Chris Redman's final play Sunday, a touchdown pass, kept the Atlanta Falcons from falling into NFL playoff purgatory with a 5-6 record. Now, with Matt Ryan out for at least a week with the dreaded turf toe, Redman (left)
must improve on the decent performance in his first start since 2007.
Matt Ryan went out early. Michael Turner went out midway through. The Atlanta Falcons also lost offensive linemen Harvey Dahl and Sam Baker, all to injuries.
That they won -- ugly, but this ain't no beauty pageant -- is a testament to the persistence that coach Mike Smith has instilled in this team. Staring at their fifth loss in six games and preparing for a walk to the edge of the NFL playoff plank, the Falcons scored an 11th-hour-plus touchdown to shake off Tampa Bay 20-17.
It will linger like a pesky flu, this loss for Georgia Tech fans. The discomfort from Saturday's 30-24 eye-gouging by inferior Georgia will nag for several days, maybe a week. There will be headaches, soreness and enough sniffling to water the eyes more than they already are.
But when the symptoms subside, Yellow Jackets should realize that the outcome means little other than bragging rights for a year.
When toe met leather to begin Georgia's football season, grounded fans -- the few of you know who you are -- were anticipating an 8-4 season. Turns out, they weren't far off. The Bulldogs' 30-24 ambushing of Georgia Tech left them at 7-5 against a brutal schedule.
Matthew Stafford's astonishing performance Sunday for the Detroit Lions eased the pain for suffering Bulldog Nation this weekend. Or, it made things worse.
The ex-Georgia gunslinger (left) fought an aching, injured shoulder and willed his team to a win for the ages over the Browns. Too bad few eyeballs watched, given how the game between a pair of one-victory teams got minimal coverage on a busy NFL Sunday.
At some point, the NFL likely will change its overtime procedure to allow a possession for each side. Since kickoffs were moved back to the 30-yard line in 1994, 60 percent of teams receiving the kick have won in OT -- half on their opening series.
Oddsmakers list Georgia Tech as a seven-point pick over Georgia. If you were a betting man, or woman -- and the odds say you are -- wouldn't you ride the Yellow Jackets?
Maybe if wide receiver A.J. Green (shoulder) can ingest enough pain medication and play, the Bulldogs can keep TV viewers from switching over to the opening of "Saturday Night Live." Maybe if . . .
While wondering if Georgia players will wear dog tags to honor Uga VII (left) or if the interim Uga needs a win against Georgia Tech to get invited back next year, seems the Bulldogs are in a scary spot Saturday.
Can't see the Falcons winning Sunday. Could see them winning at New England, at Dallas, at New Orleans. Thought they would at Carolina. But not at the New York Giants.
Three reasons why:
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The Atlanta Falcons aren't saying how long, but Michael Turner's high ankle sprain almost certainly knocks him out of Sunday's game against the New York Giants.
Not good. Lost-boy quarterback Matt Ryan needs all the help he can get, and Turner's absence leads the ball-carrying chores to the pedestrian Jason Snelling and maybe Jerrious Norwood, who has been MIA with an injury. Matty Ice has morphed into Matty Vice, and no Turner means he probably won't revert back soon.
Well, everybody ranked above Georgia Tech won this past weekend, so the Yellow Jackets remain No. 7 in the BCS poll. But nobody was more impressive than Tech, which spotted Duke 10 points before rattling off 49 straight and gave them an extra carry-on item for the trip home.
The ACC's Coastal Divisition title trophy.
So many good things about Georgia's 31-24 rise-from-the-dead win over Auburn.
--In a season going sour, the Bulldogs could have cried "uncle" after falling behind 14-0. That they rallied speaks well for this team.
If his fourth-ranked TCU team beats Utah Saturday, Gary Patterson gets a vise-like grip on the national coach of the year award. If the Horned Frogs get fileted, the ultimate recipient could be on either sidelinein Durham, N.C.
