It’s only preseason, but this secondary needs major work
This touchdown was way too easy for Michael Bennett. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
It’s preseason, and preseasons can mislead. The 2008 Detroit Lions were 4-0 when it didn’t count and 0-16 when it did. That said …
If the regular season is going to resemble Saturday’s first half, Mike Smith is going to have white hair soon.
Whoops. Too late.
You don’t often see a coach yelling at his men during an exhibition, but Mr. Smith held forth at some length after his team allowed the Chargers’ second touchdown of the first half. (There’d be another — touchdown, not tirade — to come.) What was especially galling to the old defensive coordinator was his team’s uncoordinated approach to third-and-long. You’re supposed to stop the other team on third-and-long. Indeed, the ability to stop the Cardinals on third-and-16 is one reason Keith Brooking now works for Dallas.
But Brooking had nothing to do with these defensive whiffs. This was the new D, the faster D, the one linebacker Curtis Lofton has called “upgraded at every [open] position.” I’m thinking Smith and Brian VanGorder might not hand out many A’s after this half. Maybe nary even a D-minus.
We stipulate by saying this: The Chargers are good. They can make an opponent look sorry. But the 2009 Falcons aren’t supposed to be just any opponent. They’re supposed to be a force themselves. And they’re going to be, at least on offense. The defense? Let’s call it a work in progress, and until Saturday we had no idea just how far it needs to progress.
The Falcons’ first two exhibition games were against Detroit and St. Louis, both of which were terrible last season and will be awful again. Detroit moved the ball against the Falcons’ reserves in the second half, but general manager Thomas Dimitroff dismissed it by saying, “Our subs were running around.”
This was first-team against first-team, and it was a mismatch. The Chargers gained 281 yards in two quarters, 255 of them passing, seemingly 250 of them over cornerback Chris Houston. (OK, I exaggerate. Slightly.) And here was the truly frightening stat: San Diego was 7-of-8 on third-down conversions, and each of those seven conversions was third-and-7 or longer.
On the series that set off Smith, the Falcons failed on third-and-13 (Houston beaten), third-and-18 (Houston again), third-and-17 (Houston yet again) and finally on a third-and-24 screen to Michael Bennett on which Lofton took the wrong angle and Mike Peterson missed a tackle. When the dizzying sequence finally subsided, Smith sought Houston first and then his whole defensive crew. And he spoke at length.
Loading ...We knew when the Falcons dumped five starters that the early stages of 2009 might be bumpy. What we witnessed Saturday was a somersault down the Snake River Canyon. The offense is going to be splendid, but trying to win every game 42-40 is a hard way to go, for the simple reason that sometimes the other guy will get the ball last.
And we’re only two weeks from the opener against Miami, and after Miami comes Carolina, and after Carolina comes New England. If the Falcons can’t stop the Chargers on third down on a Saturday night in August, how might they fare come September?
A year ago Dimitroff assessed his defense in preseason and signed two defensive backs — Domonique Foxworth and Jamaal Fudge. Foxworth wound up starting. I’m thinking there might be a signing or two announced in Flowery Branch this week, and I’m thinking anybody who arrives won’t be told, “We see you as a nickel back.” I’m thinking there’s a real opportunity for some unemployed cornerback here.
What’s Bruce Pickens doing these days?
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188 comments Add your comment
crabapplejoe
August 30th, 2009
12:15 am
Sage of Bluesland wrote: “Losing Brooking, our precious Hometown Hero, was addition-by-subtraction”
So how impressed were you with Mr. “Upgrade” tonight?…I believe that the first two Charger TDs went right down “Highway 53″…..but he did have “swagger”…and I’m sure he “trash talked” Bennett as he grabbed his shoe laces on the second TD…and, by golly, his dreadlocks looked marvelous!….and I won’t mention him getting beat in pass coverage by 250 pound third string FBs who will be selling MetroPCS plans in two weeks…..LMAO at the “upgrade”
darrell starks
August 30th, 2009
12:17 am
Sorry a$$ chris houston please no more, and thomas decoud please this guy is not and nfl starter.
