Falcons already entering a season-defining stretch
Mike Smith didn't like a lot of what he saw against New England, other than the effort. (AP photo).
FLOWERY BRANCH – NFL teams generally are defined in December. That’s when the stakes tend to be the highest, the injuries tend to be the most debilitating and the coaches either look like nuclear physicists or are completely dumbfounded as to why the New England defense in Week 13 didn’t bite on the same play-action as the Oakland defense did in Week 2.
That said, we are about to find out something about the Falcons.
It’s not December. But if this football team doesn’t come through this upcoming stretch of games relatively unscathed, December may not matter so much.
The Falcons are coming off a road loss and a bye. Having the bye week so early means they’ll now play 13 straight games without a rest. They travel to San Francisco Sunday and are in a stretch that finds them playing six out of eight games on the road.
How does it get worse? Like this: Four of the next seven opponents (Chicago, Dallas, Washington, New York Giants) will be coming off bye weeks. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, teams coming off bye weeks in the past three seasons won nearly 60 percent of the time (57-38-1, .599).
“It’s going to be a test for this football team, especially with a lot of games on the road,” Michael Turner said. “I guess we’ll see what we’re made of.”
It’s never easy to get a feel for these things. The Falcons are 2-1 and coming off a loss to New England. That’s about where most of us figured they would be. The lack of clarity has to do with the fact those two victories — over Miami and Carolina — don’t look nearly as impressive today as they did at the time. The Dolphins and Panthers are a combined 1-6.
In short, the Patriots have been the Falcons’ biggest test and the team was fairly run over (26-10).
Tight end Tony Gonzalez senses fans and media already are doubting the team. “It seems like people are all of sudden poking holes in us,” he said.
It’s at least safe to say assumptions are in short supply. The Falcons are young, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Inexperience and the potential “awe-factor” tend to come into play more in stressful situations. Like road games.
Defensive end John Abraham looked at game tape and came away convinced, “I think a couple of people got blinded by the lights. It was New England, a championship team. They really wanted to have a great game against them. But if we’d played our game, we’d have been all right.
“I was disappointed when I was at the game. Then when you watch the film, you feel worse because you feel like you could’ve played better. We didn’t give New England our best effort. We played terrible. It wasn’t like they were killing us. It was just stuff we did or we let them do to us.”
This is when a team either grows up or struggles. The Falcons have enough talent, certainly on the offensive side of the ball, to win games. But intangibles like resolve and effort decide the rest. Last season, this team grew up quickly. After losing games at Tampa Bay and Carolina by lopsided scores of 24-9, they won four of their final six on the road, before dropping the playoff game in Arizona.
As you would expect, Mike Smith spent much of the off week looking at tape. “You want to evaluate your team from top to bottom,” he said. “But with the bye week coming so early, you’re not able to do in the analytical [statistical] analysis that you normally would do. There’s not enough statistics to see any trends.”
So what stands out?
“Guys are playing hard,” he said.
The rest, we’re about to find out.
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97 comments Add your comment
Reality Check
October 6th, 2009
7:25 pm
You guys are crazy
I do recall two weeks ago, the same San Francisco team was 7 seconds from beating the 4-0 Minnesota Vikes and Brett Favre & Adrian Peterson.
The Falcons will not even get within “Hail Mary” distance.
Extremus
October 6th, 2009
7:43 pm
Quick question, as I am just curious: if December is logically when NFL teams are the most tired and beaten-up, then why not stagger the bye weeks toward the END of the season rather than the beginning? It only makes sense, at least to me, as it can ensure that teams are on the most equal footing possible when playing those crucial final games. Any reason the NFL chooses to schedule bye weeks so early, anyone?
Bob Horner had a sweet compact swing
October 6th, 2009
7:54 pm
Extremus…..2 letters……TV
boog
October 6th, 2009
8:13 pm
what’s going on Jeff? An article about something other than the demise of UGA football and the rise of the Jackets? Guess everyone needs a day off. But I’m sure you will be back at it on Wed.
