5 things we learned from the Dallas game
Tony Romo ducks out of sack attempt by Jonathan Babineaux. (Louis Deluca/Dallas Morning News)
DIRTY BIRDLAND – Let’s get right to the point.
Five things we learned from the Dallas game.
1. STAY ON THE SCRIPT: The opening drive was a masterpiece. The Falcons script their first 15 plays.
When the offense went “off script,” it grinded to a halt.
“Second drive, we went out and had two drops and the penalty,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said.
Wonder why you can’t “stay on script” if the script is working?
“They came back and made some adjustments,” quarterback Matt Ryan said. “They played well up front and in the secondary. It’s frustrating because we feel like we can play better. But that’s a good defense that we played.”
Miles Austin shown here, pulling away from Brent Grimes. (Louis Deluca/Dallas Morning News).
2. WHERE WAS THE NO-HUDDLE?: The Falcons didn’t go to their vaunted no-huddle attack. The one that served them so well against the Chicago Bears. The one they scored two touchdowns, just last week.
If somebody finds the Falcons’ no-huddle offense, return it to them by next Monday night.
3. ROMO PULLS A HOUDINI: Free safety Thomas DeCoud had the best line after the game.
“He was Houdini today,” DeCoud said. “He made a lot of great escapes. It’s a credit to his talent as a quarterback.”
Defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux had the first shot at Romo on that touchdown pass right before halftime.
“The play was out there to make and I just missed my assignment on tackling him,” Babineaux said. “He made a good play off of our mistake.”
But you had him?
“He ducked out of it,” Babineaux said. “I couldn’t grab him with my right hand. He got loose and made a good play off of it. We just left too many plays out there.”
4. OFFENSIVE LINE GOT TOSSED AROUND: Right tackle Tyson Clabo and the rest of his line mates had a rough day
DeMarcus Ware had two sacks and made things rough for Ryan. (Vernon Bryant/Dallas Morning News).
against the Cowboys.
“We knew we had a challenge on our hands,” Clabo said. “The problem . . . is that they have five good pass rushers. We were a lot of times just one-one-one with those guys. You can’t put a back on those guys.”
Clabo was clear about what happened in Dallas.
“They kind of whipped us,” Clabo said. “It wasn’t a surprise to me. We knew they were good pass rushers. We’ve got to do a better job. It’s really inexcusable.”
5. RYAN UNDER FIRE: The Cowboys made things rough on Ryan. He was under heavy pressure and was sacked four times.
His 66.1 passer rating was his lowest of the season and his second-straight sub-70 game.
“Pressure affects the passing game,” Ryan said.
They Falcons have to get a lot of things in order before the head down to New Orleans for next week’s Monday Night showdown in the NFC South.
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259 comments Add your comment
mike s
October 26th, 2009
10:42 am
1st
Saints Fan
October 26th, 2009
10:44 am
…And now you have to go down to the bayou….Jachimo-fi-nah-nay!!!!
tbone
October 26th, 2009
10:45 am
6. Keith Brooking is still as overrated as ever but now we can add that he’s a 1st class jerk as well to trash talk his old team. Classless act given the send-off the Falcons organization showed him.
mike s
October 26th, 2009
10:46 am
I think we learned road games are going to be tuff against good teams. Especially teams goming off their bye week.Birds are going to have to run the ball next week against the Saints or we’re looking at a blowout.
booquinn
October 26th, 2009
10:47 am
DeCoud man up and take the blame for being out of position all day along with the rest of the team, Romo is an average NFL QB at best.
Spudz
October 26th, 2009
10:54 am
The Falcons played horribly yesterday! I think we need a better mix at the RB position as well. Jason Snelling did a good job running the ball and need more touches. Our O-Line has got to do better as well as the secondary. We allowed Ryan to be pressured all game and that affected his ability to pass the ball. Not giving Ryan an out, but when your O-Line is not giving him time to pass the ball, chances are he will not be effective in pass. I just hope we can get these issues resolved before the New Orleans vs Atlanta game.
Humble Fan
October 26th, 2009
10:56 am
I don’t want to here any excuses.The Falcons are just an overrated team brought on by Auther Blank and Co.Atlanta fans deserve better than this.just another smoke screen the falcons are burning just to fill up the dome.What a pathectic effort of trying to look like pros.
DirtyBird
October 26th, 2009
10:58 am
The way we played against Cowboys!!!.. i doubt we have any chance to even making into playoffs!!. This was crucial game we lost and this games is gonna come back at end of the season and hunt us!! Falcons need to work on more then just fixing offensive line up before they play SAINTS @ SuperDome. Saints is much better team and superdome is more louder compare to cowboys team and their stadium..
mountain_jim
October 26th, 2009
11:01 am
Turner needs to man up and admit he is not finding or hitting his holes (such as they are) like last year. Start Snelling to try and light a fire under his butt.
falcons luva
October 26th, 2009
11:03 am
I agree whole-heartedly with tbone above. I felt the same way, he was just classless. And the camera loved his excitement. Brooking stated in an interview awhile ago on NFL Network that he loved the opportunity and the family in Atlanta Falcons organization, but feels he’s more at home here. WHAT!?
It's good to see that
October 26th, 2009
11:04 am
1. Our DB’s are so undersized. I also agree there were problems all over the field yesterday. They just don’t have the height to compete for balls with the bigger WR’s of the league. They are going to have to figure something out there if they can’t get pressure on the opposing QB.
2. Also very surprised that Snelling pretty much outran Turner yesterday. That’s a HUGE concern.
3. Not having Norwood yesterday hurt our offense. That game had “shootout” written all over it…
MAD-DONNA
October 26th, 2009
11:06 am
Mike Smith says after every loss, “we have to work on getting it right”. It’s too bad the difference between an average team and a really good team, is the really good team works on getting it right in training camp, while the average team works on getting it right through the season.
It's good to see that
October 26th, 2009
11:08 am
DirtyBird is skipping school today when maybe he should be paying attention in English class.
