Falcons go into camp knowing playoff failures need to end
The unhappy faces of the Falcons' brass said it all after last season. (Curtis Compton/AJC)
The Falcons open training camp this week. They play their first regular-season game in seven weeks. They will be judged in six months.
This is their new reality.
The question with this franchise used to be, “Can they walk straight?” The answer generally was no.
Things improved. The question became, “Can they compete?” The answer over the past four seasons mostly has been yes, at least through December.
But after raising the bar with three playoff appearances in four seasons following mostly decades of infamy, the question now is a more difficult one to answer: Have they have hit a wall?
Some within the organization believe the criticism for postseason failures has been a bit too harsh. After all, two of the team’s three playoff losses have come against eventual Super Bowl winners (Green Bay and New York). The other came in quarterback Matt Ryan’s rookie season and against a team that went to the Super Bowl (Arizona). But for those believing too much is being expected for a franchise that now is fielding a respectable product, these contrasting numbers might explain the dissatisfaction.
•The Good: The Falcons’ regular-season record the past four years is 43-21. That’s an impressive .672 won-loss percentage for a franchise that entered the Thomas Dimitroff-Mike Smith-Matt Ryan regime in 2008 with a won-loss percentage of .405 (256-378-6). The 43-21 record also ranks fifth best, behind only New England (48-16), Pittsburgh (45-19), New Orleans (45-19) and Baltimore (44-20). However …
• The Bad: Among the 11 teams with the best records since 2008, the Falcons (0-3) are the only one that has failed to win a playoff game. Six of the 11 have gone to Super Bowls. Four others have won at least one postseason game: Baltimore (5-4), Philadelphia (2-3), San Diego (1-2) and the New York Jets (2-1). The Falcons are among six of the NFC’s 16 teams not to win a playoff game in that span (the others: Carolina, Detroit, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Washington).
So yes, this little run of infamy is gaining significance.
It follows that grand projections shouldn’t be made after the team’s season opener at Kansas City on Sept. 9. Or after games against Philadelphia and Dallas. Or following the two meetings with New Orleans. We saw double-digit win totals and home-field advantage and a bye fail to equate to playoff success. The Falcons were body-slammed by Green Bay two years ago at home and, after vowing this time things would be different, went into New York last January and was shut out (save a safety, 24-2).
Smith understands the team will be graded on the playoffs, as will he. With five assistants from 2011 staff gone — either by their choice or fired – the focus is on him more than ever.
“I think [the playoffs] is how everybody measures themselves,” he said. “We didn’t talk about expectations in the first year. We talked about milestones. One of them we wanted to reach was to participate in the second season. Where we are now and how we’ve developed in our first four years, we’re going to judged on the playoffs.”
When asked if he has picked up on something that the team has been missing in the postseason, Smith said: “It’s been a group effort. We haven’t played well in all three phases. We’ve turned the ball over. We haven’t protected well. We’ve given up big plays. We haven’t coached well. We made some coaching decisions that, when we took a second look at it, didn’t turn out well.”
There is some reason for optimism. The acquisition of cornerback Asante Samuel from Philadelphia should help the defense. Dunta Robinson’s likely move inside in the nickel will play to his strengths. If we assume that most of Ray Edwards’ problems in his first season with the Falcons were injury related, then the defensive front and the pass rush also should be improved.
But there also is reason to wonder. The offensive line remains a work in progress (theoretically). It would help if either draft pick, Peter Konz (guard) or Lamar Holmes (tackle), can contribute. But the possible return of Sam Baker at left tackle again doesn’t provide much comfort. The website ProFootballFocus.com ranked Baker 74th out of 75 offensive tackles in the NFL in “pass blocking efficiency” last season (after allowing 28 “pressures” in 242 snaps).
We’ll find out something in Kansas City, and in the 15 games that follow. But it won’t be determined until the playoffs whether they’ve hit a wall.
By Jeff Schultz
•
NFL won-loss records and cumulative playoff results since 2008:
TEAM SEASON PLAYOFFS
New England 48-16 2-3 (lost Super Bowl)
Pittsburgh 45-19 5-2 (won, lost Super Bowls)
New Orleans 45-19 4-2 (won Super Bowl)
Baltimore 44-20 5-4
Falcons 43-21 0-3
Green Bay 42-22 4-2 (won Super Bowl)
NY Giants 39-25 4-1 (won Super Bowl)
Philadelphia 39-25 2-3
Indianapolis 38-26 2-3 (lost Super Bowl)
San Diego 38-26 1-2
NY Jets 37-27 2-1
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219 comments Add your comment
hogdog
July 21st, 2012
11:12 am
BRING ON TACKLE FOOTBALL
ernisTbass
July 21st, 2012
11:14 am
Sheez, who was 75?
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
July 21st, 2012
11:21 am
they need to step up bigtime this year…no excuses.
Bsmith
July 21st, 2012
11:28 am
I like the management, coaches, and for the most part our team, but it’s time to put on our big boy pants and win some significant games in the playoffs.
falCANS
July 21st, 2012
11:47 am
Not scared one bit look for pro bowl years from the newly crowned “shut down corner” Brent Grimes and Hard Hitting safety William Moore!! remember u heard it here first lol
Dr. Warren
July 21st, 2012
11:58 am
Well-written post. I’m impressed the Falcons have done well enough to place 5th in the regular season over the past four years. A stable, regular-season-ready regime, as Braves fans well-know, will ultimately be judged by how they do in the post-season. I doubt Blank will give Smith and Dimitroff as much rope as Cox and Schuerholz were given. Assume at least Smith will be gone if the Falcons produce no playoff wins by the end of the ‘13 season—and if the Birds don’t make the playoffs in ‘12 and ‘13, expect both coach and GM to be history.
Birdwatcher
July 21st, 2012
11:59 am
Great question ernisTbass. I’m willing to bet that guy isn’t preparing to start the season like our guy is.
Marco Pillow Thrower
July 21st, 2012
12:23 pm
So Falcons are content starting Sam Baker knowing hes the worst OT? A great team would address that immediately and replace Baker.
Marco Pillow Thrower
July 21st, 2012
12:32 pm
Hate we gonna miss Lofatoofatoo…
C
July 21st, 2012
12:43 pm
Forget playoffs. Let’s start with beating the Saints to start with.
a country boy can survive
July 21st, 2012
12:44 pm
you can bet Curtis Lofton is happy to be gone from the Flowery Branch Bufoons…
Dr. Warren
July 21st, 2012
12:57 pm
Arthur Blank ain’t getting any younger. Keep that in mind if the Birds can’t get it done in ‘12 or ‘13.
The Real Falcon
July 21st, 2012
12:58 pm
A new season, I just hope with a new ending.
It will be very hard just to make the playoffs this year.
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
1:00 pm
Is that a photo of The Falcon’s brain Trust or Manny Moe & Jack?
The way the Falcons have played in the Playoffs I it is more likely the pep Boys Bobbleheads.
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
1:02 pm
Get to the Superbowl game then you can ask Taxpayers to take a STATEWIDE vote for a New Stadium.
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
1:07 pm
The Bad: Among the 11 teams with the best records since 2008, the Falcons (0-3) are the only one that has failed to win a playoff game. Six of the 11 have gone to Super Bowls. Four others have won at least one postseason game: Baltimore (5-4), Philadelphia (2-3), San Diego (1-2) and the New York Jets (2-1). The Falcons are among only six of the NFC’s 16 teams not to win a playoff game in that span (the others: Carolina, Detroit, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Washington).
____________________________________________________________
There is the WHOLE issue. Don’t be like the dWag fans; Buying the Bag of Rose Food the Falcons are overselling that is really just a Bag of Cow Manure.
Mr. Hankey
July 21st, 2012
1:10 pm
Please, enought with the excuses about playing the superbowl winners. That is a luuuuzer mentality. Frankly — and I’m serious — as a life long Falcon season ticket holder and fan from the Bart days (Still sore from the Dallas loss in 79) I’d prefer them stink it up and not reach the playoffs than reach the playoffs and put forthe the crap we’ve seen the last three years. Same for the Braves. No point in prolonging the misery by squeaking in and then laying poo all over the 50 yard line.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 21st, 2012
1:10 pm
Those Mike Vick early playoff wins are now not looking so easy
Ole Falcon
July 21st, 2012
1:11 pm
Isn’t it a little early to assume being in the playoffs? As the saying goes, let’s take one step at a time.
Connie Lingous
July 21st, 2012
1:11 pm
You are assuming this year’s squad will make the playoffs, Jeff.
Go back to your interview with Art following Jim’s last season as head coach. Art stated that he and the Falcon fan base should be satisfied with making the playoffs 3 years our of 5.
If the squad misses the ‘offs this year, Art is on record as stating that would be Ok and would be consistent with his reasonable expectations.
Mr. Hankey
July 21st, 2012
1:13 pm
Well, one last thought. Let’s see. Holmes is hurt. Tattoo-fu is injured. So much for off season acquisitions and getting better through the draft. !0 bucks — and I’ll gladly eat my hat — says neither Holmes nor ta-poo-poo contributes one bit this years.
Sid
July 21st, 2012
1:14 pm
Can they compete? Well hell yeah. Decades of infamy? Thank you Rankin Smith. Some within the organization believe the criticism for postseason failures has been a bit too harsh? I seem to recall some minimal effort, lax bad game plans, and significant injuries in the playoff losses. Too harsh, I don’t think so. Optimism if not expectation. They ALMOST don’t even have to worry about their arch rival whom will self implode of epic proportions, especially if Brees goes down. Sans Carl Nicks and they might just see that happen. OK, maybe Ray Edwards’ lack of effort was injury related but it sure seemed to me he was simply taking some plays off. Anything less than a healthy Edwards giving 100% is unacceptable. As our O line goes probably so does the Falcons season, but don’t be surprised if the Panthers don’t give us a run for the NFC South Championship.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 21st, 2012
1:14 pm
What’s the over & under that CHOKE and Smith and Dimitroff will be around for a 6th season of playoff losses?
In the meantime Joe (30 million dollar man) will be shooting for playoff wins 6, 7 and 8
Sid
July 21st, 2012
1:15 pm
Matt “CHOKE” Ryan
July 21st, 2012
1:10 pm
Those Mike Vick early playoff wins are now not looking so easy
__________________________________________
Never heard of ‘em.
