Q&A: Sharper tells how they shut down the Falcons
New Orleans
Falcons running back Michael Turner (right) gets stopped for no gain by New Orleans Saints Jo-Lonn Dunbar (left) in the first half. Jason Getz / jgetz@ajc.com
Saints safety Darren Sharper played a key role in shutting down the Falcons offense on Monday night.
He played over the top of Roddy White and helped hold him to three catches for 42 yards.
Here’s what he had to say about the Falcons’ offense after the game.
Q: What was the key to shutting down the Falcons passing attack?
A: The main thing is that we knew who they were going to try to get the ball to. We keyed on certain players. But I think the main thing overall was that we had good coverage overall as a secondary. We have guys that can cover. That’s our strength as a team. They kind of played into our hands.
Q: How did you all stop the run after giving up 208 yards last week?
A: “That was one of our goals. We knew if we didn’t tackle well. It was our goal this week to not allow them to rush the ball. We knew with Michael Turner that was going to be a tough challenge. Our guys up front did a heck of a job and our linebackers did even better by not allowing him to get going.”
Q: How are you all viewing the playoffs? Hoping to still win the NFC South title?
A: “Well, we are in the tournament. That was our main goal. Just to have a chance to be in the tournament. Anything can happen. If Carolina can play their best game of history and beat these guys, we’ll have home field. That’s what we are rooting for. We have to make sure that we take care of our business and beat Tampa Bay, who is playing extremely well right now.”
–D. Orlando Ledbetter
Get instant updates on Twitter at AJCFalcons and you can join the Facebook Fan page at AJC Falcons.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
102 comments Add your comment
yourmomsballs
December 28th, 2010
1:19 am
I just read the article that was supposed to highlight what the FalCONS needed to do in order to beat the Super Bowl Saints… Actually they did manage to do all of the things on the list… but also still managed to LOSE the game… HAHAHA
WHO DAT! WHO DAT!!
GEAUX SAINTS!
FalconsFan284
December 28th, 2010
1:30 am
After two games what have we learned? These teams are very evenly matched. That’s about it.
Realist
December 28th, 2010
1:45 am
The saints can enjoy this win for a few days. They’ll be coming back to atlanta in 3 weeks to face the nfc south CHAMPS. And the falcons may not be so generous with the ball next time.
ATL Observer
December 28th, 2010
1:58 am
Tough loss, there were some positive and negatives to go with this.
Obvious negative was the loss itself. Beyond that, a) when it really counted, the defense folded. That wasn’t encouraging. b) the offense looked absolutely abysmal…they tried to establish the run, failed and were completely lost after that, c) a team that’s spent all year not making errors and ending up with the best record in the NFC because of it made a lot of errors.
However, there were some positives.
a) this is a team that has shown tremendous discipline in the past and if they correct that, look at how close the game was even with the mistakes, b) they also managed to have a chance to win the game even though they didn’t control the clock…many skeptics presumed that if the team didn’t burn at least 35-40 minutes off that the Saints O would march all over them. That didn’t happen, c) while the offensive playcalling was stale and unimaginative, in a sense, they didn’t give away any bags of tricks.
The real key will be: how much will they take this out on Carolina? If they take a ho-hum attitude to that game, it could really bite them. But if they go into that game with a chip on their shoulder from this game, they’ll not only lock up the top seed, but show that they really are mentally in this.
The big question is: can this team maintain the intensity for the whole 60 minutes? I can maybe think of only 1 or 2 games where they have this year and they’ve managed to hold a 12-3 record. But you’ll be 0-1 in the playoffs real fast if that intensity meter drops in the postseason.
RC in the ATL
December 28th, 2010
1:58 am
Well, it’s a good thing Darren Sharper has better command of the game of football than he does the English language. Nice grammar, dude.
And I must say that I think he is a little delusional when he says that pass coverage is the strength of their team. Jabari Greer couldn’t cover Roddy White with a blanket. Could that be why he was open all night long? I LOVE that matchup, and I’m sure the Falcons coaches will take that any day, come playoff time.
The bottom line is this…the Falcons played a very bland game plan tonight because this game meant so much less to Atlanta than it did New Orleans. The Falcons saw the bigger picture tonight. Take care of their business next week against Carolina, and the road to the Super Bowl comes through Atlanta…and so does New Orleans, if they intend to get to Dallas. And on that day, we will see the real game plan employed.
Gotta hand it to Mark Bradley…he called it before the season even started. This game tonight meant everything to New Orleans, and no so much to the Falcons. Atlanta didn’t tip their hand tonight, and for that, I hand it to them.
Would’ve been nice to win, but in the end, Atlanta really didn’t lose anything tonight (in the big picture).
lowdownjj
December 28th, 2010
2:06 am
We’ll see them again I think. Don’t sweat the snap Mud Duck, you’ve earned a mulligan. And Burner, it’s a first for you as well. Great showing by the D though. Especially loved the pressure up front. Williams, dude, you should’ve had 3 sacks! Go Birds!
Reid Adair
December 28th, 2010
2:19 am
I don’t have much interest in reading comments of a player from a team where players stomped on the Falcons’ logo and took pictures at midfield after the game. Of course, after a week of their players and fans calling Atlanta players and Falcons names, as well as their fans using racial slurs and making physical threats, the post-game actions really weren’t a surprise.
