The Hot Button: Did Falcons redo too much of their defense?
And here's why they needed to get younger and faster. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
He could have taken half-measures: Dump three guys in one offseason, two more the next. Instead Thomas Dimitroff, who doesn’t eat meat, went whole-hog.
Five Falcons starters were cast off or allowed to leave. We knew such movement would yield growing pains, but events of the preseason suggest orientation might take a while longer. Already Dimitroff has had to make last-minute acquisitions to prop up a shaky secondary, importing cornerback Tye Hill and safety Brian Williams.
So, then, the question: Did Dimitroff overreach by changing so much? His e-mailed response:
“Absolutely no regrets as per our offseason defensive moves. Our desire at the outset of the 2009 offseason was to get younger, faster and increase our level of urgency. Our aim is to build for sustainability”
And that was always the key. The Falcons cut ties with four of the five starters because of that get-younger-faster-and-more-urgent mandate. The fifth was another matter. A look at each case:
Michael Boley, linebacker: There was a time — in 2007, say — when Boley seemed the Falcons’ next Pro Bowler. But he didn’t take to the new coaching staff, and the new coaches weren’t wildly enamored of him. The Dimitroff mantra for 2009 is “urgency and consistency,” and the Boley of 2008 failed on both counts. Which is a nicer way of saying he took plays off.
Keith Brooking, linebacker: The Falcons knew even before the playoff loss in Phoenix that Brooking had lost more than a step, but his feet didn’t fail him on that fateful third-and-16. He misread the play completely. And that sealed it. If you’re going to keep an experienced guy around as, say, a fourth linebacker, he’d better not get fooled like a raw rookie.
Domonique Foxworth, cornerback: This was the guy the Falcons wanted to keep, but he priced himself out of their market. Foxworth took a half-season of good work here and wrangled a $28 million contract from Baltimore (with $17 million guaranteed). The Falcons weren’t going to pay that much for someone they didn’t feel was a true No. 1 cornerback. A solid one, yes, but not a great one.
Loading ...Grady Jackson, tackle: The Falcons liked Big Grady, too — everybody likes Big Grady — but he’s 36. And it wasn’t hard to find someone both younger and faster. Dimitroff did it by taking Peria Jerry with the first draft pick of 2009
Lawyer Milloy, safety: Outside perception held that Milloy was a team leader. The new regime thought he talked too much. (And they couldn’t have been thrilled when he was arrested for DUI following the second game of 2008.) The new regime also kept coming back to two plays in Phoenix, both Cardinal touchdown: On the first, Milloy got outjumped by Larry Fitzgerald; on the second, he got outrun by Anquan Boldin.
Let’s also recall that Dimitroff worked for the Patriots, whose M.O. is to dump a guy before he gets too old or too expensive. Let’s recall that New England dumped Milloy in 2003, only one full season after he’d helped the Pats win their first Super Bowl, because he wanted too much. Let’s note that they just traded Richard Seymour, the Georgia program and a stalwart since 2001, to Oakland.
Yes, New England is always dealing from a position of strength, but there’s never a reason to propagate a weakness for the sake of cosmetic continuity. The 2008 Falcons ranked 24th in total defense. To become a Super Bowl team, they had to get better. There’s no time like the present, Dimitroff said, and he took urgent action.
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
174 comments Add your comment
Hms
September 11th, 2009
1:06 am
BIG SLEAZY 830 IF YOU’RE A STEELERS FAN GO FIND A STEELERS BLOG PUNK.
Hms
September 11th, 2009
1:07 am
BAD NEWS IS A FOOL. HE’S A PUNK TOO.
