‘Explosive’ Falcons just opened season with a dud
What do they say about a picture telling a story? This one of Matt Ryan explains Falcons' day.
CHICAGO – When the Falcons said they wanted to get more explosive this season, did they mean like Wile E. Coyote explosive?
They said the intent was to open up the offense. Stretch defenses. They said they wanted to get more aggressive on defense. Pressure opposing quarterbacks. Let it fly, baby. Light the fuse. Problem is, when you don’t follow your own directions, it’s easy to inadvertently wire your big toe to the ACME dynamite kit. Then when you push the plunger on the season opener . . .
Boom!
The Falcons opened the season Sunday. Three hours later, all the remained was a pile of ashes.
Chicago Bears 30, Falcons 12. How’s that for your potential Super Bowl team? Instead of giving you a reason to forget their 48-21 playoff loss to Green Bay last January, the Falcons succeeded only in extending the hangover. They have been outscored in their last two games by 45 points.
And about that 0-4 record in the preseason. Maybe it’s not so meaningless after all.
“Stunned is an understatement,” linebacker Mike Peterson said.
“This isn’t what we planned on — it was awful,” Roddy White said.
It was worse than that. It was inexcusable.
Was all that talk about explosiveness just lip service? This was a season opener. This game followed months of hearing coaches, players and the front office talking about the need for wows and pyrotechnics on both sides of the ball. The Falcons traded a blur of draft picks so they could move up to draft wide receiver Julio Jones. They snagged defensive end Ray Edwards in free agency. They talked a big game.
But when the gates open, they pressed the trigger and a flag saying, “Bang!” popped out. The Bears didn’t play dead.
Many Falcons players chose to credit Chicago’s defense for playing a strong game and taking away the deep threat. But quarterback Matt Ryan and offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey seldom left the impression they were in attack mode. Ryan never threw deep. Never. He says he thought about it several times but there was nothing there. Ryan also committed two horrific mistakes — an interception by Brian Urlacher, which led to a second-quarter touchdown when the game was still 3-3, and fumbling in the third quarter, leading to an Urlacher return for another score.
Ryan also was hoping to leave his Green Bay playoff performance behind him. This didn’t help. He has five turnovers and one touchdown pass in his last two games.
The Falcons didn’t just look bad. They self-destructed. They did things that good teams, let alone Super Bowl contenders, never should do. The defense missed tackles, took bad angles on plays and blew coverages. They turned Jay Cutler (312 yards, two touchdowns) into Sid Luckman. They introduced Roy Williams, who got drop-kicked out of Dallas, to relevancy.
They were beat physically. Chicago defense may be good but it’s hardly Monsters, redux. This isn’t 1941 or 1985.
Offensively, the Falcons looked and played timid. They lined up White on one side, Jones on the other, and Tony Gonzalez and Harry Douglas between the two, as advertised. Then they cowered. Chicago often dropped eight players into coverage and taking away the deep ball. But don’t great players and great coaches adjust? They make plays. Instead, we were subjected to four quarters of check-downs.
Coach Mike Smith acknowledged the poor performance but he tried to temper concerns with, “Let’s not say the sky is falling.”
Gonzalez also sought to calm the masses.
“People outside the organization are going to push the panic button,” he said. “They’re going to think, ‘Oh my God. Overhyped. Over this. Over that. You know what? They’re full of it. If you want to think that, go ahead. Maybe it sells papers. Maybe it gives people something to talk about. But it’s one game. We’ve got the players to do something special. We just have to go out next week and play better. And we will next week, I guarantee it.”
Nobody should doubt the Falcons can still be a great team. But opening performances like this tend to alter perspectives, especially with Michael Vick and Philadelphia coming to the Georgia Dome next week.
Overhyped? It’s probably too early for such proclamations. But it would at least be nice to see the Falcons attempt what they advertised.
By Jeff Schultz
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750 comments Add your comment
Big Wally
September 11th, 2011
7:59 pm
Alot of you are right, our defense is terrible, why didn’t we draft someone on defense. Matt Ryan’s head has gotten too big, there was so much talk about him last year. He isn’t that good, he likes to dance in the pocket. Give credit to Cam Newton today, he played great. Look on the bright side, if we get the 1st round pick in the draft next year, we can pick up Andrew Luck. Maybe Ryan will wake up and not be a pretty boy.
Troup Dawg
September 11th, 2011
7:59 pm
WHAT THE CRAP WAS THAT? That performance was the Pack game all over again. Where is the attack? No attack on offense none on defense.
Speaking of D. How do you not pressure the QB but then not cover receivers? Bears were able to do both! But yet we get more excuses on how we can’t have both. I’ll settle for one of the 2.
Offense and Ryan are out of excuses. 4 yrs into it, Ryan should be much more along in the process. Is Ryan another Romo?
