‘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
I have never watched the NFL before
September 11th, 2011
9:17 pm
J ATL…did you see the Steelers game?
Najeh Davenpoop
September 11th, 2011
9:17 pm
“it doesn’t matter if ryan isn’t a top tier QB. you can win Super Bowls without one. ”
This is very true. As long as you have good supporting players, you can win with a QB who is just good, not great. Matt Ryan may be overrated, but he is still good, and the Falcons can still win a Super Bowl with him.
JSS
September 11th, 2011
9:17 pm
Stat man…
That is easy, Greg Knapp…
Matt "Matty Ice" Ryan
September 11th, 2011
9:17 pm
Let’s face it. Matt Ryan will not have a good season this year. He got married over the Off-season. Major Life adjustment.
At best we should look forward to next year.
JSS
September 11th, 2011
9:18 pm
Jim Mora….
1-10 Against Ranked Teams (formerly BeerDawg)
September 11th, 2011
9:18 pm
Man….what a crappy weekend…..Dawgs lose (again!), Falcons, Braves swept, no NHL hockey, Hawks…..well they’re the Hawks-what more to say
On top of that…..9/11??
….a real downer for sure
JSS
September 11th, 2011
9:18 pm
Ed Donatell
JSS
September 11th, 2011
9:18 pm
Dez White
Jim Moron
September 11th, 2011
9:19 pm
MV7 ran for 98 on only 7 carries? He’ll get a buck fifty on 12 carries this Sunday if he like..
Naw just air it out and go deep for at least 3 TD’s against this cheese cake secondary…
JSS
September 11th, 2011
9:19 pm
Reggie Kelly
GTJeff
September 11th, 2011
9:19 pm
I turned the channel after the first 3rd down conversion by Chicago. After 30+ years of embarrassment this team has brought on me as a fan, I quit. Screw the Falcons. This team will never win a Super Bowl in my lifetime. I can truely see why college football is so much more loved than NFL in the South. Blank, move this bumbling bunch of wannabes to LA.
SeenThisB4
September 11th, 2011
9:19 pm
Well, gotta reassess my season prediction:
Saints 12 – 4
Bucs 9 – 7
CAR 8 – 8
ATL 7 – 9
JSS
September 11th, 2011
9:19 pm
Peerless Price
1-10 Against Ranked Teams (formerly BeerDawg)
September 11th, 2011
9:20 pm
Interesting…..all this “explosive play” talk is eerily similar to all the build up of the Dawgs before the Boise game…..what a let down!!!
JSS
September 11th, 2011
9:20 pm
How many of those are still in the league?
M&M
September 11th, 2011
9:20 pm
And what a finishing touch on today where Serena Williams couldn’t even win the Us Open for New York and the United States of America…………………….
John
September 11th, 2011
9:21 pm
Is Matt Ryan’s new wife the reason for his play? So getting sex on the regular makes for terrible play on Sundays? He needs a divorce!!!
GTJeff
September 11th, 2011
9:21 pm
Oh & REAL nice job trading away next year’s draft picks there dumbasses.
J_ATL
September 11th, 2011
9:21 pm
@ I have never watched the NFL before.
Yes, i did watch the Steelers game. They lost to a division opponent and they were not talking the talk without backing it up. Also, they were not picked to win the SB. Anymore questions?? Smart @#$
Jim Moron
September 11th, 2011
9:22 pm
0-7, The Streak will continue Sunday Night and beyond…………….
Shirly Hemphill
September 11th, 2011
9:22 pm
“Matty Bland”, perhaps.Makes more sense…
Thomas DeCoud, what is Plan B for you, sir?
Dunta, you got paid, my man. You might be too distracted however with your portfolio ’s performance . May I suggest to you the financial planning services of Jim Donnan?
JSS
September 11th, 2011
9:22 pm
Serena is lucky to be alive… She didn’t touch a racket for nearly a year, she has nothing to hang her head about…
427Cobra
September 11th, 2011
9:23 pm
So much for the explosive offense, more like imploding offense. When is mgmt going to realize that our coordinator sucks and needs to be fired NOW. We spend all those draft picks to get Julio, and we still do the same old BS run first and dink and dunk, nickle and dime crap. My 98 year old grandma with dimentia can predict what plays Mularkey is going to call. Of course it won’t matter because the way our O-line blocked today Matt won’t make it through the first month of the season. I thought maybe the spanking Green Bay laid on the Falcons would make them man-up, but today was just as embarrassing because the Bears are not in the same stratosphere with the Packers. The way the Falcons played today really makes me want to puke.
JSS
September 11th, 2011
9:24 pm
That wife is the best thing that ever happened to him…
Stat Man
September 11th, 2011
9:25 pm
JSS, god I love your excuses.
Who Me?
