Falcons’ offense hits wall, but as usual it doesn’t matter (UPDATED)
After this beauty of a touchdown catch by Tony Gonzalez made it 14-0, the Falcons' offense fizzled against New Orleans, but it didn't matter. (AP photo)
(UPDATED: 12:30 a.m.)
They keep it interesting, don’t they?
The Falcons came out against the New Orleans Saints Thursday night as if determined to bury their recent nemesis’ playoff hopes six feet under (which at least has the advantage of being out of egg-chucking range).
They led 7-0 less than four minutes into the game and 14-0 just 52 seconds into the second quarter. Most impressive of all was their offense, which is the side of the ball that ultimately will determine how far this team goes in the playoffs.
They discovered a new wrinkle: The running play. Michael Turner had a 35-yard run on the game’s second play, and before the first quarter ended he had already rushed for more yards (67) than he had in all but three of the previous 11 games.
Then the Falcons’ offense did something uncommon for any New Orleans Saints’ opponent: They hit a wall.
A team blessed with offensive weapons all over the field couldn’t gain a first down, couldn’t catch a pass, couldn’t accomplish diddly.
Did it matter? No. That’s what much of this Falcons’ season has been like: “OK, maybe they did (fill in the blank) wrong, but it didn’t matter…”
They are 11-1. New Orleans is 5-7 and probably just had its postseason hopes extinguished. The Falcons will celebrate that.
“Our big thing is to just win the game,” defensive end John Abraham said. “We can’t worry about the small, things. We can’t let anything from the outside get to us. We hear, ‘They can’t do this. They can’t do that.’ We don’t care. We just keep winning games.”
The win, they will celebrate. The Saints’ fall to 5-7, they will celebrate. (Roddy White: “I told Will Smith after the game, ‘See you next year.’”) The usually high-pyrotechnic offense, they won’t celebrate.
In the first five possessions that followed Tony Gonzalez’s 17-yard touchdown reception, which made it 14-0, the Falcons went three-and-out four times and had a gift 45-yard field goal (a two-yard drive that followed Drew Brees’ second of a career-high five interceptions). To recap: That’s five possessions, zero first downs, three points and net yardage of 9, 2, 9, 3 and 0 (total 23).
The Falcons finished with only 283 yards in offense. “They started doing a lot of things on defense, bringing down their safeties,” Julio Jones said. “We had some problems but we’ll fix them.”
They make it interesting. They make it maddening. They are your Falcons.
“We wanted to get after them early and we did that,” White said. “We kinda made it look easy. Then after that we got kind of complacent.
“I felt like that was worse than the six-turnover game (against Arizona, also a win).There are a lot of things we have to fix. This is our mini-bye week, so we have to get in there and see what we’re doing wrong and get back to the big things that we can do.”
The old boxing trainer, George Benton, used to say: “Win tonight. Look good in the next fight.”
This Falcons seem to have adopted that philosophy.
This is when nobody complains. Credit the defense for the five interceptions and holding Brees without a touchdown pass for the first time since October of 2009 (a streak of 54 games). Credit the offense for at least not turning the ball over Credit kicker Matt Bryant for nailing a 55-yard field goal with 4:25 left to provide a 10-point lead, 23-13.
Credit the Falcons for beating a team that they entered the night 2-11 against in recent years — an ugly run of infamy. (White, as if on cue: “We’re not going to celebrate when we beat those guys. We expect to win.”)
This has become one of the NFL’s nastiest rivalries. Animosity has spilled over to the fan bases. Who would expect that the Saints, after arriving at Atlanta-Hartsfield Airport Wednesday night, would be met by EMDs (Eggs of Mass of Destruction)?
Their charter bus was hit with up to four flying eggs by an unidentified airport worker, who probably could run for mayor right now.
“Christmas gifts are on me,” White said, laughing.
Now, I don’t endorse any sports fan throwing any objects at any person or vehicle. But at least Atlanta sports fans can no longer be accused of being devoid of passion. And maybe, finally, it was a sign that the Falcons have lit a fire under this town. At 11-1, one would hope so.
By Jeff Schultz
Been kind of busy lately. If you need to catch up…
• Braves need this free agent splurge on B.J. Upton to pay off
• Weekend Predictions: Georgia pulls the upset but Tech goes down
• Georgia’s best chance vs. Alabama may be to step on the gas
• SEC title would mean Georgia’s return to elite status
• Georgia playing at level we haven’t seen under Richt
• Short takes (UGA): Rambo’s ascent, Gurley’s comfort
• Upsetting Georgia would give Tech needed boost for future
• Weekend Predictions: Georgia will win on Red-and-Black-Saturday
• Vince Dooley: Joy from Georgia’s resurgence, pain from son’s firing
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104 comments Add your comment
phil
November 30th, 2012
9:24 am
Until Smith is fired, we’ll never be consistent winners….
phil
November 30th, 2012
9:25 am
Choke….
