Dirty Birds Early Buzz
 

The weirdest thing I heard today was that the arab network Al-Jazeera was granted a press pass to cover the game. I have never known much about them but they were apparently a large contributor to Katrina relief aid. I also found out the top foreign contributors to Katrina relief were- Kuwait $500mil, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates all $100mil each.

Now about the game...

Falcons kicker/punter missed 4 FGs today-- suhweeet. Could be crucial if they have to pull in a street leg this week.

great ESPN article about football, food, and partying in LA. Nawlins Friday, LSU Saturday, and Saints on Monday menu.

http://sports.espn.go.com/travel/news/story?id=2586586

Good analysis of ATL-

...The Falcons' rushing offense has now pounded out 558 rushing yards in two victories. The Falcons ran for 252 yards in their win at Carolina, the most real estate ever surrendered by the Panthers on the ground. The 306 yards for which they gashed Tampa Bay, with tailback Warrick Dunn (134 yards) and quarterback Michael Vick (127 yards) both topping the century mark, was also an all-time opponent's high against the Bucs' defense...

..."Coming in, you know exactly what they want to do, you know?" Tampa Bay strong safety Jermaine Phillips said. "Everybody knows they're going to run it. They could put up a neon sign that says, 'Run!' But they do it really well, and they're hard to stop, even if there's no great mystery to it."

lots more-
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/column...len&id=2591874

Wow. I thought I would peek at some Falcons forums talk. I googled Falcons Forum and this was the first one. The first thread there had this. I couldn't hardly believe it-

Rev Hal
Supreme Falcon
Group: Admin
Posts: 14,748
Joined: --
From: Powder Springs, GA.
Member No.: 6,970
Supreme Falcon

God Almighty may not be able to beat the Saints, in the Superdome "reopening"

I keep thinking of Bill Murray's speach in Meatballs, when he talks about "if God Almighty cam down and pointed his finger at us, we would still lose." I think I understand how he feels. No matter how talented the Falcons are, and no matter how much better we are than the Saints, I don't see any team in NFL history having a good shot against the Saints on Monday.

This is a game that has an emotional impact that HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE in football history. There has never been and may never be again a city and team so pumped up to win a single game. The hopes of an entire region of the US is riding on this game. This is the building that housed the homeless after Katrina. Lives were lost in and around the building. All of that is going to be remembered and memorialized this week. The victory of the human spirit will will be celelbrated, and thanks to the MNF schedulers, the eyes of the nation will be watching.

Now I really think the Falcons are the superior team, but I just don't see any team walking into that building on Monday and winning. I hope I am wrong, but this game is bigger than football itself. This will be one of the most historic games in history, and the "happy ending" has the Saints winning. The Falcons do not have to beat the Saints, they need to beat fate and destiny.

http://boards.atlantafalcons.com/ind...owtopic=182357

Is this game bigger than the Carolina game at the beginning of last season? I have to agree with this Atlanta fan, they have the better team. Will the Dome's atmosphere and the town's emotion b enough to win?

I honestly don't think that any player has played in a game of this type, and the Rev's right, probably never will again.

That said, I don't automatically confer an advantage to the Saints. With all this going on, the least distracted team will wind up winning. It may be easier for the Falcons to focus. God help us if we get too far ahead or too far behind.

Well, apparently the zebras took a tampa bay defensive td off the board yesterday. (A local guy in atlanta said it was a bad call.) So, given the calls they made against us in last year's absolute debacle, I think the refs seem to be helping the dirty turds out. That may not be what God wants, but I guess we'll see.

You would think we would get some juice this week from the league. But, after that game last year, I'm not counting on it. Look for a pinky touch of Vick's helmet for a 15 yarder on third down. It happens every time.

I sure would like to see hall get hurt on national TV. I also have this vision of Grant blindsiding Vick and Will Smith running a fumble in for a touch. Oh, how I would rejoice.

One thing is for sure. Yasoon will be coming to work at noon on tuesday :)

Ongoing injuries could help a lot-

DE Paul Carrington got his first ever professional start, replacing injured right end and last week's NFC Defensive Player of the Week John Abraham.

Like last week against Carolina, LB Keith Brooking moved inside to MLB in place of the injured Edgerton Hartwell, while Demorrio Williams filled as the starter at Brooking's WLB spot.

LT Wayne Gandy walked gingerly off the field with 8:00 remaining in the game. He was replaced by RT Todd Weiner, while rookie OT Quinn Ojinnaka filled in at Weiner's RT position

http://www.atlantafalcons.com/gameday/

I ripped this from another board but I thought it was good info--

1994 as head coach of Oklahoma against Nebraska, which would go on to win the National Championship against Miami, lost the game, but the final score was 13-3. His defense held Nebraska to 136 yards rushing and a 2.7 average ypc.

2002 as linebackers coach at Dallas against Vick, Dunn and the Falcons, the Cowboys lost 21-19, but held Atlanta to 40 net yards rushing for the game and a 2.1 average ypc.

2003, the Cowboys lost again 27-13, but held Atlanta to 98 net yards rushing and a 3.3 average ypc.

Doesn't appear those teams met again in '04 or '05. The odd thing is Gibbs appears to really know how to stop the run, especially the 'dynamic option offense'. He appears to know how to scheme against Vick and has just been in a supporting role on teams which still ended up losing the games (except the college game noted).

I tend to have faith in his ability to game plan against the Falcons running game and believe this may force Vick to pass. This would be our supposed weakness anyway with the secondary the way it is. However, this will also permit Grant and Smith to make hard rushes at the passer and as with the Browns game, believe the team can disrupt the offense - maybe get some turnovers.