Thursday, April 30, 2009

All Men are Created Equal



Strangely enough, this blog was discussed at my weekly Wednesday night church meeting last night. Father Ragan Schriver was our guest speaker, so that at least made the discussion very entertaining...even if it was hard to swallow.

As Father Ragan is the Executive Director of Catholic Charities, he was there to talk about how we can help the underprivileged. As you can imagine, the discussion began with a lesson on how we are all created equal. Despite social distinctions that make all men different, it is important to remember (even when it's difficult) that humanity is commutative. 2+4=4+2. Blah, blah...you get the point of the lesson.

This is when it was pointed out that judging others visually is what sometimes leads to hatred. Then, a good friend pointed out, "it's kind of like your I HATE THE FALCONS blog." We laughed, but really started to discuss whether it was okay or not to recognize that the Falcons do suck.

I came away from the meeting understanding that since it is a fact that the Falcons suck, it's more than okay discuss that on my blog. Then again, the fact that I hate the Falcons (and their fans) with the burning passion of a thousand STDs is probably not okay.

I started to remember some of the wishes/prayers I've made in regards to Atlanta players in the past. I'm pretty sure I've hoped for DeAngelo Hall's death on many occasions. I've even been known to lose my voice while screaming at him through my television. As recently as last season, I specifically remember praying for career-ending injuries for John Abraham and Michael Turner.

The good news is that we came up with the theory that it's perfectly fine for me to just tone-down my dreams of misfortune for the Falcons. Like, it's okay to imagine a senario where Matt Ryan gets into an unfortunate fender bender that could ruin his day, and make him late for a game. It's NOT okay for me to pray the rosary in hopes that he would die in a fiery car crash.

It's okay for me to wear a shirt with a Falcons logo on it, and a big X drawn over it. It's NOT okay for me to brutally murder a real falcon, and wear it's carcass as a hat.

Instead of wishing that Roddy White would go to real Hell, I'll now just admit that I think he belongs in Football hell. Big "H" Hell might be a little too intense, but Football hell is definitely a destination I could see Roddy headed towards. I don't really know what Football hell is, but it makes me feel better about myself just to damn someone to an imaginary place that I made up just now.
I think the point is to support "my team", and hope that they play exceptionally well, as opposed to wishing bad things upon the Falcons. Meh!


Make no mistake about it, this blog has not gone soft. I will still gladly share with you the daily facts that prove how badly the Falcons suck. Even if they might somehow not suck on the field, you know that group of thugs will suck somewhere in life. I pledge to always provide that info for you right here. I also pledge to tone-down my hatred for the Atlanta Falcons...at least for the rest of this week!

Just please don't ask me to reconsider my hatred for the University of Alabama. I'm just not that good of a Catholic.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

NFC South Draft Recap (Panthers)

