jhay610

Yes. Robinson sustained a concussion, but that was in Quarter 1, so I have less of an issue with it. We were thin at corner anyway coming in, so he would have had to play some.

Smith chose to play his regulars for the ENTIRE meaningless game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a game which had no bearing on playoff seedings or any ramifications whatsoever for either team, other than draft order for the Bucs. I understand that Smith is thinking he must approach this situation differently, as the Falcons chose to rest their regulars in a similar situation before Green Bay came and razed the Dome a couple of years back. I also understand that pro football rosters are much shorter than collegiate ones, so it was imperative that *some* of the starters play *some* of the time. However, I think the benefits of retaining any supposed edge and 'staying sharp' by playing the starters are far outweighed by the risks. The scarcity of opportunity to play as the #1 seed and reap all of its associated benefits mandate that asset/resource preservation must take absolute priority over all other matters. What I mean is, it's so hard to get to this point with a reasonably healthy roster, and injuries are so prolific in the NFL, that you just can't risk incurring one to a key participant in the pursuit of the retention of some mythological 'edge'. If the regulars need reps, it is far better to have them go at full speed in a controlled practice environment than against a division rival with nothing to lose and nothing to look forward to but the offseason. I was stunned to see Matt Ryan dropping back time and again in the 4th qtr, as defensive linemen and blitzing linebackers fired off the line of scrimmage, assured of a passing play. I am more interested in the process/approach than the results, but in this case one of the worst case scenarios played out as John Abraham, the team's premier pass rusher, sustained what appeared to be a high ankle sprain. This is potentially a serious blow to a team that is glaringly deficient at generating a pass rush. The Falcons have been secretive about Abraham's status, with Smith playing down the extent of the injury, and no one outside of Flowery Branch knows exactly what the extent of it is. All I know is I saw Abraham carted off, unable to put weight on the ankle. I also know that a high sprain takes more than two or three weeks to heel, and if Abe is on the field, we should probably expect him to be operating at less than, potentially significantly less than, 100%. I think this was a serious blunder by M. Smith. My opinion of him is that he is a very good coach overall -- a great leader of men and program manager. However, as a tactician/game manager, there have been more than a few decisions that have irked me as a fan. Issues such as clock management, 1pt/2pt decisions, 4th down strategy have been recurring themes. There was also the challenge gaffe in the Arizona game (similar to the Det/Hou Thanksgiving game, although it did not end up hurting the Falcons). That is a stupid rule that should be changed, but your job as a coach is to be informed of such things. Anyway, end of rant. I simply could not believe my eyes on Sunday. I thought it was obtuse, stubborn, short-term thinking. It really irked me to see our regulars out subjected to serious injury in the 3rd and 4th qtrs, to the point where I almost wanted to see Matt Ryan sustain a serious injury just so Smith would be subjected to the level of scrutiny and blame that he should be, in my mind. And no, this will not be forgotten even if the Falcons win the Super Bowl, as it highlights procedural/systemic issues and fundamentally deficient thinking, in my opinion.

This is poor form after a two (almost three, but for a dropped pass by King late in the game) touchdown loss. I think the conference vs conference debates, based on bowl outcomes, is overblown. I certainly understand if players and fans from other conferences are tired of hearing about how great the SEC is all of the time. That said, these comments reflect poorly on the team. There is no question that the Nebraska offense and their uptempo style gave UGA some big problems, but let's not pretend that UGA was very good against the run all year anyway. At the end of the day, Nebraska scored 24 points on offense (discounting the pick 6) and was shut out after the opening drive of the second half. The UGA receivers had a field day, despite missing their top three guys, against the #1 pass defense in the country. They need to be quiet. It's fine for them to talk like this behind closed doors -- I get athletic confidence/arrogance, but you should not be speaking this way to the media, particularly after a loss.

The great thing about the NFL -- it doesn't matter what the pundits think. The power rankings are meaningless. It will be decided on the field. That said, this may be the most disrespected 12-2 team of all time, and that is annoying. Talking Heads still have Green Bay, SF, and even the Seahawks ahead of the Falcons in the NFC pecking order. Rodney Harrison still likes the Giants, somehow. The fact of the matter is the Falcons have knocked off P Manning, E Manning, D Brees and T Romo in prime time at home. The Falcons will be a very tough out this year at the Dome. The only team I would really worry about is the Packers. Even so, the blowout playoff game a couple of years ago swung on a couple of key plays -- Ryan picked off in the end zone at 17-14, Ryan pick six at the end of the 1st half when driving and down 21-17 and then Falcons have to kick off to start 2nd half and get scored on. Game over. I don't see that sequence playing out this time. I believe this is the year the Falcons soar to new heights and drop that monkey to its death. The Falcons will get be so hungry to get that first playoff win and the Dome will be rocking. They will get it done. If they can lock up home field throughout and the bye, I like their chances to get to the Super Bowl.

