Bengals hand Falcons their 7th straight exhibition loss
Falcons head coach Mike Smith attempts to fire up his defense after a Bengals touchdown by A.J. Green during 1st half action at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Thursday, August 16, 2012. CURTIS COMPTON / CCOMPTON@AJC.COM
A.J. Green and Julio Jones, two of the better young receivers in the NFL, dazzled the crowd at the Georgia Dome on Thursday.
But the Bengals prevailed 24-19 in another sparsely attended game. Tickets distributed were announced at 68,541, but about half might have been at Turner Field for Chipper Jones Bobblehead Night.
Green, the former Georgia standout, was taken by the Bengals with the fourth overall pick of the 2011 draft. Jones, who starred at Alabama, was selected by the Falcons with the sixth overall pick.
Both players impacted the game early before the reserves took over.
Green got open on deep route in the first quarter, but Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton overthrew the pass. The Bengals settled for a 54-yard field goal by Mike Nugent to make the score 3-0.
On their next possession, the Falcons tied the score on a 20-yard field goal by Matt Bryant.
Thanks to Green, the Bengals answered quickly.
On a third down-and-15, Green ran past Falcons cornerback Asante Samuel and hauled down a 50-yard touchdown pass to give the Bengals a 10-3 lead.
The play had to be a downer for the Falcons’ brass, who lauded the acquisition of Samuel as being one of the keys to improving their pass defense. Also, the defense struggled on third downs last season as teams converted 44 percent of the time (93-of-211).
On the play Samuel when was beaten, he was playing the left cornerback position that Brent Grimes, the team’s highest paid defender, normally occupies.
But Samuel has told the coaches that he has a preference to play on the left side because the NFL is a right-handed passing league. The coaching staff likely will have to figure out how to deploy their three cornerbacks.
“It was a double move and the receiver separated on the double move,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “It was a nice throw and a nice catch.”
There was a report that the Falcons were able to get Samuel so cheaply — for a seventh round pick — because the Eagles felt his skills were in steep decline. Smith bristled at the notion that the Bengals caught Samuel peeking into backfield or that his reputation for gambling for interceptions was exploited.
“Listen, Asante has played very effective football for a long, long time,” Smith said. “It was a well executed play by the offense.”
Samuel and Green were battling.
“We were going at it,” Samuel said. “I relaxed on the deep ball a little bit, and he got over on top of me.”
Samuel, a noted film student, was not surprised by the deep pass.
“It was third-and-long, so it was time to put the ball up,” Samuel said.
Once the shock of Green’s touchdown catch wore off, Jones and the Falcons’ offense appeared determined not to be outdone by the spectacular play on their next possession.
Quarterback Matt Ryan, who completed 11 consecutive passes to open the game, completed a 15-yard pass to Jones on the fifth play of the drive. On the next play, Ryan launched a deep pass to Jones, who got behind his defender, but he couldn’t haul down the slightly overthrown pass.
After completing a 16-yard pass to Roddy White, Ryan and Jones connected on a 23-yard play to move the ball to Cincinnati’s 2-yard line. On the next play, Ryan tossed a touchdown pass to newly signed fullback Lousaka Polite. Bryant came on to tie the score 10-10.
Bryant added a 22-yard field goal as the Falcons led 13-10 at halftime.
Green finished the game with two receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown. Jones had three receptions for 41 yards.
“Atlanta has one of the best tandems in the NFL in Roddy and Julio,” Green said. “Those guys are great receivers and I look forward to watching them.”
The Falcons’ starting offense was on the field for 27 plays in the first half. They played 21 plays in the exhibition opener against Baltimore on Aug. 9.
The first-team defense, which was spectacular in nine plays against Baltimore, was shaky against the Bengals. In addition to Samuel getting beat, linebacker Sean Weatherspoon and safety Thomas DeCoud missed tackles on a pass play to Bengals tight end Jermaine Gresham.
Safety William Moore forced a fumble that was recovered by DeCoud, who also forced a fumble.
In the second half, Bruce Gradkowski, who has played six seasons in the NFL and made 20 starts, victimized Falcons reserves on the Bengals’ first drive.
Gradkowski broke loose for a 31-yard gain and then tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mohamed Sanu to put the Bengals up 17-13.
The Bengals added a 1-yard touchdown run by running back Jourdan Brooks with 7:44 left before Falcons backup quarterback Dominique Davis led the Falcons on a rally.
He tossed a 7-yard touchdown pass to LaMark Brown. After a stop by the defense, Davis drove the offense down to Cincinnati’s 26 before the potential game-winning drive stalled.
