Falcons: Ryan may have some limitations

I hate to do this, but first?

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…Now i know how that feels. Tough loss yesterday, and as you point out, it exposes a lot of questions going forward. The Falcons needed a split of these two road games, so hopefully they can get a win in New Jersey.

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FALCONS LOSE NEXT WEEK TO GIANTS.COLLEGE BOY DOESN’T HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN.ARTHUR BLANK YOU GOT BURNED AGAIN.MATTY ICE IS LAUGHING ALL THE TO THE BANK.

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GEORGIADAWGG43 , so the kids struggling a bit after his second year. He’s got a bit of the int bug. So what? He’s still the face of this franchise and will turn it around.

BTW, talk about getting burned and laughing one’s way to the bank. How much are the Lions paying Stafford to not only sling picks around the field, but not even compete?

How about you think before you spew bs like that on these boards.

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Enter your comments here Have any body seen Mike Vick?

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It was Ryan’s 10th interception over the last five games. He threw 11 in all of 2008.
He has now thrown at least one interception in each of the last six games. He’s thrown an interception in seven of the nine games this season. These are the facts. That’s extra possesions for the opposing team. The commentators mentioned that Ryan has some sort of “tell” which is letting defenses know when he will be passing.
Regardless what play is called it’s the QB’s responsibility to make the play or check it off.

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Ryan is a second year player but he still seems to choke in the clutch. The INT near the end of the game yesterday killed the Falcons. I was listening on the radio so I didn’t see it but I’ve seen Ryan sail them to the left. This means Ryan is a right side of the field QB which means most NFL teams should figure out they can put their weak D-backs on the left side of the field.

That means more game-killing INT’s.

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I have seen this before when a Quarterback looses his confidence he starts overthinking and he starts throwing interceptions, and it is hard to break that cycle. Joey Harrington was a good example of that, Joey got beat up so bad in Detroit he never recovered. Matt has the talent he just needs some success to get his confidence back, he is thinking about what he doesn’t want to do instead of what he needs to do.
Like in golf if you think I want to hit it down the left side with a little draw, or you think Don’t hit it in the lake, if you try not to hit it in the lake that is where it will go most of the time. Matt is thinking don’t throw the interception, and he should be thinking of where he wants to place the ball. Last year he was such a rookie that he wasn’t scared he didn’t know any better. I believe he is smart and talented and he will be fine, face the facts we overachieved last year and we had a lot of good breaks last year this year it is evening out. I believe we will finish the season strong and I think we beat New Orleans at home for a big win watch it happen.

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Matt Ryan may be the face of the franchise, but Michael Turner is the heart of the franchise. This is Mike’s team. Think about it: dude took 9 carries and posted 111 yards. If he wouldn have stayed healthy for the entire game, this game wouldn’t have even been close. The Falcons would have won this game big-time.

That was disappointing. But here’s what we have: We have a shortage of talent at the DB spot. Tye Hill must step up and I think he will.

John Abraham has been shut out, but Babineaux has been picking up the slack. We need consistency on our D-Line.

On offense, we were really hurting not having Norwood in there. That change of pace takes some pressure off Michael Turner. Now that Mike’s hurt, I simply do not know what’s going to happen.

Our QB is average. He’s just OK. In crunch time, he melts. He lacks the mental toughness of hanging in there and making good, accurate throws when it counts. Ryan has the skills, and he has the football intelligence, but he’s skiddish. That knock has been on him since Boston College, and that’s why his INT record in college is so bad. That will be his struggle. He has to get better.

My question is this: When is Norwood coming back? If we can get Norwood back, we can run with him and #44 in the backfield. (Just can’t remember his name, but he’s a bruiser-back. I like him.) With those two back there, we can do the “Thunder-and-Lightening” thing, and that can take pressure off Matt Ryan. Therefore, we can win.

Bottom line is this: Wherever the Falcons running game goes, so goes the entire offense. And right now, our offense is sitting on the sideline, taped up and watching helplessly.

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Matt Ryan is my quarterback. Sure he is struggling, but I am confident in his long term future in this league. He’s smart enough and a hard enough worker to correct his flaws. (Hint: Stop always looking for Gonzalez first). My main concern is the porous Defense. The secondary is just horrible and watching Tye Hill is just painful.

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Matt Ryan has the classic Atlanta syndrome best expressed by the Jeff Francouer situation: some regional/ethnic types want a hero so badly that the local “media” in hopes of garnering favor deifies the person out of proportion to their talent. Put simply: he was annointed the ant-Vick but the role became to small and was cast as the Leader.
We know how the Francoeur situation played out; what we don’t know is how Arthur Blank gets oout of another PR disaster?

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You are 100% correct. When Ryan was throwing all those interceptions at B.C., the draft gurus dismissed it as the lack of talent at the WR corps. I think Mularkey and Co. have tried to put too much on his plate too soon. Maybe Ryan is not as smart as everyone thinks he is. All we hear about is how hard he works. Maybe he needs to start working “smarter”. The Giants game is HUGE now. This is make or break for him. Also, I don’t buy that garbage about the long-snapper. Elam has been shanking kicks for two years now. The Flacons should have signed Brandon Couto from Georgia last year and solved the kicking position for the next 12 years. I think he is kicking for Seattle now. Can’t blame this one on the defense.

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If nothing else, please Falcons break that damned no back to back winning seasons curse this year. That’s all I’m asking for right now.

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I agree with your 3rd point. Abraham has been ineffective…Jamal Anderson, what is it exactly that you do? Tye Hill UGGGHHH…NO. He’d be better off playing flag football. Leave Grimes in at CB. We just got to get better at defense…no pass rush = plenty of time to throw. Snelling was some good news…that guy just want to play.

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The loses don’t take away from us being a good team, these are things that happen to any team, the response it the factor, how they man up and bounce back, but I truly feel that at full strength we would be a lot better, what if we had Douglass streaching the feld ALL year, and we never lost Jerry in the middle, I think those two units alone would be playing great, the only problem I see that worries is staying with the play calling that is working at the time.

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Stop blaming the defense…..the falcons hasn’t had a decent defense since they went to the superbowl.

