterback. Here's the latest on DJ's chances...
-- DJ's Big Break - BlackAthlete.net
-- We want DJ - AOL Fanhouse
-- D.J. Shockley News - Google News

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Falcons drafting Georgia Players

Martrez Milner is headed to ATL (Image: Jim Hipple)

There was a lively discussion yesterday on the DawgRun message board about the Falcons' historical lack of drafting Georgia Bulldogs. The Falcons of yore under the Smith Family were totally inept on draft day and all other days frankly. They blew shot after shot at taking Georgia players that would've dramatically upgraded the franchise (See: Rodney Hampton and Hines Ward as the most glaring examples).

But the Blank/McKay team seems to be doing a better job of looking towards Athens in the draft and free agency. Over the past few years, they've picked up Shockley (7th Round), Martez Milner (4th Round), Fred Gibson (FA 2007), Terrence Edwards (FA 2003), Josh Mallard (FA 2006), Steve Herndon (FA 2004), and I think one more. Additionally, they are rumored to have signed Tony Taylor to a free agent deal Sunday night. While they still aren't the Pittsburgh Steelers (to say the least), they're making progress.

I'm not a Falcons fan or apologist. I'd rather them not suck because it makes Sunday's more interesting. Beyond that, I'd like them to draft more Bulldogs. If they do great. If not, whatever as long as the team gets better. Other than WR drafting, McKay is pretty solid on draft day. Unlike his predecessors.

Regardless, Moosefish took an interesting look at the Falcons' last few drafts under McKay. He looked at the available Bulldogs at each pick of the draft vs. needs of the team. If you've got a minute, check it out.

See Also:
-- Shockley and Milner Reunited - Columbus-Ledger
-- Worth the Wait for Milner - AJC
-- Photo: Martrez beats the Buffs - ABH

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NFL Mock Drafts -- The Falcons First Round Pick?

Levi Brown (Penn State)

We're one week out, and I took a look at some of the top free mainstream media mock drafts (meaning: other than Kiper's premium site). The "gurus" have the following players projected for the Falcons with the #8 slot as of April 20th.
-- LaRon Landry, S (LSU) - SI.com, NFL.com B, NBC and ESPN SportsNation
-- Levi Brown, OT (PSU) - Yahoo
-- Amobi Okoye, DL (Lville) - Sportsline A
-- Alan Branch, DT (Michigan) - NFL.com A
-- Gaines Adams - DE (Clemson) - Sportsline B

Personally, I'm hoping for Levi Brown. I think the miracle trade to land Calvin Johnson is sort of a pipe dream given how badly the Tampa Bay Bucs need a WR. We would have to outbid them to get into the Top 3. Kiper thinks the Falcons still have a shot. I'd like to be wrong.

The Falcons haven't had a franchise offensive tackle like Brown in 10+ years. It would be nice to see what Ron Mexico could do with some decent pass protection.


Donde es el protection? (El pun es muy intended)
As for the Landry pick, I don't get it. Generally, there are only about two safeties taken in the first round. History has shown that you can get high quality Safeties, Running Backs, Offensive Guards and Centers in Round 2 and 3. If you're drafting a Safety with a Top 10 pick, he needs to be a Roy Williams or Sean Taylor type impact player. I've never thought of Landry in those terms.

It'll be interesting to see what they do with the pick. Ideally, Charles Johnson would slip to the 2nd Round for them. But that's asking a lot.

See Also:
-- Falcons Eye Landry - AJC
-- The #8 Pick in History -- AJC
-- Web's Largest Mock Draft Database (list) -- HailRedskins.com
-- AOL's Main NFL Fanhouse - Fanhouse
-- Mock Draft: Animals for our Personal Zoo - Kissing Suzy Kolber (warning: profanity)
-- Quien Es Mas Macho: Brady Quinn or Sanjaya Malakar - Kissing Suzy Kolber (warning: profanity)

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Fred Gibson signs with the Falcons

The AJC has the blurb. Fred needs to make this work. He's running out of opportunities. Best of luck to him. He made a ton of big time catches for us.