Sid
July 21st, 2012
1:16 pm
Matt “CHOKE” Ryan
July 21st, 2012
1:14 pm
In the meantime Joe (30 million dollar man) will be shooting for playoff wins 6, 7 and 8
____________________________________________________________
The dude got a bad agent.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 21st, 2012
1:17 pm
PLAYOFF SELECTION IN NFC:
West: San Fran
North: Green Bay
South: Saints
East: Eagles
Wid Card: Giants
Wild Card: Lions
Jeff please explain your delusional Falcons playoff slot
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
1:18 pm
What are the ODDS the Aints don’t make the playoffs? Probably very HIGH, & I would throw a few Benjamin’s at that bet this year.
a country boy can survive
July 21st, 2012
1:19 pm
As our O line goes probably so does the Falcons season, but don’t be surprised if the Panthers don’t give us a run for the NFC South Championship.
__________________________________
championship?? how about fighting to stay out of the cellar. the saints rule this division.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 21st, 2012
1:23 pm
Sid
July 21st, 2012
1:15 pm
Matt “CHOKE” Ryan
July 21st, 2012
1:10 pm
Those Mike Vick early playoff wins are now not looking so easy
__________________________________________
Never heard of ‘em.
————————————————————————————–
Just for you:
http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=230104009
http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=250115001
Remember now?
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
1:24 pm
Choke
Dallas Cowboys
San Francisco 49ers
Detroit Lions
Atlanta Falcons
WC
Carolina Panthers
New York Giants
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 21st, 2012
1:26 pm
Sorry Falcants fans, that window of opportunity if there ever was one is…………GONE BABY GONE…..
HA HA HA
The Mike Vick curse lives on…..
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 21st, 2012
1:28 pm
NFC SOUTH FINAL STANDINGS
Saints
Carolina
Tampa Bay
Falcants
Next franchise qb selected in 2013 draft……HA HA HA
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
1:31 pm
CHOKE…..want to bet a GRAND on that being true?
================================
NFC SOUTH FINAL STANDINGS
Saints
Carolina
Tampa Bay
Falcants
Jeff Schultz
July 21st, 2012
1:52 pm
Dr. Warren — Thanks. I generally agree with your assessment of Arthur Blank. He’s a very bottom-line guy. Wants to win in postseason. Will have less patience than corporation that owns Braves.
Jeff Schultz
July 21st, 2012
1:53 pm
County boy — I think that Curtis Lofton mostly is happy that he got paid.
Jeff Schultz
July 21st, 2012
1:53 pm
Matt “Choke” Ryan — Yeah, I think they’re looking good to Vick too. He hasn’t won a playoff game since then either.
Delbert D.
July 21st, 2012
1:56 pm
“Turnstile” Baker at LT is not a winning scenario.
FAILCANTS will FAIL again..watch all you want...
July 21st, 2012
2:02 pm
Failure of a franchise….curly, Larry and moe above is a joke…just become a Saints fan…at least you delusional fans could be part of a winner…if you can’t beat them, join them….who dat, we dat, two dat with second Lombardi this year…fact….truth hurts, dirty birds, huh?
rivercard
July 21st, 2012
2:11 pm
When you actually look at the talent on this team it is hard to imagine how they have even made the playoffs and difficult to imagine they could make a real run
Horrible OL, weak interior D(Lofton excluded), under performing stars in edwards and Robinson, aging running back, etc.
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
2:24 pm
FAILCANTS will FAIL again..watch all you want…
The Aints won 1 Super Bowl but the Aints are not a WINNER by a long shot.
What is their Total Won Loss record?
How many Winning seasons?
Falcons 305-410-6……17 winning seasons(includes Even seasons) Played and LOST a Super Bowl
Saints 299-395-5…..18 winning seasons(includes Even seasons) Played and Won a Super Bowl
tjhook
July 21st, 2012
2:27 pm
Mike Smith needs to shoot for a .500 playoff record this year. Otherwise, if he doesn’t get at least two, the Falcons are wasting the fans’ time. The offense has all the ammo it needs and the defense will get a chance to prove its worth. There will be some exciting contests but the team is too stable to take it on the chin so early in the playoffs again.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 21st, 2012
2:30 pm
As pathetic as 0-3 is in the playoffs, having zero offensive points in a single playoff game is as low as it gets.
But its not CHOKE’s fault…..ha ha
Stinger2
July 21st, 2012
2:44 pm
Based on most of the above comments, it seems Falcon fans are like Braves fans. They cannot be satisfied with winning seasons unless the team is successful in the playoffs. Be thankful the Falcons have improved to the point they are making the postseason on a regular basis. Think of the fact that they rarely made the playoffs in the Smith regime.
QB/DB
July 21st, 2012
2:59 pm
The Birds can and will do it but only if TD and Coach Smith STOP trying to make their DRAFTS and trades look good! They have to let it all hang out, they can’t keep guys just because they drafted him or he was a nice guy. There will be Stars out there to have on the cuts and wire. I think we need to seriously consider re-signing Olgie Mug, to FB, rework the deal, he had Ryan’s back and a proven STAR. We can’t be cute or cheap. We have to let it all hang out. You have to have quality depth in the NFL now because there are so many injuries. The Birds are so close but it is on TD and Coach to put it all together
RealTalk
July 21st, 2012
3:10 pm
Hey Choke,
Why don’t you move. Your pathetic. I bet you are a Carpetbagger. Your Boy Vick is a complete waste of space. Total classless loser. I bet he has a terrible year. Vick Fans Have NO class….
Arthur Blank and the Falcons are Total Class. Ryan is the Real Deal. Go Falcons.
RealTalk
July 21st, 2012
3:14 pm
If You Still Wear a Vick Jersey and Nut Ride like “Choke” you should just wear a sign that says how Truly Ignorant You Really Are…..It would be the same….
Hey Choke, Vick’s last season in Atlanta was a Joke. Look it up! He sucked and we would have been looking for a Way to get rid of the Inmature,Overpaid, Criminal we had playing quarterback if he didn’t get sent to the Pokey……Go Falcons!
rm
July 21st, 2012
3:58 pm
@CHOKE
Mike Vick curse??? What are you talking about…
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 21st, 2012
4:06 pm
Oh the memories……………..
http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2012/01/giants_vs_falcons_gave_review.html
HA HA
JSS
July 21st, 2012
4:08 pm
Choke!!! They talked you up? All of that “like” talk they been fantasizing in since getting thumped in Met Life Stadium hasn’t changed them a bit… Poor mind control cult, they’ve turned on Saints followers blaming them for every thing short of the apocalypse, the rest they blame on Michael Vick! Awwww, smell the desperation and angst in the humid summer air, it must be Matt Ryan’s 5th season?
Dig the new catch phrase, “Still waiting on the chance to goad over MCR since 2008, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting…”
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 21st, 2012
4:14 pm
I remember back in 2008 there was so much hope for CHOKE on these blogs.
Now all I hear are crickets…..ha ha.
rm
July 21st, 2012
4:17 pm
What has Vick won lately… Nothing. Not one playoff game. Mick Choke Vick. Goes both ways homie
JSS
July 21st, 2012
4:22 pm
Falco didn’t have a bad agent, he paid the scale of what his “pick” should have gotten! However, we all know by now that Ryan’s contract blew the scale all out of proportion! And if he doesn’t win a Super Bowl (hold on, I was laughing as I dictated that one), he’ll get the smallest raise in the history of post CBA salary bumps!
Falco’s raise is going to be $10 to 11 million, Ryan is going to be lucky (wildest dream) to get to $17 million! I’m being generous and magnanimous in that number….
JSS
July 21st, 2012
4:29 pm
“But it won’t be determined until the playoffs whether they’ve hit a wall.”
Sorry, they hit a wall right about here!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l15S7mooJAY
You can’t blame Sam Baker for that one!
JSS
July 21st, 2012
4:36 pm
@ Jeff Schultz…
He’s NEVER broken 200 yards in a playoff game, N-E-V-E-R!!! O’Brien did it, Dilfer did it, and even (gasp) Vick did it (twice)!
rm
July 21st, 2012
4:41 pm
this just in: jss can post a link!!! He finally gradutated from his internet class in that swamp of a city. Third times a charm.
Who is Falco??? Think you mean Flacco. Should have learned the spell check feature. Missed that day of class I guess…
JSS
July 21st, 2012
4:44 pm
Jeff Schultz wrote…
“Can they compete?” The answer over the past four seasons mostly has been yes, at least through December.”
Sorry, they go on vacation against good football teams after November!
Last year, the Saints and Texans pounded them in December! Wins were against Carolina, JAX, and Bucs (who quit)…
Go back and look, since 2009 they’ve been muddling heading toward the playoffs!
JSS
July 21st, 2012
4:47 pm
RM…
You’re an idiot, I’m no Saints fan (y’all’s favorite fall back)! Here’s a hint for U, look up the sixth and 21st letters of the alphabet and enjoy doing that to yourself!
rm
July 21st, 2012
4:49 pm
WOW, you got me man. You really got me. Whos Falco?
I’ll just tell ya…FU Save you the time
JSS
July 21st, 2012
4:54 pm
This just in…
Mike Smith has scapegoated Emmitt Thomas, Jeff VanGorder, Mike Mularkey, Rod Medlin, and Paul Boardeau for his playoff failures… See the light, regular season Mike gets out game planned!
JSS
July 21st, 2012
4:56 pm
Unlike you “Rimmer” (look that up, sums you up), I did that cause kiddies venture this way… But hey, right back ya again!
rm
July 21st, 2012
5:03 pm
You are thoughful…they are our future. You have a hard time taking what your dishing dont ya…
AGAIN, WHO IS FALCO???
rm
July 21st, 2012
5:03 pm
You are thoughful…they are our future. You have a hard time taking what your dishing dont ya…
AGAIN, WHO IS FALCO???
JSS
July 21st, 2012
5:03 pm
This just in…
Mike Smith is stinking up the clean and beautiful air of Lake Tahoe in 71st place! He must have confused the golf course for MetLife Stadium? Somebody must have hollered “4th and one” during his back swing?
