Wanna be the best? You’ve gotta beat the best

Everyone’s chasing the gold, but there’s only one winner. Photo credit: Adobe Stock

Many of this year’s championship teams, including the Braves, Bulldogs, & Rams, had to defeat last year’s championship teams multiple times in their journeys to become champions.  Shoot, the Dawgs even had to defeat the defending CFB champs (Alabama) in the ’21 title game! Championship teams often have a target on their back the year after they win it all; opposing teams usually give their best shot in defeating the reigning champs, and winning against the champs provides these unheralded teams a huge morale boost going forward. Think about it this way, teams that beat the defending champs are playing with “house money” the rest of the year. They’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain going forward, with all of the momentum too. Let’s take a look back at last year’s series history between defending champs & current champs.

Braves vs. Dodgers (June 2021)

            Our first matchup of champions is a three-game regular season series between the home team Braves & the visiting Dodgers. The Dodgers put the pressure on the Braves early, with a 9-5 win in Game 1 of the series. The Braves responded by winning the series outright with 6-4 & 4-2 score wins in Games 2 & 3 respectively. This was an important series for the Braves as the Dodgers always had the Braves number for the past several years, particularly in the playoffs. Let’s see how the Braves fared when the roles of home & away team were reversed in August.

Dodgers vs. Braves (August 2021)

            Unfortunately, the Braves did not play very well at all on the west coast in late August. They were swept in this series, though all of the games were close with scores of 3-5, 2-3, & 3-4 in games one through three respectively. Let’s do a quick recap here, the Braves were 2-4 against the Dodgers at this point in the season, with the Dodgers narrowly outscoring the Braves 27-23. All of this drama set the stage for a key matchup in the National League Championship Series.

Braves vs. Dodgers (National League Championship Series)

            Atlanta set the tone early in this one with 3-2 & 5-4 wins in Games 1 & 2 respectively. Eddie Rosario, the eventual NLCS MVP, began his legendary performance with a walk-off single in Game 2. Then, they had to take the show on the road & play the champs on their turf. Again, it didn’t go very well for the Bravos as they lost two out of the three west coast games. Rosario was magnificent again in Game 4 though, going 4-5 with 2 HR, 4 RBI, & 3 runs in the team’s 9-2 win. After an embarrassing 11-2 loss in Game 5, the stage was set for a memorable Game 6 in Atlanta. Tyler Matzek game Rosario some help in this one by overcoming a runners on 2nd & 3rd with nobody out situation in the 7th inning. Matzek neutralized the threat by striking out the side & not allowing any inherited runners to score, and he pitched the 8th afterwards too! At long last, the Braves got the monkey off their back by beating baseball’s defending champs. This team of destiny would later go on to defeat the Houston Astros in the 2021 World Series.

Georgia vs. Alabama (SEC Championship Game)

            Georgia came into this game ranked as the No. 1 team in the country with a 13-0 record. Unfortunately, they had yet to play Alabama who seemed to always have their number each year. The team’s embarrassing 41-24 loss in the SEC Championship meant that Georgia was 0-7 in their last 7 head-to-head matchups against Alabama, with many of those losses in the playoffs. Fortunately, they beat Michigan in the Orange Bowl, and this event set the stage for a rematch.

Georgia vs. Alabama (CFP National Championship Game)

            Déjà vu for Georgia as they previously played Alabama in the 2018 championship game. They battled hard & took the game into overtime, but sadly they lost in heartbreaking fashion. This time around, Georgia’s team featured a historic defense that was ready to make an impact. The team also displayed an explosive rushing attack & clutch receivers who made pivotal plays. After an early defensive battle, Georgia’s offense stepped up & the team clung to a 26-18 lead late in the fourth quarter. Alabama had the ball at midfield with 1:09 remaining & they had an opportunity to tie the game & send it to overtime, but Georgia’s historic defense had other plans. DB Kelee Ringo intercepted QB Bryce Young & took it to the house to give Georgia the title!

Rams vs. Bucs (September 2021)

            Funny enough, the Rams kind of copied the Bucs formula from the previous year by bringing in a veteran QB (Matt Stafford) whom they believed could get the team over the hump. Similar to the 2020 Bucs, the Rams would play Super Bowl LVI at home if they could get there. Before getting to the big game though, the Rams had a tough test in playing the Bucs at home. They passed their first test of the season in beating the defending champions 34-24 in September. An efficient & balanced offense plus a stout defensive unit was the recipe for success in this tilt.  

