Before It Happens, I Hope

The Atlanta Falcons are just into the second half against the Minnesota Vikings and are leading by a bit. Sorry Moe (and sorry about the Lions).

If they win, they get into the play offs. I don’t really care.

Sports Illustrated predicted they would win two games. I thought four of five would be nice, given where they were.

Think back with me. We had Michael Vick and his baggage. We had Jim Mora, Jr. who wanted to be every players’ best friend. Then there was the Petrino guy, who left in the middle of the night a bit over a year ago (he left a note on the lockers of the players).

Then Arthur Blank, the Falcons' owner, one of the former owners of Home Depot, made the best decision of his post-Home Depot life. He quit trying to run the team. He hired two professionals – Thomas Dimitroff, a scout/draft kind of guy from New England and Mike Smith, a defensive coach from one of the Florida Teams, now respectively the General Manager and Head Coach of the Falcons.

Here’s what they did. They drafted and traded for players that played old-fashioned football. Then they insisted that the players would do what they were told to do. They had a bunch of millionaires on the team, though kids.

Here’s the cool part. Some of you know that when you tell a kid, you don’t even have tell them what to do, you just have to expect it, kids do what they’re told/expected. The kids on the Falcons, with the jaded veteran,s have bought into playing their hearts out and their asses off.

A few minutes into the second half and they have just recovered a fumble when they were about to be scored on. Again, they might not win the game; but, they’ve won the season. We don’t do foolishness around Atlanta football anymore. Win or lose, the Falcons are a well-run, professional football team.