The Carolina Panthers ('08 NFC South Champions) did not have a first round pick in this year's draft. This year, they stuck to the buy-now pay-later mentality at the draft.
The Panthers traded next year's first round pick (again) in order to move up and grab first round talent Everett Brown (DE) early in this year's second round. I like this aggresive method of drafting that the Panthers have adopted. It shows that they believe they can win right now, and are willing to do what it takes to make that happen.
Kiper had Everette Brown projected as a first rounder for most of the off-season, but luckily enough for the Panthers, he was still available early in the second. Many have also said that if Brown had stayed at Florida State for his senior year, he'd have definitely been a top ten pick next year.
Brown immediately fills the team’s need of an effective pass rusher, and will certainly compete for a starting position. He also lessens the blow and fallout of the Julius Peppers situation, regardless of what happens (holdout, trade, extension, etc).
I also really like the Everette Brown pick, since we are from the same town. I grew up in Wilson, NC, and lived their until the 11th grade. I went to Wilson-Fike High School. Brown went to Wilson-Beddingfield High School. The Bruins sure sucked when I was in high school, but I'm more than happy to see a kid like this make it to Charlotte to play for the Panthers.
Later in the second round, the Panthers selected Sherrod Martin (DB) Troy. He effectively addresses two positions for the Panthers: CB and FS. Martin is a highly talented playmaker that the team believes will be an effective nickel back, with the potential to start in the event a starter goes down to injury. The first two picks are clearly Ron Meeks picks. As the new defensive coordinator for Carolina, it seems that he really might be implementing some form of the Tampa 2 in Charlotte.
In the third round, Carolina selected Corvey Irvin (DT) Georgia. He shows exceptional athleticism for a man his size. Extremely strong, he gives the Panthers some much needed depth to a defensive line that was clearly guilty of wearing down late in games, and appeared to simply be outmanned late in the season. The Panthers seems to love D-line depth from UGA.
Fourth round pick: Mike Goodson (RB) Texas A&M. The immediate heir apparent to special teams standout and team leader Nick Goins. Goodson, a junior, was a bit of a surprise when he announced his intention to forego his senior year with the Aggies. His best fit will be as a change of pace back, and perhaps a slot receiver (a la Goins). Extremely dangerous in the open field, could see time as a returner as well. Nice selection that offers needed depth at several positions.
Fourth round pick #2: Tony Fiammetta, FB Syracuse: Brad Hoover is an outstanding overachiever, but is 32 and will soon start to show the wearing down that comes with the territory. Enter Tony Fiammetta, the best fullback this draft has to offer.
Fifth round: Duke Robinson, OG Oklahoma: Thought by many to be the best OG in the draft, character and judgment concerns pushed him all the way to the 5th round. Provided he can put his maturity concerns to rest, Robinson has the ability to not only start from day one, but also has the ability to reach the Pro-Bowl in time. I was screaming at the TV when he wasn't selected in the previous round. I couldn't believe he was still available for this pick.
Seventh round: Captain Munnerlyn, CB South Carolina: Hurt himself by declaring for the draft early. Lack of height hurts him. Loves to play physical. Has the speed to contribute immediately in the return game. It's still nice to see more depth at CB...the Panthers sure need that.

UDFAs Confirmed

-- T Gerald Cadogan, Penn State (one of the top undrafted rookies)

-- LB Brit Miller, Illinois

-- QB Hunter Cantwell, Louisville

-- RB Jamall Lee, Bishop's College (Canada)

-- DT Lonnie Harvey, Morgan State (wide)

-- DT Marlon Favorite, LSU

-- LB Mortty Ivy, West Virginia

-- SS Anthony Scirrotto, Penn State

-- DT Justin Kershaw, Michigan State

-- LS Nick Sundberg, Cal

-- T Patrick Brown, Central Florida

-- WR Jason Chery, Louisiana-Lafayette

-- G C.J. Davis, Pittsburgh

-- C Keith Grey, Connecticut

-- TE Kevin Brock, Rutgers

-- LB Anthony Heygood, Purdue

Kiper rated the Panthers draft a C. I'd call it a B- maybe!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

NFC South Draft Recap (Bucs)


The Tampa Bay Bucs went into the Draft with a lot of holes to fill on their team. Mark Dominik and Raheem Morris went out and filled every position that they were in need of. The question is, did they fill them with the right players.
The Josh Freeman pick in Round 1 will definitely be debated. At 6'5 250, he has all of the tools that are needed to be a starting QB in the NFL. But playing for a team as weak as Kansas St. has put a lot of doubt in the minds of Buc fans

In the third round, Tampa picked Roy Miller, a DT out of Texas. This might be the Bucs most popular, and successful draft pick. The 6'1 310 pounder is the perfect DT to help with Jim Bates's defense. He may even be a starter from day one.

Taking Kyle Moore, a DE from USC, in the fourth round was a good pick in terms of position, but was questionable because Lawrence Sidbury was sitting there as well. The Bucs questioned whether Sidbury had played at a high level of competition and unfortunately, he ended up being drafted by THE FALCONS

The Bucs finished the draft by taking OT Xavier Fulton, CD EJ Biggers, and WR Sammie Slaughter. These three players filled big needs for the Bucs and all have a lot of potential. Slaughter could be one of the steals of the draft.

All in all, I felt the Bucs had a good, solid draft and would give it a 7.5 out of 10.


I'd like to thank Bucs' fan "Filthy Rich" for contributing this entry.

