AGRI Biz

If you saw last week's column, you knew this was coming. I mean, it only flows naturally from looking at our best five to peek our worst five. But something happened along the way to me having a gratuitous number of moles to whack with this slideshow. Maybe I'm just a softie, maybe I let my Falcon fandom sway me too much, but I really had a hard time picking out ...

And so it comes down to it: One game to validate our season. One game to prove we really are headed in the right direction. One game to show that new GM Thomas Dimitroff's personnel moves are good enough to remake an organization. One game to send the team and fans into the offseason with heads held high. The best chance in recent memory to break the curse of inconsistency that has ...

The 1-2 records in the past three weeks of the Atlanta Falcons and Buffalo Bills appear similar on the surface. But I don't have to tell you that looks can be deceiving, now do I? The Bills are averaging 13 points on a little over 120 yards passing and considerably less than 100 yards rushing per in that stretch. They've guaranteed themselves another losing season, despite the move for Terrell Owens ...

I was really quite proud of myself. I didn't get angry; I didn't throw a remote, kick a table, or even punch a pillow. I took the Falcons' loss to the Saints with, dare I say it, dignity . Not saying our performance was anything special; a lot of teams have made it close with Nawlins, and such squeakers should be expected in the midst of a 13-game win streak (and ...

What have the Atlanta Falcons done since their much-ballyhooed Monday Night matchup with the tops-in-the-NFC New Orleans Saints? Why, they've eked out wins against sub-par teams (the Skins and Bucs) and dropped two tremendously important contests against Wild Card contenders (the Giants and Eagles). The team's dug themselves a postseason hole that more or less requires them to win out. And what have dem Saints done since then? Oh, only managed to ...

This past summer, we "enjoyed" the lively debate over whether or not Michael Vick could be an effective NFL player after being released from prison and then reinstated by the NFL. Then there was that "fascinating" speculation about where he would land and the subsequent "insightful" analysis of how he would mesh with the Philadelphia Eagles when he finally inked a contract. It became nauseating, but I was still ...

When it comes down to it, the Atlanta Falcons' starter switches at two of the three most important offensive positions were inevitable and unavoidable. A team can simply not stick with a kicker who misses half of his attempts between 30 and 39 yards and has a penchant for choking under pressure. In fact, those two attributes would be the exact opposite of what a club would desire. Also, a team can ...

There are a few reasons that my team should win this game. We're coming homeùthank goodnessùto the Dome, where we're unbeaten this year. We played a decent game last week, showing a good amount of moxie, despite the end result. And, of course, we're facing friggin' Tampa Bay. Shortly before starting this article, I came to the realization that it might be easiest to just analyze the one game the Bucs have wonùWeek Nine, ...

Since we hit 'em in the mouth back in mid-September, the Panthers have been on some kind of roller coaster ride. A loss to the Bills at home followed by a win at the Cardinals? Huh? And Jake Delhomme threw for 65, then 325, then 90 yards in three consecutive weeks. Has anyone else's season been as weird as his? When I was writing that Week Two preview so long ago, I ...

For a 2-5 team, the Washington Redskins sure are making a whole lotta noise. Even the occasional ESPN viewer is familiar with the faces of owner Dan Snyder, head coach Jim Zorn, and offensive "consultant" Sherman Lewis at this point, if for all the wrong reasons. In regards to bossman's words from this past week, I know he didn't make the perfect vocab choices, but shouldn't he feel bad about losses? ...