Packers’ B.J. Raji disses the Falcons
Packers' B.J. Raji celebrates after beating the Steelers 31-25 in the Super Bowl XLV in Arlington, Texas. (Associated Press)
By Chris Vivlamore
The Packers felt slighted by the Falcons, even after Sunday night’s 25-14 victory.
Green Bay players haven’t forgotten offseason comments made following last year’s playoff game at the Georgia Dome, which the Packers won en route to their Super Bowl championship. The Falcons left the perception that they were the better team last season.
“Now that we abused them, for the second time in a row, at their home, there’s nothing really to do,” Packers defensive lineman B.J. Raji told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel following Sunday night’s win. “If they want to play us again, tell them to come up to Lambeau [Field]. That’s it. That’s how we’re doing it.”
Raji said he didn’t consider the Falcons a rival, despite Atlanta’s regular-season victory last season.
“They have a long way to go,” Raji said. “For it to be a rivalry, you have to win meaningful games. They’re just another opponent. They have a long way to go. I wouldn’t talk like this, but when people don’t respect you, I don’t take it lying down. Those people don’t respect us, so, in turn, I’m not going to give them any respect.”
–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog
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175 comments Add your comment
ATL 1
October 11th, 2011
8:57 am
The ATL will remember this disrespect and use it for motivation when they play GB again in the playoffs!
Steve-O
October 11th, 2011
9:00 am
Hey Hiram, at least we held the Pack to “only” 25 while they rang up 42 on the Aints…that doesn’t bode well for you either…
CGD..
October 11th, 2011
9:17 am
Hey dont forget GB has the #2 rush defense..You knew Turner would have a tough time running on this D?
So they said Ice Melt is going to have to beat us man to man..We saw what he did over the last 3 quarters nothing but get his #1 receiver hurt..
Way ta go Joey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CGD..
October 11th, 2011
9:20 am
Smith=Mora
Steve-O: your comments are a sign of desperation
October 11th, 2011
9:30 am
We lost to the Packers. You lost by MORE. Do you really want to embarras yourself and talk stats? Our record is 4-1. Soon to be 5-1. You will be 2-4 after this weekend. Does not “bode” well for you…..Saints are an elite team…we know how to finish games…you know how to start strong and implode….your record proves it…fact….stay classy, who dat….
Tim
October 11th, 2011
9:35 am
bunch of cry babies,play football and not your fat mouth
Tim
October 11th, 2011
9:36 am
desperation is wearing paper bags, know anything about that aints?
extremus
October 11th, 2011
9:50 am
While I’m not a fan of trash-talking from either side (I think there’s something to be said for showing and teaching good sportsmanship, which in pro leagues has become more and more a rarity in recent years), the essence of Raji’s remarks holds true. Now I don’t know whether the Falcons really thought or said they were the better team, especially after that game last January, but the notion of not paying ANY NFL playoff team a decent amount of respect is ludicrous.
All that aside, the Falcons DO need a wake-up call; right now they DO (still) have a LONG way to go to be a truly elite team…and even the casual observer can clearly tell it goes beyond merely the talent they have on the field. It’s an approach and philosophy built around a comparatively low number of plays and schemes which has repeatedly shown to be vulnerable and has difficulty adjusting to changing conditions in games. It’s a team that seems to think 30 minutes of solid offensive production and relying on your defense the rest of the way is good enough to win, as opposed to making a statement every single game and burying your opponents. The Falcons may yet finish the season with a winning record perhaps, but without a killer instinct and a justified confidence they’ll never rise above being a team that their frustrated fans vent about in the AJC forums…kind of like the Braves in that respect.
Just saying
October 11th, 2011
9:51 am
@Tommy Gunn….I guess that makes you crappy also…otherwise what are you doing on the blog? Remember, “birds of a feather flock together.”
Go Falcons…keep on trying your best..winning ways will return!
Intelligence Here
October 11th, 2011
10:03 am
Time to move on folks.
Support Occupy Atlanta. 4pm march from Woodruff Park to Skank of America bldg. on North Ave.
We can’t beat Green Bay, but we can beat the banks. Let’s turn out in force. And that means you too Chris Vivlamore.
Mr. Cheese
October 11th, 2011
10:16 am
From a Packer blog in the Milwaukee newspaper: “I didn’t hear anything in the commentary, but you could clearly hear the chants of “GO PACK GO” during the 4th quarter. The stands were basically empty of Atlanta fans by the middle of the third quarter and it only got louder after they left.
