Falcons: 10 things we learned from the Lions game
Falcons QB Matt Ryan had a good showing against Detroit. (Robin Buckson/ The Detroit News).
THE BRANCH – Here are 10 things we learned during the Falcons’ shocking 27-26 loss to the Detroit Lions.
1. The Falcons front-seven — with two new linebackers and a new nose tackle — has to improve against the run. Perhaps they are just working out the kinks and getting used to each other.
Matt Ryan on the cover of current issue of Atlanta Magazine. (Ledbetter/AJC)
2. What was most impressive about rookie cornerback Chris Owens was how physical he was when he came up in run support.
3. Quarterback Matt Ryan and tight end Tony Gonzalez are going to be a force on third down.
4. Running back Michael “The Burner” Turner’s legs looked pretty fresh on that 40-yard touchdown run.
5. Defensive tackle Thomas Johnson, a free agent signee, might be a keeper. His sack on third down to force the Lions to attempt a field goal on their opening drive was a big-time play.
6. Right guard Harvey Dahl is still a beast. He worked out poor rookie Sammie Lee Hill in those first two series. Hill is trying to make the jump from SIAC school Stillman. (Morehouse and Clark Atlanta’s conference.)
7. Punter Michael “The Franchise” Koenen is not in mid-season form. His first punt went 24 yards.
8. Linebacker Tony Gilbert, who was inactive all 16 games last season, still knows what to do with an interception.
Ford Field in Detroit. (Ledbetter/AJC)
9. Thomas Brown was a little rusty on kickoff returns. He seemed to be running into tacklers.
10. Defensive end Jamaal Anderson needs to stay on his feet to stop getting so easily taken out of plays.
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119 comments Add your comment
Ed-Covington
August 18th, 2009
1:08 am
DOL:
Re. your article on Turner and the “370 Carry Curse”. Your headline reads “Falcons to Monitor Turner…”, then the entire article is full of the Falcons saying that they won’t count his carries and don’t believe in the “Curse”.
Also, headline from earlier this weekend read “Both Falcon Starting Cornerbacks Injured” while the article actually stated that “Both Falcon starting cornerback Chris Houston and defensive end Koy Bierman were injured”. What gives? Shouldn’t your headlines and links accurately reflect what is actually contained in the articles? I knew that Houston and Bierman had been banged up, but when I saw “Both Starting Cornerbacks” I immediately went to the article, only to find nothing new. Earlier in camp, Mike (Smith) and Mike (Mularkey) had saids that they didn’t think that Turner would be affected by the number of carries; sso when I read they would be “monitoring his carries” I went to the article to see what changed their minds; only to read that they would NOT even be counting his carries. We don’t need to be following misleading links to information we already know.
falmouth
August 18th, 2009
3:39 am
Was thinking the same thing Ed-Cov. Must’ve written the article (thinking they’d actually monitor him) before actually confirming. And the part about riggs…come on man, he rushed for over 1300 yards. How far does the curse extend. Maybe it was the “Curse of 343.”
Fin
August 18th, 2009
3:58 am
You know…a posting by OmarH brought up a good point. Why not take a look at Marvin Harrison as the third WR. We know he has great hands and I believe he would be an upgrade over Booker or Fergueson(no disrespect to those gentlemen.) I really hoped that the front management would have gone after Dre Bly when he was released. I don’t know if it was a money thing or what, but he would have been an excellent Free agent pickup for our defensive backfield.
Bump the preseason, I’m ready to get it on!!!
Paddy
August 18th, 2009
7:56 am
It was just the first practice game. Nobody should care except the guys who are about to get cut. The coaches don’t give much thought if they win or lose. They want to watch match-ups and improvement.
Morris
August 18th, 2009
9:27 am
Jamal Anderson should be thanful for the pregame introductons.Because thats the only time his name is called.
mark alpharetta
August 18th, 2009
9:39 am
Are you kidding-”shocking loss”– it’s preseason. By the way, detroit was 4-0 last preseason.
Richard Dawson
August 18th, 2009
9:56 am
11. The Falcons need to manage the clock better and not resort to “playing not to lose” late in the game. Several critical mistakes cost what should have been an easy win. One was defensive breakdowns that gave up long gains on the 3-play TD drive, mostly from a passive, prevent defense that is guaranteed to lose. Second was poor clock management, including falling down on the kickoff with 2:01 left, saving Detroit a timeout instead of getting to the 2-minute warning. Third was passive offense late, content to punt and rely on the prevent defense. All losing football schemes. Hopefully Mike Smith will not employ such losing tactics during the regular season.
Rev Blake
August 18th, 2009
11:33 am
Listen clearly UGA fans. This is the Falcons, not college ball. Shockley made 3 completions out of 8. Did you get that! ONLY 3 out of 8 attempts. Shockley was even allowed to play into the first half of the fourth quarter when he was initiaally told he would play the third quarter only. He was given an extra chance and he simply could not deliver.
If you are still having trouble with this, let me spell out your QB order for this season. Ryan, Redman, Wilson. Mark it down. Anyone with an ounce of logical reasoning can see this.
