5 things we learned from the Saints game
This is not the goal post that Jason Elam missed twice. That one was at the other end of the Superdome. (D. ORLANDO LEDBETTER/AJC)
LUCYS RETIRED SURFER’S BAR – Lucy’s is the best bar in America.
Lucy's, a safe haven for retired surfers and sports writers.
Only the Slippery Noodle in Indianapolis is on par.
After the game –- because newspaper folks don’t charter out with the team like some of our TV/sponsor friends –- that’s where I retreated.
I did see Jeremy Shockey drop his Cadillac at the hotel and ask how much valet was for the night ($50). He hopped into the back seat of a cop car and rode off to his little celebration. I’m thinking the cop was his body guard for the night.
But here are the five things I came up with at Lucy’s with the benefit of watching the ESPN replays while B52s and Rock Lobster were blaring in the background.
1. Vilma’s tip: If Jonathan Vilma doesn’t tip that pass, the Falcons win. Tony Gonzalez was open and set to gather in the go ahead touchdown pass. The Falcons would have gone ahead 31-28 with 8:30 to play. But the tipped ball ended up in the hands of Tracy Porter for an interception.
Will Smith (not that Will Smith) spent too much time in the Falcons backfield. (CHUCK COOK/THE TIMES-PICAYUNE)
2. Vilma’s pass interference wasn’t call: The Falcons would not have been down 28-14 at halftime if the officials would have called pass interference on Vilma for hitting Roddy White, way more than 5 yards down the field. Vilma’s hit was blatant. The one the called later on Mike Peterson was a “touch” foul. With White off track for his route, Jabari Greer stepped in and intercepted the pass and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown.
3. Who’s the left cornerback?: Tye Hill started at left cornerback, but gave way to Brent Grimes after suffering a really bad case of cramps. Hill was solid, but gave up a touchdown pass to Marques Colston. Grimes came in and had that awesome interception. Do we have a cornerback controversy? It is the position that was manned by DeAngelo Hall, who’ll be visiting the Georgia Dome with the Washington Redskins this week.
4. DB Jamaal “Cover Corner” Anderson: Why exactly was Jamaal Anderson is pass coverage – oh about 20 yards down field with my hotel mate Shockey? Who drew up that scheme?
5. Wire is a ball hawk: Coy Wire came up with two fumble recoveries, including the onsides kick. He also ripped the ball away from Pierre Thomas to help keep the Falcons’ hope alive.
Just a couple of other things: Lenny Kravitz was in the house. Are we going to see Matt Ryan in the pre-game hype huddle getting the team fired up like Drew Brees does with the Saints? If the QB is out there getting pumped like that, what’s the backup defensive tackle going to do?
Pierre Thomas flips into the endzone on the Falcons. (MATT BUSH/HATTIESBURG AMERICAN)
(Made my 6 a.m. flight along with Mark Bradley, radio personality Elle Duncan and retired left tackle Todd Weiner).
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184 comments Add your comment
Mitch (the one in Rome)
November 3rd, 2009
8:03 pm
I’ve got to say that I love the way these guys played. I hate to loose, but I hate to loose because there was no effort or passion. Dude, we got beat, but we handed out some notice that these Saints will not go unchallenged. A few breaks go our way, and we win.
The fact is that I’m proud of these guys like never before. The last time I felt this good about a Falcon team was 1980. We have talent, coaching and management. We can still do a ton of damage this year and for many years to come.
I agree with some on this blog that Brent Grimes earned my respect last night. He is small, but he has the heart of a lion. I’ll take him all week and once on Sunday compared to D Hall and the like. He plays big for a small guy. Frankly, I like him. If we get a pass rush, he is fine. All corners get exposed when they have to cover for 4-6 seconds.
We will spank the Skins this week. Go Birds!!!
Chip D
November 3rd, 2009
8:03 pm
I guess since this is a Falcon site, no one wants to mention the blatant interference call on White’s 3rd quarter TD. Then there was the helmet to helmet hit on Brees on his fumble.