E43
September 11th, 2009
1:58 am
the vets on D that were released just werent effective with the falcons. they did their jobs well but it just did not work out as a unit. there was always one side of a position that was efficient as the other statwise like ints from LCB VS RCB or Sacks LE vs RE.. the side that wasnt efficient was the one that got picked on by offenses. in my opinion our 2004 roster was more effective because yes there were probowl guys on that team but they were able to play every starter the whole game instead of rotating on running vs passing downs they just matched the opposing O
this roster had a fair share of veterans but was still pretty young and i see somewhat the same thing in the 09-10falcons but you be the judge
CB
20 Allen Rossum, CB 5-8 178 10/22/75 7 Notre Dame
21 DeAngelo Hall, CB 5-10 197 11/19/83 R Virginia Tech
23 Kevin Mathis, CB 5-9 185 4/29/74 8 Tx A&M Commerce
30 Christian Morton, CB 6-0 188 4/28/81 R Illinois
36 Jason Webster, CB 5-9 187 9/8/77 5 Texas A&M
37 Aaron Beasley, CB 6-0 206 7/7/73 9 West Virginia
S
24 Bryan Scott, S 6-1 219 4/13/81 2 Penn St.
25 Kevin McCadam, S 6-1 219 3/6/79 3 Virginia Tech
26 Siddeeq Shabazz, S 5-11 215 2/5/81 2 New Mexico St.
27 Cory Hall, S 6-0 213 12/5/76 6 Fresno St.
42 Etric Pruitt, S 6-0 196 8/16/81 R Southern Mississipp
LB
50 Artie Ulmer, LB 6-3 247 7/30/73 6 Valdosta St
51 Demorrio Williams, LB 6-0 232 7/6/80 R Nebraska
52 Matt Stewart, LB 6-3 232 8/31/79 4 Vanderbilt
54 Chris Draft, LB 5-11 232 2/26/76 6 Stanford
55 Eric Johnson, LB 6-0 220 4/30/76 5 Nebraska
56 Keith Brooking, LB 6-2 245 10/30/75 7 Georgia Tech
59 Jamie Duncan, LB 6-1 238 7/20/75 7 Vanderbilt
DT
75 Rod Coleman, DT 6-2 285 8/16/76 6 East Carolina
94 Chad Lavalais, DT 6-1 293 4/15/79 R Louisiana State
95 Edward Jasper, DT 6-2 293 1/18/73 8 Texas A&M
98 Travis Hall, DT 6-5 295 8/3/72 9 Brigham Young
DE
91 Brady Smith, DE 6-5 274 6/5/73 9 Colorado St
96 Antwan Lake, DE 6-4 308 7/10/79 3 West Virginia
97 Patrick Kerney, DE 6-5 273 12/30/76 6 Virginia
99 Khaleed Vaughn, DE 6-4 276 5/20/81 R Clemson
INJURED RESERVE
—————
22 Travaris Robinson, S 5-10 193 9/1/81 2 Auburn
29 Keion Carpenter, S 5-11 205 10/31/77 6 Virginia Tech
92 Karon Riley, DE 6-2 268 8/23/78 4 Minnesota
Vick Supporter
September 11th, 2009
4:59 am
The Great Mike Vick Has Returned
curtis
September 11th, 2009
5:51 am
The D will be fine. Certain morons on here should stop talking smack about intelligent people such as TD and coach smith and take a look in the mirror. Falcon story doesn’t even make sense and bad news is a moron as well. As far as matty ice goes, i’ll take the word of EVERY expert in the game and say he’s for real…….grow up!!!!!! you sound like 12 yr olds
The Hot Button: Did Falcons redo too much of their defense? | Gwinnett DUI Lawyer
September 11th, 2009
7:06 am
[...] Source [...]
Keith
September 11th, 2009
7:35 am
Obviously, they were making financial and team decisions for 2010, 2011, and etc. I think the wins we will grab from 2010 through 2015 will be much greater and have greater impact than the 9 or 10 wins (is that too optimistic???) we will achieve this year (or the 12 we could have had this year if we would have kept those guys). In other words, I think we could have 2-3 superbowls in the future instead of a shot at one this year. Do I make sense?