Where do we even go from here…
“Saints is much better team and superdome is more louder compare to cowboys team and their stadium..”
falcons luva
October 26th, 2009
11:08 am
The Cowboys didn’t do anything exceptional against the Birds. The Birds just laid down for them. Where were Ryan’s blockers? We need taller CBs to take on the WRs in the league these days. They also need to learn how to tackle. Good thing Eric Coleman has started to step up his game a little bit. Jason Snelling doing a good job filliing in for the injured, he’s definitely a keeper. But we’re going to need more RBs, and while we’re at it pick up some more mean Harvey Dahl-type Defensive players. Let’s get nasty birds. Southern Hospitality doesn’t extend to the football playing field. Let’s be the team that knocks the Saints off their pedestals and reclaim the NFC South!
Keep it Real!
October 26th, 2009
11:09 am
Um…No this game did not have shoot-out written all over it!
The Cowboys made plays and the Falcons did not! Matty R. was holding the ball too long. The o-cordinator needed to go to the no-huddle offense!
falcons luva
October 26th, 2009
11:09 am
I also hope we can pick up that big Safety at USC next Draft… and Mount Cody on Defense from Alabama!
E
October 26th, 2009
11:10 am
We need a starting corner before next week. Grimes will get torched by Brees if we don’t!!!!!!!!!!!
falcons luva
October 26th, 2009
11:11 am
Bottom Line, Falcons should NOT have lost this game. They played mediocre and the Cowboys were NOT the better team here. Mularkey needs to learn how to switch it up so opposing teams can’t get a grasp of what we’re doing. Van Gorder I’m not impressed with. The D-line shows just how NOT good he is with them.
falcons luva
October 26th, 2009
11:12 am
So true E! I liked Brent Grimes, he has heart… but too bad his size is not as big as the heart. And I can’t believe the Cowboys O-line was better than Biermann and Abraham. It’s just not possible.
mike
October 26th, 2009
11:12 am
brooking = no class crybaby.
did anyone expect anything different?
Saints Fan
October 26th, 2009
11:15 am
Falcons luva,
Thats what Joey Porter thought too…And you see what happend there…
It's good to see that
October 26th, 2009
11:15 am
Keep it Real, it surely did but obviously never made it there. Dallas’ secondary is nothing special…
Roswell Saint
October 26th, 2009
11:16 am
Shock and Awe awaits the poor little dirty birds on Oct. 2. hahahahahahahahaha
MAD-DONNA
October 26th, 2009
11:19 am
The o-line and the d-line blew that game. Not enough time for our QB, and too much time for theirs……PERIOD!!!!!
Humble Fan
October 26th, 2009
11:19 am
falcon fans get it through your heads, this team is a lower tier NFC team on line with the bottom feeders of the NFL
Lame
October 26th, 2009
11:23 am
LOL Ware looks like he is raping Ryan in the pic.
Falcfan
October 26th, 2009
11:23 am
In my opinion one of the biggest things we learned from the Dallas game is that our concerns are hugely justified when it comes to Turner. He is fat slow and very ineffective this year. Snelling outgained him in one drive behind the same offensive line. For an offense that defines itself by the run the pass will be almost nonexistant without the run. Either Mularky switches to a pass oriented scheme or he is going to have to fire Turner up. Personally I think Turner needs to sit until some responsibility shows up. Also Michael Jenkins is killing our offense. Ryan can’t even look his way because he either isn’t open or doesn’t catch it. In the rare event he does he falls right down. Personally, Weems really deserves more playing time. I know the coaches say Jenkins can block but it doesn’t really matter if we can’t run anyway. Besides I don’t think I’ve actually seen Turner get outside yet this season. That’s my two cents. Go Falcons!
E
October 26th, 2009
11:24 am
I hope we all know that its not time to panic. 2 good DB’s and a little more NO HUDDLE and we will be fine. To bad we won’t have the DB’s before MNF
It's good to see that
October 26th, 2009
11:26 am
Falcfan makes great points, unlike a few others on here…
TruFalconFan
October 26th, 2009
11:28 am
Wow! overreact much. We lost a road game to a motivated team coming off a bye. Are we going to the superbowl this year? No. Are we a good young team that is going to continue to get better over the next few years? YES. Go ahead and jump off the bandwagon. Most of you guys aren’t true fans anyway. And to all the Saints fans, enjoy your little moment in the sun because if you don’t win the superbowl it is all for nothing.
Humble Fan
October 26th, 2009
11:28 am
Falcfac–if thats your two cents worth–you need some change back.
TheTruthHurts
October 26th, 2009
11:32 am
Brooking showed how classless he really is with his actions during the game, his comments after the game and his cry baby attitude. Sure the Falcons stunk up the place and got beat, but Brooking had nothing to do with that. Dallas’ D-line manhandled the Falcon’s O-line and that’s why the Cowboy’s won the game. Besides that, Brooking has to find something to motivate him to play the game. Ray Lewis does not need extra motivation to elevate his game.
michael james
October 26th, 2009
11:35 am
we cant let this game ruin our season. only one game think we will be alright. remember the cowboys had two weeks to prepare and we are not healthy on offense too
Falcons Minority Owner
October 26th, 2009
11:38 am
“Pressure affects the passing game,” Ryan said……….Hmmmmm, is that an example of taking responsibility or blaming others?
gdg73
October 26th, 2009
11:38 am
Thank you Mr. Ledbetter for your dead on observations. We lost that game after our second offensive drive. Why come out, empty backfield on that drive when that is not what got you the first touchdown? Stick to what works until they make adjustments. Mularkey and company got too cute with the p[lay-calling and it killed us. A 14-0 lead in the 1st quarter would have demoralized the Cowboys.
Also, Matt Ryan was not good today, sorry to say. He looked like a deer in the headlights after Dallas started pressuring him. He never looked downfield for any of his receivers, even when he did have time. He has fallen in love with Tony Gonzalez too much if you ask me. Roddy White is your game-changer Mularkey. Find ways to get him involved.
As far as the defense goes, our corners are starting corners are terrible. Once they get torched by New Orleans, it will be apparrent that they need to be benched, a la Dan Reeves benching the entire secondary in 2003. I like our safeties though. Owens and Tye Hill need to run with the first team defense this week in practice, with Jackson in the slot and Houston and Grimes battling for the dime spot. Message to Van Gorder, STOP BLITZING OUR CORNERBACKS OFF THE CORNER. BRING THE PRESSURE FROM UP THE MIDDLE!!!!!!!
