Atlanta Falcons: Birds Steamroll Giants
Wow!
What a Game! (AJC)
Fans have been waiting a long time for a statement game, and boy was it worth the wait. The Falcons utterly dominated every aspect of the game against the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. It was one of the best and most complete games in the 5 years that Mike Smith has been head coach and likely one of the best in franchise history. Wanted to go ahead and get a new thread up and let you all discuss the great game that was. Rest of post will be finished soon. Enjoy………..
One of the Best Wins in the Smith Era
Last week was one of the worst losses in the Smith Era, but he followed it up with one of the best wins not only in his tenure, but likely in franchise history. The Falcons utterly dominated pretty much every aspect of the game. They moved down the field with ease on offense, getting almost every playmaker involved. The offensive line had one of it’s best game in years versus one of the best defensive fronts in all of football. The defense not only intercepted two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning twice, but also held the Giants on three 4th down conversions in the Falcons territory. The special teams stepped up to the plate and held David Wilson in check and the planning and preparation on the coaches part has to be one of the best in years. If fans were waiting for a complete game, they finally got it and then some.
Ryan’s Great Day
JJ with Two TDs (AJC)
AJC columnist Jeff Schultz wrote an article about Matt Ryan asking every player for an extra 30 minutes this week and promising an hour of his own time for every 30 minutes the players gave. The leadership off the field translated to an excellent day on the field. After a bad trend started to emerge the last few games, Ryan bounced back in superb fashion and led the team to one of it’s best offensive outputs of the season. Ryan was efficient (23/28), checked in to correct plays throughout the game, threw the deep ball, and came away with 3 touchdown passes. He did one of his best jobs distributing the ball in a long while. He found a way to include almost every offensive playmaker in some form or fashion. Here’s to hoping that Ryan is hitting his stride at just the right time and that turns out to be true, he’s going to a tough out for almost every defense.
Great Coaching Effort
Many of us here in The Bird Cage have been guilty of heaping criticism on the Falcons head coach (this author as guilty as anyone), but it’s only fair to give effusive praise when warranted as well. Coach Smith seemed to take the embarrassing loss to the Panthers personal and it “heightened their focus” while planning and preparing for the Giants. The scheme on offense, defense, and special teams was magnificent. They confused and harassed Manning on defense. The offensive scheme was one of the best in a long while, making a point to getting as many playmakers involved as possible and making it virtually impossible for the Giants to focus in on one or two players. The special teams held one of the most explosive returners in the game in check as well. A huge kudos to Coach Smith and the entire coaching staff on a near-flawless gameplan, preparation, and execution. Here’s to hoping that Smith can find a way to bottle that special week of practice for the playoffs coming up soon.
Excellent Tackling, Defense
Falcons D Stands Tough (AJC)
The Falcons found a way to fix one of their biggest issues on defense all year long: tackling. They wrapped up well throughout the game, which was a big factor in stopping the Giants 3 times on 4th down conversions. They carried a gameplan that did wonders to confuse and harass Eli Manning throughout the game. Only a few times did the Birds have issues stopping the Giants. They were able to shut down one of the more talented receiving corps in the NFL with Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz, and Dominik Hixon. It also was a total team effort. Chris Hope did an excellent job filling in for the injured William Moore. Stephen Nicholas had one of the better games he’s had in awhile, adding to the already stellar play of Sean Weatherspoon and rapidly improving Akeem Dent. The defensive line generated pressure and held firm against the run, one of the weakest areas through the season. Asante Samuel has brought a swagger to this defense and his presence was readily felt early in the game. Hats off to one of the best defensive efforts in recent memory.
Nice Run Mix
Michael Turner led the way and Jacquizz Rodgers and Jason Snelling added in some nice balance and formed a very complementary trio in the backfield. Turner saw most of the carries and ran as hard and well as he did all season. Rodgers may not have had the best final stat sheet (11 carries for 25 yards), but he injected some needed versatility and shiftiness in the backfield to Turner’s hard charging style. One of the most pleasant surprises was seeing Jason Snelling rack up 39 yards on 6 carries, running with drive and toughness. Snelling hasn’t gotten many touches this season, but he may have earned himself some more with his play on Sunday. Some will say that it was only a product of mop-up time, but there didn’t seem to be any wholesale changes on the Giants defense. Snelling basically ended the game all by himself, running for several first downs to end the game kneeling down inside the Giants own 10 yard line. It will always be a struggle getting all the backs involved with markedly less carries than the past due to the emergence of the passing game, but Dirk Koetter did a darn fine job of it on Sunday.
