Falcons LIVE: It doesn’t count but it’s still Ryan vs. Brady
The Falcons' Matt Ryan chats with one Hall of Famer (Troy Aikman) and tonight faces a future one (Tom Brady).
Welcome back to almost-football season and tonight’s exhibition (the NFL hates when writers use that word) between the the Falcons and New England Patriots.
This probably isn’t as big a game for the Patriots as it is for the Falcons. New England sports fans certainly are more preoccupied with today’s story that former Red Sox pitcher-turned-hated Yankee Roger Clemens has been indicted for perjury by a federal grand jury. (As, it turns out, he may have lied about using steroids and HGH. Go figure. And now, this editorial comment: hahahahaha.)
Back to tonight. If you didn’t make it out to Flowery Branch this week for the Falcons-Patriots practices, they were pretty cool. Having two teams practice against each other, even in controlled drills, definitely led to a raised intensity level.
Expect to see more of this in the future. With the NFL expected to trim the exhibition season from four games to two — in concert with lengthening the regular season — coaches will need another avenue to grade players. Even something as basic as a Falcons’ passing skeleton against the New England defense can tell coaches more than if they were just in team drills.
Similarly, tonight’s game may tell us a little more about what to expect from the Falcons when the real games start. True, exhibitions don’t count and game plans are vanilla, as teams are more concerned about evaluating personnel and getting out of a game healthy than they are scheming against a certain offense and defense. But starters played only a couple of series against the Chiefs and they’ll be in there longer tonight, likely well into the second quarter.
A few things to watch:
♦ How does the Falcons’ defense handle Tom Brady, Randy Moss and company? The secondary had a difficult time staying with Moss in practices Tuesday, though that hardly put them in exclusive company. It’s worth noting, however, that at least four projected regulars are not expected to play: cornerback Dunta Robinson (hamstring), defensive tackle Peria Jerry (knee), safety William Moore (groin) and cornerback Brian Williams.
♦ To what extent do the Falcons try to get wide receiver Harry Douglas involved tonight? Douglas, returning from a torn ACL last year, has looked sharp in practice this week and I imagine offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey would like to know how much he’ll be able to stretch opposing defenses this season.
♦ How sharp is Matt Ryan and the offense? The Falcons’ offense moved down the field twice with the starters on the first two series but came away with only one field goal. They stalled on the Chiefs’ 12 in the first series (leading to three points) and at the 35 on the second (missed field goal). Improved play in the red zone would be nice.
OK, that’s it for now. I’m going to grab some coffee and then we can get this thing started. I’ll post some scratches and lineup changes in the comments as soon as they become available.
Looking forward to tonight. Back to chat soon.
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467 comments Add your comment
COACH FAIL SMITH
August 19th, 2010
9:27 pm
beside beerman who has look good ? maybe turner? that it
Daddy Rabbit
August 19th, 2010
9:27 pm
Falcons will win the game in the 2nd half.
Mr Charlie
August 19th, 2010
9:27 pm
Waaahh Waahhhh, the Falcons are losing at halftime in their 2nd exhibition game.
Mr Charlie
August 19th, 2010
9:29 pm
Spoon got burned, but he has also played about 15 plays of NFL calibur football. Remember when Matty threw a pick 6 in the preseason game? You would have thought we were in for another long season, but then all they did was go 11-5 that year.
Mr Charlie
August 19th, 2010
9:30 pm
Buffalo is beating Indy 24-21 in the 3rd quarter. Does this mean the the bills will be good this season? LOL.
Mr Charlie
August 19th, 2010
9:31 pm
No way, not HIM.
JP
August 19th, 2010
9:31 pm
Once….if he improves in the areas I noted prior, it will translate into playoff wins….Watch him in the reg season in the areas I mention and you will see why I’m concern….Great 1st year, not so impressive last year….Watch the feet of Brees, Manning, and A Rodgers and in the areas of Arm Strength (not so much Brees), mobility and pocket pressure (Manning is the best here) and how they keep the play alive with their ever so slight movements in the pocket as it collapses ….M Ryan arm is weak-he’s getting a pass here and he has to learn improvisation. …remember watch the feet of the best QB’s first, then compare to M Ryan…you will see….
Ed Foxworthy
August 19th, 2010
9:31 pm
Joe Buck loves him some Troy Aikman.
COACH FAIL SMITH
August 19th, 2010
9:32 pm
Mr CHARLIIE IT not that there losing but it bad there playing drop passes miss tackles cant make or stop a 3rd down no qb pressure, corner are no where close to the WR and df line getting manhandle. Now what part of this game should i be saying were looking good?
Mr Charlie
August 19th, 2010
9:34 pm
In the NFL, is does not matter how you start a game, it is the adjustments you make. How many times have you seen a team look horrible in the 1st quarter, then look unstoppable in the 4th? Beerman did get one sack, and we have a rooking getting burned. That is what preseason is all about.
Mr Charlie
August 19th, 2010
9:36 pm
OK coach, the Bills are beating the Colts. Do you think this means the Bills will be good?
joe
August 19th, 2010
9:38 pm
it would be nice if the Falcons would at least attempt to throw the ball down field. 5 yard passes won’t get it done against the Saints twice a year. Especially when you give up 10 yards per rushing attempt….
COACH FAIL SMITH
August 19th, 2010
9:40 pm
Beerman has look good turner look ok but that it i hope it only becuz it preseason but there is reason to worry
Ice-Man
August 19th, 2010
9:40 pm
The Falcons are not impressive.
The organization seems extremely self-satisfied. They look like crap.
The defense still sucks….badly
Mr Charlie
August 19th, 2010
9:41 pm
More worried about the injuries of our cornerbacks then I am about anything that I see here.
