Falcons punch out Lions, then rip Suh for taunting Ryan
Roddy White celebrates with Tony Gonzalez after an 18-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Then he had some choice words for Detroit after Sunday's win. (AP photo)
DETROIT – It was less than an hour before the game when the Falcons emerged from a tunnel at Ford Field and found the entire Detroit Lions team standing there in the corner of the end zone. Mike Peterson, self-appointed drill sergeant in matters such as these, announced his team’s arrival.
“We had somewhere to go and they were in our way,” the Falcons linebacker said. “I said, ‘We’re not going around them — we’re going this way [straight ahead].’ I said, ‘Get the bleepity bleep out of the way.’”
Some pre-rumble-like jawing ensued. There were no punches but it got uncomfortable enough that pipsqueak game officials were forced to step in and separate a thousand pounds of humanity.
This was a good sign for the Falcons.
There hasn’t been a game this season when they didn’t slip a gear at some point. Sunday’s game was no exception. But what they gave us after the pregame stare down was easily their most impressive victory of the season and one of their edgiest.
They beat a 5-1 Detroit team, 23-16. They won on the road, where they hadn’t been impressive. They saw Matt Ryan leave the game with what appeared to be a serious knee injury, only to see him return and immediately fire a 49-yard completion to Harry Douglas. They saw Michael Turner leave the game with a dislocated finger, only to have someone on the sideline pop it back into place, after which Turner came back and broke off a 50-yarder.
Ndamukong Suh grabs the facemask of Matt Ryan in the first quarter, drawing a penalty. (AP photo)
They were smack-talked, taunted and treated to cheap shots by the Lions, and they won anyway. Ryan threw two interceptions but he made plays to win the game. The defense, maligned for much of this season, held the Lions without a third-down conversion until late in the third quarter. Calvin Johnson was relatively held in check (one touchdown).
After a loss to Green Bay had them reeling at 2-3, the Falcons have responded with consecutive wins over Carolina and Detroit, and have reason to feel good about things going into the bye week.
“This changes a lot,” said center Todd McClure. “We knew the type of team we had, we just hadn’t put it together. We weren’t perfect today. I know we had some penalties, but we overcame them. This win I think could catapult us for the rest of the season.”
The game started with some ill feelings. It ended that way, too.
When Ryan tripped over tackle Will Svitek with 10:13 left in the third quarter, he fell awkwardly and immediately grabbed his left knee. Tight end Tony Gonzalez said later, “I thought it was something bad. Anytime they come get you off the field, you think it’s something serious, especially when you have to go back to the locker room.”
As it turned out, Ryan missed only the first two plays of the Falcons’ ensuing possession, returning to throw a 49-yarder to Douglas on third-and-8 to set up a field goal that increased the lead to 20-9. (Coach Mike Smith on Ryan: “It just shows you the resolve and resiliency of this guy.”)
But when Ryan was down, writhing in pain, Lions defensive linemen Ndamukong Suh and Cliff Avril taunted him, according to the Falcons.
“I had respect for Suh before the game,” McClure said. “But when Matt was on the ground, the things he was saying and the trash he was talking was definitely uncalled for. There are certain things you don’t do. [He said], ‘Get the cart’ and several other things that I can’t repeat.”
Roddy White said, “I lost a whole lot of respect for 90 [Suh] today, and also 92 [Cliff Avril], the [bleep] they were doing when Matt got hurt. That was unacceptable. … Like 92 was kicking [Ryan’s] feet, saying, ‘Get him off the field.’ We don’t do stuff like that. We don’t rally over guys when they get hurt. It was just inappropriate behavior. I mean, ‘Get the cart’? Are you serious? Come on. When you compete, you never want to see a guy get hurt.”
Suh and Avril were not around to respond to the comments afterward. But it doesn’t seem like the kind of thing somebody would make up after a win.
Detroit has lost two straight since a 5-0 start. The Falcons have won two straight since 2-3. This could be a market correction. Certainly, the Falcons feel like it is for them.
“They were 5-1 and they were absolutely drinking the Kool-Aid over here,” White said. “We just wanted to get a win. We didn’t want to fuss and fight and argue with those guys, like, ‘Who’s the better team?’ We got the W. That’s all that matters.”
By Jeff Schultz
Follow me on Twitter (@JeffSchultzAJC). Friend me on Facebook (Facebook.com/JeffSchultzAJC).
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
369 comments Add your comment
Lifelong Lions Fan
October 23rd, 2011
10:22 pm
@Terrell, well, if it was defensive holding it wouldn’t have been 1st and Goal from the 1, so it may not have been the same outcome. Also, I think Gonzalez was doing his fair share of holding too.
