Archive for October, 2012

tlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan leaves the field after leading his team to a 30-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

PHILADELPHIA — Here are the Falcons’ grades for the 30-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

A-plus — Quarterbacks: Ryan bounced back from his worst game of the season in grand fashion as he directed the Falcons to scores on their first six possessions. The Falcons set the tone with the 16-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to open the game.

B-plus — Running backs: Michael Turner, Jacquizz Rodgers and Jason Snelling all did some damage. Even wide receiver Julio Jones helped the rushing attack with a 9-yard gain. Turner’s numbers were not great (24 for 58 yards), but the Falcons kept pounding away at the Eagles defense in order to slow down the pass rush from their “Wide Tackle Nine” alignment. Rodgers came through with the back-breaker 43-yard run and …

Continue reading Report card: Falcons’ grades for win over Eagles »

PHILADELPHIA — The Atlanta Falcons remained undefeated by overpowering the Philadelphia Eagles 30-17. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s D. Orlando Ledbetter recapped the win from Lincoln Financial Field.

LATEST NEWS

Injury report: Harry Douglas is out; Peters may be activated

Falcons at Eagles: 3 key matchups

Falcons at Eagles: By the numbers

Is Michael Vick the “Coach Killer?”

Will the Philadelphia fans cheer for Asante Samuel?

OTHER RECENT STORIES

Q&A: Falcons coach Mike Smith on first practice after the bye week

Tight end Michael Palmer (shoulder injury) returned to practice on Monday

Defensive tackle Corey Peters (stress fracture left foot) returned to practice on Monday

Falcons shrugging off critics

Nicholas held out of practice with ankle injury

Hot start boosts Falcons’ TV ratings

Tony Dungy tells Mike Smith, ‘Get Michael Turner back involved’

Get instant updates on Twitter at AJCFalcons and you can join the Facebook Fan page at AJC …

Continue reading Video: Falcons soar to 7-0 with win over Eagles »

PHILADELPHIA — Here are some notes on Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, who directed the Falcons to scores — three touchdowns and three field goals — on their first six drives against the Eagles on Sunday.

• The Falcons opened the game with a 16-play, 80-yard drive that spanned 8:43 on the game clock. Ryan passed to wide receiver Drew Davis for a 15-yard touchdown for his first career touchdown reception.
• Ryan has thrown at least one touchdown in 22 straight games, which is the third-longest active streak in the NFL behind QB Drew Brees (49) and QB Tom Brady (40). He has now thrown at least one touchdown in 37 of his last 39 games.
• Ryan tossed his second touchdown pass of the day on Atlanta’s second possession, hitting running back Jason Snelling for a three-yard score. Ryan has posted six multi-touchdown games this season and the Falcons are 29-5 during his career when he throws two-or-more touchdowns.
• Ryan passed to wide receiver Julio Jones …

Continue reading Matt Ryan turns in stellar performance against the Eagles »

PHILADELPHIA — Falcons linebacker Sean Weatherpoon appeared in good spirits in the locker room before the team flew back to Atlanta.

He did not have a boot on his injured ankle in the locker room

After suffering the injury, Weatherspoon did not return to the action.

Falcons coach Mike Smith will give an update on Weatherspoon’s condition on Monday, according to a team spokesperson who was asked for an update.

In addition to Weatherspoon, defensive tackle Vance Walker left the game with a head injury, but returned.

Philadelphia wide receiver Mardy Gilyard suffered a hamstring injury and did not return to the game.

Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson (ankle) left the field for X-rays, but returned.

LATEST NEWS

Injury report: Harry Douglas is out; Peters may be activated

Falcons at Eagles: 3 key matchups

Falcons at Eagles: By the numbers

Is Michael Vick the “Coach Killer?”

Will the Philadelphia fans cheer for Asante Samuel?

OTHER RECENT STORIES

Q&A: Falcons coach Mike Smith on …

Continue reading Injury report: Weatherspoon suffered ankle injury »

PHILADELPHIA — Peter Konz, the Falcons’ top draft pick, made his first NFL start at right guard against the Eagles on Sunday.

Konz, a second-round pick (55th overall) from Wisconsin, has been active for all seven games and had been contributing on special teams.

Garrett Reynolds, who started the first six games, has missed practice time due to a back injury.

Konz, 6 foot 5 and 317 pounds, appeared to hold up in pass protection and was solid with his run blocking

On one play in the second quarter, he couldn’t match the power of Philadelphia defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins, but he guided him away for quarterback Matt Ryan, who scrambled for a 7-yard gain.

Konz also looked solid on a combination block, where he passed a defender over to center Todd McClure and then got back in place to pick up Eagles linebacker DeMeco Ryans, who was blitzing.

With Konz in the lineup, running backs Jacquizz Rodger and Michael Turner combined to rush for more than 100 yards.