Huge Game by the Offensive Line
Great Day by Ryan (AJC)
No other unit has been so beleaguered and criticized as the Falcons offensive line. They may not be a more maligned unit on any team in the entire NFL. With their backs to the wall and facing one of the best fronts in the league (ones who owned them in last year’s postseason nonetheless), they gave Matt Ryan plenty of time and opened plenty of big holes for the running backs. It was by far one of the best played games by the Falcons OL in a long time. Like Smith with the Giants gameplan and preparation, only if they can figure out a way to bottle that scheme and execution for the playoffs.
HD’s Big Day
Sure, it was only 3 catches for 83 yards, but fans finally saw what they’ve been waiting so long for, which was to see the extremely talented slot receiver make an impact in a game in a big way. The thought was always that Douglas would start to get a ton of looks with defenses focusing on Julio Jones, Roddy White, and Tony Gonzalez first, but that hasn’t really come to fruition this year as expected. There’s only so many touches to go around and the Falcons already have two 1,000 receivers and a tight end that is well over 800 yards himself. However, Douglas had two huge receptions for long gains that helped change the face of the game. The catches added an element of versatility not seen to this extent in 2012 where defenders found themselves in an impossible position of trying to cover all the Falcons weapons. In fact, if Ryan had hit Douglas in stride on the first long reception, he may have taken it to the house. It was a beautiful sight to behold seeing essentially all of the Falcons weapons get in on the action, including HD, and much of the credit goes directly to Dirk Koetter for his superb gameplan and scheme.
Keep It Going……
Smitty Gets Huge Kudos! (AJC)
The Falcons have a 2 game lead in the NFC for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and seemingly only need to win one of the two final games to lock up the home-field advantage. However, if history has told us anything in the NFL lately, the team that’s playing the best football as the playoffs approach are usually the ones that go the deepest in the postseason. They couldn’t have asked for a better way to start the final drive towards the playoffs, but they will have their focus tested as they travel to the Detroit Lions who are 4-10 on the year and host the Bucs who sit at 6-8 after being 6-4 only a month ago. They talked about keeping the pedal to the metal before their clunker of the year in Charlotte. They also will not have the luxury of getting up for the defending Super Bowl Champions and also the team that knocked them out of the playoffs. With so many goals right in front of them, an issue of focus and motivation shouldn’t be a problem.
Bird Cage Victors Turn
1) Simple Steamroll – where does this game rank for you?
2) Is this the best game in the Mike Smith Era?
3) How does the coaching rank for you?
4) Is Ryan taking that final, next step?
5) Is the defense peaking for the playoffs?
6) Just a one game surge, or are the Falcons finally clicking?
7) Your thoughts on the running back mix?
8.) Can Smith and Co. bottle that preparation and practice for the playoffs?
9) Most importantly, can the Falcons keep it going?
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688 comments Add your comment
The Time is NOW
December 17th, 2012
12:14 am
There is something to that. I can’t really argue with Smitty’s record when he leads after 3 qtrs. though. It’s something insane, I looked it up a week or two ago. I know Matty Ice has bailed him out sometimes, but 35-1 (approx.) gets you a pass in my book.
The Time is NOW
December 17th, 2012
12:16 am
The comeback info kind of surprises me. I would’ve guessed more than 13 points.
Coop
December 17th, 2012
12:17 am
Now – True, but Smitty plays with fire way too often. MR2 has bailed him out so many times…
Chicago, Baltimore, SF, Oakland, Carolina, TB, etc.
The Time is NOW
December 17th, 2012
12:19 am
C’mon Dungy. Washington???
The Time is NOW
December 17th, 2012
12:20 am
Can’t argue with you. Sometimes its better to be lucky than good.
The Time is NOW
December 17th, 2012
12:21 am
Last post was for Coop.
The Time is NOW
December 17th, 2012
12:27 am
Later Cage..
