Atlanta Falcons: Birds Escape vs. Panthers

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All I can say is…..THAT WAS ONE HELL OF AN ENDING TO THE GAME!!!! The team continued to fight back after losing the lead. Hopefully that will help them later in the season to know that they can always come from behind to win the game.

The Dome was again rocking and it is only going to get better with each home game. I just wish the Dome security could get their act together better so that they can minimize the time fans have to stand in the long lines prior to the game…..e.g., maybe add more security to move more people through the scanners quicker….??????

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Hello Cage
Back in Hilton head with the work . My thoughts of the game .

Matt Ryan has got to have more protection in the pocket . And our D has got to some how stop the run . The Ice man looked good once again even after he was put on the turf 7 times . Outstanding throw to RW and a heck of a houl in by RW .

My concern with Jones is ,is he going to be hurt a lot . I have heard its just his hand and that his main job Sunday was a decoy . But it still conserns me . Next week is a game that now I am not so sure about but we should win. M Turner was a beast Sunday but the Panthers suck at stoping the run . The Birds were just not in the click as far as I saw and they need to fix some problems . To me the D just did not look like they had the drive are the spark they have had in the first 3 games . Almost a lazy look compared to the other games .

I look forword to the reads this week . Everyone have a Blessed week

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I grazed through all of the past quotes and did not find one prediction less than a two touchdown win for the Falcons. Meaning, no one expected that game to turn out like it did. Mine was 38-10 Falcons and I am among the surprised. Of course we’ll take the win and I think the comeback attitude was one of the few positive things I liked. We will learn from this and the CS will take whatever steps possible, within what we have to work with, to make corrections. We will be stronger next week against RGIII and Co.

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I’m a little concerned about the defense not getting much of a pass rush to QB’s. If they had gotten in Cam’s face no telling what the score could have been. Atlanta still leaves too many points on the field..gotta tweak the little things. Loved Ryan and his show of attitude…get the $@#* off our field!!!!!!

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JB – I apparently gave our D too much praise – I thought we’d hold them to 2 FG’s – mine was 38-6. However, Dunta played a really good game, and Cam did a much better job of protecting the ball. Moore was off a bit; but DeCoud still looked good – did not see much of Spoon or NIcholas. Like our D line play despite the lack of sacks. Bierman looked very good. Our CB’s played well over all.

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The Panthers came in loose, focused, and ready to play. Looking for a re-start on their season. Same could be said of Chiefs, Broncos, and Chargers– looking for a statement game against the Falcons. Makes these four wins all the more impressive.

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I love the intensity of this year vs last year….coaching has made a change in the confidence and the player enjoyment of the game..

Smith also appears more confident and in control of this team. I love what I’m seeing

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Heck, I’m just glad Matt Ryan doesn’t fly around the field like a fairy before the game or do some silly superman routine. The Charlotte Observer hit the nail on the head concerning Cam Newton. “hello kitty”

On to the next game. They will all be tough from this point forward.

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I’m as stoked as anybody we won. This is one of those games you can either view the glass half-full or half-empty. As happy as I am with the win, there are questions that need to be answered moving forward.

1 – the O-Line

Dumervil and Von Miller was a test. I thought Denver’s defense as a whole wasn’t all that bad. Carolina’s defense shouldn’t have had as much success as they did, especially up front. I think theree was a combination of things going wrong. As we all have noticed, Ryan’s been getting that ball out of his hands extremely quickly this season. I think we saw him hold that ball a bit longer than he wanted to yesterday mainly because the coverage was probably tight. Result = sacks. Regardless of what it was, we need to get that area corrected. I don’t wanna see our franchise QB taking that kind of beating. If the Panthers can manage to rattle our line like that, think of playoff type teams like the G-Men, Iggles, Bears, Niners, Clay Matthews and the Packers.

2 – Rush Defense

Are we gonna be able to stop the run when necessary. I know we played a whole new element yesterday with Cam Newton. But, our run defense hasn’t been all that stellar this season. It’s been middle of the road. Teams that come out looking to pound that football, like the Niners, are teams that we’ll need to be more stout against. They definitely need to work on this as the season continues. We’ll face teams in the playoffs that’ll be determined to run the football.

3 – Playmakers

Bottom line, find ways to get Julio Jones the ball. Period. We can sit here and say that RW84 is going nuts thanks to Julio commanding coverage, but truth is, Roddy’s been putting up numbers and monster games wayyyyy before Julio got here. This offense needs to get both of these guys going at the same time. Julio can’t just be a decoy. Dude needs to be involved. He’s disappearing wayyy too much in these games. He had himself a monster game against KC, disappeared vs Denver, had moments against SD, and yesterday again, was AWOL for a good chunk of that game. Get him, and even HD for that matter, more touches.

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Despite all of the concerns, I am happy with the 4-0 record. I’m happy with what we’ve done thus far. I understand you can’t blow everybody out. I understand they had 10 days to prepare.

So, I’m happy we got the win. I remember the Bears vs Cardinals when Dennis Greene made the infamous ‘the bears are who we thought they were’. I remember the Falcons vs Niners when Roddy stripped Nate Clements. Sometimes, you just gotta find ways to get it done. Yesterday was one of those games.

But, can’t overlook the potential flaws, and I’m sure Smitty and company won’t. Smitty + TD know that even a 16-0 season won’t mean anything unless we’re successful come playoff time. Continue to improve and rack up the wins.

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Haha SC. He cut it in the opening drive of the SD …stitched up in locker room and he came back out….hear that it’s still causing problems but I’m thinking hell be close to 100% Sunday….he still makes a great decoy regardless right?

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Wabe, very good analogy and post. I’ll let you continue everything I have to say tonight. Bedtime for me.

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In conclusion I am excited about the win and our 4-0 record. My opion of the teams play this week is nothing more than a disappointment. I observed as rushed 7 to eight people and yet unable to record a sack, I also observed as players took plays off routinely and over pursued without a thought. I believe that there should be more incentive and effort placed on sacks and not just pressuring the quarterback as well as more chewig out of players who take plays off. I say this because i belive that this is what it willtake to win a superbowl. I belive we are talented but still lack focus.

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“Pass rush and O line protection were problems. the O line play was horrific. even with extra O line men in there mimicking TE’s. I saw Gallarda make a nice block on a run. folks must be seriously looking at tape of Clabo – and concluding he is SLOW and vulnerable to an outside speed rush. We need to use an I formation with the fullback (snelling or Turner) providing Clabo with help, and still being able to use Quizz for screens. ” – Paddy O

I’m watching the Bears and Cowgirls game atm, I like the Walsh style stlants M. Tice is using to help combat Ware/ Dallas pass rush. The Coryell style passing game while effective can leave QB’s vulnerable to blitzes and good DE play. Koetter has done an ok job but I would like to see him incorporate a little more Walsh horizontal quick passing in addition to screens/ shovels etc. to help offset the pass rush. The blend of vertical and horizontal that OC’s like S. Peyton have started to come up with are hard to beat and seemingly the new flavor of things.
If one looks at the weaknesses of the Panthers D, the run game and deep passes against their secondary stand out. I can see how Koetter/ Smith game planned to try to take advantage of that but it should have become clear by the third sack we might wanna go away from the deeper, longer developing routes. We have the skill position talent to make Koetters Coryell be a dangerous offense but we just don’t have the line play yet. It might take awhile for that improvement to happen against better D’s so we should be looking at more scheme alternatives. We did see Turner finally break a shovel pass for a TD…will give future DCs something to think about at least. If we continue to have to utilize extra linemen it takes away from playcalling versatility and match-up advantages.