Terrell
October 23rd, 2011
10:23 pm
OPEN YOUR EYES
How can you be above average and sub-par?
Switzerland
October 23rd, 2011
10:23 pm
It’s amusing how people say Ryan has no arm strength. When he misses on deep balls, which is pretty much every time, it’s an overthrow … by a lot, usually.
TrishaDishaWarEagle
October 23rd, 2011
10:24 pm
Yes, Injury bug, we got trampled by the #1 team in the country. I am not upset or ashamed, we lost 31 lettermen from last years BCS NATIONAL CHAMPION team. We are 5-3, we will be 7-3 when we go to UGA because we have miss and homecoming. I picked 7-5 pre-season and it will be 7-5 or 8-4..but nobody is beating LSU and Bama this year, except each other…
extremus
October 23rd, 2011
10:26 pm
The Falcons needed a win today, no question, if they were going to convince anyone they had a decent chance of returning to the playoffs or even managing a winning season. They did, and the manner in which they did (a very physical and intense game on the road against a much-improved Lions team) bodes well for after the bye week. There are still certainly some consistency issues to address (by now I cannot see why the no-huddle is not standard operating procedure on ever drive), but hopefully the momentum gained so far will continue to build, along with the Falcons’ confidence.
As for Suh, no question he’s a great, very physical athlete, but his personality flaws may well end up becoming a serious liability for the Lions at some point (that’s assuming he doesn’t seriously hurt somebody along the way, too). He’s earned respect for his abilities on the field, but the opposite is true for his nasty and insensitive behavior.
OPEN YOUR EYES
October 23rd, 2011
10:27 pm
TERRELL- AT TIMES HE IS SUB-PAR AND AT TIMES HE IS ABOVE AVERAGE.
TrishaDishaWarEagle
October 23rd, 2011
10:34 pm
Suh is from Cameroon, everytime I hear his name I think of Eddie Murphy on the train in Trading Places..
Beef Jerky Time!!
kerryb
October 23rd, 2011
10:35 pm
I guess we are seeing from tonight’s game that the Falcons are not going to have much problem getting to 5-3.
kerryb
October 23rd, 2011
10:39 pm
take it from me.
October 23rd, 2011
10:20 pm
two bad teams played today,and the falcons won! the saints still the best of the south.
I guess we will find out who the best team is in a couple of weeks.
Jay Cool 4DA Birds
October 23rd, 2011
10:43 pm
So What!! The Falcons didn’t play the best of games today, they won people. Who cares how many calls we got, how bad the other team played, who dropped an INT. The Falcons went on the road and won in a very hostile place. Matt Ryan may not be an elite QB but he has put the city of Atlanta back on the map, and he is still only in his 4th yr. He doesn’t know what a losing season feels like unlike his predecessors. I am a season ticket holder and die hard fan, sometimes the Falcons can piss me all the way off but never would I turn my back on the Birds. You farewell fans really humor me and are bad as the Saints fans dogging out our team. Have some confidence in what you have, stop hoping ertain players get hurt (Owens, Baker) and be happy with the fact that the bad Falcons are a thing of the past. Every offensive play will not be money, every defensive play will not be a sack, but a win is always a win.
WitStream
October 23rd, 2011
10:45 pm
Nice gritty win, but Mularkey must go. Rodgers is a major weapon, and he was invisible until midway the 4th quarter. And this is merely one example. He has precious little imagination, and it’s incredibly frustrating.
Jay Cool 4DA Birds
October 23rd, 2011
10:49 pm
My bad for the errors but I was typing from the heart. To all my real Falcon Fans on the blogs and I know who you guys are, Thank You so much and if for nothing else, Believing. Go Falcons!!!!
DR
October 23rd, 2011
10:51 pm
Hey, >>>>>>Mr Charlie @ 7:14pm blog. Where are you from??? We went to the Superbowl before without Mularkey okay?? He still sucks and is a Punk!!! We would be 55- 0 record without him. Do the math, he’s would be the end of this team and makes poor calls. Go Falcons!!!! And you Aints fans need to enjoy your 1 year token win from the NFL okay?? Thats all you get. Rise up Falcons!!!
Jay Cool 4DA Birds
October 23rd, 2011
10:52 pm
Witstream MM tried to put Rodgers in on that 3 and inches play and Mike Smith called a timeout and decided to hand the ball to Turner. It’s not always what it seems. MM is a great play caller, just record the game and go back and look at some plays he called that just weren’t executed well.
Mr Charlie
October 23rd, 2011
10:52 pm
Wit, so we need to fire our OC, who inherited a 4-12 ream without a QB, and is 37-18 since, because he has not played a rookie enough in his first 7 games?