Chef montuer
October 26th, 2009
11:41 am
If they can’t get the running game going they are not making the playoffs let alone win the division. Oh by the way SAINTS 53 Birdies 10.
Jachimo-fi-nah-nay!
vafalconfan
October 26th, 2009
11:43 am
Things will be very interesting if we meet them in the wild card playoffs. Our guys will remember Brooking and his pathetic classless rants..
Brooking, showing GT class
October 26th, 2009
11:44 am
I will be infuriated if the Falcons ever announce intentions of raising Brooking’s name to the GA Dome rafters. I’m glad to see that overrated 2-tackles-a-game buster playing elsewhere; I just wish he had been shipped off before losing the playoff game for us last year.
S.D. Lucke
October 26th, 2009
11:45 am
We fans of the 5 time Super Bowl Champion Dallas Cowboys, want to thank Thomas Dimitroff, Mike Smith and the rest of the overrated Atlanta Falcons for cutting our newest favorite linebacker Keith Brooking. 11 years in Atlanta, and you idiots STILL did’nt know what you had. A hard nosed player, sure tackler, emotional leader and player of great character. The Falcons have been an overhyped, pumped up team, with a qb who in nearly 1.5 seasons was made out to be the next coming of Johnny Unitas. What he and the Falcons fan base found out yesterday is that he’s not special. He’s not the next Unitas. More importantly that this Falcons team IS NOT better then the Cowboys! They got their collective butts kicked in all three phases of the game. Mike Smith defensive genius? I think not. Roddy White and Michael Jenkins top ranked receiving duo in the league? Are you serious? Tony Gonzalez the best TE in football? Was he even on the field yesterday? The Cowboys Offense shredded the “Dirty Turds” yesterday with an undrafted qb (Romo) and an undrafted wr (Miles Austin). Add in a castoff linebacker (Keith Brooking), a guy who was out of football the last 3 years until this season (Junior Siavii) and the most dominating defensive player on the field (Demarcus Ware) and you have the makings of a Super Bowl Contender. Keith Brooking was tremendous yesterday. You whining wimps want to say he showed no class? Look, this is the NFL. Trash talking happens, it’s a part of the game. However, it aint trash talking if you can back it up! You clowns are mad because Broooking and ‘The Boys, backed it up.You’re mad because you were sipping the Falcon Fool-Aid, thinking your team was better than they are. You’re mad because you actually thought that the “Dirty Turds” we’re gonna go into the greatest stadium on the planet and beat the Dallas Cowboys. You’re mad because Keith Brooking showed your team and your linebackers what being an NFL linebacker and a leader is. Face it Falcon fools, you’re not good. You’re qb is not special. You’re defense has more holes in it than a spaghetti strainer, and your offense is just ordinary. Now you can get ready to get your butts whipped by the Saints. You can live with the knowledge that the Cowboys started your 2009 demise. I am loving every moment of your hurt and dismay. Ok I’m done. Let the Falcon bitchfest continue! We now return you back to the ledge, where the Falcons fans prepare to jump off!
**Frederick(Bailey)Douglass**
October 26th, 2009
11:48 am
You missed a couple Team. Here are a couple of things that I’m learning about the Birds:
(1) Smiths whole mantra about playing the best man may be bull. Really?!?!? #23 Houston is the best you got at corner? #20 is the best you got??? These two are BAD. Period. While Grimes at least got his hands on a couple of balls, Houston has not made a play on the ball in weeks. Houston looks completely confused as if he does not know the coverage, or that he is covering a deep third where there is no receiver. He should NOT get another contract from the Birds. Maybe he, and not Jamal Anderson #98, should be shown the door???
2) Our ability to adjust is non existent. Same thing happened in New England. We come out smoking..teams adjust, we have no answer. Period. Well, here is an answer Mularkey and Smith: THROW DEEP BALLS TO YOUR GUYS TO MAKE PLAYS!!! USE SNELLING MORE (HE IS ACTUALLY IN SHAPE)!!! TRY SOMEBODY ELSE AT CORNER!!! This is the league…I simply can’t believe that we can’t find someone to challenge routes. Brent Grimes at corner in the NFL? Please.
3) Like most QBs, Matty Ice does not like to be hit. He took a couple of kead knocks and he started checking down REAL fast. He needs to develop better pocket presence (ala Romo) so that he can sidestep rushers. As it stands, when the pocket is threatened, we are COOKED.
4) Snelling is a player. Period. Use him in Norwood’s role and use Norwood in the role that you had Harry Douglas slated for. Whatever the case…get #44 the ball early and often.
This was embarrassing because we it looked like we were beaten in very specific match-ups. Our blitzing safety (#22) could not beat their running back to get to the QB…or our right tackle could not block their DE…or our corners could not cover their undrafted WRs. Losing #29 was big…but even more telling is how he came to start in the first place (was in camp for 72 hours and became the best CB we have on the team).
Monday night could get ugly…on national TV. Anybody else out there that we could sign off the street and make them a starter at CB? Might be better than anything we have right now.
FBD
gdg73
October 26th, 2009
11:48 am
P.S.,
Is Antonio Cromartie going to be a free agent in 2010? What we need is at least one starting CB with man-to-man coverage abilities and ball skills. At this point, we don’t need any rookies at this position, we need a young proven veteran. We need to spend some $$$$ at the CB position in free agency. You can’t go cheap there, sorry!!! More times than not, you get what you pay for (see Mr. Burnt “Division III” Grimes and Mr. Crisp “No Ball Skills” Houston).
Bullish-on-the-Falcons
October 26th, 2009
11:51 am
Good DBs arent just sitting on the couches waiting to be called. Trade deadline has passed. Any worthwhile free agent – well – wouldn’t be a free agent anymore.
It became abundantly clear that unless we get two players on the D-line into double-digit sacks by the end of the year that we will not live up to the hype that we all believe. Pressure on the QB is the only way to compensate for weak secondary. Next year we need a quality free agent CB to play immediately and a great 1st/2nd round CB/SS/FS/DT in the draft.
