Ask The Falcoholic
by Dave Choate on Nov 2, 2008 11:58 PM CST
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PrintI bet you've been looking forward to this week for....well, weeks.
That's right. The Saints will now square off against the Falcons in a little something I like to call "a game of football." After seeing the Falcons surge back into relevance, I've been eagerly anticipating the day we could take revenge on you bastards wonderful people for the way you've tended to box us around the last few seasons.
So feel free to direct any questions regarding the Falcons my way. I'll be happy to answer them, and glad to enjoy this game alongside a great group of fans.
I still hate the Saints, though.
This FanPost was written by a reader and member of Canal Street Chronicles. It does not necessarily reflect the views of CSC and its staff or editors.
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you guys are going to poop your nest as soon as we hit town and you know it
Dear Dave The F,
Kinda got started off on the wrong foot here. But, my first question is positive and supportive: You have GOT to be loving this season, right? Matt Ryan is well ahead of schedule and looking good. What I had marked as 2 wins is now up in the air.
Poop our nest?
Maybe so, but at least we’ll do it with dignity.
And yeah, I’m loving this season. I predicted five or six wins and that seemed like heresy when we started the year; now we’re already at five. Chances are we still won’t make the playoffs, but I’m thrilled with our progress even if we don’t.
LOL! With dignity, indeed
1- Do you miss Matt Schaub? At all? Who are the draft picks you got in exchange for him and how are they doing?
2- Your rookie head Coach Mike Smith: Who the hell is he? Where’d he come from? How much credit do you allocate to him for this year’s success?
3- Michael Turner was LT2’s long time backup. Reveal your secret fears that when Turner came to Atlanta, he was going to suck like Dominic Rhodes or LaMont Jordan when they got out from under their star RB’s.
I'll take 'em one at a time
1- We don’t miss Schaub. We got some great picks for him, Ryan’s doing just as well, and Schaub now seems perenially injury-prone. In exchange, we got picks which brought in late-blooming DE Jamaal Anderson (who finally notched his first two sacks in his second year), solid second-year guard Justin Blalock, and then traded the second second round pick to Washington, who then drafted Fred Davis. It’s not the world’s greatest haul, but we filled positions of need and I’m reasonably happy with the results.
2- Mike Smith came from Jacksonville, a defensive guy who had a solid reputation but was virtually unknown. I give him and his staff a ton of credit for this season. They’ve schemed well, maximized the potential of our players and played aggressive in almost every situation. They’re not cowed, and I like that.
3- I actually had surprisingly little doubt about Turner. We needed a true #1 back who could carry the load, and I was much more considered about the possibility of injuries than I was about production. Turner looked like a beast in San Diego, and he’s certainly putting together a fine season for Atlanta.
Keep ’em coming!
How do you respond to this:
“Every time I look at Atlanta I see what a quarter million Confederate soldiers died to prevent.” —John Shelton Reed
Of course, he’s referring to the Falcons.
Now, on to more serious questions: what have been the social ramifications of the switch from homeboy thug Michael Vick to white-bread-and-mayo Matt Ryan? It seems to have helped the team; but what’s happening in the community? Have they totally written off Vick and embraced Ryan, or does Vick still have substantial support there?
BURN!
You just quoted me some serious smack.
As far as the community goes, it’s inevitable that some people are going to be resistant to loving Ryan and cling to Vick. Whether that’s racial, nostalgic, or something else entirely I don’t know. With every game, more people are getting back on the Falcons bandwagon (sad state of affairs for our fans) and leaving Vick behind. Still, there’s definitely support there.
And here’s a quote for you from Mark Twain:
“It has been said that a Scotchman has not seen the world until he has seen Edinburgh; and I think that I may say that an American has not seen the United States until he as seen Mardi-Gras in New Orleans.”
Take that!
Not at all
The Raiders grossly overpaid for him and he was a quality #2 corner at his very best. His attitude and tendency to screw up in the biggest times of need make him well-suited for any other team but ours.
Speaking of Vick....
rotoworld.com:
Some players are openly campaigning for the Raiders to sign Michael Vick once he is released from prison.
DeAngelo Hall, Justin Griffith, and Ashley Lelie said they’d put up some of their salaries as collateral if the Raiders sign Vick, who is hoping to get out of jail in time for training camp next season. JaMarcus Russell must love this. It’s still a longshot, but Al Davis might be the only owner in the league that would actually take talk like this seriously.
Nov. 3 – 11:42 a.m. ET
Source: USAToday.com
"I still hate the Saints"
That’s good; my congratulations. Traditional rivals are supposed to hate, loathe, and despise each other; and it’s good to see those longstanding traditions continue. What are the Bucs and Panthers to us, who have been united in hatred since 1967?
So…are you looking forward to a winning season now? Of course you realize that just spells doom for next season, right?
