Ugly Loss – Falcons Beat-Down in D-Town
Birds Punched Out by Cowboys
This Pic Sums it Up (Michael Ainsworth/Dallas Morning News)
The Falcons were hit in the mouth several times today by the Cowboys and wilted under the pressure in Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. If last week’s win over the Bears was a total team win, today’s loss was a total team defeat. All aspects of the Falcons team performed poorly and contributed to a pretty bad conquest at the hands of the Cowboys. Many reasons or excuses may be offered up such as the Cowboys coming off a bye, the Falcons having a short week, the Cowboys “needing” the game more, or playing on the road, but all excuses aside, this team didn’t show much fight and heart that we’re accustomed to seeing starting with the coaching staff down.
The Birds started off to an amazing start, driving down the field at will and scoring a touchdown on a 8 minute drive that made it appear as though the Falcons might be in for a repeat for the 49ers game, and how the game took a complete nose-dive from there. The Falcons offensive series looked inept and predictable, going several 3 and out several series in a row. The offense never found their groove from there, having another atrocious rushing effort. The defense held the three-headed monster of Barber, Jones, and Choice pretty much in check, but the Cowboys only needed Tony Romo to pick apart the Falcons secondary to put this one away. The Falcons have entered their ridiculous stretch with the Bears, Cowboys, Saints, and Giants in a six game run that will determine the season, and stand at 1 and 1. The Niners lost again and the Bears got beat 45-10 by the Bengals, so the Birds victories aren’t looking to be what they were a week ago. One thing is for certain, the Falcons better drop this loss from their memory quick and prepare like never before because arguably the best team in football awaits to host the Birds in the SuperDome on Monday Night Football. A look at today’s beat-down:
Shadow of Falcons Offense
Quarterback
Matt Ryan had one of the longer days in his young career, spending much of the game looking up at the amazing screen in Cowboys Stadium after being sacked four times, hurried, and beat on by the Cowboys defensive front. Marcus Spears, Demarcus Ware, and Bradie James were in Ryan’s face all day and put the pressure on from the first snap. The horrible play of the offensive line doesn’t excuse Ryan’s poor decisions throughout the game, where he threw into tight coverage and seem rattled, quite unlike his normal persona. Two touchdowns, but a fumble and two picks again, making it four picks in two weeks. Grade – F
Zero Rushing Attack
Par for the Course this Year (John F. Rhodes/Dallas Morning News)
Last year with the Falcons being ranked second in the league in rushing seems like decades ago, as there appears to be something seriously wrong with the rushing attack. The offensive line may have deserved some of the blame, but the bulk of it appears to lie at the feet of last year’s Pro-Bowl running back Michael Turner. He is hitting the hole slow, tip-toeing, lacks vision, and braces for impact whenever a defender gets near him, unlike last year where he was the punisher. The reason for the blame turns on the fact that Jason Snelling looked superb today getting more action in the backfield. Snelling hit the holes hard and fast and earned a 9.7 yards a carry average. Not time to give up on Turner by any means, but if Coach Smith truly believes in the best player playing, Snelling should be getting more and more reps. Turner – F; Snelling – A
What Happened to our O-Line?
The Falcons offensive line had a meltdown day today. After being one of the absolute best in the league in keeping Ryan upright and safe, the offensive line gave up 4 sacks (two in one series), and let the Cowboy defenders in Ryan’s face all day long. Some of it may be due to play-calling, but the O-Line had an absolutely terrible day all-around. The days of enforcing their will on opposing defenses may be in question. Baker, Blalock, McClure, Dahl, and Clabo may have been blamed for the running game, but they may not be the problem after all seeing Snelling have such a good day. The Falcons rushed for over 100 yards combined, but the whipping by the Cowboys front warrants a low one. Grade – F
Lone Game-Ball – Jason Snelling, rushing for over 9 yard average and 68 yards looking quick, tough, and fast hitting the holes.