This thread is looking positively prescient right about now....

Murray was coming up to the line looking toward the sideline and motioning as if to ask whether he should spike it. The call to run the play came from the coaches, and it was incorrect. They lost 6 seconds there between the spot and snap. Also, the King play. He gets injured, which gives you a bunch of extra time to get your play called and get lined up, or at least spike the ball. Yet Georgia gets to the line after this long reprieve and lets nine seconds -- NINE SECONDS!!! -- run off the game clock from :30 to :21 before Murray snaps and completes to Lynch. Conley catching the ball is pure instinct -- he would have had to have exceptional awareness of his position on the field, the game situation, and the position of his opponents in order to bat that ball down. I would not expect a player to make that play in what is essentially a scramble/panic situation, especially in view of the fact that they did not huddle up before the play. I wish he would have, but I can't expect it. All tolled, you lost :15 due to botched game management on the last drive. That is the difference in having enough time to get up to the line and spike it or run a desperation play after the Conley catch. Lots of talking points with this one. The Ogletree helmet-to-helmet getting called (which eventually benefited GA as it extended a drive and they got an interception rather than a short field goal) yet Murray getting obliterated by a D-lineman right in front of an official with no call. I saw Alabama's secondary hitting GA receivers early all game long and not one was called. GA looked to have caught a break on the (non?) tipped ball negating the PI and a first down. The blocked field goal on the next play, as Ogletree was streaking down the middle of the field with first round pick speed, was probably the most exciting GA football moment since David Greene to Michael Johnson. The flip side of that was that the GA defense was tired, and that meant they were right back on the field after a long drive. There were two big 3rd down and short plays down the stretch -- on 3rd and 1 with about 6 mins left and up 3 Gurley gets a hole but gets stood up and stuffed. On 3rd and 4 or 5 a few mins later Yeldon gets hit at the line of scrimmage by Shawn Williams but wriggles through and converts. GA players tackling too high was a consistent problem all day as Alabama's big backs would push them forward for yards after contact. Next play is the play-action deep pass for the touchdown. Saban's decision to chase points early and go for two. He was supremely confident that he could line it up and run it in, and he was right. GA's strength as a defense is their speed and acceleration to the ball, however they were effectively neutralized by Bama's power running game coming downhill right at them. I can accept that Bama is a little bit better. I can accept that 350 yds rushing is a recipe for a loss. However it is difficult to accept that GA's best shot at a championship in my lifetime never materialized due to clock mismanagement. I cannot imagine the euphoria and pandemonium that would have erupted if GA somehow gets the ball into the end zone as time expired. It would have, in fact, made a classic game an epic one, a game that would be remembered through the ages, and not just by GA backers. Much credit to the coaches and the team for coming out ready to take the fight to the Crimson Tide. I felt like GA needed big special teams wins (hard to imagine going in given recent history) and a couple of turnovers to keep within range of the Tide, and they got that but still weren't able to capitalize and parlay that into a win. GA fans will be talking about this woebegone tale for years and years to come, particularly if Alabama rolls to another national championship.

Sad to see how quickly this dude fell from "Chosen One" status. I remember the reason they let Glavine go was to clear room for him. His awkward delivery suggest that shoulder problems will be recurrent for him and as others have mentioned, he is now a power pitcher without power.

This is true. When I first started posting I had no idea what all the fuss was about -- then I started reading some archived threads. Fear the corn dog.

Can't compete with the offer the Red Sox tabled for a 36 year old backup, albeit a great one. Bethancourt is probably still a ways out and Gattis is intriguing, but they better come up with something else early in the season with Mac sidelined for a while.

Short yardage failures are the major problem right now. That and run defense plus tackling. The latter I am not so worried about, but the inability to push the league's worst defense back 12 inches on multiple occasions is a big problem.Tired of seeing Turner tiptoe up to the line as well. Just jam it up in there full bore and let the chips fall. I can't put it all on him because the O-line is getting zero push in those spots but he is soooooo slow to hit the hole.It is a major problem when you get that feeling of dread when there is a tackle on the 1 yard line or a 3rd and 1. Just don't know how you can feel confident in the playoffs with that glaring issue.This game is very reminiscent of recent clashes with NO. Very bitter pill losing to them. Not such a big deal in the scheme of things but certainly hard to take given the recent history and the bad blood between these teams.

