Let The Fun And Games Begin ……….. When You’re Ready Please NFL ?
It’s been pretty much an offseason of discontent within the NFL with the owners , players and league hierarchy suddenly realizing that the start of the season is merely around the corner . Never mind the fact that teams haven’t really been able to conduct their OTA’s at their respective training facilities . In that respect the whole preseason and initial start of the regular season due to begin on the 8thd September could very well offer the fans a product that could be so bland and meaningless that it might have us wondering whether or not it wasn’t worth completely abandoning the season altogether . No one wants to see an on field product that by three or four three that could be so out of sync and mediocre that given the fact that the fans will be asked to pay a sizable sum to witness this all . And if as is being proposed we could very well see a preseason that will have to forgo two of the four scheduled games then any sort semblance of cohesiveness could very well be something that the fans are not liable to see at all .
===================================================================================================
===================================================================================================
Slide show for your perusal .
With that in mind of all the teams that I witnessed over the course of last season none more so than the Atlanta Falcons had me wondering how good could this team really be . Granted , their postseason foray ended somewhat abruptly but I put that down to more inexperience more than anything else . The team’s coach Mike Smith and his coaching staff seem to have found that semblance of cohesion and consistency that many teams yearn for in the league but so few are able to find it . Having won the NFC South rather comfortably, posting a 13-3 record within the league . Many felt that the team led my their Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Ryan could very well have pulled off a major surprise during the postseason. This season if anything a great deal is expected from this team and in particular by their erstwhile fans . The era of Michael Vick is long gone and but a distant and quickly fading memory . Team owner Arthur Blank and the front office headed by GM Rich McKay know that they were fortuitous not only in the hiring of Mike Smith as the team coach but also in their drafting of Matt Ryan .
I’ve no doubt that this season could very well see this team prove to be dominant but that being said I also believe that the NFC South could very well be a highly competitive division. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers , alongside the New Orleans Saints should prove to be formidable and with the Carolina Panthers no doubt looking to their overall number one pick from this year’s draft Cam Newton to simply show the Panthers’ fans what he’s made of . Who knows where the season could very well take us ?
Rich McKay and the scouting department made some prudent choices in the NFL Draft that will prove to be productive for the Falcons’ organization as a whole . And with those selections being strategically rendered with there being an assortment of offense and defense to bolster the needs of the team . The prize pick was wide receiver Julio Jones who will no doubt compliment what is already a formidable offensive presence alongside Michael Turner , Roddy White , Tony Gonzalez and Brian Finneran . And from a defensive standpoint this team can only get better as they being to gel more as a cohesive unit . But in retrospect it does all come down to have a balance on both sides of the ball and here too the Falcons aren’t necessarily lacking as the offense when having found its rhythm can be as good as any within the league .
Now would it be remiss to suggest that the Atlanta Falcons are not good enough to be considered amongst the NFC favorites for the Superbowl ? I think that perhaps not given that no one could really have foreseen the Green Bay Packers coming out of the NFC as conference champions much less wining the title itself . If anything all eyes were perhaps on the New Orleans Saint or Chicago Bears from last year as it related to the postseason. I read with interest where a fellow blogger within this medium suggested that the next young quarterback within the league who is on the cusp of leading a team and actually winning the Superbowl will be the Bears’ Jay Cutler . Yes the that Jay Cutler who essentially baulked and walked away from his team when they needed him most . For all of Brian Urlacher’s traits , facing reality doesn’t seem to be one of those , especially in light of the player coming to his quarterback’s defense by saying that ‘…..Cutler was a warrior and one of the hardest working players in the league as well as one of the best players at the position in the entire NFL’ . Obviously Urlacher hadn’t been taking much note of what happened in the Bears’ meltdown and their subsequent 21-14 loss to the Packers much of which could be squarely placed on Jay Culter’s shoulders for the team’s demise in the NFC title game .