Rivalry
I find it very hard to get worked up about the Panthers, though the fact that they keep beating us makes it easier on me. You guys are our old school rivals, though.
I’m very much looking forward to a winning season, and I hope we’ll finally get our back-to-back. One step at a time, though, I guess.
Answer me another question
Do you think the Falcons could ever possibly beat the Saints in the permanently-snakebit franchise category? At least you guys have been to a Super Bowl. We were supposed to go last year. We were supposed to go this year. Instead, look what’s happened.
Tough to say
We’ve had an intertwined history in some ways, given our divisional proximity. I’ll agree that we have the leg up on Super Bowls, but I’d also argue that we’re at least equally pathetic based on the fact that we’ve never had back-to-back winning seasons.
Despite your injuries and inadequacies, I respect you guys. I still insist to anyone who will listen that you’re better than the Bucs, but those bastards keep winning somehow.
Hey, Falconer!
Thanks for good-naturedly taking your lumps from us – is Saintsational Dave getting the same from your guys on your site? Ha! Rivalries are fun – irrational and insane hatred that turns to pity once you’re the most recent victor…
I, as a past-dwelling hanger-on Saints fan, constantly go back and replay losses in my head (the “If only…” game, I call it) and say things to myself like, “well, we’d have won vs. Denver/Minnesota if Gramatica hadn’t missed those makeable kicks, and if we had just got that one first down against Washington in the 4th, that would be a win too, but we just got out and out spanked by Carolina, so we reaily should be 7-1” I know this really doesn’t count for anything, but I do it anyway. (And I try not to look at close wins and project how they could have gone the other way – I told you it’s not rational.)
Tell me about the Falcon losses this season – could any of them have gone the other way just by virtue of a play or two here or there, or were you just flat out whupped in them?
And I know you’re only 8 games into Mike Smith’s tenure, but does it seem he’s winning the right way – with an overall changed team attitude, selflessness, building for the long-term, etc.? How do folks feel around town about the team?
Thanks!
To be honest
The games against the Panthers and Bucs couldn’t have been won unless we did a whole lot of things right. I’d like to believe the Falcons would’ve won if not for a terrible call against the Eagles, but that’s wishful thinking.
As far as Mike Smith goes, he’s doing a great job with this team. Everyone is company line under him, and he’s built a team that works hard and plays smart football already. It helps that he’s the most aggressive coach we’ve had since…well, a long time.
Brooking
rotoworld.com:
Keith Brooking received a $5,000 fine for last week’s hit on Donovan McNabb. Brooking did not draw a flag on the play, but that hasn’t stopped the league in the past, especially this year.
Nov. 4 – 9:03 a.m. ET
Dave The F, did you see they play? Agree or disagree? Also, doesn’t Brooking look like a pansy when he wears his glasses, as opposed to, oh say, Mike Singletary?
To be fair
Mike SIngletary always wears glasses on his ass, so he looks like an intellectual when he pulls his pants down in the locker room.
I saw the play and I think it’s a dumb call. It hadn’t even occurred to me that the NFL might fine him for that, given that there doesn’t appear to be any helmet to helmet contact and the play was not whistled.
Hey Dave!
How is Chevis Jackson doing? I haven’t heard his name around the league and was wondering if he’s starting CB or nickel or a back up. I think he has potential to be a really good CB and want to see him succeed (even in a Falcons uni).
At this point he's getting sporadic playing time
But he’s got excellent size and I like his coverage instincts. I think if Chris Houston continues to falter, Jackson will eventually steal his job outright.
Dave- Blitzes?
As a student of the game, have you noticed the Saints never blitz- never fake a blitz, and basically have the most “vanilla” defense in the NFL making it so easy to predict, figure out and counter? There is very little if any presure on the QB and no creative attempts to do so but just 4 down lineman and 3 standard linebackers running thru the motions – that’ s it. I could teach a soccer player the whole Saints technocal defense in an afternoon. Is it just me? Please tell me what you think. I’d like to hear the opinionion of someone who is not a Saints fan.
Vanilla's a good word
I think you combine a pretty bland scheme that worries more about stopping yardage than preventing scores with personnel that’s either great or flat out awful (and here I am thinking of Randall Gay) and you end up with something that doesn’t do either particularly well.
If I was going to advise the Saints—unlikely scenario—I would tell them to immediately fire Gibbs and get someone more aggressive. Then I would build a team that featured guys who hit hard and have an excellent awareness of their surroundings, and I would try to pile up big plays as if I were the Saints offense on the other side of the ball. I don’t know that it would be effective, but it seems like a good direction for you guys to go in.
I have no idea if any of that made sense.
by Dave Choate on Nov 9, 2008 11:35 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
I think you hit it right on the money
The only thing you left out keeping with the vanilla theme is that we have defensive ends that aren’t really speed rushers or bull rushers, kind of just generic wealthy mediocre rushers.
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