BobbyDawg
December 17th, 2012
5:52 am
I know we’ve had some great games over the years, but this game, beating, shutting out, last years SB champs who embarrased us in the playoffs. This is second to none in a long long time. I wish I could mix it up in a cake mix, bake it and eat it. Thank you Falcons and staff. You made it happen for a lot of hungry folks yesterday.
Birdman
December 17th, 2012
6:31 am
Its good to be a Falcon fan this morning.
Cage ya’ll have a blessed day
Big Lou
December 17th, 2012
6:40 am
I’m sick of ESPN and the NFL Network.
ATL is getting no respect at all, even after crushing the Giants.
Now they are saying it was just a lie game where they just played bad.
I’m sick to my stomach. I really want the Falcons to win the Superbowl now.
As I thought, they also said… well, win in the playoffs.
Chop Buster
December 17th, 2012
7:00 am
Man I loved that quick snap Brady used to wear down the 49er defense and marched right down the field. I’d like to see Matt incorporate a few of these little nuances in his game as well. I remember seeing a Giant player trying to get off the field when Matt was under center and thinking he should snap the ball so we can get an automatic first down. Matt had great protection all day and played like a baller. I’m ready to see us attack our remaining opponents the way we did the Giants and take our home field advantage. Go Falcons!!!
Birdman
December 17th, 2012
7:10 am
Big Lou
It’s all good brother . The Falcons play better when they are not put on the top .Just let them live there denial. We know what we got here in our city.
Have a great day brother . On my way back to the island this morning. Cage be Blessed
trademark
December 17th, 2012
8:03 am
You know? After the Carolina loss last week and the predictable backlash from the National Media…”frauds”, “freefall” and so forth, I realized that their lack of respect was making me feel miserable about watching one of the all-time greatest seasons in the NFL, and I wasn’t going to let them do that anymore. I said to Hell with them, I believe in my team, and I’m going to have one hell of a great time watching them. Thank you Falcons, thank you for rewarding the faith from the real fans. GO FALCONS! SUPER BOWL!!
Unca' Bob
December 17th, 2012
8:09 am
On the second play of the game Samuel had his int. Our left DE just blew up their RT and bashed E Manning. Who was it?
Wings
December 17th, 2012
8:25 am
JB Falcon
December 16th, 2012
10:28 pm
Ode from the Cage to MB.
Wings
December 17th, 2012
8:26 am
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1443665-50-worst-nfl-head-coaches-of-all-time/page/53
Interesting that the Falcons are represented in several ways.
Big Lou
December 17th, 2012
8:33 am
Unca’ Bob
I don’t believe that was a DE. It was a LB blitz. And he blew up the pass protector(RB) and hit Manning, not the RT. It looked like Nicholas.
Big Lou
December 17th, 2012
8:36 am
http://www.nfl.com/videos/new-york-giants/0ap2000000112579/Falcons-defense-INT
Here is the play, UB. It was SPOOOOOOOOON!
Unca' Bob
December 17th, 2012
8:42 am
Big Lou,
The game yesterday was an away game for me so I couldn’t DVR it. Whoever it was made the interception happen.
JJ
December 17th, 2012
8:46 am
***FFL***
Congrats LRD and JWW making it to the championship game in the SarahB Cage FFL.
Unca' Bob
December 17th, 2012
8:50 am
Big Lou,
Thanks. It was Spoon. I guess that will teach me to F5 before I post.
Wabe
December 17th, 2012
8:52 am
The way the Falcons played offensively yesterday can’t be overlooked.
And it shouldn’t be overlooked by the coaching staff. The way that everybody seemed to get involved in the offense was what I’ve been clamoring for. I understand we have two stud receivers and an all-time great at TE. But, it’s absurd to suggest that HD can’t contribute in this offense. If anything, he should be getting more looks because he should see favorable coverages and matchups with all the attention going to RW84, JJ11, and TG. Ryan did a great job of spreading the ball around and not locking in on one guy. I think it helps when he has the protection and can actually scan the field. HD had a few big plays, and I would hope that it continues. Keep looking his way 3-4 times a game for a potential big play. It gives defenses more to worry about, and makes it even tougher to matchup.
You had HD getting involved. Mike Cox even caught a ball and made a great play for a 1st down. RW84 – JJ11 – TG all played critical roles. Turner – Quizz – Snelling all got touches and actually ran and caught the football out the backfield effectively.
