Digi-Blog goes to Falcons camp (no Flowery Branches)
FLOWERY BRANCH — The Digi-Blog hasn’t ventured into cold weather before. But given we’re in Snowmaggedon 2011, I figured: “Why not?” And how ironic is it that the week the Falcons play the Green Bay Packers — who are used to this sort of thing — the Falcons’ practice fields are under snow?
All the Falcons’ players and coaches made it to today, but 0n Monday running back Antone Smith was a no-show. “He said he couldn’t make it out of his neighborhood,” running back Michael Turner said. “Something like he was the first one on the street and it was it was all ice. He gave some war story. So we had to fine him a little bit.”
I’m still looking for Ledbetter. He must have some war story, too.
(UPDATE: Falcons coach Mike Smith said there actually were two players who didn’t make it to Flowery Branch Monday and one Tuesday. Cornerback Dominique Franks could not make it out of his subdivision Tuesday. Also, I just spoke to Ledbetter. He said the weather has not affected his wine and cheese party.)
OK, here we go . . .
I left my little house in North Fulton — where I’m out of seed — and headed north. Way north. Why did the Falcons have to put their practice facility near Chattanooga?
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As it turns out, Arthur Blank can afford his own snowplows — and people to drive the snowplows.
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Even the flags look cold.
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I’m pretty sure this is the first time they had to use this sign.
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The evidence that there’s two practice fields over here are the two goal posts at the opposite end.
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If you’re looking for the players, they’re inside that building, straight ahead. Fake grass but no snow.
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I can verify from these footprints that at least one employee decided to sleep in the dorms. Either that or there are spies afoot.
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This is a familiar sight if you’re the Green Bay Packers.
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You’ll be happy to know that Mike Smith and his coaching staff made it.
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There’s a good chance we won’t be needing this today.
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Just for the record, if you’re ranking the toughness of AJC writers, here’s Ledbetter’s chair.
By Jeff Schultz
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137 comments Add your comment
GreenBayisOK
January 11th, 2011
5:29 pm
“Exactly what is atlanta and Georgia known for? Cotton fields?”
I think you need to get out more.
Falcons 12th man
January 11th, 2011
5:31 pm
They never talk about us everybody expects us to lose green bay got a running game for one game and there the most dangerous team in the NFC yeah right we gon rise up!!! And destroy them Go Falcons. Were going to show the world whos the number 1seed is.
inkspot
January 11th, 2011
5:33 pm
The Civil Rights movement?
CNN?
Julia Roberts?
clay
January 11th, 2011
5:36 pm
See I knew that this was going to happen if we played green bay. You wouldnt hear a word about the falcons and there season, nothing about ryan, turner, white, or gonzales. Its BS man I can stand this. You know its going to be the samething if we beat GB and CHI wins. They will be all over the bears and how we wont be able to score on there D.
5150 P.O.A.D.
January 11th, 2011
5:48 pm
Atlaanta Sucks
I know you love it to be cold as it can get in the winter. That way you can justifly curling up to a big fat woman to stay warm. I have to admit that I can’t understand why women are FAT in the south. I understand the DIET thing, but damn if they just walked to the mailbox in Georgia heat they should never be as FAT as so Southern women get. I don’t curl up to no FAT women and for sure never from May 1st to Oct 1st. Them GREEN BAY women do swallow the Bratwurst real good. Now exactally do you guys go Ice Fishing? LOL(wink wink)
clay
January 11th, 2011
5:52 pm
Wow. Shocker. Dilfer has picked a GB vs CHI NFC Championship on the espn NFL home page. He is such a Douche. Why does he hate the Falcons so much?
5150 P.O.A.D.
January 11th, 2011
5:55 pm
Ink Spot
Julia Roberts? please you can do so much better.
Georgia TECH
Bobby Jones
Jimmy Carter for the peace prize
The Beauty of Savannah and Tybee alone
John Portman
MLK Jr
R.E.M (UGA and Athens)
The HUGE music industry in the south
KATRINA refugees
CHICK-Fil-A
eman
January 11th, 2011
6:05 pm
I am calling out ALL ATLANTA FALCONS FANS!!!!! LETS MAKE THIS GAME THE LOUDEST GAME IN THE DOME EVER!!! RISE UP EVERYONE AND WE WILL WIN THIS GAME!!!!
scottbravesfan
January 11th, 2011
6:23 pm
Atlantasucks,
Yeah Atlanta is home to the civil rights movement, it was kind of important you should look it up. Also the city hosted a little sports gathering called the Olympics. Again it’s kind of important. Also Atlanta is home to the most recognizable brand in all of business, Coca Cola. Seriously, Coke is the most recognized brand name in the world. And the baseball team we have in town is pretty popular nationally as well.
