Bradley's Buzz: Did Smitty coach scared in Foxborough?

JB

September 29th, 2009
7:23 am

that D of Atlanta is about 3-4 play makers away from being decent. They will beat most Average teams this year, and lose to the rest. Defense still wins championships.

Ronnie

September 29th, 2009
7:28 am

Yes, Coach Smith coached scared. Pressuring Brady should have been priority #1, and he could have anticipated the Patriots would try to run more after we had trouble against the Panthers the week before.

Smith also made game decisions that suggested he doesn’t understand how to give his team the best chance to win. We trailed the entire second half, and on our four second half possessions, we punted every time. How does that happen? Here they are.

Score 16-10. 7:00 in the 3rd quarter. Punt on 4th and 5 at the New England 38. (Bad punt by Koenen here, “pinning” the Patriots at their 15.)

Score 19-10. 13:20 in the 4th quarter. Punt on 4th and 7 at the Falcon 39.

Score 19-10. 11:05 in the 4th quarter. Punt on 4th and 3 at the Falcon 33. (This was a three and out, the plays being two Turner rushes and an incomplete to Marty Booker.)

Score 26-10. 7:02 in the 4th quarter. Punt on 4th and 4 at the Falcon 31. The Patriots got the ball and ran out the clock. Were we interested in trying to win? Would you punt in that situation in the Super Bowl? Heck no.

The head coach’s job is to make the decision that gives the team the best chance of victory, not to keep the score respectable. And when you’re trailing by two scores and the clock is running out, you HAVE to keep the ball. Smith showed the same defective thinking in that game in New Orleans last year, when he decided to punt on a 4th and 4 late in the game when we needed a touchdown to win. We never got the ball back.

I like Smith a lot, but he needs to work on his game management skills. He needs to consistently make the decisions that give the team the best chance to win.

Ronnie,a fan of Mark Bradley since the 1980s

rhynster

September 29th, 2009
7:28 am

Brady should have had far better numbers.

Seemed like there were many passes that should have been caught, but weren’t.

So, yeah, the running game ate us up.

But Brady would have done the same had the WRs been better.

The Falcons were lucky not to have been beaten far worse.

BL

September 29th, 2009
7:33 am

I was very worried when Jerry went down in the carolina game, and Sunday only confirmed my worries. We are just not “stout” up front without that big body in there, and we’re starting to show signs of last years soft line. LB play was good for the ost part, but I already miss Jerry!

Bob from Dahlonega

September 29th, 2009
7:41 am

The Pats know how to win

Bob from Dahlonega

September 29th, 2009
7:43 am

Ryan lacks the charisma of a Peyton Manning or Tom Brady he will always lose to those type guys. He lacks the fire of a jay cutler or phillip rivers. He is a less talented Eli Manning, boring and lame

oldbird

September 29th, 2009
7:48 am

At the start of the season I don’t think anyone really believed that the Birds would have any success in New England. If you’re being honest, I think most people chalked that one up as a loss even before it was played.

Then, as the game approached and Brady seemed human, people began to think a win in new england was possible.

Fact is, the birds are still very weak on defense. The coaches seemed to adopt a Willie Martinez “bend but don’t break” mentality which proved to be their undoing. I personally would have blitzed Brady more just to try to bust him up a bit. Isn’t that how the Jets got to him?

If you look at the passes Brady (and his receivers) narrowly missed connecting on, the score of this game could have been A LOT worse.

Take the loss, learn what you can about your team, spend the bye week worrying about how in hell you’re gonna stop New Orleans from winning the NFC South.

Bullwinkle

September 29th, 2009
7:57 am

And I thought Smitty panicked a tad when he challenged that fumble. Even if he couldn’t see a replay, as has been reported, you could tell he was overly emotional. Maybe he challenged more out of frustration than anything else.

Bank Walker, Texas Ranger

September 29th, 2009
8:00 am

I’ve seen teams that blitzed a got beat by a larger margin because plays were going for 38 yards instead of 8. You can’t blitz Brady. I agree Mark the ground game is what killed the Falcons and they don’t have the DT’s to stop it with Jerry hurt. Like Mike Vick always said, “you can’t take a weiner dog to a dog fight”

Bank Walker, Texas Ranger

September 29th, 2009
8:04 am

Bullwinkle, a “tad” panicked? I thought he was going to premature eject that red flag.

SimpleDawg

September 29th, 2009
8:05 am

I think the pivotal play of the game was early in the game when the Patriots went for a 4th and 1 on their own 24 yard line….Bellicose Bill showed such disdain for the Falcons defense and offense, that I believe it rattled the Falcon players and coaches, while infusing his team with such confidence that they felt invincible.

Game over.

horse 35

September 29th, 2009
8:06 am

Enter your comments here go bucs

The Unbiased Minority

September 29th, 2009
8:07 am

The Pats offense is still out of sync. Brady missed more throws than I’ve ever seen. Its going to take him at least 6 or 7 weeks to get fully confident in that plant foot. This was the best time to get the Patriots and the Falcons turtled. The play of the line is where this game was lost-not in the air or by the the zebras.

F-105 Thunderchief

September 29th, 2009
8:09 am

Well, here we are again at the daily hall-of-fame coaches convention. I’m in awe of the brilliance displayed here every day. Now, how many NFL wins have you guys earned again? I forget.

Bank Walker, Texas Ranger

September 29th, 2009
8:11 am

Same as you, 2 wins

The Unbiased Minority

September 29th, 2009
8:12 am

The Jets blitzed Brady on 80% of his attempts. The Pats were slow to go the run and still had a chance to tie the game on the final possession. A couple drops did them in. THey were on the road against a great defense and lost by 7. Rumors of a Patriot demise have been greatly exaggerated. Time will tell if this was a bad loss for the Falcons, but I fully believe that the Pats will beat Baltimore this week and will slowly begin resembling the team we thought they would be. By extension, this Atlanta team’s performance although uneven, will be better put into perspective.

Blue Fender

September 29th, 2009
8:13 am

I just pray that the shine hasn’t worn off this apple called CMS. It only takes a few bad games to undermine what has been built. Smith needs to show his team that he wants to win no matter what, not just keep the other team from beating them too badly. Nut up and take chances. What’s the worst thing that can happen, failure? We’re there already.

Get your heads straight and get ready for the 9ers. GO FALCONS!

lefty fielder

September 29th, 2009
8:14 am

See if you’ve heard this before . . . “Falcons showing blitz . . . (fill in the blank) is changing the play . . . Falcons blitz anyway . . . it gets picked up . . . pass complete to (fill in the blank).” Same thing over in Athens.

Big Ron26

September 29th, 2009
8:19 am

Pressure, Pressure, Pressure, they didn’t get it thats the ballgame I would have blitzed Brady all day the way he threw the ball it wasn’t great a little pressure he would have turned the ball over blitzing also would have helped them stop the Run and as far as the Run defense move J. Anderson to DT blitz more and if anyone notices the Defense misses a lot of tackles thats just me and final thing on the defense call me crazy but doesn’t John abraham starting to look and play his age he was no challenge on sunday the Tackle just pushed him along just no challenge and dont talk about Matt he played a good game just didnt get the ball enough the O-line is still great Ryan was never touched all game not worried about run game it will be there when we need it Offense isn’t the problem this and wont be for years to come its the defense that may cost us big time WE NEED A PASS RUSH!!!! Please use bye week to create pressure our season depends on it.

Huge Falcon Fan

September 29th, 2009
8:33 am

It always seems to me that when we are on offense, we seem timid and try to take what the defense gives us. Yet when we are on defense, we seem to play the same way. We never seem to attack on offense or defense. I’ve followed the Falcons since 66, and had many heartbreaks after games, but I’d rather go down fighting than play like we did Sunday.

Good Grief

September 29th, 2009
8:34 am

I only recall one decision that I felt Mike went soft on us and showed no guts. Midway through the third quarter we had the ball on their side of the field. It was 4 & 3 or 4 & 4 and coach decided to play for field position in a time where we were carving them up on defense. The next drive Bill decided to go for two 4th downs on offense and converted both of them and got a field goal out of the drive to go up 6. That was the killer right there, and then later on in the game he had another opportunity to go for it on fourth down and didn’t bother to go for it, but it was to late by then.

It was just surprising because last year Mike went for it on fourth down several times. I understand the concept of we’re on the road, but we were in position to take the lead in a game that was more like a shootout without all the td’s. Game could have easily had a final score of something like 40 – 30 if either team converted because both teams when they had the ball was able to move it offensively with ease.

midnite

September 29th, 2009
8:37 am

That was poor officiating at it’s best. Jenkins was robbed on the offensive pass interference. If Turner doesn’t fumble we still have the momentum. It was not the best performance, but those two plays could have made a huge difference. Light held Abe on every down, which is good football if it’s not called.

We went to Foxboro and faced a pi$$ed off Patriots team and simply got our a$$ handed to us. I mean we’re talking Brady and Belichick for crying out loud.

Was anyone expecting us to run the table this year?

William

September 29th, 2009
8:37 am

It sure looked like poor coaching to me. Of course as long as analysts decides how to play the game, we are going to have games like the one against NE. The book says you must punt on 4th down. Wow, NE did not! I guess playing by the book allows you to lose with dignity. I mean it is better to lose by 3 than 33. I guess if you lose by 3 you receive a smaller L in the loser column. I was hoping Smith had gonads but until you get mad dog mean, the only teams will be NE, Pitt, COLTS, Bears, and Eagles. I mean that is all you see on the NFL network. Atlanta can change things around. I am a believer it is a team effort and not just a one man superstar like the analysts talk about everyday.
I agrees with those who say defense wins championships but the Falcons are loaded on offense too. Someone tell Smith we like winners and dont give a hoot about losers.

JB Wright

September 29th, 2009
8:39 am

Enter your comments here
To F-105 Thunderchief, with your logic, only people of the same vocation are qualified to comment on anything? What, because I’ve never been a line cook I can’t say my eggs were over-cooked? Shut up!

Dean

September 29th, 2009
8:41 am

After watching Mora’s rant after Seattle’s loss, I got on my knees and praised the Heavens for our coaching staff. Everybody in ATL is going through “The Process”.

DandyD

September 29th, 2009
8:44 am

Big Ron, good points, but how ’bout throwin’ in a period or a comma every now and then so I can follow your thought without gettin’ dizzy. Anyway, the SF game looms huge as to gauging how this TEAM makes not only mid-game adjustments, but mid-SEASON adjustments based on everything that obviously needs tinkering and fine-tuning, i.e. defense, rush-offense, coach-management. If we skunk in SF, be afraid…be very afraid…

JT

September 29th, 2009
8:46 am

Mr.Bradley. Can you please explain to me why is everyone panicking after 1 loss. My goodness, we are still 2-1. Let the professionals coach the team. If the people on these blogs were so talented and had the answer to the Falcons winning, TD would hire them instead of Mike Smith with actual experience. I too am disappointed that they lost but lets move on and focus on the next game. The niners are a different team with different personnel. What happened at NE means nothing in SF. Lets support the team instead of criticize every move they make. In the NFC there are only 3 teams that are 3 and 0 and a handful of 2-1 teams and we are one of them. If the season ended today we would be in the playoffs. Relax people and enjoy and support you team. They need their fans. The players play better when the fans are behind them instead of scrutinizing every play.

Grady Jackson Fan

September 29th, 2009
8:47 am

Go for it on fourth down on your 23 yard line, like the Patriots did. That was pretty desperate to me.

PMC

September 29th, 2009
8:51 am

Yes, offensively they punted in the 4th far too often. They don’t have corners who can really play without a little PI going on.

On defense. RIDICULOUS! They brought safeties, they brought corners, they brought linebackers… the Pats line held firm and they ran the ball at will. The Falcons don’t have much talent at all in the secondary and they are very very very thin on the defensive line. THEY HAVE TO PLAY ZONE to have a chance to win. The Falcon defense was stopping their offense and holding them to field goals. They CAN’T bring pressure all the time because they don’t have the talent on the edges to compete with Randy Moss and company one on one all day long.

The defense was fine. The offense was freaking garbage. The Turner fumble and the lack of confidence in the offense to convert 4th downs late… cost them the game.