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I agree 100% with Wabe….The Panthers had extra time to prepare and they took full advantage of it. Now that doesn’t excuse poor play on our part. The O-line continue to play like they played in the first 3 games. Matt Ryan must continue to get the ball out quickly like he did in the first 3 games. And the D must continue to play better on 3rd down like they did in the first 3 games. My only concern is Mike Nolan only saving the exotic defense for “elite teams or “elite QBs” I know you wanna show different things on film from a week to week basis, but I wanna see better play to play, quarter to quarter, and better second half adjusments. Overall very proud of our response to playing behind particularly in the 4th quarter. We are entitled to a game like this during the season and teams are going to play us better. I understand that we won’t play perfect every game. But I like the resolve and the fight in our entire team. And we can never have enough pressure on the QB for me. I think we will play much better against Washington. I am just glad we were able to win this type of game. We lost a few of these games in the past. GO Falcons!!!! The Real A Town Got Your Back!!!!!!

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And for all the Julio REALLY????? Julio Jones has been double teamed since the first game of his rookie season. And that was without a training camp or OTA’s. Yeah he can always improve but he does improve from week to week. He is running better routes and catching the ball. He will just have to learn how to beat double teams and the offensive coordinater has to learn how to move him around and put him better situations to succeed. But Julio is fine trust me…….Go Falcons!!!! The Real A Town Got Your Back!!!!!!

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We also did an article tlaking about the falcons the saints and a plethora of teams right here http://halftimechat.com/week-4-recap/

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I don’t know exactly how to put this so I’ll simply say it. I’m not sure we are the football team we seem to be. We are 3-0 against the AFC West and staggered Sunday while up against our division rival. We are in the middle of the league in yards allowed and yards gained. We have scored more points and given up fewer points this year than last but, outside of the Charger game we are above last years average. Is it smoke and mirrors or are we ligit?

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What I see in these posts is the staple of most Atlanta fans–knee jerk reactions.

Let me respond to a couple posts first, before giving my two cents.

SP

I totally and 100% agree with your suggestions. Quick slants, especially to Julio, would be a great way to take advantage of soft zone coverage by the secondary and allow MR2 to eat up the blitz. Also, a Quizz/Turner in the backfield at the same time could improve our run game even more and allow a couple of blitz killing plays. Personally, I feel they should have ran the ball more that game, period.

Unca’Bob

Stats do not always tell the story. Remember that in those NFC west games, the Falcons had a commanding lead in the 3rd or 4th and played conservative ball at the end. If they were closer games like Carolina, the offense would most likely be top in the league. Also, takeaways and red zone defense is what really matters in the NFL. Mike Nolan’s defenses has always allowed yards to the offenses in his history(since he gambles with blitzes), but they always have great points allowed/turnover margin. Also, keep in mind that Cam had a average day at best through the air(Falcons are still top ten in the league in the secondary play).

DHunt

The play where Matt threw to Julio and he stepped out of bounds was more on the receiver twisting his bod around and not having proper balance. The ball was placed where it should have been. Also, Matt Ryan was getting killed all day behind the line of scrimmage. It’s kinda hard to spread the love, when you are not having enough time to throw/go through your passing progression. Matt had 369 yards… 25-40 due to dropped passes/penalties(one being to Roddy in the end zone). I do not think the QB is the issue here. Only dumb play he made was the interception the end zone. Before yesterday, Matt was doing a great job at spreading the love across the field. The receivers need to get their heads in the game and catch the dang balls(Julio has a lot this year so far).

Wabe

I agree there needs to be something done about the o-line. I bet anything Patt Hill will have the issues addressed by the next game against Washington. Let’s see the coaching adjustments. Also, if I remember correctly, Matt Ryan had created tons of plays for Julio to get the ball, but he isn’t making the catches. It’s Julio’s second season. He will get better as the season progresses.

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Unca’ Bob’s question is interesting, and I don’t know the answer. I think at least some of what we’re seeing is “smoke and mirrors.” But I also think smoke and mirrors — well employed — have their proper place.

Mulling over the Carolina game, I think it’s a mistake to underestimate the impact of Cam Newton. As much as his behavior grates on me, the fact is that he’s a very talented and versatile player who played hard last Sunday. Playing from the shotgun works well for his particular talents and style of play, while it makes him harder for defenders to reach.

On the subject of Julio, I think his presence — even with a hurt hand — is huge. I don’t think he’s going to be hampered by constant injuries. He plays hard, but he’s really a pretty big guy. Sky’s the limit with Julio. It’s just a matter of experience and figuring out how best to use him.

As far as his out-of-bounds catch, I can’t criticize too much. His momentum (hard and fast) was practically hurling him out-of-bounds when he made the catch. Also, I think he was determined to make the catch and run with it. Split-second decision that, had it worked, would have resulted in 6 points. Those extra, possibly all the way, yards is what Julio is capable of, and those will start to come with regularity. Just imagine the Falcons with a hybrid of Julio and Gonzo!

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Alright, my thoughts on the game.

Matt Ryan is having one heck of a year so far. He is really maturing into a veteran in the league and the hands down MVP so far this season. He has played against respectable defenses(except for KC), and has preformed well, even with bad O-line play against Carolina. The guy has resolve, but we already knew that. Let’s hope that this is the season where he gets that playoff monkey off his back.

Roddy still has it. I know the guy runs his mouth more than we like, yet he is backing it up this year. He has been more productive and has been more focused than I have ever seen him before. He would have had three touchdown catches yesterday if it weren’t for him being tripped in the endzone(can’t believe the refs didn’t call that).

What happened to the offensive line? Was it bad preparation? Non-focused effort? Time will tell on next Sunday and I am more than sure that Pat Hill will make the adjustments necessary. Yet, it is a concern that most fans are having. I just hope it’s a hiccup like the Packers had against the Seahawks.

Our secondary is LEGIT. Did you see how Cam had to reduce himself to running the ball? How he had to hold on to the ball for long periods of time, which lead to sacks? We have one of the best secondaries in the league and are currently top 10 in passing yards allowed. THIS IS WITHOUT GRIMES!

Our run defense needs improvement. As I stated before, I feel the game against Carolina was more on Cam running the option/their potent running offense, but there still needs to be better play from our line. I see the running backs get to the second level too often. I expect Mike Nolan to make the right changes.

All in all, this was a divisional battle against a team who was trying to prove its worth. They were backed in a corner and gave it their all against us. We were resilient and pulled out a victory. There will be a couple more games like this during the season, and as long as we stay the course and never give up… I will be a happy fan.

Let’s wait for a TREND to get to anxious about this Falcons team. I am still liking what I see so far.

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I mentioned before the game that I was looking for the deep game to open up. With two huge bombs to Roddy White, I can’t say I’m not satisfied. It’s not like Ryan’s going to sling it 50 yards every other play, but I’m glad the few times he did send it downfield worked out.

As for Julio, he will show up like he did last season. Not sure how bad the hand injury is, but if he’s in the game, he has a chance to have an impact. Better than him not being on the field at all.

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There are no knee jerk reactions especially Unca’Bob’s question. BL post but please stop dismissing other people’s comments.

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I respect Unca’Bobs posts more than anyone else in here. He says little, to the point, and when he isn’t having link issues… has given great articles.

If anything, he is one of the optimistic individuals on this board. If anything, I wish fans were more even keel like him.

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This team will go as far as this offense takes them.

And this offense will go as far as this offensive line takes them.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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BR, what’s up with the hospital? Get the HELL out of there soon, bro!! Thoughts and best wishes are with ya.

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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.

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Big Ray

Hope you get better man! God speed.

I would be playing with the nurses, as well.

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Speedy Recovery Big Ray.

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“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.

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“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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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plus, the closeness of the Carolina game should prevent team complacency.

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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.

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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.

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“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.

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http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-videos/0ap1000000068437/Coaches-Show-Is-Matt-Ryan-elite

More video on Matt Ryan.

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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/

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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.

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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.

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Falcons played a great game, i enjoyed it.

Great win.

GO FALCONS!!!!!!!!!!

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LRD, who can I block for ya chandler or olsen???

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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!

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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.

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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…

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MB, 8:44, yeah, right.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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It’s all good! WE WON! Gotta bring RGIII down next week. I’m out.