Draped Over Receivers
Not a great day, but not necessarily a terrible day either. Roddy White had 50 yards and a touchdown and Gonzalez chipped in over 30 yards and that was about it. Michael Jenkins had a bad day in dropping several balls that hit him in the hands. The corners were draped all over the Falcons wide receivers all day, but many of Ryan’s passes were off the mark. Coach Mularkey got Gonzalez involved early in the first drive and he went missing again. How can teams do such a good job at covering so many weapons on offense? Eric Weems should get many more looks in the slot showing nice speed and quickness. Pretty much a non-factor. Grade – B-
Gashed, Thrashed, and Burned Defense
Run Stuffing, but No Pressure D-Line
Missed Sack of the Game? (Louis Deluca/Dallas Morning News)
The defensive line provided no pass rush on Tony Romo throughout the game and allowed him all day to find receivers. They helped Romo to have one of his best days in their new stadium throwing for over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Cowboys offensive line manhandled the Falcons D-Line all day. For some unknown reason, John Abraham consistently dropped into coverage many times instead of rushing the passer. Abraham, Babineaux, Anderson, and Biermann aren’t providing the pass rush hoped for, but they did hold the triple rushing threat of Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice in check for the most part. The rushing defense has vastly improved, but they are getting no pressure on opposing QBs, and if Romo picked apart our defense, can you imagine what Drew Brees will do? Oh No. The play of the game was when Babineaux, Abraham, and Biermann all had a shot on Tony Romo and missed him, which would have held the Cowboys to no points in the red-zone right before halftime. May have been a different game if they don’t score a TD right there.Good run defense, but no pass rush. Grade – C+
Linebackers, Core of the Team
Linebacker continue their solid play, being the one of the few bright spots on defense. Lofton had a low day in terms of tackles with 5 total, Nicholas chipped in another three, and Peterson had 1 solo and 3 assists. The linebackers did help keep one of the better rushing attacks in check, but they let Tony Romo run for over 30 yards and pick up many crucial third downs. The linebackers weren’t too much of a factor since Romo was busy throwing all over the field on our secondary, and they did a pretty good job keeping the backs to small gains with passes out of the backfield. Nicholas added one of two sacks. Grade – B-
Turn, Burn, and Torched Secondary
Terrible outing by the secondary, allowing over 300 yards passing and getting manhandled by Miles Austin and………..Miles Austin. The guy lit Brent Grimes up like a Christmas tree and the questions again resurface whether he is a true starting cornerback in the NFL. Flashbacks of him getting burnt by Mushin Muhammed last year came back to the forefront. The rest certainly deserve their fare share as well. Chris Houston had another really awful game as well, giving up several big third down conversions to Miles and Patrick Crayton. Houston lacks the awareness to get his head around for a big play. The long touchdown catch and run by Miles also came against Thomas DeCoud where he simply was outrun. DeCoud and Coleman led the team in tackles, which is a sure-fire indicator that a loss is coming. DeCoud did have a sack on a really nice blitz. Coleman had many sacks, but let TE Jason Witten come up with many big third down catches, especially near the end of the game. Chevis Jackson saw some playing time today, but seemed behind the receivers several times as well, surely not up to par with where he was last year. Again no sight of Chris Owens or Tye Hill. Hate to say it, but the secondary is the major weak link of the defense, and the fears of preseason have come to fruition. Brian Williams injury appears to be pretty significant. Grade – F
Defensive Game-Ball – None, no one deserves one.
Special Teams
Special teams had another good day on kickoff coverage and punt coverage as well, until they finally broke against the Cowboys where Patrick Crayton drove a nail through the Falcons comeback hopes. It is what it is, but that punt shouldn’t even happened and Coach Smith should have shown some guts and gone for it on 4th and 2, losing by two scores in the 4th quarter. They get somewhat a pass for an otherwise excellent year. Grade – C+
Special Teams Game-Ball – None
Coaching
What Gives on the 4th Downs, Coach? (Vernon Bryant/Dallas Morning News)
Starting with Coach Smith all the way down the buck stops at the top. Coach Mularkey showed a great plan of action on the first drive, but was unable to adjust when the Cowboys made some adjustments of there own. The short and intermediate passes either stopped or Ryan was forced to throwing into coverage and the creativity was not there in the passing attack. If the running game is non-existent, there appears to be a major flaw in Mularkey’s approach. Leave Snelling in for the entire game since he has the hot hand. Did they even attempt a pass over 25-30 yards? Coach Van Gorder called a weak game as well. He did blitz often, which worked a few times, but he has got to find ways to cover up for his pathetic cornerback situation. Would seeing Tye Hill or Chris Owens be that much worse? How about trying either William Moore or Thomas DeCoud at corner? Or even Jamaal Fudge? Likely grasping here, but something has to change with the corners. Many of the blitzes that were called were bottled up with fair ease by the Cowboys line and gave Romo a big chance to score deep. Coach Smith again showed lack of confidence and guts in not going for it on 4th and short yet again late in the game in obvious 4 down territory. Matt Ryan even wanted to go for it, but was quickly told to hit the sideline. Next play: 73 yard punt return for a touchdown to essentially end the game. The entire coaching staff showed an inability to adjust to the Cowboys changes. Too many weapons on offense to be struggling, and changes likely need to be made in the secondary. Better get it together quick. Grade – F
Yes, games are often lost in the NFL, and every team has an off day, but this makes two games in on the season where the team didn’t seem to carry a confidence that they could win the game. For all the preseason hype the offense is pretty weak and the defense has some serious issues to correct with so many good teams on deck. The Falcons are 4-2 with a difficult schedule, but to be considered one of the best in the league, the Falcons have to be more consistent and show the firepower on both sides of the ball. Many fans were realistic that the Birds might still be a season or two away, and games like this certainly reinforce that notion. Falcons vs. the undefeated Saints, and the best team in the NFC, on Monday Night Football. If the Falcons play like they did today, pass the Tylenol and Pepto-Bismol .
GO FALCONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOUR TURN
-Your thoughts on today’s beatdown in D-Town.
-Give your grades.
-Is Ryan feeling a sophomore slump or just another not so great game?
-Cowboys that good, or Falcons that bad.
-Any game-balls?
-What’s the deal with Turner? Should Snelling overtake Turner on depth chart?
-What in the world happened to our O-Line today?
-Running attack officially in panic mode?
-What’s our defenses problem?
-Jerry’s loss making that much of an impact?
-More blitzing or less?
-Please fix our cornerback situation
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200 comments Add your comment
Shawty
October 26th, 2009
12:05 am
Here with my new name!!!
Shawty
October 26th, 2009
12:06 am
How’s that D3???
Dawson Devitt (D3)
October 26th, 2009
12:08 am
Shouldn’t it be Shawty B.?
