MY TWO CENTS: Falcons look promising; World Cup needs instant replay, more refs

With the rival New Orleans Saints sitting on top of the football world as reigning Super Bowl champs, you have to think the Falcons are stewing this offseason. And that is a good thing for Birds fans. There is nothing better for a football team than extra motivation.

The Falcons are also as talented as they have ever been. The core of the offense is solid, healthy and has been together for several seasons now. Matt Ryan is healthy and is entering a season in which he should be better than ever. Head coach Mike Smith recently said that Ryan has seen about everything defenses can throw at him and can now focus on fine-tuning his game.

"I think that the offseason emphasis for Matt has been on improving his accuracy and improving his decision-making," said Smith. "And I think that’s what all the elite quarterbacks in this league do."
If Ryan stays healthy, this could be a special year for the franchise.
At running back, the team is also very strong. Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood, when healthy, are one of the best duos in the NFL. Fullbacks Ovie Mughelli and Chris Snelling have proven to be proficient at blocking and Snelling has proven that he can be a productive runner as well. The line is solid around veteran center Todd McClure, who leads a unit that is returning five starters for the first time in years. At wide receiver, all pro Roddy White is among the best in the game. Also at the position are dependable veterans like Michael Jenkins, Brian Finneran and Harry Douglas.
The offense as a unit was good enough to be ranked in the top 10 by Yahoo sports while the team as a whole was ranked 10th in the league by ESPN.com. With a healthy backfield, the Falcons are one of the teams to beat in the NFC.
The weakness on the squad last season was a pass defense that ranked 28th in the league. However, the secondary was given a huge shot in the arm with the acquisition of Dunta Robinson. The Athens native can be the cover corner the defense has been lacking and, as a seven-year veteran, can also become a leader of the position group.
Also, with three kickers on the squad going into preseason camp, the team should have a better option than Jason Elam proved to be last season.
After the injures, missed field goals and just plain bad luck that the team fought its way through in 2009, Falcons fans have to be excited about the potential of this squad.
REFS NEEDED …
I love the World Cup. I’ve been following it closely since 1990. But this particular Cup has been marred not only by the irritating vuvuzelas, but also by incompetent and erratic refereeing. Maybe I’m just another "ugly American", but it seems like World Cup soccer could use a couple more refs, and probably the use of instant replay as well.
I understand that it is next to impossible to get instant replay at every qualifying match leading up to the event, but for the actual World Cup, it shouldn’t be a problem. Nations are prepared to spend billions to host the event, so spending few million more probably would not be an issue.
With much of the world investing their emotions into every match, it only seems fair to try to get as many calls correct as possible. As it stands, several major calls are missed in each match and countries are robbed of ever-precious points in the standings. Had Landon Donovan not scored a miraculous injury-time goal to beat Algeria, Team USA would have seen their World Cup ended in criminal fashion. Referee Koman Coulibaly, who disallowed Maurice Edu’s would-be game-winning goal against Slovenia, would have been responsible for a call that he would never live down. He would forever be known internationally as the referee who blew a World Cup game. I’ll bet even Coulibaly himself would have appreciated a little help on that call.
In the world’s most-watched sporting event where reputations – and sometimes lives – are on the line, it seems as if adequate refereeing and instant replay are no-brainers.
GIVE THEM A CHANCE …
The Atlanta Dream and Gwinnett Braves toil in relative obscurity in the massive Atlanta sports market, although that shouldn’t be the case. With almost six million people living in the area, it seems as if there are plenty of sports fans to go around for all local teams.
The Dream and G-Braves deserve a slice of that pie.
The G-Braves feature several Atlanta Braves players who are rehabbing injuries, such as Takashi Saito and Jair Jurrjens. In the recent past, major league stars like Brian McCann, Tommy Hanson and Jason Heyward have suited up for Gwinnett. Also, the franchise’s No. 1 prospect is Freddie Freeman, who plays first baseman for the G-Braves.
The Dream are filling the stands at record levels for the franchise this season, but still fall several thousand short of selling out Philips Arena. The team has been in first place in the Eastern Conference for much of the season and are drawing 5,784 fans per game. That is an increase of 1,300 fans per game more than last season.
With affordable tickets and fan-friendly facilities, the G-Braves and Dream are an attractive entertainment option for all Atlantans.