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SP, Romo campared to Ryan! Come on man! No way. “night!

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Later MB, SP and JB.

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“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.

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SP

It’s not only on Romo, though. That whole offensive side of the ball sucks!

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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/

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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.

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FRAKKIN’ BLOG MONSTER !!!!!! Fie upon thee!!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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D3 ,

Thanks, bro’.

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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.

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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).

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Paddy O ,

Thanks, man.

Nah, can’t be charged double. Not within the first 90 days….so I’m safe from that.

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BR, hoping for a speedy recovery and a successful surgery this time. God bless

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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.

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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.

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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

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Those online NFL network moderator scum scrubbed my comment because

THEY CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!

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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.

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lets go

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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.

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Big Lou

October 3rd, 2012
6:29 pm

The Mattural!

LOL. TD refers to him as “Deuce”.

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I mean, they are both former Saints…

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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

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Thanks for the good article, I was researching for details like this, going to check out the other posts.

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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.

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Big Ray – So glad to hear your surgery went well. Speedy recovery my friend.

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Big Ray
Get better soon…..

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Big Ray, glad that all is going well for you, brother. Looking forward to you heading home ASAP!!

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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!!

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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.

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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.

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SW – Concur. My comments on the 4-3 were referencing the first couple of games where teams came out with 3 or 4 WR sets and we lined up in nickel packages… no MLB on the field. Carolina ran more base packages that forced us into a 4-3 set. Lot more Dent.

I like a lot about our D, but just like our OL, we have neglected a long term, strategic plan… unless Konz, Johnson, Reynolds, and Hawlyer are more than backups.

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Johnson is a MASH unit until he proves otherwise to me. Hawley and Reynolds were never really given the REAL chance to show what they could in their primary positions (MHO). Both lost a considerable amount of tutorial work and practice to the lockout last year. Hawley, thrown to the wolves when Mud Duck was hurt, was a raw as Publix T-Bone. He did he best he could given the circumstances. The WHOLE line, minus Blalock, was a train wreck last season due to a lack of continuity and clearly, a lack of QUALITY coaching effort.

Until last week, the same group of guys, minus Hawley, has looked like a group of All Pros. Well, all but Clabo clearly. Holmes was not brought her to the be the left tackle of the future. Homes may need to become the RT of the moment.

The Konz and Holmes picks. Said it then, will say it now. We were snowed!! They were depth picks from the start. The high selection was meant to make us think that we were addressing the CRITICAL issues on our OL. So far, they are doing a fine job warming those benches. And Unles we plan to cut someone next spring, I do not see them on the field anytime soon.

One more nugget….if this OL gets MR2 to the NFC title game, as it is currently set up, do you really think they will implode it? Sam Baker will be back (company discount) because the team will NOT pay premium dollar for a premium LT next year if he is out there. Besides, they can’t. Why? MR2, with each impressive week, is making his stock rise HIGHER and HIGHER.

If he wins an MVP award, which is possible, MR2’s deal will surplant that of Drew Brees and the impending deal that Aaron Rodgers will soon get from Green Bay. Atlanta is about to have a $100-115 million dollar man. And that my friends will change the nature of the game.

But I will save that for another day….I did warn you about it. The Transition and the Cap. You were warned, remember?

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Coop

I do not know that the Bucs, Cowboys, and Raiders will take advantage of anything. Remember that Denver/San Diego/KC had a decent running game, too. The REAL weakness is going against running QBs like Cam, who can run the option with the running back. RG3 is most likely the only QB on the teams you list that will really hash our running defense. Vick is more of a pocket passer now, who runs out at times(not the same guy he used to be).

Let me clear something up:

Our run defense is exposed against RUNNING QBs that use the option. They still do well against passing QBs who hands the rock to a RB.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This is still a passing league and almost every team does not run the option.

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A very interesting FFL season thus far with a major ACC tilt on schedule this weekend.

I wonder where my ACC brother is with his weekly predictions. I wonder if he is shocked with the work of the Posse thus far. Or like FSU, UGA, and the Falcons, do the pundits feel we are just thrills of the moment?

A lot of football ahead…but at least for now, the Posse will cherish these unchartered waters. Oh yeah; it feels good to be the king (or a least be in the royal court).

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SW

I appreciate your incite, but those were more rhetorical questions. You know why? Let me explain.

I am sorry to say, but most fans, like the media… are very knee-jerk in their reactions. They do not wait for trends, or look at the numbers in things. I believe it’s because we are so darn impatient. After one bad game, everyone is quick to point flaws… but are they REALLY flaws? Sam Baker has made ALL OF US eat crow so far this season. Let the coaches do their jobs.

Anyways, let me rebuttal.

1. One, as I have stated before, defensive schemes from new coordinators takes usually a year to really set into a defense. So, I agree there will be mishaps and hiccups throughout the year. That’s why I stated a 11-5 record. YET, this does not negate how well our secondary is playing, which is darn amazing. I did not expect it. But, I digress, let’s focus on the run defense. I agree that the run defense need help. We agree there, yet I am not worried about it. Why? Mike Nolan. He is not like any DC we had before. He will adjust and utilize our talent to make them decent.

Remember, like I have stated before, we only got whipped last weeks because of the OPTION with Cam. Regular running games will not be as potent. Regular QBs cannot run like Cam(except for RG3 and MAYBE Vick).

We only lost Curtis Lofton from our previous defense who was stout against the running. Is he that big a difference? Let’s look at the Saints who are LAST against the run this year. I think we are giving him too much credit. The WHOLE unit stops the run, not just the MLB. I challenge you to look at the film and realize the times we got gashed on the runs versus Cam was on blitzes and poor gap discipline. Placing the blame solely on Dent is a cop out.

As for your defensive pass rush comment… I can only shake my head. They already have 10 sacks this year as a UNIT. Remember what Mike Nolan said? He does not care about on players having 8 sacks, he wants the UNIT to have multiple. The defensive rush has been stellar compared to previous years. The only difference is that we were going against CAM NEWTON, and he made us miss/ran out of the pocket. Most QBs will not hurt us like this. Also, end play is overrated. You want the tackles to collapse the pocket backwards, so the QB cannot step up to pass, which leads to more INTs. How many do we have this year again? I am sorry. This is knee-jerk at its finest.

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Big Ray… Glad to hear you’re being released… and that the surgery went well… You should be able to find my phone number if you want to get in touch… and if you end up having to stay an extra day, I can at least bring you something to read!

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BL,

Nothing but love and respect as always. Let me see if I can add a little more to my points.

First, the pass rush. When I talk about the issue with the pass rush, perhaps I should make my issue of contention be the need for a more consistent nature of the pass rush. At times, it seems that the rush or the lack there of takes extended periods off. Again, I have no problem with where the sacks come from. What I am concerned about is the lack of a consistent pressure element.

You are correct in that any scheme takes time to fully implement. I do see improvements over last year. Attitude is first and foremost, the most important one noted. And things are looking up far more than they are looking down. But as we both agree, work remains.

The Lofton factor, in my MHO, was a mistake. Yes, he apparently did make that much of a difference in the ATL interior rush defense. For it is definately not on par with what it was last season with him on the field. Dent is not and was not, MHO, ready to step into the position. A one year tender would have at least given him the time, under Nolan, for a realistic assessment of his abilities. And it would have provided a better element of stability in the corps. Just my thoughts.

You are correct. To totally blame Dent is perhaps too easy. But there is an issue with the interior presence of the defense. And when we review the tape, the lack of a presence would lead one to first and foremost look for the party that should be in that area. In most cases, under the 4-3 scheme, that should be the MLB. Nolan is experimenting with multiple flex options on defense thus far…will give you that. But there needs to be attention placed on the area that typically is defended by a presence of a MLB. But in fairness, I will continue to monitor it and I thank you for keeping me real, honest, and attentive.

End play can not be overrated, in my HO, if we have invested so much in it over the past three years. We “aggressively” went after Edwards and re-invested (though limited) in Abraham. The skill sets have declined over the last two years; we assume it was a lack of scheme. In this transitional year, we will see. To be determined.