As to the ongoing impasse between the league and NLFPA I would certainly like to be optimistic with regard to what I have been hearing via the various news sources . But given the fact that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has handled this situation with about as much precision as a one armed individual being asked to juggle an explosive device . I think that it’s pretty safe to say that this episode is far from over as it relates to the present work stoppage . For all of the pontificating , finger pointing and in the end so called accord that we are now seeing from all sides with Goodell and his union counterpart DeMaurice Smith of the NFLPA issuing a joint statement focusing on the two sides close to reaching an accord , I for one won’t believe it until I hear that an agreement has been reached , a binding contract signed and we are told the league will indeed begin its regular season schedule on time . Anything short of that I will still deem to be a complete failure !
=====================================================================================================
===================================================================================================
Picture gallery for your perusal .
Simply chime in with a comment as to your thoughts raised within this piece and thanks as always for the continued support as it’s greatly appreciated .
Alan aka tophatal …………… https://tophatal.wordpress.com
Picture and slide show details below .
————————————————————————————————————————————–
(1) FILE – This May 24, 2011, file photo shows Atlanta Falcons rookie receiver Julio Jones, left, greeting quarterback Matt Ryan before an informal football workout, in Buford, Ga. Ryan and Jones haven’t let the NFL lockout stop them from beginning a new friendship. AP Photo/David Goldman …..
(2) NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 28: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (L) poses for a photo with Julio Jones, #6 overall pick by the Atlanta Falcons, holds up a jersey on stage during the 2011 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall on April 28, 2011 in New York City. Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images ………
(3) Carolina Panthers’ Cam Newton, rear, looks on as teammate Steve Smith, center, calls a play at his youth football camp in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, June 17, 2011. It was another bonding experience for what will be one of the most scrutinized quarterback-receiver combinations in the NFL _ if Smith stays in Carolina. AP Photo/Chuck Burton ……
(4) Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, right, talks with Jerry Richardson, owner of the Carolina Panthers, as they arrive for meetings in Rosemont, Ill., Tuesday, June 21, 2011. Owners gathered to discuss the status of negotiations with the players for a new collective bargaining agreement. AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh ……
(5) Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy shows off his Super Bowl ring Thursday, June 16, 2011, in Green Bay, Wis., after the NFL football team’s ring ceremony at Lambeau Field. AP Photo/Mike Roemer …..
(6) NFL commissioner Roger Goodell with team owners and legal counsel for the league . Getty Images/ Hannah Foslien ……
(7) Sam Shields (37_ of the Green Bay Packers intercepts the game’s final pass and runs for 32-yards to seal the 21-14 victory for the Packers against the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship Game at Soldier Field on January 23, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois.
Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images North America ….
(8) Quarterback Jay Cutler (6 ) of the Chicago Bears celebrates his six-yard touchdown run with Devin Hester (23) against the Seattle Seahawks in the second quarter of the 2011 NFC divisional playoff game at Soldier Field on January 16, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. Johnathan Daniel / Getty Images …….
(9) After a failed coaching experiment four years ago, Falcons owner Arthur Blank, left, is thrilled with the job Mike Smith, right, has done with the team. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images …..
—————————————————————————————————————————————
NFL Schedule 2011 subject to change
Atlanta Falcons’ schedule 2011
Atlanta Falcons’ teams stats 2010
Mike Smith Head coach
Atlanta Falcons coaching staff
Share this:
Tophatal's Blog 
Falcons have a solid team. Their offense looks great, and hopefully Tony Gonzalez can stay healthy for them. I’ve always been a huge Roddy White fan, so I hope they do contend again next year…
LikeLike
Hearing they are closer to gittin a deal done….will have to just sit tight and wait
LikeLike
al clements
How much patience does it take to show when waiting for a divorce to become actually finalized ? Because this is how this mess now seems to be playing out within the NFL . If they can’t reach a compromise by the 15th July I believe that they may well have to alter the preseason and perhaps the regular season schedule !