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SNL's Weekend Update on Mike Vick's Airport Problems

Total comedy. Hat tip to Dawgrun.com. SNL goes off on Vick's stupidity. Great stuff.

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When Going Gets Tough, Van Gorder Bolts for NFL

The only guy besides Nick Saban who could make Bobby Petrino look like a loyal employee accepted an offer from Petrino to become linebackers coach for the Atlanta Falcons. Brian Van Gorder bailed out of the Georgia Southern job (his fourth in four years, if you are keeping track) after a single, dismal 3-8 season. I was just saying how I thought Brian Van Gorder lacked career management skills, and ironically he seems to have made a decision that may keep him out of college coaching for a good while.

I think Coach Van Gorder is a good man and a good coach. However, I think his career decisions in the last four years have indicated that he is impatient, short-sighted and lacks Strategery. The move from UGA DC to Jacksonville Jags LB coach seemed hasty and lateral at best. I actually expected BVG to be successful at Georgia Southern. But his aborted stint there reminded me that being a successful head coach is about more than just knowing your X's from your O's. It's about winning while appeasing multiple constituencies. Van Gorder proved himself not up to that task. He can be prickly and he was reluctant to embrace the program, its people, or its traditions.

"Would you still be smiling if I went 3-8 and left you coachless after a year in the middle of recruiting season? I mean, you know, rhetorically speaking."

Before he coached his first game in Statesboro Van Gorder scrapped several school traditions, alienating students, alumni, and community supporters he'd later need after his loss to creampuff Central Connecticut set the tone for the year.

When Erk Russell installed the triple option at Georgia Southern, he realized the types of kids he would be able to successfully recruit would be small but fast--and well suited to the triple option scheme. The trouble is, big schools don't want a triple option coach these days (which may be why Navy's Paul Johnson--despite an impressive won/lost record-- hasn't risen any higher), so Van Gorder installed a pro-style offense that would make him a more attractive candidate to larger schools down the road. Inheriting a playoff team from the previous season, Van Gorder's edition was worse in almost every conceivable measurement. His scheme and his personnel were mismatched. I doubt a more mature coach would have attempted something similar.

Making matters worse, Van Gorder scrapped GSU's tradition of arriving at Paulson Stadium in yellow school buses. When Erk created the program, the yellow school buses were the best they could do, and Erk (and every successor until BVG) kept the tradition in observance of the program's humble roots. But, Van Gorder didn't think the yellow school bus was classy enough. He also tinkered with the uniform. A wiser man would have asked and been told by more experienced peers that if you are going to go monkeying with a school's tradition, you'd better win BIG.

[Pictured: Candidate Van Gorder, with resume hanging from his belt]

Unfortunately, Erk Russell's death didn't help matters, in part because of the unflattering comparisons, and in part because Erk wasn't around to offer a vote of confidence to keep the haters at bay. In hindsight, Van Gorder was poorly matched to the job. His upward mobility was transparent, and when the going got tough, he took the first train out of town rather than wait around to get fired next season if he couldn't make the playoffs.

I have to think it will be a long time before anyone offers him a college head coaching position, and not just because of his modest losing winning percentage. He leaves his school in the lurch, having to fill the head coaching position days away from the all-important February signing day deadline. If I were an athletic director, I'd think twice before giving BVG an opportunity to leave me for the next best thing.


Dawgnoxious,
Career Consultant &
Statesboro Bureau Chief

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Falcons Hire Petrino from Louisville

Image: SI.com
Kudos to Blank for hiring Bobby Petrino. With the Falcons struggling on offense, they went out and hired one of the best offensive minds in football. Petrino was a successful offensive coordinator in the NFL for the Jacksonville Jags so this isn't quite the Spurrier to Redskins scenario redux.

The AJC is giddy with the hire.

Bradley - A Great Hire
Petrino a QB Guru
Louisville Coach hired by Falcons

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Falcons Head Coach Candidate - Ken Whisenhunt

Ken Whisenhunt
With the firing of Jim Mora Jr. by the Falcons, Arthur Blank should look to the Steelers in their search for a new head coach. Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt is a proven NFL assistant coach with a Super Bowl ring, and he has ties to Atlanta.