September 11th, 2011
9:25 pm
Man, just caught the game on DVR. Who was this team that got their butts spanked?? Mike Smith, what have you to say about your offense AND your defense? Coach, we’re 0 and 6 for the last 6 games, is the red light on over at Suwanee yet? Did your team think they could just flip a switch, turn it on and go out there and sleepwalk? What was that mess?? What say you Coach Smith about your team’s performance this afternoon???? Nice job of coaching up for the season opener guys….
Keep Paying
September 11th, 2011
9:26 pm
Don’t worry…Mularkey is fast at work, drawing up some new 5 yard passing plays for next week!! You haven’t seen a 7 yard curl pattern until you check out these bad-boys!!! SWEET!
John
September 11th, 2011
9:27 pm
Why fire the coordinator if the QB’s arm can’t make the throws?
Who Me?
September 11th, 2011
9:27 pm
Oh – Matt Ryan, here’s a tip for you -
Quit running OUT of the pocket and step UP into the pocket and make the throws. I know I know, you might get knocked on your pretty little derriere you panty-waist. Stand in the pocket and THROW the ball you worm… quit running from the contact!
I have never watched the NFL before
September 11th, 2011
9:28 pm
J_ATL….Cowher picked them to be in the superbowl, and the WERE IN the superbowl last season. Fact is, Steelers, like the Falcons, got beat by good teams they underestimated. The Bears also dodged 4 turnovers in the 1st half. Sometimes the if just don’t go your way….Both teams will be in the hunt come November….
Jim Moron
September 11th, 2011
9:28 pm
Melt for Cam..Make it so….
Najeh Davenpoop
September 11th, 2011
9:29 pm
“Najeh, if you indeed watched the Panthers game today, you would have seen that first long touchdown to Smith was quite underthrown and Smith was about 10-15 yards wide open behind the defenders. If you can’t make that throw, you don’t play in the NFL. I also saw Cam throw a “checkdown” pass at the end of the game, short of the 1st down, when he needed to get it in the endzone. Next.”
Yes, I watched the entire game. I did not say Cam Newton was perfect. But he did put up the highest yardage total for a rookie QB EVER. More than Matt Ryan, more than Peyton Manning (the previous record holder), more than Dan Marino… more than EVERYONE. And he didn’t do it by throwing 80 check down passes either — he had 11.4 yards per attempt today, and he was taking shots down the field in the face of constant blitzing. If you are going to take two throws in a quarterback’s debut and dismiss him because of that, I wonder what your reaction was when Matt Ryan followed up his terrific debut by going 0 for 12 to start Week 2 against the Bucs that year.
No matter how you slice it, Newton looked incredibly impressive today, in every respect.
Najeh Davenpoop
September 11th, 2011
9:30 pm
^^That should say highest yardage total in his debut for a rookie QB. Sorry.
macfleetwood
September 11th, 2011
9:30 pm
This was the WORST non-performance game I have seen in the last 10 years..EVERYBODY is to blame for this one..from the water boy to the “health enhancers” that T.G. keeps promoting..why is he STILL here!???? It must be because the PRESS gives him vast amounts of FREE publicity to promote himself and his business interest!!
WHO is julio jones?? Ray Edwards??Roddy White,Matt Ryan??..The offense,the defense,special teams?? I for one am SICK and TIRED of the same ole WORTHLESS football B/S that the FALCON people keep trying to push down our collective throats!!
You would think that C.Smith, being of a defensive mindset would have one of the finest defensive teams in all of football……”WRONG”!! Exactly what does he DO?? He certainly does not surround himself with the “Best” heads in the game!
M.R. has NOT corrected himself from game to game..much less from year to year!
I certainly see where improvements need to be made..why can’t the coaches? why can’t the G.M.?
Why can’t the owner?
Cam newton of the panthers threw for over 400 yards today in his 1st NFL game..First time a rookie EVER threw for that yardage in his 1st game..why can’t we trade M.R. and the offensive line for C.N.?…I don’t see these Falcons advancing their pedigree..If anything there digressing!!
Jim Moron
September 11th, 2011
9:32 pm
Cam stood in the pocket or step up and let it go..His throws will get better. He’s a rookie..Whats Patty Melts excuse in year 4??????????/
Super delusional, not Superbowl…
Ravenlicious
September 11th, 2011
9:33 pm
Overhyped. I told ya last week. Patty Ice loook nice. Also great pickup trading away the house to get Jones. What a beat down…more to come next week. Don’t think for one second that Vick won’t light you up next week.
I have never watched the NFL before
September 11th, 2011
9:33 pm
Fact is, Cam lost. Nothing else matters, and he did underthrow Smith, had a Dback been anywhere near, it would have been a pick. Plus another pick was called back, and once D-coordinators start getting some film on him, they will play with this mind. Long story short, if he does anything near what Ryan had done in his 1st three years, you guys would want him in the HOF….That said, he did look better than I thought he would, but my expectations were not very high.
