Falcons rebound with 23-17 victory over Titans
Falcons running back Michael Turner bowls over Tennessee Titans Michael Griffin as he bulls his way through the Titans for a long first down run during 2nd quarter action. Curtis Compton / ccompton@ajc.com
The Falcons went exclusively with their no-huddle offense most of the game against Tennessee, a departure from how they’ve operated all season.
The move didn’t fix their red-zone woes or eliminate penalties, but it allowed them to build a 17-point lead and hold on for a 23-17 victory over the Titans on Sunday at the Georgia Dome.
The Falcons (6-4) picked up half a game on the idle New Orleans Saints (7-3).
“We came into this ballgame looking to get back on track,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “That was our No. 1 objective, and we got that accomplished.”
The Falcons were coming off a tough 26-23 loss to New Orleans in overtime last week after a controversial call by Smith to go for it on a fourth-and-1 play from the Falcons’ 29-year-old failed.
Under Smith, the Falcons are now 16-3 following a loss during the regular season, including eight consecutive wins in bounce-back games.
“We have a mature locker room,” Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said. “We have guys that understand what it takes to be a professional. In this league, you’re going to have some tough losses and you need to move on from that.”
The Falcons opened the game in their no-huddle offense and stuck with it after Ryan tossed a 17-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tony Gonzalez to end a crisp five-play, 56-yard drive.
“It wasn’t planned,” running back Michael Turner said. “We pretty much just went with it. Everything was working. Coach said they are not stopping it, so why should we stop doing it? It was keeping them off balance. They were trying to make calls to stop the no-huddle, but everything they were doing we had an answer for it.”
All-Pro wide receiver Roddy White had his best game of the season, finishing with seven catches for 147 yards. It was just his second 100-yard game this season; he had 140 yards receiving against Tampa Bay on Sept. 25.
“We fixed some things today,” White said.
Out of the no-huddle, the Falcons used Turner in the backfield, three wide receivers in White, Harry Douglas and Eric Weems, and Gonzalez at tight end. On other plays, Turner and Jacquizz Rodgers were flanked out to the left slot to give a five-receiver look.
“Coming into this week, I thought it was time for me to get a little more [involved] in the offense and make some big plays,” White said. “Today was a good day.”
The Falcons’ pass defense suffered a major blow when veteran nickel back Kelvin Hayden left the game with a right foot injury with under four minutes to play in the second quarter. He was taken to the locker room on a golf cart. Christopher Owens took over for Hayden.
Behind the bruising runs of Turner, the Falcons held a 13-3 lead at halftime.
The Falcons opened the second half with an 80-yard drive that was capped by a 4-yard touchdown run by Turner. White got open for a 43-yard gain. He hauled down a Ryan pass while being covered by Tennessee safety Jordan Babineaux and cornerback Jason McCourty.
After stalling in thered zone, Matt Bryant added a 24-yard field goal to put the Falcons up 23-3. The Falcons were two of six in the red zone against the Titans.
Tennessee quarterback Jake Locker, who came on for the injured Matt Hasselbeck in the third quarter, tossed his first NFL touchdown pass to Nate Washington to make it 23-10.
Washington caught the ball along the right sideline and faked out Owens and safety Thomas DeCoud on his way to the end zone on the 40-yard play.
The Falcons had another promising drive stall in the red zone when Turner fumbled.
Locker, a rookie from Washington, engineered a second touchdown drive, completing it with a 4-yard pass to Washington with 3:06 left to play to make it 23-17. Locker led the Titans on a 14-play drive that covered 84 yards.
The Falcons had their “hands” team on the field and expected an onside kick, but the Titans elected to boot the ball out of the end zone. The Falcons were able to run out the clock to secure the victory.
Turner finished with 100 yards on 21 carries. It was his 24th 100-yard game with the Falcons, tying a team record held by Gerald Riggs set in 1982-88.
A week after posting career highs with 351 yards passing and 52 attempts against the New Orleans Saints, Ryan completed 22 of 32 passes for 316 yards and one touchdown against the Titans
–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog
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123 comments Add your comment
CGD..
November 20th, 2011
9:10 pm
Greg
November 20th, 2011
8:57 pm
“This is to Michael M. With regard to all the people who have left comments on this AJC site saying that Ryan can’t throw the deep ball: they don’t mean he NEVER connects. They just mean he’s VERY POOR at throwing the deep ball. This is obviously true to anyone with eyes. (And his accuracy ain’t that good with short or mid-range passes either. He just isn’t a consistently accurate QB. This is really not a controversial subject.”
