The brand new Falcons play in prime time and find a way
Tony Gonzalez slams the Bears. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
When last the Falcons played in prime time, they lost to the New Orleans Saints on Dec. 10, 2007, the same day Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in jail. Twenty-four hours later, they watched on TV as their head coach demonstrated how to call hogs. Thus did a surreal season reach its nadir, and we around here were asking ourselves, “How many years before this beset team gets good again? Five? Ten? Five hundred?”
On Sunday the Atlanta Falcons welcomed a nation of TV watchers back to the Georgia Dome, and it didn’t start well. The Falcons trailed 7-0 before they made a first down and were lucky not to trail 17-0. And right about then we were thinking, “An Atlanta team plays on the big stage and lays a royal egg. Haven’t we seen this before?”
But here’s the thing: These Falcons are not the feckless Falcons of old. They can look bad, yes. But they refuse to look bad for long. They’re too resourceful, too clever, too driven. And when NBC broke for halftime analysis, the team that started so slowly was leading 14-7 and had taken control of a game going wrong.
This being the NFL, the game would wobble all over creation. But when finally the end came, the Falcons had won the thing. They got a huge kickoff return from Eric Weems. They got a go-ahead touchdown drive that had Tony Gonzalez’s fingerprints all over it — well, it would have his prints if he didn’t wear gloves — and then got a stop inside the 10 inside the final 30 seconds on a defensive sequence that had the famous cornerback Jamaal Anderson (yes!) dropping into coverage.
And here we say, not for the first time and not for the last, that the New Falcons have done more than just win enough games that they again get to splash their faces on prime time TV. They’ve become a remarkable assemblage. They’re smart and they’re tough. They can take a punch. They can deliver one, too. They can win a lot of different ways, and now they’re 4-1 and looking again like a playoff team at worst and maybe like something much better than that.
They didn’t beat the Chicago Bears because everything went right. Not much did, truth to tell. Matt Ryan threw two interceptions. The offense sustained only three drives. (Two, if you discount Roddy White’s 40-yard touchdown on a quick hitch.) The defense leaked yardage to Jay Cutler and his tight ends, but somehow you looked up after 60 minutes and saw the Bears with just 14 points. Which didn’t quite compute but sure did matter.
We’ll make much of the final few minutes, of Gonzalez’s catches and Michael Turner’s touchdown and Jamaal Anderson’s improbable coverage — Erik Coleman was assisting downfield — on Cutler’s final fling, but this was a game won in that first quarter. The Bears, coming off a bye, started fast. The Falcons were doing all they could just to hang around. But that’s the point: They hung.
Thomas DeCoud intercepted two wretched Cutler throws, and the second changed the game. White scored his touchdown and Gonzalez scored his four seconds before halftime, and from then on the Bears were chasing a game they should have been leading. And the Falcons’ defense would yield ground but not points. (Jonathan Babineaux stripped Matt Forte of the ball inside the 5 in the third quarter, Coy Wire coyly recovering.)
And if you were watching at home in, say, Bozeman, Mont., you couldn’t have watched the Falcons and said of them, “Those poor pitiful losers.” If you saw this one, you saw a team that grows with every week, that in the span of 22 months has gone from pathetic to proudly professional. You saw a team that knows how to win.
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211 comments Add your comment
Tell it like it is
October 19th, 2009
11:54 am
The bears are who we though they were.Bradley let he falcons and saints play the game before giving the game to the saints.when the saints and falcons tie up any thing can happen.the best team don’t allways win.lets take care of the cowboys first.
MJM
October 19th, 2009
11:56 am
Mike Smith’s defense is doing great. Who the heck is this guy Van Goober anyway?
Karl
October 19th, 2009
12:25 pm
I couldn’t believe how Orlando Pace got away with grabbing John Abraham around the neck and dragging him to the ground on almost every play. Unreal.