JSS
July 21st, 2012
5:11 pm
Here’s Falco http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMuDtfxAIKk&feature=related (probably before your time) and here’s Delaware Joe Flacco http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOlxTwOPDNo (I’ll add it to the dictionary so my “spell check” stops auto correcting it before you have a stroke) and cost some hospice undue money!
JSS
July 21st, 2012
5:13 pm
Jeff Schultz…
Check your filter before the adolescent keeps double posting…
66GT
July 21st, 2012
5:14 pm
Come on people, the Falcons used to suck! Now they don’t. You forget that and jump on them after their first round playoff losses (which by the way were to the eventual Super Bowl winner in each playoff loss) You want to complain, go ahead, but I appreciate winning seasons more than I do losing seasons. There time will come. Either Support and appreciate where we have come, or go get some cheese and Whine and go root for another team. Sick of all you fair weather fans!! How would you like to be in Detroit the last 7 years!! OK. I’m done venting. Those that agree, Thank you, those who don’t, won’t waste my time debating with you.
MR. Hankey..Life long seaon ticket holder, your opinion counts to me. Much respect…the others whiners probably don’t even have season tix like us!
ernisTbass
July 21st, 2012
5:16 pm
Falco oh yeah…. Amadeus, Amadeus, Rock me Amadeus
JSS
July 21st, 2012
5:19 pm
Mayberry hoodlum…
I like Der Komminser better, but Rock Me Amadeus remix was tight!
ernisTbass
July 21st, 2012
5:23 pm
Der Komisar wasn’t Falco
JSS
July 21st, 2012
5:27 pm
He did the original in 1982, After the Fire’s version was a remake…
ernisTbass
July 21st, 2012
5:29 pm
I did not know that, hit me with a rock, After The Fire is the only version I had heard
JSS
July 21st, 2012
5:31 pm
“Sick of all you fair weather fans!”
Pepto or maybe a shot at the health clinic may clear that up!
JSS
July 21st, 2012
5:33 pm
If Schultz ever checks the filter, there’s a link to Amadeus, and Der Komminsar is in the play list…
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
5:42 pm
Falco…was a Great NFL Replacement player and Barnacle Scraper
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 21st, 2012
5:45 pm
Hello everyone and welcome to the Annual This Is The Falcons Year Party…..
HA HA
JSS
July 21st, 2012
5:52 pm
Since 1966
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 21st, 2012
5:55 pm
All you need to know about CHOKE…………………
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l15S7mooJAY
As Troy Aikman said……………..HORRIBLE DECISION BY CHOKE…………………
HA HA
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 21st, 2012
5:57 pm
That pick 6 vs Green Bay just proved how STUDID CHOKE is and add that to being a noodle arm, he just plain SUCKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS…………….
HA HA
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 21st, 2012
6:00 pm
Here is yet another playoff MELTDOWN by CHOKE in the playoffs……………..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aysH7wY9jTs
This dude just plain SUCKSSSSSSSSSSSSSS…..HA HA
dagnabit
July 21st, 2012
6:05 pm
That little list at the end of your complaint has no effect on me at all. I remember two and three win seasons galore.
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
6:07 pm
How MANY YEARS will Brees have to play to get the Aints to be a Winning Team?
JSS
July 21st, 2012
6:15 pm
Half a season less than it will take for any QB to get the Falcons to .500 by any reasonable estimate…
JSS
July 21st, 2012
6:17 pm
POAD…
You’re better off calling out Bucs and Cardinals supporters!
csmoov
July 21st, 2012
6:45 pm
Some of you are a joke. Obviously some of you are not true Falcons fans who have suffered through years of losing.. We are still building. This is not a finished product. But 4 winning seasons in a row when we couldn’t have a winning season in back to back years………..kudos to the leadership and players in Flowery Branch. Good luck this year!
Milledgeville Dawg
July 21st, 2012
6:49 pm
DR Doom, runs his stupid mouth again. Please leave Atlanta!!
"Just keeping it REAL"
July 21st, 2012
6:50 pm
Lets be honest, this has nothing to do about Vick or Ryan but some race haters if we want to be “real”. Some non-whites are still pissed that there man Vick got caught and prosecuted for a minimal animal crime. Others think that he should get life.
Not here to reopen old wounds in the ATL. The man did the crime and paid his time.
Since he left the falcons and joined the eagles, some fans cannot let go. He was our first black qb and he was exciting and successful at times. He has acknowleged being last in, first out while a falcon. He admitted to never studying the playbook, instead relying on his god given skills.
So why do we have some former falcon fans/vick fans CONSTANTLY on these blogs?
Race, there idol and super hero got exposed for who he was. He has turned his life around and as a former huge fan of his, Im glad and wish him the best, except against falcons.
But some fans cannot see beyond color and will ALWAYS hate on the falcons and MR because they took Vicks demise personally. Majority of falcon fans took no satisfaction in our #1 qb going down.
Its not about vick vs ryan, its about a racial divide (for some) that this city is well known for.
Hope one day this great city can stop the hate!
Just keeping it real, holla!!!
"Just keeping it REAL"
July 21st, 2012
7:04 pm
Believe in the bible and an eye for an eye.
So his so called minimal animal crime should be reinacted against his personal pets. What did that included…drowning, electrocuting, slamming down on concrete from 20′ or just pull out the glock?
Yea, think its not a race thing with choke, jss and others? yea, mlk is so proud of u idiots!!!
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
7:11 pm
BRAVES are HOT HOT. take the lead in the 2nd game of the Double header while already haveing 2 wins in the 4 game series.
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
7:15 pm
Just keeping it real…………..
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=383597115029113&set=a.152219938166833.40496.133279166727577&type=1&theater
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
7:19 pm
Race will always be a subject spoken about in the South.
In the North they try to act so much above it & enlightened but that is the LIE they live by.
In the Hamptons do you see the same racial break-up at the gatherings that you see in the cities?
But But when it comes time to be in the City and be seen for political events or social events all of the sudden the racial numbers move closer to REALITY.
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
7:29 pm
Another SAD life taken too young……
Usher’s 11-year-old stepson dies
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
7:30 pm
Wrong word placement.
SAD…Another life taken too young……Usher’s 11-year-old stepson dies
"Just keeping it REAL"
July 21st, 2012
7:32 pm
Prayers for Usher and his sons’ mother…so sad!
Robbie
July 21st, 2012
7:33 pm
The facts:
1. Matt Ryan has peaked. He’s a good-to-great quarterback during the regular season but typically only shows the latter against lesser opponents. He’s a poor quarterback in the post-season and that absolutely has to change. Which leads me to….
2. Matt Ryan isn’t going to carry the team to a super bowl with his arm even with a receiving corps that includes Roddy White & Julio Jones. He’s an awesome quarterback when he has help, but he is not a Drew Brees who can throw all day long and win you the game. He needs HELP from the running game and from the defense.
3. Michael Turner only runs north and south. He doesn’t spread the field out for you and frankly doesn’t get enough yards to open up the passing game. Rodgers may help, but you should’ve gone with Snelling years ago. Give Turner a couple games and if he isn’t putting up 90+ yards on average, bench him and go with Snelling/Rodgers combo. Trust me. Mr. Tree Trunks for legs isn’t the best option unless you’re 1st and goal.
4. Your defense, especially your secondary, is sub-par. Considering you have to get through New Orleans, New York, & Green Bay (all teams that ruined your playoff runs AND have amazing quarterbacks) to even get to a super bowl, it doesn’t bode well that you gave up everything for a WIDE RECEIVER. You can’t put up enough points on your own (see #1 & #2 above) to outscore those types of offensive powerhouses because your defense isn’t that good, so drafting a wideout doesn’t make sense. Oh, and Dunta Robinson is stealing his paycheck. See if you can trade him for a 2nd or 3rd round draft pick.
**Honestly, I think with a handful of adjustments this team can be a super bowl contender. The problem is those adjustments aren’t being made. If things stay the way they are, Ryan will be exposed, the defense will only get worse, and you’ll end up 3rd or 4th in the division (Depending on whether or not Tampa Bay gets their act in order).
JSS
July 21st, 2012
8:00 pm
Robbie, you can win a Super Bowl with a “North-South runner” in the backfield… Corey Dillion, Jamal Lewis, and Bettis, but as you pointed out indirectly, you must overwhelm people defensively to get away with that scheme!
JSS
July 21st, 2012
8:03 pm
And if were race, people would have rallied behind those losers Byron Leftwich and D.J. Shockley! Better luck next time with that rationale!
"Just keeping it REAL"
July 21st, 2012
8:09 pm
JSS, they never played or started for this racially divided city, nice try.
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
8:25 pm
“Just keeping it REAL”………………How MANY NFL starting QBs have been black?
Were the winners Hated or Loved?
Same for black coaches!
How many Black coaches are in the South compared to the North?
Same for Black QB’s?
Did southern attitudes change at any point?
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
8:29 pm
“Just keeping it REAL”
Name me 1 city that hasn’t had a racial divide?
I can name many but it was because 1 race was more empowered.
I know you have heard the term White Flight and the Coming Home applied to both races.
Nola Nate
July 21st, 2012
8:42 pm
Falcons fans, normally I would get on here and say something inflammatory —- just so I could get you folks riled up ; But I’ll be nice today, and just state the obvious : 2012 is “MAKE OR BREAK” for the Dimitroff / Smith regime in your beloved ATL. That statistic up above says it all —- New Orleans 45-19 (4-2 playoffs, WON Super Bowl) Atlanta (43-21, 0-3 playoffs)……. If ever your Dirty Birds were going to “rise up”, they sure better do it this year if they want to be taken SERIOUSLY…….
Larry
July 21st, 2012
8:49 pm
I’m not sure which is more contemptible, a couple of adolescents, each of whom sound like they’d jump at the first opportunity to mate the other, that relentlessly pound on Matt Ryan and the Falcons or the author of this blog’s lackadaisical disregard by permitting them to contaminate an Atlanta News organization.
Could one imagine living with, working with or sitting by such clowns? Worse, could one possibly se such dimwitted degeneracy leading, managing or supervising anything of importance?
Come on, Jeff, clean this place up!
Larry
July 21st, 2012
9:00 pm
Nola,
And when we get out, unlike yours, it won’t have an asterisk by it.