Bingo GREG!
THAT’S what the NFL Scouts said about Ryan years ago.Accuracy is his Nemesis especially on the deep throws.. But I’ll add short and intermediate throws also…. No change…
Another disaster playoff loss coming! Get ready Michael..Its gonna stink pretty bad in about 7 weeks! lol
Michael M.
November 20th, 2011
9:11 pm
Seems a lot are still not happy after another Win. Shaking my head here…………….what in da H” ” do you people expect ?
This is 5 games in a row Atlanta has played a good game but manage to shoot theirselves in foot last week, but dam People stop the complaining and be happy about the Game Win .
Wrecker
November 20th, 2011
9:14 pm
Ryan may not throw the deep post/corner routes well, but he does a great job of throwing the 18-20 deep out across the field. If you can make that throw and the deep seam throw of 30+ yards, how many other throws do you need? How many deep throws do you need in a game? 2? 3? Watch Ryan’s deep accuracy get better when Julio comes back.
charles
November 20th, 2011
9:19 pm
What is with all the whining and complaining-AFTER A WIN? It’s hard to win in the NFL with all the parity-the Falcons are 6 and 4 and look to be headed up! The Titans are not the Colts and are not a pushover-cherish every win!
hiramsaint
November 20th, 2011
9:22 pm
and still in 2nd place
Michael M.
November 20th, 2011
9:23 pm
Look out the boogers are on the loose
Macon Fan
November 20th, 2011
9:23 pm
A couple of observations.
#33 for the Titans must feel like he got run over by a MARTA bus – twice.
Would like to have seen better Red Zone results but a win is a win.
Did Coach go chicken due to all the criticism for the the 4th down attempt last week? Looked that way in the 1st half but he got back in the groove later.
The 4th down attempt last week was exactly the right decision. If you need convincing see Gregg Easterbrook’s column on espn.com.
78dawg
November 20th, 2011
9:25 pm
Would someone PLEASE teach Mike Smith what to do on 4th and 1. The punt was ridiclous, Kick the damn fieldgoal
Ackshun
November 20th, 2011
9:27 pm
Need to take care of business from here on out we will probably have to win the south outright to make it because even if the lions falter the Bears look strong and they have the tiebreaker.
78dawg
November 20th, 2011
9:28 pm
Please teach Mike Smith what to do on 4th and 1…I think he flips a coin !!!!
Michael M.
November 20th, 2011
9:37 pm
Every Fan well most have a second Team they favor and if the Falcons go down mine happens to be the 49ers so with that its a nite..later gater
Replace Owens
November 20th, 2011
9:38 pm
Owens is s disaster. As soon as he came on into the game everything changed. Without Hayden this team is finished like last year without Brian Williams. Owens is horrible. He is a total bust and cannot be on the field anymore. COME ON COACH SMITH!! WAKE UP BEFORE ITS TOO LATE!
RogueRunner
November 20th, 2011
9:53 pm
Painter -
We have already beat Detroit; the next opponent are the Vikings: 2 – 8 (.200)
RogueRunner
November 20th, 2011
9:55 pm
Sorry Painter -
Misread your comment.
Sick & Tired Of Being Sick & Tired
November 20th, 2011
9:58 pm
I certainly hope Hayden’s injury is not real serious. Chris Owens is definitely not the answer and should not even be on the field except for special teams. He is AWFUL!!!! and so is VanGorder’s defensive scheme. That soft zone of 4th and long was really bad. He kept instructing the CBs and LBs to back up and all the Titans did was throw underneath and run for a 1st down.
VanGorder and Mularkey both need to go.
Can't Broadcast Sports
November 20th, 2011
9:58 pm
Glad the Birds beat the Titans. A win is a win so let’s move on. However, I find it difficult to watch the Falcons or any NFC team vs. ANY AFC team when CBS has the game. Their bias toward the AFC is WAY over the top. Guess they’re still hacked they lost the NFC and all those large TV market teams (NY Giants, Dallas, Philly, Washington, Chicago, SF, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Minneapolis, Detroit, Phoenix) to Fox before the ‘94 season. Sounds like little man’s syndrome.
Brickhead Nelson
November 20th, 2011
10:00 pm
Falcons look pathetic at times. Lucky to win this one. Frieght Train Turner and Rodridquez pulled us through
RogueRunner
November 20th, 2011
10:03 pm
Take DeCoud too when you ship Owens out. I have no confidence in neither. It especially bothers me when 28 does occasionally make a play, then gets up celebrating and showboating. Didn’t see it today, but definitely last week.