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I am a Falcon fan and have been since they first arrived many moons ago.Altho I was dissappointed yesterday I still have faith.I think Matt Ryan will get better.I do think “Ron” has a good point about Harrington .Its kinda like a puppy that gets beaten and for the rest of his life he cowers.I dont think Matt has been beaten enough yet to taint the rest of his carear but It could come at any time.The way the team played yesterday we will have a hard time getting past break even this year.Forget about playoffs.We do not deserve to go.The main reason I am writing is to garner support on getting those dork head announcers off of the television.I gotta tell you that one guy deserves to have his smarmy butt wipped.Did Mike smith beat his butt or something?

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Jerious Norwood needs to get his little girl butt back on the field. I think the problems the Falcons are having right now, even affecting the offense, is we can’t get to the QB. I am starting to question the toughness of the players on this team. No one from the 2009 draft is playing right now…they are all holding hands on the sidelines right now. It would be nice to maybe take into account in next years draft to get some guys that want to play football and not draft a bunch of tampons.

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Our top receivers are getting bracketed. The Patriots showed everyone how effective that is. Ryan hasn’t developed the touch to drop a pass in, and the receivers aren’t creating enough lateral separation. Some people say Matt’s the next Peyton Manning (I don’t know about that) but it took Peyton Manning a few years to become Peyton Manning. Patience my friends.

Our cornerback play is less than acceptable, and something I hope we address in the offseason. We were so-so until the injury bug bit. I like Grimes effort, but he’s too small. Houston is improving, but we have no depth.

Thomas DeCoud has been a great surprise. Who knew he was going to step his game up to this level so quickly?

Everyone who expected a Superbowl in the second year was overreaching. We’re at least a couple more seasons from greatness. Two more drafts and free agents to fill holes, and we may be there. I have confidence in this management team and coaching staff. I’ve been waiting since 1966. Patience isn’t an issue.

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I’m with Todd-Dacula. I don’t dislike Matt Ryan at QB and I think he will settle down and improve over time, but MV7 had more all around weapons to worry the beJesus out of defenses and mess them up. Mike would still be here if Arthur Blank had not hung him out to dry fix his salary cap issues and the NFL Suits had not sold him down the river to appease PETA. God don’t like ugly …

Falcons Offense and Coaches, repeat after me – we must convert on 3rd and 1, we must convert on 4th and 1 …

Stop whining about offensive injuries – if I’m not mistaken, every man on the team is an NFL player and is receiving NFL pay, so man up and play NFL ball regardless of your spot on the roster !!

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No one said anything when Ryan and Elam came through to steal one from Chicago last year. This game is NFL Karma evening things out We’ll be fine in the long run with Ryan.

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This may sound like a drastic measure, but why not insert Chris Redman as the starter? He played well at the end of 2007 and seems to be a good decision maker who does not get easily rattled. This could serve another purpose in that it may light a fire under Matt Ryan.

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Amazing how you guys ripped every other franchise QB we had for poor play, 2nd year or not. But Ryan seems to get the “it’s his 2nd year” pass. Wow. There’s a thick line between realism backed by hard facts & delusion backed by personal preference/bias. Ryan is a mere shadow of the “smart/accurate” QB the masses labelled him to be. Don’t get it twisted, I’m a diehard Falcons fan…always have & always will be…and I hope Ryan pulls out of this slump. Guess I’m simply yearning for an objective take on our problem at the QB position (among others). Then again, have these blogs ever really been filled with objectivity regarding our QB’s…no matter who they’ve been?

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Oh and the challenge by Coach was stupid at best.

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wmatlanta: Are you serious? We’ve been collectively singing Ryan’s praises before AND after the Chicago game last year. Please don’t make him out to be the kid getting dumped on & never praised. That couldn’t be further from the truth. No matter how he played last year, or even earlier this year, that doesn’t change the fact that he’s turned the ball over at an alarming these past 4 games or so. That doesn’t change the fact that he’s making horrible decisions NOW.

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humble(1): Ugh. Can anybody defend Ryan’s poor play without tagging his critics as “Vick supporters.” That seems to be a bit of a wildcard. Let the record show, I’m not a “Vick supporter,” I’m a Falcons supporter & I’m excited by exciting play from our QB position…no matter who’s behind center. And we wonder where the divide comes? Folks like you continue to pair any Ryan critique with Vick support. You’re the one bringing up Vick. Is it fair to say anyone pro-Ryan is anti-Vick? Of course not. The two should have nothing to do with each other in terms of pure football talk. But then again, that’s too much like right.

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RE: Ryan *MAY* Have Some Limitations

MAY have?

MAY ????

Saying Ryan *M A Y* have some limitations is like saying you *M A Y* get your shirt sleeve wet if you stick your arm is a bucket of water.

Way to go on picking out a “FRANCHISE” QB, Mr. GM !

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Did anyone else find the 3rd down QB sneak right before the missed FG a very odd call? Ryan has just got 5 years on the previous play and to have him run twice in a row seemed very strange to me.

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A few thoughts … we need a reliable kicker. Maybe Elam needs to hang it up … did we ever look into picking up Edge James? would be nice to have another power back … one big problem with Ryan is that he can’t scramble. He is a bull running up the middle say on 3rd and short but he can’t run or make yardage on a busted play … we need a nasty agressive Dline for 60 minutes … I like our chances vs. the Giants they are fading and we have played well up there in the past. GO BIRDS!

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Good job Mr. Orlander.

The blame is not on just one person its a TEAM and we have many problems at present. Hopefully the GM and Coach Smith will work it out.

KingTu, Vicks in Philly riding the bench………..maybe he will return to his football skills self.