While there was not too much cause for alarm, the Falcons have established an exhibition-season pattern Smith.
With the loss to the Bengals, the Falcons have lost seven consecutive exhibition games, dating to 2010.
Their last victory was a 16-6 win over Miami on Aug. 27, 2010.
The Falcons have never had a winning exhibition season under Smith. They are 6-12 overall.
In 2008, they were 2-2 before going 11-5 in the regular season and earning a wild-card playoff berth.
In 2009, they were 2-2 before going 9-7 in the regular season.
In 2010, they were 2-2 before going 13-3, winning the NFC South and earning a playoff berth.
Last season, they were 0-4 before going 10-6 and earning a wild-card playoff berth.
“Every time that we go out, we want to win football games,” Smith said. “There is no doubt about that. But our number one goal in the [exhibition] season is to get to the first game [of the regular seaso] as healthy as possible. We’re going to out there and play our tails off to try to win the ball game, but first and foremost we are looking at trying to install our scheme and keep players healthy.”
The Falcons will play their important third exhibition game against Miami on Aug. 24. The team will use that game as a dress rehearsal for the starters and allow them to play longer.
“We will get into our game week,” Smith said. “We’ll be out of camp on Sunday and Monday. We’ll start our game preparation and it will be like a Wednesday practice, installing the offense, defense and special teams, just like we would do on a regular season on a Wednesday.”
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114 comments Add your comment
Video: Postgame presser with Falcons coach Mike Smith | Atlanta Falcons
August 17th, 2012
9:25 am
[...] GAME STORY: Bengals 24, Falcons 19 [...]
True Falcon Fan
August 17th, 2012
9:25 am
8:38 Hey ZERO is that really you or maybe that’s one of your disciples — tripledart is your “CALIBER”
Go Falcons!!
Atlanta Falcons: A.J. Green and Julio Jones shine | Atlanta Falcons
August 17th, 2012
9:27 am
[...] GAME STORY: Bengals 24, Falcons 19 [...]
D. Orlando Ledbetter
August 17th, 2012
9:31 am
mr zizzle — I understand your position. But if the score wasn’t important, they wouldn’t put it up on the scoreboard.
D. Orlando Ledbetter
August 17th, 2012
9:35 am
True Falcon Fan — That’s Mr. Pat Schiller, No. 45. 6-2, 235, Northern Illinois.
Falconbikerdude
August 17th, 2012
9:38 am
DLED,
I’m not sure if you noticed but exhibition season doesn’t count in the standings!!! It’s an evaluation for the players.. not so the fans can feel good about winning these meaningless games… I love watching the games.. the NFL is back .. and all of that.. but the games to the fans are meaningless. Who gives a crap if the falcons are 0-7 in the preseason.. as long as they win in the regular season.. Report on something meaningful! Thanks, FALCONSFAN!!!!!
D. Orlando Ledbetter
August 17th, 2012
9:38 am
North FLA Falcon — I like your game balls. Nice analysis of the game, too. The only thing about making Dom, No. 2 is that Coaches like to have a veteran around. I need to ask Smith if he’s comfortable with a rookie backup. I don’t think he will be, so Redman is probably going to land No. 2 by default. Dom has played so well that they probably can’t risk cutting him and trying to re-sign to the practice squad.
D. Orlando Ledbetter
August 17th, 2012
9:43 am
JB – Don’t be too tough on them. There are no more powerhouse in the league of parity. Everybody has warts. We’ll never see the 1978 Steelers again because of free agency. The team that is hot at the end of the season is now your Super Bowl favorite.
Cleveland Ave. Turk
August 17th, 2012
9:44 am
The line looked good. And i was REALLY impreseed with Piera Jerry…..Matt is looked like he on a mission this year..
Cleveland Ave. Turk
August 17th, 2012
9:47 am
Cant look to much into preseason results……..
D. Orlando Ledbetter
August 17th, 2012
9:49 am
The Burner Turner — Do you miss you’re blocking fullback?
Perspective
August 17th, 2012
9:51 am
The Falcons already stated before the game that they did NOT game plan for the Bengals. They didn’t watch film or study their opponent AT ALL! When the the season starts and the games count, they will do these things (and more) to come up with plays that work well against a particular opponent and defensive schemes that limit the other team. This is a HUGE factor in the outcome of a game!
The preseason is for them to try new things, new combinations… who plays better at certain positions on the field (i.e. Assante or Grimes on the left side, or what combination of the O-Line plays together as a unit better, etc). It might not look pretty now, but I’d rather be finding these things out now, in PRE-season, than during the regular season.