Alan
September 11th, 2009
8:19 am
The season is here, now its time to get behind this team and tell all the nay sayers to leave or find another team-GO FALCONS, you’ve work hard and now its time for the fruits of your labor to payoff.
bigeasy830
September 11th, 2009
8:27 am
Bad News, what’s happen’n, what’s up, you are right about the Braves. They got rid of their emtire outfield at the same time. Grissom, Justice, who was their clutch hitter and the man that drove in the winning run for their only world series, and Jermaine Dye. I don’t care what any of these haters want to say, they gotta be regretting pulling that move. Jermaine Dye showed great promise as a young player and have been a star MLB player since and Justice went on to win more World Series rings with the Yankees, giving them what he gave the Braves, clutch hitting. And Ken Strickland, ohh well, he is what he is. He will not admit when he is wrong. He proclaimed the Falcons defense will be so much better, addition by subtraction is what he proclaimed. He also proclaimed that the Falcons upgraded their defense at every position. He dropped name after name of players that he thought would be great this year, the same players that were sorry last year. But, for some reason he thinks Matt Ryan will magically make those same players that play defense better I guess. We all know he is wrong and the regular season will prove it. Falcons Sorry, get at me boy. Your team is gonna lose this weekend and you know it.HAHAHAHAHA
Falcons will be 4-12 in 2009
“Back To Life, Back To Reality”
OldFan
September 11th, 2009
8:31 am
Before I got the internet I used to think the national IQ was higher…
Not every move TD makes will be great but he is moving in the right direction. I’m gonna miss Gravy mainly cause I just liked him. Woulda been nice to have Fox here but IMHO TD did what was best for our teams future.
Preseason is for the coach to evaluate what he has, not to give Fans a warm n fuzzy.
I don’t know what we have right now because the Real Falcon D has yet to play a game, But, I have really enjoyed this off-season and look forward to the real thing. Which in itself is alot better than 1/2 my 30+ years following the Birds.
Tony B
September 11th, 2009
8:49 am
***BREAKING NEWS***
Mike Vick has been arrested in Philly. He was pulled over for speeding and there was marijuana found in the car. News just broke on ESPN.
Real Falcons Fan
September 11th, 2009
9:30 am
Gezzz, Is this a Falcons blog, or a race debate blog? Seems to be more hate speech than football talk going on in here…
Ken Strickland
September 11th, 2009
11:06 am
SAP-you need to get over your man crush for DWilkins. In case you haven’t noticed, he’s been retired long enough to qualify for and receive induction into the HOF. So he was traded. Players far greater than Nique were traded or released, like Wilt, Kareem, Oscar, Hakeem The Dream, Sir Charles, The Mailman, etc. Decisions were made, things were done, time changes and intelligent well adjusted individuals are able to move on.
I noticed you avoided answering my question about Nique’s accomplishments after being traded. I asked that question for a reason. I wanted to see if your ignorance was due to just being lazy and unwilling to do any reseach, just plain stupidity, or both. First, the answer to my question should have been he accomplished a lot. During his stint with the Clippers he averaged 29.1PPG, 6.5RPG and 2.2APG. With the Hawks, Manning averaged 15.7PPG, 6.5RPG and 3.3APG. You didn’t jump on that because you’re too lazy and stupid to do any research and even try to support your uninformed opinions and accusations with facts. I’m certain that’s because you realize your stupid opinions and accusations can’t be supported by any facts.
BIGSLEAZY-please tell everyone on this blog why you were sooooo wrooong last yr when you predicted the Falcons would finish 2-14 and QB MRyan would be a failure because you said he had a weak arm? Answering this question will go a long way toward giving everyone a better perspective on how you are arriving at what has so far proven to be extremely faulty, actually extremely stupid, predictions and accusations.
Since last season, you’ve proven over and over again you have no problem making comments and offering opinions that are wrong and make you appear stupid and/or ignorant. I guess the logical conclusion is that you really are stupid and ignorant, since you continue to make the same stupid predictions, the same stupid comments, and offer the same stupid uninformed opinions.
WHERE DID YOUR PARENTS GO WRONG, ASSUMING OF COURSE YOU ACTUALLY HAD ANY?
