The 10 Spot

Ten Observations:

10. The Falcons hired this guy:



Who looks a lot like this guy:



Is it just me, or did we just hire J. Peterman from Seinfeld?


9. But seriously, Mike Smith - he's in the top picture - is your new Falcons coach. Can't get much more plain than that name. Or face. He's not a flashy guy.


8. Which is why I love it. From this end, I'm placing bets on it being a good hire. From what I hear and read, he seems legit: Sound fundamentals. Good background. Gets good reviews from around the league. The Birds need someone to come in, clean house, and win. Not flash and pop.


7. Which is where I must admit that I was wrong. I was placing my bets on Blank hiring Mike Singletary.


6. And the Falcons brought back this guy:



Brian VanGorder,
who also looks a lot like this guy:



Horror writer Stephen King.
Which makes me happy, because it makes this guy mad:



Side Note: South Carolina hired Brian VG, who was the Falcons linebackers coach, for the USC Defensive Coordinator Job back in December. He worked for Spurrier for about a month before leaving to come back to Atlanta. That's about a month too long for anyone to be around the Spur.


5. It's like a double treat for me. My NFL team gets a good defensive coach, who has ties to my alma mater. And at the same time somewhere in South Carolina Steve Spurrier is throwing his visor. What a great day!


4. And who cares if VanGorder has had six (6) jobs in the last four (4) years?

(Granted, we just got burned by the same thing by Bobby Petrino, vowed never to allow that to happen again-i.e., hiring a guy you can't trust to stay-and then we turned around and hired Brian VG.)

He's a good coach (who might bolt on us) but we get him and Steve Spurrier doesn't.


3. Count on VG to stick around for a while. I give him three years. And the Falcons in the top ten in total-D in the last two years of that.


2. If the Mets don't get Johan Santana, and the Braves old starters don't break down, and the Braves bullpen holds up, and the Braves new center-fielder, Mark Kotsay, holds up, and Chipper holds up, then the Braves will win the East.

If the Mets do get Johan Santana, and the Braves old starters don't break down, and the Braves bullpen holds up, and the Braves new center-fielder, Mark Kotsay, holds up, and Chipper holds up, then the Braves will win the East.

If any of the latter doesn't happen, well, expect to see a repeat of the past two years.


1. UGA should NOT be a preseason number one next year. Neither should USC or The Denim Shorts Club of Gainesville.

No one should be a preseason number one next year.

I can't wait till the day that we don't have preseason number anythings.

Brady: "It's gotta be more than this."

A must see clip of a Tom Brady interview. The man's on top of the world, and still not satisfied. (Thanks, Wilhite.)



Unbelievable? Not really.

"Win One for the Limper"

Or, Philip Rivers' pregame speech to Billy Volek. Right before Volek meets Mike Vrabel, Adalius Thomas & Company and finds himself understanding personally why the Pats are undefeated.

The Chargers-Patriots contest might go down as the most one-sided conference championship in NFL history. It might go down as the most one-sided game this season.

These games are supposed to be close. They're supposed to be a dog-fight between the best two teams in their conference, clawing and scratching to see who'll come out on top.

Traditionally, that's been the case.

Since the Plan-A Free Agency went into effect with the 1993 season there have been 28Conference Championship Games played. The average margin of victory: just over 13 points. Competitive Balance has won out. The games have been somewhat close. A bounce here, a break there, and any team is in it.

Well, except for the 2000 Minnesota Vikings, who looked like a WNBA team against the NY Giants, putting up a goose-egg and losing the NFC title by 41 points.

Until Sunday, January 20, 2008, that will be the standard-bearer of beat downs.

That is, until Billy Volek leads the LT-hurtin & Philip Rivers-missin, undermanned & overmatched San Diego Chargers into Foxboro.

Look, you've got The Hoodie-Bill Belichick-who goes for it on fourth down when he's in field goal range with the game in the bag, a quarterback who just set a new TD record, a wideout who's trying to prove he really is just a good football player and not a thug, and a team who has gone from most-loved to most-hated faster than any team in history, and they're going against Billy Volek and the San Diego Chargers?

Well, all you can say is, "You stay classy, San Diego."

Pats win by 45.

(P.S. - My greatest New Years wish is for Brett Favre to demolish the Pats and then ride off into the sunset as the greatest QB in NFL history... And have that feat never, ever, ever passed by Tom Brady.)

The White Boy is Back

The white boy is back
And you know that he never smoke crack
The white boy is back ('cause you know he's the white boy)

-Everlast, "White Boy is Back"

I never said that was a good song, or wholesome (note: disregard the rest of the lyrics to the song), but just that it fits.

Cause I'm back. And better than ever.

So here's the thing: my last post was Dec 11, 2007. Let's go over my schedule since then:

Dec 10-13 - Meetings in Duluth, GA
Dec 15 - I got married. True story.
Dec 16-21 - Well, you know.
Dec 22-26 - with the Fam.
Dec 27-28 - At home, but no internet, and setting up my new house
Dec 29-Jan 2 - In Nashville at a conference
Jan 3-present - At home, but still no internet, and now back to work on campus.

But don't worry, internet is coming soon to a house in Dahlonega. So there should be something to say (well, there's always something to say), there should be some time to say what I've got to say in the coming days. Keep on the lookout. 'Cause there's plenty going on for me to rant about.

And the White Boy is back...