GO FALCONS!!!!!!
neil
August 30th, 2009
12:22 am
Good article Mark. I am quite concerned with the falcon’s secondary. Chris Houston is a SOLID #2 but we are asking too much of him to cover the opposing team’s best receiver. By default he HAS to since we have no one better. Not re-signing Dominque Foxworth really hurt us, and I see no other option but to looking over the scraps of who gets released by other teams and hoping to find gold like we did last pre-season. It’s gonna be a looong season if we don’t get our secondary shored up. Teams like the saints twice, philly, ne, chi (by virute of their QB) and even mia with an efficient pennington will absolutely destroy us if we don’t get this fixed soon. I am very concerned, did however love the pass rush we exhibited and they are going to have to keep it up. Like they say the best cornerbacks play on the best teams who get to the QB.
Beautiful Monte
August 30th, 2009
12:27 am
Jamal Anderson sucks ALMOST as much as Mark Bradley.
darrell starks
August 30th, 2009
12:34 am
We will be good but this team has a long way to go on defense, my biggest disappointment is the defense no one made plays up front or in the back field, the only players that played well was peterson and coleman thats it with the lack of intensity we showed over all on defense this coaching staff have to step up especially def. cordinator.
GO FALCONS!!!!!!!!
Atlanta Falcon
August 30th, 2009
12:40 am
Mr. Falcon,
I am not worried about Ryan. He hasn’t had much exposure to the 3-4 so hopefully he’ll take something away from it like he always does. He had pretty good stats for an off night. I’ll take it. Plus, remember this is preseason they aren’t always going to bring their A+ game, he may have been working on something. Should have been picks is a silly debate, because well they weren’t picks so why worry? I didn’t see the game so I don’t know about his “zip” but I have seen some good arm strength on him before so like I said, not a concern.
The defense is a huge concern. But like I said, it is preseason and some teams are just night and day regular to preseason team wise. This is why we play the games boys.
I still say the Falcons are a 11+ win team.
GO FALCONS!
darrell starks
August 30th, 2009
12:40 am
TD WORK YOUR MAGIC AND BRING IN CB AND PLEASE NO MORE THOMAS DECOUD AT SAFETY.
GO FALCONS!!!!!!!
Mark
August 30th, 2009
12:40 am
One good thing we did have linebacker sighting #50 need help.The conerbacks are awful they don’t know what to do they were so out of position to do anything.Not worried about the offense.Falcon get you 5 CB from the final cuts of other teams they will be better than what we got.
Boo Boo
August 30th, 2009
12:45 am
Is it too late for the Falcons to join the Canadian Football League? Their defense would be great in a league that punts on 3rd down, and has a field 110 yards long.
ted johns
August 30th, 2009
12:48 am
byron leftwhich dree brees jake the snake it’s gonna be a long year.
Brent S.
August 30th, 2009
12:53 am
WHAT IN THE WORLD DO THE FALCONS SEE IN CHRIS HOUSTON?????????????? He was burned THREE straight times on 3rd and longs. Every time Phillip Rivers needed to convert a 3rd and long, he threw it to Houston’s side, and EVERY TIME, the receiver caught it!!!!!!! PATHETIC, PATHETIC, PATHETIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I told EVERYONE at the end of last season, that he was NOT a no.1 CB. He IS a mediocre No. 2 AT BEST!!!!!!!!!!!! Please don’t start him!!!!!!
Everybody, get off of Matt Ryan for crying out loud. He didn’t have to dazzle anyone tonight. I am thankful for the display that Chris Redman put on. I believe that Shockley will be the odd man out, but that is just my humble opinion. GO BIRDS!!!!!!!!!!
Boo Boo
August 30th, 2009
1:00 am
Mark, How many games did Foxworth play last year? Seems he was hurt at the start of the season and took a while to get playing time. How many times did he start? Was he the one who shut down the Cardinals, on our way to the Super Bowl? Oh, wait, we didn’t make it to the Super Bowl.
jb4falcons
August 30th, 2009
1:01 am
Well, there is no question our D got lit up tonight. The db;s need some help and there is a lot of reason for concern. It truly begins up front. Without the pass rush, they will get burned more times than not. It all starts with applying pressure and taking the QB out of rhythm. Don’t just pick on the new guy;s, I didn’t here Abraham’s name called either. Some passion on September 13th would help,
darrell starks
August 30th, 2009
1:01 am
Can any one answer this is chris mcalister and pac man still available if so bring them both in that will solve our problem day 1 plus we need milloy to groom william moore.
