Atlanta Falcons: Birds Escape vs. Panthers
No Caption Needed (AJC)
It was an ugly, ugly win, but the Atlanta Falcons stayed perfect with their come from behind win against the division rival Panthers. Even though it wasn’t pretty, the Falcons showed some serious resolve in finding a way to win when they weren’t playing their best. The bottom line is that the Falcons are 4-0 and they beat a division rival primed for a good game after being embarrassed on Thursday Night Football and having 10 days to prepare for them. A look at the miraculous win…………
Matty Ice
It’s been said a million times over, but the cool-as-ice quarterback willed his team to win against absolutely impossible odds. Having to drive 99 yards in less than a minute with no timeouts is the stuff legends are made of. Backing up to the end of his endzone, he chunked the ball 60-65 yards in the air and Roddy White made a huge catch. He engineered the drive against impossible odds and this one has to rank up there with one of the best. The guy is taking the step before our eyes and did all this despite getting beat to death and sacked 7 times.
Roddy Clutch
Roddy Clutch (AJC)
Julio Jones has gotten a lot of the hype about the next great wide receiver, but Roddy White is the one who to turn to when you need to make a play. Julio Jones has gotten the TD catches to date, but Roddy finally got both the yards, touchdowns, and huge plays. Not only did he help rescue the game with his amazing catch, he also had a fantastic touchdown catch where he had to adjust mid-air to haul in the pass. Jones may be the future,
The Second Matty Ice
Enough can’t be said about someone who may get overlooked on an offense loaded with weapons and that’s Matt Bryant. Matt Ryan already has the Matty Ice nickname, but Matt Bryant has been absolutely money in clutch situations since he’s been here. Luckily, he hasn’t been needed for a game-winning field goal until Sunday, but making those unbelievable comeback drives mean nothing if your kicker can’t finish the deal.
The OL Nightmare Returns
Was it just a mirage or was there some credence to the offensive line actually looking better in the first 3 games? Right now, statistics have to fall on the side of it being just one bad game against a very hungry defense. And maybe it had something to do with the Panthers scheme seeing something in their 10 days of preparation to confuse Ryan and the offense. But this much is certain: it was a complete nightmare on Sunday, leading to 7 sacks and bringing all those bad feelings about the offensive line roaring back in terrible fashion. Ryan was sacked almost double in one game (7 sacks) that he had in the first three (4).
Sam Baker has always been the lightning rod of criticism, but the left side of the line is doing OK with Baker having a good year and Blalock always being the solid rock with little to no issues. The problem, as many all knew, was the right side of the OL. It comes from a somewhat surprising place in Tyson Clabo. To be sure, Garrett Reynolds is getting the job done but is surely not dominant in the least and still doesn’t project as a long-term option. Clabo has given up a majority of the sacks this year all on his own and has looked downright terrible all year, going back to preseason. Maybe it’s his age catching up or maybe he’s just missing a solid force next to him at right guard, but he’s simply not getting the job done. They made a change with Sam Baker last year, how long will they give Clabo? Lamar Holmes looked just fine in preseason and many Cage members would love to see Clabo move inside to RG (where his size could potentially dominate) and Reynolds move back to his old natural position of right tackle. Todd McClure hasn’t been the worst, but he had some problems on Sunday, as many fans thought would happen as the season wore on. Is the nightmare here to stay or was it just one bad game?
Time for an OL Change?
Gotta Stop the Run Better (AJC)
As mentioned above, the offensive line has to get the benefit of the doubt so far in that they did a pretty good job in the first three weeks (even though their run blocking was weak). However, how long will the coaching staff give this OL before a change is made? Last year, Sam Baker got some opportunities in different spots but was yanked in favor of Will Svitek and Joe Hawley, respectively. Same goes for Garrett Reynolds. As fans discussed in the preseason, the likelihood was very great that the same offensive line with so many problems in 2011, would start exactly the same in 2012, with literally no changes made. Sure enough, that’s been the case. If this becomes a trend, fans will at least want to see something change on the OL, including getting looks at Peter Konz and Lamar Holmes, and maybe moving Clabo inside to right guard?