Tye Hill? Nothing? Is he learning 1/4th of a play a day? At this pace maybe he has the playbook down by 2012.
The best defense we can have? A good run game. Take time off the clock. Keep the secondary off the field. Turner looks like his parking brake is still on.
That game disgusted me.
#1 Falcon Fan
October 26th, 2009
11:51 am
the run game never got going…Not sure what’s wrong with Turner, but Snelling was running much better than him and he should have touched the ball more. No pass rush on Romo even when we blitzed and still couldn’t get to him…BUT the cowboys were able to sack Ryan 4 times and put pressure on him all day without blitzing! Your pass defense is only as good as your pass rush and we had no pass rush, so you can’t blame the DB’s for being out of position, when the QB has 10 seconds in the pocket to look for his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th option. MAN it’s gonna be a long night come Monday against the Saints..hopefully Brees with throw 3 int like he did yesterday! If we get the run game going and keep the Saints offense on the sideline, we can win this game!
FSJR
October 26th, 2009
11:52 am
Can you say MARTY-BALL? Our coaching staff did not impose will into our players in the New England game nor the Dallas game by saying, “you’re going to convert this 4th down and keep us in this.” Instead, they either have a lack of confidence in the players or guts in their play-calling. That fourth and short in the fourth quarter was the perfect time to tell your team, “take this game back”!
Roswell Falcon
October 26th, 2009
11:53 am
Hey Roswell Saint. Take your bad mouthing comments back to LA where they belong. We don’t need you here. If you need any boxes I’ll be glad to help you pack up.
SOUTH GA BIRD FAN
October 26th, 2009
11:55 am
The defense is going to hurt us all year New orleans will be a slaughter , I am just hoping the birds can recover and shoot for 9-7 it would be great to break the streak, but we can very very easily be at 4-4 or 4-5 when this stretch is over , the offense was a letdown. The offense can improve but i agree with most of the sane posters that turner is done and it may be time to look for other options , so much for norwood staying healty enough to be the feature back , I wonder if we can trade grimes for adrian peterson ( a man can dream can’t he )
GO FALCONS 9-7 ALL THE WAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Falcfan
October 26th, 2009
12:05 pm
Humble fan… I respect your freedom to disagree with me, but if you wish to demean my opinion then please do so with some reasoning. I have looked at stats and watched all the games and have a basis for my opinions. So if you wish to degrade me the support your comments.
Thanks
FalcFan
Jeffro Bodeen
October 26th, 2009
12:06 pm
Michael Jenkins can be knocked over with a feather. Did you see the play where he and RW ran into each other? Comical to say the least. I knew we were in for a bad day when Finnegan was all of a sudden a go to guy. Still not quite there Birds. We will finish 9 – 7.
Chess
October 26th, 2009
12:07 pm
Grimes got roasted at DB.
XsandOs
October 26th, 2009
12:07 pm
Like I have stated many times before….what you saw yesterday were the same problems the Falcons had when we had Vick at the helm..All of the sacks at that time were not all Vicks fault like yesterday with the o-line getting tossed around like ragdolls getting matt ryan sacked several times…our receiving core just simply doesnt always man up and get open like when Roddy White got knocked on his @ss yesterday while dropping the ball..Defensively, our secondary is garbage plain and simple..Drew Brees is gonna have a field day against these clowns…The falcons are a pretty good team but they’re not great and it was proven yesterday when they let an average QB have a pro-bowl time performance against them…Simply..the Falcons have just got to man up or they’ll be facing many Sundays like yesterday…
Larry
October 26th, 2009
12:08 pm
Biggest regular season game in 3-4 years coming up next Monday night.
Pull out a win on Monday night and at 5-2, with the Saints having to come to Atlanta, and an easier 2nd half schedule, we’re in great shape for both the playoffs and division championship. Further, anyone, if asked entering this season, would have taken a 5-2 record in our first 7 games.
However, lose this game and go down three games to this excellent Saints’ team we can forget the division title and will have to scratch and claw to make the playoffs.
One game. One game next Monday night will be the biggest regular season game for Atlanta in years and either the comments will be like most those above mine here or we will be sitting pretty at 5-2.
One game.
IJustDon'tGetIt
October 26th, 2009
12:08 pm
See what all that “we need a new stadium” talk has led to. More putting the cart before the horse. We all know what happens when the team fails to perform or be competitive. JUST TWO SEASONS AGO I COULDN’T GIVE my Falcons tickets away!!! No new stadium talk until the team is established as the real deal, not just a one season wonder or simply over-rated.
Steve C
October 26th, 2009
12:10 pm
Good point about the bye weeks…Cowboys had an extra week to rest, prepare, and get healthy. At least the Saints aren’t coming off a bye this week.
PappyHappy
October 26th, 2009
12:16 pm
Think that Coach Smith and the team learned something in Dallas — we will see on Sunday!
S.D. Lucke
October 26th, 2009
12:18 pm
BTW: If Romo (who has won 66% of his starts lifetime) is an average qb with 311 yards passing, 2 td passes, going 21 of 29 against the dirty turds with a qb rating of 141.6, then Matt Ryan should be in the Hall of Fame by the end of the season! You Falcon fans are a joke! You ridicule the qb of the Cowboys, when your own qb demonstrated exactly what he is…average! He’s not great, hell he’s not even good, he’s average. For you bird brains who thiink you’ll see us in the wild card round, think again. THE FALCONS WONT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS!! Your whole team is marshmallow soft! From your head coach all the way to your boy balls, YOUR SOFT! You azz-hats got a beatdown yesterday. You ge punched right in the faceon Sunday, and on Monday your hiding behind everything from the sun was too bright in our eyes, to it’s all Michael Turner’s fault, to The Cowboys had an extra week to prepare and that’s the only reason they won. Face it Falcon fans, your team is average. Your stadium is average. Your ownership is average. Your coach is average. Your qb is average at best. Your wideouts are below average. Your defense is WELL BELOW avearge. Your offensive line is average. For the first time in a very longtime, you clowns have had to step up and play a real schedule. Your playing the big boy teams in the AFC & NFC East. Arguably, the NFL’S best two divisions. You got bushwhacked by the Patriots. Butt smacked and humiliated by the Cowboys! You still have New Orleans (twice), Philly, The Giants and The Jets left on your schedule. 9-7 wont get you in the playoffs kids. There is a reason the Falcons have never in the entire history have had back to back winning seasons. Because as I have stated many times prior THEY ARE JUST AVERAGE! But, on the bright side Falcon fans, you’ll have great seats to watch the payoffs from your living rooms and you wont have to pay Direct T.V. to watch them as they are on your local Fox, CBS or NBC station for free! We now return you back to the ledge, where Falcons fans are poised to jump off!