LOL
Of course Choke’s point is that Ryan can’t get us over the hump in a playoff game. He will be right once again if we keep playing like this on the offensive side of the ball.
phil
November 30th, 2012
9:27 am
Striped Shirt
November 30th, 2012
9:21 am
Since Smith, Dimitroff and Ryan arrived, the Atlanta Falcons have the best regular season record in the NFC, having won 54 and lost just 22. During that period, the Falcons are the only NFC team with more than 50 regular season victories Additionally, Atlanta is the only NFC team to have all winning seasons over that time span.
Prior to Smith, Dimitroff and Ryan, the Falcons usually were not worth the price of admission. Now they are the envy of the league. So for those who constantly find fault with Smith, how many wins do you have?
**************
What’s our playoff record under these guys?
Not too good, right?
Bills fan
November 30th, 2012
9:31 am
Thanks, Jeff, for another great piece. This is getting to be a lot of fun watching this team.
It would be even more interesting seeing our fan base capture the passion other cities like Green Bay or Buffalo have…bring that 12th man win or lose. It makes a huge difference. We are getting there, but egg throwing is a good sign if not very classy.
SG
November 30th, 2012
9:31 am
Just call it the “Now Ya See ‘Em. No You Don’t” Offense. Kudos on the win.
Buckeye
November 30th, 2012
9:32 am
tom brown,
Note Schultz’s spelling of “diddly”.
Bart's Boy
November 30th, 2012
9:36 am
@Striped Shirt
How many play-off wins do I have? None. Just like our Head Coach!
Paul Harvey
November 30th, 2012
9:37 am
Should I have been someone watching this game without any prior knowledge of either team, it would have been extremely difficult to determine who the 5-6 team was. Eliminate a flash of brilliance by the Birds to start the game and there was total domination by the Saints. Roddy said of the last game, they didn’t win it-we lost it. All I can say is thank you Drew. ‘Ol buddy, you definately lost it! To quote a Saints fan in The N.O. newspaper this morning: “Who dat threw dat? Drew dat blew dat!”
P B Orr
November 30th, 2012
9:41 am
Consider this friends – the Saints have a good defense – but they have no coach. The 78 Steelers would look bad without a coach. Teams need motivation. When the Saints play the Falcons, the motivation is automatic. They played an excellent defensive game. So what if they suck the rest of the year? A game is a game. Those 78 Steelers needed a late score by blown-up Vietnam vet Rocky Bleier to defeat the mediocre Saints 20-14. But back then, there was no unicorn football industry and no army of hipster sports bloggers to throw around the concept that a team is not “proven”, whatever the hell that means, until it wins a playoff game.
Football is a game, meaning it is supposed to generate amusement in the participants and onlookers. I find myself mightily amused by my 11-1 team. I could not care less how they win. Any team that gets to 11-1 against any league is worthy of the highest respect. Stop bitching and enjoy the games!
P Rose
November 30th, 2012
9:45 am
Schultz wrote an enlightening article a couple weeks ago that was reassuring: the Falcons aren’t a perfect team, but who in the NFL is this year? Every team has its flaws — the Packers, Bears, Giants, 49ers, and Patriots are all flawed.
The 49ers look better now with their new QB, but he is very young; and remember, they were blown out by the Giants, who were blown out by — the Bengals. The Bears defense is great, but Jay Cutler is having a terrible year. Aaron Rodgers is great, but the Packers have nobody who can block for him.
The Falcons’ chances are as good as anybody’s this year. A first-round playoff bye, and home-field throughout, would give them a huge advantage.
DawgNole
November 30th, 2012
9:52 am
Huge win over a bitter rival that has dominated us lately. Better yet, it was on the national stage and in prime time–elements that have intimidated this franchise in years past. Defense came through against one of the best QBs in the game. And all this in a schedule-shortened week.
Don’t let up now, Falcons. Carry this momentum through to where it really counts–the postseason.
Mike "CHOKE" Dogs To Death
November 30th, 2012
9:58 am
On NFL.com’s website before the season, 6 of their 8 panelists predicted the Eagles would win the NFC East. HA HA!