Besides, losing to three Super Bowl participants–including two Super Bowl Champions–is much less embarrassing than losing to the 7-9 Seahawks.
JSS
July 21st, 2012
9:06 pm
24 to 2 is just as embarrassing as any loss on the table…
And stay out of talking about anthropological, sociological, and psychological motivations that “you” want to put on others; it is “way over” your pay grades! You’re just wrong…
cwag
July 21st, 2012
9:45 pm
If it was’nt for Emmitt Thomas…Brent Grimes would have been a smudge in the stats…
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 21st, 2012
10:00 pm
2008 saw both the Ravens and Falcons come off of losing seasons; 6-10 and 5-11.
The Falcons spent 72 million on CHOKE. The Ravens spent 30 million on Flacco.
The Falcons have zero championship game appearances. The Ravens have 2.
The Falcons have zero playoff wins. The Ravens have 5.
They both went in rebuild mode at the very same time. The only difference is Atlanta is a failure under Dimitroff and the Ravens continue their playoff success under Newsome.
No more excuses, they drafted a clown and the Ravens drafted a winner at a budget price.
Sorry suckas, you got the short end of the deal
JSS
July 21st, 2012
10:09 pm
At Cwag…
Exactly, Dominique Foxworth (unfortunately his body let him down) and Grimes were great jobs in talent development… Smith has scapegoated folks for his failures over and over again… I didn’t like as Van Gorder and Mularkey as coordinator hires because I did not the GM doing the things necessary to succeed in that system…. Now five years later, you have a muddling post-season team scratching for a miracle set of schemes to cover up their lack of talent development since McKay was kicked upstairs…
FalconUGAFan
July 21st, 2012
10:27 pm
You poor poor little haters…nothing but hate to keep you warm at night….Hate on…..
@NOLA Nate…not really talking to you…Its ok for Saints fans to come on here and trashtalk a bit. You actually speak some truth. It IS an important year for the Falcons…they have given us some decent football lately, but time to take the next step…Not sure we are ready yet, but time will tell.
JSS
July 21st, 2012
10:37 pm
Dude, it is 108 degrees in the shade… And in the winter I can go Mexico and guess who is right next to me? And it ain’t a tranny, store bought, or the same gender! But there is nothing wrong with that if that is your game…
You can’t make folks love or respect that Edsel…
Moorman
July 21st, 2012
10:39 pm
Mike vick has been gone a while now…..and he is STILL being talked about by atlanta fans and jour alists……..lol……the best player ever for the falcons, and yall still butt hurt…lol
Sean Payton Used Cars
July 21st, 2012
10:46 pm
sAints go into camp knowing coaching failures need to end.
JSS = Loser
July 21st, 2012
10:49 pm
Wow. All you can do is come here and dump on the Falcons worse than the Saints fans do. At least they have a reason for it being fans of a different team. But you – well I guess this is what an impotent village idiot is. Needs to stir sh!t up on a blog to get some attention. LOL. Pitiful. Atlanta needs no more losers like this.
JSS = Just Sucks 'n Swallows
July 21st, 2012
10:54 pm
Just latch on to CHOKE, your old friend.
JSS clearly stands for Just Sucks and Swallows, LOL.
JSS
July 21st, 2012
11:03 pm
Who stirs feces? That is why they have mechanized water treatment plants for… Attention? Are you serious? Well, you must be since you were too weak to use your own user name to make a point? So who was seeking attention there whipper snapper?
Falcons can end their public torment easily, win and advance in the playoffs… Guess what? They “proven” incapable of doing that! Guess what again, then ridicule follows! Don’t worry, “you” have 53 post-season losers plus a coaching staff to sell to your masses as successful… If that makes your little “like-think” world go round and round, enjoy!!!
JSS
July 21st, 2012
11:08 pm
@ 10:54… That is you said about 15 times on your knees… Come on, sorry to tell you but the homophobic boat has sailed from every port except for certain Southern ones… 21st century, you can’t grow up enough to get off that sexuality boat? Ha ha, now get out of your drool corner and put down the KY…
Redandblackpeachy
July 21st, 2012
11:22 pm
@Bsmith, isn’t every game in the playoffs significant? Especially in football when it is one and done?
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
11:36 pm
The sAINTS will be the BIDET of the NFL once again.
Najeh Davenpoop
July 22nd, 2012
1:32 am
“Some within the organization believe the criticism for postseason failures has been a bit too harsh. After all, two of the team’s three playoff losses have come against eventual Super Bowl winners (Green Bay and New York). The other came in quarterback Matt Ryan’s rookie season and against a team that went to the Super Bowl (Arizona).”
Someone earlier said it and I’ll reiterate: this is the ultimate loser’s mentality. This is no different than the Hawks saying they are elite because they made the 2nd round 3 years in a row like the Lakers and Celtics. Roethlisberger and Flacco won playoff games in their rookie seasons. Those eventual Super Bowl winners had worse regular season records than the Falcons in those same years, and one of them came into the Dome and thrashed the Falcons when the Falcons were a #1 seed.
Bottom line is that the Falcons have done nothing meaningful in four years of the Dimitroff-Smith-Ryan era. If they don’t win a playoff game this year — or, worse, don’t make the playoffs (which is quite possible in a division with the Panthers rising and the Bucs likely bouncing back from a year when everything went wrong) — heads need to roll. And yes, that includes everyone’s beloved, “classy” #2.
Najeh Davenpoop
July 22nd, 2012
1:34 am
And as for Vick, if the Eagles don’t win at least one playoff game this year, you can rest assured the Eagles will draft a QB in the first round next year regardless of how well he plays. That is how organizations operate when simply making the playoffs doesn’t qualify as success.
Falcons go into camp knowing playoff failures need to end | football-feed.com
July 22nd, 2012
1:54 am
[...] to Original Content From Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog): read more Related Articles Share About Author [...]
Najeh Davenpoop
July 22nd, 2012
2:01 am
By the way, Jason Collins signed with the Celtics. I would post this on the Hawks blog except it is closed for comments.
moorman
July 22nd, 2012
3:21 am
maybe the hawks should make a play for bynum instead of howard………
RobbE33
July 22nd, 2012
5:45 am
I still like the direction the franchise is headed. After decades of floundering, the Falcons finally have organization. DM’s plans were thwarted by injuries and the lockout. Patience. It’s better than it ever was.
FalconUGAFan
July 22nd, 2012
7:05 am
@Najah I agree with some of your comments..it is the year for the Falcons to take the next step and Atlanta as a whole has developed a loser mentality. Our teams haven’t exactly thrived. However, I don’t see Ryan as “beloved”. I think plenty of people hold him just as responsible. The reality is he is a steady QB that won’t carry his team like a Brees.
@RobbE33 Yep I like the steadiness but its time to step up. Injuries and lockout affect everyone. The great teams rise above that.
JSS
July 22nd, 2012
7:20 am
“DM’s plans were thwarted by injuries and the lockout. Patience.”
That is what happened in Kansas City, they got use to not being bad like they were in the late 70s and early 80s . They were so happy to be qualify for the playoffs (and while they never got of the first game), folks were satisfied! Now they’ve gone 8 straight playoff appearances without winning once! 18 years without a playoff win! Acceptance is a bad life coping mechanism! It be different if Smith-Dimitroff had been competitive, but they’ve non-factors since the 4 minute mark of the Arizona game in 2008. McCarthy and Capers figured them out by the end of the first quarter. Injuries are nothing but an excuse. Green Bay won the Super Bowl with a 1/3 of their opening day roster on the IR!
JSS
July 22nd, 2012
7:22 am
Davenpoop…
@ 1:34 AM Co-sign!
falconsjrt
July 22nd, 2012
7:45 am
For all the matt ryan and falcons haters out there you are not TRUE AND DIE HARD fans of this great team! TRUE AND DIE HARD fans of our Atlanta Falcons are truly support our team no matter what. Win or lose! It will come a day that Matt Ryan and our Falcons will prove all all the haters wrong and then everybody will jump on The “RISE UP” Bandwagon! We dont need no fly by night want to be falcons fans! The REAL falcons fans know who they are and WE will RISE UP ATLANTA to support our ATLANTA FALCONS!!!
mike
July 22nd, 2012
7:55 am
First folks leave Mr Vick out of all this mayhem here in loserville Atlanta. He is doing just fine away from here. Now back to the Falcants. Last year they were picked to go to the Superbowel. Maybe they can just play Georgia high school teams this year. They might do pretty good on that level. They seem to always have a problem with teams who tend to win games.
falconsjrt
July 22nd, 2012
8:07 am
You cant spell mike lol!!! “Superbowel” LOL!!!
Admiral Obvious
July 22nd, 2012
8:15 am
To say the least this is a critical season. A season that this coaching staff not only needs to have another winning season but actually go deep into the post season. No more embarrassing playoff losses.
Big Ray
July 22nd, 2012
8:24 am
I see these blogs have devolved once again. We have Mike Vick fans – hey, I thought he was an Eagle? Don’t they have a blog? Nevermind, we tried that with Saints fans and found they are here to stay.
JSS ,
Damn. Whatever happened to you? You used to make sense and talk some actual football. Now you argue with trolls (don’t argue with idiots…sooner or later it’s hard to tell the difference between you and them).
Poor FALCLOWN Fans...
July 22nd, 2012
8:28 am
All ya got is hate and jealousy for the Saints….we’re just a better team….it’s OK….one day you will score more than 2 points in a playoff game….until then, just admire our SB ring……
And, your comments on the asterisk and all that crap is just that…crap…we won a SB, you have done nothing other than solidify your status as a perennial loser…..
I love tweaking the FALCLOWN fans…such easy targets….
WHO DAT, WE DAT, TWO DAT…..
stay classy rednecks and ghetto dwellers….
Big Ray
July 22nd, 2012
8:30 am
Najeh ,
Yeah. You’re right. That is what organizations do when just making the playoffs ain’t enough. It’s also what they do when they are sure that the QB is part of the problem (and its not something else), or that the QB has reached his peak (congruent with his age). I say if the Eagles have any brains at all, they draft another QB next season anyway. Vick isn’t going to get better (or consistently healthier), and he’s already at the age where he’s going to lose a step. By the way, it’s not a good omen when a QB waits until he’s 31 to decide he wants to learn how to read defenses…
Vick would look a heck of a lot better if DeSean Jackson could keep his head in the game and Jeremy Maclin would stop dropping passes.