Gary
October 19th, 2009
12:31 pm
Let’s take care of Dallas before even thinking about New Orleans. But I will leave this little nugget for those who say we cannot beat the Saints at the Superdome. In 1991 the Saints were a very good football team. They started the season 7-0 (including a dominating win over the Falcons in Atlanta) and were 9-2 when the birds of 91 traveled to New Orleans to play the Saints. The Falcons walked in 6-5 on the season and pulled out a hard fought victory over the Saints that propelled the Falcons to five straight wins and a playoff birth. The Saints going into that game were one of the best in the NFL.
What I am saying is that the old adage that “any given Sunday” holds true in Falcons history. That Falcons team had no business beating the Saints. Just like the 1998 team had no business going up to Minnesota and beating the high powered Vikings.
No matter how good the Saints are, the Falcons (and any other team for that matter) have as good a chance as anyone at walking into the Superdome on Monday 11/2/09 and walking out with a W.
Great win last night. Go Falcons!!!
Supes
October 19th, 2009
12:37 pm
william,
I think Matt Forte is going to have nightmares about the Falcons D for MONTHS.
He’ll be seeing the USS Babinoux and Curtis Lofton’s face in his nightmares.
you didn’t give us Sh*t.
Falcons EARNED every bit of that victory last night.
Face it…Bears have no running game and are relying on Jay Cutler (who is an awesome QB), but can’t do it all by himself and he can win games for you, but he can also LOSE games for you as well.
Falcons better all around team than the Bears RIGHT NOW.
Brock
October 19th, 2009
12:40 pm
I bet Cutler wishes he stayed in Denver now. The only thing greener on the other side is the money.
Brock
October 19th, 2009
12:44 pm
Starring Henry- you know Mike and Paul are good friends right? Great minds win alike.
rms
October 19th, 2009
12:46 pm
Breaking news…. CB Brian Williams is done for the season FOXSPORTS is reporting!! This really sucks for an already suspect secondary defense.
FalconDawg
October 19th, 2009
12:58 pm
Birds were fantastic in the Red Zone. Two goal line stands inside the 10. Forcing TWO fumbles at the 1-yard line. That is smash-mouth defense. I thought the youth movement on defense would cost us something this season (but a bold move and needed), but these guys are on D are bouncing all over the field.
Ryan had a textbook drive at the end of the half. Gonzalez is a steal, but I wonder how far we would have gone if Alge had been here last year.
SPS
October 19th, 2009
1:32 pm
Williams tore his ACL. Say hello Tye Hill?
Atlanta Bear
October 19th, 2009
1:37 pm
Sickening loss for the Bears. This is a game that Bears thoroughly out-played Falcons for 4 quarters but you commit silly penalties & unforced turnovers in the red zone and what do you get… a gift-wrapped win to Atlanta. Both teams will finish 10-6 but unfortunately tie-breaker will go to Falcons.
SOUTH GA BIRD FAN
October 19th, 2009
1:41 pm
just read also where williams is done for the year maybe its wrong.
Deborah Hall
October 19th, 2009
1:45 pm
Leave the Falcons CB’s alone, the coaches will do their jobs. Give our secondary a chance to prove themselves.
rms
October 19th, 2009
2:04 pm
They already have, thats why there is so much concern for the secondary right now. I am not as concerned about the Dallas game but the Drew Brees and the Saints might whoop us like the Patriots did the Titans yesterday!!!
RednBlack
October 19th, 2009
2:11 pm
Why does everyone keep reporting that the Falcons “held on” – They were ahead when the Bears were trying to tie it and go to overtime!! They didn’t hold on they were ahead for God’s sake.
JamesPullitzer
October 19th, 2009
2:19 pm
I think a lot of fans are running scared right now and are watching the scores of the New Orleans Saints games and just assuming the Saints are the BEST team in football. The Saints may truly be the best team in football as they have demonstrated that so far; but I think if the Saints are best team it doesnt mean the Falcons cant beat the Saints. I think the Falcons are better than the Saints and I think the Falcons can outscore the Saints. I think the Falcons are better than the Patriots and that the Falcons laid an egg against the Pats. The Falcons COULD be sitting at 5-0 tied with the best record in football had they not played scared against the Patriots. I dont know WHY people keep saying the Saints will automatically beat the Falcons when the game hasnt been played yet. I’ll tell you this much; if the Patriots can score 45 points in a half, the Falcons can score 90 points in a full game. If the Falcons can score 90 points against the Saints in New Orleans, I think the Falcons will walk away from that game with a win. I do however believe that the Falcons may need to score 90 just to beat the high powered scoring juggernaut of the Saints.
