The Falcons

[Swatguy]

I have several questions at this time concerning the Falcons.

1)Was the dismissal of Mora needed?

2)Was Petrino a good hire?

3)How long will it take for Vick to be comfortable with the offense?

4)What are your expectations (.500, playoffs ect...)

I had no expectations for the last two seasons particularly because of Knapp, the receivers and vick. I really dont know what to expect now. What do youse think?

[joannes3000]

1. No, but getting rid of Knapp was. And with him and Mora being such good friends, I think it was impossible to get rid of Knapp without getting rid of Mora also. I would've been fine with Mora as our HC, but only if we got a brand new OC and offensive playcaller at the very least.

2. Sort of. I would've rather had a proven NFL guy like Whisenhunt or Cameron if we were looking for just an offensive-minded HC. But in bringing Petrino, we get a great offensive mind and I think he played a major role in us landing Hue Jackson as our OC.

3. At least all of next season.

4.

Best case - 11 wins and a wildcard berth. This will take much fewer injuries than we've had in the past two seasons and for Vick to have a revelation as a passing QB under Petrino/Jackson along with the WRs benefitting from Jackson and the presence of Horn.

Probable case - 9 wins, no playoffs.

Worst case - 7 wins. New offense, new faces in starting slots on both sides of the ball, Vick flounders in his first year of grasping the offense.

[chillzatl]

1. Yes, IMO is was. He was just had zero control over the team and didn't seem to have the toughness to change that. I don't mind the whole "players coach" attitude, but he went so far with it that he couldn't be that and the tough disciplinarian that a coach needs to be at times.

2. I think so. He's great at developing offenses and he's going to be the traditional coach figure that this team needs. After Mora it might rub some of the players the wrong way, but that's just tough. He's going to play traditional football in that he wants big lines, strong running backs, good receivers and a QB that can manage it all. He's going to expect a lot from Vick and it will be up to Vick to deliver.

3. he's a quarterback and it's time to stop making excuses for him. He is given more free passes and has more excuses made for him based on "the system" than any QB that I can recall. If he can stand up in the pocket, read the defense, find his receivers and make a decent pass, he will grasp the offense just fine. Those are the basics of what any QB is expected to do, regardless of scheme. If he struggles to grasp these things, I'll start leaning towards the group that thinks he simply doesn't have what it takes to be a good QB in the NFL. I won't put a specific number of games on this one because I feel he should grasp it from day 1.

4. We still have talent, though it's not the configuration that our coach wants right now. It probably won't be for another season or two either, but I think we can still make the playoffs with this roster. My expectations are that with the discipline that Petrino brings, we should be able to surpass last years effort, even if it doesn't mean a playoff berth. I would be happy with that as well. Well, maybe not happy, but not angry.

[AHF]

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I have several questions at this time concerning the Falcons.

1)Was the dismissal of Mora needed?

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Probably. Things were spinning out of control and he clearly didn't have the cahones or insight to can Knapp as was desparately needed.

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2)Was Petrino a good hire?

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I hope so. I don't know.

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3)How long will it take for Vick to be comfortable with the offense?

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As long as it takes for us to get an OL that can pass block. Hopefully less time than that.

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4)What are your expectations (.500, playoffs ect...)

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Somewhere near .500, with > .500 being good with the turnover we are going to have on both our lines.

[troubleman]

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1)Was the dismissal of Mora needed?

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Not really, but the coordinators had to go.

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2)Was Petrino a good hire?

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The jury is still out on this one. I wasn't thrilled with the hire, but he is the coach now and he has my support.

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3)How long will it take for Vick to be comfortable with the offense?

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I don't believe learning the offense has ever been an issue. When I watch the Falcons, I see a flawed offensive football team. They have had a bad offensive line, and bad to average receivers since 1999, but of course every flaw is the quarterbacks fault. Chris Chandler was a pure passing qb, but please look at his passing numbers from 1999,2000,and 2001. They look very similar to Michael Vicks numbers, but of course it's all Vick's fault.

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4)What are your expectations (.500, playoffs ect...

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I expect this team to be average (7-9,8-8), unless they have a great draft and are somehow injury free. I told people in 2005, that going to the NFC Championship game was probably the worst thing that could have happened to the Falcons, because they were a flawed team, and fan expectation would go thru the roof. Unfortunately, I was right.

[DrReality]

Vick has been throught the coaching change and you would think that he has learned how to adjust. He's never shown that he can have the grasp of an offense. Whether that's due to maturity, lack of ability, coaching? The jury is still out. But I think that Patrino has the maturity to lead in a way that Mora couldn't. Ten or 11 wins would prbably be a good season.

[HawksFan87]

It's all Vick's fault this team fails every year. It's his fault. He has a bunch of scrubs around him on this team. Vick needs to learn how to block for himself, catch his own balls. And throw a perfect ball everytime.

[cyman3]

I think we can make the playoffs. We are talented enough. And our conference is really up for grabs (as NEW ORLEANS proved last year). Im not totally convinced that New Orleans is head and shoulders better than us.

We had some injury issues last year (especially on defense).

We do have great players. We arent short on talent.

BEST CASE- i think playoffs (win the division).

PROBABLE CASE- i think WILDCARD or missing it by 1 game.

WORST CASE- VICK gets injured and we all know what happens then... 4-12 season?