Then again, same could be said for Matt Ryan, but oops, he’s not allowed to have caveats. That only works for guys who have playoff wins. Right?
Big Ray
July 22nd, 2012
8:39 am
Dear Saints fan with no real blog handle,
1) We acknowledge that you won a SuperBowl in 2009. I think the rest of the world did, too. But um…it’s not the same as being the defending champs. That honor goes to the last team that won…which wasn’t you. You’ll be admiring your own ring for years to come. Can you name the winner of the SuperBowl in 1999, 2003, or 2007 without looking it up? If you can, then you keep up with the SuperBowl. If you can’t, then maybe you get my point….
2) You’re not going to win this year, and Brees’ contract is going to make you look really stupid not only this season, but in the few to come. You’ll be lucky if he’s as good as Doug Flutie was during his declining years. I forsee an injury coming soon…and not due to some hoodwink bounty system. Ha.
3) The television series “Swamp People” is irrefutable proof that NOBODY from Louisiana has any business calling Georgia residents (except those transplanted from La. of course) rednecks or anything else.
I’ll take a “redneck” over what gets bred in that nasty backwater, LOL.
JSS
July 22nd, 2012
8:56 am
“That only works for guys who have playoff wins. Right?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT6XziIQ5RI
Sure does…
JSS
July 22nd, 2012
9:04 am
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d826396cc/Evans-dropped-pass-costs-Ravens
Yep…
Who exactly dropped a pass in MetLife?
phil
July 22nd, 2012
9:05 am
It’s over before it begins….
Fire Mike Smith!!
JSS
July 22nd, 2012
9:09 am
In fairness, here’s the difference…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swvm8bZ009k
JSS
July 22nd, 2012
9:12 am
You got want it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSUJQmIeVBo
drew
July 22nd, 2012
9:21 am
I think it’s retarded that so many folks are looking at a playoff win as some huge, monumental accomplishment. Winning one playoff game, only to lose the next one, is nothing to be excited about.
Does anyone else find it strange that the winningest coach and GM in Falcon history, who have taken the Falcons to the playoffs 3 of 4 years, are in jeopardy of losing their jobs if they don’t get a playoff win this year. And this from a team that had never had back-to-back winning seasons prior to this regime. AB should be very careful about making changes by proclaiming that the team has reached a plateau. Been there, done that, and I’d rather be up on the plateau than in Death Valley.
Sounds like from a job security standpoint, Mike Smith and TD would be better off NOT making the playoffs this year. If they go 12-4 and lose a playoff game, they’re toast, but if they go 8-8 and miss the playoffs, they’ll probably be OK. Seriously…does this make any sense?
JSS and Choke…please, get a room. There are young people reading these blogs. Maybe you can get your boyfriend MV to join you…he can bring the weed and herpes. Helll…you might even fight a dog or two.
JSS
July 22nd, 2012
9:24 am
Drew, when you pass reading comprehension; let’s all know!
Big Ray
July 22nd, 2012
9:35 am
JSS ,
Uhh….what was your point?
I know the best guys can drop passes, but between the Eagles and Falcons last season, it was plain ugly. Downright chronic case of the drops. In fact…and I really hate to have to say this…but if Jeremy Maclin doesn’t drop that pass against us last season, the Eagles win that game. And if they won that one, they may not have gone on the losing streak that lasted a total of 4 games and put them in a hole they never really got out of. Ba$tards still almost made it to the playoffs despite all that.
Big Ray
July 22nd, 2012
9:43 am
Drew ,
I’m not sure I’d lump Dimitroff and Smith together. I think TD would stick around, but a failure in the playoffs this season means Mike Smith is gone. Why not Dimitroff? Because he’s had more hits than misses and I think it’s harder to find a good solid GM than it is to get another HC. Hell, worst case scenario you promote Mike Nolan (if he’ll accept the job) and let him pick an OC if he doesn’t want Koetter to stick around, or if he does, then let him pick a DC. Either way, he’ll have his hands on the defense where they belong, and he can just oversee the offense rather than run it.
If nothing else, Nolan will have our offense ready because he throws so many different looks at the QB in practice (something that has been noted in Falcons articles this year, particularly by Matt Ryan).
As for playoff wins, you need look no further than Tony Romo. Dude has been toasted for playoff wins and roasted for playoff losses. It’s a process. Some bag on Romo something fierce, others say he’s one of the best QBs in the League. The bottom line is the Cowboys are run by that filthy rich but idiotic Jerry Jones, who can buy any player you choose, but he’s basically the GM, and isn’t interested in hiring another head coach that knows what he’s doing. He prefers “yes man” types (ahem…Jason Garrett).
And so the Cowboys keep underachieving, and Romo continues to take the most heat. Amazing how a QB is responsible for how the entire franchise is run, eh? I suppose it’s also Romo’s fault that Dez Bryant is a world class KNUCKLEHEAD? Ha…..
So does Mike Vick take this much heat in Philly for the Eagles not making the playoffs last season (ahem…the Falcons made the playoffs….)?
$hit ain’t consistent, man. It just ain’t. But that’s life.
JSS
July 22nd, 2012
9:43 am
Players make plays… They may drop some, remember Holmes (a nut case) dropped a sure touchdown two plays before he made that circus catch to win the SB… Ben didn’t shrink into a hole… He didn’t have a perfect pocket… They made a play!
Time for the excuses to end, that should have ended in 2009… Goodness knows, Manning will his team twice from less than ideal conditions on the big stage…
Philly problems are their problems… But the Falcons are team with a cap and roster time bomb… So you like your depth that much? Good for you, it is going to interesting!
Email Profiling is Wrong
July 22nd, 2012
10:02 am
Enter your comments here
Email Profiling is Wrong
July 22nd, 2012
10:26 am
The Falcons did a commendable job of identifying and addressing their needs this off season. They retained most of their free-agent talent; they brought in new O and D coordinators – and a new O-line coach. Realistically, there was only so much they could do and they identified critical tasks and accomplished darn near all of them.
The acquisition of Assante Samuel was very encouraging and it may turn out to be the personnel move that solidifies our shaky defense – particulalry if it allows Dunta Robinson to play his more natural position. I guess we’ll keep our fingers crossed that Ray Edwards’ disappointing 2011 was a product of injury – or scheme – or both.
The O-line is still a big concern. Mostly because Sam Baker is still the left tackle. Maybe Dirk Koetter’s scheme will run some screen passes to slow down the pass rush. Maybe Baker will improve.
Matt Ryan has to show more hutzpah as our QB. He’s blessed with a ton of talent at the skill positions. He took his share of punishment last year. We hear he’s come into camp stronger of arm and body. Good. He’ll need both to be the QB Arthur Blank is paying for. Hopefully the line can do a better job protecting him. Hopefully Matt can do a better job finding the safe spot in the pocket. Hopefully his passing repertoire will have fewer down-and outs and more runs after catch.
The Falcons post season performance the last two years proves how misleading regular season records can be. Clearly, when we’re matched against elite teams in elimination games, our weaknesses are exposed.
It may take more than this year to get the Falcons where they need to be (i.e. a post season winner). Heck, given the expected improvement of the weak teams in their division – and a strong season by the Saints, we may not even make the playoffs this year.
It sounds dumb – but we still might be a better team – an improved team – that’s set up for success in the future.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 22nd, 2012
10:51 am
I know a lot of you guys need a big hug because when Vick was released your whole misery was over. Not the football misery but the other secret misery. So Art fell for the hype and drafted CHOKE and all your HOPES were trusted in a 72 million dollar savior.
Unfortunately it was fools gold. How could a qb that took 5 years of college ball just to throw 22 picks in the final year of 5. A qb that played in one of the now most mediocre divisions in football, and couldn’t once sniff at an ACC championship.
Baltimore on the other hand conducted their research and went for a guy with NFL arm strength and according to ESPN’s analysis has the strongest arm in the NFL & and deadly accurate – two things that will NEVER be in the same sentence as CHOKE.
So 5 years later, zero championship games, zero playoff wins, 2 consecutive playoff meltdowns, and this team with so much fool’s hype is once again knocking at mediocre door. While up in Philly, they are talking dynasty. The only thing CHOKE can promise is another meltdown, and this time will perhaps be his last as a starter for sure.
Sorry guys but just because you want CHOKE to be the savior, it doesn’t make it so. Face reality. He is a JOKE that pulled the wool over you loser’s eyes
rollo lawson
July 22nd, 2012
11:42 am
When will we see an article titled, “Matt Ryan Needs To Step Up”? When we’ve had sub-par coaching and lackluster offensive line play in the past, the discussion/criticism centered around the QB play. Now everything is regime this, regime that. Matt Ryan was not singled out once in this article. But you talk about Dunta and Ray Edwards. Give me a break. This team will only go as far as Matt Ryan takes it. This playoff team has two number one receivers, a 1300 yard rusher, and a 70 catch HOF tight end. There is no way we should go scoreless in a playoff game. When will we start looking at the trigger man? Just teling it like it is.
rollo lawson
July 22nd, 2012
11:45 am
P.S. , I’m truly hoping that Ryan’s regression in the playoffs is tied more to Mularkey’s ineptness than anything else. We will see with the addition of Koetter.
JSS
July 22nd, 2012
11:53 am
Careful Rollo, that is called being a troll!
lawzoo
July 22nd, 2012
12:04 pm
Falcons go to camp as always. Insuignificant and without a clue. I saw them play an exhibition game in 1966 against the 49ers.
Not any big deal at all and hasn’t changed a bit over the life of the franchise.
Actually losing to John Brodie and S.F. 24-17 was better than most of the history of the Falcons.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 22nd, 2012
12:28 pm
rollo lawson
July 22nd, 2012
11:42 am
When will we see an article titled, “Matt Ryan Needs To Step Up”? When we’ve had sub-par coaching and lackluster offensive line play in the past, the discussion/criticism centered around the QB play.
________________________________________________________
AMEN! I have been asking JEFF SCHULTZ about this for the longest. Apparently he is OFF LIMITS compared to THOUSANDS of articles that were written about the previous franchise qb.
