Falcons: Are They Back?

I didn’t do much on Saturday. Took Barney out a couple of times. Helped Ceil cut greenery. Cleaned out my emails and played on my laptop. Worked up my blog posts for both Saturday and Sunday. Drove C to Pageland to get KFC on Van Lingle Mungo Blvd. But mostly I watched football all day.

You may have missed the opening kickoff of the GT/GA game. UGA kicked off south to north, a high short kick. The sun was right in the freshman return man’s eyes, and he raised his hand to block the sun. The ball bounced past him into the end zone, but the returner had touched the ball on the way past. He went back into the end zone and grabbed the ball, and was tackled on the one yard line. Dumb stuff like this happens too often at Tech.

But the Jackets caught a break. The play was reviewed to make sure it wasn’t a safety. By rule, since the return man had signaled for a fair catch, and he didn’t control the ball until he was in the end zone, that’s where the play ended – a touchback. Tech got the ball on the 20 yard line. In all the confusion Paul Johnson forgot to call a pass play as the first play of the game.

After that Tech didn’t play too bad. UGA was content to run the ball the entire game, mixing in a touchdown pass here and there. Not sure why Tech plays Georgia so much better in Sanford Stadium.

Auburn is on a roll. They took Bama out of their game, and towards the end Bama made several bad plays: not getting out of bounds, not stretching for a first down, and the two early snaps. Add in the bad no catch call in the end zone and the botched field goal attempt, and the game was closer than the score indicated. A little similar to the Georgia game. With Auburn’s depleted running back core, the SEC Championship Game could be closer than people think. Coach Gus seems a little cocky, which might come back to haunt him. Still can’t figure out why Auburn fans wanted to fire him after they lost a close game to #1 Clemson.

I thought South Carolina would put up more of fight. Clemson controlled every part of the game. That should take Muschamp out of the running for SEC coach of the year. The SEC penalizes Auburn for their fans running out on the field, but does nothing about the SC students throwing bottles at Clemson players – except penalize Dabo for complaining. Clemson will face a much tougher opponent Saturday night in the ACC Championship Game. After their loss, Miami will be looking to rebound.

The Tigers are peaking at the right time – both Clemson and Auburn. My predictions (but I would not be surprised if any of these games went the other way):

SEC: Auburn stops Georgia in overtime

ACC: Clemson edges Miami.

BIG10: Wisconsin beats Ohio State

Sugar: #1 Clemson edges #4 Wisconsin

Rose: Auburn beats Oklahoma (OK Clemson)

Jan 8: Auburn beats Clemson in Atlanta

Left Jefferson at 10:30 Sunday morning. Made good time driving back. Traffic was heavy but ok. Stopped in Covington for Moes. Got home and gassed up Anna’s Jeep and Ceil’s CRV, and Anna headed back to Athens. She had studied most of Saturday. C went shopping and I rested. Sir fry for supper. Watched The Middle, Fresh of the Boat, and some Hallmark Channel.

Missed the Falcons game. Over 500 yards of total offense. They’ve won three straight to go to 7-4 and have a firm hold on a playoff spot. Guess all those “fans” who were done with the team when they dropped to 4-4 are now jumping back on the bandwagon. But it will be tough for the Falcons the rest of the way, with a game with the Panthers and two with the Saints. Minnesota is playing well, and the Falcons always seem to lose in Tampa.

On a sunny day like yesterday you can see the reflection of the Mercedes Benz logo in the roof on the Falcons black helmets. The translucent roof makes days games look brighter than games in other domes.  

Poor Jacksonville lost on a last second 57 yard field goal. They still lead their division.

From author Tim Sanders: Success is not a destination. No matter what you accomplish, you won't feel finished. Success is a direction. And that direction is forward. Always build value. You win by helping other people get what they want.

Find ways to improve your resume annually by learning new things. Grow your network of relationships. Improve your ability to share knowledge and network other people together. That's the secret to lifelong success at work. You move forward by adding value to other people's lives. But you can't do that without building value every day of your life.

What's the point of developing so much value? It's about having something you can share that helps other people be more successful. When you are adding to your knowledge bank and network all the time, you'll never hoard them like so many people do. It will change your personality as well as your perspective.  You'll believe you have enough to share, and that will make you a generous person who stands out from the crowd.

There will be no magic moment where you've arrived. Work life is a series of little wins that often come from investments you've made in yourself, with the intention of sharing them with others.