SWAT Native
November 3rd, 2009
8:44 pm
Here’s one thing I learned: I finally got to see what happens when Brees gets hit in the mouth. It did my heart good to see Brees cough the ball up and have to stand on the sidelines with his pride hurt, and to hear the Saints fans have to shut up for a minute.
DERRICK WALKER
November 3rd, 2009
8:52 pm
Season will end as followed 8-8. No back to back winning seasons. Once again the Falcons have shot them selves in the foot. Long time veterans will be terminated @ the end of the season. Everyone knows fresh meat is producing in the NFL right now. Sorry ABE.
D-Bird
November 3rd, 2009
8:56 pm
If anyone is listen in Flowery Branch please start Hill on Sunday. Houston we do not have lift off. Every pass play thrown his way this season has landed into the wideout hands. Hey TD (GM) Pacman can still play. I pretty sure this late in the season he will be very cheap.
jerry
November 3rd, 2009
8:58 pm
cmon people you can rant and rave make excuses talk about shoulda woulda coulda all day long ,but its a loss regardless. get over it the best team won!!!!!!!!!
RealBirdFan
November 3rd, 2009
9:04 pm
Saints fans are the worst!!!!!! The Saints are garbage every dog get his day!!!!! They won!!!! Be happy, we’ll see yall in the A!!!!!!
RealBirdFan
November 3rd, 2009
9:06 pm
O, and Who Dat is the Wackest thing I ever heard, “Who Dat?” U WACK!!!!! LMBFAO!!!!!
Verret
November 3rd, 2009
9:23 pm
Stop crying about small things.Take the lost and move on, Pass interference on Vilma? What about the push in the back by White? Didn’t see that one right? Fight for the wild card because the Division Title Banner is being made as I type for the Saints.
MATTY ICE---CREAM!!!
November 3rd, 2009
9:31 pm
HE’S MELTING BEFORE OUR EYES FALCONS FANS.
start licking quickly before this thing gets truly messy!
I SAY BRING BACK CHRIS MILLER,,,,,,,KID HAD GAME!!!
hiramsaint
November 3rd, 2009
9:31 pm
real bird fan——-does that mean you’re an eagles or seahawks fan?
Falcon 8211
November 3rd, 2009
9:44 pm
I’m glad we fought the whole game and didn’t quit. Saints were the better team @ their house now let’s let them come to atlanta. they will lose to new england in a few. let the saints fan enjoy for now because our time is coming . hey we played them better than anyone else this year. Falcons have nothing to be ashamed of. NOW FOCUS ON THE SKINS DON’T HAVE A LET DOWN. Coach Smith glad to see you get that defense fired up after the saints scored that first td because of missed arm tackles. coach’em up!!!!!!!!
Falcon 8211
November 3rd, 2009
9:47 pm
oh yea DECOUD THAT IS THE WAY TO BUST BREES IN THE MOUTH. bet he will not forget that one for a while
Falcon 8211
November 3rd, 2009
9:48 pm
ESPN u sure blowed alot of smoke up brees butt
VICK IS GONE!!!
November 3rd, 2009
9:51 pm
HEY CHARLIE!!! MV7 is gone and living the rest of his life. It amazes me that you can keep all those stats and still have a life of your own. All I know is that we had a hell of a waiting list for tickets when he was here. By the way! Matty ice is slowly melting……
Is BART WARMING UP YET? BRING BACK THE OLD NUMBER 10! LOVE THAT GUY!
jesse james
November 3rd, 2009
9:56 pm
That “FRENCH QUARTER GUY ” needs to go make some gumbo and shut up!DON’T WORRY ABOUT OUR SCHEDULE WORRY ABOUT FINISHING YOURS! WE WILL SEE YOUR “AINTS” AGAIN MY FRIEND!
