Mike Smith should’ve given Matt Ryan, offense a chance
Matt Ryan lost for only the second time in 21 home starts.
This season has been about comebacks.
This season has been about the Falcons making plays at the end of games to win.
This season has been about Matt Ryan engineering winning drives against New Orleans, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Green Bay and Tampa Bay.
Whether that magic carries over into the playoffs remains to be seen. But it ran out Monday night. One reason: a bad decision by coach Mike Smith.
With the Saints leading the Falcons 17-14 at the Georgia Dome and less than three minutes remaining, Smith pulled Ryan and the offense off the field. The team faced a fourth-and-6 from the Falcons’ 43 and the head coach went the conservative route.
Smith’s mindset: A good punt could pin New Orleans deep in its zone, the defense looked strong most of the evening and the Falcons could get the ball back in good position.
But that same defense had just allowed Drew Brees and the Saints a go-ahead, 90-yard touchdown drive.
Strategy: Epic fail.
The Saints got the ball back with 2:44 left. They made two first downs and ran out the clock.
Smith has made a lot of good decisions over the past three seasons. This was a bad one.
How do you pull Ryan off the field? The quarterback has been nothing but clutch. He excels in the two-minute offense. He excels in no-huddle. Actually, a case could be made that Ryan often is better in pressure situations and in the fourth quarter than in other situations.
Also worth noting: The Falcons went into the game with the NFL’s best fourth-down percentage (84.6 percent, 11 for 13).
Granted, Ryan wasn’t necessarily at his best Monday night. He completed only 15 of 29 for 148 yards and a touchdown.
But do you know what he didn’t do? He didn’t melt down. Even his counterpart, Brees, did that early in the fourth quarter.
With the Saints leading 10-7, it was Brees who threw a foolish shovel pass as he was being sacked by Jonathan Babineaux in the fourth quarter. The pass was intercepted by Chauncey Davis and returned 26 yards for a touchdown and a 14-10 lead Falcons lead. It was Brees who, on the ensuing New Orleans drive, was pressured and ultimately intercepted by John Abraham.
But in the end, it also was Brees who led the Saints to a 13-play, 90-yard touchdown drive, capped by a six-yard pass to Jimmy Graham.
The Falcons trailed 10-0. But that wasn’t all about Ryan. The Saints’ touchdown was set up by a bad snap by center Todd McClure — the ball never making it to Ryan’s hands. To open the second half, Ryan drove the offense down the field to the New Orleans’ one-yard-line, completing four of five attempts and throwing two passes that led to a pass interference penalty. But Michael Turner was stopped on first down and fumbled on second down.
Two turnovers — a 14-point swing.
Ryan’s seven-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White in the second quarter had closed the score to 10-7. Then came the Turner fumble drive in the third.
In September, Ryan led a comeback win at New Orleans. With the Falcons trailing 21-17 in the fourth quarter, Ryan took them on a nine-play, 85-yard touchdown drive, finishing with a 22-yard score to Roddy White to give Atlanta a 24-21 lead. The Saints rallied for a game-tying field goal, but the Falcons won the game with a field goal in overtime. It was a run-dominated, field goal drive but it was Ryan who set the tone with his calmness.
He wasn’t given that chance Monday night.
If the Falcons win next week over Carolina, their regular season goals will be achieved. They can clinch the NFC South Division, a first-round bye and the top seed in the conference. The memory of this loss will fade quickly.
The Falcons have proven themselves this season. They’re 12-3, still the best record in the NFC. But we know teams and quarterbacks are defined by the playoffs, not regular seasons. That’s not meant at a knock on Ryan. Fact is, everything about him — from his talent to his makeup and his leadership — suggests he will succeed in the playoffs. But consider it the unchecked box on his resume.
Thus far, Ryan has had only one chance. Two years ago as a rookie, he led the Falcons to an 11-5 regular season record but looked average in a playoff loss at Arizona, losing 30-24. Ryan threw two touchdown passes but was intercepted twice, sacked three times and fumbled once during an attempted handoff (leading to a 27-yard return for a touchdown by the Cardinals’ Antrel Rolle).
I remember thinking during and after the game that Ryan didn’t look the same and something must be wrong with him physically. I asked a couple of team officials about him, but the response I got was: Ryan was healthy. It’s just that the playoffs are a step up and the rookie quarterback wasn’t ready for that moment.