Now get over this “we only want UGA players on the Falcons” or stop claiming to be a fan of an NFL team. Who gives a flip which college a player went to?
TheManMike
August 18th, 2009
11:43 am
**Mark Alpha-
Maybe some of the reason for pre-season play is so that the team can see where they are as far as clock management and “playing not to lose”….I understand we did that last year, but this is not the time to show your hand – its about trial and error. **
What I saw of Chris Owens was great. I loved watching him survey the offense after the ball was snapped. On a play or two I saw him drop his coverage to defend a run play at the second it developed – and even with his small frame, he put his body in position to act as a barrier so the bigger fellas could take the RB down…at the line of scrimmage. GREAT play. Anyone else catch that? That boils down to instinct and good understanding of his coaching. I look forward to watching him on Friday.
Snelling is such an asset as a 3rd guy/backup FB. If Norwood ever went down for a game or two Snelling could right in place. His legs just don’t stop when he hits the line, as was evident in his short TD run – he just barreled through and found a tunnel.
Look forward to more deep threat plays in KC on Friday – Time to test the skies…
TheManMike
August 18th, 2009
11:44 am
::Correction::
**Richard Dawson** – not – Mark Alpha
……my rough.
Big Ray
August 18th, 2009
11:24 pm
Boy am I glad we held onto Chauncey Davis. Jamal Anderson isn’t looking too good, even though the real games haven’t started yet.
Knute
August 18th, 2009
11:36 pm
Last season was the best Falcon season ever. I only saw one negative the whole season. Conservative offense and the dreaded “prevent” defense reared their ugly heads when we got the lead. Last years Falcons were “hell on wheels” when they were aggressive. Let the dawg eat (PETA
would agree. Coach Smith, don’t be afraid to lose a game!!! Giving a game away to Detroit?!! With
Drew Whasisname at QB?!! Your loss, Coach! Let the “D’ gamble!! Let the “O” WIN!!!
same old Falcon and fans
August 19th, 2009
12:51 pm
They spent 45million on a QB when they need Defense last year and this year. until the people in Atlanta find out you don’t win with out A defense. It seen the whipping boy this year is Jamal Anderson . same Fans same Ole team, all wan bee’s
Ken Strickland
August 19th, 2009
5:38 pm
SAME OLD FALCON-I have news for you. IF YOU FINISH A 16 GM SEASON WITH AN 11-5 RECORD, WHICH THE ATLANTA FALCONS DID LAST YR, THAT’S CALLED A WINNING SEASON ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, MORON. The Chiefs needed DEF as badly as the Falcons and they drafted DT GDorsey, the top rated DT in last yrs draft, and finished with a 2-14 losing season.
You just can’t make blanket statements like the one you made about winning and DEF, especially when the Falcons winning season proves you wrong, and expect anyone to believe you have an ounce of intelligence.
NeNe's Greg's boss
August 19th, 2009
9:06 pm
1. We’re in for a long season
buck8585
August 20th, 2009
2:31 am
like the idea of harrison being a falcon. they call mr. blanks the CLOSER. let’s see if he will step up & really make us better
’cause tony can’t be everywhere. #3 rec will need more than the twin & i am a fan of his. go falcons……QB backups are needed w/ long season & even if it was 1st time in front of fans, that D worries me. do ya’ll think we have a good prospect at backup QB? i’m a dawg fan & shick looked good his sr yr, but the boys are bigger & faster. owens was fun to watch & offers hope this yr at a position we need. think jerry will get better but tired of waiting on nice-guy anderson. don’t see the skill level there for nfl $. we do have a great GM now. McKay, petrino, & vick were/are expensive learning tools. the hawks should take notice. they are going thru same growing pains. i still pulled for our falcons when we had peachtree bart & pulled for our hawks w/ nique doing his thing. wish they would take him off the mike & hire an established guy. sorry i’m so verbose. never gone online b4. thanks for the ride.
Paul Lentz
August 20th, 2009
3:04 am
I LOVE men! lol! lol!
JWS
August 20th, 2009
7:56 am
I am worried about the LB Peterson–as pointed out earlier Culpepper ran away from him down the sidelines for a first down. Seemed like he was alway trailing the play or making the tackle 10 yards down the field (ala Brooking).
Big Ray
August 22nd, 2009
7:31 pm
Matt Ryan still looks good. Even better, in fact.
DJ Shockley looks bad. This isn’t good for him, as he has Redman and John Parker Whoever in the fold with him.
Turner’s still burnin’ ‘em, and Gonzalez is doing what he was brought here to do. Our offense is strong, and you KNOW we haven’t revealed even a fraction of the tricks we’re going to employ.
Great news that Sidbury is catching on fast. The way I had it figured when we drafted him, if his learning curve is as impressive as his physical speed, he’s going to be murder on defense. Looks like he’s going to be just that, and we couldn’t be happier!
I’ll be glad to see Ownens out there doing his thing. I think he’s going to take Brent Grimes’ starting job. If not right away, a couple games into the season for sure, barring injury.