You gotta utilize everybody.
Wabe
December 17th, 2012
8:56 am
Big Lou,
Don’t let BSPN bug you so much man…
They madddddddddddddddddddddddddddd.
I mean, their Giants and Pats got beatdown on the same weekend. I know the Pats made a game of it – but they got pushed around for a good half. I will say this though, I hope Smoetter looks at the tape of that game [if we see SF in the playoffs] from the 2nd half on, because the Pats definitely showed something in their comeback. They went no huddle [because they had to being down 28], sped up the tempo of the game, and exposed that Niners man coverage. No huddle helped to slow down that Niners pass rush, and Brady carved up the back end of that defense.
Atlanta Falcons: Birds Steamroll Giants | Atlanta InformerAtlanta Informer
December 17th, 2012
9:03 am
[...] News here – Atlanta Falcons: Bird Cage ← City Council, mayor salaries will increase; thousands of Atlantans immediately consider [...]
snacktastic
December 17th, 2012
9:06 am
The end of the game yesterday was proof (as if we needed any more) that Snelling needs more carries. He runs harder than Turner at this point.
Big Lou
December 17th, 2012
9:19 am
Wabe
Yeah, can’t wait for the playoffs. I like your post about HD.
Yet, the Falcons left a lot of points on the field. The Giants had more yards than the Falcons going into the second half. I’m happy about the win, but using Turner is going to hurt the Falcons in the future against stout defenses like the Seahawks/49ers.
Offensive line did a great job, but the RB issue needs to be addressed. Bench Turner!
DHunt
December 17th, 2012
9:22 am
Everyone show re-read Trademark @8:03. ” I realized that their lack of respect was making me feel miserable about watching one of the all-time greatest seasons in the NFL, and I wasn’t going to let them do that anymore.”
Seems like quite a few people are missing out on enjoying one of the truly great seasons in Falcons history. Squabbling about who said what and who should be playing and who is a bad coach and all manner of foolishness. We’ve got a 12-2 team that is going about their business in exemplary fashion. It’ ok to be present an honest critique, but I really hope more people, in the Cage especially, can at some point start to enjoy what’s happening before our very eyes. Live in the moment and stop agonizing over what might happen or what almost happened, or what happened in the past.
In the words of Dave Chapelle (as Rick James), “IT’S A CELEBRATION, B*TCHES!”
Wings
December 17th, 2012
9:29 am
Unca’Bob I would not have seen the replay of the interception if you had not posted and if BL had not linked to the video. Don’t use that F5.
SOMEBODY NEEDS TO TELL THE TRUTH
December 17th, 2012
9:34 am
Just got done catching up, reading the post game (new blog post). I am really surprised, not one comment complementing the play of the offensive line. IMHO, They easily turned in the best perfomance of the year…maybe the last 2 years. Good job O Line. Gotta give Koetter some props as well for the scheme he put together. Roddy White was gonna be active for the game, Period! but as a decoy more than anything else, if some you think it was coincidence that Harry Douglas had a nice game against the Giants, wasn’t luck…it was game planned for him to get the bulk of Roddy’s plays. Good job Koetter.
We all know what our offense is capable of when they play at their best…but I’d like to take a minute, look over at the other side of the ball. Our defense is very underrated, this Defense is the same defense that shut Dough Martin down when he was running all over everybody, before he played us ofcourse. We held Drew Brees to NO TD since he began the streak in 2009…We handed the Giants their fisrt shut out since the 2006 season, I tell you, defenses that play as a cohesive unit make the aforementioned accomplisments.
…And watch Vance Walker, his snaps have been on the increase since the game against the Tampa Bay Bucs. He is gradually, IMO, becoming the anchor of the DLine. Go back and watch him on some of the run plays against the Giants, he clogs space, stuffs the run…and he slashes gaps to rush the QB. Vance is the real deal.
snacktastic
December 17th, 2012
9:35 am
DHunt, well said. There’s never been more truth to the phrase “haters gonna hate”.
Big Lou
December 17th, 2012
10:04 am
Somebody
“Offensive line did a great job, but the RB issue needs to be addressed. Bench Turner!”
