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
Matty Bicep
October 2nd, 2012
8:44 pm
You see Matty on the sideline slapping hands with the linemen saying “good block, good block, you no so much, haha” I could not see who he said that to, but is must be clabo…
JB FALCON
October 2nd, 2012
8:49 pm
Big Ray. you are in one of my most un-favorite places but I admire the fact that you took it upon yourself to be there. You’d be surpised how many young folk, as I once was, think they are bullet proof. Trust me, my friend, UB, KS and others in the cage can tell you that you are laying the pavement for the road that you will travel. You are a smart man, as you have proved here in the cage.
Take care of yourself and make sure that gown is closed in the back before you walk down the hallway. No one wants a BBASO!
JB FALCON
October 2nd, 2012
8:54 pm
MB, 8:44, yeah, right.
falcon21
October 2nd, 2012
9:19 pm
JJ had plenty of room to get his feet in.
Coop
October 2nd, 2012
9:25 pm
Big Ray – Don’t listen to JB Falcon… Wear TWO gowns. One in the front and one in the back. Keep it in the holster big man! Seriously, still recovering from my surgery and it’s been 5 weeks. Hang in there brother.
Matty Bicep
October 2nd, 2012
9:28 pm
JB, I am not making it up…NFL network showing replay of the Falcon game, it shows a little sideline footage. It was about midway through the game. I was not paying too much attention for I was not expecting it, but matty comes in high fiving guys on the bench, and I am not 100% he says “nice block”, but I think he did….I can’t even say for sure that they are even linemen, BUT, I KNOW he says to someone, “not so much”, and chuckles….Somebody watch for it and validate it, I am sure it will play again.
Coop
October 2nd, 2012
9:31 pm
Falcon21 – Agree, but I’m not hating on JJ for NOT making a miracle catch. I can get mad at HD and Turner for dropping wide open passes, but not for failing to tip toe or drag a foot. Steve Smith failed to get two feet in once too.
Greg Mendel
October 2nd, 2012
9:39 pm
Big Ray, I feel for you. Hospitals are miserable, even for a day, and I’ve spent more days in them than I care to recall. The right place, if you’re sick, but miserable nonetheless. Can never get any sleep. It helps to have a loved one near to remind the staff you’re there.
And there aren’t many cute nurses anymore. Just as well. The cute ones are rookies engaged to a doctor, which makes them dangerous.
Matty Bicep
October 2nd, 2012
9:40 pm
JJ’s big toe was out, but the pass led him there….It is much easer to know there the line is went you are running directly toward the line and can measure you steps, than it is when you are running parallel to the line, and the pass pulls you toward the line while you head it turned backward and have to adjust to the ball…It was Ryans fault as much as JJ,for had ryan led him toward the middle, it would have been a TD.
Coop
October 2nd, 2012
9:42 pm
So every time Matty throws a pick, it means we should have run the ball to the diesel, I havent lost a step, Turner? Ugh. That’s just ridiculous. Turner has lost a step. I made a sandwich and washed the car waiting for him to get to the end zone on that screen. Matty made a bad decision/throw. Doesn’t make the philosophy wrong.
BTW, Cam fumbled playing Smittyball.
Seriously? It’s stale dude.
falcon21
October 2nd, 2012
9:42 pm
Coop, I’m not hating on him at all, he is gonna be one of the best in the NFL. Field awareness will come with time. MB, I did see that and I think he said “you not so much” but not sure who he was talking to.
Matty Bicep
October 2nd, 2012
9:42 pm
Also, I posted my 8:44 post just as Ryan made his “you no so much” statement. The NFL coverage stared at 8:30, so he says that toward the beginning of the broadcast.
JB FALCON
October 2nd, 2012
9:43 pm
Coop, great idea on the two gowns. Was there in ‘08 and hated it, butt stickin’ out and all, but, now? I’m glad I went. Was suposed to get out in tow days, spent seven, three in ICU. No matter whatever you have achieved in life, the older you get the more you realize that, without your health, you have nothing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m good, but laying in there and thinking about the things that could happen makes you glad you did what BR is doing.
Just to keep this on the reason for the cage, the Falcons are fixin’ to be released on the rest of the NFL!
Wabe
October 2nd, 2012
9:44 pm
MB,
I’m not saying we didn’t blitz, or blitz enough. All I said was that we seemed somewhat reactive on Sunday. It didn’t feel as though we came into that game with a real idea about how we wanted to approach the Panthers offense. Again, that may not be the case, it may not be the vibe you got. But, me personally, it felt at times that they were just throwing different things against the wall to see what would stick. They weren’t 100% sure how to play this offense
Also, in terms of blitzing, when we get after QB’s who aren’t as mobile and who are a threat to beat us in the passing game, the object of the blitz should be to get that pressure on the QB, disrupt his timing and rhythm, and if possible, get him on the ground. With Cam, the threat of him beating us through the air isn’t the same as established guys in this league like a Manning or a Rivers. Thus, when we blitzed on Sunday, I think it should’ve been a point of emphasis to simply get the ‘perception of pressure’ on Cam rather than running at him full speed – losing contain – and allowing him to run right past our blitz. What I mean by the ‘perception of pressure’ is, get him seeing guys coming to make him get that ball out of his hands, while playing the running lanes. The object shouldn’t necessarily be to get him on the ground, rather to disrupt him enough to keep him out of sync in the passing game. If we have a shot to bring him down, fine. But, we shouldn’t be running at him with the sole purpose of bringing him down, because this approach led to the guys simply failing to play their gaps.
Matty Bicep
October 2nd, 2012
9:46 pm
21, I am not 100% sure either, it was quick and I did not expect it. But there were a couple players sitting on the bench, he was high fiving saying something…I THINK it was “good block” but I am about 60% sure. ….I am going to have to watch it again.
Greg Mendel
October 2nd, 2012
9:49 pm
On the JJ thing: I still contend that Julio wanted to catch the ball and run. That was what was in his mind. He tried to do just that, and ran, off-balance, out-of-bounds again.
Yes, he could/should have stuttered his steps (maybe) for a completion. But he wanted to make the most of his catch. That’s why I like him. Just making the catch isn’t enough.
Coop
October 2nd, 2012
9:51 pm
So, when Matt throws an INT, it means we should have run it with the diesel who hasn’t lost a step?
Ugh… Ridiculous. I made a sandwich and washed the car waiting for Turner to get to the end zone on that screen. And, Matt made a poor decision and bad throw. It doesn’t mean the philosophy is bad.
BTW, Cam fumbled playing Smittyball. Seriously dude, it’s stale.
Matty Bicep
October 2nd, 2012
9:51 pm
Wabe, I just watched the game again, and you are right in they seemed to be conscience of keeping contain, but they did pressure him pretty good. They sacked him a few times, and one key play they had him runnng backward ala MV7, he dumped it for a INC, but it was a good play.
Also, we swatted the ball out of his hand on another play that could hvae been huge before they scored the go ahead TD, but the TE Hartzog (former Falcon) recovered it, so it did not show up the stat sheet. But we could not tee off like on Cassel and Manning without fear of them running, and Cam did make a good read on the one blitz…or it was just the right call.
JB FALCON
October 2nd, 2012
9:55 pm
MB & 21, I.m sure MR was not complimenting Clabo on his pass protection and there was no way JJ could have stayed in bounds and caught that pass. That was on MR, just as 3.5 of the the sacks were, he held the ball too long.
Matty Bicep
October 2nd, 2012
9:59 pm
Watching Washington, RG presents a different issue in that he runs the QB draw up the guy, where Cam run more of an option. Really, the draw like RG runs it will present problems, RG depends on quickness, Cam relies on deception and power. Our tackles are really going ot have to practice gap control as oppose to focusing on penetration.
falcon21
October 2nd, 2012
10:02 pm
JB, I guess you have never played WR. If he would have been aware of where he was he could have got his feet down with ease. If you could ask him I bet he would tell you the same thing. It is what it is though, we still got the win!
Matty Bicep
October 2nd, 2012
10:05 pm
JB, I can’t say for sure what the meaning was ,I was not watching for it. It was loose sideline banter with what looked like the O line sitting together, but when he said “you, no so much”, I was like WHAT? I am sure the game will play a few more times this week, cagers gonna have to look out for it and report back.
Wabe
October 2nd, 2012
10:09 pm
These games are a good tool though to actually tune up our run defense…
Rather than making our sole focus pass defense, we were and will be really focused on gap discipline in back to back weeks. Should help this unit grow a bit more in that department.
Matty Bicep
October 2nd, 2012
10:10 pm
IDK 21, he was out by a quarter inch, his pinkie toe. Sure he knew he was close, but he also had his head turned around backward, adjusting to the ball. It is not like dragging your feet, I put it on Ryan, no reason to put the ball there, JJ had the guy beat by 2 steps, no reason for that ball to be near the sideline…But even so, it was so close on not a “great” throw…just one of those things….but another huge play that did not show up was when we swatted the ball out or Cams hand and did not recover.
Matty Bicep
October 2nd, 2012
10:12 pm
Really, going through the NFC east is going to be tough…2-2 would be ok to be honest. 3-1, awesome…4-0….would love it.
JB FALCON
October 2nd, 2012
10:15 pm
21, I have to agree but I’m still a little down on MR, inspite of his stats, for holding the ball too long.
MB, Clabo was responsible for the 3.5 sacks he was bulldozed and the rest were on MR.
falcon21
October 2nd, 2012
10:23 pm
Agree that the throw could and should have been better MB but I still think he could have gotten his feet down with ease. As someone else said, JJ is still not much more than a rook but I still bet he would tell us he should have got his feet down. It ain’t no thang, we won.
Screen Pass
October 2nd, 2012
10:26 pm
“21, I have to agree but I’m still a little down on MR, inspite of his stats, for holding the ball too long. ” – JB Falcon
You should prolly watch a replay of the game. The “holding on to the ball too long” and blaming M. Ryan for the JJ toe being an inch out of bounds is pure silliness. Even the last sack where people are saying he should have thrown it away clearly shows CJ nailing him as he is trying to do just that. People complaining about individual throws should go watch Romo’s game from last night and thank god we have Ryan instead.
JB FALCON
October 2nd, 2012
10:30 pm
It’s all good! WE WON! Gotta bring RGIII down next week. I’m out.
falcon21
October 2nd, 2012
10:33 pm
JB, I get your point but I’m not going to get down on MR, he has played well for us. He is just trying to make plays Yep, he should have thrown a couple away but he is a fighter, dude wants to win. It’s all good.
3.5 sacks or 7 sacks is still too many.
JB FALCON
October 2nd, 2012
10:33 pm
SP, Romo campared to Ryan! Come on man! No way. “night!
Matty Bicep
October 2nd, 2012
10:45 pm
Later all, but man, Ryan is leading the league in QBR, he is freaking the MVP through 4 games, he went from not being considered a “top 100″ player to the #2 spot, and debatable #1…You guys are a tough crowd…
But watch the game again on NFL…There is holding the ball too long because you are lost, and there is holding the ball going through progressions or you wait for your guy to come open.
One play that changed my perspective was where he got pushed out of bounds on the 3rd and 3. He rolls out, sorta has a guy open, but has to loft it over several kitties heads….you could see him thinking, I can drop it in there….ahh, maybe not such a good idea, then WHAM. In that case, the sack was better than the pick…but like 21 said, we won.
falcon21
October 2nd, 2012
10:50 pm
Later MB, SP and JB.
Screen Pass
October 2nd, 2012
10:59 pm
“But watch the game again on NFL…There is holding the ball too long because you are lost, and there is holding the ball going through progressions or you wait for your guy to come open. ” – MB
I did. The last sack on that stupid roll-out call is the only play someone might have a point and if you watch closely both receivers are double covered and CJ is on that naked bootleg instantly. Ryan has to burst his speed towards the sideline to not get killed immediately and when he is turning his body and starting his throw CJ nails him. Unless he bailed on the play from the instant he started the rollout he had no real chance. When you factor in it’s 3rd and 3, you know do or die, his decision to try and extend to hope something opens up is understandable. The playcall to naked bootleg against CJ on a crucial 3rd down is just plain dumb and that on Koetter…not just for calling it but for not ripping that useless play out our playbook the day he got here lol.
Other than that rollout Ryan is getting hit before and as he plants..at least twice he somehow saved fumbles from the balls being hit in his wind up motion.
Screen Pass
October 2nd, 2012
11:05 pm
“SP, Romo campared to Ryan! Come on man! No way. “night!” – JB
Not bashing…just pointing out that things could be much worse. I haven’t watched alot of Romo/ Cowgirl games and have always wondered why a guy with pretty good stats always is getting called out. Boy did I find out last night..that was pathetic.
Big Lou
October 3rd, 2012
1:33 am
So wait, how can you blame Matt Ryan on the ball placement when Julio turned his body for no reason? The ball would have landed in his hands if he just looked over his shoulder. Julio had plenty of space to make the completion. It’s silly to put that on Ryan, honestly. I counted at least three plays where the receivers screwed up catches.
As for holding on the ball too long, I only saw one play. The rest was just the collapsing of the Oline/great bump coverage by Carolina.
There is a reason why he is considered a MVP this season.
I concede the errors on the redone play, but if roddy caught the quick slant before hand, it would have been a touchdown anyways.
I am starting to smell something fishy…
Big Lou
October 3rd, 2012
1:34 am
SP
It’s not only on Romo, though. That whole offensive side of the ball sucks!
D3
October 3rd, 2012
6:09 am
Good Morning Cage Fam! — Will be back a little later to discuss the game, but wanted to address something that SW brought up yesterday.
The Falcons and Blank are evidently eyeing Personal Seat Licences, essentially having to pay extra money (in the thousands) just to get the chance to buy the tickets. They may have that luxury in the NE with the Giants and Jets, and the Cowboys, but there is NO college football competition like there is here. I can tell you that as a middle-class family, it’s all I can do to keep affording the tickets as they are now, considering wage cuts, healthcare expenses rising, furloughs, and many are struggling just to find a job considering the pi$$ poor economy.
Just saw a poll that the AJC conducted and 88% of respondents said NO they would not pay a PSL to buy tickets. SW has been right there all along on this one. There’s simply no need for a new stadium right now, especially when you’re about to price out the majority of people who can barely afford tix as is. There’s nothing wrong with the Dome. I’ve always said that, sure, way down the road, we could use a new stadium, but there’s no need for the rush (they’re trying to get it done and built for them to be playing there by 2017). And anytime it’s rushed and not well-planned out, you’re going to have issues. We don’t want another Turner Field, where it’s a stadium in a parking lot. If it’s done right it could be a huge boom for that area of Atlanta and act as a catalyst for rebirth on that side. But if it’s rushed, it could cause more harm than good.
Blank’s going to have a beautiful new stadium with no one in it to see the games.
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/seat-licenses-eyed-for-falcons-stadium/nSQ5p/
John Waynesworld
October 3rd, 2012
8:13 am
D3, you are absolutely right. Atlanta fans will not “sit” for this PSL crap and will simply NOT buy even more tickets than they DON’T buy now. It seems that the powers to be don’t really care who buys these tickets (Philly fans, Cowboys fans, Bears fans, etc) as long as THEY SELL THEIR PSLs to the exceptional class. These planners just don’t get it, like you said, D3, about the economy at all. The rich continually astound me in their thinking that NORMAL working people can afford this 100% LUXURY TAX on season tickets that some folks have to scrimp and save all year just to hang onto. A real shame and a bad decision, if they follow through on the PSL threat, however I am sure they are banking on the fact that the Coke, Suntrust and Home Depot executives can still afford their HUGE blocks of corporate seats THAT THEY NEVER SIT IN. We will have a far more empty Falcons’ stadium than has ever been seen before, and if the league continues its blackout policy, we may never see a regular season home game (without the NFL ticket on our cable bill) again.
If they continue this Falcons stadium hijacking, I may just buy an even BIGGER HDTV to stay home for all NFL games, and for my stadium viewing pleasure I may invest in a different season ticket…
http://www.lfl360.com/articles/lfl360-com-breaking-news-lingerie-football-league-announces-2013-expansion-atlanta/
Big Ray
October 3rd, 2012
8:38 am
Thanks for the thoughts, guys.
I have to go back in for surgery again this afternoon due to lack of proper progress from the first procedure.
Translation – they thought the band they gave me was big enough, but it ain’t. So now I get a bigger one. It was either do it now while it’s still a very easy fix, or wait two weeks (with nothing but liquids in my diet…sorry, no whiskey or beer) and then see if it got better. By then, the repeat procedure would be more difficult and risky.
Needless to say, the doc and I agreed on option A. So back under the knife I go.
Again, thanks for the thoughts. I hope to be back up and running in the morning, but will take the time to hang out and throw my two pennies on the current subjects.
Y’all are such a great group to chat with.
Big Ray
October 3rd, 2012
9:03 am
The comments on Ryan-to-Julio pass are perplexing to me.
Come on, man…even the announcers said Julio did not turn his head in time, and did not drag his foot like he should have. We saw Roddy do exactly what should have been done (drag the toe) TWICE in the last two games.
Sorry, but that was on Julio. The pass led him there? Yeah, it was supposed to lead him to the sideline, and it was supposed to be out of reach of the defense. It’s on the WR to complete the play.
And like I said before….Julio is a 2nd year man learning to do all these things coming from a run-dominated college program. He has to learn, he will learn, that’s all there is to it.
I agree with SP on the rollout pass play that got Ryan nailed. It wasn’t a good play. I dont’ know if it’s a bad play all the time, but it was a mistake by Koetter in THIS game. Why? Because it was clear Charles Johnson and the Carolina front 4 overall was having a break-out game. You don’t roll out with a less than fleet QB against a front 4 that is playing that way.
As for the OL woes, those problems are almost exclusively on the the right side of the line….and they surround Tyson Clabo, who should have never even been an honorable mention for a pro bowl slot. Period.