GO FALCONS!!!!!!!!!!!
Birdwatcher
August 30th, 2009
1:01 am
Quickness and athleticism don’t make up for DBs who are 6 inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter than the receivers they’re supposed to cover. Add no pressure on the QB and you have the recipe every opponent will use against us. We did stop the run, only to be disappointed on 3rd down over and over…
Ryan wasn’t as sharp as usual finding open receivers vs. throwing into double coverage. And why would we call a pass play for Jerious Norwood on 3rd and 6 while we use the best tight end in football to block in the backfield?? I hope Jerious is O.K.
On a more positive note the HD Screens are FANTASTIC.
David
August 30th, 2009
1:02 am
Is it time to panic? What do we do to fix the defense? Is it too late to get a good corner?
obomaisaclown
August 30th, 2009
1:03 am
if we go with 2 qb say goodbye to an ex ga. and ex bama qb!
Atlanta Falcons Talk » Blog Archive » It’s only preseason, but this secondary needs major work
August 30th, 2009
1:03 am
[...] http://blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/200…eds-major-work/ Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs Posted August 30th, 2009 in Atlanta Falcons Blogs. [...]
Brent S.
August 30th, 2009
1:03 am
WHAT IN GOD’S NAME DO THE FALCONS SEE IN CHRIS HOUSTON??????????
Whopper Dawg
August 30th, 2009
1:08 am
mark,
Below please see my exert from my post on your column yesterday. That pretty much is the deal. I haven’t seen the San Diego game yet (recorded it), but I knew it was coming. I don’t know if you saw New England and Washington, but New England can hang 60 on us if they want.
From yesterday
Offense will be really good assuming no injuries. Unless they are really holding something back, defense is really going to be a problem, really don’t see much pass rush, rush defense or pass defense and we haven’t played anything which can remotely be described as a good offense yet.
Deano
August 30th, 2009
1:11 am
No pass rush, God-awful secondary…Dimitroff has stripped down our defense. Heaven help us if we get any injuries! And what’s up with Petersen, did he even show up last night? Am very worried right about now. Need leadership on defensive side of the ball…is Milloy still out there? He might set a few guys straight.
Falcons-Fans-R-Ignorant
August 30th, 2009
1:16 am
Pacman? NO.
D. Brooks? Are you kidding?
What the Falcons need is a pass rush someone to compliment Abraham, because Anderson is horrible. He actually tanked a sure sack tonight. Being a true Falcons fan, I have tried to give him a chance, but he’s terrible. The whole line save for John is a joke. We miss you Grady.
Whopper Dawg
August 30th, 2009
1:17 am
Mark,
Please see my exert from my post of yesterday. I haven’t seen the game yet (recorded), but a blind man could see this was coming. Foxworth was the only guy that made plays in the secondary last year. If you had kept him and just drafted Sidbury and kept Grady, you would be miles ahead.
Please see below:
Offense will be really good assuming no injuries. Unless they are really holding something back, defense is really going to be a problem, really don’t see much pass rush, rush defense or pass defense and we haven’t played anything which can remotely be described as a good offense yet.
Big Ray
August 30th, 2009
1:34 am
Yes, the secondary looks bad. No, it won’t look like this all year long.
Remember one thing Lofton said: you don’t want to peak this early on. You want to get better and peak as the seasons wears on.
If things look really bleak (again, why would you put the defensive pressure all on the secondary), then rest assured that Dimitroff will make a move to keep the Titanic from sinking. But how many times are we going to face San Diego and like offenses? Exactly. Patience. This isn’t a Super Bowl run. This is still a rebuild.
And guess what? If you “escape” with a win….it’s still a win…
Henry D.
August 30th, 2009
1:36 am
As bad as I hate to say it, this defense looks so bad that Van Gorder may be in over his head as a DC in the pros.
This whole defense is pitiful.
jeffrey d
August 30th, 2009
1:43 am
I was there, Mark, and I was just about to throw on some dreads and play corner. Chris Houston was terrible.
On a brighter note, this was my first Falcons game ever (I’d been to the Georgia Dome twice, but Georgia was playing both times) and the experience was incredible. The Falcons/GA Dome staff made it very easy to have fun and get pumped up/get loud.