9:19am
Zoomie
December 17th, 2012
10:13 am
In my excitement, I almost jumped on here a few times yesterday, but decided to just let the game digest and see what I felt/thought about it this morning.
In a nutshell: I’m stunned.
For the last two years, it’s been evident to everyone who pays attention that the weaknesses of the Atlanta Falcons is O-line and D-line. Yesterday, both of these lines dominated their opponent. And in the case of the O-line, against a team that’s been lauded as having the best front four in football.
There’s not enough accolades to go around for MR2 and his skill players, but I believe we’ve all anticipated their potential. I’m just stunned that the Falcons controlled the LOS so effectively throughout the game. I just didn’t anticipate that happening — against the Giants, no less.
I think the numerous draws and screens set the stage for the O-line to succeed. The run game was more effective because the Giants’ D was kept off-balance by the unpredictability of the play-calling (prior to garbage time). Also, they attacked the edge more than the middle. (Thought it kind of strange that they used MT33 on the edges and sent JR32 into the middle.)
Any time a team pitches a shutout in the NFL, it’s noteworthy. To have done it against the Giants is huge. Let’s see what the Birds can do with the momentum.
ItsMe
December 17th, 2012
10:17 am
After last weeks bye in Panther country, Falcons beat the defending champs with ease. Don’t fool yourself panty fans, for three quarters the Falcons were toying around as if it was practice. Lol…ya’ll really think as sCam and Hardy think…that you are better. Typical Panther season loosing record, but at the end of the season start claiming you are better than everybody else. Lol…silly little panty fans.
ItsMe
December 17th, 2012
10:18 am
Big Lou
December 17th, 2012
10:04 am
Somebody
“Offensive line did a great job, but the RB issue needs to be addressed. Bench Turner!”
??????
SOMEBODY NEEDS TO TELL THE TRUTH
December 17th, 2012
10:20 am
I agree BL, Turners touches should be limited to pounding the others teams DL when we have leads the the 4th quarter. I noticed some runs Turner had against the Giants, they were not maximized because of his plodding style of running. Some of those holes (our much maligned OL) created, could have been exploited more if Quizz, Snelling, or GOD forbid Antoine would of had the opportunity to carry the rock.
I like the “Bench Turner” thing. Kinda sounds like a heading for a petition.
Arno
December 17th, 2012
10:23 am
I was hoping to see some improvement on Ryan’s fakes. Improvement doesn’t describe it at all. Ryan was amazing on his fakes. He said he could see the field better. The O line played better. The play calls were better. I’m LOVING THE CHEMISTRY!
D3
December 17th, 2012
10:26 am
Working on new post. What a great day to be a Falcons fan.
And I hope none of you were actually expecting the national-media-elite-experts to give the Falcons any credit were you? Silly, silly…………
Big Lou
December 17th, 2012
10:50 am
Arno
Exactly. Ryan was impressive on his fakes, even though the Giants secondary is horrid.
I’ll reserve further judgements to see if it becomes a habit.
alex
December 17th, 2012
11:12 am
dont worry about the big blue, we will make falcons pay in the play offs.
trademark
December 17th, 2012
11:34 am
Just read Peter King’s MMQB…and while I said that I don’t care anymore what they say anymore and will just enjoy, this was an exception to the rule….on the not caring part, his “fine fifteen” has New England, Denver, San Francisco and Houston ahead of us. Whatever, I know we can hang with those teams and beat them on any Sunday, Super or otherwise. New England has no D, they use their offense as a weapon, and while that works great against some teams, elite QBs have been OWNED by the Falcons this season. Denver, no comment. WE know the truth there, and haven’t forgotten the score. (You know, head-to.head is USUALLY pretty telling…aw, whatever
) San Fran is pretty good, probably the scariest of the four, but I know we can take them. Houston is a lot like Atlanta three years ago…can’t seem to beat the teams they really, really need to beat. We’d beat them too. Like I said, I don’t care what he says, I have my opinions, and they are shiny and bright in Atlanta’s favor. And the 12-2 record backs me up on that.
What I DO care about is this diarrhea:
“On Sunday morning, Cruz wrote on Twitter: “Today’s game is for you Jack.”
On one shoe, Cruz wrote in black Sharpie: “Jack Pinto My Hero.” On the other, “RIP Jack Pinto.
Falcons 34, Giants 0. Cruz wishes he, and the team, could have played better.”
“There is no way to segue to football without seeming totally crass, so forgive me. Before I do, praise to the Giants, in Atlanta, and the Jets tonight, in Nashville, for remembering Sandy Hook Elementary School on their helmets. And to the Patriots, New England’s team, for the Newtown helmet decals (right), and for sending up 26 flares honoring the school victims during a prolonged moment of silence before their game with the 49ers.”
Peter, we know you’re a North-East homer. But really, this isn’t the platform to say that these teams care more and honor victims more than any of the other teams in this league, or any other human being on this earth. This isn’t a measuring contest, to see who cares the most. Appropriately, if you want to bring this in, write that ALL of the players and teams and fans are mourning. Because they are. I’m going to chalk this up to being emotional, and are proud that these teams went ahead and put decals on their helmets. But really. That doesn’t make them “more aware” or “more active” or more anything. It doesn’t need to be singled out like this. I read this and felt like my team was the bad guy in a badly written script or something , for not letting Cruz fulfill his promise. That shouldn’t be happening, or sound like this. You lost some serious respect points, what of them that I had for you for your football knowledge and writing. The narrow mindedness is just too much.
Out for now.
The Time is NOW
December 17th, 2012
11:34 am
Alex – talk is cheap. See you in the playoffs IF the Giants can even manage to get there. Ain’t looking like a guarantee right now. Get lost!
SOMEBODY NEEDS TO TELL THE TRUTH
December 17th, 2012
11:38 am
alex, you make sure the Giants pay admission at the doors of the SuperDome to watch us win the Lombardi.
The Time is NOW
December 17th, 2012
11:40 am
Wabe (8:52) – good post. You are right that we have to utilize all our weapons. Just want to mention that in crunch time, when MR is feeling the heat of a rush, sometimes it is best just to throw the ball to your playmakers (thinking the big 3 here, even if they are covered) and allow them to make a play. I’m betting more often than not in that situation, the playmakers will make plays.
The Time is NOW
December 17th, 2012
11:42 am
I love it when my team smacks down an inferior opponent, like the reigning Super Bowl champs!
The Time is NOW
December 17th, 2012
11:44 am
Later Cage…
Arno
December 17th, 2012
11:45 am
All rationality aside, I would like to issue a Get Out of Jail Free card to Michael Turner. That juke he pulled which left a guy sniffing Dome grass was a thing of joy.
Big Ray
December 17th, 2012
11:54 am
This article has some very key phrases and comments in it, some from the players, some just observations. Worth a read, and so I’ll post the whole thing. One of the truly biggest things is the leadership exhibited by Matt Ryan…we didn’t know about what he said and did until now. This guy is the real deal, if you didn’t know this before. Also, some key comments about how Ryan acts when he’s on his game.
http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2012/12/16/ryan-asks-for-more-gives-more-at-right-time-for-falcons/?cxntfid=blogs_jeff_schultz_blog
On the day following the Falcons’ loss at Carolina, Matt Ryan stood up in a team meeting and issued a mandate to his teammates.
“He told everybody, ‘I want an extra 30 minutes from everybody this week,’” Roddy White recalled. “In the film room, on the field, everywhere. And he said, ‘If you give me an extra 30 minutes, I’ll give you an extra hour.’”
Now, it would be presumptuous to suggest that one moment from this team’s leader is going to propel the Falcons to the postseason success that has been missing from the team and the quarterback’s respective resumes. But Sunday’s game has to count for something.
The Falcons saved their best performance of the season for when it mattered most — in December, against the defending Super Bowl champion and a week after they went splat in Charlotte. They body-slammed the New York Giants 34-0, moving a little closer to clinching home field through the NFL playoffs and, presumably, at least a smidgen closer to acceptance in the eyes of critics.
When a score is this lopsided, there are a lot of reasons for it. The defense had two early interceptions that were turned into 10 points and blanked an opponent for the first time since 2008. The offensive line dominated one of the NFL’s best front four. But at the center was Ryan, who outplayed Eli Manning. He completed 23 of 28 for 270 yards for three touchdowns and no interceptions. He completed a 12-yard laser to Tony Gonzalez in the end zone for one score, a 40-yard bomb to Julio Jones streaking down the left side for another.