Everybody knows what that is about.
RIP the black qb but PROTECT the white qb. It is what it is.
There I said it Jeff. Prove me wrong.
D man
July 22nd, 2012
12:59 pm
Even if they don’t win in the playoffs again this year, it’s better than a losing season like we used to suffer through. I believe they will be improved this year and should win playoff gameS.
JSS
July 22nd, 2012
1:10 pm
We will diverge here MCR… All I remember is the big talk by Ryan (and his supporters) when Schultz opined that Ryan had learned from his previous playoff meltdowns the Tuesday before the Giants took him to the woodshed in column! Not a peep since then at him in particular, just a lot of scapegoats…
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 22nd, 2012
1:17 pm
HAMLET – Performed by CHOKE in 2012……………..
To be or not to be, that is the question.
That is also the question Blank will be asking come next season…..ha ha
Email Profiling is Wrong
July 22nd, 2012
1:24 pm
@ Rollo and CHOKE,
Guys like me – like us maybe – who apparently have nothing better to do on a Sunday afternoon, perceive a bit of a kid-glove treatment by the media when it comes to criticism of Matt Ryan.
It does seem to some extent, that the targeted areas for improvement for 2012 identified by the local media largely dance around what I guess we see as Ryan’s obvious shortcomings.
If I understand both of your comments, then I agree that among some members of Falcon Nation, Matt’s biggest strength is and always will be that he’s not MV7. Can’t say that’s a sentiment held by the dudes and dudettes who cover the team on behalf of the local media though.
Ryan’s our QB. Coming on five years now. He’s put up decent regular season statistics by any measure, but some (like me) will claim he’s a bit of a one-trick pony (dink pass today, dink pass tomorrow, dink pass forever) should be better.
We’re seeing a gradual process where all variables attributed as the reasons why Matt’s not better are being addressed. Seems a process of elimination will confirm one way or the other whether #2 is a victim of scheme and iffy protection, or if he is who some of us think he is. A game-manager with a mediocre skill set and a timid disposition.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 22nd, 2012
1:24 pm
@JSS
It amazes me that CHOKE is untouchable by the AJC and their hidden agenda fan base.
When Vick was here, he was treated like a beaten dog by the same AJC and fans that protect CHOKE’s delicate feelings.
JEFF I’m calling you out yet again!
You even made reference to Vick not winning another playoff games since his last playoff win, yet he does actually have playoff wins.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 22nd, 2012
1:30 pm
D man
July 22nd, 2012
12:59 pm
Even if they don’t win in the playoffs again this year, it’s better than a losing season like we used to suffer through
______________________________________________
Spoken like a winner
Big Ray
July 22nd, 2012
1:40 pm
JSS ,
Philly problems are their problems… But the Falcons are team with a cap and roster time bomb… So you like your depth that much? Good for you, it is going to interesting!
No, I’m not fine with the depth chart. That ain’t what I said. What I said was that I wasn’t all that worried about losing Tatupu to injury. We didn’t sign him to replace Lofton, we signed him as insurance. So if he’s a goner for the season, we’ll sign another veteran to get in there with Akeem Dent.
By the way, the depth chart prior to training camp means nothing. Sure, Ledbetter likes to post it 50 times prior to camp, but hey the man needs to write articles, ya know? I tend not to pay too much attention until the 53 man roster is set. I don’t care for our depth at DT or LT, to be specific. And I’m hoping we snag the right guys in our WR corps. We have three sure-fire talents there, question marks after that.
Big Ray
July 22nd, 2012
1:46 pm
Even if they don’t win in the playoffs again this year, it’s better than a losing season like we used to suffer through
______________________________________________
Spoken like a winner
I love how you take the part of the post you want to hammer at, and ignore the rest of the quote:
I believe they will be improved this year and should win playoff gameS.
Personally, I think the argument is subjective, and don’t care to engage in it. Getting to the playoffs and losing = disappointment. Losing and not making the playoffs = disappointment. Who cares, neither one is the goal in Atlanta, neither one is an acceptable result.
As for the continuing Vick saga, take your racial issues north to Pennsylvania, to Vick land. Take your blogging up there, too. All you have left is memories, youtube, and whatever sock it is you’re wearing out, American Pie style.
You think Vick has fond memories of the ATL? Probably not. I think he’d rather focus on winning in Philly. I’m sure he has let go of the past that he managed to survive and is focused on earning every bit of the $100 million the Eagles gave him. The man has a book out. Instead of yapping your trap about what he used to do here years ago, go read his book. Oh wait….pearls before swine….I forget….
Big Ray
July 22nd, 2012
1:57 pm
Email Profiling is Wrong ,
Well I must say you have a more eloquent way of saying that Thomas Dimitroff picked the wrong guy, than I’m used to seeing. Nevertheless, I say you’re wrong about that and one other thing –
I can’t count how many times I’ve seen or heard from local and national media alike about Ryan not winning in the postseason. In fact, ever article for the last calendar year and a half has said he seems like a winner….except he can’t win where it counts. So this kid-glove treatment you speak of is a mystery to me.
Rather, I think he gets plenty of criticism, it’s just not New York style. For that, you need to go to New York. If Ryan played in Philly, he’d be getting hammered. If he played for the Jets, he’d catch as much flak as Sanchez does. Maybe the same in Dallas, I don’t know. What I do know is that the rap on him for a couple years now is the truth – can’t win in the playoffs. I think he helps change that this year, but hey…I’m a hopeful Falcons fan. Some will call me stupid for that, but it’s freakin’ sports….I have nothing invested here, meanwhile those folks are likely making stupid decisions that actually affect their LIFE. But I digress…..
Ryan doesn’t get kid-glove treatment the way some of you suggest. You must be thinking of Tim Tebow….It’s just that Ryan doesn’t get the bonafide bashing that some of you think he deserves.
And in reality, I figure most of that (but not all of it) comes back to “I love Mike Vick, therefore it is my duty to hate Matt Ryan.”
Well, the day that Ryan admits he isn’t trying hard (now who would do that…oh wait…I know who), flips off fans as he’s walking off the field, and gets a charge and a couple years at Levenworth….then he deserves some mud slinging.
Until then, if you want to say he’s who you think he is, then you can take issue with the guy you should really be taking issue with – one Thomas Dimitroff.
But you won’t. Why? Because it’s easier to hate on the guy that came after Mike Vick. It requires less thought. And it gives you a more appealing target. And that’s what it’s really all about.
End of story. Bye bye now.
Big Ray
July 22nd, 2012
2:08 pm
Prologue….
The articles about Ryan’s lack of success never point to the media thinking that Ryan isn’t the problem. They always point to the fact that the Falcons Organization thinks Ryan isn’t the problem. But, you have to have some skill in regard to discernment to pick that up. Otherwise, you see what you want to see. Even Pat “I’ll pander to you NFC South fans” Yasinkas doesn’t suggest that Matt Ryan is faultless in any way, or that he’s a simple victim of circumstance. However, Mike Mularkey is often a convenient target because he was so aloof and enigmatic (as the Jacksonville Jaguards are about to find out). There is still that underlying tension in every article, begging to question Ryan’s true talent. It’s just that it has been hard to point out any indicting facts other than a lack of playoff wins. When you can’t prove that Ryan isn’t a decent/good QB on paper, you have to wait for something else to hang your hat on. Right now, postseason success is it. In fact, that’s all there is. His regular season record, plus the fact that last season he put up his best numbers yet (yardage, TDs, QB rating) despite our offensive line being at its worst in his career, makes it a bit hard to call him mediocre and what not.
Interesting. So timid and mediocre equates to a higher ranking and QB rating (according to ESPN stats) than Joe Flacco, Mike Vick (yes, he was injured…when is he not), Alex Smith, Ben Roethlisberger (yes, injured, I know), Jay Cutler, Phillip Rivers…..huh….ok then.
I suppose we’re all GMs in our own living rooms.
JSS
July 22nd, 2012
2:36 pm
But higher ranking when?
Ryan vs.
GB QBR 55.1
DET QBR 63.1
NO (1st GM) 81.5
HOU QBR 50.6
NO (2nd GM) 92.9
NYG (WC GM) 71.7
The only above .500 team that Ryan went above a QBR against was TENN at 110.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 22nd, 2012
2:51 pm
@Little Ray
I think they are looking for you in the Bat Cave…..ha ha
You have been wrong since 2008.
Unlike the Bat Cave you have no company of denial in her……ha ha.
Ask yourself this question: Who has more upside, Philly or Atlanta…..ha ha
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 22nd, 2012
2:55 pm
“FALCONS OFFENSE A NO SHOW; LATEST IN RYAN’S PLAYOFF LOSSES”
That headline says all you need to know about a BUST
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/don_banks/01/08/wild.card.playoffs/index.html
JSS
July 22nd, 2012
2:55 pm
Serious question (I’ve asked this before), How can a NFL QB have career 63.6% completion rate in the playoffs and never have exceeded 200 yards in passing yardage? He’s only had 40 incompletion in 3 playoff games!
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 22nd, 2012
2:58 pm
With the 3rd pick in the 2013 NFL draft, the Falcons choose, __________, quarterback…………
HA HA HA
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 22nd, 2012
3:02 pm
@JSS 2:55
Come on you know the answer to that question. Joey Harrington had the same stats. Its not very difficult to throw dink and dunks behind the line of scrimmage. The YAC is greater against mediocre talent, but in the playoffs that garbage doesn’t fly.
Dude is a JOKE
JSS
July 22nd, 2012
3:04 pm
Somewhere Joey Harrington is on a bicycle cursing your user name!
Email Profiling is Wrong
July 22nd, 2012
3:45 pm
@ Big Ray,
You make some good points. The Ryan / Vick debate has another side which you just articulated.
I will correct you where you tell me what I think though.
I don’t quarrel with Dimitroff’s pick of Matt Ryan where and when he picked him. We needed a QB/team leader/franchise player desperately (no disrespect to Chris Redmond). By most estimations, Ryan was the best one available in the draft.
I get a bit insulted by what I perceive to be Dimitroff’s public pronouncements – referring to Matt as our “elite” and our “top ten” QB. Based on the Matt Ryan I’ve watched the past two years, that makes Dimitroff’s statements a bit self-serving. He sounds like a shill.