Worries at LB
The Panthers exploited one of the Falcons biggest weaknesses in defending the run. The option-give that Newton did was hard for the Birds to stop. Their outside linebackers, Sean Weatherspoon and Stephen Nicholas, have been outstanding, but they’ve operated mostly in the nickel defense. The base 4-3 defense include middle linebacker Akeem Dent and he didn’t have the best of days on Sunday. It’s way too early to make a call on Dent and his future since he’s basically a rookie getting his first live snaps, but it does need to be addressed. Throw in the fact that the Falcons are razor thin at linebacker anyway and it may be time to take a look at one of the defensive ends, like Kroy Biermann, at OLB, allowing Spoon or Nicholas to move inside.
Trap Game or Cause for Slight Concerns?
This game had trap written all over it. The Falcons were flying high. The Panthers were humiliated on national TV. Their sophomore Super(interception)Man was called out. The Panthers had 10 full days to prepare for the Falcons. The Birds had a short week in traveling back from the west coast. It may not have been a trap game, but the Falcons surely weren’t at their best and the Panthers knew the importance. On the positive side, the Falcons won a game ugly and that’s all that matters.
However, potentially on the negative side, as longtime Bird Cage member Unca’ Bob said, we may be benefitting from a pretty easy spot of the schedule. We’ve played and won 4 games, but 3 of them have been against the roundly considered weak AFC West. The other was against an NFC South team with 2 losses to show, one of them being a blowout. You can’t control your schedule and the Falcons have won the only games they’ve played, but this game brought many fans back to Earth a little bit and realized there are a ton of areas to improve upon.
Turner the Stud
Turner the Stud (AJC)
Often beleaguered Falcons running back is showing an rebirth the last two weeks with excellent performances against San Diego and Carolina Panthers. Turner has made some fans (heavily including this author) to eat some major crow. And it will happily be done. Turner may not be the best fit for the offense going forward, but he’s still a major cog on this team filled with explosive offensive weapons.
Sometime You Have to Win Ugly
The title says it all and an ugly win is better than the prettiest of losses or as some call them “moral victories.” The Falcons played their worst football of the year in all aspects and they met a team playing with a major hunger knowing the importance and having plenty of time to prepare. The Falcons found a way to win and that’s a testament to this team’s character in finding ways to win and special seasons are made up of those.
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848 comments Add your comment
Wabe
October 2nd, 2012
11:07 am
This team will go as far as this offense takes them.
And this offense will go as far as this offensive line takes them.
SeminoleWarrior
October 2nd, 2012
11:21 am
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/seat-licenses-eyed-for-falcons-stadium/nSQ5p/
Told you that the focus was much more on the stadium deal than it should have been at times.
Amazing how well they were working to keep this undercover.
SeminoleWarrior
October 2nd, 2012
11:25 am
As far as this post, D3, you nailed it perfectly with one word. ESCAPE.
Will hold my comments for a quarterly review of the season to this point.
Bill Herbig
October 2nd, 2012
11:27 am
What was with Smitty pushing the assistant coach after the kick-off? Did he want a squib kick and we fooloishly kicked it deep and left time on the clock? Am I the only one in Atl that saw this? I love Smitty but thought this wasn’t such a good move. Loved the wIn. MB. 13 for 13 in game winners!,,,,,
SeminoleWarrior
October 2nd, 2012
11:30 am
Bill, I saw it. How about the exchange between AB and Smitty on the sideline.
Both were very uncharacteristic moves. Will not make much of it now but will watch for repeats as the season (and the pressuere) moves on.
Big Lou
October 2nd, 2012
11:37 am
Wabe
Nolan did use blitz packages, but we got burnt on the run on those plays, especially the one where Can ran up the middle for 20 plus yards. It’s hard to do exotic blitzes against an option offense. The players have to execute better on adjusting to the QB, instead of just running head first into the O-line.
Big Ray
October 2nd, 2012
11:44 am
Big Lou ,
Good stuff all the way around.
Unca Bob ,
You misspelled “legit.”
Yes, I’m picking at you. Always glad to read your comments, but I couldn’t let Big Lou be perceived as the only person going after your comments, even though he actually wasn’t doing that.
Wings ,
I wish I had some wings right now. Maybe some honey bbq ones from Pizza Hut. But I can’t eat anything right now. Sitting in a hospital room “eating” through an IV line. It sucks.
knievel
October 2nd, 2012
11:46 am
Well, it was a tough weekend for both of my favorite teams. The Dawgs looked like the dawgs of last year and previous year. The only thing different is they found a way to win. The Falcons did the same. They found a way to win. They say that’s what good (almost great) teams do, win…. I’m just glad to have the W ‘ s Go Falcons and Dawgs!!