bigeasy830
September 11th, 2009
12:02 pm
So tell me Ken Strickland what was your prediction of the the Falcons before last season. Most of you supposed “True Falcons Fans” pretend as if you predicted the Falcons would go 11-5 and make it to the play-offs. You lie about it when most of you predicted no more than 6 wins except for that SHHHHH… its a secret don’t tell anyone Barry guy. Also get your facts straight, my prediction last year was 4 wins. I said I thought the Falcons were no better than a 2 win team but any team should be able to stumble to 4 wins. But irregardless of that I was on of the first ones to congradulate the Falcons on a surprisingly good season last year, I even admitted that they were having a good season after they beat the Bears. So whats your point Mr. know it all. You can’t admitt your wrong to save your life. And if you know so much you should know to never bring up a black man’s parents in an argument, but hey you are “MR. INTERNET BULLY”, you know you can get away with it hiding behind a computer screen. But back to sports, the key to the Dominique trade is not what he did after he left the Hawks but how well did the Hawks do after the trade. The Hawks had the best record in the East that year and had won if not swept the season series from the Knicks which was the East representative in the Finals that year. The Hawks traded their best player during the best run the franchise had since it moved to Atlanta. The Hawks had a legitimate shot at the Championship that year. Plus that trade was more policatically driven and not sports driven. Dominique and Deion Sanders left Atlanta at around because of their link to a murder trial in Atlanta. Now “MR KNOW IT ALL” you do your research.
The Falcons will be 4-12 in 2009
“Back To Life, Back To Reality”
bigeasy830
September 11th, 2009
12:11 pm
And by the way, Matt Ryan does have a weak arm. His deep pass looks like someone shot putted a dead duck. Anything over 25 yrads and the wind will take it away.
The Falcons will be 4-12 in 2009
“Back To Life, Back To Reality”
bigeasy830
September 11th, 2009
12:14 pm
By the way Matt Ryan do have a weak arm. His deep pass looks like someone shot putted a dead duck. The wind carry away all his passes thrown over 25 yards. You are right I was the first to question his arm strength and I stand behind that.
The Falcons will be 4-12 in 2009
Back To Life, Back To Reality”
Ken Strickland
September 11th, 2009
1:48 pm
BIGEASY830-you see, this is an example of you offering uninformed opinions and making stupid assumptios. You act like MRyan’s arm strength is some kind of problem for him, when in reality, it’s a problem only for you. I definitely remember you rating QB Joe Flacco’s ahead of MRyan because of his alledged superior arm strength. Well, here are the facts.
ATTS COM YDS COM% YDS/A INT TD
MRyan 434 265 3440 61.1 1.93 11 16
JFlacco 428 257 2971 60.0 6.94 12 14
Not bad for a weak armed QB, huh. That weak arm also got him ROY honors and an invitation to the Probowl. That means the majority of the coaches, players and writers that voted him those honors preferred his weak armed accomplishments over JFlacco’s strong armed accomplishments. “BACK TO LIFE, BACK TO REALITY”.
It appears the only thing weak around here are your weak A$$ opinions, assumptions and predictions. “BACK TO LIFE, BACK TO REALITY”.
As far as last yrs predictions, if you can go back and find it, I predicted the Falcons would go 10-6 or 11-5. I caught a lot of flack for that prediction, ESPECIALLY FROM YOU. I even gave the reasons for my prediction. As sorry as the 07 team was under Petrino, 5 of 12 losses were by a TD or less. I figured with an improved DEF(Smitty was a DEF coordinator), OL, rushing OFF and stability at QB, in addition to the 4wins we had, we should be able to win those 5gms we lost be a TD or less and generate 1 or 2 additional wins above that total.
THIS IS 2009 AND MY MAJOR CONCERN IS WITH THIS YRS HAWKS, BRAVES AND FALCONS, NOT WHAT HAPPENED TO A PLAYER OR PLAYERS ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE DISTANT PAST. I’ve moved on, as a lot of intelligent well adjusted fans have done. It’s obvious Nique managed to get over the trade, since he accepted employment with the team that traded him. Maybe, just maybe, it’s time for you and your variety of egos to get “BACK TO LIFE, BACK TO REALITY”.
