AJC: DeAngelo Hall Welcomes One-On-One Time With Owens

[SD_Eagle5]

Hall says "weather wasn't a factor" yet Vick says differently...hmmmm. Vick sounds like a gigantic Hoyda in this article. 

Vick vows to stay in pocket more
By DAVID WEINBERG Staff Writer, (***) 272-7186
Published: Friday, September 9, 2005
Updated: Friday, September 9, 2005

If Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick never sees his breath again, it would be fine with him.

His every exhale produced an icy cloud during the Falcons' 27-10 loss to the Eagles in last season's NFC championship game at Lincoln Financial Field.

He much prefers to play in the air-conditioned comfort of Atlanta's Georgia Dome - the site of the rematch on "Monday Night Football."

"The weather made a big difference last time we played them," Vick said Thursday in a phone interview. "You try going out there and playing in minus-10 degree temperatures. It's tough when you're not used to it. We didn't play a game all year last year in cold-weather conditions. We weren't prepared for that."

The Falcons evidently weren't prepared for the Eagles' defense, either. Defensive ends Derrick Burgess and Jevon Kearse and free safety Brian Dawkins combined to contain the league's most dangerous offensive weapon.

Vick, who rushed for over 900 yards last season, managed just 26 yards on four carries in that game. He also completed just 11 of 24 passes for 136 yards and threw an interception.

"I don't like to hear anyone mention the weather factor as being a reason why we lost," Falcons coach Jim Mora said. "(The Eagles) were better than us that day and they deserved to win.

"I know Mike mentions the weather all the time, but he's a quarterback, so what do you expect? Of course, I also wasn't the one who had to take 55 snaps from center with a rock-hard football and had to play against a crazed defense. I had a jacket on and he didn't."

Besides the weather, Vick is also planning on a change in atmosphere. Despite his prowess as a runner, he has vowed to stay in the pocket more in an effort to better execute the Falcons' version of the West Coast offense.

It will not be easy, for the Falcons' receiving corps is unproven. Peerless Price (45 catches last season) was cut during the preseason, leaving Dez White (30) as the most productive returning wide receiver. Michael Jenkins (seven catches) and rookie Roddy White are the other wideouts, along with ex-Eagle Brian Finneran.

"I'm not saying I don't want to be known as a running quarterback," Vick said. "It just doesn't matter. It doesn't matter whether you label me as a running quarterback, passing quarterback or prototypical pocket passer.

"People are going to say what they want, anyway. Just call me the quarterback from here on out. Just the quarterback. Michael Vick, the quarterback."

If he keeps his promise to run more, the Eagles will undoubtedly be breathing easier. According to Kearse and others, Vick's speed and agility is what separates him from the rest of the NFL quarterbacks, even Eagles' passer Donovan McNabb.

McNabb can still tuck the ball under and pick up big yards, but he prefers to throw. His 41 carries and 220 rushing yards last season were both career lows. Conversely, Vick ran for 902 yards on 120 carries - the third-most yards by a quarterback in NFL history - while compiling mediocre passing stats. Vick completed 181 of 321 passes (56.4 percent) for 2,313 yards last season with 14 TD passes and 12 interceptions.

"He takes a lot of heat for running so much, but if I had a bunch of 300-pound guys chasing me, I'd run, too," Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown said.

The Eagles have traditionally done a decent job of keeping Vick under control.

Defensive coordinator Jim Johnson usually concocts a scheme designed to take away the outside lanes and thereby free middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter and Dawkins to take aim at Vick when he tries to come up the middle.

When he does break free, the Eagles have landed their share of punishing licks on him. Dawkins and defensive tackle Hollis Thomas have both delivered big shots on Vick in recent years.

The Eagles' defense promises to be a bigger pain than the weather.

"Every guy on that defense is accountable," Vick said. "You can't just point out one guy and try to focus on him and prevent him from stopping you."

because another guy will step up. It's going to take 11 guys on our side of the ball outexecuting the 11 guys on their side of the ball.

"But we've got good players and we believe in ourselves and we believe in what we do. We know we're a good football team and that's all we need to know. We might not get respect from anybody else, but respect is not given, it's earned. And we're ready to walk that path and try to earn that respect."

[SD_Eagle5]

Ten reasons Atlanta does not deserve to go to the Super Bowl.

1. The city's fans were voted the worst in America by the Sporting News and GQ magazine.

2. The night Henry Aaron hit his 711th career home run on the way to breaking Babe Ruth's record, fewer than 1,500 people showed up at the Braves' ballpark. "This was a pretty strong statement of what Atlanta thought of me and my record," Aaron said.

3. The Georgia Bulldogs outdraw the Falcons.

4. In a span of 15 post-season home games, the Braves failed to sell out nine times.

5. Relatives of the Falcons' once cheered when the team's starting quarterback, Chris Chandler, was injured in a game. When Chandler's wife complained, one of the relatives threw a can of beer at her.

6. The town was called "Loserville, USA," by Sports Illustrated.

7. Its topless Gold Club is known for luring innocent sports stars like Patrick Ewing and Dennis Rodman with sex favors.

8. During the 2003 National League playoffs, not a single local network affiliate agreed to televise the Braves-Cubs series. It was finally broadcast by a low-wattage UHF station.

9. When the Falcons clinched just their third division title in 39 years in a game against the Raiders last month, there were more than 5,000 no-shows at the Georgia Dome. The stadium was half-empty by the fourth quarter.

10. "Frankly, dear, I don't give a damn." - The most famous quote by the town's most famous fan, Rhett Butler.

[MDS]

  Good stuff.

[pinoyboy2pt0]

I was gonna poke fun of Vick and the cold weather stuff, but he did win in G.B. that one time in the post-season...and it was cold.  But he makes it sound like he's playing on Mars.

[LBIggle]

he looks forward to 1 on 1 time with TO.. hahahaha.  good stuff.  if their really not going to roll a safety to help D Hall out he's in for a long day.   

[Eagles_Legendz]

DeAngelo Hall is a tool.

I'll be heading down there Monday; is anyone else from the site going?

[Feva]

DeAngelo Hall is a tool.

I'll be heading down there Monday; is anyone else from the site going?

Yup...

[Feva]

"The Dome is going to make a huge difference. I don't think Philadelphia has ever seen anything close to what they're about to run into when they come in here on Monday night," he said. "You know, we went up there and for the most part, the weather, the fans ... it wasn't all what everyone talked it up to be. So when they come in, it's really going to be a change of scenery. It's going to be a hostile environment for them."

I can't wait to hear his humbled comments after the game where T.O. torched his ass for a TD or three.

[Eaglez]

Yeah their fans suck but you also have to realize that 3/4 of them are from different parts of the country. A lot of people move down to Atlanta because it has a booming business industry, so there aren't a whole lot of 'natives' around there to cheer on the Atlanta teams. A lot of people actually come down from the northeast to settle there. My one friend's wife's family moved down there recently from Philly. They said the sports scene is pretty horrible but seemingly no one down there is a native Atlantian.

It does get pretty bad when you go down to a Thrashers game and they have to show you an instructional video for the fans on hockey before the faceoff. Why go to the game if you don't even know whats going on? And why bring a team there? Stupid.