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I think we might want to take a look at the stats from first season as starter to second year of some of the people Ryan is being measured against:

Peyton Manning Year 1 – 326-575, 3739 Yds., 26 TD, 28 INT, 71.2 Rating
Peyton Manning Year 2 – 331-533, 4135 Yds., 26 TD, 15 INT, 90.7 Rating

Tom Brady Year 1 – 264-413, 2843 Yds., 18 TD, 12 INT, 86.5 Rating
Tom Brady Year 2 – 373-601, 3764 Yds., 28 TD, 14 INT, 85.7 Rating

Drew Brees Year 1 – 320-526, 3284 Yds., 17 TD, 16 INT, 76.9 Rating
Drew Brees Year 2 – 205-356, 2108 Yds., 11 TD, 15 INT, 67.5 Rating (Lost job after 11 games)

Brett Favre Year 1 – 302-471, 3227 Yds., 18 TD, 13 INT, 85.3 Rating
Brett Favre Year 2 – 318-522, 3303 Yds., 19 TD, 24 INT, 72.2 Rating

Matt Ryan Year 1 – 265-434, 3440 Yds., 16 TD, 11 INT, 87.7 Rating
Matt Ryan Year 2 – 316-530, 3570 Yds., 25 TD, 21 INT, 78.8 Rating (ESPN Projection)

I’d say Ryan’s numbers so far are more equivalent to those of Brees and Favre’s early years, not Brady or Manning. Though it is interesting to point out that of all the players on this list, only Manning’s QB rating improved from year 1 to 2. The man is a freak of nature.

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The Falcons should have won that game and even though there were somemistakes on the field, there were some off the field too. How is it that with 2 minutes 39 seconds left; you are on the Panthers 40 yard line; the Panther’s rush has been hasseling Ryan all day; our running game working very well even with out Turner, you have Ryan throw the ball deep? And to the left side where he has more trouble completing passes. And he had been throwing high all day.

We could have easily picked up 15 yards, run the clock down and kicked a field goal and waled away a winner.

I know that they are paying Ryan the big bucks but the guys on the headsets aren’t being paid to shabbly either. Ryan does what he is told to do from the guys that wear the headsets. Before you serve up Matt Ryan question a coordinator first.

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The Falcons seem to pick up players in the draft and also free agents, who are prone to injury (Baker, Jerry). Plus we have a lot of guys who get hurt and who stay hurt for a long time (Norwood). I *know* football is a violent game and all that. But is there something wrong with our conditioning? Or is this just rotten luck? Seriously.

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Humble(1),whats the difference of someone being a vick fan and you being a ryan fan? they like who they like just like you do.vick is not a disease,he is a human being and had/have fans just like every other football player.

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The difference is Ryan plays for the Falcons.

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A two tight end set is not exactly the best option for a dynamic passing attack. Too often we only have two receivers out on a passing play. We rarely spread the field. That hardly pressures the defense especially a pass defense like the Panthers who have one of the top rated pass defenses. Our passing game seems to be very conservative compared to last years and much easier to defend. The commentator mentioned numerous during the game about how he was amazed at how tight the coverage was on every pass play even with our running game getting big chunks of yardage. I thought adding Tony would open up our passing attack but it seems to only have made it more conservative and predictable.

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Tmoney,you can compare numbers until the sky turns gold.truth is,ryan will never be a manning,brady,favre,or brees.hell he will never be a mcnabb.

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Typical Atlanta media report. Matt has a bad day and the falcons lose and what do we get. All the negative things about Matt Ryan come out. Everything he throws left is high..two int to the left that were over throws. Where was all the reporting prior to this game. Yes last year things were kept simple, rookie QB, weak schedule. The guy has played just over 20 games and you expect him to be a Manning. Like I said this morning on JS blog, Mr. Blank should not try to build a new stadium, he should move the Falcons to a city where the media and fans appreciate this team.

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T.C, how in the hell do you know what he will be. I was here when Farve was with the Falcons and you could not keep him out of the bars and sober long enough to find out what he was going to be. You freaking people are clueless.

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I think we should go back the way it was two years ago.

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Navigator, has it been two years. I did not know this season had ended.

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Nobody wanted 9-7. Everybody wanted a Super Bowl appearance. Last year we won a couple games that we should have lost. 9-7 would have been good. This year we lost one we should have won. But since we have not made any progress since the beginning of the 2008 season…lets throw the entire team under the bus and start over….

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Having spent 9 hours in the car round trip in one day to see the game in Charlotte, I’ve got to vent. I put this loss completely in the hands of Ryan. Two momentum killing interceptions and he should have had a third on the goal line if Gonzalez hadn’t knocked the ball out of the defender’s hands. We had a great running game yesterday both with Turner and Snelling. Ryan had time to throw. It was a perfect weather. Even the crowd noise in Charlotte wasn’t that bad with the open air stadium. So what the hell is going on? Second year or not, yesterday all Ryan had to do was protect the ball and let our running game do the rest. We need to take a page from the Carolina playbook and turn Ryan into a caretaker like they’ve done with Delhomme… at least until he proves he can handle the added responsibility.

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will norwood start next week against the giants or will the guy who played yesterday? apparantly norwood missed the game yesterday because of his kid being born, not the hip injury.

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hey…these are the falcons. what do you expect? they’re losers! always have been, always will be!

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I hate to be so negative, but folks, I have been hearing this all my life. I have followed the Falcons for 40 years since I was a little kid. There is always some problem keeping them from being a top team. It’s always either a bad O-line, or crappy defensive backs, or an idiot for a coach, or the Smith family not knowing what to do with a football franchise (thankfully we don’t have that problem anymore), or any number of other difficulties. It just piles up over the years until you wonder if this team will ever be one of the good ones. Is it the curse of Norm Van Brocklin?

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The Great White Dope …

pisses in his pants and perhaps shts the season away. It’s as reliable as the Mayan calendar – everytime yoos guys go overboard with the great white hype, your self-annoited savior implodes. Reminds me of Gerry Cooney.

Question now is not how good he will be but how bad? Is he Ryan Leaf bad or Joey Harrington bad?

Or is he more Matt Schaub? Remember him, the pocket passer the Falcoons needed to get to the next level. Who happens to have laid every color egg in the Easter basket in Houston.

1. Matty Slice is good, not great. He has a pop-gun arm and happy feet.
2. He cannot throw the deep ball w/o winding up like Kyle Farnsworth.
3. His “intelligence” will not overcome his lack of physical gifts.
4. He’s a PR doll – but that won’t win games.
5. Eli is similarly situated but had a better overall team, especially the O-line.

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MR, you just agreed with me that the problem here is the QB. So what’s your point?

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Man, this blog is unleashed and off the hook.

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bunch of fair weather fans. you’d think this was a UGA blog

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that my friend was a sarcastic comment…answer the idiots on this blog who are downgrading Ryan….