Ken
September 11th, 2011
8:00 pm
Ok first!! Get rid of Chris Owens he was out of position constantly he does not know where he needs to be at any time!! Next Mike Mularkey you best open up the playbook and show us something!! The only explosiveness was the Bears D!! Brian VanGorder we have got to play better pass defense a blitz here or there mix some coverages but get out of this basic zone defens that a middle school could shred!! And last and most important this week the defense needs to practice tackling!! Wrap the man up graba leg and hold on!! Hard hits are good when it stops the ball carrier!! Start fining guys for missed tackles!!
Rupe in DC
September 11th, 2011
8:00 pm
Spoon just put a lot of bad game film out there. Teams are going to seek to wear his tail out now. DeCoud drops two picks…….come on man!!!!
That was ugly. Nothing on film to scare any other teams.
mothers concerned
September 11th, 2011
8:00 pm
Ryan is bad I told my husband that awhile back. He looked scared and the team looked bad also. First game what a waste of time to watch it. They looked like they didn’t try at all.
Hollywood
September 11th, 2011
8:01 pm
Hey Mike Mularkey: “SLANTS”, “SLANTS”, “SLANTS”, Hey Matt Ryan: “Three Seconds, throw slants”, “Three seconds, Throw slants”! Check out what Chicago did to our defense and what Green Bay & the Saints do!
Hey Brian Van Gorder: “Gritz Blitz” especially against Cutler, he does not play well when pressured or hurried! and tell Defensive Tackles to RAISE their arms at the line of scrimmage to bat the ball down”
Big Wally2
September 11th, 2011
8:01 pm
Didn’t know there was another Big Wally, so just call me Big Wally2……
falcon fan
September 11th, 2011
8:01 pm
The Falcons will not make the playoffs this year and they will also be moving to LA Arthur Blank wife left him and well you know what is next. I going to find me a new team. This is getting old fast.
AlanFalcon
September 11th, 2011
8:02 pm
SAD, nothing left to be said !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Larry
September 11th, 2011
8:02 pm
Let’s just hope the 68 year old King Arthur, in his quest for his third wife once again half his age as was his second wife, doesn’t have his mind on the wrong kind of “ball” right now!
Just what would you expect from a sleazy, liberal owner…just like Ted Turner!
The Grinch
September 11th, 2011
8:03 pm
Ryan looked bad, to be sure. But with the offensive line playing matador (which should have been no surprise to Mularkey after viewing the tape of Joe Hawley in the preseason which I assume he must have), WHERE WERE THE SCREENS? Snelling is an excellent pass catching back. Rodgers may have been designed by god as the perfect back to throw a screen to; I had assumed that’s why we drafted him. Chicago was eating our @$$es alive with the same screens we should have been running all game long, and we didn’t seem to notice. Instead, MM ran EXACTLY the same incredibly boring, predictable offense he’s run since he got here and looked astounded that it didn’t work again.
We keep hearing from media folk (even Jeff) that MM is an innovative OC. This is the fourth year, and I have yet to see him even make a basic adjustment much less be innovative. Utter nonsense.
BVG is starting to look more and more overmatched at the NFL level. Players were routinely out of position, taking bad angles, overpursuing and tackling poorly. Yeah, we get it that most of training camp didn’t happen. But why did that affect us and not Chicago, Green Bay or New Orleans?
By my estimation (and that of most folks coming into this game), Chicago is not nearly as talented a team as Atlanta. But just like with the Bulldogs, it doesn’t too much matter how much talent you have if the coaches can’t figure out how to use it.
Double Zero Eight
September 11th, 2011
8:03 pm
I am beginning to believe that Ryan does not have the
arm or the footwork necessary to throw the ball deep,
on an accurate and consistent basis.
It looks like Matt Shaub may be the better quarterback.
I am not going to even bring up Vick…..don’t get me
started. Looks like we may have let two get away!
Ben Roeth-rapist-berger
September 11th, 2011
8:03 pm
They are great at standing on sidelines. Look at Richt at UGA!
===================
Big Wally
September 11th, 2011
7:56 pm
Memo to A. Blank. These great ‘character” guys maybe good in the lockerroom, but if they can’t block or tackle, then what good are they?
Ben Roeth-rapist-berger
September 11th, 2011
8:04 pm
Big Wally
September 11th, 2011
7:56 pm
Memo to A. Blank. These great ‘character” guys maybe good in the lockerroom, but if they can’t block or tackle, then what good are they?
===================
They are great roaming your sidelines. Look at Mark Richt at UGA.
the barves
September 11th, 2011
8:04 pm
Falcons fans are embarrassing. I don’t think they get much worse.Even our bandwagoners don’t give them one game. It was awful, but the reaction is always much more disheartening.
