GAME STORY: Buccaneers 16, Falcons 13
Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) stiff-arms Buccaneers defensive back Corey Lynch (41) on a fourth quarter reception. AP
TAMPA
– Even with Falcons owner Arthur Blank pacing the sidelines next to the team bench on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium, there would be no miracle finish to pull out another improbable victory.
After defensive tackle Corey Peters inexplicably jumped offsides on a fourth down-and-1, the Buccaneers secured a 16-13 win over the Falcons in the NFC South opener for both teams.
“Stupid,” Peters said. “It was my fault. I take 100 percent of the blame for that. I’ve been warned about that over and over again. Everybody has warned me about that.
“The defensive coordinator, head coach and the middle linebacker; so it was 100 percent my fault. I knew not to do that.”
Defensive end John Abraham, one of the leaders of the defense, called Peters’ play “unacceptable.”
But for all the beating up of himself, Peters was not the only member of the team who had a bad play or a bad game.
There were a slew of penalties, a key dropped pass by All-Pro wide receiver Roddy White on an apparent touchdown, another poor showing by the offensive line, Matt Ryan over threw a wide open Tony Gonzalez in the endzone and there was a key failed fourth-down conversion.
Also, the running game was stopped in its tracks by a defense that was giving up 156 yards per game. The Falcons, and their proud Pro Bowlers Michael Turner and Ovie Mughelli, were held to 30 yards on 15 carries.
The Bucs, who had dropped the last five games to the Falcons, improved to 2-1. Atlanta dipped to 1-2.
“I got excited or whatever,” Peters said. “It was stupid. I won’t say that it cost us the game, but it definitely ended the game.”
Peters, who started 15 games last season as a rookie, was calm after the game. He didn’t dodge any questions.
He kept arriving at the same conclusion.
“It was stupid,” Peters said. “It didn’t give us the opportunity. There is no excuse for it.”
The Falcons had planned to stop the Bucs, and then march down for a field goal to send the game into overtime or a touchdown for the victory.
The Falcons, who won seven games in the fourth quarter or overtime last season, appeared poised to snatch a win away from the Buccaneers just like they did last week against the Philadelphia Eagles with two late 80-yard touchdown drives.
But this time, the Bucs, on the legs of powerful second-year running back LeGarrette Blount, were able to run out the clock with the aid of Peters’ penalty.
Earlier, fueled by Falcons’ turnovers, the Bucs built a 16-3 lead with 6:54 left in the third quarter.
After a Falcons punt, safety William Moore had an interception. The Falcons drove down to the Bucs’ 7, but on a fourth-and 3, Tampa Bay safety Corey Lynch batted down a pass intended for running back Jacquizz Rodgers.
“Jacquizz ran a good route and did what we asked him to do,” Ryan said. “We have to make those plays.”
The defense got another stop and the light finally came on for the offense. Ryan covered 41 yards in two plays, tossing a 10-yard touchdown pass to Gonzalez to make it 16-10.
After another stop from the defense, the offense appeared set to score, but had to settle for a field goal after White dropped a pass in the flat. He took his eyes off the ball as he was turning upfield into a clear path to the endzone.
“It’s difficult to continue to come back week after week,” Ryan said. “Today, I certainly thought that after we got that first [touchdown], we were going to move the ball down again. We moved it pretty effectively, but we just weren’t able to punch it in.”
Ryan finished with 330 yards passing as he completed 26 of 47 passes. White had nine catches for 140 yards and rookie Julio Jones had six catches for 115 yards.
“At the end of the day, we just dug ourselves too big of a hole,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said.
The Falcons have trailed by 10 points in each of their games this season.
“It’s not just one person,” Smith said. “Not just in one phase. It’s across the board. I’ll take full responsibility for that. . .We’ve got a lot of areas to address.”
The Falcons travel to play Seattle next week before hosting Green Bay at the Georgia Dome on Oct. 9 in a rematch of the divisionsal playoff game.
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137 comments Add your comment
PMC
September 26th, 2011
1:44 pm
You think Turner has the speed to get to the edge? I think I’d rather try some misdirection and screens really. We don’t see that either. They could try Quizz on sweeps, or maybe swing passes.
Rev In Tampa
September 26th, 2011
1:49 pm
I was at the game last night at the RayJ trying to cheer on the Falcons, but it was difficult. From the first drive it was evident that the Bucs wanted it more than the Falcons. The Bucs reminded me of the Falcons of two years ago when they were eager and hungry to get the wins and the attention.
The Falcons line did not hold their blocks. This, in turn, made Matt Ryan nervous. All night long he was rushed. It seemed he was more worried about being hit than making sure he was making a good pass.
On defense I saw several Falcons stop pursuing the play after Graham or Blount were initially stopped. But the running backs would not stop driving their feet. As a result the Bucs got an extra 3-4 yards per play on many of their runs. That is exactly what happened on the Bucs last possession. It should have been 4th and 3 instead of 4th and inches.