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EAAAASSY, most of these blogger are dawg fans. At least those that are negative.

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Matt Ryan has shown two crucial limitations this year — his accuracy drops off significantly on passes that have to travel over 20 yards in the air down the field, and he is incapable of making plays under pressure when plays break down. However, he is also fortunate to have a solid coaching staff, a creative offensive coordinator, a powerful running game, a solid offensive line, a Hall of Fame tight end, and a lot of freedom to operate and change plays within the offense. With a system like that in place, odds are that he will improve and be as successful as he was last year. I do think this is more than just a sophomore slump and the NFL has found a way to expose his flaws, but Falcons fans who are screaming doom and gloom need to chill. Matt Ryan is still a pretty good player, and more importantly he is in a terrific situation for a young quarterback.

All that said, however, I think it is time for Falcons fans to admit that, like I and many other people said at the time, picking Ryan #3 overall and paying him franchise player money was a mistake. Joe Flacco was picked 17 picks later, and at a fraction of the cost is outperforming Ryan in every way, shape, and form. I am not going to pretend that I predicted Flacco’s success, but I did advocate trading down, picking up extra draft picks, and bolstering the offensive and defensive lines. In hindsight, there is a good chance the Falcons could have traded down, drafted All-Pro left tackle Ryan Clady, traded back up into the mid-teens to pick Flacco, and not only ended up with a better QB and OT but also possibly had an extra draft pick left over thanks to the trade down.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Ryan is a bust — like I said, he is still a good player in a good situation — but I am saying his current play and his potential don’t justify his draft position and his contract.

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Let’s go over the next steps for Mr. Blank and his Falcons (Sarcastic comment)
1. Fire the GM
2. Fire the HC
3. Bench the QB
4. Move the team.
5. All of the above.
Certainly we should be better than we are after 1.5 years of this inept management. Bring back Marion Campbell.

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I hear Micheal Vick may be available after the season!

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6-10…….at best.

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Andrew

November 16th, 2009
11:24 am
At least Ryan shows up early and stays late to try and correct his problems. Vick was always the last one to show up on gameday and to practice, and the first one out the door. I could care less about the whole dog-fighting thing, I was praying that the trade rumors surrounding him BEFORE he got caught were true. Ryan will be fine–he’s only 24, he certainly has the talent, and unlike Vick he has the desire and determination (not to mention the guts to stay in the pocket).

Okay if this is so true about Ryan, then he definitely should be more poised and confident to win than last year. But Ryan doesn’t have the natural talent like Vick so no he won’t be fine until he gets better if he ever will. He’s the man, the new franchise QB, getting paid, so we expect for him to win like everyone did with Vick. Yeah there are other issues on team, but offense(including field goals) is mostly causing these losses which should have been wins.

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Possibly the Panthers are playing better football now than they were early in the year?
Since starting 0-3; they have finished 4-2 in the past 6 with one of the losses being to Buffalo (inwhich they almost tripled the Bills on total yardage) & the other to New Orleans.

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I am a little worried about Ryan, but not that much, though his down field accuracy is alarming. Could be me but the offense is simple and extremely boring lately. The defense is about what I expected. Elam has cost us two games this year and that is unexceptable. Really if we were 7-2 instead of 5-4 which we should be, this discussion wouldn’t be happening.That being said I think the Falcons are a 10-6 team. Only loses left Giants and the Eagles. The Saints aren’t stomping people in the ground and if Mularky was more creative in the red zone the force to Gonzalez that led to the INT wouldn’t have doomed us in the last meeting. Our bye came to soon and were getting everyone else after their byes. We will be okay, need to be more creative and Snelling is a beast. But we better get a kicker in here,

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i dont think Atlanta writers believe in spreading around stories and titles. example, curtis lofton was in the top 10 of tacklers in the nfl. not just middle linebackers but all the linebackers as well as safeties corners and linemen. no one ever mentioned his name while he cracked the top ten but as of right now right here today, he leads the NFL with 90 tackles but has gone under the radar matt ryan has been the title whether or not he played well. meanwhile michael jenkins doesnt have a touchdown pass. You can make excuses for gonzales but we did have crumpler and he had many of his touchdown passes with vick. journalism is what splits the ATL coz you have the true believers and the ones that are mad to believe.

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I think too much has been said based on emotion instead of fact. When you look at the facts it seems to me to point the finger where it really needs to go. The facts are we led in every important category except one, points scored. They are as follows:
AtL Car
First downs 22 19
Total Net Yards 400 380
Rushes-yards 29-176 34-185
Passing 224 195
Comp-Att-Int 22-41-2 15-24
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties Yards 4-26 5-48
Time of Possession 31:51 28:09

What that tells me is that we ran up and down the field but did not score. Our defense could not stop the Panthers run game. There was little to no pressure put on Jake Delhomme (neither team got a sack for different reasons.), and our play calling was awful. What is it with that little hitch pass where the receiver take two steps forward then steps back and catches a pass. The play took too long to develop, by the time the ball got there so was the defender and out of the 5 times I remember they ran that play it only got a few yards once.

Our coaching staff has got to come up with more strategic play calling. These guys are pros and they should be able to handle it if practiced properly. Also, we have got to get pressure on the quarterback. We see over and over again that when the quarterbacks don’t get pressured they can pick up a part. Someone said we need shut down corners in order to run those kinds of blitzes. I don’t think it can get in worse out there than it is now. Without the pressure the quarterbacks are standing back there and picking us a part. At least let’s give him something to worry about. When more people come, in different schemes than there are blockers, you have a chance to get to the quarterback.

Finally, I don’t know what is happening to Elam but someone needs to dedicate a lot of times to find out whether it is the snapper, holder or something in his stride that has gone sour. It is killing us. However, it would really be nice to come up with great plays where we didn’t need him.

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Wow, I can’t believe all the junk I’m reading here.

1. This was going to be a very tough season because of the schedule and the state of development of Ryan and the defense. No surprise, it’s been tough and will continue to be so.