Now if we could just get the people at Turner to quit playing Gwen Stefani whenever a Brave reaches first base.
jeffrey d
August 30th, 2009
1:46 am
As bad as I hate to say it, I think Henry D. may be right.
David Smith
August 30th, 2009
1:47 am
Our defense took a major step back tonight. Chris Houston continues to get lost in coverage at times (several times tonight) and, refuses to turn his head to locate where the ball is being thrown (his job is in jeopardy right now). Our d-line was manhandled all night long which allowed Philip Rivers and, his backups to pick apart our secondary (Our pass rush was non-existent). This may have been a preseason game but, it definitely exposed our defensive weaknesses on national television something that Mike Smith and his coaches need to fix before September 13.
Kyle
August 30th, 2009
2:01 am
The offence will be fine but the defence is at best two to three years away. Smitty could have stopped off at midtown and picked up 11 homosexuals with rainbow Falcon helmets and they wouldn’t have done any worse than what I saw tonight. If the offence doesn’t out score in a game this year consider it a loss…..a big loss.
Cornerback Tryouts in Flowery Branch This Week!
August 30th, 2009
2:10 am
I dont care if Dominique Foxworth was cut by Denver or Kalamazoo last year the guy played his ars off last year. Chris Houston is outmanned and Brent Grimes is too short! All you have to do is throw jumps balls against these guys and they are beat. You cant let 5 or 6 3rd and 12 or 3rd and 24 get completed and most of what I saw looked like a bunch of overmatched cornerbacks….all cornerbacks get burned but 7 or 8 times in a row….All that says is these guys are not up to the job! We need some 6 feet cornerbacks with skills on this team or we can only hope to outscore everyone and that just does not seem possible 10 to 11 times out of the year…….I believe in Dimitroff and I think by Tuesday we will be hearing about some moves…….at least I hope….
militant marker
August 30th, 2009
2:11 am
I can’t believe people are saying our secondary just didn’t put up the effort, they just aren’t good players, period. Houston and Grimes haven’t shown anything since they’ve been here and neither have the other neophytes. We don’t have a pass rush outside of Abe and let’s not forget the Chargers dropped like 3 picks in the first half against our starting offense.
Obamawilldogreatthingsforusa
August 30th, 2009
2:26 am
Our team is in trouble. Matt Ryan did throw several passes behind his targets. He even overthrew one to his deep threat who was double teamed in the first possession. I understand that you can’t spend an exorbitant amount of money for one player, but you should be able to find some bigger corner backs with some talent. Everybody else seems to have some. This was definitely a hollow victory that won’t count anyway.
froggy
August 30th, 2009
2:32 am
Plenty of good comments here.
Houston has not progressed, he’s regressed. Very clearly not the answer, but right now the options are nonexistent. Yep, bet you will see corners getting TD phone calls this weekend.
Agree that Grimes plays with all the passion you could hope for, but he’s just too small. He can be right on a receiver but cannot prevent the reception because of his height. Next.
Lofton made some mistakes, but overall looked great. He is a linebacker in every sense — looking to blow you up. The other LBs — I’m starting to wonder if Peterson is just a smack talking version of Brooking — lots of blather, but not much production.
Biermann played more snaps than I can ever remember in a game, and is much improved against the run, btw. JA98 seemed to play very little in the second half. And did Chauncey Davis make one play tonite? Not that I remember.
Pretty clear that Smitty was irate at the defense. He spent lots of time back there getting his point across, it was good to see.
Disagree that our safety play was good or even acceptable. No way. We missed tackles (one flagrant one) and, perhaps more importantly, we don’t jack up anybody. If I am a receiver from an opponent watching tape of this game, my takeaway is 1) They don’t cover very well, and 2) After I make the catch nobody is going to make me pay. Bottom line, we need a thug in the secondary to put the fear of God in some people. Lawyer had diminished skills, but he would send a message that nobody else in the secondary now is sending.
Big B CH 99
August 30th, 2009
2:37 am
the one thing that gets lost in the bad defense of the first half is that Lofton actually looked good, he was making plays all over the field. Does anyone else think that Tony Gilberts needs to be starting at OLB instead of backing up Lofton at Mike (MLB). Our best 3 LB’s are definitely Lofton, Peterson, & Gilbert, Nicholson has shown me nothing this preseason.