DandyD

September 29th, 2009
8:52 am

No one is panicking,but in supporting your team you want to offer what you may think is constructive criticism, even if it’s from the position of armchair quarterback. That, by definition, is the job description of an armchair QB. Where’s Sidbury? Maybe if we get together a petition, Smitty will throw him in the fray…(just wishful thinkin’…)

PMC

September 29th, 2009
8:54 am

Jamaal Anderson not only kills the Falcons by being on of the worst draft picks in the history of the Franchise… they stop them on 3rd down on their first drive and he gets the softest P**** tap for a personal foul ever…. and HE STARTS FOR THIS TEAM…. that tells you just how horribly thin they are on the DL. Pressure? We’re lucky if they can stop the run. We’re lucky we are so much better than we have been of late at linebacker. BVG is calling the plays he thinks they can execute. When he called secondary blitzes…they didn’t make it to the QB.

The Unbiased Minority

September 29th, 2009
8:55 am

Grady Jackson Fan
September 29th, 2009
8:47 am

‘Go for it on fourth down on your 23 yard line, like the Patriots did. That was pretty desperate to me.’

Or the act of a man that has the the cache of 3 rings and balls the size of the one Atlas has on his shoulders. Not only did that energize the Pats, it showed how confident the Pats were in Atlanta’s inability to stop the run; even with advance notice.

pd

September 29th, 2009
8:55 am

Whether or not you are able to get pressure on a qb consistently is not the point. On at least one play, and it has to be early in the game, you absolutely, positively, have to lay a big hit on the QB. Even if the blitz burns you and the RB picks up big yardage, the QB MUST be pulling grass out of his helmut one time. Falcons failed to do that and Brady rightfully felt that he had all day to throw the ball.

I think that the loss of Parade Jerry is going to sting all year.

The Unbiased Minority

September 29th, 2009
8:56 am

Enter your comments here

Chef montuer

September 29th, 2009
8:58 am

Enter your comments hereThe Falcons are playing for 2nd place in the division. Saints will trample them

coastaljim

September 29th, 2009
9:13 am

We did blitz periodically, but the Patriots picked up every one of them. I sometimes wonder if BVG has even heard of the term stunt.

I have no problem with the offensive pass interference call on Jenkins. If Randy Moss had done the same thing, I would have been screaming for a flag.

Why did we keep punting in the fourth quarter when we were down two scores?? I understand it was in our end of the field, but a loss is a loss. We should have rolled the dice and gone for it!!

LutherVan

September 29th, 2009
9:17 am

The falcons have too many gaps on D to be a contender. They’ll likely miss the playoffs.

Reid Adair

September 29th, 2009
9:19 am

I tend to agree with your assessment, Mark. The Patriots’ success running the ball on Sunday was far more important to their victory than Brady’s somewhat average passing performance.

garcia

September 29th, 2009
9:29 am

Just a few random points:

1 We can not put pressure on the QB with our four man rush. That is not unusual, many teams employ elaborate blitz packages to get to the QB. The teams that take that aggressive approach have CB’s that can cover WR’s man-to-man. Do we have such CB’s on the roster? Houston plays with his back to the ball and Grimes (despite great effort) can not overcome his lack of size.
Until we play CB’s that can handle man-to-man coverage, we will not see opposing QB’s hurried. And, we will continue to see third and long’s converted against us. Williams looks pretty good and we are all curious to see what Hill can do. Let’s see what Smith does during the bye.

2 Tony Gonzalez is the most feared and respected offensive player on this team. The Pats assigned two, sometimes three, defenders to him every play. Drawing so much attention, why didn’t we take advantage of the favorable matchups? White and Jenkins got single coverage. Turner did not face eight in the box. And, the experienced duo of Booker and Finn should have been open all day long.
So, why didn’t we capitalize on the Gonzo effect? Ryan made the right reads and he was accurate. We simply did not run the ball. Nineteen rushing attempts will not get it done.

3 Thomas DeCoud is getting some grief for missing the interceptions. Personally, I like the fact that a virtual rookie FS was in the right place at the right time. I think that DeCoud will turn out to be a heck of a good FS for many years. The interceptions will come. If you want to find the problem, you won’t find it in the deep patrol.

4 What happened to our interior OL? I get that Blalock might be better in pass protection than run blocking. I can excuse that because he protects Ryan’s blind side. McClure may not be a guy that can push the pile backwards, but he knows the game and makes all the calls. That leaves the RG position. If we are going to be a run oriented offense, we absolutely need a RG that we can ride. What about Dahl? He has the rep for being a nasty guy. Why can’t he put his nastiness to good use? We should be able to give the ball to Turner and Snelling and run four yards behind our RG. That ain’t happening.
Once Vince Wilfork left the game with an ankle injury, I figured that we were going to run right up NE’s gut. Not so. Something is wrong and we need to fix it quickly.

5 Smith said that our DL did not control their gaps. Watching the game, I was amazed at how our interior DL seemed to be pushed off the ball and to the side. Running lanes were not only open, they were big enough to install toll booths. Hopefully, Trey Lewis will get his feet back soon. If not, we are going to have to go shopping for a DT. I hear that there is a DT in Jax that may not be entirely happy with his coach.

6 Finally, although I have plenty of gripes, we should all realize that this team is still on the rise. We have an excellent coaching staff, a gifted talent evaluator, a franchise QB, and several quality foundation-type players on both sides of the ball. We have the makings of a very strong franchise. Patience will be required.

Gravy Train

September 29th, 2009
9:30 am

This game was yet another example of what you get with a defense that can’t generate pressure with the front four. It doesn’t look like BVG has the same kind of talent pool he had while at UGA. I maintain that BVG is not so great without Pollack, Davis, and Sullivan type guys. If the Pats receivers didn’t have a case of the dropsies the final score would’ve been much worse.

The most glaring weakness to me, was that nobody on the Falcons offense stepped up. White and Jenkins were in very favorable coverages because the Pats chose to focus on Turner and Gonzalez. Where were they? Why didn’t Ryan take a deep shot with one of those guys?

Joseph

September 29th, 2009
9:30 am

Take away the questionable calls, and there were many made by the refs, the Falcons may have even pulled out a victory in NE while playing scared. We saw the problems, but we also saw a team on the edge of being pretty darn good IF they can be little more agressive.

garcia

September 29th, 2009
9:33 am

One more thing. If a level headed coach decides to go for it on fourth down (at his own 25 yard line and early in the game), then there is little respect for your defense. That one play, more than any other, should be burning Smith for some time.

FALCONS SORRY

September 29th, 2009
9:50 am

MARK BRADLY! YEAH! YOU BETTER BELEAVE THAT COACH SMITTY WAS SCARRED ON SUNDAY IN NEW ENGLAND! HE WAS SCARRED OF THE PATROTS BEING A BETTER TEAM WITH BETTER PLAYERS AND A BETTER QB AND A BETTER DEFENCE THAT IS OWN BY AN OWNER WHO AINT TOO CHEAP TO PUT A DECENT TEAM ON THE FIELD! SMITTY WAS SCARRED IF HIS WEAK ARM QB MIGHT BRAKE A NAIL! SMITTY WAS SCARRED THAT HIS SWISS CHEESE DEFENCE THAT AUTHUR BLANK GOT AT THE 1 DOLLAR STORE WOULD GET RUN OVER! AND THEY DID! SMITTY WAS SCARRED THAT HE DIDNT HAVE ENOUGH LIFE INSURANCE ON TURNER BURNER WHO IS DEAD TIRED FROM HAVING TO CARRY THIS TEAM ALL SEASON! A TEAM LIKE THE EAGELS AINT AFRAID TO SPEND GOOD MONEY ON TALENT WHEN THEY SEE IT! THEY AINT TOO CHEAP TO PAY TOP DOLLAR FOR THE BEST BACKUP SOON TO BE STARTING QB IN THE ENTIRE NFL! GET READY PEOPLE! GET YOUR TRAIN TICKETS TODAY! THE #7 SUPPER BOWL EXPRESS TRAIN IS LOADING IN PHILY AND IS GETTING READY TO MAKE ITS NON STOP WAY TO MIAMI! STRAIGHT THREW THE ATL ON ITS WAY! CHOO CHOO AUTHUR BLANK! CHOO! CHOO!

Falcon Sam

September 29th, 2009
9:55 am

The Falcons play well from a lead, but seem to have no clue how to play from behind. How they could not prepare for the run on any week in the NFL is inexcusable. The gaping holes that we saw are poor coaching. Let’s see how Mike and Brian adjust, though. Maybe they will have learned a lesson at a time when it won’t kill the season.

W Wallace

September 29th, 2009
9:59 am

I think it is time to roll the dice and trade Redman for a first round draft choice. We should draft another DT with the additional first round pick.

W Wallace

September 29th, 2009
10:02 am

I’ve never seen a game where O-Linemen were allowed to bearhug D-Linemen, and grab the back of the jersey with both hands, so that the D-Linemen could not get away.

AlternateReality

September 29th, 2009
10:04 am

I don’t think Smitty coached scared, per se. Overly cautious maybe.

Regarding the defensive pressure, if you don’t have faith in your CBs in man coverage, do you really want to create a situation where, for example, Moss is isolated against Grimes with no help? I realize there are various blitz schemes that they could have used, but I think they were trying to contain the Pats, and they actually did a pretty good job. Better run defense would have helped, but the Pats took what we gave them and simply held on to the ball.

I was pretty upset about the punt in the 3rd quarter, from the Pats 38. I know that last year Smitty wouldn’t have punted there; then again we didn’t have anything to lose last year. Also the last punt, when we were down 16. It looked like he had thrown in the towel and was trying to get through the game without anyone getting hurt by that point.

Finally, an earlier poster made a point about Ryan making the correct reads. It seemed to me that he was dumping the ball way too quickly, taking the short open receiver instead of attacking the D. As several on this board have noted, if they were doubling or tripling TG, one of the WRs should have been open.

W Wallace

September 29th, 2009
10:07 am

As the QBs drop out of the picture, and coaches want to keep their jobs, then is value will increase. Pennington is probably done; maybe a second round.

I need to be stimulated

September 29th, 2009
10:10 am

No need to panic.

No one expected us to win them all.
Coach was fine although the defensive line needs some work.

We have 13 games left.

Win seven of those and we have our first back to back winning season ever.

The process continues.

Don’t panic.

JIMBOB

September 29th, 2009
10:10 am

Greg Easterbrook on ESPN harps on the fact that college and NFL coaches punt WAAAY too often. They ignore the percentages and likelihoods and coach like cowards that do now want to be blamed with failing to make a 4th and whatever.

Offensive play-calling went down the toilet and the Falcons needed to go for it on those 4th downs. He did not coach to win, and he put the defense in a tough spot by keeping them on the field for 40 minutes.

It was a huge dud of a game, it’s good they have 2 weeks to study it, and get ready for the next one.

Clemson Kid

September 29th, 2009
10:11 am

I think the coaching staff should hold classes on how to tackle. You know the old fashioned hit and wrap up kind, not this hit the ball carrier with a shoulder and hope he goes down type of junk you see now.

F-105 Thunderchief

September 29th, 2009
10:12 am

I think we should trade John Parker Wilson for two first-round draft choices, Albert Haynesworth and Darren McFadden.

SWAMI

September 29th, 2009
10:18 am

Apparently the plan was not to blitz much. OK fine. But after awhile it was quite clear that “not” blitzing was “not” working. Then you had Brady having a total meltdown on the sidelines. Time to BLITZ ya think? DOH!!!

I think that the biggest weakness of the Falcons was exposed in this game: The Falcons coaches either don’t know how to or are unwilling to ADAPT. “SURVIVE AND ADAPT”. Atlanta’s coaches are stuck on “survive”.

Yeah. He coached like a little girl.

John

September 29th, 2009
10:20 am

Call it game plan, or skill; the reason the Falcons lost this game was they were never in control of the line of scrimage. They were beat in the trenchs. I trust that Smitty will correct the problem.

SHOULD HAVE DRAFTED FLACCO

September 29th, 2009
10:23 am

Week Three power rankings
Posted by Mike Florio on September 29, 2009 9:13 AM ET
1. New York Giants (Last week: 1). In the same week that Plaxico was locked up, the Giants proved that they don’t need a high-end wideout if their defense will be giving up zero points.

2. Indianapolis Colts (Last week: 2). With all due respect to everyone in the organization not named Peyton Manning, there’s only one guy in Indy punching the clock who’s indispensable. And as long as he’s around, the Colts will be a contender.

3. Baltimore Ravens (Last week: 3). The guy who looks like Bert from Sesame Street is suddenly making opponents feel like they live in a trash can.