JSS
January 11th, 2011
6:30 pm
scottbravesfan
January 11th, 2011
6:23 pm
“Also the city hosted a little sports gathering called the Olympics. Again it’s kind of important.”
You do realize the IOC and Olympic historians uses us as the poster child for how to not host a Games? Sorry to say it, but that is the case. It has tainted every American bid since…
ijonathan
January 11th, 2011
6:34 pm
@JSS…and your point about the olympics is what, exactly?
A sub-par Olympics in Atlanta is 10 times more important than anything eminating from GREEN BAY.
Chyna Doll
January 11th, 2011
6:47 pm
Hey Sucks,
We have a dome so we won’t have to play in the one hundred and five degree heat, you moron.
JSS
January 11th, 2011
6:47 pm
ijonathan
January 11th, 2011
6:34 pm
“@JSS…and your point about the olympics is what, exactly? A sub-par Olympics in Atlanta is 10 times more important than anything eminating from GREEN BAY.”
Comparing the regional accomplishments of a city that has been the largest central place in the South for nearly 95 years to one that only has the population of Columbus, GA is what people who have a chip on their shoulder do… People in the whole of Georgia have to get over this…
And as much as I love and defend Atlanta and Georgia, our excrement stinks like everyone else… The Olympics was just that, a hot steaming mess! What good is there to be giving the great opportunity and so clumsily flounder it away?
ijonathan
January 11th, 2011
6:55 pm
@JSS, glad to see you are “above the fray”, you know, neutral observer and all.
This whole line of discussion was started by some Packers lunatic (or someone posing as one) asking about what Atlanta was known for, or something like that. If an annoying 98 pound weakling wants to start a fight with a 300 pound street fighter, it is well within said street fighters rights to administer a righteous beatdown.
JSS
January 11th, 2011
7:07 pm
You guys do this with everybody, somebody said something mean about us! Get over it! Let him talk! Atlanta is what it is… The same people who come on here and jump on outsiders talk about the residents of Atlanta and its institutions like subhumans and third world oligarchies… With supporters like that, who really needs enemies?
ijonathan
January 11th, 2011
7:30 pm
More pseudo-intellectual windbaggery from JSS. Par for the course. ‘night.
JSS
January 11th, 2011
8:01 pm
“Windbaggery?” Call Websters, Sarah’s made up another word!
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
January 11th, 2011
8:33 pm
“FROM DOORMATS TO CHAMPIONSHIP GAME”
Vick could be better next year
(AP) – 3 hours ago
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Here’s a scary thought for Michael Vick’s opponents: He could play even better next year.
Vick had the best season of his career and led the Philadelphia Eagles to an NFC East title without the benefit of practicing as the starting quarterback until Week 2 of the season.
There’s no telling how well he would’ve played had he spent the entire offseason, all the organized team activities, minicamps and training camp preparing with the rest of the first-team offense and working with coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg.
“I think going through a whole training camp and just being here, being with Andy, he knows a lot of things that I need to work on, that’ll make me a lot better as a quarterback,” Vick said. “It’ll pay huge dividends for me, so I’ll be excited about that. I’ll follow the same routine I had last year, keep the same attitude and the same work ethic.”
Vick began the season as the backup to Kevin Kolb. He got his chance when Kolb sustained a concussion in the opener, and forced Reid to make him the permanent starter with one dynamic performance after another.
Vick was selected to start the Pro Bowl, his fourth trip to Hawaii in eight seasons. He set career highs in yards passing (3,018), touchdowns passing (21), touchdowns rushing (9), completion percentage (62.6) and passer rating (100.2). The Eagles (10-7) were 8-3 in games he started and finished.
But his last pass will haunt him for a while.
Vick threw an interception in the end zone with 33 seconds left to seal Philadelphia’s 21-16 loss to Green Bay in a wild-card game Sunday.
“I try to do everything I can to possibly protect the ball, keep the ball away from the opposing team and make positive plays, and I failed to do that in that situation,” Vick said. “It’s something that I’ll have to really work on in the offseason, so I’ve just got to deal with it on a personal level.”
The 30-year-old Vick has overcome plenty of adversity in his life. He went from a megastar with the Atlanta Falcons to bankrupt and reviled. Vick missed two seasons because he served 18 months in federal prison for his role in a dogfighting operation. He returned to the league when the Eagles gave him a chance last year and worked his way up from a situational role to an MVP candidate.
His remarkable comeback story won’t be complete unless he one day hoists the Lombardi Trophy.
“It was a great season, but the ultimate goal is winning the Super Bowl,” Vick said. “It was a great season, but that’s not enough.”
For all his success in Atlanta — Vick went to three Pro Bowls in six years and took the Falcons from doormat to the NFC championship game — he wasn’t a complete player until coming here.
Vick learned from Reid, Mornhinweg and quarterbacks coach James Urban to become a patient passer in the pocket. He still ran around and used his sensational scrambling skills to make big plays, but was more disciplined and usually looked to pass first.