Reality Check Check
October 6th, 2009
8:44 pm
Reality Check playing the race card is really, really old. Give it a rest and concentrate on football. Contrary to popular belief, most of us white folks really don’t care what color folks are. We really don’t. Oh sure there are some racist whites just like there are racist blacks, but come on. Enough already.
Ian
October 6th, 2009
9:31 pm
Dave, you were born a Moran and will always be a Moran.
Paul's Johnson
October 6th, 2009
9:45 pm
Ian:
“Dave, you were born a Moran and will always be a Moran.”
Ian, it’s “you’re a moron and will always be a moron” moron.
Paul's Johnson
October 6th, 2009
9:48 pm
Jeff Shultz;
Your post on Rush Limbaugh is great! Way to get the sheep circling the pen.
Keep on keepin’ on!
Reid Adair
October 6th, 2009
9:53 pm
13 in a row is a stretch, and six of the next eight on the road isn’t easy. I am willing to believe that they learned from the New England game and will put that to good use. In some ways, I think an early bye week may have helped, especially with all of the young players on defense.
matt r
October 6th, 2009
10:03 pm
Bottom line, there are 7 bad teams in the NFC and 8 good ones (9 including ATL). The next 4 are amongst the 8. Tie-breakers!!!!
Arno
October 6th, 2009
10:04 pm
The Moran family is an infamous Melbourne-based criminal family of Irish decent, notable for their involvement in the Melbourne gangland killings.
Go Falcons.
Brendan
October 6th, 2009
10:55 pm
If only Rush would buy the Thrashers. *Sigh*. It is ‘crunch time’ for the Falcons. They’ve got a serious test in the 49ers, their old division rival. Truthfully, every FALCONS FAN should salivate at the prospect of b1tchslapping the 49ers. Would anything be better?
Hillbilly Deluxe
October 6th, 2009
11:36 pm
And members of the Bugs Moran gang were targets of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Bugs himself wasn’t present though.
bad brad
October 6th, 2009
11:40 pm
Jeff,
Thanks, a little more meat than usual, and you brought out a good point and gave us something to ponder and hey no hand grenade. Not too shabby.
Are the Falcons concerned about the defensive line? | Atlanta Falcons with D. Orlando Ledbetter
October 7th, 2009
12:10 am
[...] TIME IS NOW: You have to check out Jeff Schultz’ column looking ahead to this real bumpy stretch for the [...]
Ryder
October 7th, 2009
12:13 am
I see now why Reality Check likes talking so much smack on this blog: prefers being around men. I heard DC passed a law today that’ll be right up your alley.
Singletary won’t allow this team to come in and just blow them away, so Atlanta needs to play more aggresively on offense. If they see that Turner isn’t able to get consistent yards early in the game, attack their safeties. I expect Gonzalez to have a bounce back game and Atlanta to gang up on Glen Coffee to force Shaun Hill to beat them.
Atlanta comes out of this on 24-16.
Lesa
October 7th, 2009
12:15 am
STL Falcon, I love your post!!! The sky is not falling, people. I predict the Falcons will step it up big-time against the 49ers this weekend. Go Falcons!!!!
TechBuzz.
October 7th, 2009
12:34 am
The only REAL issues I have with the Falcons right now, is the “Tip-Toe” run game, or lack there of, and the play of our corners!
One the issue of the “Tip-Toe” run game, Turner isn’t hitting the holes like he did last year, thus far. Sure, the O-Line may not be creating the holes right now; however, Turner is not getting to the outside like he did last year either. Last year, he averaged 5.6 yards per carry by running to the outside, and right now, it’s like he doesn’t know where the outside is.