This season, Ryan has outdueled four of the league’s top quarterbacks: Brees (New Orleans), Carson Palmer (Cincinnati), Joe Flacco (Baltimore) and Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay). He has the best touchdown-interception ratio (26-9) of his career. He looks ready for the postseason.
It just would’ve been nice to see him get one more chance Monday.
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685 comments Add your comment
D Man
December 28th, 2010
2:40 pm
A Saints fan saying to stop playing the blame game for the loss last night? Give me a break. That’s all you guys did last week when talking about the first game when the Falcons won.
SB44Champs
December 28th, 2010
2:41 pm
“SB44champs – You and Tampa got that SB ring and we don’t but my score sheet still says ATL 46 wins Saints 38 lifetime and in the playoffs it’s ATL up 1-0 as we beat you in your own house! soon to be 2-0″
If that helps you sleep at night….lol. While we party with the Lombardi, you keep telling yourself that…..lol
SB44Champs
December 28th, 2010
2:43 pm
“Falcons 12-3
Saints 11-4
Nuff said LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!”
Saints WORLD CHAMPIONS
Birds happy to make the post season…..NUFF SAID….ROFLMAO
Finally
December 28th, 2010
2:44 pm
Now SB44CHAMPS….that was just mean. LOL
SB44Champs
December 28th, 2010
2:45 pm
“The media is making it seem like the Saints are the best team in the world ”
The team holding the Lombardi IS the best in the world. But then too, the birds wouldn’t know that……..lol
TCCB
December 28th, 2010
2:45 pm
I will move from my chair in front of that flat screen down to the GEORGIA DOME ANY TIME MICHAEL VICK COMES TO TOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PURE EXCITEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! VICK RULE THAT!!!!!!!!!!! they don’t even print enough money to get MICHAEL VICK back to ATLANTA FOR A “SWAP” the only thing that MICHAEL VICK is going to do in this city is come in and KICK A$$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! period!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SB44Champs
December 28th, 2010
2:48 pm
“What do you call a Falcon with a Superbowl Ring???? A THIEF!!!! ha ha”
Now I don’t care who you are, that’s just funny!!!
Bravissimo
December 28th, 2010
2:50 pm
Once again…Vick has never won a championship, in the pros or college.
razzle dazzle is great for high school championships.
TCCB
December 28th, 2010
3:07 pm
The NFC SOUTH IS A WEAK DIVISION THE FALCONS ARE THE BEST SORRY TEAM IN THE NFC. IT IS TIME FOR SOME BIG BOY BANGING!!!!!! FALCONS AT HOME ARE 1 AND DONE!!!
Perrier Jerry is a bust
December 28th, 2010
3:08 pm
Witherspoon missed 2 many tackels last night…..BUST
Furman Bitcher
December 28th, 2010
3:13 pm
Again folks before we lose all sense or reality:
Falcons 12-3
Saints 11-4
Falcons beat Saints at NO by 3 points
Saints beat Falcons in ATL by 3 points
When it is all said and done and the Falcons have Home Field throughout I like our chances a whole lot better than being the wild card. The facts are the facts and Falcons in 2010 were a better team over 16 games. Let the playoff begin and see where the chips fall. Either way everything I just said is 100% FACT. This blog is now closed.
TCCB
December 28th, 2010
3:15 pm
X FALCONS HAVE SUPER BOWL RINGS:DEON SANDERS HAS ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
XXXXXXX
Jeff G
December 28th, 2010
3:16 pm
It was a great defensive battle with awesome intensity on both sides. Two Falcons blunders cost us the game. Simple as that. Enough of the stupid second guessing. Also it would have been nice to see Ryan go for the 4th down, but the Saints defense was awfully tough, and based on Ryans difficulty getting any rhythm going in the air, punting doesn’t seem like a stupid choice to me. They were a longshot at that point anyway. Bottom line – You can’t dribble a snap to your QB ( and seemingly not realize you did), and you can’t fumble on 2nd down at the opponent’s one yard line.
Furman Bitcher
December 28th, 2010
3:22 pm
Jeff G, you are 100% correct. Games come down to one or two plays. One or two plays back and the Falcons win, one or two plays back and the Saints win in NO week 3. One or two plays in every game for gods sake. The people on this blog who point that one team is far superior than the other are just a bunch of blind idiots. saints beat Steelers, Falcons lose to Steelers, Saints lose to Ravens, Falcons beat Ravens. Not one of these teams is really better than the other it is just the one that executes the best on that day.
