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
Michael
October 3rd, 2012
10:35 am
I wouldn’t get too carried away. This game showed ATL is a team that knows how to win when their back is against the wall. Dent’s play leaves much to be desired. However, as Mike Nolan stated earlier in the week, playing against a QB who can throw for 300 yds and run for 100 yds presents a problem because instead of 11 defenders against 10 offensive players, it’s more 11 on 11.
This game had “trap” all over it and ATL passed the test. Yes, they still have work to do on the offensive line (we knew that already) but its not time to panic. Clabo, like Baker last yr, may be injured but Mike Smith is keeping mum on it. He has been very reliable so I’m not quite ready to throw him under the bus yet.
Like D3, I would prefer to see Nicholas at MLB and Biermann at OLB on the same side as Abraham rushing the passer. But I said that when they first hired Nolan that it would be wise to use Kroy much like the old Steelers used Kevin Greene as an OLB pass rushing specialist.
I also think they need to seriously get Harry Douglas more involved and be very intentional about getting him the ball more. We are seeing Gonzo get open more often because of the over the top coverage rolling to Roddy and Julio. Now they need to make defenses account for Douglas’s speed as well thereby forcing them to decide who to double.
In the end, I think they will win 12 to 13 games and get either a first round bye or home field throughout the playoffs. And hopefully this will be the year they seize on that position and at least get to the NFC championship game.
Big Ray
October 3rd, 2012
10:35 am
I would retype the last post, but I honestly cannot remember all that I said. But I had to get it out of my system.
Moving along…..
I’m with Big Lou ….JJ will likely have a big game against Washington. Consider a few things, speaking of the Redskins:
1) Brian Orakpo out for the season, so we don’t have to contend with him. At least I thought I remember reading that somewhere. Drugs have my brain somewhat addled.
2) I think Brandon Merriweather is out, too. So no dealing with him in the secondary.
How we fare against the Washington offense is a different story. There is the threat of RG III’s arm AND his legs, but here’s the other issue – Redskins are leading the league in rushing right now, just ahead of Kansas City. Problem is that while we stopped Matt Cassel in the 2nd half of the KC game, RG III has more talent.
Still, he’s a rookie and Nolan will have some schemes worked up for him. It’s on our guys to execute, though. Fail to execute, and Washington will carve us up, it will be another shootout. One we stand a chance of losing.
The key will be keeping RG III from making plays.
Washington’s offense is clearly powerful. Their defense clearly isn’t up to par. They are 2-2 because they’ve lost shootouts. Both times it was the difference of a single score, basically.
So, our defense has to step up, and our offense has to maintain its scoring pace. If we do that, we win. If we falter on either side, the other side may not have enough to pick up the slack. Could be a tough game.
Big Ray
October 3rd, 2012
10:40 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
10:42 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.
Against Washington, we have to outscore them unless the defense can limit an offense that is putting up damn near as many points per game as we are.
Big Ray
October 3rd, 2012
10:42 am
D3 ,
Thanks, bro’.
Chop Buster
October 3rd, 2012
10:52 am
I wouldn’t say that we “Escaped vs Panthers” because good teams find a way to win. They take advantage of the other team’s mistakes. Carolina didn’t get the first down, pinned us on our one yard line and thought they could stop us. Falcons made an aggressive play call (that we’ve been all waiting to see) and executed. Made two more plays and kicked the game winning TD. We hung in there and executing the winning drive perfectly…that’s the bottom line. I see a team and QB that are growing confident each week and believing that as long as there is time on the clock they can win.
Now for the OL, changes are needed for Clabo and McClure. It’s only going to get tougher to block against the NFC East teams who all can get after the QB. We need to try Konz (Center) and Reynolds (RT) to see how they play. McClure got blew up last year against teams up the middle and Clabo was having the same issue last season as well. Part of the OL problem was also not running at Johnson to take him out of plays. The one play Koetter called for a roll out of the pocket Ryan held the ball and was eventually shoved out of bounds. I know he wants to make a play, but you have to throw the ball away rather than take a sack.
You discussed the issues in the running game and with the OL…which I believe a real issues still on this team. What will the coaches do to negate these weaknesses? We’ll see as the season plays out. Personally, I think we’re a year or two away from really being a dominant team on both sides of the ball.
Paddy O
October 3rd, 2012
10:54 am
matty: the pass lead him there? watch HD’s last caught pass. the lack of experience by JJ is what caused the pass to be incomplete (the WR MUST know precisely where he is on the field), not the throw which was just about perfect. weird, your inability to accurately assign accountability to the culpable. As others and I have stated, we are not hating on JJ, just acknowledging his error.
