The Falcons aren’t getting a equitable return on their investment in Vick. He kept dropping the ball in the pocket for no apparent reason. They’d be much better using that money for something else, and play Schaub or DJ. My pet peeve has always been pro and college receivers that drop passes…both the Falcons and UGA had three this weekend. Funny that today’s AJC blogs are saying that Vick was more productive being coached by Reeves.
We had the usual busy weekend…Friday I got home, the kids were all gone, but Ceil and I were exhausted…our neighbor knocked on our door with Falcon tickets, giving me and Will something to do Sunday. With my back hurting so I normally would’ve rested Sunday, but Will had never been to an NFL game.
Will & I ate at Subway and drove downtown, finding a good parking spot near the Tabernacle. We hung out at Falcons Landing a bit, and made it to our seats an hour before kickoff…watching the kickers and punters, then the QBs warm up. Vick threw less than half as many in warm-ups that Eli did. Ex Kentucky QB Jared Lorenzen is still a Giant, and he’s still huge. The Giants warned up with four lines of receivers taking throws, with two lines going each way down the field. That makes sense, since you always have at least three QBs to warm up. That made me look to see who the fourth passer was…punter Jeff Feagles, who was throwing as well as Lorenzen. Perhaps the Giants will fake a punt later in the year.
I didn’t take notes…wish I had, though I would’ve gotten some weird looks. On the radio that morning 790’s Chuck Oliver had said that Saturday night at home he had charted the plays of the Auburn / Florida game. The upper deck row 20 seats were high, but we had a great view, even though they were on the 20 yard line. With all the tailgating and jersey wearing, the crowd was late getting to their seats…well after the game had started. I can understand a late crowd for a 7 pm weekday Braves game, but not a Sunday Falcons game…one of eight home games. The pregame fireworks were nice, but there was a haze that took most of the game to clear.
Jay Feeley…every time he came out to kick, the fans would boo. I heard several comments of how he never made kicks while he was with the Falcons, when in fact I’m pretty sure that not only was he the most accurate kicker in Falcons history, he was so good that the Falcons let him go free agent than have to pay him his value. Last year he had the bad game in Seattle, but l think he’s done ok since then.
Bob Whitfield…another ex-Falcon who had written a SI article about training camp. He was playing left tackle, the new glory position that SI had run a feature article about. The only athletic thing I saw Whitfield do all day was push…I hardly saw him run all day.
When the Giants scored their last TD there was still well over five minutes to go in the game. The lead was only 13, but still huge numbers in the crowd left. I’m wired different, I guess…if I make such an investment in time and money on something that only happens eight times a year, I’m going to get there early and stay late. Amazing all the people that did the opposite…unless they were given tickets, which certainly could be the case. A fan chugged a squeeze bottle of ketchup for Falcon tickets, and the announcer asked “what would YOU do for Falcon tickets?” I heard a little girl behind me say “not much”!
There was a lot of standing to watch the game, which I tried to avoid to safe wear and tear on my back. The huge video screens came in handy, as did the guy next to me who didn’t stand much either. He actually dozed off during the game, so did the more rabid fan in front of me. The game wasn’t slowed by a lot of plays being replayed and reviewed…only one, which was hilarious. A Giant ran for a TD, but the replay seemed to clearly show him step out of bounds. The crowd erupted, and only then did Coach Mora walk out and throw his red flag on the field. The call was probably closer that it looked, but it was overturned. Of course the Giants then had a first and goal, and promptly scored.
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