Atlanta Falcons Looking Up

The Atlanta Falcons are currently in a spot to host a playoff game. They are 5-7. However, things have been going a lot better recently. They have won 3 of their last 4, and they have played really well in their past 5 games. Their offense has been clicking, and the defense has been able to make crucial stops, and force turnovers. What's gone well? Do the Falcons have a legit hope for the playoffs, or should they tank, and go for a higher draft pick? 

The Atlanta Falcons are playing better football in all three phases. The offense was clicking last week, even without Roddy White. The only thing about the offense was they couldn't take advantage of red zone opportunities. Most of the time they could only score a field goal, when they really needed a touchdown. That has been a constant all year though. If the Falcons can take advantage of opportunities in the red zone, they could possibly make a run in the playoffs. 

The defense has stepped up majorly in the last few games. To give you some perspective, in five games that the Falcons have lost, they've given up 149 points, in the five games they've won, they've only given up 100 points. That's seven less touchdowns. Another crazy thing is that the Falcons could easily be 7-5 right now. I think we can all agree that they should've beaten both Cleveland and Detroit. The talent and personnel are there, now it's just a question of execution down the stretch. 

Atlanta Falcons defense exiting the tunnel in the Georgia Dome

Even the special teams has been better. Matty Ice II (Matt Bryant) is 14 for his last 14, while Devin Hester has started to pick up the return game again. Matt Bosher (Jeez, how many "Matt"s play for the Falcons) has been a great punter, pinning teams well inside their territory. 

Like I said the pieces are there, now it's just a matter of figuring out how to put the puzzle together. 

Atlanta Hawks Season Preview

The Atlanta Hawks started their season against the Toronto Raptors in the Air Canada Center. They lost 109-102. This is the type of game you should expect from the Hawks. In my opinion they have a very offensive minded team. If they can work on their defense then I think they can be an elite team in the Eastern Conference. My prediction for the Hawks this year: 4th in their conference. 

With weapons like Al Horford and Paul Millsap, the Hawks will score points by the bunches. They are not the biggest team, but these two can drive to the rim and also score mid-range shots. If Horford gets to the rim efficiently I believe that Millsap can get to the three point line and he can also be a weapon from out there. When you talk about three pointers you can't not talk about Kyle Korver. Korver is currently the record holder for most consecutive games with a made three. His record was snapped at 127 games. That streak spanned 1 full NBA season, and 75 percent of another. That is insane. Besides that Korver is still an elite NBA three point shooter. In the game against the Raptors he went 6 for 7 from downtown in that game. If Korver puts up big numbers this year it could be a very successful season for the Hawks. The last person I want to talk about is Jeff Teague, Teague is an up and coming point guard in this league. I believe that this is the year is his coming out party. In my opinion he can put up 20-25 points every game. I believe that his athleticism and speed can help make up for his lack of size even at the point guard position. Oh and he can shoot a couple threes.

Jeff Teague with a ridiculous crossover on Evan Turner in the 2014 NBA Playoffs.
The three pointer is just icing on the cake 

Now lets talk about the defense. The biggest weakness by far for the Hawks on defense is their lack of size. Neither Horford nor Millsap is tall enough to defend a Pau Gasol or a Brook Lopez. If the Hawks want to have a good defense they have to make teams stretch the floor and defend the three ball well. I believe that they key to a good defense for the Hawks is rebounding. Against the Raptors the Hawks allowed way too many offensive rebounds. If they can limit opponents to a few second chance points a game and they get some offensive rebounds themselves. Their defense can be good enough to power this team through. The last key is for the defense to force turnovers. I believe that if the Hawks can force turnovers they can get on the fast break and get 10 - 12 fast break points a game, that will be enough.

The Hawks are looking forward to a great year if they can play good fundamental basketball.

*Look out for my article about my predictions of the Eastern Conference. 

A Quick Moment to Thank the Atlanta Braves

I want to take this Monday afternoon to appreciate what the Braves achieved in the 2014 season. Now I know that they didn't make the playoffs, and I know that they fired the GM, but in my opinion, they had a great year, and I'll explain more down below.

Before the Braves took the field on opening day their pitching staff was decimated. Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy were out for the year with Tommy John surgery, and Mike Minor was not available for the first couple months of the season. That's 60% of their starting rotation out before opening day. That's devastating for a pitching staff and a team. Yet, the Braves fought on. They went 17-9 in April, and they looked like a great team. Then reality started to catch up. They went on to lose seven of their next eight, and became only four games above .500 in May. They had a better month of June pushing their record to 45-38. July was even better, and the Braves were looking towards a playoff run. They were 58-50 at the end of July, and had a really tough road trip. This is where the downhill journey starts. They went on to get swept in an 8 game road trip by the Dodgers, Padres, and Mariners. And then as you Braves fans remember it was chaos from then on.

