N/S Morten Andersen Blog- interesting read. (1 Viewer)

Dragon

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To the moderators. - This was originally written in Danish but I have translated to the best of my ability. That is also why I have included the entire text instead of linking. Please delete if it is against the rules.


This Blog was written by Morten Andersen and published on the site of the Danish new station which carries the games every Sunday. It gives some interesting information on the state of the Falcons locker room this season.

On another note Morten is publishing a book next week covering his entire career including a lot from his time as a Saint and I will attend the release event. We have front line ticket to the event hoping to get a few things signed. :hihi:

Morten Andersen – ready for another season<O></O>
<O></O>
From his blog ( translated from Danish)<O>></O><O></O>

Hello everyone<O></O>
2007 was unlike any other year for me. Once again I was without a team and Atlanta Falcons had just hired a new coach, Bobby Petrino, from <ST1><ST1>University</ST1> of<ST1> Louisville</ST1>

</ST1>I traveled to <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 /><st1:country-region><ST1>Denmark</ST1></st1:country-region> after taking the NFL scoring record and had a big celebration put on by TV2 Zulu and had two fabulous nights in <st1:city><ST1>Copenhagen</ST1></st1:city>. I had such a fun time and I felt so humble. You guys really know how to party.<O></O>

I started training on my own during the early spring, the plan was to be ready if the chance arose. I had a short meeting with Petrino later in the spring and was not impressed. He told me that the club wanted young players and that that was also the case with the kicking position. Fair enough. I took it as a signal to continue my training and wait for one of the young candidates to ¤¤%## up, that had happened the year before so why not again.<O></O>

Summer came and we were back in <st1:country-region><ST1>Denmark and enjoying </st1:country-region>the summer with friends and family. I love those Danish summer nights. In the meantime Michael Vick got indicted on dogfighting charges, a defense player had a jet ski accident and there were a feeling of discontent between the players and the Falcons head coach. I followed the case in the media and feared the worst for the season

Training camp and preseason came and went and I was still unemployed. I gave myself a deadline until September 17<SUP>th</SUP> , if nothing had happened then I would move on. But suddenly after the second game everything happened very quickly. The phone rang, same procedure as last year.<O></O>
I was back in the NFL and I’ll never forget my first day back. There were no laughter and no smiling. Only nervous laughs and empty eyes. The veterans were shaking their heads despairingly. I wondered what happened to the club that had been to the Superbowl such a short time ago.<O></O>

There were no fun or joy in neither play nor training and everything pointed to Bobby Petrino. I tried hard every day to get closer to him but with mixed results. I came to the conclusion that he did not master even the most fundamental communication skills. He never seemed comfortable in company of others and everything was forced. He was never in the locker room and I rarely saw him actually talk to a player, except to criticize. The working environment was beyond description.<O></O>

The result was not unexpectedly that we lost a lot of games and the fighting spirit ceased to exist because no one wanted to play for that coach. I do believe however that we as teammates should take some of the blame since we should be professional and it is up to us to do our best on the field afterall.

We all know how the season ended with only 4 victories out of 16 games. Petrino turned tail and disappeared. I don’t know if it is a coincident that we scored more points the last two games without Petrino, than any other game this season, but I don’t think so.<O></O>

For me the 2007 season was big. I had a better record (about 90 %) than I have had in about 20 years. I am very grateful for the assistance by my coach Gerry Rosburg, who are one of the most sympathetic people I have met in my career. We won the last game, and it was nice to end the season with a victory.

The year 2008 is going to be interesting. I’m betting on yet another season. A new HC will be arriving soon and then everything will start over again. Same procedure as last year

Happy new year to all you NFL fans<O></O>

[FONT=&quot]Morten[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-->[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]<!--[endif]-->[/FONT]
 
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Wasn't the defensive player who had a jet ski accident a Patriot, not a Falcon? I don't remember his name, but he was a former LSU tiger and it occurred in New Orleans, unless there's another Jet ski accident.
 
Wasn't the defensive player who had a jet ski accident a Patriot, not a Falcon? I don't remember his name, but he was a former LSU tiger and it occurred in New Orleans, unless there's another Jet ski accident.

Rod Coleman was in a boating accident last spring. He missed all their mini-camps and training camp. Forget what exactly his injury from it was, I'm sure a search would turn it up.
 
Nice read. Thanks for the post Dragon.
 
Yeah, that was a good read. Gives a little different perspective on things. Petrino sounds like a guy I never want associated with our team. You gotta love Morten Andersen, he just keeps on kicking.
 
Thanks Dragon! What an interesting read....I hope he does make it back next season.
 
I don't care what anyone says... Morten is and always will be my favorite Saint.
 
Go Mort! I really hope he does kick until he's 50. The guy does a great job for whatever team he's on and it was nice to read his thoughts. I knew Petrino was a jerk, but I didn't realize it was that bad.
 
Thanks for the translation Dragon. It does give an insight into the mindset behind the scenes in Atlanta.
I think it will work out far better for the Falcons now Petrino has left.
If he had stayed on (not that I would be complaining:ezbill:) but he would have ruined the franchise.
A quote from the blog
I had a short meeting with Petrino later in the spring and was not impressed. He told me that the club wanted young players

The club only wanted young players? Think how people like Warrick Dunn, who had given years of service to Atlanta, but was getting past his prime, to hear his new coach, who rarely spoke to the team other than criticising them, say something like that.

It may seem like he wanted to turn the franchise around, but imagine if coach Payton had come in here right away, and cut Deuce, John Carney, Fred Thomas, Steve Gleason or any other veteran, with the mindset young, less skilled players would do better than seasoned vets who had done lots for the team. Youth over experience has long been a much debated policy in many areas, but for success in football you need a healthy mix of both.

You could use the excuse that you are building for the future, but a good coach manages the future and the present in equal balance. Petrino was really saying that although Andersen was better than the players they had now, he was older than the players they had. That is just a dumb decision on the part of a new coach, to get a veteran, who holds NFL Records, and is still better than any player you have at his position and turn him down.

If BP was still in there, he would have proceeded, probably, to make the decision on his team's new franchise QB, something that will affect the team for the next 5-6 years.
If he had chosen Brian Brohm in the draft like many speculated, he would have passed on the best quarterback, Matt Ryan, for someone he used to work with in a completely different environment, which would again have screwed his team.

He then was looking at letting Dunn go, probably to make Norwood the franchise back. An equally stupid move.

To read that blog entry makes me so much more appreciative that, although Sean Payton may make a bad play call, or keep in a player we know should be replaced, we got in him a coach who relished the challenge to turn a franchise around, which he has done with success. His plan will ultimately finish with a Saints superbowl. Although I myself and other Saints fans have been critical of him in the past, at least we know everything he is doing is in the best interests of the team and players. I know for sure that if Sean Payton had failed, he would have kept doing things for our team to turn us around, and not run back to an offensive coordinators position realising coaching in the NFL was 'not for him'.

He holds a great relationship with us fans and the players, which is the most important thing a coach needs IMO, and I am very thankful for him.
 
From Mortens Blogs and also from other interviews with Falcons players you get the feeling that Bobby Petrino was intimidated with coaching grown men. He couldn't dominate these multimillionaire players the way he could dominate the young men who used to play for him in College.

I don't know what kind of college coach he were before coming to Atlanta but if I was a parent I would definitely think twice about letting a son sign up with a football team lead by Petrino
 

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