Dr Clements I’m ready for my breast examination . Jordan Carver
tophatal
LikeLike
The NFl seaosn is way too long. Cut the preseason in half. The guys work all year round. No wonder they get hurt. i ahte to sound like a broken record. The NFL has lost touch with it base. The NFL has lost it roots. Read the history of the NFL. It was sold to the working stiff like me and my father. We arwe screwed and tattooed. Who the ^&&%$$ can afford to see a game in person. They charge us to watch the Red Zone and all the other packages. Hit em the pocket book where it hurts than maybe this idiots will learn
LikeLike
Bobby Gee
It’s not the season that’s too long it’s the damn naivete of the league hierarchy , owners and NFLPA in thinking that they can still continue to try and dupe the fans . They’re so completely out of touch with reality that they might as well be a bunch of naive young pre kindergarten kids !
It wouldn’t surprise me at all if at some time in the near future general admission and season ticket prices were to go up beyond the rate of inflation !
tophatal ………..
LikeLike
chappy
It was simply inexperience that let the Falcons down last season in the playoffs . One year older , certainly one year wiser and maturer ought to be of benefit to the team . Mike Smith is a damn good coach and in Matt Ryan they have one of the better young quarterbacks in the league by far . White reminds me of the Steelers Hines Ward the guy (White) is simply clutch when it matters most .
At best Gonzalez may well have one or two years left in him . He’s the consummate professional and to me one of best tight ends ever to have played the game in the NFL . A consensus first team ballot Hall of Famer for Canton , Ohio !
tophatal ………………
LikeLike
Good point about the quality of football being sub par coming out of the gate. I don’t think this is going to be a season to remember.
The Falcons have to be considered the favorite to win the NFC South. If the Bucs or Saints win that division I will be suprised.
Speaking of being suprised, I would be, if there is a complete season played this year.
Anything less will be an insult to the fans!
LikeLike
aero
Coming out of the gates a number of teams are bound to be sluggish especially teams such as the Colts , Saints and Patriots who we view to be finesse teams. I don’t care how much practice that’s said to be taking place concerning the practices being conducted by Peyton , Brady and Drew Brees . One way or another we’re going to see some terrible plays over the first two or three games of the regular season as teams try find their rhythm.
I think that if there’s no concrete agreement by mid July then we’ll see a shortened season of no more than 10 games at best with the customary postseason as usual. Needless to say that it wouldn’t be worthwhile to have a preseason , not with so much adverse possibility against the NFL to begin with !
LikeLike
aero
This season the NFC South will become a division where if you snooze you simply lose . The Bucs , Saints and Falcons are all capable of winning that division simply based on their standings from last season , never mind the results that took place .
I am impressed with the Bucs and their draft picks ! Mark Dominik and Morris now have the organization as well as the team heading in the right direction .
tophatal ……..
LikeLike
If they cancel the first two post-season games, wouldn’t it be the owners who suffer the most?
I mean, the players are getting their salaries regardless but those two extra home games mean that much more sales and concessions for ownership.
Can we get this thing resolved already? My head is starting to hurt.
LikeLike
Chris Humpherys
That’d definitely be the case and let’s not forget that we’d be getting a watered down and diluted product to begin with in terms of those preseason games ! Third and fourth stringers simply trying to make the rosters of the teams looking for talent on the cheap. There are at present are as many 450 unsigned free agents that are awaiting that chance and that doesn’t include the impending free agents on team rosters whose contracts are actually due to expire once a new season comes into being . Look at the mess that’s about to happen then as they’ve still yet to reach a compromise as to what the NFL salary cap may well be . Will it be $120 million or a sum less than that ? Neither side has yet come to an agreement on that but yet they’ve reached some sort of compromise on a rookie salary .
I don’t think that you genuinely believed me when I said that Goodell simply wasn’t smart enough when it came to these negotiations . Even with the legal counsel and owners at his call he simply didn’t know how to deal with someone like DeMaurice Smith who’s a skilled litigator having practiced with Patton Boggs LLC ( one of the biggest all service law firms in DC ) and he’s presented multiple cases in front of the US Supreme Court .
tophatal …………
LikeLike