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Sat. Nov 01, 2003

Seasonal Bickering

When a team like the Atlanta Falcons goes from winning eight straight games leading to a playoff berth last year, to a 1-6 disaster this year, some ugly things are likely to be said. However, it is often surprising to see who steps forward with an unlatched mouth, and lets loose with idiocy.

In today’s AJC, they report that before Coach Dan Reeves let his players off for their bye week break, team owner Arthur Blank spoke to the team: “His messages came in layers, including one that carried this translation: Don’t air dirty laundry in the press.”

Perfectly logical. A team in disarray needs to be airing frustrations and problems among themselves, not to the press. But cornerback Ray Buchanan “reacted Wednesday to the group benching of the entire secondary in typical fashion: loudly and with a measure of flamboyance.”

“You hear, ‘Let’s not point fingers, let’s keep it tight-knit,’ but here’s our way of pointing fingers: The secondary, we’re going to snatch all four of ‘em and bench ‘em. They say, ‘We’re going to keep things under a tighter net, let’s not say too much.’ But let’s not be dumb about this whole thing. This is written in color, not black and white.”

Yes, it is in color, Ray. There’s a freakin’ neon sign on the helmet of each member of the secondary that flashes in bright colors, “266.9.” That’s the average number of passing yards per game the now benched secondary has given up. It is the worst in the NFL, as are the overall numbers for the Falcons defense. That neon sign on your helmet is what caused a coach to point a finger and say, “get those guys off the field.”

When you are the worst in the NFL, changes have to be made. Though Ray seems to think it’s all put on the secondary, he must have noticed that Vick’s replacement at QB has been benched as well. Linebackers and offensive linemen have been shuffled a bit, too. He also should have noticed that his defensive brethren have generally stunk up the place this year, and are, I emphasize again, the worst in the NFL. He should have expected someone to try and get rid of that stench.

As Coach Reeves said when asked about Buchanan’s reaction, “I mean, we’re not having a service for him. He hasn’t passed away.” No, but opposing quarterbacks have “passed away,” short and deep, pretty much at will.

Having said all that, it is easy to understand Buchanan’s frustration. He’s a player, and he wants to do his part to slay this demon. His verbal passion is therefore somewhat understandable.

But what the hell is Terry Bradshaw’s problem?

“On rumors about Blank having private meetings with players such as Warrick Dunn and Peerless Price—‘Big mistake. He [Blank] has no clue what he’s doing [...] Arthur Blank can go off on his yacht somewhere because he has no clue what he’s doing because he’s destroying a good man like Dan Reeves.’”

Wow. The man who bought the Falcons, resurrected the Georgia Dome as a fun football destination, opened his wallet wide to bring in players like Price, Dunn, and Vick, resulting in the first sold out season for the Falcons since sliced bread was invented … he “has no clue what he’s doing” and should “go off on his yacht somewhere”??? Perhaps Bradshaw never met Blank’s predecessor, the Smith family, who for 34 years made NFL ownership as much as possible like owning an insurance company.

As for “destroying a good man like Dan Reeves,” Blank has given him nothing but public support. Bradshaw seems eaten up by the NFL rumor mill, which 99% of fans do not even hear, and 98% of which never graduates from rumor to fact. Plus, if he’s such a great defender of Reeves, why would he say this: “On the Falcons season—‘I don’t know what happened to the defense but I do know there is in-fighting and bickering. You could say the coaching staff has lost this football team [...] How did this thing go so bad so fast?’”

You “don’t know what happened,” Oh Great Prognosticator? You wonder “How did this thing go so bad so fast,” yet feel comfortable pulling the trigger on Blank? And how dare you say “the coaching staff has lost this football team,” are you trying to destroy a good man like Reeves?!?

But wait, there’s more! “On Blank printing a full page apology in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently—‘If he is so unhappy then why doesn’t he sell them.’” Sterling advice to give to a second year owner. To which I can only reply with the same advice I give myself: “If you’re so unhappy with the Falcons’ weekly disasters, why don’t you stop watching them?”

As someone who has lived in Atlanta and followed the Falcons closely … and painfully … for decades (i.e., unlike Bradshaw), it’s clear that Arthur Blank is the best thing that’s happened to this team’s overall chances since they joined the NFL in 1966. He is someone who cared enough about what he saw as an inferior product, that he publicly apologized to his customers.

Bradshaw only sees orange: “Arthur Blank is a guy from Home Depot. You look at him and you say ‘go back to the Depot man.’ Don’t be sticking your head out here where it doesn’t belong.”

Terry Bradshaw is a guy who someone once said “couldn’t spell CAT if you spotted him the C and the A.” You look at him and you say ‘go back to your stupid TV commercials, man.’ Don’t be sticking your head out here where it doesn’t belong.