2. When was is a crime to lose a tough road game to a divisional foe? Splits are commonplace.

3. With all the injuries and youth on defense the Falcons are lucky to be doing as well as they are.

4. On the first TD pass Hill got beat on a blatant push-off that wasn’t called. Later, he compounded the problems with the officiating with some very soft play and mercifully was pulled. He shows flashes of talent but he’s a pretty raw commodity right now.

5. The Falcons desperately need a back that can reliably catch and convert outlet passes.

6. We’re getting awfully thin at RB.

7. The left tackle got schooled a couple of times. Again, injuries are taking a toll.

8. Matt Ryan has not played as well as he needs to of late. That said, the team battled back and was in a position to win the game when he was picked off. See #1 above; this is on-the-job training in a combat zone. If Turner is in the game maybe they run the ball. Maybe they should have anyway. Maybe Ryan should have checked down. Fortunately, Ryan is a good student. Better days are ahead.

9. Winning in New York with the Giants coming off a bye week and Turner banged up is going to be VERY difficult. The offense will have to eat clock and score points or the game will be much like this past one.

10. See #1 above. 9-7 with this team and this schedule would be a VERY successful year, playoffs or no. Not meaning to throw in the towel on this season, realistically this team needs to bury the monkey, get healthy, sign a cornerback, draft with a bit more luck (injury-wise), and make a serious run through the playoffs next year.

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The Falcons are a loser franchise, in a loser city, with a clueless owner. Blank-look was a lot funnier when he was harassing sexitarys at Home Depot. Merry xmas, “fans,” you’ll be spending it watching other teams get ready for the playoffs. Now, go ahead and start bragging: “WE’RE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL NEXT YEAR!!”

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Vick Supporter showed up, time to end the Blog….

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D. Orlandlo Ledbetter, you may have some limitations. Two unnamed coaches say Matt Ryan’s not perfect, what quarterback is. How about giving the names of those coaches. Probably Schwartz and Rex Ryan.

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I don’t know why everybody else can’t see what I do Matts Mechnic have changed looks to me like he has started to short arm his throws he his releaseing his balls to high. somebody get Murlarkey to work with hin on that! Last year he was almost pinpoint sharpe Please Pleaee somebody tell Smith

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Seriously, you should stop with the Vick crap.. he was a very talented quarterback and he did give the Falcons many productive years and did give the team national attention (for good and then bad reasons). Point is he is gone, permanently, and will never return, whether you like it (and you don’t) so get over it, it has been over two years.. seriously let it go for God’s sake you people are pathetic.
Deal with what is.
Not with what happened.

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Without Turner this team will struggle to finish 8-8.

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FALCONS SORRY – either you were kidding and playing in to a stereo-type or you are really that stupid. SUPPER BOWL? EVERBODY? AIR RADE? Really. I stopped reading the blog once I read your post.

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Bingo! FalconFan. He can’t make Every Throw as publicized… a rollout…a scramble…scared to stay in the pocket to take a hit. Matt Ryan should have been fighting instead of his coach..Start Redman! You almost got me Blank! I’ll get a Michael Turner or Tony Gonzalez jersey!

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The funny thing is, Vick will sign with another team this offseason and that team will progress and improve while the Falcons will regress,lol.

I told you people I was right about Ryan

I’ve always said that Ryan will be a good QB, but not great. I would take Vick over Ryan anyday.

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Why is it our job to look it up? Aren’t journalists supposed to check their own facts?

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What do you guys expect? last year was unreal. Remember how bad 2007 was? This is a growing team and this is a process. Anyone thinking they were going to the Superbowl this year is nuts.
And all of you Vick supporters… If he is so good, why isn’t he even the #2 QB in Philly?
We NEVER had back to back winning seasons, even with your hero. At least we play hard and stay competitive even in loses. The team does not get embarrassed like they did in the past.

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fire elam, bench ryan and start redman.

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My money is still on the Falcons extending their streak of non-consecutive winning seasons. I just don’t really see more than 3 wins remaining this season, not with the way these guys are playing. They seem to perform much better when everyone (rightfully) expects them to stink. Since somebody told them they were supposed to be good, they continue to poop their pants in meaningful games. So far, they haven’t really beaten anyone who is a legitimate playoff contender.

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Ain’t but seven lock down safeties in the NFL so every team practically in the league has the same weakness. Turner going out was huge, dude had 100 yards and the first half wasn’t even over. Matty Ice will be alright. One miss field gold and all that would have been forgotten. Carolina was reading our offense too easy yesterday too. Something was tipping off pass and run. Whatever it was the defense was unloading on Ryan like they were in the offensive huddle and could hear the plays. Turner would run all over them but they still would be in tight coverage when we passed. Strange.

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Man, I can tell by ready all the blogs that noone here has ever played a down in the NFL, maybe never watches other teams as well. Because if they did they would no that no other quarterback is perfect.
Especially since every team the falcons have played the last 4 weeks has had a bye week before playing us, just a hint, but those teams have had an extra week to prepare for Matt Ryan. This league is hard enough even without that.
The guy is only in his second year, does anyone remember what Brett (greenbay) was doing in his second year? That’s right, sitting on the bench.
Matt Ryan is going to be ok and so are the Atlanta Falcons, remember they are a very young team, one of the youngest in the NFL.

Have faith!!!!

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I’ve never been one to really believe in sports curses; the fact that some franchises tend to experience long periods of inconsistency or futility (examples: Cubs, Browns, Falcons, Clippers, etc.) is a matter of simple math. Outside of the obvious money and front-office competence issues that can plague a given franchise for generations, unfortunately some teams are just unlucky enough to be the ones who never really catch a break. Remember the 49ers before Joe Montana? The Patriots before Tom Brady? The Braves before 1991? All of them were franchises that had struggled for years or decades, but eventually and inevitably (it HAS to happen sometime, for everyone) they came around and became model franchises for their respective leagues.

So the Falcons haven’t had back-to-back winning seasons in their history; big deal. The fact is they’ve had more overall success (including playoff success as far as games won) over the past 40 years than some other teams that have been in the NFL for at least as long, including the Browns, the Lions, or this year’s division nemesis, the Saints. The team isn’t “cursed”; it’s just suffered a brutal and agonizing, prolonged period of inconsistency, and while that may indeed continue through this year if the Falcons fail to capture a winning record or sneak into the playoffs, I do believe they finally have the ownership and front office personnel needed to turn things around.