That said, one thing I noticed for sure is, they haven’t seemed to figure out how to utilize Turner in this new offense. He just contrasts everything they are trying to do right now. It will be interesting to see how much he will be used going forward if he can’t adapt.
Vesaversa
August 17th, 2012
9:51 am
The Falcons Offensives line look terrible Ryan was sharp Julio Jones and Rowdy White was on point . They have gotten much better on covering the deep threat on defense . The 4th string QB Davis look sharp i would love to see him play a little more.These pre-season games mean nothing as long as no one get hurt .So i’m sure the Falcons will have their regular season team ready to play on game day .
North FLA Falcon
August 17th, 2012
9:56 am
Cox and Palmer had good games also.
D. Orlando Ledbetter
August 17th, 2012
9:56 am
Whopper Dawg — I think they’ve figured out the Oline. Reynolds appears to have RG won. Konz still has some work to do. Baker appears to be your LT. While, the cornerback thing is a potential mess. Grimes was very animated with Jeff Fish after that TD pass on the sideline. He’s being paid like the left corner, but Samuel wants that spot. What about if Robinson or Samuel are not starting, who sulks. Why did that announce all three of them as starters? Who are they trying to appease? The deployment of the trio is key and I didn’t want go into this detail in the story. I had to keep it moving and get to other happenings. Hope this was much more “insightful” for you.
Saints2013
August 17th, 2012
9:57 am
That stadium was quite empty last night, MEANWHILE WE WILL HAVE 70,000+ FANS IN THE SUPERDOME TONIGHT! way to go falcon fans, thats a good way to show your support..#smh
But i have a feeling that stadium will look that way the whole season..
DJ Sniper
August 17th, 2012
10:12 am
Nobody gives a rat’s ass about fans who do or don’t show up for a freaking preseason game. Some of ya’ll Saint fans, I swear…..
Anyway, back to our team: The O-line was a bit shaky to start, but they seemed to settle in as the game wore on. Turner didn’t seem to do much, so I don’t know if that was moreso on him or the blocking. I did like what I saw out of Quizz though.
John Parker Wilson should now be referred to as Just Plain Wretched. Keep Dominique Davis on the squad and develop him.
Peria Jerry has played pretty solid over the first 2 games. If Corey Peters comes back at 100%, we should have a real nice rotation on the D-line.
While I like to see good execution in the preseason, I don’t really care about the final results. Nothing matters until September 9th.
True Falcon Fan
August 17th, 2012
10:14 am
Thanks DLed — #45 Schiller is a keeper! Also i really liked QB Dominique Davis, what say those coaches?
tripledart – must live in Canton, Ga with his momma too – another ZERO!!!
Go Falcons!
Perspective
August 17th, 2012
10:20 am
“That stadium was quite empty last night, MEANWHILE WE WILL HAVE 70,000+ FANS IN THE SUPERDOME TONIGHT! way to go falcon fans, thats a good way to show your support..#smh
But i have a feeling that stadium will look that way the whole season..”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This comment coming from a team that had their fans wearing paper bags on their heads for years… well… at least the few that actually came to a game. Do you know any history of your team? *sigh* Sad, truly sad.
SimpleDawg
August 17th, 2012
10:40 am
Asante was burned twice. The first time pressure on Dalton made him under throw the ball; otherwise, AJ would’ve had 2 TD catches.
Burner Turner looks fat and slow. Jaquiz is too small for his speed, and not fast enough for his size. The Falcons don’t have a top notch running back on the roster.
Spoon missed another open field tackle he should’ve easily made. Doesn’t seem to be able to “wrap up”. The miss cost the Falcons anoher 10 yards.
Underwhelmed with the Falcons’ consistency of play so far.
Saints2013
August 17th, 2012
10:55 am
@Perspective
Of course I know the history behind the Saints organization. But thats exactly what it is,,”HISTORY”
But its just like you said
AT LEAST WE WERE THERE, EMBARASSED OR NOT, WE STILL SAT AND SUPPORTED OUR HOME TEAM!
CmonSon
August 17th, 2012
10:58 am
@Saints2013
This shouldnt be a total surprise to you, thats the falcon fan base. Get there hopes up with that “rise up” marlarkey and then bail in the 2nd quarter..
Doesnt surprise me at all…
fedup
August 17th, 2012
11:00 am
I gave up on a Mike Smith ran-offense ever since he let Brees break the Marino record over our face last year.
fedup
August 17th, 2012
11:02 am
DJ Sniper
August 17th, 2012
10:12 am
Nobody gives a rat’s ass about fans who do or don’t show up for a freaking preseason game. Some of ya’ll Saint fans, I swear…..