4. Minnesota Vikings (Last week: 4). The only schism currently in Minnesota involves the folks who want to book their Super Bowl-week hotel rooms now and those who want to wait. Until November.

5. New Orleans Saints (Last week: 7). When the best player on a good team has a bad day and the team still wins, it’s a bad sign. For every other team on the schedule.

6. New York Jets (Last week: 10). We’d hate to see how well Mark Sanchez would be playing right now if he’d actually been ready to leave USC.

7. San Diego Chargers (Last week: 6). If they suffer many more injuries, they might have to borrow some players from San Diego State.

8. New England Patriots (Last week: 8). The Pats went a long way toward quieting the critics with a 16-point thrashing of the Falcons. Lose to the Ravens, and the critics will be back.

9. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last week: 5). Safety Troy Polamalu has shown that he’s the most important player on the team, by not playing.

10. Atlanta Falcons (Last week: 9). The Falcons had a chance to make a statement against the Patriots. Unfortunately, the statement was, “We’re not yet ready to beat the Patriots.”

“Instead of drafting a WINNER you have a big WEENER”

Falcon 4 Life

September 29th, 2009
10:26 am

The reason we lost this game was because we didn’t go for it on 4th down. Mike Smith knew that the defense was not doing their job, but he thought giving the ball back to Brady that they will eventually wake up. This defense played on their heels the entire game and it scares me to think about the remainder of the season. I guess I should of waited on purchasing season tickets, because we are headed to a loosing season with that type of performance.

Truly a Concern Fan

Falcons Whining Stop Your Crying.....Boo....Hoo...Hoo

September 29th, 2009
10:31 am

I guess you cry babies didn’t see the missed called when Moss was grabbed and held with 2 refs standing right there. If he wasn’t held, that was a touch down.

Stop your whining and do like all good teams do when they lose – analyze the qb performance. Unless of course he can do no wrong because of his eye color.

AlternateReality

September 29th, 2009
10:35 am

Posting repeatedly under different names doesn’t hide the fact that you hate Ryan, but he was probably about 10th on the list of reasons we lost the game.

PJ.

September 29th, 2009
10:37 am

I like Coach Smith, but I must admit that I had reservations when he was hired, and this was based entirely on that playoff game against the Patriots when he was the DC in Jacksonville and the Jaguars had a stout D. My perception of him changed after last year, but in this game I saw the same old Mike Smith. The Jets show us one week earlier that you have to hurry Brady, who is still not back to his comfort level as a top QB. but we did not follow that lead, neither did we improve the run defence after Carolina exposed it the week earlier. I am still in support of my Falcons, but I am not feeling as good about our chances this year as I was last year, despite the acquisition of TG. however I hope they prove me wrong. To punt on those occasions when we were trailing is unforgiveable, and to me was worse than what coach Kiffin did against the Gators. It is time we move JA 98 out of the defensive end rotation and into the defensive tackle rotation. Bierman, Sidbury, Davis and Abraham should do for now.

Stat Checker

September 29th, 2009
10:38 am

Matt Ryan’s Career Road Record:

3-6

See a pattern?

Zorro

September 29th, 2009
10:38 am

Where are you Vick Supporter? Get on line and tell us about the great game ‘Mad Dog’ Mike had on Sunday. That goes for you too Falcons Sorry. If they made hats to fit brains, you guys would be wearing peanut hulls. Falcons Sorry (you got the second part right) doesn’t have enough intelligence to know how to turn off the caps lock on his computer. This fool doesn’t even know the difference between ’scarred’ and scared and like VS is long on mouth and short on brains.

Vick Supporter

September 29th, 2009
10:39 am

If you have a QB who can’t/won’t stretch the field, you lose.

Ryan is a good QB, but he’s heading towards being an improved Chad Pennington. And no, I’m not bashing Ryan because I’m a Vick fan. We all saw the game. After 3 games and your longest pass is 27 yards?!?!?

Looks like the term I coined “Noodle Arm” is starting to stick. I’ve noticed that the term has been used numerous times on these blogs.

I should change my username to “The Innovator”.

“The Great Mike Vick Has Returned”

Go Eagles

Fancy Leotard

September 29th, 2009
10:41 am

I like your article. What is up with Turner? I was hoping he would have a big game…duh, but he looks like hes just gotten up from a meal at The Feed Mill the way he’s running. IS this the man that wrecked the buffet at the Harrow club?

Vick Supporter

September 29th, 2009
10:42 am

@Zorro

Lol…don’t get angry, my caucasian friend

“Vick will shine again”

Freddie G

September 29th, 2009
10:43 am

Let the comparison between Ryan and Flaco begin. I like Matt Ryan and I am a Falcon fan, but I strongly believe that Flaco is the better QB. I am not saying so because of this game because Matt did nothing that caused us to lose the game, I just watched both of them in the first two games, and believe Flaco throws a better ball. He has a stronger arm and is more accurate. Mark what do you think?

Birdy

September 29th, 2009
10:44 am

Coach Smith and Brian Van Gorder are standing first in line to receive the “Risk-Free NFL Championship Trophy.” I can’t wait to see it placed gently in their outstretched hands.

Birdy

September 29th, 2009
10:47 am

Oh, and I might add: I’m sure Bill Belichick or Mike Tomlin will be the one presenting them the “Risk-Free” trophy.

PJ

September 29th, 2009
10:50 am

Our record at 2-1 is very good and we lost to a good team on the road. Having said that I must say that our coaching staff had a bad day as well; not since coming here have I seen our Offensive Coordinator have such a bad game. Coach Smith did not coach as if he was trying to win, but rather to keep the Pat’sscore down. Hope the Coaches and the D will do a better Job in San Fran.

SHOULD HAVE DRAFTED FLACCO

September 29th, 2009
10:50 am

Watch what Flacco does to the Patriots this week!!!!!!!!!!

Vick Supporter

September 29th, 2009
10:51 am

LMAO!!!!! Look at the Falcon “FANS”…….Turning on M.Turner already. You people were kissing his ass last year….he doesn’t produce (QB can’t stretch the field) and it’s not officially Turner’s fault,lol.

What a loser fan base….

Did Vick F up? Absolutely…..you STILL don’t have a player that was better/talented than him.

i have no idea if the game was shown nationally in the states…I had to watch the game at a later date here in Okinawa…but I was definately not impressed.

I SAY AGAIN…I THINK RYAN IS A GOOD QB…..but his ceiling is only so high. Once they put the double team on Tony and turned Roddy into what he really is..A POSSESION RECIEVER BEING PAID MILLIONS,LOL….Ryan was lost. i think we are all smart enough to read facial expressions….Ryan was confused…..we all saw it. And now, all of a sudden, M.Turner is fat?!? What else can you come up with!!! He was the savior last year, and now he gets bashed,lol.

Same ol’ Falcon fans. The funny thing is…Vick will rise again…and people that really know football know it. Yeah….Vick f-ed it up here and got in trouble, and he deserved SOME jail time….but he will shine again. You people know it

“The Great Mike Vick Has Returned”

PJ

September 29th, 2009
10:56 am

Mark what you think of our Draft class this year? with Jerry gone for the year after playing in only two games, and none of the others making any contribution worth noting, this looked like a Jerry Glanville, or Swamp Fox Draft.

James Earl Jones

September 29th, 2009
10:56 am

DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vick Supporter is laying down the TRUTH!!!!!!!!!

The Falcons “fans” are SILENCED!!! LMAO

Birdy

September 29th, 2009
10:57 am

I guess my point is, we here in Atlanta have never won much on the NFL stage so we are OK if we go down swinging.

Coach: You’ve done a good job resurrectingthe franchise. You’ve brought professionalism and hope to us.

But when next you get on the big stage, GO FOR IT. GET AFTER THEM. LEAVE NO BULLETS IN THE ‘GUN’.

Make us proud that you’re going to go down to someone “great,” GO DOWN SWINGING.

Thanks,

Your friend Birdy

Vick Supporter

September 29th, 2009
10:57 am

Peria Jerry, LMAO…

The Falcons hopes rely on Peria Jerry, lmao..

Man I have tears in my eyes from laughing so hard

SHOULD HAVE DRAFTED FLACCO

September 29th, 2009
11:02 am

Michael Turner is the same player he was last year. The only difference is that teams know if they stop Turner – they stop the Falcons because the quarterback has no down field ability.

They they signed Tony (hall of famer) Gonzalez because they thought that would be the cure for the redzone FAILURES, but like I have said all alone, the tight ends were not the problem, because it’s the qb’s responsibility to deliver the ball.

Turner is going to get injured this season because teams will stack the line because they don’t have to worry about getting burnt deep.

When you have a career (regular season) record of 3-6 and an 0-1 in the playoffs, who’s fault were those losses?

Birdy

September 29th, 2009
11:03 am

I meant “IF” you are going to go down against someone “great”…

dbird1

September 29th, 2009
11:07 am

How many back to back winning seasons did Vick produce? None. thats what i thought.

SirReal

September 29th, 2009
11:08 am

We cant condemn the D based on one performance ON THE ROAD w/ a YOUNG D overall. Just a couple weeks ago we talked about how good we’ve become. I do agree that we need more pass rush but our problem lies with the team as a whole from coahing on down…..everyone is responsible in one way or another. We’ll get it together….the season is still far from over.

Dr. King's Legacy

September 29th, 2009
11:10 am

Vick Supporter = Poor Content of Character

=======================

“Vick Supporter” is genuinely disliked and even hated by fellow bloggers for being a rude, obnoxious person with little class and poor character, NOT because of any superficial reasons.

In contrast, Coach Smith coached rather poorly on Sunday but still is still held in high regard for how he elects to conduct himself and how he treats all of those around him.

Vick Supporter

September 29th, 2009
11:15 am

@dbird1

Are you putting the entire blame on Vick?

I though it was a team sport….that’s what I see on these blogs all the time it seems….”We win as a team without Vick”….an exact quote from the “fans” on here. OH!!! here’s another one….”We’re a team now…we don’t depend on one player anymore”…PFFFFFFFFFFF…

Falcons fans are a bunch of bandwagon flip-floppers. You love your players (especially Ryan…you won’t EVER turn on him) yet you turn on the MVP of the team..Mike Turner. The comments that are made on these blogs proves that you people don’t know how to support a team….the only reason why I don’t support getting rid of pro teams here is because I like to go to the games (not falcons game..only HAWKS games).

“Vick will shine again”

vafalconfan

September 29th, 2009
11:15 am

If anything what I have learned since Smitty arrived is when things go wrong they correct it. Look at how they shored up the DB situation just before the start of the season. Having said that the next few games will give us a good idea of what kind of year we will have. The score last Sunday could have easily been 48-10. We were out-coached and out schemed for sure..Now let’s see how they adjust.

JIMBOB

September 29th, 2009
11:19 am

Considering that Turner has already had two crucial drive-killing fumbles, and appears to be fatter and slower than last season, people have not turned on him all that much.

dbird1

September 29th, 2009
11:23 am

Vick Supporter,

I recall many games that our ex-qb lost for us. because he had no accuracy. he was one of the most exciting guys to watch..but he got man-handled when the d stopped the run(check out almost any game against your favorite team the eagles). and no we have not turned our back on Turner. the O- line needs to step it up. stop making this a race thing. thank your boy
vick for destroying our 2007 season.

Vick Supporter

September 29th, 2009
11:23 am

@Dr. King’s Legacy

Let me figure this out….. since I’m not on the Ryan bandwagon and I support Vick..ON AN OPEN FORUM where people can express there opinions…..I have “Poor Content of Character”?!?!?

how dare you even drage Dr.King’s name into a FOOTBALL FORUM. Read my posts, woman, I haven’t one thing about race or have been racial towards anyone.

You deserve to be banned from this site…as a matter of fact..I won’t entertain your rediculous thought/comments. You’re not worth the time or effort

SHOULD HAVE DRAFTED FLACCO

September 29th, 2009
11:26 am

dbird1

How many Falcons qbs have won a playoff game since 1998?

AlternateReality

September 29th, 2009
11:27 am

In the first exhibition game, Turner had a nice long run, and after he broke through the hole no one could catch him. He sure didn’t look slow then. I think the problem is that he’s tip-toeing around waiting for a hole to open, and the holes haven’t been there often enough.

And I’ll repeat something I’ve said before – last year Turner had a lot of carries for little or no gain, then would pop off 1 or 2 long runs per game. More touches equals more chances to break the big one. Against NE, he didn’t get enough touches because we couldn’t get the ball back in the second half.