“Now I know how to play the game,” he said. “I’ve been taught how to play the game, how to go through my progressions, how to be patient, how to stay balanced, how to stay down when I throw. Discipline. That’s something I’ve been taught, it’s something that I’m going to continue to improve on and it can’t be taken away from me. I’m only going to get better.”
Vick doesn’t have a contract for next season, and he would be a hot free agent on the market if the NFL labor situation allows. It’s highly unlikely the Eagles will let him go anywhere. Vick wants to return and Reid already said he wants him — and Kolb — back.
The Eagles have an impressive core of young players surrounding Vick on offense, and the team set a franchise record for points with 439. If the line improves and gives Vick more protection, he could do more damage next year.
“The sky’s the limit, and I know that,” Vick said. “I just know how hard I’ve got to work. I know what I can accomplish. I know things that I didn’t do so well this year that I’m going to practice this entire offseason on. So, I’m very thankful for the opportunity. I’m very thankful to be here.”
Vick has said all the right things since his return, and he’s handled his success much better than he did as a youngster with the Falcons. He’s open to criticism, and understands the magnitude of being the quarterback on a championship-caliber team.
“That’s the nature of the position,” he said. “Everything’s going to be thrown on your shoulders as a quarterback. I accept it, I respect it. That’s a responsibility that you take on, when you get up under the center. Like I say, I’m built to play the position and deal with everything that comes along with it, and I’ll never shy away from it. I’ll continue to do what I’ve done on the field: that’s always stay aggressive. And I’ll always accept the task.”
Once "Recent" Reader
January 11th, 2011
8:33 pm
For your entertainment, looks like Seahawks / Saints Replay is on NFL Channel.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
January 11th, 2011
8:35 pm
“For all his success in Atlanta — Vick went to three Pro Bowls in six years and took the Falcons from doormat to the NFC championship game — he wasn’t a complete player until coming here.”
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Did I read that correctly? “From DOORMATS”?
5150 P.O.A.D.
January 11th, 2011
8:43 pm
The 96 games SUCKED so much 100’s of businesses and 1000’s of people moved to Metro Atlanta and the surrounding counties. Man I just hate how bad the 96 games were.
Atlanta AKA Terminus is a HUGE WORLD and National HUB. Atlanta is/was the Railroad Terminus for ALL I Say I say ALL materials from the south to the north and then the products from the north came back through ATL. Now the letters ATL spell Worldwide Air Travel from Hartsfield INT(International) Airport.
Please tell me what does Green Bay have? What is Green Bay known for? Why would some person in Europe know the letters GB before thay know ATL? Please sell me on green bay. The ATL has girls in mini skirts and bikinis as many months as GB has girls in snow suits.
The JUDGE says??????
The ATL WINS this debate.
Durty Birdz Rule!
January 11th, 2011
9:56 pm
@Choke . . . I am glad Vick is playing well in Philadelphia, but this Falcons team has a great quarterback who understands a great coach’s playbook. He isn’t missed by the fan base here because he embarassed the franchise. What really matters is this Falcons TEAM is playing a home playoff game. Matt Ryan won’t have to scramble to be successful due to an outstanding offensive line and a great running game.
AtlantaSucks
January 11th, 2011
10:07 pm
Ha, Ha, i am so happy i got under your hillbilly skin, i didn’t realize how sensitive you people really are. Is that the best you hicks can come up with, Julia roberts, civil rights. I did forget you do have the coke down their, but that’s about it to me. I am sorry but CNN i don’t consider part of your atlanta lore. The olympics, give me a break. I know one thing, every time i have to stop in atlanta to go to florida, the airport and your weather suck. And for the idiot named “Chyna Doll” to say you don’t play outside because of the heat, that’s a real piss poor excuse. The northern teams play in snow and freezing temperatures, so your stupid point has been shot down.
AtlantaSucks
January 11th, 2011
10:10 pm
All the pack have to do is stop your running back, and we will prevail. Matt ryan is a stiff and doesn’t impress me even though he doesn’t make mistakes. So sorry, but your defensive line and corners are not good enough to get to rodgers. The packers will win this game, 24-14.
AtlantaSucks
January 11th, 2011
10:31 pm
5150, Jimmy Carter, Georgia Tech also. If i was from atlanta i would be pretty embarrassed to be known as the home of the worst president in the history of the united states. Do a little research on the energy crisis, and the iranian hostage situation. The man is a complete bafoon. Georgia Tech, give me a break. We in the north do not consider the higher educational institutions down south to be much at all.
AtlantaSucks
January 11th, 2011
10:37 pm
I know one thing atlanta is known for: SLAVERY, LOL.