As for our sorry corners; here again, I don’t know what the hell the coaching staff sees in Chris Houston???? With the exception of the so-so game he had against Carolina, he hasn’t done squat this year, nor has he improved or elevated his game in this being his third year. He is NOT a starting CB. As for Grimes, I respect his physical play and willingness to get after the ball, but he cannot compete with receivers that are 6′ 2″ or taller, he just can’t. He is the Falcons version of “Rudy” pretty much.
I thought we brought in Ty Hill to give competition to Houston, so where is he at? He can’t be any WORSE than Houston, so why not play him? This position is the main Achilles for the Falcons. We don’t have serious shut down corners.
The last two GOOD SOLID cb’s we had were Deion Sanders and Scott Case. Deion and Scott haven’t been on the team since 1994. So we’ve gone 15 years without a SERIOUS shut down corner. Please don’t say, “What about ‘Big Play’ Ray from 1998!” He was a flash in the pan corner for one year and that was it!
jerry
October 7th, 2009
7:10 am
What disturbs me the most was the punt on 4th and short from inside the NE 40 late in the game and the Falcons trailing. I would much rather have seen them not make a 1st down than not go for it. Ultra conservative coaching won’t cut it in the NFL.
pALADIN)
October 7th, 2009
7:39 am
Enter your comments here
Barker
October 7th, 2009
7:46 am
You are so right jerry, that was a sign of SURRENDER.. That punt made me sick, especially after the Patriots did’nt punt from their own 23 yard line earlier in the game. -Go For It Falcons !
gman
October 7th, 2009
7:50 am
Enter your comments here
gman
October 7th, 2009
8:04 am
3 4 DEFENSE
ABRAHAM, DAVIS-DE
LEWIS-NT
BEIRMAN, SIDBURY-OLB
LOFTON, PETERSON-ILB
whats the deal i thought that this was
the drafts purpose. lets go TD
SirReal
October 7th, 2009
8:14 am
I have a couple questions for everyone. Is it the coaching staff not having confidence in our D to blitz or is Brian Van Gorder overrated? Or is Mike Smith really the one at the defensive helm and scared to blitz….what’s the holdup on Sidbury, Dont you guys also think its time to see what he can do…we cant do much worse. Having only Abe to pass rush is like canoeing with one arm…..not gonna get very far…
da roosta
October 7th, 2009
8:21 am
Enter your comments here
Jamaal Anderson over Patrick Willis in the 2007 draft? Thanks Petrino! Are you kidding me? Take Jamaal back to Arkansas with you to run your scout team. Better yet, take Jamaal and Chris Houston. By the way, I won’t be offended if they leave a note in the middle of the night. Those two guys need to step up or get out.
Falcon50
October 7th, 2009
8:50 am
Untracked? Don’t you mean get their running game “on track”?
Jeff Schultz
October 7th, 2009
8:55 am
Striker – Thanks for checking in. Now go have a Pop-Tart and seize the day!
LJ – QB obviously isn’t the only factor but I’m OK if that’s what you want to go with it. I’ve always liked the coach-QB combination.
JeffShultzIsStill – They’ve already lost Jerry. Let’s hope that’s not start of a trend.
ReailityCheck – Indeed, Lovie Smith and Mike Singletary are two coaches the Falcons could have had and both have proven to be great coaches (Lovie has a little longer track record). That said, I think Mike Smith’s pretty good.
Boog – Thursday (online), actually.
Paul’s Johnson – They’re a little sensitive, huh?
Bad Brad – I am here to please you.
Jeff Schultz
October 7th, 2009
8:57 am
Da Roosta –Jamaal Anderson. Oy. Never seen a DE be so incredibly invisible in games.
Samuel
October 7th, 2009
9:01 am
Let’s go to the west coast and get a win, After that we’ll have a clearer picture in terms of where we go from there. I like to see Snelling involved more in the offense. And do we have to give turner the ball all the time down in the redzone? The key to beating the fortyniners will be to pass the ball to setup the run. and where is babinauex and Chauncey Davis their going to have to make plays in this game , in order for us to get a victory!!!
