Falcons’ embarrassing loss means season was an epic fail
Matt Ryan had two interceptions and was sacked five times in the loss. (Curtis Compton/AJC)
It’s year three of this great franchise awakening, and that means one thing: We don’t grade seasons on the first 16 games.
We can praise the Falcons for a 13-win season. We can marvel at their young quarterback, Matt Ryan, for his progress in three seasons and his ability to pull out victories in pressure situations. We can sit back and praise the owner, the general manager and the coaching staff for seemingly doing everything right and winning 33 regular season games since 2008.
But in January of 2011, the Falcons should not be graded on what happens in the first 16 games. They should be graded on postseasons.
They failed. Epically.
There’s no shame in losing to the Green Bay Packers. But getting bodyslammed 48-21 is a level of humiliation that no playoff team should ever experience, especially this one. Not after a 13-3 season. Not in its first playoff game. Not at home. Not after having a week off while the opponent was in a short week following a road playoff game.
You expected a high point for the franchise. Instead, the Falcons gave us a low — the most lopsided playoff loss in their history.
“We didn’t do anything like ourselves,” Roddy White said. “It felt like were a different football team.”
If the Falcons could have stepped outside themselves and astral-projected into other bodies, it would have been an improvement.
They committed four turnovers. They allowed the Packers 442 yards in offense, 366 coming from quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who threw three touchdowns and completed 31 of 36 passes (and I honestly can’t remember the five incompletes).
If you think it can’t get worse, try this: Green Bay never punted. The totals: Five offensive touchdown, a defensive score, two field goals, a missed field goal and a fumble. It was like the return of Arena Football, except only one team was fully functional.
“Totally our fault,” said defensive end John Abraham, who like many Falcons defenders got close to Rodgers on occasion but seldom could get him to the turf (he was sacked twice). “I’m not saying they didn’t play well, but we could’ve done a lot more to move this in the right direction and we didn’t.
“Personally, I had bigger goals. The regular season is good. But being done in the first game hurts, especially the way we got knocked out.”
Some feared the New Orleans Saints coming back into the Georgia Dome and winning for the second time in a month. More feared Michael Vick coming back and winning again. Was this any better — a lopsided loss, with several thousand “Cheeseheads” chanting, “Go Pack Go”?
We thought the Falcons were past this. Granted, they won a lot of close games during the regular season. Great teams win close games. But when a team has such an epic faceplant in its first playoff game, you have to wonder how close it really is.
In 2008 — the first year of the Ryan-Mike Smith-Thomas Dimitroff era — the Falcons rose from two years of wreckage. They went 11-5. Then they lost at Arizona, a team that went on to the Super Bowl — no embarrassment there. This season they went 13-3 and lost to a Green Bay team that may end up in Dallas. The difference is venue — the Falcons were 20-4 in the Georgia Dome in the last three seasons – and what we perceived to be the Falcons’ evolution to this point.
Nobody thought the defense was great. But it appeared to be young and improving and certainly not set up for a dismembering. The offense added Tony Gonzalez last year to win a Super Bowl, but the team hasn’t even won a playoff game. (Nor has Gonzalez in his career. In fact he made his first catch of the game with 2:03 left in the third quarter and then limped off.)
The Packers fumbled on their opening possession. Then they scored touchdowns the next six times they touched the football – five on offensive possessions and one on a 70-yard interception return by cornerback Tramon Williams, a play that Ryan will be reliving in his nightmares for the next several months.
Oh yes, Ryan: The Falcons thrived this season on not turning over the ball. Ryan was at the forefront of that, throwing a career-low nine interceptions. Both second-quarter interceptions were costly. The first ended a scoring drive, though it may have been more the fault of wide receiver Michael Jenkins, who slipped and fell in the end zone, leaving Tramon Williams to make an easy interception.
But the second one was all on Ryan. With the Falcons trailing 21-14, eight seconds left in the half and the ball on the Packers’ 34, Ryan tried to hit Roddy White with a quick sideline pass to set up a field goal. But he threw way short and behind White and the pass was picked off by Williams, who brought it all the way for a score to make it 28-14 at halftime. The most audible sound in the Georgia Dome was a loud groan.
Brave fans stayed for the second half. But when the Packers scored on their first two possessions in the third quarter, it was like somebody yelled, “Fire.” By the end, it was only Cheeseheads in the stands.
This was exactly the kind of playoff meltdown Ryan wanted to avoid. He was 20 for 29 but had two interceptions and was sacked five times. Two years ago, his first pass attempt at Arizona was intercepted and led to a Cardinals’ scoring drive. Later in the game he had a fumble that Arizona’s Antrel Rolle returned 27 yards for a touchdown. The Falcons lost 30-24. We didn’t consider it a great tragedy.
This is different. Two years later, humiliating defeat should not be what this team is about.
