codyatl

I don't like the NFL reaplay system. There is no reason for on field ref to go over and watch replay. The college system is much better. As far as pass interference that isn't up for replay but I get ur point. What is a catch? Who knows the NFL sure doesn't. Still take the buster posey play at 2nd in game 1. It took maybe 30 seconds for everyone watching at home to see he was out. Take into account the time spent when managers argue calls and your probably speeding up the games. There is no reason MLB couldn't have a replay official on the booth to view close calls and get it right. In baseball there is no judgement calls. Either you tagged the Guy before he reached base or you didn't.

I heard a comment this morning on ESPN about how nothing happened this postseason that screamed more replay was needed. I think the braves would disagree. Every braves loss had a blown call go against them. Those blown calls all lead to runs. Of course if it would have happened to Yankees it would be different I guess

Schedule is very favorable first half of season. Last two months is brutal. I think March we have only 3 road games. Unfortunately February we have only 4 home games. We better get off to hot start cause Feb could be ugly and many of the home games in March are vs top tier teams.

Trade Jurjens for Rasmus. Trade Beachy, Aroldys Vizquino, Cody Johnson and another prospect or 2 for Matt Kemp. Sign Javy Vazquez to 1 year deal. Sell Kawakami to a Japanese team to clear his money. Rotation now is Huddy Hanson Lowe Vazquez Minor. Bullpen Dunn Oflaherty Venters Moylan Marek Proctor Kimbrel. Line-up Prado Chipper Heyward Kemp McCann Rasmus Gonzalez Freeman. Ross Infante Mclouth Hinske. Sign vet RH hitter to fill out bench. That looks like a winner to me. More importantly it still leaves us flexibility with medlen coming back and Teheran, Delgado and Hoover coming to replace Lowe and Huddy.

Meh, it's not like the UFC has a great heavyweight division, the only UFC Fedor fight I would've wanted to see would be against Brock (hmm, maybe Brock will join Strikeforce when his contracts ends.......ok maybe not). I'd say the UFC HW division and the non-UFC HW division are pretty even.

I think in a yr we wont even care that Fedor didnt sign w/ UFC. I believe he will lose soon. Possibly to Overeem. Overeem is a K-1 star and just the type guy that I think can beat Fedor. Arlovski was well on his way to beating him until his brain fart. Personally, I am looking forward to GSP vs. Silva, if it ever gets done, that will be the fight for title of P4P best. My money is on GSP. He is twice the fighter Fedor is in my opinion.

What a complete joke. I dont know the real story behind M-1 but if it is as I think, Fedor is a co-owner and wants to build that brand. Well, thats fine but please tell me Mr Fedor.....WHAT THE HELL DOES M-1 OFFER? To use a wrestling analogy, its not like you are ECW going to WCW or WWE and saying hey lets do a co-promotion where we bring these guys and you some guys. No, its 1 freaking guy....Fedor. Basically you want the UFC, the freaking UFC, to allow you to attach the name(and thats truly all it is) M-1 Global to any event you are on and receive a big chunk of revenue? What a joke!

Friend of mine had a great suggestion. When Lesnar destroys his next opponent, either Carwin or Velasquez, he should stand up and immediately walk to the nearest camera and calmly say......"Thats why Fedor is in Strikeforce"

Changing the subject a bit, the league should really think about doing something with the Pittsburgh Pirates if they continu to be managed the way they are. I know the excuse of being a smaller market team gets used, but look at the players they have traded in the past few years. This could have been a very competitive team. The Pirates, just in the past few years, have traded away Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, and Nate McLouth in the outfield, Aramis Ramirez at third base, Jack Wilson at short stop, Freddy Sanchez at second base, Jason Kendall at catcher, and now Adam LaRoche at first base. It won't be long before they deal Paul Maholm and Zach Dukes, and how much longer will they keep Ryan Doumit at catcher?

Give them a yr or 2 and see what they do then. They got some good players for those guys they traded. Their payroll has to be next to nothing so when all those young guys make it to the bigs they will have plenty of cash to spend to bring in vets to complete their team. Now if they dont spend money once these guys reach the bigs then I would say someone needs to do something. What they are doing is not a bad idea as long as you take advantage of the cheap young talent by surrounding them with some high priced vets when the younger guys are ready. It just sucks for pittsburg cause they have been losing for so long in such a good sports town.

Well, like Joe said during game it was prolly more of a move to free up 1st base for Freeman next season. We are gonna be very young with Heyward and Freeman in there. Hopefully it will free up some cash to sign a LF with some pop.