Vick Supporter

September 29th, 2009
11:28 am

JIMBOB: “Considering that Turner has already had two crucial drive-killing fumbles, and appears to be fatter and slower than last season, people have not turned on him all that much.”

Bruh….he looks the same as last year to me…neither of us gets on the scale with him or lift weights with him in the offseason. Your comment just proves my point….you people do not support your team in bad times…especially……nevermind….I still find it funny that I see hardly any negative Ryan comments on here.

Mark Bradley…I don’t know if you like me to much on these blogs..but I really like your articles. keep it up…and thanks for allowing people that aren’t drinking Ryan’s kool-aid to have there say.

SHOULD HAVE DRAFTED FLACCO

September 29th, 2009
11:31 am

I guess after this Sunday, when the Ravens play the same Patriots team, it will be settled if it was a qb problem.

We will also witness if the Falcons drafted the WRONG quarterback!

Don’t make up excuses when the Ravens whip the Patriots.

Remember “the defense does not play offense” so that excuse is worn out

Tymar

September 29th, 2009
11:31 am

Vick Supporter !

Please, Oh, Please tell us all some more about how much “better” you are than the rest of us and how much more money you make than all of us in your big, high paying, Affirmative Action-given IT job with Crisco.

ROTFLMAO !!!!!!

cajdawg

September 29th, 2009
11:35 am

Too much is being made over one loss. I am worried about the following themes that I have seen over the first three games:

1)Michael Turner isn’t hitting the line of scrimmage with explosion. I don’t know why? Is he injured? Is he 10-15 pounds heavier than last year? Is the Oline not opening up holes?

2)Run defense. Dline made up of pu….s. Gap control? F… gap control. If we would draft Dlinemen with some size they wouldn’t get tossed around like rag dolls. We drafted a 6′ 2″ 290 pound Jerry at D tackle. Most teams start ends at that size.

Stat Checker

September 29th, 2009
11:35 am

QUARTERBACK PLAY DURING 2002-2006:

-1 Division Title

-2 Playoff appearances

-2 Playoff wins

-1 Championship game appearance

-3 Pro Bowl selections

-1 MVP finalist selection

-0 1 and done playoff appearances

FOR THE RECORD.

Vick Supporter

September 29th, 2009
11:37 am

@dbird1

How am I making this a “race thing” by stating my opinion? Please copy and pace one thing that I have said that’s racist. I would love to see it. Also, wasn’t the O-line one of the Falcon strong points (according to the bloggers on here) last year? When I brought up the O-line and Vick in the same sentence, I was “racist” and you people BRAGGED about how GREAT the O-line was with Ryan at QB. Cmon man…let’s be honest here. All of the Falcon fans loved the O-line, and Turner, and now it’s a problem? You “fans” are flip-floppers …..you syay that Vick fans are racist and only support Vick because he’s black, yet our stance hasn’t changed…We’ve supported Vick the whole time…yet when things go wrong for the Falcons…you find someone to blame…..and what a coincidence…its NEVER Matty “Ice”. Its never his fault…EVER…just like I’ve always said

dbird1

September 29th, 2009
11:38 am

true on the playoff wins. can’t argue with that. time to Vick debate to bed. He’s gone..forever. True Falcon fans have moved on. As far a Flacco. If you have a top 3 defence that gives you the ball on the opponents side then it is pretty easy to win games. flacco is good w/ a good team.

Absolute

September 29th, 2009
11:38 am

Not sure how this turned into a Ryan vs Vick thing but I agree Smitty was outcoached Sunday. I am sure he will right whatever is wrong and we will come out differently against SF. Vick won’t be an Eagle after this season so it won’t matter what Eagle fans say about him this year. He wants to be a starter and will be for some team next season.

Vick Supporter

September 29th, 2009
11:39 am

@Tymar

Is that all you got?!?!?? Copying off some other lame ass dude? Be original… You’re lame, woman. Crisco,lol…..keep it coming woman

Just Curious

September 29th, 2009
11:40 am

Tymar

What does a blogger’s income have to do with the Falcons problems?

You are just showing your racism and stupidity.

JIMBOB

September 29th, 2009
11:40 am

Turner looks like he’s carrying more fat on his butt. But it is hard to detect on his physique. He’s definitely tip-toeing a bit more. The fumbles are the killer, and the most recent one came from a pretty average NFL hit, was not like someone got a perfect shoulder on the ball.

Ryan: his armstrength is probably mid-range by NFL standards, plenty strong enough, much stronger than Pennington’s. Not sure what role he has in playcalling, but the playcalling last week stunk. On the long bombs, he does tend to hold it a bit too long, but this will probably work itself out. Montana and Steve Young showed that you don’t need the strongest arm in the NFL.

I think we need to cut him loose a bit, have some games where he throws it 40-50 times. The running game is okay, but not looking as great as most were anticipating.

AlternateReality

September 29th, 2009
11:43 am

Is being outcoached by Belicheck a sin? Is it even a rarity? I think he pretty much outcoaches 99% of the coaches in the league.

Just Curious

September 29th, 2009
11:44 am

dbird1

Prior to last week, the Ravens were ranked 17th in defense.

Regardless if the team’s defense was ranked number 1 or number 32, if your quarterback can’t move the sticks, that defense will be useless.

Flacco has games of 308 & 342 yards and 6 touchdowns. Ryan has not passed for 300 yards this season.

Vick Supporter

September 29th, 2009
11:45 am

Also, Tymar.

I’ve never once metioned my income on here. Like said…be original…quit riding other lame’s coatails trying to be funny,lol.

You must lack confidence in yourself….even with everyone attacking me on here for being a Vick fan…I’ve NEVER changed my stance…and I still give Ryan the props he deserves…..a good, but can’t carry a team QB. I say AGAIN….I do think that Ryan is a good QB….my opinion is that Vick is better/can be better. Ryan is better than Vick right now…we all know that…and he should be…but in the long run….the best will show..and we all know it will be Vick

SHOULD HAVE DRAFTED FLACCO

September 29th, 2009
11:49 am

Flacco vs Brady

Ryan vs Brady….oops we already know how that turned out

SHOULD HAVE DRAFTED FLACCO

September 29th, 2009
11:50 am

Has anyone seen the idiot “YUP” “WHAT UP” “WHAT”. He feels so stupid that he can’t show his COWARD face now

dbird1

September 29th, 2009
11:53 am

who ever is in love with Vick or Flacco. go to their blogs and you can gush over them with their fans. this is for Falcons fans. done

Vick Supporter

September 29th, 2009
11:57 am

JIMBOB—

At least you have the balls to admit that Ryan’s arm strenth is sub-standard. You’re also right that Ryan holds the ball a little longer when (if ever) he throws the deep ball. Will it work itself out? I doubt it. What Ryan has on his side is anticipation….but if your arm is weak..it really doesn’t matter i.e “Chad Pennington”. If i remember right, Chad Pennington is the most accurate QB in NFL history, or one of the most accurate, yet he can’t stretch the field so it really doesn’t matter. Ryan is accurate, but if you’re throwing “Harrington passes” it does you no good.

Vick had his issues….but he was/is very unique. People always complain about having a “mobile” QB, yet when they don’t have one “Bucaneers Leftwich” they complain/bench him. My only complaint with Vick is that he didn’t balance running and passing at the right time..nor did he have the coaching in place to learn to do so..Blank is at fault also because Vick’s scrambling sold tickets (you know you were there cheering). Vick scrambled because he was the best that ever did it, and he was ENCOURAGED to do so…by coaches, management, and WE FANS WATED IT ALSO. Throw 130 million in there and Vick gets arrogant…I’ll admit that. He will never do that again though,,,I gurantee that.

He will shine again

JIMBOB

September 29th, 2009
12:07 pm

Never said his arm is substandard. It was good enough to pull out the Bears game last year. It was good enough to get the ball to Roddy in the endzone at the end of the Denver game (Roddy dropped it). It was good enough to get it into Jenkins hands 2 weeks ago, crucial 3rd and 10 with around 3-4 minutes left in the game–and Jenkins dropped it.

Ryan can make and does make plenty of great passes, especially in the clutch. There has been no indication that his arm is substandard, and the 2-1 record confirms it. I’ve seen no NFL pundits that have stated that his arm strength is hurting the Falcons.

IMO, the coaches need to study the Saints offense, let Ryan fling it more than 20-30 times per game.

heartofdarkness

September 29th, 2009
12:07 pm

Last time Atlanta played the Patriots, NE’s offensive line flattened the Falcons. Seems they did the same thing last Sunday as the Pats controlled the ball in the second half. I’m not sure the coaching staff has had enough time with this defensive group to teach them how to finess a game away from a team like NE that can overpower them so decisively. I’m pretty confident that they will, but we will have to be patient.
Meanwhile, with some improvements in twitter, maybe the Atlanta fans can call the plays, as I sense from many of the comments this crowd of experts has been wiping the field with the Pats on their Xbox.

Vick Supporter

September 29th, 2009
12:11 pm

JIMBOB: “Ryan: his armstrength is probably mid-range by NFL standards” “On the long bombs, he does tend to hold it a bit too long”

Those are your comments…correct?

Vick Supporter

September 29th, 2009
12:13 pm

JIMBOB: “IMO, the coaches need to study the Saints offense, let Ryan fling it more than 20-30 times per game.”

If I’m not mistaken…you need balance to win in the NFL. if Ryan throws the ball 30 times a game for the entire season..it could get ugly.

JIMBOB

September 29th, 2009
12:14 pm

Sure. Of course he has also completed some bombs, as well as held too long on others. It’s a timing issue, not strength issue.

Like I said: I’ve seen no NFL critics/writers that have stated that his arm-strength is any kind of problem–because it’s not.

veedub

September 29th, 2009
12:16 pm

We all know the defense has issues, knew that from the beginning. Noone has said anything about the “potent” offense that opened up no holes for Turner and when they did Turner couldn’t manage to hit them fast enough(looking a little fat). Overall execution by the offense was terrible. The defense was actually pretty stout through halftime and even then they were ok. Its hard to defend when you are on the fileover 60% of the time. And when the offense has no momentum whatsoever. Any other thoughts on offense

Vick Supporter

September 29th, 2009
12:16 pm

JIMBOB: “I’ve seen no NFL pundits that have stated that his arm strength is hurting the Falcons”

The NFL pundits will…its like they do all stars…they build them up and tear them down….just like they did Vick and everyone else. The media has alot of power…too much power

Vick Supporter

September 29th, 2009
12:19 pm

JIMBOB….people didn’t have a problem with Vick scrambling either……really man…think about it. Ryan is a star now…..everyone loves him….now…things can change very quickly. The media loved Joey “Field Goal” Harrington at one time….even Leftwich recieved some love. QBs get all the glory…and all the blame also

webhead

September 29th, 2009
12:20 pm

We needed the All-Pro Keith Brooking back to stop the run. They never would have run over Brooking like that He is a tackling machine. Everybody sees how he changed the Dallas defense already. Should never have disrespected him like they did.

veedub

September 29th, 2009
12:23 pm

Defense was actually ok?? Really what we expected. Offense was a dissapointment, no momentum, no fire, and they didn’t show up after halftime. The offense should be the defensive spark for this team. Instead everyone want to poit to the “D”. Even if the D would have held after haftime we still lose because guess what. THE OFFENSE NEVER SCORED AGAIN?? Any thoughts? valid or not valid?

Vick Supporter

September 29th, 2009
12:24 pm

JIMBOB: “Sure. Of course he has also completed some bombs”

i can remember 2 bombs off the top of my head…i could be wrong..but not many. In my opinion, Ryan may be Chad Pennington 2.0…an upgraded version in a sense….that’s not a bad thing…Pennington is one of the most accurate QBs in NFL history…only problem is…..he didn’t win enough….check downs get you nowhere. Only QBs that’s been successful at that type of game is Montana and S. Young…of course..they had the Great Jerry Rice and other WRs that could run after the catch…..falcons don’t have that…

Curious George

September 29th, 2009
12:34 pm

Would “Vick Supporter” still be supporting MIKE VICK if # 7 were of Latin or Irish descent?

JIMBOB

September 29th, 2009
12:39 pm

Vick supporter– Vick no longer plays for the Falcons, it makes no sense to obsess over him.

Last I checked, he’s back in the NFL and doing fine. I doubt even Vick would want you to obsess over him and to attack Ryan.

Ryan has shown every indication that he can complete 4th down conversions. Due to some bad playcalling he never got the chance late in the game. I would not think that this is his fault.

