I too am an avid Falcons fan of decades (even a season ticket holder at times); now pumped by the new regime’s quick turnaround; while keeping fingers crossed that another BLANK MISFIRE doesn’t screw-up a good thing.

Your interpretation on Coach Petrino’s exit was dead-on accurate and as concisely put as I’ve seen. Those who refuse to recognize the facts in this matter – amazingly continuing to villify Petrino – fail to realize that without his logical departure, the Falcons might have not climbed out of the self-induced mess they found themselves in: and all the great things that have followed likely wouldn’t have occurred.

You probably agree that it’s worked out great for all parties concerned. Too bad there are still TOO MANY out there that fail to recognize a this – and then let go of their animosities.

Does Blank, as team owner, have a right to be on the sidelines? Absolutely and beyond question he has that right. It’s his team, and — like any business owner — he can pretty much manage it any way he likes, which means, he can even mis-manage it if he so chooses.

The question is, how does his presence on the sidelines help the team win?

Does he call plays that the coaching staff would not think to call? Highly unlikely. Does his presence motivate the players to play harder than they would if he were merely watching them from above? Highly unlikely. So if he doesn’t make them play smarter or play harder, what, precisely, is the benefit/

I’d be willing to bet that if he could answer honestly, Coach Smith would say that the last thing he needs during the crucial, closing minutes of a game is to have a former business executive — a man with zero football experience and with nothing to contribute to the immediate situation — wandering the sidelines looking over everyone’s shoulder.

How man of you can honestly say that you’d like to do your job — whatever it is — with the CEO or the Chairman of the Board of Directors of your company — who hasn’t the faintest idea what it takes to actually do your job — wandering through your area and constantly looking over your shoulder?

I imagine Blank, like most intelligent businessmen, inserts himself to the degree he believes is necessary to get things moving in the right direction. When he bought the Falcons they were a total mess. It’s hard to accept that really talented people are running a really big mess–so you get involved. You step back when you have a team in place that reflects your notions of morale and atmosphere—and you step in again when things go off kilter and need to be righted. It’s not easy to find te rigt skill sets for the peoplewho will carry out your idea of how you want to see it work. Failures in picking personnel to run things is common–if you doubt it go read the history of Congress. No one would think a general should tell an artillery unit how to fire the cannon, but we’d sure be disappointed if he didn’t tell the unit thhey were firing at an empty fort. Right?

Lot’s of people criticize Blank for what they perceive to be his intrusion onto the field and patronizing with the players. But what if the guy is just less self conscious than most people, what if he doesn’t view himself as a fuedal lord, what if he believes he’s part of an organization that is at work 7 days a week, 12 months a year and that as the owner of that he wants to hang for a minute where for 16 out of 365 days it’s by far the most fun? Unless I’m missing something, the guy made his name starting with a hardwarestore and probably isn’t a stranger to stockrooms and cash registers. We sayin only the sales people get to take the Ferrarri out for a test spin but not the dealership owner? Gimme a break.

I haven’t seen Blank embarass himself and if he hasn’t embarassed him how can he embarass me? Get it? Be well.

GO FALCONS!!!!

You have do be the dumbest SOB here on these internets. You need some new material.

Sounds like someone reads to many conspiracy books. If this type of “blackballing” rampantly exists in the NFL, please explain to me how people like Ray Lewis and Pacman Jones get second chances (if not third, fourth, and so on). Face the facts, he is currently unemployed for the same reason you or I would have a difficult time finding a job if we committed a felony and spent time in jail. There comes a point when a franchise must cut ties with a player that repeatedly embarrasses themselves and the team with their off-the-field behavior. I would argue that the NFL is way more forgiving than most companies or organizations that you or I would work for. Trust me, I was a fan of his when he first began playing for the Falcons, but his behavior was that of which I could not support as a fan any longer.