Really bad performance, but for the people giving up on the team, please just be a jets or pats fan. and stick with them. and move out of the state. please.
Moorman
September 11th, 2011
8:04 pm
Ryan got the peyton manning gyrations down pat……..
Jamaaliver
September 11th, 2011
8:05 pm
Has anyone else stopped to think that maybe, just maybe…The Bears are going to be REALLY good this year?
Not out of my pocket
September 11th, 2011
8:05 pm
Who cares! The NFL (and the NBA and MLB) is nothing but a bunch of millionaire thugs.
gman
September 11th, 2011
8:05 pm
This was pathetic all around. Mularkey and BVG are NOT going to get us to a super bowl. We’re going to need nrains trhat are creative and explosive. These guys are are plain and predictable.
gman
September 11th, 2011
8:06 pm
brains nor nrains
qp70325
September 11th, 2011
8:06 pm
The Falcons are just simply the mos VANILLA team in the NFL. I don’t think we have the coaching staff to get out of this mess. Maybe the best thing that can happen is that we have a bad season and we clean house coachig staff wise. Three years, 0-2 in the playoffs and not a promising outlook after the pre-season and today’s showing. Need to get REAL coordinators fast.
Matt Ryan overrated
September 11th, 2011
8:07 pm
Cam Newton passed over 400 yard passing in his first game wow!! Matt Ryan you are about to have the fickle fans do you like they did Vick! welcome to Atlanta sports!! Ryan is not the Falcon saviour he is just a middle of the road QB that all!!!
Rankin Smith From The Great Beyon
September 11th, 2011
8:07 pm
Maybe it’s those red and black uniforms. Wearing the same colors as the Athens mutts is a sure way to lose.
gman
September 11th, 2011
8:08 pm
When did we bring #23 Chris Houston back?
yeah right
September 11th, 2011
8:08 pm
Oh yeah, 33 wins in first 3 season, only one besides Dan Marino, all the fourth quarter and last minute drives to win the game for us. Man, this no talent, wanna be hack for a QB we have sure is awful. You guys really are pathetic. Say a guy sucks bc his play caller is terrible, and he actually checks down instead of throwing deep balls into double coverage. Some of you morons surprise me at how little you know
Eric C.
September 11th, 2011
8:09 pm
I’ve revised my 10-6 prediction to 8-8 after this debacle. I just can’t see the Falcons keeping up with the Packers, Eagles, Saints, Lions, or Texans…and they will lose to either Indy or Jax. If Cam Newton stays hot, this could end up being 6-10 easily. Changes will be made in the coaching staff and Mike Smith’s seat will get much warmer by the end of this season. Also, Matt Ryan will come more into question as whether he is the QB that can actually take the Falcons to the promised land. It’s amazing how much you can tell after an 0-4 preseason and a loss in the first game of the season…but you really can.
Jerry Glanville
September 11th, 2011
8:09 pm
Give me call, padna! Racing season is winding down. I’ve got some time on my hands.
vuduchld
September 11th, 2011
8:10 pm
To those Falcon fans out there, sorry, today was not a blur, these are what the Falcons are, a team with zero identity and no soul. Da Bears came out today and played Bears football and the Birds punked out, plain and simple. Like I said on previous posts, this is a lousy team that will feed on the weak, but will get beat down by the strong. What you saw today are the REAL Falcons, get used to it.
extremus
September 11th, 2011
8:10 pm
Well stated, Mr. Schultz. If you’re bending over backward to say you’re intending to accomplish specific things as a team (namely pressure the opposing quarterback and stretch the field with the deep ball) and then come out in the inaugural game of the season and do exactly the opposite, there’s far more to be angry about as a fan than just the loss here. Whether it’s Matt Ryan or Mike Mularkey, somebody is seriously hamstringing the offense; it’s like a kid who’s afraid to pull the car out of the driveway once they get their license. You’ve got the weapons now guys; what you no longer have is an EXCUSE! Fail this season to deliver and heads should most definitely roll!
FugitivePoet
September 11th, 2011
8:10 pm
Just. Sick.
Displaced Georgia Boy compelled to live in the northeast by career. Imagine my dismay as I watch Vick light ‘em up. There is no justice. Cancelling my Sunday Ticket.
Tired of the Falcons—and all Georgia teams for that matter—playing like docile Southern gentlemen. Oh, excuse me, want the ball? Here y’all go. Will we ever recapture the blood and guts once endemic and punch people in the mouth? Been 150 years so probably not.
Just. Sick.
Greg Mendel
September 11th, 2011
8:10 pm
Who knew Todd McClure was that important? The O-line was a revolving door. The CBs were covering the waterboys. If you invite your opponent to sack your QB, and you give opposing receivers a 10-yard cushion, you wind up with a loss like today’s.
I don’t think the Falcons lack talent. There’s something else going on — or not going on.