Holtzman
October 7th, 2009
9:08 am
Who in the heck set up the Falcons schedule anyway? 6 road games out of eight with the next 4 out of 7 coming off a bye week? Hello! Is anybody home! It seems to me the defense did a fairly good job in the NE game. The score could have been much much worse.
AlternateReality
October 7th, 2009
9:22 am
Jeff, any word on whether Hill or Moore will play this week?
dawgfan19
October 7th, 2009
10:11 am
Guys RELAX!!! It’s game #3. It’s urgent that we win this game but calm down! There is a lot of season left to play. I still say that 10-6 puts the birds in the play off hunt. Teams are going to beat up each other. The offense will get in gear, I still think that the offensive play calling is a bit conservative. More no huddle and let Matt Ryan throw the football. I think the Falcons are rtying ti establish the run so much to the point that they run when the box is loaded which usually means negative yards. the defense is young but will get better.
AlternateReality
October 7th, 2009
10:29 am
dawgfan19, we’ll cut you some slack and assume that your comment about this being game #3 is an honest mistake, not a product of how math is taught in the Georgia educational system.
Apologies if you are referring to the NE game as game #3, not the SF game, and I agree with your other comments about the offense.
Tech sucks
October 7th, 2009
10:50 am
Get ready to be surprised by the Niners defense. They are one of the top units in the league this year. This is going to be a very tough game for the Falcons.
I think it’s going to be something like 24-17 49ers.
willie
October 7th, 2009
11:02 am
I couldn’t agree more. We will find out what this team is made of very soon. The effor in N.E. was embarrassing. How could we ever score 10 points with this offense. It is time they cut Ryan loose a bit (like Baltimore has done with Flacco) to open things up for the running game.
Al Smith
October 7th, 2009
11:11 am
Yep Jerry was a complete bust
Vick dont understand the world!!!:)
October 7th, 2009
12:04 pm
The falcons are going to pick 49ers apart.
i hope that mcnabb is hurt for the eagle game so falcons can prove once and for all why they happy vick messed up.He is a joke who can throw the ball 70 yards but cant hit wide open receivers. when he runs the ball half the time he fumbles. feel sorry for the dogs but i am glad he did it to get is sorry thug a$$ out of atl. to all you fans i saw that had on vick jeresys at the last home game. Forget about vick,he is a thug with a brain comparable to a monkey.if you support him i say the same thing about you. MATTY ICE BABY!!!!:)
Jame
October 7th, 2009
12:35 pm
These next 4 game are critical for the falcons because their next 4 opponents will be making their on playoffs push.49ers look like they are going to make it some how.Dallas got to get things turn around for them.Bears will have to fight like the falcons to have a change at a playoff birth.Saints will make the playoffs unless they get the injuries bug.I know the season is earlier and this is the season you try to start off fast so your team can get confidence and stay focus on the bigger picture.The falcons just got to worry about who they are playing that week and play hard instead of worrying about their next opponents.Falcons got to take some deep shots against the 49ers to keep them honest because if they don’t then turner will be a non-factors.49ers will stack the line and every other teams will play the falcons the same way.This weekend falcons got to take some shoots and see what their quarterback can do.
dd
October 7th, 2009
12:53 pm
que come estas bien gracias en de niede que llemas es Kyle
Brave the Barbarian
October 7th, 2009
12:53 pm
Guys just give me the division if we can at least split games with the saints we are playoff bound
DC Falcons
October 7th, 2009
1:07 pm
Glad to finally post. I’ve read some good comments. This is existing to be apart of and I’m hoping that we have finally got a team that we can be proud of and not keep waiting and wishing that next year will be better.
Steve C
October 7th, 2009
1:14 pm
Hey Cutty,
Were you at the Bears game last year when your team was celebrating on their sideline until Matt, Michael, and Jason took the wind out of your sails? See you at the Dome that Sunday night.