Side note: But your point is noted and is actually a pro for my thoughts on transition to the 3-4 where speed and younger talent can be integrated into the scheme sooner rather than later.

In my humble opinion, the interceptions are up primarily due to a MUCH more disciplined play by our defensive backs. I truly will give credit there to the coaching staff and the work the men have put in in the secondary. They truly are making plays and making a difference back there.

Will grant you that the San Diego defense was not as impressive as years past. Denver was supposed to have a elite pass rush capacity; the Falcons did a marvelous job keeping it in check. Agreed. But going back to last year, Clabo has had issues. And given the trend that has continued, preseason and into the regular season with him, it is a reason to be concerned. Whether injury or whatever, something is not right with Tyson Clabo. And it is not just one game. He has looked bad all season long. He has been “suspect” and it caught up with him big time on Sunday.

Agreed. It needs monitoring. But I disagree with you. It is a pending Code Red if we can not correct it and do so soon.

Again, thanks for keeping me in check. I always appreciate a good teacher.

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Charles Johnson is a good DE but he is not that damned good.

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Seminole Warrior
HCMS referred to Clabo having a problem with his hip–which can really reduce your power and maneuverability–I’d be curious to know just what the problem really is(as would D-line coaches everywhere). Charles Johnson is good enough that he was our first choice over Ray Edwards but CAR gave him a mega-deal leaving us with a player who has yet to show up in a major way.
I know it could all fall to pieces any time but this has been an awesome month of ball for DawgaNoles(TM) and Falcon fanatics–just keep it going guys…..

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Waynester, will give you those points. If it is a hip issue and it clearly is impacting his power and range of motion as you suggest, then CMS is a damned fool in letting this be a potential risk to both Clabo AND MR2. Get dude evaluated, treated/rested if needed, or make a move. You can not roll the dice and risk a potential season changing injury to your QB or RB on the possible iffy health of your RT. Johnson is a guard and Reynolds is a natural tackle.

Chuck J. was the highest rated DE coming out that season having posted a monster season prior to free agency. That was his big season, the 2010 year. Like Edwards, Johnson was the benefical one having played next to a superior pass rusher. Johnson had Peppers opposite him until the 2010 season in which he (Johnson) broke out. Likewise, Edwards had Allen opposite him until he left for ATL.

Since getting their deals and becoming the “man”, they both have underachieved. Records review show that they have one or two monster breakouts (still waiting, Ray) and then disappear.

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Cocoa Mel moment…

Going to test my waters tonight for the first time. Hope the young man plays well for me.

Check out the USC versus Utah game tonight. DT Star Lotulelei will be on display for the Utes.

A 6′4, 325 massive presence in the middle at NT/DT, this guy is on the Cocoa Mel’s scouting radar as I seek to find ways to shore up the interior defensive presence.

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My game so far on OL go to Reynolds for now, i was the the first to dog him out before season started, but i have to admit he have step up 2 the plate the first 4 games.

GO FALCONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-falcons-blog/2012/10/04/asante-samuel-says-the-defense-has-a-long-way-to-go/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_falcons_blog

Interesting. I do like the fact that Samuel is being direct to the point of harsh….

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Not agreeing on the Lofton factor – he’s a great run stopper, but not so good in the pass rush, even less so in coverage. This was about money and a position that wasn’t going to get but so much use. Are we having trouble against the run? Yes, we are. But look at other positions…I’m just not seeing it, especially with the speed and sudden-ness of Nicholas and Spoon out there. Dent isn’t ready, we all see that…don’t know if he just needs some seasoning or what…what I do know is we should move to a 3-4 defense next season…just sayin’….

The DE play is obvious, as SW says. I hate to be wrong about Ray Edwards, but it’s clear that I am just plain wrong about him. Dude is a decent run stopper, gives us not much as far as pass rush.

Biermann looks more and more like a natural 3-4 LB every day. Love to have him playing standing up.

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Regarding the O-Line, the trend is there…

It’s been there since last season. I know we’re employing a different blocking scheme and what not, but, considering we’re coming into this season with O-Line questions, every game is fair game as far as ‘analysis’ is concerned. I’ll admit, the O-Line has held up well overall. But, there’s no denying at this point that the right side of this line is suspect. In week 1, it was Clabo who allowed that first sack. Week 2 against the Broncos, it was Dumervil coming around Clabo to get to Ryan late in that 4th quarter. And then this past week, it was Clabo again who was getting beat up by Charles Johnson.

Now, I don’t consider that knee-jerk. I don’t remember if he gave up a sack against SD, but I know he’s given up a sack in 3 of the 4 games we’ve played this season. I consider that a trend, and that points to a vulnerability on the right side of the line.

I have no problem with your approach BL. It’s not as though your speaking outrageous when you try to calm the tension and concern, because you’re right, it is one game. I think you make a valid point about the run defense and how we should wait and see how this facet of the defense is addressed. Mainly because Smitty’s done a good job during his tenure to secure the run defense. But, I can’t say the same about the O-Line. The O-Line isn’t working with the same leash. They came into this season with something to prove after last season’s playoff debacle. And although they’ve played well for the most part, you can’t fault any fans for throwing up the red flags after a performance like we saw.

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SW / BL — I’d like to jump in on the run defense debate if you don’t mind. I’d have to agree with Big Lou on this one. I think that Dent is getting a little unfair criticism so far. I do think he’s seeing some major growing pains, but if you think about it, he really hasn’t been featured that much until it’s necessary. He barely saw the field in KC and didn’t even touch it vs. Denver & Peyton. I can’t remember how much he played against San Diego, but knowing how much Rivers likes to pass, probably not that much. So essentially, this was Dent’s main playing experience and he had to deal with (s)Cam and a good running attack (should be one of the best with (s)Cam, Stewart, Williams, and Tolbert).

I think it’s a little premature to call him a bust or a reach after basically one game. And here’s the kicker of them all. Remember that former Pro Bowler we signed as insurance that was looking to make a comeback and looking good before he tore his pec muscle? Remember Lofa Tatupu? Injuries are a part of the game, but TD did hedge his bets with Dent/Losing Lofton with Tatupu ( a very low risk, potentially high reward pickup).

I mean sure, I would have loved to keep Lofton as much as anyone, but I think that TD made a calculated decision based on money, other looming free agents coming up (Spoon, Ryan, etc) and where Nolan would be taking this defense and Lofton simply was an expensive luxury we didn’t need. I’ll agree that Dent, at the time, was a bit of a reach, but we thought the same thing about Corey Peters Throw in the fact that Mark Richt-coached players are usually always under-developed (check out Geno Atkins and Blair Walsh among tons of others) and I guess he gets the benefit of the doubt for now. I do also agree that we need some serious infusion at OLB since Nick is heading to 30 soon and Spoon is the only main LB stud we got.

Also, (and I know this is a little snarky) looking at the Saints with Curtis Lofton at MLB is officially the worst defense in the NFL doesn’t help either. To be honest, I’ll take a weaker run defense in exchange for a more aggressive, takeaway defense that defends the pass well.

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D3

Amen. I don’t see teams winning the Superbowl with only the run.

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I would like to chime in on the A. Dent convo. This is his second year on the roster, he’s a middle linebacker, stopping the run should be instinctive for him. Hell, you could put a refrigerator in middle and it could make a tackle on occasions. I would have to respectively disagree with those that say he will have to grow into the position. I would be more inclined to give him (Dent) a pass if he were stopping the run, but struggling in coverage, he lacks in both. Say what you will, there are several 2nd and 3rd year middle linebackers in the NFL tearing it up. IMO, he lacks talent.

And another thing…Why is Mike Peterson on the Roster? active each game thus far, but not playing? If he’s getting paid to be a cheerleader from the sidelines each week, I rather Coach Smith and staff, replace him with one of the ladies from the cheerleading staff…at least that would be more pleasing to the eyes. Just my opinions.

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I agree D3 about Dent and that we need some patience while the he gets some reps in live action, however I do wish we could have seen more of Pat Schiller, who looked pretty agressive at MLB in a couple of preseason games. I would be curious to know why Schiller was expendable enough to leave unprotected on the PS. It may be he was dinged too much or simply wasn’t a special teams ace.

As far as Lofton, I don’t believe it was all a money thing. Even though he was a tackling stud, his pass defense and stone hands were a real problem and it wasn’t getting better. I think it was an opportunity that just presented itself to Dimitroff to free up money, with thanks to Lofton’s pricey free agent market price and Dent’s competency and production in last year’s practices.

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Just watched the Cards vs ATL-West Rams game. Thank god we didn’t select Massey in the draft. There is gonna be hella competition in next years draft for O-linemen. The Rams DE’s and front 4 pressure in general makes me mighty jealous.
Congrats Falcons being last undefeated NFC team and one of only two in league. The Rams don’t need Pead, would like to see a trade for the little guy, would solve kick returns and a pass catching back all in one.

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Big Lou ,

You are SO RIGHT about the gap thing on DL. I switched back and forth between NT and DT when I played. Started off as a LB but gained weight/size/strength, so got moved to interior D-Line.

Gap scheme changes used to be problematic at times. One thing I hated more than anything else, a huge guard pulling from the other side that I didn’t see coming. Only happened to me twice…that was all it took, LOL. Kept my head on a swivel after that. But they often had trouble with me because I’m only 5′11″….many DL guys were 6′1 or better.

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Big Ray,

Hope that your recovery is going well and that you will be home very soon. Great insight from the hosptial couch though.

My bro, I too think that the Falcons will move to a 3-4 defense next season. There are several bigger DTs available in next years draft and I can see where there will be a few LB candidates available to beef up the corps for the Falcons.

Several of the contracts that were given this past off-season, according to K Strick and D3, are not as bad as I (SW) thought they were in terms of the salary cap. I’m still very cap nervous (and still learning the process from my brothers) but I can see where a couple of “prominent” Falcons will not be in the mix next season. The youtrh movement will increase next season if for no other reason than MR2 is going to get SERIOUSLY PAID in very short order.

Speaking of pay the man NOW or ASAP, it would be in the best interest of the Falcons to do so. Why? There is a slimy snake out there with a deep set of pockets that I think will be looking VERY soon for a quarterback. Not because he does not need one; he will be looking for one because he does not TRUST the one he has. And it is not the QB’s fault. The team in question is a mess; they have a head coach that is a joke, an OL that is a disaster, and they can not run the ball with any element of consistency. And I am not talking about the Arizona Cardinals or the New York Jets.

The greatest threat to us regarding MR2 possibly will come from the Dallas Cowboys.

Let me be clear. MR2 loves ATL and I really think he will want to stay in the ATL long term. But keep an eye on the snake that is Jerry Jones. Dude wants to win NOW and if he can get the right QB and is willing to give a guy like Cowher a chunk of the control over personnel, stranger things have happened. Again, not saying it will happen BUT it is something to watch.

The Rogers contract with Green Bay will be telling. If Brees got $100 million ($60 million guaranteed), what do you think the market will be for Ryan. I know the contract still has two years on it (2014) but the original deal was for six year, $72 million (34.75 mill guaranteed). You can easily increase that by a minimum, MINIMUM, of 25% as a starting point for the future negotiations.

The transition and the stability moves are just beginning.

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My man Lotulelei gave you a flash of what he could be as the centerpiece of a Mike Nolan defensive front. He was disruptive and did you see how dude moves for a 325-330 pound man. Dude reminds me of a young Vince Wilfork when he came out of the”U”. Was not flashy but was disruptive and he made those around and behind him better.

The Utah defense is young and still has some growing to do. But the upside is there. And it starts up front with Star.

Wait a minute….a defense that has some growing to do. Where did I just hear that comment?

Ohhhhhh yeah, here in ATL.

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Oops…I gave you three names. Georgia public schools and math. Damn it!!

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Is it Sunday yet?!

Falcons 34-10 over the Redskins. I think we learn from our mistakes against Cam and shut down RG3.

And who else is excited to get Corey Peters back after the bye week?

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LOL, nothing but love for them, D3. Could not have become what I was without the professionalism, the commitment, and the love of the teachers in the Thomasville City Schools. Luv ‘em and I let them know it when I see them now…..

Snack, I will glad to see him added to that rotation. Looking forward to him and Hip Hip as the pressure points opposite a true BIG MAN in 2013 as I hope we move to the 3-4.

Yes, I am getting rid of both Abe and Edwards as I move to the 3-4. Details in a future posting in the offseason before the 2013 draft.

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Key to the game Sunday. Rush defense.

Right now, Washington is doing a fine job with its rushing attack. Meanwhile, the Falcons have one of the league’s worse rush defenses. No my words…simple facts….the league stats support it.

If Shanahan and Co. can control the clock with the rushing game as well as a strong intermediate passing presence, one that does not put RG3 into pressing situations, this game has the potential to be just as close as what we saw this past Sunday.

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“Nolan’s more successful packages drafted that key MLB presence as he moved around the league. Especially in his 3-4 schemes. The Jets drafted Marvin Jones and Bryan Cox. The Ravens drafted Ray Lewis. The 49ers drafted Ray Lewis. And when ATL moves to the 3-4 next season, which they should, they will draft an interior linebacker that will bring immediate presence OR they wil acquire a young FA 3-4 stud that will be the cornerstone for an interior defensive overhaul.” ……SW

Ooops. Major mistake. The 49ers, under Nolan, did not draft Ray Lewis as we all know. They took the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, Patrick Willis. Yeah, that Patrick Willis. The dude we passed on for some ione hit wonder guy from Arkansas named Anderson.

The SAME 2007 draft, the one in which we had 11 picks, and let such names as Darrelle Revis, Jon Beason, Dwayne Bowe, Joe Staley, and Ryan Kalil get away.

But it was the year, 2007, in which the fraud in the front office was exposed. Petrino and McKay. Enuf said.

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SW ,

Made it out of the hospital yesterday morning, around 1000 hrs my friend. Been home since, with my wonderful wife trying to take care of my every need (I’m a strong and stubborn guy, so it’s been a slight struggle, LOL).

I see you are STILL on fire….keep it up.

I’m with you on Nolan and some personnel changes. I hope so fervently that we go to a 3-4 defense. The potential is SO much better, especially with our existing personnel. You only have to draft certain kinds of DL players, and there are always more LBs to pick from that can be developed and fit into your schemes.

You’re dead-on about the game against Washington. Stop the run and we have a shot. Don’t stop the run, and we’re either in a shoot out or going for our first loss of the season, one way or another. Doesn’t get any simpler than that…

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You can follow this link to a pretty good evaluation about what to expect. In short, a darn good game!
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000069120/article/peyton-manning-vs-tom-brady-falconsredskins-head-week-5

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Paddy O

I also saw the QB clobbered on pass plays. I wonder if that’s why we let go of Dahl, hmmm? This is a more pass HEAVY offense now.

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Hey, where has old Matt “CHOKE” Ryan been all week? Has anyone heard from him? Wow, with Matt Ryan named NFL player of the week, leading the universe in QB rating, his team undefeated, I guess there’s just not that much to criticize — especially after the way he won the Carolina game, in major CLUTCH fashion, about as far from choking as you can get.

Inevitably, though, the Falcons will have a bad game (they probably won’t go 16-0), and when they do — watch out!! Old Matt “CHOKE” Ryan will blog here every 15 minutes.

But for now — good riddance!

HA HA

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BR,

Accountability? Am I dreaming? Did Dirk dare mention accountability?

That rare element that we have all been screaming for to improve with the Falcons!!