Bad News
September 11th, 2009
1:59 pm
BIG RAY
Raiders…………SUPERBOWL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Redskins………….SUPERBOWL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Falcons…………. ZERO CHAMPIONSHIPS
Now which are winning organizations on the above list
Bad News
September 11th, 2009
2:12 pm
BigEasy
I always enjoy reading your post, because unlike UNCLE SAMBO you speak with intelligence and knowledge. That fool was so wrong about Tampa it was embarrassing and he didn’t show his stupid face for weeks
I guess Deion was washed up too when he left the Falcons, 3-superbowl rings later
Ken don’t you have some chores to take care of because it sure isn’t football
Mark
September 11th, 2009
2:29 pm
I am concerned about the secondary, and d-line too. Our linebackers havent worked together long either. God bless falcons sorry this is America and he has a right to be a RACE BAITOR. Say hello to your father al sharpton from all ot us.Perhaps ypu can find a colon hydro therapist to perform a lobotomy on yourself.
bigeasy830
September 11th, 2009
3:08 pm
Ken Strickland the most important stat to a QB is wins and loses. Both Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco went 11-5 during the regular season but, Joe Flacco won 2 play-off games and got his team to the AFC Championship game, Matt Ryan on the other hand was one and done. And, I still rate Flacco over Ryan any day of the week, month, year and we will soon see for their careers. Also, “MR. KNOW IT ALL”, you brought up the Dominique trade, you did not ask me that question but I answered it anyway. But evidently you are not a big fan of the Hawks, its hard to get over a chance to win the Championship when your team have never won one. But then again you are typical ATLANTA BLOGS sports fan. You settle for mediocrity. Now just because I rubbed your face into the mud, don’t get mad, “keep it 100″, but you can’t now can you. It’s just not in you.
Falcons will be 4-12 in 2009
“Back To Life, Back To Reality”
Bad News
September 11th, 2009
3:41 pm
Ken Strictland is “DUMBER THAN A SACK OF ROCKS”………….
Sorry BigEasy I couldn’t resist
Matt
September 11th, 2009
5:51 pm
To the guy with the Dawg updates on this Falcon article. Go to a Dawg website and talk about your crappy quarterback there, b/c not every Falcons Fan is a Dawgs fan. GO DIRTY BIRDS, GO VOLS!!!!!
mars
September 11th, 2009
7:08 pm
(snicker) Softmore. (tee-hee) Perl Harbor (yuk, yuk!). Oh, your killin’ me! Thank you, public schools, for all the hilarious retards you produce (har, har!). What a maroon! What an ignoramus!
mars
September 11th, 2009
7:09 pm
And the Bugs Bunny debate begins in 5….4….3….2….
Bad News
September 11th, 2009
7:14 pm
That’s funny sports writer Schultz’ article states………
“Good thing Parcells didn’t come to Atlanta because he would not have drafted Ryan”
He is absolutely right…………because………..
The Big Tuna knows talent and he would never draft a………
BUST or NOODLE ARM
Ken Strickland
September 11th, 2009
7:35 pm
BIGEASY/BADNEWS ETC-You stated: “KEN STRICKLAND THE MOST IMPORTANT STAT TO A QB IS WINS AND LOSSES”. Yet another stupid, uninformed opinion. If wins and losses are the only measure of a QB, and JFlacco won more playoff gms, then why was MRyan chosen ROY and selected to the Probowl instead of Flacco? “BACK TO LIFE, BACK TO REALITY”. You’ve put your foot in your mouth so often all of you should be tasting leather.
BAD NEWS-ironically, I don’t have any chores at this time because it’s that time of month for you mother. “BACK TO LIFE, BACK TO REALITY”.
Big Ray
September 11th, 2009
7:47 pm
Bad News,
Yeah, good point. Now how many championships has Hall won with those teams? Thought so.
BigEasy830,
Flacco was part of an established team. The Ravens were damn good before he got there. Ryan was part of a team that had been rebuilt from the GM on down. A totally different team than previous years. Different GM, different coaching staff, different players.
Flacco was/is good. But his organization was established already. Ryan’s team wasn’t, and still isn’t as of yet. To go 11-5 and make the playoffs was far better than even the most rabid Falcons fan could have expected. That’s the bottom line. And as I recall, Ryan’s first pass of his rookie season was a 62-yarder to Michael Jenkins. So much for having a 25-yard range.
Big Ray
September 11th, 2009
8:40 pm
From Jay Glazer, courtesy of AtlantaFalcons.com:
AF.COM: There has been a significant amount of buzz in the national media involving Falcons qrterback Matt Ryan suffering through the Sophomore Slump. What do you make of that talk?
