It’s been quite some time since it was fun to be a football fan in Atlanta. The Falcons went up to Green Bay and shocked the rest of the NFL with a win over the Packers, who last year were one pass away from going to the Super Bowl. The team is now 3-2, having buried Detroit and Kansas City in the Georgia Dome while obviously learning a lot in their losses at Tampa Bay and Carolina.
This team is getting better every week and the battle with the Chicago Bears this Sunday at the Dome is enough reason for this whole town to get behind this team. Their turnaround is a great story and while a playoff spot still seems a little far-fetched, if this team can stay healthy the schedule is set up for the Falcons to at least make a run at the postseason.
If the Falcons beat the Bears, they go into the bye week at 4-2 and no worse than one game behind division-leading Carolina (4-1) and tied for second with Tampa Bay. And remember, the games remaining against the Panthers and Bucs are here in Atlanta. Then look closely at their road schedule. While Philadelphia will be tough on Oct. 26, the Falcons play at Oakland (1-3), San Diego (2-3), New Orleans (2-2) and Minnesota (1-3 at press time going into last Monday night’s game). The final game of the season is here against 0-4 St. Louis.
Still, the Falcons will likely have to win their division to make the playoffs, especially when you consider how strong the NFC East is and the fact that the two wildcards could both come from that division. The Giants are 4-0, Dallas and Washington are 4-1 and the Eagles are 2-2.
But who would have ever thought that the Falcons would have three wins after five games? Not The Sporting News, which predicted a 1-15 season for the Birds. Nice call there.
HOW MANY WILL TECH WIN?
Not many first-year coaches have done the job Paul Johnson is doing on The Flats. His team is now 4-1 and will be 5-1 after a win Saturday over little Gardner-Webb, which will set up a showdown on Oct. 16 at Clemson. Actually, I think the Jackets are better than the Tigers, who possibly went into this season as one of the most overrated teams in many years.
If the Yellow Jackets beat Clemson—which would put them in the Top 25—and have a little luck in the four games leading up to Georgia, they could head into Athens with a 10-1 or 9-2 record, putting them in position to go to either the ACC Championship Game and a possible BCS bid, or else simply a good New Year’s Day bowl game. No one before this season thought either was a remote possibility but this team plays very good defense and the Jackets are getting better at the triple option with every game. They also are helped by the fact that the ACC is, for the most part, awful. I mean how can Maryland beat Clemson and then get pounded by Virginia, who got whipped by Duke, who wasn’t even competitive against Tech? How do you think Vanderbilt would do in the ACC?
Still, Tech is taking advantage of a down season and the hiring of this triple-option coach from Navy is looking like a pretty good call by third-year athletic director Dan Radakovich. They also have effective quarterbacks, which comes in handy when you are running an offense where the quarterback is getting hit on a lot of plays.
DAWGS WILL KILL VOLS
Bet on it – well, don’t bet the ranch like Chuck Oliver asked you to do Sunday on 790 The Zone by taking the Detroit Lions and the points (3 1/2) at home against the Chicago Bears (the Bears won 34-7). Still, I think this is the worst Tennessee team in years, coming into Athens at 2-3 after a 13-9 win Saturday over Northern Illinois.
The Dogs have had a week to think about the whipping they received at the hands of Alabama and they can’t afford another slip-up before the brutal part of their schedule, which includes games against Vanderbilt, LSU and Florida. Right now the bookies are calling Georgia a 13-point favorite over the Vols. Give the points, as Georgia wins this one by 24.
AND FINALLY
Is there a better football radio announcer than our own Wes Durham, who handles both Georgia Tech and the Falcons? Durham was on his game this weekend, calling a great Tech game and then flying up to Green Bay hours later and describing the Falcons’ win over the Packers. What I like best about Durham is that he is a blend between the old-time college announcer, such as his dad Woody Durham (voice of the University of North Carolina) or Larry Munson, and the more modern play-by-play voices like Jim Nantz and Joe Buck. Durham gives you the tradition and ambience (along with plenty of nicknames and what I call the Wes dictionary) of a Munson but also the details of a Buck. The good news for Score readers is in the next few weeks we will be doing a cover on Durham, detailing his story. We’ll have a couple of Durham’s better lines over the years, including the famous one from 2004, right after Calvin Johnson’s game-winning catch against Clemson when he said, “He has lived up to the legendary billing … And the legend is born in Calvin Johnson!”
AND FINALLY ONE MORE TIME
I am not a big Urban Meyer fan but I think Florida is going to rip into LSU on Saturday in Gainesville. The Gators are ready to break out and show all the speed they have on their roster. Gators by two touchdowns.
Don’t forget to check out the Score Atlanta Scoreboard show every Sunday on 790 The Zone. This week the show is 1-4 p.m. and, in addition to an Atlanta Falcons game update and NFL scores every 10 minutes, it’s your chance to talk about the high school games from Friday night and the big college matchups from Saturday. Make sure to call in at 404-233-7979 or star 790 on your AT&T phone. Rosenberg can be reached at ijrosenberg@scoreatl.com and 404-256-1572.
Loading ...