Ryan wasn’t great, but he wasn’t bad either, got lucky a couple of times, but boy Redman looked real good, definitely the # 2 guy, sorry UGA’s but Shockley ain’t even close to Redman, & after 4 yrs who does TD & CMS think has more potential to develop into a backup, Shockley or Wilson who’s only a Rookie.
Duce88
August 30th, 2009
3:02 am
Birdy – Great point about the screens, couldn’t agree more. Every third and long I was yelling “Screen” at my TV, how much more obvious could it be? I thought the whole idea of the defense was to be young and fast. Where was that?
TB
August 30th, 2009
3:15 am
OK, I was at the game and the defense was definitely frustrating. But, first of all this is pre-season. Teams can look in pre-season and hardly win in the regular season or vice-versa. If memory serves, we looked really good when Harrington started in the pre-season for us. That is why I’m all for keeping 4 pre-season games. Teams aren’t ready for these games to count. I bet a lot of veterans may have a hard time getting themselves motivated to play their best when they know it doesn’t count yet too.
That said, the biggest problem with the defense tonight anyway looked like Chris Houston. I know he was recently injured in training camp, and I was wondering if he wasn’t 100% recovered or back into the swing of things. I mean, he can’t be that bad can he? If Grimes isn’t the other starter, who is? Chris Owens? Chevis Jackson? Actually, looking at the replay tonight on NFL Network, it looks like a lot of them were confused with the scheme or their assignments. Hey, the defense can only get better from here, right? Tonight’s game will give the coaches a lot of tape to show them specifically what we need to work on and I think Smith will be very vocal with the team. I think making so many defensive starters play the 2nd half showed them how serious he is. And for Anderson, did he even play much tonight? I thought I saw Davis most of the time through my binoculars.
clthurman
August 30th, 2009
3:18 am
I’ve been blogging on this here AJC before the draft and I was villified by Dimitroff is God idiots by suggesting, no make that insisting, that our secondary is heinous. Not paying Foxworth was an unbelievable misstep by this organization when they knew they were gonna what amounts to a total do-over on the defense. And Bradley what did Foxworth do to you to make you not like him so much. Your sarcastic quips whenever someone gets to the facts about the whole Foxworth salary scenario makes you appear to be what many on this board knows is you don’t know much when it comes to building winning football teams. Not signing Foxworth was a mistake, be a man and just admit it. Our linebackers save for Lofton are a joke. Coleman cannot do it all and what was the Falcon brass looking at come draft day to think that after a playoff season it would be a good time to just expunge players and HOPE to pick up replacements on the side of the ball where we could least afford to. Did they really thnk that what they had in Grimes, Houston, Nicholas, Decoud, Wire, Fudge and all the other smurfs would get it done better? Cuz if they were so good why the F’ In Hell didn’t they play ahead of the guys we got rid of or in Foxworth’s case couldn’t afford. WE DO NOT HAVE AN NFL CORNER ON OUR ROSTER THAT CAN COVER ANY RECEIVER MUCH LESS ELITE RECEIVERS. Now I don’t claim to know all the answers, but I do know Grimes + Steve Smith= 7. And can someone answer me the question of who the hell is Von Hutchins who we paid money for? Hey Mark maybe you can sarcatically quip on that question. Don’t worry we don’t expect much from you just like we won’t expect much from this pathetic defense.
Dr. Warren
August 30th, 2009
3:25 am
The secondary has been the Falcons weakness for its entire history, aside from D. Sanders, Rowland Lawrence, and a couple others. 8-8 sounds reasonable this year. Great offense, terrible defense–it evens out. I do suspect the defense will get better by the final 1/4 of the season–and its youth will be a bonus late in those games.
SC
August 30th, 2009
4:00 am
The conventional wisdom has been that the Falcon’s offense will be able to carry an inexperienced and perhaps inadequately talented the defense. Given last night’s performance, that’s difficult to believe.
Did I actually see JA98 attempt a belated *submarine* move on the third-and-long-screen-for-a-touchdown play or did he just fall down?
Norton
August 30th, 2009
6:42 am
Horrible defense,nonexistant secondary,recipe for disaster.
