Falcons get their reality check, and it’s not what they expected
Falcons could do nothing to stop Drew Brees and the Saints. (AP photo)
(UPDATED: 1:03 a.m.)
NEW ORLEANS — So much for the mystery.
There’s no need to wonder how heavily to weigh six consecutive dominating quarters against Carolina and Jacksonville. As it turns out, it means only that the Falcons are better than Carolina and Jacksonville — neither of whom they’ll be facing in the playoffs.
They’re not as good as New Orleans. They’re certainly not as good as Green Bay. It remains to be seen if they’re as good as anybody in the playoff field (although they did beat Detroit. But the Falcons won’t be playing them, either.)
Pecking order was firmly established Monday night. The Falcons got boat-raced by New Orleans 45-16 at the Superdome. At least, that was the score the last time anybody looked up.
“I think it’s an aberration,” coach Mike Smith said when asked what this says about the state of his team.
He had better hope so. The Falcons just suffered their worst loss ever under Smith. The 29-point deficit was even bigger than last season’s playoff loss to Green Bay (48-21).
Some might have been upset that the Saints poured it on at the end. (Drew Brees threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game with 2:51 left, prompting Saints coach Sean Payton to later alibi that he was just trying to get Brees the single-season passing yardage record on that drive.)
But when a team gets body-slammed like this, it has nothing to whine about.
The Falcons didn’t merely get beat by a seemingly faster and more talented team. They got punched in the mouth. They lost both lines of scrimmage. They had receivers laid out in the New Orleans secondary, and their own defense didn’t reciprocate. They got outcoached. They didn’t have an answer for a New Orleans offense that went over 300 yards by halftime or for quarterback Drew Brees, who just made them look silly most of the night.
They gave up a 92-yard kickoff return and allowed a touchdown on a 30-yard fumble return after Julio Jones found himself with an excess of thumbs. So they spread the agony around.
This all happened with quite a bit on the line, not the least of which was a slim chance to rally and win the NFC South.
“It’s pretty embarrassing the way we played,” linebacker Curtis Lofton said.
“I don’t even know what this means — I don’t have a clue,” wide receiver Roddy White said.
This doesn’t mean the Falcons are incapable of winning a first-round playoff game over Dallas, New York or San Francisco. But they have beaten only two teams all season that currently have winning records (Detroit and Tennessee), and this performance by players and coaches leaves nobody with any sense of comfort.
There’s also this: If things fall just right (or wrong), the Falcons will be coming back to New Orleans in two weeks for the playoffs. Sleep well, Brian VanGorder.
After consecutive wins over Carolina and Jacksonville, the Falcons had started to believe they could go on an improbable playoff run from a wild-card position this season, just like the Green Bay Packers did last season. But this game provided no reassurance of that.
Smith again: “I felt like we had a good week of preparation. I didn’t see this coming. We didn’t play Atlanta Falcons football and the scoreboard indicates that.”
What the scoreboard indicated was that this defense still can’t handle offenses with an elite quarterback. The only thing the first half gave the Falcons were bad flashbacks of Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ offense, ripping them apart in January.
The Saints led 21-10 at halftime. They would’ve had four touchdowns in four possessions, but one would-be score went off Jimmy Graham’s hands in the end zone, was volleyballed by William Moore and fell like manna from heaven into the hands of Falcons defensive back Dominique Franks for an interception. So much for the Falcons’ first-half defensive highlights.
When Brees stepped back to pass, the Falcons’ secondary looked like somebody had kicked an ant hill. The Falcons rarely pressured Brees, rarely blitzed and, when they did, they got burned. Brees threw for 230 yards on only four possessions and New Orleans totaled 306 yards in offense.
There is your reality check about the Falcons’ defense in game No. 15.
Moving the ball wasn’t an issue early. The Falcons’ drove to a field goal and a touchdown on their first two possessions. But when they stalled, New Orleans kept going. As much as the Falcons fashion themselves as an explosive offense, they’re not nearly at the level of New Orleans or Green Bay.