Two of them even predicted the Eagles would win the Super Bowl. HA HA!
None of them predicted that MV7 would be washed up for good by now.
HA HA
DawgNole
November 30th, 2012
9:58 am
Buckeye
November 30th, 2012
9:32 am
tom brown,
Note Schultz’s spelling of “diddly”.
_____________________
He won’t “note” anything that shows how ignorant he is. Too arrogant and full of himself. In fact, to spite you, he’ll continue to post it incorrectly–just like he continues to insist that UGA has 6 legitimate football NCs, and that fla beat FSU 37-20, and that fla will have “four or five losses in 2012,” blah blah blah. A fraud, a liar, a distorter, etc.
Striped Shirt
November 30th, 2012
10:03 am
phil — agreed, the playoff record is miserable. But there is some consolation in watching a team win year after year in the regular season. While that does not remove the bitterness of playoff losses, a so-so regular season (2011 Giants 9-7, 2010 Packers 10-6 and 2008 Cardinals 9-7) followed by playoff success and a Super Bowl win also has some low points.
GTT
November 30th, 2012
10:13 am
I take full responsibility for Turner’s, um, turnaround by pointing out the was going down as easily as an Orc in Lord of the Rings. Fired him up. You’re welcome.
Mark
November 30th, 2012
10:15 am
Intellectual Ninja
November 30th, 2012
12:08 am
There is nothing worse, nothing more cowardly than play-not-to-lose football.
Mike Smith is the King of Prevent Offense.
No team with this kind of offensive talent plays so stupidly.
Someone please explain me why the Falcons deploy so many 2 TE sets? STILL???
IT’S LIKE PLAYING ONLY 10 MEN ON OFFENSE!!!
With 3 and half minutes left and a 10-point lead, Super Bowl-winning coaches like Bill Belichick, Mike McCarthy, and others with rings want to score again to put the other team away.
Play-not-to-lose coaches like Mike Smith or Marty Schottenheimer go into Ultra Prevent Offense and try to salt the clock away.
Invariably, ALWAYS giving the other team the ball back with another chance to score. As in Turner’s fumble.
I hate play-not-to-lose football. I hate Mike Smith CONTINUALLY interfering with the Falcons’ offense.
Where’s the NO-HUDDLE? Where’s the 3-4 WR sets? Where’s the explosiveness?
Hey Mike… LEAVE DIRK KOETTER ALONE!!!
————————————————————————————————————————————–
Intellectual Ninja you are absolutely right. The reason the falcons don’t win or dominate is because Mike Smith is SCARY COACH! That is why we haven’t won a PLAYOFF GAME.
DP
November 30th, 2012
10:21 am
“Until Smith is fired, we’ll never be consistent winners….”
Hey “phil”, aka “Choke” who is too gutless to use his old handle given the Vick/Eagles disaster, let me correct that sentence for you:
“Until Smith was hired, the Falcons had never been consistent winners”
Note that I corrected the “we” reference, since you hate the Falcons. Enjoy your Sunday night watching those Eagles get trounced against on national TV. Too bad Vick won’t be in there to turn it over another 3 or 4 times.
DC Dirty Bird
November 30th, 2012
10:29 am
Don’t you have to make the playoffs in order to lose in the playoffs. Think about it….
king conz
November 30th, 2012
10:33 am
To the gentlemen criticizing Mike Smith: They flashed a stat on the TV a few games ago he is something like 20-1 when leading going into the fourth quarter. It’s working. Leave it alone.
gary32
November 30th, 2012
10:36 am
Some of you guys are amazing…The Falcons are ranked number 4 overall in total offense…our qb is ranked number 2 in passing yards…and number 7 in overall qb rating…so I am not sure I understand about this plodding offense you talk about…yeah we have had a few bad games on offense most teams do have a few bad games….and somehow you all know that we are going to lose in the first round of the playoffs….don’t think so..why?….his name is Nolan
king conz
November 30th, 2012
10:38 am
Wow, I thought “PHIL” was joking when he said fire Smith…..was he serious? If so he clearly either A. Has an axe to grind or B. Has no clue about the NFL.
Falcons = 1 and done
November 30th, 2012
10:40 am
don’t think you guys match up well with the Bears, Packers, Giants or the 6th seed.
phil
November 30th, 2012
10:42 am
DP
November 30th, 2012
10:21 am
“Until Smith is fired, we’ll never be consistent winners….”
