Saints want to know if the Sky is falling
THE BRANCH – Bradley Handwerger, a webwriter at WWL in New Orleans, asked me 5 questions about the Falcons.
1.) WWL: Since these teams played on Nov. 2, Atlanta is 2-3. What has happened to the Falcons, who started out 4-3?
The scene outside the Georgia Dome before the Washington game. (D. Orlando Ledbetter)
Ledbetter: The league’s schedule maker was not very kind to the Falcons. They had to play four teams – San Francisco, Dallas, Washington and the New York Giants – who were coming off byes. While they went 2-2 against those teams they were taking those teams best and rested shots. You wondered if injuries would start to mount. They have and that’s certainly been a factor It was very evident in the Philadelphia game when five starters on offense didn’t play including Matt Ryan and Michael Turner.
2.) WWL: Chris Redman got pummeled in his first game as a starter. Should he start in place of Matt Ryan, who has an injured toe, do you expect a better performance from him?
Ledbetter: Yes. Redman was excellent in relief of Ryan against Tampa Bay. The Falcons played most of the Philadelphia game with three starters along the line – LT Sam Baker, C Todd McClure and RG Harvey Dahl – on the sidelines. McClure went down with a knee in the game and Baker and Dahl were
Loading ...3.) WWL: When these teams last met, Michael Turner exploded for 151 yards. He’s banged up right now. Do the Falcons have anyone who can burn the Saints on the ground this time?
Ledbetter: It doesn’t appear so. Jerious Norwood has explosive play ability and Jason Snelling is a hard runner.
Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma in action (Rusty Costanza/The Times-Picayune)
Norwood is not 100 percent recovered from a hip flexor injury that caused him to miss five games.
4.) WWL: Coach Mike Smith said the Falcons are now in the “Wild Card Division” after the Saints clinched the NFC South this past weekend. What will be the biggest hindrance to the Falcons getting one of the two Wild Card spots?
Ledbetter: If they lose to the Saints they will practically be eliminated. It doesn’t look like 9-7 is going to make it in 2009. But in the alternative the fans will root just as hard for a 9-7 finish. That would give the franchise its first consecutive winning seasons. There would be a major party down Peachtree Street!
5.) WWL: Are the Falcons falling apart?
Ledbetter: Don’t sense that. They are loose and Tony Gonzalez seems to thinks that’s a good think. We’ve seen some recent Falcons teams start fast and then fade. One could sense the impending doom in Jim Mora’s 8-8 and 7-9 seasons. This team is much younger and you don’t get that sense that they’ll stop fighting. “Guys, the sky is not fall,” Smith said on Monday.
(That’ was it. Hope I didn’t come off as homer for the Falcons. Tried to just throw out some facts. Tampa Bay coach Raheem Morris called me out for asking about his defensive play calling tendencies, which he’d made a newsworthy issue by firing his DC before the game.)
VILMA ON GONALEZ: Saints linebacker Jonthan Vilma has been providing mini scouting reports each week on his PlayMaker Mobile page. Wednesday he wrote about facing the Falcons and tight end Tony Gonzalez.
Here’s the link to Vilma’s take on Sunday’s game.
Give your answers to the WWL questions. What do you think about Vilma’s take on the game?
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
111 comments Add your comment
Matt "Choke" Ryan
December 12th, 2009
11:28 am
hiramsaint
December 12th, 2009
9:34 am
choke..i’m on here all the time and i read your dribble too. i know also that you got your name from what your boyfriend makes you do when he gets done with your mouth
“If you were bright” you would know that just because it says Matt “Choke” Ryan as the poster, doesn’t necessarily means it’s the original poster. Compare the grammar and you will know what I’m talking about.
It’s not very difficult to differentiate the original poster from an “Insecure” person who can’t stand their own ground, but choose to live in a fantasy, probably because intelligence passed them by, but I find it hilarious and I can use another groupie
hiramsaint
December 12th, 2009
12:08 pm
sounds like your insecure, not being able to have your own identity,and understandably so given your obvious inclinations
Matt "Choke" Ryan
December 12th, 2009
12:19 pm
hiramsaint
December 12th, 2009
12:08 pm
sounds like your insecure, not being able to have your own identity,and understandably so given your obvious inclinations
“Dude – don’t you get it”?
The insecure statement was not directed at you, but to those that used my name that you responded to. All I was saying is if they choose to do so, it only gives me pleasure that they are so “insecure” in themselves and I can use another groupie.
hiramsaint
December 12th, 2009
1:11 pm
you have no groupies! are you dilusional? feel free to be yourself for you are hidden behind your electronics. to truly be understood[ if that is your aim] do not be the author of confusion
Matt "Choke" Ryan
December 12th, 2009
1:50 pm
hiramsaint
December 12th, 2009
1:11 pm
you have no groupies! are you dilusional? feel free to be yourself for you are hidden behind your electronics. to truly be understood[ if that is your aim] do not be the author of confusion
“Have a nice day”
hiramsaint
December 12th, 2009
1:52 pm
i cannot lie anymore, the Falcons will kick our sorry butts.
hiramsaint
December 12th, 2009
2:08 pm
falcons fan- you barely know me to love so much or is it my team your envious of?
