The Recycle Bin

One day away from the season opener and A.J. Green, arguably the best player on the UGA roster, does not know if he will play. I did not realize that he was in trouble; or at least being investigated.

Seems like the Dawgs just cannot stay out of trouble.

You have to like Branden Smith’s attitude.

“I’ve been wanting to play punt return ever since I got up here,” he said.

He said he takes a three-pronged approach to the job: “The No. 1 thing is catching the ball. No. 2 is holding on to the ball. And No. 3 is just do my thing. With my speed and the blocking up front, it should not be that hard.”

Never heard someone describe returning punts as easy.

Go Dawgs!

I will have to get my arms around these predictions over the long weekend, after all the final roster moves are made. In their team-by-team previews, ESPN has the Falcons taking the NFC South (3 experts predicted 1st, while 2 predicted 2nd).

I am just not sure that the Saints have done anything to show that they cannot repeat as the division champion. The Falcons should be much improved and I agree with the article’s final comment/breakdown:

It all boils down to this: In the end, it’s about the defensive front. The Falcons can talk all they want about their improved secondary and the speed at linebacker. That’s true, but the fate of this defense rests on the front four. If the Falcons really hope to slow New Orleans’ passing game or Carolina’s running game, they’ve got to be better up front. They’re getting defensive tackle Peria Jerry back from injury, and third-round pick Corey Peters looks like he can be a force in the middle. Team those guys with Jonathan Babineaux, and the Falcons might be all right in the interior and that might even help the defensive ends. But John Abraham, Kroy Biermann and Lawrence Sidbury have to generate more of a pass rush than last season if this defense is really going to improve.

So far this preseason (which is probably not worth a lot or a great indicator of regular season success), Biermann has looked very good, and except for the Pats game, the defense has shown improvement.

Go Falcons!

Was the Falcons 28-10 home loss at the hands of the Patriots an aberration, or a sign of things to come when the Falcons play top notch talent? It is only preseason, but …

• Falcons were a mess on run defense. How can tackle old legs Fred Taylor after getting him bottled up at the line of scrimmage?
• Maybe getting Dunta Robinson on the field will help with the pass defense. Brady was 10-12, with 85 yards and 1 TD. That was against the Falcons first team defense.
• Ryan moved the ball well during his three possessions, but Atlanta’s first team offense only managed 3 points, off two field goal attempts.
• I am pulling for FG kicker Matt Bryant, however he continues to look inconsistent, making a 46 yard FG, and missing a 47 yard FG.
• I am not sure that anyone tracks this, but Roddy White did not help Ryan’s cause, dropping at least 2-3 passes.

There were a couple of bright spots …

• I think the Falcons look really good when Ryan runs the hurry up offense. They need to figure out how to really incorporate this into the offense for at least 25% of their game plan.
• Turner continues to look like he has fresh legs, getting 32 yards on 8 carries.
• Once again Turner was used as a receiver out of the backfield; the Falcons should continue to incorporate the backfield into the passing games. FB Mughelli is a really good in the flats, when healthy Norwood, and of course Snelling is also a threat; last year Snelling had 259 yards on 30 receptions.

The Falcons receiver situation is suddenly desperate. With Jenkins possibly out for the first couple of games, the Falcons were looking for Kerry Meier to step up, but after damaging his knee, Meier is out for the season.

Yes, it is only preseason, and the games do not count, but preseason play can also set the tone for the regular season. It can also be said that most defenses are running vanilla blitz packages, and the offenses are not unveiling their full repertoire of plays. All that is well and good, but it still means New England’s first team beat Atlanta’s first team 14-3, which to me spells ouch. I hope the Falcons can show some improvement next Friday night against the Dolphins.

Go Falcons!

The first preseason game of the year, played out to a Falcons win, but for the most part was tearfully boring, which is typically of meaningless games. I think that going into these preseason games, for the most part the rosters are set except for fringe players looking to fill out special teams, possibly backup a position as the third or fourth option. The big goal is to make sure everyone escapes uninjured, give the starters some live contact action, and to get some of the backups some much need experience.

