is that most of my fellow fans are well aware that Petrino may well bolt on us (SEC football coaches aren't exactly known for their faithfulness). Most of us are simply relieved that the 'Coaching Search Circus' is over. We got pretty tired of hearing that we got yet another coach a raise and an extension to stay put.

It won't surprise me at all if he does bolt when something 'better' comes along. Then the rest of the country will go back to ridiculing us endlessly. Oh wait, that hasn't stopped yet. Whee.

WARNING: Essay forthcoming....

A slight devil's advocate on the Petrino issue real quick.  Petrino took the Atlanta job with the expectations of being able to coach Vick, but not long after he took the job, Vick got busted and sent off to jail.  Almost imeddiately there were rumors that Petrino wanted out, that he regretted taking the job because he knew so much rode on Vick being in the lineup every Sunday. Now, a lot of people would argue that that isn't enough to leave over or that one person shouldn't matter that much in a team oriented sport, but seriously, look at Atlanta's track record when it comes to Vick playing versus him not playing.

It has become painfully obvious over the years that a majority of these players have absolutely no confidence in themselves nor their teammates if Vick is out.  When Vick broke his leg, I remember thinking to myself while watching the games that I had never seen so many players in a pro sport just up and quit all at once.  Granted, not all of them did, but can anyone who has watched the Falcons during the Vick era honestly say that the players put out as much effort with Vick absent as they did when he was behind center?

I think Petrino knew that and saw that early on.  And, on that point, I understand him leaving.  I understand it like Blank understands it, I understand the leaving.  The how is the part that I don't agree with.  The fact that Petrino was with Louisville as long as he was is a minor miracle in itself.  Petrino is everything that everyone is saying currently, a coward, a POS, a dirty rat.  The thing that makes me the maddest of mad hatters is that there is no recourse to this for him.  He gets to leave in the most dishonorable of ways and get lathered with love from the Arkansas fanbase and be happy, while everything in Atlanta is left in a spinning turmoil.  Blank, the players, and the Falcon fanbase is left cleaning up after his mess and it eats me up to no end.

Like a previous poster had mentioned, what's the point of contracts if they can be broken so easily by either party?  I know, the fee for breaking a contract, at least when dealing with coaches, is supposed to be the buyout.  But seriously, how can something like this go without punishment in some form other than just money?  I'm betting that teams start putting clauses in coaching contracts that requires the coach to give a propoer three month notice.  If it were me, I would even go so far as to add massive payment penalties if the coach leaves under a set amount of time of the contract or even leaves for another coaching job.  This all makes me sick.

So I'll move on to the new coach part of my diatribe.  Let's start with Cowher.  Personally, I don't think he is the guy for this team, and I mean that in a personnel manner.  Would I like Cowher as a coach?  You bet I would.  But I don't think Cowher's style of coaching would fit the players we currently have, especially after what just happened.  He's a yeller, an in-your-face-spittin'-screamer-you-will-fear-me-or-not-play kind of guy and I can almost bet my yearly pay that our players will not take kindly to that after what they just went through with Petrino.  Some of the players even said it themselves that Petrino tried to strike fear in them and they didn't like that.  Big Ben has recently come out and mentioned it also, that with Cowher it was lots of yelling and anger, but with Tomlin, it's more relaxed and calm.

I think we should be looking for someone who can reach the players and I think Singletary could do exactly that.  According to reports that I have read, Singletary was second on the list to Petrino so I see no reason why he shouldn't be number one on our list this time around.  He's a former player and that's just the beginning on the types of connectins he would have with the players.  He's a pro guy, not a college guy.  He's a Super Bowl winner.  And the biggest of them all in my opinion, he's a Hall of Famer.  He's my pick obviously.

Finally, my thoughts on D. Hall.  Personally, I thought he was overrated coming into the league.  Yes, he was absolutely amazing in college, but just about every pro player was amazing in college.  Plus, most of his college hype can attributed to his ability in the return game.  Don't get me wrong though, his skills as a shutdown corner are definitely above most at that position, but I just think the praise was heapon on too quick with him.  I've seen him get burnt by enough top notch recievers to not be completely enamored with him, especialy the Carolina game last year where Steve Smith made him look like a small time rookie all over again.  But, those things will happen with his style of play at corner.  He's a very agressive corner who likes to bite on just about every throw trying to go for the killer return on an interception.  That leads to a lot of INT's and a higher than average INT return TD rate, but it also lends itself to getting beat if he misjudges the throw or slips trying to make that cut to the ball.

I say we resign him, period.  I think it was dumb enough that we let Kerney go so I think it would be a bad move to let Hall go after next year.  Maybe it's because of the terribad season I've had to endure, but at this point, I think it's in our best ineterest to maintain as much good as we can and look to the draft to improve yet again.

Ok, sorry aout the book.  I've been reading this site for about the last week or so and I've had a lot of things I've wanted to say and am just now putting it all out there.  Hopefully it wasn't too bad of a read.  Plus, we all know you're not working!

-Jesse

I was a Falcon fan from the time of Tommy Nobis and Jeff Van Note, my favorites being Steve Bartkowski, William Andrews and Alfred Jenkins. Then they draft Michael Vick, well my time pulling for them then ended. That was a train wreck waiting to happen.

Why does the owners and NFL not do thorough background and personality checks on these guys they are paying millions of dollars to? Vick was already a time bomb waiting to blow when he got caught in the "Ron Mexico" scandel. Now he will be sitting in a prison cell for the next 21 months, good...got what he deserved. They should have added 12 months to his sentence for sheer stupidity. If blowing $140 million isn't just stupid then i guess i don't know what stupid is, all for dog fighting.(Guess he should have used that free college education at Va Tech in Criminal Justice)

As for Petrino, i do feel bad for the Falcons. What kind of "MAN" runs out of a situation that happens to be "tough". Thought the old saying of "when the going gets tough, the tough get going." Well i guess Petrino just misunderstood what kind of "going" that meant. Not to Arkansas. And that press conference with him doing that stupid "hog call" was just embarrasing. Maybe they could have had him getting a tattoo on his ass with the Razorback logo. Nahhhhh.....he won't be there long and just have to get it removed for his next team.

But i have to say this.

Arthur Blank.....you have earned my respect throughout this whole twisted season. You stood up for your player, who lied and decieved you even when he was signing a mega contract, that he knew he was in violation of when he was signing it. You stood up for him. That is class, and shows the kind of man you are. You stood up for your coach, and took blame off him. You stood up for your team, players and organization. That is class Mr. Blank, and you have my respect. I just hate that these people have abused your loyalty and trust. You deserved better than that in return. Professionalism, loyalty and trust is not too much to ask for, yet these people seem to fail to understand their meanings.

The Atlanta Falcons deserve better, and so does Arthur Blank.

I am not going to reiterate all of the above as it has been said perfectly. The Falcons players are the ones that I feel for the most in all of this. Combined with the loss of Vick and the results so far this season they have got to be at a severe low point. Players can't play forever and this is one year out of their lives and careers that they cannot get back. I can be, and will be, a fan until the day they plant me but these guys don't have that luxury when it comes to their careers. Petrino not only left them in a manner that was cowardly but I believe that he did not give this season, and more importantly, the players his best as the head coach. They have a right to be mad. We as fans have the duty to continue to support our team in any way we can and hope that Mr Blank will fill the head coaching role with someone that can inspire and lead them and bring out the best in the Falcon players.