Takeo Spikes, Kelly Holcomb, Philadelphia Eagles

[rjs246]

You know, if the Falcons focus on the run, which they are well prepared to do, and their defense plays relatively well they won't be a bad team. I think you guys are forgetting how terrible Vick was as a QB and overrating his role as the franchise savior. Harrionton sucks, but it's not as though he'll be asked to chuck it downfield every other play. The offense is usually short/intermediate passing, which Harrington should be able to handle. Anyway, all of this talk about them being the worst team in the league this year is a little ridiculous. A running game and a good defense will win more often than not.

[PhillyPhanInDC]

You know, if the Falcons focus on the run, which they are well prepared to do, and their defense plays relatively well they won't be a bad team. I think you guys are forgetting how terrible Vick was as a QB and overrating his role as the franchise savior. Harrionton sucks, but it's not as though he'll be asked to chuck it downfield every other play. The offense is usually short/intermediate passing, which Harrington should be able to handle. Anyway, all of this talk about them being the worst team in the league this year is a little ridiculous. A running game and a good defense will win more often than not.

Werd. All I was saying was that Holcomb would be better at managing the game, making less mistakes than Harrington. If he does that and the defense and run game are doing average to great, they could be a solid team, not going to go deep in the playoffs or anything, but remember, they do play in the NFC. I think with the talent they have in the running game and on defense, it would be quite obvious that they were tanking the vast majority of the games. Harrington is teh suk, but I don't think he's bad enough to making the 3-13.

Ugh...why?  Why not just take the 3-13 season and get a top QB propect next year?  What's Holcomb getting you?  8-8?  9-7 at best.  The Falcons just need to take this season on the chin, blame it on Vick, and draft a new "face" for their franchise.

That being said I hope we get at least a 5th for his ass.

I didn't look at it this way, and it does make some sense. I don't think they could be the worst team in the entire NFL, but they could definately work themselves into the top five.

[Rome]

Ummm... weren't they 7-9 last year WITH Vick??

Also - they're a "running" team because their former quarterback runs the ball better than anyone else on offense.

Take Vick out of the equation and they're less than mediocre on offense, especially running the ball.  Take away the time of possession advantage the defense enjoys and they're just as susceptible as any other team on that side of the ball.

Atlanta's going to be miserable without Vick.  And let's not forget they have a rookie head coach this year as well.  They'd be mediocre with him but without him - smelly farts.

[rjs246]

My point is that Harrington is a better QB than Vick as far as actually throwing the ball is concerned and on a bad team in a 'manage the game' environment last year in Miami he did pretty well. Dunn and Norwood was fantastic runners. I think 7-9 sounds about right for them. I don't see Vick as making the difference in the win column. He sucks ass.

[Rome]

I hope they go 0-16.  Not enough bad things can happen to that franchise as far as I'm concerned.

[rjs246]

I have absolutely no animosity towards the Falcons outside of Vick. I liked their last two coaches. I like run-first, tough-D teams. AndI like Arthur Blank. Vick was the only thing about that team that I hated and now he's going to jail. I win.

[Rome]

You like Arthur Blank?  You liked that flag Jim Mora, Jr.?

Good God, man.

[Feva]

My point is that Harrington is a better QB than Vick as far as actually throwing the ball is concerned and on a bad team in a 'manage the game' environment last year in Miami he did pretty well. Dunn and Norwood was fantastic runners. I think 7-9 sounds about right for them. I don't see Vick as making the difference in the win column. He sucks ass.

One thing you have to remember though is that a reason that Dunn and Norwood had things so good was because opposing D's were so preoccupied with Vick's running.  That won't be there now.  Then consider that Dunn is getting up there in age, not to mention coming off a back injury that's costing him the preseason and Norwood is still largely unproven... there's no guarantees that they're running game will be that special.  Also... the Falcons' running style was basically a carbon copy of Denver's... with smaller, faster o-linemen who relied on a whole lot of chop blocking.  Petrino's abandoned that style and has started incorporating bigger o-lineman who rely more on power... even though as it stands, they're not necessarily equipped to do so... IMO, anyway.

The Falcons' o-line has historically been terrible at pass blocking... but the thing is that Vick was able to escape a lot of oncoming pressure with his speed.  Harrington's going to be getting smacked around... and you know that's going to lead to a whole lot of INT's as he starts throwing off that back foot to avoid the pressure.

This has already been a whole lot longer than I intended this to be so I'll just sum it up by saying that their D ain't really shtein either, especially in the secondary.

5-11 or 6-10 for the Falcons.

[PhillyPhanInDC]

My point is that Harrington is a better QB than Vick

Exactly. The few times Vick didn't play in games that mattered, the offense looked suprisingly good. Even the bum wide recievers looked decent. Remeber the game when Matt Schaub hung 300 yards and three TDs on the Pats? I think Schaub is probably a better QB than Harrington, which isn't saying much, and Harrington a better conventional QB than Vick. Other than Crumpler, opposing teams never respected the Falcons passing attack, and focused on stopping their run game. Now, I don't expect their passing game to be world-class, but I certainly believe it will be better than when Vick was there, which if anything, will give the run game more room to make it's money.

[rjs246]

You like Arthur Blank?  You liked that flag Jim Mora, Jr.?

Good God, man.

Mora coached his offense the way I wish Andy coached the Eagles'. They ran and ran and ran some more. Blank is completely in touch with his fan base in ways that the Eagles' ownership couldn't begin to be. I don't really hate Lurie, but I would take Blank as an owner in a heartbeat.

[ice grillin you]

the falcons offensive and defensive lines are both not very good...which is not the way to go about having a tough d and a running game...also joey harrignton sucks horribly...hes not better than vick...even at passing...just because vick was hideously overrated doesnt make bums like joey harrington better than him in any way shape or form

if they give up anything less than a 7th rounder for holcolmb who they know is gonna get cut and have limited interest then they are retarded...as bill said what the hell is he gonna do for them this year

[PhillyPhanInDC]

Falcons | Shockley suffers torn ACL; out for the season
Sun, 19 Aug 2007 23:15:41 -0700

ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli reports Atlanta Falcons QB D.J. Shockley (knee) suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and also suffered damage to the medial collateral ligament in his left knee. He will miss the 2007 season as a result.

Just got more interesting I suppose. Who's backing up Joey Harrington now???

[Zanshin]

Kelly Holcomb.

[MDS]

Shane Falco.

[NGM]

Johnny Utah.