The defense’s only hope against opponents at this level is to punch them in the mouth. But the Falcons were throwing hooks at air Monday night. In the first half, Brees moved the Saints 84 yards in 3 minutes and 28 seconds, 81 yards in 3:59 and 80 yards in 1:55.
You could almost hear defenders yell in unison, “Which way did he go?”
When New Orleans took a 28-10 lead in the third quarter on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Brees to Robert Meachem, chants of “MVP, MVP,” went up in the Superdome crowd.
Nobody in white jerseys would cast a dissenting vote.
The Falcons were looking for a sign that they could do something special in the postseason. Instead, they got smacked with a reality check. Barring an unexpected mutation, they’re nowhere nearly good enough for that.
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
751 comments Add your comment
MehtaGame
December 27th, 2011
7:01 am
Atlanta had a lot of injuries and bad breaks in 2011. In 2012, they will be a lot better and go farther in the playoffs.
Saints R.E.A.M.
December 27th, 2011
7:02 am
CHECKMATE!! With Vilma, playing chess with Matt Ryan at the Line of scrimmage the Falcons offense was held to 1 TD!!!! Now after all of you silly Falcon Fans have screamed how great Matty Ice is at calling his own plays…etc….will you please shut that noise up! He is not elite at running the no-huddle either. He is not a better play caller than Mularkey. AND…..he is not a playmaker.
Brees was making plays sliding around in the pocket and making throws. Matt was panicking and doing the chuck and duck.
Matt Ryan, Matt Schaub, what’s the difference? Two really good backup QB’s being used as starters.
Falcons4Eva
December 27th, 2011
7:03 am
Did you see the mismatch with Grimes on Jimmy Graham?
A guy 5-4 can not expect to cover or out jump a guy that’s 6-7. Lil man Grimes jumped as high as he could, was in perfect position to make a play, but that was a mismatch.
It reminded me of how I use to tease my little brother and play keep away with the ball, why he try’s to jump and get it.
The Ghost of Norm Van Brocklin
December 27th, 2011
7:05 am
Too bad Roddy and Julio ain’t as skilled in hanging on to passes as they are in braiding their hair. Guess Roddy already has his mind on hanging out in the off season with his dawg killing buddy and seeing what drive-by shooting action will happen at the next birthday party in Newport News.
Anyhow, I’ll take 4 straight winning seasons, 2 straight playoff births, and Smitty and Ryan…..over Jimmy Chest-Bump Mora and the Dawg Killer any day of the week, thank you very much.
Wasthaturbesteffort?
December 27th, 2011
7:10 am
Grats to the Falcons on making the playoffs. U need to send a gift to the league office for making out ur cupcake schedule. Hers is something to chew on folks. As much as I hate the Hawks and the ownership, they are the winningest ATL team we need to rally behind. Second round of the playoffs 2 years running with probably a 3rd coming up this year. Dimitroff cant draft, Smitty and Vangordor cant coach, and Matty, well Matty is just a mat (as in door). No corners, no d lineman, and our LEET (roflmao) offense scored only 16 points.
Saints R.E.A.M.
December 27th, 2011
7:10 am
It was STOOOPID for Mike Smith to go for it on 4rth down, when he was at home in the Georgia Dome on his own 29 yard line. It wasn’t the play call, necessarily like all of you silly Falcon fans want to argue.
They went for it 3 times last night….and came up empty!!! It’s not as easy as it is on a video game. They tried to bootleg Matt Ryan…and that didn’t work either. . . Now let’s hear how they should have run Turner…yadda yadda.
Falcons fan, don’t support bonehead decisions from your Head Coach…otherwise you’re agony will continue.
huffsleeper
December 27th, 2011
7:11 am
The falcons are completely transparent on defense. The linebackers are so far back it is obvious that they are rushing four. The NO linemen can decide before the snap who they are going to block. New Orleans will line up 7 in the box. They may rush three , they may rush 5, they may rush seven. The point is, you don’t know. How can professional coaches be so predictable and miss the obvious. I am no expert but I knew how many the falcons were rushing every time and would moan before every play they were going to be burned and they were. Get a clue
WTF
December 27th, 2011
7:12 am
The Falcons have the WORST red zone offense in the NFL; the Saints, the best. Look at the stats.