Paul Johnson, in year two, has maneuvered Georgia Tech to a No. 7 ranking and a likely ACC title game with players he mostly did not recruit running an unorthodox offense.
Georgia defensive coordinator Willie Martinez, the favorite pinata of frustrated Bulldawg Nation, may already be a goner after this season. If not, he hangs by a thread.
That thread could snap Saturday. Or it could become strengthened. Martinez (left) confronts a ginormous challenge Saturday against Auburn's potent no-huddle offense.
As the Atlanta Falcons gear up for the Carolina Panthers, explain this: Where is the justice when Michael Vick can keep $16 million more of his signing bonus and Mike Smith gets fined $15,000 for sticking up for his quarterback? And: Why did Tony Gonzalez spill the beans by disclosing he and his wife were not nude for their PETA promotional photo?
Winning the games you're supposed to win: saying it is easy, doing it is hard. The Atlanta Falcons say it and do it, the latest being Sunday's 31-17 pasting of the Washington Redskins.
Happy now? Not only did Georgia win a football game -- well, a glorified scrimmage, 38-0 over Tennessee Tech. But coach Mark Richt, a bulls-eye for criticism because he is perceived as too soft -- promptly pulled out individual Bulldogs who committed penalties.
No mo' Mr. Nice Guy.
Sartorially speaking, on one day, the odds for Georgia Tech reaching the BCS championship game went from XXX-long to X-long. Which ain't bad, when you consider the Yellow Jackets play in the woebegone ACC and get no favors from the strength of schedule component.
They deserve a break today. (Or Sunday, if you're reading this in advance.) We speak of the weary Atlanta Falcons, who have been beat and beaten up on the field.
They've lost at New England, Dallas and New Orleans -- no cupcakes, or Egg McMuffins, there -- in recent weeks. Injuries provide a partial excuse for Matt Ryan's erraticism (protection breakdowns) and opposing quarterbacks' field days (scant pass rush, spotty coverage). One more loss before the Saints' rematch means wild-card or bust for the playoffs.
No way Georgia Tech should stumble Saturday to Wake Forest.
Sure, it's a league game against a team that heisted the ACC title in 2006 (beating Tech, by the way). But Wake is back to normal now at 4-5, with no wins on the road.
Bulldog Nation is still replaying the week-old whuppin' by Florida. It has assembled a firing squad, aiming in the general Athens area in hopes of (metaphorically speaking) picking off the head coach, a coordinator or the quarterback fired. Or, all of the above.
It's all over but the signing. The Atlanta Braves and Tim Hudson (left) have completed negotiations on a three-year deal worth about $9 million per to remain in a tomahawk jersey.
Hudson, 34, went 2-1 with a 3.61 ERA in seven starts upon returning from a year-long hibernation after surgery. He gives the Braves an embarrassment on riches in the starting rotation, which explains why skipper Bobby Cox deferred retirement.
Can you say wild card? The Atlanta Falcons hope to be saying it come the holiday season because their NFC South title chances are as flat as a 50-cent beer on Bourbon Street.
After Monday's 35-27 spanking by New Orleans, the Falcons trail the Saints by three games with nine to negotiate. Not a prohibitive gap, especially with N'Awlins paying a return trip to the Georgia Dome on Dec. 13. (Mark dem calendars.) But the Saints get Carolina, St. Louis and Tampa Bay in the next three weeks, then the Redskins, Panthers and Bucs later.
It doesn't seem long ago that Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson (left)
was defending his triple-option offense against charges that was it antiquated, quirky and/or doomed to failure. After the Jackets vanquished Vandy 56-31 Saturday in Opryland, Johnson has the right to say, "Can you hear me now?"
Loud and clear, coach. Tech controls the clock like nobody's business, keeping the ball for 39:45 even though it had a couple of long-strike TDs for 35 and 87 yards.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. For Georgia's game against mighty Florida in Jacksonville, that meant black helmets for the first time ever and black pants for the first time since 1998.