DJ Sniper
October 26th, 2009
12:19 pm
First off, I wanna say that I like the way this particular blog is run. I checked out some of the other blogs by Schultz and company, and they let far too many trolls in there. Everybody knows that there’s one person posting under several different names. Notice how that person only shows up after we lose; never when we win. Kudos to DOL for filtering out the BS.
Now, onto the game: WTF is up with Michael Turner? He’s starting to look like TJ Duckett out there. Too much tip-toeing and dancing around the LOS instead of hitting the hole and dragging 2-3 people along for the ride. Jason Snelling has been looking very good over the last couple of weeks. I do hope he gets to play more, because he has definitely shown up.
I agree about the status of our secondary, especially the corners. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why Chris Houston and Brent Grimes continue to start. Does Christopher Owens looks that bad in practice? Is Tye Hill having that much trouble learning the plays? Something’s gotta give, and it’s gotta give soon.
Lastly, it amazes me how people around here want to jump off the bandwagon after a loss. Being concerned about flaws on this team is fine, but some of you need to stop acting like we’re in the same boat as Cleveland, Oakland, or St. Louis. I do believe this team will rebound and finish strong this season.
Oh, I noticed that Matt Ryan was looking plenty pissed after he threw that second INT. Perhaps that will serve as some personal motivation for next week’s showdown.
An Observation
October 26th, 2009
12:25 pm
Many of the folks posting on this blog just don’t have a clue. Nobody in their right mind expected the Falcons to win every game this year. The team is only 4-2 along with a lot of other good NFL teams this year. People….this is the NFL and if you’ve ever heard of parity then you understand what is happening.
The lost yesterday STILL DOES NOT MEAN THAT THEY WILL HAVING AN OVERALL LOSING SEASON. STAY ON THE BANDWAGON AT LEAST UNTIL HALF OF THE SEASON IS COMPLETED. They play 16 games this year!!!!!
Falcon Fan
October 26th, 2009
12:32 pm
Keith Brooking did pretty much in this game what he did for 11 years in Atlanta – running around, flapping his arms, missing tackles, or piling on a done play and taking credit for it. Classless act.
matt
October 26th, 2009
12:35 pm
Must be something in the water in this state. The ability for Defenses to make average offenses look like all-stars is incredible. Romo can now be added to the list of average QBs looking like all-americans and HOF.
nojames
October 26th, 2009
12:37 pm
I loved reading the Miami Herald blogs last week, leading up to the game on Sunday. All the stats why the Dolphins were better, all the reasons the Saints were overrated, all the strategies that would ensure them victory… today, it’s all finger pointing and scape goating. The reality is, they lost to a better team, and I’m not going out on a limb by saying the Falcons will too. We’ve had our share (more than) of bad, miscoached teams in the past, but this team is different and I don’t see them losing, except possibly to the Pats.
Ahhhhh, finally it’s good to be us.
Cory
October 26th, 2009
12:39 pm
Well, this Cowboys game exposed a lot of problems the Falcon’s have. Poor corners, Turner a bust for the 2nd year of his contract, scared coaching (why no no-huddle? why not go for 4th & 2…the defense didn’t stop them all 2nd half). I’m starting to wonder if Mike Smith are just the 2nd coming of Jim Mora Jr. (1st year great…downhill from there.) I hope he’s not but man, it’s getting frustrating watching a team that you know can do better just get handled in all phases of the game.
Oh, and we’ll see if Dimitroff the Great can actually get some talent that can help the team next year because this year’s draft class has pretty much been a downer.
Cory
October 26th, 2009
12:43 pm
clarification: Falcon’s defense didn’t stop Cowboys all 2nd half. Didn’t matter because the Cowboys got 7 on a punt return. And we think they are going to beat an improved and undefeated Saints team??…in NO??? As Ochocinco says, “Child Please!”
Larry
October 26th, 2009
12:44 pm
Same problems as UGA, can’t establish a running game, defense looks lost and confused. Must be something in the kool-aid!!
I MUS WRITE
October 26th, 2009
12:44 pm
Control the line of scrimmage and you control the game. We just got man handled up front. Our offense is good but overrated not what many experts thought it would be. This game was really simillar to the Playoff game in Arizona. It seems like if the opposing team gets any kind of pressure on Ryan the offense unravels.
Michael Turner….He looks really slow hitting the holes and finding lanes. We have got to do a better job rushing the ball,with that said i like what i see from Snelling. He runs hard and rarely gets tackled for a loss. I dont know if there’s a Rb controversy but Snelling just looks better.
Does anybody notice that every time Grimes is matched up one on one his leggs get tangled up with the air and he stumbles or falls. Myles Austin is a player,My fears came true….10 yard out route slings Grimes off and picks up huge yardage. DAM
Im looking at the Saints recieving core and I see a possible 400 yard passing game on the horizon…. Mike Smith will hopefully have these guys geeked up for the monday night game- you cant call yourself a good team and get lambasted 2 wks in a row………..Letz Go Birds
Cory
October 26th, 2009
12:44 pm
Fair enough, JP. My points are valid, nonetheless.
cutter
October 26th, 2009
12:45 pm
Hey I thought it was time for Brooking to go and I still think so. I’m not mad at Brooking for his antics during and after the game. The Falcons should have been able to put a better product on the field to shut him up. Brooking loyaties lie with Dallas now and he showed that in the interview after the game. With this loss I see the Falcons going 9-7 missing the playoffs but getting the back to back winning seasons monkey off their back. I found it interesting that Dallas had a 3 and 15 and the TE caught a pass over Peterson to get the first down…sound familiar??