Damned!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stdi-1tIUhM

I love it!! To have Dirk say that he not only holds his players accountable but himself is a SIGNIFICANT change in philosophy for this team. It surely seems that Mike Smith made the correct call in this guy.

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Again not able to check into the cage as much as usual but when considering this last game, one has to check in if only to give a HUGE rah rah. I don’t want the Falcons to peak to early, it would be easy to talk about them peaking considering their start, but at the same time they in my opinion they haven’t put a complete game together yet and that’s not a complaint. Defensively, there’s been a lack of real pressure, but a great job at disguising what the D is doing, I expect this area to improve.

Offensively, the birds fit the new mold of what football has become, an offense that is explosive, attacking and dictating, yes DICTATING, haven’t been able to say that in quite some time. At the same time they haven’t figured out how to really deploy the offense, considering all its weapons. Yet again I say that not as a complaint, its to acknowledge the fact that the birds are alot further alone early in the season then I thought they would be, even considering the schedule. For that matter what is consideration of the schedule, many picked SD to win the AFC West, there have been many that picked the Panthers to win the NFC South, with Manning Denver even got some extremely high expectations, and KC expectations were high until Cassel faceplanted. Who expected anything from Arizona, Seattle, Minnesota, Washington, St. Louis, and the list could go on. Strength of schedule is determined by the previous year results, and because those results change every year which is what the NFL wants, I can’t short change the Falcons, they haven’t beat up on supposedly weaker teams, they have beat up on teams that before the season started, many of the so-called experts had high expectations for, to end a long story, I’m extremely happy with the product that our Falcons are putting out there.

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My ACC brother, hope all is well with you. Better put that call into Tommy Bowden or Ron Zook to come and take over that Georgia Tech program. Too much talent there for what they are doing.

Bowden and Zook know the southeast well. They could recruit well and return Tech to respectability. And that helps the ACC as a whole in the continuous battle to “prove itself” overall.

Give them a call. They both would love to come to ATL I am sure.

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For what it’s worth 11 out if 14 of the talking heads on ESPN picked to Birds to win Sunday. I hope, for once, they are right.

WR, 3:31, Excellent post and I’m with you all the way. This looks liked “We are what we think we are.” And have 12 more games to prove it. A win Sunday will be our best start EVER so we won’t have to worry about the last time we were 4-0. This team, this year, is unlike any Falcon team we have ever been presented with.

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JB, amen, didn’t expect 4-0 but I’ll take it, that being said, I’m not one for moral victories 1st off, but if the Falcons were 2-2 I would be happy because this is as diverse as this team has looked in over a decade. Yes that includes the Vick years, with Vick, they played both bend but don’t break offense and defense and let’s hope Vick bail us out, when he was busy worrying about other business ventures. In the 90’s they had a gimmick offense and no defense, in the early 80’s they actually had pretty good offensive weapons but didn’t feel the need to protect their QB. But now, they are focused on the total package in my opinion, enjoying the ride.

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21, Just found the braves game to see the ball drop between two players. I can’t offer any hope for plays like that.

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Never claimed to have much knowledge about anything. But, my gut tells me we have to rush the ball effectively and stop their rush. If we don’t our passing game could struggle…Just a thought.

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“Pead will be the starter at running back next year for the Rams. Stephen Jackson has asked for and been granted the ability to opt out of the last year of his contract at the end of this season. He will be a FA next spring.” – SW

Hard to say at this point. I watched their pre-season games and they mostly tried to use Pead the same way MM tried to use JQuiz up the middle. Pead is currently behind the 7th round pick Richardson?…not a good sign that they understand the concept of not using him as a feature back. He has the size and durability to do that some but using him fulltime in that role is optimistic at best..moronic is prolly closer to the truth. Making people miss is his game not kamakazi crease squirting like the 7th round guy.
I wouldn’t break the bank trying to trade for him but if they let him go for less than the second they used that is a value win. IF, and it is for sure at his point, they were willing to entertain trade ideas I would try offloading a package of some of our “lost players” with a name guy we are going to drop for salary anyways. I would doubt it but they might go for quantity instead of being stuck with a low round pick that prolly will not excel at what they seem to want him to do.
I don’t know that we would even know what to do with him at this point. We haven’t exactly used JQuizz and Nance in the scat/ outlet pass role to a great degree yet. It is intriguing to speculate, maybe by years end some things will become clearer.

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I know this is a Falcon blog but, since 21 brought up the Braves game, and me being a long time Atlanta resident/semi-Braves fan, to see Chipper, in his last game, making, and admitting, that his error was a major contribution, if not the reason, for the Brave’s loss. che sara’ sara’.

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Unca’ Bob

You are correct to an extent. We need to run the ball effectively, but short passes, screens can be even more effective on keeping RG3 on the sidelines.

It’s just hard to rush on them, compared to their atrocious passing D.

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The Braves need another head coach…

I’m not a huge Braves fan or anything. But, that team has been talented enough for the past couple of seasons now to at least be making some decent to deep postseason runs. And in consecutive years, you allow the Cardinals to knock you out. I understand the new rule implementation (wild card sudden death) sucks, but again, there’s nothing about Gonzalez that makes you see he’s an absolute keeper. He’s replaceable. And honestly, with the amount of talent the Braves have, it’s unacceptable to not even be making it to the postseason in back to back seasons. It’s interesting if you compare th Braves to the Falcons. With the Falcons, we’ve always questioned whether it was TD’s lack of ability to get quality talent or a lack of scheme. Well, I think that questions been addressed. But, with the Braves, it’s much of the same. Do you believe they’ve got the talent to make some noise? Or do you think Frank Wren ain’t cuttin’ it. Regardless, if I was a diehard Braves fan, I’d wanna see some household changes. No tweaks. I wanna see something happen either to the roster or to the coach. Can’t allow back to back seasons go by showing an inability to get to ‘actual playoffs’ without seeing something change…

And again, no big Brave fan here, but Chipper Jones just went out like Keith Brooking (after the infamous 3rd and 16), IMO. Dude’s error cost them 3 runs.

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http://imgur.com/a/9H0Hv

Something funny to read for football fans. You will like it.

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Dawg fans,

First and foremost, avoid injuries. Luck to ya’.

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UB, Dawgs, 1st, get back on the team and quite the assault, etc. charges. You can’t get hurt if you ain’t playing, but, then again, you could get shot if you don’t straghten up.

BL. looks like it. Braves, ka-plunk, Tech, choke, and the Dawgs are already behind in the first 1/4. I guess the Falcons will have to show them how it’s done.

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Clowney aint no joke.

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BL/JB/Birdman: Certainly not what I was expecting after the local radio guys hyped up what an exciting weekend it would be for sports in ATL. Indeed, the Falcons will have to make up for it with a blowout win in DC. If the Birds can’t do it, who can?

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2012 OUT BACK BOWL, SMH

BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE

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South Carolina is quietly becoming D-line U.

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By By Mark . The beginning to the end

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snacktastic… no way Redskins game will be a blowout. It will be a competitive game/shootout.

Are the Falcons offense line protecting Murray? Looks like it. :p

I jest.

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I think that little Sanders guy for SC could out run my dog! No, not them Dawgs, my dog, and he’s fast! The other Dawgs ain’t lookin’ good a’ tall.

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UB, you are correct. He ain’t gonna have to eat no cold biscuits for dinner.

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Somebody please tell me there is no curse in the city.

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Braves had 12 hits and scored 3runs yesterday.

Cardinals had 6 hits and scored 6runs, SMH

Somebody please tell me there is not a curse in Atlanta Sports.

BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE

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Falcons had the best team in NFC with homefield advantage in 2010 and was blown out at home.

Braves fans throw bottles all over field last night like there was a demon in the air whispering say throw bottles on the field, JSUT DAM.