Bucs vs. Rams (NFC Divisional Round)

            Tom Brady almost led another miraculous comeback, rallying his team from a 27-3 deficit in the third quarter to tying the game at 27-27 with 42 seconds left to play in regulation. That left Matt Stafford just enough time in regulation to quickly respond, and boy did he ever.   WR Cooper Kupp, who finished with 9 catches for 183 yards & a TD, was the MVP of the game. He was really clutch on the game’s final drive, catching two passes for 64 yards to ice the game. Kupp & Stafford would later connect on a game-winning touchdown pass in Super Bowl LVI.

Falcons trade Matt Ryan to the Colts

Matt Ryan in a Falcons uniform (2021, colorized). Photo credit: Adobe Stock

Falcons receive: 2022 3rd round pick

Colts receive: QB Matt Ryan

            The Falcons stunningly traded away longtime QB Matt Ryan to the Colts on Monday. The move was stunning for several reasons, including costing the team $40M in dead cap in ‘22. For the Colts, this was a brilliant move as they received more compensation from Washington in the Carson Wentz trade than they gave away in their trade to get Matt Ryan from the Falcons. For the Falcons, this was a necessary & yet rushed move after missing out on Deshaun Watson. They knew they needed to trade him on Monday to avoid paying him a $7.5M roster bonus later. How will the significance of this trade impact the Atlanta Falcons organization going forward?

Laughingstock of the NFL

            Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words as the Matt Ryan & Julio Jones trades (amongst other things) in back-to-back offseasons have left this team devoid of talent in 2022. Adding insult to injury, they embarrassed themselves further by missing out on Deshaun Watson. All of this after 28-3, four consecutive losing seasons, & the Calvin Ridley gambling fiasco too. Nobody can take the Falcons seriously with Marcus Mariota as their new staring quarterback. Let’s face it, the Falcons join the Jets, Lions, & Texans as amongst the worst teams in the league.

Full rebuild coming

It’s unfortunate that the Falcons won’t come out & say that the team has begun the process of a full-scale rebuild, but let’s not kid ourselves & think that’s not what’s happening. We have a few talented players (Grady Jarrett, AJ Terrell, Cordarrelle Patterson), but three players does not field a competitive 53-man roster, much less one with quarterback questions. Our offensive line needs two to three new starters, and our defense has no pass rush to speak of. There are no NFL-caliber receivers on the roster except Patterson, and we can’t sign any either. Marcus Mariota will likely serve as a bridge QB while we draft & develop a rookie QB in 2022. None of this speaks to us fielding a highly competitive team anytime in the foreseeable future.

End of an era

            Believe it or not, the Matt Ryan era has actually been the franchise’s most successful one. He leads the franchise in total wins (120), passing touchdowns (367), and passing yards (59,735). Matt Ryan led the Falcons to the playoffs 6 times, highlighted by a Super Bowl LI berth in 2017. His 4-6 career record in playoff games wasn’t good, but he was our franchise QB for 14 seasons. I’ve got a Matt Ryan jersey hanging in my closet, and I’m just not sure what to do with it now.  The two things that I really appreciated about Matt Ryan were his professionalism & toughness. His identity as the face of the Falcons franchise was well suited for him to excel at for decades. Doing all of that while repeatedly getting clobbered by the Falcons “offensive” line wasn’t easy.

Braves trade for Matt Olson & extend his contract

I’m hopeful for lots of these from Matt Olson in 2022. Photo credit: Adobe Stock

There’s been no shortage of Atlanta sports news lately, so I apologize for being a little late on this story. I find that the expression “better late than never” applies well in this scenario. Last week, the Braves made a blockbuster trade to get first baseman Matt Olson from the A’s. The team then doubled down on their investment by signing him to a new contract extension. How do these moves impact the outlook for the World Series Champion Atlanta Braves in 2022? Now that we’ve had some time to digest this information, let’s break it all down piece by piece.

Blockbuster trade details

Braves receive: 1B Matt Olson

A’s receive: C Shea Langeliers, OF Cristian Pache, RHP Ryan Cusick, RHP Joey Estes

            Make no mistake about it, the Braves are in their World Series window & are going for it. After winning it all last year with an 88-73 record, this team is set up to excel in the short term. They were previously reluctant to trade any top prospects, and yet they gave up four for Olson. That’s because Olson is a stud, as evidenced by his 39 HR .271 average, & .911 OPS last year. The 27-year-old first baseman will be a staple of the Braves lineup as a middle of the order bat. He’s also a great player defensively, as evidenced by his 34 defensive runs saved from 2018-21. For all of these reasons, the Braves gave him a big contract extension shortly after acquiring him.