Clabo has been unmasked. He NEEDS a stalwart Guard next to him or he fails. Reynolds is adequate, no more. He may be considered moderately solid, but that’s on a good day. Since Dahl left, Clabo has proven to be considerably less than what we paid for. It’s really that simple. The only way to get better play out of him is to bring in a stronger guard. The CS may see Konz as that guy in time, but right now is NOT that time apparently, so against good/versatile Defensive lines, we are going to have problems.
The problem could not have been more obvious when they had to bring in Mike Johnson as a tight end to help.
THAT is re-goddern-diculous….and I am very PISSED about it. Now there are two ways to view this, if you ask me.
One is that we watched a very good, even Pro Bowl level DE finally have his day after having nothing in the first three games. Or we can see this as pure, unadulterated exposure of our right side of the line, centering mainly on Clabo. Reynolds had his job to do, and couldn’t be drafted away to help.
AGain, the fact that Johnson was brought in as extra pass protection is just insane. I could see if we were running a power running play. But we weren’t. Enough is enough.
Now…cooling down on the point, perhaps we should see what happens against Washington before completely blowing our collective stacks. Perhaps the CS sees it that way too. The Redskins will not have Brian Orakpo, and I think one of their top DBs will be out as well (Merriweather?). Maybe it was more aberration than outright failure.
But I maintain that Clabo is a problem, and that’s insane because he was/is a veteran and well paid incumbent starter. Need a shakeup, I’m thinking. Maybe move him inside and Reynolds outside as SW suggests. But I do have a problem with this – if the fix is that “easy”, then it should have been obvious from the start what position these guys should be playing.
I wanted Konz to supplant Reynolds or McClure and Holmes to do the same with Baker, in the beginning. Now I’m wishing Holmes was up to speed enough to take Clabo’s spot and that Konz could play RG. I am now thinking either Konz breaks into the starting lineup or we won’t be seeing him do that until next season.
Big Ray
October 3rd, 2012
9:04 am
D3 ,
Blog monster just ate a massive post. I have not the wherewithall to repost that stream of consicousness…
Big Ray
October 3rd, 2012
9:04 am
FRAKKIN’ BLOG MONSTER !!!!!! Fie upon thee!!
Matty Bicep
October 3rd, 2012
9:23 am
BL, thought Ryan played a great game, i did not study the pass play, it was just my impression that the ball let him to the sideline, I would have to review before I would reach agree to disagree statue…I was not ready to put the sacks all on Ryan, just seemed that CJ ate up Clabo all day. We just were not crisp, but we have had a long few weeks.
Matty Bicep
October 3rd, 2012
9:29 am
Also, after reviewing the game last night we had:
The JJ play where he stepped out.
The Babs forced fumble that Carolina recovered just before Cam tossed the TD pass.
My point? We beat them deep but did not execute, and forced a Cam fumble that did not bounce our way. So our improbably comeback was not all that improbable, we were that close to making several game changing plays, but we kept coming up snake eyes….until…we refused to be denied. Carolina needed their own luck to escape with a W.
Coop
October 3rd, 2012
9:45 am
Prayers and best wishes to Big Ray! Best of luck and a hopeful successful surgery.
Coop
October 3rd, 2012
9:52 am
I tried to post this a couple ties last night and couldn’t get it through so I’ll try again. Might be slightly dated.
So, let me see if I understand the logic… Matt Ryan threw and interception in the end zone and that is the justification fr smittyball??? So nobody has ever fumbled on the goal line? Look, Ryan made a poor decision and poor throw and it got picked. That outcome doesn’t make the aggressive philosophy the wrong call.
Conversely, running quizz up the middle twice, then rolling Matt out (always a stupid play going back to MM) when you’re at the 50 is smittyball and cost us a chance at a FG.
Cam fumbled on 3rd and 1 with Rivera playing smittyball.
The point is, bad things can happen when oyu play conservative just like when you play aggressively. But I’ll take the latter. I don’t want my team playing not to lose.
Overall, I think we played and coached aggressively other than that one drive. But cherry picking a redzone INT to justify smittyball is ridiculous and stale.
Coop
October 3rd, 2012
9:53 am
D3 – Can you check the blog monster?
Big Lou
October 3rd, 2012
10:11 am
http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-falcons-blog/2012/10/02/julio-jones-hand-still-not-100-percent/
JJ was not 100 percent on the game, as noted from a couple of bloggers. Expect him to have a big game versus Washington.
D3
October 3rd, 2012
10:27 am
BR, Coop — Posts are out.