Every salesman knows it’s the ‘close’ that counts…and the Birds can’t ‘close’.
No close, no sale.
Saints R.E.A.M.
December 27th, 2011
7:16 am
Outcoached….again. Saints usually blitz alot. Nope not as much last night….they dropped back in coverage and rushed 3 a lot of the time. And Matty CHECKDOWN did what a game manager must….throw it underneath and let the receiver get blown up!!! Never a throw down the field to challenge the safety.
Guess what! The game film will let other teams know how to dispose of you in the playoffs! 1 and done is in your future again!
DC Dirty Bird
December 27th, 2011
7:23 am
Saints REAM….
It was a great chess match between Ryan and Vilma. IMO Ryan won. The last two field goal drives and throughout the second half, Mularkey decided to huddle and too the playcalling away from Matt Ryan. That’s why we ended up with only two touchdowns. Case in point. 3rd and short around midfield, Mularkey is delayed getting the play in, we call time out. After time out we run a sprint-out with two options, Julio on a jail brake screen and Reggie Kelly. Julio’s marginally open but a bad throw equals pick six, Ryan holds it, hits Kelly who drops it after taking a hit. How do you call a play on a critical third down with Tony Gonzalez not one of the options?
drew
December 27th, 2011
7:24 am
Unfortunately, these Falcons ARE who I thought they were.
Saints R.E.A.M.
December 27th, 2011
7:25 am
Julio Jones…will be a good player But it will be hard to justify giving away the future for 1 player……A RECEIVER AT THAT!!! History tells us that this looks an awful lot like the dumb move when the Saints/Ditka gave up the draft for Ricky Williams……or When Dallas got fat and rich from trading away Herchel Walker!!
Falcons coaches & GM are making too many decisions off of impulse & emotion…..Uh…go for it!!! …Uh…can’t get AJ Green…..uh, trade 5 picks for Julio!!
Not a smart organization.
falconinduluth
December 27th, 2011
7:27 am
Tall, fast receivers beat short, fast DBs every time. Grimes looked pathetic trying to swat balls away from Graham.
soon to be 0-3 in the playoffs
December 27th, 2011
7:27 am
I have question for the Matt Ryan worshipers, if he played so well then why did the offensive only score 1 TD for the entire game? The offense gave the defense no help.
tom
December 27th, 2011
7:28 am
I screwed up. Guess they are in without a Bucs win. So sad. Let the bench play the next game. Maybe they will step up.
USMC
December 27th, 2011
7:29 am
How is Matt Ryan supposed to win a football game with that OFFENSIVE LINE?!?!
Our biggest weakness is OFFENSIVE LINE followed by a weak defense.
Dmitrov took a chance on a high profile wide receiver and neglected the OFFENSIVE LINE and it shows.
I am also noticing that Julio seems to lack mental toughness.
chris
December 27th, 2011
7:30 am
This Falcons team will be 1 and done. They can’t beat any good team. Take the Saints out of the equation, if their opponent has a winning record they can’t beat them. When the 17th game is complete this Sunday why should I believe they will suddenly do something in the playoffs that they couldn’t do for 17 weeks???
whattha
December 27th, 2011
7:34 am
REALLY PEOPLE???? SO I GUESS YOU DIDN’T WATCH THE GAME? MATT RYAN PUT ON A CLINIC LAST NITE. MATT DOESN’T PLAY DEFENSE. HE MAY HAVE A POPCORN ARM BUT HE DELIVERED 373 YARDS LAST NITE. DO SUCK A SAINT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Another WR!
December 27th, 2011
7:35 am
Trade away a bunch of picks in 2012 for another wide receiver!!!! That’s the answer!! With another wide receiver, the falcons will be unstoppable in 2012!!!! ATL will rule the league!!
tom
December 27th, 2011
7:35 am
Just can’t shut up. Sorry. Mr Brees I say to you hats off for your new record in passing yards. However, this type of record is not achieved by one person. This record was achieved by your offensive team mates blocking and allowing you make all those completed passes. Your defense get credit for keeping the other team off the field so you get more reps thus more passes and more completions. Did you say any of that in your locker room talk? If you did great. If not, you are an egotistical B——–d.