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November 3rd, 2009
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Ron
November 3rd, 2009
10:12 pm
Saints fans. I was on your message boards last year when we beat you guys in Atl. I was there to pat you guys on the back for a well played game, no smak. You had the same reaction as we are having. We HATE to see our team lose as badly as you hate the Saints to lose. It’s the same whinning we would be hearing from you guys. So on that note….congratulations! Enjoy it while you can. You have to come to our house……
Grim Reaper
November 3rd, 2009
10:20 pm
The Anti-Vick
November 3rd, 2009
7:51 pm
MATT RYAN. THE PRESENT. THE FUTURE. DEAL WITH IT.
Mr. FUTURE – I’ve been waiting for you
Arthur Blank
November 3rd, 2009
10:38 pm
In my 3,000.00 suits at football games, I’m trying to be a playa pimp for the hunnies, but the hunnies don’t like a tired ole fool who can’t win freakin playoff games.
I let my ATM machine walk out the door. For what? So I could
Spend 72-million on a weak armed choking punk
Spend 50-million on a back to make him look good
Spend a fortune on an aging hall of famer plus a 2nd rounder
Lose a freakin fortune on a marketing campaign to support this fool
Wasted a freakin ton of draft picks
Hired a Belichick wanna be coach
Hired a Big Tuna jock sniffing GM
Turned my back on the paying fans
What do I have to show for it? Not a damn thing! I have spent over 250-million trying to make this loser look like Peyton Manning and he is looking more Ryan “Freaking” Leaf.
Now comes December 6th, I have to look in my dome and see all those MV7 Red, Black and Eagle MV7 Jerseys laughing at my dumb butt, while the freakin Eagles put up a 50 spot on my Kmart defense.
I am putting an end to this freakin nightmare, no matter what these losers say – I want my sell outs back. I want my playoffs back. MV7 please come back!
Remember the good ole days when I pushed your wheel chair around. I wish I could push this loser chump NOODLE ARM off a cliff!
Michael please come back. I promise to put real talent around you this time.
COME BACK TO ME!
cjnola
November 3rd, 2009
11:20 pm
Uhhhhhh…………you forgot to mention the obvious push off by Roddy White when he scored the lond TD pass……….so I guess that evens out with the Vilma interference that you saw.7 games into the season and already a 3 game lead in the division wow how nice.. GEAUX SAINTS!!!!!!!
Reid Adair
November 3rd, 2009
11:36 pm
I agree 100 percent with your list – especially the first two. It made me SICK every time I watched the highlights on SportsCenter this morning to see Vilma’s hit on Roddy White. Why on Earth that wasn’t called, we’ll never know.
tom shoupe
November 3rd, 2009
11:38 pm
first how is it that the Saints offensive line basically mugged our guys trying to get to Brees? One holding penalty. They held, tackeled, and hit from behind with no flags. How is it on the last hurrah pass from Ryan toward the end zone, we only had one player among the majority of New Orleans secondary. I only saw one white shirt???????
Brent S.
November 4th, 2009
12:53 am
To hell with Tye Hill trying to compete with Brent grimes..at least Grimes TRYS to make plays on the ball. The competition SHOULD be between Ty Hill and Chris Houston!!!!!!!! How many more games will the Falcons watch Houston get continuously burned or called for some stupid ass penalty he shouldn’t be making. Chris Houston is NOT going to get any better the already ISN’T!!!!! He is a draft bust, yet another by Rich McKay!!! PLEASE, for the love of pete, either TRADE Chris Houston after this year, or cut him period. We NEED a SOLID, taller and MORE physical shut down CB than we have in Houston
Scottbravesfan
November 4th, 2009
1:04 am
Was it my imagination or did the refs give all the calls to the Saints? In the 4th quarter when Roddy White almost made the catch to put us ahead he was clearly interfered on and no call. And he was interfered with again earlier in the game. And the Mike Peterson call on Reggie Bush was a joke. I don’t know who’s worse the NFL or SEC refs.