See you all on flip-side. These late games are killing me. Can we get a 1 pm kickoff for Chrissake?
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
12:12 am
Back to Shawty B.
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
12:17 am
I think I’m alone now…
Boxcarar
October 26th, 2009
12:20 am
Never!
Dawson Devitt (D3)
October 26th, 2009
12:25 am
Can’t surrender to that the weekend is over.
If you guys really want to vomit in your mouth, head over to Schultz’s blog and witness ignorance at its finest. Sure glad that garbage won’t be allowed over here.
Finally going to bed…………..Weekend over
WR
October 26th, 2009
12:26 am
You know your from Atlanta when losing brings you all back together. They say winning makes you closer, but apparently in Atlanta we’re so use to losing we tend to come together when things are bad. Glad to see everyone back in the fold, yes, everyone.
Sarah, or Shawty B which ever it is now, I will eat the crow now, hey we have an 85% accuracy rate here at the FFL, we do occasionally make mistakes, I was expecting a breakout from Steve also, apparently he and TO are battling for biggest busts in the FFL.
WR
October 26th, 2009
12:30 am
Shawty B, I don’t feel bad about be off on your game, but what happened to the WarEagles. To beat that team you normally have to put up big time points but this week they went well beyond an off week if that is what they call it.
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
12:39 am
WR glad to hear from you. I Told you I would pull it out!! I was just glad to see Nookah & Stirg back in the Cage.
Boxcarar
October 26th, 2009
12:40 am
D3,
I now only venture over to the other blogs for a few minutes and only read and never post. They are infested with more haters that true fans.
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
12:40 am
JJ tanked this week…
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
12:49 am
Whew it’s ugly over there on Shultz blog!!!
Wabe
October 26th, 2009
12:50 am
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/post/_/id/4356/whatever-happened-to-michael-turner
^ Very good article.
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
12:56 am
I’ve been singing Snelling’s praises for like two years now…
Boxcarar
October 26th, 2009
12:59 am
Shawty B.
It gets ugly on the DOL blog, as well.
WR
October 26th, 2009
1:00 am
Wabe, nice read, I think most of us concur that something definitely is not right with Turner, if its not blocking, its him being slow getting to the hole, if its not him being slow getting to the hole its him not having or showing the power he showed last year during initial contact, whatever it is the Falcons better figure it out real fast because as the article even said, I can’t imagine what the Saints are going to do against the Falcons DBs if the the Falcons O can’t keep the Saints O off the field.
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
1:05 am
WR he looks a little fat… not tryng to be hateful but maybe he he ate he raise.
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
1:05 am
Put him on a diet.
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
1:06 am
Snelling did not look fat.
WR
October 26th, 2009
1:07 am
Shawty B,LOL, actually he does, its that southern living and southern diet, he wasn’t use to this kind of eating out in California.
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
1:07 am
ate the raise..
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
1:08 am
Yeah too much fried stuff, no sushi…
WR
October 26th, 2009
1:08 am
Snelling looked good, he showed a quick burst through the line and he had some nice speed once he got into the second level of the defense.
WR
October 26th, 2009
1:09 am
Nothing like some good sushi
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
1:12 am
I love sushi & wasbi… hot! Maybe we should have dinner???
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
1:15 am
Just Dinner, you prudes who will comment ‘get a room’ gimme a break already, can’t we be friends? Heading you off at the pass.
Really, WR what part of town are you in? Hell, I’m right near Chambodia, lots of good sushi here.
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
1:17 am
Falcon’s Extra is a joke…
WR
October 26th, 2009
1:17 am
Your place or mine,j/k, I’m looking forward to our birdcage meet and greet in a couple of weeks, I believe its going to be really interesting.
WR
October 26th, 2009
1:20 am
Yeah its going to be some shouts for getting a room, the funny thing is going to be us saying we did, LOL, LOL, LOL, (j/k everyone, its after one in the morning you can’t be to serious this late)
Boxcarar
October 26th, 2009
1:21 am
Evidently, we are relying on the process, and will take our lumps at times this season. I will continue to allow our staff to guide our team. I, as a long suffering(40 plus year)fan, am allowed to bitch all I want to about the teams shortcomings. I think that a great number of our Cage bretheren, myself included, have drank the Koolaid and bought into some media sources that have placed our program higher than they really are. We are on our way to a great foundation, but not there, yet. I hope for the best. We surprised a great number of teams last year and may still make the playoffs. Dynasties take time. We are on our way and I’m on board. Go Falcons!!!!
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
1:21 am
Mine!!! Come on may as well get it over with.
WR
October 26th, 2009
1:24 am
Oh by the way I’m near the mall of Georgia, probably not far from you so don’t tempt me
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
1:24 am
KoolAid Ummmm, yeah I drank it too. Hopefully it works.
Supes
October 26th, 2009
1:26 am
Not all the pieces are in place here for us to be one of the premiere teams in the NFC. That’s the truth, plus when you combine it with the significant injuries of P. Jerry, B. Williams on defense doesn’t make the job easier.
If you think about it…this current draft class isn’t helping the Falcons at all. Has William Moore even seen the field? So much for the hard hitting/run stopping SS from MO (so far anyways, yes I know about the hamstring). Jerry is out…and they were really counting on him to be an upgrade at DT.
However…the fact that the Falcons have undersized and weak defensive backs is beyond evident. Honestly, any team with a decent O-Line and a good QB should be able to score with ease on our secondary.