You just just crack me up.
Terrell
October 23rd, 2011
10:53 pm
Lifelong Lions Fan
There were at least 2 other penalties on that play that would’ve put Atl in the same position to score.
Bob
October 23rd, 2011
10:53 pm
How many Falcon fans are relieved that Parcells and Sparano turned Blank down and went to Miami?
Mr Charlie
October 23rd, 2011
10:54 pm
MM is fine, he has a plan, and more times than not, it works. Sure we lost in the playoffs, but we got beat by a team that is on a freaking legendary role. Maybe if we play bad enough, we can get a nice 7-9 team in the WC round.
Mr Charlie
October 23rd, 2011
10:55 pm
Bob, amen buddy.
Najeh Davenpoop
October 23rd, 2011
10:56 pm
2 straight games where the defense has held the opposing team under 20 points. That is a good sign for the Falcons. The defense really stepped up in this game. Grimes played Calvin Johnson about as well as I’ve seen anyone play him this year.
Mr Charlie
October 23rd, 2011
10:57 pm
Bob, what is funny is people complain about Smith and MM, but we could have paid Parcells 8 figures to bring in Tony Sparano. Like the way this season is shaping up, I agree that Quizz is gonna have a breakout game soon. Great run on that 3rd down.
WitStream
October 23rd, 2011
10:58 pm
Let me put a finer point on Mularkey:
Rodgers and Snelling both reminded us why they are very good options with the ball in their hands when they finally got a chance. Total touches for the game, (With J. Jones inactive, no less):
Rodgers: 4
Snelling: 1
Please explain to us how this is possible. There’s a reason Mularkey failed as a Head Coach, and he’s certainly no better as an OC. Please God get rid of this guy.
Roger
October 23rd, 2011
10:59 pm
None of you have ever played in the NFL, you have no idea what it’s like
Falcon 228
October 23rd, 2011
11:01 pm
We just needed a few games to gel. Now it streak time.
Mr Charlie
October 23rd, 2011
11:01 pm
The thing about Quizz is he gets positive yardage every time, he just finds that crack and wiggles through it.
Mr Charlie
October 23rd, 2011
11:03 pm
228, agreed. We should beat the colts, then if we take out the saints, we are 6-3, tied for the lead with some very winnable games.
WitStream
October 23rd, 2011
11:09 pm
“Wit, so we need to fire our OC, who inherited a 4-12 ream without a QB, and is 37-18 since, because he has not played a rookie enough in his first 7 games?”
Seems like you’re saying fifty guys couldn’t do the exact same thing, which is absurd. The fact is his play calling is predictable and he has done anything but correctly utilize an offense utterly loaded with weapons. How you can argue otherwise is beyond me, I mean, the proof is there for all to see every week.
UGA '01
October 23rd, 2011
11:14 pm
They drafted Nick Fairley last year…enough said. This franchise looks for a certain player; and that is ruthless, cheap shot-ing, scum bags. The shot on Ovie today was straight to the knee, blind sided…any real athlete will tell u there’s an unwritten rule that says you don’t try to end someone else’s career on a 5 yard catch.
VANDY PLAYED DIRTY
October 23rd, 2011
11:14 pm
THE LIONS PLAYED LIKE VANDY/DIRTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5150 UOAD
October 23rd, 2011
11:17 pm
UGA fans calling other teams DIRTY to funny. Look at Ben Jones and Shut Up.
TV Watcher
October 23rd, 2011
11:23 pm
All that hype about detroit coming back a few weeks ago–Tigers in the World Series, Lions undefeated, blah, blah. And now– the Tigers are gone to the golf course and the Lions are a two loss team…A failure for urban renewal?
Steak and Potatoes
October 23rd, 2011
11:27 pm
Falcon fans are the biggest bunch of whiners I’ve ever seen. You lose, you cry. You win, you still cry. Cheap shots?? Are these the same dillweeds gripping about how soft the league has become with hits on QBs??? So which one is it? Are all the players “thugs”, or has the league softened?
“Thug” is the most overused (misused) SLUR on the ajc blogs.
Steak and Potatoes
October 23rd, 2011
11:29 pm
TV- the Detroit bandwagon emptied out quicker than Turner field in the 6th inning
Daniel Sunday
October 23rd, 2011
11:34 pm
I have been a life long lions fan as well. Im sure I can speak for all of us that it has been a breath of fresh air to finally see a change in this organization for the best. After an impressive 5-0 start , and victories over great franchises such as Dallas and Minnisota it wouldnt be Detroit style if we didnt hang our heads in shame once again . Personally, I believe Suh is an awesome player that posseses toughness, determination, agility, and and a passion to win football games. But, what he displayed today was pure classless, tasteless,and un-professionalism. Its on thing to lose a game because at that given day, the other team simply out-played you. For the most part , most of the athletes display acceptable professionalism. They go back to the drawing board, determine where they need improvement , practice hard the next week , and do it all again on Sunday with the hopes of executing everything they worked hard on improving all week. But , its a whole different story when you lose a football game have the dispicable nerve to show absolutly no remorse for a fellow NFL player who maybe seriously injured on the field and to taunt him with childish ,back-yard sandlot trash talk. I was ill after watching this poor display professionalism by a team I have supported ever since I was old enough to throw a football. Come on Jim, this weeks lesson needs to be in class. I am personally apologizing to Matt Ryan on behalf of your organization because, I do not believe Suh will offer any kind of public apology. Detroit has some good things going on this year, so lets continue to do them. But for gods sake, have some class doing it.
UGA '01
October 23rd, 2011
11:38 pm
Ben Jones did have a bad moment after a guy was cheap shotting all game…no doubt about it. I think he hated himself for it. He wrote a hand written letter. No UGA fans were impressed.
Once is a mistake…but when someone has a youtube video compilation of them and their questionable/cheap shots, its a pattern or a personality. Suh and Fairley have had their reputation follow them everywhere they’ve been, whether it be at Nebraska or in the NFL. Suh saying “Get the Cart out” today after Ryan was injured…let’s be real, there’s something seriously wrong with that guy. Period.
Sid
October 23rd, 2011
11:47 pm
Great game Falcons!! Enjoy some time off…………!!!
this guy
October 23rd, 2011
11:48 pm
I thought the play calling was actually much better today…used more draw plays in the run game and I liked that – because they worked.
Jay Cool 4DA Birds
October 23rd, 2011
11:55 pm
To everyone who just thinks that MM should insert Quizz and Snelling please look at M. Turner’s stats. You don’t replace a back unless he’s not getting the job done.
Jay Cool 4DA Birds
October 23rd, 2011
11:56 pm
Let Quizz develop and learn the game, he will get his chances down the road.
Braves #17 Fan
October 24th, 2011
12:02 am
Not the greatest execution, but it’s still a win, nevertheless. I still found it encouraging overall. Congrats to Tony for being #2 for all-time receptions.
Detroit lacked in the class department though. Schwartz is 0-2 in post-game handshakes after a loss and many of his players seem to be echoing his style.
Sid
October 24th, 2011
12:28 am
And just one more thing (Peter Falk style), it looked like to me that Louis Delmas went for Mughelli’s knee……………..SOB.
Sid
October 24th, 2011
12:31 am
One more just one more thing, would love to see more Falcons cutting back to the middle of the field instead of running out of bounds (Turner comes to mind). And if you won’t cut back in that ol’ stiff arm is a wondrous thing.
Sid
October 24th, 2011
12:32 am
Congrats Tony G., it is an honor to watch you play!
Call it like it is..
October 24th, 2011
12:52 am
Made in Detroit….. Whole new meaning….Buy American…. Give me my import…
Falcons rip Lions’ Suh, Avril for allegedly taunting injured Ryan | Sports, News, Entertainment, US Legislation
October 24th, 2011
1:05 am
[...] had respect for Suh before the game,” Falcons center Todd McClure told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “But when Matt was on the ground, the things [Suh] was saying and the trash he was talking [...]
Common Sense!
October 24th, 2011
1:21 am
You Falcon fans are delusional. Suh is not dirty nor a thug. He is very intelligent and classy. Jim Schwartz is also very intelligent and classy. You guys sound like babies and have no clue what you are talking about. This article is full of lies and propaganda. Terrible “reporting”. Roddy White and Todd McClure have the combined IQ of 3 peanuts and a horses tail. Grow up and get real. Your team is good and I have nothing bad to say about their play. Good luck the rest of the season to the Birds.
OHIOdirtybird!!!!
October 24th, 2011
1:23 am
@Common Sense!…..Did you watch the game??
OHIOdirtybird!!!!
October 24th, 2011
1:26 am
And I am not calling him a dirty player from what I read, but from what I saw today him and some of his fellow lions deserve the title
Garry
October 24th, 2011
1:26 am
I find it laughable about the Falcon fans who complain about Suh being low class, yet their comments are far from being anything but the same. Name calling, hoping Suh get’s injured, trash talking, saying Suh is not a good player. If you want to talk class, then show it!
Saints4Life
October 24th, 2011
1:28 am
Damn Those Decepticon Failcons!! See you pigeons Nov.13th