Vick Supporter

September 29th, 2009
12:40 pm

lmao @Curious George

Woman, read my posts..they are not racist in any way. Could you point this out to himMark Bradley? if my comments are racist…please let me know

Steve C

September 29th, 2009
12:40 pm

You people are sad and miserable. If you want something to complain about, go back to the Atlanta Falcons circa 1985-1989 with Marion Campbell coaching. THOSE were miserable days. At least we have a good enough team that we were optomistic going into New England and possibly taking down Belichick and Brady. As far as our two wins, they happened to be over two teams that won their division last year. We have 13 games left, so everyone come back here in Decamber and January and then see who is the better TEAM. You guys try to hold up or crucify one individual out of 22 that play the game on Sundays. I come here to see if Bradley or Ledbetter have any good scoop on the team, and all I read is you spewing your vitriolic drivel. Get lives and enjoy the greatest sport ever played.

Vick Supporter

September 29th, 2009
12:44 pm

Steve C is on point..yet the truth must be told…………

SHOULD HAVE DRAFTED FLACCO

September 29th, 2009
12:47 pm

Curious George

I don’t think there are any Latin or Irish qbs that run 4.3 and has a cannon of an arm.

Let me turn the question on you:

Would you support Ryan if he wasn’t caucasian?

Shaunte

September 29th, 2009
12:48 pm

No, Curious George, he would not support anyone who doesn’t look like him, no matter who vile and ugly that person my be ON THE INSIDE.

Census Taker

September 29th, 2009
12:50 pm

Mark Sanchez is not of Latin/Hispanic heritage?

SHOULD HAVE DRAFTED FLACCO

September 29th, 2009
12:50 pm

“SUPER BOWL FAVORITES”

Brady and Patriots brace for Baltimore Ravens
Tuesday, September 29, 2009 08:05 AM ET
By: Chance Harper | http://www.sbrforum.com
In what could be an AFC Championship preview, Tom Brady and New England will host Ray Lewis and Balitmore this Sunday at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Brady and the Patriots eased past Atlanta last Sunday for a 26-10 win and have seen their original 3-point chalk in this one bet down to just one. Meanwhile the Ravens come in off a 34-3 thrashing of the Browns, holding Cleveland to under 200 yards of offense.

Let’s see if you can survive this one, Mr. Brady.

Those pesky New England Patriots just don’t seem to know when their so-called dynasty is over. Just when all seemed dark – a defense with more questions than answers, a shaky offensive line – New England’s old guard came up vintage against the young Atlanta Falcons. Brady hooked up with Randy Moss for 10 of his 25 completions that covered 277 yards in total, Fred Taylor rushed 21 times for 105 yards, and the Patriots (-4.5 at home) pulled away in the second half en route to a 26-10 victory.

So the City of Boston should get back to preparing for the Super Bowl parade, yes? They’ll just have to ignore the fact that the Pats aren’t the SBXLIV favorites anymore. That honor goes to the Baltimore Ravens, whose betting odds have shortened from 11-1 at the open to 6-1. New England is now second best on the futures market at 13-2, down a tick from 6-1 at the open and as low as 4-1 before the start of the regular season. The Ravens were available at 18-1 just a few short weeks ago.

Baltimore continues to have the benefit of the doubt, judging by the fact that the Patriots are as low as 1-point home faves this Sunday afternoon (1:00 p.m. Eastern, CBS) on their own turf in Foxborough, down from three points at the open. The very early consensus reports show 60 percent support for the visiting Ravens; they’re one of four teams to start the 2009 campaign at 3-0 SU and ATS – the Jets, Broncos and Saints are the others. New England is now 2-1 SU and 1-2 ATS as we head into October.

This will be the second week in a row that the Patriots have to contend with one of the rarest of success stories: a quarterback who flourished in his rookie season. Atlanta’s Matt Ryan actually played well in Week 3: 17-for-28 and pick-free, but only 199 yards passing and zero touchdowns. Michael Jenkins had a catch in the end zone overturned for offensive pass interference. The Falcons had their problems on the run, where Michael Turner carried 15 times for just 56 yards and coughed up a fumble for the second week in a row. But mostly it was Brady and Friends holding possession for nearly 40 minutes that kept Ryan from working his magic.

This week, it’ll be Joe Flacco taking his shots against what still is a suspect New England defense. Flacco “earned” the reputation of being a management-style QB last year, throwing 14 TD passes (with 12 picks) while the running game and Ray Lewis dominated the headlines. Forget that. Flacco has a howitzer for an arm and has already found the end zone six times this year with just two interceptions and three sacks. His QB rating of 101.4 is fifth in the NFL, just ahead of Ryan at 100.4. Brady is ranked No. 22 with a 79.9 rating.

Let’s not get caught up too much in those gaudy numbers, though. It’s early, and two of Baltimore’s games were at home against the Chiefs and Browns – two rebuilding teams with a whole lot of work left in front of them. But this New England team is also rebuilding on defense. That project took a hit when LB Jerod Mayo (sprained knee) was lost in the season opener, and it took a second hit when NT Vince Wilfork sprained his left ankle in the first half versus the Falcons. Word is he’ll be fine for Week 4, but Mayo is still a way’s away.

Wilfork had better be okay, because he’s about to encounter arguably the best offensive line in the NFL. The strength of the Baltimore running attack is twofold. First, it’s a group of talented linemen that now features Harvard alum Matt Birk at center, plus the one and only Michael Oher already steamrolling opponents at right tackle. Second, it’s the versatility of handing the ball to any of Willis McGahee, Ray Rice or 260-pound fullback Le’Ron McClain, who is being used as more of a blocker this year while McGahee (hardly a small man at 6-foot and 235 pounds) enjoys a revival of sorts. Ball possession should be in Baltimore’s favor this time. And that should be the difference in Week 4.

SHOULD HAVE DRAFTED FLACCO

September 29th, 2009
12:52 pm

Census Taker

Does Mark Sanchez run a 4.3? We are talking about in the 40 not the 100.

Benjamin

September 29th, 2009
12:52 pm

This team is going to be a 9-7, 10-6 kind of team, and as said above, Steve hit the nail on the head. There’s life in Falcon football again. Don’t squash it with unrealistic expectations.

In Dmitroff and co. I trust.

SHOULD HAVE DRAFTED FLACCO

September 29th, 2009
12:53 pm

“SUPER BOWL FAVORITES”:

Brady and Patriots brace for Baltimore Ravens
Tuesday, September 29, 2009 08:05 AM ET
By: Chance Harper | http://www.sbrforum.com
In what could be an AFC Championship preview, Tom Brady and New England will host Ray Lewis and Balitmore this Sunday at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Brady and the Patriots eased past Atlanta last Sunday for a 26-10 win and have seen their original 3-point chalk in this one bet down to just one. Meanwhile the Ravens come in off a 34-3 thrashing of the Browns, holding Cleveland to under 200 yards of offense.

Let’s see if you can survive this one, Mr. Brady.

Those pesky New England Patriots just don’t seem to know when their so-called dynasty is over. Just when all seemed dark – a defense with more questions than answers, a shaky offensive line – New England’s old guard came up vintage against the young Atlanta Falcons. Brady hooked up with Randy Moss for 10 of his 25 completions that covered 277 yards in total, Fred Taylor rushed 21 times for 105 yards, and the Patriots (-4.5 at home) pulled away in the second half en route to a 26-10 victory.

So the City of Boston should get back to preparing for the Super Bowl parade, yes? They’ll just have to ignore the fact that the Pats aren’t the SBXLIV favorites anymore. That honor goes to the Baltimore Ravens, whose betting odds have shortened from 11-1 at the open to 6-1. New England is now second best on the futures market at 13-2, down a tick from 6-1 at the open and as low as 4-1 before the start of the regular season. The Ravens were available at 18-1 just a few short weeks ago.

Baltimore continues to have the benefit of the doubt, judging by the fact that the Patriots are as low as 1-point home faves this Sunday afternoon (1:00 p.m. Eastern, CBS) on their own turf in Foxborough, down from three points at the open. The very early consensus reports show 60 percent support for the visiting Ravens; they’re one of four teams to start the 2009 campaign at 3-0 SU and ATS – the Jets, Broncos and Saints are the others. New England is now 2-1 SU and 1-2 ATS as we head into October.

This will be the second week in a row that the Patriots have to contend with one of the rarest of success stories: a quarterback who flourished in his rookie season. Atlanta’s Matt Ryan actually played well in Week 3: 17-for-28 and pick-free, but only 199 yards passing and zero touchdowns. Michael Jenkins had a catch in the end zone overturned for offensive pass interference. The Falcons had their problems on the run, where Michael Turner carried 15 times for just 56 yards and coughed up a fumble for the second week in a row. But mostly it was Brady and Friends holding possession for nearly 40 minutes that kept Ryan from working his magic.

This week, it’ll be Joe Flacco taking his shots against what still is a suspect New England defense. Flacco “earned” the reputation of being a management-style QB last year, throwing 14 TD passes (with 12 picks) while the running game and Ray Lewis dominated the headlines. Forget that. Flacco has a howitzer for an arm and has already found the end zone six times this year with just two interceptions and three sacks. His QB rating of 101.4 is fifth in the NFL, just ahead of Ryan at 100.4. Brady is ranked No. 22 with a 79.9 rating.

Let’s not get caught up too much in those gaudy numbers, though. It’s early, and two of Baltimore’s games were at home against the Chiefs and Browns – two rebuilding teams with a whole lot of work left in front of them. But this New England team is also rebuilding on defense. That project took a hit when LB Jerod Mayo (sprained knee) was lost in the season opener, and it took a second hit when NT Vince Wilfork sprained his left ankle in the first half versus the Falcons. Word is he’ll be fine for Week 4, but Mayo is still a way’s away.

Wilfork had better be okay, because he’s about to encounter arguably the best offensive line in the NFL. The strength of the Baltimore running attack is twofold. First, it’s a group of talented linemen that now features Harvard alum Matt Birk at center, plus the one and only Michael Oher already steamrolling opponents at right tackle. Second, it’s the versatility of handing the ball to any of Willis McGahee, Ray Rice or 260-pound fullback Le’Ron McClain, who is being used as more of a blocker this year while McGahee (hardly a small man at 6-foot and 235 pounds) enjoys a revival of sorts. Ball possession should be in Baltimore’s favor this time. And that should be the difference in Week 4.

Vick Supporter

September 29th, 2009
12:54 pm

Hmm…thats’s funny…the other QB i admire is Peyton Manning….well what do you know…he’s white. Makes no sense to mention him on a Falcon blog. Vick gets mentioned on here because he IS the Falcons…STILL. He STILL dominates the conversations on here…whether Vick supporters mention his name or not

Mike Vick Curse

September 29th, 2009
12:56 pm

2004 & Counting!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LRD

September 29th, 2009
12:58 pm

Since the Browns need a QB, and we need defensive players, is there any trade potential for Shockley? But then again, is there anyone we want from the Browns?

SHOULD HAVE DRAFTED FLACCO

September 29th, 2009
12:59 pm

“SUPER BOWL FAVORITES”

So the City of Boston should get back to preparing for the Super Bowl parade, yes? They’ll just have to ignore the fact that the Pats aren’t the SBXLIV favorites anymore. That honor goes to the Baltimore Ravens, whose betting odds have shortened from 11-1 at the open to 6-1. New England is now second best on the futures market at 13-2, down a tick from 6-1 at the open and as low as 4-1 before the start of the regular season. The Ravens were available at 18-1 just a few short weeks ago.

Baltimore continues to have the benefit of the doubt, judging by the fact that the Patriots are as low as 1-point home faves this Sunday afternoon (1:00 p.m. Eastern, CBS) on their own turf in Foxborough, down from three points at the open. The very early consensus reports show 60 percent support for the visiting Ravens; they’re one of four teams to start the 2009 campaign at 3-0 SU and ATS – the Jets, Broncos and Saints are the others. New England is now 2-1 SU and 1-2 ATS as we head into October.

Barry

September 29th, 2009
1:19 pm

Hey Y’all:

I have to admit, we played soft against the Patriots. We did not attack on offense nor on defense. The Patriots was sorry and we should have destroyed them with our weapons.