Whisenhunt primarily played tight end for Georgia Tech from 1981-1984; however, he filled in at QB for the Yellow Jackets in their upset win at Alabama in 1981. Their only win of the season.

Unlike Jim Mora, Jr. whose experience as a coordinator consisted of only two winning seasons in 5 years and a parade of stops for generally unsuccessful organizations; Whisenhunt has been around a winner at the pro level long enough to know what it takes to be successful. His Super Bowl ring will also command respect with the players.

More importantly, if the Falcons hire the guy, he can't rescue the Yellow Jackets when the Gailey Experiment finally ends.

Other articles on Whisenhunt:
-- A top candidate for the Raider last year - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
-- Tough guy for a tough job - Post-Gazette
-- Official bio -- Steelers site

The AJC lists the following as possible replacements for Mora:

Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator, Norm Chow
University of Louisville coach Bobby Petrino
Jim Caldwell, assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach Indianapolis
Ron Rivera, defensive coordinator, Bears
Cam Cameron, offensive coordinator, Chargers
Mike Tomlin, defensive coordinator, Vikings
Mike Singletary, assistant head coach, LB coach, 49ers
Ken Whisenhunt, offensive coordinator, Steelers
Steve Mariucci, former Lions, 49ers head coach
University of Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz.

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Ron Mexico Video

Pretty funny.

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Leeman Bennett's Chick-Fil-A Bowl Blog

Leeman Bennett, the 68 year old former Falcons coach, has a blog about Chicken Sandwiches the Chick-Fil-A Bowl's selection process. Bennett is currently serving as co-chairman of the Board for the CFA Bowl. His blog provides some transparency and insight into the selection process.

Currently his blog requires registration (I know. I already told the PR guys that wasn't ideal), but here's a cut and paste of his comments on the ACC and SEC teams that they are considering:

ACC Teams:
Boston College – 7 wins is very strong and B.C. really looks like their hitting on all cylinders right now with four straight wins. The win against Clemson got our attention. This is a team that looks poised to make a run at a big-time bowl.

Clemson – We knew the showdown with Georgia Tech was going to be big for the Tigers, and it was. They really impressed us with that showing. Tommy Bowden has three winnable games in front of him, and if the Tigers take care of business, they could make a strong selection for us.

Georgia Tech – The Yellow Jackets haven’t been to our bowl since 2000, but this could be the year. Calvin Johnson is looking more and more like the best player in the country and Tashard Choice is giving Tech some balance. How could you not like this team right now?


Maryland beat UT senseless

Maryland – Ralph Friedgen’s Terps are sitting right beside B.C. and Wake at the top of the ACC’s Atlantic Division. The last time Maryland was in this position, they won 10 games and came to the Chick-fil-A Bowl and beat a very strong Tennessee team. We’re keeping our eyes on them for a possible repeat performance.

Virginia Tech – The Hoakies looked like world-beaters against Clemson, but their play this season has been a little inconsistent. If the right team can show up the rest of the way, the boys from Blacksburg could be in store for their first trip to Atlanta since 1986. Tech could create some unique match-ups with a strong SEC opponent.

Wake Forest – Wake has never played in our game and with a 7-1 record, the Demon Deacons are making a strong play for this to be the year to change that fact. Their one loss against Clemson was very close, and we’re not sure Wake shouldn’t have won that one. Having Wake jump up in the ACC is great for the conference and might be great for us as well.


SEC Teams:
Alabama – Can you believe the Crimson Tide has never played in our game? Shula’s boys will probably have to win out and down rival Auburn, but for now, they’re in the mix.

Arkansas – The Razorbacks are the only other SEC to never play in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. With tough games against Tennessee and LSU still on the board, if they don’t win out, Arkansas could be a prime pick to come to Atlanta.


Kirby Smart tackles Thomas Jones in '98

Georgia – The Bulldogs are always an attractive team for us, although they haven’t played here since 1998. Georgia started off very well, but has struggled lately. They’ll probably have to win their rivalry game with Georgia Tech to have a strong chance.

LSU – The Tigers helped provide us with a #9 vs. #10 match-up last year against Miami and really put on a show. LSU is one of those teams that always looks good – on paper, on TV and on the field.