Contrast that with Manning, who was held to 13-of-25 passing with two interceptions and was shut out for the first time in his career. (The Giants’ hadn’t been blanked since 1996.)
What will this mean for how Manning and Ryan are viewed in a few weeks when the playoffs open? Probably little. It’s no secret quarterbacks are defined by postseason success. A Ryan fan is going to lose a debate to a Manning fan every day on who’s the better quarterback for one simple reason: the ring finger.
But consider this comparison: Ryan is now a remarkable 55-21 (.724) in his NFL career in regular season. Relatively speaking, Manning is good but unremarkable at 77-56 (.579). Ryan has a better quarterback rating and a superior touchdown-to-interception ratio (Ryan: 122-60; Manning: 205-144). But in the playoffs Ryan is 0-3 and Manning is 8-3, including two Super Bowl titles, two Super Bowl MVP awards and last year’s 24-2 victory over Ryan and the Falcons in the Meadowlands.
No regular season game can make up for a playoff loss. But Ryan admitted that January game drove him “a little bit” this week. It also, at least in part, motivated him to issue the extra-30-minutes mandate to teammates.
“Roddy was listening?” Ryan said, laughing, when told about White’s comments.
Had Ryan ever made such a request before?
“I think that’s the first time. I’m learning. I’m getting old.”
Later, he added: “It was important for us as a team and in the locker room how we rebounded from last week. As coach [Mike] Smith preaches all the time, it’s how you respond to these situations [that defines you].”
The entire team did that. Center Todd McClure, a 13-year veteran, felt an edge all week, and called this “one of the best wins I’ve ever been a part of.
“There was a little bit of pressure — I’m not going to lie to you. But sometimes that causes you to play your best football. It means a lot for this team and it meant a lot for us on the line. And you see what happens when we can give Matt some time.”
Ryan was locked in. He looked it and felt it.
White again: “You can tell when he’s on. because he starts calling plays really fast, trying to get to the line of scrimmage because he’s in a groove and he wants to put pressure on the defense.”
This is what Ryan and the Falcons can look like when everything clicks. This is what they hope it looks like in a few weeks.
SOMEBODY NEEDS TO TELL THE TRUTH
December 17th, 2012
12:00 pm
Arno, using Turner and Juke in the same sentence takes some balls. We should ban you from the cage! LOLLOLOLOLOLOL…………..
Sarcasm?
Big Ray
December 17th, 2012
12:10 pm
I knew they wouldn’t give the ATL any credit for the huge win yesterday…exception Ron Jaworski threw some kudos Mike Nolan’s way….but that was it.
But really? Mike & Mike can’t stop talking about the Jets maybe making the playoffs in a sh!tty division, the Cowboys now controlling their own destiny (oh, and how great Romo really is), and the Steelers having a spat between Todd Haley and Ben Roethlisberger.
Eff ‘em.
Ryan threw for 270 yards and 3 TDs, completing freakin’ 82% against the best front four in the League…and he doesn’t even get a mention. Not one clip of him throwing a TD.
In fact, all the clips shown were of Manning and a couple of our defense. That was all. Ultimate disrespect, it was like our offense wasn’t even there.
And a big shout-out to our DL and OL in this game. Beat NY silly on both sides of the ball. Whatever it takes to get that out of our guys on a consistent basis, I’m all for it. Still say we need to draft more talent and size on both Lines, but damn….I’ll certainly take that performance from the existing group.
Note what McClure says in the posted article above …it’s something some of us have been saying all along….yep….
Big Ray
December 17th, 2012
12:24 pm
http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/
Amazing how the Packers must suddenly be the NFC’s best after beating a hapless, imploding Chicago squad. I mean, two things….
1) The Falcons just WHOOOPED the Giants and shut them out. Ummm…is this the same Green Bay team that got beat down by the Giants 38-10 a mere three weeks ago?
2) San Franciso just beat New England, who has been beating everybody (tore the Texans up, and THAT was supposed to be the best team in the NFL). Ummm…is this the same Green Bay team that lost to the 49ers to start the season?
The Falcons – 12-2.
The 49ers – 10-3.
The Packers – 10-4.
ESPN is SO full of defecation it is unbelievable.