Atlanta Falcons: Lesson learned, Falcons vow focused effort at Detroit
FLOWERY BRANCH–The Falcons can solidify their postseason positioning with a road victory against a struggling opponent on Saturday.
Faced a similar situation two games ago, the Falcons fell flat at Carolina. They are vowing not to do the same at Detroit (4-10) with home-field advantage for the NFC playoffs within reach.
“I think we learned our lesson from the Carolina game,” Falcons running back Michael Turner said. “We are not taking anything for granted. We’ve still got work to do. We’ve still got things to get better at. They are going to give us their best shot. We know that.”
Some players admitted to becoming too relaxed in their preparation for the Panthers game, which followed a tough victory against the rival Saints. After the humbling 30-20 defeat at Carolina, the Falcons responded with what they said was a focused week of practice before their 34-0 victory against the Giants on Sunday.
Coach Mike Smith doesn’t expect a repeat of the lax preparation.
“I certainly hope we approach it differently,” Smith said. “I believe we will. This (Detroit) is a very good football team. Their record is not indicative of what kind of team they are.”
Smith noted the Lions have lost eight games by eight points or less and, like the Giants, have a talented defensive line.
The Falcons started slowly against Carolina and never recovered. They want to jump on the Lions early.
“We want to do that every week, but even more so this week,” Falcons safety Thomas DeCoud said. “If we can get them behind the 8-ball and under our thumb early, I think the ball will be in our court.”
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101 comments Add your comment
Falcon Red
December 19th, 2012
6:37 pm
Ryan needs to abuse Chris Houston and show everyone why the Falcons let him go. And at the same time, Duanta needs to step it up a notch and show why we chose him to replace Houston! Honestly, I haven’t seen the latter of the two…hope he has a great game Saturday night!
Dickelsby
December 19th, 2012
6:44 pm
I just hope my Falcons get out of Detroit alive……..Oh I expect them to win big but I hope they can out of Detroit alive!!!!!!
falcon freak
December 19th, 2012
7:37 pm
if not mike smith then who?
Posts about The Falcons From Other Great Blogs issue #1 | Falcons - NFC South Daily | Atlanta Falcons Blog
December 19th, 2012
8:29 pm
[...] broader implications for the season and the post-season. It’s easy to more… Atlanta Falcons: Lesson learned, Falcons vow focused effort at Detroit – blogs.ajc.com 12/19/2012 FLOWERY BRANCH–The Falcons can solidify their postseason [...]
Dwayne C
December 19th, 2012
8:29 pm
@ Tommy: championships ARE all that matter and I’ll continue drinking that “kool aid”. You can can go on drinking the “one and done in the playoffs” kool aid if you want.
Mr. Thomas Anthony 'The Taxman' Jones, SR
December 19th, 2012
8:55 pm
Suh is the best!
Joshua
December 19th, 2012
9:44 pm
Starters should not be rested in the upcoming games. Let them keep playing and keep building momentum. Sitting out starters is exactly why high seeded teams get beat so frequently. These guys need to keep playing so they will be sharp when the playoffs come. If someone gets injured – so be it. You cannot expect these players to not play for weeks on end and come in and be effective when it matters most.
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December 19th, 2012
10:06 pm
[...] Lesson learned, Falcons expect focused effort at Detroit [...]
okeetee
December 19th, 2012
10:52 pm
“The Forty Niners are a well rounded team, but they’ve still lost three or four games. I’m sure Aldon Smith started in those games. And now their fate lies with a rooky quarterback that’s bound to make mistakes.”
…that’s why I’m saying it behooves us to draw either the 49ers or the SeaHawks in the championship game to see who goes to the Super Bowl…..because BOTH are starting rookies quarterbacks….and no matter how they look now, they WILL make mistakes in the Georgia Dome against our secondary! We don’t want Aaron Rogers…although this year, he can be beaten, too! We definitely need both of our games at home and the bye week! Win Saturday…..and the Falcons are rewarded with a 3 week “bye” week!
Jock Sniffer
December 20th, 2012
7:26 am
While Obama destroys America let’s keep our focus on the big picture…sports!
Ackshun
December 20th, 2012
7:29 am
The 49ers can’t even beat the Rams. Far to many weapons on ATLs side of the ball to worry about losing to them. And as far as mobile QBs go Atlanta has already defeated Cam Newton and damn near knock RG3 senseless. If you truly are “Realistic” you have to say this team can beat just about anybody.
Macon Fan
December 20th, 2012
8:24 am
the Noners, The Sea Chickens, the Cheese Packers, The Gints – are all hoping they don’t have to come to the Georgia Dome and face the Falcons in the post season.
Answered All Questions
December 20th, 2012
8:29 am
What’s all the talk about the 49ers and recent playoff success. They have only two playoff wins in the past 16 years.In that time frame the Falcons have 4 playoff wins.
Answered All Questions
December 20th, 2012
8:31 am
@ Jock Sniffer
The elections are over and you lost. Deal with it or not…
Playoff Wins
December 20th, 2012
8:51 am
I have sadly seen this lesson for 5 years now. When will Blank learn?
