Atlanta Falcons: Birds Embarrassed by Panthers
One of Worst Losses in Smith Era
No Falcon in Sight (Chuck Burton)
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It’s hard to know where to start on this one. To be blunt, this was one of the worst losses in the entire time that Mike Smith has been head coach. This team has serious problems and they just proved to all the doubters and skeptics that they may be right after all. The Falcons may not always win while under Smith’s reign, but they usually always play hard and fight until the end. Well, that appeared not to happen on Sunday in Charlotte. The Falcons were not only beaten, but flat out embarrassed. Fans likely started getting that same sick feeling in the back of their throats the way they did the last two years in the playoffs, because that’s how bad they looked. A look at the horror show that was:
Offense Just Pitiful
One Bright Spot (Chuck Burton)
15 yards in the first quarter. 40 total yards in the first half. Michael Turner 2 carries for 3 yards. Do those stats strike you as a team ready to make waves in the postseason? Sure, they turned it on when they decided to start playing, but by that point it was entirely too late. When they were well behind, they decided to start playing a little offense and looked pretty good in the no-huddle which bogged back down when they needed points. The running game was non-existent, the line was horrible, and Matt Ryan was off yet again. Most of us tried to chalk up the poor offensive game vs. the Saints as just a blip, but they actually looked worse against the Panthers.
Rodgers Should Get Bulk of Carries
That’s putting it nicely. The fact has long been that Jacquizz Rodgers has shown way more upside and the ability to carry the bulk of carries in the backfield. All Falcons fans appreciate what Michael Turner has done for this franchise and he’ll likely have a banner hung in his name when it’s all said and done, but he’s just not getting it done. It’s hard to part with players who have meant so much to the franchise, but the time has come. Mike Smith obviously hasn’t got that memo. The entire offense played terrible so it’s unfair to scapegoat just one player, but Jacquizz Rodgers is just better and the facts don’t lie. Rodgers had 21 yards on 4 carries and Michael Turner carried the ball 7 times for 14 yards.
Just a Blip or Playoff Preview?
Yuck (Chuck Burton)
This game had trap written all over it. The Falcons clinched the NFC South and were playing a 3-9 team with the Giants coming up next week. Fans are trying their best to chalk it up as just a blip, but there’s a growing fear that we’re starting to see an eerily similar storyline. In 2010, the Falcons won a lot of close games en route to a 13-3 season and the NFC #1 seed. The rest, of course, is history seeing the Birds have a complete meltdown catastrophe vs. the Packers. Being completely objective, the Falcons are still 11-2, have already won their division, and are still leading the NFC, but the nightmare scenarios are getting worse and not better with the Falcons seemingly playing their best football at the beginning of the season and playing their worst football closer to the playoffs. There’s still 3 games left and all 3 teams will be good tests for the playoffs. This one can be chalked up to a trap game, but we’ll know everything we need to about this team the next three weeks, starting with the Giants at home in a one week.
Ryan is Trending Downward
Yes, he threw for 325 yards and one touchdown, but he also does not look the same quarterback that he did in the first half of the season. He missed throws, looked jittery in the pocket, and just didn’t seem to be in a good rhythm. Maybe it’s playing behind a weak offensive line, maybe he’s suffering from a weak running game, or maybe his coordinator is not helping him at all. Who knows why, but the results say that Ryan is going in the opposite direction. He looks the most comfortable in an open, no-huddle type offense, but for whatever reason, the coaching staff seems to avoid it except when they are 23 points down. Here’s to hoping Ryan gets it figured out and quickly.
Defensive Line Must Improve
It’s been common knowledge that John Abraham has been the Falcons only pass rush for a long time. Problem is, when he’s not completely on his game, the Falcons have nothing else. Biermann has great hustle, but is more of a linebacker playing as a defensive end. No one has taken advantage of Ray Edwards absence whatsoever. In particular, the defensive tackle position appears particularly weak. Peria Jerry has never turned that mythical corner, Corey Peters is likely not 100%, Vance Walker is a good rotational player, and Jonathan Babineaux is playing more defensive end and on the downside of his career. The Falcons were gashed by the run yet again and it allowed Cam Newton be precise in his passing. All considering, the defense did pretty decent since the offense didn’t help whatsoever until entirely too late.
Where’s the No-Huddle?
This is Done (Chuck Burton)
Matt Ryan always does best in an open, no-huddle type of offense. If you think about some of Ryan’s best games, they have come from those type of gameplans going all the way back to the Ravens game in 2010. This offense is more in sync, has more rhythm, and it masks some of the weaknesses on the offensive line. The Falcons were at their best early in the season with many of the no-huddle type of looks and yet they are going away from it with diminishing results. Even the run game seems more productive in the no-huddle. Do they have to stay in all the time? No, but why not go with what works best. They only implemented it when they were down 23 points and, sure enough, they went right down the field. The great mystery remains.
Bad Calls
This may come off as sour grapes and ultimately it likely didn’t matter with how poor the Falcons played, but there were several questionable calls at a very critical juncture in the game. The first was one of the worst calls of the entire season. The Falcons scored a touchdown and converted a two point conversion. Even the line judge ruled the 2 point conversion good and was evidently overruled. The ref said that Roddy White bobbled the ball, but the replay clearly showed he never bobbled the ball whatsoever. It was only two points, but it seemed to cut down some of the Falcons building momentum. Another play showed a critical catch by a Panthers receiver who appeared to drop the ball, the play was ruled incomplete, but the refs overturned that call. Finally, Dunta Robinson was called for holding a play where the defense seemed to get a stop. He was holding and it was the right call, but there were tons of times when Julio Jones, Tony Gonzalez, and John Abraham were being held to no avail.
Tackling Still an Issue
Weak Tackling (Chuck Burton)
This is an issue that was supposed to get fixed earlier in the season, but the Falcons are still having issues bringing down their opponents. Corey Peters couldn’t bring down Cam Newton for a sack (but also got no help at all either) and there were several other instances where the Panthers running back or quarterback got extra yards after the first hit. At best, they’re simply inconsistent. Some weeks they’ll tackle well and others, they won’t. If they don’t get it fixed in a hurry, they won’t be going far in the playoffs.
Bird Cage Painkillers Turn
1) Simple missed tackle – how awful was this game?
2) Does this rank as one of the worst under Smith?
3) Is it panic time with the offense?
4) What’s most to blame on offense (besides the OL)?
5) When will the Turner Era end? Should it end?
6) Was this just a blip or playoff preview?
7) What is wrong with Matt Ryan?
8.) Which is worse: offensive or defensive line?
9) Why do the coaches refuse to run no-huddle, open attack?
10) Bad calls or sour grapes?
11) Will tackling ever get consistent?
12) Are you terrified of upcoming Giants game?
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1,438 comments Add your comment
LRD
December 9th, 2012
5:07 pm
FFL alert.. at least my FFL team is ON today….
COfalconsfan
December 9th, 2012
5:13 pm
The offensive line is not efficient to create holes where plays are designed. For some reason Turner runs like he has to attack where the play is designed. The result, Turner tip toeing up some linemans arse and falling down. I speculate that Rogers running style, which is to cut back and create his own holes, would fit the ability level of the oline much better.
Another observation as I watch the saints game. We have no YAC guys. I love Tony and Roddy and wouldn’t give them away, but can we get a slot guy or TE that can get YAC. What about Quiz and turner on the field at the same time. Are you telling me Rogers couldn’t run some routes from a “hit” or slot position.
And what ever happened to giving snelling the rock? It wasnt too long ago he was a stud filling in for an injured Turner.
AlanFalcon
December 9th, 2012
5:14 pm
This is one pathetic loss to a team of pussycats led by a man named Hardy who spoke his mind and then went out and made it happen.
I hope this is not the beginning of the end for a team with championship hopes, but it surely wasn’t what you call a great start to the 4th Quarter on the road to the SuperBowl.
D3
December 9th, 2012
5:15 pm
Trying to write this post and I just am having a hard time getting this one done. I’m trying not to vomit on my keyboard.
Arno
December 9th, 2012
5:16 pm
Big Ray– When Koetter came he said some very accomodationg things about working with Ryan. Smith HAD to be good with this, right? The results have been baffling at best and sickening at worst. I have this picture in my mind of Ryan shoving Koetter up against a locker and saying “get the bleep out of my playcalling.” I have an alternate image of Ryan standing in front of Smith, drawing a line in the sand and saying, “Turner will never cross this line again.” Sorry– I wish I had a better idea of how to answer your points. Ryan has shown he has a temper. I hope he can find a way to put it to good use.
JJ
December 9th, 2012
5:18 pm
LRD, Congrats in our FFL league, thought our jamaican friend was fav by 20+ but his fatted cow Bryce Brown got 0 points. Your dang bench got almost 70 points. Guess Unca’Bob or myself will be your next victim…its early, playing nice for now!!!
tap
December 9th, 2012
5:19 pm
all matt ryan did was pad his stats to say” its not my fault that we loss” he doesnt have any sence of urgency and is completly clueless that he doesnt have a defense. his football IQ out weighs his athletic ability. hes better off coaching a little league team
AlanFalcon
December 9th, 2012
5:19 pm
One Pathetic showing, the Falcons ought to be Red Faced after what the Panthers did to them today.
Ray
December 9th, 2012
5:22 pm
Enter your comments here
Ray
December 9th, 2012
5:24 pm
@ AlanFalcon
They better be or come Playoffs the fans will be and not only that I’m calling it now if Smith can’t get it done he’s canned no matter what if he wins a playoff game he gets extra time wins 2 well the seat has cooled off, and if he goes all the way he gets to stay as much as he likes.
Great Falconi
December 9th, 2012
5:25 pm
This game is the result of the other mediocre performances we’ve had against bad football teams. We’ve all seen bad halves (and games) of football from Mike Smith teams before, but the first half today had less effort than any of the others. It’s embarrassing that any team, but especially an 11-1 football team, can be so uninterested in playing a game. The defense was terrible in the first half, but the offense gave the defense no chance to catch its breath. It was a total meltdown that continued into the second half, culminating in Cam Newton’s embarrassingly easy 72-yd TD run. At that point, we started to compete. Guys, you’re going to wait until you’re down 23-0 to try? That’s totally unacceptable. We had a bunch of Ray Edwardseseseseses out there today. Can’t cut ‘em all, Comrade.
Unca' Bob
December 9th, 2012
5:33 pm
Enough for one day. Ya’ll rest easy.
Slant Pattern
December 9th, 2012
5:34 pm
“SP– Not zero say. Ryan was quoted last week describing a play he helped design for Quizz on the sideline. I’m only saying that Ryan can and should speak up when the playcalling stinks. My comment had nothing to do with defending Smith. Smith said last week that the coaches had some “fun” planned for December. If what we saw today was fun, well… never mind.” – Arno
No worries, I misunderstood you then. You are right about the fun part. If Smitty had to take the beatings Ryans been getting I bet that fun statement would be about running the O-lines sorry arse into the ground with wind sprints.
Slant Pattern
December 9th, 2012
5:40 pm
“I’m sure I’m labeled a Ryan homer, even though I have issues with his performance/game as well. I just don’t think they are as prevalent or as all-encompassing as other opinions might assert.
But we’re not all gonna agree on this type of stuff.” – BR
Meh, I prolly am too. I notice most of Ryans detractors are outright trolls or people deflecting blame from their favorite guy. Liking Ryan or not is irrelevant to the fact that he makes this offense go when he is let off the leash and given the freedom to do so. The troll crowd is out in full force on other boards today so I’m willing to try and stem some of the nonsense if applicable. The O-line problems are what will sink our ship this year, I’m surprised at how well Ryan has performed with all the adversity he has been challenged with. If we can get him protected and used properly the ceiling is very high for the future.
Chop Buster
December 9th, 2012
5:42 pm
Darrell Starks, I totally agree. I’ve said this all season…they’ve achieved much more than I expected with the same players. The DC has overachieved and the OC has underachieved with the group we have. We’ve shown that we can move the ball up and down the field with a passing attack when needed. My question is why do we always revert back to the same type of plays that stall our drives?
Arno
December 9th, 2012
5:44 pm
Not in the mood for positives right now, but here goes: On the Falcons first scoring drive Ryan got a first down at the fifty on a throw to Gonzalez. It was the best fake to the running back I’ve seen for weeks.
D3
December 9th, 2012
5:47 pm
Needs in the draft: Big Boy DT, Offensive Guard, Running Back. The draft should be as follows:
1) Best available OG
2) Best available Big Boy DT
3) Best available RB
Move Konz to Center, plug in new draft pick. Put Holmes at LT. Let Baker and Clabo fight it out for RT. Problem solved.
Chop Buster
December 9th, 2012
5:47 pm
COfalconsfan that’s an excellent point about YAC. We are still running those same tired routes that Mularkey called when he was here. We are not getting the ball to our receivers on the move. I don’t know if Koetter knows how to really use our players strengths or Smitty is handcuffing him with the game plans.
D3
December 9th, 2012
5:48 pm
McClure and Clabo looked particularly bad today. What else is new.
Chop Buster
December 9th, 2012
5:50 pm
Tony Gonzalez seems a little heated under the collar:
“Tony Gonzalez didn’t try to sugarcoat it. He used the phrase “silver lining” just once, and seemingly begrudgingly.
Instead, he showed a passion and fire in the locker room that the Falcons seemed to lack in the first half Sunday against Carolina.
“Ridiculous. No doubt about it. We can’t leave our defense out there like we did, and we’ve got to put points up. We’re too good of an offense,” he said about the first-half Sunday. “We’ve got too many players. Too much talent.”
That was the feeling around the locker room after Sunday’s 30-20 loss to Carolina — a team the Falcons had to scratch and claw against earlier in the season to pull out a last-minute win.
During a week when the chatter was high between the two teams, the Panthers came out with intensity as a previously 3-9 team with not much to lose. The Falcons came out much different, amassing just 35 offensive yards on 13 total first-half plays, good for just 6:12 of offense.
“If we play like that in the first half, there’s no way. It’s not going to work out the way we want it to for the rest of the season,” Gonzalez said. “We’ve definitely got to learn from this game and we’ve got to go out there and play Falcon football, because we didn’t do that in the first half.”
The offensive struggles to start the game played a part in the Panthers jumping out to a 16-0 lead before halftime. A year earlier, the Falcons faced a 16-point deficit at the end of the first half against Carolina and came back to win.
Needing another one of Matt Ryan’s signature comeback performances, the Falcons fell down to 23-0 before the offense started clicking and Atlanta found itself on the scoreboard.
In true Falcons fashion, the team didn’t give up — Gonzalez’s lone silver lining of the day — and Atlanta was able to cut the score within 10 in the second half.
It’s as close as the Falcons would get as Carolina put Atlanta away with a 53-yard screen pass touchdown in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
“It better be a bump in the road if we’re the team we think we are,” Gonzalez said. “I can hear them right now. They’re getting off the bandwagon. I can hear them jumping off, but that’s how it goes. Looking at our history, a lot of people are going to say, ‘See? I told you,’ or whatever.
“We’re a good football team — no doubt about it. And we’re going play better, because we have to. We’re going to get back and play the way we have, but it’s up to us to have a good week of practice and come out against a very good football team against the Giants and get this thing rolling.””
Chop Buster
December 9th, 2012
5:52 pm
Now will Gonzalez’s comments light a fire under this team’s butt? We play defense so aggressively against certain teams and then so tentatively with the running QBs. We have no answer on how to defend Cam, I’m sorry to say.
Chop Buster
December 9th, 2012
5:53 pm
D3 those McClure and Clabo should have been gone from this team. Again, it goes back to the Falcons not really solidifying this OL. Even Baker should be a backup at best.
JB Falcon
December 9th, 2012
5:53 pm
D3, I am not envious of your job right now. It appears that the attitude of the cage right now is pretty sh!tty so a little optimism wouldn’t hurt. I’m the type of fan/homer that can see some good in a pile of cow sh!t, it makes good fertilizer.
This loss didn’t bother me as much as it did some others. We kept Asante and Moore out, not that they would have changed the game, but there is a possibility that the CS wanted to see just how bad our weaknesses were? We did show that, when we want to, we can be dangerous. I am going to go with UB and others, one loss is not detrimental to getting into the playoffs. Home field advantage would be nice but we’ve seen how that worked out. I’m just glad this game happened when it did instead of in the playoffs. I’m currently watching our next foe and figuring what we will have to do to beat them. I’m joining UB now, moving on.
Chop Buster
December 9th, 2012
5:54 pm
D3 looks like the monster got my previous post.
D3
December 9th, 2012
5:55 pm
Chop — What did Gonzo say?
The Time is NOW
December 9th, 2012
6:02 pm
It’s up there now. ANOTHER reason you gotta love TG!
Chop Buster
December 9th, 2012
6:04 pm
D3, I posted it above from the Falcons website, from the article, “It Better Be a Bump in the Road”
JJ
December 9th, 2012
6:05 pm
UB/JB, give us at least 24 hrs to vent…its the only vise we have after such a stunning performance of our fav sport team. We are fanatics right? So I will bitch and moan about my team and plz forgive me…its just a release of my blood pressure…actually healthy if you think about it. Just havin a laugh buddy, no biggie.
Coop, looks like RG3 got hurt, can you drop some of your 4 qbs please????
The Time is NOW
December 9th, 2012
6:05 pm
Thanks, Chop Buster.
Chop Buster
December 9th, 2012
6:07 pm
They all know we have too much talent on the offense to be performing this way–go an entire first half with ZERO points. Our offense is showing chinks in the armor too late in the season. We should be lighting fire this time of year. It’s definitely something to be concerned about. We all want to see that this team corrected things and come out the following week putting 35+ on a team. But we know that’s not going to happen with the existing coaching staff for whatever reason.
darrell starks
December 9th, 2012
6:07 pm
D3, Falcons need a DT with the first pick.
After watching John Jenkins this year specially against Tides no way i touch him until 4th round.
Jenkins played Lazy this year at DT.
GO FALCONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chop Buster
December 9th, 2012
6:08 pm
Time is Now…you’re welcome.
WR
December 9th, 2012
6:10 pm
Not to be the eternal optimist, but as a Falcons fan sure I wanted this team to win, I want them to go undefeated and win the Superbowl every year. As a football fan, that happens to be a fan of the Falcons, to get totally beat down with three games to go before the playoffs in my opinion is a good thing. Why:
1. The Falcons have just been getting by for weeks, when your winning and not at your peak performance its I lot easier to say well we won, no matter the circumstance, which also makes it hard to understand you have major problems.
2. All the one and done themes of the playoffs the last couple of years is getting really old, Carolina called the Falcons out then preceded to punch them in the mouth without much of an answer from the Falcons. Sorry but they could have went undefeated the rest of the way, continued to just get by, but a punch in the mouth might finally wake this team up.
3. Back to that punch in the mouth, the Panthers stated earlier in the week they were better, they sat out from the beginning of the game to prove so, sure they talked smack but they backed it up. Love this new regime, don’t get me wrong, it takes alot to turn a losing franchise into a yearly contender, that’s been a accomplished. Import or export this and that player all you want, sure in many cases it helps, but what gets you over the top is a killer instinct. This team has lacked that in the past and lacks it now. There satisfied with getting by with wins because they just so happen to do so. They seem to always know what they need to fix after there weaknesses have been exposed, but so long as their winning they never really try to fix them. They know their headed into the playoffs here so, maybe this beatdown will help them take things seriously, the Falcons of the past 4 years are a nice bunch of regular season champs, problem is their playoff chumps, so hopefully this humbling by Carolina will open some eyes, or at least some processes, given the current state, these birds need all the help they can get.
falcon21
December 9th, 2012
6:13 pm
Yes I am a Ryan homer, after 5 years of bitching about our piss poor o-line I think that is clear. The dude can play the game but has no o-line to help him! That is really easy to see although many don’t.
Bob in Buford
December 9th, 2012
6:15 pm
Does it strike anyone else that both the O & D started the season taking on some of the personality of their new coordinators.
Then, over the course of the season both units have started resembling the MS teams of past seasons, right down to the MT33 runs (which are even more worthless this season than last) & easily gashed soft zone coverage.
Of course, I’m probably just some idiot fan who doesn’t know what he’s talking about, but some of these things we’re complaining about sure look familiar …
The Time is NOW
December 9th, 2012
6:17 pm
We have always known that this season would be judged by how we do in the playoffs. At this point, the only thing the Falcons can do to stop the smart *ss jokes on the pregame show is win in the playoffs.
Game 17 is put up or shut up time. Today the team shut up and got beat by a team that publicly trashed their manhood. Still hoping this team will put up better than this in Game 17.
p.s, – I still think that if this team wins a playoff game, the sky is the limit
Nookah
December 9th, 2012
6:27 pm
LRD,
Congrats my friend. I struggled all year and could not develop any consistency. My mid-season find bombed out today. I went to the Bryce Brown well once too often and paid the price. Oh well, good luck for the rest of the playoffs.
I guess you have “chased this crazy bald head out of town”.
On to the Falcons. I did bot get to see the game but from the posts I can see we stunk the place up this week. Next week will indeed be the test as Big Ray stated earlier.
I will not repeat my “CEO” analogy on another blog but I doubt MS has the goods to take us to the promised land. If we don’t get there this year I think AB needs to make a change, plain and simple.
Go Falcons!!
BobbyDawg
December 9th, 2012
6:27 pm
Ryan just didn’t have ANY time at all today. How can he check down when he doesn’t even have time to find his primary receiver? I hope they iron out some of these O line problems before the playoffs start. No protection for the QB. No holes opened for the RB. Exploited to say the least. go falcons
JB Falcon
December 9th, 2012
6:27 pm
JJ, don’t get me wrong brother, I am totally pizzed off about this loss. I saw a team, the Falcons, play a pizz poor game game. I’m trying to take WR’s attitude and see some good out of it. If this crappy azz loss didn’t teach the CS that they are pizzing on their shoes and calling it a rainstorm, then I don’t know what will. I read TG’s comments on the Falcons.com and totally agree. We have absolutely too much talent on this team to suffer a beatdown like we did. It is totally unacceptable as a fan but, we don’t play the game, nor do we get to call the plays. That’s probably a good thing, I would be getting disability payments.
Slant Pattern
December 9th, 2012
6:28 pm
Vagiants slaughtering the Taints.
Slant Pattern
December 9th, 2012
6:30 pm
“Does it strike anyone else that both the O & D started the season taking on some of the personality of their new coordinators.
Then, over the course of the season both units have started resembling the MS teams of past seasons, right down to the MT33 runs (which are even more worthless this season than last) & easily gashed soft zone coverage.
Of course, I’m probably just some idiot fan who doesn’t know what he’s talking about, but some of these things we’re complaining about sure look familiar …” – Bob in Buford
Good points and welcome to the Cage. I certainly wouldn’t judge you an idoit based on those observations. Could you fill in for Smitty next week? The coma patient isn’t available and any brain use over zero would be an improvement
.
JB Falcon
December 9th, 2012
6:30 pm
21, 6:13 agree 100%, and we all know whose fault that it.
falcon21
December 9th, 2012
6:32 pm
All the one and done themes of the playoffs the last couple of years is really getting old. WR. Yes it is and until the o-line is taken care of it will stay the same.
Big Lou
December 9th, 2012
6:35 pm
http://blog.atlantafalcons.com/jayadams/2012/12/09/falcons-eager-to-make-sunday-a-bump-in-road/
Tony G not having it.
Pigskin
December 9th, 2012
6:40 pm
I just feel really bad for Tony G. Guy stuck around this year thinking we may have a chance to do something special….and it’s come to this?
Unbelievable and downright cruel what this team has done to him and his dreams. Inexcusable.
Wabe
December 9th, 2012
6:40 pm
There’s a simple solution to our offensive woes. I’m not saying it’ll solve every existing problem we have, but it’s obvious at this point we function far better out of the no huddle.
We were predominantly a no huddle team early in the season, and as the season continued, we’ve seen less of it.
At this point, they need to recognize that going no huddle is our best bet. If they’re not gonna change the looks up front on the O-Line personnel wise, then your best bet is to speed up the tempo of the game and tire out opposing fronts.
Why they’re having such a hard time coming to that conclusion is what I don’t get.
Defensively, I was hoping Nolan would get this defense to play Cam better after already having played him. But, Cam did whatever he wanted. With that said, our defense was put in a tough spot all afternoon. They played the majority of the 1st half on the field. They were without 2 stars in our secondary. Wouldn’t really make too much of this performance defensively. Still comfortable with this group’s potential in the playoffs.
The same story here through 14 weeks. Where’s this ‘explosive’ offense. At this point, they are what they are. They’re not an explosive offense. But, they do have the potential to still be a very good offense, if they make the proper adjustments and play to our strengths.
No huddle. Period. From the opening possession.
Big Lou
December 9th, 2012
6:40 pm
http://www.atlantafalcons.com/media-lounge/videos/A-Learning-Loss/53f6f821-f2b7-4b8b-bada-64f8debed63c
Don’t really like Matt Ryan’s responses. The offense sucked, period. I give no credit to Carolina.
The Giants game is going to predict the playoffs for the Falcons. I will watch that game, but if they lose… I am done till the playoffs, where they most likely will be ONE and DONE!
D3
December 9th, 2012
6:44 pm
f21 — What would your plan be for the OL in the off-season? I agree whole-heartedly. This current OL is crap. McClure should not be starting at all. Clabo should be at RG, Konz at center, and can Holmes be any worse at LT or RT? I mean dayum.
Big Lou
December 9th, 2012
6:44 pm
“Defensively, I was hoping Nolan would get this defense to play Cam better after already having played him. But, Cam did whatever he wanted. With that said, our defense was put in a tough spot all afternoon. They played the majority of the 1st half on the field. They were without 2 stars in our secondary. Wouldn’t really make too much of this performance defensively. Still comfortable with this group’s potential in the playoffs. ”
I agree. We didn’t have Asante Samuel and William M, who are both wonderful against the run, as well. I am waiting for the Giants game(where we are fully healthy on defense) to make any judgments on them.
Mike
December 9th, 2012
6:48 pm
Please tell me if I am overreacting or not…
This team has some real issues. I firmly believe that they are over-rated. Look at Seattle. Rookie QB and they are dominating a defense that shut us down (Arizona). With as much work as our defense has needed, it still seems that it is our offense that is holding this team back. Here are some major issues that I have noticed. Throughout the year you expect issues, but you also expect the team to correct them and get better. We haven’t gotten better. We have pretty much just stayed the same. I really like our resiliency. But that can only over come poor play so often.
Offense:
This team is still not operating at a level that their talent suggests they should. I dont know what it is. I know the oline is weak. We cant pass block and now we cant even run block. I firmly believe this is the #1 culprit to our offensive issues. If Ryan has time and feels comfortable, he can dissect a defense. The WR also seem to be having issues getting open. The plays down field arent there hardly and Ryan is constantly checking down. The offense just seems to be too conservative. I get a feeling that even Smitty doesnt know how this offense should run. He still uses Turner in ways that dont work. He lines up on the first play of the game to run the ball. Everyone knows its coming and yet we still do it. And we still gain just a yard. And even now I am beginning to wonder if Kotter is the right guy. This offense has the ability to blow teams out. Its not going to happen every game, but it should happen. And its not. This offense has taken steps back all year.
Defense:
The piss poor tackling continues to be an issue. Our secondary will have one good game and then a bad one. Guys like DR and DeCoud will look great one Sun and will make you want to rip your hair out another Sun. We just don’t seem like a tough defense. We seem more finesse, and on top 0f all that after years, we still have a pathetic pass rush. The dline is small and weak. We cant stop the run, and we cant sack the QB. We basically have to rely on turnovers to win on the defensive side of the ball.
The inability to fix some of the major issues on this team year in and year out also have me questioning TD and his ability to get the right players.
Look, I know all this sounds nuts coming from a fan of a play-off bound 11-2 team. I guess thats what happens when your 11-1 team gets man handled by a 3-9 team, and worst yet, it doesnt surprise you. Plus, it doesnt mean that the issues arent there. We are suppose to be getting hot this time of year and it just doesnt seem to be happening. I love this team and am not trolling. I am just a concerned fan. I want to see progress. And even though we have seen tremendous progress from 2007. We have not seen as much from 2008.