Carolina's next possession, Hall let his temper and Steve Smith get the best of him.
The two stars had been jawing at each other the entire game, with Hall holding the upper hand in the first half. However, on the first play from scrimmage after the Falcons went ahead, Delhomme threw deep down the sideline for Smith. Clearly beaten, Hall had no choice except to drag down the receiver for a 37-yard interference penalty
Apparently frustrated, Hall gave Smith a shove to the upper chest on the next play, drawing a 15-yard personal foul. Then, with Carolina apparently forced into a field-goal try after Delhomme was sacked, Hall drew an unsportsmanlike penalty for continuing to jabber at Smith.
That gave the Panthers an automatic first down, and they quickly punched it in for the tying TD, Delhomme's 5-yard pass to Jeff King. Hall even got into it with his own coach, Bobby Petrino, before being dragged away by a couple of teammates.
"I felt like I was on the bad end of the stick," Hall said. "I felt like a lot of calls could have gone either way. They all went against me."
Petrino considered yanking Hall out of the game, but let him finish.
"DeAngelo understands that's not something we do," the first-year coach said. "We were in a position where we had a chance to win the game, and that (last) penalty gave them an opportunity to score a touchdown."
Smith piled on, clearly relishing his role in Hall's meltdown.
"He took a cheap shot at me," the receiver said. "That's the kind of player he is."
Hall's antics clearly turned the momentum in Carolina's favor, even though Delhomme went out on the next possession. He threw a short pass and quickly motioned to the sideline, even dropping to a knee before he could get there.
The two stars had been jawing at each other the entire game, with Hall holding the upper hand in the first half. However, on the first play from scrimmage after the Falcons went ahead, Delhomme threw deep down the sideline for Smith. Clearly beaten, Hall had no choice except to drag down the receiver for a 37-yard interference penalty
Apparently frustrated, Hall gave Smith a shove to the upper chest on the next play, drawing a 15-yard personal foul. Then, with Carolina apparently forced into a field-goal try after Delhomme was sacked, Hall drew an unsportsmanlike penalty for continuing to jabber at Smith.
That gave the Panthers an automatic first down, and they quickly punched it in for the tying TD, Delhomme's 5-yard pass to Jeff King. Hall even got into it with his own coach, Bobby Petrino, before being dragged away by a couple of teammates.
"I felt like I was on the bad end of the stick," Hall said. "I felt like a lot of calls could have gone either way. They all went against me."
Petrino considered yanking Hall out of the game, but let him finish.
"DeAngelo understands that's not something we do," the first-year coach said. "We were in a position where we had a chance to win the game, and that (last) penalty gave them an opportunity to score a touchdown."
Smith piled on, clearly relishing his role in Hall's meltdown.
"He took a cheap shot at me," the receiver said. "That's the kind of player he is."
Hall's antics clearly turned the momentum in Carolina's favor, even though Delhomme went out on the next possession. He threw a short pass and quickly motioned to the sideline, even dropping to a knee before he could get there.
Then he gets into it with his coach on the sideline.
THEN apparently he got his ass beat in the locker room by his team mates.
HALL BEAT UP IN FALCONS LOCKER ROOM?
There are uncorroborated rumors making the rounds that Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall was beat up, presumably by one or more teammates, following a Falcons loss that was fueled in part by Hall's inability to control his emotions.
After being flagged for a total of 37 yards on a second-half drive that the Panthers used to tie the game, Hall got into a sideline confrontation with coach Bobby Petrino.
We don't know for sure whether Hall was indeed roughed up or otherwise accosted by teammates after the game, but it wouldn't surprise us to find out that the rumor is true. Hall is a brash and outspoken member of the organization, and his Virginia Tech ties to Mike Vick probably have prompted some in the locker room to view him differently in the wake of Vick's legal troubles. Today's actions would have potentially been enough to get a frustrated Falcon to convert hostile feelings toward Hall into action.
There are uncorroborated rumors making the rounds that Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall was beat up, presumably by one or more teammates, following a Falcons loss that was fueled in part by Hall's inability to control his emotions.
After being flagged for a total of 37 yards on a second-half drive that the Panthers used to tie the game, Hall got into a sideline confrontation with coach Bobby Petrino.
We don't know for sure whether Hall was indeed roughed up or otherwise accosted by teammates after the game, but it wouldn't surprise us to find out that the rumor is true. Hall is a brash and outspoken member of the organization, and his Virginia Tech ties to Mike Vick probably have prompted some in the locker room to view him differently in the wake of Vick's legal troubles. Today's actions would have potentially been enough to get a frustrated Falcon to convert hostile feelings toward Hall into action.
2nd quote per PFT
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