Saint Mike
August 30th, 2009
7:08 am
I’ve seen this team before: The 2008 Saints. All offense and NO defense. Enjoy the shootouts and just hope your team has the ball last. But, sorry falcons fans no playoffs this year, not with that secondary.
Alex H.
August 30th, 2009
7:38 am
In the Falcons brass I trust. Let’s be patient folks. Many great teams over the years have looked very sub-par during the preseason. Our birds are still 2-1 despite the “lousy” play that many of you are mentioning. The Falcons have a system and process in place. They also have several new faces. It will, naturally, take some time for the defense to gel. I suspect that they will be much improved week to week during the regular season. I could care less about pre-season. Go Falcons!
Dalton Falcon
August 30th, 2009
7:44 am
Look at the bright side. They played really well on 1st and 2nd down and most teams in the NFL they will stop on third and long most of the time. The defensive line and linebackers do look improved but yes the secondary, especially the corners, have me concerned. What I don’t understand is, the Falcons keep saying that then corner spot opposite of Chris Houston is open. Well it looks to me like Chris Houston’s job should be open. With that said, I am going to give Dimitroff, Mike Smith and Van Gorder the benefit of the doubt for now but 8-8 looks like more likely for this season due to the schedule and young defense.
Putting On The Foil
August 30th, 2009
8:03 am
The corners were terrible last night, maybe some due to weak pass rush, maybe some due to Chargers loaded pass offense. And it’s intuitively obvious that Jamaal Anderson is a liability, that we could use another linebacker, and that Peria is a rookie. We might also want to direct some of our displeasure toward Van Gorder as well. What has he done for us lately? Offense still looks good, although it sputtered a little. Redmon, as I said a few weeks ago, is number two for a reason so we can all get past this love affair of Shockley with all it’s excuses. Hopefully we can get some help off the waiver wire this week or next. Maybe another Foxworth type will be out there.
greg
August 30th, 2009
8:08 am
I said earlier that they would be 8-8. After watching last night with that terrible defense I change my mind. Remember that SD did not play two of its best offensive players. 7 and 9 will be the record and no back to back winning seasons. Pathetic.
Putting On The Foil
August 30th, 2009
8:15 am
The corners were terrible last night, maybe some due to weak pass rush, maybe some due to Chargers loaded pass offense. And it’s intuitively obvious that Jamaal Anderson is a liability, that we could use another linebacker, and that Peria is a rookie. We might also want to direct some of our displeasure toward Van Gorder as well. What has he done for us lately? Offense still looks good, although it sputtered a little. Redmon, as I said a few weeks ago, is number two for a reason so we can all get past this love affair of Shockley with all it’s excuses. Hopefully we can get some help off the waiver wire this week or next. Maybe another Foxworth type will be out there for the taking.
66GT
August 30th, 2009
8:25 am
A 100 + passer rating is “not Bad ” Mark, don’t be like everyone else and expect perfection. AS far as the basis of your article ….DEAD ON!! after 1st quarter I said to my Buddy while at the game that, “The Secondary is going to kill us this season”.
greg
August 30th, 2009
8:26 am
Defense wins games and this defense sucks. Hell San Diego was playing without their two best offensive players…TE Antonio Gates and L. Tomlinson…the Falcons will not win 7 games…book it..season over before it gets started…one bright spot…I will be able to get cheap tickets to an NFL game because the stands will be empty by mid season.
Jimmy
August 30th, 2009
8:41 am
Typical M. Petersen, show boats after a routine tackle while SD was moving at will down the field for a two touchdown lead before the half. Glad he is not in Jax any longer! Have fun with him!
Bwill
August 30th, 2009
8:42 am
What this falcon defense lacks are play makers…. From what I see we only two playmalers on the defensive side of the ball… Abraham & Lofton. If Abraham doesn’t get any pressure, well then the Falcons aren’t getting any pressure. Our pass rush is basically non-existent for large parts of the game. And when you have a secondary that is for a lack of a better word “Weak” as ours you can’t expect them to cover for any extended period of time on a consistent basis. Anytime your #1 corner (Chris Houston) looks they are taking part in an infomercial of a how-to tape on passing & receiving… I would say thats a pretty bad sign with the teams we have on the schedule… I know Tom Brady can’t wait til week 3 LOL… I hae faith that Dimitroff will address the situation before too long though.