LOOSER VILL CITY, HA

BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE

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Unca’Bob

I saw this coming for the fist 4 games. Anyone who has watched them play has seen it coming to be real.
I mean lets face it they may not be tearable but they are far away from being good enough

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seeing the horror of that infield fly call – called by the post season ump located in LF, i DON’T blame braves fans for venting. however, after the initial bottle toss, some knuckle heads kept tossing stuff. I thought the crew chief should have over ruled the LF ump. infield fly rule was NOT applicable in this instance – and, is designed to provide protection to the offense from shenanigans. selah.

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Gameday versus the Redskin.

It’s raining. It’s pouring. Will this change the scoring?

This is a new test for the Falcons to play in the elements.

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I have the aura of confidence that I feel from the Falcons this Sunday.

They seem confident. They seem hungry. Baring injuries and mistakes, I really feel that the Falcons are going to give it their all today.

And a word from Matt Ryan:

http://slumz.boxden.com/f16/matt-ryan-message-panthers-get-f-k-off-my-field-pic-1823040/

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Great Gameday Cage Family! — I’m going to go college for a minute if you don’t mind, as I see some of you did yesterday and last night. First things first………

UB — As I agreed with you this week, you were dead on about the Dawgs. They were paper tigers all the way. I didn’t think we’d win, but I sure as the hell didn’t think we’d get our tails whipped like that. By far and away, the most embarrassing and most humiliating loss in the Mark Richt Era, and that’s saying a lot. Your boys had a great game, and I’m pulling for them to win the east over those hated Gators. Great game, great coaching, and great performance. I’ll have my crow with hot sauce, pepper sauce, and a side of ranch!

What Do You Want UGA Fans? —

Look, I’m not going to go on the rant of FireMarkRicht.com or anything, because those of you who know me, know my position, which is the same way Coop feels. I’m going to lay it out like this instead. Many realistic UGA fans have lost enthusiasm a while ago because statistics paint a terrible picture since 2005. And before I start my diatribe on Richt and Dawgs, I’m going to say that Mark Richt “WAS” one of the great UGA coaches in history, and will go down that way. But that being said………..

Stat that popped up last night and I took a picture on my phone……..

Georgia Struggles vs. Teams Which Finished Season Ranked

Since 2008 — 2-14
Last 2 Years — 0-9
vs. SEC since 2008 — 0-9
vs. Top 12 since 2008 — 0-9

That stat alone is what I’ve been pointing to for the longest time and it’s simply INDEFENSIBLE……..period.

I said earlier in the year that this is as talented team that GA likely has ever had, certainly under Richt. And then you have that humiliating defeat that couldn’t have been more embarrassing. 35-7 and it could have easily been 56-0. Spurrier pulls his 1st string out and intentionally doesn’t run up the score (guess older age has softened him up a little).

Next >>>>>

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OK guys and gals, got some stuff to do today, so I’ll be watching on delay. I’ll probably catch up at halftime.

GO DAMN FALCONS!!!!!!!

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Forgot one.

5. Can Nolan confuse RGIII? Didn’t seem like we tried to confuse Cam much last week, and maybe you have to be a little more straightforward against running QB’s. But we need to see a better combination of pressure and coverage this week. The Skins don’t have the offensive weapons that Carolina has, outside of RGIII. It would be really impressive if the Falcons defense could pull off another game like they had against the Chargers.

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I hope the O-line shows up ready to play, if not Matt better be ready to move like Jagger!

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Drop by Julio again.

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Julio should have caught that deep ball. But it should have been thrown a bit more into the field of play. The a little bit of an overthrow to HD. Receivers are getting open, so it’s just a matter of time before we make them pay. O-Line stepping up so far. Let’s see how the defense does

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Didn’t I say good tackling? Dent misses sure tackle.

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There’s ya boy Dent…can’t make a tackle.

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Dhunt

It would have been better if he extended outwards… but whatever. That’s why he is slot.

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The defensive backs tackling, making big hits, Decoud with a great open field tackle on Morris, D-Rob with a great blitz sack, and Willie Mo with a big hit on Fred Davis to separate him from the ball. Mkaing me look like a prophet in my own time.

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Absolute crap. Going three and out on this shite defense is not acceptable. Coach needs to fine every offensive player 10k for 3 and outs in this game. Offense looks timid and apathetic so far.

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Gonzo is too slow for that Ryan Pass.

Let’s go D!

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And again, bad tackling by Babs. got to make those plays in the backfield

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Dhunt

You really get on Matt’s case a lot.

Two passes on the first possession were on the receivers, not him.

It was a bad pass to Gonzo, though.

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Turner should have just kept going forward.

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Smart “throw-away” by Ryan on that one.

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Pure garbage. Offense might as well go sit in the tands and let the cheerleaders have a shot.

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Missed?

He was about to get hit.

QBs have progressions, and maybe he didn’t get to Julio.

Also, HD missed the block. Should have been a huge gain.

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I was wrong…..this ain’t a shootout, it’s a defensive struggle. Interesting.

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Big Lou, HD missed a block? Or the defender recognized the play and jumped all over it. He basically had Julio in his grasp before HD was even able to get close enough to make a block. That was just a good defensive play.

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Dhunt ,

And he was running to his side, looked to me like he was on his back foot…so let’s say he throws it and it gets picked off like last time. Then you’d have something different to say about how he f@cked it up.

Or maybe you’re right….and he makes the play. I don’t know. I figured better that than throw the pick because he doesn’t have his full arm/legs under him.

Hell, I’m not like you – I don’t know what Ryan should or is supposed to do on every play.

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Meanwhile, Redskins setting us up with the run.

And Asante nearly picks that pass off.

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Definitely not the start I expected.

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It’s all about the defense that makes the first mistake.

My money is on the Redskins.

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PLEASE! experiment with Bierman in the middle!

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TG needs to play 1 more season.

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Even I don’t know what the hell that play was supposed to be.

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Throwing to Hawley now? What a great gameplan. This game is hard to watch. We should be up 21-0 and instead were fricking around trying to turn linemen into receivers. I got a bad feeling this is our first loss. Terrible game plan outside of the scripted short stuff to set up the long pass. No urgency on offense just pulling plays out of a hat.

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Oh boy.

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Ryan has thrown 3 DUMB INT’s thus far this season…none more bone-headed than that one.

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Screen Pass ,

I had that feeling PRIOR to this game. Redskins are just dangerous enough on both sides of the ball to beat you. A rookie QB and some injuries on defense are, to me, the only reason why they’re 2-2 coming into this game, not 3-1. They’ve not lost a game by more than a TD, if I recall correctly.

That said, our offense is sucking hind tit today. For a variety of reasons.

It’s no consolation, but rather learn these lessons now ….and that’s not saying I’m giving up on this game…just preparing myself in case, heh heh.

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It has been a pizz poor weekend for Ga sports. I hope our Birds get it in gear!!!

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Last two interceptions by Ryan have been to guys who probably never expect to get a pick. But since the Iceman often settles down after he makes a bad play, hopefully this is what was needed to get him back on track.

21 you must have me confused with some Falcon bandwagon troll. I’ve been down with the birds since 1970 when I was 3 years old. I’m never happy with any bad play, much less a bad play that gives up points.

If you disagree with my view of the game and the players, I welcome the input. If you trying to get a rise out of me, you wasting your time.

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Hmmm…Turner not in there on a 3rd and 1? This could be good…or really bad….depends on the play call, coverage, and execution.

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BR, turned out good with HD, don’t you think?

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“Screen Pass ,

I had that feeling PRIOR to this game. Redskins are just dangerous enough on both sides of the ball to beat you. A rookie QB and some injuries on defense are, to me, the only reason why they’re 2-2 coming into this game, not 3-1. They’ve not lost a game by more than a TD, if I recall correctly. ” – BR

The Redskins haven’t done anything to win, just a complete garbage gameplan. Instead of using screens and checkdowns as outlets Koetter is trying to be cute using them as primary plays. A good OC would have already seen they are selling out deep and covering the flats….that should leave the middle open to crossing routes.

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Turner looking decent. Should open up the passing game soon enough.

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snacktastic ,

Yep! Could have even gone for more..

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It’s all good DHunt, not trying to get a rise out of you. I do respect you and your comments.

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Time for the defense to give us a bit of momentum.

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This is just a joke now. Sorry guys, I watch football…when the Falcons learn to play some I’ll be back. Fricking bowling is better than this crap they came to shovel today.

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Well leave if you have to…better than destroying your computer or television, LOL

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An almost sack by “almost” Ray Edwards is then followed up by piss poor tackling. WTF….

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Heck of a play by the Bier Truck….ad that was with him being held, too.

Biermann >>> Ray Edwards…all day every day…

And dang…..they MISSED THE FG! Talk about a break….wow…

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Well, defense made a play and Billy Cundiff whiffs…Gotta tie things up…no excuses….given a break.

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Bad buisness when your MLB is trailing on almost every run play thus far. I don’t know what the answer is…Dent is the wrong one.

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Good Lord, heck of a play by Julio…and damn near a TD a play later.

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Tie this game up. Be in good shape.

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Big Ray

It’s not a touchdown, but it looks like Matt/DK is figuring the defense out.

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Have a hard time defending Akeem Dent. I know he needs some seasoning, but if this is the guy the CS wanted to win the starting MLB job over the previously uninjured Tatupu, I can’t see it happening.

Again, I could be jumping the gun, but I see nothing that gets me excited. Seriously.

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OMG…come ON….tell me that flag isn’t on us…

YES, TD!

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“Well leave if you have to…better than destroying your computer or television, LOL” – BR

Just been a bad weekend . Took a breather lol. Notice when we go hurry up we move right up the field, no bullspit. We need to stay in the hurry up until we have 21 point leads…no if, ands, or buts. The routes Koetter is using need some tweaking for sure. That play to JJ in the endzone ended up with triple covered fter the othe route cut to a shallow out. If he attacks the seam there it is wide open or the safety cannot go help with JJ. Terrible combos by Koetter in alot of the route trees I’ve seen.

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Damn Tony G is some kind of special. That’s the offense we can run all day against the Skins. Give the defense a little rest and they can stop RGIII, and figure out a way to stop that 7th round draft pick running back, Morris.

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NO WAY we are this bad against the run. Somebody on that defensive front seven needs to step up and make a play. Babs keeps putting his hands on Morris in the backfield but not making plays. And where oh where is Peria?

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And just when I get on his butt, Babs makes the play in the backfield. This first half could have gotten way out of control.

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Dhunt ,

One thing about Morris – he’s done that to every team they’ve played, so it ain’t just us. Dude is 5th in the League in rushing. Nobody saw it coming.

On the other hand, you have our run defense pegged…it’s the DTs…Babs isn’t as good as he has been in the past, and Jerry is simply not good. He gets some penetration every now and again, but we are missing Corey Peters.

I say play Vance Walker as a starter…and let Jerry be the backup. We need another DT, but I felt that way in the draft….I can’t wait for the development of that brutishly strong youngster we have on the bench…Mr. Travian Robertson.

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Big Lou ,

You’re right…unfortunately, that is Dent’s only saving grace at the moment.

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“I’ll say this for Koetter – the adjustment was made, as slight as it may have been, and we marched right down the field. Gotta give credit to all of our guys for that one.

Koetter’s routes DO need tweaking. But I’ll take in-game adjustments and lessons along the way if it yields bigger wins down the road, if you know what I mean. You don’t learn anything by being perfect…” – BR

He is better than MM…not sure that alone is a compliment tho lol. His offense has alot of organic variety but it can be “disjointed” in that it attacks one way at a time. We never seem to fool anybody..runs and screens are being telegraphed somehow, really need to work on blending those better. Skins are playing a BVG type defense and we all know that most teams had no problem carving that up. Hopefully Koetter will see the donut hole and stick something in it .

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32 passes in the first half is too many for the amount of points we got out of them, but at least we shut their offense out.

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Don’t know about y’all, but there seems to be a difference in our run defense when Vance Walker is in the game. Evidenced on those last two plays where Morris was carrying the ball…

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Dammit…close to a first down

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Awesome third down stop.

Vance Walker and Sean Weatherspoon….

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Franks is going to lose his job soon.

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Gotta be careful here…yet aggressive…need to get the hell out of this territory, Redskins will be looking to make a play and either score or get their offense in great position to do so.

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Big Ray, maybe Walker has finally gotten out of Mike Smiths dog house. Dude plays well when in the game.

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Even I knew he’d go to Tony G on that one. Not the best play call.

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Did not like that play, it was set to fail. Like this drive.

WTF, man.

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Redskins got away with PI….dude didn’t have his head turned around or anything, fingers all inside Julio’s helmet, elbow on his chest, everything….that was a blown call, don’t care what anybody says.

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This game is looking rigged.

Bad calls all game.

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They better give us that one…they just blew the PI call….

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That better be a fumble!

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F@ck these refs. Give them two straight calls like that.

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What is up with guy hitting JJ in the face? How is not not called….

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Hadn’t had a chance to catch up on the comments just yet, but I’m going to go ahead and eat some crow…….

Akeem Dent is looking BAD! at MLB. I tried my best to defend my former Dawg, but he’s looking bad. Hopefully, he can get better, but he gets blocked as easy as the Dawgs did last night. I’m all on board to put either Bier or Spoon at MLB and move Bier to ILB or OLB permanently. We have plenty of DE’s, but we just are very weak with our MLB play.

Still not saying we should have kept Lofton for that price, but it’s an area that needs addressing immediately.

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And then they get the 1st down call on top of that.

Wow. Nice second half home cooking.

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Lineman just pulled down a linebacker on that run.

No call.

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BL — saw that too. I think it was DeCoud

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SOMEBODY — he is a Mark Richt coached player, after all.

SPOON JUST LAID THE WOOD TO RG3, WELCOME TO THE NFL ROOK!

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That’s what you get for running against the Falcons.

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LOL…but Cundiff’s nuts are sweating….

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ATL fans chanting “choke”. Now that’s funny.

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Welcome to the NFL young man. you got Spooned!

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Good job holding 3 on that…

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No spoon, meant to say dent.

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It’ll surprise the Hell out of me if RG3 returns. If I read his lips correctly, he was refering to one of the trainers as Mommy…

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D3

I think this is playing into the Falcons hand to be honest.

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Playcalling sukkks today!!!

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We got Gonzo, JJ, white, HD and we are calling plays to Hawley? OK, we got vindicated.

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Mularkey sent in a clone and stole Koetter’s body. That must be it.

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Thought Ryan was gone/down for a second there. But he gets away and gets the 1st down.

HD falls down on that play/gets knocked down. That didn’t help.

Then the pass is too tall for Quizz…pass must’ve been 5′10″ high….

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RG done for the day.

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Seems like we are stuck in the mud.

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We need to score here. We need to change the momentum!

Also,

Ryan has passed a whole lot more than made run plays, just saying.

Just bad execution by the offense. Put emotions aside.

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Weak, weak, weak, weak.

We are looking less and less elite by the quarter

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Looks like we’re going to have to win another one ugly.

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Way to man up D!!!

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Big Lou ,

We do need to run more…but with runs like the last couple, we aren’t going to get down the field.

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There ya go, right back where we were…Gotta play this game different with Cousins in there.

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“Screen Pass ,

I’m firing up the truck….bring all the bats you have…we have a beatdown to administer.” – BR

This moron is really showing his arse today. There better be a vat of boiling tar and alot of pillows waiting at the Branch. We have been laughing at the Jaguars for taking MM but now we are seeing why they were laghing at us for taking Cooter. SMH, this pinhead lost this game badly for us today.

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5 drops.

Let’s cool it before blaming the OC.

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Have to give Redskins credit, they are playing us tight, but our no huddle showed exactly how we could beat them..so I’m confused as to why we’re struggling so bad. Except for the fact that we can’t seem to run the ball and appear to be done trying it.

Of course, our run blocking isn’t anything to get excited about, either.

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