We all got pumped up over how the Falcons did last year, myself included. But just maybe that crazy, unexpected run to the playoffs raised our expectations too high and spoiled us somewhat. Just think; going into the beginning of last year, most of us expected no more than a five-win season and would have been tickled at the thought of making 8-8 after the chaos of 2007. Now a lot of folks are saying the sky is falling and the Birds are cursed after several key players have gone down to injuries and we’ve dropped some games we expected to win. Please remember that Thomas Dimitroff only has so many draft picks and so much money to invest on quality, impact free agents in a single year; realistically we weren’t quite ready for the next level yet, even had all these injuries not happened.

I think Dimitroff has been and will be continuing to look hard at and examine the Falcons’ needs (which are still many) and doing his level best to address them as soon and effectively as possible. I know it’s hard to remain patient after 40 long years, but hopefully we’re nearing the end of that difficult era and will rise to take our own place as one of the top NFL cities within the next two or three seasons.

And on the subject of Matt Ryan, I don’t know if he is, long-term, the quarterback who will lead the Falcons to a Superbowl title. Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t; he has to sort those mental issues out for himself and do what it takes to adjust and bring his game up a few notches for that to happen, and don’t think for a second he doesn’t know or care about that. For those of you who simply can’t seem to dog the man just because his name isn’t Michael Vick, GET OVER IT. All the would’ves, could’ves, and should’ves, all the debate (however slanted) about Vick’s exit from the team are completely irrelevant and meaningless now. Michael Vick is no longer the quarterback for this team and never, EVER will be again; if you want to continue to cheer for him or discuss his name on a forum please move to Philadelphia, Buffalo, or wherever he ends up playing, or at least simply post on the boards of THEIR newspapers. Matt Ryan is our quarterback, like it or not, at least for now, so kind of like they say with regard to the President when he appears to address Congress, even if you don’t respect the man at least respect his position. Would you want to be in that pocket and be responsible for all those split-second choices, right or wrong? Could you do better? If not, then please drop the subject of quarterback comparisons or “should have dones” and let these boards regain a semblance of intelligence and decency.

That said, GO FALCONS!!!!!

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This Matt Ryan thing is absurd.

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ER I didnt say to get rid of the GM Dimtroff. I just said he whiffed on this draft because HE DID!!! How many of those players have contributed this year. How many? I thought so. Moving on.
D Led what do you mean Ryan MAY have limitations. Ryan DOES have limitations and we’re seeing it more and more each week. His arm is weak and so is his fortitude.

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Everyone seems to be so quick to jump Matty, just ask yourself this question and give me an answer.

How many times were the falcon receivers open, lets say compared to the Panthers and how many times did Jake D. have to throw into tight coverage.

Come-on lets be realistic, the only receiver that we have this year is Tony G. and he contiues to get the job done week after week.

Go Falcons and Go Southern Rush.

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Would all of the Vick supporters and Falcon haters go to the back of the line and shut up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Ryan will be OK. He will grow each year. Bigest trouble I see is the playing calling. Offence & defense. We have no corners so we have played best and help them more when we are blitizing & on the offensive side, how many yards have we made on pass plays with Ryan rolling to the right. Not many I think, and very few on the quick outs to White and Jenkins. Rolling left seems to have interception problems so why not stay in the pocket.
I don’t like the way Jenkins plays most of the time. Maybe he’ll be #2 next year when Douglas comes back.
As a whole I’m still seeing some good things here while we are in the building stages but we have to stop giving games away. Elam needs to go whether it was his fault Sun. or not. Can we get Andersen back this year or has he passed away?

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same old story, corner backs lack talent,matt not confident in the pocket, matt please stop throwing to covered receivers.

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Hey Carolina was a 12 win team last year and interdivisional games are always tough. Matt Ryan did tend to have the ball sail on him yesterday. Now the REAL peoblem is the injury to Michael Turner, it seemed to make our offense one-dimensional and we had no balance. We should sign Edgerrin James as a stop-gap until Turner gets well and Norwood better get healthy soon.

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SirReal you summed it up nicely.

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I would be interested to see what kind of shape Edgerrin James is in. He is a proven reciever out of the backfield, and he is one of the top 8 rushers in the history of the NFL (yards wise). I think that would be a good stop gap and then Turner wouldn’t feel like he had to rush back. I was disappointed by the loss yesterday..this was a game we needed! Man, if Turner didn’t get injured, it may have been a 200 yard day!

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Choke, you’re talking about Brady Quinn? Or out your a$$?

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jerry

November 16th, 2009
7:30 pm
Choke, you’re talking about Brady Quinn? Or out your a$$?

“No I’m talking about the NFL QB IMPERSONATOR” that has thrown 10 picks in the last 5 games. You know – the CHOKE.

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Matt “Choke” Ryan,
HAHAHAHAHAHA that was funny

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Matty Ice my ass, more like PATTY MELT,.

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Has anyone seen john abe in the games this year. i sure have not. we can only lose 2 more games total to have a shot at the playoffs. sorry coach smith the players did not step up and have your back like you had theirs. if the falcons have any toughness in them they better step it up this week. I’m calling out the players. are you here just for the money or do you really want to win a superbowl. yes we have injuries but that’s football. now get off your butts and let’s try to beat the giants

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The fact everyone needs to get over Vick is not the issue here, which it is true, but people here and media around keep saying Ryan is whole lot better than Vick and should be franchise QB which is keeping this damn debate going. Everyone keep making Ryan something he’s not. So for those who keep saying get over Vick he’s not playing here anymore, get over the dog fighting issue since he’s back in the league.

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I hear you! take a look at this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8GuH9oDHrU

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Sidbury should get more play with Bierman. Matt Ryan will play better. I’m hoping that the GM office will take a heavy look at Edegerrin James, HE IS BETTER THAN STECKER. Abraham will be a off-season cut like Brooking was. This teams main weakness is and has been the inability to stop 3rd and long, that comes from pass rush and the secondary. The corners ARE THE WORST IN THE LEAGUE. In fact the only play I see as a REAL PLAYER IS DECLOUD, the rest of the secondary has dissapointed. But when the Ravens 3rd string picks apart your secondary your in trouble. But overall I STILL LIKE THE DIRECTION OF THIS TEAM. 10-6 Wild-Card team were playin in Arizona again in Janurary hopefully we can make a stop on 3rd and 16 this time around. But look at the overall picture were not the best yet but were closer than many of these Monday Quaterbacks think.

