Dec 13th, 2007 10:40AM
by: Neils Boar

As a Falcon fan, I'm not terribly disappointed to see Petrino leave. He was an odd choice for the Falcons' offensive personnel, even before we found out that Vick couldn't find anything better to do with his $100M contract and free time than to kill puppies. Petrino wants an overpowering offensive line, a power running game, a pocket passer, and playmakers at the WRs. The Falcons have none of that. Their running game was based on the Denver Bronco's schemes with two scat backs. The threat of Vick made it work between the 20's, but the league's "best" running team couldn't punch the ball in the endzone from 1st and goal at the five. Despite a bevy of high draft choices the WRs are inconsistent and mistake prone. To top it off, Petrino didn't have an NFL starting QB on the roster. The Falcons were going to need a complete overhaul on offense to do what Petrino wanted. Little surprise that the O was nonexistent in his brief tenure. They were going to be forced to start over on offense next season regardless of the coach.

Petrino obviously had bad relationships with the veterans. The Atlanta media is berating his lack of communication skills, as if Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, and Bill Parcells were known for their warm, fuzzy relationships with their players. Fact is the high-priced talent that Petrino couldn't bench had been criticizing him publicly all year probably because he didn't come with instant credibility at the NFL level. Now they apparently want a group hug on the way out the door. Perhaps the Falcon players should stop worrying about what the sudden departure means about Petrino and worry about what a coach giving up $2M a year to NOT coach them means about them. That Petrino took a pay cut to go coach college kids doesn't jibe with the mercenary tag by the blowhards. Deangelo Hall's charge that Petrino took a $5M NFL job simply to get a $2.8M college job is particularly moronic. As if Petrino didn't have all sorts of college options after winning a BCS Bowl at friggin' Louisville.

Oh yeah, Petrino is obviously the scourge of the nation for leaving with 3 games left. Judging from the reaction, I can only assume that the carbon emissions from the flight to Arkansas were the tipping point for the collapse of the entire Antarctic ice sheet for which he obviously deserves pistol whipping. If Petrino had left for Michigan, I wouldn't care. Know why? As a Falcons fan, what I want most out of the last three games is three no-doubt LOSSES. Nothing would be more beneficial to the franchise at this point than to have as good a position in the draft as possible to replace as much of the roster as possible. Whereas, at his new gig the next three weeks are critical for recruiting. He's cheating his new employer if he doesn't leave. His former employer can go ahead and try to lure Bill Cowher back to the NFL before any other jobs are officially open, which would be doubly ectastic news for yours truly. The Falcons season was done weeks ago thanks to a lot of early season close losses, one of which was almost soley due to Hall not keeping his cool.

As for the blowhards who keep claiming Petrino will be gone in a year or two, riddle me this. What are his options going to be after a 3-10 season in Atlanta and leaving after one year? Petrino has no choice but to win big at Arkansas to keep his star elevated. He doesn't leave for Notre Dame after a 3-13 season in Atlanta and maybe a 5-7 season at Arkansas next season. If he takes us to a BCS bowl in the next four years and leaves, I will be grateful to him for dragging Arkansas FB into the 21st century, wish him well, and hopefully welcome Butch or a properly seasoned Gus Malzahn back home. Butch may be tired of playing second fiddle to Roy Williams by then. In any case Petrino is talented and hungry. Just perfect for us.

As a Hog fan, I'm ecstatic beyond belief. For the first time in my adult life Arkansas will not be a decade behind the times on offense. Holy freakin' crap, we might even attract a quality QB, develop him, and not run him off before he gets drafted by the NFL. Thanks to Petrino's obvious acumen and the national media's gratuitous gang bang, my fire is back for Arkansas football. My fondest hope is that Petrino's first action after holding up our first SECC trophy is to drop his pants and invite all media to kiss his Hog hat wearing arse. I'll second the motion. And, oh yeah, our BB coach really knows what he's doing. It's great to be a Razorback for the first time in a long time. Go Hogs Go!