"Not upset with the Falcons" and other tall tales

The New York Jets have got to be the dumbest team in the league right now. I know the Raiders and Lions are in far worse shape, but those are special needs franchises and they deserve our pity for being shackled to people like Al Davis and Matt Millen. No, the Jets get their own category for firing the coach who was getting the team moving in the right direction in favor of the 37-year-old diva quarterback that’s probably going to retire anyway. Now, the Jets don’t have a coach, a replacement quarterback, or a viable alternative to replace either. It looks like a move that they made by the seat of their pants, kind of like when they released Chad Pennington the second they got Brett Favre. So, at this point, the Jets deserve what they get and I see them getting a lot of “L’s” in the near future. Note to the Jets: You don’t hinge your future plans on the whims of a quarterback who just retired in the last offseason. I want to curse at you.

Speaking of Matt Millen, who was the person who decided to have him on NBC’s NFL studio show? It’s already boring; you want it to be stupid, too? I would never listen to anything Millen had to say about football, ever, due to him being the worst general manager of recent memory. I was watching the show, just waiting for him to give us a Palin-esque display of intelligence. I’d argue with him over whether or not the sky was blue just because I know that he’s destined to slip up at some point.

Ravens QB Joe Flacco looks like Sylar from Heroes.

Now, about the Falcons…

They’ve been playing with house money since Week 10. Football analysts, who never know what they’re talking about, gave them three to six wins this season. I gave them eight at worst, nine at best. My buddy Louis came within three points of being crowned a football genius, because he said they’d win the division. He maintained that prediction, even after a breathalyzer test.

The Falcons went 11-5. And truth to tell, they should have been 13-3. Seeing as how they were 4-12 last season, lost Michael Vick, rotated between Joey Harrington, Chris Redman, and Byron Leftwich at quarterback, and coach Bobby Petrino quit in the middle of the season to go coach a team that has a pig as a mascot, I can’t be too upset about the way the season ended. After all, 5-11 would have been a step forward. Everything after five wins really was icing on the cake. The fact that we even made the playoffs is great for me, because I didn't even think we would. I was satisfied with not being "enhancement talent" anymore.

That doesn’t mean that I’m okay with the way the Falcons went out. They played well in spurts, but they got manhandled by the Arizona Cardinals. If we got manhandled by the Ravens (a bird that knows the taste of human flesh), I’d probably handle that a little bit better. Against Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, and Ed Reed, I’d be glad if all our guys came off the field with 78% of their body parts functioning. But the Cardinals hadn’t played a good game in a month and a half and only beat tomato cans all season. Why’d they pick yesterday to exhibit some pride about themselves?

I didn't even want to watch anymore football after that, but there was no sense in letting a good Colts/Chargers game go to waste.

The only good thing about the Falcons’ loss is that I’ve got a pretty good idea what position they’ll be drafting for first. Does anyone know a good defensive end that we can pick up, because a broomstick held by a man in a wheelchair would have played better than Jamaal Anderson has since he’s been here. There have been times that I forgot he was even on the field. And even though I wasn’t sorry to see DeAngelo Hall leave here, his size would have been really helpful against Larry Fitzgerald, who towered over our corners and safeties at an immense, looming 6’3” (and I don’t believe he’s even this tall). The Falcons’ corners should insist that kids drink more milk so they don’t turn out to be “short like us.”

It was still a season that exceeded all expectations and provides a bright outlook for the future. This is the part where all Falcons fans should be expecting something bad to happen to the team, like Matt Ryan getting mauled by boars in his living room.

Every time there’s a glimmer of hope for this team, Michael Vick breaks his ankle (against the Ravens!) months after leading the team into Lambeau to beat the Packers in the playoffs. Or Jamal Anderson’s (not the sad DE that calls himself a football player; this is THE Jamal Anderson) knees decide that you, the paying fan, have seen enough of his otherworldly talent, right after he carries the team to the Super Bowl. Falcons fans know what I’m talking about.

But going into next season, I don’t feel that way. Arthur Blank gives a crap and Thomas Dimitroff doesn’t make me think that any retard can be a general manager. The coaching is so good that it made something out of Michael Jenkins. And this team is put together pretty well, even the midget secondary. For once, the future is bright for the Atlanta Falcons.