They’re not as close as we thought they were.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
1,754 comments Add your comment
World Champ Saints
January 16th, 2011
1:03 am
Falcons fans were loud and proud because they cheered when the team came out of the tunnel.
504forlife
January 16th, 2011
1:04 am
matty people only visit atlanta…. to connect to their final destination via delta.
IBleedGreen&Gold
January 16th, 2011
1:04 am
Tough loss, but you’ve got one helluva team Atlanta. Keep your heads up and get ‘em next year!
Timmy
January 16th, 2011
1:04 am
I don’t think Roddy White cares how to spell “Who Dat”. Keep in mind this originated as a phrase used in minstrel shows (white people prancing around stage in black face). That’s what you are supporting with that phrase.
The Falcons fans you claim littered your boards last week need to grow up. But so do you. Going to a newspaper website to talk trash to the fans of the team in that city is about as low as it goes.
FALCLOWNS are losers
January 16th, 2011
1:04 am
This sums it up ProFootballTalk.com:
It was the kind of spanking that the top seed in a division-round game is supposed to periodically administer to the visiting team. Instead, it was the worst loss by the NFC’s top seed in the division round since 1987, when the Vikings shocked the 49ers in San Francisco, 36-24.
We’ve got a strange feeling that the Falcons, in a division that features the potent Saints and the up-and-coming Bucs, won’t get another shot at holding serve as the top seed any time soon.
Baron Samedi Papa Legba
January 16th, 2011
1:04 am
May the Voodoo Gods curse all you who make fun of New Orleans and Katrina.
Keep Paying
January 16th, 2011
1:04 am
Glad my taxes pay for your salary in New Orleans
Matthew
January 16th, 2011
1:05 am
504 – you may want to do some research on all the people that continually leave louisiana because it sucks. and then match that up with the growth of atlanta and its surrounding suburbs.
oh wait, your from new orleans.. so facts are of little use to you.
World Champ Saints
January 16th, 2011
1:05 am
Gotta admit, Atlanta does have some nice airport food and restrooms.
Matthew
January 16th, 2011
1:05 am
i hate taint fans, sofa cough!!!
pretenders
January 16th, 2011
1:06 am
falcons were just pretenders. That may have been the biggest hiney whipping in nfl playoff history. I would be embarrassed to admit to being a pigeons fan. The bucs and saints have lombardi trophies. The pigeons are forever bottom dwellers with the panthers in the nfc south. Pigeon fans when you are done kissing the zippers of saints and Buc fans maybe they will let you steal a peek of the lombardi. You were to arrogant but now you been humbled.
You need to learn “how” to win first. When you boast before you win the championship then its called arrogance! you dimwits wanted to celebrate before you won a championship.
Ruxin
January 16th, 2011
1:06 am
KEEP PAYING, what you’ve just wrote is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever read. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone on this blog is now dumber for having read them. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
Ga=TrailerTrashMecca
January 16th, 2011
1:06 am
Matthew, you’re a fool. City with failing schools, corrupt government? Sounds alot like Atlanta too you dumb a$$…
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
January 16th, 2011
1:06 am
Falcons, Matty Ice go cold when it counts
Posted by Mike Florio on January 15, 2011, 11:34 PM EST
Falcons fans love to quote the team’s record at home under quarterback Matt Ryan. They likely aren’t as interested in bragging about the team’s record in the playoffs under Ryan.
0-2.
Widely regarded as the best young quarterback in the game, the man known as Matty Ice goes liquid-nitrogen cold when it counts the most. Two years ago, a superior Falcons team lost in Arizona during the wild-card round. This year, with a 13-3 record and the top seed in the NFC playoff field, the Falcons and Ryan were dismantled by a Packers team that suddenly looks a lot like the Super Bowl favorite that so many thought they would be before the season.
With a 48-21 win in the Georgia Dome, the Packers managed in only six days to knock out the two franchises that seemed during the season to be on a Mike-Vick-returns-to-Atlanta collision course.
The Packers did it with four drives of 80 yards or longer and a pick-six from cornerback Tramon Williams, who lately has emerged as the best playmaking cornerback in the NFL, despite not being named to the Pro Bowl roster. His first pick on the night ended in the end zone a drive that would have continued the back-and-forth scoring fest that had the game knotted at 14.
And they did it with a night to remember from Aaron Rodgers, who has gotten the Brett Favre monkey off his back, stuffed it, mounted it on the wall, and texted a photo of it to Jenn Sterger.
Said Rodgers after the game, to Pam Oliver of FOX: “To be able to put up that kind of performance as an offense, it’s incredible.”
Yes it is. Rodgers completed 31 of 36 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns. The Packers gained 442 yards on offense, holding Atlanta to fewer than 200.
It was the kind of spanking that the top seed in a division-round game is supposed to periodically administer to the visiting team. Instead, it was the worst loss by the NFC’s top seed in the division round since 1987, when the Vikings shocked the 49ers in San Francisco, 36-24.
We’ve got a strange feeling that the Falcons, in a division that features the potent Saints and the up-and-coming Bucs, won’t get another shot at holding serve as the top seed any time soon.
“AMERICA HAS SPOKEN”
504forlife
January 16th, 2011
1:06 am
nooo timmmaaayyy as low as it goes is you and your fans katrina talk.
Lawmoe
January 16th, 2011
1:06 am
Matt Ryan will continue to improve. Last year, the talk was how Rogers could not win a playoff game. He proved that wrong. So will Ryan. I feel you Falcon fans, but your team will be back. Cut them some slack for being one of the last standing. GO PACK!
saintsgirl
January 16th, 2011
1:07 am
I don’t understand why Saints and Falcon fans have to be so nasty to one another. Both our teams have a rough history, and I think there is some jealousy from Falcon fans( like Timmy) b/c the Saints won a SB and the Falcons have not and after tonight, won’t during this post season either. But, why must either people from N.O. or Atlanta say and wish such terrible things towards one another. It does not look good for either side. I think both teams’ fans could learn something from Packer fans who have conducted themselves with alot of class on their posts.
On another note, I don’t yet know if Matt Ryan will ever be an elite QB or not. It all depends on whether or not he has reached his ceiling as a player yet. If he ever is to reach that next level, he must improve quite a bit. I thought a telling statement came from Clay Matthews following the game. He said the game plan was to shut down the run and force the Falcons to throw against them. No defensive player would say that about the established elite QB’s, such as Brady, Manning ,Brees, Rivers, Rodgers. Game plans against those players are all about slowing down the passing games. If Atlanta is ever going to reach a Superbowl, Ryan must become a passer that defenses fear. Only teams with elite QB’s can win it all in today’s NFL.
Keep Paying
January 16th, 2011
1:07 am
We should have let New Orleans stay under water, maybe my taxes would be lower
Aints
January 16th, 2011
1:07 am
Aints have nearly 30 free agents in the offseason, with their team getting old I don’t see them contending any time soon.
(Un-) Fair weather fan
January 16th, 2011
1:07 am
On a more positive note, look at it this way. If the Packers play anything like how they played tonight against the Bears – assuming it’s the Bears – they’ll probably blow Cutler and company off the field in a week’s time as decisively as they did the hapless Falcons tonight.
Timmy
January 16th, 2011
1:07 am
The voodoo gods have obviously already cursed you, Baron. You will spend an eternity trolling the blogs of teams that were further along in the playoffs than the Aints.
ejj
January 16th, 2011
1:08 am
Why is Mike Smiith taking his whole coaching staff to the Pro Bowl? Alot of them need severance.
reality check
January 16th, 2011
1:08 am
Wat: Are you bitter tonight? Did you drink that kool aid and RISE UP? Hope you didn’t lose your bet too!
504forlife
January 16th, 2011
1:08 am
minstrel this: WHO DAT!
Matthew
January 16th, 2011
1:08 am
trailer trash buffoon – why don’t you give me a history lesson on Huey Long? Or maybe explain who has jurisdiction over the levee system and then talk to me about corrupt politics, moron.
Keep Paying
January 16th, 2011
1:10 am
At least we got Swamp People for some good off-season laughs
Black Falcon
January 16th, 2011
1:10 am
To say that you are building a team for the future is an excuse that can justify any playoff loss. At some point in time the future has to arrive, obviously it wasn’t tonight for the Falcons. I, for one, did not expect the Falcons to win but I did not think they would get beat this bad. A total embarrassment for the number one seed.
Brian Van Gorder
January 16th, 2011
1:10 am
Can anyone explain to me this concept of what they call “blitz?” I’m not familiar with the term.
FALCLOWNS are losers
January 16th, 2011
1:11 am
@Timmy – you ARE the biggest Loser on earth….There is NOTHING you can say, write or philosophize that will change the events of tonight or 2009, when the Saints won the SB…Falclowns DO NOT have a ring, we do….I know it hurts, but insulting New Orleans changes NOTHING…dr phil can help you. Best of luck to you, loser…
504forlife
January 16th, 2011
1:11 am
awwww c’mon matty. there’s no crying in football.
Timmy
January 16th, 2011
1:11 am
Matt Ryan will be fine. The Falcons just need to add another receiving threat, get a speed back to replace Jerious Please-don’t-breathe-on-me-or-I’ll-get-hurt Norwood, and draft defensive backs.
OrlandoSaint
January 16th, 2011
1:11 am
HAHAHAHAHA NO SUPERBOWL FOR YOU!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Matthew
January 16th, 2011
1:11 am
or trailer trash, how about explaining why louisiana is so backwards, its the only state that sticks with the napoleonic code?