On offence, the running back,Turner, was tipping through the holes. He has been doing that since the season started. He is not blasting through holes like he did last year. We had a passive running game. On passing, we also was passive. We did not go deep but a few times. When we did we were pretty successful. Then we just stopped throwing down field. the Patriots secondary was horrible. We could have attacked them all day. Moreover, we caould have gotten a lot of interfwerence calls of this bunch, but we played soft. TOO SOFT!! We need to be a lot more nasty and aggressive on offensive. We need not fear anybody with the talent we have on offense. ATTACK THE DEFENSE!!
Even if they are trying to play what you want to do. ATTACK THEM!! Make them earn their keep by stopping us. Hey, they do it to us, don’t they??

On the defensive side of the ball our defensive linemen were involved in too many “individual battles” with the opposition linemen wherein they were not looking into the backfield to make plays. They have been doing this since the season started. The defensive line coaches must start teaching these guys to fight their man off while looking into the backfield to make plays on the quarterback and the running backs. They have to be alert to running backs running by them while they are “pussy footing” in fighting the blockers for too long. THEY HAVE TO FIGHT, LOOK, AND TACKLE!!! ALL DAY!!!!! The defensive line played soft on Sunday. More agressive coaching in this area would help.

Well, I guess we got the “BYE WEEK” to upgrade. And I guess the coaches need to upgrade also and stay in their agrresive coaching style as they did last year. There is never a time in football were you should start coaching non-agressively. YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME! YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME. I do not care who we play. We should never be intimdated by any team when we hit the field. I hope we learned from this game. We let a sorry Patriot team beat us because the coaches believed the “HYPE”. I love you guys but you can’t play in the NFL like that or you will not be here( NFL=NOT FOR LONG). You are professional football players and coaches and you should play to win the game “BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY”, no matter who you play. By all means you should play agressive on both sides of the ball. Even in “play calling”. Our secondary, on the other hand, played “GREAT!”. They had a number of great stops and are getting better every game. They wiil be our strength by game 5.

Nevertheless, the “PROCESS” continues, all all ends, coaching, included. NEVER AGAIN DO I WANT TO SEE THE FALCONS PLAY PASSIVE FOOTBALL!! That’s not our style. We have a hard nose, nasty bunch, of aggressive playing football players on both sides of the ball. Therefore, our coaches need to be NASTY, HARD NOSED, AGGRESSIVE COACHES in theie coaching and play calling.

WE ARE WITH YOU COACHES!! WE ARE WITH YOU, PLAYERS. WE ARE THE NASTY, HARD NOSED, AGGRESSIVE FANS. AND WE ARE DOWN WITH YOU IN
“ONE HEARTBEAT!!!!

GO FALCONS!!!!!!!!!!!

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a SECRET from a FALCON FAN. TELL EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

……………………….”ONE HEARTBEAT, BABY!!!!”…………….

cdog

September 29th, 2009
1:40 pm

GOOD POINT MARK, I THINK EVERYONE SAW THAT. THE DEFENSIVE LINE TOOK SUNDAY OFF BUT IT WAS NOT THEIR TOTAL FAULT. ALONG WITH THE BIAS TERRIBLE OFFICIATING AND THE LACK OF AGGRESSIVE PREPARATION DEFENSIVELY BY THE COACHING STAFF,CAUSED THE LOST.YOU HAVE TO PUT PRESSURE ON AN IMMOBILE QB LIKE BRADY. COACH SMITH GAVE THE PATROITS TOO MUCH RESPECT. HOPEFULLY HE WILL LEARN FROM IT. THE DEFENSE MUST BLITZ TO WIN AND BE SUCCESSFUL. THAT DID NOT HAPPEN SUNDAY. SMITH SHOULD GO WITH WHAT HE DOES BEST ON DEFENSE AND THAT IS BLITZ. ABRAHAM CAN DOMINATE A GAME BUT WHEN A TEAM DOES NOT SEND THE OTHER PLAYERS HE CAN’T DO ANYTHING

Chris

September 29th, 2009
1:46 pm

The Falcons couldn’t blitz the Pats like the Jets did. The Pats spent the entire Jets game in shotgun, clearly showing pass so the Jets knew what was coming. The Pats wisely had Brady under center vs. Atlanta with lots of successful runs which opened up play-action. Abraham himself mentioned the D was caught off-guard.

Interestingly, the Pats looked their worst when they went shotgun in the redzone…something Atlanta clearly was prepared for.

Pete

September 29th, 2009
1:48 pm

Enter your comments here

The Falcons have this kind of “Curse” which enables them NEVER to see what 97.6% of their fan base sees…………especially in big games. Nothing EVER changes. It doesn’t matter who the coaches or players are. They play as if the game plan was drawn up by an 8th grade PE class. And then they wonder why home games have as many visitor jerseys on fans as Falcons.
Beyond pathetic.

Pete

September 29th, 2009
1:52 pm

Enter your comments here

This Falcon team plays about as SOFT as a girls Catholic Convent bowling team.
Pretty embarrassing to watch.

Fysh

September 29th, 2009
2:01 pm

Chill out Peeps. The Birds will be fine. So we got beat by New England, whoppity-whoop. Atlanta didnt play its best and New England played just good enough to win. We are 2-1 and 1-0 in the division. It could be worse, we could have Carolinas record.

Dave

September 29th, 2009
2:02 pm

Vick Supporter,
Thanks for your undying fascination with us. Doesn’t matter what you say, you still waste your days blogging here and it feels pretty good knowing that you can’t eyes off the ajc website and the mighty Atlanta Falcons. We’ll see you in a few minutes…and tommorrow….

cdog

September 29th, 2009
2:11 pm

MICHAEL VICK HAS NOTHING TO WITH WHAT’S GOING WITH THE FALCONS NOW. HE’S A PHILLY EAGLE. LET’S WAIT UNTIL DEC. 6 TO DISCUSS HIM.MATT RYAN IS NOT VICK AND VICE VERSA.RYAN IS A TOP NOTCH QB FIND FOR THE FALCONS. HE WILL LEAD THE FALCONS BACK TO THE PLAYOFFS BUT NOW THE COACHING STAFF NEEDS TO STOP SHOWING RESPECT FOR OTHER TEAMS AND BECOME AGGRESSIVE ON DEFENSE. ONCE THIS CORRECTED THE FALCONS WILL GO FAR INTO THE PLAYOFFS AND POSSIBLY THE SUPERBOWL.

Hollywould

September 29th, 2009
2:12 pm

Dave, His time on the library computer has run out.

FalcFan09

September 29th, 2009
2:21 pm

Hey Mark, Turner has fumbled 3 of the last 4 games. And all have been very crucial. Do you think this will be addressed? Every time he touches the ball, I hold my breath like I used to when Adam Jennings would field punts.

BIZZLE 5178

September 29th, 2009
2:23 pm

SOME OF YOU GUYS ARE SO COMEDY!!! FIRST OF ALL NO NEED TO PANIC ITS JUST ONE GAME. SECONDLY I THINK THE FALCONS DEFENSE DID ENOUGH TO WIN THE GAME. DID WE PLAY FLAWLESS FOOTBALL NO, BUT WE HELD NE TO I TOUCHDOWN OUT OF 5 CHANCES IN THE REDZONE. WHAT MORE CAN YOU ASK FROM A YOUNG AND COMING DEFENSE. THIRDLY WE DID NOT BLITZ BRADY A LOT, I WISH WE HAD BETTER BLITZ PACKAGES IF YOU ASK ME BECAUSE IF YOU WATCHED THE GAME MOST OF THE FEW TIMES WE DID BLITZ WE WERE STILL NOT ABLE TO GET ANY PRESSURE ON BRADY. IT WORKED FOR THE JETS BECAUSE THEY HAVE A COACH THAT HAS THE TYPE OF PLAYERS AND SCHEME THAT BLITZ THE QB EFFECTIVELY AND THEY HAVE THE CORNERS WITH THE SPEED AND COVER ABLITY TO BE ONE ON ONE IN THE SECONDAY. BRIAN WILLIAMS IS THE BEST CORNER WE HAVE AND HES ONLY BEEN ON THE TEAM A MONTH. GRIMES IS TO SMALL, JACKSON IS TO SLOW, HOUSTON JUST FINDS A WAY TO GET BURNED. IF YOU LOOK AT THE GAME, THE REAL PROBLEM WAS THE OFFENSE NOT THE DEFENSE. THE D HELD THEM TO 19 POINTS THROUGH 3 AND 1/2 QUARTERS. THE OFFENSE ONLY PUT UP 10 POINTS. WITH THE PLAYMAKERS WE HAVE ON OFFENSE THERE IS NOT REASON WE SHOULD EVER SCORE UNDER 21 POINTS A GAME. PERIOD!!!! I ACTUALLY THOUGHT THAT THE OFFENSIVE PLAY CALLING WAS HORRIBLE. EXAMPLE WHEN THE SCORE WAS 19-10 AND WE HAVE THE BALL AND IT 3RD AND 3 WE CALL A SHOTGUN PLAY THATS A SPRINT OUT TO THE RIGHT FOR MATT RYAN TO TRY TO THROW THE BALL TO RODDY WHITE! WHICH IF MY MEMORY IS CORRECT WE HAD ALREADY RUN THAT PLAY EARLIER IN THE GAME FOR A FIRST DOWN. IF YOU DO A SPRINT OUT AND THE ROUTE IS NOT THERE YOU SET YOU QB FOR FAILUER CAUSE YOU ONLY HAVE TWO ROUTES AVAILABLE AND THE SIDELINE BECOMES A DEFENDER. LET YOUR QB STAY IN THE POCKET READ THE DEFENSE AND MAKE A THROWN DOWN FIELD AND STOP TRYING TO GO FOR THE SAFE PLAY. CALL A BETTER GAME MIKE MULARKEY!!! AND FOR YOU JOE FLACCO FANS, NO DISRESPECT TO JOE, BUT IF MATT RYAN HAD THAT DEFENSE TO PLAY BEHIND HE MIGHT HAVE WON A SUPERBOWL LAST YEAR. JOE IS NICE BUT ALSO HELPS WHEN YOU DEFENSE IS ALWAYS PUTTING YOU IN GREAT POSITIONS.

DrJ

September 29th, 2009
3:08 pm

Mon Nite Football replayed the call on Jenkins’ pass, and those guys didn’t think the penalty should have been called. But it sure looked like the Pats were all good friends of the refs.

Billy

September 29th, 2009
3:12 pm

If we are keeping the record strait on Flacco vs Ryan last year Flacco had 14 tda 12 interceptions Ryan had 16 tds 11 int’s this year flacco has 6 tds 2 int’s Ryan has 5 tds 1 int’s Ryan’s comp. pct. is higher last year and so far this year.

CaliDirtyBird

September 29th, 2009
4:07 pm

Ronnie, I couldn’t have said it better. This was exactly my thoughts as I was watching the game.

“The head coach’s job is to make the decision that gives the team the best chance of victory, not to keep the score respectable. And when you’re trailing by two scores and the clock is running out, you HAVE to keep the ball. Smith showed the same defective thinking in that game in New Orleans last year, when he decided to punt on a 4th and 4 late in the game when we needed a touchdown to win. We never got the ball back.”

Belichek had already shown us his aggressive play calling and we needed to match him. Smith had gone for it on 4th down the prior week against Carolina but didn’t seem to have the stomach to make the call on the road.

CaliDirtyBird

SHOULD HAVE DRAFTED FLACCO

September 29th, 2009
4:17 pm

WOW! ESPN has the Ravens Number 1:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings?year=2009&week=4

Like I keep saying….could of had a WINNER instead of a BIG WEENER

SUPERBOWL R BUST

September 29th, 2009
5:12 pm

1 – 2 – 3 – Now Exhale. Take A Week Off.
Its All Part Of The Process.

SirReal

September 29th, 2009
5:17 pm

Guys, its only week 3 football. Expect to see more crispness in the passing game. ( Hopefully more shots downfield. We have the personnel) The run game should be better as well. (Its like we’re only one block away on quite a few runs actually.) The D should be better as well. As Mr. Bradley pointed out, it is time to see what Sidbury can do. We dont have anything to lose. The pass rush has been no existence the past couple weeks anyway. Overall, no need to start crying over ONE LOSS! We’re still 2-1, with one division win. That will be crucial later on in the year. We could have played better but hey every week is different. We’ll be ok.

karl

September 29th, 2009
5:19 pm

Focusing on Matt Ryan as the problem is crazy. The Falcons lost because they could not run the ball and they couldn’t stop the the run. Simple as that.

SHOULD HAVE DRAFTED FLACCO

September 29th, 2009
5:56 pm

karl

Any more excuses for NOODLE ARM?

Joe Flacco passed for 342 yards and the running game had over 150 yards.

Joe Flacco was able to open up the passing game and that opened up the running game.

That’s what happens when there is a “DOWN FIELD” threat is in the head of the opposing defenses.

Turner will be luck to rush for 600 yards this season, because teams will not respect the deep pass, because ole NOODLE ARM can’t stretch the field.

It wasn’t Turner, Gonzalez, White or Jenkins fault…………it was all on

OLE NOODLE ARM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lil Larry

September 29th, 2009
6:22 pm

Mularkey will be the downfall of this offense. He has is the same ancient offensive philosophy that Dan Reeves had–get up on your opponent early and milk the clock. With Ryan and the offensive weapons we have there is no reason we shouldn’t be able to come from behind for a win. If I’m not mistaken, wasn’t it the offense that was suppose to be the powerhouse of this team? We all knew the defense had a number of holes. Where is the aggressive offense and defense that you said you would bring to the Falcons Smitty? More empty promises. Act on what you can (the offense) and do what you can with what you have on the defense until you get the type of players you want in place. We look for you to be creative with what you have…that’s why Arthur hired you as HC.

Alan

September 29th, 2009
6:56 pm

Go you NAYSAYERS,don’t you have anything to do other than to talk down the Falcons, you really sound like Philly fans, maybe you need to find yourself a real winner, (Oakland, Detroit & etc.) oh, by the way, look up the sky is not falling.

Dirty Bird Man

September 29th, 2009
7:06 pm

The Birds were clearly out coached in this game. The Pats had an excellent scheme to take Gonzo completely out of the game. We needed to stretch the field a lot more with both White and Jenkins. Norwood could have provided a spark to the offense. In the 2nd quarter we had the momentum however that completely changed after the fumble by Turner. Not to make any excuses but the refs made some questionable calls.The refs did not call the block in the back by Moss on the running play however they called Jenkins for pushing off on the TD. The Birds miss Grady Jackson. We cant stop the run and we cant get any pressure on the QB. We should have went after Richard Seymour to strengthen the the DLINE. Hopefully the team can make some adjustments after the bye week. The only good thing after the bye week is that Gore will be out. Go Dirty Birds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SHOULD HAVE DRAFTED FLACCO

September 29th, 2009
7:21 pm

It’s amazing but I am watching The NFL Network’s Total Access and they are discussing Joe Flacco and he is in the top 10 in EVERY qb statistic and the analysis are saying

He is FAR ahead of NOODLE ARM!

Interesting……….I think that’s exactly what I have been saying since draft day.

That’s just another reason that Ozzie Newsome is far above Thomas “I can’t analyze talent” Dimitroff.

The Ravens went through a rebuilding year the RIGHT way and now they are poised for another Superbowl run, while the Falcons took a seat back with NOODLE ARM, Jerry and Moore.

So anybody upset with my great analysis with NOODLE ARM being the wrong draft pick – direct your complaints to THE NFL NETWORK

SHOULD HAVE DRAFTED FLACCO

September 29th, 2009
7:22 pm

One final point, Joe Flacco has a 113 4th qb rating, which is crunch time performance, not that qb ratings are the most important stat, but since you people want to throw qb ratings out there.

webhead

September 29th, 2009
8:20 pm

We need Brooking back!!

karl

September 29th, 2009
8:44 pm

Should have drafted Flacco

You’re weird and you’re stupid.

FALCONS CENSOR CRITICS/CRYBABIES!

September 29th, 2009
9:10 pm

You know Mark and Atlanta, I criticized Coach Smith and the coaching staff as well as the entire
team for the abysmal performance against the Patriots on their message board.
It seems the FALCONS BRASS and ARTHUR BLANK don’t like criticism. I was banned from their
site and not even allowed to read their message board as a result….NO CURSING just telling the brutal truth. If you are not a cheerleader , even in a terrible , loss they whine about the ctiticism.
HEY COACH SMITH AND ARTHUR BLANK GROW UP!! If you can’t take criticism you’re in the wrong business. Watch out Mark Bradley, King Artur can’t stand criticism. SO WHAT >>>>YOU SUCKED in that game ALL OF YOU!! Coaches, players, and your NAZI board!

FALCONS KISSED BELLICHEK'S RINGS

September 29th, 2009
9:14 pm

Man…the Falcons….Coach Smith….Thomas Dimitroff ALL went to Foxboro and KISSED Bill Bellickek’s rings!! ALL 3 of them !!! They went up there and got spanked like little b*tches!
Michael Turnover and Droppy White STUNK IT UP!!!!! But don’t tell them that…you’ll be banned from the stadium….their message board….or any Arthur Blank owned facilities probably…lol
What a bunch of pansies!!

"Mr. Falcon"

September 29th, 2009
9:17 pm

Bill schooled Smitty. That is the bottom line. Smitty is going to have to grow a set!!!!!! We lost because we have a scary coaching staff. This coaching staff is full egg suckers.

J.Michael Moore FALCON'S CENSOR

September 29th, 2009
9:18 pm

The Atlanta Falcons message board operator censors critics. It doesn’t matter if your language is clean, if you criticize the team or Arthur Blank you will be banned….HOW LAME????
Makes me wonder if we have the right bunch . They coach scared, play scared and are scared of criticism !! BOOOOO!! HOOOOO!!! Falcons KISSED THE RING and J Michael Moore can kiss mine!!

"Mr. Falcon"

September 29th, 2009
9:18 pm

We do not need Brooking back. He still sucks in Dallas.

Mike

September 29th, 2009
9:20 pm

It seemed coming out of the tunnel on Sunday the game was over. They were showing the Falcons walking on the field, they seemed to have no energy. It is no doubt that they had a conservative game plan. Sort of the same approach as the Vols took with the Gators….just wanted to be in the game. They were not willing to take risks on either side of the ball. I think if they had of blitzed Brady, they would have been burnt on a play or two. They also could have forced some mistakes. Their inability to stop the Pats drives was huge. The bend but don’t break approach kept their O on the sidelines most of the game. On offense I think it was even worse. They had to many penalties, or plays that ended up going for negative yards at the worst times, they got away from the running game to early (if Turner is not getting it done, then give Snelling some carries. When you have more than one good back use your resources.) Also Ryan didn’t put the ball into his playmakers hands. Get Roddy down the field, throw it up and let Gonzo go get it, that’s what he does. Is that not why we brought him here? I love the 10-11 play drives with 4-5 yard runs, and 8-10 yard passes. They keep your D off the field the opposing teams D on the field. But in order to have success taking that approach you have to threaten a team deep. Back to the D…I would like to see them try Anderson at D-Tackle and rotate Abe, Davis, Bierman, and Sidbury in at D End. I was impressed with Sidbury in preseason. One positive from the game I took was the play of Decoud and Williams. Hopefully during this off week we will tighten up our loose bolts. We are going to need to play better if we plan to compete with Dallas, NY Giants, NY Jets, New Orleans twice, and Philly. San Fran, Chicago, and Buffalo are not exactly push overs.

"Mr. Falcon"

September 29th, 2009
9:23 pm

The Falcons will be 8-8. They were a better team last year because they played like they had nothing to lose. They are not doing this year. They are not playing to win; they are playing not to lose.

TO: Coach Smith

September 29th, 2009
9:24 pm

I heard you in your press conference talk about how your players didn’t play well or execute well…
BUT you never spoke of YOUR POOR COACHING in that game.Your game plan stunk, play calling sucked out loud and you did not prepare the team well. You didn’t make adjustments quickly enough. You need to LEARN TO CONTROL YOUR EMOTIONS !! You threw the flag before you even saw the replay…ACCEPT responsibility and next time >>>>DON”T KISS THE RINGS !!!!!!!

"Mr. Falcon"

September 29th, 2009
9:27 pm

Smitty better wake up!!!! He is going to be looking stupid when they miss the playoffs by one win.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

September 29th, 2009
9:28 pm

There is no fredom of speech on the Atlanta Falcons Message Board. If you criticize the team you will be banned. It doesn’t matter if your language is clean…critics will be banned and censored!!
How lame! Arthur Blank, maybe you should take your team to Russia or China where that kind of censorship is welcome! Not in the USA….STEVIE WONDER COULD SEE YOUR TEAM PLAYED LIKE DOO DOO!! COACH SMITH COACHED LIKE DOO DOO !!! GET OVER IT !!!!

"Mr. Falcon"

September 29th, 2009
9:29 pm

Thank You, TO: Coach Smith, I see we saw the same game. Smitty should have stood up and took the blame. He hung his defense out to dry when he did not go for it on that 4th down.

"Mr. Falcon"

September 29th, 2009
9:31 pm

Freedom of Speech….Who cares, it is their message board. They know what they are (egg suckers).

SUPPORT THE TROOPS

September 29th, 2009
9:31 pm

Our troops are dying “fighting for freedom” in Afghanistan and Iraq. One of those freedoms is freedom of speech, yet Arthur Blank does not allow freedom of speech on his Atlanta Falcons web site. Shame on you Arthur Blank. If you can’t handle a little criticism after an ABYSMAL LOSS
and frankly EMBARRASSING as a Falcon fan to endure, your in the wrong business! Grow up !!

SUPPORT THE TROOPS

September 29th, 2009
9:32 pm

They certainly laid an egg on Sunday !!!!

"Mr. Falcon"

September 29th, 2009
9:33 pm

Wake up people, the Falcons site can sensor who ever they want…..It is legal.

I'm with you, SUPPORT FREEDOM OF SPEECH

September 29th, 2009
9:34 pm

Wow. I never would have thought Arthur Blank would do that. Why would they think people would not criticize that effort. It was disgusting. Do you think he knows? they are censoring comments/ critics ?

Boycott the Falcons

September 29th, 2009
9:35 pm

If the Falcons won’t allow critics then we should boycott them !!

Falcons blacked out

September 29th, 2009
9:37 pm

Hey if the Falcons play this bad the rest of the road trip, they will be blacked out the next home game. No one wants to look at that garbage performance again. Shame on the Falcons for banning freedom of speech though. I’m with you guys.

"Mr. Falcon"

September 29th, 2009
9:37 pm

The Falcons are not obligated, under the law, to print any of your comments on their site. There is not argument about Freedom of Speech.

"Mr. Falcon"

September 29th, 2009
9:39 pm

They won’t be blacked out at my house.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

September 29th, 2009
9:39 pm

I noticed every person who I remembered criticizing them have been banned. Anyone who criticized had their moderators comment behind them and usually jumped them for criticizing. I thought it was lame. People are going to criticize when they think their team stunk up a game.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

September 29th, 2009
9:41 pm

No Mark I didnt notice before this game any critics being banned or silence unless they cursed or threatened like….but now they are very sensitive to critics , I guess. After that awfully coached, played ,schemed game. It was terrible in ebery way. How coild you not comment on it without criticism?

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

September 29th, 2009
9:42 pm

sorry for typos typed fast

"Mr. Falcon"

September 29th, 2009
9:42 pm

Mark, this game was just poorly coached. Do you agree?

Tandy I am banned...needed pom poms

September 29th, 2009
9:44 pm

Tandy and Gritzblitz they banned me…from even reading the board because of my venting the loss.

Mark Bradley INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

September 29th, 2009
9:46 pm

Hey Mark…Get on the case…and find out who’s behing the banning of critics in Falconsland…
King Arthur’s minions must be running amuck on his Atlanta Falcins web site.

Mark Bradley INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

September 29th, 2009
9:46 pm

behind

Mark Bradley INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

September 29th, 2009
9:46 pm

Falcons….dmmmm

"Mr. Falcon"

September 29th, 2009
9:48 pm

Smitty and Author needs to buy a dog.

keithbrooking56 is a loser

September 29th, 2009
9:49 pm

God can yall believe there are some dummies who still think we should have kept Brooking?

Yes they do MR FALCON

September 29th, 2009
9:50 pm

They sure do….if they’re scared…go to church !!!! If you can’t hang with the big dogs….STAY ON THE PORCH !!!

I was banned too

September 29th, 2009
9:52 pm

My name was Jedi on the Falcons board. They banned me too. I never cursed just criticized em and I was banned..They couln’t make it in NY or Philly, that’s for sure. Our criticism here is tame compared to them. It was lame though, I agree.

"Mr. Falcon"

September 29th, 2009
9:53 pm

I would not go as far as saying Brooking is a loser.

"Mr. Falcon"

September 29th, 2009
9:54 pm

He’s just washed up.

The ghost of Bellichek

September 29th, 2009
9:55 pm

Coach Smith, Mularkey and the team were FRIGHTENED by the ghost of Bill Bellichek…under the hoodie was a diabolical genius/the grim reaper of Falcons hopes for the game quickly killed any chane they had of walking out with their heads held high. Boooooooooooo Booooooooooo
Halloween came early and our team dressed as fairies in Foxboro.

Paging Mark Bradley

September 29th, 2009
10:03 pm

Hey Mark, Have you noticed the Falcons being sensitive to criticism from you? Do they retaliate or are they petty? I think it’s lame if they really are banning people who criticize them.

FalconUGAFan

September 29th, 2009
10:14 pm

I just took a look at the Falcons board and I see alot of criticisms. The griping is cleaner than here but plenty of it.

Mike

September 29th, 2009
10:46 pm

Brooking was good in his day. So was the Model T.

Vick Supporter

September 30th, 2009
5:03 am

Dec 6th…………

bob

September 30th, 2009
6:36 am

All pre-season we heard How having Gonzalez would open up the field for the wide receivers. Gonzalez was double-teamed all day so where were the wide receivers? You look at the replays of other games and see how receivers set up defensive backs with their routes. Is it our scheme that is wrong? How about a tight-end screen pass to Gonzalez like the old colts used to throw to John Mackey? Get him the ball!
Smitty is a good coach, but seems to be like some former Falcons coaches and plays “Not to lose” instead of “to win.”
Good article
!

nhe

September 30th, 2009
7:19 am

People PLEASE spell “defense” with an “s”…….”defence” isn’t funny or clever, it looks dumb – sorry, pet peeve.

Borges is 100% right. You’ve got to go after Brady. His 27-42 DID carve us up. If you never see the ball, you’re getting carved up.

When you go to New England you gotta win the turnover battle in order to win the game, which means your defense has to be aggressive and create something.

I just hope we’ve learned our lesson, because we’re going to need to be much more aggressive when we go to NY (twice), NO, and DAL.

DanRoundfield

September 30th, 2009
8:37 am

Supports Felon Mike Vick = Thinks OJ was innocent

Willie Coyote

September 30th, 2009
8:54 am

Don’t just blame Smith, the offensive play calling was just as big a culprit. Tony Gonzalez was open all day and got one pass.

English teacher

September 30th, 2009
9:00 am

Actually nhe,
In England, where the English language originates, defence is the proper spelling. Look it up in
a dictionary. There are two ways to spell it. In the land of English “defence” is how it is spelled.
It is Americans who chose to change the spelling from its original, proper spelling.
Better to remain silent than to be proven ignorant.

J.Michael Moore

September 30th, 2009
9:03 am

Look if you don’t want to show up on the Falcons message board with pom poms in hand, then don’t show up. Arthur Blank doesn’t want critics at the game or on his message board. Screamers are only wanted when they scream cheers! We don’t need fairweather fans ! We would rather our games be blacked out than to listen to critics!!

Jonnyboy

September 30th, 2009
9:31 am

Vick supporter
Do you read what you write? You try to make a point one way and when you are called out you flip flop and try to make the point using the opposite approach.
ex: “Are you putting the entire blame on Vick?” after you have called out MR for for having reached his ceiling and having a “noodle arm” (you are such a innovator), which is your thinly veiled attempt to say he sucks and it is his fault that we lost. So MR is to blame yet MV can’t do it on his own?
Should Have Drafted Flacco or is it Falcon Sorry (@ss), your writings speak for themselves. You are truly clueless and lacking in the mental compartment.

I don’t frequent these boards very often and it is because of @ssclown like the two of you. It is just too depressing seeing a human mind being wasted.

nhe

September 30th, 2009
10:04 am

lol English teacher…………you show me a school in the US that teaches the spelling as “defence” and I’ll recant…………”defence” looks dumb, and defending looks dumber.

tom

September 30th, 2009
10:10 am

I too believe that not only were we outplayed – we were outcoached in a huge way. I was extremely disappointed after Sundays loss – not becuase we lost – but rather – because we didn’t even show up! I was embarassed as a falcon fan. As I watched Sundays game I kept thinking – “Why are the players and coaches acting SCARED and CAUTIOUS?” We got beat by the myth of an old patriots team who is not half as good as they used to be. I’ve got to put that on Smitty. I don’t think Coach Smith was confident going into Sundays game – and I’m afraid that mindset trickled down throughout the whole organization.

dictionary

September 30th, 2009
10:26 am

nhe OPEN YOUR DICTIONARY and you will find “defence” right there with “defense”.
You are dumb….yet think you are superior. Keep your mouth shut so you don’t sound so dumb.

attn MB

September 30th, 2009
10:47 am

The Falcons office told me they are looking into the censorship on their boards. Alot of people are complaining apparently.It seems they not only ban comments but actually ban reading their message board if you pi$$ them off.

Atlanta Falcons Ballet Team

September 30th, 2009
10:51 am

The next ballet performance by the Atlanta Falcons will be at Candlestick Park in San Franciso on Sun., Oct 11, 2009. Michael Turnover will be performing tip toe thru the tulips and Suwanee Lake.

Falcons should stop censoring

September 30th, 2009
10:55 am

I thought it was wierd that they said I was not allowed to view their message board.I see I’m not the only one who got banned for criticizing the Falcons Sunday.

SHOULD HAVE DRAFTED FLACCO

September 30th, 2009
11:00 am

Enter your comments here

SHOULD HAVE DRAFTED FLACCO

September 30th, 2009
11:19 am

“YOU” people are something else

I am yet to see a single blogger blame the person who gets ALL the credit for the wins.

In your eyes, WIN or LOSE he is the greatest thing on the planet. That’s why this city will continue to be the laugh of the NFL.

You will have to wait every 5 years, when the schedule returns to mediocre opponents because the team is just that “mediocre”.

Joe Flacco didn’t care about all the blind hype last season, because he was all about team goals.

There are only 2 teams averaging over 34 points a game, Ravens and Saints and it’s no wonder he ranks in the top 5 in all qb statistics and his team is now THE FAVORITE TO WIN THE SUPER BOWL.

DRAFTED THE WRONG GUY!!!!!!!!!!!!

To should have

September 30th, 2009
11:22 am

Why don’t you pound sand….you big dummy !! The Falcons did not pick Flacco. You saying what they should have done won’t change that fact. There are no do -overs in the draft so stfu

NO BACK 2 BACK WINNING SEASONS EVER

September 30th, 2009
11:24 am

Mark my words the Falcons will not have a winning season. History keeps repeating itself in perennial LOSERSVILLE !!

UGA ALL THE WAY

September 30th, 2009
11:30 am

I agree Mark, POOR OFFICIATING!!!! Teams should have the confidence to be able to come in and play a game w/o people who(GET PAID TO CALL A GOOD N CLEAN GAME)make stupid calls even the opp. team was wondering..

Vick Supporter

September 30th, 2009
11:53 am

Jonnyboy–

Why so much anger? I forgot…Ryan is above criticism. You people say that we always bring up Vick in these, yet I come on here and the first name I see….”VICK”.

Matt can’t stretch the field consistently. He needs more time so he can wind up to make the deep throws. Also….when Vick was here, he recieved all the blame…yet someone attacks Ryan (and I still said he was a good qb) they are either racist or on welfare, etc etc etc. Yes, i was the first one to call Ryan “Noodle Arm” and I’m glad that it stuck. It’s going to be a long season….and I’m totally not surprised that you people are blaming everone else for the loss besides Ryan. I called this 2 years ago,,,and its proven to be true.

nhe

September 30th, 2009
12:00 pm

lol ET – if the people here that spelled it “defence” didn’t also have horrendous grammar, you might have something.

MATT WOULD WET HIS PANTS WITHOUT TURNER

September 30th, 2009
12:13 pm

I keep hearing all this talk about Turner this and Turner that. Mike Turner is not the problem. He is being worn out, last season he carried the ball 376 times and this season he is on a pace to once again run the ball for 342 times.

He is being over worked, because he has to cover up the LIABILITY AT QUARTERBACK!

At this pace, Turner will be burnt out and on the “IRL”.

Stats Overview Rushing Receiving Fumbles
SPLIT ATT YDS AVG LNG TD REC YDS AVG LNG TD FUM LST
2009 65 226 3.5 16 2 1 5 5.0 5 0 2 2
Projected 347 1205 3.5 16 11 5 27 5.0 5 0 11 11
Career 669 3182 4.8 83 25 18 117 6.5 30 0 7 6

Michael Turnover

September 30th, 2009
12:32 pm

I perform Swan(ee) Lake in San Fran Oct 11. in my tu tu and ballet slippers.
I am Fumblina the Ballerina

Rectal bleeding

September 30th, 2009
12:33 pm

You hillbillies amuse me.

Michael Turnover

September 30th, 2009
12:33 pm

y tu Mark Brabley?

the sad truth

September 30th, 2009
12:42 pm

Your career is withering on the vine…I don’t blame you for kissing Blanks rings…OOPS he has none….so come out from under his desk MB

Falcons Curse

September 30th, 2009
12:48 pm

I have been mistreated by AFMB and I have cursed the Falcons to NEVER win a Super Bowl ever. You will be tormented for many more years with a mediocre LOSER team for the rest of your miserable lives. HA HA HA HA HA It sucks to be on the receiving end of a root.(and to live in your mother’s basement)
bwa ha ha ha ha… Back 2 back NOPE ha ha ha ha ha!! Ban that !!!

Falcons Curse

September 30th, 2009
1:00 pm

Gritzblitzer, Tandy and Karst 41 are the only MB members who will be spared the wrath of the curse.
The only ones who aren’t LOSERS !!!

How To Be A Game Manager

September 30th, 2009
1:01 pm

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d812fa414/NFL-GameDay-Browns-vs-Ravens-highlights

“Stretch The Field 101″

Notice how it looks to throw the deep ball.

Mike Vick Curse

September 30th, 2009
1:04 pm

2004 will be the last playoff win for this franchise

VOO DOO VOO DOO VOO DOO………..

HA HA HA HA

2004 & Counting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

nhe

September 30th, 2009
1:09 pm

Vick supporter………by Dec 6, Vick is going to be playing for Oakland or Miami, and the Eagles will have parlayed the Vick signing into a nice early round draft pick next year (guessing a 2nd or 3rd rounder).

Falcons Curse

September 30th, 2009
1:27 pm

The beatdown continues in San Francisco. All you kool aid drinkers will be singing the blues
“I left my heart in San Francisco”

680 the Fan

September 30th, 2009
2:04 pm

Be sure to tune in to 680 the fan with Buck and Kincade at 3pm today. There will be an
exclusive on a certain overly -sensitive franchise coming off a bad loss. Details on silencing the critics in Flowery Branch.Don’t miss it

dropped the ball AJC

September 30th, 2009
2:24 pm

Wow AJC you let a sports talk radio Am station scoop you on the inside dirt. The secret police
at the Blank compound in Flowery Branch must have rounded you up. lol

irresponsible to play Norwood

September 30th, 2009
2:30 pm

I read where Jerious Norwood is back at practice. He has had two concussions already this season.He should sit longer. A football game is not more important than Jerious Norwood’s life.

Mike Vick Curse

September 30th, 2009
2:55 pm

nhe

By December 6th, the Saints will have the division sealed

The Falcons say they don't practice censorship - really! | Mark Bradley

September 30th, 2009
3:06 pm

[...] gotten several complaints from readers who claimed their critical posts were deleted from the message boards at AtlantaFalcons.com and they were then blocked from reading the boards. [...]

where there's smoke there's fire

September 30th, 2009
3:14 pm

Lordy Lordy…seems King Arthur’s got some splainin to do about muzzling freedom of speech.

Rich Patterson

September 30th, 2009
3:58 pm

This statement says it all “Score 26-10. 7:02 in the 4th quarter. Punt on 4th and 4 at the Falcon 31. The Patriots got the ball and ran out the clock. Were we interested in trying to win? Would you punt in that situation in the Super Bowl? Heck no.”

Mike Vick Curse

September 30th, 2009
6:04 pm

Rich Patterson

They punted because they have no confidence in the quarterback.

Bradley’s Buzz: Did Smitty coach scared in Foxborough?

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Bradley’s Buzz: Did Smitty coach scared in Foxborough?

245 comments Add your comment

About Mark Bradley

We’ve Moved!

One Subscription. Total Access.

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