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The injuries are definitely starting to impact the teams ability to win. I still believe the team will have an overall winning season but it is going to be tough.

GO FALCONS!!!! To all of you fair weather and band wagon fans, you have my permission to leave now….we really don’t need you nor your negativity.

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Brandon Coutu

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I am not too worried as, this team was in the dumps two years ago. I have alot of faith in the coaching staff and Dimitroff.
1. It takes time to build a quality team that wins every year in the NFL

2. Defense has lost a bunch of big games for us, not Matt Ryan (remember this is only his second year, hes not going to be a drew brees or tom brady this early, also if you are going to counter how bout Rothleisberger , wrong Pitts defense was awesome when he was QBing so his mistakes weren’t so magnified.
3. A few more free agent and draft pieces will move us a little better next year, I definately see how they are building this team for longevity which I like. I alway hate to the Falsons good one year and then crappy the next.
4. I hate to say it but Van Gorder is one of the reasons for the Falcons defense being so bad, he has that bend but dont break coaching style which I hate. even when he was at UGA he hasnt changed, he’s a good coach but no rex ryan or greg williams. He probably needs more advice from Mike Smith as when he was the d-coordinator at Jax, he had them as one of the top defenses every year because he likes to attack.
Have Faith we will end up about 10-6 which might get us in. Still a winning season, but this is probably New Orleans year or New England’s. Our’s is probably next year, as Greg Williams will take a head coaching job and Leave New Orleans next year and Matt Ryan will get more experience with NFL Defenses, and we can add more defensive pieces.

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Matt Ryan on a bad day is better than Mike Vick on a good one. Falcons need to pick up Larry Johnson

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DrJ

November 16th, 2009
11:02 pm
Watched the first half of MNF and Flacco didn’t look stellar at all

“How many interceptions does Flacco have the past 5 games”?

I’m sure it’s not 10 like the CHOKE.

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Hi, it’s Mike, y’know? Leave the “Choke” and Vick Supporter alone, y’know? It’s called freedom of speech and it’s a good thing it’s free ’cause I’m broke! Just figured out why I’ve been running so slow – forgot to take off my ankle bracelet from my home arrest, y’know?

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Hi, it’s Mike, y’know? Too bad the Falcons don’t play a really bad team like the Browns twice a year. Of course when the Falcons last played them… ATLANTA (AP) — Michael Vick sat on the Georgia Dome turf, looking around in disbelief while the boos came at him from all directions.
He lost the ball, his helmet — and the game. Browns defensive coordinator Todd Grantham did an excellent job of mixing in his multiple defensive schemes and disguising coverages, which disrupted the flow of the Falcons’ passing attack. Grantham also utilized ROLB Kamerion Wimbley as a spy on Michael Vick (above) in third-down situations, which forced Vick to stay in the pocket in critical third-down situations. Even though the Falcons had over 149 yards rushing the Browns didn’t allow any explosive running plays. The Browns continue to struggle on the offensive side of the ball. The Falcons’ defense did a good job of restricting Cleveland’s running lanes and forcing the Browns into a one-dimensional attack through the air. However, QB Charlie Frye did a good job of managing the game, taking what the defense gave him and didn’t make any critical game-changing mistakes.
Vick threw two interceptions and had a careless fumble with 2:18 remaining, allowing the Cleveland Browns to escape with a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. For the second week in a row, the Falcons (5-4) lost to one of the NFL’s worst teams. Again, Vick took the brunt of the blame, turning a once-promising season into an increasingly desperate situation — especially with a rash of injuries on defense. “I take sole responsibility on the offensive side,” he said, shaking his head. “It hurts.” Atlanta was coming off a 30-14 loss at Detroit, only the second win of the year for the Lions. The Browns (3-6) had dropped three of four before they knocked off the Falcons in front of 70,000 stunned fans at the Georgia Dome.

Hmmmmm, sound familiar?

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Peyton Like Stats:

vs Chicago 68 QB RATING…2 PICKS

vs Dallas 66 QB RATING…2 PICKS

vs Saints 46 QB RATING…3 PICKS

vs Redskins 81 QB RATING…1 PICK

vs Panthers 57 QB RATING…2 PICKS

“DUMP THE CHUMP”

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Like I mentioned before, Matt Ryan has the tools and will get better, its hit or miss right now as its his second year. I dont see much upside right now in the defense right now, gorder is a excellent college defensive coach, but he might be over his head in the pros. We will see next year if they can find some serious help in the secondary. I dont think Mike smith will have patience with a mediocre d-fense next year. He prob will have to find a replacement with his type of baltimore attack thinking..
I am not sure if Mike calls the plays or not, but it really looks like he’s trusting gorder with the play calling and gorder’s getting burned by the O-coordinators in the NFL.

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I said it from the start you should have got a defensive player. Matt should be a third rounder at best no more. His arm was weak at BC and that a fact and also for the falcons. They could have got a QB in the late 1Th round and got a good defensive with the third round. They pump this guy up at draft as they will other QB in the first round. who are first round bust . Matt first will not pass good then he will get hurt because he is scared and all the NFL know it know now. His are is weak!!!! Just like the QB from Georgia . Look at the money they pay these guys and the media pump them up to be all world and they are not all county! Redmond could do just As good and save a ton of money . Sam Baker is a bust .
Again the media pump these guy to be all that and a bag of chips and they are not all hype. Matt Ryan turn to all punk just apply heat and he melts like cheese!! Better than Mike vick my AZZ!! Mike had no team . Ryan has all the tool around and just look at him punk out!! Mike INt’s were a lot better passer rateing Mike was in the top ten in TD . Mike last year 20 TD and 1039 yard rushing. Even washington QB has a better passer rateing and he has far less tool to work with! Mike are is stronger than Matt. you Listen to the hype.
look at the play!! Matt has how many 1th rounder on his team both side of the ball . vick had how many? Matt has a far better team. and when heat is apply with all those tool he is a patty melt!!

