Live from Tampa: Former punter says Falcons weren’t fun
Michael Koenen as a Falcon, here kicking a Georgia peach. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
Tampa — Michael Koenen used to punt for the Falcons. Now he works for Tampa Bay. Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune asked Koenen to compare and contrast cities. In shocking revelations, Koenen declared that he prefers Florida oranges to Georgia peaches and that Atlanta has worse traffic.
Asked about Mike Smith, who coaches the Falcons, and Raheem Morris, who coaches the Buccaneers, Koenen said: “The atmosphere is way different … Up there, it’s a lot tighter. There is a little more nervous energy, but here it’s light-hearted and just fun energy.”
Wow. Who knew the coach who bears a passing resemblance to the comic/actor/author/musician Steve Martin wouldn’t be a wild and crazy guy?
Then again, Koenen can afford to crow — a bit. By way of a different comparison, he seems the greatest punter in 21st Century Falcons annals. Koenen left as a free agent and was lavished with a $19.5 million contract by the Bucs. Through two games, Koenen is seventh among NFL booters in yards per punt and third in net punting.
The Falcons, meanwhile, have deployed Matt Bosher, who enlivened last week’s festivities by punting out of bounds on his own 20.20-yard-line. (The Eagles would score to take a 10-point lead.) Bosher’s numbers: Next-to-last in yards per punt, 26th in net punting.
And now you’re asking: Do I, keen analyst, believe this game will be decided by punting, net or otherwise? No. I like the Falcons to win for a rather basic reason: They’re the better team. That said …
It has been raining for the past hour and the field is so wet nobody has ventured out to warm up. (Not even the punters.) This could be one of those slick-ball turnover-rich extravaganzas, which means: Don’t even bother trying to handicap it.
So I won’t. I’ll turn it over to you instead. I’ll be here all game, and I welcome your input. (Oh, and here’s an actual bit of pregame news: Falcons linebacker Stephen Nicholas is inactive; Mike Peterson starts in his place.) Join me, won’t you? See which punter walks off with bragging rights!
By Mark Bradley
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1,825 comments Add your comment
Mr Charlie
September 25th, 2011
4:00 pm
The D back for the Giants just made the smartest play I have ever seen a D back make.
J.J.M.
September 25th, 2011
4:01 pm
saints ran the same play on the texans to get a 2 point convert smh
FalconFan
September 25th, 2011
4:01 pm
Saints have NO running game…they use it as a decoy. Don’t fool yourself, Brees is that offense, which isn’t a bad thing, but eventually being one-dimensional will cost you.
J.J.M.
September 25th, 2011
4:02 pm
any qb in the nfl will play bad if your o line is playing bad
Mr Charlie
September 25th, 2011
4:03 pm
Everything we ever said about Vick is true. Once a quitter, always a quitter. Concussion, lol, how do you know Vick even has a concussion? Just because he cannot add 2+2 does not mean he has a concussion.
froggy
September 25th, 2011
4:04 pm
Here’s what I don’t get about Bosher — how do you just hand such an important job to a rookie without any real competitors in camp? The other punter in camp was cut very early, and Bosher had a crappy pre-season, so this is hardly surprise. Besides the terrible punting, this guy seems like the only kicker in the league not consistently reaching well into the end zone on kickoffs. Seems like the vaunted personnel team was asleep at the switch on this one…
Mr Charlie
September 25th, 2011
4:04 pm
Can I say it, MV7 a 100 mil bust.
Joey
September 25th, 2011
4:04 pm
shows what happens when you call yourself a dream team.
Joey
September 25th, 2011
4:05 pm
Wow vikings were up 20-0 and are now losing 23-20
Delbert D.
September 25th, 2011
4:05 pm
Bad call, ref.
Mr Charlie
September 25th, 2011
4:05 pm
Lion are for real.
J.J.M.
September 25th, 2011
4:06 pm
not a vick fan but im pretty sure from watching the game his line didnt block for nothing…kind of the same thing happened to us against the bears…unless we want to blame that game on matt ryan…come on people
Mr Charlie
September 25th, 2011
4:07 pm
Gonna be boring with the Vick – Ice debate. Looks like the football gods have spoken. I don’t judge, but torturing animials will reap some really crappy karma.
J.J.M.
September 25th, 2011
4:07 pm
smh@charlie
Pat
September 25th, 2011
4:08 pm
So you can knee someone in the head and that’s ok? Stupid nfl rules.
KO
September 25th, 2011
4:10 pm
St Louis will come back and be just 1 back. Braves can’t even score one friggin run.
PhiilyMan
September 25th, 2011
4:10 pm
Mr Charlie…….Get a life…..This is so old. I’m sure you have done worst to humans you coward.
KO
September 25th, 2011
4:11 pm
Bases loaded and no outs and they got nothing early on. Im done with them. Time for football
KO
September 25th, 2011
4:11 pm
Why isn’t Fox moving to the Falcons game? Isn’t kickoff in 3 minutes?
PhiilyMan
September 25th, 2011
4:12 pm
Probably at home on your mama’s couch with a bag of Nacho’s in your lap.
FalconFan
September 25th, 2011
4:13 pm
The Vikings and Lions are going to OT…
PhiilyMan
September 25th, 2011
4:13 pm
@ Charlene (also know as Charlie)
J.J.M.
September 25th, 2011
4:13 pm
when will people move on from vick and just support our falcons!
KO
September 25th, 2011
4:13 pm
So they turn the lions game off to show commericals?
FalconFan
September 25th, 2011
4:13 pm
Vikes just can’t finish a game. They may win this one, but this is the 3rd week in a row, at least 2nd where they were up 17-0, or 20-0, and let the other team come back.
Larry
September 25th, 2011
4:15 pm
uggla is back to popping up balls just like the first 3 months.
Frank
September 25th, 2011
4:15 pm
Go sign Matt Dodge. He had a good year last year for the Giants, playoff game notwithstanding, and he’s much younger than Bosher.
FalconFan
September 25th, 2011
4:15 pm
HELLO!!!! Go to the Falcon game!
Frank
September 25th, 2011
4:17 pm
My bad, Bosher is a rookie… but Dodge is still a better option.
Mr Charlie
September 25th, 2011
4:17 pm
Philly, I feel for you. I am guessing you bought into the Vick hype, like we all did in Atlanta back in 2002. The faster you realize that no matter what you hear and what people say, Vick is not better than he was 7-8 years ago. He still can’t figure out what defenses do to him. The Ice-Vick debate is over.
Ice 1-0 against Vick, 1-0 against Flacco, 4-0 against Freeman. What more can I say?
Mark Bradley
September 25th, 2011
4:17 pm
Falcons tried to throw deep on first snap. Didn’t work. Nobody open
Mark Bradley
September 25th, 2011
4:18 pm
Really bad crowd, I must confess.
J.J.M.
September 25th, 2011
4:18 pm
uh oh predictable looking already
Jimmy
September 25th, 2011
4:18 pm
Wild end to Vikings/Lions game.
Going to overtime.
Mark Bradley
September 25th, 2011
4:18 pm
Clabo beaten. Sack. Fumble. Bucs have it.
mountain_jim
September 25th, 2011
4:19 pm
Can’t see the game yet in NC and the Ticket channel blacked out. Crap!
Jimmy
September 25th, 2011
4:19 pm
Uh-oh.
Mitch (the one in Rome)
September 25th, 2011
4:19 pm
Afraid this is gonna be a tough day in Tampa. Can’t let our guy get hit.
J.J.M.
September 25th, 2011
4:19 pm
bad start already geez our line still hasnt picked it up
Jimmy
September 25th, 2011
4:19 pm
Our line is hurting
hiramsaint
September 25th, 2011
4:20 pm
what an explosive O- hehehehehehehehehehehe!
Mark Bradley
September 25th, 2011
4:20 pm
Blount to the 4. First and G.
Mitch (the one in Rome)
September 25th, 2011
4:20 pm
Should be running first. You know they are covering deep. It’s the Tampa 2. Dang.
Mr Charlie
September 25th, 2011
4:20 pm
Not sure why we have try so hard to be “explosive”. Grinding the clock seemed to work pretty good last year.
Mark Bradley
September 25th, 2011
4:20 pm
DeCoud intercepts in the end zone.
Jimmy
September 25th, 2011
4:20 pm
Looks like we’re starting in a hole.
They are not showing this game in Alabama…the right armpit of the US.
Mark Bradley
September 25th, 2011
4:21 pm
Really terrible throw. Can’t take that chance on first-and-goal.
Mr Charlie
September 25th, 2011
4:21 pm
DeCloud!
J.J.M.
September 25th, 2011
4:21 pm
o line owes him some dinner
Jimmy
September 25th, 2011
4:21 pm
DeCoud!