From this perspective, I think the Falcons succeeded. Ryan and company only played the first two series, and while it is concerning that Atlanta had to settle for field goal attempts (made one, missed one), Turner looked explosive, with fresh legs, and he was a check-down receiver on one play.

If the Falcons establish Turner as a receiving option out of the backfield during the preseason, even as the check-down receiver, I believe this new wrinkle will add a nice element for opponents to consider when setting up their defensive game-plans. Mughelli could also play this part very well; hopefully we do not forget about our backfield receivers when the games start to count!

It was nice to see the Falcons really establish control of the o-line, pounded the ball, which is my favorite style of football. With that said, I was really expecting to see (make that wanting to see) some of the vertical passing I have read about all preseason.

I also enjoyed seeing Ryan moving into a no huddle offense on the second possession. Hopefully this will be a regular component of Atlanta’s offense in the upcoming season. Ryan has the ability to run this type of offense with great success, and he has the weapons to make it a feared attack.

John Parker Wilson did nothing wrong to establish himself firmly as the number three QB. I have read that he may battle for the backup spot, but I am not sure that is realistic this season. Then again, it is not like Redman is top self material.

I don’t think keeping the Chiefs to 10 points is much of an accomplishment in the pre or regular seasons. Their offense sucks, and it is much too hard for me to grade ours since so many key starters did not play. I’ll be interested to read what some of the pundits have to say about the defense’s performance.

Next up are the Pats for some good Thursday night National Prim Time action.

Go Falcons!

I’m heading up to ATL tonight to watch the Falcons’ first preseason game of the year. I know it is preseason … but I am ready for the season to get underway.

• No one gets hurt.
• Ryan leads the Falcons on a productive TD-scoring drive in his first possession.
• The defense holds up their end of the bargain, with the d-line showing the ability to sustain some pressure on the QB.
• Several key players are not expected to see any playing time: Brian Williams (CB), Dunta Robinson (CB), Harry Douglas (CB), and Michael Jenkins (WR). Who will pick up the slack?
• No one gets hurt!!!

Go Falcons!

What a tough break for Chipper and the Braves. I really hate seeing Chipper go out this way, with a torn ACL. Assuming it is really the end, I can be grateful that unlike some other Braves players (cough … Glavine … cough), at least Chipper will be one and done with the Braves as his only professional franchise.

While Chipper is not having top notch year (certainly by his standards), his presence in the every day lineup could have only helped with Atlanta’s playoff run. As it now stands, Chipper will have to play the role of cheerleader.

Last year I thought it was a fluke that North Texas was not included in the various team previews for the Sun Belt conference. I did a quick site search and came across my Lindy’s post from last year.  WTF?  Déjà vu all over again? Once again North Texas is excluded from Lindy’s coverage.

I get it; North Texas is not geographically part of the Southeast, although I do not get why the publisher would not include at least a half page of Mean Green coverage as part of their Sun Belt preview. Not that I am bitter or anything.

Overall it is a college football annual that focuses on the SEC with a smattering of Conference USA, Sun Belt sans North Texas, and some fairly lightweight national coverage. As is always the case with Lindy’s Annuals, a few pretty sideline pictures are included; I suppose to help readers pass a long night without alternative materials. If you are looking for a review, you are probably not inclined to pay $7.99 to read about all things SEC.

Are the Atlanta Falcons Super Bowl contenders? Jeff Schultz of the ajc thinks the Falcons are one of the Top 5 candidates to represent the NFC.

I know what you’re thinking: a little high. (The team, not me.) But no (to both). First of all, I think you can rank these five teams in almost any order. Here’s what stands out to me: The defense will be significantly improved. It will be more aggressive and get burned less often, given the additions of cornerback Dunta Robinson and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, as well as the return of defensive tackle Peria Jerry and safety William Moore from season-ending injuries. (The team’s broadcaster, Wes Durham, had a great analogy: Jerry and Moore are like redshirt freshmen.) The offense will benefit from Matt Ryan being in his third year, when young quarterbacks often take a big step up, and a more motivated running back, Michael Turner, who is in far better condition than a year ago.

