How Arthur Smith and Arthur Blank Are Giving Art a Bad Name
It’s never a good look when you lose to the worst team in football. Not only did the Atlanta Falcons fall to a Carolina Panthers team that would be hard-pressed to compete in the SEC, the Dirty Birds appear to have been grounded for good. Let’s face it, this Atlanta Falcons team is built to compete in an era before the forward pass was even legal.
Ask any bird or fly for that matter. It’s impossible to take off with clipped wings. The Falcons couldn’t move the ball through the air even if they wanted to. There have been plenty of Monday morning armchair general managers who want to blame the Atlanta Falcons quarterback room, but that just isn’t fair.
The real reason why the Falcons can’t get airborne has nothing to do with Desmond Ridder’s lack of talent, inability to read a defense, or go through his progressions. Rumor has it that Falcons head coach Arthur Smith is afraid to fly. Smith’s clear fear of flying is the primary reason he doesn’t even have a dedicated quarterbacks coach on his staff in 2023.
Just like Big Bird, Arthur Smith doesn’t have the wings or aerodynamic body type required to achieve flight. Both Big Bird and Arthur Smith have the beak and the aftermarket bug shield in place, by all accounts, they look like birds. Yet, something seems off. Something just isn’t quite right here.
Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper isn’t exactly known for having patience. He may be a billionaire, but Tepper’s not capable of looking in the mirror and realizing where the real problem lies.
In addition to owning the Panthers, Tepper also owns Charlotte FC, a professional soccer team that’s actually been to the playoffs. Since they’ve only played two seasons, this is a notable feat. Especially considering the Panthers have missed the playoffs all six seasons since Tepper got involved.
Since Tepper’s ownership, the Panthers have played six seasons, and Charlotte has played two. In that time, Tepper has fired a total of five coaches.
At what point does he realize where the real problem lies?
Do you remember when Bryce Young stood tall among his peers as the best quarterback prospect available in the 2023 NFL Draft?
The Chicago Bears remember because they earned the first overall pick. Yet, with a franchise QB already in place, the Bears could smell desperation from the Carolina Panthers, with David Tepper eager to make another investment that had the potential to go to the moon.
But so far, investing in Bryce Young’s stock has gone tits up.
As even your girlfriend will tell you, there’s no period like the NFL trade deadline. This year, that spooky time of the month comes on Oct. 31, and as always, there are plenty of teams looking to shake up their rosters. Which NFL players are on the trade block? Who’s most likely to be traded before Tuesday’s deadline?
Here’s a fresh pile of what A Fly On The Ball’s locker room sources chewed out, including NFL players guaranteed to be traded in 2023.
Tom Brady is busy tossing salad, not footballs. That means the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a very slim chance of getting balls deep in that end zone this year. Baker Mayfield? Are you fucking kidding me?
Listen, if you’re debating between Mayfield and Kyle Trask as your starting quarterback, you’re not getting balls deep into anything this year. Sorry Tampa, it’s going to be a while before you let ‘em hang again. At least you have two in the rafters, that’s more than the Buffalo Bills will ever have.
Not to rain on your parade, but rumor has it that not even Mayfield’s ex-wife thinks he can score anymore. If you are a Bucs fan, do you really think Baker can put a dozen in the oven each game, or do you think he doesn’t have the yeast?
Get the Latest Saquon Barkley Contract Updates Here
With the NFL deadline for players to sign their franchise tag tenders fast approaching, there are plenty of rumors circulating around Saquon Barkley. As one of the most dynamic running backs in football, everyone in the league is paying close attention to how this situation plays out.
As of the time this article was published, Saquon Barkley still has not signed his franchise tag offer or a long-term deal with the New York Giants. In the past, he has made it clear that his desire is to work out a long-term deal with the Giants. As far as everyone can tell, that feeling is mutual.
Any tagged player who does not sign a multiyear deal with their team by July 17 at 4 pm ET is kind of left between a rock and a hard place. By NFL rules, any unsigned tagged player must either play the 2023 season under the franchise tag terms or be forced to forfeit the tag’s guaranteed salary by electing to sit out the season.
Although it would be a massive disappointment for both football and Giants fans to be deprived of a hangry Saquon terrorizing defenses on Sundays, you shouldn’t be pointing fingers at Barkley if that becomes a reality.
There’s a lot of leaks that happen when it comes to contract disputes. All of these so-called leaks have origins, just not sources anybody is willing to attach their names or reputations to. That’s when you know the rumors swirling are mostly bullshit or fueled by an agenda that has nothing to do with the negotiations or players and teams involved.
When it comes to the contract dispute between the Giants and Saquon, you are dealing with two extremely professional sides of the negotiation table. These are classy people on both sides of the table.
There is no way Saquon and his representatives are leaking anything because where would that get them? Nobody is trying to win a publicity stunt here. There’s too much loyalty at stake.
Historically, the Giants tend to keep things behind closed doors. Joe Schoen certainly doesn’t have interest in publicly ruffling the feathers of one of the team’s most beloved current players. It’s a lose-lose for either side to leak any kind of story regarding these negotiations. Especially one painting the other party in a negative light.