GatorFan
September 11th, 2011
8:10 pm
I think it starts with the O-Line. it was really really bad.
the barves
September 11th, 2011
8:11 pm
it doesn’t matter if ryan isn’t a top tier QB. you can win Super Bowls without one. The o-line looked lost, and outside of Abraham and Biermann the defense looked just as bewildered.
Gotta shore this up immediately.
I don’t give 2 damns about “explosive plays”, you can win games running the football and playing good D. and we don’t have a very good D right now, by the looks of it. Spoon and Dunta MUST step up.
Bill Cohwer
September 11th, 2011
8:11 pm
I am looking for a job
dan
September 11th, 2011
8:11 pm
As ticked as I am, I’m inclined to hold off judgement on the Birds until I see this team play 4 games or so. I remember when the Pats lost to the Bills 31-0 in week 1 in 2003, and they won the Super Bowl that year. Also, we didn’t exactly light the world on fire in the opener last year and still won 13 games. The turnovers made the game look worse than it was, so let’s calm down.
I refuse to believe the Steelers, Falcons, AND the Giants are this bad. I also refuse to believe that the Rex Grossman led Redskins, Chan Gailey coached Bills, and the Cade McCown Jaguars are THIS good. Something weird was in the water today.
Back to the Birds: these guys have to be getting reamed out right now. This is a wake up call of the first order. The Falcons got the Eagles next week. They better get it together fast.
ab inito
September 11th, 2011
8:12 pm
Dear Falcons Ownership and Management,
Defense wins championships. The Falcons have as many championships as they’ve had defenses.
Sincerely,
Common Sense
Jim Moron
September 11th, 2011
8:12 pm
Enter your comments here
Jeff Fisher
September 11th, 2011
8:12 pm
So am i
Jim Moron
September 11th, 2011
8:12 pm
Im speechless..Hey steak what you got???
Matt from MN
September 11th, 2011
8:13 pm
I’m so tired of the one game argument. Yeah, it’s one game, but pretty soon it could be one more, then another one and then another. Just like UGA, this second game has HUGE implications for the psyche of this team and it’s fans.
I’ve always been a Ryan fan, but he’s regressed terribly. Frankly, getting Tony Gonzalez was just about the “worst” thing to happen to Ryan and his development.
As for Mularkey, I think it’s plain to see, not just after today, but after the last two seasons that he’s not cutting it. There is no flow to the game, no playing to the strengths of the offense…nothing.
I’m depressed.
the barves
September 11th, 2011
8:13 pm
And now I leave this blog, because it is filled with the worst fans ever. Please do quit watching the falcons. thanks.
Whopper Dawg
September 11th, 2011
8:13 pm
Just what I feared. TD swings for the fences in the draft for an offensive coordinator the is ball control. The leopard did not change his spots. Either the Jones deal is a big mistake or MM has to go.
abtoal
September 11th, 2011
8:13 pm
Why are we surprised? We didn’t lose to the packers because our number two WR wasn’t good enough? They made one move for the defense that couldn’t stop anybody last year and he didn’t show up at all on the stat sheet. They partially dismantled an offensive line that was dominate and this one couldn’t protect Ryan at all today. They hardly ever took a shot down field before jones arrived. I think it is time to remove Mularky from OC and time to begin thinking that Ryan isn’t going to be the one to stretch the field out at all. He didn’t do that at BC and he hasn’t done that here yet. Because so far, all we have from the offense the last two games is mularky. Pure crap.
Tell it like it is
September 11th, 2011
8:13 pm
Ryan is in his 4th year at QB,and makes way to many mistakes to be considered a top pro QB.his play will have to improve if the falcons are to improve.
Matt Ryan overrated
September 11th, 2011
8:14 pm
The great GM! great at what snowboarding > Matt can’t throw deep. oh yea maybe the first play maybe wow!! All those draft pick for a ten yard deep pass, nuts!! 9-7 or 8-8 !!! Great GM you make the call!!!
Eric C.
September 11th, 2011
8:14 pm
I’m starting to fall off the Matt Ryan bandwagon after 3+ seasons. Dimitroff should revise his QB assessment with QB arm strength being last on his list! Cutler is a freaking idiot, but he still won today. Ryan will never be a Tom Brady and he looks like a deer in headlights when he gets a little pressure…time to go back to the drawing board.
Jim Moron
September 11th, 2011
8:15 pm
Falcants aint the Pats..
And the Steelers and Giants are not that bad..
Eagles 48 Falcants 16
Bubba bean
September 11th, 2011
8:16 pm
Im available to coach…
Matt Ryan overrated
September 11th, 2011
8:16 pm
Change colors you look to much like another loser Georgia!
June Jones
September 11th, 2011
8:17 pm
I still got my run and shoot….