Author: Mark Kirkley

Watching the Atlanta Falcons lose at the Los Angeles Rams 27-31 Sunday afternoon just made me think to myself… “What else is new.” The Falcons were not expected to win this game on the west coast, and they weren’t even suppose to compete according to a few sports media outlets. But this is the NFL and anything can happen. The game started as last week ended for the Falcons, with the opposing team scoring when they please. During the preseason defensive coordinator Dean Pees said he was opening the playbook 100% and let the defensive players play. Not sure if…

Georgia was set to host Oklahoma in Athens for game one during the 2023 schedule on September 9, then travel to Norman, Oklahoma to play Oklahoma in 2031. But those games have been scratched due to both Oklahoma and Texas joining the Southeastern Conference in 2025. Instead, Georgia will host Ball State in Athens, which weakens their strength of schedule for next year. When Oklahoma and Texas join the SEC, there is sure to be realignment in the conference. As it stands now, the conference is aligned: 2022 Season West                     …

Georgia moved back to the number one team in the nation according to the latest AP Poll. My opinion is if you win the national title you should automatically be #1 for the next year’s preseason poll until after game one, then see where the team should be. The team you beat in the national title game shouldn’t be ranked one, and especially not above the champion. But what do I know, I’m just a writer. I understand that players transfer, graduate, move to NFL, and it’s all about recruiting, but still doesn’t make sense to me. All the new…

I was settling in for about 10 hours of NFL football yesterday. Family and I went to church, ate lunch, and I sat back in my chair ready to watch some Falcons football. No matter their record, the Falcons and Saints always play a good game I was clearly shocked at the play of both offense and defense. Before a near sellout crowd at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA, the offense was flying all over the field. Running back Cordarrelle Patterson was running up those rushing yards, 120 to be exact, and added 16 more receiving yards. Quarterback Marcus…

There was so much speculation about this game from the Georgia side about how would the Bulldogs respond after winning the 2021 National Championship. All that was put to rest last Saturday as #3 Georgia hosted #11 Oregon in Atlanta, GA at Mercedes Benz Stadium. Bulldogs Off and Running There was no letting up from opening kickoff until the clock hit triple zero. I struggled this offseason knowing that after the Bulldogs beat the Crimson Tide, the Tide was still ranked #1 and the Bulldogs #3. But I know that it is all about recruiting and how many players are…

A little late in writing this…but here goes!!! It’s been a minute since the Atlanta Falcons actually say they had a productive preseason. This is the second year that the NFL reduced the preseason to three games and added one regular season game to 17 games. I think the team played well this preseason, going 2-1 as they showed effort in all games. The last winning preseason was 2016 when the team went to the Super Bowl. That year the Falcons went 3-1 en route to an 11-5 regular season. There are very few players on the Falcons team left…

I was happy for a Falcons’ win last week at the Lions that I came back to reality this week knowing it is still preseason. Falcons traveled to New Jersey to play the New York Jets in preseason game two. The game started well for the Falcons but the end resulted in a 16-24 loss. The trip to New Jersey began last Thursday with a two-day practice scrimmage . Depending on whose side you were with was who won the scrimmages. But there were numerous fights throughout the scrimmages which leads me to know that the players are ready to…

Falcons just won a preseason game. I realized it was only a preseason game and preseason game number one at that. But hear me out. Falcons were in uncharted waters throughout the game this past Friday night. Falcons never win in the preseason, and to be honest, it rarely shows that they try to win. The team really put in an effort to try to win the game, and they were victorious over the Detroit Lions in the Motor City 27-23. Under former Falcons brass, the thought was they just wanted to see player battles and who would win those…

The Atlanta Falcons are coming off a 2021 season where they went 7-10, lost their starting quarterback, had no offensive line, lost their two starting receivers, did not have a running game, and underperformed on defense. But they do have a stud at tight end. Nobody is giving this team a shot to be productive for the 2022 season. But I have a different take. It was the end of the 1997 season, and Head Coach Dan Reeves was coming off his first year as the Falcons’ head coach. Falcons finished third in the NFC South that year with a…

Well, we all knew it was going to happen. It was just a matter of when, not if. Georgia Bulldogs Head Coach Kirby Smart, coming off a championship year, has just signed a 10-year, $112.5 million extension. Smart is now one of the highest paid coaches in college football. The new deal is worth $11.25 million a year. In comparison for the 2022 year, USC Head Coach Lincoln Riley makes $10 million and Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban $9.7 million. This is well deserved for Smart, who is also an alumni of the University of Georgia where he played safety…