Around the NFC South with the columnists
October 19th, 2009
2:29 pm
[...] Bradley starts off by recalling the disaster that was going on the last time the Falcons played on national television (see Bobby Petrino and [...]
Vick Supporter
October 19th, 2009
2:40 pm
Dec 6th……
“The Day of Rekoning”
JJB
October 19th, 2009
3:05 pm
Dec 6, it could certainly be the “Day of Reckoning”, but I do not see MV playing much. He is third in the depth chart and Kevin Kolb has played decently weel in a back up role. I cannot say the same thing about MV. Who knows though
Uh Oh.........
October 19th, 2009
3:15 pm
Williams is done for the season!
Uh Oh.........
October 19th, 2009
3:16 pm
JJB
October 19th, 2009
3:05 pm
Dec 6, it could certainly be the “Day of Reckoning”, but I do not see MV playing much. He is third in the depth chart and Kevin Kolb has played decently weel in a back up role. I cannot say the same thing about MV. Who knows though
“Actually Kolb was listed as the 3rd qb yesterday”.
Lloyd Christmas
October 19th, 2009
3:16 pm
Mark-
You are one pathetic loser. No offense.
DobermanPincher
October 19th, 2009
3:18 pm
Vick Supporter: why do you insist on ruining our BLOGS with MV news. No one on this planet is interested in what MV is doing and could care less. I feel that when Bobby Petrino came to the Falcons to coach them, on the day Petrino resigned Vick was sentenced to a 23 month prison sentence. I wish Vick had already served his time at that time and we could have sent Vick packing with Petrino to Arkansas. In other words Vicks performance was so poor in the professional ranks with the Falcons that Vick would have been better served going to Arkansas to play college football for Bobby Petrino so Vick can start all over again. We should have been able to ship both idiots out of Atlanta at the same time so they can co-exist together.
Lloyd Christmas
October 19th, 2009
3:25 pm
IT’S OKAY, I’M A LIMO DRIVER!!!!
Charles Dimry
October 19th, 2009
3:53 pm
Thoughts on cornerback w/ Williams out? Trade? Tye Hill, Whatever happened to Chris Owens . . .wasn’t he starting to emergein training camp?
jerry
October 19th, 2009
3:54 pm
Who’s gonna start for Williams?
Barnacle Bill Bavasi
October 19th, 2009
3:56 pm
With Williams out, bring back Charles Dimry and Kenny Johnson.
Joe Childs
October 19th, 2009
4:06 pm
The Bear are who we thought they were…THE BEARS ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE!!! —classic D.Green
Darrin "The Vent King"
October 19th, 2009
4:11 pm
Great win, but I’ll be so happy when the Falcons are able to show up on the prime time NFL stage WITHOUT the announcers bringing up Bobby Petrino and “Dog-Gate”- that is getting old. I mean 4 real EVERYBODY IN THE FREE WORLD KNOWS THAT STORY ALREADY, can we pleeeeeeeeeease move on?
Sad thing is, I know they’re going to do the same thing when we play the Aints on MNF….ugh! This may go on 4 the next five years.
GO FALCONS!!!