Falcon James
November 20th, 2011
10:03 pm
i keeps hearing everyone say, coach smith wake up…. let me just say. it already too late. abe need to retire, our defence backfield is the sorry of the league. smith mortgaged our future on a receiver who can’t play without getting hurt. this will be julio legacy. play 2 game a year and sit out hurt the rest. roddy not consistent. even our future hall of famer getting more drops than white. we need to get rid of everybody except bryant and start over. fortunatley we have alot of players going to free agency next season and hopfully retiring. the future looking brighter everyday we get closer to ending this miserable season. Anybody notice all the fans. they didnt even show up and the ones that were there, must have thought they be at a funeral
RogueRunner
November 20th, 2011
10:09 pm
Just wondering if the fans in Green Bay are jumping all over the Packers for “winning” a close game with Tampa Bay.
Some of you really puzzle me.
Tom G
November 20th, 2011
10:31 pm
Why do we keep the KO guy, he can not even put the ball in the end zone? The other teams KO guy always seem to kick into the end-zone, why? It puts us at a disadvantage right off the get-go.
Herb Edwards
November 20th, 2011
10:35 pm
Mr. Ledbetter, I have read your stuff before and liked it, but never noticed how much I like the telegraphic style. This piece is very clean copy and very understandable. But even though I like it, you may wish to look for opportunities to get a bit more interpretation into the piece if you can do that without Bradley-izing or Shultz-ing it.
But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe you’re doing it exactly right. I’ll ask around.
Folks, should Ledbetter interpret more, or maybe even opinionate? Keep in mind that he’s reporting, but hey, this is Sports! Some of the best literature to ever hit the American scene came from sportswriters. For starters, Jimmy Breslin, Pete Hamill and the entire sports department of the Boston Globe, back when Ali-Frazier was big news.
CGD..
November 20th, 2011
10:42 pm
That rookie could have thrown for 374 and 4 TD’s if he had played the 1st half too. He looked like Rodger @ times..Scary…………….
David Smith
November 20th, 2011
11:29 pm
It’s just no pleasing some people. We won a huge game to keep us within fighting distance of the division behind The Saints and people are complaining because our offense didn’t light up the scoreboard with points. We are 6-4 now and I can take that without the style points.
Who Me?
November 21st, 2011
12:01 am
Still no pressure on the opposing QB, one sack tonight for Abraham. Ray Edwards – dude, are you ever going to work for a living again? Misunderstood how big a piece Kelvin was until Owens showed up – Pheeeewww. Had the Titans had 5 more minutes we’d be looking at an L with this secondary. Dunta, dude, hands of stone but at least you made one play tonight. Should have had at least one more INT but wasn’t meant to be. Wanna beat NO and GB? gotta get pressure up front and have lockdown DB’s.
This team SHOULD make the playoffs but the train stops there. TD is going to have to address the pass rush and secondary again this year in the draft. Need some more motors in the front. I did notice PJ getting upfield a bit tonight and had at least one pressure.
1st round squeaker win, 2nd round elimination, you heard it here.
Tokenwhiteguy
November 21st, 2011
12:48 am
Loser Saints fans…woo. Anyway I like the protection schemes they have used lately. This gives Ryan time to set his feet and throw. We all know Ryan isn’t accurate on the deep throws. I think he knows it too, but is improving. He has to put more of body in these throws and trying to get his timing down. You saw it on the Roddy 43yrder and on some passes to Jones this year. He knows his arm is weak but is working with what he’s got. I think this offense will hit its stride at the right time. Get rid of Owens and Robinson is paid too much. The secondary and offensive line need the most personnel help
trademark
November 21st, 2011
3:34 am
Two biggest stories coming out of Sunday….
1-OK, this one ain’t really that big for anyone with brains…but Ryan can throw it deep. (Hate to say “I told you so” BUT…I told you so….) This just serves as more proof against ignorance. Gotta love enlightenment. I guess the news here is that he can throw it deep with accuracy. That hadn’t really been established yet. A couple of more games like that and we’re good.
2-THANK YOU RODDY. I knew you were the real deal. Professional adjustment, whether it was mental or something else, true pros do what Roddy did. Now, no relaxing! Keep moving forward and you achieve what very few ever can.