Now let me take a look at the positive side. The Atlanta  Braves, the team that had lost 60% of their rotation in the spring, the team that had no hitter that hit over .300, was in contention for an N.L. East title until September. The team that essentially had a lineup with seven hitters due to the second straight dismal year from B.J. Upton. A team that had to release a second baseman that was signed to a 5 year $62 million dollar contract. A team that had a multitude of losing streaks. That team that had guys like Alex Wood, and Aaron Harang in their starting pitching staff. That team had the 5th lowest ERA in the major leagues. That team hung around in a division against the World Series favorites until mid September. That team was the 2014 Atlanta Braves, and they should walk out of that clubhouse with their head held high. They had an excellent 2014 season. Thank you Atlanta Braves!

Atlanta Falcons Week 3 Review

The Atlanta Falcons were trying to rebound from a disappointing loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. And boy did they do just that. They put 56 points in the dome against a lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Falcons put up scary fast drives, and their defense was a lot better this game, and hopefully gave the team some confidence. Let's talk about the demolition.

The offense was scoring and scoring and scoring........... You get the point. In the first drive of the game Atlanta took six plays to drive 70 yards in 2 minutes 57 seconds, with the key play being a Julio Jones 25 yard reception. It was smooth sailing from then on.

The Falcons forces a three and out (more on that later), and got the ball. In the next drive the Falcons drove 52 yards, and on the next play Levine Toiliolo fumbled the ball. But the hustle of Devin Hester, redeemed the Falcons, as he forced a fumble on the same play. Then the Falcons kicked it into high gear, and scored 35 points in the first half. Speaking of scoring they jumped out to a 54-0 lead. To give you a perspective on his performance, he scored 29.8 fantasy points. He was pulled out in the middle of the third quarter.

Now let's talk about the defense. The defense was excellent. That's really the only way to put it. They gave up zero points in the first three quarters. The secondary was excellent, the defensive line was awesome, and the safety were excellent. The Falcons won the battle at the line of scrimmage, they prevented the run defense, and they won the game in all aspects. The 14 points that they gave up all came in the fourth quarter, with their backup defense.

Oh and by the way, the defense was so good, they didn't give up a first down until the middle of the second half. No wonder the offense had a multitude of opportunities to score.

This was a great showing by the Falcons in all. They played well in all three aspects of the game offense, defense and special teams. Oh and a quick congratulations to Devin Hester, who broke the record of all time returns for touchdowns. He returned a punt 56 yards, and took it to the house. Congratulations Hester!

Devin Hester returns a punt to the house to set the all-time

 NFL record for return/punt TD's

*Look out for my Week 4 review

Atlanta Falcons Week 2 Review

*Sorry about the late post 

In Week 2, the Falcons came in with a ton of confidence. They had just beaten division rival New Orleans Saints, who had beaten them last year and had gotten their terrible season of to a terrible start. However in Week 2, that confidence did not show up on the field. They started encouragingly, with a 36 yard return by Devin Hester. The offense also got a first down in two plays in their first drive. After that, the offense didn't show up until the 4th quarter. Let's look at both sides of the football, and get my perspective on the Week 2 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

First the offense. The offensive started off slow, and never really kicked it into full gear, Matt Ryan had an awful game throwing three picks, opposed to only one touchdown. The receivers were not getting open, and the offense was just not clicking. There is not much else to say about the offense. They were terrible.

Now lets move on to the defense. The defense was decent up until about halftime. They had given up ten points, along with a couple missed field goals. The only problem was the offense didn't give them much help. Like I mentioned in my previous review, the defense's ability to bend but not break was impressive, but like last week, only in the first half. The defense gave up one touchdown in the first half, but gave up two touchdowns in the third quarter. They did however hold sturdy in the fourth quarter.

Overall a poor perform by the offense and a okay performance by the defense. They will certainly need better if they have a hope of making the playoffs, and winning their division. Their next game is home versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

*Look out for my Week 3 post against the Buccaneers. 

Braves Terminate GM Frank Wren

After the Braves were eliminated from playoff contention with a 10-2 loss to the Mets, the Braves felt it was time to make a move, and terminated General Manager Frank Wren. The Braves hired Wren in 2007 and he led the Braves to three playoff appearances including a division title. The Braves have hired current MLB analyst Jon Hart, who is a former GM as interim GM. He along with Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox and Braves President John Schuerholtz, are the three man search committee assigned with the task of finding another GM. This is the first time the Braves have fired a manager or GM since 1990. 