SeminoleWarrior
October 2nd, 2012
11:47 am
BR, what’s up with the hospital? Get the HELL out of there soon, bro!! Thoughts and best wishes are with ya.
Big Ray
October 2nd, 2012
12:00 pm
Ryan made some mistakes out there, but the only real “botch job” was on the INT.
I think that some folks are forgetting two things about Julio, one of which has already been mentioned:
1) He’s a 2nd year man. He has room to grow. He was also not brought in here as option #1.
2) He played in a run-heavy offense in college (Alabama). The man is still developing into a WR in general , not just an NFL WR. He’s doing both at once. What you’re seeing on the field are the following – his instincts, his athleticism, his experience level. There is room for growth…and actually, we should be happy about that, even if it can be frustrating to see those “almost” plays. At least we know Ryan won’t give up on him.
Our defense had a rough time against a very mobile QB who limited his passing game against us. Fact is, I think that had more to do with play-calling than anything. The Panthers had plenty of time to prepare. They knew they had three running threats with Cam, DeAngelo Williams, and Jonathon Stewart. They also knew we could pick off some of the best QBs in the game, so a pass heavy game against Nolan’s defense was only going to be trouble. They learned that the hard way against the G-Men, who have a pass-rushing advantage over our squad.
I do have to say, I like seeing Kroy Biermann playing with NO hands in the dirt. I still have Seminole Warrior’s suggestion bouncing around in my head….want to stop the run? Let the Bier Truck play some MLB. Hell, he can even cover….dude played deep in the backfield on a play or two….we know he has some speed.
I agree that we can find ways to keep getting the ball out of Ryan’s hands quickly. Use HD more if Julio is struggling. Of course, HD has to catch the ball. He dropped a sure one against Carolina.
I don’t think Ryan made as many mistakes as some might have seen. He overcame a lot. I do get the comments about him throwing behind a guy or something like that. But also, we didn’t run many routes where he could dink and dunk really effectively. They were longer-developing plays.
One last thought before I climb back in this hospital bed….we don’t give the Panthers enough credit. The only thing they are really bad at is their run defense and when they have to pass the ball 40 times or more. Even then, the passing game is all about Cam’s limited options in their passing offense and more specifically his penchant for making mistakes by forcing throws.
Ok, one more thing – we all enjoyed a great game by Michael Turner. One thing to note – he still does not prototypically fit this offense when it comes to the passing part. That 60 yard shovel pass? That’s the pass you throw to him. It’s very short, so he doesn’t have to turn, then face a defender right away.
Those other passes to him were ineffective. Why? Because they were longer plays, for one thing. For another thing, he wasn’t open for long. Turner needs to be facing the ball SQUARE when he receives a pass, or he’ll often drop it. And after he squares up, he has to turn and get himself started. It’s not a quick process by any means, and he struggles with making guys miss unless he has ample room to operate in.
This is not a knock on Turner at all…it’s a fact. This isn’t his game, but the short, short shovel pass when he has room to operate works very well…as we saw. It was a RB-oriented pass. If it is in any way a “receiver” type of pass…basically anything more than 3-5 yards of “air time”, then it will fail if he doesn’t have ample room to get himself set. Why? Turner breaks tackles when he’s in “full motion”…not when he’s trying to get going from a full stop or with less than 3 yards of momentum. It’s just the way he is built.
af fan
October 2nd, 2012
12:04 pm
Bill,
Smitty was upset because we only had 10 men on the field for Carolina’s last play.
He called a timeout (which Atlanta did not have) to get the 11th player on the field.
Smitty later apologized for his actions.
Big Ray
October 2nd, 2012
12:05 pm
SW ,
Bariatric surgery. Lap-band to be more specific. I don’t look like I need it, but sleep apnea, type II diabetes, and hypertension…some of it hereditary, some not….all things I want to be rid of before I reach my 40s. Problem is I should have been out of there. Lap band won’t let anything through either because of excessive swelling or because I need a bigger one. We will soon find out if the swelling can be reduced enough. IF not, then back to the operating table I go….first operation was yesterday morning.
Until then, all “eating and drinking” is going through an IV line for me. Can’t even sip water, because everything gets caught in the esophagus and cannot go down. I’m hating life, but there are always folks who have it worse, so I am not complaining very much.
Just staring at the walls, and playing games on the nurses….
Big Lou
October 2nd, 2012
12:07 pm
Big Ray
Hope you get better man! God speed.
I would be playing with the nurses, as well.
SOMEBODY NEEDS TO TELL THE TRUTH
October 2nd, 2012
12:30 pm
Great Win on Sunday!!! Not the impressive of wins, but I’ll take’em any way we can get’em. Adversity builds character, our teams cup should be runneth over with character after last Sundays game. First off, I would like to get into something that happend on the side-lines nearing the games end, I don’t know exactly what was going on between A. Blank, Smith…but it wasn’t nice. Did any of you see the look A. Blank gave Smitty? I agree with SW, I’ll stay tuned in as well…see whats up with this deal.
Some glaring defensive/offesive line issues that need to be worked through before Sunday. I am not that concerned, IMO, I think we will make the neccesary tweaks. But, what I will say, Nolan defensive scheme is very friendly to mobile quarterbacks. The defense actually began to be exsposed when we played KC’s Matt Cassel, the two games inbetween, we (defense) was able to dictate to much less mobile (running QB’s), Cam Newton gashed the middle of the interior defense. I don’t know what Nolan will do to limit RG3, all I know, Shanahan will probably mimic the panthers Offensive game plan…use RG3 much like panthers did Newton.
There were positives on the defensive side of the ball. The secondary played outstanding. IMO. Cam Newton had time to bake a cake in the pocket…and still couldn’t find and open receiver. We need a consistant pass rush…we’ll be a more legit unit. Just My Opinions…
SOMEBODY NEEDS TO TELL THE TRUTH
October 2nd, 2012
12:33 pm
Speedy Recovery Big Ray.
Unca' Bob
October 2nd, 2012
12:39 pm
Big Ray,
You’ll be out of there soon. We all know you’re”too ligit to quit.” lol
Screen Pass
October 2nd, 2012
12:40 pm
“I wish I had some wings right now. Maybe some honey bbq ones from Pizza Hut. But I can’t eat anything right now. Sitting in a hospital room “eating” through an IV line. It sucks” – BR
Sending a blender and Pizza Hut to your nurse as we speak. Good write up on why Turner doesn’t fit instead of assuming like everyone else that means he just sucks. Hope you get well soon so we can start on the nekkid coed Bolivian skiing team jokes.
Big Lou
October 2nd, 2012
12:41 pm
Somebody
I love AB and what he’s done for the Falcons, but his @$$ needs to stay in the booth till the game is over.
I am only guessing… but the look AB gave Smith was probably due to the poor O-line play. Lol
Screen Pass
October 2nd, 2012
12:47 pm
“I don’t know exactly what was going on between A. Blank, Smith…but it wasn’t nice. Did any of you see the look A. Blank gave Smitty? I agree with SW, I’ll stay tuned in as well…see whats up with this deal.” – Somebody
My reliable bearded sources told me A. Blank gave Smitty an order to take care of the Dbag that A-stomped his field. Smitty, not being the hippest of cats, mistook what was implied and thus the incident with RH.
Wabe
October 2nd, 2012
12:50 pm
Nolan used some blitz packages. And you’re right, we did get burned on that one play where Cam ran right passed the blitz. That’s the threat of sending heat and playing man on the backside. If we don’t stay in our lanes, Cam burns us.
I think this week, we failed to really play our gaps and running lanes. Even when blitzing, they failed to really clog up any running lanes that could open for Cam. I agree that overall, we didn’t do a good job of containing Cam.
With that said, compared to the 1st 3 weeks, our defense seemed a bit more vanilla. Might not be true, just a personal observation.
Paddy O
October 2nd, 2012
1:05 pm
JB- I thought in the first game, perhaps 2nd, on a crossing pattern a defender hammered JJ with a helmet directly on the hand. I would not be surprised if it had been fractured. I still have faith in JJ; but am ecstatic with RW 84’s play.
Big Lou
October 2nd, 2012
1:06 pm
Wabe
You are correct that it was more vanilla, but it has to be done versus a run heavy offense. I just didn’t think is was BVG worthy. BVG has a tendency to not blitz at all. I still think our line needs to do better(tackles) of stuffing the middle. It seemed Cam had the parting of the Red Sea on some plays.
Paddy O
October 2nd, 2012
1:09 pm
dhunt – you can’t blame Ryan on JJ stepping out of bounds – JJ had plenty of time to either drag or toe tap that ball. Remember, JJ is still pretty much a rookie – missed 5 games last year and NO off season practice. But, I also agree – on a number of passes, Ryan was a wee bit behind JJ.