Contract extension details

            The Braves signed Olson to an 8-year, $168 million extension through the 2029 season. A $20 million club option for 2030 was also added to the contract, so Olson is here for a while. This is the largest contract extension in Braves history, surpassing Freddie Freeman’s old deal. Like it or not, handing out that type of money to Olson comes with big expectations for him to not only be great, but to be the team’s next face of the franchise type of player like Freeman was. Time will tell whether or not Olson will successfully live up to these heightened expectations.

Braves connections

            Olson has several Braves connections worth mentioning that made him want to play here. The first is that him & Dansby Swanson were going to be college roommates at Vanderbilt, at least that was the plan before he was drafted out of high school by the Oakland A’s in the 2012 Draft. He later met up with Braves third base coach Ron Washington during his rookie season in Oakland, where Washington was briefly the third base coach for the A’s during the 2016 season. Olson also shares an agent (B.B. Abbott) with legendary Braves third baseman Chipper Jones. Finally, he attended Parkview High School in Atlanta & knows fellow alumni Jeff Francoeur.

The bottom line

            As Uncle Ben once said to Peter Parker in the movie Spider Man, “with great power comes great responsibility.” This is true in life and is equally true in the case of 1B Matt Olson. We traded a lot of prospect capital to get this guy, and are paying him a lot over the long haul. There’s no doubt he was a great player for the A’s, but can he replicate that success in Atlanta? He’s got big shoes to fill in the wake of Freddie Freeman’s surprising exodus from the Braves. This is the type of franchise altering move that results in either success or failure for decades. Braves fans in the Chop House should be on high-alert, as Olson has light tower power to RF.

March Madness in the NFL

I’m anxiously awaiting the return of football in 2022. Photo credit: Adobe Stock

The term “March Madness” is typically reserved for discussing the college basketball season, where events like a 15th-seeded Saint Peter’s team upsetting a 2nd-seeded Kentucky team tend to mess up everyone’s brackets. That said, I believe the NFL has turned in a historic month of action in March that’s comparable to the NCAA’s yearly college basketball tournament. Think about it, the NFL has seen tons of star quarterbacks on the move, the return of Tom Brady, a free agency frenzy, and much more just in the month of March alone. We’re talking about star players here too, household names that have been comparatively rated amongst the league’s elite. Let’s dive in & find out what has happened (so far) during March, and how it affects the league.

Quarterback carousel

            Russell Wilson & Deshaun Watson were amongst the elite QBs traded during March. Others such as Carson Wentz, Teddy Bridgewater, and Mitchell Trubisky were sent elsewhere. It’s still possible that Matt Ryan, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Baker Mayfield could be on the move. That’s a big game of musical chairs as the quarterback position as those teams who missed out on these guys will have to pivot elsewhere, likely to the rookie quarterbacks in the 2022 Draft. It’s also created new opportunities for unheralded names around the league, such as Davis Mills of the Houston Texans, to come out & prove themselves as their team’s franchise quarterback.

Tom Brady’s back

            Oh yeah, and let’s not forget the most important quarterback acquisition of the offseason, which is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers getting Tom Brady to come back out of retirement (sigh). For better or worse, Brady’s back and is set up well to continue terrorizing defenses this season. He saw that the NFC is now a weak quarterback conference and decided to give it one more shot. Tom Brady seems unlikely to retire until the wheels fall off, which likely won’t be until 2057.

Free agency frenzy

            Okay, so we’re done talking about quarterbacks, but what about the other star players? WR Allen Robinson, DE Chandler Jones, CB J.C. Jackson, and many others have taken their talents to new places through the NFL’s free agency frenzy process that began on Monday. Several others, such as LB Bobby Wagner, OT Terron Armstead, and S Tyrann Mathieu have yet to sign as they examine their options and await lucrative offers from teams around the league. There are 44 of the league’s top 101 free agents list who are still on the board for teams to sign. Teams like the Rams, Bengals, and Raiders were clear winners in free agency’s initial wave. Meanwhile, teams like the Colts, Seahawks, and Texans could make noise in the next wave.

Star players traded

            WR Davante Adams, OLB Khalil Mack, and WR Amari Cooper were amongst the superstar players traded to new teams earlier this month. Lesser-known players, such as WR Robert Woods, OG Shaq Mason, & DE Yannick Ngakoue also found new homes via trade. That’s a very active trade market in today’s NFL, as trades have typically been hard to come by. All of these players on the move are surely to shake up the league during the 2022 NFL season.