GermanShepperd
October 19th, 2009
4:14 pm
I dont know how exited the other fans are but I am just ecstatic about how good the Falcons are this year. I really believe they are a lot better than what the national media believes they are. The Falcons are a solid football team and would have been even much better this season had they not lost those three standout defensive players from last year: James Foxworth; Lawyer Malloy and Harry Douglas. Despite the losses of those three great players, the Falcons still have dramatically improved the football team by compensating for those losses by adding Peterson and Gonzales. The Falcons were deep enough on defense that they have now gone from being a middle of the road team probably 12-16th in the league to a great top 5 all world elite team. I think there are five great teams in the league and the Falcons are one of them: 1#:New Orleans; 2#:Indianapolis; 3#:New England; 4#:Minnesota and 5#:Atlanta. I think the Falcons in the Power Rankings are sitting somewhere in the top 5 of the elite teams. I know the local and national media doesnt rank them there yet; but that is how good I believe the Falcons are this season. WE WILL NOW HOW GOOD THE FALCONS ARE AFTER THEY PLAY THE COWBOYS, SAINTS AND EAGLES. Everybody in the league will now exactly where to place the Falcons in the power rankings after these three games are done. I cant wait for those matchups so then the world will know how good the Falcons are.
ashman
October 19th, 2009
4:18 pm
Considering that Matty Ice did not have a lot of time to throw,i think he did a pretty good job for a good portion of the game. I applaud the falcons for playing smart and tough!
Veronica: THE FALCONS VICTORY GAL
October 19th, 2009
4:19 pm
Dear Mr. “Vick Supporter,”
You are as DUMB as your “god” Mchael “Worthless, Convicted Felon” Vick.
The only way you can make yourself look even MORE STUPID than backing that loser Vick is to misspell “Reckoning” when trying to make a defining statement Go back to your Affirmative Action job you always like to brag about getting paid so much to do (or not do) on here and stop trying (and failing) to sound educated.
FormerVickEmployee
October 19th, 2009
4:21 pm
Enter your comments here
FormerVickEmployee AlvinRockweiler
October 19th, 2009
4:23 pm
I cant wait till Vick wrestles away the starting qb job from Donovan. Go Vick Go!
PMC
October 19th, 2009
4:26 pm
For all you folks coming into town with old alegiences… plenty of room on the Falcons bandwagon. This is a good team, it’s fun to watch and they are winning in new and different ways. There’s really no need to cling to that childhood team that you live thousands of miles away from. Your new city has a team that plays great football embrace them.
Navigator
October 19th, 2009
4:29 pm
There Offensive Coordinator, was offensive to the fans, taking most of quarter before going to the no huddle, which Chicago couldn’t handle. Then in the second half, he went back to run 2 straight and passing on 3rd and long. He never used the no huddle again, which Chicago should be extremely thankful. Oh yeah, on Ryan’s second interception, who was the receiver that couldn’t catch the ball and tipped it over to Chicago?? First I thought it was Gonzales, but I’m not sure. Whatever, taking that field goal away, pretty much made the game closer than it should have been.
Veronica: THE FALCONS VICTORY GAL
October 19th, 2009
4:30 pm
December 6th:
An army of brain-dead morons where in Atlanta will be using their #7 Eagles jerseys as crying towels.
BOO-HOO-HOO !!!!
GO, FALCONS, GO !!!!!!!!
Tell it like it is
October 19th, 2009
5:03 pm
The Bears are who we though they were.The Saints are who we thank they are OVERATED.First we take care of dallas and then we show the world how overrated the ants are.It don’t matter who has the best record going into the game throw the records out the window this is all out war.I repete don’t over look the cowboys and then take care of the ants.
Vick Supporter
October 19th, 2009
5:42 pm
To the Vick Supporter haters:
Isn’t this a free country? Am I not allowed to voice my own opinion?
Uh Oh.........
October 19th, 2009
5:48 pm
The Cowboy receivers average height is 6′4 and the Tight End, All Pro Jason Whitten is 6′5.
I think the Falcons secondary average height is 5′11.
That doesn’t sound good and then have to deal with “The Three Headed Monster” Marion Barber, Felix Jones & Tashod Choice.
Barkin'Dog
October 19th, 2009
5:49 pm
rms — the Falcons can score points – big difference with TN. Tell it like it is — get an education. Who the he!! are the ants? Vick Supporter — NO. Do it on Philly’s blog.
Uh Oh.........
October 19th, 2009
5:49 pm
Vick Supporter
Do your thing man!