IceFan
October 26th, 2009
12:45 pm
Wow that was tough to watch. I truly think the bye week helped them, but we still played like crap and the bye is not why we lost.
Matty Ice has not learned to play under rush pressure. He hasn’t really had to, so hopefully he and the O-line will learn from this beatdown and improve.
Why can’t Turner hit the hole faster? Why does he refuse to break to the outside? Why does he look so slow?
Why didn’t we go to the no-huddle? Why did we look so great on the first drive and so lost after that?
We aren’t going to pull a stud CB out of a hat. I get that we tried a scheme to take the pressure off the secondary, but it doesn’t work against a good team. We have to really look at ways to get more pressure on the qb so the secondary doesn’t have so many chances to get burned.
I still think we can go 10-6 and make the playoffs but it’s going to take some breaks. Hopefully this is the worst performance of the year. I don’t have a lot of faith in beating the Saints Monday, but you never know in the NFL. Our A-game and their C-game and we beat them.
cutter
October 26th, 2009
12:48 pm
If you think the Cowboys embarassed the Falcons wait untill Brent grimes and Chris Houston line up against the receiving core for the Saints. Leave the women and children at home cuz it’s gonna get uuuuugly.
now tha't funny
October 26th, 2009
12:51 pm
That was a very frustrating game. We had 4-5 possesions with a touchdown lead and could not pad it. It appears as if our receivers get absolutly no separtion from the DB’s. Am I the only one that sees that? We got beat upfront on both sides of the ball. But…we absolutly had chances to make big plays and could not get it done.
Brees will throw for 400 and 4 td’s. I hate it, but that’s reality.
DePlane
October 26th, 2009
12:52 pm
Not time to panic. But the coaches should be considering some major changes. I agree, let Snelling run it…he deserves the opportunity to see what he can do with a decent number of carries. Then let Turner come in when he’s fresh. It looks to me like he’s lost his ability to keep his legs churning with any authority.
The secondary is in shambles. Chevis Jackson looked horrible, again. Chris H. is AWFUL! Grimes is like a little gnat…with his athleticism and speed he shouldn’t worry about bumping the receiver…just get in position and play the ball, and make the play! Austin tore us up…and then we had to watch that obnoxious grin of his.
This game exposed all of our weakness’, including the O-line and what happens when there is more than one pass rushing threat. Ryan made poor decisions on his two picks….throwing into double coverage when he had a man open down the sideline.
After such a great defensive gameplan against the Bears, it looked like we didn’t have one. We appeared confused a good part of the game. Our D-line got treated like a bunch of rag-dolls by the Cowboys O-line.
This game should be an eye-opener. We are not ready for prime-time yet. Still a much more fun team to watch, but with success comes expectations. Let’s re-adjust ours and continue with the “process”, and hope for a winning season.
I MUS WRITE
October 26th, 2009
12:53 pm
Come on guy’s what did yall expect Brookings to do? His contribution was minimal but his team won the game. He was thrown away by the new regime of course he’s gonna talk shyt. Im sure he was reading the blogs after last years playoff loss….. His name was Mr.3rd and 16 just say’n,
Chris Houston’s neck still doesnt turn,i think its soddered on straight. Props to JA98 and the Bierrman -even tho they didnt get any sacks I like the way they keep showing up in the backfield.
Where the hell is Abraham, His picture should be on a milk carton.
What do you expect...miracles?
October 26th, 2009
12:55 pm
The falcons team is still a team on the rise. They have been trying to build a team through the draft. Come on people, we are way ahead of where we should be!! Who would have expected all of these wins so soon with so many changes that took place last year and to our defense this year.
I think having MV7 on the books prevented us from going after any high-profile veteran help last year, but I think this off-season that will change since his cap hit should be completely gone. As far as the rookies, look what sitting DeCoud for a year did for him in the secondary. I think the same thing is being done with Owens and Tye Hill. We already know Grimes is not the answer. He is a nickel at best and against slot WRs that are his size. Let new/young guys soak everything up this year and we will see what they have at training camp next year. I think with a couple of key veteran pick ups and a young maturing team a year older, we should be better off next year. I mean come on, who REALLY expected to go to the Superbowl this year. I just wanted a winning record and a playoff birth based on the schedule that we have this year. Our time is coming!! A fast start has gotten people all amped up when we need another year or two to really know where this team stands. A few more crafty moves on draft day (a big corner and a speedy DURABLE RB are on my wish list) and/or spending a little money for a quality free-agent or two and we can continue to build a great team for years to come.
As far as O-line, I think everyone should know that Dahl and Clabo are temporary guys. They suffice as starters until they can be replaced. Do not get me wrong, I LOVE having them out there, but lets face the fact that they are not athletic enough to perform consistently well against premiere competition, such as the Cowboys front. They are brutal if they can get their hands on you, but if guys are quick like yesterday, none of that matters.
What do you expect…miracles? Am I wrong DOL?
I MUS WRITE
October 26th, 2009
12:58 pm
Come on guy’s what did yall expect Brookings to do,The man was thrown away like a used tampon. Im sure he read the blogs around here after the playoff loss Mr.3rd and 16…I woulda been talking shyt too jus say’n
Props to Bierrman and JA98 even tho they didnt get any sacks they were getting good pressure yesterday. Where the hell is Abraham, I think itz milk carton time
Bigdrew
October 26th, 2009
12:59 pm
If you told me two years ago that the Falcons would go 11-5 in ‘08 and start ‘09 4-2 losing to the Pats and the Cowboys, I would have been happy. Yes some changes need to be made and lessons learned. Felt bad yesterday but looking fwd to the building that will continue. You couldn’t push me off this bandwagon.
Mr. Phil
October 26th, 2009
1:04 pm
This team will continue to fail as long as Brent Grimes keep suiting up. There is no excuse to have that guy on the team. Nice guy…sure. Feisty, hard-worker….I’ll give you those. But the fact is he is not now and NEVER WILL BE equipped to be an NFL DB PERIOD. Get him out of here or I promise…I guarantee the Falcons WILL NOT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS!