Sunshine
December 27th, 2011
7:36 am
The Falcons certainly didn’t “rise up”…instead, they laid down and let New Orleans “french kiss” them with a Mack truck! What a pitiful game on the Falcons part. Julio Jones is much “ado about nothing”. What happened to the “explosive” team the Falcons were supposed to have this year. Matty Ice is a good quarterback, but he can’t compete with the likes of Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees…the rest of the Falcons with the exception of Tony Gonzalez pretty much “s***”!
Saints R.E.A.M.
December 27th, 2011
7:37 am
DC Dirty Bird,
You ended up with only 1 TD…not 2. AND I find it convenient that you have a QB that is supposed to be savvy at calling adjustments & plays at the line of scrimmage but when plays don’t work you guys blame the OC! Matt Ryan, can audible out of ANY play and get into something that would work better. Vilma has the freedom to do it on defense & Brees has the freedom on offense. So who’s fault is it? Mularkey for calling a bad play or Ryan for not reading the defense and getting into a better play???
Sure, Matt Ryan picked up a few pawns in the chessmatch….but 1 TD….says that Vilma captured the Queen and King.
JJ
December 27th, 2011
7:39 am
Aints 45 – Cants 16 . . . We buried the Aints during our superbowl run. Do you folks think you will ever bury the FalCants?
@DC Dirty Bird
December 27th, 2011
7:39 am
What are you smoking? Ryan and Vlma in a chess match and Ryan won? Lmao. You scored ONE touchdown all night…game, set, match for Vilma…you are not the sharpest pencil in the box and quite delusional…sad, just like your team….
alex
December 27th, 2011
7:42 am
@the ghost..I lived in newport news, it’s a LOT safer than atl…bad shots
Gamer
December 27th, 2011
7:44 am
It is best for the Falcons to feel the sting of defeat before entering the postseason..
THIS GAME WAS ABOUT ‘TOO MANY NON-FAVORABLE THINGS FOR THE FALCONS.’
TOO MANY COSTLY PENALTIES BY FALCONS OFFENSE AND DEFENSE.
TOO MANY CRITICAL NON-CALLS AGAINST SAINTS DEFENSE.
TOO MANY FALCONS FIELD GOALS NOT ENOUGH TOUCHDOWNS.
TOO MANY TWO YARDS RUN BY TURNER.
TOO MANY THIRD DOWN AND LONG CONVERSIONS BY SAINTS COURTESY OF FALCONS SECONDARY.
TOO MANY SACKS AND HITS ON RYAN COURTESY OF FALCONS OFFENSIVE LINE.
TOO MANY MISSED OPPORTUNITIES OF HITS AND SACKS ON BREES.
TOO MANY POOR TACKLING ON SAINTS RUNNING BACKS.
TOO MANY BIG YARDAGE RUNS BY SAINTS RUNNING BACKS.
JUST TOO MANY MISSED OPPORTUNITIES BY FALCONS, PERIOD!
FALCONS END REGULAR SEASON WITH WIN TO GO 10-6.
Melted Ice put on a clinic last night?
December 27th, 2011
7:44 am
Throw for 373 yards and come away with 1 TD and 3 FGs? Yes, a clinic in incompetency, indeed….man, the Falclowns are like buggy software….
Saints R.E.A.M.
December 27th, 2011
7:45 am
Matt Ryan put on a clinic???? Yeah, right. He showed how to get an offense to score 16 points in a shootout of a game! That is still the type of game the Falcons can’t win. That falls on Matt Ryan. He wasn’t sacked and hit a bunch of times last night. He’s got several weapons on offense. He CHECKED it down for most of his yards…and the Saints let him. They just made sure that he didn’t get in the Endzone.
Wake up Falcons fans…dude can’t make plays when money is on the line…he’s not a playmaker…not a gamer.
A nice game manager…nothing wrong with that…except you need a Defense like the 49ers.
