Falcons' general manager Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Mike Smith have made an awful mistake that could have lasting negative effects. In last night's first round of the NFL draft the Falcons swapped first round picks with the Cleveland Browns to move up 21 spots and select Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones. Sounds good right, getting a high level wide receiver? Well, add in the fact they also had to give up this year's second and fourth round picks along with next year's first and fourth rounders. AWFUL! Especially considering Julio Jones wasn't who they really wanted. They wanted Georgia wide receiver AJ Green but had to settle for Jones when the typically ignorant Bengals wouldn't bite at four.
An organization that has preached building a foundation just threw that very foundation away. This move goes completely against everything they've done to build long-term success through depth. They, of course, will point to the fact that next year's first round pick should fall in the range of the last 6 picks or so and therefore will not be felt. While doing so, they'll ignore the fact that long-term stability and success in the NFL is built through the draft. However, this fact is not the most egregious aspect of this move. Nope, the Falcons flat out ignored their greatest weakness altogether.
A stroll down memory lane will surely guide Falcons' fans back to the Georgia Dome in January when Aaron Rodgers and crew were torching the Falcons' defense to the tune of humiliation and disgrace. Anyone with taking a breath that can spell football is crystal clear on where the Falcons consistently falter. Unfortunately, the people that matter most, those running the organization, have lost sight of that in order to make a splash and appear to be bold.
If anyone thinks this team is set-up for a deeper run in the playoffs by adding Julio Jones over any number of defensive players is out of their mind. This team, as a Championship contender, is no better today than they were the night the Packers took their pride and soul. Additionally, for those banking on free agency, good luck with that. No one has a clue how this labor situation is going to play out, including those at the highest level in the NFL.
The Falcons desperately needed defensive help; they didn't get it; didn't even try. The Falcons had a pretty good building process in place; they didn't follow it; tossed it to the side. The Falcons accomplished only one thing in last night's first round; they lost their way.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Georgia Basketball: End of Season Review
Let me start by saying I am glad Mark Fox is the coach of my favorite basketball team. He has done a very good job in bringing Georgia Basketball back to national relevance. I say national relevance because they are legitimately in the discussion of in or out of the NCAA tournament.
That being said, my view is that the things that were weaknesses/struggles at the beginning of the season remained through out the season/never improved. In correlation, this team should not be sitting at home with what should be A LOT of worry about whether or not they're in. For what it's worth, I don't think they're in nor do I think they should be in. I'm a firm believer in winning your way in and the 2011 Georgia basketball team did not do that.
Chief among the aspects that never improved for Georgia is the fact that Fox allowed guard Gerald Robinson to play out of control for several possessions in several different clusters in many games. Robinson would try, at times, to take the game over with dribble drives ending in highly contested shots and/or virtual trick shots, which turned into crucial misses or turnovers. Georgia is a better team with Gerald Robinson no doubt but, he also hurt them in quite a few games.
Free throw shooting; especially Trey Tompkins. Somehow, some way, free throw shooting has to be close to/virtually automatic. No legitimate reason for it not to be. This doesn't warrant any in-depth discussion. Bottom line, make your free throws.
Execution against the press. One could argue that it got better later in the season by way of number of turnovers (of which the Dawgs had A LOT versus the press) but, turnovers due to the press are merely one aspect of beating the press. When facing the press it comes down to getting across half court then running the offense. When they did get it across half court they were so out of rhythm that the half court offense went nowhere and possessions were basically lost.
2nd half implosions. We all know this song, not just in chorus, but verse by verse. Needless to say, improvement was basically non-existent. And the chance at a tournament berth ended with another 2nd half implosion.
I believe the Dawgs are NIT bound which is probably best for them to have a chance at playing more than one game. If they get in the tournament they will be no better than a 12 seed and will probably be one and done. As a matter of fact, they are likely to be a "First Four" participant if they get in and may never make it to a Thursday/Friday game. Georgia earned the NIT, bottom line.