Awesome to see us take their best shot in the jaw and just stand there looking them in the eye as to say, “That’s it? That’s all you got?” and then just pummel them into submission and send them home like crybabies on a schoolyard getting beat up.
Absolutely love the resolve of this team and how no one panics and everyone just steps up when needed. We have clearly established a pattern of behavior that bodes well for the future!
GO PACK GO!”
The Georgia Dome is now offically known to GB fans as “Lambeau South”….
Colorado Bird
October 11th, 2011
10:31 am
It’s really sad that the game between the Packers and Falcons have come down to this! I am a Atlanta fan but I do to some agree with the Packer player. Until Atlanta finds it within themselves to become one as a team, and win, then they deserve and are going to be considered a second class team by other teams in the NFL and sports media.
I still believe that they can turn this thing around. But they too include, the coaching staff which must quit making excuses and produce. Atlanta looks weak making these excuses and stating they need to find a way to fix the problem.? Too me, it seems like they have no clue as to what to do.Their mantel has really been rattled and sometimes when your back is against the wall, you either come out fighting or you just give in!
It will be interesting to see how they respond ?
I know zero about players and how to accurately judge if they are at a level to be in a position or not, but I know what I see, and it seems too me, the offensive line isn’t working as one. I believe the rookie ( Baker) is struggling and not ready.
I believe although Matt Ryan will not admit it, He is nervous about his blind side . Seeing Ryan’s eyes on television during the game while trying to find receivers, shows him totally uncomfortable with his outside (blind side) protection.
The defense played well and I’m extremely impressed with the effort Sidbury game in the game!
The usual suspects gave it their all and this fan thanks you. You know who you are in shows in your play and your stats.
Go Falcons !!
Big Mike
October 11th, 2011
10:51 am
The Fat Boy is right you got to walk the walk not talk the talk. I don’t think we play nasty we are the good guys, they finish respectfully but don’t win champonships. Lets face it the team is sleep walking this year.Coach Smith put some fire under the team or you will be with your brother inlaw, that’s the nature of the business. What is wrong with our quarterback :
Texpeach
October 11th, 2011
10:53 am
These so called Falcon fans make me sick to my stomach!! Shut up and cheer your team on!! Win…lose…or draw!!! Sick and tired of all your whining and big thumbs down to those so called fans leaving early in the 4th quarter..you’re the losers!!!!!!!!!!
Brick
October 11th, 2011
11:20 am
BJ told like it is. OUR Falcons dont DESERVE respect. GB just dumped on us TWICE in our own living room. LOL
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
October 11th, 2011
11:20 am
I am a Falcon fan, but Roddy started this public trash talking. BJ can say what he wants. Falcons OC didn’t or didn’t know how to make adjustments. Capers did. End of story, Falcons in danger of losing record and/or missing playoffs.
Brick
October 11th, 2011
11:24 am
Intelligence Here
October 11th, 2011
10:03 am
I just came from Occupy Atlanta and looks like Maynard G Krebs and Cheek and Chong are leading that pack………………LOL
AlanFalcon
October 11th, 2011
11:37 am
Please, please, please find an OC with some imagination, it couldn’t possibility be any worse ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Buster Ryme
October 11th, 2011
12:08 pm
Not many NFL teams get humiliated on their own field TWO straight games. Rare to see. Falcon Fruits are missing pride in their home turf. May motivate them. I cant read them anymore
NYfalcon
October 11th, 2011
12:22 pm
@ 7th Ward….you all ARE the little brothers, even though you grew up and won a championship…..don’t forget your history.
NYfalcon
October 11th, 2011
12:40 pm
I really hate it when people use the term “Fair weather fans” when it comes to any Atlanta team. What many fail to realize is that Atlanta is a city full of transplants from places here or there and tend to root for the teams close to where they may have originated. Second, of all the years of pro sports in this town has only produced one championship (95′ Braves)…and we all saw the writing on the wall at the end of the season for them this year. I happen to be a transplant living in NYC and still root for the home team and had season tickets for several years and recently digressed to a more realistic means to support by getting the NFL ticket to watch the Falcons. Unless you have truly been an Atlanta pro sport team fan over the past 25-30 years; I really don’t think you know understand….
warfalcons
October 11th, 2011
12:48 pm
Why did you post that? This team and these coaches are not going to do anything they are just mouth,if they werre going to anything they would have done something Sunday night.Fan since 5 years old [1965] and I am tried of this 7448.players talk coaches talk a bunch of bull 7448.
