The Falcons have not been getting the love on a national scene like last season, but Brandon Adams of 790 The Zone does like one Falcon in particular: Roddy White. Said Adams of White recently on Brandon and Woolvy, "Roddy White is the best player on the Falcons." Adams would go on to claim that White is the most underrated player in all of Atlanta sports. This is a bold statement, considering that White has made Pro Bowls in the past and was given a huge contract extension by the team before last season. The team must agree with Adams but perhaps he is right. Do the fans appreciate White like they should? I doubt the holdout caused any fans to really brew up hatred towards White considering last year’s holdout ended well before any preseason games were even threatening to begin.
I went to one of our Falcons beat writers here at Score Atlanta for verification on Adams’ comment that White is the best Dirty Bird. Brian Jones, who has spent countless weekends up in Flowery Branch in his career, disagrees with BA. "I think Michael Turner is better when healthy. But Roddy is up there."
Speaking of Jones, last week on Score Atlanta Sports Sunday on Sports Radio 790 The Zone, Jones said that Matt Ryan is looking as sharp as ever, firing passes with zip and encouraging his teammates like a true leader. "He’s as good as I’ve seen him yet," Jones proclaimed on the show, before predicting a Pro Bowl year and a playoff berth for Atlanta. Peter King of Sports Illustrated sadly did not concur with Jones. In his offseason Early Look NFL Power Poll, King has the Falcons as the 16th best team in the league, which would put them just out of the playoffs.
The esteemed NFL writer said of Atlanta, "The Falcons are healthier, and better. I just think there are two teams in the division better right now — unless Matt Ryan has a Drew Brees-type year. I don’t think he has one of those in him … yet. Not many quarterbacks do." NFC South rivals Carolina checked in at No. 8 and New Orleans at No. 5.
ATLANTA MEDIA SOFT? …
I had a chance to sit down with Braves closer Billy Wagner and the topics ranged from his fast-approaching retirement to his post-career plans, Atlanta’s young arms and finally, the Atlanta media. I asked Wagner about the difference closing a game in Atlanta versus closing a game in Philadelphia or Boston or New York, previous stops for Wagner in a Hall of Fame-caliber career. Wagner’s answer was a very honest opinion from someone that has dealt with the New York media frenzy as well as the Philadelphia media zoo.
"As far as the criticism and the hype, you’ve got more newspapers and broadcasters that can talk about you [in those other places]. It’s definitely easier here because you don’t have to deal with a lot but as far as on the field, it is still the same." Wagner was openly saying what every sports fan in Atlanta knew.
As a member of the Atlanta media, I find it hilarious when a hard-line is taken against a coach or athlete and the person in question raises such a stink because he/she feels that he/she is being treated unfairly. Paul Hewitt recently cried that Mark Bradley of the AJC was personally attacking him when Bradley wrote a few columns asking if it was time for a change. Mike Bell of 790′s Pollack & Bell constantly harps on this point, saying that if the athletes and/or coaches think THIS water is hot, don’t ever venture to Boston or Chicago. I agree with Bell and Wagner in this case. The teams in Atlanta tend to be protected and shielded from harsh criticism, often seeking out other forms of media to voice displeasure when "slighted" by one form. Perhaps if the coaches/athletes were held to a higher standard by the media maybe…
Everything turned out OK…sort of.
Finally, Frank Wren was interviewed recently by the AJC’s Jeff Schultz and, in the article, Wren defended the Mark Teixeira trade from 2007. Said Wren in the interview, which originally ran in April but was referenced last week in a piece about Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s inability to throw the ball back to the pitcher: "The Teixeira trade hasn’t impacted us at all. If you look at the players we gave up, I’m not sure it’s had any effect on the major league club."
Wren went on to argue that the team had Yunel Escobar ahead of Elvis Andrus in the organization’s shortstop depth chart as well as Brian McCann ahead of Saltalamacchia at catcher. Wren also noted that Neftali Feliz would just be in the Braves bullpen, much like he is in the pen for Texas. (Atlanta gave up a few pitchers too that haven’t really amounted to anything more than 20 wins in 2+ seasons.)
The Braves felt the team was one bopper away from a playoff run or two, and GM-at-the-time John Schuerholz pulled the trigger. Let me first say that I remember what I wrote a few paragraphs ago about the media protecting the local teams, but I agree with Wren. Andrus has only this year been the full-time shortstop and while a slick fielder, he cannot hit like Escobar can. Salty is having trouble throwing the ball back to the pitcher and is in the minors, as Schultz so humorously reported. (He compared him to Rube Baker of the Major League 2 movie.)
As far as Feliz, yes, he’d be nice to have in the pen, but consider this: if the Braves had not pulled the trigger on that deal and stayed away from Tex, then those prospects may have encouraged Frank Wren to trade for Jake Peavy before the 2009 season. The asking price that was leaked to the San Diego media if you remember was starting pitcher Tommy Hanson, shortstop Yunel Escobar and at least another prospect, perhaps first baseman Freddie Freeman. Imagine if that trade had gone down because the Braves believed that Feliz and Andrus could have just stepped in? These prospects likely would have been used to maybe acquire a left fielder or another first baseman, but it is hard to fault the Braves for pulling the trigger on a deal that seemed like a no-brainer that everyone was on board with at the time.
CAN YOU BELIEVE HE JUST SAID THAT?
"In fact, it (Rick Sund’s wikipedia entry) makes him sound rather like an itinerant house-sitter." That was the AJC’s Steve Hummer, describing what Rick Sund’s Wikipedia page said about the Hawks GM. I am all for going a creative route for a story but Wikipedia? Anyone can go on there and put what they want for that. Now if his NBA.com page said that, then that would be something to report. But not Wikipedia.
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