Top 5 Sports Post Seasons
1. College Football: Bowls/BCS- In my head, I'm a playoff guy. HOWEVER, in my HEART, I'm a college football guy above any and all else. I want a college football playoff to crown a national champion BUT, I love the bowl system for those not in the NC mix. The bowl system gives us more, more, more by way of games to watch than a strict playoff system would. And, lets all be honest, we LOVE the debate created by the BCS. It brings about A LOT of attention and emotion.
2. College Baseball: College World Series/Omaha- I like the regional/Super Regional format as it offers some really good college baseball overall. Not to mention the Coellege World Series which, for me, is the one event that each year I feel like I'm there even though I'm watching it on TV. There is an emotional aspect by players and coaches that I've not noticed/felt at any other level of baseball. I hate they're leaving Rosenblatt and I worry that the loss of Rosenblatt will change some of the unbelievably unique atmosphere. However, as a simple post season, I can't imagine it would be passed by any below.
3. Major League Baseball: Playoffs/World Series- It was really hard for me to decide between MLB and NFL post seasons in the three and four slots. In the end, I went with the MLB post season because it offers more fluidity in that it offers weekday games. Additionally, the World Series still has a magic to it that few others have. I love football much more than baseball but, I get more on a fluid scale from MLB than the NFL offers. Additionally, as you'll read below, I feel the NFL goes too far with the Super Bowl.
4. NFL: Playoffs/Super Bowl- Some call the Super Bowl the greatest singular sporting event in America, some say the World. I'm not quite that poetic with the Super Bowl. For one, I get REALLY tired of the two week build up that merely turns into rhetoric to fill air time for NFL TV affiliates. It's simply too much: too many talking heads that build up story lines for the game that rarely come through. As for the playoffs as a whole, they're good most years and offer some good weekends, but overall they tend to be a little to cut and dry for me.
5.NCAA Basketball: March Madness- Let me start by saying I'm not a basketball fan as a whole. I pull for Georgia, and that's where it ends. However, I am not ignorant to what March Madness is as a post season event. It is exciting and it does draw me in annually for short periods of time. I love filling out a bracket and Cinderella stories as well as learning who got what seeds and who made the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, and Final Four. The Championship Game itself is something I may not watch altogether.
2. College Baseball: College World Series/Omaha- I like the regional/Super Regional format as it offers some really good college baseball overall. Not to mention the Coellege World Series which, for me, is the one event that each year I feel like I'm there even though I'm watching it on TV. There is an emotional aspect by players and coaches that I've not noticed/felt at any other level of baseball. I hate they're leaving Rosenblatt and I worry that the loss of Rosenblatt will change some of the unbelievably unique atmosphere. However, as a simple post season, I can't imagine it would be passed by any below.
3. Major League Baseball: Playoffs/World Series- It was really hard for me to decide between MLB and NFL post seasons in the three and four slots. In the end, I went with the MLB post season because it offers more fluidity in that it offers weekday games. Additionally, the World Series still has a magic to it that few others have. I love football much more than baseball but, I get more on a fluid scale from MLB than the NFL offers. Additionally, as you'll read below, I feel the NFL goes too far with the Super Bowl.
4. NFL: Playoffs/Super Bowl- Some call the Super Bowl the greatest singular sporting event in America, some say the World. I'm not quite that poetic with the Super Bowl. For one, I get REALLY tired of the two week build up that merely turns into rhetoric to fill air time for NFL TV affiliates. It's simply too much: too many talking heads that build up story lines for the game that rarely come through. As for the playoffs as a whole, they're good most years and offer some good weekends, but overall they tend to be a little to cut and dry for me.
5.NCAA Basketball: March Madness- Let me start by saying I'm not a basketball fan as a whole. I pull for Georgia, and that's where it ends. However, I am not ignorant to what March Madness is as a post season event. It is exciting and it does draw me in annually for short periods of time. I love filling out a bracket and Cinderella stories as well as learning who got what seeds and who made the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, and Final Four. The Championship Game itself is something I may not watch altogether.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Toomer's Corner: A tragedy...
One of the most integral aspects of college football is tradition.
From Georgia's "ringing the Victory Bell", to Ole Miss' walk through "The Grove"traditions in college football are as important as the games. Right up there with the best of those traditions is Auburn's "Toomer's Corner", where students roll the two giant trees after wins.