So, why are there caps swirling from nearly every talking asshole with an opinion regarding Saquon Barkley’s contract negotiations? Half the time, you have talking heads spewing opinions as facts that mislead most of the public.
The other half of the time, you have fans with extremely selective hearing or limited comprehension skills. They hear, read, and regurgitate every sports story with their own unique spin on it. After that, stories tend to take on a life of their own.
Trolling fans and the bullshit they spread online are literally the biggest source of fake news on the entire planet. They really ought to be ashamed of themselves. Who would ever resort to circulating fake news or false rumors on the internet? Damn trolls!
However, uninformed fans with a penchant for putting a little English on the ol’ spin aren’t the only ones to blame. There certainly have been some wild negotiation stories spreading from the tweets heard between the sheets.
However, if you want the real story behind the Saquon Barkley contract situation, you’ll need to check your security clearance at the door. If you somehow lost your clearance badge, don’t worry, we’ve had A Fly On The Ball behind the scenes, ready with the full scoop.
There are primarily three factors behind why the New York Football Giants and Saquon Barkley are struggling to come to terms. None of it has to do with greed, at least not on Saquon’s part. That dude has already earned every penny he has coming to him and then some.
The first reason Saquon and the Giants haven’t reached a deal yet is because…
The 2023 NFL Season Will Be a Failure for the ‘Boys
Summer just officially began which means training camp is already less than a month away for most NFL franchises. For the Dallas Cowboys, it’s just business as usual as they are set to report to camp on July 26th in Oxnard, California. Training camp will run through August 15th for the ‘Boys, it is open to the public and completely free to attend.
Now, who’s ready for some Cowboys football? If there’s one thing you can be certain of, Jerry Jones and the entire Dallas Cowboys fan base have Super Bowl expectations. They do every single year, even though they haven’t won shit in nearly three decades.
Yet, Cowboys fans do have bragging rights to five Super Bowl wins in their impressive and rich football history. So, why shouldn’t they be optimistic? As one of the most recognizable brands in all of sports, let alone football, they know how to do a line with the best of them.
Putting aside their almost cult-like delusions, being a Cowboys fan is more like a religion than a group of fanatics. Cowboys fans don’t go to church on Sunday morning, at least not in their hearts. They certainly don’t follow Jesus unless he wears a blue star on his helmet. However, when the ‘Boys lose, real tears are shed. Dem’s the facts.
Those are real emotions because Cowboys fans are one of the most passionate groups you will find in all of sports. They care, and they want to win, like most fans. Unfortunately for all Cowboys fans, every season has been like visiting an empty Jerry Jones glory hole since the last time they hoisted the Lombardi trophy in 1996.
They sure do things differently in Texas. They say things differently too. I’ve never been to a glory hole, but it’s pretty clear this is an activity that every single Dallas Cowboys fan on the planet participates in.
In Dallas, glory holes have not only been normalized, everybody seems to be insensitive to Jerry’s long-standing obsession with getting sucked off by a stranger. Whomever it may be.
Anyway, back to football for a minute here. In recent years, there have been glimpses of promise followed by failure after failure to get the job done in the playoffs. From Dak Prescott putting up MVP-like numbers one season to looking pedestrian in 2022, the Cowboys and their fans are no strangers to riding a roller-coaster.
There have been several mishaps along the way, such as fucking up with the Ezekiel Elliot contract extension in 2019. That ridiculous six-year, $90-million contract was so bad the Cowboys cut Elliot this off-season. He’s still standing in the unemployment line. That’s how bad Jerry’s eye for talent has become.
Jones literally handed a bum 90 million dollars to go stand in the unemployment line. That’s a far cry from the dynasty Jerry built in the early 1990s by ripping off the Minnesota Vikings in the Herschel Walker trade.
Sadly, that Ezekiel Elliot contract remains a lingering problem in the NFL. It really began with Zeke’s former contract that eventually ballooned into the Christian McCaffrey nightmare that David “Zero Fucks” Tepper screwed the entire running back market over with.
But that’s in the past now as even the Carolina Panthers have moved on from CMC. Meanwhile, Dalvin Cook, Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, and many others are paying the price for these terrible moves that all started with the Dallas fucking Cowboys. DEM BOYS!!!! Way to go, morons.
However, with that being said, the current Cowboys roster has some talent on it. Is it enough talent to win a few games with? Probably. If they can stay healthy at some key positions (Micah Parsons) they might even win more than five or six games. But, do the ‘Boys have enough talent to make the playoffs?
On paper, they might. However, as everybody in the suddenly-competitive NFC East knows, football games aren’t won on paper. These battles play out from the inside out. They begin in the trenches and are finished in the end zones. That’s NFC East football in a nutshell.
In reality, where everybody in the NFC East outside of Dallas resides, the Cowboys ain’t shit! If you want to know why the Dallas Cowboys will not make the playoffs in 2023, the real question is, how much time do you have?
There are countless reasons why the ‘Boys will miss the playoffs. However, A Fly On The Ball will focus on these top 3 reasons why the Dallas Cowboys will not make the playoffs:
