The Falcons suffer a thumping loss but learn a needed lesson
Kevin Faulk was one of four Patriots' running backs who hurt the Falcons. (AP photo)
Foxborough, Mass. – A young team was exposed by the smartest and saltiest bunch in the NFL. If you looked hard, you could have seen it coming. Thomas Dimitroff, who built this young team, looked hard and did.
“We said this would be a benchmark for our organization,” said Thomas Dimitroff, the Falcons’ general manager but once New England’s chief scout. “And the reality is that we still have a lot of work to do. And I knew — I knew — that [the Patriots get] agitated when it’s suggested they’re losing something. I knew they would play physically and come out with all guns blazing.”
To use the Dimitroff buzzword of 2009, the Pats played with urgency. They’d rushed for a total of 156 yards in the season’s first two games; they ran for 168 Sunday. They kept possession for nearly 40 minutes. “They ball-hogged the ball,” receiver Roddy White would say later, and in so doing the Pats hogtied the Falcons.
The Pats weren’t precise — the great Tom Brady missed more open receivers in one game than he used to miss in a full season — but they were persistent. The Falcons hung around and seemed about to seize the lead in both the second and third quarters, but Michael Turner fumbled and Michael Jenkins was flagged for offensive interference in the end zone (the right call, by the way) and the Falcons didn’t score over the final 38 minutes and 48 seconds.
And you’re not going beat New England, which has been the NFL’s best team over the past eight seasons, that way. And that’s what showed Sunday. One team knew what winning such a game entailed. The other was still guessing.
“They did a good job out-executing us,” safety Erik Coleman said. “They did a good job running the ball.”
That part was a surprise, only it wasn’t. Bill Belichick didn’t become the hooded Beelzebub by doing the same thing every week, and his Patriots didn’t try to outscore the visitors 40-37. He tempo’ed the game, as they say in college basketball, and the Falcons’ offense wound up sitting so long it never got a feel for anything. Case study: Tony Gonzalez caught one pass.
“They played keep-away,” said White, who caught four passes but dropped two others. “They didn’t do what they were supposed to do.”
Loading ...The Pats are smart enough and seasoned enough to win any which way. The Falcons still have to stick to script. That’s a function of age, or the lack thereof. The Pats brought a championship intensity to Week 3 of the regular season. The Falcons don’t know what championship intensity is because, to be blunt, they haven’t won anything yet.
But that isn’t to say they won’t. This is a good young team that, with a few tweaks, will get better as it goes. There’s reason to believe the rookie pass rusher Lawrence Sidbury needs to be worked into the rotation — the Falcons had one sack against Carolina last week and none against New England — and the absence of tackle Peria Jerry was deeply felt Sunday.
But the secondary wasn’t completely undressed by Brady and Randy Moss, and that’s something. Indeed, this rainy day needn’t be viewed as a washout. The Falcons were beaten but not routed, not nearly embarrassed.
Said Mike Smith, the coach: “We’ll learn a lot from this.”
Said Mike Peterson, the linebacker: “It may not show right now, and people may not understand it yet, but this is going to help us down the road.”
There will be bigger games for these Falcons. And when one arrives, Smith or Peterson will be able to say, “Remember how the Patriots did it to us? That’s what we need to do.”
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182 comments Add your comment
TURTH-SERUM!
September 27th, 2009
9:23 pm
SHOUT OUT TO VICK SUPPORTER, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK HOMIE!! BAM! WHATS UP WITH MATTIE LICE?
RB
September 27th, 2009
9:23 pm
Where is Duckworth when you need him? Oh! he’s intercepting balls for the Ravens (today). Everyone reasoned he was to expensive to retain, but you now see he was your #1 corner. That move will prove a bad one.
Mark Bradley
September 27th, 2009
9:23 pm
Yes, the question was asked. Mike Smith said the Patriots were bracketing Gonzalez all day — covering him with both a linebacker and a safety.
MGM
September 27th, 2009
9:26 pm
I am amazed at how many people are discussing the defense. The reason the Falcons lost was the offense. The halftime score was 13-10 in favor of the Pats. Had the Falcons not fumbled the score would have at least been tied and probably in the Falcons favor. The final score was 26-10. The offense never scored the second half. The time of possession for the Pats was not a function of an inept defense it was the function of 3 and outs the entire second half by the offense. The defense was giving up field goals until fatigue probability wore them out. Had the offense held the ball longer, executed more and put even one 7 on the scoreboard in the second half the game would have unfolded differently. Today Brady was off. So was the Falcons offense. I sure hope they learn from it.
TURTH-SERUM!
September 27th, 2009
9:26 pm
VICK WILL COME AROUND. HES RUSHING TO GET HIS TIMING, LEARN AND NEW SYSTEM AND GET IN GAME SHAPE. DONT WORRY ABOUT THE PRO-BOWLER. HELL GET THERE. UNLIKE MATTIE LICE WHO HAS NOT BE AWAY FOR TWO YEAR.
FALCONS SHOULD HAVE DRAFTED FLACCO............
September 27th, 2009
9:28 pm
Flacco sets career-high with 342 yards as Ravens force four turnovers
Somehow, Harbaugh convinced his players that the winless Browns could actually pull off an upset. He stressed the importance of treating this game as if it was a tossup, and insisted that a complete performance was necessary for Baltimore to remain unbeaten.
Fast Facts
• Joe Flacco threw for a career-high 342 yards and Willis McGahee rushed for two touchdowns to hand the Browns their ninth straight loss.
• Browns starting QB Brady Quinn completed 6-of-8 passes for 34 yards and one interception. He was replaced at halftime by Derek Anderson, who threw three interceptions.
• McGahee’s two rushing touchdowns gave him five for the season, which leads the NFL.
• The Browns have scored nine points in the last two weeks and have been outscored 94-29 this season. They have scored one offensive touchdown in their last nine games.
• Rapid Reaction
– ESPN Stats & Information
Taking that notion to heart, the Ravens gained control from the outset Sunday and cruised to a 34-3 victory.
“They understood this game for what it was and they took care of business,” Harbaugh said. “And they did it right out of the gate.”
Baltimore (3-0) ended Cleveland’s first drive with an interception, then converted the turnover into a touchdown with less than five minutes elapsed. It turned out to be all the points Baltimore needed to beat the punchless Browns (0-3).
“Coach Harbaugh put in our heads that we’ve got to out and start fast and finish strong,” said Ravens running back Willis McGahee, who scored on touchdown runs of 7 and 15 yards. “Right there, we sent a message to the Browns.”
Joe Flacco threw for a career-high 342 yards to help the Ravens more than justify their role as a two-touchdown favorite.
“That’s what you have to do as an NFL team. You can’t take anybody more light than the other guy,” Flacco said. “Cleveland had two losses and had a lot to play for. We knew that, so we had to make sure we came out ready to go from the beginning.”
After Baltimore held the Browns to 78 yards while building a 20-0 halftime lead, Cleveland coach Eric Mangini pulled quarterback Brady Quinn in favor of Derek Anderson. The switch did nothing to turn around the fortune of a team that has been outscored 95-29 this season.
“I thought that at that point D.A. might be able to give us a spark. That’s what I was hoping to accomplish coming out of halftime,” Mangini said.
Quinn went 6 for 8 for 34 yards and an interception. Anderson, who lost his starting job to Quinn last year, was 11 for 19 for 92 yards and three interceptions.
“I was a little rusty. It’s been a while since I’ve been out there,” Anderson said.
Mangini wasn’t ready to decide who will start next week against Cincinnati.
“We’re going to look at it,” he said. “I’ll make the decision early [this] week.”
The Browns have scored one offensive touchdown in their last nine games dating back to last year.
Not only is Mangini winless in his first season as Cleveland’s head coach, but he received unwanted headlines by fining one of his players $1,701 for not paying the hotel bill for a $3 bottle of water.
ESPN.com reported Sunday that the NFL Players Association was going to contest the fines.
“I’ve dealt with a lot of football players over time and I feel very comfortable with my ability to deal with people,” Mangini said. “I think it’s an important thing to be able to teach and coach and to demand high expectations from the people that play for you, and that’s something that I fundamentally believe in.”
Harbaugh also expects plenty from his players, and usually gets the desired results.
“We came out really smoking, right out of the tunnel,” he said
Flacco went 25 for 35 with a touchdown, and McGahee’s two TDs gave him six in three games. Baltimore is 3-0 for only the second time in franchise history, thanks heavily to an offense that is averaging 34.3 points per game.
Derrick Mason caught five passes for 118 yards, including a 72-yard TD that made it 34-3 with 8:05 remaining. His third reception made him the 23rd player in NFL history with 800 career catches.
Cleveland played without running back Jamal Lewis (hamstring) and kicker Phil Dawson (leg). The Browns’ lone score was a 29-yard field goal by Billy Cundiff with 14:55 left.
Baltimore set the tone when Domonique Foxworth intercepted a Quinn pass and McGahee followed with a touchdown run to make it 7-0. The 31-yard drive was extended when Flacco ran for 2 yards on a fourth-and-1.
The Ravens added two field goals, then covered 80 yards in eight plays — seven of them passes by Flacco — before McGahee ran in from the 15 for a 20-0 lead.
Anderson completed his first two passes, then threw an interception to set up Ray Rice’s first career touchdown, a 9-yard run that made it 27-0.