I MUS WRITE
October 26th, 2009
1:04 pm
If I were Brooking I woulda been talking shyt too, we did throw the man away like a used tampon. Im sure he read the Blogs after that playoff loss. Mr. 3rd and 16, pile diver etc…..
Abraham is officially on the carton of milk,did he even play yesterday? JA98 and Bierrman continue to get a good pass rush props to those guys.
Chris Houstons neck is soddered on straight can sumone please remove the screws
I MUS WRITE
October 26th, 2009
1:05 pm
Sorry for the triple post yall, my post kept disappearing. Bow Tie whats up!
Dee Man
October 26th, 2009
1:07 pm
The falcons need to go out and sign a couple of Veteran Corners! Chris McCallister and Mike Mckenzie are out there, hell even Ty Law……….the corners we have 1,2,3, and whoever else will not cut it in this league. Chris Houston is always out of position, Brent Grimes has heart but is just too small, Jackson is too slow, what’s up with Ty Hill?? Why isn’t he playing?? We gotta see what he can do……… Our game plan seems to change every week, not consistent at all……..Abraham is not doing anything…..and Michael Turner, I don’t see this kid playing hard at all………he hits the hole and stops even when he has a crack…..I’m sure they see what we are seeing…….I don’t jump on and off bandwagons….I am a true Falcon Fan………but if they don’t do something fast that 4-2 record will be below .500, I promise you………
North Atlanta Viewer
October 26th, 2009
1:09 pm
This is a joke, all of you whiners, fair weather fans. Be happy the Falcons are where they are. A QB who has promise, an owner trying hard to build a winning team. Unless luck just happens to come by, it takes years to build a winning franchise. I believe the effort is being made.
IF the Falcons beat New Orleans, all of you will be talking about the playoffs. Most of you are just ignorant.
It's good to see that
October 26th, 2009
1:10 pm
Pole Smokers like SD Lucke can write in complete sentences. Did you say our ownership is a joke?? And you are a DALLAS fan??? BWAAAHAHAHAHA, ok dude, it’s lunch time so go eat your tube steak and post some more of your fruity opinions on here…
When was the last time Dallas won a playoff game? Thought so… SHUT UP
I MUS WRITE
October 26th, 2009
1:10 pm
Mr.Phil ditto on Brent Grimes
Screg
October 26th, 2009
1:11 pm
We arent scoring the points we should with all the playmakers on that offense. White, Gonzo, Jenkins, Booker, Turner, Norwood, and Finn. We should be averaging a little over 30.
jerry
October 26th, 2009
1:15 pm
Rebuilding needed everywhere. There is not a Pro Bowler on it.
shannyeight
October 26th, 2009
1:18 pm
lol@ S.D. and his comment “makings of a Super Bowl contender”…when Romo doesnt fudge it up like he has the past few playoffs, and when the Cowgirls actually beat the Giants, then you can make that claim.
Other than that, hey, that’s a football season…you give some beatings and you take some. At least the Falcons did lose to a dallas team who was playing their best football…as well as lost to a pretty crafty Patriots team…in other words, we beat who we were supposed to beat, and are not getting our spinchters ripped by loser type teams. just gotta get over this week and look to giving a beating the next week.
Mark
October 26th, 2009
1:18 pm
Brooking’s antics were not over the top and he deserved the opportunity. The fans in this city blamed him for every bad step the last several years – despite the fact he was playing inside to help the team. He is an outside linebacker and showed yesterday that he is still a good one. It’s tough when a guy that is bashed by the fans week after week for 5-6 years gets the chance to show them up – he got that chance and he did it. I don’t blame him a bit.
The Falcons could have shut him up if they had been prepared to play. Turner needs to spell Snelling, rather than the other way around. If we don’t have a better corner than Grimes, we need to be careful with that back-to-back winning season streak. And our offensive line is so worried about being nasty, that they have forgotten all about technique and finishing the block. You can’t be nasty when you man is lying on top of Ryan every play.
I think an 8-8 season is a very real possibility – this team is not very good.
Carlun
October 26th, 2009
1:19 pm
Our secondary is the worse ever….Houston and Grimes are both bums! O line did not have a good game as well…………
Mark
October 26th, 2009
1:22 pm
BTW – if you saw the Cincinnati/Chicago highlights, we saw how GREAT that win over the Bears was last Sunday night. The Falcons have not beaten a really good team yet and the schedule just gets harder. That winning season thing is not a guarantee at this point. Not even likely.
Divination
October 26th, 2009
1:22 pm
S.D. Lucke: The Dallas Cowboys and the NFC East aren’t exactly being heralded by anybody as being the best in the NFL, neither is the AFC East. Cowboys have been far from impressive, and the Giants have now been exposed as being very average when they go against teams with winning records. The Cowboys still need to visit the Saints in the Superdome, let’s see how they fair down here on Poydras Street in a month and half, when each game takes on real, tangible, playoff relevance.
nhe
October 26th, 2009
1:22 pm
Screg is right………the biggest problem I see is that we seem to be afraid to get into a shoot out………we’re a little too worried about controlling the clock and keeping our D off the field……..lets just call our defense what it is – good in the red zone, and awful everywhere else.
Lets stop worrying about time of possession. Lets move up and down the field in the no huddle on offense and keep being aggressive on D and not worry about giving up the big play.
I said before the Dallas game that “IF” we win, its going to have to be 41-38 – our offense has to make plays, go no huddle and be aggressive.
The coaches have said the word for the year is “urgency” – I think we’re starting to have it on defense (not afraid to blitz, willingness to play man-to-man)……..now we need it on offense (A LOT more no huddle, go deep to stretch the field, work more toward edges and get play makers in space)
Let the Saints have their 40 points next week and lets concentrate a lot harder on scoring 45 – that’s how we have to win………its just the way our team is built right now.
was there in 66
October 26th, 2009
1:24 pm
Wow. I’m an almost life-long Falcons fan, but I’m still surprised by some of these comments. The Falcons are still a good, young team with years of success ahead of them. To lose yesterday was not an embarassment, and shouldn’t really have been a big surprise, either. We’ll win a few that we shouldn’t before the season ends, and probably lose some we should win as well. But we’re making progress.