Falcons need at least 2 new CB’s that will start (for the 2010 season), they need Jerry to be healthy…they need to find a pass rusher opposite of John Abraham (sidbury alert?)…and they need a PHYSICAL play making SS. Where is our “Troy Polamalu”, “Brian Dawkins”, or Brandon Merriweather”?
The entire defense is still under construction. Give them 1-2 more years to get all the pieces here necessary to beat the top tier teams in the NFC (Giants, Saints, Eagles, Cards, Vikes, etc)
Offense will be alright, I’m not worried about them. We may need to draft another RB next year in the draft (to replace the often injured Norwood, and light the fire under Turner).
If the Falcons can either beat the Saints or the Giants (win one of those 2 games), we are still right in the middle of the NFC race. We still have 3 games against (the Bucs/Panthers), plus the Bills and the Jets on the schedule. Not penciling in those for “sure wins”…but it sure isn’t the bears, cowboys, saints and giants.
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
1:26 am
Tempt, Tempt, Tempt… come on down… just for dinner or I heard good things about a place called Bonefish or something like that.
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
1:27 am
I-85 & Shallowford Rd.
WR
October 26th, 2009
1:28 am
Boxcarar, great post, I don’t know if its the media as much as it is that we as fans see a big improvement, so we want more and we want it right now, but the reality is that it takes time along the way there will be highs and lows, but as long as you begin to have more highs than lows your building something special now as well as into the future.
Boxcarar
October 26th, 2009
1:28 am
We’ll leave the light on for ya. LOLOLOL
WR
October 26th, 2009
1:31 am
Closer than I thought, this would be a bad time for you to break out the jersey talk
WR
October 26th, 2009
1:32 am
Boxcarar, LOLLLLLLL
Boxcarar
October 26th, 2009
1:32 am
Shawty,
We even have a Bonefish here in Little Rock, if it is the same franchise. I haven’t been but a friend says that a little pricey, but good food.
WR
October 26th, 2009
1:34 am
Boxcarar, its beyond a little pricey but it is good, nice wines on the menu also if your a wine drinker
WR
October 26th, 2009
1:39 am
How lucky can I get for a football season, Tech is my college football team and they have a very limited vertical passing attack, the Falcons are my pro team and they have a nonexistent vertical attack what are the chances that passing the football efficiently wouldn’t exist no where in my sports teams.
WR
October 26th, 2009
1:41 am
Shawty B and Boxcarar, ya’ll hold it down, I gotta get up in about 4 hours so I’m out for the night, have a good night both of you.
Boxcarar
October 26th, 2009
1:43 am
WR,
I am a rabid Dawg fan, but only pull against Tech against my Dawgs. I still have to pull for SEC instead of ACC, though. I hope Tech does well. Topic end.
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
1:43 am
WR you didn’t answer my question… dinner or not? We will get our passing game back in order.
Boxcarar
October 26th, 2009
1:44 am
Shawty,
Are we all alone, again?
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
1:45 am
Box I don’t do Motel 6…
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
1:45 am
I think we are…
Boxcarar
October 26th, 2009
1:50 am
Shawty,
I know that you don’t. I was only joking with a known marketing phrase for comic relief.
Boxcarar
October 26th, 2009
1:55 am
Shawty,
You there or gone?
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
1:58 am
Just bored and a little lonely. If I can pick up a dinner date I’ll take it. It’s just me here & my 2 dogs & cats. Not looking for a hook up just companany. Plus I like to eat out, it’s hard to cook for one.
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
1:59 am
I’m here.
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
2:01 am
You probably have to go to bed.
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
2:02 am
Giants definatly look beatable, by us.
Boxcarar
October 26th, 2009
2:07 am
I’m here, but going to check out. Why do you think that I have to go to bed? You just be careful.
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
2:10 am
Only that’s it’s getting late and I’m the unemployed one…
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
2:12 am
Night Box…
Boxcarar
October 26th, 2009
2:12 am
I’m on call for next weekend, so I’m off tomorrow.
Boxcarar
October 26th, 2009
2:14 am
Night Shawty.
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
2:14 am
Oh you’re still here?
Shawty B
October 26th, 2009
2:15 am
Night!
Birdman
October 26th, 2009
7:48 am
Enter your comments here
crabapplejoe
October 26th, 2009
7:52 am
“Linebacker continue their solid play, being the one of the few bright spots on defense. Lofton had a low day in terms of tackles with 5 total, Nicholas chipped in another three, and Peterson had 1 solo and 3 assists.”
So our entire LB corp had nine tackles in the game and you give them a B-….pleez. Brooking would have nine tackles in the first half alone in some games. LOL
RS
October 26th, 2009
7:53 am
Drop Turner on the dept chart and promote Snelling! The guy is doing his thing. He’s the most consistent back we have.
Birdman
October 26th, 2009
8:13 am
Morning cage
I am at awe ,Season is not over yet .Turner is not as good as Snelling .Thats all I can say there.Somthing has got to give.At a look ahead they will be lucky to get a wild card shot.
Maybe it ant the year for them yet.They got a lot of work to do.I want throw in the towel yet but its geting closer and closer to just looking forward to next year.
I really see next week in the L side and the giants ,well lets just say when the birds meet them they to will be coming off a bye.So thats another loss. 4 teams we play after there bye talk about luck.Maybe next year the NFL will give them 5 or 6 teams to face after theres ? To me it just seems like no respect.