Tweets that mention Atlanta Falcons - RT Q&A: Sharper tells how they shut down the Falcons: New Orleans Falcons running back Mi... #AJC -- Topsy.com
December 28th, 2010
2:30 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Audrey Irvine. Audrey Irvine said: “@AJCFalcons: Q&A: Sharper tells how they shut down the Falcons http://bit.ly/fMkP1v” [...]
ALame
December 28th, 2010
2:32 am
we need a J.Norwood type RB and a bunch if screen plays……
ALame
December 28th, 2010
2:32 am
we need a J.Norwood type RB and a bunch of screen plays……
John
December 28th, 2010
2:36 am
Stack the line against the Falcons, play a man over the top on Roddy, and you can beat the Falcons…who knew? This team is a fake, 1st round loser…
F Troop
December 28th, 2010
3:00 am
I have a theory that neither team showed the other too much. I picked this up from a Saints blog where somebody thought the Saints looked like they weren’t trying to show the Falcons too much. I KNOW the Falcons offense is better than what we saw. New Orleans defense isn’t anything special. Not holding-the-Birds-to-one-TD special. This looked like two teams who’ve figured out that they will face each other again. The Saints offense looked tame. The Falcons even tamer. Think they both just tried to win it playing lot of base formations. Not unleashing Ryan was purposeful, IMHO.
Roddy White
December 28th, 2010
3:01 am
We will kick yawl azzes next time.
Bart's Boy
December 28th, 2010
3:03 am
I agree John. Too predictable. Bland. Boring. And ATL Observer, what bag of tricks? They don’t have any. I swear to God they attempt to run the same ten plays week in and week out. It works against average teams. Doesn’t work against playoff caliber teams. The “down the seam” 25 to 30 yard passes to Colston out of the slot (that constantly kill us against them!) is not even in the Falcons’ playbook which could be written on an index card. Our team isn’t close to Super Bowl material. It did look like the D was turned loose. Why not the O?????
Coach Smith
December 28th, 2010
3:05 am
This was like a preseason game for us. We will play the Aints again in the playoffs. It will be sweeter to eliminate them in the playoffs oposed to beating them in a meaningless regular season game. We will take care of Carolina next week and run the table.
Ace D
December 28th, 2010
3:50 am
Thank God the Saints won, I can watch ESPN now and not see Matt Ryan being hyped up to look like a top 5 QB (which he will never be). Its very obvious after the first New Orleans game, The Baltimore game, and the last Tampa game that the Falcons receivers are a some of the cheapest players in the game. Jenkins and White are always wide open because they’re always pushing off the corner or safety (illegal contact or offensive pass interference). This year the only two awards you can give the Falcons are Biggest Cheaters or the Luckiest Team award.
DudsaSaint
December 28th, 2010
4:51 am
Roddy White is GAY !!!!!!!!!!!!Good game you fruit.
David
December 28th, 2010
8:11 am
Roddy White is not our only receiver. Spread the ball around like Brees does We have Finn, Douglas, Jinkens Gonzo. Dunta Robinson is a over paid POS. All he does is wait until the receiver catches the ball and then tries to make the tackel. Get rid of this Bum
ctfalconsfan
December 28th, 2010
8:13 am
13-3 and NFC South Champions wih hole field advantage throughout play-offs…
Barry
December 28th, 2010
8:16 am
Hey Y’all:
TOO CONSERVATIVE PLAY CALLING!!!The Falcons should have oppened up the playbook against these guys. They could not stop the Falcons passing game and we stopped throwing. It appears Mike Turner stopped running and started tipping through holes. I am more than sure if he looks at the film, he knows he does not run like that. Mularkey should have stop running the basic dive play with Turner. Their is not deception with that play the way the Saints were playing it yestwerday. They stacked the line. There need to be more isdirection plays combined withe the power runing game. We are getting too basic i our running game. Teams are going to be keying into that come playoff time. WE NEED TO OPEN UP THE OFFENSIVE PLAYBOOK DURING THESE TYPE OF GAMES. WE NEED TO MAKE ADJUTMENTS ON THE OFFENSIVE SIDE OF THE BALL WHEN TEAMS STOP WHAT WE NORMALLY DO!!. QUIT PLAYING “HARD HEAD” OFFENSIVE FOOTBALL. READJUST ON THE FLY!!!! I Love my Birds , BUT COME PLAYOFF TIME WE HAVE BETTER OPEN UP THE OFFENSIVE PLAYBOOK WITH SOME CREATIVE MISDIRECTION TYPE PLAYS OR WE WILL BE HOME WITH THAT PLAYBOOK IN HAND WATCHING THE SUPER BOWL!!!! MAKE ADJUSTMENTS!!!!! DO IT NOW!!! DO IT ON “ONE HEARTBEAT!!”
LET’S GO FALCONS. “ONE GAME AT A TIME!” One game in ONE HEARTBEAT!!”.
I LOVE THIS TEAM!!!!!! LET’S DO THIS!!!!!!!!!
“WE RISE” IN “ONE HEARTBEAT!!” AND WE ARE MAD AS HELL!!!!!!
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a SECRET from a FALCON FAN!! TELL EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!!!!
………………….”ONE HEARTBEAT,BABY!!!”……………..
Falster
December 28th, 2010
8:27 am
Anyway you spell it…the NFC team from New Orleans is still…”the AINTS”!!!!
The Joker...
December 28th, 2010
8:31 am
Ladies and Gentleman, its the game of (American) Football, things happen, some good, some bad, while so many are frustrated, irritated, and ready to punch the first sAINT Fan that they see….I personally look at this as a great lesson for the Falcons (Offense), lets face it, we were probably bound to lose one more game in pursuit of a Super Bowl Victory, this loss to the sAINT’S( who really needed this win a little more) will help the Falcons as they go in to the playoffs with homefield advantage. For example, do you really think Todd McClure and M. Turner would dare to make critical fumbles like the one’s from last night after getting cursed out in film session this upcoming week? Also, the defense look very good, against one of the premiere QB’s in the league, this could be just the boast of confidence that the D needs to get over the hump. Trust me Falcon Fans, this was just one loss, and unfortunately it just occurred to our arch rivals, but the Falcon Nation will prevail, I only pray that we can see this team again in the playoffs… This BATTLE isn’t over yet…….
Martin
December 28th, 2010
8:32 am
Rc in the atl- yes dude you are right, the falcants needed last night’s game more then the saints, you guys should be comedians. It just goes to show, shut down the run, and you shut down the falcants. Sure your team might win the NFC south, only because of our gift in week three, but guess what that’s how the ball bounces. I just wished you guys would stop with all the talk, like your team are super bowl champions. Why, because you guys cone off as haters and jealous people.
Jborodawg
December 28th, 2010
8:32 am
“…the Falcons played a very bland game plan tonight because this game meant so much less to Atlanta than it did New Orleans. The Falcons saw the bigger picture tonight…”
I beg to differ. It was a very important, huge game…for both teams. We always want to beat the Saints. Always. Especially last night in order to wrap up home field; and to do it against that perennial foe.
No running game. Was it bland play calling or NO D? Not much of a passing game. Was it bland play calling or NO D? It wasn’t so much “bland play calling” as it was just lack of execution and predictability. NO (and everybody else) knows we’re gonna throw to Roddy and Tony in tight situations. I guess you can call it “bland” since that’s what we’ve done all season.
Pretty good D the whole game until that last NO go-ahead scoring drive. Suddenly we stopped trying to pressure Brees. No pressure at all on that drive; not a single blitz.
To think the Falcons weren’t trying to win that game…and were saving it for Carolina (and the playoffs) is almost laughable. The object is to win games…every game. Otherwise, why play Roddy, Tony or Burner at all? Why not play the backup QB?
Face it, NO played like champions on the go-ahead drive. We couldn’t move the ball on our last-gasp drive. Matt and the Falcons usually come thru in those situations. Not last night. NO was the better team.
Now…move on to the Carolina game and whip some a$$.
Steve
December 28th, 2010
8:34 am
If y’all want to complain about something, complain about the horrible refs in this game. What was 3rd and inches should have been a 3rd and at least a yard. This had to be the worse Ref group in the history of the NFL. Not to mention that phantom pass interference call on both players that stopped the earlier drive.
Rico as in Puerto
December 28th, 2010
8:35 am
Hats off to the saints – even though they’re still the punks we know they are. Even though I did not say it yesterday, I felt we would keep it very vanilla and not show any hands since we didn’t really need this game. It does make sense – you’re almost assured to win the NFC Championship we’ll have to face the saints again. So save your best game plan and the plays for then. This was a great learning game. We certainly learned what not to do on offense. No excuse for the turnovers. We also learned the D can really play anyone. This was supposed to be a high powered offense fighting for their playoff chances – and we hold them to 17 points out of which 7 were a gift from the first turnover. If the D keeps it up we’re going far this year!
Keith Mercer
December 28th, 2010
8:37 am
If the Saints could not cover White, why did the Falcons stop throwing the ball to him. Also, where was the fabulous punt and kick-off returns. The errors made by the Falcons did not add up to very much, good teams find a way to overcome them. Michael Turner looked like his head was somewhere else, he did not even try to turn the corner on one run, and he had no acceleration on some running plays. Not good.
Rico as in Puerto
December 28th, 2010
8:37 am
Joker I am glad not to be the only one to see it like that
Martin
December 28th, 2010
8:45 am
Falster- if we are the aints, with a super bowl ring, then tell me what does that make your sorry team? Let’s see a team that just won back to back winning season since their franchise existed. A fan base that come up with that we dat bs, then when the saints takes the lead, your fans exit the Georgia dome with three minutes left in the game. I mean you would have thought you were in the library as quiet as you guys were, exiting the Georgia dome. Last but not least, I think your team should be called the fal-cants, because the can’t get it done. So when you call us the aints, say it with some respect. Say it like this, AINT that the team that won the super bowl last year. AINT that the team that just continues to beat us in the Georgia dome. AIN’t that the team that over the last 11 games has a 9-2 record against our sorry fal-cants. Say it with respect dude. Now let me say, ain’t the fal-cants paper- want to be like the saints, super bowl champions. I rest my case, HATERS
The Joker...
December 28th, 2010
8:45 am
Martin
December 28th, 2010
8:32 am
Rc in the atl- yes dude you are right, the falcants needed last night’s game more then the saints, you guys should be comedians. It just goes to show, shut down the run, and you shut down the falcants. Sure your team might win the NFC south, only because of our gift in week three, but guess what that’s how the ball bounces. I just wished you guys would stop with all the talk, like your team are super bowl champions. Why, because you guys cone off as haters and jealous people.
Martin,
First off, the sAINT’s did need this game more, even though the Falcons would have loved to have clinched home field advantage in this game against their arch rivals….Second, there are NO gifts in professional football!!! I got so sick of ESPN acting like the sAINT’S gave the Falcons that victory in week 3, it was clear in that game that the Falcons gave the sAINT’S easy opportunities to score(such as in the game last night) and that first game should have NEVER been in overtime in the first place, but ESPN isn’t going to talk about that… Third, Falcon Fans being Haters and Jealous? As rivals, Yes..We do not like the sAINT’S but we respect them as fellow southerner’s should, they are our divisional foe and have been for several years…each year we travel to one another’s stadium(DOME) and give each other hard times on blogs such as this one….welcome to the world of Professional Football Martin, have a great day!
Falster
December 28th, 2010
8:58 am
Anyway you spell it…the NFC team from New Orleans is still…”the AINTS”!!!!
stendek
December 28th, 2010
9:09 am
Only long time Falcon followers understand how truly depressing and devastating this defeat at the Georgia Dome was. This setback has far reaching implications. Goes far deeper than simply a tough loss to a decent team. Far deeper…
http://stendek77.wordpress.com/2010/12/28/falcon-offense-no-show-in-home-loss-to-saints/
Fans with the team since 1966 know exactly what I mean.
STENDEK
Go Bucs
December 28th, 2010
9:12 am
Martin
“then tell me what does that make your sorry team” makes us the team that has beaten your team 45 times
“I just wished you guys would stop with all the talk” I think you’re confused, Martin. This is a Falcons blog.
JOeFalcone
December 28th, 2010
9:17 am
I thought The Facons Defense really showed up last night, but where was the offense?! I did not see much of Matt Ryan on the field since the start of 2nd half, when you are three and out quickly and your star quarterback is idling on the sideline most of the time, that spells trouble. And when we could have blown the aints away at their one yard line, who made the stupid play call to have Michael Turner keep running into walls of people and ended up fumbling the ball?! There has got to be better ways to score a touch down than that.
PlanB
December 28th, 2010
9:17 am
I agree with Jborodawg. We did need to win this game. Just for respect. Good job on the pass rush. Good job DC-BVG. Brian Williams, you ran past Brees 3 times. Work on what to do when you get to him. We lost to a good team that got all the breaks by 3 points. We also made 2 big mistakes. The snap and the fumble on the 1. I’m proud we have had so few of these. This is a good team.
Now the negative. I think we are held back by our unimaginative OC – MM. Game after game, it is run up the middle. This works alot but what do you when it doesn’t? MM sure doesn’t know.
BigTimeTECHFan
December 28th, 2010
9:18 am
Defense won it for the Saints and all the media talked about was Drew Brees. Brees is the one that kept the falcons in the game.
Anyway hates off to the Saints, defense showed up, stopped Turner, won the game despite Brees.
Hope Birds can win Next week, become NFC South champs, Saints will be 2nd place to the Falcons.
ATLFalconFister
December 28th, 2010
9:26 am
who dat is soooooooo ignorant
Keith
December 28th, 2010
9:26 am
From the officiating to the shanked punts that rolled an additional 30 yards, the Saints seem to have all the breaks. Then you factor in the two turnovers by the Falcons (esp. Turner’s), and that’s most of the game.
JOeFalcone
December 28th, 2010
9:31 am
And when John Abraham intercepted Brees’ pass at their 45 yard line, why didn’t we go for 4th down (and at least a field goal) and instead settled for a punt?! I thought the offense squandered a great effort made by our Denfense. Saddly, that seems to be the theme the whole night.
gadome
December 28th, 2010
9:32 am
The defense played a good game the offense played not to lose which they did. Every body knew they were going to run Turner up the middle with eitgh Aints players waiting to tackle him. Sad thing was they didn’t have to tackle Turner cause he couldn’t past his own offensive line. Not a dis on Turner a dis on the coaches who repeatley kept trying to run Turner in this way. This form of play came up earlier in the year and they made adjustments but last night they returned to their same hard headed way of running the ball. They just assumed that if they keep trying that Turner is going to eventually bust one for a long gainer but they failed.
Trey
December 28th, 2010
9:40 am
Well, I learned one thing. Saints may have one, but the fans are still ignorant. “Who Dat”? They also have to spell “Go” as “Geaux”; just because of that French crap.
Trey
December 28th, 2010
9:41 am
Anyway, one game win away to clinch the NL South! Let’s go Falcons!
Trey
December 28th, 2010
9:42 am
Thanks for the article, DOL!
Who dat?
December 28th, 2010
9:43 am
You think Roddy is talking crap on Twitter right now? LMAO!!!!!!!!!
Nick P.
December 28th, 2010
9:45 am
what I am confused about was howcome like 8-9 times the saints offense snapped the ball without are defense even being set yet? it was so frustrating to know its coming, but the defense is still in a huddle, why does the defense huddle? how come we were caught off guard so many times? after about once or twice dont they see it coming and arent they prepared for it now? apparently not!
Nick P.
December 28th, 2010
9:48 am
boy we could have used a jerrious norwood like speedy back for this game, turner is not speedster, cutting corners, he has to have a path down the middle, or else he is oushed out or stuffed.
Trey
December 28th, 2010
9:50 am
Who’s that? I don’t know, but I do know; your team is still in second place.
Trey
December 28th, 2010
9:51 am
Nick P., I said the same thing. I’d rather let Matt Ryan run over Michael Turner.
Von
December 28th, 2010
10:08 am
Enter your comments here
GameReviewer
December 28th, 2010
10:22 am
I blame ONLY the play calling. Beyond POOR. Let’s see now. Ball on the one, 11 guys in the box, hmmm…. what do we do? I know, let’s run it twice up the middle with the guy who hasn’t made 2 yards all game. Yeah, that’s it.
Mularkey needs to GO! The Falcons wouldn’t need all these last second miracles if we had someone who was able to ADAPT to the situation. If Turner is not working, try something else. Obviously, they are KEYING on him and also on Roddy White.
Von
December 28th, 2010
10:24 am
To those who say Atlanta didn’t lose anything after the loss….be for real! They lost a lot. A whole lot. “They felt they were invincible at home”. They felt “Matty Ice” couldn’t lose with time left on the clock”. “They knew they really…really should have lost in week to these same (unhealthy at that time) Saints aside from a missed chip shot FG…but the biggest thing that happened Monday night…The Saints cast doubt on the Falcons…now the Packers, Eagles, Bears and especially the Saints know they can come in the Georgia Dome and WIN!
ATLFalconFister
December 28th, 2010
10:27 am
Jborodawg, you contradicted yourself; bland play calling is exactly what you call being predictable.
Who dat?
December 28th, 2010
10:28 am
Trey – 17-14! It hurts bad doesn’t it?
ATLFalconFister
December 28th, 2010
10:28 am
Ive never heard an actual Falcons fan say that the Falcons are invincible at home. For starters no body is invincible anywhere in the nfl.
ATLFalconFister
December 28th, 2010
10:30 am
This is easily the easiest loss to swallow against the saints ive seen in a while. I Much rather face the saints (Still in the Ga Dome) coming off a loss WHEN IT COUNTS!!!!!!!!!!! its a fact that there is not much debate to. The saints where the more desperate team.
Who dat?
December 28th, 2010
10:32 am
ATLFalconFister – Way to spin it to make yourself feel better about getting beat!
Nick P.
December 28th, 2010
10:45 am
who dat:
how did you spin it when the falcons rolled into the superdome and kickced your butt in first matchup? fair is fair, both games were very even and at each others homefield, I dont know how anyone could conclude anything other than two very evenly matched up teams.
Who dat?
December 28th, 2010
10:52 am
Nick P. – I wouldn’t go as far as saying you guys kicked our butts. Our kicker missed a 29 yard FG in OT to win the game. I would call it more like being extremely lucky. But way to spin it to make yourself believe that you kicked our butts.
JONESBORO SLIM
December 28th, 2010
10:58 am
Saints win…yes but the end to this rival will be the rematch back here in three weeks…if YOU make it to the second round?…Sunday we’ll close out the season with Carolina here..not looking at it as an easy win..we’ll have a week to rest up for whom ever…so Saints take this WIN… you needed it more than us…but if that was your BEST I’ll give you a 4….good day….
Von
December 28th, 2010
11:00 am
You’re right FalconFister…the Saints were the more desperate team based simply on the playoff implications…but more importantly…they showed they’re the better team. I’ve been saying it all year. The Falcons are very good, but not on the same level as the Saints yet. This was the big stage…MNF…The time for the Falcons to show everyone they are elite by beating the champs. They didn’t. It showed last night…from coaching on down.
Nick P.
December 28th, 2010
11:06 am
who dat:
one could argue that without the goaline fumble you would have lost again, to me there is no difference between a kicker missing a chipshot and a nonfumbling running back fumbling on the GOAL LINE, if we were lucky, then you were lucky as well! The game is full of moments like this, it goes with the territory, so luck is how you comfort your self after the first loss to us then it works for us the same way as well!
Nick P.
December 28th, 2010
11:08 am
who dat:
also, dont forget that you only actually had one successful drive against us, the other was result of our centers fumble (nothing to do with Aints defense), falcons shot themselves in the foot, really not the result of saints ferocious offense!
stendek
December 28th, 2010
11:13 am
Only fans who have been with Falcons since 1966 understand how truly deep this home defeat goes. New fans do not have a clue! First of all the Falcons are the Rodney Dangerfield of NFL. No respect. I must admit that respect has yet to be earned despite misleading overall record. This was a MUST WIN game for FALCONS! It does not matter if Falcons rip Panthers 100-0. Damage has already been done! Saints now KNOW they can defeat Falcons in Georgia Dome. Falcon defense will never play any better! Falcon offense can perform even worse. Does not bode well for possible third meeting in playoffs even at hallowed Dome. Anyone watch movie Replacements? Remember that well. With exception of missed tackles on blizes plus long late Saint drive I have never seen Falcon D perform so gallantly or courageously. Did somebody resurrect the Grits Blitz of Jerry Glanville? Sure looked like it! Offense resembled those of Chris Miller or Jeff George. Three plays then punt! The Saints said well in advance that, “We are coming to your house, slap your mother, beat you up, have our way with your sister then broadcast the entire scenario to the whole world.” THEN THEY DID! Guess Roddy White was too busy texting his greatness to bother catching any passes in most important game in Falcon franchise history. Thanks Roddy! Oh and thanks for that goal line fumble which kept Saints alive Michael Turner. Overrated untalented bum! Do not even get me started on the heartless Falcon center. A team destined for greatness would have kicked the Saints back to the Bayou then wished then well for another similiar treatment in a few weeks. Falcon offense rolled over and died! If Matt Ryan wishes to be considered among elite he MUST win games like this one! Such a defensive performance simply cannot be wasted. The Saints will adjust completely if there is a third meeting. Book on that! This one hurts as much if not more than playoff losses to Cowboys and Cardinals. Those were winnable too!
STENDEK
JONESBORO SLIM
December 28th, 2010
11:14 am
Right you are NICK P…I don’t think the Falcons showed their full hand…Saints didn’t look that good…and they did limit Roddy, and Tony on catches but Jenkins was never stopped….Saint had to have this win…..the way they played I don’t think they will make it back here in three weeks….
The Joker...
December 28th, 2010
11:15 am
Right on Nick P!!!!
It is funny how ESPN and sAINT’S Fans constantly talk about the Falcons getting lucky in Week 3 with that ’so called’ lucky chip shot field goal in overtime, but if they had examined the game completely, they would have realized that the sAINT’S were given great (lucky) opportunities to stay in that game; thus, meaning that that game should had never gone in to Overtime in the first place!!!! The real luck was that weird fumble by McClure along with that rare fumble by Turner on the goal line….
Nick P.
December 28th, 2010
11:23 am
who dat:
one more thing, if you are such an awesome team and defending superbowl winners, how come now for two games in a row you cant blow away or solidly beat the falcons? if we are as lucky which means really not good of a team, then how come you guys have so much trouble with us? How come the rest of the league has not been able to blow us out yet, the only solid loss we had this year was against the Eagles at their home field, are other two losses combined were by less than a touchdown (a loss in Pitt in OT by three, and by three to Aints), anyways, I have feeling you maybe a fifteen year old aints fan who does not really understand the game of football!
The Joker...
December 28th, 2010
11:24 am
Was just on msn.com and its also funny how the writers along with other sAINT’S Fans are running their mouths as if they just won back to back SuperBowl’s or in the sAINT’S case, the “Fluke Bowl”… when we tell it like it is we are called ‘Jealous Haters”, that’s fine with me, whatever it takes to get the point across…. We are not running and holding our heads down over one loss in our house, it was bound to happen one day… and it probably was going to happen to our arch rivals in a game in which they needed the win a little more than we did…It’s only going to make the Falcons stronger come playoff time…. Not trying to make excuses over the loss, we are just calling it as we see it… Bring on the Second Round of the Playoffs!!!!!!! We are Ready!!!!!!!!
stendek
December 28th, 2010
11:28 am
All corrupt members of officiating crew which calls dubious dual pass intererence should be fired on the spot! And about that roughing the punter call which was downgraded to running into for benefit of Saints…:(
STENDEK
Nick P.
December 28th, 2010
11:35 am
Do we have anothe returner outside of Weems? it seems like in big games, he plays it too conservatively, i wish he would stop calling for fair catches and try more returns, we needed better field position, on one kick, the ball took a bunch of friendly waist high bounces and he refused to charge the ball and try and make a return out of it, we just were too gun shy in this game, we should have taken a bit more chances and at least tried to hit roddy on a long ball more often, he can out jump and out most of the aints defense if you would just commit to going to him more.
JONESBORO SLIM
December 28th, 2010
11:42 am
Stendek
Lets just take the lose for what it was and not blame the officiating crew…we GAVE them points by our own mistakes…I still say they didn’t see our full game plan….
Nick P.
December 28th, 2010
11:47 am
The saints did not beat the falcons, the falcons beat the falcons! as good as saints are supposed to be and as much as all the analysts are on the saints side, stroking it behind their computer screens, if the saints are as good as everyone wants them to be, how come they have yet to actually beat the falcons in a dominating fashion, after all we split the season and both games were decided by three points, only one real drive by the saints, but beneficiaries of two rare falcon turnovers, seems like the falcons beat the falcons, not that saints actually beat them.
True Falcon
December 28th, 2010
11:56 am
The Falcons Defense played a very solid game. As for Offense, the Saints left it up to Matt Ryan to beat them. They loaded the box to stop the run and played bump and run coverage and They tackled well on short our usual short routes. Matt Ryan will not throw the deep ball and cannot throw accurately for over 15 yards. The run would have been better if we had run straight at them. The Saints where killing our traps and stretch plays by getting up field.
1911A1
December 28th, 2010
12:07 pm
What was expected to be an offensive shootout turned out to be a defensive slugfest. Falcons D did a great job of pressuring Brees; Saints D did a good job taking away our running game. Both teams’ offenses were off-balance as a result.
Tony G. put it well in a post-game interview when he described this loss as a wake-up call. I expect to see an even better-prepared squad as we take on the Panthers and head into the post-season.
Nick P.
December 28th, 2010
12:21 pm
there is going to be slaughtering of panthers next sunday to be forgiven by the falcon gods! you can count on that! what happens afterwards in theplayoffs no one knows because anyhting is possible in the playoffs, just ask the 1998 vikings which were picked to be in the superbowl by everyone before the falcons handed them their heads and took their place.
