Just a funny little note………..here’s the adjectives and verbs used to describe the first 3 games and their titles for posts here in the Cage……..

Week 1 – Falcons Rip Chiefs

Week 2 – Falcons Beat Broncos on Big Stage

Week 3 – Falcons Crush Chargers

………and since………..

Week 4 – Falcons Escape vs. Panthers

Week 5 – Falcons Edge Redskins

Week 6 – Falcons Squeak by Raiders

Just thought that was pretty telling.

Have a good night ‘all. See you in the morn’!

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I think if the Falcons played in the AFC, not only would we have notched a few playoff games, we would have had a few SB appearances.

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1. On scale of 1-10, I am a 9 that we make the playoffs. a 1 that we go 16-0. What happens after that is too far in the future to tell.

2. They are a sign that….well, won’t have the lead every second of the season. But it is also a sign that we have great clock management, a cool headed QB, a rock solid kicker, and a great 2 minute scheme. Hardly a weakness.

3. Where Ryan goes, the Falcons go. I do think teams are adjusting and taking things away… QB in the NFL is hard, ask Philip Rivers, but Ryan is a hell of a 2 minute guy, and he will rebound.

4. Defensive MVP…A credit to Smitty to know how to use an guy with a rep of being injury prone and malaigned, and have so much respect that for Smitty that he left money on the table to sign. A guy like that wants to be here, need I say more?

5. I expect a lot of time to be spend on the oline over the next 2 weeks.

6. RB is a concern. MT is kinda it. Need to draft here.

7. Will be glad to see Peters get back in the rotation.

8. Concerned about LB, hope that Dent starts to show some serious improvement. Where is Bear Woods?

9. Why did GB look human, only to explode on Texas? Offenses are funny that way, I keep waiting for that been explosion, hopefully it comes in the playoffs.

10. I have not seen anything our of HD when to do go to him to think he is the answer. Ryan can go to him if he likes, they just don’t have that mojo, I did not blame MM, and I don’t blame Koetter.

11. Frightening thought.

12. Good question, they just don’t grow on trees. We took a few late rounders, but they are hard to find.

13. I predict we will win some and lose some (god forbid). In the end, I expect to be in the playoffs, but it is impossible to predict how we are playing then, who we play, who is injured, etc.

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And Norv Turner ain’t no Smitty.

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These fans are not loyal.. these fans don’t deserve explanations, these fans just need to spectate and enjoy the Sunday hangouts in town.. the falcons are fine, do you go all out on a average looking girl?? I wonder how deep they went into the playbook.. last three games were somewhat experimental .. like linemen catching passes wtf.. but really, when you know how strong you are why flex.. NFL is a business so blowing teams out every weak would be boring and setup for failure come playoff time when there’s no secret sauce left .. so Smith is working on things we didn’t do well in the first 3 weeks.. how many teams can score in 40 seconds? Falcons are constant work towards perfection and those in the locker room have bought in .. Be a loyal fan or cheer for another team.. Go Falcons!

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Falcons fought hard to beat two teams coming off their bye week. We played terrible both those games and barely beat the Redskins. No team is perfect, and we can’t demolish every opponent we face, but Matt Ryan played terrible that last game against a team that struggled with turnovers before us. We didn’t get the run game going, Quizz is looking like a bust, the O-Line is regressing, the defense played terrible. Can’t wait to get Corey Peters back, and I hope a week’s worth of rest does the team well. Hopefully we come back rejuvenated and not fall off like the teams we played coming off the bye.

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Wabe in previous blog – “Also, I’m curious, when is this ‘honeymoon’ period for this regime gonna end? A lot of folks get tied up into this notion that because they’re the ‘best regime this franchise has ever had’ and ‘they came in here when we were at rock bottom and pulled us out of it’, criticism against them is blasphemy, or that firing them would be inconceivable. ”

My opinion it will end when the regime doesn’t use the talents of the current gifted players to win a Super Bowl. There is a “window” of opportunity to harness the talents of a specific number of the players who are above the rest.

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[...] to Original Content From Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog): read more Related Articles Share About Author [...]

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FFL
Fock you Rivers, you sukk!!!

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I’m going to be killed by UGA alums, but why are we pampering Dent? Two penalties, was it? We have to fix the Oline or Turner will again have no shot for a scamper into the endzone. I don’t rag on the D too much for the Raiders game because they were on the field so long that they were existing only on fumes. Maybe Clabo is hurt or maybe he’s feeling protected as the player representative, but until he becomes a wall, that is not his “highest, noblest purpose.” We are ripe to lose to PHI, dang it, if we don’t get some fixes. (Losing to another team would not be as painful.) That being said, it is nice to be 6-0.

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“Split down the middle” is right. I’m happy about 6-0, but not as happy as I’d be if it didn’t look like the team was about to fall apart.

Philly may have their issues, but they’re not to be underestimated. I’ll look at that game to see if any more worry is justified. Let’s hope the Birds get the most out of the bye week.

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MR2’s play has digressed over the last three games. The OL is terrible in the run game. Clabo has become a turnstile in pass protection. Turner isn’t effective until he gets to the second level and I don’t see what Quizz brings to the table. The D is soft against the run and gets burned by their aggressive play at times.

Having said all that, the Falcons are 6-0. Withoiut question the coaching staff sees the same weaknesses we do and I’m sure it will all be addressed (with the exception of the OL; if history is a guide, the Falcons will stubbornly sink or swim with the current OL set-up).

Proud of the 6-0 start, but have the “hinky” feeling I had back in 2010 when we eaked out numerous nail-biters . . .

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Our D won the game, despite the last quarter yard gobbling by Oakland – Palmer is still an above average QB. Last post somebody indicated that our new coordinators were “proven”. I agree on Nolan; Welcome Back proved exactly what last year? He has shown a tendancy to call plays in the stupid cute universe. So, unless we have vastly overrated our talent, I blame Welcome Back for misdirected play calling and game planning. However, whose idea do you think it was to make Mike Turner a receiver? He is not good at it. Plus, HD and Quizz have dropped passes – those errors must be cleaned up. Our O line was good against Denver – who as you saw last night can excel. So the question is, why is our O line failing now? The O line was pure awful against Carolina – I hoped it was a peculiar aberration – but of course, every D coordinator we play against is looking at what worked for Carolina. Yes, the Skins have a great coaching pedigree, and RG3 – but Oakland? Only excuse – and it is an excuse – is that they were coming off their bye. We need to dominate the lesser teams. I smell 2010 all over again.

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Good moniker for the 2012 Falcons: Smitty’s Jekyll and Hyde Team. But, I do suspect they were running some offensive experiments against lesser teams – stupid cute. Almost cost them 2 games. Luckily for Smitty & Co, Ryan continues to pull his butt out of the fryer.

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It’s too easy after a game like the Raiders to comment about the Falcons’ performance. A kid could have offered up a close resembling list of “what we need”… The Falcons had a bad day and Smitty, DT and DK already know what the weaknesses were and are prior to going into the game. We have needs and this year some were addressed and next year others will be. Coining a popular phrase these days, “Are we better off than a year ago?”…. A couple of standout remarks imho were just ill informed. Regarding the TE position we have the best all time receiving TE ever and he may very well stay around another year. Only he knows. He is mentoring Palmer and Gallarda, both of whom are better blockers than TG. Both of them and particularly Gallarda are good receiving TEs. They just have not been given the opportunity in games – because we have TG. So yes to your question , “Would we really like to see Hawley and or Gallarda on the field more as a TE – not Hawley but Gallarda for certain. The PI called on him in the end zone in the Carolina game was just BS and he was open. He doesn’t dop footballs and neither does Palmer. We have a number of talented WRs and Ryan is spreading the ball around. Not a bad problem to have. If TG retires TD will draft a top ranked receiving TE and we’ll continue on. So D3 come back after the season is over and revisit this article…..

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As the glass half-full guy, I will answer your questions and be the homer of the franchise’s first 6-0 start.

1) Simple Kickoff – where’s your confidence level after week 6?

Highest it has been since the Falcons went on that Super Bowl run years ago.

2) Are the come-from-behind wins still a strength or are they now a weakness?

Against Carolina, it was a strength. Redskins wasn’t really a comeback… Raiders was a bunch of self-inflicted wounds. Still, it takes a lot of heart and resiliency to drive down the field to kick the field goal to prevent overtime.

3) What was up with Matt Ryan’s bad day: one awful game or disturbing trend?

There has been a trend on him throwing an INT(bone headed ones, too) the past four games, so he needs to be more aware when he is surveying the field. If we are going to get on the Oline after a couple bad games, then we need to do the same with the Ice man. Make him run more no huddles, create more play action, or do whatever you need to do to make Ryan more comfortable in the pocket. But, at the end of the day, we can only blame the Oline for so long. Out of Matt’s 6 INT this year, 4 have been on him, and two on the offensive line. I doubt he will have another bad game–expect a bounce back.

4) Is John Abraham nearing potential Ring of Honor status soon? Can he keep up this pace all season?

Mike Nolan is doing good on limiting his snaps and putting him a position to make plays. So, I think he will keep up the pace.

5) Is the Falcons offensive line finally due for a shakeup? What would your starting 5 be at Philly?

I would wait till after the Philly game–that’s just me. Oline cohesiveness is very important. Replacing people would make that game even worse, imo. A bye week does not equate full speed games. I would wait till we play a team with a weaker dline.

6) What should the Birds do @ RB? Is more speed desperately needed?

Until next year, they need to scheme better around the RBs they have. It just looks like they are trying to make Turner/Quizz adapt to their scheme, which doesn’t fit their strengths. Screen passes, and dink/dunk passing would help open things up for Tuner, though.

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2) Are the come-from-behind wins still a strength or are they now a weakness?

Strength. We won. GETTING behind is a weakness.

3) What was up with Matt Ryan’s bad day: one awful game or disturbing trend?

Disturbing trend, which I blame on Pass Blocking. He DOES need to start releasing quicker again. Wonder if he is hurt from all those blows he has been taking? Wouldn’t be surprised, and would explain a lot.

4) Is John Abraham nearing potential Ring of Honor status soon? Can he keep up this pace all season?

Yes, Yes, depending on the competition (he is stronger against average teams)

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8.) Are the LB issues keeping you up at night? Thoughts on Dent?

Not so much (on staying up at night). Many packages will employ 2 LB’s anyway. Injuries are hurting us because injuries made us so thin there.

It’s an impossible question, but why is the offense digressing so bad?

OL Digressing, aging, No FB, Matty may be hurt after taking so much punishment.

9) Should Harry Douglas or others get more touches?

Yes. He is supposed to be a speed guy, why don’t I see him in positions that we can use it?

10) What should the Falcons do about TE after Gonzalez retires?

Draft. High. Next year there will be a few good TE’s coming out of college, maybe the best in a while.

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7) What’s your thoughts on the DT play?

Good against the pass, and stout IF they run through the middle. They are absolutely God awful if they run to the edges. Luckily, we have decent CBs/LBs to plug up the holes. THEY NEED TO WRAP UP, THOUGH!

8.) Are the LB issues keeping you up at night? Thoughts on Dent?

No. I will give Dent at least 10 games before feeling a bit worried.

9) It’s an impossible question, but why is the offense digressing so bad?

I am not going to act like I am a coach in the NFL, or somebody in the locker room. Yet, I do think the Falcons are just trying to play perfect. Matt is trying to make plays and making ill-advised throws, receivers are dropping easy passes due to over-thinking. I just think they need to calm down and just go have fun. Do not worry about being perfect. As for the digressing comment, which is a bad one, it was one bad offensive game. I do not count the Redskins, because it was poor execution. They threw up points against Carolina. Offense will adjust and bounce back.

10) Should Harry Douglas or others get more touches?

Easier said than done. I feel they have been spreading the love extremely well so far.

11) What should the Falcons do about TE after Gonzalez retires?

Draft, coach one up… target HD more. Who knows? Let’s focus on this year and enjoy it.

12) What is the deal with the Falcons failure to develop ANY OTHER defensive end?

Ray Edwards hasn’t pulled his weight, but I expect them to mold Johnathan Mas. just fine. You only have so many draft picks and money to do things…

13) What side do you fall on: happy to 6-0 and plenty of time to correct problems or seriously worried about what the future holds?

I am the happy to be 6-0 because my job as a fan is to support my team and enjoy the good times. People are entitled to their opinions, and I am okay with that. But, at the end of the day, every fan wants the same thing. It’s easy for me to feel comfortable because we have new coaches. I am willing to give them a chance. Comparing 2010 to this year just seems… off to me. You go from heavy Turner play(MM offense), and soft zone(BVG defense), to a more Matt Ryan heavy offense(DK), and attacking defense(Mike Nolan). The offense is molding Matt Ryan to carry his team when it matters, and the defense is getting molded into a team that makes the opposing QB lose sleep at night. Apples and Oranges, I refuse to live in the past. I do not care how we are beating teams… the Falcons have a different attitude, different leadership, better secondary play and Julio Jones.

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Hahaha Asante Samuel’s tweeting about the Iggles firing Juan Castillo.

“Sometimes you gotta blame yourself, you can’t point the finger at everybody else…ain’t no decline here…rise up”

Gotta love the dude’s swag.

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Big Lou – Excellent points about the differences between Falcons 2010 and 2012.

I don’t see a huge difference with the DC being fired in Philly, the replacement is coming from the staff, and they can’t shift schemes in a bye week. Maybe some motivational impetus, but not sure which way.

