Atlanta Falcons

Like a lot of people familiar with the NFL, I've always had a lot of respect for Rich McKay, the president and general manager of the Atlanta Falcons. Smart guy and gracious. But the Michael Vick situation has left that franchise as a fan's nightmare, and McKay and owner Arthur Blank deserve a lot of the blame for the fix the team is in. There's no question in my mind that the Falcons have no shot to make the playoffs for the rest of this decade. Short of a Lazarus-like rise such as the one the Saints pulled off last year (and I don't see anyone resembling Drew Brees, Reggie Bush or Deuce McAllister on the Atlanta roster)

The Ravens are struggling through an eight-game losing streak, but it could be worse - a lot worse. How? Two words. Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons are probably the worst-positioned franchise in the NFL, maybe in all of major pro sports. Think about it. Michael Vick's situation leaves an enormous talent vacuum. The coach they started the season with just ran out on them. The owner, Arthur Blank, has indicated he has lost confidence in the guy who was running the franchise, Rich McKay. Bill Parcells, the guy who was going to plot their football future, spurned them.

The Ravens' reward for a miserable season comes at the NFL draft in April. But their players want satisfaction now. Losing nine straight games - a painful stretch of 76 days without a win - has pushed them to the limits of desperation in today's finale against the AFC North champion Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5). "You want to get a victory any way you can," wide receiver Derrick Mason said. "I might even go up to the scoreboard and change it." Mason was laughing, but the Ravens are dealing with serious business come 4:15 p.m. at M&T Bank Stadium.

When I was a kid I wanted to be ... A SURGEON!"When was in sixth grade, I broke my finger. I had to go to the doctor's office. That's when I decided I wanted to be a surgeon. I liked the idea of helping people with sports injuries."Mark Brunell,quarterback, Jacksonville JaquarsWE'RE NUMBER 2!We know you know the winning teams and players in sports. But do you know the runners-up? Pictured below are there 1999 champions. Circle the letter of each second-place finisher.1. Super bowl champion Denver Broncos.

ATLANTA -- Yesterday's game had produced pretty much the same negatives as the three previous games had for the Atlanta Falcons.Only this time, despite the injuries, penalties, missed field-goal attempts and turnovers, the defending NFC champions appeared in good shape to claim a victory. But a botched final regulation drive deep into Ravens territory was followed by a major blown defensive assignment in overtime.The result was another defeat, as the Falcons' 19-13 overtime loss left Atlanta 0-4 and searching for answers.

MIAMI -- Here's a little trivia quiz to see if you're up to speed on Super Bowl XXXIII.Do you know what role Smith, Hall, Dronett and Archambeau will play in the game?Time's up.No, they're not an NFL law firm suing unauthorized T-shirt makers.They make up the Atlanta Falcons' defensive line that is likely to make or break the team's bid to upset the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl.Ends Chuck Smith and Lester Archambeau and tackles Travis Hall and Shane Dronett are the four defensive starters who whipped the Minnesota Vikings' big offensive line in the NFC title game and now will take on the same task against Denver's small but quick offensive line.

Just 10 months ago, Dick Vermeil was too old-school to win in today's high-tech NFL.In December, the coach of the somnolent St. Louis Rams was derided for his exhausting practices, his old-fashioned approach and a two-year record of 9-23.But that was before Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk. It was before Vermeil caught lightning in a bottle with a big-play offense. And it was before he won back his players with a scaled-back training camp.Vindication arrived for Vermeil and the Rams this fall with five straight wins and a revamped lineup.

ATLANTA -- A prince and a pauper met in the middle of a 100-yard field yesterday afternoon. When they had finished pounding on each other, the longtime underling had emerged from beneath the boot heel of NFL royalty to remain the only one standing.And a crowd of 70,262 at the Georgia Dome went nuts.The Atlanta Falcons, long one of the NFL's doormats, defeated an old nemesis, the San Francisco 49ers, 20-18, to advance to next Sunday's NFC championship game for the first time in the franchise's 33-year history.

ATLANTA -- Week 2 of the Stone Age. Time for the Ravens to get primitive.Primitive, as in smash-mouth football. Primitive, as in getting Errict Rhett 30 carries. Primitive, as in taking away Stoney Case's slingshot.The Ravens are 5-20 on the road. The Atlanta Falcons are the defending NFC champions. But if you think the Ravens can't win today at the Georgia Dome, you haven't been paying attention to the 1999 NFL season.The 0-3 Falcons are ripe to be 0-4, if Ravens coach Brian Billick employs a ground-based offensive attack rather than the snazzy passing game that worked so well for him in Minnesota.

ATLANTA -- The Ravens displayed more desire and passion in one game yesterday than they did in the previous three seasons.First, running back Errict Rhett talked trash and accidentally screamed into the official's microphone on the field that he was "running like a truck." Injured offensive tackle Harry Swayne limped through play after play late in the game because the team already had lost another starting tackle to injury in the first half. Then, after a special teams tackle late in the game, linebacker Jamie Sharper punched at the air and head-butted teammates.