I agree that the defense will be better thanks to actually having something similar to a shutdown corner in free agent signee Dunta Robinson. By default, the secondary will make the d-line look much better. Throw in “redshirt freshman” Peria Jerry and the d-line should be instantly better. The LB corps gets younger and faster with Weatherspoon. All this adds up to an improved defense.

On offense Ryan is expected to improve year-over-year, but to me the real key is Turner. If the Burner bounces back, Ryan could look like a super star.

Too early for Super Bowl talk? Probably. Training camp brings optimism. Go Falcons!

I received my Falcons season tickets early this week. Needless to say I am pumped, excited, and ready for some Falcons football! This is a great time of year; training camp is in full swing for the Falcons and the Dawgs will be starting their fall campaign this Monday.

This year I am moving over one section to 231, still on row 5, but closer to the aisle. I also picked up an extra ticket, with the expectation of taking all three boys to some games. My youngest is three and a half years-old, so I may be stretching it a bit, but I say start them on Falcons football early and often!

On the Falcons news front, I just noticed that Atlanta signed first round pick Sean Weatherspoon to a five-year deal early this week. No idea of the financials since they were not disclosed. It would be a miserable experience to miss on a first round pick, but I expect Weatherspoon to be a mainstay, contributing and helping the Falcons right out of the game.

Go Falcons!

Braves need to take at least 1 out of 3 this weekend before the All-Star break in order to hang onto first place in the NL East. With their poor performance on the road (taking 2 of 3 from the Phillies earlier in the week was an exception) I would be happen with anything other than a sweep at the hands of the Mets. If the Braves could somehow pull off 2 of 3, the Braves would look fantastic heading into the All-Star break.

ESPN has a nice preview of the upcoming series, complete with some interesting notes and tidbits of information. The pitching match-ups look outstanding!

METS (47-38, second place/NL East) vs. BRAVES (50-35, first place/NL East)

Friday: RHP R.A. Dickey (6-1, 2.62) vs. RHP Tommy Hanson (8-5, 4.19), 7:10 p.m. ET

Saturday: RHP Mike Pelfrey (10-3, 3.39) vs. RHP Tim Hudson (8-4, 2.44), 4:10 p.m. ET

Sunday: LHP Johan Santana (6-5, 3.15) vs. RHP Derek Lowe (9-7, 4.40), 1:10 p.m. ET (ESPN)

I am just keeping my fingers crossed that Jeff Francoeur does not “beat the crap” out of Atlanta.

Go Braves!

Going into today’s 4th of July action, the Braves are leading the Mets by 3 and the Phillies by 5.  Back in May I wrote that if the Braves could keep in contention heading into the All Star break, I really like their chances.  So far they have held sever.  [By the way, screw it if it is bad form quoting myself; I rule.]

If Atlanta hangs tough in June (I am still not sure why I am projecting things this far forward) I think they will make or break their season in the first part of July. Closing out the first half of the season, Atlanta hosts Florida, followed by a road trip to Philadelphia and New York. By the time those nine games are over, the Braves should know if they are a buyer or seller coming out of the All-Star Break.

After the Braves host the Marlins today, the first place Atlanta Braves will head to Philadelphia for three games, followed by three games in NY against the Mets.  Trouble?

As good as the Braves are at home, they are miserable on the road.

From Elias: The Braves improved their home record to 30-9 with their 4-1 win over the Marlins. Since 1980, only three major-league teams reached 30 home wins in fewer games than the Braves: the 1998 Yankees (36 games), 1998 Padres (38) and 2008 Cubs (38). [Source:  ESPN July 4, 2010]

There are a couple of ways to look at this trip.  First, if the Braves can manage a .500 trip, which should be considered a success.  Second, their record over the next six games does not matter as long as the Braves do not give first place in the NL East.

Go Braves!

The final chapter on US F1 came to an official close late last week as the FIA gave US F1 a firm hand, ending the dream once and for all.

The FIA has fined US F1 309,000 euros ($379,500) – the equivalent of the championship entry fee – and ordered it to pay the costs of the FIA disciplinary process. It also disqualified the team, “which definitively deprives US F1 of the right to take part, in any way whatsoever, in any competition.”

The remaining assets of US F1 were recently sold off at auction, where its sole tub netted less than $8,000.