Other stuff…lay off Turner. Fumbles happen. This is the NFL. BVG-this soft-zone sh”!§ has GOT to stop. Conservative football can lose you games, there was NO WAY the Titans should have even had a chance in this one at the end. Talk about trying to hand it over. Damn, man.
Overall-Good win after a depleting loss against a very respectable team. Nothing to define a season over, but definitely a good puzzle piece. Suuuccch good new to see Roddy back, this guy (when he’s playing like he can…see Sunday) is a HUGE part of this team and it’s identity of a winning franchise. All smiles here after that one.
Da Mick
November 21st, 2011
4:21 am
Not to beat a dead horse into the ground but, if you noticed, Ryan can’t even throw for 10 yards when we have to have it anymore — just those pathetic 5-yarders to someone they leave open, with the hope that they can find a way to run the other five yards, which they almost never can, in those have-to-have-it situations. Compared to the elite quarterbacks he was being compared to on his way up, Ryan’s passing game is generally ineffective and unreliable. In his first year at QB, Ryan looked more like Locker did today. What happened to that guy?
To all those who wonder why so many of us are complaining about a win today, it’s really about the fact that this team’s weaknesses are so glaringly obvious. A win, in and of itself, is a good thing, but the Falcons method of play allows them to beat only the mediocre teams, and that’s not going to amount to much at the end. Every team has weaknesses, but this team SHOULD be better with the tools we have. One important tool we don’t use is SURPRISE. It was the problem in our 4th and 1 loss last week, and the same for a couple of attempts this week. We got bailed out by the Titans penalities, but the good teams don’t do that. It seems really obvious that when teams are not able to stop Turner we win. When they figure out how to do it, we struggle. The good teams don’t let Turner run rampant. We don’t have a plan B of attack, and we should be using Jazzy’s speed more regularly to change things up. I don’t claim to know a lot about football, but even I can see these basic and obvious things.
Samuel
November 21st, 2011
5:10 am
The Falcons can’t put teams away that are inferior, they simply have no killer instinct. The pass rush was awful in the last three or four games. I’m glad to see White excel and get his numbers, but the stupid penalties he makes game after game can’t be tolerated. Brent grimes would have three or four more interceptions if he could catch the ball, that’s thrown right at him. The redzone offense needs alot of work, you got to get touch downs when you play the better teams. Mike Smith has his work cut out to get this team in playoff mode. This team, no matter what makes me nervous.
Dean21
November 21st, 2011
6:27 am
I agree with the comment below: Why doesn’t the Falcons Coaching staff see this?
From Replace Owens: Owens is s disaster. As soon as he came on into the game everything changed. Without Hayden this team is finished like last year without Brian Williams. Owens is horrible. He is a total bust and cannot be on the field anymore. COME ON COACH SMITH!! WAKE UP BEFORE ITS TOO LATE!
whymelord
November 21st, 2011
6:32 am
If a team really wants to beat the Falcons.. all they have to do is keep going towards Dumta Bobblemost side and its a for sure victory… so he got lucky on a call…. thats his one effort for the season I guess…….
CGD..
November 21st, 2011
7:18 am
Owens, who are you? You got owned….Sit your butt down…..
CGD..
November 21st, 2011
7:20 am
The beat down is coming..Question is will it be between 3-4 or 5 touchdowns again…..
Just going to be surreal…..
Zoomie
November 21st, 2011
7:51 am
“’Coming into this week, I thought it was time for me to get a little more [involved] in the offense and make some big plays,’ White said.”
So, what the he77 have you been doing for the rest of the season, White? Are you trying to tell us that, up to yesterday, you had decided on a lesser involvement in the offense?
This explains a lot of what we’ve seen from Roddy up to this point in the season . . .
Ed
November 21st, 2011
8:45 am
it should not have taken this long for coaches to see the no huddle offense is very productive and keeps defenses off balance and they can’t make key substitutions. they should see that every time they study film when they lose against the saints and packers….
rollo lawson
November 21st, 2011
8:52 am
I am sick and tired of this team. Yes, a win is a win, but this team is not built to make a deep run in the playoffs. When we need to be aggressive we come up passive. 4th and goal from the one inch line and you kick a field goal? WTF?? And that no-huddle was going in slow motion. Chris Owens is also a liability in coverage. He has zero talent. You drafted Dominique Franks. Let him play. A rookie QB off the bench almost beat us yesterday. That game should have been over at halftime.
