Sure, the loss in the playoffs Saturday to Arizona was disappointing but did it take anything away from what was an amazing season for the Falcons? Nope. Nothing. Let me repeat … nothing.
For the first time in perhaps their 43 seasons, the Falcons have a chance to have one of the top NFL organizations in football for a very long time. Think of the Braves and their run of 14 straight division championships. Think about where the Braves came from to do it. They were awful but put a manager (Bobby Cox) in the dugout who knew how to motivate the players and an executive in the front office (John Schuerholz) who knew how to put a team together.
The Falcons have found their Cox-Schuerholz tandem in Mike Smith and Thomas Dimitroff. Like the Braves found Chipper Jones back in the 1990s, they found a franchise player in quarterback Matt Ryan, who showed in his rookie season that he quickly can become one of the best in the league. Can you say Joe Montana?
OK, perhaps I’m getting overly exuberant but the rest of the league is quickly noticing exactly how incredible their turnaround was, as, despite some other very strong candidates, Smith was named the NFL Coach of the Year.
What’s most exciting is that the NFL is truly the most popular of all professional sports and Atlanta now has a team it can follow year-round. As the AJC beat writer that covered the Braves’ great run, I experienced a meteoric rise in public interest, as immediately after the 1991 season everyone wanted to talk about the Braves and their future. The same will happen with the Falcons, as we’ll begin talking about potential draft picks within a week or so before training camp in Flowery Branch becomes a huge attraction in the summer.
And it all has happened because the Falcons came in with a plan.
“I think we have tried to establish that we’d be very systematic in how we did things, that we were going to have a plan,” Smith told reporters Sunday after winning NFL Coach of the Year. “We laid that plan out from the very beginning how we were going to practice, how we were going to travel, how we were going to meet, how we were going to communicate, and I think the guys really appreciated how we presented the plan in the framework for us to start the season.”
LOOKING AHEAD AT TECH AND GEORGIA
Not sure what to think about Tech’s miserable performance in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Let’s hope it was just a bad night, as nothing went right in the 38-3 loss to LSU. The Tigers, despite their five losses in the SEC, just looked like a bigger and better team and certainly were able to figure out how to stop Tech’s triple option. But the Yellow Jackets, much like the Falcons, should feel good about their nine-win season and the fact that they played in their first meaningful bowl game in quite a while. The key now is how quickly coach Paul Johnson can get the type of players he needs to run the option, though it’s hard to believe there are backs that could run it any better than Jonathan Dwyer and Roddy Jones (both recruited by Chan Gailey). I still feel this team is going to have to throw the ball to be successful, which was demonstrated against LSU when it found itself having to come back from a big deficit early at the Chick-fil-A Bowl. The team’s schedule does get tougher next season, as the Jackets play games at Vanderbilt and Mississippi State and have to travel to both Florida State and Miami.
Up in Athens, Georgia finished with 10 wins after knocking off Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl. Still, for a team ranked No. 1 going into the season, three losses is hard to swallow and news just broke that the Dawgs will lose quarterback Matt Stafford and running back Knowshon Moreno to the NFL draft. Some feel Stafford may be the No. 1 pick. Still, there is plenty of talent coming back and likely a top 10 recruiting class coming in while the 2009 schedule cools off somewhat, as Georgia does not have to play Alabama, instead picking up a game at Arkansas. The Bulldogs do have to travel to Oklahoma State but play Arizona State in Athens. Georgia’s 2009 season is going to depend a lot on how its offensive line matures.
By the way, I saw one preseason poll for next year that has Tech ranked eighth and the Bulldogs at No. 9. Let the rumbling begin.
NOW TO THE BRAVES
It has been a tough offseason for the team, missing on several free agent opportunities, though I am glad the Rafael Furcal deal didn’t work out. He’s not worth the baggage and certainly proved that with how he handled negotiations with his former club. I do feel that if the opportunity arises, the Braves should try to bring back Andruw Jones. Before turning the page, hear me out. Jones had a horrible season with the Dodgers, hitting .158 with 76 strikeouts in 209 at-bats. Unless they can pull off a trade, Los Angeles will likely cut him and eat the remainder of his two-year, $32.2 million deal, which, according to AJC beat writer Dave O’Brien, is worth around $21 million. Ouch! That will mean Jones can sign anywhere and the Braves could work out a deal with a small base salary (perhaps around $750,000) with incentives based on performance and more or less give him a tryout during spring training. Jones wants back in Atlanta and it’s not like the Braves have an outfield filled with talent. If the Dodgers release Jones and I’m Braves general manager Frank Wren, I work out a small deal and tell Jones if he wants to come back he’ll have to report to spring training in shape, with his weight at a respectable level, and ready to battle for a job. The risk would be minimal here and if it worked out, it would allow the team to keep centerfield prospect Jordan Schafer in the minor leagues for at least half the season. Schafer is the club’s centerfielder of the future but he has little experience above Class A ball. Jones, by the way, is 31 and, as I said a year ago, made a major mistake by leaving the Braves, much like a lot of other players have. Jones is a very private person, always liked playing for Bobby Cox and didn’t have to deal with much criticism here; he was out of his element in L.A. Other players have been able to make comebacks at his age and he could do it in Atlanta on the Dodgers’ dime.
Score is looking for interns for sales, marketing, graphics, writing, editing and the web. Send your resume to Tad Arapoglou at tarapoglou@scoreatl.com. Rosenberg can be heard every Sunday afternoon from 1-4 on 790 The Zone and can be reached at 404-256-1572 and ijrosenberg@scoreatl.com.
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