NFC South Draft Recap (Falcons)

In my mind, the Atlanta Falcons will always suck like Mr. Belding (Beldo) at jousting. However, they did have a respectable season last year (11-5 record), and a decent draft this past weekend.
Round: 1 (pick 25) - Peria Jerry - DT - Ole Miss.
Round: 2 (pick 55) - William Moore - Safety - Missouri.
Round: 3 (pick 90) - Chris Owens - CB - San Jose St.
Round: 4 (pick 125) - Lawrence Sidbury - DE - Richmond.
Round: 5 (pick 138) - William Middleton - CB - Furman.
Round: 5 (pick 156) - Garret Reynolds - OT - UNC.
Round: 6 (pick 176) - Spencer Adkins - ILB - Miami.
Round: 7 (pick 210) - Vance Walker - DT - Georgia Tech.

I originally thought the Falcons were giving up too much for Gonzo last week, but now it appears that they may have actually had a plan. In comparison to what the Chiefs gave up for Vrabel and Cassel, the Falcons DID still give up a lot for an older TE...but they won't feel that until next year's draft. They needed defense, and that is just about all they drafted this year.
It truly pains me to admit it, but I believe Atlanta really helped itself in this draft. They added and youth to a spotty defense, and they really helped their chances at competing for another playoff spot this season. They filled the gaps they had, and will probably be at least as good as they were last year. That doesn't mean I'm not seriously rooting for Matt Ryan to slip into a Vince Young type sophomore slump!

I also noticed that there is a name on their UDFA list that makes me want to vomit all over myself. The Atlanta Falcons have signed former MTV kid John-Parker Wilson. As a University of Tennessee graduate, I truly despise this kid as a football player. I'm sure he's a nice guy and all when he's hanging around with his frat buddies...talking about short-shorts and how to flip their hair to the side, and all that...but he played QB for Alabama. I am required by TN state law to pray for his failure in the league. Now that he's a Falcon, that will just come naturally!

John-Parker (why the hell can't he just pick one of those names and go by that??) Wilson joins Matt Ryan, Chris Redman and DJ Shockley on the depth chart. It's likely that Redman and Shockley will compete for one roster spot. John-Parker (ridiculous name) will most likely be given the third-string QB role next season.

Nine other undrafted free agents are receiver Darren Mougey (San Diego State), receiver Aaron Kelly (Clemson), defensive end Maurice Lucas (Colorado), long snapper Robert Shiver (Auburn), offensive lineman Ryan Stanchek (West Virginia), offensive lineman Jose Valdez (Arkansas), linebacker Derek Nicholson (Florida State), punter/kicker Robbie Dehaze (Northern Arizona), and linebacker Brock Christopher (Missouri).

Meanwhile, Michael Vick technically remains on the roster.

Bucs and Panthers Draft recaps are coming very soon.

Monday, April 27, 2009

NFC South Draft Recap (Saints)


The New Orleans Saints finished the 2008 season with an 8-8 record. That would have gotten them a division title elsewhere in the NFL, but in the NFC South...it was good enough to finish dead-last.
The Saints first pick in the 2009 NFL Draft was in the 14 spot. After that pick, they only drafted three other players. Here's a recap of how the Saints did this weekend.

Round: 1 (pick 14) - Malcom Jenkins - Cornerback - Ohio State. This is the guy who has been forcing scouts to wonder, "is he a CB, or is he a safety?" At just over 6-feet tall, Jenkins is on the taller side for a corner. Corners that size can have a hard time sinking their hips and exploding out of their cuts, but he has the toughness, speed and ball skills to develop into an effective press or Cover 2 corner. Some believe he still might be a stronger threat at safety as he is a sound tackler, and does an excellent job of reading eyes when he lines up in that position.
Round: 4 (pick 116) - Chip Vaughn - Safety - Wake Forest. Vaughn is an aggressive safety who possesses excellent size. He also is an effective open-field tackler and is capable of occasionally delivering a big hit. However, he lacks fluidity in the hips and is going to have problems covering a wide area when lined up in the center of the field.
Round: 4 (pick 118) - Stanley Arnoux - ILB - Wake Forest. Hey, didn't they JUST take a dude from Wake Forest? The Saints did a good job at drafting some depth at LB here. Arnoux is an instinctive player who is extremely stout defending the run on the interior. Although it seems that he might be limited athletically, he can mask this flaw with his overall football intelligence. He is a two-down linebacker and his overall strength is plugging-up the middle.
Round: 5 (pick 164) - Thomas Morstead - Punter - Southern Methodist. Morstead was the second and final punter taken in the draft this year. He displays above-average leg strength along with overall accuracy. He also brings added versatility as a situational place kicker. However, he needs to speed up the process as he's had a history of getting punts blocked in his collegiate career. I thought the Saints were going to try and pick up another power RB, but I guess trading up to grab a second punter was just too tough to irresist.
Mel Kiper Jr.'s grade: "C"
Bucs, Falcons, and Panthers recaps coming later in the week.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Delhomme gets extention