South Carolina – Probably another situation of an uphill road to get to Atlanta, but wins against Arkansas and Clemson would get our attention. We’ll be paying close attention to how the Gamecocks finish the season.


PWD: I realize this isn't groundbreaking insight into the soul of the process. But it is progress. It's good to see more transparency being added to bowl selections. Kudos to the CFA Bowl's marketing guys. Also, the captions on the pics are mine. Not Bennett's.

For More Bowl Articles:
-- Dawgs Watching on New Year's Day -- Chattanooga Free Press
-- Dawgs Outlook Still Bullish -- Louisville Courier
-- Dawgs hope to halt Wildcat Bowl Plans -- Athens Banner Herald

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Draft Day 1 Thoughts

The Good
1. Arizona Cardinals - Combine Edge James with drafting Leinart, Lutui and Pope, and it looks like a great offseason for the Cards. Especially when you consider they already have Larry Fitzgerald and Bouldin. That has to be the most impressive group of young skill players in the country. Watch out in 2007. More on Leonard Pope signing with the Cardinals.



2. Everyone that has to play the Ohio State Buckeye defense next year. Five front line Buckeye players leave that defense in the first three rounds. Seven overall players taken in Day 1. Impressive.

3. Tim Jennings - Considered by some a free agent going into the draft, and considered by most a Day 2 guy. "Uncle Timmy" moved all the way up to Round 2. The last Bulldog offered a scholarship four years ago becomes the first Dawg drafted today.


GATA Timmy! (Photo by Jim Hipple)

4. New Orleans Saints - Reggie Bush fell into their lap due to the staggeringly bad choice of the Texans to draft Mario Williams.

5. Falcons Draft Jimmy Williams - What a great trade. The Falcons move up a few slots and grab a first round caliber CB in the second round.

The Bad:
1. Pope slipping to the 3rd Round. Falling below a TE from WMU. Are you kidding me? The Cardinals might have gotten the steal of the third round in Pope.

2. Max Jean-Gilles' day from hell. I called this one a few months back. Max showed up at the NFL Combine, and he weighed about 30 lbs more than almost every other player in Indy. You don't show up for the biggest job interview of your life in that sort of shape. Greg Blue had a tough day too, but he's already won in my book by simply avoiding the fate of his father.


Scouts review Greg's info

3. Leinart slipping to 10th. He was a lock #1 overall pick last year. When Norm Chow let Matt slip by him at #3 that was either the world's biggest endorsement of Vince Young or the biggest question mark to Leinart's abilities possible. Ouch.

The Ugly:
1. Drafting Mario Williams #1. Wojciechowski nailed it for ESPN and said it was an absolute choke job on draft day by the Texans.

2. Falcons drafting a running back in Round 3. why? Why? WHY? If they don't see Duckett in their plans, then why not dump him pre-draft for another pick? Norwood is an ok running back, but the Falcons needed major help along the offensive and defensive lines. Tomorrow needs to be all about the beef.

For a good take on the Winners and Losers of Draft Day, check out Clayton's article from ESPN or SI.com's take on the draft.

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Quick Hits

Several bloggers have been publishing some fine work lately, almost letting us forget how interminable is the college football off-season.

Paul Westerdawg's post on Terrence Moore's column urging the Falcons to show UGA more love generated quite a bit of discussion. Doug rose in defense of the Falcons, causing me to lose a bet that I'd never use "Falcons" and "defense" in the same sentence. [Damn you, Doug!] Doug persuasively argues the Falcons are only the sixth-most pathetic professional sports franchise. I still think the Anonymous commenter who doesn't see a link between Falcons' attendance and drafting players from local schools with large fan bases UGA is a pinhead.

It has begun. The Bringer of Doom continues to make the compelling case that each homerun hit by Barry Bonds brings the world closer to the apocalypse.

May 24, 2006: Homerun #709, Typhoon Monica, & new bin Laden tape = coincidence?