I was very impressed with the Falcons recievers. IF THE OFFENSIVE LINE WOULD HOLD THEIR BLOCKS THE FALCONS WOULD BE A VERY DANGEROUS TEAM. My only gripe with the recievers was Roddy White’s drop on the five yard line. It was the easiest pass that came his way all night.
Rev In Tampa
September 26th, 2011
1:55 pm
Oh, I forgot about the penalties. That also killed the Falcons.
ramblingbuzz
September 26th, 2011
1:55 pm
Let’s see, 12 points at Chicago and 13 points at Tampa. Do I see a trend deveoping here? Where is that explosive, quick strike offense the Falcs were supposed to have?
CGD..
September 26th, 2011
2:04 pm
a real Pro baller never drops the easy ones by themselves!!
Game changer it could have been..
I’m just saying…
nathan
September 26th, 2011
2:16 pm
Yes, we can blame the defense! For allowing that LOOOOOONG drive in the 3rd quarter, and then for letting the Bucs march down the field on RUNNING plays in the 4th.
Who else is to blame:
Roddy’s TWO KEY dropped passes
Ryan throwing to Rodgers
Ryan overthrowing Roddy
Ryan underthrowing Julio
Jerry/Lofton for the offsides
Van Gorder for not mixing up coverages
Mularky for playing the 1st half the way he did the 2nd
Blank for not staying in the skybox
Pauls Johnson
September 26th, 2011
2:45 pm
I agree,, Blank needs to stay in the skybox,,,,
Astro Joe
September 26th, 2011
3:01 pm
I’m no fan of BVG but I thought the defense played well for the vast majority of the game. Much better tackling and they didn’t give up the usual 4-5 big plays like in past games. This offensive line can’t sustain too many 80+ yard drives, so field position is crucial. Likewise, we can’t continue to have 25 yard punts and expect the defense to hold the opposing team to 0 points on a drive.
Lastly, who cares about explosive plays when you only score 13 points? Kind of like getting excited about dunks while only scoring 90 in an NBA game.
Bird Dawg Country
September 26th, 2011
3:04 pm
Dan Patrick said Coach Van Gorder reminded him of Uncle Rico in Napolean Dynamite because of the mustache..thought that was hilarious!
Bird Dawg Country
September 26th, 2011
3:08 pm
Are the BVG haters out? Get a life..with the lack of talent he has on defense, he is doing an EXCELLENT job….Defense played hard all game…and he told his players to wait for the hard count…Dumb@$$ jumped off sides…Guarrentee BVG is jumping his case.
van goiter
September 26th, 2011
3:14 pm
see , i told you i was a good d.c. !
Bird Dawg Country
September 26th, 2011
3:18 pm
Roddy is a great receiver, but when he drops them they’re crucial drops….His drops are costing Falcons 7 points a game.
Nice toughness Matt! 300+ yards after the beating you took…(some philly qb ought to take cues from you on how to be tough and quit crying to media)
CGD..
September 26th, 2011
3:20 pm
Seattle beat Arizona?
Falcons on the road is not a lock win…They will earn it..Expect more clean shots coming IceMelts way!
Mike Kenn
September 26th, 2011
5:56 pm
Dan Reeves was best coach falcons ever had. Mr Blanks couldn’t tell him what to do with pet QB, and he fired him. Most good team Pats, jets have first round picks playing offense line.
Bobby Petrino did do falcon one good deed. He did know enough to draft Blalock. he is our best o line player of now. They saved money and let the best one go, Dahl.Sould have shipped or gave away Baker. Reyonlds or Johnson could do as good as Baker, probably alot better.
You have to have good linemen to win.TB coach Morris is alot smarter than falcons that draft.Look how his first round picks handle the falcons O-line.
KenK
September 26th, 2011
6:14 pm
Who the hell let Michael Koenen go? WHO THE HELL HIRED BOSHER? They should be fired for the simple fact of not being able to judge talent. If that’s Mike Smith then he’s an idiot and shouldn’t be a “head coach”.<<<<
I belive the Genius TD is the GM..
J.C. Thompson
September 26th, 2011
6:26 pm
The Falcons, along with the rest of the NFC South is much over-rated.
fan
September 26th, 2011
7:31 pm
7:30pm and nobody’s fired yet?
Michael M.
September 26th, 2011
8:00 pm
Coach Smitty said they gonna be ready when Green Bay shows up in Town, said they gonna unleash their lastest weapon……………… ” Freddy Falcon” !
It Hurts..........
September 26th, 2011
10:22 pm
” Man It Hurts Being From Atlanta”
SawThat1nce
September 27th, 2011
12:28 am
They build an offense with all of these weapons, but fail to field an OLine to protect the QB.
What the heck?
