Over at the AJC, DeAngelo Hall gives a short and extremely confusing interview about last season and the one upcoming. He starts out well enough, discussing the team's image and how we need to remember that players are innocent before they're found guilty. Good so far, DeAngelo. But then it breaks down in a way I find interesting.
He starts out by talking about how he didn't want to like to the new coaching staff because he and Jim Mora were totally BFF! But then, like, he found out that Zimmer was totally the bomb, and so was Petrino! So everything's fine! Now admittedly Steve Wyche asked the question in such a way that Hall could have either lied and given the company line or poured his anguish at losing Mora out, and because he's never toed the company line he decided to go for Option #2. I just don't know how happy I'd be as one of the team officials to hear that one of my best and most marketable players openly admitted he didn't want to like the new coaching staff because they weren't his buddies. His final thoughts on them are exactly what players usually say; it's not like I blame Hall for telling the truth, just that it's probably not a good thing to say for him, image-wise.
The last question is even more puzzling. Wyche asks if he thinks he had a Pro Bowl year. In response, he alternately implies he took it too easy, had too much to do, and was caught off-guard by people beating him deep. I don't want to sound like an asshole, but...that's a pretty mixed message. He was asked to do a lot last year, primarily because he was the only one out there who had any idea how to cover a receiver without using an actual blanket. Yet his seeming admission that he expected things to be easy and didn't expect to be beat deep reflects on a lack of either hard work or awareness. I don't like to question work ethics, so I'm going with awareness. He says he's glad to get to be a corner next year instead of a "savior", which I would take to mean he's confident he'll get some help this year. I certainly hope so.
That was a long post about a very short interview, I'll admit, but I'm eager to see DeAngelo Hall become the cornerback I really think he can be. I'm just tired of hearing about the kind of corner he thinks he is.