Living the High Life

Hey guys. Check out my interview with Windell Middlebrooks who plays the vendor Earl in the Miller High Life commercials. He was in town on Sunday for the Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers game and made sure that fans were living the High Life. He is a really nice guy and seems to have a bright future ahead of him.

Also, I mentioned that I was going to go more into detail about the Falcons-Bucs game in my previous blog, but what I'm going to do is do a little preview on the Falcons-Vikings game in my next blog because it is one of the biggest regular season games in Falcons history. I also want to talk about the Hawks as they are off to one of their best starts in years.

Matt Ryan Blog

Hey guys. Make sure to check out my Matt Ryan blog on the front page on www.scoreatl.com. I will have more in-depth analysis on the game and I hope to have a interview with Windell Middlebrooks who is the Miller High Life guy. I met him at the Falcons game and I was supposed ti interview him there but he was pulled around to different places and I lost him in the shuffle. But I have his number so I will give him a call and it should be on the Score Atlanta website, if not it will be on here ASAP.

Saturday Night Football

Hey Guys. I just wanted to let you know that I will be at the Georgia Dome today. It's day two of the GHSA Football Championships and I will be attending the Cairo vs. Flowery Branch game at 5 p.m. and I will also be covering the Peachtree Ridge vs. Camden County contest which statrs shortly after. I will do live blogging for the Peachtree Ridge-Camden game and you can check it out on www.road-to-the-dome.blogspot.com.

Ryan leading canidate for Rookie of the Year. In the running for MVP?

If you don’t already know, I have been following Matt Ryan’s career with my weekly blog for Score Atlanta (www.scoreatl.com). And based on what I’ve seen since August, he should not only win Offensive Rookie of the Year, he should be looked at as MVP of the NFL. I know he is only a rookie and he is putting up modest numbers. Through 13 games Ryan has thrown for 2,940 yards, 14 touchdowns, seven interceptions with a completion percentage of 62 and a rating of 92. If he finishes the season with 3,500 yards, 17 touchdowns, nine picks and if the Falcons finish with an 11-5 record he has got to be in the running.
If you look at the other NFL quarterbacks this year, there are not many of them that are having the year that Ryan is having. Peyton Manning has 22 touchdowns but has a rating of 88.8 and struggled in the beginning of the year. Drew Brees could finish the year with 5,000 passing yards but the Saints are 7-7 and could miss the playoffs. Philip Rivers has the highest passer rating in the NFL (102), however the Chargers have a 5-8 record and will miss the playoffs. The only quarterback that is having a better year is Arizona Cardinals signal caller Kurt Warner who has thrown for 25 touchdowns and has led the Birds to their first division title in over 30 years.
But look what Ryan has done in a short amount of time. He is making the position look easy when it it’s not supposed to be as rookie. He is getting better each game and he is one of very few quarterbacks to take every snap for his team this year. Joe Flacco for the Baltimore Ravens is having a good year also and has led the Ravens to a 9-4 record which is one better than the Falcons. But he struggled at the beginning of the year has a rating of 81. Ryan has only struggled in two games early in the season and those game were on the road (Tampa Bay and Carolina).
I’m not saying he should win the MVP because I don’t think players will like the fact that a rookie can win rookie of the year and the MVP award. But he should get some votes because he is having the greatest season ever for a rookie QB. The Falcons may just miss the playoffs, but they have their quarterback of the future and will win many games for years to come.
One more thing, make sure to check me out on www.gpb.org/football on Saturday as I will do blogging for the Class 5A High School Football Championship. And on Sunday, I will have a Matt Ryan blog on www.scoreatl.com after the game.

Podcast

Hey guys. Sorry it took me so long to post another update. But here is a new podcast. Enjoy!

Who should be the Falcons starting QB?