Mike Mularkey
January 16th, 2011
1:11 am
I don’t believe in plays of 20 yards or more.
Timmy
January 16th, 2011
1:12 am
You guys won the SB. Congrats. Doesn’t make it any better to come over talking trash. Actually it kind of makes it worse, because you should be able to just simply hold your head up, take a deep breath, and make the active decision NOT to engage in such a petty activity.
Rodney King
January 16th, 2011
1:13 am
I thought my beating was bad, but I actually feel bad for the Falcons!
hodeho
January 16th, 2011
1:13 am
Outside of perhaps Atlanta, no one thought the Falcons would win this game. Matt Ryan is an above-average QB, but no more. Aaron Rodgers is an exceptional QB and showed it. The Falcons play in a nothing division against nothing opponents. It was shocking, though, how they quit. That’s on their coach.
notNourhouse
January 16th, 2011
1:14 am
It’s O.K. fellow bird seeds,
We will bounce back next season, I just wish we could’ve done like the Saints did last year and defend our house like #1 seeds supposed to. 48-21
WoW! that would’ve never happened to the Saints in the superdome. We have a good team though a good draft and we’re right back in it. I wish we had a better QB though, you know! like Brees maybe. Did I just typed that? Sorry ATL just thinking out loud. Here’s another thought. We Suck!
Geaux Saints.
504forlife
January 16th, 2011
1:14 am
that’s right matty. if you talk about napoleonic code everyone else will totally forget about the football game that was just played……. rise up birdies! tweet this: WHO DAT!
reality check
January 16th, 2011
1:15 am
Aints: Saints have 28 free agents and will let guys like Shockey and Sharper who have had their better days go. But make no mistake, the Saints aren’t an old team at all and younger than The Falcons at many positions. Most of their core players that they want back will be coming back. Get your facts straight before you tackle a subject you know little to nothing about!
dee
January 16th, 2011
1:15 am
Stop it people! The birds were exposed. They’ve only played 4 good teams all year and they lost 3 of those. Steelers,saints and eagles.
504forlife
January 16th, 2011
1:16 am
hey timmay, I’m holding my head up, taking a deeeeeep breath, and yelling WHOOOOODAAAATTTT!!!! all over your town’s internets. U mad brah?
mikey vicks
January 16th, 2011
1:16 am
that was soooooo pathetic——-i even feel sorry for you losers. By the way anybodies knows where i can buys a pit bullz.
Matthew
January 16th, 2011
1:16 am
504 – it’s not so much about football as much as how and why new orleans sucks and their only claim in life is a team that won a superbowl. whoopedee do. you suck, your city sucks, and your taint team lost to a 7-9 team last week, so they suck, too.
sofa cough
CAPTAIN Kirk
January 16th, 2011
1:16 am
I guess I missed whatever trent Dilfer said that several posters have mentioned………
just what was so epic that emerged from his piehole??
WhoDatXLIV
January 16th, 2011
1:16 am
your quarterback = mediocre at best, also sounds like he hasn’t hit puberty yet
your running back = morbidly obese, probably has another year before he’s obsolete
your tight end = older than the dinosaurs, and a loser, too
your team = sitting on the sofa for the next 200 days, also losers.
you know, we had an early exit from the playoffs too, but the difference between the SAINTS and the foulclowns is that we have a ring for being ONE OF THE BEST, MOST DOMINANT TEAMS OF ALL TIME, and you have NOTHING. it don’t mean a thing if you ain’t got that ring baby!
it’s okay, bourbon street is always open for y’all to come drink your sorrows away. you’re welcome anytime
William T. Sherman
January 16th, 2011
1:18 am
Enough, Matthew. It’s bedtime. Momma and Pa are calling you up now. Put down your computer and put on your jammies and go to bed with your sister. After all, your shift at Wal-mart starts at 5am sharp. I’d hate to see you stock store shelves up with nary a couple of hours of sleep. BTW, always remember my haunting words as I rode victoriusly out of Atl that fateful winter….BURN, BABY BURN!!
Aints
January 16th, 2011
1:18 am
@reality check, they’re old and Drew Brews is regressing – look at his INT’s this year, he looked more like Jay Cutler and Eli Manning.
serious
January 16th, 2011
1:18 am
through the thick and thin, i am always proud to be a falcons fan. Haters can hate, but i love my team.
and i would never root for someone else.
and the rest of you can burn in hell, especially aints fans who have nothing better to do than feel good about other teams loosing.
Looking forward to next year. can’t win em all. sometimes you get humiliated.
i would think aints would know about that, but i don’t think they even care.
So keep spouting who dat, because we all know its now the seahawks calling card.
Matthew
January 16th, 2011
1:18 am
WhoDatXLIV – we all know that your invitation to drink on bourbon street is also an invite to get butt raped, sofa cough.