Farewell, DeAngelo Hall: The Money Will Dry Your Tears

by Dave the Falconer on Mar 20, 2008 11:04 PM EDT in Falcons News Comment 12 comments

Photo credit goes to psdcentral.net

I had such high hopes for DeAngelo Hall when he first came to the Falcons, and he never completely disappointed me. No, he very quietly chugged along as a competent to great #1 corner and teammate, never running into trouble until you opened that yawning bear trap he calls a mouth. With it, he managed to alienate the higher-ups, the media and the fans. No matter how hard of a worker he was, there was always something to pick on with him. I'm neither convinced that he was the greatest thing ever nor compelled to slam him as an awful cornerback. He was just D-Hall, distinctly above average.

Now he's gone.

I won't miss D-Hall all that much, to be honest. His insistence that he didn't want to be on a losing team was trumped by a desire to make $67 million, so I won't miss him lying about that. I also won't miss his occasional temper tantrum, his tendency to throw the coach and GM under a bus and his tributes to Mike Vick. I'm sure we'll miss him on the field, but D-Hall made it clear that he wanted to be more than that. So be it.

In return, the Falcons get a 2nd rounder this year to possibly draft his replacement with, and a fifth rounder next year that will be used for who knows what. It's not a great package, but Hall had so throughly sabotaged the Falcons that it's miracle they were able to get even that. The picks are more useful for a rebuilding effort than a corner who was going to demand too much money and bolt next year, regardless.

Maybe I'm just numb from the bloodletting, but I can honestly say I don't really care about this move. It frees up cap space, we got some picks, and a major off-the-field nuisance is on his way to a place where he'll be rich but likely no happier. Sure, why not?

Adios, DeAngelo Hall.

Oh, P.S., check out Silver and Black Pride for Raider Nation's reaction to the move.

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Out of the frying pan, into the fire.

If he thought things were bad in ATL, wait till he passes a few months in the black hole!

Oh well, I'm like you- he'll be missed, but mostly because we don't have an adequate replacement for his skills on the field. I'm sure we can replace his mouth fairly easily.

by johnnybacardi on Mar 20, 2008 11:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Adios Muchacho!!

I couldn't be happier for our franchise this morning.
Sure a decent CB is now gone but there is also a large sigh being let out by the management and coaches.
Glad the team managed to at least get something in return for him but we all know he would've walked next year anyway so kudos to the GM for getting a 2nd rounder for him.
Now all we need to do is have a good draft and be patient.

by gasportsfan on Mar 21, 2008 8:41 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Sour grapes

I am sure that's what other fans will be call us, but I feel that the good Comrade was able to make the best of it. I mean dude was in the last year of his contract, he already stated he had no intention of playing here and he was turning into a major team distraction. All of that and we get a high 2nd round pick AND a 5th next year? Pretty impressive.

In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.

by runningback on Mar 21, 2008 10:30 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

all in favor of trade...

this shows that the front office is fully aware of the work that needs to be done before this team can be a longterm contender and not just a team that thinks in the short term (i.e. the Raiders). I am really excited about the flexibilty we have in the draft to get 3-4 guys that the new regime wants to build on. we have the picks to move up when we need to and we can still move out of the 3 spot for the right price. i like our chances to address both sides of the line as well as getting #21's eventual replacement and a QB (i.e Brohm, Flacco in the 2nd).

by VBfalconfan on Mar 21, 2008 10:52 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Here's a different perspective...

DeAngelo Hall was a BAD cornerback.

I know, it's strange, but hear me out:

1.) Hall can't tackle. Seriously. Go watch film of Hall, and you'll see that a significant majority of the time when he approaches a ball carrier, he'll attempt to strip the ball out of the ball carriers hands. He inevitably fails, and allows the ball carrier to gain an extra 3-6 yards in the process. Almost never does the strip pay off. This is a perfect example of where Hall's priorities lie.

2.) He can't really cover. He's super fast, and has closing speed like no other in the NFL, but his mind is never working right. His eyes are always in the backfield, watching the QB, or he's watching his man, but letting him lead out so that the QB will throw and Hall will have a chance to jump the route.

He can't tackle and he can't cover. And he's a cornerback? What does Hall do well? Run fast, catch balls, and loves scoring touchdowns. Why didn't he become a receiver?

Hall loves his stat sheet and his paycheck. He was a marketable player in ATL and I'll be sad to see that go, but REALLY, he is a bad cornerback. He's not very good at all. I feel sorry for the Raiders (but I'll happily cash in that high second round pick and next year's fifth)

Friends don't let Friends draft Matt Ryan.

by iRonin on Mar 21, 2008 12:16 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

What A Mess

If anything it makes me smile that sure, times are tough here in ATL, but the Raiders are an out and out mess. What the hell is that franchise doing? It seems like it's snowballing out of control over there and the addition of D Hall is something that will compound that.

At least things are starting to look up here.

In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.

by runningback on Mar 21, 2008 1:51 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I wonder...

How much do you think the bounty is for Al Davis' head?

by Jesse on Mar 21, 2008 3:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This just in...

Continuing his spending spree, Al Davis has offered a 68 million dollar incentive laden bounty on his own head.

In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.

by runningback on Mar 21, 2008 4:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Reeeeelllllyyy

That's very interesting. I wonder exactly how payment would be made after said head had been removed. Maybe Al is really an adroid controlled by a super computer that someone spilt Vodka on. That might actually make his actions reasonable.

by Jesse on Mar 25, 2008 9:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

D.Hall

Is about to realize why Randy Moss was willing to take a pay cut to get out of Oakland....

by Hamburger on Mar 21, 2008 4:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Cry Baby

Any bets on how many games it takes Hall to flap his jaws to the media about how bad the Raiders are playing or about how the coaches aren't using him properly??
Or better yet how many games it takes him to get thrown out!!! now that he's a Raider I'm sure he won't control his mouth and get tossed at least once this year. I mean you know the WR's lined up across from him are gonna be talking trash once they've caught 4 balls off an "elite" corner such as he thinks of himself.
Good luck Raiders.....

by gasportsfan on Mar 21, 2008 4:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

departure of hall

I for one am glad to see hall go.Like iRonin said he couldn't tackle, he laid back waiting for an interception, but instead gave up a lot of yards or a touchdown. He remined me too much of Deion Sanders, who was nothing but a hot dog. We can use the two draft picks to upgrade our team.I'm waiting to see how long it will be before he starts to complain, if he continously gets beat in Oakland.

by henryinga on Mar 26, 2008 12:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs