Bill Musgrave leaves to join the Minnesota Vikings
Quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave talks with D.J. Shockley as they walk off the field after losing to the Ravens at the Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009. Curtis Compton, ccompton@ajc.com
FLOWERY BRANCH – Bill Musgrave, the Falcons former assistant head coach/quarterbacks, accepted a position as the offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings on Wednesday.
“We thank Bill for his contributions that he made to our team,” Falcons head coach Mike Smith said. “We wish him all the best with his promotion with the Vikings.”
Musgrave was granted permission by Smith to interview with the Minnesota Vikings and the Cleveland Browns. He interviewed with the Browns on Tuesday and with the Vikings on Wednesday.
“The organization is first class all the way and Leslie Frazier is first class all the way,” Musgrave said in a statement released by the Vikings. “The players on the offensive side of the ball are very attractive to be associated with. I’m looking forward to utilizing their strengths to get fantastic results. The offensive weapons on this squad are impressive.
“We as a staff will look forward to utilizing each and every one of them to attack defenses. I first met Leslie about 10 years ago when he was in Philadelphia and we’ve stayed in touch over the years. I look forward to working with him here and moving forward.”
Musgrave was granted permission by Falcons coach Mike Smith to interview with the Minnesota Vikings and the Cleveland Browns. He interviewed with the Browns on Tuesday and with the Vikings on Wednesday.
Musgrave was promoted to assistant head coach last offseason when the Houston Texans attempted to hire him away.
Bill Musgrave
Musgrave joined Jim Mora’s staff in 2006. He was kept on after the Bobby Petrino disaster and has been instrumental in the development of quarterback Matt Ryan, who threw 28 touchdowns and nine interceptions while guiding the Falcons to a 13-3 regular-season record and the NFC South title.
Cleveland was thought to be Musgrave’s preference because they are set to run the West Coast offense and have a talented young quarterback in Colt McCoy. Minnesota finished the season with third-stringer Joe Webb.
Musgrave played in the West Coast offense for the San Francisco 49ers from 1991-1994.
Because of the promotion last season, the Falcons could have denied Musgrave permission to interview. But while
Smith wanted to keep his staff together, he didn’t want to stand in Musgrave’s way if he wanted to leave.
The Falcons coaching staff is set to coach in the Pro Bowl and will leave for Hawaii on Tuesday.
Possible replacements for Musgrave include Jeff Jagodzinski, who was Ryan’s head coach at Boston College. He served as the offensive line coach for the Falcons from 2004 to 2005. He was head coach of the Omaha Nighthawks in the UFL last season.
–D. Orlando Ledbetter
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124 comments Add your comment
BJ
January 19th, 2011
8:10 pm
DLed, what are your thoughts on this?
Falcons4ever
January 19th, 2011
8:12 pm
Coach Musgrave will be missed but this offense has gotten stale and needs a fresh approach. All the best Coach!….first?
Lance
January 19th, 2011
8:15 pm
Jamarcus Webb? That’s racist. Joe Webb, Led, Joe Webb.
dawgfan0711
January 19th, 2011
8:16 pm
i would promote him and send Murlarky packing.
KTFalcons
January 19th, 2011
8:16 pm
This is a huge lost for the Falcons. He should have been given the OC position here and positioned for the head coaching job in the future. He will missed. I wish him the best of luck. We will see him again next season when we play the Vikings.
Mike10
January 19th, 2011
8:16 pm
Musgrave has to consider himself lucky to work with the offensive talent that Minnesota has.Congrats!
Mike10
January 19th, 2011
8:17 pm
I agree I wish Marlarky would leave already.
D. Orlando Ledbetter
January 19th, 2011
8:21 pm
BJ — Still gathering information. He’s a really good coach. Going to be hard to replace.
D. Orlando Ledbetter
January 19th, 2011
8:24 pm
Who the hell is Jemarcus Webb!!!!
Lance B.
January 19th, 2011
8:25 pm
Ha! Nice save Led
falcon21
January 19th, 2011
8:31 pm
DOL, we let the best man get away, it should have been MM. MM is holding Matt Ryan down. This offense could be good if we would take the handcuffs off of Matt.
Bama Falcon Fan
January 19th, 2011
8:36 pm
OC and DC need to take a hike also. Not always a bad thing to get fresh coaching in a team that fell flat like we did in the playoffs
waynester
January 19th, 2011
8:40 pm
He won’t be without a QB for long. The Vikes will draft a good one in Rd 1 of the draft and perhaps pick up a veteran signalcaller in FA. Both Cam Newton and the Gabbert kid should still be on the board @ #12….
SeenThisB4
January 19th, 2011
8:48 pm
It’s a sinking ship….
tackle..
January 19th, 2011
8:48 pm
..somebody defense.
RUSTYNAIL
January 19th, 2011
8:53 pm
We need to get T Bradshaw out of the fox nfl show and down here in Atlanta. Would be a great Off. Cord.
JSS
January 19th, 2011
8:56 pm
Good luck Conan O’Brien!”
D. Orlando Ledbetter
January 19th, 2011
8:56 pm
Just updated with quotes from Coach Smith
Dawg A
January 19th, 2011
8:57 pm
DLed,Did Ryan get along with Jeff J while at Boston College? I would really hate to see his progress slow down due to a new coach he is not comfortable with!
Tweets that mention Bill Musgrave leaves to join the Minnesota Vikings | Atlanta Falcons -- Topsy.com
January 19th, 2011
8:57 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by ~*Carla*~, D. Orlando Ledbetter. D. Orlando Ledbetter said: Bill Musgrave leaves to join the Minnesota Vikings http://bit.ly/dMaW4l [...]
SCFalcon
January 19th, 2011
8:57 pm
SeenThisB4 did you ain’t enjoye their frequent flyer miles?
FAILCANTS are COMICAL...
January 19th, 2011
9:01 pm
FAILCANTS are a joke franchise and I laugh at comments by SCFalcon. I also had to laugh today listening to those homers on 680AM The Fan (or whatever that station is) interviewing Tommy D, the FAILCANTS GM. He had the nerve to say that other teams model their organizations after the FAILCANTS? Are you kidding me? There is not a single franchise that wants to model their organization after one that is a FAILURE in the playoffs and has NEVER won a ring. What a joke….Until you get a ring like the SAINTS, ssshhhh…you are embarrassing……
Colt McCoy for Heisman » Blog Archive » Bill Musgrave leaves to join the Minnesota Vikings - Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)
January 19th, 2011
9:02 pm
[...] Original post by "colt mccoy" – Bing News [...]
Tim
January 19th, 2011
9:02 pm
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
falcon21
January 19th, 2011
9:08 pm
As for respect for DOL, I will not say what I want to say . FAILCANTS are COMICAL, I will let it go.
kaminari
January 19th, 2011
9:08 pm
That’s an interesting connection between Ryan’s former coach who also used to be a coach on the Falcons. It would be nice to see Ryan working with someone he is familiar with, but I also agree that the Falcons somewhat stale offensive approach against good teams is troublesome. I guess we are just being outplayed. Even with all the talent we have on the offensive side, it means nothing if our defense can’t hold. It seems like the offense is a little more evolved in TD & Mr. Smith’s Grand Scheme. I just hope that the defense can catch up before our offense retires, otherwise our chance at glory might just slip away.
JSS
January 19th, 2011
9:09 pm
Musgrave saw names like Peterson, Gerhart, Rice, Harvin, Iglesias, and Shiancoe and thought he had hit the Mega Millions two weeks ago! He could not get out of Foxoborough South quick enough…
falcon21
January 19th, 2011
9:09 pm
As of
John J.
January 19th, 2011
9:17 pm
Why did he leave? He had a good thing going here. More money?
JSS
January 19th, 2011
9:20 pm
Jeff Jagodzinski got fired from two jobs in less than 18 months… You know y’all’s favorite Morris knows him inside out… Ryan can’t figure out Tampa already, heaven knows how bad this could get!
falcon21
January 19th, 2011
9:21 pm
Yes John J. More money and a better future. MM was in his way as he is ours.
Tyler
January 19th, 2011
9:32 pm
Why not Chris Palmer or Tom Clemments (as QB Coach/Assist. HC/OC in waiting)?
Lagunadawg
January 19th, 2011
9:36 pm
He should have been our OC and sent Murlarki packing. Minn has some talent but no QB and I don’t see any in the draft that can help. Cam Newton!!!!!!!! Please
Conservative HC
January 19th, 2011
9:44 pm
Watch Musgrave go to the Vikings and turn them into an offensive juggernaut and whip the Falcons azz when they play them next year. He’ll know every play Mularkey will run before he calls it. Smitty and his offensive and defensive coordinators better get their azzes together. I don’t want to see that same BS that they did this year.
falcon21
January 19th, 2011
9:52 pm
Lagunadawg, agreed. JSS, Ryan can’t figure out Tampa, I don’t get that one, Ryan uses the play MM calls. Put Ryan in no huddle where he calls his on plays and there is a hell of a whole lot of improvement. Ryan said earlier this season that it good to call your own plays. Sounds like he’s not too happy with MM’s play calling.
Greenspan
January 19th, 2011
9:53 pm
You Falcon Fans crack me up. Mike Mularkey is a key reason in why you went 13-3. The game he called in New Orleans was THE reason that you won that game. He did not panic, he stuck to the game plan and kept the ball away from Brees and company. This coaching staff is solid. Mularkey did not throw that pick at the end of the 1st half against Green Bay in the playoffs. That was Ryan who threw a horrible ill advised pass. Ryan will mature, the Defense will get better, but your OC is the last of your problems. Mularkey was named Coordinator of the Year by the Sporting News if you haven’t forgotten. Wake up Atlanta.
Doggoneit
January 19th, 2011
10:15 pm
We will get a coach who is comparable no problem
\
JSS
January 19th, 2011
10:23 pm
falcon21
January 19th, 2011
9:52 pm
“JSS, Ryan can’t figure out Tampa, I don’t get that one”
The Falcons victories over the Bucs since ‘08 have masked how mediocre to horrible he has been against them… Go look at his numbers and production against them…
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6 5 1 0 95 166 57.2% 1042 5 8 65.9 6.28 4.71 27.7 173.7 19 34 1.79 0 3.2 5.7 0
They have his number, only the Eagles have done a better job…
Mike in Canton
January 19th, 2011
10:27 pm
Who was it that called that roll-to-the-left-with-one-receiver-on-that-side-of-field-and-everyone-knows-they-are-going-to-throw-it-to-the-sidelines play Greenspan? That play had absolutely no chance in hell.
D. Orlando Ledbetter
January 19th, 2011
10:30 pm
Lance B — Thanks for you help!!!
D. Orlando Ledbetter
January 19th, 2011
10:31 pm
Mike in Canton — That roll to the left stuff won the Baltimore game. They’d been pulling that off all season. But the Packers must have scouted that on tape. It’s magical when it works.
William
January 19th, 2011
10:32 pm
Good luck with the Vikings. Surely we can find a quarterback coach without much of a problem. There is nothing wrong with the Falcons. Lay off. Lose one game and you would think the world is going to end. We have a good coaching staff and a good team. Just had an off night, that’s all. Anybody can have an off night, look at New England.
Steven A.
January 19th, 2011
10:33 pm
Greenspan is obviously “clueless.” Mularkeys’ predictable vanilla offense was a bunch of “Malarky.”
See Eagles game earlier in the season where a good coach gameplans against MattyMeltdown..
He’s ineffective when it counts the most(Trent Dilfer)
PMC
January 19th, 2011
10:34 pm
Congrats to coach Musgrave on the promotion! He did a hell of a job as QB coach here.
The U
January 19th, 2011
10:38 pm
The play wasn’t the issue. It was the throw that caused the turnover. The play and the throw had been executed a few times in regular season.
PMC
January 19th, 2011
10:40 pm
JSS, I think a lot of that has to do with how physical Tampa is. They simply look bigger and stronger than we do. I think they out muscle our defensive linemen then Tampa has good athletic corners like Talib that can make plays on the ball if it hangs up or is slowly delivered to the outside. He also got hit a lot I remember in his first faure’s against the Bucs and that hurt him. I think he struggles against very athletic secondaries perhaps due to limited routes and or limited options. Clearly we have an issue at left tackle and also against inside stunts.
FalcFans.com » Musgrave joins Vikings
January 19th, 2011
10:40 pm
[...] According to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the AJC, a potential candidate to replace Musgrave as quarterbacks coach is Jeff Jagodzinski. Jagodzinski was an assistant coach, working with the offensive linemen on the Falcons staff in 2004-05, before joining the Green Bay Packers in 2006 as offensive coordinator. He then became head coach at Boston College in 2007, where he coached Matt Ryan. He was fired by Boston College after the 2008 season, spent the 2009 off-season as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator before being fired prior to the start of the regular season. And then coached the Omaha Nighthawks in the United Football League this past year before being fired earlier this month. Categories: The Wire Tags: coaches Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Leave a comment Trackback [...]
PMC
January 19th, 2011
10:41 pm
“offensive” rather than defensive linemen sorry.
D. Orlando Ledbetter
January 19th, 2011
10:43 pm
When I talked to Coach Smitty tonight he wouldn’t give up “the list.” But he assured me that he has one and that he’d get it to me at the proper time (to share with you all). Jags is a natural because of the relationships. I’m wondering if Billick (Smitty’s Bro in Law) would do it. I have to look up who Mularkey will be pushing, too.
Greenspan
January 19th, 2011
10:44 pm
Mike in Canton….Agreed….They have run that play before….trying to get closer for the field goal try. Not a great call, but you can’t throw that ball. You have to eat it or throw it away. All water under the bridge at this point. If you look at the teams that are left standing, there are several things in common with all of them: 1) Outstanding defensive play, 2) Great quarterback play, 3) Ability to control the ball on the ground. I think the Falcons can control the ball on the ground, but they need better Defensive play and a better game from their QB. You put together a stout Defense with that ball contol offense and give Matt Ryan another year and loosen the reigns and you will be in the NFC Championship. I like this crew. Mularkey was instrumental when the team drafted Matt Ryan and Mularkey taught him the offense. That is Mularkey’s “no huddle” offense that Ryan runs. Ryan likes Mularkey and they will only get better together.
JSS
January 19th, 2011
10:51 pm
The Bucs are physical; but are by no means “big.” They jump routes, they were doing it before anyone else in terms of Ryan… Having the “Human Trash Talker” doesn’t hurt them either… He works over Roddy with the best of them…
T-Bone
January 19th, 2011
10:59 pm
I think we get rid of the Mularky and hire the Fridge. Friedgen’s offensive mind could do wonders with the weapons that we have.
BC
January 19th, 2011
11:23 pm
They would not take you in Arkansas? Huh?
FACTS
January 19th, 2011
11:25 pm
@ T-Bone
Sorry whether Mularkey leaves or not, except for Roddy there are no real threats on this offense. TG is serviceable but does not get a lot of seperation. Did you see what a real receiving corp looked like in Green Bay. The Falcons need to upgrade ASAP.
Falcon 2012
January 19th, 2011
11:28 pm
Congrats to Bill and thanks for all you did for Falcons. You will be missed.
What ever you do GM and Smitty Get a Damn good one!!!!!! No to Jag……….
DR. FALCON
January 19th, 2011
11:35 pm
WE HAVE THE 27TH PICK IN THE DRAFT. IF DIMITROFF IS GOING TO BE AGGRESSIVE THIS SEASON AS HE CLAIMS, THEN WE NEED TO DRAFT PLAYMAKERS. WE SHOULD TRADE OUR 1, AND OUR 2, PLUS JENKINS, AND NEXT YRS 1, TO MOVE UP THE DRAFT BOARD TO SELECT A.J. GREEN, OR JULIO JONES. THESE 2 PLAYERS CAN STRETCH THE FIELD! WE NEED TO GO YOUNG! DON’T BRING NO OLD ASS CHAD OCHO CINCO IN HERE! pLEASE!!!
DR. FALCON
January 19th, 2011
11:41 pm
WE PLAY THE AFC SOUTH,AND THE NFC NORTH NEXT SEASON. COUPLE THAT WITH OUR OWN NFC SOUTH WHICH IS THE BEST DIVISON IN THE NFL, IT’S GOING TO BE TOUGH SLEDDIN IN 2011! IF WE DON’T MAKE DRASTIC CHANGES IN OUR APPROACH, THIS TEAM WON’T SEE ANOTHER 13-3 SEASON AGAIN FOR QUITE SOME TIME! RICHARD SEYMOUR IS A FREE AGENT, AS IS NNAMDI ASOMUGHA! JUST A THOUGHT!
DR. FALCON
January 19th, 2011
11:45 pm
BY THE WAY, I BLAME MARK RICHT FOR NOT UTILIZING AJ GREEN’S SKILLS TO THE FULLEST. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN ATHENS? WHY HASN’T UGA FIRED MARK RICHT BY NOW? PUT HIM AND MULARKEY ON THE SAME BUS OUT OF TOWN!!!
Steve
January 20th, 2011
12:30 am
Greenspan .. the reason it worked against New Orleans and a bunch of other teams this year is because of a few things.
– we got ahead or stayed very close – this offense has no big comeback potential
– we had unrealistic turnover and penalty numbers that we likely will NOT reproduce next year
– it worked if we played a defense who couldn’t stop the run (such as the Saints with their overrated defense)
Quite frankly, against most of the better defenses we faced they beat us down (Pitt, Philly). We escaped against Baltimore. We escaped against Green Bay the first time we played them.
Any decent defense that is given a couple of weeks to prepare for us for a big game can stop our offense. Bet on it. That s why ‘us’ true Falcons fans saw the truth of the matter. I could care less what awards are given out. If the Falcons have the exact same offensive stats but lose a few more game because of defense and special teams then NO ONE is mentioning Mularkey as coordinator of the year.
We had an inflated record this year that was simply not indicative of the team we really had. Most fans know we were extremely fortunate to win 13 games. Yes, the players did it, but the talent we have and the gameplans we have are lacking. I am willing to give Mularkey and BVG a couple more years if Smith and Dimitroff believe in them and think they can find the pieces neccessary. That being said, Mularkey’s offense will NOT win us a Super Bowl unless we have an absolute shut down defense, which we aren’t even close to having. You get us that defense then Mularkey’s game plan is PERFECT. Without that defense we need improvement in our offense, because those unrealistic turnover and penalty numbers will likely fluctuate back up quite a bit.
Freddie G
January 20th, 2011
12:40 am
We hear all the time that Ryan calls some of his own plays, especially in the no-huddle offense. So if Mulurkey gives him that authority why are folks always blaming Mularkey for holding him back? He seems to have more authority than the other young QB’s like Sanchez,Flacco,Rodgers, and the TB QB, yet thay all had higher completion percentage. The line has something to do with that and could be a reason why we don’t have the big plays, it could also be the receivers, or Ryan may not be as good as advertised.
Steve
January 20th, 2011
12:41 am
Dr Green .. let go of the caps. Use th sparingl for emphasis only and people might take your posts serously. Also, Green and Jones are considered more of posession type receivers than burners. We already have possibly the best possession receiver in the game. We need a burner ala DeSean Jackson to really fill out this offense. Jenkins and Finneran (if he comes back) are also possession receivers. We only have on guy that can stretch the field now, and he is a below average NFL receiver.
FACTS – Nice post. You are right on the money. The talent is lacking everywhere on this offense. We have only three players that I really think we can count on. Ryan, White and Ovie. TG is a possession guy, not a real playmaker. Turner doesn’t seem to run with authority on about 90% of his carries (which is why I prefer to see Snelling in the game). The O-Line played fairly well this year, but they are along ways from being one of the best in the league. That is one of the reasons I would like to give Mularkey another chance, but I still think we have to have a major improvement on the defensive side of the ball if we ever expect Mularkey’s offense to win us a Super Bowl.
On defense it’s even worse. I actually think BVG did a decent job with next to no talent this year. If we can get him some talent who knows what we might be capable of on defense. I still remember the defensive teams he ran out onto the field at UGA. They were very good defensively and were known as a hard hitting aggressive team. I think you could see the aggressiveness of the Falcons, especially the last few games, but the talent just isn’t there yet. The tackling is terrible (Rodgers is good, but he looked like Barry Sanders against us), the safety and linebacker play is terrible, and our D-Line gets almost no pressure other than Abraham. We need major upgrades all over the defensive side. I would much prefer to upgrade there if we can. It is easier to make a quick impact on that side of the ball with a few changes than on offense. We took one step last year, but we need a couple more big time players on D in the middle of the field before we will take that next step in the palyoffs.
JKA
January 20th, 2011
1:31 am
Good luck to Musgrave, but will also be good to have a fresh voice on the staff…..Falcons staff has often been described as ’solid’, but you rarely hear ‘innovative’…….
Johnson Smith
January 20th, 2011
2:29 am
Everyone is forgetting Musgrave as the o-coordinator in Carolina, the crying incident, and subsequent quitting. Stay tuned……..
P. Bull Terrier
January 20th, 2011
3:20 am
It doesn’t matter who we get as a replacement. In two years, most of the people on this board will be ready to run the new guy out of town, so we can get an even newer guy.
Ueeediot
January 20th, 2011
3:30 am
The QB coach will be a great place to help Matt Ryan grow. Having a new coach to build different positives, is always a good thing.
It will be very interesting to see who Coach Smith comes up with for this very important job.
As for 2011, I expect the playoffs. I expect a 4th year QB and core team with previous playoff experience to return again. Good teams must beat bad teams, period. The NFC North has 2 bad/transitional teams in DET and MIN, the AFC South has 3 questionable teams in HOU, TEN, and JAX. The NFC South has Carolina rebuilding again, and we go to Seattle next year. That is 8 winnable games on paper that a good/scratch, *championship* football team makes into W’s on the field.
Mr Zizzle
January 20th, 2011
5:04 am
Hey Falcants guy: One word for you: Marshawn Lynch! OUCH!
lou
January 20th, 2011
5:15 am
Hard to believe the best picture of Musgrave in action was with DJ Shockley. There wasn’t one picture of him with Matt Ryan?
falcon
January 20th, 2011
6:45 am
Maybe some of you Mike Mularkey fans can fill me in on why he refuses to make the simple screen pass a part of his offense? Also no 3 step drops and quick slant routes. You know the same routes that GB absolutely destroyed our soft zone coverage with.
Larry
January 20th, 2011
6:53 am
“Hey Falcants guy: One word for you: Marshawn Lynch!”
Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t Marshawn Lynch TWO words? Just checking my math!
HJones
January 20th, 2011
7:19 am
Greenspan you are out of touch. On Tuesday at ESPN, Gregg Easterbrook (Tuesday Morning Quarterback) awarded the “call”, not the execution, of the side line pass Sour Coaching of the Divisionals. I am quoting him here: “That can’t be the offense about to run an extra play! With no timeouts, the play must go either to the sideline or to the end zone, anything else ends the half. Green Bay knows this! Calling cadence, Matt Ryan looked up and saw two Green Bay safeties standing on the goal line — meaning no hope of throwing into the end zone. He saw both Green Bay cornerbacks on the outside shoulders of their receivers, meaning no hope of throwing to the sideline. Because the Falcons had no timeouts, he couldn’t cancel the play and wave for the kicking team. Because it was a 52-yarder from the current spot, Ryan couldn’t take a delay-of-game penalty, which would’ve made the kick a 57-yarder. If he had this play to do over, surely Ryan would have snapped and thrown the ball away, stopping the clock to allow a 52-yard try. He didn’t think of that and instead ran the play the coaches radioed in, a quick out. Undrafted corner Tramon Williams knew what was coming, cut in front of the receiver and returned the interception 70 yards for a touchdown with no time showing. Down 28-14 at the half, Atlanta was broken. Green Bay knew exactly where the pass would go! The reason corners don’t cut in front of outs all the time is that they must defend the many other patterns the receiver might run. In this case, Williams didn’t have to honor any other pattern: he was certain the play would be an out. What a botched call by Atlanta offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey! The Falcons didn’t show any formation or playcalling variation on offense, either. Mularkey was too busy, perhaps, with his résumé to compose an original game plan. Atlanta had the No. 1 NFC seed largely on the strength of protecting the football and smart coaching; the last play of the first half was among the worst coaching errors TMQ has seen”
As I have said all season, Mike Mularkey puts Matt Ryan into impossible situations especially on third and long. The side line pass call is just another reason, Mike Mularkey needs to go.
Gregory
January 20th, 2011
8:03 am
Congrats Musgrave. I say go get Todd Krueger to be QB Coach.
No hope now
January 20th, 2011
8:04 am
Falcons I am done. I am a falcon for life but after this I WON’T BE HYPE for a falcons season in awhile. ” “The players on the offensive side of the ball are very attractive to be associated with. I’m looking forward to utilizing their strengths to get fantastic results. The offensive weapons on this squad are impressive.” THAT QUOTE RIGHT THERE MAKES ME SO ANGRY!!! The thing is musgrave didn’t want to leave, HE JUST WANTED TO BE OC. Murlarkey has had his time over and over. I don’t like murlarkey because of no reason, for all I know murlarkey could be a nice guy, it isn’t about that. ITS ABOUT FACTS. Murlarkey has destroyed every offense he has touched since hes been OC and HC in his coaching career. Look it up, Steelers went from 3rd to gargabe, murlarkey then went to the bills and made an already bad offense worse with 28th, then the dolphins, and now us. 08 ryans rookie year, we finished 6th. The last two seasons…16th!!!! ITS HAPPENING TO US NOW. Watch the vikings draft cam newton and with all those weapson finished top 10 and they’re offense destroy defenses. I swore Smitty knew what he was doing last year when he named Musgrave Assistant HC, because I thought they would let murlarkey go. NO…the conservative general STAYS. This offense and Ryan will never readch its potential with murlarkey.
johndawg
January 20th, 2011
8:44 am
Billick would be awesome… Mularkey will be a head coach soon somewhere else and Billick comes with respect (a Super Bowl)!
kerryb
January 20th, 2011
8:58 am
I wish we would have let Mularkey go and kept Musgrave. I like the idea of Matt Ryan running the West Coast offense better than this 3 yards and a cloud of dust thing.
kerryb
January 20th, 2011
9:05 am
HJones, Do you also remember the the first game of the year against the Steelers. Mularkey couldn’t get creative enought to break the Steelers defense. How many times did he call that out pattern to White before Polomolu intercepted it knowing what was about to be thrown.
D man
January 20th, 2011
9:18 am
Now we may be allowed to throw a deep route more than 1 time every 3 games…
,
D man
January 20th, 2011
9:21 am
Oops, I was thinking we let Malarkey go, mt bad. Guess we are stuck with 10 yard pass plays… ;(
DC Dirty Bird
January 20th, 2011
9:38 am
Can’t lie, I prefer Musgrave over Mularkey. Mularkey is an “also ran” in this league. Our play calls are based on the “system” and not tailored to the talent we had on offense. How many bubble screens did we see with Harry Douglas? Did we effectively utilize speed out of the back field? Oh wait, our offensive coordinator doesn’t think we need speed back there. At this stage, I just hope Mike Smith recognizes that we need a philosophy change on offense and defense. We can keep the same scheme, but get players on the roster that allow our offense and defense to attack.
vafalconfan
January 20th, 2011
10:08 am
Why, why, why let Musgrave go and hang on to Mularkey?..This is very puzzling. Discourageing actually..
Rikus
January 20th, 2011
10:15 am
Jeff Jagodzinksi was a great college coach. It’s a shame he was tempted to take another stab at the NFL. He brings fire and passion, and says all the things a fan wants to hear. Not sure why his career has been so rocky in the past few years.
saintsfan44
January 20th, 2011
10:19 am
He knows he won’t get a Championship with the Failcons
80,s gradybaby lifetime falconsfanatic
January 20th, 2011
10:43 am
ok he’s gone along with all our superbowl hopes next gotta be M&M(mike malarkey) for that pee wee league game he called against green bay. I’m still sick. Then next gotta be Vangorder( yep, i’m sorry luv ya, but what type of game planning did u do) Please Mr. Blank lets take this club to another level by gettin coordinators with nutssss. Mike an Vangorder made us look real simple at the wrong time
Sid
January 20th, 2011
12:29 pm
Jeff Jagodzinski, let go as the offensive coordinator for both the Packers and Tampa after short stints at both? Only 2 years as BC head coach……………this guy is either a job hopper or not as advertised. I don’t know much about him but sounds like he would be temporary.
Earth to AintsFan44
January 20th, 2011
1:07 pm
the aints aint good anymore.
DawgDad
January 20th, 2011
1:09 pm
This team went 13-3 and earned a first-round playoff bye and home-field advantage, which is preferrable to the playoff equivalent of a first-round win. This team has a YOUNG quarterback and a VERY YOUNG defense. They matched (in playoff terms) precisely what the exalted AFC first-seed New England Patriots and Tom Brady accomplished. Perspective, people.
ctfalconsfan
January 20th, 2011
1:26 pm
DOL – When is Mularkey being fired?
This should have already happened and shows a lack of judgment on Smitty and/or TD’s part..
DAWGDAD – NE has a few more rings than us and I can tell you, living in CT, that the media and their fans are all over them for the Jets loss. The fans don’t settle on 14-2 and 3(?) Championships they want to win NOW like I do!!
13-3 is really nice but we can’t hang that banner in the rafters of the GA Dome!!
just saying
January 20th, 2011
1:38 pm
D. Orlando Ledbetter
January 19th, 2011
10:31 pm
Mike in Canton — That roll to the left stuff won the Baltimore game. They’d been pulling that off all season. But the Packers must have scouted that on tape. It’s magical when it works.
Funny how the know it all smart a$$’s go silent when bi+ch slapped with facts.
GeorgiaDuck
January 20th, 2011
2:13 pm
Bill is a class act. He stopped and introduced himself last spring after seeing all my Oregon Duck gear on my truck. Oregon’s program turned around when he was the quarterback there. Good luck in Minnesota Bill!
C from Marietta
January 20th, 2011
2:25 pm
To the fans not overracting. DOn’t try to convinence these Monday morning QBs about anything. They will not be happy until they blame someone and someone loses their job. They are just angry people and are probably happy the Falcons lost, so they can whine and complain.
Harris
January 20th, 2011
3:01 pm
Need to fire the off coord too.
realitycheck
January 20th, 2011
3:45 pm
Earth to Aints fan44…..The Saints won 27 games and a Superbowl the last two seasons and they were near the top of the league in injuries and players on IR during that two year span. If they are healthy next season, they will be the team to beat in the NFC South. Just wait till the Falcons start having their share of injuries(and it will happen eventually) and see how many games they win. The Falcons lack of talent, speed, and explosion was exposed by Green Bay. The Falcons will be fortunate to win 9-10 games next season. There will be a dropoff for sure for the 2011 Falcons. You heard it here first!
No hope now
January 20th, 2011
4:12 pm
I don’t know if this realitycheck guy is a saints fan but he is right. ATL has to take that next step QUICKLY THIS OFF-SEASON OR ELSE. The bucs are right behind us. I still think the Saints are better than us. Better QB, better Coach, Better defense, etc. This year they had injuries and Smitty got a little better with coaching. But for the most part, this decesion to let musgrave go and keep murlarkey SAYS A LOT ABOUT THE GUYS IN POWER. The irony is the offense is going to continue to get worse and the defense is gonna get better. Screw the packers game, DO FALCONS FANS KNOW THE DEFENSE FINISHED 16TH OVERALL??? We’ve been improving since 08. We finished 5th in scoring defense. The defense is SUPER YOUNG and the players are just know understanding BVG. We just have to hope injured players like HD, JErry, Meier, Weatherspoon, etc. CAN MAKE BIG IMPACTS the same way William Moore did after his IR season. THATS WHERE WE WILL GROW. But letting musgrave go and keeping murlarkey was a mistake, AND WILL SOON BE PROVEN STARTING NEXT SEASON. So much for having the “next peyton manning” as a QB. THE COACHING STAFF DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO GROW ON RYANS TALENT.
EarthtoRealityCheck
January 20th, 2011
4:35 pm
aints came in second behind the falcons. shorty threw a bunch of ints. back to reality.
EarthtoRealityCheck
January 20th, 2011
4:36 pm
aints were exposed by the browns, cardinals, falcons, ravens. forget it, i’ve lost count. they are terrible.
Jeff
January 20th, 2011
4:52 pm
We need to run off VanGorder first. You must have an elite defense to win in the playoffs.
realitycheck
January 20th, 2011
5:38 pm
EarthtoRealityCheck……If you really think that the Saints are “terrible”, then you desperately need to check your own reality. Neither the Saints,Bucs,or Falcons are “terrible”. I’m just a very objective guy and I see things from all angles. You obviously aren’t able to do that!