Series of questionable moves

            It’s clear that the Jaguars overpaid just about everyone that they signed in free agency. WR Christian Kirk got a 4-year, $84M deal despite never having a 1,000-yard season to date. LB Foye Oluokun got a three-year, $45M deal despite never being an impact player for the Falcons. The list goes on and on for the Jaguars, as they signed a slew of free agents so far this offseason. They weren’t the only ones who made head scratching decisions though, as the Bills handed OLB Von Miller a monstrous 6-year, $120M deal to become their team’s primary pass rusher. It’s not that I don’t like Von Miller, but paying a 32-year-old pass rusher $20M per year over 6 years when he played better with a superior supporting cast in front of him seems like a bad idea. I also loathe the Cowboys re-signing WR Michael Gallup to a 5-year, $62.5M deal. Gallup is a good player, but paying your No. 3 receiver like a No. 1 receiver just seems like bad business.

The bottom line

            It’s clear that the dynamics of the league will change after this March Madness bonanza. There’s been a definite shift in quarterback play around the league, and especially in the AFC. The AFC is loaded with superstar QBs in the conference, with the AFC West leading the way. That’s why several of these teams, like the Bengals, have prioritized signing offensive linemen. Other teams, like the Chargers, have signed pass rushers and cornerbacks to bolster their defense. Pass catchers are also valued at a premium, as Davante Adams & Amari Cooper have shown us. Add all of this up, and it’s clear that NFL fans are in for a dramatic and exciting season in 2022.

Atlanta Braves replace Freddie Freeman

Go through the five stages of grief with me as I process Freddie Freeman leaving the Braves. Photo credit: Adobe Stock

For those who haven’t heard, the Atlanta Braves made a blockbuster trade on Monday in acquiring star first baseman Matt Olson from the Oakland As for a package of four hot prospects. The team later doubled down on the move by extending Olson on an 8-year, $168 million deal. I’m not going to focus on the Olson signing yet, as I plan on saving that story for a later article. Today, I want to focus on what this means for Freddie Freeman and Braves fans who love him. I’ll do this by going through the Kübler-Ross Five Stages of Grief model upon hearing the news. My collegiate background is in the field of Psychology, so this should be a fun exercise for me. Discussing the Kübler-Ross model is a serious topic, but I’ll put a humorous spin on things too.

Denial

            Let’s make this clear, I’m a huge Braves fan & Freddie Freeman was my favorite player. I’ve got a poster of him on my wall, a Freddie bobblehead on my shelf, & his jersey in my closet. Needless to say, losing him to another team (still unsigned currently) will take time to process. My experience with the denial phase upon hearing the news was as follows, “OK, so we’ve got Matt Olson. He’s a good player, but maybe we could re-sign Freddie as our designated hitter?” This was an unrealistic expectation of course, but it was the only thought that crossed my mind. This wasn’t exactly how I was expecting to hear the news either, which made denial hard for me. I expected to see a CBS notification on my phone saying either “Braves re-sign Freeman” or “Freeman signs with team X.”  The Matt Olson trade complicated things & stirred my emotions.

Anger

How could the Braves do this to Freddie after he just helped them win the World Series? I’ve been in and out of this stage in the grief process, as it’s still too early to tell how well that Matt Olson & Freddie Freeman will play this coming season & in future seasons down the road. My dad & I previously joked about bringing out our pitchforks & lanterns to form an angry mob at Truist Park if the Braves didn’t re-sign Freddie, but I’m just not sure my heart can take it yet. Still though, seeing him in another uniform (especially if it’s the Dodgers) is surely going to hurt. I’m not mad at Freddie, but instead mad at the Braves for choosing to go in a different direction.

Bargaining

            Bargaining for me involved foolishly believing we could still re-sign Freddie as DH and hoping (and praying) that the Dodgers don’t back up the Brink’s truck in an effort to sign him. The truth is, Freddie’s free to sign wherever he pleases & it might be with a team nobody likes. This stage of the grief process didn’t take me long to get over, as this always seemed unrealistic. Those who are still in this stage may need to stay off social media until Freddie signs elsewhere.

Depression

            I think a lot of us are currently in this stage as we anxiously await the return of baseball. Atlanta Braves General Manager Alex Anthopoulos went through this stage of grief (beginning at the 8:30 mark) publicly as he met with the media on Monday to discuss the Matt Olson trade. You can see him start to choke up & tear up as he indirectly answers questions about Freddie. Personally, this is the stage I’m most associated with right now as the wound is still too fresh. People in this stage should avoid wearing Freeman gear and watching World Series highlights.