Vick=Dog killing thug
October 7th, 2009
1:57 pm
Are you kidding me? The falcons are playing great compared to just a couple of years ago when it was rare for them to even get the right 11 guys on the field. I love these new falcons. We’re a young team with a young coaching staff. Of course we have some needs and holes to fill.
I can’t wait for Sunday !!!
All I'm Saying Is...
October 7th, 2009
5:07 pm
And now we arrive at that point (a bit early but we’re there) where reality sets in among all the people previously blowing smoke up the skirt of Dimitroff and Mike Smith and how they are not only award winning professionals at their respective positions and never make any false moves but will do what’s never been done, conquer the impossible, and take this franchise somewhere it has never been. No, you knuckleheads, I’m not talking about to the Super Bowl—been there and lost that. I’m talking about BACK TO BACK WINNING SEASONS!
A funny thing happened along the way to that second consecutive winning season: the Falcons ran up against the NFL (remember it stands for No Fun League) rule that says your schedule becomes tougher following a winning season. So this year we get some real class A teams outside of the always competitive NFL South. Gone are Detroit and Kansas City replaced with New England and the NY Giants to name two. Plus, the rest of the league finally woke up and realized that Michael Turner is the real thing and that, despite a solid rookie year and the addition of Tony Gonzalez, the key to stopping the Falcons is to make 2nd year pro (remember he’s only in his second year) Matt Ryan beat you with his arm.
So that’s where we are people. We must get back to what made us successful last year and that’s getting the running game going consistently and using it to set up the passing attack. And we must do so without the chance of sneaking up on anybody and with a tougher schedule.
In other words, its time to man-up and face the reality of taking on the responsibility of not only being prepared but also playing your best each and every game as that’s what the Not For Long league requires if you want to be a consistent winner.
LET’S GO FALCONS!
Barry
October 7th, 2009
5:34 pm
Hey Y’all:
It is too, too early to start whining about our having a losing team. THAT IS UNFAIR TO THE TEAM AND THE FANS, ALIKE. Our Falcons are currently 2-1. They have a lot of “new players” who are adjusting to the “new style” of play here in Atlanta and they will catch one. With a little “TWEEK”" here and there on the defense and I believe the Falcons will be more than winners throughout this season. The “TWEEKS” on defense are noticeable and Coach Snith and his staff are addressing them. The “TWEEKS” on offense, in my opinion, is the “PLAYCALLING” and the “TYPE OF PLAYS” I see being run so far. I believe we should get a lot more “innovative” in the type of plays we use to attack the defense (i.e., reverses, traps, misdirections, etc.). Our passing plays need to be a little more innovative also. “WE MUST ATTACK THE DEFENSE!!” I also believe the offensive needs to “PICK UP THE PACE” of the game a little more. So far they appear to be real sluggish and slow walking up to the line and getting into a play and recovering from a play. I HOPE THEY ARE IN RUNNING SHAPE FOR THE SEASON. It appears as if they want to “SLOW THE GAME DOWN.” IF THEY DO, THEN THIS SHOULD STOP!! AND STOP NOW!!! I believe a fast pace offense fits this team or any team. That keeps the defense working to tire them down wherein we can make plays. Slowing the game down gives the defense time to set up and rest which can be to our detriment. WE HAVE TO ATTACK ON OFFENCE AND NOT PLAY CONSERVATIVE. WE HAVE TO ATTACK!! LET THAT BE THE CHARACTER OF OUR TEAM. I do not care if the defense is playing what we want to do, go after them and force the defense to make plays against all of your offensive players. STOP PLAYING SCARED. YOU PLAY YO WIN THE GAME!! YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME!! And that is the type of plays and play calling should do. LET”S FIX THIS AND FIX IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!! LET”S FIX THIS IN “ONE HEARTBEAT!!!”
GO FALCONS!! LET’S PLAY “NASTY” AND KICK SOME BUTT!!!!
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
This is a SECRET from a FALCON FAN. TELL EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
………………………..”ONE HEARTBEAT,BABY!!!………………..
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