Could this be the announment of the Fedor signing we have all hoped for? I can only pray it is. I will say this, if Fedor signs with strikeforce instead, I will lose all respect for him. I will tag him scared and unwilling to put his "name" on the line vs Lesnar or even Couture. I doubt strikeforce can offer as much as UFC money wise and I am sure they cant offer the exposure. If Fedor does sign I would imagine we see a Fedor vs Randy fight first. I believe Lesnar is slated to fight winner of Velasquez vs Carwin.

This is a young team as well. This could be the start of something really special here. We are pretty well stacked offensively. I still believe we need little help on o-line but everywhere else we are deep with young talent. Defensively I like Jerry and LOVE the moore pick. He had a down yr his sr season but as a jr he was awesome. We should be able to fill the last few holes on defense next yr. I am scared that we will lose Mularky this yr. Hopefully we can hold onto him for few more yrs.

We have an absolutley brutal schedule but as long as the defense plays better there is no reason we cant at least win 10 games. The tough schedule will help in long run as all this young talent will cut their teeth playing in big games. I for one have never been more excited to be a falcon fan. bring on the season.

I think Lesnar just proved a point. Given training, a strong wrestler will win in MMA all the time. It was the same point that Coleman proved and that Severn could have proven. I loved the dominance of Royce Gracie. However, he was only dominant because Brazilian Jujitsu was something that nobody really knew. So all of the locks and Chokes were something unknown. However, once you got guys who fingered out the chokes and were good wrestlers, they were able to dominate. The sport was unkind to Coleman. He fought in those 20-30 minute matches with no break. Nobody can really wrestle that long. Lesnar is another strong wrestler who can dominate the sport and timing wise, he's here at the right time. IN the match against Mir, Lesnar toyed with him. After the first few minutes of the first round, it was over. He realized that he could get chest to chest. Get him in an old fashion headlock and beat the hell out of him. When you're talking about somebody as strong as Lesnar, there's no defense for that. The only recorvery that there could have been for Mir is to have caught him with a punch while they were standing. Even then, Lesnar just swatted his punches. IN the beginning of the second, Lesnar showed him how easily he could shoot and get him on the ground.. But let him up. He let him up because it was his tactic to corner him and to force him to the ground. That will be Lesnar M.O. (IMO). He will corner guys and use his strength for force them to the ground. It makes no sense for Lesnar to shot anybody when he can use the ring as his ally. I've never seen a 20 pound difference look so dominate.

I think Lesnar is trying to force Fedor to fight. I think Lesnar's villian role really makes you wonder if the outcome was predetermined?

However, I would like to see Lesnar Fedor. IF Lesnar could get past Fedor's punching, then on the ground, Fedor might have some trouble.

GSP is very good. I don't know if he could beat Silva. I have questions about him beating Penn. If you dry them off before the match, Penn may be able to beat him.

WHAT? Outcome was predetermined? Are you serious? Penn would beat GSP? You should be banned from ever talking MMA again. Nothing else I can really say. wow

You lost all credibilty when you said Steve Smith is a great role model. WOW! How many times has he punched a teamate? Then you follow that up with Vick being Falcons best player ever? What? You should be banned.

I keep trying to remind myself that while we are not in full rebuild mode we are rebuilding. we fixed the starting rotation this yr and as long as wren can do the same this offseason to the offense we will be right back on top. BUT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLEASE DO NOT BRING FRANCOEUR AND KELLY JOHNSON BACK. Francoeur has no idea and only sees 2 pitches per AB. KJ's new uppercut is aweful. The way I see it we need 2OF and a 2nd baseman. I wouldnt be upset if we got a 1st baseman that could at least hit the warning track but I can deal with Kotchman if the rest of the offense is better cause he is awesome defensive player.

Does anyone know how long Heyward is from being in Atl? As far as 2nd goes, why not trade Cranizares for a guy at the same level. Has to be a team out there that needs a 1st and has a 2nd to spare.

I can't see Vasquez going any where. His durability gives him the chance to be a top 5 innings eater in all of baseball. We need to keep him around in my opinion. Low, Jurriegens, and Vasquez are a pretty solid top 3 of a rotation. When Hudson gets healthy it will be a deep and scary starting rotation.

I could see where Frenchy and Charlie Morton get you an upgrade. Hanson is the prize that is untouchable and Medlen shows good promise but has a ceiling.

Rumors are we hot for DeRosa now. Who would not like to have him back ? If we get him in an even swap for Frenchy it would probably be the best thing for both the Braves and Francoure.