T'VILLE DAWG
December 28th, 2010
1:05 pm
It seems the biggest play that happened but didn’t had the most impact, Roddy White cathches the ball down to the Aints 45 and the spineless official calls interference on both players. I have never seen such a thing in my life. It’s like 2 people betting heads or tails and 1 won’t bet because the coin he says is going to land on it’s edge, 1 time in a bazillion could it happen. The league has got to say something about it.
Mac
December 28th, 2010
1:06 pm
The Falcons have NEVER been worth a dam on Monday night football!!
Really & truly their record is much better than most of us expected..although against weaker teams!
I don’t see them advanceing in the playoffs..they might win one game..if that!
They just don’t have the offensive line..the defense is suspect at best!
jalex49
December 28th, 2010
1:10 pm
Lack of Class- Saints taking photo’s and stomping around on the Falcon logo. I hope the falcons never do something so disrespectable and stupid.
We won in N.O. and they won here. It’s a wash, no matter how you look at it!
Go Falcons.. put this behind you and concentrate of Carolina. There’s a lot at stake and you need to come through. Go Tampa Bay!!!
earltp
December 28th, 2010
1:23 pm
can someone explain to me why there was no review to re-spot the ball for third down as replay clearly showed the NO runner’s knee down over a yard from the gain line…not 2 chain links? What if his knee had touched 5 yards away and the refs missed it too? The dive for first down could have been more easily stopped and they have to punt instead of running out the clock.
mark
December 28th, 2010
1:35 pm
The saints did a good job shutting our passing game down, too many 3 and outs. We should have been more up tempo from the start, their defense works best when they are able to match formations and work in certin blitzes and coverages. Best drive of the night was in hurry up. Who cares how we are precieved, I watched a game last night were neither team looked that good on offense and made some really bad mistakes. Bring on the Saints Green Bay, Chicago the Eagles we will lock up home field and strap in and rock and roll.
terrell
December 28th, 2010
1:42 pm
Ed Hochuli = FAIL. Get this bum out of the league. Horrible calls, year, after year, after year.
FHZ
December 28th, 2010
2:02 pm
Falcons are too tight early in games..big games. Short play-calling with one very good WR.
I picked The Saints, and I will pick them again until the tight-offense loosens a bit, and they add more pass rush which won’t be until after The NFL Lock-out of 2011.
They’re defense appeared this game, I don’t see it holding up past The Saints, Bears, or Eagles.
No Mid-season trades.. No pass rush. Atlanta teams don’t feel the need to shake things up while they are winning. They wait for awful seasons to start certain players of others..
Their goal “5 year plan”, and it will take another season before they possibly win a Supervowl.
Von
December 28th, 2010
2:23 pm
The Falcons are what they are…a very good team. However, they have no back up plan based on their type of game. They are a run first time possession team. If the run is shut down they cannot win simply by throwing the ball. The Saints showed they can do both. They’ve obtained an 11-4 record with all of their starting RB’s missing at least six games. Bree’s can carry them and man did he prove that last night. The Falcon’s DO NOT want to play this team again. They might want to become huge Ram or Seahawk fans once the playoffs kick in.
JBK
December 28th, 2010
3:14 pm
Congrats to the Saints, they were the better team on Monday. However the Who Dat thing is getting quite annoying. You sound like someone who just got time off from your job at Taco Bell and saved every penny you have to buy a ticket.
Sorry, I forgot it was Burger King.
FairweatherFan
December 28th, 2010
3:18 pm
You can’t argue with their record but in the playoffs, the Falcons are going to be easy to defend and beat by the elite teams. One of the main things they need to do is stop running Turner on that slow-developing wide play where they’re zone-blocking and he is to hit the hole that is “supposed” to open somewhere. He is way too slow for this to work, and it hasn’t worked at all the last few games. He needs to run straight ahead and stop wasting plays. Our offense struggles when we have so many no-gain plays.
WhoDatBabee!!
December 28th, 2010
3:21 pm
You Falcons fans need to stop with the whining!!!! Get over it, we beat y’all! It don’t matter by how many points or how we did it, WE BEAT THE ATLANTA FALCONS IN THE GEORGIA DOME ON 12/27/10………You all have come up with every excuse in the book for the reason we won. fact of the matter is WE WON!!!!! and to the blogger calling the fans “Falcon Nation” I needyou to back the hell back with that saying!!!!!!! only team that has a nation of fans is the New Orleans Saints and we are the WHO DAT NATION!!!!!! y’all want everything we have even a SUPERBOWL RING!!!! but you won’t get none this year……..WHO DAT! WE DAT! REPEAT DAT!!!!!!
Falster
December 28th, 2010
3:24 pm
This is by far the most accurate comment (quote) of the day!…”Defense won it for the Saints and all the media talked about was Drew Brees. Brees is the one that kept the falcons in the game.
Anyway hates off to the Saints, defense showed up, stopped Turner, won the game despite Brees.”