Back 2 Reality
December 12th, 2009
2:12 pm
It’s amazing, none of these losers who are whining about the schedule this year, said nothing of ther sort about last years. They said, the falcons can’t help how the schedule comes out, but play who they must.
Bunch of LOSERS!!!
Saint Will
December 12th, 2009
2:57 pm
I have been a die hard Saints fan since it’s inception. The Saints Falcons rivalry has always been fun. I was worried about the Falcons early in the season. The Falcons are a very good football team. They have had some injuries and some bad breaks. I am concerned about this game. The Saints also have some injuries in key positions and the Falcons have only lost one game at home this year. The Saints are on a magical season right now and I am really enjoying the ride and sitting on top at 12-0. I will not disrespect your team because I have a lot of respect for the Falcons. I love Georgia, my oldest son was born there when I was stationed at FT Stewart in 1981. Good luck.
falcon21
December 12th, 2009
3:57 pm
Saint Will, you are a class act.
MV#777
December 29th, 2009
7:21 pm
IT FIRST BECAME obvious, this feeling between Michael Vick and his new teammates, a couple of weeks ago in Atlanta. It was his homecoming game, as it were. It was where he scored his first touchdown for the Eagles and his teammates bounded off of the bench in celebration, where cornerback Sheldon Brown said that he and some of the players were telling each other before the game that they wanted to win it for Vick.
I mean, win one for Mike? Really? We all observe from a distance, and it was so hard to see or to understand. But it was real. There is no doubt that it was real, this bond between Vick and his new teammates.
And, now, this:
The Eagles’ players have unanimously voted Vick as the team’s recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award, given annually to the player on each NFL team who exemplifies “commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage.”
Guilty of horrific crimes. Sentenced to a federal prison term. Forfeited millions and millions of dollars. Back in the league for only a few months, only through the good graces of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Eagles coach Andy Reid. Now, a convicted felon honored by his teammates for overcoming a terrible situation into which he had put himself.
“I’m not sure you can explain it unless you’ve gone through it here with him,” Reid said yesterday. “Everybody is going to have their opinion on it, I’m sure. Until you’ve been with him for the hours that his teammates have been with him and seen him through all these different things that he’s had to go through, that time-tested part of it, you can’t appreciate it quite as much.
“I don’t expect everybody to understand it, no, but I think it’s a tribute when it’s a slam dunk by his teammates voting him that. It was just a unanimous vote there.”
That this is just a gut punch to the people who have opposed Vick’s reinstatement goes without saying. For them, a PETA spokesman said:
“The Philadelphia Eagles fumbled when they gave Michael Vick the Ed Block Courage Award, which was named after a man who advocated in behalf of abused children. Michael Vick should not be the person anyone points to as a model of sportsmanship, even though he has now exchanged dogs for touchdowns after serving time for extreme cruelty to animals. We wish him well in educating others, but this is not appropriate and does not mark a joyous moment in NFL history.”
It is hard to disagree with any of that. It does seem too soon to be celebrating Vick. It does not feel right – and this comes from somebody who thought Vick deserved a chance to play this year, somebody who was looking forward to seeing what he could do on the field.
But here is the thing: I did not get a vote and you did not get a vote. This is a players’ award, voted upon by players. And whatever your personal feelings, it is impossible not to be fascinated by this team’s embrace of Vick, right from the start.
“I never worried that guys wouldn’t accept me,” Vick said. “That probably was one of the last things on my mind. The most important thing was to get in here and get to know the guys and get acclimated in the city and playing football again. You just let things happen naturally. You just be yourself.”
This is more than just teammates supporting a teammate. It is clear that they like the guy. Talking to them through the season, it is clear that they thought the punishment for the crime was so severe, prison-wise and especially financially, only because Vick was a celebrity. Their inclination as fellow celebrities was to root for him, and as fellow teammates to root for his ability to help them on the field. But the feelings still ended up going deeper, and this award demonstrates it.
“It means a great deal,” Vick said. “I’ve only been in this locker room for 3 1/2 months. For those guys to feel that way about me, it means a lot to me. The bond that I have with the players on this team and the way we’ve jelled has been outstanding.”
Someone asked Vick what kind of courage he demonstrated, per the award.
“I’ve had to overcome a lot, more than probably one single individual can bear,” he said. “Take a look at what I’ve been through. You ask certain people to walk in my shoes, they probably couldn’t do it – probably 95 percent of the people in this world. Because nobody had to endure what I’ve been through, situations I’ve been put in, situations I’ve placed myself in, decisions that I’ve made, whether they were good or bad. There are always consequences behind certain things and there are repercussions behind them, too. Then you have to wake up every day and face the world, whether they perceive you in the right perspective or it’s a totally different outlook on you.
“You just have to be strong and believe in yourself and be optimistic. That’s what I’ve been able to do and that’s what I display.”
When you talk to Vick, it sometimes takes him a minute to get to the key point: situations I’ve placed myself in. That is what rankles for some, still, that minute it sometimes takes. But it is all part of a longer process.
Anyway, Vick said, “The thing I told Roger [Goodell] was that, 4 or 5 years from now, when I come to him, I’ll be able to say everything I told you I was going to do, I’m still doing it. That’s what I pride myself on. That’s my focus and that’s my goal.”
That might have seemed a more appropriate time for an award such as this one, not now. Then again, this is all about a bond within a locker room, a place that none of us can hope to understand from the outside