I just cant see the Braves keeping Hudson and vazquez. You know that Lowe, JJ, Hanson will be 3/5 of the roation next yr. Kawakami signed pretty big deal so he is prolly there. That leaves 1 spot and with our offensive needs either huddy or vazquez would be the obvious choice for trade bait. Dont get me wrong I would love to have them both in there and kawakami out but its just not finacially possible.

I just saw on Rome is burning that Kimbo will be on the next TUF show. I believe Rampage and Evans are the coaches. This is a genious move by Dana. I doubt Kimbo makes it to the finals of the show but it will bring big ratings. Who knows , maybe kimbo has improved and will take advantage of not having to be "the man" in the ufc. I always thought his hype was a joke but as Rome said it is not his fault. Blame the idiots at elitexc for this. Should make for good tv. cant wait to see how he interacts with the other guys in the house.

i don't think they will trade away vazquez. schuerholz has had a man crush on him for YEARS and now that he finally has him, i don't see him giving him up. i know wren is gm, but i'm sure john still has a strong voice in the team. i wouldn't count on anything from glavine, and i'd be skeptical of hudson til he was actually out there striking out major leaguers for 6 innings at a time.

i've heard boston's interest, and the outfielder they'd prolly part with is rocco baldelli (though he doesn't offer much power, either).

kc would make sense given schurholz's protege gming out there. don't know who they'd part with--coco crisp (doubt it), jose guillen (maybe, but i wouldn't bet on it), david dejesus (?).

the angels could make sense since they've got extra outfielders begging for playing time. we could get juan rivera or gary matthews jr. they need to get rid of one of them and could prolly be had for cheaper than market value since they need to get rid of one before it becomes a major headache.

the nationals also have too many outfielders. braves wouldn't get dunn or dukes, but they might be able to get lastings milledge or austin kearns. they also just released wily mo pena.

i don't think they will get a major player whoever they get. would probably be a somewhat uninspiring underachiever (like frenchy is), looking for a chance for a fresh start in a different city.

my only question is, what would they be looking to get back if they traded francouer? wouldn't seem to make sence to me to trade an outfielder when that is what you really need to most. who's going to give you a good outfielder for an outfielder you've given up on? they may be looking for a middle reliever if they trade with boston.

Obviously your not going to get a good OF if you are just trading frenchy. Thats why I was suggesting Texas. They need pitching and can spare an OF bat, especially when we are giving them another to replace the one going out. There is a relationship there already since Francouer went to work with the rangers hitting coach in the offseason. Basically the deal is Vazquez for a bat and frenchy for a pitcher to help bullpen.

I read that the Braces were thinking of dealing Francouer. Supposedly Boston is interested and maybe the royals. Got me thinking who we could possibly get for frenchy. Why not call up the Rangers and offer frenchy and vazquez for Nelson Cruz? RH power hitter to take frenchy spot in rf. Maybe we get a minor league pitcher to even out deal some. One thing for sure Braves MUST do something to adress the total lack of power and offense in general from the of. vazquez is expendable with glavine returning and Hanson ready and Huddy coming back later. combination of Vazquez and Frenchy should be able to net us an answer in the OF.

Whatever they do I just hope they dont give away any young talent for rental players. Future looks bright with Heyward, Cody Johnson, Hernandez, Hnason, Medlen, and Freeman. Next yrs starting rotation could be great. Lowe, JJ, Huddy, Hanson, Kawakami or Medlen. Get us a 2nd baseman and 2 OF and Braves ready to seriously contend next yr.

Okur is different then every other center. He plays on the perimeter more then in the paint on offense.

He is the one guy in the league who could start at center and allow Smith to play SF since Okur can hit the 3 and space the floor like Marvin does. Okur would essentially be playing Marvin's role on offense but the PF or C role on defense.

The other guy who can do that plays in Europe and we just happen to own his rights (David Anderson). Just sign DA for less money.

This post has been edited by coachx: Today, 03:15 PM

I couldnt agree more. Okur would be perfect for this team. While he is no huge shot blocker or reb guy he does help the offense and our bench. Move marvin to the bench and allow smoove to play at the 3 and horf at the 4. Smoove would dominate almost every sf in the league in the post. While I keep hearing Woody say our defense is our problem I believe like most of you it is our stagnant offense. Right now our the mismatches in our favor is getting out on break. With Okur we could cause mismatches in halcourt sets.