DJ Sniper
December 28th, 2010
3:23 pm
Does anybody else find it hilarious how 1 SB title has the heads of Saints fans completely gassed up? It kills me how they come in here talking about “Falcons suck” and “Falcons are losers”, when it wasn’t that long ago that the Saints were in the suck and loser category. I guess they forget that both teams were bad for about the same amount of time. Stop acting like the Saints have a long tradition of winning like the Steelers or Packers.
Freedomelover
December 28th, 2010
3:38 pm
Brees did have a meltdown in the game. I did not see Ryan make desperation tosses in the game. One that even got returned for a td(thanks for that one by the way Drew, we appreciated it). Mike did not make any adjustments in this game at all. Always running on first down to.
All you Ryan haters need to get over it. Vick is NOT coming back.
mark33
December 28th, 2010
3:43 pm
JS- I normally agree with your line of thinking, but not in this case.
Our offense was flat HORRIBLE last night. It was 4th & 6, not 1 or 2 yds. I think Coach Smith was in a catch 22. if he doesn’t make the 4th down, game over. If he punts and puts his defense, which was great the whole game but was tired, back on the field… We all know what happened.
You are assuming the Falcons make the 4th down conversion, which is a huge stretch considering we hadn’t made many plays the entire game (offensively). The game did not rest on that decision.
The game rested with the many decisions that were made with the offense or the lack of execution from the offense from the entire game. PERIOD.
DJ Sniper
December 28th, 2010
3:52 pm
I agree with everybody who has criticized the offensive game plan last night. Even though this is a solid team, something has to be done about Mike Mularkey and his play calling. For the love of God, please learn the meaning of the word “creativity”. If you’re constantly doing something over and over and it’s not yielding results (running Turner up the middle for no gain), then maybe it’s time to switch things up and keep the defense guessing. And can someone please tell the man to take more shots downfield. All this underneath stuff is fine for a while, but there comes a time when a big play or two downfield is necessary.
Am I the only one who hopes that the rumors of other teams being interested in Mularkey as their next HC are true? We need an OC who will take the handcuffs off of Matt Ryan.
mark33
December 28th, 2010
4:00 pm
I didn’t see the “urgency” last night.
No urgency by every offensive player.
No urgency in the play calling.
The defense played with urgency and played great.
The offense better pick up the urgency with EVERY possession from here on out or it will end quickly in the playoffs.
This was not the same team I’ve been watching the whole season… I want that team back.
Falcons Fever
December 28th, 2010
4:01 pm
The over-the-top man love for Brees by Gruden and Jaworski last night was hilarious! Then Brees makes a very poor decision to flip the ball and it goes for a pick 6 and they barely comment on it. Brees reminds me of Bret Favre in the way he doesn’t know how to take a sack. Desperation moves by the the QB will always come back to bite you. Brees has 21 picks this year and has the most tipped passes of any QB in the NFL. It was a hard fought game on both sides that came down to turnovers like a lot of games do. I almost don’t mind this loss too much because if we play New Orleans in the playoffs, beating them 3 times in one season would be a very difficult task for any team. We won by 3 there and they won by 3 here and if we play again it will most definitely be another knock-down drag out game that will probably come down to the end of the 4th quarter again. It’s always been a great rivalry and it’s going to continue to get better.
Sick & Tired Of Being Sick & Tired
December 28th, 2010
4:05 pm
IT’S MULARKEY!!!! Please get a new offensive coordinator for the Falcons next year!!! Enough Is Enough!!!! The offense operates a lot better in the no-huddle when Mularkey can not call the plays.
Eric C.
December 28th, 2010
4:13 pm
Jeff, I completely agree with you…excellent commentary. It’s also a shame the play-calling was so unimaginative…was that a strategic?
Mark33, your point about it being 6 yds is irrelevant…the game was over as soon as they punted the ball. If they don’t make the 4th down, the worst thing that happens is that the Saints get the ball at the 43 yd line and the Falcons would have to play defense. Even if the Saints get into FG range and kick a FG, we are talking about a 6 pt lead…still one score.
voo doo wildcard
December 28th, 2010
4:15 pm
Who dat wildcard
road team going to the windy city and frozen Soldier Field in January?