Ugh. Let's go Heat was the chant. Ugh.Morrow should have gotten a lot more time tonight, I know Rashard took him to the block a couple of times but those were tough shots. Got tired of seeing Deshawn Stephenson throwing up bricks all night and he wasn't all that great defensively either.Josh on the free throw line right now is like a kicker with the yips.

Woody Lite!

Some awkward moments but T.I. was pretty good. Nice to hear that trademark silky country accent coming over the airwaves.Duane....he was there too.

He seems to be a Bobby Petrino type, except for, you know, actual success on the football field. What has this guy ever done to go from premier job to premier job? Aside from lying, cheating and burning every bridge on his way to mediocre results, that is.

There is no doubt that Florida is an elite defense, but AM threw into (triple) coverage on the first, tipped interception and followed that up with two absolutely terrible throws for picks two and three. I credit Florida with a good scheme but those throws, particularly the last 2, were all on AM.I would expect more from a supposed elite passer. Give him credit for maintaining his poise in the 4th qtr, but let's not pretend he was Peyton Manning. He identified single coverage on the outside and delivered on some short comeback routes.I do not believe he is culpable for the SC debacle as he was being chased around the field by future NFL linemen all night, a situation made worse by the early deficit and GA's absolute inability to run the ball at all in that game.

Alabama will murder this team.It seems like GA is always leaving points out on the field. They would have to play a perfect game to have even a competitive shot against Bama, with some breaks, like major TOs or special teams play, going in their favor. It seems they can never fully capitalize when they get those breaks, though -- see 1st half against LSU last year, UGA could have been up as many as 21 pts if they catch the football.Also, I recognize Mr. Murray's accomplishments as a very good QB, but there is enough of a body of work to say that he shrinks a little bit in the big moments. A lot of times QBs get too much credit and blame, but all three of those picks he threw in the first half were absolutely horrible.UF was overrated but had a nice run with what they had. Credit the defense and also Bobo for once in that he kept calling for throws when appropriate instead of going ultra conservative (as he has in the past) when it was clear Murray was struggling. Very nice to get the UF monkey off the back.Bama is on another level. UGA offensive line v Alabama defense is akin to lambs being led to the wolves, and I think Alabama's road graters on the OL eventually wear down GA up front. 2011/12 SECCG, redux.I will hope for a miracle if/when the day comes.

Not to take anything from Harden, who is a great player, but that was some turrrrible defense from the Pistons.

One of the best, if not the best, at least in recent memory.It really hits the mark. I can't stop watching.

I smiled. +1

He's really, really bad. He had that one torrid stretch last year, and he started decently this year. Other than those two runs, he has been abysmal.Add on top of what you sacrifice with him in the field in order to keep his stick in the lineup and you have a serious problem.He is the main reason the Braves have no shot against left handed pitching and he really, really needs to pick it up or get out of town on the first thing smokin'.

Still love Joe. He was not culpable for his contract situation. Wonder what the reaction will be when he hits ATL in a Nets uni. I hope he goes for 35 but in a loss.

And one classy guy, as well.

I don't disagree necessarily with OP's points, but look at the big picture. This team was capped out and peaked. I would rather offload our flotsam and start anew then watch this team continue struggling to get out of the first round and at best getting blown off the floor by the true contenders in the ECSF. At least there is a chance that we could land a premier free agent. A slim one, maybe, but a chance. Failing that, we go back to the lottery days and try to do better this time. I feel we have a better guy making those decisions than we did in the last run. The way terrible teams in marginal markets get better is by building through the draft. There were plenty of franchise players to be had the last time we did this, but we got about as little out of it as we possibly could. It will be painful but I would prefer this to 4 more years of diminishing returns.

This roster is worse, but there's still time. You don't lose a guy like JJ and get better.Who is going to create their own shot on this team at the end of a game that you want taking that shot?Problems.

Let's play Rebuild the Hawks Part.....how many is this now?Deal had to be done as this team was doomed as structured for years to come. Does that mean we will be able to parlay that cap space into anything of substance? History says no, but at least we have a chance.Probably a lot more pain headed this way, but hey, we are Hawks fans. It's what we do.