General Sherman here
November 4th, 2009
1:49 am
Ryan is a good QB…but R. White & A. Jenkins are SO inconsistent…White must have paid that ref for the “TD” call that was reversed…juggling is NOT a TD…and then to shove Greer away on that bomb…must have been the same ref….the refs were about consistent as the Falcon WR’s…looks like Turner got a paycheck on Sunday…and what a great kicker y’all got…NOT….Elam’s washed up….and so are y’alls hopes for an upset…be back next week after y’all are scalped by the ‘Skins…chow…
Samuel
November 4th, 2009
7:42 am
Bottom line is wev’e become a victim of our success. The falcons went 11 – 5 with a rookie quaterback. Being that said , Mike Mularky should have reign Matty Ice in. Some of those passes we threw in the red zone, should have been running plays to Turner. He was the hot player with a 150 yards. I know the Saints got pressure on Ryan. But did you see any screen plays to off set the Saints pass rush. I know Tony Gonzales made plays in that game, But you know the Saints were going to double team him at some point. We have alot of weapons on our team, But you have to use other guys like Finneran and Aaron Stecker to make plays down the stretch. The falcons offensive coordinater does a good job calling the plays. But sometimes I think- he out thinks himself in the second half of these games. I don’t know about you guys, But I don’t want Matty Ice throwing the ball fifty times in any game…….
loel
November 4th, 2009
8:04 am
falcons will finish 7-2 and go 11-5 for the year. They will be the favorite in the 7 games they win.
FDB
November 4th, 2009
8:38 am
Can you give an update on Curtis Lofton’s knee, please? Curtis is a warrior, but I hope he is smart about that injury and and wish him a speedy but also full recovery.
Anthony
November 4th, 2009
8:55 am
Stop Whining about the non call on the interception by Jabari Greer. The push off by Roddy White was far more obvious. Let’s not mention all of the holding calls and chop blocks that the Falcons have become so well known for. The bottom line is that the better team won. Michael Turner is a BEAST and Matt Ryan hung in no matter how tough things got. They put themselves in position to win the game but came up short. THE END
E43
November 4th, 2009
9:37 am
Matt Ryan is 24. nuff said. hes not a beast yet but hes playing better than most of the beasts in the Nfl during their sophomore years and most didnt even play. matt shouldnt even be blamed for all these picks, he gives us a chance and by the way arm strength increases with time.. i want to blame the rb’s but it wouldnt be fare coz their hurt. they needed to step up and mike turner did however the saint are undefeated 4 a reason. our perfomance monday was not disappointing. drew brees didnt put up 400+yards like another game i remember. im sure we couldve beat all the other teams weve played if we used the same principles we did against the saints.
birdog
November 4th, 2009
10:06 am
For many years I traveled from Chattanooga to ATL and have been & remain a long suffering (not fair weather) Falcons fan, as also Saints fans have been for many years. I owned season tickets, there were numerous games where defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory, the long miserable drive back home…. finally my wife asked me why I wasted my time AND my money… So, having watched many of those years when neither team had anything to cheer about, its great to see the rivalry step it up to primetime.
FalconMan
November 4th, 2009
11:06 am
I agree with Alloy505 regarding Michael Jenkins! He signed that contract extension and has GONE SOFT!! Why! He will fast become a liability if he continues to play like this, if he isn’t a liability already. And why can’t we use him and his ‘6 ‘4” size like the Saints use Colston?? That Jenkins dropped ball was HUGE and I also believe it cost us that game.
Zizzle
November 5th, 2009
8:46 am
Was really impressed with the great job the secondary did Hill, Grimes, Jackson and Houston. At no time we’re Saints WR’s open. Colston and Shockey made big plays but I thought the coverage was solid!
Great job Falcons! The refs called a very poor game that cost Atlanta Big Time!
I’m disappointed by the uneducated idiot fans ripping on Matt Ryan. After he wins a Super Bowl for the Falcons, I want those idiots to chime in then! (Knuckleheads like that seem to get lost!)
GO FALCONS!!!