JG: “I think the addition of Tony Gonzalez is the perfect sophomore slump buster for the Falcons. From what I saw when I visited Falcons camp this summer and from what people I trust around the league are saying, Ryan has improved this off-season. Ryan and I actually trained together last year at API (Athletes Performance Institute) and he actually looks bigger and stronger this year. Looks like Fish (Falcons Director of Athletic Performance Jeff Fish) worked him hard this off-season.”
Uh-oh! The possibility of ol’ “noodle arm” getting stronger and better probably never occurred to some people. Smells like Bad News for somebody!
Bad News
September 11th, 2009
9:37 pm
Ken “UNCLE SAMBO” Strictland……..
If you were not as DUMB AS A SACK OF ROCKS, you would know that the ROY was selected before the playoffs, and if they would have waited until after the season, old NOODLE ARM would not have been selected because he is a CHOKE 1 AND DONE LOSER.
I have told you once, but apparently you are too stupid to understand, but here it one more time……….
READ MY LIPS: A-L-T-E-R-N-A-T-E if you need assistance please consult any copy of Webster’s. Alternate means if one of the S-E-L-E-C-T-E-D pro bowlers got hurt, he would be a F-I-L-L-I-N.
When you check the pro bowl roster, see if NOODLE ARM is listed – of course not, therefore UNCLE SAMBO do a little research before you open your stupid trap
Bad News
September 11th, 2009
9:48 pm
2-0-0-9 P-R-O-B-O-W-L T-E-A-M-S
http://www.nfl.com/probowl/story?id=09000d5d80d60467&template=without-video-with-comments&confirm=true
Wow———– no NOODLE ARMS
Bad News
September 11th, 2009
9:51 pm
But there is good news:
For the entire decade there has been only 1 Falcons qb to make the pro bowl and win playoff games………..
I think we know who that guy is
Ken Strickland
September 11th, 2009
10:46 pm
BAD BREATH-Are you trying to imply that Flacco would have received the ROY if voting had been done after the playoffs? If so, then explain why he wasn’t selected to the Probowl, even as an alternate. And as everyone but a BOTTOM FEEDING MORON like you knows, all Probowl selections are made after the playoffs, including alternates. “BACK TO LIFE, BACK TO REALITY”. GOD YOU’RE STUPID.
tree rollins
September 12th, 2009
12:12 am
The Falcons did to their defense what my Hawks did to the team when Billy Knight and the new owners came in. And we all saw how long that recovery is taking.
tree rollins
September 12th, 2009
12:14 am
The Falcons did to their defense what Billy Knight and the new owners did to my Hawks. And we all know how long that recovery has been going on.
tree rollins
September 12th, 2009
12:16 am
I would not necessarily call the Falcons’ the worst defense in the NFL. I think Denver can give them a good run for their money!
Big Ray
September 12th, 2009
5:56 am
Bad News,
Um, that was a comment made by Jay Glazer, who worked out with Ryan and attended some camp stuff. Something tells me you really did miss the whole point of that article snippet…
“For the entire decade there has been only 1 Falcons qb to make the pro bowl and win playoff games”
Yeah, and how did his rookie year go? Comparing rookie years is the only reasonable thing to do. Anything else is a bunch of BS.
Oh, and despite Pro Bowls and everything else, was that special guy ever able to deliver consecutive winning seasons? Nope. When the Falcons accomplish their 2nd consecutive winning season for the first time ever, you’ll be sick as a dog, and I’ll laugh at you right along with everybody else (and you’ll change your name…AGAIN). Can’t wait. That’ll be the blog highlight of the year.
Big Ray
September 12th, 2009
6:00 am
Ken,
He will ignore all that info about Flacco, because it’s very inconvenient and damaging to his argument. It’s okay. He’ll be grinding his teeth in chagrin by the end of the year, just like last year. I look forward to it. No sense in calling him names. Anything you call him is a compliment, and an insult to the actual name you refer to. You know how these little internet piss ants are. Hiding behind the computer screens, giggling with glee as they type what they think is clever and inflammatory remarks.
Bad News
September 12th, 2009
10:48 am
Ken “UNCLE SAMBO” Strictland a.k.a. Ken “I DON’T KNOW MY HEAD FROM MY ANUS” Strictland…………..