Big Lou
October 2nd, 2012
1:16 pm
We need to remember its only the 4th game of the season. JJ will get his.
Let’s put things into perspective. We have a new OC and DC. It takes months, even a full season to get players fully aware of their new schemes and play books. Technically, this was supposed to be a transition year–the rebuild part two(like Seminole has stated). That’s why I predicted 11-5. We are fortunate to have a sponge called Matt Ryan to learn quickly and Sean Weatherspoon the hyped leader to make these new systems easier in transition. Let’s just remember that these plays might be the tip of the iceberg. I think more exotic plays will come throughout the season.
Want to know why I feel like that? The game versus Denver. Remember the articles and fans questing the D versus KC? And then all of a sudden… boom, he confused Peyton Manning with the disguised blitzes/formations.
I am confident that Mike Nolan and Dirk has more up their sleeves. Let’s see how they adjust to RG3.
Paddy O
October 2nd, 2012
1:20 pm
Big Lou – that might be. Could be AB was wondering why we are not playing our 2 O line draftees from 2012. For those saying our D was NOT stellar – we were the first team in 152 games to prevent SD from scoring a TD. THAT IS STELLAR.
Paddy O
October 2nd, 2012
1:24 pm
I think we should all be happy with our ‘vertical passing” attack – 2 long bombs completed, a 3rd that the WR should have made a completion on and finished the game. Not only that, but a sweet screen to Turner that Turner chugged into the endzone with. This should give defenses EVEN MORE things to contemplate. I also think Big Lou’s new coordinator comments are pertinent. Our team is still learning the system wrinkles. I’d score our first quarter of the 2012 regular season: A+++.
Paddy O
October 2nd, 2012
1:26 pm
plus, the closeness of the Carolina game should prevent team complacency.
LRD
October 2nd, 2012
1:28 pm
FFL Alert… The Owls comeback from major deficit to pull it off… Thank you Tony Romo for stinking up the field last night!!!
And now JJ… coming for ya… little side wager maybe? HA
Coop
October 2nd, 2012
1:40 pm
Whatup Cage!
First and foremost, speedy recovery Big Ray. Sending prayers from Texas brother!
Some quick and random thoughts:
1. Hamad – Some folks picked us to be 4-0… I actually picked us to go 6-0 to start. I was not alone. That said, I’m not sure how much I beleived my prediction.
2. The OL looked horrible. Credit them for getting it done the last play, but there were 8 of them blocking. Look, if we have to bring Mike Johnson in to play TE (and not well I might add) to assist Clabo… MAYBE WE NEED A NEW SOLUTION AT RT. I was never in favor of keeping Clabo. I don’t know if Reynolds or even Holmes can play RT… But I do know that Clabo simply can’t. How many sacks is this man gonna give up? He’s not the only issue on the OL, but that is d@mn sure where I’d start.
3. Defending the run is officially a concern. I don’t want to be a knee”jerk”, but I did mention before the game that it was my biggest concern on the D. Dent has a long ways to go and maybe he’ll get there, but we got up two scores and the Panthers should others not to abandon the run. The Giants, Iggles, Bucs, and others could exploit that on us if we don’t figure it out. Ilike the idea of Beerman playing MLB, though I don’t want to give up on Dent.
4. Vance Walker deserves more playing time. Also, if we’re gonna be chasing a mobile QB all day, put Sidbury on the field. Cam is big enough to run over players fast enough to keep up with him. I think Sid could catch him and NOT get run over. Maybe he got some snaps I didn’t see, but Sid has become the project we either can’t develop or don’t know how to use.
5. Matt is a stone cold assassins. However, that was not his best game ever. Not worried. Everybody has off days and I expect Ryan will be sharper. Even on an “off” day, he was pretty awesome. Credit pass rush and hard D play, but Ryan missed some tosses as well.
6. Harry Douglas – You are an alum of my great alma mater, Jonesboro Senior High School. I have defended you, cheered you, and begged our offense to use you more. But if you can’t catch the d@mn ball, then you gotta go. Listen, you are behind RW, JJ, TG, and MT as options on this team. So when the ball comes your way, you CAN NOT DROPPED IT! You simply don’t have that luxury. Wide @ss open my man. I love you, but you gotta make defenses pay for doubling JJ and RW.
