Month: October 2007 (Page 6 of 20)

The owner of the Atlanta Falcons voodoo doll has struck again. After the team cut DT Grady Jackson Tuesday night, several players – including CB DeAngelo Hall – voiced their displeasure on Wednesday. Hall noted that due to head coach Bobby Petrino’s silence on the Jackson issue, he wants to be cut.

When Hall was told Petrino said the move was a football decision, he responded: “If that’s the case they need to cut about 52 [players], they can cut me too, they can cut all 53 of us. Ain’t nobody playing the way they should be playing right now. Obviously. We’re 1-6. To single out Grady is asinine. It’s ridiculous. We got so many players that haven’t made a play around here. It don’t make no sense. We gave a lot of people jobs. To sit there and single Grady out and say that’s the reason why, that’s ludicrous. If you’ve got something else better and more concrete to go off of, I’d love to hear it. I’m not buying that one.”

It’s clear that – like most losing teams – the Falcons are in the midst of a midseason upheaval. Word is that Jackson was playing selfishly and was lazy at practice, so if that was the case, then Petrino did the right thing. Jim Mora was every player’s best friend last year and allowed guys like Hall to get away with everything. Now it’s Petrino’s duty to clean up the mess. The message is clear: If you don’t want to play like a team, then we’ll find players that will. If you want to act like selfish brats instead of professionals that are highly compensated, then you’re gone.

Things look extremely bleak in Atlanta, but maybe Petrino is just getting rid of the weeds so he can have a fresh lawn in due time.

Here’s a weekly look at the top and bottom five in the NFL:

1. New England Patriots (7-0)
Previous Rank: #1
Sunday was a great example of how good Tom Brady is. Bill Belichick pulled him during the forth quarter of a blowout, but inserted him back into the game after Miami cut the score to 49-28 and immediately he threw his sixth touchdown pass of the day. Remarkable.

2. Indianapolis Colts (7-0)
Previous Rank: #2
Jacksonville lost starting quarterback David Garrard to an injury Monday night, but it wouldn’t have mattered if he had played the entire game. Indy ran at will all night and the game was never in doubt. The Jags were supposed to be a true test for the Colts, but the game only proved how good Indy actually is.

3. Dallas Cowboys (6-1)
Previous Rank: #4
The most encouraging thing that occurred for the Cowboys this past weekend was that the defense played with emotion. The Dallas offense has been great, but the play of the defense will be the true factor in whether or not this team can make a deep postseason run.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2)
Previous Rank: #3
Pittsburgh’s loss on Sunday night proved that even though the Broncos haven’t played well at times this season, Denver is still a tough place to win. The Steelers are going to have to cut down on the turnovers or else more losses will be coming soon.

5. New York Giants (5-2)
Previous Rank: N/A
Eli Manning is playing with tons of confidence and the defense is smacking people around and wrecking havoc – the G-Men are currently the hottest team not named the Patriots or Colts.

28. San Francisco 49ers (2-4)
Previous Rank: N/A
It’s getting hard to watch this train wreck every week. Wow, what a promising offseason turned into mush thanks to a few key injuries. One good note, however, has been the play of rookie middle linebacker, Patrick Willis. That guy is an absolute playmaker.

29. New York Jets (1-6)
Previous Rank: #29
Has someone seen Thomas Jones? He has two games of over 100 rushing yards and that’s it. Other than that, he’s rushed for: 42, 67, 35, 36 and 67 yards. And oh by the way, he has zero touchdowns – none, zero, zilch!

30. Atlanta Falcons (1-6)
Previous Rank #30
The Michael Vick saga, the key injuries (they’ve lost two left tackles to season-ending injuries and it’s only Week 8!), Byron Leftwich providing a spark and then going down – somebody on the Falcons really did a number on the football gods, because clearly this team is cursed. Perhaps the worst curse of all, however, is the curse of the Joey Harrington. That guy just sucks the life right out of every team he plays for.

31. Miami Dolphins (0-7)
Previous Rank: #31
The Dolphins have one of the worst defenses I’ve ever seen and that’s hard to swallow considering they still employ Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor. The ironic part is that the offense is actually playing well this year; although with Ronnie Brown now out for the year with an ACL injury, that is likely to change soon.

32. St. Louis Rams (0-7)
Previous Rank: #32
It’s flabbergasting to see a team with so many offensive playmakers struggle so much. Steven Jackson is set to return this week from injury, but this team is so off track right now, it hardly matters.