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Ya know, this would be a good space to advertise psychiatric, psychological and counseling services.

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Deffense wins championships.
talk about matt ryan all you want but if the falcons defense continues to be ranked top 10 in almost every category. FROM BEHIND…

his development will suffer naturally. that being said 2010 is db happy. if they draft another rookie cb i will not be happy.

im not against them choosing rookies but i am against rookies at cb. id rather have a rookie challenging decoud+more or stephen nicholas than have another rookie cb in the mix. grimes is leaving however i think that he should come back for special teams being that al Harris is also leaving and any veteran we sign at corner will not play special teams.brian williams is also leaving but i dont think he should be resigned due to the fact that he is at the end of his career and coming of a bad knee injury.

if the falcons are pick happy/add deffensive depth, i believe matt ryan will be a whole lot better not so pressured quarterback. think about these pairs
tom brady-asante samuels/elis hobs
pmannin-bob sanders
favre-charles woodson
favre-antoine winfield
brees-darren sharper
vick-meangelo fall
matt ryan-eric coleman???/whoever it is hes probably not a perennial probowler

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People, please calm down. Be thankful you don’t have that felon or that weak between the ears QB in Detroit. Just calm down.

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Jimmy please ad your comments below to the last 5 games:

68

66

46

81

57

And those are not his I.Q…..or is it?

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Granted I’ve only read a few of these comments but here is the problem with the offense. Matt Ryan is NOT the problem. The problem are:
1. Michael Jenkins will not catch a pass over the middle. He’s a liability because this forces Matt Ryan to over throw toward the sidelines when Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez are doubled.
2. Ovie Mughelli(sp)the fullback will not block one-on-one. This is why Matt Ryan has the “happy-feet”. He’ll chip and help but not go head to head.
3. Matt Ryan is forcing the ball to Gonzalez at times because he is the reliable catcher and the opposing defenses drop a linebacker and the bring the safety over to cover him.
4. They need to do more of the short screens to the wide receivers at the beginning of the game to bring the defensive backs up to cover and then do double moves for the deep pass. The first pass Matt Ryan threw deep last year isn’t going to happen anymore.
5. Where is Finnerman? We need a possession type receiver? Or, Marty Booker?
6. Go find a big back to complement Michael Turner. Where is T. J. Duckett?

Defensive Solutions:
1. Abraham must be playing injured with the adominal strain suffered last year.
2. Play Bireman and Jamal Anderson on the same side like was done at the beginning of the season.
3. Where is Coy Wire since the New Orleans game? I didn’t see him Sunday.

Just some thoughts.

GO FALCONS!!!!!!!!!

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TIWAS

November 17th, 2009
6:31 pm
Granted I’ve only read a few of these comments but here is the problem with the offense. Matt Ryan is NOT the problem

“You are an I.D.I.O.T”

vs Chicago 68 QB RATING……… 2 PICKS

vs Dallas 66 QB RATING………2 PICKS

vs Saints 46 QB RATING……….3 PICKS

vs Redskins 81 QB RATING…………1 PICK

vs Carolina 57 QB RATING…………..2 PICKS

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HOW TO HANDLE SOPHOMORE SLUMP:

Aug. 11, 2003: No sophomore slump for Michael Vick
NFL By Paul Newberry

Associated Press
E-mail Print Share Text Size

Sophomore slump? Based on Michael Vick’s first preseason game, it doesn’t seem likely.

Vick, who was voted to the Pro Bowl in his first year as a starter, picked up right where he left off in one stellar quarter for the Atlanta Falcons.

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What’s missing is the ‘run’. We’re 1-dimensional. Snelling/Stecker fill in good, but are not Norwood or Turner, so without those threats, we’re vulnerable. Missing FG’s and INT’s will kill us. This team doesn’t score 45 every game like the Saints, Colts, Patriots. We should get Norwood back soon, Turner in 2 weeks…hold your breath through Giants, Tampa…Philly has the Falcons number.

Matty Ice is still a 2nd yr QB. Look at what Favre, Manning, Brady did in year-2. Lots of INT’s. He’ll be fine.

Next 3-4 weeks are rough. Prediction: 9-4.
Who…me a Homer? Dang right! Ha!

Go Falcons!

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well i see where Mcalister signed with the aints there’s another one i thought and said that we should have signed back at the beginning of the season. i feel that we sit and watch our cb’s get beat every sunday but yet our coaches do nothing. i don’t understand but i’m not the coach. i just going to keep wishing we turn the corner but all the good players are gone at that position and have not really seen any shut down corners in college oh well we will see

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We have got to get the running game going against New York to take the pressure off of Matt Ryan. He is still a young QB but has the responsiblitly of a more tenured QB because of all of the accomplishments from last season. Unfortunately, this is a new season. Defensive Coordinators have film and tape of his habits, strengths, weaknesses and so far they have used last years success against him. Matt Ryan simply has to play better. No one is doubling Roddy or Jenkins. All of the coverage on 3rd down shifts to Gonzo. We have to be more creative and decisive or we need to start getting ready for the draft.

No pass rush no corners is a recipe for disaster. Bend but don’t break. Ball controlling offense. Milk the clock with the running game. (That’s what we were supposed to do, not allow others do it to us) Really did we belive that Tye Hill could help us? He was a first rounder and St Louis allowed him to leave for nothing. He looked out matched, overwhelmed and out of postition in the first quarter. In the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarters he looked like a good teammate that could no longer give up yards and points from his spot on the bench. We will have to address that position or things will only get worse. Our little secret is out. Still some pretty solid free agent (older) corners at home on the couch. Thomas Dimitroff use some of thoose anytime minutes and get us some help.

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Manning threw 28 int. his first year can you imagine what would be said here if Ryan had done that. Manning threw 2 pics in his last game. How can you say Ryan has limitations after a couple of bad games. Stop comparing Ryan to QB’s that have played 10 years.

@jsmunga

Whoaa, wait a minute. Where was this bantor last year and earlier this season? I bet you had no problem with the Manning, Brady comparisons last year or earlier this year right?

So, now that the league has caught onto his tendecies you don’t want the comparisons now?

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