Washington Nationals Clinch N.L. East (ugh)

The Washington Nationals are playoff bound. Atlanta Braves fans' hearts sunk when Justin Upton grounded a Drew Storen pitch, to newly acquired National Asdrubal Cabrera. That grounder marked the end of the Braves reign atop the N.L. East. And the worst part about it, it happened on Braves soil. You got to give it to those dang Nationals. They didn't play the way people expected them to last year, and the first half of this year. But when it came down to the stretch run. The Nationals simply played better baseball than the Atlanta Braves. Meanwhile the Atlanta Braves looked like an uninspired, unenthusiastic little league club, that had just gotten scolded by their coach. They came into the Nationals series playing OK baseball. They had split a series in Miami, and went into the Nationals series 7 games back. Then things went downhill.

The Nationals simply played better than the Braves, and took two out of three in Nationals Park. Then the Braves went into Arlington to play the Rangers, hoping they would get some momentum. That went horribly wrong. The Braves were swept in horrible fashion, by the worst team in all of baseball. Then the Braves had a chance to redeem themselves a bit. The Nationals came to town, and took the first game 4-2, behind a nasty Stephen Strasburg, who also singled in a run. Then the misery started. The Braves had to take the next two games, or else the Nationals were gonna be celebrating on the grass of Turner Field.  And that is exactly what happened. The Braves were shut out 3-0, and the Nationals had clinched the N.L. East.

So, now the Braves eye a Wild Card spot. Now realistically the Braves are almost out of it. Almost. The only bright side I can see, is that the Braves play the Pittsburgh Pirates (the team that holds the second wild card spot), four more times this year. So Braves fans; there is a very very very dim light at the end of the 162 game tunnel. The odds are not favoring the Braves (and neither is the amount of games left), but hey, this is Baseball. Anything can happen. You never know, maybe the Braves can pull a 8-9 game win streak out of their inconsistent offensive hat. All we can do is sit and hope.

Atlanta Falcons Week 1 Review

*I apologize about the late post

The Atlanta Falcons and their fans were on an emotional high after the first week of the NFL season, after dramatically beating the New Orleans Saints in overtime. Matt Bryant kicked a 51 yd field goal to send the game into overtime. Then after Marques Colston fumbled the ball in overtime, Matt Bryant booted a 52 yd field goal that split the uprights, and ended the game.

First Week 1. Week 1 was a true shootout against the Saints. And we were ready for it. The offense was clicking on every single level you could think of. Matt Ryan threw for 446 yards, he threw the ball to a total of six receivers, four of which had at least five receptions. Antone Smith, Devin Hester, Julio Jones, Roddy White, Levine Toilolo, and Steven Jackson all caught passes from Matt Ryan. Not to mention offensive coordinator Mike Nolan spread the running game between running backs. All in all it was an excellent offensive showing from the Falcons in Week 1.

Next the defense in Week 1. The defense impressed me in a lot of ways, yet also gave me some things to worry about. First the good news. The defenses ability to bend but not break was quite impressive. for example the Saints would drive 65 yards down the field, and would have a 1st and 10 from the 15 yard line. Most defenses would just fold and allow the touchdown. However the Falcons defense made a stand and prevented the Saints from scoring touchdowns (at least in the first quarter.) Something else that was very encouraging was the fact that the Falcons were covering the deep ball very well. Whenever Drew Brees gave you a pretentious feeling when he stepped up in the pocket and launched one, Robert Alford, or Desmond Trufant was there for the rescue. And finally the last good thing the Falcons defense showed me: they won the turnover battle. The Saints are 36-1 under Sean Peyton when they are even or win the turnover battle.The Falcons made sure that they didn't have to deal with that, as they intercepted an Drew Brees pass, and forced a fumble by Marques Colston.

Now the concerning part. You know how I mentioned that their defense bent but didn't break. Ya, that was over after the second quarter. The Falcons allowed two touchdowns in the second quarter. The only thing that saved us was the offense. The last thing that concerned me was their run defense. They allowed quite a bit of rushing yards to a New Orleans Saints offense that consisted of Mark Ingram, and Pierre Thomas. Other than that the Falcons defense impressed me quite a bit.

The Falcons had a great Week 1 on both sides of the ball. Let's hope they can keep it up in the coming weeks.

*Keep an eye out for my next post about Week 2 and Week 3.

Atlanta Falcons Season Preview

The Atlanta Falcons season starts on September 7, 2014 when they take on the New Orleans Saints. Last year the Falcons went 4-12, a disappointing end to future hall of fame tight end Tony Gonzalez's career. Not to mention the fact that the bar was set high after the 2012 season when the Falcons blew a 17 point lead, and came within seven yards of a Super Bowl birth in the NFC Championship game. But that is the beauty of a new season. You get to either push away the disappointments, or build on the achievements of the previous year.  This is the time where predictions are made, fantasy teams drafted, teams and quarterback ranked, and competition between friends become anything but friendly. This is football season.