______________________________________________________________________
Sorry to say this, but it happens in regular season games also!
Sad but true!
fedup
August 17th, 2012
11:03 am
Does anyone else agree that we could use another head coach?
Smith is just not getting it!
JSS
August 17th, 2012
11:12 am
“Game ball to Clabo?”
The same dude who got blowed up by Jamaal Anderson on 3 successive play?
JSS
August 17th, 2012
11:18 am
@ Ledbetter…
I see my Stalker forgot to call his nurse last night/this morning? “Canton” this guy is pure idiot!
JSS
August 17th, 2012
11:21 am
Ledbetter, what got into Jamaal by the way?
SirReal
August 17th, 2012
11:42 am
1) Still preseason. Yes Asante got burned but Green is an elite WR AND this is still PREseason. Let’s see what happens with a game plan
Edwards looks like he might wanna play hard this year too.
JPW is absolute sanitation. Redman isnt much better at this point in his career. Davis is gonna be a fine QB at some point. The brass would be stupid to not give him at LEAST the No. 3 job. Putting him on the practice squad would be an insult and he wouldnt last on it long I can guarantee you that. Teams would snatch him up in a heartbeat.
2) As much as I dont like Baker, it looks like we’re stuck with him. Reynolds looks a little better this year
3) I dont know if it’s the FB, the lack of push by the O line or Turner just flat out losing steam but we need to work on the run game. We can’t become completely pass happy this year
4) Ryan’s looking very solid. I like what I’m seeing.
5) Glad to see Roddy and Tony get involved. Loved seeing Mr. Jones run through defenders. HD still looks a little banged up. Hopefully he’ll be good to go by the opener.
6) WOW Peria Jerry! I am actually noticing you sir!!
7) Secondary needs a bit of tightening up but I think as the days progress they’ll be on the same page.
Overall, we’re gonna be alright. Let’s just get to the opener healthy and go give KC all they can handle. I love Romeo Crennel but we gotta get this one out of the gate. We will be tested by a very stout D. Time to fly.
True Falcon Fan
August 17th, 2012
12:01 pm
Hey ZERO – you & tripledart have alot in common – you think alike – you both feel somebody owes you something – “NOPE”!!! – jus keep taken care of momma
Go Falcons!
True Falcon Fan
August 17th, 2012
12:09 pm
Just maybe Asante is on a steep decline, they always say Andy jus knows when?????????? — Hope not, hope he’s still got mojo in the tank??????
Go Falcons
Hitman
August 17th, 2012
12:10 pm
In the 1st quarter, when Mike Cox caught that screen pass, did anyone else catch that Daryl Johnston callled him “Mike Hunt” and then said “sorry I meant Mike Cox”.
tyger
August 17th, 2012
12:19 pm
Nothing to get excited about here…
Falcons still passing from the 2yd line…
All the broohaha over moving the pile…
4th and inches…blah, blah, blah…
If we had the smarts to dump it to the FB…
Against the NYG, maybe we score more than 2pts…
Bottom line – Falcons too soft upfront…
Drafting linemen that cant bench 300lbs…
Doesnt make alot of sense either…
DBs/WRs can bench 300lbs…
So, 4th and inches, who’s going to win?..
The DL benching 500lbs or the OL benching 275?…
JONESBORO SLIM
August 17th, 2012
12:29 pm
Jerry looked good last night…the face mask was a bad call….it looks like Dom Davis has a spot…I’m sure the coaches will put him in the game earlier next week….you have to keep in mind that Dalton’s 1st. 2nd. and 3rd.long reciever is and only A.J.Green he has no other where as Matt has 4 great recievers…
Atlanta Falcons: Lousaka Polite shines in his debut | Atlanta Falcons
August 17th, 2012
12:32 pm
[...] GAME STORY: Bengals 24, Falcons 19 [...]
Atlanta Falcons: Nicholas all smiles these days | Atlanta Falcons
August 17th, 2012
12:39 pm
[...] Bengals hand Falcons seventh straight exhibition loss [...]
True Falcon Fan
August 17th, 2012
1:00 pm
12:29 Spot-on!
Go Falcons!!
True Falcon Fan
August 17th, 2012
1:13 pm
Hey “StinkBait” as in ZERO, I know you watched the game or maybe heard it on the radio — did you hear Daryl Johnston last night re: #11 JJ “He’s fifteen pounds away from being a TE” & goose concurred…. — You idiot!!!!
Go Falcons!!!
cdog
August 17th, 2012
1:30 pm
dominique davis despite playing with the last groups is clearly the number 2 quarterback over chris redman and john parker wilson.redman should be out completely, i would hate if the falcons had to depend on him.it would be a season disaster.