Atlanta Falcons: Birds Escape vs. Panthers | Atlanta InformerAtlanta Informer
October 3rd, 2012
11:01 am
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Chop Buster
October 3rd, 2012
11:02 am
Also Dave Archer said Ryan’s intercept at the goal line was on Julio–he should have cut across the face of the safety instead of running behind him. Julio’s body language has been sort of sluggish and not really running with the same effort before he injured his hand (mind may not be in the game).
Paddy O
October 3rd, 2012
11:06 am
Big Ray – I’ll be praying for your quick and full recovery – double surgery – hope they are not billing you double! Good luck!
Big Ray
October 3rd, 2012
11:15 am
Paddy O ,
Thanks, man.
Nah, can’t be charged double. Not within the first 90 days….so I’m safe from that.
John Waynesworld
October 3rd, 2012
11:19 am
Big Ray, I missed why you have to go under the knife, but I wish you well whatever the matter.
You know, I’m gonna go on a rant here…I was watching the NFL Network early this morning and there was a conversation between the evening host Andrew Siciliano, Charlie Casserly (who I think is hilarious and many times a voice of reason), and 2 ex-Saints Heath Evans and Darren Sharper. They were doing a very innocent discussion on “Who’s your 1st quarter (of the season) MVP?” Charley was up first and he jumped right in “Matt Ryan” he says, and proceeds to describe Matt’s accomplishments in his first 4 games as the reasons why he picked Ryan. Then it’s Sharper’s turn and he immediately jumps on Charley’s pick and says “How can you pick Ryan for an MVP when he hasn’t even won a playoff game yet in his career?” Evans chimes in and shakes his head on Charley’s pick and says “Exactly Darren, no way on Ryan. I’d vote for Manning just because.” Andrew and Charley are both taken aback by the two’s similar comments saying “Guys we’ve constantly heard this Ryan/Playoff stuff too much, but here we’re talking about the first 4 games of the season!” Yet those two still stuck to their Saints lapdog comments. Charley yells “You guys can’t work it like that. If it’s beyond the first quarter season then why are we even having this conversation?”
It was then that I realized that once a player plays for the Sain’ts, they are “assimilated” to hate the Falcons with their every breath, and don’t be fooled, no matter when Evans chips in occasionally on TV or radio about “Hey I like the Falcons”…He is LYING. All I am hoping for now is the NFL Network separate those two into different segment so they can’t double team an issue about the Falcons and make it sound like it is “the NFL pros’ consensus”. It just makes me sick listening to those Sain’ts butt-lickers irritating me with their BIAS while watching my favorite channel.
Rant over.
Chop Buster
October 3rd, 2012
11:24 am
BR, hoping for a speedy recovery and a successful surgery this time. God bless
Chop Buster
October 3rd, 2012
11:31 am
JW, that’s why I block out anything Heath Evans says and Sharper can go back and forth as well. Bringing up not winning a playoff when we’re talking about the first quarter of THIS season tells you they won’t ever pick a Falcons player for anything. I can’t wait until we play NOs this year and beat them twice. I don’t care if that they don’t have their HC.
Matty Bicep
October 3rd, 2012
11:54 am
Again, I said I would have to review the pass again before I took a solid stance, it was just my impression, and it appeared had Ryan thrown it toward the hash marks, JJ scores on the play, I am not entirely sure why JJ was anywhere near the sideline.
And it was not like JJ hideously stepped out of bounds being clueless, he was out by a pinkie toe, on a pass where he was running parallel to the sideline looking up backwards at a bomb, it was completely different than what HD did. Again,
I will try and catch the play again and look closer, so if you disagree, chill, But it is not like JJ looked like Dez Bryant.
Big Ray
October 3rd, 2012
12:20 pm
Review the commentator’s comments during that play while you’re at it. They are…interesting….
Big Ray
October 3rd, 2012
12:24 pm
JWW ,
You hit the nail on the head. And damn Evans and Sharper. Seriously. I get tired of that kind of crap. Like Casserly said, you’re talking about the MVP candidates for “so far into the season.”
Last I looked, NOBODY was in the playoffs right now, and there are some prominent team names that would be missing if the playoffs started tomorrow.
What morons….they have the nerve to act like the Falcons organization is a dungheap unworthy of being an NFL entity….last I looked, the Saints were the ones embroiled in controversy all the way up to their necks. What a pile of freakin’ losers.
