More from the lack luster Falcons

In a November 30th article written for Grantland, Bill Barnwell details the incomplete tale of Falcons quaterback Matt Ryan.  At the time of print the Falcons team record stood at 11-1.  A very formidable and admirable win loss record.  One aspect of the article that i agree with is the point where Ryan's playoff record is mentioned, he is 0-3 in career playoff games.  The article goes on to say that these losses were games that the Falcons COULD HAVE won.  But they didn't.  So since the QB is the leader of the team and the team lost, he shoulders the blame.  I think this is a just and accurate assumption.  Those games got out of hand at some point, and if you look at them on tape the quaterback play of Matt Ryan is well below average!  So the finger is justly pointed.  People are alway trying to give credit to this man and this team.  Just look at the Packers who went nearly undefeated a short time ago, season meant nothing after the playoffs ended.  The Falcons get to the playoffs and have to play GREAT teams.  They just dont match up, the team is lacking in areas and these deficiencies are highlighted.  The Falcons have yet to beat a good playoff team IN THE PLAYOFFS, where it counts.  Until that day I will always under rate them.

Pop culture: The Tim Tebow comedy hour!

         A Grantland fauxclusive brought to you by Justin Halpern, shows us a single screenshot of a Gmail account upkept by Tim Tebow.  At first glance I thought that "well maybe there might be something to this story."  But as soon as I opened the link the laughter flowed out!  So lets beat a dead horse here, look at the composers of the emails and if you are a fan of sports you will laugh out loud! Guarenteed!  It's for the adult in all of us and it displays some words for a mature audience so fair warning.  If I had to pick three emails from his list that made me really laugh hard, they would be from: Roger Goodell, Tom Brady and Jay Cutler!  If you know anything about Bears quaterbacks as of late and are a Packer fan, Jay's email will really put a smile on your face.  It was my hands down favorite.  This is short, sweet and to the point.  That is part of what makes this so funny to me.

Pop Culture: Are the Atlanta Falcons really 7-0?

I recently read an article on GRANTLAND by Bill Barnwell about this years only undefeated team left in the NFL.  For the most part Bill provides some great information about this team and why the majority of NFL fans think they are the best in the leaague.  I on the other hand disagree.  Bill throws a TON of statistics out in this article to try an pursuade the readers to think the Falcons are a good team.  I personally think that their wins are not impressive and that there is a lot of hype around quarterback Matt Ryan.  Bill produces offensive and defensive stats showing on paper how good they are, I've watched their games and needless to say I am not impressed with their style of winning. The Falcons play the easiest schedule in the NFC, and half of their games have come by 7 points or less. They have gotten lucky on some plays and have gotten help from their opponents by way of penalties and great field position.  But I'll let the critics and all the talking heads on the sports networks have their fun.  The Falcons will eventually have to play some good teams, week 15 against the Giants and also when the playoffs start. Then their lackluster performances will be exposed and weak team will be exposed and suffer some losses.  And I will be glad, I am so tired of people talking about how great Matt Ryan is and how good the rest of the team is. Sure I know that if Matt Ryan goes down, that team sinks fast! But he is far from the type of leader to carry an entire team through to the superbowl.  The Falcons will have their day, just not this year.

"My men are hard chargers!"

One of the more significant scenes from "Heartbreak Ridge" occurs near the end of the movie at about the second to last scene.  The setting is on a captured enemy hilltop where Gunnery Sergeant Highway's men have gathered themselves after the long up hill fight.  You can see the tired long looks on the Marines faces after the battle.  Gunny is sitting on a collapsed brick wall smoking a cigar resting from his wounds when Major Powers (the commanding officer) and his staff arrive on the dusty hill in a worn out WWII military Jeep.  Major Powers is a young infantry officer and is "war hungry."  The Major has been riding Gunny Highway's ass the entire film.  Here is when the Majors frustration with Highway boils over.  Powers powerwalks over to where the Marines are gathered on the crumbled wall and vents his concerns to Gunny and Leiutenant Ring.  Powers is visibly upset that the Marines of Recon Plt have taken this hill without the Major being present.  His tone with Highway is very firm and Major Powers clenches his fists and insists that Gunny get on his feet, for what we all assume would be a fist fight between the two Marines.  In the distance the sound of a Huey helicopter becomes clear. The aircraft approaches the hilltop and lands.  From within the chopper emerges the Company commander, the head honcho.  He approaches the now large group of Marines and questions the actions and details of the hilltop assault.  Here is where Major Powers shows how much he doesn't know about being an infantry officer. The commander tells Powers that Gunny Highway and Leiutenant Ring did exactly what was expected of them. To take charge and kick ass.  Major Powers is then relieved of his command and is dismissed by the ranking officer.  The commander shows here that the Marines of Recon Plt are trained to improvise, adapt, and overcome any obstacle. This includes securing a heavily guarded enemy hilltop, even with the odds against them.  The Commander makes clear that the Marines are well disciplined warfighters. The best of the best.

Below here is a Youtube link to exact scene in question, if you become familiar with the first half of the movie, this scene really puts the icing on the cake so to speak. All the little pieces fall into place as Gunny finally "gets his" and the Major gets put into his place by a higher ranking officer.

For the Few and the Proud

    

     It takes a really special movie to make it on my list of all time favorites.  These movies need a well thought out plot, gripping characters, and a personal emotional connection to my life.  This is why the movie "Heartbreak Ridge" in my top 3 best all time movies.  The movie was modeled after a real armed conflict on a small island named Grenada.  In this conflict the United States Marine Corps was sent in to stop the hostage situation and they were very sucessful with no casualties.  One of the greatest actors of all time played the lead role in this film.  Clint Eastwood played Gunnery Sergeant Highway as the leader of Recon Platoon.  What is most important to me about this film is that I AM a United States Marine.  This film holds a very sentimental place in my heart, it shows the unity and determination of Marines to improvise, adapt and overcome any obstacle.  When Recon platoon charged the light tower on top of the enemy controlled hill, they were faced with heavy enemy fire and fought up hill the entire way.  In the end we were victorious and expelled the rebels from the tower.  This will to endure and to perservere is what I believe to be the most important part.

Packer game outcome

In response to a blog posted by David Maraniss entitled "Winning actually isn't the only thing"  This short article is pretty much in tune with my thoughts and feelings about how the Monday Night Football game between the Packers and Seahawks ended.  He spoke from the heart and did not with hold any information from his readers.  I 100% agree with David about how Pete Carrol and Russel Wilson handled their good fortune.  They were so extatic, like those two had just won the game and not had it handed to them by the officials.  Be realistic about it, you look ignorant by pretending your actions actually won the game.  Would I feel the same way if the tides were turned? Yes, I am not just a Packer fan, I am a FOOTBALL fan.  I'd hate to see any game end they way this one ended. It made me sick to my stomach to see an NFL game come to this level of incompetence.  It smeared the glamor and awe of the NFL game.  I wouldnt want any fan of any team to go through what we Packer fans had to go through.  Go Pack Go!!!

The Believing game 2

          











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