Acceptance

            Acceptance is of course the most difficult stage to achieve in the grieving process model. You’ve got to go through the other four stages to get here, and then open your mind about things. Anthopoulos somehow reached this stage already in a Tuesday media interview with Matt Olson. You can see he’s excited to move on in life, which is in stark contrast to his previous interview. Everyone grieves in their own way and in their own time, so don’t worry if you’re not here yet. It’s going to be a long road for me, and I probably won’t reach acceptance until the season starts.

Atlanta Falcons should release Calvin Ridley

Oh, how I miss football already… Photo credit: Adobe Stock

WR Calvin Ridley’s gambling issues are apparently much deeper than originally thought. The NFL suspended Ridley indefinitely & for at least one full season as they discovered that he had placed bets on pro football games while taking a mental health break from the team in November. Ridley tweeted out at the time that he had “only” bet $1,500 on games, while also indicating that he did not believe he had a gambling problem. A new report from Sports Illustrated indicates otherwise, as the report alleges that Ridley bet more than $3,900 on NFL games and more than $32,000 on other sporting lines! None of this is a good look for the receiver, who missed most of last year while on a mental health break from the Atlanta Falcons. I’m going to dive into all of the reasons why I believe it’s time for the team & player to move on.

Misuse of trust

            The Falcons trusted Calvin Ridley to use his mental health break from the team properly. They probably weren’t expecting it to last the entire rest of the season, and they surely wanted him to come back fresh and ready to go in 2022. He misused their trust by betting on NFL games during his time off, which fair or not is a clear violation of league rules that carries consequences. It’s not like he wasn’t aware of the rule, as all league personnel are required to take yearly training programs designed to inform them of the rule and the consequences thereof. Additionally, Ridley resurfaced on social media in late January after months removed from it. What did he do? He liked a tweet from a fan saying, “I hope the Miami Dolphins get Calvin Ridley!” I can’t imagine the team was very thrilled to hear the news after months without any.

Same dilemma next offseason

            Here are a few of this off-season’s storylines involving Calvin Ridley. Will the Falcons trade Calvin Ridley? Will Calvin Ridley return in good shape & play well in the last year of his deal? These are the exact same questions the Falcons would have to answer next offseason should they decide to give Ridley another chance by keeping him on the roster through 2022. My question then becomes, why wait? Is it really worth the headache to keep the guy around? Sure, he’s a talented player but as we saw with Antonio Brown, this type of behavior becomes a distraction to the team at some point regardless of how talented the guy is on the gridiron. He’s going to miss at least a year of football regardless, and I’m not sure he’s worth us waiting for.

Need to rebuild the receiver room regardless

            With or without Calvin Ridley, the Falcons are going to need to rebuild their receiver room from scratch as the team only has one other receiver (Frank Darby) under contract in 2022. CBS reported that the Eagles were close to finalizing a trade for the star Falcons receiver before the gambling suspension was revealed, which from the Falcons perspective indicates that the team was planning on moving forward without the enigmatic receiver on their roster in 2022. Receiver was already a position of need for the team in both free agency and the draft, and with the Ridley news it’s clear that this should be atop the Falcons offseason priorities. Re-signing Russell Gage & Cordarrelle Patterson and drafting multiple receivers would help fill the room.

The bottom line

            It’s clear that both the team and player need a clean break from this toxic relationship. The Falcons would be doing Ridley a solid by allowing him an opportunity to pick his next team. He might carve himself out a nice role elsewhere, but he also might wash out of the league too. Remember, this regime didn’t draft Ridley and yet allowed him to take his mental health break. They could do well for all involved by granting one more act of kindness in releasing the player.

How the Atlanta Braves benefitted most from MLB lockout

Baseball is back, baby! Photo credit: Adobe Stock

In case you hadn’t heard, baseball is back after a lengthy owner-imposed lockout by MLB. Spring Training opens this Sunday (3/13) & the season begins on Thursday, April 7th. That’s terrific news for baseball fans & especially Braves fans as our team attempts to defend their title in 2022. The lockout wasn’t ideal for anybody: coaches, players, or fans, but some teams certainly benefitted from it more than others for various reasons. Let’s dive in & find out why the Braves were one of the teams who likely benefitted from the league’s lockout. We’ll do this by analyzing their unique circumstances with a “glass half-full” perspective towards them.

