Atlanta Falcons and T.O.

It's been a long time since a franchise has gone through the turmoil that the Atlanta Falcons have faced in 2007. Obviously, the dogfighting scandal that has resulted in Michael Vick's two-year prison bid devastated this organization. Not only was he the best player on the team, or the best athlete in the entire city of Atlanta, but he was a role model and an icon to a generation of kids growing up on the rough streets of the A. He made everyone on the Falcons better because he was really the only guy out there that could make plays. Warrick Dunn is 80 years old, Alge Crumpler survived on getting lost by the defense when Vick would escape the pocket, and their wide outs are nothing special, except maybe for Roddy White. Joey Harrington and Byron Leftwich were both top 10 picks that turned out to be busts, and even when given a second chance where they had pretty much no expectations still managed to disappoint. Chris Redman looked like the best QB they have Monday Night, and he is a career back-up.

And now, Head Coach Bobby Petrino has resigned with three games left in the season to go replace Houston Nutt at the University of Arkansas. The Falcons, in the midst of their 29th losing season in 42 years of existence, now must completely overhaul their franchise, and with a weak draft class this year, it looks like Emmitt Thomas, or whoever ends up as their coach, is in for a long haul.

Now I can't say that I blame Petrino for jumping ship. He went to the Falcons with the best athlete in all of football under center and left with the team looking at 2-14 seasons and top 5 picks throughout the course of his five-year deal. But how can a coach leave his team midway through a season, no matter how bad things are going? And the way he let his team know his decision is even worse. He put a four line note in each player's locker on Wednesday morning for them to find after their day off. You should check out some of the reactions from around the league. Lawyer Milloy's is my favorite.

The only thing keeping me from ripping Petrino is that there are some reports out there that this team had quit on him (Skip Bayless was ranting about it this morning on Sportscenter). Now, I haven't watched the Falcons play at all this year (you suprised?), so I cannot comment on this directly, but I will say that D'Angelo Hall's meltdown earlier this year makes me suspect that this is at least partly true. Regardless, Petrino has been known for being a coaching mercenary. only time can tell how long he was be at Arkansas.

And I know that I am supposed to hate T.O. like every other self-respecting football fan, but I think the guy is hilarious. I mean, he's self-absorbed, cocky and brazen, and I don't condone what he did to the Eagles, Donovan McNabb, or Bill Parcells, but if you haven't heard what he said about Keyshawn Johnson, read this article.