Calling Brooking “classless” is extreme, too. Not long ago, people here – probably some of the same ones – were talking about his class. Did he lose all that because he changed the color of his jersey?
gdg73
October 26th, 2009
1:26 pm
Why are fans labeled as “jumping off the bandwagon” just because they point out glaring deficiencies in this team? I call it being passionate and not going for the same lame excuses all the time, like “this team is young” or “you can’t fix everything in 1 now 2 drafts”. Or like this one “I don’t think anyone felt we were going to the Super Bowl this”. You blind apologists disguised as “un-wavoring fans” crack me up, really you do. The Falcons have just as good a chance to make it to the Super Bowl this year as any other team in the NFC. Why even come on here with that loser mentality. After last year, I expect for this team to compete for the SB ever year. I don’t want to hear that “we are a couple of years away” crap. Look at Arizona last year. Those guys came out of the blue and were a play or two from winning the whole thing. You got to strike while the iron is hot and seize the moment. And there is no time like the present. The Jerry and Williams injuries were devastating. But injuries are part of the game. I think the coaching staff needs to seriously think about benching Grimes and Houston. I believe this would send a message to the whole team.
gdg73
October 26th, 2009
1:27 pm
Was there in 66, please read the my post that follows yours.
falcoholic
October 26th, 2009
1:28 pm
The lack of a running game is weighing down the Falcons. It wears out and demoralizes the opposing defense, keeps the ball away from the their offense, controls the rhythm of the game, and puts points on the board. Michael Turner, one of my favorite players from last year, is missing in action this year. What happened to the quick burst into the line and squirting out the other side for big yardage? It’s the same offensive line. By the end of last year’s season, teams knew they had to stop him but mostly couldn’t. Snelling moved the ball yesterday — Turner did not. The Falcons better put out an APB on whoever stole Turner’s mojo — it’s missing and he needs it back!
Native Georgian
October 26th, 2009
1:29 pm
QUESTIONS FOR SMITTY, MULARKY, AND VAN GORDER:
1) WHAT HAPPENED TO THE HB SCREEN? Norwood’s not the only back capable of running it.
2) WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WILDCAT/WILD BIRD? Oh, must be a Norwood-only set too.
3) WHAT HAPPENED TO TURNER? I can’t entirely blame the line when Snelling & Veron come in on the same line and look effective. Turner seems to be motivated near the goal line but otherwise is tip-toeing.
4) WHAT HAPPENED TO JENKINS? No way in the world Gonzo, Roddy, & the run game can be stuffed and they have Jenkins covered too. For the 2nd straight game Jenks has disappeared. HE IS OUR X-FACTOR. When he is catching everything thrown his way and converting 3rd downs it creates more opportunities. #12 ABSOLUTELY HAS TO SHOW UP FOR OUR OFFENSE TO BE HIGH-POWERED.
5) WHY IS WEEMS IN THE GAME ON OFFENSE? With so many other weapons I feel like something is grossly out of order when we call our #6 WR’s number. Guess Finneran, Booker, Jenkins, Gonzalez, Roddy, and Snelling were all busy.
6) WHAT HAPPENED TO ABE? If Jamal Anderson is causing unexpected havoc up the middle and getting (dare I say it) double-teamed, why isn’t Abe there to cause trouble? Answer: he’s living on the ground too much (albeit when he isn’t being held). If #98 steps up, I need Abe and Beerman to cause some havoc!
7) LASTLY, WHAT HAPPENED TO EFFECTIVE BLITZING? 3 straight games where our guys blitz into a wall and the QB doesn’t even go down! Yesterday we had several times where a scared Romo threw short under pressure. Then we’d turn around and go back to 3-man rushes giving him all day to pick us apart. VAN GORDER, GET IN THE GAME.
Stay with what works and stop outcoaching ourselves! And most of all, KEEP RUNNING THE DANG BALL!!!!!
gdg73
October 26th, 2009
1:39 pm
Let me ask this question. Did the defense play the run with the same amount of fervor with Snelling in the game as Turner? Was that extra man down in the box when Snelling lined up in the back field or were they more honest and had to respect the pass a little more? I think that teams are just game planning to shut down Turner and dedicating the extra man to do so. Now when Norwood and Snelling are in the game, defenses go more conventional because 1) they are not the same running threat as Turner (last year) and 2) they are more prone to catch a swing pass out of the backfield, i.e., receiving threats. If you don’t believe me, take a look at Turner’s numbers towards the end of last year when people figured out the way to beat Atlanta was to stop Turner. They are daring Ryan to beat them.
dlmod
October 26th, 2009
1:40 pm
Next time start with the 2 TE set if we play Cowboys again. We don’t match up with thier front. We were in too many 3 and longs and 3 and outs. Falcons D… I don’t know. No disguise of our blitzes and far too few blitzes. Secondary can’t cover forever. Poor Coaching this week. I thought we could hang with them, but they have more playmakers. I was a fan of Brooking… No More. What a classless post game remark. He chose the low road. Glad the Cowboys had their superbowl now they can go back to mediocre.
falconfann
October 26th, 2009
1:42 pm
why hasn’t anyone responded to the cowgirlfan s.d. lucke. Sure they whipped us yesterday,but at least we’ve one a couple playoff games the past few years. The cowgirls haven’t won a playoff game in dang near 12yrs. So, you can’t talk to much s.d.cowgirl!!!!
dbot
October 26th, 2009
1:47 pm
I agree with most of the analysis here – especially on the DBs and Turner’s lack of productivity – but I think coach Mike Smith also needs to be called to task. His “gut” decisionmaking in some crucial situations is off the mark way too often. Last night, his refusal to go for it on 4th and short cost us the game. Matt Ryan wanted to go for it for the same reasons I did: our defense couldn’t stop them at all in the second half, and we couldn’t afford to give them the ball back when we needed two scores in nine minutes. Coach Smith punted the ball, and they returned it for a touchdown. Bad decisionmaking. You have to be willing to take chances to win the game, and you have to believe that your team can pick up three yards when it counts.
J money
October 26th, 2009
1:49 pm
I no a way we can get back at brooking let someone wear his number
Ozzy
October 26th, 2009
1:51 pm
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