D wasn’t their problem, anyway.-

They lost the Detroit game at the last minute on a FG, gave up 26
Steelers beat them but only scored 16
Giants only managed 17 (and look what they did to the 49ers)
Cardinals scored 27, but their O only managed 6 points, so hang that one on the O.
Flacco and the Ravens scored 23, and the Browns scored 16. Both Philly Wins.

Their problem is turnovers by the O, Vick in particular, and changing D coordinators won’t fix that.

I surfed for some stats, and found this:

Philly is 12th in points allowed
while they’re 31st in points scored.

They’ve turned it over 17 times,

( http://www.businessinsider.com/philadelphia-eagles-fire-juan-castillo-2012-10#ixzz29TX8Iynh)

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It’s very fascinating to hear some of the concerns (debates) about our 6-0 Falcons, they are errily simular to last seasons.

I will list some concerns I’ve heard here in the cage…and some simularities that I personally see in this team, compared to last years squad.

1). The offense is beginning to show they have trouble moving the ball with our offensive coord. calling plays. (We scored the first TD on Sunday in the hurry-up, with Matt calling the plays) GOT RHYTHM?!?!

2). Faltering running game.

3). Inadequate use of Harry Doughlas.

4). Offensive Line play…

5). Suspect play calling on offense…………………………..^^^^^^^^^^^^ see #1.

6). Anemic pass-rush.

7). Player development: Sidbury, Antone, Mattews, Maasaquio. if these guys can contribute…give’em
a SHOT!

8). Know identity on offense or defense.

9). Lack of urgency.

The above ^^^^^ are just a few, I could go further indept…but I digress.

If we could form a template of this years team, place it over top of last years, it would start to fit.

We’ve added new coordinators, why are we seeing these simularities rear their ugly head again? All I know is the only two constants are Smith and TD (players not withstanding).

The most glaring simularity from last year, the year before and the year before that, are Coach Smiths stale (redundant) word speak, game after game, year after year ” WE HAVE ALOT OF CORRECTIONS TO MAKE” Hey, don’t get me wrong, I am not calling for anyones Job…some things just gets old over a period of time. Just my opinions…

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I will go ahead and say this to sing a more positive tune.

There are legitimate questions about teams like the Texans and Niners, whether they can handle adversity, or play from behind. Both of those teams seem built more like the Falcons were in 2010. Pound the ball, but not enough offensive firepower to play from behind if they get into the type of game that doesn’t suit their style. I think the Falcons actually now more than ever could actually play from behind if need be. We have the weapons, and we’ve become a more passing oriented offense.

Another note, the Falcons haven’t played their best football, we all know that. But, the last two Superbowl Champions, the Packers and Giants, both had rocky regular seasons until they finally clicked. I remember the Giants lost twice to the Redskins last season. So, yeah, I get that sometimes you’re not playing your best football and teams can certainly catch you any week. But, both of those teams evolved through the season, and found themselves at the right times.

Winning is always good. My only worry is that winning in the fashion we have may result in Smitty and company overlooking the things that need to be looked at, things that’d definitely be looked at if we lost any of those games. I’m not saying they will overlook them, I’m just unsure how much attention they’ll pay to the areas of concern (IE – the O-Line, Run Defense). I know that if those things actually *cost us a game*, Smitty would dedicate all of his time and effort to correct those areas. But, nobody knows exactly how much time he’s been spending working on things like the run defense, because it hasn’t really gotten better from week to week. It’s been consistently bad.

Hopefully we see improvement in these areas coming out of the bye.

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SW, god bless you and your family!

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SeminoleWarrior – You, your new angel, and all your family of course are in the prayers of all.

At 9:11 this morning, the Lord received a gift of a kindred spirit, who was lifted into his arms by not only her deeds (which from your comments I am sure were substantial) but also by the prayers of all those lives she touched on her journey thru our little realm here on Earth.

We, all of us, are ultimately judged not only by our actions, but by the actions of those whose lives we touched inspired, influenced. Your Josephine appears to have made such a mighty wake of bettered lives that it could surely be seen all the way to heaven!

God Bless you and your entire family, and please try to dwell more on her life and absence of pain instead of your grief, loss and pain. She would surely encourage you to do so.

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SW, My condolences my Brother. The cage will open it’s heart of love…and out will fly an abundance of doves escorting your Angel to her final resting place.

May GOD Bless You, Your Family. Stay Strong Brother…

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http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-am/0ap2000000081014/Smith-We-ve-got-a-long-way-to-go?module=HP11_content_stream

——

Tell me really, is Smitty not saying the same exact thing that ‘negative Cage posters’ are saying in this interview…

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Thanks guys…..thanks more than you will ever know.

In memory of my Angel as well as all fallen angels everywhere.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh-ZcWQtWxs

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SW

Stay strong, man. God does not give us tests that we cannot pass. Dig deep within, and be blessed.

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SW,
Prayers for you and yours as always.

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Condolences and prayers, SW.

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@SeminoleWarrior – Condolences to you and your family!!!!!
—————————————————————–

One of the greatest points that this article makes (and I totally agree with) is the fact that the coaches don’t seem to want to try someone else on the O-Line and at running back other than the obvious choices. Where is Antone Smith? (even before he got injured), Snelling?, Harry Douglas?, Kontz?, Holmes? The consistently great teams seem to utilize the talent on their entire roster better than the Falcons.

When you watch other good teams play, their QBs seem to have a lot better protection (as in time to find receivers) and they can open a hole for the RBs….To get the ball on the goal (after Ray Edwards picked up the fumble) and to not be able to get a rushing touchdown in 4 downs was pathetic. The O-Line IS NOT WORKING AS IS…..when you look at the defensive players that they go up against each week, they are just too small to be very effective.

I still don’t get this concept of drafting players who were great/outstanding in that position then the Falcons switch them to a totally different position and expect them to succeed at a high level. I know that you need to cross train for injuries, but Kontz is a great example of what I mean.

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SW, we have been concerned about your absence in the cage and now am sorry to hear of your loss. Know in your heart and believe with all your faith that our Father will help you through these trying times. May He be with you and yours.

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JWW — It’s out.

SW — Thoughts are with you my brother. We all know how special the Angel was to you.

Falcons Bashing — Love some Falcons Bashing from the national media elite, because the experts all know that we’re going to go 3-7 down the stretch, miss the playoffs, implode our stadium, sell our franchise, and never watch the NFL again. I mean, I get it, we’ve not looked spectacular, but we might as well be 0-6 or 1-5 the way these clowns are talking. All that being said, if we go up and lose to Philly, can you imagine how bad it’ll be then?

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I wanted to get that post out the way, but just a special post to SW, if your Josephine was anything like mind, which given the presence you have always shinned upon the cage, you know your sorrow today is going to be filled with joy tomorrow because she made it through this journey. Many don’t realize and I know you do, this journey is a short one, it takes people like the Josephine’s of the world to teach us that. Once they complete this journey for some reason we choose to mourn for them when they no longer have to mourn for themselves, they have to mourn for us in hopes that we end up where they are once we complete this journey. Given how you have talked about her, she expected you to mourn, given how you posted it in this friendly little nest called the cage, while she is DEFINITELY alright now, she knows you will be too. Gems like that never fear death, they fear that they won’t be here to watch over you, and as long as they know you will be alright, they really can enjoy a road less traveled, but a road that ends in unimaginable JOY.

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D3 on TE Gallarda and Palmer. LOL… I assume TG’s two drops were difficult… Go back and view the rewind on the LB hanging on Gallarda in the middle sit route…. As with every other receiver the Raiders were getting away with holding the entire game. Don’t know why the hate on Gallarda. The TD catch in the Carolina game was a difficult catch even though called back. His reception in the Redskin game was not as difficult. He had a number of receptions in preseason. Did you see the Miami game? And I only focus on WRs and TEs and went back and looked Gallarda and Cone up in college. Both were receiving guys. Gallarda scored every three passes. Cone another unheralded UDFA had a big college career…. Just one last thought for you. Any idea how many UDFAs make up an NFL team…. You might want to revise your assessment…. just saying…

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WR 1:36, I agree about the blow-outs, or lack thereof. We’ve been waiting to see the entire team perform at our best and some are getting anxious. We are squeaking by with 6-0 and that’s just fine with me. At least we are showing that we have the ability to come from behind, even though we don’t play like that the whole game. That ability will come in handy when it’s a win or go home game.
It is not necessary to win every game by 20 – 30 points and even a loss every now and then won’t keep us out of the playoffs. Like you said, we don’t want to peak too early and the theory hasn’t changed.

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SW, I am certain Josephine is one of the Lord’s favorite angels.

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“I should stop welcoming people to the Cage and just start being an @sshole I guess.” – D3

Hey, thats my job !!

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Robert James — One last thing and this will be it. Since you like stats, here’s the top 20 TE’s from this year according to receiving yards, which is my original point (you can find blocking TE’s anywhere):

Player – Round Drafted
1) Tony Gonzalez – 1st
2) Owen Daniels – 4th
3) Rob Gronkowski – 2nd
4) Vernon Davis – 1st
5) Jimmy Graham – 3rd
6) Fred Davis – 2nd
7) Jermaine Gresham – 1st
8.) Greg Olsen – 1st
9) Jared Cook – 3rd
10) Brandon Myers – 6th
11) Jason Witten – 3rd
12) Brandon Pettigrew – 1st
13) Heath Miller – 1st
14) Martellus Bennett – 2nd
15) Scott Chandler – 4th
16) Jermichael Finley – 3rd
17) Dennis Pitta – 4th
18) Jacob Tamme – 4th
19) Coby Fleener – 2nd
20) Zach Miller – 2nd

But hey, maybe your boy Gallarda can be the next…………oh nevermind, ALL OF THEM WERE DRAFTED!!!!!!!!!

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@firedupfalcon id have to say none of the above man, tony G will score first no doubt possibly white or julio but gonzo has been the consistent go to guy so he will score first

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This is a team that has been built for the edge – not the core, so it is too dependent on the play from the edges (receivers and db’s) to win and lose games. This is what has hurt them the last 2 post seasons and is the crux of why they could be 3-3 just as easily as 6-0. Matt Ryan cannot make up for what is lacking at the core. They chose this path when they gave up draft choices and did not make the proper upgrades to the core with FA. Ray Edwards is actually a defensive edge player at DE, so again where is the common sense when it comes to building up the core. You wanna know why run defense is a sieve or why Ryan has too much pressure? You can win games with quickness on the edge, but in the long run and especially where the playoffs are concerned, it won’t take you far. We haven’t been able to win a single playoff game, which is because Aaron Rodgers has all week to throw the ball and Ryan is pressured so quickly that all he can do is throw out of bounds or look for his security blanket in Gonzalez for short yardage. Go Falcons!!!

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SW, thoughts and prayers are with you and yours my friend.

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SW: I am sorry for your loss.

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Paddy O

Turner’s involvement has been consistent since day one of the new season. If anything, Turner has been getting less involved each game. The pass and run ratio has also been consistent. They are passing the ball much more. That’s where all those comments from ESPN are coming from in getting our running game going.

As for your metaphor, I completely agree. I have been preaching player execution. You’re preaching to the choir on those assessments, but I feel confidence/attitude/better defense/explosive(but inconsistent) offense will be adjusted by our newer coaching staff. Who, now have the tools to fix those leaks and get the best proformance out of the engine we have. Examples: DeCoud, Owens, Jerry, ect.

Points I am making is that our new coaching staff will make adjustments and put our team in a better position to win than BVG/MM did. With or without the old pieces.

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well, Brian Billick still likes us.

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JB – from our draft last year, it appears we bought all the high performance parts to fix the tranny; but the old shade tree mechanic does not trust them – instead, he’s milking the old tranny for all its worth. However, if the old tranny causes the high performance V8 (MR2) to throw a rod, then we are stuck in idle. Not good for the fanbase.

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Seminole Warrior.

It was just yesterday I was asking where you were . But my Heart told me that something more than the usual was going on.

My friend my brother I honestly can not tell you how much I feel your pain. I have never met you face to face but from day one 5 years ago when I first came to the cage you made me feel welcome here and I knew then you were one of the true men of God and honer that I have never met. I feel as if I have known you all my life.

Your Angel has made her final destination to the infinite life and reward that we all await.And there is no doubt in my mind that( as you have said ) she is sitting beside our Lord and Savior; The God Almighty. Be Strong for your family as I know you are . She has ended her small speak of a life here on earth . Now its for ever with God where she awaits you my friend.

You and your family are in my prayers that your hearts will be comforted in your loss..In your time of mourning pick up your Bible and read it. It has always helped me.
B-Basic
I-Instructions
B-Before
L-leaving
E-Earth

I am sure she read hers often . God Bless You Brother

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Good article by our buddy Scott Carasik over @ Bleacher………

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1372525-why-matt-ryans-week-6-regression-an-ominous-sign-for-atlanta-falcons-super-bowl

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Whats up cage. Great writeup D3, I agree with just about everything you said.

Some of the holes this OL is opening up would benefit greatly from a RB with speed who really knows how to run north and south. I know A. Smith has been hurt all year, but he has shown he has a gear that Turner and Rodgers both lack so I wonder if we might see him get some oppurtunities once healthy.

One thing I really want to comment on is how Babineaux is playing. That dude is playing off the chain defense right now. He was awesome Sunday. After watching the game and then watching the replay, Babs dominated many times while being double teamed as well as singled up. I wanted to give him a shout out.

I hate to keep harping on Dent, especially since we are 6-0 Baby!!!, but he is not giving us anything against the run. Literally nothing. I don’t know what his tackles are this season but I would be surprised if he is in double digits for the year. I know for a fact he can’t have double digit solo tackles, he might of picked up some pile-on assists along the way but that’s about it.

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Well , I stand corrected, through six games our MLB has 11 solo tackles. I was curious so I looked it up. I’m seriously thinking those stats may be padded so as not to embarass him to much. I’m amazed he has been credited with one more than double digits on the year.

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Seminole Warrior,

I am so, so sorry to hear about the passing of your beloved Angel.I know you will remain strong my friend, because your Family needs you. That’s what loving warriors do. The Manion family will hold you in our prayers.

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lol

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On a lighter note, someone asked about Bear Woods, MB I believe. He apparently is still under contract in Canada, nursing an injury, and saving his money.

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Check out Matt Ryans record, his numbers and come back wins. The dude has carried this team on his shoulders for years with a piss poor O-line and a half-ass OC. “He is not a real NFL QB” is the most stupid statement I have ever read!

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Lets see whats going on among the league leaders:

9esr get killed by NJ
Texans get Rogered
The mighty Pats are in a dogfight with the jets, Miami and Buffalo at 3-3
Philly fires their coach, tied with team we handled with ease
San Diego, lol, Brancos, beat them

But yea, I am really worried about the Falcons. I said there are no bad teams in the NFL, I got criticized pretty bad….I admit, I am wrong, there and no GOOD teams in the NFL

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First and for most great win by the Falcons.

Okay now let get down to the nitty gritty, if the Falcons are going to have a chance at the superbowl this year it’s is imperative the Falcons address the OL, Ice Man is looking bad because of the offensive line with guys getting push back in Ryan face forcing him to have no pocket present.

OL must be fix if the Falcons are going anywhere in the playoffs.

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

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1) Simple Kickoff – where’s your confidence level after week 6?

Ok. Feel great we’re 6-0, scared about our flaws. Run D, O line and being thin at linebacker is not good. The weak running game too isn’t good and needs to get going, and we’ve been horrible running the ball ever since Ovie went down last year. We need a better fullback, and we need to get better at run blocking.

2) Are the come-from-behind wins still a strength or are they now a weakness?

It’s good because we’re resilient. Bad because we shouldn’t be getting down to the likes of Carolina and Oakland. Especially at home.

3) What was up with Matt Ryan’s bad day: one awful game or disturbing trend?

Just a bad game. He needs better protection for the most part I feel like in those situations. And the run game needs to help him. Still, some of those weren’t good throws, but just one bad game to me.

4) Is John Abraham nearing potential Ring of Honor status soon? Can he keep up this pace all season?

Abe seems to have big games against bad teams in the last two years (Jaguars last year, Raiders this year). He hasn’t stepped up big really against a quality opponent in sometime to the level that I know he’s capable of. However, the rest of the D Line doesn’t help him as we can’t generate any consistent pass rush to speak of. He’s been a great player for us overall and his effort is unquestioned, I say yes on the ring of honor. Overall, he has been great in his time here. The more I think about it, he gets little to no help over the years because there’s no one else on the D Line to consistently help him.

5) Is the Falcons offensive line finally due for a shakeup? What would your starting 5 be at Philly?

I don’t know, I think we should go see what’s out there with free agency on the offensive line. I’m upset with Dimitroff overall with his Julio Jones acquisition. Julio is a very good player and has the potential to be great, but we are so limited in our other positions on the field because we traded five draft picks for a WR. A guy who can be a game changer, but doesn’t get the ball in his hands enough simply for the fact that he is a WR. NO matter how great the WR is, it’s not worth it. We are now thin on the DL and the OL because of that move.

And we have no real FB to block in the running game because we got rid of Ovie after he was hurt because we’re moving to a pass oriented attack. Well, we need a better O line if Matt’s going to continue his good season, and to get the running game going because they are giving Burner nothing to work with. Even if he is in decline, the man has no holes ever.

6) What should the Birds do @ RB? Is more speed desperately needed?

Better blocking and gotta see what we can find in the draft next year, or free agency or trade. Burner is in decline, but he’s not done yet.

7) What’s your thoughts on the DT play?

They’ve done decently, getting Peters back will help.

8.) Are the LB issues keeping you up at night? Thoughts on Dent?

Dent is ok, but without Nicholas, we are thin. Spoon can’t do everything by himself. Not getting a back up was a bad move, and even though I get why we got rid of Lofton because of the shift to a Nickel oriented defense, it’s killing our run defense not to have a true MLB.

9) It’s an impossible question, but why is the offense digressing so bad?

Bad blocking, no FB, Turner older. As I’ve said.

10) Should Harry Douglas or others get more touches?

Yes, he should, he can really break one if he gets the chance, and should get more shots, but when you have Roddy, Julio and Tony, it can be hard to be targeting Harry as much, but that’s what makes him so valuable. He’s the guy that not many people are paying attention to.

11) What should the Falcons do about TE after Gonzalez retires?

Look to the draft and don’t use 5 draft picks to get one, eh Thomas?

12) What is the deal with the Falcons failure to develop ANY OTHER defensive end?

I don’t know, but it really bugs me. O Line and D Line are the key to winning Super Bowls. O Line to protect the quarterback and the D Line to wreak havoc on the opponent’s quarterback. That’s one reason NYG crushed us last year and won the Super Bowl. IF we can improve those two facets, we are contenders for a Super Bowl. Until we do though, I fear for us in the playoffs again. This also goes right back to Dimitroff giving all those picks up.

13) What side do you fall on: happy to 6-0 and plenty of time to correct problems or seriously worried about what the future holds?

I’m right on the fence, and as an Atlanta sports fan, I’m cautiously optimistic. I do believe in this Falcons team more than any other I’ve ever watched. But I am seriously worried about O line, D Line, FB and RB.

We must correct these things, and they must be corrected quickly. Improvement or a free agent acquisition should be in order. Is the trade dead line up yet? Maybe we need to make a trade, I don’t know.

Rise up, dirty birds, rise up!

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“SP,

Did I read this right? That claim about Ryan not being a real NFL QB is what really got me tho.
Duece is not an NFL QB? What are you reading?” – UB

It is from a BleacherReport article, if one wants to be polite and call it such. That should be enough said. I get as annoyed by the M. Ryan “elite” stuff as I do the hack attack garbage about his suckitude. Whatever M. Ryan really is, if nothing else he is OUR QB right now and after watching the “elite” P. Rivers massive fail at a comeback last night our fans should be happy that is so. The QB will always get all the blame and all the hoorahs from the majority of casual fans, no problem there as thats just the way things are… BUT…I do think the writer crossed the line with the “no real” QB comment. No real writer would put such drivel and nonsense on display for the world to see.

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ADJUSTMENT NEED TO BE MADE ON THE OL.

HOLMES, BLALOCK, KONZ, CLABO, BAKER

This will allow Falcons to protect Ryan better and also give them more strength up the middle, Turner and Quizz are not able to started because of the lack of strength up front

Lamar Holmes and Konz must starte ASAP or it will be another disaster like last year against the Giants in playoffs.

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

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darrell — What’s up brother? Couldn’t agree anymore whatsoever. Enough is enough. What do we have to lose? Or I’d even try something like Holmes, Blalock, Konz, Clabo, Reynolds. Just try SOMETHING else for chrissake.

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Agree about the O-line though. Later!

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D3, My Brother im done with Dent right now, there is no time for waste when this could be the year for Falcons to go all the way 2 superbowl, Dent just look so far out of place that it’s not even funny lol!!!!!!!!!!!!

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

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Great news about our Punter from Pat Y–
Matt averaged 52.8yds/punt (Net and gross) on 4 punts of 55,45,57&54–best in the league this week–best for any punter in the NFL this season–tied for 3rd best in the league for the last 5 years–best for any Atlanta punter since 1991(when they started keeping track of this stat)….he’s shown steady improvement and with the other Matt(s) Bryant and Ryan, we’ve got quite a trio….

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Coop… wholeheartedly agree.. punted crow tastes very good…

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Coop & LRD
I was very much in favor of us taking Bosher where we did and I believe that once you’ve found a consistent kicker–pay the man. A great punter flips the field for you and a great kicker–well, most games are decided by a FG or less so, they’re worth their weight in gold…
ps do ya’ll remember John James? My brother had his jersey back when we were kids….

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D HUNT, let me help you on the Dent situation when your rank 26th against the run on defense and teams are running the ball straight up the gap, then there is a major issue at MLB.

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

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D HUNT, Why not move Spoon 2 play MLB and let Kroy play OLB ?

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

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And I don’t think Kroy has the speed to be the necessary cover guy that an OLB needs to be. You see how Spoon swallowed up McFadden on the wide outlet passes to the HB? Kroy can’t make that play. I’d almost rather give Kroy a shot on the inside, but I don’t think he has the instincts for that. Keoy might be a decent pass rushing OLB, but right now he’s not showing that he can get to the QB consistently from the DE, even when standing up. He applies pressure, and often that’s enough to make a difference, but he’s not getting the sacks. Not complaining about him, because he’s a high motor guy, and I never had that high an expectation for him to begin with.

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First and foremost,

Seminole Warrior , so sorry for your loss but rejoice in the rejoining of a soul to where it belongs and where it came from. May your grieving be short, but not fruitless.

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Big Ray,

B Thompson-http://www.bengals.com/team/roster/brandon-thompson/98a5866d-b21a-4f38-ba3f-855301057bff/

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I shall humbly defer to the defensive line expertise espoused by our esteemed Big Ray. I still don’t think they’ve played badly, but it’s fair to say they aren’t the world beaters one might hope for. I haven’t had the time to pull all the rush numbers for every game, but it’s been my impression in most games that there are a lot of short runs and/or runs for negative yards, but we get gashed for 2-4 long ones each game and that throws the averages and overall stats over to the realm of looking shaky in the run stopping department.

I’d also wonder if there isn’t still an element of bend but don’t break to which our lowly status on defense can be at least partially attributed.

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Folks like to assert that Abe has great games against lesser opponents – do other “great” player NOT also play against similar lesser opponents? yes, againt top flight guys you are not going to dominate vs. lesser opponents – but, Abe’s dominance in the Oakland game won us the game. Our D has played intimidating ball thus far this year – a ton of highlight turnovers disrupting the offenses efforts. Yeah, we give up some big plays – but if we keep the other team from scoring and score on defense to help the team win, is that a fair/equitable trade? Plus, I think Dent is having some learning curve hurdles. But in the draft, we ID’d LB as a weak point on the Falcons, and the signing of Tatupo – a substantial flyer – failed. So, we still have that problem.

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I’m hoping with the long 2 weeks, we make some adjustments on our O line – letting Konz play RG, and possible Holmes; plus I’m hoping we use Bieerman more at the LB spot. We shall see.

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Holy big post BR! Nice stuff. UB’s link seems to suggest B. Thompson hasn’t started and played in 3 games so far. That doesn’t sound like difference making. I’ll leave the defense stuff to you…I see evidence of individual game planning and in game adjustments by Nolan so I haven’t been as concerned with the D.
Koetter has 2 weeks to work on things, let’s hope he does. It is understandable wanting to be aggressive with deeper routes but he has to realize the O-line is not up to that capabillty full time yet. Our opponents have used similar game plans defensvely the past 3 games and Koetter needs to adjust. Tweak the routes to reflect that even with only a 4 man rush, three seconds is what they are giving Ryan. He needs to better incorporate our running and screen attack to punish opposing defenses that sit in cover 2 deep safety with zone LBs all day long. This should have already been done but we can only hope he figures it out by the Eagles game.

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http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/blogpost?blogname=nfcsouth&id=40423

To those putting the blame mostly on coaching. Falcons are not only undefeated, but leads the league in dropped passes.

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BL, not are we the only undefeated team, there is only one 1-loss team. There are not 0 win team…I am guessing that has rarely ever happened. Sure we have talent, but the other teams have just as much trying to stop us.

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If you throw out the teams that have only played 5 games, there is:

1 undefeated team
3 one loss teams
2 one WIN teams
21 teams with 2-3 or 4 losses, all within 2 games of each other.

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Stat of the Day.

On Sunday, Ryan converted his 19th “tied or come from behind” 4th quarter/Overtime victory (Game Winning Drive). That give him a .633 W-L percentage when being tied, or down one score in the 4th quarter (He has been tied or down one score in the 4th quarter 30 times), passing Tom Brady at .617 for #1 in NFL history with at least 30 opportunities.

Also, the overall list of tied or come from behind 4th quarter-OT victories is:

Dan Marino 51
Payton Manning 48
John Elway 46
Brett Farve 45
Warren Moon 37
Tom Brady 37
Vinny T 33
Joe Montana 31

Ice in 4 years has 19. If he plays 10 more years, he is on track for 65.

BTW, MV7 has 14.

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Our offensive line needs to hold the gap. I think that thwe holes close too fast…js

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MB and I disagree on a lot, but in trusting in the Ryan Express is not one of them. The key to Ryans off play the last 3 games? Bad O line play – especially if you are not expecting it.

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SW, I’m sorry for the late words, I’ve been away. Our hearts go out to you and your family at this time of your Angel’s passing to the great father in the sky. Despair not, and remember all the good she brought into your life, helping to make you who you are today. Which by all accounts is a fine man who we are blessed to have as a huge part of the cage. Your memories of her will always be with you and there for you to take strength and solace in from the life she lived and the incredible meaning she gave to yours. Peace Brother.

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As part of the debate about the current status of the Falcons, now some argue giving up the picks for Julio has cost the Falcons alone the DL and OL. That is a valid opinion but without much reliability. One, the Falcons were already invested in Sam Baker who hasn’t been that bad this year, finally, Blalock is solid, McClure wasn’t yet set to be replaced, Clabo was coming off a Pro bowl year, which left RG as the only potential selection in the 2nd rd, yes the 2nd rd because the Falcons gave up their 1st for a 1st, unless we would assume they could take the RG in the 1st the following year another pick they gave up. Now that’s considering the OL, on to the DL, Abe was solid, there was no solid expectations for the other DE spot opposite Abe, just two years earlier the Falcons drafted a DT and the jury was still out because he suffered a major knee injury and it normally takes a season or 2 before a player comes back from such injury. Babs was solid at the other DT position, so its a reach to believe the Falcons would have went there in the 1st place.

Lastly, there’s reality, when considering reality, one has to consider the draft is like a good game of poker even when not dealt out in Vegas, its all about hindsight. Like Coop, I wanted Dorsey when the Falcons took Ryan, as we eat our crow the logic isn’t lost, it’s alot easier to find a good DT then it is to find a franchise QB. The real truth is that if the Falcons hadn’t gotten anything out of the trade, its a ridiculous trade to have made, but they got one of the up and coming Superstar receivers in the league. Sure the argument can be made, well they could have had such and such, that’s not a reliable argument because even if such and such is excelling now, there was no guarantee they would have with the Falcons, but factually as a Falcons fan you can say that Julio is take the top off of opposing defenses, and causing DC’s great concern, hindsight hasn’t changed, its still 20/20, reality hasn’t changed either, it rarely matches up with hindsight.

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I like the 6-0 start. I hate to say it but they could be in for a hard time against some old foes if thry don’t wake up and get a better game plan. The last three teams seemed to know what was coming. The defence has to learn to stand up and stop teams when it counts. Matt Ryan can not keep called the bring them back at the end of the game.

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“We are a scoring team” – Mike Smith

Not a passing team, not a running team…but a scoring team. Any way you can get it baby!

I like that mentality. This team is a chameleon. It can change its colors to suit the situation. It can go into attack mode in an instant. I think there is more to come from Koetter and Nolan. I don’t believe we have seen everything in the arsenal. We are in the middle of the second quarter of the season. Expect some new wrinkles. Smith will ground this team in his clockwork like workman attitude. Not too high, not too low. A week and a half of Bye time to tweak things and fix things.

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So how does the cage feel about 6-0? Judging by what I have read so far I think the cage is leaning towards concerned optimism. The have been many optimistic posts and a lot with concerns, which is normal. We ALL want the same thing, it’s just that some are more “homers”, if that’s what you want to call optimists, and I am one, and some offer more concerned criticism but the bottom line, as has been said is that we are 6-0.
I can’t quit thinking about the 13-3 season where we won a bunch of games by the skin of our teeth, just like we have won the last three games, and that worries me, BUT, this team has not played anywhere near their ability this year. We know the team is better than the last three last minute games. We will use the next week and a half to study our shortcomings; make some revisions or changes and come out playing a good game against the Iggles. Then we’ll re-evaluate.
I think we will see what this team can do one game at a time. All we want is to see this team get to and WIN the dayem Super Bowl. The, just maybe the media would put us up there with the Skaints.

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MB…you got it right…it ain’t that easy!! Any Given Sunday. I’m not taking anything for granted that’s for sure…all the more reason to enjoy…..6 and Zero!!

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Not dogging Mike Smith here but it is hard to figure out why we cannot dominate a team that we are supposed to. Poor game planning, too easy on the players during the week of practice before? I understand close games against reasonably good teams but damn, we struggle against everyone. Thoughts anyone?

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DePlane ,

Thanks, bro!

Dhunt ,

Please don’t get me wrong. I think you’re on target on much of what you said about Biermann and his sack stats. He has NOT given us enough evidence to assure that he’d be successful at a LB position. I just don’t think that he can with the way that our defense is set up, especially personnel-wise.

I played the game at the LB and then interior DL positions…doesn’t make me an expert. You might want to defer to Big Lou who played there longer, and knows more about it than I do, I suspect.

That said, I have studied it due to interest and I feel that while our DTs haven’t played badly, they are by no means able to dominate in most games, if any.

Domination isn’t necessarily determined by measuring sack numbers or even tackles. It has more to do with creating problems or winning line of scrimmage battles. Key example include:

1) Commanding double teams.

2) Making plays in the backfield frequently, not just against teams with weaker interior OL players.

3) Making opposting teams/offenses/coaches gameplan for you.

Corey Peters was on that road prior to his injury. In fact, he made more plays at the DT position last year and the one before than even Babs. And Babs is clearly our best guy this year, but he doesn’t compare favorably to the better DTs in the game. He’s a penetrating DT, not a guy who stacks the line by himself and assures that you are NOT going to run through gaps on one side of the Center, you will have to go to the outside or go to the other side altogether.

We need a DT that does that. Guys like this make DEs and LBs so much more effective.

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And now to answer the questions ….

Heh, if you think I tore up a keyboard just yapping about the DL…I got one for ya….

1) My confidence level isn’t shot by any means. This team has issues. Which team doesn’t? I would/will be more concerned if we are playing like this a game or two after the bye week. We might even be a bit “rusty” or “jittery” after the by week, but that better not last more than a quarter…if that long. If we play like we don’t know what the F we are doing in the next game or so…then my confidence level will have issues. Until then, hard to have confidence problems when the team has yet to lose, even if they didn’t earn their last win.

2) Here is where I’m going to get snappish…so be warned .

It seems to me that you have to have more than one bad day to even be concerned about a trend. This last game against Oakland was Ryan’s only truly “bad” game. In the other five games, Ryan’s TDs outweighed/outnumbered his INTs.

Yes, Ryan absolutely has issues. Locking onto WRs too hard, telegraphing his next move, holding the ball a little too long sometimes, missing the wide open guy, etc. All of these problems are fixable. In fact, Ryan doesn’t have any “unfixable” issues…unlike some other QBs. However, we seem to either ignore or otherwise not acknowledge substantial surrounding circumstances, such as:

a) Pressure. Look folks, you cannot clamor up and down for our defensive front to create pressure on opposing QBs, KNOWING that doing so causes a QB to make mistakes or get completely out of rhythm…. and then all but ignore that the VERY SAME THING happens when our QB gets pressured too much. It’s like some of us don’t want to either discredit our OL or credit the opposing defense. And I’m sorry, but there isn’t a correct play call that will guarantee that lack of protection can be overcome on a given play. You can run screens all you want, they don’t work if blockers aren’t effective. You can dump off to the RB all you want, doesn’t work if the QB is trying to avoid getting his head taken off. Example is one of those picks Ryan threw. He had the open man, he lined up the throw…he got hit right as he let the ball go…the result was an INT. Now you can sit there and say he should have taken the sack…but if he did, you’d also say he held the ball too damn long. You can’t have it both f@cking ways. A star QB is going to try and make the play he knows he can make, not hold the ball and take a sack.

b) Progression. Unless you know the order in which the progression goes in each play, then how can you claim that Ryan ignored or missed the open WR? How do you know that the “open” guy was the 1st or 2nd guy in the progressin of a play? What if said guy was the 3rd, 4th, or 5th option? And guess what? When you don’t have time to throw (which Ryan didn’t against Carolina very much, and didn’t against Oakland), you DON’T HAVE TIME TO GO THROUGH ALL OF YOUR PROGRESSIONS!!!!! Guess what else that means? You have a choice…get sacked, throw the ball away, or try to make a play with wherever you progression stopped…because you only had a second or maybe even less than that (or only slightly more than that) to make a decision.

So when the protection is bad AND you have guys dropping the ball, it’s gonna be hard to hit that open guy or get into any sort of rhythm.

Take a look at Ryan’s numbers through six games and then take a look at the numbers Aaron Rodgers has put up. Now take that “trending argument” and tell me which guy a person should be more concerned about. Take into account that Rodgers has had arguably worse protection than Ryan has had…through more games at that. And Rodgers is bonafide “Elite”…no seriously, go take a look.

4) Abe deserves to be in the Falcons ring of honor, I think. However, the pace he can keep during this season isn’t exactly a “pace”, per se. Abe is not what he once was…and we even have him on a snap count. And, though he has good speed and technique, Abe gets held more than a cold beer at a hot party.

He will continue to do what he does – be very solid against the run, be spectacular against teams with weak pass protection on his side, and not do a whole lot pass rush-wise against teams with solid pass blocking. And he’s still our best pass rusher. But more on that later.

5) To this day I am curious as to exactly how Reynolds beat out Konz for the job at RG. And I am just TIRED of Clabo and his bum hip or whatever the excuse is now. My starting five would be McClure, Baker, Blalock, Konz (RG) and Reynolds (RT). Just give it a whirl, I say. You can always change it during the game if it’s disastrous.

I want to see the massive Holmes out there, but I also think its wiser to try that next season.

6) Others have mentioned this. We either need to trade for a RB who has true speed, or draft one. Either way works for me, just let it be a smart deal.

I like JaQuizz Rodgers. He’s shifty, elusive, and quite tough. Still needs to work on consistent pass catching. I do like him, and I want him on this roster. That said, he does not have that game-breaking, homerun threat speed. If he did, we’d have seen it already. It’s not there. Antone Smith…not sure what the problem is, but dude just doesn’t get the burn. And this is under two different OCs, so I’m less inclined to think the problem is with coaching. Maybe Smith doesn’t pick up protection coverages well or something. And while he does have speed, I haven’t seen that consistent homerun threat from him either.

We need somebody else. A guy who reliably catches out of the backfield. Explodes to the hole. Adjusts well and makes something out of nothing…even when it’s at the line of scrimmage (something Turner and Quizz don’t seem to have enough of). A guy who absolutely GASHES defenses. And we need that next season. Draft a guy or trade for him. And then commit to developing and using him.

7) I think the DT play is adequate to the point of solid for what we have. We have a group of guys who peak out at 304 lbs. None of them can command a double team, regardless of the opponent. Two can penetrate on a consistent basis – Peters and Babs. Walker stacks well and can penetrate often enough, but is more of a stopper than a guy who pushes the pocket.

In fact, I think our run defense is better when Walker is in the game, because he is big enough to hold his spot and help his side of the defense, allowing LBs and DEs to make plays at times. But either he doesn’t do it enough, or he doesn’t play enough to do it enough. Take your pick.

If you ask me, Travian Robertson is our best bet in the long run, if we’re going to continue to go with “smaller” DTs. By that, I mean guys under the 310+ range. Robertson is “for real” strong and came into to the NFL at 6′4″ and 304. He has the frame to put on more…could probably play just as quick and just as hard at 310-315…maybe even 320. Pair him with a healthy Peters and we could be looking at a strong interior if we keep a 4-3 defense.

But either way, we need more size/strength at the position. Especially if we run a 3-4. It will help our DEs, and it will help our LBs. Believe that.

8 ) Nolan was smart enough to see that our defense would be more effective against the predominant passing games of today by going with just two LBs on most plays, and using 5 DBs. Does it hurt us in defending the run? Yes….it does. And I must point back…again…at he interior of our DL. Look, if we’re stronger there, then we have less of an issue. Our DBs are hard hitters and like to come up and support against the run.

Dent played 100% of the snaps in the last game. He had 8 tackles, which was pretty solid. Still struggles in pass coverage, but I don’t think we should be surprised by that at all. He needs seasoning. However, things are scary after that. Mike Peterson is clearly at the end of his career. Robert James looked good in preseason…but we seem to have forgotten about him.

When Nicholas and Spoon are in the game, we are able to do a lot of things and even stop a lot of the gashing that teams do against us when we can’t push the middle of the line.

9) Playcalling is an issue. Of course, we can expect that to a degree. Some of this is totally unexplainable, like throwing to Hawley not once but twice in a game. WTF that was about is beyond me. I think I know what they were trying to do, but it was crazy. However, Koetter has only been working with these guys for months. He doesn’t even know what all will work against which team, and there is more for him to learn.

But playcalling is neither the main issue nor the only issue. Part of the issue is knowing when to use the no huddle and when not to. Even now, we are finding that we use it almost too late, too many times. It’s like we are expecting this suddenly sorry pass protection to stiffen up at any moment…but it’s the same damn guys from last season, as D3 explained. It was also the same last year – protection was better when the no huddle was used. If scoring is an issue like it was against Oakland, clearly we need to figure out that we need to use it quicker, more often, and to score more frequently. Then we can bandy about a bit with simple OC-led play calling.

The other issue, and the biggest one is execution. Aside from miserable pass protection, there is the dropped passes. Too many times we blame play-calling when..if the guy would catch the damn ball, the play would be made. Or, a WR zigs when he should have zagged, doesn’t come back to the ball…whatever it is, it affects the offense. Too many times we’ve watched a drive stall because of a drop. But all we can think of is the failed plays that surrounded THAT failure. If you can’t execute, you can’t call certain plays because you can’t set the defense up for something they don’t expect. Why? Because you forced yourself into a 3rd and long and they KNOW what your options are now…

10) HD has to get the ball more. I’m not saying target him 5 more times per game or something like that. But he has got to get the ball more, especially in screens. He’s fast, shifty, and elusive. And nobody will be looking to cover him with the perfect bait in Julio or Roddy. That’s not the only reason to involve him more, though. The next reason has to do with the only-too-near future…

11) I believe we are just about well and truly screwed when it comes to the TE position. It will be difficult to find someone with even HALF of Gonzalez’s talent and skill. It’s all but impossible anyway, because TG is very possibly the best TE to play the game. So you aren’t going to replace a legend.

However, the Falcons need not do that. What they have been needing to do is find some young pass-catching talent that can stretch defenses in ways that are downright painful. Find another Jimmy Graham, Aaron Hernandez, Rob Gronkowski, etc. Find a guy who is as tall or taller than most LBs, but posseses speed that is more akin to a WR than a blocker.

And therein lies the problem. The Falcons have come into contact with guys of this kind of potential, and they seem far more interested in blocking skills than they do pass-catching skills. It makes no damn sense, to be honest, because we use TG SO MUCH, and it’s clear that he is downright integral to our offense. Hell, our QB needs TG’s ability and uses him as a security blanket all the time. Why would we not be looking for a replacement of some sort??!!

No, instead we toss aside the Chase Coffmans of the world, ignore the Lamark Browns and other speedster-capable pass catching big bodies…and we cling to the blockers like Tommy Gallarda. Michael Palmer has some potential, but is he a credible threat to defenses? If he is, we would not know, now would we?

My point isn’t that we can’t find talent, it’s that we refuse to commit to developing it. News Flash – Tony G wasn’t always a good blocker in the NFL. He had to learn. What separates him from the crowd has always been what he could do as a receiving target.

I don’t know what is wrong with our brass, but they just don’t seem to get it. And unless we are just happy with using a lot of 3 and 4 WR sets which will include a significantly heavier dose of Harry Douglas, our passing game is about to regress badly once TG retires. Seriously. I mean think about it…more teams will employ more DBs as time goes on. And whereas they struggled with covering TG as well as JJ and Roddy, now they would only have to contend with our two outside threats…and we would HAVE to run with a slot WR more often. Guess what? Slot receivers do NOT block the way TEs can. This affects more than just pass protectin, it also affects the run game.

12) This is a two part issue.

a) Simply recall what Mike Nolan was quotes as saying not long after he joined the Falcons organization. He said that all of our DEs would be linebackers in his scheme if he was running a 3-4 here. That pretty much sums it up. It’s not like teams can’t run DEs that weigh anywhere from 255 to 275 lbs. Hey, the Giants do it all the time. But that brings me to a second point, which I have already covered a LOT.

b) Are our DEs really that bad? I have no idea what happened to Sid the Kid, but he doesn’t play now. Cliff Matthews doesn’t play either. The guys who get burn are those who can stack the edge against the run and be effective in that way. They would be Abe, Edwards, and the Bier Truck. Of the three, only Abe is a bonafide pass-rushing DE.

Now look at the NY Giants and understand something – they run a 4-3 with bigger DTs. Their lightest guy is 299 lbs, and he doesn’t play as much as the other guys do. They run mostly with bigger boys like Chris Canty (injured but returning. Dude is 6′7 and 317lbs), Linval Joseph (6′4″ 323 lbs), Shaun Rogers (6′4″ 350 lbs), and Marvin Austin (6′2″ 312 lbs). The other two guys (Markus Kuhn 6′3″ 299 lbs and Rocky Bernard 6′2″ 301 lbs) are their LIGHTWEIGHTS.

My point – we may have issues developing DEs, but there is an undeniable link to the effectiveness of our DEs and the capabilities of our DTs. We have smaller, lighter-weight DTs. Those kinds of guys will always have trouble pushing the pocket and wrestling with the myriad of 315-335 lb behemoths on the other side of the line. But when you have guys on your interior DL that are above the 310 lb threshold, you have a MUCH better shot at making those big OL players focus and/or help each other to engage them…leaving DEs to win battles on the outside with their speed and/or technique.

If you CAN’T push the pocket from the middle, your outside rushers are at a disadvantage.

This also explains Abe’s inability to come up big in tougher games, to some degree. He has to work harder, and has to also do it pretty much alone.

13) I’m happy to be 6-0. It’s a milestone, all milestones should be recognized.

At the same time, there is quite a bit of room for improvement. Here’s a counter-question for all of us, though it may trend more towards those who might feel far more anxious about the future.

If execution was better, would we be as worried about play-calling and things like that? I’ll go ahead and say that I rather doubt it. Catch a few more passes, wrap up on a few more tackle opportunities, make a few more blocks…and the complexion changes. Of course, one could make similar arguments about play calls and things of that nature. Might be a moot argument, I don’t know. But I do know that if you make the play, it’s hard to question the call…

I’ll be more anxious if we are having very similar issues in games 7 and 8 as we were in games 4 and 6.

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“We need somebody else. A guy who reliably catches out of the backfield. Explodes to the hole. Adjusts well and makes something out of nothing…” – BR

Late night buddy, found this ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWeRthcQxyc&feature=related ) which is killing my sleep schedule but well worth it. Prolly not your style, but for those that understand, that is something pretty special. You have once again brought up alot of great points, its too late to get into great detail with them all but I’ll respond to this one. Some iguana lovin’ bastard really wanted a guy in this draft that few if any agreed with. That guy is on the Rams now and in all fairness we didn’t have a chance to get him without moving up which even I prolly wouldnt have done. My question is how did that iguana guy know that we needed that guy long long ago and our brass didn’t? That could seem ego driven but the reality is that one just wonders how a by all acounts rank amateur can envision what we are currently going thru by just watching youtube videos of decade old college films, but yet the string pullers cannot. Others realized this too and made suggestions for scat backs as well. So many things we are currently going thru were called out long ago and not just by that a-hole. You bring this up regarding other positions like TE in other parts of your novel that we can go over tommorrow. It does make one wonder for sure.

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Sorry BR, tried to respond. The blog monster has the late night munchies.

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BR – thanks – I liked the V8/transmission analogy brought by BL – however, my analysis is nowhere as thorough as yours – I don’t like typing that much!

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I still don’t think we are utlizing Quizz property – for a small guy, he has a ton of blocking heart – but why use him like that? I still think we should use turner as our FB, as slow as he is. What we really want is Sproles, or Reggie Bush, or CJ Spiller – what I used to call our Dave Meggett guy. I think Snelling could take that roll. But, we’ve never appreciated him. He won that Raven’s game.

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Big Ray

The problem with changing the Oline, even if it’s for a series, against a team like the Eagles is that they have a defensive line that has the ability sometimes to dominate a game. That one little test can cost Matt Ryan his year or career with a brutal hit. If you are going to make huge changes to an offensive line, I would do it against a team with a weaker line play to give a chance for the newer Oline to develope real-game cohesiveness.

Great posts, by the way. My eyes hurt from reading so much. Lol

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And therein lies the problem. The Falcons have come into contact with guys of this kind of potential, and they seem far more interested in blocking skills than they do pass-catching skills. It makes no damn sense, to be honest, because we use TG SO MUCH, and it’s clear that he is downright integral to our offense. Hell, our QB needs TG’s ability and uses him as a security blanket all the time. Why would we not be looking for a replacement of some sort??!!

My point isn’t that we can’t find talent, it’s that we refuse to commit to developing it. News Flash – Tony G wasn’t always a good blocker in the NFL. He had to learn. What separates him from the crowd has always been what he could do as a receiving target. — Big Ray

HERE! HERE! That was exactly the point I was trying to make when Tommy Gallarda’s fanboy started inferring I was d@mn dumb or something for thinking that the TE position was bare when TG leaves. My main point is that Dimitroff and Co. have not been able to develop ANY legitimate TE over a 5 year period other than Palmer. It seems that they simply go, “hey we’ll just sign a bunch of UDFA’s every year, rotate them out, and hope we snag the next Tony Gonzalez.” You couldn’t spend one draft pick of significance on a d@mn TE? A 5th or 6th?

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SW – you and your family are in our thoughts and prayers. We are sorry for your loss.

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Seminole… just saw the news.. and my deepest sympathy to you and your family. May your angel find peace with The Host of Angels.

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HCMS likes to dance with the ones who brung him to the dance, guys he trusts in the heat of battle. Our coordinators and position coaches see these guys every day around the facility, in the weight room, training room, practice fields, etc. If one of the young guys is outworking and out-practicing a vet–he’ll get more snaps…that’s what we drafted them for. Most of them just aren’t ready to supplant a starter due to lack of technique or consistency. We’d better hope our front line guys stay healthy while the young guys learn, since we’ll probably be forced to play some of them as the weeks roll on and attrition occurs….

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And speaking of using our rookies, here’s this from Pat Y;

The Atlanta Falcons have gotten only 26 snaps out of their draft class. That’s No. 31 in the NFL (San Francisco’s rookies haven’t played any offensive or defensive snaps).

The Falcons are fond of saying that second-year receiver Julio Jones is part of this year’s draft class and that’s a valid point. But logic coming into the season would have said the Falcons would be getting a little more out of their rookies. Heck, I know a lot of readers out there thought third-round pick Lamar Holmes was going to win the starting job at left tackle. Guess what? Holmes has yet to play a down on offense.

The only two Atlanta rookies to play have been second-round guard Peter Konz (19 snaps) and seventh-round defensive tackle Travian Robertson (seven snaps).

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but the front office has shown it is not afraid to go out and get guys.

Agreed. more concerned about potential problems next week, not in 2013, or maybe even 2014.

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This is an excellent read by John Manasso of Fox Sports;

http://www.foxsportssouth.com/10/16/12/Odds-favor-Falcons-to-capture-NFC/landing_falcons.html?blockID=805485&feedID=4354

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Coop, tks, great find. Thats the 2nd present you’ve given the cage, the first happend at 4:30am, .

Love to see the stats from PFF to backup what we all saw. MR didnt have his best game but he also got drilled from the OL sh!ty blocking. MR is holding on to the ball a little longer this yr (maybe trusting the OL decent performance in first 3 games) vs last yr when hed chuck it out of bounds at first wiff of bakers gas. This yr Clabo has the stinky gas and its time to try another widebody at
RT.

HD, Thought cotter was going to use him more in quick slant passes (holla) or skinny post for his YAC abilities. Last yr (against NO ?) he had a beautiful 10 yd catch in stride that went for a 70 yd TD.

Turner (until 4th qt mop up duties) is done without a quality blocking fullback. But cotter still forces it, bet its not his choice. Witout a lead blocker, would like to see more snelling or quiz. They can at least cut once before performing a colonoscapy on our much deserved front line!

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Coop, enjoy the view my friend…it wont last long…lol, hope ur recovery is doing well.

. Love goes out for the Nixon Family in starting the healing thats very, very tough.. Lost my dad many decades ago and there is never a day I dont think about him. Actually had a convo (text) with Unca’Bob (tks buddy) that has helped n not my healing but more of my understanding. my dads role in military back in the 50’s. I have no military affiliation except my dad, sorry. If Id known 30 yrs ago ith the military friends Ive made on the cage, Id prob would have joined.

My dear friend Roddy, Rock and I are so sorry for the lost of your ANGEL! !!
Of course Ive been updated of her health over the last yr or so but it just seams so unfair when they leave us. HE has a greater calling for them and thats why HE called them home. I know my dad is playing golf everyday with his buddies up there and looking fwd to playing around with me again.

That (for me) gives me piece of mind. I will see him and Sarahb and many others in time.

Sorry cage, went off tagent…rezome local blogging….

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More than any other player group, the O-Linemen have to work well as a unit. Any personnel changes have a ripple effect. Our core group has been together for a while so the younger guys have to earn those jobs– if they can take them. Coach Hill may be reluctant to screw around with team chemistry unless one of the newbies is clearly outperforming a vet during the week….

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Ok, I will buy into the coaches not wanting to start a rookie on the O-line, that’s understandable but just how bad are these rookies if that they can’t beat out a couple of these guys? Atleast one of them should be ready, isn’t that the reason TD drafting them!

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21, same here.

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f21,since this issue with developing, coaching and actually using these draft picks has gone on since ‘08, …its of course MS. Cover your eyes BL n BM.

Doesnt mean we dont love MS but we have a bye and looking at faults we wish as fans our team would improve on!!!
at aAs a late OLdisciple (like d3) , pray they look at the tapes , look at the tapes!!!

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Love that media elite. This one coming from a frackin’ town that DOESN’T EVEN HAVE A GD FOOTBALL TEAM……………..

Parity has leveled the playing field all over the league. Underdogs were 12-2 against the spread in Week 6. The only undefeated team, Atlanta, barely beat one-win Carolina and Oakland

Who gives a F—! WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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one comment on our rookies, past and present: the Falcons (Mike Smith – a key, frequently overlooked element of SMITTY BALL) APPRENTICESHIP program. Makes it tough for rookies to get playing time. Even in blowouts.

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No matter what we say or what we worry about, the FACT remains, the Falcons are SIX WINS AND ZERO LOSSES. The NFL doesn’t judge a team by “style”. At this point no other team in the entire NFL can match our record and statistics already say the the road to the SB will come through Atlanta. I don’t care how we get there and how we win each game. If we end up in the big one and there is 3 seconds on the clock, I will know that the Falcons have proven that they have the capability to win it, style doesn’t count.

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JB, if I’m not mistaken Travian is a DT right, not an o-line man?

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Pretty good piece. I have my concerns, like we all do, but it sure is fun to be 6-0.

Obviously we have to shore up some stuff to go anywhere in January, but maybe this will be the year that we do? I sure hope so…

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SP ,

Oh, I remember the guy clamoring for Isaiah Pead…and the clamoring was on target…

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WOW…………

Thought Mike Nolan was supposed to fix this. Yikes.

Execution. This is why Asante Samuel is so harsh on his grading of our defense. He’s right.

Unfortunately, we need more veterans to speak up. And guess where some of this is coming from? Veterans.

Look no further than Dunta Robinson. Love the licks he puts on guys, but not every “hit” is a tackle, now is it? I watched the Oakland game. I watched our guys “hit” McFadden several times…some of those hits he bounced off of.

Stop hitting…start TACKLING.

Nolan can only preach so much. These guys gotta get their heads on straight. If not, they will get their bells rung. A week from now.

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Unca Bob ,

As usual, you are right on the money, my friend. Wish you posted more, but you never waste a single word. Bravo…

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D3 I am more concerned with the Offense as well. I think the Defense is doing well and hope that continues. The D has given up fewer points on avg in the second half than the first half of games, indicative of Nolan’s ability to make the necessary adjustments. We just have to cross our fingers for no further devastating injuries there.

As for the offense, sadly, the line play needs to improve. We finally get Baker playing at a decent level and now Clabo has deteriorated (though I think he is greatly injured and Smith is being tight about it as is his nature). Much as I hate to say it because I am a fan of his, perhaps it is time to yank McClure and give Konz a try at center. And like you, I have been screaming that they need to get Douglas more involved! He has speed and needs to be targeted more if for no other reason than to force opposing defenses to have to account for yet another receiving threat, thereby opening the run game up more.

I had not considered your thoughts on more speed at the RB position, but I agree, give Smith a chance to hit the hole faster as its obvious the line can’t keep it open for very long. And please don’t get me started on Snelling. This guy runs hard every time he touches the ball. What does the coaching staff have against this guy? Really! Or, let him serve as a lead blocker out of the backfield. He is an all purpose guy. Maybe the OC needs to watch old game film of the Joe Montana led 49ers when they involved Rathman in both the passing game as well as a lead blocker and runner without sacrificing the explosiveness of Rice and Taylor and Brent Jones downfield. It can be done.

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Big Ray is correct about the defensive tackling and it just adds upon what I have been preaching: execution, EXECUTION!

Falcons lead the lead in dropped passes and miss tackling. That’s not a coaching issues; that’s a mental issue. Players need to step up and preform the game plan accordingly. I have a feeling that they will not be there next year if they don’t. Especially with el Jefe(A. Blank), the Sheriff(Nolan), and Deputy Dan(DK).

Coaching can only do so much:

Number one in penalties(not committed).
Top ten time of possession.

Falcon players just need to tweak their gameplay and focus up. Stop trying to be perfect/make the home run play and just do their jobs. Less mistakes will be made.

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Don’t you guts want to hear all about me?

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Paddy, I take offense to the term “pure luck”? There are over 100 plays in a game, why focus on the obvious plays that effect outcome as being the product of luck, but ignore the rest?

For instance, in the Carolina game, JJ catches a critical ball and is OB by an inch. Then later in the quarter, before Cam throws the go ahead TD pass, we swat the ball out his hand on the pass rush, but Hartzog Carolina’s TE recovers it. What bad “luck” that a TE we cut happens to have the ball bounce feet, what are the odds? Then Cam tosses a harmless out and catches us in an all out blitz for a TD, bad luck again?

We hear enough about the “luck” crap from the media, but us fans who actually watch the entire games need to stop that talk. And Matty leading 19 4th quarter drives, thus give him the all time NFL record for winning drive conversions, passing Tom Brady, is hardly luck.

All the rest I agree with, every team has off the charts talent and adjusts to you. I don’t think we had any more talent than the last 3 teams we played. Cam? RG3? McFadden? I actually can argue we had LESS talent in key areas. It is all about finding a way to win.

I am not pollyanna, I just see the big picture.

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Paddy O ..pollyanna…. what about Carnac?

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Unca’ Bob

Nice try. But, a lot of teams throw more than the Falcons and still have less drops.

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Big Lou,

I posed a question. Pure and simple.

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Matty – the pure luck was referencing 2010 – the SF game and the NO game where their kicker missed a chip shot in OT.

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last year, I asked the guys who attend the games – where you can see the entire field the entire game – whether we ran innovative, complex & integrated WR routes, and the answer was no. So, the question remains. I still enjoy the fact that we somehow traded for Asante and Tony G. Very nice moves by our FO.

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However, I DO consider the Carolina game pure luck. No way that ball should have been fumbled back to us. But, sometimes . . . . .

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Well, it was bad luck we did not recover the previous fumble.
It was bad luck we did not recover the last fumble
It was bad luck the ball got downed on the 1 foot line (Still not sure that was never reviewed, it looked like the guy might have touched the goal line) Oh yea, more bad luck.

But, in spite off that bad luck to offset the good luck of Cam dropping the ball, Roddy made a great play, and we made a good kick. We took advantage of a mistake, and overcame our own bad luck.

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UB, great point. Why isn’t ESPN keeping up with the guys that played an entire career and NEVER dropped a pass (because they were never thrown one)

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JB…I get it. I’m the eternal optimist myself. And big and strong is big and strong but converting Travian could be a little bit of a reach. I’d rather see a switch of Reynolds to RT if Clabo can’t go and Konz in his place at guard. I think Konz could learn a lot playing next to mud and listening to how he calls the game on the line. There is a reason duck is still at C. And I think it has to do with MR2 and his comfort with him as much as anything else. I wonder how ol’ Lamar is doing with his toe. Heck they’ve cross trained everyone else so make him a guard too.

Ultimately, I will be shocked if we see any changes on the line. We all know Smitty can be stubborn about a player. If he remains true to form we won’t see a shakeup of the line.

About that drag racing….I’ve been around a few tracks and enjoyed myself thoroughly. As a young man we used to go down to Stone Mt. Industrial park when it was just roads and watch the local muscle cars race railroad track to railroad track….until the police showed up. Back then they even sat and watched a couple of races before they broke it up. No tickets…just clear on out!

My old man sponsored some dragsters and we’d go up and watch em’ at commerce…in the hospitality suite right above the starting line. Sweet!

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Since some of you are talking about luck…and how lucky we have been:

There is no such thing as luck.” – from “Star Wars”…haha!

But wait! From the guy with weird hair:

Everything in life is luck.” – Donald Trump

Really! Then how about:

The only sure thing about luck is that it will change.” – Wilson Mizner

Ok…so its gonna change! Then how about:

“All of us have bad luck and good luck. The man who persists through the bad luck — who keeps right on going — is the man who is there when the good luck comes — and is ready to receive it.” – Robert Collier

But really the truth is:

Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get.” – Ray Kroc

And that:

“Good luck needs no explanation.” – Shirley Temple Black.

So it boils down to the fact that:

“The champion makes his own luck.” – Red Blaik.

The Atlanta Falcons have made their own luck.

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I just wish we could have a little of that luck in the playoffs, it always seems whatever can go wrong does go wrong!

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Thanks JJ!

And F21 I hear ya! After all: An ounce of luck is worth a pound of gold” in the playoffs!

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MB, I would rather be lucky AND good!

As far as measuring drops as a %…statistics can be mis-guiding. The stock market proves that every day. Are they important? Sure. But some things cannot be measured in stats. Like the whether or not a team has the courage of a lion or the heart of a champion.

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UB, I didn’t expect you to answer the question, I was just expounding on the point your were originally trying to make before BL tried to turn it into an arguemnt.
They should keep track of percentages instead of drops. Perfectly clear.

DePlane, I don’t have any idea how I could do any better than what the what’s being done with the Falcons. Some of my ideas and posts are not even concievable. I trust in the organization and have faith, and sometimes, or always, have to let the “other” thoughts creep in.

As far that the drag racing thing, you have to own the car, put every penny you have into it, and each race is like football whereas each race is like there is one second on the clock and it’s either win or go home. Balls to the wall. If the Falcons can learn that on every play we would be unbeatable.

Of course that would be impossible, or unbelievable, but “That’s just the way I am.”

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Thanks JB!

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Nice convo on luck! De PLane has an excellent expose on it. I would agree – you make your own luck, if you believe you control your own destiny – if you think you are a victim of fate, luck controls you. Matty – I think you are starting to consider yourself as BL stated part of the brethren. BL does not yet feel a part of the brethren – which is too bad – he has a good perspective – for the most part. However, regarding the fluke – the first lost was pure “getting the feet wet” – no expectations, and not horrible disappointment – the 2008 team was WAY beyond their station; now, I thought the 2010 butt whooping by GB a fluke – but, I had nagging worries about our lack of adjustments – in game, and apparently in the 2nd game (bad game planning). The Giants loss made most reassess the conclusion that the GB game was a fluke – it is tough to have consecutive playoff horrific game plans. GB at least had an excuse – we played them tough the first time, and they learned (just like the Giants with the Patriots). Now, back to luck – you are right – the kick that got us on the 1 – a lot of luck for opposition – I do not think it was properly reviewed. Now, the fumble – not much luck there – typically, that type of play can go either way – NOW, against SF – where Roddy strips Clement if I recall and Dahl falls on the ball – that is exceptional “make your own” luck. Luck is a lot like obscenity- you know it when you see it. Finally, if you watched the Braves play off game – and I had a ringside seat – you know the Cardinals got lucky with an utterly BS umpire call on that “infield fly rule” – which is designed to protect the offense, not inept defensive players.

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Any game that folks say boiled down to a single play can be potentially declared good or bad luck. Which is why most folks want their team to blow the doors off the competition – luck is fickle.

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Matty – I would measure picks by # of attempts; TD’s are much tougher – and an more widely acknowledged statistic – you play all season and have 30 TD’s – you had a decent year. 40+ – you’ve got an explosive offense. More picks than TD’s (or close)? you are Eli Manning.

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And yes Pad, I do feel I am part of the brethren. I do stretch it to challenge thought, and sometimes I am off base, but other times I think I provoke thought. If we all just agreed, it would get a little boring. But D3 did tell me I need to be sure to show respect, and if I do get belligerent, I apologize, I just like my thought to be provoked too. We are 6-0 for the first time in history, even if we go 0-10 going out, we still reached one more franchise milestone, all part of the process…and I ain’t putting any asterisks with it.

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regarding the brethren – this is the best place to discuss all things Falcon. when I first started reading the AJC pro sports articles, they were painfully generic – what I call lobotomized parrot journalism. D3 writes an honest article about the teams play, and it is a pleasure to contemplate his angle and the other folks in the cage. I’m outta here – have a good weekend, folks!

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Big Lou not everything on this blog is a debate. JB and UB are trying to give you a few hints how to recognize.

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Wings

That must be you. Because, every time you jump on here to say something to me… you are attacking and saying stupid crap. Do I have to remind you the previous two times that you chimed in against me and looked like a tool? Big Ray had to correct you on one(involved UB), and the other you didn’t get all the facts.

You assume that every post I make is for argument sakes, yet I have plenty of posts where I agree with a certain individuals(even the sarcastic and funny, SP) or do not even comment at all. Do you just jump in to throw wood into the fire when it involves me? So please, do yourself a favor and ignore my posts. I am going any where. I do not give a %^&* if you like me.

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Great Saturday Morn’ Cage Fam! — Well, I guess it’s technically closer to afternoon, but still. Finally a chance to catch up with you guys and rap a little about our Birds. I’ll take my own opinions on our questions………..

1) Simple Kickoff – where’s your confidence level after week 6?
Well, it’s obviously decent considering we’re 6-0. If we had this conversation after the San Diego game, than it would be sky-high, but 3 weeks of barely scraping by has shot it down pretty good. The Carolina game didn’t bother me that much. It was just one of those NFC South rivalry games that can come right down to the wire. Their backs were against the wall, were embarrassed on national TV, and gave us their best shot.

The Redskins game really doesn’t bother me that much and actually still doesn’t. We held RG3 completely in check, and that says a whole lot right now after seeing what he did to the Vikes last week. It was a road win against an up and coming team with a very talented QB. The offense just seemed to be having one of those days and I was OK with that because we did what we needed to, to win the game.

And then we come to the Raiders game. At first I wanted to say, “it’s OK………” and give a littany of excuses. The Raiders were on bye and I really do think their offense is more talented than their record indicates, but then we come to our offense.

Our offensive line is the EXACT SAME as the trainwreck that occurred last year. We all said all the way back to even mini-camp that if we trot out this same ol’ BS with no changes whatsoever. Matt Ryan was 12 for 15 with his 3 misses being interceptions I believe (something I read somewhere else). But he still looked off and misfired on many throws, not just the one where he was hit. I remember an open Julio (I think) in the endzone when we had to settle for a FG. I think this is a product of several things and the drops may not be the whole story, but they sure as the hell are adding up (this was a problem last year as well), but honestly I think it comes down to the running game as much as anything.

We all knew that ol’ Smitty would be riding Turner one more time (and he’s technically under contract through 2013, which is an error some think he’s done after this year). We all had questions about whether he would fit in this new offense and that question was mostly answered in preseason. I’m not saying that Quizz and Snelling are the future and can be Pro Bowlers behind this OL, but I truly believe that Turner is simply done. It really is nothing against him whatsoever, just like all the other Falcons who hit the wall, but it’s a business, not a college or high school team. He’s not getting production, not hitting the hole hard, he’s sure as the hell not elusive, rarely breaks tackles, and is just generally slow.

Again, I’m not trying to beat down on the man, because Lord knows how terrible our OL is. You don’t pay a feature running back $7.5 million a year (due $8 mill next year) to only be good in the 4th quarter. I know got way off on the offensive woes tangent, but in general, I’m “pretty” confident right now. It’s fantastic to be 6-0, you really have to savor every single NFL victory. But at the same time, if we don’t get some major things fixed, we could be looking at 1-2 or maybe even 0-3 really quickly over the next few weeks. Really, we’ve beaten the entire AFC West, Redskins, and Panthers. As much as I want to say, “we’ll be OK,” I keep getting woken up by those two playoff nightmares “The Debacle in the Dome” and the “Meltdown in the Meadowlands.” We go up and beat Philly (anyway possible), and my confidence will be right back to the top.

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D3

I wouldn’t mind if they all tied. Lol

As for the coming behind and winning, we will see how good this team really is with the upcoming schedule:

Eagles
Cowboys
Saints
Giants

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UB, Good point, also wondering if some of the players have been a little over confident when they play weaker opponents…buying into the media hype after the first 3 games? Hopefully the oakland game took care of that, if it even existed.

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UB, Have never had any animosity to SC until Spurrier…hate that coach with a passion due to his fla days. One of the greatest college coaches of all time but the cockiest sob of ALL coaches!!!

The only college coach I dislike as much as the aints!!!

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Well, I watched SC kick the Dawgs butt last week and I saw the Gators kick SC’s butt today. I am now watching teh Dawgs struggling against KY. Am I supposed to look forward to seeing the Dawgs kicj the Gators butt next week.
I have more optimism on the Falcons breaking Vick’s leg.

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No UGA fan here, but seriously, what does it say about Mark Richt and the Bulldawgs when the team that blew you out has lost in consecutive weeks to two other SEC rivals, one of which just blew the doors off of SC, who blew the Dawgs out.

Really, it’s time for Richt to go. Urban Meyer won the Gators two titles, and then he leaves, and in comes Muschamp, who has the Gators positioned again for another title run this year. The coaching turnover, the recruiting obstacles that he must’ve faced, and they’re still back and better than Richt and the Dawgs.

Get rid of the dude man. He hasn’t done anything deserving more time. He gets ‘top 10 recruiting classes’ year after year, and they still fall behind most, if not all, the SEC powerhouses. Bama, LSU, SC, and Florida all stay ahead of UGA.

If somehow the Dawgs manage to beat the Gators next week, you can hang onto your ‘keep Mark Richt’ hopes for another week, but, it’s about time they make a coaching change.

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Richt is a good man who just might be meant to do more than coach football. Time to go, Governor Richt.

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Wabe – on Mark Richt – that be a fact, my friend…

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well, considering we appear to be focused on stopping the pass and getting turn overs, I think our run defense has been adequate. we appear to be able to stuff the oppositions key RB; the rest seems to be BBDB. Mark Richt appears to be a conundrum. talks the talk, can’t walk the walk. way too many of his players – if he had the impact on them he appears to think he has – get in trouble with the law – so, I’d say his entire program is a house of cards.

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On the Richt discussion, I have agreed he should go for about 4 years now. There are some similarities with Smitty. Primarily stubborn unwillingness to change. I haven’t given up on Smitty yet… And I feel encouraged by what I’ve seen this year, but eventually you have to take it to the next level.

Richt has shown me he can’t. I still hope Smitty can.

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Good luck JJ! Hope we both win.

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This so sad, Bulldogs Fav. by 100points and win by 5, JUST DAM.

BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE

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D3 – Testify!

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My point above is in the NFL, the end justify the means, in college that is not necessarily so. I would rather my kid to play for Richt than Meyer. Anyone feel differently?

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On top of it, it was not like he even has the best interests of his plays at heart. He had Tebow playing in an offense that did not prepare him for the next level, what that to get the glorified W, or to develop his players.

On baseball, minor league baseball is not about Ws, it is about preparing the players for the next level. In college, it should be the same, but the “next level” for most of the kids is not football.

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D3 – “HERE! HERE! That was exactly the point I was trying to make when Tommy Gallarda’s fanboy started inferring I was d@mn dumb or something for thinking that the TE position was bare when TG leaves. My main point is that Dimitroff and Co. have not been able to develop ANY legitimate TE over a 5 year period other than Palmer. It seems that they simply go, “hey we’ll just sign a bunch of UDFA’s every year, rotate them out, and hope we snag the next Tony Gonzalez.” You couldn’t spend one draft pick of significance on a d@mn TE? A 5th or 6th?”

I assume D3 that the “Gallarda fanboy” comment refers to my comments on “Draftees vs UDFA” … One – I did not call you or infer you are a “dumb@ss”. I do believe you missed the point. A first or second year UDFA can be developed just as effectively as a 5th, 6th or 7th round draft pick. You presented a list of TE draft picks who were tops and by the way neglected to even mention Marcedes Lewis in JAX…. My point is that coaches evaluate talent and have 7 picks a year and there are more transactions done in the 24 hours following the end of the draft than during the draft – and there is great talent in the UDFA pool. I mentioned guys like Cruz and in the case of TE – Antonio Gates as UDFAs who were developed….. You can’t count Reggie Kelly as one of the young UDFA brought in to develop….
If TG retire after this season I believe TD and Smitty will draft a receiving TE and try to develop blocking skills in him. One thing’s for certain – every time TG comes into the game the defense thinks pass only. Contrary to your opinion that TG has developed into a good blocker just isn’t accurate. He is not a good blocker and even he has said that in interviews. He is barely ok at it… Turner has actually gained more yards when Gallarda is in the game than TG because Gallarda gets to the second level and does an effective job picking up the LB (as he did in the Redskin game).Gallarda also caught a 7 yard pass underneath the Safety and behind the LB in that game. The Falcons know both Gallarda and Palmer will not be TG in regards to the pass but can receive and will only improve and with their blocking defenses will have to pay attention to both run/pass.

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Percy Harvin, 103 yd kickoff return!

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I think Richt will feel a sense of relief when he leaves….But no, watching him smile while he shook Spurs and did not bother me. There are other things beside a football game, and except for the 4-5 kids who might play in the NFL, it is time the rest of the kids on his roster start to understand that. But I do understand the state of college football today, but I don’t have to like it.

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Actually, I think what CS has done for the Falcons is more than win a playoff game, or even a SB. He has turned this team into a winning franchise, year in, year out. That is harder than having that magic year. What CS and CMR have done for their respective organizations have been great, but in CMRs case you can see it in his eyes. It is time for him to go, but I think he has big things in his future, some very good things.

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A good convo from Pat Y and a Falcons fan………

Dwight (Atlanta): Pat. do you think the Falcons might shuffle their Oline at the bye like they did last year? Think we might see Konz at RG or C?

Pat Yasinskas: Possible. But Smith is old school and superstitious. He might be hesitant to make big changes while they’re winning. But my personal opinion would be to go ahead and get Konz into the lineup.

If there is any, this will be Smith’s undoing: his downright stubbornness and refusal to make changes.

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D3 ,

You have a vaid point. And while I want to see Konz in the lineup, I also understand that there may be a reason why he’s not.

I don’t know that refusing to start one guy will ultimately be the undoing of Smith, but I do know that if the OL play can’t improve significantly from the Carolina/Oakland games, we are in trouble. And I’m also not convinced/sure that making one change on the OL fixes everything.

Then again, that might be JUST the thing to help. We may find out against Philly, but if the issue is bad there, I think we’ll have to wait for the game after that before any changes are made. Just a hunch…

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I don’t know if the Bucs have enough offense to outgun the Saints…however unfortunate that is.

The fact that they’ve put up 21 points is a testament to how bad the Saints defense is. Which means we should be throwing up 30+ on them…assuming our offense gets rid of its temporary schizophrenia.

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Watching Scam and the Kitties shoot themselves in the foot. Can’t help but laugh…

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funny if MS is really superstitious. If you were to make a change, now is the time. If Clabo is really hurt to the point that his play is impaired, why not take him out – for his and the teams benefit?

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LSU is the leading SEC school with active players in the NFL with 40, LSU had 36, UGA is #3 with 35. And if I had a kid entering the College with designs on being in ten NFL, I would want Richt for I would imagine a lot more players enter college with designs on playing in the NFL than actually do play in the NFL.

I thought about the kids who get into trouble too, they NEVER get in trouble in Auburn or Alabama….You think maybe the cops call coach, instead of booking them? Just maybe?

My thing with Richt is he just says the right things, I doubt he will ever find him banging a co-ed. I just think he keep football in perspective of life, and that is very important for kids who are thinking NFL but have to learn differently….It might be that CMR had to do it himself, maybe that what makes him that way.

Full disclosure, I was at UGA when we won our last Natl Championship. I get it, but I personally do not think there should be a national champion in college, any more than we need one in High School . They are just kids.

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*FLA has 36 active players in the NFL, UGA 35.

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Where are all the Flacco fans today? lol

Exactly my point….

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MB — RE: No National Champion in college…….man, sometimes brother, you just go way out there, but at least it’s interesting. We can talk about putting football perspective when he tells the University of Georgia that he will gladly coach the Dawgs for about 100k a year. We can’t be hypocritical on this man, he makes 4 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR to coach @ UGA, not including all his endorsement deals. I appreciate your candor, but I think you’re reaching here on Richt. For the record, I see a few similarities with Smitty and Richt, but Smith has done WAY more for our Falcons in half the time that Richt has done for the Dawgs. With all the talent he’s had over the the last 11 years, he should have won AT LEAST one nat’l title.

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Smith has done WAY more for our Falcons in half the time that Richt has done for the Dawgs

Agreed……Smitty is slowly unraveling 40 years of loser-ness. It ain’t easy.

I just think in college when you try to elect a natl champion you have to compare apples and oranges. The same morons who try and discredit the falcons are the same morons who elect or national champions, or elect who get to play for it.

It is all about money, not about electing a true champion. Logistically it is impossible to give every deserving team a chance to compete, so what is the point? I really dislike the politics of college football, if you can’t tell, lol.

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OK, how many picks has Eli thrown today? I lost count.

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Where UGA got screwed is when they could not play for the NC in 2007 (the Hawaii year). We were the best in the land at that point and time, don’t think anyone was gonna beat us… But we could not because the de-facto “rule” that NC has to win their league…Until last year…Such BS.

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If your an NFL coach, coaching the Cowboys is the grail. Even if playing of JJ is a PITA, it is still the boys. NO? Payton has a ring, probably not gonna see another one there, plus the cupboard is looking bare.

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matty – there is a minor league championship game. I disagree about them being kids. Young adults at the least. They can handle competition – losing does not permanently damage you.

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Panthers lose. LOL. Crybaby towel time.

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actually, there is a thing called college world series and march madness. Now, if you want to discuss the hypocrisy of the NCAA – why should colleges be allowed to make money selling merchandise of certain players? I’ve got a Tebow jersey – Tebow should get some cash out of my purchase, not the SOB’s running the NCAA and their member schools.

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Hmm, beating W is looking better and better.

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Agree, a “true” natl championship with a playoff holds promise, but I like D3 says, they will F-F-Foul it up…

Anyway, just hope “good UGA” shows up on Jax.

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Paddy — Are you a Gators fan? Totally agree on the NCAA. Crooks and complete hypocrites. The other side is that many football stars use them just as much to make to the pros, not really caring about getting an excellent education.

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Did the Deadskins secondary really just let that happen? Their best and most explosive receiver is allowed a free release / go route. D@mn man.

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Yea, NCAA is so bad, I struggle to be a fan, to support it. And sure, some kids use it as a path the the NFL, but unfortunately it is the ONLY path at their option. The kids are exploited, pure and simple.

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matty – I agree. I’ve always thought student athletes should be allowed to take a minimal # of courses while playing, then the school had an obligaton – provided they did not flunk out – to provide a scholarship to allow them to graduate after their athletic eligibility was up.

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OK, see you fine folks later!

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is now…Cam with 40 seconds aint like Ice with 40.

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Yea, cam also threw a pick the play before by tossing a Hail Mary instead of taking the easy dump 15 yards-get out of bounds stop the clock play. He does not even understand the concept of working the ball down the field against a prevent D.

Just glad he ain’t ours….

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How about that Curtis Lofton-led sAINTS defense, eh?

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And I may have spoken too soon on the Tampa Bay Bucs. If they can pull this off, it will be as good as a Falcons win, considering its our bye week…

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That was a BS call. How can you just push a receiver out of bounds and he can’t come back in? Hell, why not just always push the receiver out of bounds if that’s the case.

sAINTS get another BS call. It never ends does it.

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I thought you can’t initiate contact after 5 yards? WTF was that? Exaclty, why not just pick the recievers up and drag them OB?

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So, when a reciever runs a sideline pattern, we can just shove them out, and they are ineligible? Holy cow.

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Ain’t life grand?

Eli Manning was good for a bunch of yards, 2 INTs and no TDs….until the final seconds when he brings his team back to a victory with a game-winning drive against a team that shouldn’t be good enough to compete with the defending SB champs, much less beat them.

And the first thing you read on the ESPN site is how he proved that he’s elite with that one last drive. I guess the last drive erases everything else you did as long as it was the winning drive.

Oh wait, as long as your name isn’t Ryan, that is.

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Even though the Falcons didn’t play today, a little worry popped up when I saw some “real” running backs and pass rushers. I try to imagine what we would do against some of the players/teams and it does make for a concern.

Big Ray, you are spot on the the Manning eliteness. If the last second save makes Manning elite I guess MR would three times as elite since he’s done the same thing for the last three games.

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For my SarahB ffl brothers, you might enjoy this site:

http://www.fftodayforums.com/forum/index.php?showforum=8

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Jacksonville is making us look bad by exposing how bad the Raiders are.

I expect Smitty may feel the same way, but then again…you’re talking about a pretty focused guy who does not get sidetracked by the scoreboard…unless it’s the game his team in playing in.

That said, we better be executing like a mutha against Philly.

No seriously. It took us the better part of four quarters to score a single offensive TD, something Jax did against the Raiders in the first and second quarters. Let’s also consider that all of the points came from the OFFENSE, too. Gabbert with ZERO interceptions.

Yeah, I know…any given sunday, and all that. Circumstances are different. Still, if we can compare the Giants playing the Redskins to us playing the Redskins, then we can certainly compare the Jags playing the Raiders to us playing the Raiders.

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Congrats WR, great win! FOCK DMC!!!

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One thing is certain, if we don’t resolve our OL issues sooner rather than later, we’ll see a collapse during the remainder of the season.

Amen!

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What I fear about our Falcons is what we saw happen to the Ravens today. The Ravens had been cutting it close the past couple of weeks. They escaped with a 9-6 win against a bad Chiefs team, and then came away with a narrow 2-point win against a Cowboy team that racked up almost 500 yards on their defense and totally outplayed them. And then, they run into a formidable opponent, and they get blownnnnnnnnn out.

I think that’s what could happen to a team in this league if they continue to overlook flaws. The Ravens definitely have flaws. And they showed today. The Falcons too have their share of flaws, and unless we get them corrected, we could be on the wrong side of one of these beatdowns eventually as well.

Really hope they’re using this bye week to shore up some of these concerns. The running game, the O-Line, the running defense, the weak tackling. Hope that it improves in the coming weeks.

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Why are people so “Scared” and have “Fear” of what “might” happen in a game? It is just a game.

Did the Packers change lineman after their 7 sack performance a few weeks ago? OK, maybe we need to play a game so we can stop pontificating about the same issues, after a week it kinda runs out of gas.

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Wabe, I could just drop out of the cage if you changed you handle to Wabe and JB.

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100K miles and the wheel hasn’t fallen off. Why should I worry about what happens? Nothing you see could possibly foreshadow future events. All games are random acts of completely equal talent where coaching is perfect and simple execution (not luck) by world class players is all that determines a winner.

I don’t know why I’m even driving this old truck. I know exactly what will happen… OR do I?

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“It is just a game.”

It all depends on how an indivual interpets that and what it means to you. We all have different opinions and. as a rule, we don’t speak down to folks who might have a different opinion than yours.
Politicians and preachers do that a lot but this is the cage and we just ain’t like that.

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It was interesting watching all the games, every team has huge issues and make lame play calls…the Giants called a back shoulder fade on 3rd and 1 to seal the game, needless to say, it was incomplete, they had to punt, and Washington came back an tool the lead, then Eli had to pull it out…. If we did that, you some people would be having heart attacks.

it appears the single most important quality a team must have is the ability to work the clock and pull the W off at the end. Personally, I like our chances and am not afraid to take my stand. I believe, if you don’t that is fine, just step up. And yes, I think the team that executes the best usually wins, and coaching has more to do with how a team executes than just about anything else. And yes, all teams have top tier talent, they all have guys running 4.4 40s and 300 pound freak athletes.

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Cam does not know how to pull out a W in a close game. He can’t direct a 2 minute offense, he don’t know what to do. He will NEVER win consistently in the NFL until he does.

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It is just a game, I love it, but in the end, yes, it is. I sure don’t lose sleep over it.

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Why even bother commenting if you think of it as just a game? It means much more to me and I think many in the Cage will agree.

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Hear ya Coop!

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But really, the national media rips this team, if you are a fan, why do you? Sure they have all sorts of issues, who the hell does not? If is the state of the NFL today. Sure, Konz is cleaning everyone clock in practice, but Smitty does not put him in because he is an old dottering fool who just get lucky late in game. But, if Smitty does not play rookies, why does he play Ryan, JJ, Spoon, Baker, etc etc?

Plus, I am pretty sure Hill has some influence who plays, but no, I am sure Smitty says he has to play who he does…..

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Matty B,

It’s obvious that we beg to differ. IMO, when a guy on the O-Line is getting beat up the way Clabo is, regardless of record, I’m contemplating changing things up if it means a protection boost on the line. If I feel Konz would provide this line a boost, I’m making the change, despite a 6-0 record.

You take my comments as ‘complaining’, when really, I’m simply pointing out an obvious flaw. How many games this year has Clabo been responsible for a sack?

You obviously saw us do no wrong in our squeaker against the Raiders. I don’t. Yeah we won, and that’s obviously all you care for. I want to see us play well. We haven’t been playing as well as we could.

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You see MB, you take the ’slightest bit of criticism’ as ‘ripping the team’…

We’re not ‘ripping the team’. We’re pointing out obvious flaws. Pointing out the suspect line, or suspect run defense, or suspect playcalling doesn’t mean you’re ‘ripping the team’. Gauging how good this team is based on how we’ve played as opposed to our record doesn’t mean you’re ripping the team. We’re simply debating how this team would stack up when up against an oponent whose a bit more formidable than the 2-win Raiders and the 1-win Panthers. The 3 opponents we’ve played in the past 3 weeks are all currently teams under .500. But, we’ve won all three of those games by less than a score. We squeaked by in all 3 games. I told you, I’m ok with the Redskins game. Even the Panthers game, fine, whatever. But, there’s no way to spin how p!ss poor this team played against the Raiders. Giving up almost 500 yards of offense doesn’t sit well with me, especially playing against the Raiders. The O-Line getting pushed around, Ryan tossing 3 INT’s, all of that don’t sit well with me.

That ain’t rippin’ the team. That’s fair criticism.

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Not sure why I chose to jump back into this conversation. This is a never ending conversation really. It’s not just you MB, it’s been something that’s been ongoing for years now here. Again, I remember folks like myself and Coop taking a lot of heat in our 13-3 season for pointing out flaws, even after wins, from fans such as yourself who don’t want to hear about that when things are going great (record wise). We’re winning games, who cares how we look doing it, right? That’s where we differ.

You see, you’re right, ‘good teams’ find ways to win the way we’ve been winning. ‘Great teams’ don’t find themselves in the type of situations we’ve found ourselves in the past 2-3 weeks against the NFL’s bottom feeders. I simply want to see this team be ‘great’. Yeah, they’re good. They’ve been good. But, if they ever want to take that leap and taste ‘greatness’, they’ve can’t let teams like the Raiders stick around the way they did. They have to put teams like that away, especially at home.

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Wabe – Concur. Why am I dealing with this SLICC? He’s littering the Cage.

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Wabe, anyone that says it is just a sport or a game doesn’t really care anyway. If they keep score of a sport or a game it matters to me. I like winning myself, I would not have coached for so long if I thought winning meant nothing.

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Left out never, later Cagers.

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That is your opinion Matty, I will respect that. Later.

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Carolina’s GM fired.

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If Clabo is experiencing a bunch of alibi injury issues, get him the fark out of the game. I mean, we all heard that about Baker and how once healthy he would be fine. Well, he’s certainly adequate when healthy as we’ve seen. Hasn’t given up a sack yet, that I know of. Well, maybe one, but not like he was doing last season.

But if that’s Clabo’s issue…let him sit, plain and simple. The guy is AWFUL.

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I don’t get scared – but I DEFINATELY get nervous – when we are not kicking the snot out of teams we should. Especially when the O line is playing bad and the game planning appears mailed in. What happened to the offense that killed KC?

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So how did the NFL pan out this week? And how does it relate to the Falcons?

Steelers barely edge Bengals. Bengals had been touted as perhaps the team to beat in the AFC North, but do they really have any offense outside of AJ Green?

Big Ray has already made the comment that no matter what the Raiders do it doesn’t help the perception of the Falcons.

Patriots squeak out a win against the Jets. Are the Jets better than people thought, even with all their injuries and dysfunction? Or are the Pats on the decline, even as they talking heads try to convince the world that Tom Brady is still one of the best in the biz?

Titans over Bills, in another race to the bottom game, at least Chris Johnson put up some FFL numbers for me in one league (while sinking my ship in another… sigh…)

Colts top Browns, and now all of a sudden Luck is a spectacular athletic talent and potential rookie of the year? Really??

Pack sacks Rams. I never really believed the Rams were that good, and the Pack is still stacked with talent and a great offensive scheme. Their defense showed up a bit more today, but still gave up 20.

Vikings dump Cardinals. Cards were in the “best team” discussion last week weren’t they. Vikes were beat up by Skins last week weren’t they? How do you power rank teams when things like this happen every single week? Oh… that’s right… It’s a popularity contest anyway.

Refs give a game to Giants over the Redskins. The Giants were supposed to be the most complete team in the NFC right? Their defense makes Atlanta look pathetic right? But they didn’t run all over us like the did the Giants. If not for that phantom leg whip call when the Skins were about to blow it wide open in the 3rd quarter, the Giants take that L. Skins still had to work hard to give the game away.

Saints beat Bucs, but still can’t stop anyone. And that ignorant rule about being able to push receivers once the QB is out of the pocket is ridiculous. Never heard that one before yesterday. Also thought you could come back in bounds and touch the ball first as long as you didn’t run out on your own. Guess it take some pretty shady rules interpretations to keep the sAints relevant.

Cowboys survive against Panthers. The Falcons schedule it supposed to be getting tougher? We have two games against these teams and neither of them looked like they really cared to win. That’s supposed to be the tough competition coming up?

Texans spank Ravens. Flacco is proving that he is what we thought he was. Not capable of winning games, and just good enough not to lose games being won by that monster defense they used to have. They are now officially pretenders. Wonder how long it will take the media to realize that. AFC North is still up for grabs and not a threat in the long run.

49er’s barely beat Seahawks. Seahawks outplayed the Niners for most of that game. Again, the Niners were considered to be a far more complete team than the Falcons. Really? The most you can say is that they have one demonstrably more efficient running back. Other than that, exactly where are they so much better then the Falcons.

Can’t see why anyone is so very distressed about the Falcons. Sure they have some flaws, some weak links, and have played down to the competition a couple of times. But really, is there an obviously superior team in the NFL? If so, I certainly haven’t seen them yet.

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DHunt — Post is out.

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Yep. As I thought. That one was erroneously released from the clutches of the Blog Monster . . .

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DHunt, good post at 12:24!

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MB — Panthers screwed themselves when they picked (S)Cam / Headcase / Entertainer / Icon to put butts in the seats instead of drafting smart and dedicated football players while continuing to develop their team.

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Here’s some much needed great news, even though I don’t expect to see him on Sunday vs. the Eagles…….

http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-falcons-blog/2012/10/22/atlanta-falcons-corey-peters-returned-to-practice-today/

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“I think we need somebody to step up there and take hold like a Ray Lewis does or a Tom Brady does,’’ Hurney said.

It’s a shame Hurney didn’t come right out and say Scam was not that guy. Instead he said “I think he’s certainly capable.” Meaning, Scam cost me my job, imo.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/65531/marty-hurney-talks-about-his-firing

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Just out of curiosity I counted the posts on this page and found that 36% of the 47 posts are from the same person, the next closest, out of the ten different folks who posted, was 6%.
But who’s counting, huh? LOL

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I know this is off base but my son got married this weekend to a great girl and I am very proud for him. Anyway, they are now on a cruise to a destination where a hurricane is forming. Talk about bad luck. Ok Cagers, I’m back to football now. And to JB, LOL.

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Hey, no LOLing allowed! But for the record, JB, you personally posted 6 times, so 6 out of 6-47 posts is about 13%. My god, are we really this bored when the Falcons don’t play?

But yea, RR is toast, that is why I would sit (S)cams azz. May was well go out with your dignity, and I can tell you, every player in the locker room will respect it, they are waiting for it. Like I said, they recognize a non-hacker better than anyone.

Congrats on the son 21, keep your fingers crossed.

Also read where Smitty says Konz is “coming along”….Wonder if we will see him this week?

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21 — Congrats brother. I know you’re a proud papa. Did he marry a Dawgs fan?

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Few snippets from DOL’s new article…………

“We spent the week taking a good, hard look at things that we have to get better at. We identified them. Today was a Falcon on Falcon day where we came out here and really worked on fundamentals. We did not start our game planning yet for the Philadelphia Eagles. We’ll start that on Wednesday, so we’ll have a normal sequencing week. Big day on fundamentals today. Things we feel like we needed to do to help ourselves play better through the last ten games of the season.”

That’s good news. I think many times teams or coaches get to caught up in playcalling, schemes, etc. and forget about the most basic things to being a good football team: fundamentals.

Since I gave you the nugget on (TE) Michael Palmer before he went down we’ll talk about Michael is back. That’s good to see. We were targeting this week. Michael was able to participate in practice today, so that’s a positive to get him back.”

Really nice to see him back. Thought he was / is having a good year as TG’s #2.

“Peter Konz is coming on well. He’s a guy that can play two positions for us and I like the way he’s progressing.”

PUT HIM IN DMT!

ON EAGLES NEW DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR: “Most of it is about us. We’ve got to go out, and we have to execute. There will be some unknown. There will be some unscouted looks. Coach Bowles is an outstanding coach. He was the interim head coach at Miami last year and worked with Mike Nolan and Joe Danna.

I really hope this gives us at least a tiny bit of knowledge into any surprises we’re likely to see.

Working on new post……………

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No prob JB, I know your cool, I did occur to me that I was talking to myself all day. I had the Cam story on AM all day, so I just had to vent…that story and how utterly great Eli is, but hey, he got them rings.

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MB, took Eli four years, just wait for it.

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Chicago is looking pretty good but they still have the head case Cutler that will help keep the other team in game,

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Later JB, me also.

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