Doublecheck
January 20th, 2011
6:24 pm
I didn’t say Bucs or Falcons.
Doublecheck
January 20th, 2011
6:27 pm
How about the angle that shows the aints getting throttled by the Seahawks. They are nowhere in the league of the Packers as your not so objective post suggests.
Ueeediot
January 20th, 2011
6:29 pm
realitycheck:
The AINTS have almost 30 free agents. They will not be the same team they were last year. The AINTS window of opportunity is closed.
The Bucs are on the rise.
The Falcons will also get better personnel wise this offseason.
You cant objectively say the AINTS will get better. Just older.
Ueeediot
January 20th, 2011
6:31 pm
Wow Jeff, thats brilliant. Lets run off the coach instead of addressing the players on the field. Brilliant post.
ATL FAN
January 20th, 2011
6:56 pm
Hell yes, now he can’t become our OC… good luck with him
realitycheck
January 20th, 2011
8:24 pm
Sounds to me that some of these bloggers drank that spiked kool-aid that I passed up on. I never bought in that this Falcon team would go anywhere in the playoffs. They overachieved and lucked their way to that regular season record, before the Packers gave them the NFL’s all time worst beatdown for a #1 seed. I know that loss was hard to digest, but don’t blame me for seeing it coming. Are some of you the same ones who said that UGA was a darkhorse for last year’s CFB National Championship? I do not have a crystal ball for next season, but I expect the Falcons to definitely fall off. I just don’t think their talent is all that good, but we will see what they do in the offseason relative to their many needs. I will be very surprised if they repeat as division champs next season. The Falcons blew as good of a chance this season that they’ve ever had in franchise history, and don’t expect another one like that for a very long time.
No hope now
January 20th, 2011
8:58 pm
Reality Check man are you speaking the truth. I feel the same way. I don’t agree to the fullest extent but I know what your saying. If this team ever wins a SB it will be the tough-under-everybodys-nose-giants upset-type way. No. 1 seed, homefield advantage, 13-3 and you get blown out?? IF you can’t even come close to a SB with top accolades like that then you might never will win it with the top accolades. Its gonna have to be through a WC berth like the packers are something. This team got too comfortable. THe problem they got comfortable IS BECAUSE THE SCHEMES ARE TOO CONSERVATIVE. And when you see a team with a top 10 offense and top 10 defense such as the packers YOU CAN’T FALL ASLEEP NOT ONE BIT. Thats what happened, I agree. I think we might go 8-8 or 9-7 after what I saw last saturday night and us letting musgrave go. ITS BS keeping murlarkey around. The process smitty is talking about isn’t coming along they way I know he thought it would. This is still an offensive team AND THAT SIDE OF THE BALL IS GETTING WORSE THE MORE MURLARKEY KEEPS COACHING IT. The problems that I’ve been watching as well the last 3 years, ALL OF IT IMPLODED WHEN WE FACED THE PACKERS. It was a big wake up call. Better pass protection, more weapons for ryan, better play calling, stronger secondary, etc. The whole works. WE NEED THOSE THINGS JUST TO COMPETE IN THE PLAYOFFS, as we got spanked by the packers without those things. Letting musgrave go was the final straw for me as a fan, Im just not sold on this team anymore. THEY NEED A BIG OFF-SEASON TO GET MY ATTENTION BACK, call me what you want but I saw this coming as well BUT IT WAS WORST THAN I THOUGHT. We’re the laughing stock of the NFL right now
realitycheck
January 20th, 2011
9:51 pm
no hope now……Dude, we must be looking through a different set of glasses than many others on this blog. Most fans just don’t have the ability to be objective when it could negatively affect the the feeling of attachment that they have invested into their team(s). Could the Falcons win the division next season? Sure they can, but many of the things that broke their way in 2010 will have to again for them to repeat as division champs. I am very aware of the garbage between Falcon and Saint fans that goes on on this blog, but getting past that, many of us realists expect the Saints to be good next season. We would be foolish to think otherwise. The same is true of the Bucs. The Falcons found a way to win both games at the end this season, but that task will not get any easier. The Panthers have no way to go but up, and they should certainly win more than 2 games, but what was a guaranteed 2-0 in 2010, might not be in 2011. And with the NFC North replacing the NFC West, the schedule gets tougher not only for the Falcons but for the other divisional opponents too. This means that a wild card is less likely to come from the NFC South than it was in 2010. The Falcons might surprise us again next season, but we would be being extremely foolish to expect that.
Waffle House or Bust
January 20th, 2011
10:55 pm
ESPN pretty much just came out and laughed at Atlanta defense tonight. I hope we don’t draft another WR and get some more help in that secondary.
Shi*s weak! – Grandma’s Boy
JSS
January 20th, 2011
10:55 pm
Ah, “The Protective Bunker” AKA The Ledbetter-Falcons Blog! And they are still trying to shout down the Saints, Bucs, Steelers, Eagles, and Packers fans… But even their owner, one Arthur Blank called them out in front of the Buckhead Business Association! Enjoy your echo chamber “Snarky Central,” the rest of the World is moving on!
LAST
January 20th, 2011
11:54 pm
The falcons are 53 players away from a good team. Just for once, I like to see them finishing first at something. I may get my wish next year because if they finish dead last they will get the number one pick in the draft. Cannot wait until next year. Go away falcons and take the braves, hawks and threshers with you, but leave the Dreams.
LAST
January 20th, 2011
11:57 pm
Are the falcons going to Super Bowl this year? Yes, and watch.
LAST
January 20th, 2011
11:59 pm
What has 2 large wings but cannot fly? A dead falcon.