J-Smoove
December 28th, 2010
4:23 pm
Hindsight is 20/20 Jeff… Falcons are 12-3 and in first place with a chance to clinch home field advantage against the worst team in the NFL on Sunday, and reading these blogs you would think that we are fighting for a wild card spot. Everyone just needs to relax… the road to the super bowl is coming thru the ATL!!! GO FALCONS!!!
Jazzy
December 28th, 2010
4:23 pm
Bottom Line…..future Hall of Famer Brees has Peire Thomas, Chris Ivory, Reggie Bush, Jimmy Graham, Jeremy Shockey, Marcus Colston, Lance Moore, Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem, Dave Thomas, etc…..The Falcons have White, Jenkins, and Gonzales. The Falcons have the QB, but 3 weapons are not going far in playoffs. The Saints sound like New England…..an incredible QB and a bunch of no names. The Saints also have a coach….just like New England. Hope the Falcons are listening.
SB44Champs
December 28th, 2010
4:26 pm
“Does anybody else find it hilarious how 1 SB title has the heads of Saints fans completely gassed up?”
It is still one more Lombardi than the birds…………….
Jesip
December 28th, 2010
4:28 pm
SB44Champs….Don’t think it will be their last. JAZZY…..that post is correct and couldn’t agree with you more.
SB44Champs
December 28th, 2010
4:31 pm
“Brees did have a meltdown in the game. I did not see Ryan make desperation tosses in the game.”
The difference between a good player and a great player is how you handle adversity. Let’s see, Brees handles it by going 7/8 (with a drop by Colston)and leading his team on a 90 yard drive to take the lead, without having to go for it on fourth. Ryan, he went 3 and out. I’ll take our Super Bowl MVP over the third year guy that shows promise any day.
SB44Champs
December 28th, 2010
4:33 pm
“SB44Champs….Don’t think it will be their last. JAZZY…..that post is correct and couldn’t agree with you more.”
Absolutely not. Since Payton and Brees arrived two trips to the NFC title game and a Lombardi. I would say that the Saints will be around a while!
Jesip
December 28th, 2010
4:36 pm
Everyone should read JAZZY post!! Pretty Accurate.
ServiceMaster
December 28th, 2010
4:36 pm
I heard there was “sprinkling” going on at the Falcon logo in the Georgia Dome.
SB44Champs
December 28th, 2010
4:38 pm
“Also it would have been nice to see Ryan go for the 4th down, but the Saints defense was awfully tough, and based on Ryans difficulty getting any rhythm going in the air, punting doesn’t seem like a stupid choice to me. ”
Jeff, congrats, this is the most sense I have seen a bird fan make today. They had gained 4 yards on 3 downs, and the Sainits D was playing tough. This is a great rivalry, and had it not been for Roddy White’s dumba$$ comments early in the week, we probably would not be crowing so much.
SAL PAOLANTONIO
December 28th, 2010
4:40 pm
`
Boomer,
it looks like the Falcons will go 13-3 and wrap up the division.
SB44Champs
December 28th, 2010
4:41 pm
Well off I go. Bye, bye, birdy fans. Hope to see you all in about three weeks and see Matt Ryan on his back looking up at that dome ceiling-be it Super or Georgia!
SB44Champs
December 28th, 2010
4:43 pm
“Boomer,
it looks like the Falcons will go 13-3 and wrap up the division.”
Of course Boomer, we predicted them to beat the Saints, so maybe not….lol
I’m outta here for good now.
Danny Butler
December 28th, 2010
4:50 pm
Falcon Gumbo tastes oh soooooooooooooooooooooo sweet Who Dat!
KB
December 28th, 2010
5:01 pm
And now we see the true face of the Atlanta Falcon fans. Both the head coach and offensive coordinator deserve better fan support than this crap. The game was tight all night. To the armchair qbs who would have gone for it on the 4th and 6 forgot about the wisdom of HC Smith decision. He saw that his offense was not doing that great all night. They were getting their butts kicked. His defense was doing great. Why not punt the ball and let your defense stop them and pin them in a hole? You would get great field position. Go for it and not make it, then the game is over right then and there.