Big Lou
October 3rd, 2012
1:00 pm
Here is my take on the Redskin’s game:
1. Redskins are last in the league in opponent’s passing yards.
2. Julio will have a great game, and so will Roddy and Gonzo.
3. Redskins are first in the league with rushing, but only 16th in passing. Expect more vanilla/man press coverage from Mike Nolan to force RG3 to beat us with his arm.
As long as our defense makes a couple of stops and prevents the Redskins from beating us on the clock game… it would be a moderately easy win. I expect a score of 34-24.
This game will really show us a couple things such as:
1. Is our running defense REALLY that bad?
2. Was the offensive line fiasco in ATL against Carolina an anomaly?
3. How far is our new coaches with their schemes offensively/defensively?
John Waynesworld
October 3rd, 2012
1:45 pm
There…I feel better. I found that video on NFL.com and voiced my displeasure. I also found the same feelings over there. You can never tell about online comments and who reads them, but I don’t think these “.com” entities ignore anything nowadays because they’re always monitoring for viewers taking offense at their employees’ on-air remarks.
Feel free to chime in on your displeasure with Total Access double-teaming ex-Ain’ts when talking about our Falcons…
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-total-access/0ap2000000069003/Casserly-s-quarterly-awards
JB Falcon
October 3rd, 2012
3:02 pm
JWW, the video ended just as they guy said Matt Ryan for MVP, could have been my computer. Anyway, you could tell by reading the comments that Evans and Sharper were eat up with stupid homerism. I wouldn’t call them the two brightest bulbs on the light fixture.
John Waynesworld
October 3rd, 2012
3:20 pm
Those online NFL network moderator scum scrubbed my comment because
THEY CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!
Paddy O
October 3rd, 2012
3:36 pm
Big Lou: I concur. However, despite his rookie status, I’m more worried about RG3 than Cam – he has the serious look of a student of the game, and a guy who can pass with some touch. It should be another exciting Falcon game. If pushed to select a score, Falcons 33, Redskins 24
JB Falcon
October 3rd, 2012
4:28 pm
I just now stumbled across that Casserly report of NFL.com and hear the whole thing. Evans and Sharper should stick to football. Having an intelligent opinion takes some brains.
“I didn’t want to wake you last night because it was late so I slept out back in the hammock.”
“But you took the hammock down two weeks ago.”
“I don’t care. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”
Been doing some background on RGIII and his praises preceed him. Most of them, however, are coming from the DC area so I guess that’s to be expected. Big Lou posted a fair expectation at 1:00. Definitely going to be a good challenge. I see 2-2 against 4-0.
Birdman
October 3rd, 2012
5:00 pm
Good Eve Cage
I am kinda worried a little on the Sunday game . But this little voice tells me that the Falcons will bonce back after a close and Lucky win over the Panthers . 31 to 20 Falcons .
Have a Blessed day Cage .For all those who have had a bad week or day I Pray things get better.
GO FALCONS !!!
chris edge
October 3rd, 2012
5:16 pm
lets go
Birdman
October 3rd, 2012
5:46 pm
Big Ray
My Prayers and thoughts are with you .
Big Lou
October 3rd, 2012
6:19 pm
http://richeisen.nfl.com/2012/10/03/rich-eisen-podcast-matt-ryan-and-the-sklar-brothers/
Awesome interview with Matt Ryan. Start at 15 min.
Big Lou
October 3rd, 2012
6:29 pm
The Mattural!
Unca' Bob
October 3rd, 2012
7:12 pm
Big Lou
October 3rd, 2012
6:29 pm
The Mattural!
LOL. TD refers to him as “Deuce”.
PoolerSpirit
October 3rd, 2012
11:15 pm
Big Ray… I’ll be in town tomorrow… if you need me to bring you anything at the hospital, just let me know… I’ll be around the hospitals around 4pm…
Wabe
October 3rd, 2012
11:48 pm
I mean, they are both former Saints…
Big Lou
October 3rd, 2012
11:59 pm
Unca’ Bob
That’s a pretty nice nickname. TD is good at drafting and nicknames.
I will call TD: The Hair.
Birdman
October 4th, 2012
1:51 am
Late Night Cage
Lot of Posting for work tonight .
Any way ,The Falcons should be more ready for this game this week .They will have been looking at a lot of sues that they had last Sunday with a teem a lot similar to the Cats .