Hey “phil”, aka “Choke” who is too gutless to use his old handle given the Vick/Eagles disaster, let me correct that sentence for you:
“Until Smith was hired, the Falcons had never been consistent winners”
Note that I corrected the “we” reference, since you hate the Falcons. Enjoy your Sunday night watching those Eagles get trounced against on national TV. Too bad Vick won’t be in there to turn it over another 3 or 4 times.
************
Not too bright, are you….
I’m obviously kidding to anyone with half a brain.
phil
November 30th, 2012
10:44 am
king conz
November 30th, 2012
10:38 am
Wow, I thought “PHIL” was joking when he said fire Smith…..was he serious? If so he clearly either A. Has an axe to grind or B. Has no clue about the NFL.
********
I WAS kidding….good grief.
Falcons = 1 and done
November 30th, 2012
10:51 am
congrats on 11-1 but some thoughts
you only beat 2 teams with a winning record denver and tampa
combined record of opp. 47-75 (38%)
Buckeye
November 30th, 2012
10:52 am
dawgnole,
Drove through Tallahassee for the first time over Thanksgiving. NIce town. The view from the main drag down to FSU was impressive.
DP
November 30th, 2012
10:53 am
“phil” = “Choke”
Dumbo
November 30th, 2012
10:56 am
Where’s the Who Dat Ho’s
Eric C.
November 30th, 2012
10:59 am
Nope, as much as I want to be, I’m not satisfied with this win — it is the same “get a lead then shut down” pattern that has plagued the Falcons in the playoffs during this era.
The Falcons are still pro football’s version of “Sybil” on offense. I really think the defense is good enough to win in the playoffs…but the offensive shut-downs we see now loom like foreboding storm clouds on the playoff horizon.
air of mendacity
November 30th, 2012
11:00 am
home field throughout playoffs will be huge – that coupled with first round bye should get us to the NFC championship – if we can throw the monkey off our backs
Dazzy G
November 30th, 2012
11:00 am
Ah…..Troll free week. Make that the rest of the year.
LOL at The Aints
November 30th, 2012
11:02 am
The Trolls are still here, they’re just using different names.
Falcons4Eva
November 30th, 2012
11:04 am
Falcon Fans (and Haters)…Here is a excellent article written about the Matt Ryan and the Falcons.
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8693526/the-falcons-inability-win-playoffs-significant-think
Excellent must read.
Michael
November 30th, 2012
11:10 am
I feel bad for Tony Gonzales. Such a great player and will never get a ring.
BrickBrees
November 30th, 2012
11:22 am
“What’s that? Ah — Playoffs? Don’t talk about — playoffs? You kidding me? Playoffs? I just hope we can win a game! Another game.”
PreyDawg
November 30th, 2012
11:25 am
“Win Tonight. Look good in the next fight!’ That is a perfect quote for this team. The team should adopt this and post it in the locker room and in the dome. Wll done Jeff!
DP
November 30th, 2012
11:50 am
Last night’s game illustrated the need for another NFL rule change. The practice of having multiple defenders stand up a ballcarrier while they tear at the ball and the officials swallow their whistles should be stopped. In the event of a fumble, forward progress should be reviewable on replay whether any officials blew their whistles or not. There are several instances in which a play turns out to be over before an official blows a whistle, including when a runner is given forward progress after being pushed back and when a runner is judged to have been down by contact on review.
Last night the officials were able to use replay to determine that the Saints defender who recovered Turner’s fumble was down by contact, even though no whistle blew, but they weren’t allowed to rule that Turner’s forward progress was stopped before the ball was ripped loose. That makes no sense to me and it cheapens the game to have a ballcarrier trying to get on the ground while defenders hold him up and tear at the ball.
air of mendacity
November 30th, 2012
11:52 am
4eva – thanks for sharing article – makes great points and I agree with him. I tell you, the stars are aligned for the Birds this year. Need some breaks and to play well in the trenches and we could easily make super bowl. Parity has arrived in NFL
BrickBrees
November 30th, 2012
12:14 pm
“The airport determined one employee is responsible for throwing five or six, with half of them hitting the bus. The general manager said the behavior is unacceptable.”
Big news for 3 eggs.
After further review
November 30th, 2012
1:04 pm
DP – The problem with your proposed rule change on fumbles is that people would then start complaining about a quick whistle while a running back is fighting for more yardage. How are the officials supposed to determine whether the runner is being held up by defenders or simply trying to drag defenders with him for more yardage?
Boo Boo
November 30th, 2012
1:06 pm
Let the annual Egg Night (or Egg Day) begin! A free raw egg to the first 20,000 fans with a lower level seat. A tradition to become better than tailgating or nickle beer night.