Complete melt down yesterday .Where is the drive we thought they had.We have not seen back to back losses ,well stick around its coming .I hope not just like all of you but its time to get real.
Birdman
October 26th, 2009
8:52 am
You know things are bad when nobody wants to talk about the birds much here.
John Waynesworld
October 26th, 2009
8:56 am
This will take some time for me to get over because, unlike what D3 said, I don’t think the Falcons can forget this debacle of a game one bit. If they do forget about what happened, it will EASILY happen again. Adjustments…FFFffft! Unless they start bringing in every journeyman defensive back (over 5′10″ in heels) and plugging them in over what we got now, we’re gonna see this again.
I have the game plan to defeat our team and it is so easy I can’t imagine ANY NFL team not using the same plan every time out again these Falcons. Here it is, get your game plan NO, Wash, Car, NYG, TB, Phil, NO, NYJ, Buff, and TB:
THROW THE BALL ON EVERY DOWN. Short passes, medium passes, long passes. That’s it. Every down against these MIDGETS that pass as cornerbacks I would throw the ball, oh say, whatever the height that a 6′3″ receiver can reach his hands in the air. About 8 feet off the ground. That should be more than enough for the pass to be out of the reach of the Falcons’ own “Lolly Pop Kids”.
Our secondary is a joke that isn’t going to get better and they definitely cannot practice to get BIGGER. Additionally our DT’s cannot get any push up the middle. Unless our offense can totally control the game clock, and I’m talking 40 out of 60 minutes, and score at least 30 points we don’t stand a chance against ANY top tier NFL team.
That being said, I am still betting on my 10-6 record ONLY because we have 2 with TB and a few door mats on the way down the stretch. But come playoff time (if we don’t get beat out in the wild card by Dallas) WE ARE TOAST. I’m out for a while. I got nothing more for this.
Unca' Bob
October 26th, 2009
9:15 am
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/post/_/id/4356/whatever-happened-to-michael-turner
Roswell Saint
October 26th, 2009
9:16 am
Wait til next week Monday Night at the Superdome. Falcons haven’t seen anything yet.
DandyD
October 26th, 2009
9:20 am
These Blogs today really suck. We got knuckleheads over here not talking a damn thing about football. Talkin’ about restaurants and crap. this is a football blog about the Atlanta Falcons. If you wanna freakin’ socialize go over to facebook or myspace…jeesus…figure it out people. And the mental retardation that exists on Schultz blog…well those a$$holes are friggin’ cavemen…stupid assed MV7 apologists can kiss my glutes. Anyway enough ranting about idiocy. To address the blog topic…these Falcons will be facing inflated expectations and the reality of their horrendous schedule all year long. Maybe next year for true contention.
LRD
October 26th, 2009
9:20 am
Last week, the entire team hustled, gang tackling, o line blocking down field. This week too many individuals not enought ” Team”.
Any secondary will look weak if not enough pressure on the QB.
Ryan cannot even think of going deep if he is on his back or scrambling.
Turners just seems slow this year. has since pre-season.
Jenkins needs to be more involved and utilize his size more over the defenders.
And, the trend continues of shut down Tony G and the ATL O suffers…
I still think the Saints can be taken… faith!
Jim n Buckhead
October 26th, 2009
9:49 am
F Brooking he is an azzhat……2 tackles and he acts like they won the super bowl….he showed his true colors yesterday and burned all bridges
robert
October 26th, 2009
9:52 am
- Mularkey’s play calling has not impressed me at all. 1st down run, 2nd & 3rd down little dink and dunk passes. Mix it up, stretch the feild. I could understand this play calling if you had average players. Look at the Patriots, Saints, Colts, etc. they always go deep multiple times in a game. I don’t remember the last time we tried it?
- Smith’s 4th down decisions, SCARRED!! and no confidence in his offense. they don’t go for it on 4th and 2 while they still have a chance to stay in the game. Your quarterback is on the field wanting to go for it and you pull the offense off the field, Why? so your great defense can get a 3 and out? It hasn’t happened all day!!!! The punt is returned for a touchdown and the game is out of reach.
- DB’s (I won’t even go there) Our corners should have starred in the Wizard of Oz.
- Turner looks like he spends more time thinking about where he is going istead of exploding through the line and creating holes like he did last year.
- BVG if your corners are getting burned every other play when you are only rushing the front four, why not go ahead and send the house. What is the worse thing that could happen? Your corners get burned? That happend all day long.
I am a die hard Falcons fan and season ticket holder, I love my team, but it pains me to see a team with so much potential get out schemed, coached and played. Total team loss today, starting with the coaching.
Birdman
October 26th, 2009
10:01 am
LRD
It depends on witch team shows up in NO .The truth is the Birds got to do better than they did with the cowboys or the bears for that matter .The Saints are not likly to lose at home tho .But if the Falcons could all play good together with there talent they could make it a close game. A win tho ? Yes that would be nice. Which thats a good thing to kinda wish for because that would sure turn things back around .
Still you gata love what ther are doing here with this team .Growth ,as I,m learning more, just takes time.
