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.