JSS
November 30th, 2012
1:10 pm
@ Jeff Schultz…
After the debacle with the Packers, I see 3 of the greatest sleazes in AJC blogging history wandered back to your opines with the same tired offensive philosophies diatribes?
Man, I don’t envy you between now and when the double doses of reality come forth… Enjoy!
Iluvnutella
November 30th, 2012
1:13 pm
There is a reason that they only play once a week. Falcons will be fine. You could tell they were tired. 2 wins inside of 4 days, I got no complaints.
PaulWinchester
November 30th, 2012
1:57 pm
The Falcons offense hits wall but it doesnt matter, is a good way to describe what happened last night. The only reason why I am upset about the 11-1 Falcons is that they should have been 12-0 and should have beaten the Saints the last time they faced them. The Falcons have enough weapons to beat the Saints. Its more a MENTAL BLOCK for the Falcons than anything else. Somehow the media, and the Falcons think the Saints are unstoppable and can score at will. Well the Falcons proved what happens when a team plays good defense it STOPS the opponent from scoring. The Falcons almost didnt win the game because although the held the Saints down to ONLY 13 POINTS, the Falcons had trouble scoring themselves and wouldnt have won the game had it not been for Brees’ 5 picks. That is the only reason why the Saints lost–that and the Falcons inability to move the football. There was one stretch in the game after the Falcons had gone up 17-0, where the Saints outgained the Falcons in yardage 289-30. It was also pointed out through that dominance that the Saints got 18 straight first downs, while the Falcons got consecutive 3-and-outs and were 0-10 on third down conversions. The falcons played a woefully aweful game, but the saints were worse so the Falcons squeaked out their 10-point victory over the saints. Last week the 49ers also beat the Saints by 10 points 31-21, but the media were calling the 49ers when they beat the saints by 10, saying they dominated them, but as I watched last nights game, it looked to me like the Falcons were LUCKY to win the game. I hope the Falcons learn how to find Roddy White, Julio Jones, Tony Gonzales and Harry Douglas with regularity, becuase if they cant and are unable to get first downs and move the chains getting into the scoring zones (red zone), then the Falcons will waste their nearly perfect season, thus far with only one loss preventing them from perfection. Go Falcons.
crybaby
November 30th, 2012
2:32 pm
We don’t see enough of mike cox or that receiver..Drew..why is he not playing in front of Douglas?
All he does is catch the ball!! M.S. on kicking that field goal from 52 yards & taking a chance on the short field for N.O.?? UN_BELIEVEABLE!
Some how these birds figured out a way to win..Once again the the birds W a close game..How long can the “magic” last??
drew
November 30th, 2012
3:30 pm
i would just like to thank the airport workers who took part in the egg tossing. way to set the tone! i love it! its about time Atlanta sports fans started showing some passion for the falcons, and braves for that matter (infield fly rule). we may be classless but at least we don’t put a contract hit out on fellow union members. HA! Go Falcons!
BBB
November 30th, 2012
6:04 pm
Opponents can key in on this. Anytime the Falcons get ahead by 10 or 14, on the next possession, every play will be a run or pass within 10 yards. Falcons will never take a deep shot to try to go up by 21 because Mike Smith is so OCD about running the clock. Go for the jugular once, just try it, Mike! Turn the dogs loose and trust the defense to keep up.
Eric C.
December 1st, 2012
2:11 am
Great comments everyone, good night.
Mikey
December 1st, 2012
8:49 am
Its nice to see we have so many great football strategists here. I’ll bet Mike Smith and TD can’t wait to read these comments so they know what to do for the next week. I thank God that I’m not in their position in this thankless town. They have been doing so much better than any other Falcons team in history and THIS is what they get? They have the best WINNING record in the NFL 12 weeks into the season and THIS is what they ge from their own “FANS”? Please wake up Falcons fans (if there really ARE any) and give this team a little encouragement and appreciation.
It is not easy to be that good and it is evident that they are getting better every week. It takes a LOT of intelligence, hard work and dedication to be that good. It only takes a few seconds to move your fingers over the keyboard to produce in idiotic slam. I’ll take the hard work and dedication every time. For those of you who are so football knowledgeable, I suggest you interview with the Saints… they are probably looking for help after playing our Falcons! You will find that your negativity produces teams like the Bobby Petrino Falcons. We could use a little more of that on the Saints rather than getting Payton back next year.
Billy Bob
December 1st, 2012
11:33 am
phil You can’t get to playoff games until you have winning seasons. Smith does that! Go take your meds.