You know, people always thought that birds evolved from dinosaurs. That's why we got the idea "then how come there are still birds"? So now, they changed it and say that they share a common ancestor. So the ancestor between modern birds and dinosaurs is the Archeopteryx right?
No, not exactly. And no, it is unlikely that Archeopteryx is the common ancestor between birds and dinos.
And I have no opinion yet on those footprints. As the article you linked to says, "Melchor and team indicate that there are some features that do not correspond to bird morphology, but these are few. One example is the presence of pad impressions in some of the footprints. Other features that might be bird-like, but could be common to other theropods include the wide angles between the second and fourth digits."
It is simply too early say what the footprints mean.
Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!