If I didn’t make it clear before, shame on me; but as a Falcons fan, I don’t a darn about MV7 anymore.
It’s not about Ryan vs Vick to me. That ship has sailed. Vick the Falcon was lazy. He cared more about playing video games with his entourage and smoking doobies – and fighting dogs – than he did about improving his craft. He lied to his employer and the league. He crapped on the fans. He broke the law.
He’s been punished pretty severely for those transgressions. Some would say he’s paid his debt to society. If he can redeem himself as a man and a player in Philly, more power to him.
But when the Birds of Atlanta play the Birds of Philly, I’m rooting for our QB and our team.
But I can tell you that Matt Ryan’s strength of character as opposed to MV7’s doesn’t impress me on game day. Matt’s got a ways to go. Hopefully this is the year he gets there.
Don Waddell
July 22nd, 2012
4:32 pm
Winning in the playoffs is overrated.
Wilson Pickett
July 22nd, 2012
4:38 pm
Big Big year for Ryan. If he can’t get it done this year then he is out.
Larry
July 22nd, 2012
4:50 pm
CHOKE: “RIP the black qb but PROTECT the white qb. It is what it is.”
Now we know the real motivation of this pinheaded dolt; anyone who backs him is just as quilty and could use a correction.
Smoove Criminal
July 22nd, 2012
5:18 pm
Enter your comments here
Stinger2
July 21st, 2012
2:44 pm
Based on most of the above comments, it seems Falcon fans are like Braves fans. They cannot be satisfied with winning seasons unless the team is successful in the playoffs. Be thankful the Falcons have improved to the point they are making the postseason on a regular basis. Think of the fact that they rarely made the playoffs in the Smith regime.
————————————————–
I don’t think any of us would be true fans if we didn’t want playoff success every year. I think all of us fans are tired of “just getting there.” So yes, Falcons and Braves fans are similar in that way. But I guarentee you the ownership and management for both team have different view.
If the Falcons get to the playoffs but lose, AB and company are not happy and hold people (or will) each particular party accountable. Blank and Dimitoff want success and just getting there isn’t good enough anymore. The Braves seems to be the exact opposite now that the glory days of the 90s are a distant memory. There is a “culture of acceptance” that runs rampant through that organization worse than the plague and if the Braves make it to the playoffs but lose this year, that will be good enough for Frank Wren and Fredi G (who will tip his cap in the process. Blank and TD will fire Mike Smith if he losses in the playoffs, Frank Wren will probably reward FG with a nice new contract for making it there………thats your difference.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 22nd, 2012
5:28 pm
Don Waddell
July 22nd, 2012
4:32 pm
Winning in the playoffs is overrated.
__________________________________________
Spoken like a true Falcon fan
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 22nd, 2012
5:30 pm
@Larry
Oh my God, how can I go on knowing you have figured me out?
HA HA
Here since day 1
July 22nd, 2012
5:31 pm
I remember the Randy Johnson days, the Bob Berry days, Bob Lee days. I remember Norb Hecker,
Dan Henning, and June Jones III, as qb AND as coach.
Give me Smith, Dimitroff, et al, any day and give ‘em time to make it work!
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 22nd, 2012
5:31 pm
If playoff wins are overrated then CHOKE is top notch…..ha ha
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 22nd, 2012
5:34 pm
Here since day 1
July 22nd, 2012
5:31 pm
I remember the Randy Johnson days, the Bob Berry days, Bob Lee days. I remember Norb Hecker,
Dan Henning, and June Jones III, as qb AND as coach.
Give me Smith, Dimitroff, et al, any day and give ‘em time to make it work
____________________________________________________
Please see Ossie Newsome/John Harbaugh/Joe Flacco & 5 playoff wins, 2 championship games, and a savings of 42 million and call it a day…………………ha ha
Excuses are like butts – everyone has one
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 22nd, 2012
5:37 pm
THE TRADITION OF MELT DOWNS……………………….
2008 Safety and picks……………………
2010 70 Yard pick 6 before half time (As Troy Aikman said best…..worse decision ever).
2011 Zero offensive points………………………….
It doesn’t get any more PATHETHIC than that
"Just keeping it REAL"
July 22nd, 2012
6:24 pm
Choke, you are the biggest racist in all of these blogs. You know if MR was black, you wouldnt be here. Its all about race with you since your lord n savior got humiliated a few yrs ago.
Believe it or not, ALL races over on D3 fan blog are falcon fanatics-we all bleed red n black. We dont care about skin color, we care about our team! Ask BR, ask SW, ask JJ, ask JB…color does not matter!!! GROW UP KID AND READ SOME KING SERMONS!!!!!!!!!!!!
but your a racist, you only care about the color of skin your qb has…welcome to the ATL!!!!!!!
rollo lawson
July 22nd, 2012
6:31 pm
@choke,
I don’t want to get into a black qb, white qb discussion. I just want to know why this QB is coddled by the local sports media. That goes for print, radio, and t.v. It’s going to come a point in time where Matt Ryan needs to rise above the fray and make a big play in a big game. I will say that he was much more daring and aggressive coming in as a rookie. For some reason, we haven’t seen that type of play recently, especially last year. Again, let’s hope it was more Mularkey than Ryan. Regardless of that, sometimes you have to overcome coaching (or lack thereof) and make a play!!!
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 22nd, 2012
6:35 pm
“Just keeping it REAL”
July 22nd, 2012
6:24 pm
Choke, you are the biggest racist in all of these blogs. You know if MR was black, you wouldnt be here.
____________________________________________
You must be prophet because only God knows what’s inside of a person’s heart. So is your name Moses II?…..HA HA
Now what does that have to do with CHOKE being a JOKE.
Distraction from the facts only work in Romney’s campaign…………..
Nice try though…..ha ha
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 22nd, 2012
6:41 pm
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HarrJo00.htm
Joey Harrington’s 2007 stats………………….
Completed over 61 percent of his passes.
Looks like CHOKE to me
Najeh Davenpoop
July 22nd, 2012
6:45 pm
“So does Mike Vick take this much heat in Philly for the Eagles not making the playoffs last season (ahem…the Falcons made the playoffs….)?”
Are you kidding? Vick has taken a TON of heat from Eagles fans since last season. Eagles fans are a lot more reactionary than Falcons fans are. 2010 is in the distant past for them. If Vick has a bad game to start the year the boo birds will come out in full force at Lincoln Financial Field.
By the way I don’t blame Maclin at all. He was solid all year even with the drop in the Georgia Dome. Last year went wrong for the Eagles because they had too many new players and not enough time to acclimate them to the system since the lockout wiped out training camp. Didn’t help that Jackson was avoiding contact all season trying not to get concussed and that the O-line was getting shuffled around because of injuries for the first 8 games, but mainly it was just too many new players and not enough camp and preseason.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 22nd, 2012
6:47 pm
WHAT FANS OUTSIDE OF DELUSIONAL ATLANTA IS SAYING…………….
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120108130341AAjJxiP
Najeh Davenpoop
July 22nd, 2012
7:00 pm
“AMEN! I have been asking JEFF SCHULTZ about this for the longest. Apparently he is OFF LIMITS compared to THOUSANDS of articles that were written about the previous franchise qb.”
I will stay away from the race issue because I am neither white nor black so it doesn’t pertain to me. But with that said, Jeff Schultz wrote an article headlined “It’s time for Vick to go” after the 2006 season. This was before the dogfighting allegations arose in April 2007.
At that time, Vick had four full seasons as a starter under his belt (66 regular season starts), and had compiled a regular season record of 37-27-1, 2 playoff wins and an NFC Championship Game appearance.
Right now, Matt Ryan has four full seasons as a starter under his belt (61 regular season starts), and has compiled a regular season record of 42-19, with zero playoff wins.
So at roughly the same point in their careers, Ryan has won (on average) about one more regular season start per year than Vick, and hasn’t had any playoff success whatsoever.
If it was time for Vick to go after four seasons as a starter, it is at least time to start asking legitimate questions about Ryan’s viability as the franchise quarterback after four seasons as a starter. And that is based entirely on production, not on ethnicity.
rollo lawson
July 22nd, 2012
7:22 pm
Thank you, Najeh Davenpoop. My sentiments exactly!! Please respond Mr. Schultz.
Don Waddell
July 22nd, 2012
7:24 pm
CHOKE, you’re the kind of fan we need. Buy some season tickets, and I’ll through in some port-a-potties and a chance to meet me in the flesh. If you buy in the next 10 minutes, I’ll personally introduce you to Matt Ryan and future Hall of Famer Keith Brookings.
Nola Nate
July 22nd, 2012
7:41 pm
@Larry ; SERIOUSLY ??? You’re going to remind me about losing to the 7-9 Seahawks, when your team scored TWO POINTS in its most rewcent playoff game ? REALLY ??? Perhaps we should just talk about the most RECENT time when our respective teams played each other when it counted , and your Dirty Buzzards got their behinds CRUSHED —– I don’t care how many players or coaches are suspended beacause of the bounty scandal ; the Saints are just plain BETTER than your Falcons, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it…………………..
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 22nd, 2012
7:46 pm
JEFF WE ARE WAITING
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 22nd, 2012
7:49 pm
This is all you need to know about the respect CHOKE gets from the paying fans….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzEq0m_6FrI
HA HA
"Just keeping it REAL"
July 22nd, 2012
8:33 pm
IF MATT RYAN WAS BLACK, YOU RACIST WOULDNT BE HERE!
MLK is ashamed of being brothers to you racist brothers…you fail to understand Dr. Kings message!!!
JSS
July 22nd, 2012
8:36 pm
Dude, that is cold bloodied!
"Just keeping it REAL"
July 22nd, 2012
8:53 pm
then read some of Dr. Kings messages, yes Im JJ from D3!!!
JSS
July 22nd, 2012
9:35 pm
Sorry, don’t bring the late good Reverend Dr. King into this… My Mother actually knew and worked with the man… He was no saint, great but no saint (or Falcon)… He liked baseball more! And Just, the message at 8:36 was not intended for you… Sorry, but that is just blog demagoguery at 8:33!!!