So, after a dismal year, the Falcons begin the 2014-2015 campaign not expected to do much. This is expected after a 4-12 campaign, where Julio Jones was injured, and the defense was riddled with rookies, and desecrated by injuries. However this year, Matt Ryan has his two marquee targets in Julio Jones and Roddy White. This receiving core is one of the best in the league along with the Bear's Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery. The defense is getting healthier. The only two players listed on the Falcons injury report, were Corey Peters, and Dezman Southward. Corey Peters, is still trying to recover from a torn Achilles that he suffered last year. He is questionable for Sunday's opener against the Saints, yet has been a full participator in practice for the past couple days. The other player listed on the injury report is Dezman Southward. The Falcons drafted him as a safety in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played his college football in Wisconsin. He suffered a concussion, but has also been a full time participant in practice.

So now the question is: Can the Falcons take advantage of the fact that they are relatively healthy. The have their receiving core. The main question remains their defense. If their defense can hold up and Matt Ryan has a good year. It might just be a very special season, for the Atlanta Falcons.

Jonny Venters To Undergo 3rd Tommy John Surgery

What a shame baseball can be sometimes. One of the greatest relief pitchers in all of MLB, Jonny Venters, is facing a third Tommy John surgery. While trying to rehab from his second Tommy John Surgery, Venters experienced some discomfort in his elbow. He went and talked to Dr. James Andrews, the worlds most renowned sports doctor, and it was found out that Venters had torn his Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL.) After talking to his family, Venters decided to undergo a third Tommy John surgery. Now this makes sense considering he is only 29 years old. Plus the fact that we was pitching excellent before he left. He was pitching a stellar 1.84 ERA the year before he got injured. The odds are not on his side. The success rate for players after one surgery is almost 95%, after two Tommy John surgeries it is less, and after three Tommy John surgeries...well only one person has done it.

So if Venters were to make a return to the big leagues he would be only the second known player in all of Major League history, to return after 3 Tommy John surgeries. If he is successful in his return, then someone has gotta weave this guy a Superman shirt. There are questions facing him though. Will he be the same pitcher that he used to be? (surely we can't expect him to) How long will he be able to pitch if he comes back? Will he have the same stuff? No one knows, and we might never know, we can hope that he has a successful surgery, and a successful rehab, and of course a successful career.

Braves Playoff Hopes Dwindling By The Day

The Atlanta Braves are running out of time. They lost 5-3 to the Cincinnati Reds, and they ended up splitting the series after winning the first two games. Meanwhile the Nationals overcame a large 5-0 deficit to absolutely clobber the San Francisco Giants 14-6. The Braves stand 8 games behind the red hot Nationals for first place in the NL East. In the National League chase for the wild card, the Cardinals are in first place, and the Giants are in second. If the playoffs started today, the Braves would be on the outside looking in. However the playoffs don't start today and the Braves do have hope. They have been playing better baseball of late. This has to be credited to the catalytic forces of Freddie Freeman and Justin Upton. Yes, the Braves lost the last two games against the Reds. But all in all it hasn't been a bad road trip.

The offense came alive in the first two games against the Pirates scoring a total of 18 runs in two games, beating the Pirates 7-3, and 11-3. They ended up losing the third game in Pittsburgh 3-2, even with Alex Wood's stellar performance.

Then they were off to what I call, The Great American Smallpark. The Braves certainly did make it look like a small park, exploding for 8 runs in the game, downing the Reds 8-0. Game 2 of the series was not so easy. The Braves struck first with a Tommy La Stella bases loaded ground out, that Zack Cozart made a great diving stop for, and fired to second for an out. But that was all the Reds would get as one run came into score. But that was not the story of the game. The story was Mike Minor. He was through 7 2/3 innings without allowing a hit (albeit with 4 walks.) In the 8th inning with a runner on second (a batter he had walked), Hamilton blooped a single into center field passed the outstretched arms of Andrelton Simmons, and Minor lost the no-no, but more importantly the Reds had tied the game. In the 12th inning Justin Upton saved the Braves when hit a two run moonshot off Manny Parra. The Braves ended up winning, as Kimbrel got the save.

The Braves ended up losing the next two games of the series and losing 1 game in the NL East standings. The Braves end their road trip in Citi Field against the Mets. If you think it is realistic that the Braves are gonna win the NL East, you're kidding yourself. However they do have a shot if they play the Nats really well in September, and gain a few games before or after that. They have 6 games left with the Nationals. Now there is a cautious cause for optimism. The Nationals are just 10-22 over the past 2 seasons against Atlanta. If the Braves could gain some ground before they play the Nationals they just might have a chance. All we can do is wait and see.