Maybe a new US F1 hopeful will rise with the upcoming US Grand Prix in Austin in 2012. It would be nice to see a US based F1 team, or at the least a US driver. Wishful thinking.

How disappointing. Yes, as the announcers said, this US team should not hang its head in shame; hold ‘em high boys. Still. What could have been?

Once again the US went down early; this time inside of the 5 minute mark. I just do not get how we can have such poor defensive lapses, which is what happened again on the winner in the first few minutes of extra time as Ghana easily split the last two US defenders.

Making matters worse is that the US just does not have a top notch striker; a finisher who can consistently find the net. We had some chances, but there comes a time and a place where the chances have to find the back of the net. The US just does not have that quality up front that you know given the chance will win the day.

I am not sure where to from here. I’ll have to reflect on the bitter sting of this one for a while, as I am sure Team USA will be doing the same, with the realization that they squandered a golden opportunity.

So this is it. Semifinals or bust. Ah, but first Ghana, a team that ruined the US in the 2006 World Cup.

In the 2006 World Cup, after finishing top of the CONCACAF qualification tournament, the U.S. was drawn into Group E along with the Czech Republic, Italy, and Ghana. Since three of the teams were ranked in the top 10 of the FIFA World Rankings at the time, it was considered a Group of Death.

The United States opened its tournament with a 3–0 loss to the Czech Republic. The team then drew 1–1 against Italy (ending up being the only opponent the Italian side failed to defeat in the tournament). The United States was then knocked out of the tournament when beaten 2–1 by Ghana in its final group match.

This time things are different, right? The US is playing well as a team, which was really the talk most often while I was in England and Scotland earlier this week. Of course, for the most part the US and our chances were dismissed, however to a man almost everyone I spoke “football” with was complimentary of the way the US plays as a team.

But more important, what’s truly caught the soccer world’s attention here, is how the Americans have played: not necessarily the results of their play, but the character of it. Their mistakes have been large, but they’ve recovered from them. When they might have given up — down against England, down against Slovenia, all but down and out against Algeria — they persevered. While other teams have suffered personality rifts or even outright mutiny, there hasn’t been a whisper of discontent out of the U.S. camp. They’ve become the embodiment of optimism here, of the power of hope and belief.

So there is hope, because a true breakout win today against Ghana means the US can actually make a run as the US are on the “easy” side of the bracket. The winner of US/Ghana will play the winner of Uruguay/South Korea, both of which are winnable games for this US squad. A win in the quarterfinals would take the US to the semifinals to most likely pair up with Brazil or the Netherlands. And then? Well, I am getting ahead of myself. First Ghana.

I have a feeling of hope and optimism that the US will actually put together a full game today, and not get behind early on a defensive lapse. If the US can continue to attack and actually land something in the net I think we will advance 1-nil, nay, maybe 2-1.

This is it! Go USA! USA! Let’s cheer for our boys and the Red, White, and Blue!

Like a bad drug, or an otherwise undesirable habit, each year I insist I will swear off throwing $$$ after the yearly crop of annuals. It never works. I am hopelessly addicted.

For my upcoming Scotland trip (16+ hrs travel time counting wasted hrs trying to go from here to there) I picked up …

• Phil Steele’s 2010 College Football Preview, which features Auburn and Alabama on the cover. Steele advertises his annual as the most accurate preseason magazine over the last 11 years.
• Lindy’s Sports Southeastern 2010 Preview, which features Georgia’s A.J. Green on the cover.
• Athlon Sports Southeastern 2010 Preview, which agrees with Lindy that A.J. is worthy of being placed on a cover.
• SportingNews College Football 2010, which is yet another regional annual with Green on the cover.
• Athlon Sports Pro Football 2010, which has nothing to do with college football annuals, but I decided to pick it up since it features Matt Ryan, and I wanted something to balance out my college football reading material.

The funny thing about all these annuals is that I never save them; not really a collector of annuals. If I was a collector (or was a collector in the past) I bet I would have a crap load of money on my hands for people that enjoy buying old annuals.

All of these annuals may be somewhat of a letdown in light of the recent realignment activities and discussions. If I have some time, and anyone is interested, I will post some impressions.