GT
December 27th, 2011
7:47 am
Only the Falcons know if this was for real. Beating the Saints last night and coming back to New O and beating them again would be a hard task. Brian VanGorder is either the worst defensive coach in the playoffs or he was trying to hide his stuff for a couple of weeks. Holding that plastic covered play chart before every play looked so disingenuous, because the defense stayed very simple and vanilla. You don’t need a chart to put eleven men on a field no more than you need a calculator.
Marietta12
December 27th, 2011
7:48 am
The Falcons are just like the Bulldogs people. They are a better than average team, but not a great team. Both feasted on losing teams and an easy schedule this year. UGA lost to the only 3 good teams they played this year and the Falcons are pretty much the same.
So calm down and be thankful that you aren’t Colts fans or some team that went 2-14 this year. We got to see a great Thu nt game against JAX and Dawg fans got to blow out Auburn. Focus on the positive and stop acting like either of these teams are “great” football teams.
BAMA dude
December 27th, 2011
7:49 am
Julio Jones, while he will be a beast in years to come, is not the WR that AJ Green is. I hope people can finally see the difference.
Both avg. exactly 73.6ypg, but Julio avg. a yard more per catch and has 70 more YAC in two fewer games.
Saints R.E.A.M.
December 27th, 2011
7:49 am
Drew Brees scared the h3!! out of me trying to run over Grimes. I guess that shows how much they respect the little midget over there.
Another Sad Year!
December 27th, 2011
7:52 am
I love my Falcons, but their defense really stunk it up! Oh yeah lets not forget the Offense as well!! Wonderful!!!
Let's Go
December 27th, 2011
7:53 am
The time has come for the Falcons to get new cordinators in here. Both off and def need new ideas because the one’s they are using are not working against good teams. Since the DB’s are not good cover guys whenever they blitz they get brunt because that soft zone get’s picked apart by good QB’s.
Saints R.E.A.M.
December 27th, 2011
7:53 am
BAMA dude…..quick….name the other receivers in Cincinnati! AJ Green, draws the attention of the defense….he is the big weapon. Julio can get single coverage a lot more.
Falcons4Eva
December 27th, 2011
7:56 am
Jeff Schultz wrote this long column about the Falcons getting their reality check. He could have easily summed it up in 5 words or less with these headlines instead:
5 words: They got their azz kicked.
4 words: See You Next Year.
3 words: What A Joke.
2 words: It’s Over.
1 word: Damn.
GT
December 27th, 2011
7:58 am
Gamer is right, not that it would have mattered but that was a horrible reffed game. I hope that have that straighten out when we come back.
We miss our fullback more than most people realize.
dan
December 27th, 2011
8:03 am
I want all of you to remember that I said this come January: If the Falcons play the Saints for a 3rd time, they will beat them. Don’t read too much into the final score, the Birds are closer than you think.
I’m going to throw some numbers at you Mr. Schultz. Falcons won in pretty much every category tonight except for 2. The Run game and 3rd down efficiency. Falcons 35 rush yds, Saints 164. I don’t like to say no way, but NO WAY that happens again. Michael Turner carried the ball 11 times tonight. NO WAY that happens again either.
Look at the spread sheet if you don’t believe me.
http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=311226018
Another NO WAY that happens again: Julio Jones crapping away a TD fumble late in the game. The Saints believe it or not are at their best when they have balance on offense. They are not a running team by nature. The Falcons played off the line tonight to account for Jimmy Graham; Saints took advantage of this and won the game. The teams that beat the Saints are the ones that make them one dimensional. Bottom line: Saints found a weakness, exploited the hell out of it, and the calls went against the Birds . Brees getting the record and NO vs. GB is sexy. The Falcons have to know that the calls aren’t going to go their way, and work through that. It is what it is.
P.S. One last stat:
Last year the Pats beat the Jets 45-3 in New England. Jets played the Pats again in New England in the playoffs, Jets won 28-21. Crazier things have happened.
Falclowns are the UGA of the NFL aka you got owned and embarrassed by the Saints and LSU! LMAO!
