Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Atlanta Falcons' DeAngelo Hall Goes Off In Loss To Panthers
I don’t know why Atlanta Falcons Cornerback De Angelo Hall went off in the game againt Carolina, but I’m sure it was related to the kind of year he’s had thus far. D-Hall’s been torched. He was taken to school by Chad Johnson in the second game of the season, and the Panther’s Steve Smith wasn’t so kind either. Still, he’s been beaten before, so that can’t be the only reason for his actions that producd not one but two personal foul penalties.
But after reading the AJC, it seems that Hall’s got a hot head, and Smith may have figured out how to get to him. It certainly worked, as the Panthers scored on the critical three-penalty-drive that led to their victory over the Falcons 27-20. For his part, Hall’s facing a team-given punishment and is going to take it like an adult: "I made a mistake. I promise it won't happen again, no matter what."
We’ll see.
Monday, September 24, 2007
1. The Oakland Raiders Finally Win - Beat Browns
After a streak of 11 straight losses, the Oakland Raiders, coached by Lane Kiffin, finally won a game. They beat the Cleveland Browns 26 to 24, and with a tactic used against them the following week at Denver.
In that game, the Raiders lined up to kick what would be the game winner in overtime, only to have a successful field goal attempted whistled dead because Denver Broncos Head Coach Mike Shanahan called a time out just a tick of the clock before the snap of the ball. When the Raiders lined up again, they missed the attempt.
This week Kiffin used the same maneuver against the Cleveland Browns when they lined up to kick what would have been the game winning field goal; the Browns came up short.
Yes, Kiffin’s a fast study. But lost in the discussion of the strategy used was that the Raiders were competitive in each game they played in, and so were bound to get a win.
The main difference is the offense. The combination of timed passes, varied formations, short drops, and zone-blocking has formed an offense that can move the ball and keep the defense off the field, which is a good thing because this Raiders defense isn’t the driving killing force of 2006.
Last year, I called for then-Raiders Offensive Coordinator Tom Walsh to be fired even before the season started, no so this year. Last year, the Raiders were a study in offensive ineptitude --- this year, the system they use is state of the art. I predicted a 9 and 7 season for the Silver and Black. I’ll stick to that.
ABC News And Amada Congdon Still Together For Now
Contrary to many posts, ABC News Vlogging Star Amanda Congdon is still with the network for now. She reports on her blog...
Wow. A girl goes on vacation for a week (my first week off in over a year– I was in production on Christmas!) — and look what I come back to! Whew. Contrary to some reports, AC on ABC WILL resume next week, as I mentioned in my most recent episode. However, I’ve decided not to continue at ABC once our year together is up (and it ain’t up yet) in favor of a new, innovative project that will take every ounce of my time and energy. Brian Stelter over at the New York Times has some accurate coverage.
Thanks to everyone who has written me… I appreciate all the supportive emails, myspace messages, etc. I’m excited (kinda giddy actually) for what’s ahead– should be interesting. In the meantime, see you next week on ABC for a special military-themed episode.
I hope ABC comes to a moment of clarity and gives Amanda more involvement in how their news reporting is done. One can only hope...
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