Opportunity to rethink Freddie Freeman situation

            The number one priority for the Braves post-lockout should be to immediately re-sign Freddie Freeman. Before the lockout, the reported main holdup in doing so was that the Braves didn’t want to give him a six-year contract but were open to giving him a five-year deal instead. What’s changed since then? Well for starters, the universal designated hitter will make it’s way back to the National League for the first time since the Covid-shortened 2020 season. That’s important for several reasons, and in Freddie’s case it benefits him because even if his defensive value declines in his age-36 season, he could simply transition into being the team’s DH instead. Not only that, but this news means that the Braves have another roster spot to fill in their lineup. Let’s face it, the Braves need to re-sign Freddie so they don’t have two big holes in their lineup.

More recovery time for injured players

            Charlie Morton, Ronald Acuna Jr., Mike Soroka, and others on the team have certainly benefitted from the extra time to heal their various injuries. Braves trainers haven’t been able to interact with these guys in quite some time due to the lockout, but I’m sure they’ll be good to go. Surely the entire roster was worn out after the team’s deep postseason run as well, so the extra time off will prove beneficial to their health throughout the course of the long upcoming season. Players like Morton & Acuna would’ve been pushing to play by the originally scheduled Opening Day date, but now that it’s been pushed back they should be good to go on April 7th. Having those guys back would be a huge boost to the team’s morale as they begin their season.

Chance to figure out what to do with Marcell Ozuna

            Marcell Ozuna is under contract with the Braves at the hefty cost of $16 million in 2022. Will the Braves clubhouse accept him back with open arms? Or will they still be upset with him? The clubhouse culture is fantastic as the team just won the World Series, so allowing Ozuna an opportunity to return to the clubhouse and expecting positive player feedback sounds very risky. On the other hand, he’s shown to be a reliable DH and would fit well on the roster in that role. Finally, a trade in a swap of bad contracts with another team is also a plausible outcome here. Whatever the case, the Braves certainly benefitted from the extra time to think things through.

Freedom to enjoy their World Series championship

            Braves players got to celebrate their World Series championship on their own terms. Freddie Freeman, for instance, spent lots of time with his family in Los Angeles in the offseason. Other players, like Joc Pederson & Dansby Swanson, had fun working at Papa Johns for a day. This is the type of stuff they’re free to do over the offseason, and they took full advantage of it. Having more time to enjoy their offseason after a month-long playoff run is never a bad thing. Now they’ll certainly be fresh and ready to go for our home opener against the Reds in a month.

Tumultuous Tuesday in the NFL

So many things happened today that it was tough to keep track of it all. Photo credit: Adobe Stock

NFL fans were unknowingly in for a real treat on this random Tuesday in the middle of March. There was a blockbuster trade, stars getting paid, and lots of franchise tagging that happened today. Not only that, but a star player was surprisingly released late Tuesday night. The craziest thing is, we haven’t even hit free agency yet! There’s bound to be plenty more action when free agency opens next Wednesday afternoon. Let’s not lose sight of the moment though, as this was a Tuesday for the ages. Let’s dive in & recap all of the league’s happenings.

Blockbuster trade

            QB Russell Wilson has been traded from the Seattle Seahawks to the Denver Broncos for two 1st round picks, two 2nd round picks, a 5th round pick, QB Drew Lock, DT Shelby Harris, & TE Noah Fant. Whew, that took a lot out of me just typing all of that. What does all of this mean for both teams? Well for one, the Broncos finally have a franchise quarterback for the first time since Peyton Manning retired in 2016. They are finally able to compete in their QB-loaded division featuring Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, & Derek Carr. On the flip side, the Seahawks are clearly rebuilding & acquired a boatload of players & draft picks for a great player who no longer seemed interested in playing for them. I think this was a win-win for both sides.

Stars get paid

            The Aaron Rodgers offseason drama is finally over! He will stay in Green Bay on a 4-year, $200M contract. This is a reminder to all of us that money talks regardless of the situation. Rodgers wasn’t the only star player who got paid though, as WR Mike Williams & OLB Harold Landry also re-signed with their respective teams. Williams signed a 3-year, $60M deal with the Chargers, while Landry received a 5-year deal worth $87.5M from the Titans. Both players are coming off the best seasons of their careers for the teams that drafted them a few short years ago.

Tag, you’re it!