JSS
September 11th, 2011
9:34 pm
No excuses, plain fact… You are the person with the agenda… Back it up…
I have never watched the NFL before
September 11th, 2011
9:35 pm
Decloud drops 2 pics, and bears put in on the ground twice in the 1st half. Just one of those days.
ijonathan
September 11th, 2011
9:35 pm
Najeh, are you serious? That final pass Newton threw was a BIG TIME CHECKDOWN that may have cost his team the chance to tie the game. Now, I admit, maybe he didn’t have much in the end zone to pick from, but to quote all of the mensa members on here when referencing Ryan…sometimes you have to force it in there.
Hey, I’m not saying the kid didn’t have a great game. He did. One for the ages. But to say he looked incredibly impressive in every respect is a bit much. Hopefully you will get over your crush before he inevitably breaks your heart.
Jimmy
September 11th, 2011
9:36 pm
All you Matt Ryan haters…you idiots.
Here are Ryan’s stats for 2010:
62.5% completion rate ( 357/571) 3,705 yards, 28 TD’s and 9 interceptions.
He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2011.
I won’t take the time or effort to list all the awards he’s won.
Ryan may have a terrible year in 2011.
The Falcons may struggle.
But you haters are simply here because you enjoy the attention…not because you can prove with stats that Ryan is as bad as you claim.
Morons.
Keep Paying
September 11th, 2011
9:36 pm
Kicker tryouts tomorrow at Flowery Branch…I wonder if the Falcons got the memo on the new kickoff rule?
Jim Moron
September 11th, 2011
9:38 pm
But they very high for Ice Melt?…Be honest…He aint the ONE NEO…………..
John
September 11th, 2011
9:38 pm
Problem is, most of the bloggers here associate AA QB’s the sterotype of not being able to pick up complicated defensive schemes, therefore most here won’t give Cam Newton any recognition of having a good performance today (Most yards by rookie EVER), they still say the same about Vick while he steadly carves up NFL defenses weekly producing fantasy numbers unheard of. This unfortunate trend will continue as long as AA QB’s break records from those who can’t adapt to change.
OHIOdirtybird!!!!
September 11th, 2011
9:39 pm
Once again…It’s 1 game!!!….if the poor play continues then yeah i will be worried, but right now?? Let it play out a little bit!!
Jim Moron
September 11th, 2011
9:39 pm
^^^^^
Wrong Blog, D3 blog is over there Jbird—————————–>
djthescorpian
September 11th, 2011
9:39 pm
Pocket management-I agree with Who Me?. Matt Ryan needs to stop being scared and step up into the pocket and fire the @#nm ball to his “explosive” receivers. The good news is that it was the first game and not the seventh game. Adjustments can and will be made. A game like this can set the tone for the rest of the season: good or bad. John Madden once said that you cannot evaluate a team until the seventh or eighth game into the regular season. A word of caution to the Falcons: a game two loss would deepen the hole of a culture of losing, which this team can easily slip into very quick-if nothing is done at ALL LEVELS-to stop the bleeding. Blank-step up and get into the face of your subordinates and let the @$%t roll downhill.
WitStream
September 11th, 2011
9:40 pm
The most alarming thing to me is how there were no apparent adjustments made at halftime to attack the Bears defense. Sure the wheels kind of came off for various reasons, but the offensive attack showed zero imagination. I mean *none*.
And that Ryan pick to Urlacher was not a good omen. He had a CB he could’ve/should’ve easily shed and then found a receiver or run. Instead he freaked out and served up the INT. That wasn’t exactly Julius Peppers on him—he panicked for no reason. This is not what you need from a guy with 50+ NFL starts under his belt, to say the least.
ijonathan
September 11th, 2011
9:40 pm
So, let’s take stock of all the great, awesome, athletic quarterbacks that are much better than Ryan and who draw the love of so many on this board…
[Soon to be MVP and dome-owner] Mike Vick
[the emergin, under the radar force in the sunshine state] Josh Freeman
[Late addition to the party] Cam Newton
Did I miss anybody? Maybe Donovan McNabb?
Mgibby
September 11th, 2011
9:41 pm
The Bears had 1 LEGIT scoring drive all day(even that was a 56 yard run by Forte). 3 turnovers will sink any team when the defense is as strong as the Bears, so spare everyone with the sky is falling talk.
As far as Ryan, he made great throws all game(even the pick wasn’t a bad throw). Combine the drops with the prevent defense in the 2nd half and it made for a vanilla offense. Mularkey does need to open it up(before they’re down by 15 points).
There’s no excuse for the secondary play tho, there was no need to play so much zone against the Bears WRs.