Why are the Falcons Fans so Insecure..........
October 19th, 2009
5:51 pm
If your team is so elite, surely bloggers who don’t worship your opinions shouldn’t bother you unless you are “Insecure” about your team.
Rocky Mountian Falcon
October 19th, 2009
6:04 pm
One game at a time. Lets not worry about the Saints until next Monday.
Ryan, got looked like he had butterflies in the first Qtr., alot like in the early part of the Wildcard game last January. He rebounded alot sooner this time.
Falcons are looking good, but Turner needs to have a big game against Dallas. We are 4-1, 5 wins away from history.
Why do Falcons Fans have such low Pride????
October 19th, 2009
6:16 pm
It’s almost like, if they have a winning season in back-to-back seasons is more important than winning a playoff game.
This city is more concerned about image than winning games that matter, like in the playoffs.
Cities like Pittsburgh, New England, etc can care less about back-to-back winning seasons, if they can’t win the Lombardi Trophy.
The Falcons fans are such a losing mental group of people.
Alan
October 19th, 2009
7:04 pm
Falcon fans its time to rise up and tell the naysayers where to go, they don’t belong here.
The Falcons have a great operation starting at the top with a good owner that has commited to win, a great GM that is giving Smitty the players he needs to win, Smitty and his staff that molds the players and a group of veteran players that step up and lead a group of young players that are eager to learn and win.
If and when the time comes that we lose a game, don’t go off the deep end and think the world is coming to an end. GO FALCONS-GO SOUTHERN RUSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Barry
October 19th, 2009
8:25 pm
Hey Y’all”
“ONE GAME AT A TIME.” That’a how we will “PREPARE”,”PLAY” and “WIN” this season. “ONE GAME AT A TIME.” There is no rush to look ahead of the schedule. As long as COACH SMITH and his COACHING STAFF have the FALCONS “PREPARED” and “HYPED” for each game, “THE SKY IS THE LIMIT.” WE WIN, ONE GAME AT A TIME. At the end of the regualar season, we look up, and “BAM!!” we are in the playoff and ready for the SUPERBOWL run in the same manner. That is how this season is panning out. Our Falcons are playing some “NASTY”, “INNOVATIVE”, “SMASH MOUTH”, SOUTHERN FOOTBALL. This is truly an “ENJOYABLE” season knocking off the “NAYSAYERS” and “THEIR TEAMS” “ONE GAME AT A TIME.” THEY ARE REALLY LOOKING STUPID. GO FALCONS!! KICK THAT BUTT!!! MORE THAN THAT, KICK IT IN “ONE HEARTBEAT!!!” ONE GAME AT A TIME!! I AM LOVING THIS “NEW JACK” FOOTBALL IN ATLANTA AND THE STATE OF GEORGIA. “JACK EM UP” FALCONS. “JACK EM UP” IN “ONE HEARTBEAT!!!”
GO FALCONS!!! KICK THAT DALLAS BUTT!!
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a SECRET from a FALCON FAN. TELL EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!!!
……………………….”ONE HEARTBEAT, BABY!!!!……………….
Blaster
October 19th, 2009
9:14 pm
Hey the guys are playing great with the hand they have with the right staff in charge. They need a couple more defensive drafts with one offensive player a between the tackel runner in case Turner the Burner get a injury minus any dead weight on the roster. About two years we should be fully loaded and ready to take a Super Bowl win with no smoke and mirrows needed.
WarWolf
October 19th, 2009
10:09 pm
Enter your comments here
WarWolf
October 19th, 2009
10:17 pm
Thanks for doing that interview on Kansas City radio today Mark.
Was a pleasant surprise to turn on KC radio and hear some good Falcons talk for a change. This was people’s first chance up here to actually see Gonzo and the boys live on TV. Made for a good weekend.
You should try to get those radio hosts to make it a regular feature up here because there is a strong Falcons following in KC since TG went to Atlanta.
Also, I think the Falcons defense is for real. Great in the clutch inside the red zone.