Tony’s Take | Falcons Botched | Dawg NFL Record | FSU Lawsuit | CFP + NFL Picks

By Tony Duckworth, Sr., [email protected]

FALCONS BOTCHED. After the first half, I posted the following on X: “Why do the @AtlantaFalcons have 3 timeouts on the board going into the half with a rookie QB in his 2nd start while the organization is fighting for a playoff spot? @NFL“.

Atlanta made a field goal at the end of the 2nd quarter, but following a 12-yard reception to the 24-yard line Morris elected to sit on a timeout. With three timeouts in his holster, Morris watched approximately 20 precious seconds tick off the clock. This is hard to justify to Dirty Bird nation in a sport where margins are slim in a critical game where a touchdown could have been the difference. A two-touchdown halftime lead would been huge compared to 17 – 7.

Raheem Morris kept 5 of 6 timeouts in his pocket in a must-win game. Why?

I will come back to the timeouts. NFL star running back Robinson had 82 yards, and two touchdowns on 13 carries with one minute remaining in the first half. For the remainder of the contest, Bijan had 4 carries for 8 yards. The Falcons abandoning the run led to Washington flipping the halftime lead by running 29 plays to Atlanta’s three plays in the third quarter. Those three plays exhausted 2:07 off the clock. A compelling argument can be made that when the Commanders won the OT coin flip, the 12:53 the Falcons defense played in the third quarter left Daniels in the driver’s seat. Running the ball with Robinson is the best way to take pressure off Penix while protecting a two-score halftime lead. By the way, Penix has a chance to be special.

Fast forward to the final 1:19 of the game. Atlanta tied the game at 24 and the Commanders start on their 30-yard line. Washington’s Dan Quinn gave the Falcons a golden opportunity with poor clock management. The Falcons sack Daniels, but allow the clock to continue to run instead of using one of their three timeouts. Oddly, the Commanders run two more pass plays and punt with 50 seconds remaining. By not running the ball, Quinn allowed Morris to keep all three timeouts which could have set up a game-winning drive.

Morris failed his rookie QB and team following a 25-yard completion. The ball was snapped with 40 seconds remaining, and the next play snapped with 17 seconds remaining following the big gain. At that time, Morris had two timeouts. A Commander pass interference led to a last-second field goal attempt by Atlanta, but the game ended in an OT 24 – 30 Falcons loss. 

Morris is 75 games into his head coaching career. I don’t see any staff member around Morris during games, and not having a coach advising him on timeouts throughout the contest is a mistake. I’m certain the analytics charts would have had timeout recommendations during the game. If someone is advising him on his headset, they are not very effective. In the SNF game, these mistakes likely cost the Falcons a playoff berth. A SNF win would have put the Falcons in a win and get in next week against the Panthers. The only way Atlanta advanced to the post-season is to win Sunday combined with a Bucs loss against the Saints. This playing out in favor of Atlanta is highly unlikely.

The Falcons fall to 8 – 8 after starting 6 – 3 following a 1 – 2 start with the one-win over the Eagles (13 – 3 | NFC East Champions).

DAWG NFL RECORD. Congratulations to former DAWG Brock Bowers who broke Hall of Famer Mike Ditka’s 63-year-old record for most receiving yards (1,144) for a rookie tight end. That’s a damn good Dawg.  

FSU LAWSUIT. College athletics has morphed into many things over the past several years. Here is another first.  

FSU men’s basketball legendary coach Leonard Hamilton has been named in a landmark lawsuit. Six former FSU basketball players are suing the Seminoles coach over $1.5 million in unpaid NIL compensation they claim he promised.

Individual instances have surfaced of broken oral NIL contracts, but the FSU lawsuit is the first where players have taken legal action as a group. Jaden Rashada, now a QB at UGA, departed Florida claiming he was promised a $13M NIL deal by head coach Billy Napier.  UNLV’s starting QB left the program this season following, he says, the head coach promised him $100,000 in NIL compensation but never received the money.  

Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reported on December 30, 2024, that FSU players walked out and boycotted a practice last season. This occurred the day of the Duke game and the team threatened to continue their boycott for the game. Imagine if the game boycott had taken place.

Dellinger’s article quotes player text messages with Will Cowen. Cowen is an executive with one of the Seminoles NIL collectives. The walk-out combined with the text messages and a lawsuit will be worth watching.

FSU has released a statement acknowledging the allegations and Hamilton’s right to defend himself.

SUPER 6 + 1. | PENN STATE v Boise St | TEXAS v AZ State | OREGON v OH State | UGA v Notre Dame | Panthers @ FALCONS | Saints @ BUCS | Vikings @ LIONS | BOLD = Winner | RECORD 74 – 32

Tony Duckworth is a native of Macon and currently resides in Albany.  Tony worked in intercollegiate athletics for thirty-one years.  Between 2007 – 2023 he was an NCAA Division II Director of Athletics at three different universities, including Albany State, following ten years as a head men’s basketball coach at two colleges.  Follow Tony on the X platform at @tonyduckworthsr.