Sunday, September 14, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
NFL
Count me among the amazed who saw the Falcons incredible first half performance against the Lions on Sunday The win, and the way it happened, has to have Bird fans thrilled and fired up.
But I suspect they'll get a major dose of reality this weekend.
The Bucs aren't the Lions.
Detroit is trying on that zone defense scheme for the first time and they don't really have the pass rushers or corners, to make it work.
Tampa Bay, on the other hand, pretty much invented the system and has been taking players with that system in mind for years. (A dollar says Derrick Brooks gets at least one interception.) It's going to be a lot tougher for rookie cornerback Matt Ryan this week and he wasn't that good in the second half last week.
The Bucs have their own problems, particularly at quarterback where Jeff Garcia will sit this one out and watch Brian Griese. Seems like 10 years ago Griese was a good looking prospect in Denver. But he hasn't panned out as more than a backup.
Tampa will pound it with Earnest Graham and former Falcon Warrick Dunn should get some totes too.
It's a winnable game for the Falcons, but I wouldn't bet that way.
But I suspect they'll get a major dose of reality this weekend.
The Bucs aren't the Lions.
Detroit is trying on that zone defense scheme for the first time and they don't really have the pass rushers or corners, to make it work.
Tampa Bay, on the other hand, pretty much invented the system and has been taking players with that system in mind for years. (A dollar says Derrick Brooks gets at least one interception.) It's going to be a lot tougher for rookie cornerback Matt Ryan this week and he wasn't that good in the second half last week.
The Bucs have their own problems, particularly at quarterback where Jeff Garcia will sit this one out and watch Brian Griese. Seems like 10 years ago Griese was a good looking prospect in Denver. But he hasn't panned out as more than a backup.
Tampa will pound it with Earnest Graham and former Falcon Warrick Dunn should get some totes too.
It's a winnable game for the Falcons, but I wouldn't bet that way.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
The Blue and the Gray
The Chickamuga reenactment is coming up very soon. It's supposed to be a major production and it probably really hurt our own Tunnel Hill show this year.
Ol' Dawgs
Georgia great David Pollack gets a new job in radio.
I would love to have seen this guy take his game to the pros. He could have been a top notch pass rusher, though I didn't like it when the Benagls started making a linebacker out of him. Who would have though that David Green, Pollack, Fred Gibson and Odell Thurman would all be out of football already?
I would love to have seen this guy take his game to the pros. He could have been a top notch pass rusher, though I didn't like it when the Benagls started making a linebacker out of him. Who would have though that David Green, Pollack, Fred Gibson and Odell Thurman would all be out of football already?
Monday, September 8, 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Your Sunday tune
One of the great songs of the Southern Rock era. Let's here it for the Marshall Tucker Band.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
AJC available here
If everything goes according to plan, Dalton area residents should be able to get the AJC Sunday edition from local racks again beginning Sunday, Sept. 21. We made a deal with Cox to deliver about 800 papers to approximately 40 racks. There should be a brief story in the paper on Sunday saying so. We will also print a list of rack sites where the paper will be available.
Dean Poling
The learned columnist from Valdosta figures out what body of land lies between Florida and the Carolinas. And he does it in this piece.
My bookshelf
"Lost Triumph" by Tom Carhart
Anyone who has read much about the battle of Gettyburg has wondered why Gen. Lee, the most able tactician in either army, saw fit to launch 15,000 or so veteran troops across a mile of open field straight into the teeth of the Union defenses on Cemetery Ridge?
Did Lee think he could entice Meade to weaken the center of this line by feinting attacks elsewhere?
Did Lee think the massive artillery bombardment of the Union lines would do enough damage to allow the Pickett-Pettigrew assault to pierce the Union "fish hook?"
Did the great general just have a really, really bad day?
Tom Carhart, in his interesting book "Lost Triumph," argues that Lee's plan unraveled disastrously for the army of Northern Virginia because a crucial portion of the operation was foiled at the last minute.
Carhart argue that Lee's intention on that July 3 day was for the infantry assault to hit the Union lines in close coordination with a massive cavalry assault on the rear of the Union position.
Carhart lays out a fascinating "what if" scenario based on the movements of Gen. JEB Stuart's cavalry command which occured at the same time as Pickett's assault was forming.
According to Carhart, Lee wanted to draw off Union manpower with an early morning feint against Culp's Hill, then blast the center of the Union line with Porter Alexander's massed artillery. The infantry would strike out across the open fields, but not before Stuart's 6,000 man or so command swung around the Union right and smashed into the center defenses from the rear. Fighting off a powerful cavalry attack would disorganize Union defenses just as the Rebel infantry drove into the center and splintered the Union Army into two halves.
If successful Lee could have assaulted the separated portions of the Army of the Potomac in detail and earned a victory so monumental that it would have forced an end to the war.
What happened, however, was that Stewart's cavaliers were fought to a standstill by horsemen under George Custer. The delicate timing of Lee's plan was wrecked and the Confederate infantry marched into a strong Union position where the waiting troops had their undivided attention. The result was the disaster for the attackers.
Carhart expains why there is little direct evidence to prove his theory and offers an impressive body of circumstantial evidence and reasonable conjecture to make his case.
It's a well-written book and likely to spark the interest of even the most jaded of Gettysburg students.
Anyone who has read much about the battle of Gettyburg has wondered why Gen. Lee, the most able tactician in either army, saw fit to launch 15,000 or so veteran troops across a mile of open field straight into the teeth of the Union defenses on Cemetery Ridge?
Did Lee think he could entice Meade to weaken the center of this line by feinting attacks elsewhere?
Did Lee think the massive artillery bombardment of the Union lines would do enough damage to allow the Pickett-Pettigrew assault to pierce the Union "fish hook?"
Did the great general just have a really, really bad day?
Tom Carhart, in his interesting book "Lost Triumph," argues that Lee's plan unraveled disastrously for the army of Northern Virginia because a crucial portion of the operation was foiled at the last minute.
Carhart argue that Lee's intention on that July 3 day was for the infantry assault to hit the Union lines in close coordination with a massive cavalry assault on the rear of the Union position.
Carhart lays out a fascinating "what if" scenario based on the movements of Gen. JEB Stuart's cavalry command which occured at the same time as Pickett's assault was forming.
According to Carhart, Lee wanted to draw off Union manpower with an early morning feint against Culp's Hill, then blast the center of the Union line with Porter Alexander's massed artillery. The infantry would strike out across the open fields, but not before Stuart's 6,000 man or so command swung around the Union right and smashed into the center defenses from the rear. Fighting off a powerful cavalry attack would disorganize Union defenses just as the Rebel infantry drove into the center and splintered the Union Army into two halves.
If successful Lee could have assaulted the separated portions of the Army of the Potomac in detail and earned a victory so monumental that it would have forced an end to the war.
What happened, however, was that Stewart's cavaliers were fought to a standstill by horsemen under George Custer. The delicate timing of Lee's plan was wrecked and the Confederate infantry marched into a strong Union position where the waiting troops had their undivided attention. The result was the disaster for the attackers.
Carhart expains why there is little direct evidence to prove his theory and offers an impressive body of circumstantial evidence and reasonable conjecture to make his case.
It's a well-written book and likely to spark the interest of even the most jaded of Gettysburg students.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Tunnel Hill
Maybe this year the Confederates will finally win. The troops are back at Tunnel Hill. We go to this show every year and always enjoy it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