            This was a very eventful day in terms of the league’s infamous franchise tag deadline. All in all, eight players were slapped with the tag, which is essentially a one-year “prove it” deal. WRs Davante Adams & Chris Godwin, TEs Mike Gesicki, Dalton Schultz, & David Njoku, OTs Orlando Brown Jr & Cam Robinson, & S Jessie Bates were all tagged by their respective teams. I’m surprised the Browns decided to keep Njoku around, but the other players were certainly deserving candidates. Godwin & Robinson received the tag for the second year in a row, so you have to wonder what the future holds for these players & their teams. Out of this crew, the most likely to get paid later on in my opinion are Adams, Godwin, & Brown. Remember, these players do have the option of holding out their services if they refuse to sign their franchise tenders.

Pro Bowl linebacker released

            Seahawks LB Bobby Wagner was released from his contract with the Seahawks in a stunning move late Tuesday night. The defensive stalwart was a great player for the Seahawks as he made the Pro Bowl eight times & won Super Bowl XLVIII in his 10-year career with the team. This story is still developing, so I’ll be interested to find out further details on his abrupt release. Wagner’s release, along with Russell Wilson’s trade to the Broncos, marks the end of an era for the Seahawks as they were the last two players on the roster from the Super Bowl XLVIII team.

Just how special is Joe Burrow?

Joe Burrow glistens in the sun like this every time he throws a pass. Photo credit: Adobe Stock

Many of us thought that Joe Burrow would turn into a solid NFL QB after watching him direct a historic 2019 LSU offense, win the Heisman Trophy, & beat Clemson in the CFP National Championship Game. Let’s be honest though, did anybody expect him to be this good? After all, there are plenty of No. 1 overall picks that don’t live up to the hype for various reasons. This is not the case for Burrow, who has been as advertised since the Bengals drafted him No. 1. He’s been special despite dealing with a mediocre offensive line & inconsistent running game. Now, it certainly helps that he has the best WR trio in the league; however, credit should be given where it’s due & Burrow is considered one of the league’s elite QBs for various reasons.

Pinpoint accuracy

            Joe Burrow is one of five quarterbacks in NFL history to post single season marks of at least 4,000 yards (4,611), 30 passing touchdowns (34), and a 70 percent completion rate (70.4%). He completed 65.3% of his passes the season prior, ranking him right in the middle of NFL QBs. He’s doing all of this while getting the ball out quickly (2.65 seconds average time to throw) to avoid taking sacks & hits. His drastic increase in accuracy also resulted in increased yards per attempt (8.9) numbers which led the league last year. Young quarterbacks typically struggle with accuracy, decision-making, and avoiding pressure, but that’s not the case for this Bengals QB.

Tough as nails

            I called out the Bengals offensive line earlier for being mediocre in terms of protecting their star QB. I’m hesitant to give such blatant criticism; however, I also believe that the criticism is warranted after the unit allowed 70 sacks in the regular season & playoffs last year. Burrow was sacked 19 times in 4 Bengals playoff games, including 7 times in Super Bowl LVI. He’s also been sacked a ridiculous 83 times in his 26-game regular season career as an NFL QB. These hits have left him prone to injury, including a throat contusion suffered in early 2020, a torn ACL & MCL suffered in late 2020, & an MCL sprain suffered during Super Bowl LVI. Despite all of these factors working against him, he still led his team to the Super Bowl in 2021. Toughness is an underrated factor in terms of evaluating QBs, and Burrow has that in spades. 

Elite company

            Writing this piece made me ask the question, “how many second-year quarterbacks have ever taken their teams to the Super Bowl?” The answer is now seven, and it’s an impressive list. We’re talking two Hall of Famers (Dan Marino, Kurt Warner), two future Hall of Famers (Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger), Russell Wilson (potential HOF), Colin Kaepernick, & Joe Burrow. What makes this feat even more impressive though is that his team is the Bengals, who entering this season hadn’t won a playoff game since 1991 & hadn’t been to the Super Bowl since 1989. Let’s be honest, we might be witnessing history in the making so long as the Bengals upgrade their offensive line to ensure Burrow’s career doesn’t go to waste like Andrew Luck’s once did.

Best calendar year ever for Atlanta sports

Braves pitcher Max Fried & I

It’s a time of celebration for Atlanta sports fans as we’ve had a banner year in 2021-22. The highlights included the Braves winning the World Series & the Dawgs winning the CFP National Championship; however, the great year wasn’t done yet for these diehard fans. That’s because we haven’t yet mentioned the surprising success of the Atlanta Hawks, nor the sudden retirements of several prominent figures within the NFC South division. Sure, we’ve taken our losses along the way this year (looking at you, Atlanta Falcons), but overall this is the type of year Atlanta sports fans have been dreaming of for several decades. That’s why it’s so critically important to take a step back in appreciation for all that has happened this past calendar year.