GO TEAM .!!….MY TEAM ….YESTERDAY. TODAY .AND TOMORROW .FALCONS!!!!!!!
lamac66
October 26th, 2009
10:07 am
Finally an honest assessment of QB play by the originator of this blog.
flafalcon
October 26th, 2009
10:16 am
Can we please stop the bleeding in the secondary. Our CB’s can’t cover, can’t tackle and where is Hill? He can’t do any worse then what we have now. No way we will be able to keep up with the Saint’s. It’s going to be ugly.
jeff
October 26th, 2009
10:16 am
1st time poster, But I have seen enough without speaking out.
Secondary- “F” Grimes stinks. He needs to be benched or released. He has had one good pre-season game in two years. Our team and secondary will continue to get lit up like a Christmas tree, if he continues to play. All remaining teams will take note that he is our biggest liability. I hate to say next week may set us up for another blow out, and record breaking game against the pass if something isn’t done this week with Grimes. Some of you may say is young and talented and needs time to get experience. This is a win now league not a training league. Put him back on the practice squad if you want to keep him so he can learn.
Rushing- “D” with Snelling. “F” with Turner. I never thought I would say this because Turner has been my man. But- He sure seems to me as if he isn’t running this year with purpose. Last year we witnessed him punishing defenders. This year he appears to tip toe to the line and avoid contact. I realize he has or had a chest injury this week, what has been the problem the other 3 or 4 games. If he is indeed injured bench him until he is better. If he isn’t injured, bench him until he proves he wants to run the ball. Give the ball to Snelling. It is obvious he has something to prove and at this point and time is running with authority like Turner did last year. Some may say- Well the line isn’t blocking like last year. Well from what I can tell, Snelling runs behind the same line as Turner has been and hits the hole quicker.
Coaching- “F” I hope Smith learned something yesterday. 4th and 2 with around 9 minutes to go and down two touchdowns. Ryan and the offense wants to go for it, and Smith showing his offense up; elects to punt? Yes- we are inside the 30. But, our Defense didn’t stop anyone after the 1st quarter so why think we could stop them now? Game is over anyway if you give it back to Dallas. Go for it on 4th down. Instead we punt the ball and let them return it for a TD. Not a very good decision in my opinion. We put to much emphasis yesterday making sure we broke our 1st quarter scoring drought, and forgot you have to play the whole game.
QB- I recorded the game, and I wanted to go back and see the vicious hit that Ryan took I think it was in the 3rd quarter. After looking at the hit, it appeared to me that his eyes were a bit fogged and he was never the same quarterback. Did the coaches not see the hit? Did they check to see if he was ok, (no concussion)? I don’t know but, I think if he wasn’t all there, it sure rattled him and he rushed and was off on every throw after that. Don’t be surprised he is on the injury list Wed.
georgiadawgg
October 26th, 2009
10:36 am
Here we go again. the falcons were not ready for this game. Looks like boy wonder lost his glass slipper.It all starts with the head coach.They will get stomped by the Saints.
Coop
October 26th, 2009
11:02 am
Morning Cage. Tough, ugly game. D3, I’ll agree with most of the grades, though I think Snelling is too high. Turner is aweful and that makes Snelling look better. That said, perhaps if he was #1, he would rate the A. I do agree it is time to make the change.
I think the biggest difference in our D line this year is what I’ve been saying since before the draft. We have NO big body to anchor the interior. It affects EVERY aspect of our D. We are stopping the run now, but without pressure on the QB, our secondary can’t hold up. Without a push up the middle, the DEs will never get around the end. So you have to blitz or give the QB all day to pick apart our horrible secondary. We need a bad @ss NT next year.
My biggest F goes to the coaches. Look, NE was bad, but seeing the SAME thing happen against Dallas is not acceptable. We don’t have to be perfect, but how many times do we have to keep making the same mistakes before Houston, Grimes, and Turner sit? We finally got JA98 inside at DT and shored up the run D, but we need some change in OUR run game and at CB. We can lose with Snelling, Owens, Fudge, Jackson, and Hill just as well as we are with these stiffs. So that’s what gets me so angry with the coaches.
As for Ryan, I sang his praises the first drive. He did look great. But after that, he had a really bad day. Hopefully he rebounds with some fire. He does seem to struggle against 3-4 (except SF).
Finally, Smith has to go for that 4th down. He either doesn’t understand that we were in 4 down territory or he was too scared. Either one is very concerning to me. That’s two losses where he punted on 4th down late in the game. I had hope that was an aberration at NE… apparently not. Once is a learning experience, twice is a trend, if he does it again, I’ll be calling for his job. He has done wonders with this team. Dude, sack up and go for it. You will never here me complain that you were pulling out every stop to win the game.
Coop
October 26th, 2009
11:04 am
Oh, and I’ll be pulling with all my heart… but I honestly can’t see how we beat the Saints. My bigger fear is that we’re gonna get embarassed on MNF. Truth be told, this might be the Saints year. I am begrudgingly impressed that they came back against Miami.
Dirtybird
October 26th, 2009
11:13 am
I Agree coach smith should have gave his Team a chance to go for 4 and 2. We need to Fix this team ASAP!!! I have Faith in my team. i think they can pull it off against Saints. Rayan is still sophmore and we cant put so much pressure on QB we need our running game going dont matter wether its snelling or turner and we deff missed norwood and williams against cowboys.
How 'Bout Them Cowboys
October 26th, 2009
11:26 am
As a Dallasite, I feel the need to correct your “D-town.” We are not Denver. We are not Detroit. We are not Duluth. We are Dallas and we are nicknamed “Big D.”