The fact that some moron decided to poison those trees is heart breaking because of the immensely negative effect on the great tradition that is rolling Toomer's Corner. And I say that as a proud Georgia fan whose team has been the reason for plenty of Toomer's rollings I can assure you.
At the end of the day, this is a tremendous loss for Auburn specifically, and a big loss for college football in general. A very sad loss. It truly does sicken me that such a gem may be, more than likely will be, lost.
From Georgia's "ringing the Victory Bell", to Ole Miss' walk through "The Grove"traditions in college football are as important as the games. Right up there with the best of those traditions is Auburn's "Toomer's Corner", where students roll the two giant trees after wins.
The fact that some moron decided to poison those trees is heart breaking because of the immensely negative effect on the great tradition that is rolling Toomer's Corner. And I say that as a proud Georgia fan whose team has been the reason for plenty of Toomer's rollings I can assure you.
At the end of the day, this is a tremendous loss for Auburn specifically, and a big loss for college football in general. A very sad loss. It truly does sicken me that such a gem may be, more than likely will be, lost.
Sportz2Day Blog Back Open...
I've been debating for a while now whether to jump back in.
However, there are things I want to say that don't fit my contributor's role with the GREAT southern college football site chuckoliver.net. If you want the most in-depth southern college football coverage (SEC, ACC, CUSA) go there, http://dev.chuckoliver.net/ ,it is at the top of the list of great collegeg football information sites.
Anyway, I've decided to return to the sportz2day blog to talk all things sports.
However, there are things I want to say that don't fit my contributor's role with the GREAT southern college football site chuckoliver.net. If you want the most in-depth southern college football coverage (SEC, ACC, CUSA) go there, http://dev.chuckoliver.net/ ,it is at the top of the list of great collegeg football information sites.
Anyway, I've decided to return to the sportz2day blog to talk all things sports.
Monday, June 14, 2010
CFB Realignment Part 4...
Changed the title because that is really what's going on. Anyway...
As we sit here today it appears that the Big XII has saved itself, which in all reality may be a good thing. It seems that Big XII commissioner Beebe got together with the TV partners and found a way to make it work, which includes allowing teams, mainly Texas, to have their own TV network.
The 10 remaining teams should be able to make it work by following the same format the PAC 10 used the past couple of season by playing a full nine game conference schedule in football. They don't need a championship game, something most Big XII coaches didn't want anyway, to crown a true champion/BCS representative. Any league with Texas & Oklahoma can thrive, which is why I so desperately wanted them to come to the SEC.
If this goes down it will be interesting to see where the PAC 10 goes to fill a 12th spot. Most reports say it'll be Utah, which makes sense. For me, I'd hate to see it as the Mountain West just got Boise State to upgrade their product as they march toward BCS AQ status. Losing Utah would undue the addition of Boise State in my opinion. I don't see another route for the PAC 10 other than Utah in this scenario as they'll need to get to 12 to make it all worth while.
Whew, lots of info still rolling in. I'll update what I think is important.
As we sit here today it appears that the Big XII has saved itself, which in all reality may be a good thing. It seems that Big XII commissioner Beebe got together with the TV partners and found a way to make it work, which includes allowing teams, mainly Texas, to have their own TV network.
The 10 remaining teams should be able to make it work by following the same format the PAC 10 used the past couple of season by playing a full nine game conference schedule in football. They don't need a championship game, something most Big XII coaches didn't want anyway, to crown a true champion/BCS representative. Any league with Texas & Oklahoma can thrive, which is why I so desperately wanted them to come to the SEC.
If this goes down it will be interesting to see where the PAC 10 goes to fill a 12th spot. Most reports say it'll be Utah, which makes sense. For me, I'd hate to see it as the Mountain West just got Boise State to upgrade their product as they march toward BCS AQ status. Losing Utah would undue the addition of Boise State in my opinion. I don't see another route for the PAC 10 other than Utah in this scenario as they'll need to get to 12 to make it all worth while.