I remember last year and the year before that most of us thought the Saints may get beat by teams like this and they did not . That was then and this is now . The point is our Birds are were they were then. Now its our time to shine . Rise Up !!!!!!!!!
I wan’t to see a 6 and 0 before the byy . Guy’s that will make a statement
Birdman
October 4th, 2012
1:53 am
where
bmw m5 e39 exhaust
October 4th, 2012
6:09 am
Thanks for the good article, I was researching for details like this, going to check out the other posts.
Big Ray
October 4th, 2012
6:23 am
Birdman ,
Always appreciated. Made it through the second surgery, this time things went the way they were supposed to. Looks like I’m good to go so far.
Pooler Spirit ,
Man, I really really appreciate that. I’m probably going to be released today, hopefully by noon or so. Been staying at Memorial Hospital, but SOOO ready to go home.
Thanks again, will catch up with you at some point, I hope.
check out this site
October 4th, 2012
6:30 am
Hi there, i just needed to drop you a line to say that i thoroughly enjoyed this particular post of yours, I have subscribed to your RSS feeds and have skimmed a few of your posts before but this one really stood out for me. I know that I am just a stranger to you but I figured you might appreciate the appreciation Take care and keep blogging.
Big Ray
October 4th, 2012
8:34 am
The more I think about it, the more I think we’ll be needing Kroy Biermann to play a stand-up game against the Redskins, as opposed to playing with a hand in the dirt. Just a gut feeling….
Coop
October 4th, 2012
8:56 am
Big Ray – So glad to hear your surgery went well. Speedy recovery my friend.
John Waynesworld
October 4th, 2012
9:08 am
Big Ray, I believe I heard Coy Wire talking to Spoon on the radio about the Falcons possibly putting either Kroy or Stephen Nicholas as a spy on Griffith. Who knows, maybe they alternate both guys and Kroy can do both stand up and hand in the dirt, and let RG3 figure out who’s who.
I just get a feeling that veteran DCs like Nolan love to mess with rookie QB’s heads, so it should be interesting to watch.
waynester
October 4th, 2012
10:24 am
Big Ray
Get better soon…..
SeminoleWarrior
October 4th, 2012
10:25 am
This game will really show us a couple things such as:
1. Is our running defense REALLY that bad? Yes it appears. The defensive line, at least thus far, looks slower than last year. They are being gashed in the interior. Review of tape and actual game assessment shows too large of a gap in the interior where OCs are scheming with cutbacks by their running backs. The lack of presence, significant lack of a strong presence at MLB is also a serious concern. After four weeks, I am still very confused as to why we do not have a more persistant presence at the position. Dent is lost when he is out there; I continue to advocate, as I have all preseason and now for the Bier Truck to get a shot at it or the move of Spoon to MLB and the Truck to a OLB position.
Back to the DL. Pass rush is a pathetic joke. Abe is invisible until clean up time. Where in the hell is ANY other defensive end through the first quarter of the season. The ONLY DE with a sack is Abe (3) while the DT rotation has more sacks (4) than the total corps of ends. This has got to change!!
2. Was the offensive line fiasco in ATL against Carolina an anomaly? When Sam Baker was injured or playing badly, the staff was quick to bring in the reserves. Clabo MUST be sat down and sat down NOW! The claims are that he is not healthy. Well, front office, if you did not get the memo on Sunday, then you are asking for trouble. If dude is not healthy, then you had better find a RT and find on quick. If we gave up the sacks we gave up to the lowly Panthers, what in the HELL is going to happen when the Giants D line or the Eagles D line hit the trenches?
Someone said it best earlier in the posting. This team will only go as far as MR2 can take us. Do not be fooled!! Everything else, EVERYTHING else, other than our passing attack, is in transition and leaves a lot to be desired. Think I am kidding. Keep watching!!
3. How far is our new coaches with their schemes offensively/defensively?
Offensively, scheme implementation seems to be going well. I think the OL is in a state of flux. I still think that Pat Hill is quietly evaluating to see what rotation will best serve the eventual full install of the ZBS. Yes, I still believe the ZBS is coming to the ATL. Next year, with a larger, more versatile, and faster back (MT33 will be gone, sorry and thanks for your service), the ZBS will be much more prevalent. Keep watching Houston for what the OL will look like in ATL next year and for years to come.
Defensively, same thing. Just force turnovers, allow the offense to score more points, and all will be fine. We are unusually suspect against the run; linebacker depth is a SERIOUS issue; and we still have issues of periodic confusion in the defense. There seems to be more cohesion in the unit’s play this year but work remains.