Dawson Devitt (D3)
October 26th, 2009
11:26 am
Great Hangover Loss Day Cagers!
Well, nothing like a whipping in Dallas followed up by a Monday Night game with the NFC’s best team on a national stage. We’re about to find out what this teams made of, because if we play like we did yesterday against the Saints, they may break out the mercy rule.
Box – I think that’s a very good point, and we simply have to be very honest and objective with our current state of affairs. We’re still a year or two away, and let’s just hope that our true “SB run” will come with TG still in red and black.
Supes – Absolutely perfect, spot-on assessment. Our defense is in total reconstruction mode, and it shows how truly bad some of our past personnel/draft decisions have been. You can’t account for injuries, but it looks like TD took a step back with his second draft. Where is Chris Owens? Agreed on CB’s, they are pretty terrible.
crabapple – Nice win for the Cowboys and Brooking, but not sure 2 tackles merits a huge slap on the back.
RS – Agreed. If it is truly the best person plays, then Snelling should start against the Saints.
Birdman – Its certainly hard to admit the truth sometimes, but our team is not elite, or really that close for that matter. TD will have to pay some dough for defensive FA’s or wheel and deal like crazy to accumulate multiple draft picks.
JWW – I know. Letting Foxworth go, is looking to be a pretty bad idea. Brooking, Milloy, and Grady is understandable, but Foxworth was a managable CB at the minimum. When Brian Williams is picked up off waivers and immediately becomes our #1 CB, there’s problems.
Roswell – Hate to have to agree with you as it stands now.
DandyD – We certainly wander off topic quite often, but usually come back to talking football. What I thought was a good idea in starting our Bird Cage Fantasy Football League, has turned out to consume way more oxygen in the blog than I expected. Thanks for the input.
LRD – Good point on TG. He was supposed to complement our offense, not be the sole provider. I still say it goes back to pathetic running. When you can’t run the ball in a run-first offense, you’re in trouble.
Jim – What did Brooking want us to do, give him another big contract on a defense that is in pure rebuilding mode?
robert – Thanks for your insights. Spot-on analysis. How can our offense look so anemic with so many excellent players abound? It appears that if the running game is not working than Mularkey doesn’t have a whole lot of answers.
lamac66 – Not sure how to respond to that. He’s had an above average season, but he’s only in his second year, and goodness knows he’s getting no help from the rushing attack.
flafalcon – Can’t say it any better: the CB’s are pretty awful. I’ve had my doubts about Grimes since last year, and they are substantiated every time a big receiver comes down the line. Put in Owens and Hill for godsake. Can they be worse?
jeff – Great points all around. They love Grimes for some reason that none of us can understand. When he got dishragged by Miles Austin on the red-zone TD, that sealed for most fans. We have got to be more aggressive on offense, because our defense is in phase 2 of a 4 year rebuilding mode. No help AT ALL from our draft class.
georgiadawgg – True that it starts with the head coach, but it was a total team loss, IMHO. Ryan had a bad day, but so did everyone else.
All for now. Enjoy the day and I’ll check back in a little while………………..
Dawson Devitt (D3)
October 26th, 2009
11:27 am
Win a playoff game for the first time in 13 years and we’ll call you Big D.
Knew Money
October 26th, 2009
11:35 am
Its been awhile for me on this post but I must say this. You can’t just cut a guy and bring in some guy off the streets. It doesn’t work that way. Sure grimes and houston aren’t that good, but apparently their better than what we have on the bench behind them. I think it all boils down to the scheme and players making plays. When we blitz to get pressure on the qb we got to make the plays with that pressure. If we sit back we have got to give those cb’s some help over the top. You guys have to understand that our secondary is the weak link of the team and everyone knew this going into the season. That is no surprise. They’re young and inexperienced. The problem with this team I see is on the Offense. Offensively we’re just not getting it done. WHERE HAS THE RUNNING GAME GONE? Coming into the season I thought that turner wouldn’t be as effective this year because of a tougher schedule. No more Lion, Chiefs, Rams. But I didn’t expect to be this bad. We’re not stretching the field with vertical passing plays. I haven’t seen many long passing plays to keep defenses honest. Yeah Matt Ryan won ROTY last year. But I see Flacco from the Ravens getting better in his 2nd season beating teams with his arm more so that Ryan. The falcons got to call MORE LONG passing plays and maybe that can open up our running game. With the weapons we have on Offense we should be scoring 28 points per game.
cutter
October 26th, 2009
12:59 pm
“Concerned? I don’t know that I’d use that word,’’ Turner said. “But it is something we need to get better at.’’
Evidently Michael Turner is not quite concerned about his lack of production to this point.
Flappin' Falcon
October 26th, 2009
1:26 pm
2 weeks off, home game, a nutball LB that knows our offense inside and out…if Dallas didn’t win with all those advantages it would been a pitiful outcome for Cowboy fans everywhere. Their defense knew every single play we called after the first drive. The Cowboys knew when we would pass and knew when we would run. Ryan even started getting his plays by running over to the side lines instead of signal or headset because signals were getting read by Dallas(thanks to Brooking).
The Falcons will be fine once they get past this New Orleans Monday nighter. Even if they lose to NO they will still make the playoffs. We should be favored in every game accept the Giants(who will also have a bye-week to prepare for us).