BugKiller
September 27th, 2009
9:28 pm
Weird… after ONE loss, the racist idiot Vick Supporters all climb out of the woodwork.
I think that about does it. I despise dawgstephen, the extremely blindly loyal homer Dawg fan, and I hate to have to agree with him…
… but the AJC needs to do SOMETHING.
All of these other newspapers and organizations make it so crap like this can’t happen. With sign-ons and passwords and some accountability with this stuff.
I’ve absolutely had it with these racist idiot Vick Supporters ruining what should be something fun and turning it into a frakking bunch of crap.
RB
September 27th, 2009
9:30 pm
No matter how you spin it, Matt Ryan cannot throw an accurate deep ball. I saw that in his college games and the same as a pro. I think he will be a good quarterback but it will be dink-and-dunk. Flacco will be a much better quarterback in the end.
robertussen
September 27th, 2009
9:32 pm
Wow why do you keep writing about a team you dont support. Just to piss off real fans with racist blathering. Im all for freedom of speach but give me a break. Well you know what they say, “give them an inch, they take a yard, give them a yard……. they won’t cut it!”
Broncos1
September 27th, 2009
9:32 pm
Listen, all you misguided Falcon fans. You are all a part of a losing organization that has absolutely no tradition of great seasons or great players. Hell, one look at the rafters to see the few “semi-great” players’ jerseys this sorry team has retired has convinced this man that your Falcons will never, ever achieve any level of success. BTW, once your golden-boy Ryan retires, he will no doubt be regulated like Marino…great stats..zero SB wins..ha ha
Bug "Sperm" Killer is going to CRY :)
September 27th, 2009
9:33 pm
Hush little baby
don’t say a word
Matty Ice is gonna buy you a marking bird
If they don’t make it to the playoffs
He’ll buy you an ice ring
Extremus
September 27th, 2009
9:33 pm
The Falcons will be fine. Mike Smith will definitely be addressing the problems that occurred in today’s game, while no doubt Matt Ryan will be diving into game film because A) while young, he’s a student of the game, and B) he is mature enough to learn from his mistakes, and is constantly working to improve his game. This one hurt to watch, but I wouldn’t want to be the next team we play; these guys will come out prepared and have plenty of incentive to redeem themselves.
Giving credit where credit is due, the Patriots showed why they are widely regarded as the team of the decade; they managed to win (via ball control and limiting crucial mistakes) without a lot of things firing on all cylinders for them. While they may have peaked as an organization, I think it’s clear reports of their demise are greatly exaggerated.
As for the Falcons, “the process” continues. By the end of the year I do believe they will take their own place among the NFL’s elite teams, but for now they’re still young and overly prone to costly mistakes (especially the turnover bugaboo that also made the Carolina game much closer than it should have been). Truly great teams don’t tolerate that kind of sloppiness, and for now it’s definitely an issue. But as time passes, and as they mature and coalesce more and more on offense and defense, the Falcons will become the efficient, consistent machine they need to be to compete at the highest level. Over the next offseason or two I fully expect needs to be addressed that will truly make this team unmatched in depth on both sides of the ball. And then, just maybe, the Patriots will have to surrender their crown to a new team of the decade, the Atlanta Falcons of the 2010s.
Who knows? That crown may be passed come this year’s Superbowl. But for today, this young Falcons team was schooled in the ways of winning by a team who been there and done it. Good thing that, from our ownership to our front management to our coaching staff to the players, we can finally say we have an organization who will quickly learn from and apply those lessons.
They’ll be fine. Just give it a little more time.
darrell starks
September 27th, 2009
9:33 pm
Answer this ? COACH SMITH JAMAL ANDERSON IS NOT AND DEFENSE END AS WE CAN SEE BUT HE IS EXCELLENT AGAINST THE RUN WHY NOT MOVE HIM 2 DT IT ONLY MAKE SENSE.
GO FALCONS!!!!!!!!!
Zoomie
September 27th, 2009
9:35 pm
Whew! What a stinkfest!
The headline on the Falcons page said they “learned a lesson in control.” That’s a pretty nice way to put it. I was thinking more along the lines of they learned a lesson in being handled.
Ryan looked lost. Love the throw-aways on third down. That’s one way to move the chains, just throw the ball at ‘em! For the third game in a row, Turner didn’t get it done — and that’s now two critical fumbles in three games; very disturbing trend. Just some food (no pun intended) for thought, Mr. Burner: you can get to those holes a lot quicker if you’re not carrying Little Debbie with you . . .
Someone needs to double check the Falcons’ on-the-road packing list, because I believe the entire defense got left in Atlanta. Last week the ‘66 uniforms made it into the game; this week the ‘66 defense made it into the game. Pretty embarassing show by the defensive line. Is Peria Jerry really that good?