Recall, the TeePee stated early. This would be a transitional year. The question was then and still is? Can you handle the transition? Hope so…the ride will get very interesting here as Halloween approaches.
SeminoleWarrior
October 4th, 2012
10:26 am
Big Ray, glad that all is going well for you, brother. Looking forward to you heading home ASAP!!
Coop
October 4th, 2012
10:30 am
SW – Agree with your assessment. Just don’t understand the Clabo deal. When you have to bring in Johnso to play TE, that is a screaming indictment of your RT.
SeminoleWarrior
October 4th, 2012
10:30 am
Birdman, 6-0 is a very realistic approach towards the first half of the season. RG3 will challenge the Falcon defense for sure.
I pray that they do not “spy” RG3 in this game. Taking a LB out of position to “cover” him would play right into the coaching staff hands. This staff loves to use the screen pass and the intermediate routes. And if that is the case, given the sad state of MLB and the interior of the Falcons defense, it could be a very long day.
Pass rush has to show up consistently in this game. A Ray Edwards sighting is a MUST this week and I mean in a HUGE way. Two sacks at a minimum are needed from him!!
SeminoleWarrior
October 4th, 2012
10:34 am
Amen, Coop. Totally agree. And the excuse that Dahl is no longer besides him carries no weight with me.
The TeePee saw this dude as a fraud and, against the common will, called for his move inside months back. Explain the logic please.
We can move Sam Baker inside to guard when we know he CLEARLY is not guard material but we let a GUARD fake the funk as a RT when we have a career RT that we fake the funk with as a guard?
Coop
October 4th, 2012
10:35 am
I was very concerned about losing Lofton, though we obviously couldn’t afford him. Last year, teams threw on us cause they could. We seem to have that fixed. But if teams force us into the 4-3 like Carolina did and play a power running game against us, we’re in for a long day.
This makes it critical to take the ball first, score, and score TDs. Our O needs to force their O to throw the ball playing catch up. this plays into the strength of our D. Look how hard it was to stop Carolina when they went smittyball on us. Had Cam not fumbled, we lose cause we couldn’t stop the run.
Eagles, Cowboys, Bucs, and Giants can definitely exploit this. Maybe Raiders and Panthers next time too.
SeminoleWarrior
October 4th, 2012
10:38 am
Let me be clear out there. There are three teams that need to not listen to the media, read the papers, or get ahead of themselves.
The Atlanta Falcons
The Florida State Seminoles
The Georgia Bulldogs
Trust me when I say that there is a large population segment out there that are simply waiting on the three to crash. All three are extremely talented, to date have played relatively soft schedules, have shown some potential weaknesses, and are, at this time, MEDIA DARLINGS. Do not fall for it, teams.
Stay humble. Go to work everyday. Focus…be intense, earn it the old fashion way by taking care of YOUR business. The hell with the standings, the rankings, the SportCenter clips, GameDay or the interviews. Handle your business.
Live or Memorex? Three cases before us. In the end, who will be the real deal or will they once again leave us three bridemaids at the alter?
Coop
October 4th, 2012
10:41 am
SW – My only argument on Clabo is I wouldn’t even play him at OG. We repeatedly failed to invest in our lines and it continues to bite us. We drafted a few guys this year… when will they play?
As for the interior D, I love Babs and have supported Jerry. I still think they can make plays, but I want to see more rotation. Every time Walker is in the game, he’s collapsing the pocket and making a play. I’m not saying start him, but let the three of them rotate non-stop. Keeps the motors high all game.
Same with DE. Let’s see more rotation with Sid. The kid has explosive potential. Get him some reps earlier in the game.
SeminoleWarrior
October 4th, 2012
10:44 am
Coop, the TeePee, like you, was very concern about the ability of Lofton to be an effective force in pass coverage. When Dent was drafted, the scouting reports about him clearly indicated he had the same traits as Lofton did. If it was about money, the Falcons would have been much better served with going with tagging Lofton and switching over to a 3-4 scheme. MHO. Another starter at CB could have been found in FA (the TeePee desired Richard Marshall).
The decision to stick with the 4-3 I think was not that of Mike Nolan. Some will argue that the talent we have is suited for the 4-3. It is what we USED to establish a 4-3. But make no mistake; it is a suspect grouping. We have young studs in key positions (LB and safeties) but we are aging quickly on the defensive line (and it shows) and we are older than we should be at CB. Both have an injury history and we have what the TeePee deems insufficient depth in reserve.