Orson Swindle defends fruity cursive in response to recent derision that the Gators' helmets are Sunkist soda bottle rip-offs. [Preview: USC's helmets = "Ritual sodomy. Condoms. Susceptible to ridiculous invasion plans"]

Finally, in a multi-part post T. Kyle King channels Nixon's Southern Strategy into collegiate athletics and presents his plan for Radical Realignment. In other words, Kyle impressively (and impropably) makes a Baylor vs. Kentucky game into compelling viewing.

Go Dawgs!

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AJC: Falcons Should Stop Ignoring Dawgs

Terrence Moore and I agree.
Today, Terence Moore called the Falcons on the carpet for their 40 year history of ignoring the Georgia Bulldogs on Draft Day. It's a great article. The highlight:

Jake Scott. Ray Donaldson. Kevin Butler. Champ Bailey. Terrell Davis. Bill Stanfill. Garrison Hearst. John Kasay. Mo Lewis. Bobby Walden. Clarence Kay. Richard Seymour. Rodney Hampton. Winford Hood. Guy McIntyre. Marcus Stroud. Len Hauss. Herschel Walker. Jermaine Wiggins. Patrick Pass. Kendrell Bell. Oh, and did I mention Hines Ward? All he did was become the most valuable player of this year’s Super Bowl after leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to a world championship.

None played for the Falcons, by the way, and it gets worse: The Falcons have drafted just five (that’s right, five) Georgia players ever, and they all were obscure — unless you’re among those with an Allan Leavitt throwback jersey.

Here's the thing....unlike many Dawg fans, I never felt that the Falcons "hated" the Bulldogs. It was more stupidity than hate. You can't look at the legacy of the Rankin Smith family and not see that they were incompetent owners.

Also in defense of Falcons GM Rich McKay, he's only had 2-3 drafts to fix this. When at Tampa Bay, the Bucs made a living drafting kids from Miami, UF and FSU. And the last two years, the Falcons didn't have a Dawg on the board when their position of need came up.


He should be wearing a Falcons uniform.

The same can't be said for Rankin Smith and crew. Drafting Boussard over Hampton, German over Hines and never making an attempt to bring the aging Walker home to ATL were the sort of moves that gave the people of this state cause for throwing things. But, it wasn't a matter of spite...just stupidity.

As Moore states, this draft synchs up incredibly well with the Falcons needs...which are plentiful. They need a 2nd Round CB with good size and speed -- like Demario Minter. They could use an athletic long armed OT like Roland to provide depth. And, they need a high motor kid like Golston at DT would be a value late round pick to provide depth along a depleted DL.

It'll be interesting to see what the Falcons do with their picks.

pwd

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Rabbit Poop, Tailgating and What Not

BurntOrangeNation has made us aware of the rabbit poop problem in Lubbock. I wonder what the Go Raiders! Guy would say about this? Probably something like...."The Big 12's Jackrabbits tried to screw us, but we won anyway."

The Realist turns in a commentary on the tailgating situation. He makes a series of good points almost all of which I agree with.


From The MZone's Fark Gurus

The MZone (profanity abundant) documents Michigan's run to glory(sic) as they go for their second NIT title in the past three years. Brian weighs in on the topic as well. Too bad for Michigan that Crash Davis is standing in their way.

The MZone crew also looks at killer calls from refs. Mayor Kyle locks into this thread with comments about Al Ford vs. Jasper Sanks.

Oh, and Keith Brooking comes out of the closet. Mora said, "Keith Brooking's come to me a couple times and said, 'Can you put a big [butt] in front of me?'" (hat tip to cookdawg from DawgPost.com)

And from Bulldawg Land, the Athens Paper has an article about the early enrollee freshman class including Stafford and Asher Allen. While the Macon Telegraph has a good football round-up article. While Richt talks QBs with the AJC.

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Homicidal Maniacs Working Security at Auburn, Falcons and Georgia Football Games?

This is nuts. According to the Columbus Ledger Enquirer, residents at an unlicensed mental health facility were tricked into working security for Auburn, Falcons and Georgia football games. According to the paper, the situation was NOT disclosed to the universities or arena operators. This article boggles the mind.

Highlights:

When fans submitted to security checks during the last two years at home football games of the Atlanta Falcons, Auburn University and the University of Georgia, among those carrying out those checks were residents of an unlicensed Columbus mental health center.