Alternate Reality
January 21st, 2011
8:25 am
“many of us realists expect the Saints to be good next season”
Dude, you are in la la land. tell us again about your crystal ball and all that.
Alternate Reality
January 21st, 2011
8:28 am
and please keep coming back here to share the lunacy. What’s that again? The Falcons got lucky and the aints didn’t. The aints, bucs, and panthers are going to get better but the Falcons aren’t. Somebody’s yearning for last year.
swampfox59
January 21st, 2011
8:38 am
Jamarcus Webb is Joe Russell’s brother
Think
January 21st, 2011
10:24 am
“Most fans just don’t have the ability to be objective when it could negatively affect the the feeling of attachment that they have invested into their team(s). Could the Falcons win the division next season? Sure they can, but many of the things that broke their way in 2010 will have to again for them to repeat as division champs.”
Substitute “Falcons” for “Aints” and “2010″ for “2009″ in the above and I think you’ve got something here. Hey, you’d be correct! They didn’t get the breaks and didn’t even win their division.
realitycheck
January 21st, 2011
11:26 am
alternate reality and think…You guys are just bitter because you bought into this Falcons team. Have you already called Delta to exchange those tickets to Dallas for vouchers? You wanted it so bad that you could taste it, and all of your heart and emotion went into it, and now you are as deflated as a popped balloon. Blame me if you want, but you basically bought a bad stock. I am not a Saints or Bucs fan, but I feel that one of them will win the NFC South next season. The Falcons blew their chance and you guys will just have to live with that. And you thought that a team that ran nearly 1100 plays and had one play all season of 50 or more yards(and that was a run) would make the Superbowl. No speed, no explosion, and no where near elite talent, and boy did Green Bay expose all of that. 10-6 at the best next year, and that’s only if the injury bug doesn’t hit, because eventually it gets everyone.
Thanks for Clarifying
January 21st, 2011
12:48 pm
Oh, good thing you’re not a saints fan. They’re terrible.
realitycheck
January 21st, 2011
1:52 pm
thanks for clarifying….If you think they’re(Saints) terrible, then what does that say about the Falcons. The Saints were an extra point length field goal from sweeping them. The Saints were injured and underachieved this season and still got 11 wins. The Falcons were overachievers all year(talent not that good), and capitalized on near perfect health to win two more games than the Saints did. The Saints have better coaching than the Falcons, and their GM Loomis has consistently drafted better than Dimitroff has. 27 wins including a Superbowl the last two years is not too shabby. So if this team is terrible, the Falcons must really be the pits. And by the way……thanks for clarifying……how many of these names do you have on here?
Thanks for Clarifying
January 21st, 2011
3:44 pm
“win two more games than the Saints did.” If you’ll look this up, it means that the aints finished behind the Falcons
Unfortunatly, in the NFL, the ball has to go through the uprights for it to count. Often it doesn’t and it would certainly change everything completely to allow for you to go wishing this and wishing that. Which is what you are doing, I think, wishing the aints were better. Sorry Mr. Bitterman, you can take your aint trolling crap elsewhere.
ctfalconsfan
January 21st, 2011
4:13 pm
DOL I keep checking back to see when we are going to fire Mularkey but nothing???
So am I to assume next year we are also shooting for the least 20+ yard plays in NFL, no screen passes and really no imagination on offense?? Very frustrating..
We got lucky in several games this year which was great, it’s part of the game, but next year we play the NFC North which is is obviously stronger from top to bottom than the west as well as the AFC south which has 3 solid teams versus only 2 from AFC North. TB is improving and Carolina can only go up so where are we, just complacent?
If we want to be an elite team we need to step up and not be satisfied with an offense that was ranked 8th in 08′ and 16th this year, we are regressing..
realitycheck
January 21st, 2011
4:49 pm
Thanks for Clarifying….. You got it all wrong pal. I bet that Green bay game was a painful experience wasn’t it. Remember Bucs and Saints got the Lombardi’s. Take your narrow one sided views back to your tree stand. And you better hurry, because hunting season ends soon!
realitycheck
January 21st, 2011
4:55 pm
ctfalconsfan…. That’s about how I see it too. It’s nice that there actually are some objective writers out there.
Thanks for clarifying
January 21st, 2011
5:06 pm
The saints did not get the Lombardi. Again, they finished behind the Falcons as did the Bucs. Your comments are a far cry from objective but it seems you are pretty slow to catch on.
realitycheck
January 21st, 2011
5:42 pm
Thanks for clarifying…. The saints did not get the Lombardi? They got it last year, and the Bucs got it in Jan ‘03. Your arguments have no point and are quite inaccurate. Have you been on another planet?
No hope now
January 21st, 2011
9:15 pm
@ ctfalconsfan Thats what I’ve been saying, THE OFFENSE IS GETTING WORSE WHILE THE DEFENSE IS GETTING BETTER, and its because of murlarkey. This offense will never be anything big unless they start to loosen it up more and stop being conservative. But thats how murlarkey offense is. His way or the highway. Musgrave took the highway and rightfully so………..
Fellow Saints Fan
January 22nd, 2011
3:15 pm
Ring. Ring….
“Hello?”
“Yeah, may I speak to Reality Check?”
“This is Reality Check.”
“Ok, this is Fellow Saints Fan. We didn’t win the Lombardi this year.”
“We didn’t?”
Nope, that was last year. This year, didn’t even win our division. Got blown out, too, by the seahawks.”
“By the seahawks?!!”
“Yep, the meat is completely off the ‘won the superbowl’ bone”
“You mean I shouldn’t be trolling the Falcons blog?”
“That’d by pretty dumb, my fellow saints fan.”