Flo=Ri-Duh
October 11th, 2011
12:52 pm
Now that Atlanta will finish 8-8 as I earlier predicted I am on the Lion band wagon and look forward to the day they kick Green Bay’s butt. That arrogant Raji is one purty sight.
Falcon fan 24/7
October 11th, 2011
12:57 pm
Last year GB had a 9-7 regular season record and didn’t deserve to be in the playoffs. They got lucky in the playoffs. They are not the best team in the NFL, tenth at best.
Flo=Ri-Duh
October 11th, 2011
1:02 pm
Rumor is that Raji has the same chef as Oprah…. se the comparison in the above photo. His belly is not a purty sight.
Pauls Johnson
October 11th, 2011
1:02 pm
@ ATL 1 ,,, PLAYOFFS, BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Falcon fan 24/7
October 11th, 2011
1:03 pm
We beat them two straight, they beat us two straight.The Pack ain’t all that. They’ve knocked us out the playoffs, we’ve knocked them out of the playoffs.
Falcon fan 24/7
October 11th, 2011
1:05 pm
This guy is irrevelant and full of lard.
Pauls Johnson
October 11th, 2011
1:09 pm
Falcons = One step forward and Two step back. Its what they do.
Falcons Fan
October 11th, 2011
1:14 pm
Hiamsaint….. Last time i check this was the AJC (ATLANTA Journal ConstituTion) so take your who dat a** back to New Orleans where all the other bums are!!!!!!!!!!!
ASHCAN.
October 11th, 2011
1:16 pm
The saints or packers will come out the nfc.The afc is hard to figure out,you can say NE but they gotta understand that they defense can’t be ranked last in the playoffs.My question for falcon fans???? why yall try to put matt ryan out to be a elite QB just because he calls audibles???? He called all those audibles the whole second half like he knew what he was doing.Wake up call,just because a QB looks like he knows what he’s doing don’t mean he knows what he’s doing.He (ryan leaf) looked like a deer coming toward my head lights from that pass rush from GB.@ STEVE O,let me school you on the game of football.when the packers played the saints it was the 1st game of the season meaning there was no film to watch before they played them.The falcons watched film and still got drilled.To all you falcon fans,stop trying to find excuses and take that A whippen like a man!
Pauls Johnson
October 11th, 2011
1:18 pm
ASHCAN,,, I’m one Falcons fan that never called Ryan Elite. We havent had a Elite quarterback since Bartkowski and thats been a minute.
Falcons Fan
October 11th, 2011
1:20 pm
TEX PEACH….. I second that! We have the worst fans ever and always will! The second our Atlanta teams lose a few games they jump off the band wagon!!! how bout you stop bashing them, cheer them on and try to give them a little more support! And to everyone who bashes Matt Ryan and thinks he’s the problem….. go kick rocks!!!!
Pauls Johnson
October 11th, 2011
1:27 pm
As a fan of 40 years I have earned the right to bash all I want… But I will be cheering them on this weekend just as I have for 40 years. Atlanta fans are tired of the excuses. We want results.
D. Orlando Ledbetter
October 11th, 2011
2:26 pm
Mr. Cheese — I’ve seen Green Bay fans take over a Dome. (St. Louis during the Super Bowl year in 96). They didn’t take over the Georgia Dome. You’re delusional.
Some Packer doosh
October 11th, 2011
2:26 pm
Is this CFB guy one of your regulars? He’s a piece of work.
“Green Bay lost 7 games last season!!!”
No, actually they lost 6.
“We were the last team to beat them!!!”
No, New England was. And Detroit beat them the week before New England.
Do some research before opening your big mouth, son. It’d do you well. And maybe learn that playoff games mean more than regular season games. 13-3 doesn’t mean squat if you lose your first playoff game.
ASHCAN.
October 11th, 2011
2:27 pm
@PAULS JOHNSON,i know right??? Some of these fans settle for less then try and find excuses.There’s no i in team which means its the coaches,QB, all the way down to the cheerleaders fault.Then these so called fans get on a blog and tell you who you can’t talk about.pleeeeeeease!!!
hiramsaint
October 11th, 2011
3:14 pm
awwwwww- that azzwhoopin’ must have really stung by the way everyone is jumpin’ on me. to bad and so sad for you! all y’all did during the offseason was talk about the elite matty melt and julio {gimp} and edwards {gimp} and as it turns out we were right and the failclowns fans were wrong. if you want to trash talk then you have to accept the fact it’s gonna be given right back to you when you stink and man , do y’all stink! WHODAT ?- not the failclowns-hehehehehehehehehehehehe GEAUX BUCS!