Drew Brees retires (3/14/21)

            Atlanta sports fans sure are a petty bunch, aren’t we? We don’t know how to handle success very well, so we enjoy every opportunity we get to bask in the failures of our rival teams. I have nothing but respect for Drew Brees, but as a Falcons fan I was happy he decided to retire. He absolutely terrorized our defenses for about two decades since the Saints signed him in 2006. Brees was 29-9 all-time against the Falcons, with 54 TDs, 8,695 yards, & a 97.1 QBR against us. It’s no coincidence that the Saints struggled at the quarterback position this year once Brees left.

Hawks advance in playoffs (6/20/21)

            I’ll confess that I don’t know very much about the Hawks & basketball in general, but I was certainly paying attention when the Hawks started making some noise in the 2021 playoffs. You could feel it, the entire city was rooting for them & paying attention to their games for once. Their run finally came to an end in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals, but the team made tons of progress under [then] interim head coach Nate McMillan, who was later hired full-time. Who knows what will happen to the Hawks in 2022, but ‘21 will be remembered fondly by fans.

Braves win World Series (11/2/21)

            The 2021 Atlanta Braves were the team of destiny that Atlanta sports fans dreamed of. The team was 44-45 at the All-Star break, and they didn’t cross the .500 mark until August 6th. They finally beat the Dodgers in the playoffs to advance to their first World Series since 1999. Jorge Soler won the World Series MVP by leading off Game 1 with a homer & by hitting a moonshot home run in Game 6. That ball surely hasn’t landed back on Earth quite yet, right?  Max Fried dazzled in Game 6 after getting his ankle stepped on while fielding in the 1st inning. This championship win made up for the ghosts of Atlanta sports playoff failures over the years.
Personally, it meant a lot to me to be able to participate in the World Series parade afterwards. I’d never seen the city gather together like that, and plenty of fans watched the event on TV too. 

Falcons overachieve (1/9/22)

            The Falcons were coming off of a 4-12 season in 2020 that necessitated a regime change. Needless to say, expectations were fairly low for the 2021 Falcons after trading away franchise icon Julio Jones earlier in the offseason & letting OL Alex Mack & others walk in free agency. Then the Calvin Ridley debacle happened midseason, and all bets were off for them after that. Considering the circumstances, this team should receive praise for their 7-10 record in 2021. They were playoff relevant until the end of the season, even if it always seemed like a longshot. Our Falcons weren’t the highlight of our calendar year, but things certainly could’ve been worse.

Georgia wins the Natty (1/11/22)

            I was screaming at my TV when Georgia cornerback Kelee Ringo intercepted Alabama QB Bryce Young with 1:04 left in the game and returned it 79 yards for a defensive touchdown! The ghosts of Atlanta sports playoff failures past haunted me, and at the time I wanted Ringo to play it safe & take a knee with the ball so that our offense could just run the clock out on Bama. After all, what if he had fumbled & Bama recovered the ball near our own 20-yard line instead? What I didn’t realize was that Ringo’s convoy of blockers simply wouldn’t allow that to happen. Two championships in 1 year from our Atlanta sports teams? I’ll take that any day of the week.

Sean Payton retires (1/25/22)

            It seems the Saints recent run of dominance in the NFC South has finally come to an end. Their two franchise cornerstones (Payton & Brees) have retired in subsequent offseasons, they have no viable franchise quarterback to speak of, and their franchise is in salary cap hell to boot.  All of this makes Falcons fans smile, as our rivalry with the Saints is one of the best in football. I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of Sean Payton, whether that’s as a head coach for the Cowboys or as a TV analyst for Amazon; however, I’m happy he won’t coach the Saints again. His 21-9 record against the Falcons shows that his teams were superior to ours in recent years.

Tom Brady retires (2/1/22)

            I have huge respect for Tom Brady as the greatest quarterback to ever play the game; however, not one part of me will miss him at all after he dominated the league for two decades. It’s been especially frustrating as a Falcons fan having to watch my team play against him in Super Bowl LI & twice a year for the past two year upon his arrival with the Buccaneers in 2020. Fun fact, the Falcons are 0-5 in those games & 0-9 lifetime against teams featuring Tom Brady. I’m hopeful that he’s decided to actually retire, as defenses around the league won’t miss him.