Archive for November, 2011

Another Needed Win

Not Beautiful, But a Win (C.Compton/AJC)

The Falcons did what they had to do to get a much needed victory in a very tight wild card race. It wasn’t the prettiest win in the world, which seems to be a recurring theme, but the Birds took care of business against another inferior opponent during this stretch run for the playoffs. They played pretty darn good in the first half and not very much at all in the second half. Any win in the NFL is huge, but fans are still waiting on them to play that elusive complete game and we’re on game 11. A look at the Birds win……..

1) Another Needed Win

As mentioned above, it wasn’t the prettiest and surely another case of extreme inconsistency, but the Birds found a way to win the game and have put them in contention for a potential playoff run. If they lost here, it certainly would have been a fatal blow to any talk of making the postseason. There was some good plays and performances by a lot of individual players, …

Continue reading Falcons Edge Past Vikings »

A Much Needed Victory

A Win's a Win's a Win (C.Compton/AJC)

It may not have been the prettiest game in the world, but the Falcons did what they had to do to get back on track after a deflating overtime loss to the Saints. The Birds came out strong and appeared to be on the verge of putting the game away early on, but lapsed once again into a lull where they allowed a rookie quarterback to look like a superstar and make the game much closer than it should’ve been. All that being said, though, the Falcons did what it took to get a needed win over a decent opponent and put themselves back in the hunt for a playoff position. A look back at the game that was………

1) A Resilient Group

Sure, the Falcons didn’t make it easy on themselves, but they showed some serious backbone by getting this much needed win after a tough home loss. Yes, they were the better and more talented team and should have won, but lesser Falcons teams would lose games like this and essentially wreck the …

Continue reading Falcons Outlast Titans »

Talented and Underachieving

One of Those Seasons So Far (C.Compton/AJC)

Figured we’d go in a little different direction on this post and analyze what seems to be wrong with this Atlanta Falcons team. Coming off a 13-3 record, an NFC South Title, and the NFC’s #1 seed, the Birds seemed to be poised for another strong year after adding Julio Jones and Ray Edwards in the off-season and keeping most everyone else. It surely hasn’t gone that way in 2011. A few things to ponder……..

1) A Very Average Football Team

The Falcons are the epitome of average after the midway point of the season. They have been able to beat the basement dwellers (Colts), the below average (Seahawks, Eagles, Panthers) and the slightly above average (Lions) and that’s it. Their combined record of opponents they have beaten comes to 14 – 32 (30.4% win). They have lost to every elite team (Packers, Saints), very good team (Bears), and even found a way to lose to a now fairly average team (Bucs). …

Continue reading What’s Wrong with the 2011 Atlanta Falcons? »

Another Big Loss (C.Compton/AJC)

Will be back with a much more in-depth analysis and post about the game, but wanted to let all The Bird Cage faithful get their venting out. The Falcons lost to the Saints at home AGAIN and this brings back all the worries that this team just isn’t elite, no matter how you slice it. The Falcons haven’t had a big win over an elite opponent feeling like ages now. How good really is this team when you lose 4 games to legit teams and only can manage to beat the decent and below average teams? Back with much more breakdown of the game that was, but now it’s your turn to talk about the huge loss to the Saints………..

Continue reading Falcons Fall to Saints »

Birds Pull Away in Indy

JJ's Big Day (AP)

The Atlanta Falcons took care of business and then some up in Indianapolis against the hapless (and winless) Colts. It wasn’t the most perfect game they’ve ever played (that interception on the 1 inch line being particularly atrocious), but the Falcons took control early on and the game seemed much farther out of reach than the score indicated. The Birds did what they needed to against an inferior team and now must get ready for one of the biggest games of the year as they host the NFC South leading and most hated New Orleans Saints. A look at the needed win up in Indy….

1) Is the Trade Justified Now?

Yes, it was only one game, but fans looking for a breakout game from the heralded rookie Julio Jones finally got one. The detractors will surely always be there and it was just one game against the worst team in the NFL, but the “explosion” that everyone had been waiting on finally came to fruition.

The first long touchdown was …

Continue reading Falcons Carve Up Colts »