ATLANTA - -AWarning: The problem was not in your TV set. Those players who started the game for the Ravens in Thursday night's 20-3 win against the Atlanta Falcons were actually Ravens. Really. In fact, only two starters played: linebackers Terrell Suggs and Tavares Gooden. But it was fun watching the Baby Ravens take it to the Falcons' first-string players early in the game. On the Ravens' first drive, they went 91 yards in 14 plays, and it ended with a 5-yard touchdown pass from quarterback John Beck to fullback Jason Cook.

Samari Rolle will begin the season on the physically-unable-to-perform list, but there is hope that the veteran cornerback could return and play this season. Rolle, who underwent surgery to repair a bulging disc in his neck in the offseason, has been on the PUP list since training camp started in late July and will not be able to play the first six weeks of the regular season. After six weeks, the Ravens will have a three-week window to either add him to the 53-man roster or place him on injured reserve.

Strong safety Dawan Landry was released from Maryland Shock Trauma Center and is expected to return to the field this season after suffering a spinal cord concussion in the second quarter of Sunday's 28-10 win against the Cleveland Browns. "His stability tests are all normal," coach John Harbaugh said. "He will be in a cervical collar for at least a week, and then they'll evaluate him further and then we'll just take it from there. He'll be playing in some number of weeks, and it won't be too many weeks."

The ink hadn't quite dried yet on rookie quarterback Matt Ryan's record-setting contract with the Atlanta Falcons - six years, $72 million with nearly $35 million guaranteed - when a couple of NFL veterans chimed in with a familiar complaint: Why all this money for a guy who hasn't proved he can do squat in the league? Tennessee Titans center Kevin Mawae, who is also president of the NFL Players Association, and Miami Dolphins kicker Jay Feely said in a radio interview that Ryan's contract - and the long-standing system of lavishly rewarding top draft picks - turns the whole notion of pay-for-performance on its head.

In a draft where multiple scenarios could occur today in the top 10, the Ravens haven't ruled anything out when it comes to the No. 8 overall pick. "I don't think it's inconceivable that we could get a player from our top three this year," said Eric DeCosta, the Ravens' director of college scouting. Do the Ravens think Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan could really fall to them? There are four teams standing in the Ravens' way of landing the top quarterback in the draft: the Atlanta Falcons (who pick third)

When Jason Garrett didn't accept the Ravens' head coaching offer and left team headquarters yesterday, the Dallas offensive coordinator likely opened the door for Philadelphia Eagles secondary coach John Harbaugh, a league source said. While the Ravens are still making a run at Garrett and are continuing to negotiate with him, the team understands that landing its top candidate might have become more difficult because he is being pursued by the Dallas Cowboys and the Atlanta Falcons. According to the source, the Ravens are ready to hire Harbaugh as head coach over the next couple of days if Garrett is unavailable.

The animals are toast. Humans rule. If 41 years of Super Bowl history can be used as a gauge, the Patriots, Packers, Cowboys or Giants will beat the Colts, Seahawks or Jaguars in the season's ultimate game Feb. 3. Unless, of course, the Chargers upset all carbon-based life forms, not to mention Las Vegas oddsmakers. Since the first Super Bowl in January 1967, teams with manly names have triumphed 31 times while teams named after animals have won nine. The Green Bay Packers kicked off human dominance with back-to-back wins, beating two other virile teams, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders.

Despite the final results of 2007, in announcing the Ravens would seek a new coach, owner Steve Bisciotti left the definite impression that he feels his team is closer to the top of the NFL dog pile than it is the bottom. "I believe we have the nucleus of a team that can get back to the Super Bowl," he said earlier this week. If that's the case - if Bisciotti thinks success is right around the corner and not along the horizon - the Ravens might not have as many options in their coaching search as they're letting on. In fact, among the six-pack of candidates the search apparently has focused on, only a couple inspire the confidence they can take the current roster and produce immediate results.

The Ravens' reward for a miserable season comes at the NFL draft in April. But their players want satisfaction now. Losing nine straight games - a painful stretch of 76 days without a win - has pushed them to the limits of desperation in today's finale against the AFC North champion Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5). "You want to get a victory any way you can," wide receiver Derrick Mason said. "I might even go up to the scoreboard and change it." Mason was laughing, but the Ravens are dealing with serious business come 4:15 p.m. at M&T Bank Stadium.

The Ravens are struggling through an eight-game losing streak, but it could be worse - a lot worse. How? Two words. Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons are probably the worst-positioned franchise in the NFL, maybe in all of major pro sports. Think about it. Michael Vick's situation leaves an enormous talent vacuum. The coach they started the season with just ran out on them. The owner, Arthur Blank, has indicated he has lost confidence in the guy who was running the franchise, Rich McKay. Bill Parcells, the guy who was going to plot their football future, spurned them.