Reggie
September 27th, 2011
5:41 am
Bird Dawg Country
Nice toughness Matt! 300+ yards after the beating you took…(some philly qb ought to take cues from you on how to be tough and quit crying to media)
Maybe Matt should take some cues from the philly qb on how to win a playoff game and throw the ball longer than 15 yards.
Football Fan
September 27th, 2011
8:00 am
The O-line is horrible. Ryan is getting killed.
Really?
September 27th, 2011
8:41 am
Why aren’t they trying out punters? Is it pride in that they gave up on Koenen (sp) and then drafted Bosher and don’t watn to look like idiots? It looks worse to stay the course here. People make mistakes. Moving up to draft Baker, taking Jamal Anderson first (took them years to get past the pride there), etc. Find a punter for god sakes!!!! Really!
WHO DAT BLACK
September 27th, 2011
9:14 am
Matt Dodge, the ex-Giants punter, is looking for work. Yes, the guy who punted to Desean Jackson and got scapegoated because the coverage team didn’t cover a returner who fumbled. That’s like blaming the kicker if they run back a kickoff. I bet he’s better than Bosher, cool name but bad punter.
Also, let me state that I said the Falcons would not score a lot this season and look what happened. Philly gave them 21 points with those turnovers. Too many weapons to just score 13 points. If you can’t score at least 21 against Seattle, go ahead and flush the season, Dirty Birds. Like I said, 8-8 or 9-7.
FACTS
September 27th, 2011
10:25 am
I wonder when the Falcon fans will realize that Dimitroff is not the boy wonder that they thought he was, this defense has not improved in his three years. Matt Ryan is not the clutch QB the media hypes him up to be…..he cannot make all the throws needed to reach the next level…..this team will go 8-8 as I stated before the season started. Where is Michael Turner the so-called burner….whatever!!!!! Everything that is wrong with this team is being exposed.
PMC
September 27th, 2011
11:59 am
Mike Mayock in an interview on 790 made a very good point yesterday. Matt Ryan is a rhythm passer not an extend the play guy. It might make a lot more sense to limit the down the field shots and instead work from 3 step drops early. Try to get into 3rd and manageble situations. Once he gets into a rhythm then try to hit one or two over the top. The medium passing distances have been effective and Roddy has run some really excellent routes.
Say It Aint So
September 27th, 2011
12:37 pm
I wanted to wait a couple of days before making rash statements about the Birds. Nothing has changed, we all see the many problems with this year’s Falcons. After waiting all day Sunday to finally watch my Birds and watching the Texans before our game, it didn’t take but a few freakin minutes after we received the kickoff for me to curse and become disappointed by Ryan turning over the ball on the 1st possession. Is it me or did the Falcons make a mistake letting Schaub go?
realitycheck
September 27th, 2011
1:28 pm
About how I predicted all along….7-9 to 9-7. Right now…closer to 7-9. The lines are average….well the defensive line might be. Traded their draft for a wide receiver who basically caught a long punt Sunday. QB reminds me of Jim Everett and/or Marc Bulger….definitely not going to a SB with Ryan at QB. Everett and Bulger were every bit as hyped at four years in NFL as Ryan…and we saw how those turned out. The overachieving and luck are running out. This is nowhere near a SB contender, regardless of what the homers say!
CGD..
September 27th, 2011
1:51 pm
Should have drafted Flaco!!!!!!!!
SeenThisB4
September 27th, 2011
2:54 pm
How are those power rankings looking?
Kenneth Strictland: You sure seem to be awfully scarce these days. Surely you have something to say.
How ’bout it? Why are the falcan’ts ranked in the bottom half of the lists? Better yet, why are the S a i n t s ranked in the top five across all the power rankings, especially with that defense that you were so critical of this past preseason?
CGD..
September 27th, 2011
3:07 pm
@Seen ThisB4
That dude is pretty smart?
Never fails pride and arrogance is like a house of cards, its going to fall down!
See those know it alls on the fanatic blog were drunk on the Cool-aid…
They could not see the tree standing in front of them in the forest.. Oh well….
CGD..
September 27th, 2011
3:10 pm
Peter King had these busters in the SB? What a sorry Joke?
They had the easiest schedule in the league last year.. They were frauds…
CGD..
September 27th, 2011
3:13 pm
1-4 in their first 5, will set this team back at least 2 years….
Heads need to roll…..
Say It Aint So
September 27th, 2011
3:43 pm
Can we get some freakin RB’s that can hit the hole and be at full speed in 2 steps like all the other backs around the league. There are no more Jerome Bettis backs around.
hiramsaint
September 27th, 2011
4:02 pm
oh kenneth , where art thou? you talk alot but when your crow is on the plate , your hiding behind mommies skirt !
CGD..
September 27th, 2011
4:20 pm
where did Mr know it all go? sound of crickets…..
BillX
September 28th, 2011
8:31 pm
Half the ATL fans were probably cheering for Tampa because they have a black QB. BTW, Mike Vick is a little cry baby, loser, and dog fighter.