Jeff Schultz
August 19th, 2010
9:41 pm
Sorry folks. Had to abandon the live blog for a bit to bang out an early print column. Serving two masters. I’m back.
Mr Charlie
August 19th, 2010
9:42 pm
Ice, I do agree the biggest problem this team has is being satisfied with mediocre performance, especially after where they were.
Jeff Schultz
August 19th, 2010
9:43 pm
Question: What was everybody’s thoughts on Matt Ryan’s play tonight?
Daddy Rabbit
August 19th, 2010
9:44 pm
Welcome back Jeff
Jeff Schultz
August 19th, 2010
9:44 pm
ToccoaBird — This has been a rather poorly officiated game. Maybe these are third-string refs, too.
Bob Horner @ JS
August 19th, 2010
9:44 pm
You can multi-task..????
Mr Charlie
August 19th, 2010
9:44 pm
Lackluster, indifferent, overall a C.
COACH FAIL SMITH
August 19th, 2010
9:44 pm
good a 3- out
Jeff Schultz
August 19th, 2010
9:45 pm
Bob Horner — Shocking, I know. I baked a cake, too.
ReddJonn68
August 19th, 2010
9:45 pm
Hey Jeff what’s wrong with Norwood this time ??? Got to be truthful, I was looking for our 1st team defense to be toast in secondary, but we got chewed up front. We keep talking about depth, heck we better worry about first string. Hey don’t forget the Pats are also missing their best O-lineman. I really can’t make a comment about this offense yet, nice play calling if we finish the deal. Can anyone tell what is the deal with Norwood, he can’t make it thru a regular preseason let alone a real season, what gives ??? I hope the Pats are not exposing us up front. Go Birds !!!
Dawg '85
August 19th, 2010
9:46 pm
Jeff you haven’t missed much other than Coach Fail setting the English language back 150 years… oh, and Jim Mora signing $1 bills… making them immediately worth $0.25
Daddy Rabbit
August 19th, 2010
9:46 pm
Jeff – Ryan played well. I wish the play calling would be more aggressive ie… throwing the ball down field.
robertussen
August 19th, 2010
9:46 pm
ryan looked good
Turtsnap
August 19th, 2010
9:46 pm
Rise Up? They are asking the fans too….. what about the team?
COACH FAIL SMITH
August 19th, 2010
9:47 pm
Jeft Im still worrierd that he can throw down field and if he under any pressure it just throw it a way he has 0 play making ability
Mr Charlie
August 19th, 2010
9:47 pm
There are as many a 7 players who might be starting in D who did not even play tonight.
drmondo
August 19th, 2010
9:47 pm
As a Falcs fan for the last 30+ yrs, I understand why guys are nervous about the team. They have a loooooooong history of screwing the pooch. However, Since Blank took ownership and then brought in TD and Smitty, we’ve seen consistant signs that this isn’t the old hot-n-cold Falcons. Take a pill! A lot of these plays are put in, not to score or further a drive, but to evaluate certain players in certain situations. Last year during the preseason they purposely stuck CBs in single-man coverage to evaluate them in the worst case scenario. When they stumbled, TD made a bunch of moves to bring in CBs. You can’t take this game seriously except to notice things like footwork, player position, quick reads, etc. And even then, what we notice may not be what the coaches were concentrating on. If this was Mora jr, I’d be scared. Smitty has earned some leeway because of the last two seasons.
COACH FAIL SMITH
August 19th, 2010
9:47 pm
he cant throw doen field
Jeff Schultz
August 19th, 2010
9:48 pm
ReddJonn68 — Norwood practiced this week but supposedly he has a hip-flexor.
Jeff Schultz
August 19th, 2010
9:49 pm
Dawg ‘85 — Pretty funny line on Mora. Did they show him on TV?
Daddy Rabbit
August 19th, 2010
9:49 pm
Give it a rest Coach
Mr Charlie
August 19th, 2010
9:49 pm
Drmondo,
Well stated.
drmondo
August 19th, 2010
9:49 pm
Jeff, what’s the word on Moore and Jerry?
Mr Charlie
August 19th, 2010
9:50 pm
Unfortunately, they did show him on TV.
JP
August 19th, 2010
9:50 pm
Jeff M Ryan played like a 20th rank QB…..thats the reality…
drmondo
August 19th, 2010
9:51 pm
Thanks Mr Charlie. If they’re playing like this in week 4, then I’ll freak out with everybody else, but preseason doesn’t warrant this level of hysteria
COACH FAIL SMITH
August 19th, 2010
9:51 pm
OK I be more positive.
Ramguy
August 19th, 2010
9:51 pm
Did it make anyone else uncomfortable when before the start of the game Joe Buck said “The dreamy Tom Brady”?
Jeff Schultz
August 19th, 2010
9:51 pm
Daddy — I agree, played pretty well. But no TDs in 5 possessions of preseason has to be a concern.
ReddJonn68
August 19th, 2010
9:52 pm
Well I’m not a genius, but bunched wideout sets are not long ball plays. Most of the time your downfield burner is split out to take one side of the field away from the defense !!!
REAL FALCON FAN
August 19th, 2010
9:52 pm
LOOKS LIKE THE D WILL HAVE TO SCORE
ReddJonn68
August 19th, 2010
9:54 pm
Hey Ramguy I thought it was an outright Mancrush !!!
Dawg '85
August 19th, 2010
9:54 pm
Yeah, having Jim Morona Jr. moves Tim McCarver up one slot on the Fox Sports list of idiots
drmondo
August 19th, 2010
9:54 pm
Good play by Lewis.
Mr Charlie
August 19th, 2010
9:54 pm
I will tell you how much the preseason matters, I believe the year the lions went 0fer, they were undefeated in the preseason.