Peters …

Continue reading Falcons guard Peter Konz shines in his first NFL start »

“I felt like we tackled much better. It was an emphasis point. … Tackling and pursuit angles were something that we identified that we had to get better at. I think they did a very nice job.”

—Falcons coach Mike Smith on the defense’s tackling.

“That’s a fast, fast start. We moved in and out of tempoing the ball game. I thought we controlled it. When we wanted to go fast, we went fast. When we wanted to slow it down, we slowed it down.”

—Smith on the Falcons scoring on their first six drives.

“Yes, I am, but it’s not about a coach. There are a lot of people who have contributed to number of wins since Thomas and I have gotten here. It’s about the players. It’s about the coaches. There’s a lot of people that made contributions to that (record.)”

—Smith on if he was aware the win made him the franchise’s winningest coach.

“I was a little rusty, but I’ll get back into the swing of things.”

—Defensive tackle Corey Peters on his …

Continue reading Falcons’ quotes after the 30-17 win over the Eagles »

This game was so boring Fox NFL color analyst John Lynch actually did everyone a favor by trying to drum up some excitement when the Eagles held the Falcons to a field goal in the third quarter.

Never mind that the Eagles still trailed 27-10. Forget that the Falcons had scored on all five of their possessions and that the Eagles seemed nervous about letting Michael Vick throw more than five yards down field.

By the standards of this game, “We held them to a field goal!” was a rallying cry for the Eagles.

“You see [defensive coordinator] Todd Bowles and his group celebrating,” Lynch said as Fox went to a commercial break. “Sometimes you have to celebrate the little victories. Life for the Philadelphia Eagles.”

Lynch sounded hopeful because this was not good television. Alas, Lynch and play-by-play man Dick Stockton had little to work with after halftime.

The Falcons were dominant and the Eagles were awful. Dead air doesn’t work on television so the duo tried to to …

Continue reading Lynch and Stockton can’t save Fox snoozer »

Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones scored on a 63-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter. (Associated Press)

PHILADELPHIA — During their bye week, the Falcons heard all the chatter: Their 6-0 record was accumulated against the meeker souls of the NFL.

On Sunday, those same Falcons demonstrated that the league’s last undefeated team is strong enough to dismantle the dangerous Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles, winning 30-17 at rain-swept Lincoln Financial Field.

“We don’t care,” right tackle Tyson Clabo said of the perceived lack of national respect. “Everyone in here looks each other in the eye and we know that we believe in each other. We think we have something special.”

While it’s far too early to start talking about challenging Miami’s 17-0 perfect mark, the victory did allow Falcons coach Mike Smith to become the winningest coach in franchise history (50-21) on day when quarterback Matt Ryan was nearly flawless.

With Ryan’s pinpoint …

Continue reading Falcons rough up Vick, Eagles to improve to 7-0 »

PHILADELPHIA — Here’s a list of the players the Falcons (6-0) and Eagles (3-3) declared inactive for Sunday’s game at Lincoln Financial Field.

WEATHER REPORT: At kickoff it’s expected to be 58 degrees, with 75 percent relative humidity, winds out of the NE from 16 miles to gusting 30 miles per hour, 70 percent chance or precipitation for light to moderate rain.

ATLANTA FALCONS

–QB Dominique Davis

–WR Harry Douglas

–OG/C Joe Hawley

–OT Lamar Holmes

–DT Travian Robertson

–DE Jonathan Massaquoi

–DE Cliff Matthews

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

–QB Trent Edwards

–WR Damaris Johnson

–RB Dion Lewis

–LB Jamar Chaney

–G Danny Watkins

–T/G Nate Menkin

–DE Vinny Curry

LATEST NEWS

Injury report: Harry Douglas is out; Peters may be activated

Falcons at Eagles: 3 key matchups

Falcons at Eagles: By the numbers

Is Michael Vick the “Coach Killer?”

Will the Philadelphia fans cheer for Asante Samuel?

OTHER RECENT STORIES

Q&A: Falcons coach Mike Smith on first practice after the bye week

Tight end …

Continue reading Falcons at Eagles: Inactives for the game »

FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons’ offense and the Eagles’ defense appear to be a good match when it comes to third-down efficiency.

The Falcons have converted 45 percent (34 of 75) of their third downs, which ranks fourth in the NFL.

The Eagles’ defense, which will be under the direction of new defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, have held teams to 29 percent (23 of 79) on third downs. Those numbers rank third in the league.

“They are very good on third down,” Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said. “I think their front four is a reason for that. They do a great job with pass rush. I know their sack numbers aren’t where they’ve been in the past, but their pressures are right there.”

Ryan likely won’t have time to drive the ball down the field if the Falcons are in a lot of third-and-long situations.

“They force you to get the ball out of your hands probably before you are ready to do it,” Ryan said. “We’ll have to do a great job up front and on the outside …

Continue reading Stat corner: Falcons vs. Eagles – Third-down efficiency »