BigTimeTECHFan
markit
December 28th, 2010
3:25 pm
I see some good positive comments from a segment the ATL. Really it’s what you have to do at this point because it’s been a good year. The record and the book says you should go far. History says that the Superbowl was within reach for 50% of the teams in your position. I think you’ll have home field throughout but I don’t tend to doubt that you’ll win the first playoff game. The fact is you haven’t really done anything and until you do, the talk is of the other segment of fans is just goofy and naive. It’s hard to explain but there’s just something about bad karma that talk like they had before the game leads to. It’s bluster and hyperbole because deep down you have doubts about whether this is really it. What changes that? Simple, a player or two on the field making the play when you absolutely must have it. I see big plays, all game long by the Falcons but not when you really need it against a team you must beat to put to rest some demons. I see it in big games for you this season also, but again so what if you lose to Baltimore, you still knew you had the Saints at home so how big is it really? You really needed this game more than you think. To say as “RC in the ATL” or others said, that you didn’t want it is just wishful thinking. When was the last time you thought Pittsburgh or NE thought, “hmm let’s only beat this division rival once this year in case we see them in the playoffs. Let’s take it less seriously and throw all our eggs into next week, because there are never upsets in the NFL”. Too funny really, but if it gets you through the day… For all the talk of Saints fans, and I agree some of it is inane, they can talk with confidence because they have done it many times since 2006. Not all the time, but enough that they are at least sure that they have a good a shot at doing it in any game they absolutely need like last night’s.
markit
December 28th, 2010
4:16 pm
Nick P, it’s clear you love your team but dude you have lost sight of the fact that in any NFL game, there is another team trying to beat you. McClure had a brain fart because he was worried about a defense that was in their grills all night. The Saints beat the Falcons. Ryan played below his standard because of the Saints defense. Brees played below his standards also, but in the end he made enough plays to win. Ryan did not. If he connects on some more passes they might have won and then you’d have nothing to say about play calls. But another team was on the field making it hard on him. I hope you have the suicide hotline number for next week because bad as they are the Panthers get paid also. You’ll still win but it may not be pretty because that’s how the NFL works.
SeenThisB4
December 28th, 2010
5:17 pm
GEAUX SAINTS! OUR TIME!!
drmondo
December 28th, 2010
5:57 pm
On top of all that, the Saints added insult to injury by having their pictures taken at the Georgia Dome near the team emblem. Talk about classless. I didn’t have a problem with the team before, just some of their “fans”. Now I think their lowlifes who deserve to be stomped in the playoffs. I hope we get to face them again and beat them down. Show no respect. They don’t deserve it.
mars
December 28th, 2010
6:53 pm
Playbook didn’t get opened. We just proved we could hang with the Super Bowl champs without really trying. We just saw a game of “bluff” by the coaches.
FalconsFan4Ever!
December 28th, 2010
7:48 pm
Guess what, nobody earns respect in the regular season. The only way you earn respect is by getting to the big show and winning. Make no mistake, it was a painful loss last night because it was to our division rival, but the overall goal is still achievable. We’ll see the Saints again, and that time it’ll be for the right to go to the NFC championship game.
WhoDatBabee!!
December 28th, 2010
7:51 pm
They didn’t stomp on the Falcons head, they only took a picture on it!!!! Something they have been doing for years when they play on the road and win!!!!! We have more class then any Falcons player can ever have, our players don’t go around trashing talking like that punk ass Roddy White did!!!!!!!
WhoDatBabee!!
December 28th, 2010
7:55 pm
All you ATL fans………KICK ROCKS!!!!!!!!!
drmondo
December 28th, 2010
8:02 pm
They leave the B*S* trashtalking to bandwagon fans?
Blake
December 29th, 2010
12:41 pm
It just chaps the Saints fans hides that Atlanta Is playing this well and that makes me feel very warm and fuzzy!
Blake
December 29th, 2010
12:44 pm
You know, they would be talkin’ the same smack to Bucs and Panther fans If their teams we’re In our position….how odd and funny they Is!
Blake
December 29th, 2010
12:47 pm
We’re about to take the division and home field away from you regardless of your win over us….We put ourselves In this position…How bout’ that for a dose of humble pie!
Blake
December 29th, 2010
12:51 pm
BTW…the Bucs may just smack you down In your building and then It wouldn’t matter anyway.It would be like watching a pack of wild vermin retreating to the coast….
RC in the ATL
December 30th, 2010
4:28 am
Markit,
Do you not read well? I never said the Falcons did not want this game. What I said was this game meant less to them than to NO. ATL was already in the playoffs, and needs to beat a 2-13 team at home to clinch everything. NO needed to win to make the playoffs.
And the Falcons did not lose to Baltimore…or Cleveland, for that matter…which is why NO does not control their own destiny next week. So why are you wasting your time talking about irrelevant things like games that Atlanta “could have” lost…games that NO in fact, did lose.
There really isn’t much subjectivity to this fact…if two teams are playing, and one has clinched a playoff berth and the other has not, then the team that has not clinched yet needs the game more than the team that has. That is what I said. Did NOT say the Falcons didn’t want the game.
I also pointed out that the Falcons perhaps did not open up the entire playbook, as a result, so as to save some stuff for a future game. And personally, I kind of think it was kinda stupid for one of the NO players to come right out and explain NO game plan for stopping Atlanta. You don’t think those words won’t be reviewed before the next time these two teams play?
RC in the ATL
December 30th, 2010
4:31 am
WhoDatBabee!!,
Oh yeah, your players are just the prototypes of class. I can’t for the life of me remember Roddy White urinating on a football field after a victory. What a complete and total lapse of self-control and dignity. If there was a punk on the field, it was that thug, not Roddy White.
Q&A: Sharper tells how they shut down the Falcons – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) | The Source
January 1st, 2011
11:26 pm
[...] link: Q&A: Sharper tells how they close down a Falcons – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged after-the-game, business, carolina, [...]