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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.
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.