You know, one of the things that I noticed about the Falcons is that they have an interesting situation at the quarterback position. Chris Redman, Matt Ryan, Joey Harrington and D.J. Shockley. That was the rotation that the Falcons used in their first preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars last night where they lost 20-17. And after the game, people want to chime in who looked the best and who should the starter. Here’s what I think:

-Matt Ryan will eventually be the starter this season. He looked sharp in his NFL debut going 9-for-15, 113 yards and one touchdown. The more I have watched him at training camp and in scrimmages, I’m starting to see why that the Falcons coaches were so enamored with him.


-D.J. Shockley needs to be on the 53 man roster. He did throw an interception with seconds left in the game, but he did lead the offense down the field with his running ability. Some people have said he is not an NFL quarterback. That could be true but how can you make that point when he hasn’t been NFL game?

-If Shockley stays on the roster, Harrington or Redman need to go because they are too similar. I like both guys and they both have good heads on their shoulders. But I think that Shockley should stay on the roster because he gives you mobility and a solid arm. I think that Harrington had his chance and as pulled from being a starter twice last season. I know that you would like to keep him for an experience standpoint, however, does it really matter at this point?

So that’s my take and remember to check out scoreatl.com as I will be starting on my weekly Matt Ryan report soon. But check it out anyway as we will have extensive coverage of high school football starting on Thursday.

Podcast No.2

Hey folks. Check out my new podcast. Sorry it took longer than expected. I was having technical difficulties.

Favre: One more year?

The NFL season will officially start on August 3 with the Indianapolis Colts square off against the Washington Redskins. But that’s not what NFL fans are buzzing about. They want to know what is going to happen to Brett Favre? Is he going to play for another team or is he going to remain in Mississippi enjoying (somewhat) the retired life? It is a really interesting situation and it’s going to get more interesting as we get closer to the regular season.
So what’s my take on the Favre saga? I think that he should have never retired in the first place and I knew that he was going to be in the predicament where he would retire and as the season got closer he would get that itch. I understand that the Packers wanted him to make a decision in March about his future and I also understand that he made the decision based on how he felt at that particular time. But what I don’t get is why did he decide to hang it up? The Packers have a great nucleus of players including Ryan Grant, Nick Barnet, Donald Driver and Greg Jennings. They have a chance to do something special because they are a young team that went 13-3 last season.
Favre is one of my favorite players and I’m not saying that because he was a former Falcon (for only one season but it still counts). He is a guy that teammates, coaches and opponents respect because he gives everything he has every play. Is he the best quarterback to play the game? That’s open for debate. But the future hall-of-famer should have one more go round to make another run at the Super Bowl so he can go out on top.
One more thing. Make sure to check out www.scoreatl.com as we have a new and improved website. Over the next month we will add more cool features to the site as football season inches closer and closer. I will be more involved with the site when the Falcons get rolling which I’m excited about. I talk to you guys soon and I will have a podcast up shortly.

New Podcast

Check out my inaugural podcast. It's real short and sweet, but it explains what my podcast will be about. Just click where it says 'new podcast' above.

Welcome

What’s up everyone? Brian Jones is my name and I want to introduce you to my new blog, The Atlanta Sports Guy. The reason for that title is that I am a fan of all of the sports teams in the Atlanta area. I follow the Thrashers, Hawks, Braves and especially the Falcons. I also work for a sports newspaper called SCORE Atlanta where we cover sports in the Atlanta area. The Falcons are closer to my heart than any other team because I was the beat Falcons beat writer for SCORE for two seasons. I’m also an arena football fan and I’m the beat writer for the Georgia Force.

Anyway, my blogs are going to be about what it’s like to be a fan of professional sports teams in Atlanta. The city has received a bad rap bythe rest of the country due to the fact that Atlanta has only one professional championship and that is when the Braves won the World Series in 1995. But I want to give you guys the insight of what really goes on here. There is a lot of events going on each week sports wise so there is always something to talk about.

Another thing that I will be doing from time-to-time is podcasting. I will give my thoughts on certain sports subjects here in Atlanta and also my views on national sports news. So I hope you enjoy my blogs and feel free to email me at bjones@scoreatl.com if you have any questions or comments.