7. On to Smitty. I missed the AB interaction. Can anyone give some details on what happened? As for coaching, there was a drive early in the 4th where I thought we were seeing some Smittyball. Remember when Turner broke off the long run and got us to midfield? Then we followed with Quizz for a short gain. Quizz for a short gain, then Ryan scrambling out of bounds for a sack. I thought to myself, Smitty just had two successful MT runs, got to midfield, and now is trying to run the clok with over 11 minutes left. Putting MR2 in 3rd and long lead to a sack and now we’re out of FG range. I stewed on that drive for a long time. We didn’t play Smitty ball the whole game, but that drive was aggravating. We had already been up 2 scores and lost the lead, Smitty has to know he’s in a potential shootout. 11 minutes left is no time for the 4 minute offense.
8. Finally, I am very pleased with where we are. Not our best effort individually or as a unit. Players and coaches all had areas to work on. This is to be expected. What I’m thrilled about is the FIRE I saw and the determination to never give up. Love the emotion from Smitty and Ryan at the end of the game.
We argued about Smittyball and I’m not trying to rehash what games mean or don’t mean about the playoffs. But to answe UB’s question, in my opinion this team is light-years better than last year. There is a feeling or a swagger that I haven’t seen… maybe ever with them. Ryan is just oozing confidence. This season feels different to me. The team plays like it can dominate anyone on both sides of the ball when they are all on their game. and when they aren’t, they can still compete at a high level.
SOMEBODY NEEDS TO TELL THE TRUTH
October 2nd, 2012
1:59 pm
Struggling Economy, lot of people on the unemployment lines…add Owens and Franks to the unemployed roles. McClain is making the best of his chances, Smitty said it’s a competition for that nickle position.I might add…McClain would’ve had an INT if Babs hadn’t knocked down one of Cam Neutered, I mean Newton passes.
McClain could possibly be our next Brent Grimes.
snacktastic
October 2nd, 2012
2:22 pm
I think that with our defensive schemes, it mostly won’t matter who is on the field in the secondary. We’ve seen that we have safeties who can get picks, and corners who can (some of the time) make tackles. The D line stopping the run is what I’m most worried about, as it could leave us vulnerable to teams like the Eagles and Saints if they right the ship.
I feel better about Quizz returning punts than I do about Franks, though. Maybe Franks will start to perform better on special teams later on, but I’m skeptical at this point.
LRD
October 2nd, 2012
2:51 pm
Why not put HD back there to return punts? If we are not going to fully utilize him on O, may as well utilize him on Spec Teams…
JB Falcon
October 2nd, 2012
3:08 pm
“After further review’, as they say, turns out MS making the “4th” time-out call on the last play of the game was quite ingenious. After seeing only 10 men on the field, and knowing we didn’t have another time-out, he called one anyway. The ref should not have blown the whistle and there is no rule, in this case, that makes it illegal for us to call a time-out. It did, however, give us enough time to get another man on the field.
Big Lou
October 2nd, 2012
4:38 pm
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000068680/article/matt-ryan-shows-complete-control-in-atlanta-falcons-comeback
MVP MVP MVP!
Big Lou
October 2nd, 2012
4:41 pm
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-videos/0ap1000000068437/Coaches-Show-Is-Matt-Ryan-elite
More video on Matt Ryan.
Whiznot
October 2nd, 2012
4:49 pm
We almost lost against the Panthers because Jacquizz Rogers can’t gain a yard. When Turner left the game and Rogers came in there was no running came. The coaches need to accept that drafting Rogers was a huge mistake. The only similarity between Rogers and Sproles is size. I get angry every time Rogers carries the ball.
D3
October 2nd, 2012
5:09 pm
YO CAGE FAM!
New post is up, but rather than start a whole new thread, I just added and changed this one. Refresh, head up to the top, and read away. Be back later……..
http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-falcons-fans/2012/10/01/atlanta-falcons-your-thoughts-on-falcons-escape-vs-panthers/
JJ
October 2nd, 2012
5:26 pm
Big Ray, speedy recovery my friend.
LRD, heading back up to maggie valley sat. to sit on the mtn top and refocus my team after our masacre from BT last weekend. As our buddy SW has told me many times, you only have to get
into the dance to make your run. Ill be bringin ya some smack (know your expecting it) but still lickin my wounds from last weekend. Dont worry, war eagles will be ready…or ill be skydiving off maqggie!!!
snacktastic
October 2nd, 2012
5:30 pm
Solid points, D3. I’d rather not have any more games like that one, but it’s hard to complain when they don’t play their best and still grab the win. The deep passes and improved running game were the highlights. If Turner stays as efficient as he has the past two games, our offense will really start to break games open.