I hope that Mcann and Garrett returning to lineup will help and I am sure it will but I still dont see that those 2 guys are going to fix the offense. I agree that you hardly ever see braves hit and run or try to steal bases. Although, I have to admit I have seen cox do this more recently. I dont know about Jordan Shafer quite yet. One thing to his credit is that he has a great eye. He doesnt swing at bad pitches. problem is however, he fails to make contact on balls in the strike zone way too much. Will be interesting to see how this plays out because it actually goes to my point on TP. If he couldnt help frenchy how is he going to help Jordan? Maybe Shafer can go get some tips from the Rangers coach as well.

The braves have scored 102 runs thru 25 games. they scored 11 runs twice and 10 runs once. Throw out those 3 games and the braves have scored on avg of just over 3 runs a game. Obviously thats pathetic. What is the problem? injuries? maybe. I am starting to believe that it is more of a coaching problem at this point. I love TP just as much as the next guy but at some point a change must be made. Jeff Franceour is a perfect example. Jeff went to work with the Texas Rangers hitting coach in the offseason and look how he has improved. When I heard that he had done this it got me thinking that we should make a change. If our players have to go to another teams hitting instructor to improve then we have a problem. Hopefully TP can get things turned around but if not then this season should be his last.

I am continually shocked when i hear people say that teams should take the OT and sure up your o-line before you draft a QB. Most QB dont play right away. They are going to sit a yr or so and learn. Take Detroit this yr. They dont look to be contenders for playoffs next yr so they should have a high pick next yr as well. Use this yr to let your qb sit and learn then next yr draft your OT who can come in and play right away with your qb. I think it pushes back your chance to contend 1yr by taking OT 1st. Just my 2cents.

As far as Falcons draft goes. I think they did a good job. Moore was a beast his JR season so lets hope he returns to that and Jerry looked really good in the tape from senior bowl practice. wow he looked unstoppable. People seem to really like Sidburry. seattle released Leroy Hill so maybe Falcons bring him home to Ga to bolster lb corps.

I have not heard that rumor abnout Dorsey but I doubt very seriously it happens, although that would be sweet. I keep reading that we may trade down possibly to the Giants who are looking to get Bey. If we swapped picks with G-men we could still possibly get Davis while picking up a 3rd maybe. I have to say that I trust what this front office to make the right moves as they havent dissapionted us yet.

Surely they are targeting CB, Safety, DL, OLB. with the TG trade they have set themselves up to address these needs. now its just a matter of who is rated highest on their boards. I cant think of a time that I have been more excited to be a Falcon fan. My draft order would be Davis in 1st then william moore in 2nd. I wish Taylor Mays had come out this yr. I think he is the perfect fit as the combo safety falcons want.

Could someone please post kipers new 4 rd mock. I am no longer an insider member over at espn. Thanks.

I keep reading that TE is a huge need for the falcons but I dont think the team sees it that way. I seem to remember when our OC was in Pittsburg they didnt utilize the TE in the passing game very much. Peele did a fine job for us last yr anyway. Now, in no way do I see him as an upfield receiving TE he will suffice for now. I would much rather use that 1st rd pick(2nd and 3rd too) on defense. We desperatley need a DB, DT, LB. For me, if our 1st 3 picks are Cushing, Brace and Allen(somewhat of a homer pick there) I would be beyond thrilled.

I dont think we are that far away from contending again. If you look at the deals made by wren you can see this team is heading ina different direction offensively. we will no longer be a top tier HR team. I think this is a genious move by Wren when you consider that we will no longer be at the top of the league in spending. HR hitters are costly versus speedy OBP hitters. A good strategy in this day and age.

I think we will be heavily involved in the CC sweepstakes. We will prolly lose out but i am sure we will try. There are some top tier guys out there and dont rule out a trade either. I feel good about Jurjens, campillo, Morton, Parr with Huddy coming back in second half. If we can land CC, sheets or lackey we will be fine. We are set at C, 3rd, 1st(kotchman will be better than what we have seen), ss, Rf(hes not going anywhere) and 2nd(either prado, kelly or infante). That leaves LF to fill. I would love to see Manny here as much as i dislike him as a person he is a great hitter and would be awesome between chipper and mcann. I can see us going after Burrell though.

All in all we still have a bright future cause we have some real talent coming. Heyward, Hernadez, and shaeffer will be showing up very soon. Not sure about our farm system's picthers though. I saw that Cox has said he iwll be back next year. I know this is prolly blasphemy but I was hoping this was his last yr. I think maybe we need to see a change in the dugout. Think about this. With the speed and contact guys we have this yr and seeing as how we never hit hr how many times have you seen us hit and run? Not many. How many times have you seen the lineup change to get hot hitters up in the order? How long did it take to put blanco in the leadoff spot? Bobby has done great things here but I think it is time for a change.