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 22nd, 2012
9:42 pm
HA HA HA
JJ from D3 Blog…..no wonder your comments are so stupid and bias…..
Sports must be slow over there………………
HA HA HA
Big Ray
July 22nd, 2012
10:06 pm
Email Profiling is Wrong ,
No. Shame on ME for going from talking to you to talking to some cognitively challenged fools who would much rather trade insults and incite a race riot (figuratively speaking, we know that internet ninjas are never like this in person).
I got carried away swinging a stick at some dogs, who of course barked the minute they realized somebody had a stick (and they know who they are).
I get a bit insulted by what I perceive to be Dimitroff’s public pronouncements – referring to Matt as our “elite” and our “top ten” QB. Based on the Matt Ryan I’ve watched the past two years, that makes Dimitroff’s statements a bit self-serving. He sounds like a shill.
I see where you’re coming from on that one. On the one hand, he does sound self-serving. On the other hand, if that’s your horse in the race, are you going to say he’s “okay”, or are you going to talk him up? Rhetorical question, I’m not saying Dimitroff is right or wrong, just that I kind of expect that from a GM. At the same time, there was Dimitroff spouting stats about the offensive line at the press conference (favorable stats, of course)….and Blank cut his a$$ off in mid-speech and said “that doesn’t mean they played well.”
I loved that moment. Because in that moment I realized Blank was real. He’s not about excuses. His vote of confidence is otherwise known as the corporate rope. Yeah, you get a chance to fix your mistakes, but if you don’t….hey, you hung yourself. So it will be for Smith this season, with Dimitroff likely having a bit more rope to work with. But Blank ain’t playin’, no matter what folks think about him. I saw that angry face. He’s embarrassed. Rich guys don’t like that.
He’s been punished pretty severely for those transgressions. Some would say he’s paid his debt to society. If he can redeem himself as a man and a player in Philly, more power to him.
But I can tell you that Matt Ryan’s strength of character as opposed to MV7’s doesn’t impress me on game day. Matt’s got a ways to go. Hopefully this is the year he gets there.
I agree with every word of that. This is (or should be) about game day performance and nothing else. But for some folks, that just ain’t the case.
Big Ray
July 22nd, 2012
10:16 pm
Najeh ,
Yeah, I bet Vick does get hammered up there in Philly. It was a rhetorical question. Fans will do that to you in Philly which is why I said that if Ryan played up there, he would be getting hammered something fierce . It’s the nature of the biz up there, and in NY, among other places. That was in response to the “kid glove” treatement. For those of you who have issues with Jeff Schultz, that’s another story. I have no dog in that fight….oops, I mean I have no horse in that race.
By the way I don’t blame Maclin at all. He was solid all year even with the drop in the Georgia Dome. Last year went wrong for the Eagles because they had too many new players and not enough time to acclimate them to the system since the lockout wiped out training camp. Didn’t help that Jackson was avoiding contact all season trying not to get concussed and that the O-line was getting shuffled around because of injuries for the first 8 games, but mainly it was just too many new players and not enough camp and preseason.
Well you certainly give more alibis for the Eagles than you ever have for the Falcons…interesting…but it be what it be. All I’m going to say is that one team’s legit issues are no more valid or less valid than another team’s issues, and leave it at that.
I don’t blame Maclin for the season at all. I blamed him for not making the play at the end of the game against us. Nobody was on him, he had that pass dead to rights. If it was Roddy, Julio, or somebody else on the Falcons team that dropped the ball and we lost to Philly, you know good and well that player would have taken similar heat…The funny thing about all that is most folks won’t remember that Maclin had 170 or so yards against us in that game….but they’ll remember him dropping the pass near the end zone…just sayin’….
Well, not enough camp due to lockout and all that, too many new players. Yeah, I can see that. Yet I don’t think Philly was the only team with O-line issues (ahem…we had them ALL SEASON LONG), lockout/camp issues, and new players.
I do know this – a Pro Bowl backfield wasn’t getting the job done too very well. And guess what? I don’t blame that on them not getting enough offseason work. I blame that on the zone system that fool behind DC was using up there.
Odd…three veteran pro bowl guys stinking it up in coverage for a large portion of the season (don’t compare the stats of Rodgers-Cromartie, Asomugha, and Samuel to those of the Falcons starting CBs…it’ll scare ya). Has to be the system. We had a similar issue with far less overall talent….
Big Ray
July 22nd, 2012
10:18 pm
You’re going to remind me about losing to the 7-9 Seahawks, when your team scored TWO POINTS in its most rewcent playoff game ? REALLY ???
Yeah….as the defending superbowl champs, that was a pretty far fall. And that’s why you’re angry that it got mentioned. LOL.
Big Ray
July 22nd, 2012
10:19 pm
Seems we scored a 2 whole embarrasing points against the eventual CURRENT SB defending champs. It’s bad, but memories of the New Orleans Bounties getting RUN OVER by Marshawn Lynch are still giving me the warm fuzzies, LOL.
Sorry, but I think you should have set a bounty on him….or did he set one on your entire defense? LOL!
Jaded
July 22nd, 2012
10:27 pm
I agree that this is a huge year for Matt Ryan. With a new offensive coordinator, two top-notch WR and one more year of Tony Gonzalez, there’s really no more excuses. Brees and Rodgers won Super Bowls with a lot less.
In a way, Ryan is a lot like the Atlanta Hawks. He’s solid, and a lot of teams would to have him. But here’s the cold reality: The last nine Super Bowls have been won by the six best quarterbacks in the NFL. If you’re not in that elite group, winning a championship is unlikely in today’s passing-dominated league. So do we hang on to a guy who will probably not bring us a championship but will keep us in the hunt every year, or do we start over and try to find that elite guy?
It’s not a great spot to be in.
Jaded
July 22nd, 2012
10:29 pm
Meant to say Brady, not Rodgers. The Packers had a great receiving corps.
Najeh Davenpoop
July 22nd, 2012
11:32 pm
“Well you certainly give more alibis for the Eagles than you ever have for the Falcons…interesting…but it be what it be.”
Haha. The point was that the Eagles were especially prone to the particular problems they had because they had an unusually high amount of roster turnover compared to other teams, including the Falcons. Given that, it’s reasonable to think that with more continuity, they will play better. Their strong finish to last season supports that contention, and they have kept mostly the same personnel on both sides of the ball entering this season.
If I am not making excuses for the Falcons, it is because they did pretty much what I thought they would do last year — have a relatively strong regular season and fold in the playoffs against a team that can play tight coverage, create pressure, and avoid turnovers. To me, the Falcons’ failures in the playoffs are a direct result of their less than elite personnel. But we’ll see if I’m right this year, what with two new coordinators and all. If a revamped coaching staff can get more out of this team, then I’ll be proven wrong.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 22nd, 2012
11:37 pm
Watch out Schultz looks like the Bat Cave is trying to invade your blog…..ha ha
Samuel
July 23rd, 2012
7:53 am
The head coach should be held accountable if they don’t win a playoff game. Mr. Blank can’t get too comfortable with coach Smith’s winning ways in the regular season. If he can’t compete in the post season, he needs to be shown the door. Their are a lot of coaches in the league who can take this team with the talent they have to regular season success……..
mike
July 23rd, 2012
8:02 am
The three stooges.
PMC
July 23rd, 2012
10:07 am
Smith is a good coach. We already Mora’d this team once.
You don’t want to go getting too upset about the post season and hiring the next Norv Turner.
Double Zero Eight
July 23rd, 2012
10:14 am
In order for this to be a very good season, the
O-Line and the D-Line have to improve significantly.
Ryan needs time to plant his feet in order to get the
ball downfield with some accuracy. With no consistent
pass rush, the secondary will get picked apart.
No more eggcuses 4 Perrier Jerry
July 23rd, 2012
10:22 am
U no what they need 2 do and that is get rid of that looser Perrier Jerry. He is dragng the team down by taking up a roostetr spot.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 23rd, 2012
3:48 pm
0-3 is a helluva drug…..ha ha
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 23rd, 2012
3:52 pm
There are other bloggers wanting to know when you are going to MAN UP and give CHOKE the Mike Vick treatment.
Not being bias are you?
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 23rd, 2012
3:52 pm
Jeff that last post was directed to you.
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July 24th, 2012
12:30 am
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i hate falcons organization
July 24th, 2012
9:58 pm
They suck in making the roster cuts.. They cut all my UGA players… Coaching staff is as bad a Paul Johnson’s crappy offense and as dumb and predictable as Mike Bobo…. Grimes is too small.. doesnt smash… Matty Ice isnt a Peyton Manning caliber Qb like the people pushing ticket sales want u to believe… Our defense is crap…. Offense looks like the old school…Out dated… And they didnt bring in any Coach’s that will improve the team.. Just more old boring Falcon football…
i hate falcons organization
July 24th, 2012
10:01 pm
So blame it on upper management.. Not the just below average players that suit up weekend and week out… Cut Matty Ice’s pay and getin a high caliber team…. If not.. Go Giants….
Jim
July 25th, 2012
3:01 am
They were more fun when they were lousy and occasionally bumped someone off…no shame in losing, it is how you fight the fight…these guy lose in ways that hurt the team’s dignity…but the main players are all multi millionaires and set for life financially anyway. You think losses REALLY hurt them? Never forget, it is all about the money…that’s what pro football is.
AINTS FANS STILL talking blah blah blah
July 25th, 2012
10:12 am
Matt “CHOKE” Ryan is clearly an Aints fan who is apparently tired of reading all of the blogs about the bounty punishment…don’t worry there will be more bad news for your team soon enough.
The Reader
July 26th, 2012
8:59 am
Also – coaching of Mike S. has been questioned several times. Remember 4th downs and long, and trying to run, instead of a sure field goal. Talking some bad decisions at crutial times…..
Sean "The Bounty Hunter" Peyton
July 26th, 2012
2:55 pm
I won’t be coaching this year but I can tell you our fans are dillusional if they think the we will finish anywhere near the top of the division. We spent all of our cash on Drew “Gimme the Money” Brees which leaves very little for other players. Since we can’t cheat on defense now, we will be hard pressed to stop opposing offenses.
It doesn’t look like a good season ahead Saints fans, but I’ll be back next year.