Of course, I can excuse DeCoud for dropping two footballs thrown right into his hands. Why should he catch ‘em if Brady’s own receivers won’t.
If this is what we have to look forward to when the Falcons face a real football team, it’s gonna be a long, disappointing season given their schedule. The worst part of all will be being b_tched by New Orleans twice. And that’s exactly what’s coming with the way this group has been playing.
If the Falcons had shown up, played some hard football, and just got beat in the end, I’d be pretty forgiving, but they showed up in New England and looked like a bunch of chumps. They looked just like my dog: they went down, rolled onto their backs, spread their legs and just conceded the Alpha position to the Patriots.
Sad.
horse 35
September 27th, 2009
9:36 pm
Enter your comments man when the saints beat the jets they will have a two game lead on the birds.
VickNow
September 27th, 2009
9:36 pm
The falcon management should have never run Vick off! He’s better than Ryan and will prove it with the Eagles. But, the falcons have never made many good decisions. Vick is the man—the Eagles will be making a Super Bowl run, with Vick running the wildcat at QB.
MATT WOULD WET HIS PANTS WITHOUT TURNER
September 27th, 2009
9:39 pm
Matt I think you need a diaper change because you STUNK the whole place up AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
darrell starks
September 27th, 2009
9:40 pm
STARTE FRONT FOUR JOHN ABRAHAM, JAMAL ANDERSON, JONATHAN BABINEAUX, LAWRENCE SIDBURY.
GO FALCONS!!!!!!!!
drmondo
September 27th, 2009
9:42 pm
I sat in the stands surrounded by NE fans and THEY thought the officials were horrible. I think the Falcons need to get the running game going again. On a day like today, where it drizzled for the whole game, Turner running strong could have won the game. They couldn’t eat up the clock. They didn’t control the line of scrimmage.
Mark, what kind of changes can we expect between now and our next game in 2 weeks? Biermann starting? A new DT? More power runs with Ovie leading? (By the way, I noticed Ovie was on the field for kickoff returns. When did that start?) I also saw them attempt a “wildcat” play with Ryan off to the left. Why not just remove him from the field if you’re going to run that. He’s no real decoy and there’s a good chance of getting hurt.
Peyton Manning
September 27th, 2009
9:42 pm
Don’t be comparing me to that loser!
Matt Ryan is a backup at best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
E.K.
September 27th, 2009
9:44 pm
Mark, im disapponited with our defense they didnt make enough plays, we really need playmakers on defense outside of the predator. Thomas Decoud is garbage he had to opportunity to get a INTs and he dropped both. playmakers on defense make those plays. he an ordinary player on our non-blitzing ordinary defense. they gotta play better than that if they want a winning season. our offensive playcalling was bad in that game. the falcons got alot of work to do if they want to go to the playoffs.
darrell starks
September 27th, 2009
9:44 pm
We have to make change up front and starte sidbury and move jamal to DT.
GO FALCONS!!!!!!
Mark Bradley
September 27th, 2009
9:46 pm
I think Sidbury might well get a long look over the next two weeks.
Mark Bradley
September 27th, 2009
9:47 pm
And I agree: The defense isn’t making plays. One forced turnover in two games; one sack in two games.
E.K.
September 27th, 2009
9:49 pm
Extremus – great point, i feel a little better bout the lost. but we left turnovers on that feild that couldve gave us opportunities on offense
give em an inch they take a yard give um a yard they wont cut it
September 27th, 2009
9:51 pm
Vick sucks and wont ever be good again that is if you can call what he was before good as far as qbs go ryan is the man turner has lost a step but well be fine thank god we got rid of vick he is a dumb qb with an overrated arm it may be strong but it aint going anywhere around an intended wr and falco is alright i mean hes no kevin kob or sennica wallace or colt brennan or alex smith but hes alright
hiramsaint
September 27th, 2009
9:51 pm
no really, what happened in the buffalo game?
Mark Bradley
September 27th, 2009
9:56 pm
The Saints beat Buffalo 27-7. Is that the question?
Tom Brady
September 27th, 2009
9:57 pm
Hey Folks,
Tom here in Foxboro. Thanks for a fun day. I’m going to get going though, as Giselle awaits.
Love Tom.
Go Red Soxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx!
Mark Bradley
September 27th, 2009
10:00 pm
Closing these comments for the night. I hate to do it, but we’re out of control again.
Mark Bradley
September 28th, 2009
7:26 am
Opening the comments again. Let’s try to keep this on a football level, shall we?
Atlanta Falcons Talk » Blog Archive » Is Turners Weight the issue?
September 30th, 2009
1:01 am
[...] Mark Bradley’s article from Monday was a pretty accurate description of what went down on Sunday. AJC [...]