Atlanta Falcons: McClure is the glue that holds the line together | Atlanta Falcons
August 17th, 2012
2:01 pm
[...] GAME STORY: Bengals 24, Falcons 19 [...]
Barry
August 17th, 2012
2:24 pm
Hey Y’all:
We look alright for pre season. The team have to look at the “NEW GUYS” to make sure we do not cut a gem of a player too soon. It is good a lot of these rookies are getting a look. However, they have to show what they got and be a “PLAYMAKER’ during this time to make the team. Currently, on offense nor defense have I seen any of the rookies making plays that make you want to say “WOW!”. I am sure the coaches and players know more than I do about who is busting butt out there to make the team, but this year , we need “ALL HANDS ON DECK” playing in “ONE HEARTBEAT!!!”. We need to have a ” DEEP AND NASTY ” bench to back up the starters. This will be a long, fun, and NASTY season. ONE GAME AT A TIME.
However, on offense, our passing game packages are looking good and I know during this preseason we are putting in new packages with the new coaches. But, in looking at the running game, I still say we would be better off running the “ZONE RUN BLOCKING SCHEME”. If we do not run it, then our offensive linemen better open up some bigger holes for our backs to run through. Also, need to put in some cut back running and trapping plays so our backs can bust loose. Outside of the screen passes, the running game is looking predictable as if Mike Mularkey is still hear. No traps. No misdirection. So boring. The defenses see it all. When are we going to start tricking them on running plays. I see our backs falling down a lot by defensive players tripping them up, especially our smaaler backs. That’s why I say a ZONE RUN BLOCKING SCHEME would accomodate all our backs. That scheme was used when Warrick Dunn was here. Running backs are given lanes to cut back nto and bust plays. It is also Was used in Denver when they won those Super Bowls. And it is currently being used in Houston under ex -Falcon line coach, Joe Gibb, who was with Denver in those Super Bowl days. I have not seen a clean run yet from our running backs during this pre season. It looks like they are stumbling through hole with clumsy linemen not sticking their man and moving them out the way. Our line is strting to resemble their weak condition as last year. It is almost time to give the new rookie linemen some “NASTY TIME” in the “TRENCHES” to see what they was drafted for. TIME TO GET NASTY ROOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE GOT TO FIX THIS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL. LET”S DO IT IN “ONE HEARTBEAT!!!!”. “TOGETHER” AND NASTY.
NOW ARE YOU READY FO SOME FOOTBALL!!!!????? I KNOW I AM.
GO FALCONS!!!!!!!!!!!!
THE “PROCESS’ CONTINUES. TIME TO GET DIRTY!!!
“FALCONS RISE UP!!1″ IN “ONE HEARTBEAT!!!” “THUMP!!!”
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a SECRET from a FALCON FAN. TELL EVERYBODY!!!!
……………………………”ONE HEARTBEAT, BABY!!!………………….
JSS
August 17th, 2012
2:45 pm
Call your nurse stalker, time for your therapy, they can take off your bed restraint off again and change your bed pan… I know it needs changing because you’ve been spewing crap since you logged on this blog… You are non roster knowing stalker wannabe!
Atlanta Falcons: Smith seeing yellow from 21 flags | Atlanta Falcons
August 17th, 2012
3:01 pm
[...] GAME STORY: Bengals 24, Falcons 19 [...]
Atlanta Falcons: Jacquizz Rodgers is a 3-down back | Atlanta Falcons
August 17th, 2012
5:02 pm
[...] GAME STORY: Bengals 24, Falcons 19 [...]
True Falcon Fan
August 17th, 2012
5:23 pm
LOLOLOLOLOL’s — I’m still falling in the floor, LOLOLOLOLOL’s
While i’m spewing your watchin’, listen & cleaning. I sure the smell……….. ;(
Go Falcons
True Falcon Fan
August 17th, 2012
5:24 pm
I’m sure you know the smell….
"Dirty"Harry Callahan
August 17th, 2012
5:49 pm
Longest active streak in the NFL- A team has to know its limitations
True Falcon Fan
August 17th, 2012
6:10 pm
Can throw hard balls —- You must be just a slow pitch, softball player
LOLOLOLOLOL’s
ZERO, you can occasionally be hilarious LOLOLOLOL’s
Go Falcons
Michael M.
August 17th, 2012
6:58 pm
man……………………….Some of these commenters on here……………….need some extremeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee help ! ! !
Hell, I doubt it would do any good !
True Falcon Fan
August 17th, 2012
7:26 pm
Maybe they are not meant for you D-Head!