This is the NFL…sometimes you get your nose bloodied. You just get up on your feet and jump back in.
GO FALCONS!!!
Wabe
October 26th, 2009
1:33 pm
Good post Knew Money.
Just a question to everybody, how many playaction plays have we seen Ryan drop back into and then wind up throwing the ball away out of bounds?
That’s no coincidence. Teams aren’t biting on the playaction when you can’t effectively run the football. This entire team is counting on Turner/Snelling/Norwood to make plays on the ground. It’ll help keep the offense moving, the clock ticking, and our bad DEF off the field. Without an effective run game, this team will continue to struggle on both sides of the ball.
Birdman
October 26th, 2009
1:57 pm
Why should Turner be concerned with the money he makes.Even if his contract gets broke he still walks away on top.I just don’t think the man will put out this year.So give Snelling more plays and that new kid they picked up on the practice squad.If they can use him ?What ever it takes.
Coop
October 26th, 2009
2:13 pm
Wabe – Excellent point. Gotta get the run game going.
An Observation
October 26th, 2009
2:40 pm
Again – Great breakdown of the game and the team. I still believe the team will have an overall winning season. GO FALCONS!!!
HOWEVER, the sooner the Falcons can replace Grimes and Houston (and acquire some taller more physical CBs) the better the secondary will become. They are just WAY TOO SHORT to be consistently effective against the usual wide receivers in today’s NFL. They had no chance against Miles Austin and he made them look like high schoolers out there on Sunday against a real professional player.
Sautee
October 26th, 2009
2:57 pm
I wish I had been wrong.
I posted last week that I was afraid of Romo because he was by far the most mobile QB we had faced and boy did he make my fears a reality, particularly the play just before the half..
Here’s my biggest fear vs. the Saints:
Payton follows the philosophy of attacking the opponents STRENGTH to see if you can get in their heads and make them lose their will. I’m very concerned that the Saints will have a good bit of success on the ground. They already KNOW they can pass the ball on anybody. if we can’t STONE their ground game, we’re in BIG trouble. And even then, we’ll need some takeaways.
That said, I also must add that a mere13 months ago, some national publications (Sporting News for one) had us winning ONE game for 08.
13 months later, we’ve won 15 of our last 23, counting a playoff loss. And of those 8 losses, 7 were on the road. We are 1-1 on the road this year. If we win just 3 road games and go 7-1 at home again, or even 6-2, we’ll break the streak.
I used to be totally despondent after this type of game, but I just see WAY too much light at the end of this tunnel. And no, it’s not a train. We are in breakout mode. The process works, as will be shown as the season progresses.
I’ll be shocked if we play that badly again this season.
Falcons73
October 26th, 2009
3:11 pm
Very good breakdown of the game. I believe the Falcons clearly have some deficiencies…secondary, defensive pass rush, and the running game. I was very disappointed in the lack of in game adjustments made in this game. It was clear that Dallas was not going to let the Birds run the football, but we did not mix up the pass well on earlier downs. I believe that the offense needs to come out in the no-huddle early on and stick with it…until they get the lead. It’s a clear advantage and helps to use our assets (which is Ryan and his knowledge of opposing defenses).
The defense was ok in spots. I hear all the cries for “taller cornerbacks” but the fact remains is that the Falcons need better corners. Size does not make a corner better, it has a lot to do with technique and ability. We are clearly deficient at corner.
The bigger problem is lack of a pass rush. Has anyone seen John Abraham???? He is clearly seeing double teams, but has 3 sacks in 6 games…not going to get it done. The Birds have to either create a pash rush (hence all the blitzes) or they are going to get killed in the secondary.
jeff
October 26th, 2009
3:26 pm
Yes- Falcons73 I have seen Abraham all year, mostly double teamed. Yesterday in many cases being triple teamed. Unless another player steps up the offensive lines will be able to continue ambushing him. It takes more than 1 pass rusher on any team and to date we have only had one and that being BEERMAN.
Again on the secondary- Correct size doesn’t matter, but it doesn’t hurt either. And GRIMES wouldn’t be playing on any other NFL team but ours. And he needs to be demoted immediately if we are to succeed.
Sautee
October 26th, 2009
3:28 pm
D3,
I know you were as glad as I was to see Weems get some slot time and a TD.
Now I want to see him run some of the end arounds that HD ran last year.
Note to Mike Mularkey: We need to get Weems in space on offense. Use that asset!
Dave in alton Il.
October 26th, 2009
3:36 pm
I’m starting to get a nagging feeling that the running game is suffering from poor blocking by Gonzalez. Sometimes a team can have to many stars, particularly on offense.
Unca' Bob
October 26th, 2009
4:04 pm
Ovie Mughelli has been injured and not playing. It has shown not only in our run game, but in our protection package as well. There has been an extra player to rush the passer and it showed Sunday. No one we currently have on our roster has the skill to block like OM.
CTim
October 26th, 2009
5:00 pm
I’ve been a Falcons fan for over thirty years. But let’s face it, it is what it is. We’re up against the best team, and best QB not named Manning (and maybe better than the brothers) on Monday nite. We’re going to get torched! The only question is who will lose comparatively worse, Falcons vs Saints, or UGA vs FL. We better look to feasting on teams like Washington, Tampa Bay, Carolina. etc., beat the teams we should. We don’t stand a chance or prayer against N.O.