December 27th, 2011
8:03 am
Enter your comments here
Ed
December 27th, 2011
8:03 am
Matt Ryan played well and the offense looked good between the 20’s but inside the red zone it was field goals as usual. Drew Brees was amazing and lit up our secondary. TD needs to get some corners in here that can cover and play something besides a soft zone. I like the fact that Coach Smith has brought consistency to this franchise but they have tale it up one more notch to compete for championships.
MountainMan
December 27th, 2011
8:05 am
Anybody here blaming this loss on Matt Ryan didn’t watch the game and shouldn’t be allowed to post on this board ever again. Our defensive front was awful. Brees had all day to complete anything he wanted. The Saints converted what…something like 5 of 5 first downs in the 1st half, most of them over 8 yards to go. We had our opportunities, two interceptions and a stuff on 3rd down but we couldn’t do anything other than 3 and out on each. When we did get some drives going, we stalled out and had to settle for field goals. That’s not going to get it done. This team is not ready for the big stage.
FalconPride66
December 27th, 2011
8:06 am
When we had 4th and 3 and elected to kick a 51 yd field goal, and then gave up the big kick return, the game was over. We should have gone for it, even if we don’t make it, let the defense try and get another pick.I liked some of the play calling last night … how many passes did Turner catch? The defense had some stops but gave up too many big plays. Many missed tackles and penalties. In the playoffsI like our chances vs the Lions or the 49ers. @ Giants/Cowboys, not sure who will show up. And then obviously we would be in for trouble vs Saints or the Packers. Tough loss but let’s focus on the Bucs and then do our best in the playoffs. GO FALCONS.
GT
December 27th, 2011
8:11 am
The difference between the Falcons and the Dawgs is the Dawgs have the talent to be better, the Birds are about playing at full capacity getting to the playoffs. The offensive line cannot stop the outside rush and without Mughelli they are having a hard time run blocking too. Mughelli is quick enough to bust the DE coming around. Our backs last night were literally getting in the way of our lineman, more than helping. They were where they were suppose to be on blitzes but got thrown around so much they clogged up the movement of the offensive lineman.
tdawgg37
December 27th, 2011
8:11 am
Wow….how does this happen? How do you play the same team twice annually, for the past four years and not know what to expect. The answer, “you don’t!!!” You know exactly what to expect and what they are going to do. Problem, “they are much better and you just can’t do a dang thing about it!” The Falcons have the weakest defensive line in the NFL and the worst defensive schemes. Cover 2…cover who!!? We might have a team full of players with great charactor but we have zero down and dirty want to win football players. Not only did they kick our butts, we had to let our #1 rivalry set a frigging passing record on us withouit a fight. Get nasty, start a fight, throw some punches, but don’t just sit back and let the bully kick your a$$! Where is the pride!!? Superbowl contenders…what a joke!!
Jbcatl
December 27th, 2011
8:13 am
Aberration my ass! That was an old fashioned country boy ass whipping by a team with better players and a MUCH better coaching staff. It’s not an aberration Mike Smith, it’s a repeated pattern of the Falcons getting manhandled by the NFL’s elite.
mike
December 27th, 2011
8:13 am
Maybe next year the falcons can compete in the high school state playoffs in the Georgia dome. Maybe they can win a game there. BTW what happened to all the previous scenarios from last week? Some might have been upset that the Saints poured it on at the end. What a goober statement. Next time maybe the falcons might try playing some football.
Wright
December 27th, 2011
8:14 am
What’s all this fussing about, this is LOSERVILLE this was supposed to happen haven’t you people realized that yet?
J-bone
December 27th, 2011
8:16 am
I have been a supporter of van gorder, but after stinking up the dome with his predictable soft zone defense, I say its time for a change. This isn’t college. You can’t do the same thing over and over and over etc……see ya bvg.
saintsation777
December 27th, 2011
8:18 am
Even I am surprised how bad the Falcons got destroyed last night!!
tdawgg37
December 27th, 2011
8:19 am
Hey Whatta, how many TD’s did noodle arm throw for? He cannot throw an accurate deep ball!! Who gives a crap if he throws for 400 yards if those throws are not in the inzone. Matty is an average QB. However I don’t blame this loss on him. The way the defense played it would not have mattered what he did!!