Falcons already look primed for playoff run

 

            Sure, it's been only a week and one game.

            But this is the new Falcons.

            Good riddance to coordinators Mularky and VanGorder. The massive differences in coordinators was evident from the start. Atlanta took a little bit to get going, and Kansas City matched the Falcons for the first half.

            Some critics say Matt Ryan can't throw the deep ball, which is fairly absurd.

            Everybody can throw deep. But there are no 70-yard plays in the playbook. And if you call no/few 'go' routes, nobody knows how well a QB can stretch out a defense.

Ryan was pretty efficient, with 299 yards on 31 attempts.

            So the playcalling will show that Ryan can yes, get it 50 yards downfield to a receiver.

            I thought it might take the Falcons a month to sharpen up, and there are still likely to be some hiccups with the changes, albeit changes that are more mild than many think.

            But the confidence level rose last week, and this feels like a different team mentally. The defense is still a question mark, and we'll get some answers on Monday night.

 

CALL THE BOOKIE REVIEW

            Wow. That was a rough week of pickin'.

            Take Savannah State and points vs. Florida State: Weather ended the game in the third quarter, and FSU was clearing fixing to cover. 0 fer 1.

            Take UGA and points vs. Missouri: Sweated out the first half, and Georgia cruised through the second half to win by the prediction – mine – of a couple touchdowns.

            Take Temple and points vs. Maryland: Who put the Viagra in Maryland's Gatorade? The Terps showed up and pretty much led from the start. The pick had little change. 1 fer 2.

            Take North Carolina and points vs. Wake Forest: Who put the Viagra in Wake's Gatorade?

            The Tar Heels couldn't hold any lead, and the Deacons kept coming back, and won in the final two minutes.

            The ACC is brutal. 1 fer 3.

            Take Southern Cal and points vs. Syracuse: So apparently there was a little jet lag.

            Syracuse never led the Trojans get control, and by golly coulda won. Who knew?

            1 fer 4.

            Take Vandy and points vs. Northwestern: Good grief, Vandy, y'all have some deep-dish at halftime and get sleepy?

            Northwestern scored 17 in the fourth quarter to win. 1 fer 5.

            Bonus: Vandy at Northwestern: Vandy's pissed, Northwestern eked out a one-point win at Syracuse.

            Take the Dores and the 3.

            Upset, but not worth the risk: Penn State over Virginia would've happened with 33 percent success kicking.

 

CALL THE BOOKIE THIS WEEK

 

            Cal giving 15.5 to Ohio State: Remember when Cal was a hot team? The Bears have become the anti-global warming team, getting cooler.

            They, um, lost to Nevada two weeks ago and got more from Southern Utah than they should have.

            Ohio State at home after struggling against Central Florida? Oh yeah, take OSU.

            Pittsburgh giving 10.5 to Virginia Tech: The Hokies aren't looking all that sharp just yet, but they're at home facing the nation's No. 108 scoring offense and No. 106 rush defense and No. 92 scoring defense.

            It'll be brutal in Blacksburg, brutal. Take Tech and skip to the bank.

            Arkansas giving 20 to Alabama: The Hogs are reeling, the quarterback is out, and Nick Saban's kinda pissed about last week's effort.

            Tyler Wilson apparently won't play, but it'll feel like it after the smackdown.

            Take Alabama and move on quickly. Nothing to see here.

            Navy giving 7 at Penn State: Makes no sense, I know.

            But Penn State should be 2-0, and the Lions know it. That makes rebounding from two losses easier, for lack of a better word. More pissed than depressed.

            Back at home, the home crowd will help. And Penn State will be a better team.

            Take Penn State.

            Rice giving 22 at Louisiana Tech: Hold on here. Three touchdowns?

            Rice just beat Kansas and Tech held off Houston. That's kind of a draw.

            The Owls won late on a FG, and the Bulldogs gave up acres. Tech is better, but I have a feeling.

            Take Rice.

            Don't touch: La.-Monroe plus 16.5 at Auburn (will ULM come back to earth and Auburn starts playing? Or vice versa?); Virginia plus 10.5 at Georgia Tech (that's an awful big line for two even teams); North Carolina plus 3 at Louisville (neither team is consistent enough to figure this 'n out); UGA minus 42 vs. Florida Atlantic (the bigger the line with Georgia, the faster you run away).

            I'm picking Tennessee to win, but not sure about the 3. Can't gamble in trying to improve on 1-5.

 

LOUGHDMOUTHINGS

            Oooh, second-year program Texas San-Antonio at third-year program Georgia State.

            It's the "Reminder that maybe football isn't always the right move Bowl" matchup. And there plenty of those to be had, now and in the next year or two. ...

            I'm going to find a sack and do Halloween as Jay Cutler.

            Dumped seven times by the Packers? Ouch. ...

            Holy crap, NFL.com has become a website that's chasing you away by blasting a video when you come to a page.

            And you can't quickly click on a mute or set it up to mute. Mighty annoying. ...

            UTSA has apparently been approved to CUSA, after one year in the dying WAC, and Georgia State is headed to the

            Mistakes all around, and people will wonder why in three years. It's not a difficult call. ...

            There are 246 teams in Division I ranked by Sagarin.

            The Pioneer Football League has eight of the bottom 46. That will grow by two in a year.

Of 25 conferences, the PFL is 24^th. That won't change in a year. ...

            Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel hasn't had the Kool-aid yet:

            "Will everybody stop with this nonsense about how the Florida-Tennessee rivalry is back. Puh-leeze. I use to refer to this annual rivalry as the Southern Super Bowl. Now it's more like the Southern Motor City Bowl."