Matty Bicep
October 2nd, 2012
6:19 pm
What we have in Atlanta, for the first time in Atlanta Falcon history, is a winning formula. A winning formula is varies by different teams. Chicago’s is Defense, and no matter how they try to upgrade the rest of the game, it is Defense for them…NY, it is their pass rush and running game, even when they had the worst rushing offense in the NFL last year, they were able to rush it to anoher title. The fastest show on Turf was some crazy passing game. All winning teams have it, and as Mike Martz learned is not always the scheme, it is the players.
Our winning formula includes, Turner, White, and most of all Ice. For all our excitement and curiosity about Quiz, JJ, etc, we already have proven commodities… And as we can attest from 35 years of never having a winning formula, they are not easy to come by. Part of a winning forumla is winning games you “should lose”. Embrace it.
Finally, after what we did this past week, don’t tell me Matt Ryan cannot win a playoff game, that our “winning formula” cannot win in the playoffs by doing what we do best. The reality is, up until now, Ryans been outplayed by the opposing QB in the playoffs. It was Rogers going crazy in 10, it was Warner finding the open reciever in 09, and last year, we were a team with coordinators out the door and a team not prepared to play.
Ryan can be Warner, he can be Rogers, he can be Eli, just because he has not yet done it in the playoffs does not mean he can’t. It just means he has not yet, but scheme has nothing to do with is. He showed that he can work magic.
My point? All the regular season is about is getting to the playoffs, it is not about “proving” anything…Smitty ball? It is our winning
formula.
Why do I bring this up? Because we have thrown 2 red zone picks in the past 2 weeks by NOT executing our winning formula. And I am OK with that, maybe it will pay dividends as teams see us getting away from our tendencies, but sometime we all just need to be careful what we wish for.
Matty Bicep
October 2nd, 2012
6:26 pm
And has Turner showed, he has not lost one step. He is just a diesel, he always has been. If you get him in the secondary, he still has it. The “book” on Atlanta has been stop turner, stop the falcons, and make Matty beat you. To this day, it has worked, but it won’t work forever, Matty Ice is going to have to take this team on his shoulders to win in the playoffs like all great QBs do. But I believe he is ready for the next step.
darrell starks
October 2nd, 2012
7:03 pm
D3, Im starting to like the idea of Kroy playing OLB and moving Spoon to MLB.
Dent so far have look horrible at LB, i no it’s still only 4games but he must tighten up and do better.
NICHOLAS, SPOON, KROY might be the right choice.
GO FALCONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
darrell starks
October 2nd, 2012
7:06 pm
Falcons played a great game, i enjoyed it.
Great win.
GO FALCONS!!!!!!!!!!
darrell starks
October 2nd, 2012
7:08 pm
Clabo continue to play lazy with no fire.
Every since Dahl left he have lost his nasty aggressive.
GO FALCONS!!!!!!!
JJ
October 2nd, 2012
7:33 pm
LRD, who can I block for ya chandler or olsen???
Matty Bicep
October 2nd, 2012
7:53 pm
Whiz, Quizz needs to ball in space, he looked very good on screen passes. But he ain’t a guy you line up in the backfield to pound out a time killing, game clinching, will breaking drive.
DePlane
October 2nd, 2012
8:00 pm
Big Ray, our thoughts and prayers are with you our stalwart trooper. Hang in there…and keep playing with the nurses…hopefully ya got a looker or two!
Matty Bicep
October 2nd, 2012
8:02 pm
Falcon Carolina replay on NFL Network.
Matty Bicep
October 2nd, 2012
8:23 pm
Unca, are we legit? Good question, I think we are as legit as we have been the past 4 years, although Ryan is playing much better. His QBR leads the nfl after 4 games, so that is about as legit as you can be after 4 week.
Wabe, we did blitz last week, we were actually in a full all out blitz when Carolina scored the go ahead TD in the 4th quarter with that little quick out, that is why there was nobody to tackle, we had 8 in th backfield. Just as I said last week, teams will go with quick passes to beat our blitz as what Nolan is doing gets on tape.
Matty Bicep
October 2nd, 2012
8:40 pm
Watching this game again…I am really glad we got Abe signed.