Once again you are dead wrong – oh what a surprise. The link below shows the 2009 Pro Bowl selection (dated: 12/26/08) which was a full week prior to the date listed, which means……….
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1309777/nfl_announces_rosters_for_the_2009.html?cat=14
Say it with me “UNCLE SAMBO”…………..
The playoffs had not even started…………which means……….
Everything out of your STUPID mouth are L-I-E-S!!!!!!!!! You have no credibility whatsoever. All those cut and paste classes went to waste
Maybe your “MASSA” should let you get out more if you are a “GOOD BOY”
You are in fact “DUMBER THAN A SACK OF ROCKS
Ken Strickland
September 12th, 2009
10:51 am
BIG RAY-you know it. I guess they remembered my 10-6/11-5 prediction last yr. They should, because they had a ball unleashing their wrath on me for making it. I think they have some other issues going on. They don’t seem to care very much about any particular team, but there are definitely unusually strong feelings for individual players, like DWilkins, MVick, DJustice, MGrissom, DSanders etc. They defend them vigorously, hold them up on a pedestal, as well as hold serious grudges against any organization they feel might have mistreated or discarded them. THERE’S SOME SERIOUSLY UNNATURAL MAN LOVE GOING ON WITH THESE SPLIT PERSONALITIES.
Tomorrow is the big beginning for the Falcons and the NFL. Our OFF is so versatile, so balanced and sooo potent. Our DEF is so young, so quick, so fast, so talented, so deep and sooo inexperienced. Our coaching staff will have to do the same excellent job they did last yr of concealing our weaknesses until the younger players gain the necessary experience. I believe our OFF, along with the individual talent on DEF, will get us by until we jell as a unit. I CAN’T WAIT UNTIL KICKOFF TIME. I JUST HOPE THE GAME WILL BE TELEVISED WHERE I’M LOCATED.
Bad News
September 12th, 2009
10:59 am
Little Ray
Are you telling me you would choose a quarterback that wins the ROY over a quarterback that is the franchise’s lone player to put the team on prime time, meaning actually winning playoff games and never going 1 AND DONE?
That just goes to show who low your self esteem really is. NOODLE ARM is just what he was while playing F-I-V-E seasons in college – A BIG CHOKE!
The ROY is an individual award right? I thought you were not interested in personal awards because as you explain it, it’s a team sports – bigot
If you want to talk about “REAL PERSONAL AWARDS” ole NOODLE ARM won the ROY (Offensive Rookie Of The Year), Joe Flacco won the PEPSI “Rookie of the year”, not just for offense, but for all rookies. Wanna know why?
They made their selection after the PLAYOFFS not BEFORE. There is no way PEPSI would want a playoff over-rated NOODLE ARM CHOKE as their representative
It was funny while watching the NFL NETWORK last night, all those hall of famer analyst were talking about the Falcons, and they kept saying……….”TURNER TURNER TURNER” and not one mention of NOODLE ARM – I wonder why
Bad News
September 12th, 2009
11:26 am
Ken “UNCLE SAMBO” & Little Ray…..get a room for God’s sake
You guys sound like two lovers looking for encouragement 
Tomorrow is going to be………….
Ronnie Brown…………….
Ricky Williams…………….
Press Coverage…………..
ALLLLLLLLLLL DAYYYYYYYYYYYY LONGGGGGGGGGGGG !!!!!!!!!!
Look, a Unicorn!
September 12th, 2009
1:33 pm
Bad news, your defense will be on the field ALLLLLLLLLLL DAYYYYYYYYYYYY LONGGGGGGGGGGGG in the Terror Dome.
Wesley Wallace
September 12th, 2009
1:39 pm
AlternateReality, they had the money to get Tony Gonzalez, so keeping Foxworth was within the budget. I understand that “O” brings in the money, but the rest of the saying is that “D” wins Championships, and I am still stinging from the loss to Dallas in the playoffs back in 1978. We lost, because the “D” quit. This year, unless we get lucky, the secondary is going to get picked apart by the better QBs. I hope I’m wrong, but I am usually not.
bigeasy830
September 12th, 2009
2:19 pm
Wesley Wallace, great post.