Rickaroo
November 21st, 2011
9:11 am
My 86 year old father could run pass routes against the Falcons and score…outside of Grimes, they haven’t got a person who can defend the pass. Fire the defensive coordinator NOW!!!
JOD
November 21st, 2011
9:13 am
Pretty bad. Our OC is bad, and Matty Ice is the real OC, and should continue to call his own plays.
Dan Henning
November 21st, 2011
9:18 am
Ain’t no stopping us now.
Duck3825
November 21st, 2011
9:25 am
Why is #21 Owens still playing with the Falcons? When Hayden went down
I was concerned because I knew Owens was coming in the game. Every team
team knows when #21 is in the game and they take advantage of the situation. Owens needs to go
double b
November 21st, 2011
9:41 am
cgd–y u so bitter? must have been picked on as a kid! go Falcons 12-4 and the division, everybody talks about the offense’s flaws, how bout how good this D is becoming!
Mike is Back
November 21st, 2011
9:42 am
DLed, it wasn’t pretty…but it was a good win…THE BIRDS shut down a top notch RB.
I hope the injury to Hayden is not serious…his absents was felt immediately. Man it doesn’t take long for Owens…to remind you he is on the field…dang.
WAY TO RISE UP BIRDS…LET’S GO…LET’S GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Brog59
November 21st, 2011
9:43 am
Does anybody else think that Ryan takes to long to audible and/or read the d? I understand changing the play at the line and reading defenses but it seems to kill our mo! Or is it just me?
Adam
November 21st, 2011
9:44 am
I’m ecstatic with the win. Ugly ones count just as much as the blowouts
That being said…..A few things I’ve noticed this season…
We win against NO if Roddy doesn’t drop a TD pass in regulation. Yes, he was interfered with, but the ball went through his hands in the end zone. The Larry Fitzgerald’s and Calvin Johnson’s of the NFL make that catch with people hanging all over them. And while I don’t put Roddy in that class of wideout, he is paid like them.
I loved Van Gorder at UGA, but his zones kill me in the NFL. For the life of me I do not understand how you pay so heavily for a free agent COVER CORNER and then stick him in zone coverage.
Thomas DeCoud flies under the radar waaaaay too much. Many, many, many times you see a receiver that Dunta was covering running free, it is because Dunta turned over his zone to the safety who is OUT OF POSITION WAAAAAY TOO MUCH!! You see #28 trailing as much or more than #21. For goodness sake, DeCoud is a SAFETY. Receivers, Tight Ends, and Running backs have no business getting behind him as much as they do. Remeber the Detroit game when there was a guy literally standing all by himself in the end zone. That was DeCoud’s guy. Watch the replay and see him completely lose his mind and bail on his responsibility.
To me, the biggest weakness to this ‘D’ is incorrectly utilizing Dunta and having a consistently out of position, undisciplined Free Safety.
Adam
November 21st, 2011
9:45 am
Also, we win against Tampa if Roddy doesn’t drop a TD at the end of the game in that one too
LawDawg
November 21st, 2011
10:03 am
The Falcons are terrible.
nathan
November 21st, 2011
10:04 am
I second, third, infinity the Owens-DeCoud comments…they BOTH got beat BAD on that TD to Washington…Primary focus needs to be gettin Sanders and Hayden healthy.
Adam
November 21st, 2011
10:09 am
It seems to me that DeCoud has trouble making a quick post-snap read as to whether it is run or pass. He almost always seems to be jumping the run when he should be assuming pass first as a free safety. It’s the SS job to be quick to jump the run. DeCoud does it so much, I believe that OCs have detected a weakness in the way he makes his read and they are exploiting it
Adam
November 21st, 2011
10:10 am
If that is the case, then it is BVG’s responsibility to fix what’s fixable and replace what’s not
PlanB
November 21st, 2011
10:26 am
Everyone is giving Locker credit for something Hasselback didn’t have the advantage of. Hasselback and Hayden went down about the same time. Locker came in with a free open target when Chris Owens came on the field. Owens stays because he is Smitty’s kind of player, not mine.
This defense started out great and shut the Titans down. Turner ran great (rest him more, it’s a long season and we have 2 other good backs) but the Offense bogged down with bad play calling. (Copy the good OC’s) We have too much fire power for this not to have been a blow out but this kind of thing happens frequently. I believe it’s the coaches holding us back. MS, MM & BVG are playoff contenders but not SB winners.
Someone said we need Julio back. I’m more concerned about Hayden.