Whew, lots of info still rolling in. I'll update what I think is important.
Friday, June 11, 2010
CFB Expansion Part 3...
First off, I should probably be calling this CFB realignment, but anyway.
As we sit here right now it appears that Texas and Texas A&M are on different pages as to what is best for each. It may well work out that they travel together once all is said and done but that scenario is no longer a sure thing.
Just to update, A&M is seriously considering an opportunity to join the SEC and there have been reports that Oklahoma is also giving the SEC option some thought. As for Texas, they are playing the high and mighty academic game in relation to their AAU designation but I truly believe they simply want no part of playing in the SEC athletically. They can rule the roost in either the Big 12 or PAC 10 but that would not be the case in the SEC. Even with the SEC willingness to move Bama & Auburn to the East to make it work, Texas knows it would have to face a beast annually in the championship game that could very well knock the Horns out of an NC shot.
OK, I ended yesterday by hinting at the roles the Big East and ACC will play in all of this. My whole hearted belief is that both conferences will have teams taken from them, Big East by the Big 10 and the ACC by the SEC. The ACC may be ok if the SEC lands Texas, A&M, Oklahoma, & Ok. St., but if not the SEC will look to the ACC. Likely candidates? Clemson, FSU, GT, Miami, and VT. Of course the Miami AD has already come out and expressed Miami's undying love for the ACC. That is, of course, as long as they aren't left in a basketball only league.
As for the Big East, no doubt they will be targeted by the Big 10 to fill out at least three of the four final spots to get to the super conference 16. Candidates? More than likely Rutgers, Syracuse, and PITT. The 4th of course will be held for Notre Dame to realize they are irrelevant when standing alone and come on home. But, should Notre Dame continue to live in the distant past, it appears Mizzou will be back in play for a Big 10 spot.
In a strange twist, former SEC commissioner Roy Kramer stated in an interview that he believes the SEC will target West Virginia from the Big East as one of four should the Big 12 targets not work out.
Not sure if or when they'll be a part 4. I think I've covered all that has been reported as well as my thoughts/beliefs.
No matter, as has been stated by any and all, college athletics is set to change forever. As a fan I'm excited.
As we sit here right now it appears that Texas and Texas A&M are on different pages as to what is best for each. It may well work out that they travel together once all is said and done but that scenario is no longer a sure thing.
Just to update, A&M is seriously considering an opportunity to join the SEC and there have been reports that Oklahoma is also giving the SEC option some thought. As for Texas, they are playing the high and mighty academic game in relation to their AAU designation but I truly believe they simply want no part of playing in the SEC athletically. They can rule the roost in either the Big 12 or PAC 10 but that would not be the case in the SEC. Even with the SEC willingness to move Bama & Auburn to the East to make it work, Texas knows it would have to face a beast annually in the championship game that could very well knock the Horns out of an NC shot.
OK, I ended yesterday by hinting at the roles the Big East and ACC will play in all of this. My whole hearted belief is that both conferences will have teams taken from them, Big East by the Big 10 and the ACC by the SEC. The ACC may be ok if the SEC lands Texas, A&M, Oklahoma, & Ok. St., but if not the SEC will look to the ACC. Likely candidates? Clemson, FSU, GT, Miami, and VT. Of course the Miami AD has already come out and expressed Miami's undying love for the ACC. That is, of course, as long as they aren't left in a basketball only league.
As for the Big East, no doubt they will be targeted by the Big 10 to fill out at least three of the four final spots to get to the super conference 16. Candidates? More than likely Rutgers, Syracuse, and PITT. The 4th of course will be held for Notre Dame to realize they are irrelevant when standing alone and come on home. But, should Notre Dame continue to live in the distant past, it appears Mizzou will be back in play for a Big 10 spot.
In a strange twist, former SEC commissioner Roy Kramer stated in an interview that he believes the SEC will target West Virginia from the Big East as one of four should the Big 12 targets not work out.
Not sure if or when they'll be a part 4. I think I've covered all that has been reported as well as my thoughts/beliefs.
No matter, as has been stated by any and all, college athletics is set to change forever. As a fan I'm excited.
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