Jake Delhomme has officially signed a five year contract extention with the Carolina Panthers. The deal is worth $42.5 million, with $20 million guaranteed. In all honesty, it seems like a pretty sound deal for Carolina considering Matthew Stafford is likely to sign a six year deal worth $40 million guaranteed...if the Lions take him with their first overall pick.
Many folks in Charlotte might be cringing at this extention, considering it comes after Delhomme's six turnover home playoff loss to the Cardinals a few months ago. Some might even call Delhomme's performance in that game his worst game ever...like, including Pee-wee football and even touch games in his backyard with the neighborhood kids. Actually, we'll call it MOST people probably feel that way, as opposed to SOME.
Despite that one bad/horrific game, I'd like to put the Panther fans at ease. Jake has been the starter in Carolina for six seasons.

2003- Went to Super Bowl

2004- Lost Steve Smith, Kris Jenkins and top 2 RBs

2005- Went NFC Championship

2006- Got injured and missed three games. Missed playoffs due to tiebreaker

2007- Delhomme injured resulting in surgery

2008- 12-4 regular season record

115 touchdowns to 76 interceptions

54-33 record as starter

There aren't ten other NFL QBs with numbers like those. Believe me, I get that the taste leftover from that Arizona game might sicken some Panthers fans, but I think Jake will be just fine. He's got a solid offensive line, D.Williams/J.Stewart in the backfield, and some receiver with "incendiary" speed.

At least he gets to play Atlanta twice every season. The Falcons suck!



Thursday, April 23, 2009

Gonzalez to Atlanta

TE Tony Gonzalez has been traded to the Atlanta Falcons for a 2nd round pick in the 2010 NFL draft. This marks the first bit of action between former New England colleagues Scott Pioli, the Chiefs’ General Manager, and Thomas Dimitroff, Falcons’ General Manager.
It's very fitting that Gonzalez would go to the Falcons, since I already dislike him. Next to Braylon Edwards, he's got to be the most overrated player on Fantasy Football draft boards. I'm a little bitter because both of those players screwed me last year.
My favorite part about this trade is that Tony Gonzalez had a chance to go to the Falcons last year, but was decidedly against it. Now that the Chiefs are even worse than the Falcons, he's changed his mind.
This reminds me of that chick in middle school who is too good to go out with you when you first ask her. She even goes off to make fun of you to her cheerleader friends for even thinking she'd consider going out with you. THEN, when she figures out that her current boyfriend is the biggest d-bag in school, and nobody else is showing interest...she's suddenly willing calling you back. That has happened to everyone...right???
I believe Atlanta paid too much in this trade. I love how KC gave up a second rounder to NE and they got a starting QB in Cassel, and a decent LB in Vrabel. All Atlanta got for their second rounder is a second round TE.
Sure, Gonzalez is a decent tight end, but what has he got, a couple of years left as an elite guy? With all of the defensive needs the Falcons have right now, shouldn't they have spent a little less on a two-year fix at a position like TE?
Oh, and TG also shares a name with one of the leaders of the Mexican Mafia.
Hey...maybe this will be good news for Brad Cottam (KC tight end and former Vol).


Wednesday, April 22, 2009

About this blog

This blog is dedicated to the teams of the NFC South. All four teams will get equal exposure, it's just that I really freaking hate the Falcons.



Hey Atlanta fans...