Datruth100
October 11th, 2011
3:14 pm
Belly Jelly Rajii <– lololol
Dave
October 11th, 2011
4:05 pm
Talk about selective editing. Ledbettor why don’t you quote Raji and the other Packers who were rally ticked off by the cheap play of the Falcons. “Great teams don’t indulge in the kind of cheap stuff the Falcons do,” Raji said. “We’re the champions and we play that way. We walk away from the stuff they pull. These guys are coached to play after the whistle.
“I don’t know what the deal is. I think it’s a lack of talent on their part. We didn’t worry about any of that. We came out and played our game.”
DR. FALCON
October 11th, 2011
4:35 pm
SO, IT’S GOTTEN DOWN TO THIS? OTHER TEAMS PLAYERS, ARE CLOWNING US FOR SOME PERCEIVED DISRESPECT? REMEMBER, RODDY WHITE STARTED ALL OF THIS! THEY BEAT US TWICE IN OUR OWN HOUSE! RODDY, SHUT UP!!!!!!!
Dan
October 11th, 2011
5:05 pm
@cdog: The Green Bay Packers have won 13 NFL championships including 4 Super Bowls in 5 tries. How many Super Bowls have you won? Oh, that’s right, your next one will be your first. That’s what they play the games for, not the regular season record. Your 13-3 record you had last year doesn’t mean a thing. I’ve got 20 bucks that says the Detroit Lions win a Super Bowl before the Falcons do.
NuclearJim
October 11th, 2011
5:23 pm
I’d rather live in GA and have a crappy team than live in Smegma-land and live indoors most of my life. If the Falcons stink, I have about 1000 other things to do on Sunday instead of chopping wood and adding layers of clothes. So thaw out those suasages and teach your daughters to eat them whole. Just like their mothers (and their sons).
falconsjrt
October 11th, 2011
5:36 pm
bj.is a non mother f—er factor!
Classy Packer Fan
October 11th, 2011
6:48 pm
WOW So much anemosity, so little class. As an avid Packer fan for over 50 yrs, this blog reminds me of the Packer LEAN years of the 70’s and 80’s. In those years the Pack tried everything and I mean everything to turn a once proud franchise back into a winner. Based on my observasions, it ALL starts at the top. 1. Owner 2. GM 3. Head Coach Without all three working as one, NO team will ever win constantly. In my humble opinion the Packers have all three while unfortionately the Falcons are struggling in one, or two, or perhaps all three areas.
As for BJs comments. A big deal was made about the disrespect the Falcon players displayed after that playoff loss and I think Bj was just blowing off a little steam. IMHO Go Pack
Buster Ryme
October 11th, 2011
9:41 pm
Falcons dont look like a team anymore.
PackerFan
October 11th, 2011
11:49 pm
All these fans rippin’ on Raj for being “fat”…r u kidding me? He a defensive lineman, sometimes nose tackle and a Damnn good one at that…this kid is on a path to the pro bowl…and should’ve made it last yr….not many nose tackles that get 6 sacks and an INT for 6 pts , let alone in there 2nd yr…tlk about a guy who turned his weight into something positive…As far as his comment, BIG DEAL..he was just saying it the way it is…he wasn’t really trying to lay it on thick…IT IS THE WAY IT IS…he just had the guts to speak his mind…I wish more people were less PC, polite at the same time but spoke there mind…I’d like to see any one of these posters call Raj fat on the street…cowards…just like the Falcons…cheap shot after cheap shot when the whistle blows the play dead…I get it…can’t keep up with the BIG BOYS MAN TO MAN so go for the cheap shots and try to win that way…still didn’t work…LMAO….Isn’t it the VULTURE that eats dead prey, also known as Carrion, bcs they can’t kill it themselves…maybe the Falcons should be called the VULTURES…or BUZZARDS…
PackerFan
October 11th, 2011
11:52 pm
NuclearJim-Sound like you speak from EXPERIENCE…all that fun you’ve had outdoors in the woods is paying off…missed a drop…
NYfalcon
October 12th, 2011
1:06 am
@ DR. Falcon. The message to Roddy should be PUT UP or SHUT! I don’t see anything wrong with a little trash talking as long as you are backing it up on the field.
jpfromtheA
October 12th, 2011
4:22 am
He’s exactly right! Atlanta is a bottom tier team with a top tier ego! We aren’t even on the same level as the Packers. Maybe one day our team will be serious about winning.