Ken Strickland you are a habitual liar.
Big Ray, you people like to claim that Flacco wa part of a better more establish team than Ryan last year. Oh, the Ravens were 5-11 in 2007. They won only one more game than the Falcons. Now how about that. The Ravens spend money on defense and the Falcons like to make media splashes by signing the offense free agents and trade for offense players. So let me get this right a team with a better defense and better line play s usually the better team. So why is it your genius GM has yet to improve the defense of this team and your O-line has gotten better but needs improvement, especially depth. But wait, they are paying Gonzalez a boat load of money and can’t afford anyone else is that right. You would prefer Roddy play for peanuts and be the team player but get screwed in the end is that right. hat excuses will you Falcons fans have as the season drag on and your team suck.
Ken, I know you don’t know what my signature phrase mean, why don”t you do a “Little research” as you instructed someone earlier.
Bad News you are so right about that press coverage, everyone knows the only way Ryan can complete a pass is if the receiver is wide open. Press the receivers and that “DUCK THROWER” don’t have the arm strength to squeeze the ball in that tight window.
Falcons will be 4-12 in 2009
“BACK TO LIFE, BACK TO REALITY”
Edward
September 12th, 2009
2:32 pm
While the defensive backfield is somewhat young and inexperienced I think that they will be just fine as the season wears along. I think the additions of Tye Hill and Brian Williams will help a little bit. I think the front 4 will be able to put enough pressure on opposing quarterbacks to keep receivers at bay. Offensively I think the Falcons will be sound and be able to stay on the field and score touchdowns once inside the redzone especially with the addition of Tony Gonzalez. As for Sunday my prediction: Falcons 34 Dolphins 21
Ken Strickland
September 12th, 2009
2:49 pm
WESLEY WALLACE-unless you have a strong pass rush, all secondaries will get picked apart by the better QB’s.
TD and Smitty saw Foxworth play and practice first hand, and they reviewed plenty of gm and practice film of him. It’s obvious they didn’t think he was worthy of the money he was asking based on those reviews. WHAT MAKES ANY OF YOU THINK HE WOULD HAVE DONE A BETTER JOB OF COVERING THOSE WR’s UNDER THE SAME PRESEASON CONDITIONS, AND HOW WOULD HIS PRESENCE HAVE HELPED THE OTHER CB’s? We finished 21st in pass DEF with him, so I think that proves we can do bad without him. HE’S GONE AND AIN’T COMING BACK, SO GET OVER IT.
planb
September 12th, 2009
2:51 pm
I think I feel a little better, knowing in advance that our defense will not be playing all that good. We know they will be young and inexperienced and we will have to score alot to win, but anything they do good will be exceptional. I feel better looking at it this way. Slow drives of running the ball and TG receptions on third down will help our young defense stay off the field as much as possible.
Bad News
September 12th, 2009
4:13 pm
BigEasy
I think that Ken “fool” and Little Ray are joined at the hips……..
Both of them read too much “Falcon.com” and believe that crap I imagine. The Dolphins will be just a warm up of things to come. If they can’t handle Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, just wait until Deangelo (2nd coming of Barry Sanders) Williams and the boys run a buzz saw through them.
They keep thinking delusional with that “win with shootouts”, but these idiots don’t realize, 2008 (24 pts per game) was against:
-Detroit
-Kansas City
-St Louis
-Denver
-Oakland
Those cellar dwellers are nowhere to be found – they have “REAL” defenses and offenses this year. I’m willing to place bets that New England puts up a 50 spot.
By the B-Y-E old NOODLE ARM will be done for the regular season!
Every good player that they have cut or released, is better off, because everybody knows if you want to win a title, your best chance is outside of Atlanta.
Ken Strickland
September 12th, 2009
5:02 pm
BADNEWS/BIGEASY-I know this will likely be a waste of time since you’ve proven repeatedly to be extremely lacking in cognizant reasoning ability, but here goes. If the ROY and Probowl selections, or any selections, are made before the playoffs, doesn’t it stand to reason the NFL doesn’t think playoff results are important when making these selections? “BACK TO LIFE, BACK TO REALITY”.