Playoff Wins
December 20th, 2012
8:54 am
@Macon Fan
You really want a more polished Aaron Rodgers in the dome again? Do you remember the 48-21 beating?
Ghosts of Past
December 20th, 2012
8:59 am
Hi Matty Ice, we are the ghosts of Arizona, Green Bay and New York Giants…….regular season means very little.
1stn10
December 20th, 2012
9:11 am
**Frederick(Bailey)Douglass**
Believe it or not…we do know the players without their number posted after their name. Stopped reading, got annoying.
1stn10
December 20th, 2012
9:12 am
Answered All Questions
December 20th, 2012
8:31 am
@ Jock Sniffer
The elections are over and you lost. Deal with it or not…
I believe you made a mistake…the country lost.
1stn10
December 20th, 2012
9:13 am
Bring on whoever…Roddy and his teammates said…”they are not affraid of anyone.”
Answered All Questions
December 20th, 2012
9:24 am
@1stn10
What about 2000 to 2008? The country really got blasted….
Falcons82
December 20th, 2012
9:27 am
@Jock sniffer – get a life and stop trying to destroy everyone else’s.
Smlarsen
December 20th, 2012
9:33 am
Realistic football fan. Are you seriously going to say Ryan has a “noodle” of an arm. Apparently you missed the 90+ yard drive they had in the middle of the season at the end of the game. I think it was a 65 yard pass that got them out of their own endzone. Good try buddy. You couldn’t run the ball 65 yards in an open field.
The Big Fat Blogger
December 20th, 2012
9:48 am
I need to make mention of this since it has been on my mind for a while, what is really up with these so called “sports experts” on the national television market and these haters on sites such as msn and espn.com? We beat the Gnats in blow out fashion and all I keep hearing about now is how we squadeled a game against the kittens the game before….. However, no one talks about how the niners got destroyed by the same team they we just destroyed, or how the cardinals went into foxboro and beat the patriots earlier this year…. it is not until the Falcons play well that people find the negative to harp about, and if I have to hear about how the Falcons are 0-3 in the playoffs one more time, I think I will go (crazier)!!!!! Please stop harping on the damn greenbay and gnats game from one,two years or whatever ago!!! This is a new season, new players, better coordinators, better vision….. We are ready this year!!! GO FALCONS!!!!!!
RealisticFootbalFan
December 20th, 2012
10:47 am
@Ackshun…Cam Newton made Atlanta look silly the last time they played us and had everyone questioning ATL defensive capability…what Cam Newton and Drew Brees did was expose how ATL can be easily beaten. No one said ATL couldn’t beat anyone… My point is they havent been able to beat anyone in the POST SEASON. Everyone knows the play level is elevated for the post season and history has shown us that ATL has been able to compete in the POST SEASON..@Smlarsen…Matt Ryan does have a noodle arm..if you paid attention to what I stated…whenever a recevier has to slow down on a deep route that means the QB underthrew it..yes…luckily the pass wasn’t picked off…but when faced with a stellar defense passes like that one you just mentioned will be picked off…mark my word….Matt Ryan is a good QB…not a great QB…. so as I stated before…all this bold talk you guys have right now is bogus if they can’t bring home the trophy…it doesn’t mean a thing without the SB ring…and you can’t even debate that because the Falcons have yet to win one…let alone win a playoff game since 2004…SB wins and consistency in the postseason wins you respect and the city money….Falcons haven’t earned it yet!!!!!
RealisticFootbalFan
December 20th, 2012
10:48 am
hasn’t been able to compete…..typo
Starship 1
December 20th, 2012
10:51 am
U think the Falcons win Sunday-but I will be hard pressed to think they will maintain that focus like they did with the G-Men last week. It’ll be one of those wins like what got them to this point all year. They’ll be trying to explain that they need to learn from this game and play better. My question is: how can they do this-when there will be only one game to left at the dome with TB and you’ve already clinched? Saturday’s game will be a tell all to what the Falcons tell you this week-as far as their mental attitude and preparation.
Answered All Questions
December 20th, 2012
11:12 am
@ RealisticFootbalFan
RESPECT has been earned…… Name another city that’s in the processing of talking about building a new stadium for non-SUPERBOWL winning franchise. I can answer that for you….NON…… Seems to me RESPECT has been earned even without the ring. Like you said it’s about money for the city.
RealisticFootbalFan
December 20th, 2012
11:17 am
@Smlarsen….and to correct your statement about not being able to run the ball 65yds in an open field….see Adrian Peterson highlights from last week….. I am a realistic football fan and I know football….here’s what I see the holes with the Falcons are and what will haunt them in the playoffs.