Once "Recent" Reader
January 11th, 2011
10:46 pm
AtlantaSucks . . . .I normally don’t do the Spelling Blog Police thing . . . .but if you are going to call one of our US Presidents a “buffoon” . . . .you definitely should know how to smell the word. I would have let it slide as a typo . ..as I have many . . . .but the “A” key is no where near the “U” key . . . and unless your keypad is sticking . ..two “F”s not one. Again, hate being Spell Check guy . . ..but that is an important word to mess-up if you are using it against another.
Once "Recent" Reader
January 11th, 2011
10:47 pm
Oops . . there I go. “Spell” not “Smell” the word. But then again . . ..I wasn’t calling anyone a buffoon :0
AtlantaSucks
January 11th, 2011
11:02 pm
I’m Sorry once, I didn’t bother to look up the word in the dictionary.
Once "Recent" Reader
January 11th, 2011
11:28 pm
AtlantaS . . .. .Actually I kind of feel silly for doing the spelling thing . . . . ..but you did call a President a buffoon . . . and I do believe that High Office is deserving of appropriately spelled critiques
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
January 12th, 2011
12:10 am
AtlantaSucks
January 11th, 2011
10:07 pm
Ha, Ha, i am so happy i got under your hillbilly skin, i didn’t realize how sensitive you people really are. Is that the best you hicks can come up with, Julia roberts, civil rights.
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Stop it man, you are cracking me up…………. ROFL
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
January 12th, 2011
12:13 am
AtlantaSucks
January 11th, 2011
10:10 pm
All the pack have to do is stop your running back, and we will prevail. Matt ryan is a stiff and doesn’t impress me
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Dang – Even in Green Bay they know he sucks
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
January 12th, 2011
12:16 am
Once “Recent” Reader
January 11th, 2011
11:28 pm
AtlantaS . . .. .Actually I kind of feel silly for doing the spelling thing . . . . ..but you did call a President a buffoon . . . and I do believe that High Office is deserving of appropriately spelled critiques
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Yet you could not spell “spell”
Once "Recent" Reader
January 12th, 2011
10:19 am
Hah . . .I know Choke
I smelt foolish after. I mean felt 
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
January 12th, 2011
7:26 pm
“YET ANOTHER AWARD FOR MR. NFL”
Vick named Comeback Player of Year by TSN
Michael Vick’s 100.2 passer rating was second in team history to Donovan McNabb’s 104.7 mark in 2004. (AP)
Philadelphia Eagles: 10 Reasons Why They Need to Re-Sign Michael Vick
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Oh, Brother: Who’s Gonna Be Philly’s QB, Vick or Kolb?
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Philadelphia Eagles Wild-Card Reaction: How Andy Reid Denied Them of a Dynasty
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Philadelphia Eagles Fans Get an Unpleaseant Dose of Reality
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Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Posted: 5:25 p.m.
By Reuben Frank
CSNPhilly.com
Michael Vick has been named the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year by The Sporting News, receiving 431 of a possible 591 votes in balloting of NFL players, coaches and executives.
Vick, who missed the 2007 and 2008 seasons while incarcerated on federal dogfighting charges, led the Eagles to the NFC East title in his first year as a starter since 2006.
Vick completed a career-high 63 percent of his passes with 21 touchdown passes, six interceptions, nine rushing TDs and a passer rating of 100.2 — second-best in franchise history behind Donovan McNabb’s 104.7 mark in 2004.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
January 13th, 2011
12:08 am
“LIKE I SAID – GAME MANAGER”
Atlanta’s playoff run depends on Turner
January, 12, 2011 Jan 1211:13AM ET
By Pat Yasinskas
When the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers meet in the Georgia Dome on Saturday night, the most important man in the building might be Falcons running back Michael Turner.
Take a look at his numbers through his history with Atlanta and they usually are a pretty good gauge of how the Falcons are going to fare. Turner has been virtually Atlanta’s entire running game since his arrival in 2008, and the Falcons are 19-2 in games where they’ve had a 100-yard rusher in that span.
Michael Turner rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown in Atlanta’s Week 12 meeting with Green Bay.If you want something more recent and even more directly relevant, just look back to the Week 12 meeting between the Falcons and Packers. Turner carried 23 times for 110 yards and a touchdown in that game and the Falcons won 20-17.
There is a lesson to be taken from that.
“That we can be successful against them,’’ Turner said. “The game’s probably going [to be] tougher next time we play against them. They’re probably going to adjust and do some things differently. We expect that. We just have to be on our toes and be ready for whatever they bring.’’
The formula is very simple: When the Falcons are able to run the ball, they have success. But there are a couple of things that could complicate that and the Packers know it. In Atlanta’s three losses this season, Turner didn’t top the 50-yard rushing mark
LIVE BLOG: If Falcons win, it could be Super Bowl dance | Jeff Schultz
January 15th, 2011
3:13 pm
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