The use of Greater Grace Community Center residents in security details at major professional and college sporting events, confirmed by a number of the residents, was not disclosed to the universities or the arena operators.

[one of the workers] said he has been diagnosed with a number of mental illnesses including anti-social personality disorder, bipolar disorder and homicidal tendencies.

In an effort to further persuade them to volunteer, Berg said Upshaw promised he would use the money from the Super Bowl to fix up the center Greater Grace operated in a 1932-era prison just off Buena Vista Road. The buildings have been updated little since they were built. The facility was shut down Feb. 1 for city building code violations, which were brought to the attention of city inspectors by the irate uncle of one of the residents.

The entire story is beyond bizarre. The good news....they weren't allowed to touch anyone or touch stuff.


Ticket please.

To clarify, UGA, Auburn and the Georgia Dome say that they were unaware of this sketchy sounding deal. This appears to be way down the vendor food chain from them.

It's mostly a sad story of one shady guy in Columbus, and another well known vendor doing what looks like a questionable job of screening subcontractors.

11Alive now has the story as well.

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NFL Combine News

In no particular order:
- Shockley ran the 3rd fastest 40 yard dash of all QBs at 4.56. (AJC). Note: Scout.com's site didn't have him that fast.

- Q&A with Greg Blue (NFL.com / syndicated by the Falcons)

- Q&A with Demario Minter (NFL.com syndicated by the Falcons)

- Shockley will work out at WR and Blue at LB at the combine. (Scout.com)

In Nerd News. The "freakishly gifted" (air quotes work better than real ones) Demarious Bilbo ran a pedestrian 4.68 and 4.73 at the combine.

And the shocker to me...Brodie "Bad Knees" Croyle ran a 4.87. That's faster than uber hyped Omar Jacobs of Bowling Green. Who woulda thunk it?



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Falcons = The Return of the Boo Birds

8-8.

Blah. The Falcons have been playing football since the 1960s, and they have yet to have back to back winning seasons. The world now waits until 2008 for the off chance that it might ever happen.

I'm not close enough to the Falcons -- nor fully on the bandwagon enough -- to give you a full frontal assault overview of their season.

But here's my two cents from my seat in view of the bandwagon. Either:
A) Mike Vick is an imbecile
B) Greg Knapp is an imbecile
or
C) Greg Knapp mistakenly thinks that Mike Vick is an imbecile which relates back to option B

I just don't understand how Mike could be in this season for this long and still not audible out of bad plays. I honestly don't remember watching Vick audible out of a play a single time this season. Granted, I'm not watching every moment with baited breath. But does it happen?

If you walk up to the line of scrimmage as a QB and see an 8 man front with two obviously blitzing LBs you call an audible, a hot route or adjust. Vick doesn't. Ever.

He either isn't allowed to audible or isn't capable of it. If he isn't capable of getting the Falcons out of a bad play, then he is playing the wrong position. If they don't let him, then he's coached by the wrong people.

In my humble and not so informed opinion, the Falcons need 3 things this off-season:

1. A new offensive coordinator. Greg Knapp has to go. I nominate Al Borges. If Borges can teach a watered down version of the West Coast offense to Jason Campbell's dumbass in one year, he can certainly teach Mike Vick.

2. Offensive linemen that can pass block. Alex Gibbs is the most overrated offensive line coach in America. Yes, he can teach C grade linemen to run block like hall of famers. But he either is incapable of evaluating talent or unable to teach schemes that enable/facilitate any sort of pass blocking.

3. Defensive speed and depth across the board in the draft. If I'm the Falcons, my draft has 2 OL, 2 DL, 1 CB and a safety. Demario Minter would make a great deal of sense for the birds in the second round at CB or Safety.

Two Stats of Interest:
Only four teams in the NFL passed the ball in 2005 for fewer yards than the Falcons. Only one of those 4 made the playoffs.

Falcons QBs were sacked 34 times this year. That's 15th most often in the NFL. Only 1 playoff team was sacked more often.

Defensively, they are mediocre at everything.


Photo: Overrated. Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.

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