It seems like only yesterday that protestors enveloped the entrance to the Falcons Flowery Branch headquarters, congregated en masse to have their collective say about Michael Vick's much-publicized malfeasance with 'Man's Best Friend.'

Now here it is one year later, Vick's in a Leavenworth, KS. penitentiary donning a number much longer and larger than the 7 he once made famous and then infamous, and Arthur Blank's bird sanctuary is once again full of life with another training camp underway.

There are new faces aplenty in Falcons camp, including GM Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Mike Smith. While top draft pick Matt Ryan is the quarterback who it's eventually hoped will make everyone forget Vick, Dimitroff and Smith are the guys who will have the ultimate say in when that occurs. Until then, Chris Redman and Joey Harrington will hold down the fort, and that might not be very long if all the reports on the mettle and moxie  that Ryan possesses are true.

There's no telling how the Falcons will do this season. It would be incomprehensible to think that they could be any worse than last season. For one, they won't have to endure the large shadow the whole Vick fiasco cast upon them. Secondly, Bobby Petrino is nearly 600 miles to the southwest. And, the 2008 schedule appears -- on paper, at least -- to be much easier than it was in the cursed '07 campaign.

Under Smith, the Birds will truly run a pro-style offense. The free agent signing of the tough-to-bring-down Michael Turner was a good one. Working in concert with whirling dervish Jerious Norwood, the Falcons should have a nice inside-outside combo for opposing defenses to try and deal with. At least now Ovie Mughelli will really be able to do what he was originally brought here to do, and that's open gaping holes for his backfield mates to run through. 

On defense, there have been many, many changes, as well. Algie Crumpler, DeAngelo Hall, Rod Coleman and Jimmy Williams have all been cast aside, with young hopefuls brought on board to fill the gaps. Keith Brooking, John Abraham and Lawyer Milloy are back to provide the veteran leadership, and coming off a breakthrough season while everything else was seemingly falling apart around him, Michael Boley may truly be ready for stardom in 2008.

As opposed to last year at this time, there is excitement in the air. Not the kind where legitimate Super Bowl hopes are being bandied about, but the kind where there are positive vibes as opposed to groans of dispair.

But then again, these are the Falcons, of course. And that means anything is possible.
 

What a difference a year can make. Last July, the Braves were basically in the same situation as they are now, hovering around the .500 plateau and looking for that piece to the puzzle that would help catapult them into the playoffs.

The Atlanta management team of Bobby Cox, John Schuerholz and Frank Wren deemed their situation as a contender viable enough to be a "buyer" in the trade market as the deadline approached. That thinking led to the acquisition of Mark Teixeira, and while the team itself didn't respond to the noteworthy addition by gaining a post-season berth, Tex himself displayed his worthiness time-and-time again -- whether it was at the plate or in the field.

Now here we are, July of 2008, and Cox, Schuerholz and Wren are once again faced with trying to determine if they'll be "buyers" or "sellers" come the end of the month. And Teixeira is right in the middle of it all again, too.

The difference in all of this, of course, is that Teixeira is a free agent in waiting, and the greenbacks that are expected to be thrown at him in the off-season are staggering, not to mention not in the Braves budget. It's not out of the realm of possibility that he could get 23 million dollars per year, and it's numbers like that the Braves financial wizards say they won't be able to approach. Now, the thought that Teixeira -- a former Georgia Tech star who has revelled in his return to Atlanta the past year -- might give the Braves a hometown discount is something that may have been a consideration....if the reviled Scott Boras wasn't his agent, that is.

The thought of losing Teixeira isn't a pleasant one. Despite a bit of a subpar batting average this season, his power numbers have been in-line with what he's always produced. At first base, he routinely makes things look easy, whether it's snaring a line drive off the bat of a dangerous lefty, or stretching out to scoop up an errant throw in the dirt. Bottom line: He won't be easy to replace. Let us not forget, Tex came to the rescue and filled a position that was once occupied by the underperforming Scott Thorman. And more importantly, who's going to provide coverage in the clean-up spot for Chipper Jones?

When the deal was made last year, it was looked upon as possibly a prelude to something more long term in the A-T-L for Tex. After all, the Braves weren't going to re-sign Andruw Jones when his contract ran out, so plenty of bucks were saved there. But his performance over the past year, plus the upscaling of the market, have placed Teixeira out of the Braves range.

If the Braves trade Teixeira before the deadline, they will certainly reap a treasure trove of young talent to build with in the future. And if they don't deal him away and he plays out this season as a Brave before bidding us all a fond adieu for much greener pastures, they'll get several draft selections as compensation from the team he signs with.

So, the question we should all be asking, no matter what scenario ends up playing out, is this: After being saavy enough to acquire a player who's been a perfect fit for this team, how and why did we let him get away?