Offense –
Matt Ryan relies too much on Tony Gonzalez. Opposing defenses in the post season will account for this better
Matt Ryan has a noodle arm on deep passes..if his receivers don’t fight for the underthrown pass expect INT’s
Michael Turner not producing enough
O-line struggles with blitzes up the middle
Matt Ryan struggles when he’s blitzed often
still not enough screens and slant routes
Defense -
Tackling has been slacked lately
Defense can’t handle mobile QB’s
Secondary needs tighter Man-to-Man coverage
D-line needs to pick up the sack numbers and fast
During zone coverage secondary not knowing their assigments thoroughly
Those are the ones I can think of right now…but these are items that will haunt them if they don’t tighten up..POST SEASON is not like Regular Season…
RealisticFootbalFan
December 20th, 2012
11:23 am
@Answered All Questions R U KIDDING ME right now…. Dude you said is yourself…non-sb winning franchise….that’s just it…SB’s win you respect dude….so what if they get a stadium…but it will take SB wins to fill it up you moron…if you notice…the taxpayers/fans didn’t wanna pay for it….they had to foot most of the bill themselves…I can almost guarantee you had the FALCONS had some SB wins under their belt then the taxpayers/fans would be more inclined to foot the bill…I.E. because SB wins are what’s respected!!!! ATL has not earned the RESPECT yet because they’re still trying to do what other cities have already done!!!!
Answered All Questions
December 20th, 2012
11:26 am
@RealisticFootbalFan
Just because you are name calling tells me something about your level of intelligence. See Jerry Jones and Cowboys… Tell me who footed that bill…
Go Falcons..!!
December 20th, 2012
11:28 am
All Sport cable shows have never supported a Falcon Win. There slant will always be “How ‘Far the other Team has Fallen” or the patented ”They Just were not playing well at all”. Last year they gushed over the Aints. This year it looks like the Noners are the darlings of the league. Most of these guys are bias and there canned answers make them look amatuerish and clueless. Who cares….GO FALCONS..!!!
Answered All Questions
December 20th, 2012
11:29 am
@@RealisticFootbalFan
If Superbowl wins are what’s respected why are the Eagle’s still selling out there stadium?
RealisticFootbalFan
December 20th, 2012
11:35 am
@Answered All Questions Really dude….you wanna question my level of intelligence just because my opinion of you really believing the Falcons have earned respect is moronic…again..you’re delusional. So yes..Jerry Jones and the Cowboys footed their bill….whoopdy doo!!! you got one one me… my point was simply this…Arthur Blank has the marketing strategy down…I’ll give you that one…but to get that ultimate respect the FALCONS have to produce and get POST-SEASON W’s on the field along with SB wins. We done this before remember…that’s how we got the GA. Dome….but you won’t see ultimate respect until they bring home championships…..not just a bunch of regualar season wins….THAT’S MY POINT!!!! and yes…I still think it’s moronic to think they’ve earned respect just because they got the ok to build a stadium….that doesn’t equate to championships…
RealisticFootbalFan
December 20th, 2012
11:36 am
@Answered All Questions the Eagles sell out their stadiums because they have POST SEASON W’s and mutiple SB appearances!!!!!! ATL can’t even say that!!!
Answered All Questions
December 20th, 2012
11:39 am
@RealisticFootbalFan
So it REALLY is NOT about the RINGS then. Just appearances…
RealisticFootbalFan
December 20th, 2012
11:41 am
@Answered All Questions it’s really about both….but more importantly about the rings dude….The Eagles have gotten closer more often that ATL has…that’s why they’re respected more that ATL is…
Julio Jones
December 20th, 2012
11:42 am
I’m the Y.A.C. master. How many catches have you seen me making in stride?
Answered All Questions
December 20th, 2012
11:42 am
@RealisticFootbalFan
So it’s about CLOSER now……
Go Falcons..!!
December 20th, 2012
11:43 am
No way im paing 10,000.00 dollars for an opportunity to by a season ticket. I’ve been priced out of the Home Game experience. xfinity redzone here I come…:)
RealisticFootbalFan
December 20th, 2012
11:44 am
@Answered All Questions Even with the blowout win over the Giants….don’t think for a minute they won’t regroup….they’re respected more because they have consistency in the post season….they lost to us no doubt…but in the post season…they’re a different team….THAT’s why they have rings…and that’s why they’re respected more so than ATL is…I just pray for your sake and others that they bring a championship home…because as I said before they’ll be that much more less respected if they don’t
Answered All Questions
December 20th, 2012
11:45 am
@RealisticFootbalFan
Upon further review ….I agree with you….You truly are intelligent when comes to football.
RealisticFootbalFan
December 20th, 2012
11:45 am
@Answered All Questions For ATL…yes it is about closer….because they haven’t been able to do that….. they’re currently respected as the one-and-done team…
Matty Ice
December 20th, 2012
11:46 am
I’ve never passed for 200 yards in a playoff game but I’m elite baby!
RealisticFootbalFan
December 20th, 2012
11:47 am
@Answered All Questions So now you want to be a smart @ss…wow…upon further review..the call on the play stands…you’re still delusional!!!
Answered All Questions
December 20th, 2012
11:52 am
@RealisticFootbalFan
So now I am a smart @ss for agreeing with you….wow. There is now winning with you.
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[...] Atlanta Falcons: Lesson learned, Falcons vow focused effort at Detroit FLOWERY BRANCH–The Falcons can solidify their postseason positioning with a road victory against a struggling opponent on Saturday. Faced a similar situation 2 games ago, the Falcons fell flat at Carolina. They are vowing not to do the same at … Read more on Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]