The HC and OC have been in more games and won more games for this team than the previous groups before them. Any you so called fans want to question their judgment now? Mind you that your team record with this team this year is 12-2 under their leadership.
RangerUSArmy
December 28th, 2010
5:04 pm
It’s foolish to bash the Saints…They won the game…….Regardless to how you feel..insults to the city as a whole is stupid. If they are Aint’s… what does that make the Falcons,…..They’ve lost 8 out of the last 10 to the Aint’s(Saints…Defending Super Bowl Champs.)
Jesip
December 28th, 2010
5:13 pm
KB…..Tell me what you think of Jazzy’s comments!!
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
December 28th, 2010
5:13 pm
I think Arthur Blank and Jeff Lurie will get together and trade Kevin Kolb for a couple high draft picks. Then the Falcons will ask CHOKE to either change positions or get cut.
Since he is basically a BUST and overrated, his only option would be to try out for a kicker position
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
December 28th, 2010
5:17 pm
I heard that KFC is having a special on Falcons with a side order of NOODLES
What the ?....
December 28th, 2010
5:22 pm
Jeff Shultz, How long are you going to allow all this hate speech on your blog ?! Every beat writer for the AJC has said enough to these folks but you ! I do not understand why you don’t take a stand. Are you afraid of a Lawsuit against you ?!
What the ?....
December 28th, 2010
5:25 pm
Schultz
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
December 28th, 2010
5:32 pm
Eagles, Saints lead pack
CLICK TO REACT
TouchdownField GoalBlown CallBig hitFumble
I had a hard time choosing between who I saw as the two most dangerous teams in the NFC playoffs, so I’m just going nominate both. The Philadelphia Eagles have the NFC’s top ranked offense and have proven time and time again this season that no lead is safe against them. The historic comeback against the Giants gets all the headlines, but Michael Vick has engineered late comebacks over the Texans, Colts and Dallas and in the first Giants game. They’ve outscored opponents 125-98 in the fourth quarter this season and 55-14 over their last three games. The possibility of facing a team with that kind of firepower and one that doesn’t ever seem to give up has to scare anyone in the NFC.
I also have to give a nod to the defending champs. The Saints proved against the Falcons that they’ve got it in them to go anywhere and beat anyone. They’re not as good a team as they were last season, but they’re still a team without any fear and they’ve still got Drew Brees as their quarterback. You can’t discount the experience of having done it last year and having a belief that you’re going to win. They believe that Sean Payton’s crazy gambles are going to work, they believe Brees can make a big play when they need it. As someone who follows the Eagles, I can honestly say the Saints are the last team I want to see the in NFC playoffs
DemonReb
December 28th, 2010
5:33 pm
Great game last night. It proved that teams who play for a city will overcome trained seals like Roddy White. New Orleans will always have more character than Atlanta. Atlanta will always be a large group of people co-existing in location, but it will never be a true city, complete with its own sense of place. In other words, it will never be as wonderful as New Orleans. Who dat!
Forget loss -- defense proves Falcons ready for playoffs | Jeff Schultz
December 28th, 2010
5:36 pm
[...] there was the decision of coach Mike Smith to punt on fourth-and-six with 2:52 left, leading to the Saints running out the clock. Smith didn’t second-guess himself [...]
KB
December 28th, 2010
5:39 pm
Jesip,
Jazzy has some valid points. Few of the bloggers here are oblivious to those facts. The point is that the GM, HC, and OC just got here. This teams past is has not pretty at all. This team has drafted busts like Bruce Pickens, A. Bruce (1st overall pick), Jamaal Anderson, Steve Broussard, Michael Booker, Tony Smith, Shawn Collins, Tony Casillas, Rick Bryan, and Junior Miller just to name a few. The last three years this team has drafted players who has made valuable contributions to the success of this current team.
The majority of the Falcons fans have had this Chicken Little mindset. Good grief!!!
What the ?....
December 28th, 2010
5:48 pm
The greatest man ever to walk the earth behind Jesus, Martin Luther King was born and raised in Atlanta ! Who has come from News Orleans ?! Brittney Spears ?!?
Jaier
December 28th, 2010
5:50 pm
What the ?……..That’s a perfect name for you after that post!!
DJ Sniper
December 28th, 2010
5:50 pm
Oh wow. Once again, we only see Choke in here after a loss. When the Falcons are winning, he’s nowhere to be found. Typical.