On a night with everything to gain, the Falcons somehow lose
Do you believe in miracles? For Matty Ice, there were none this night. (AJC photo by Jason Getz)
The biggest home game in franchise history: That’s how this was billed, and here we pause to note that 46 seasons make for a considerable chunk of history. (Almost half a century!) And even if the Falcons entered Monday night’s game against New Orleans with a comfy Plan B — they could lose to the Saints and still win the NFC South and clinch a No. 1 seed by beating Carolina on Sunday — nobody wanted to do it the easy way.
But that, alas, is the way it will have to be. The Falcons tripped over their moment. This isn’t to say they can’t have moments still, but they couldn’t handle this one.
If you’re going to be a champ, you have to show you can beat a champ. The Falcons had already taken down the reigning champs once this fall, but that was in Week 3 in the Superdome when not many people thought this team would be 12-2 on Christmas. That was a case of a rising team slipping up on an established power. Monday night was different: It was a match of peers, a prime-time convocation of two of the NFL’s finest.
It wasn’t a game of precision. Center Todd McClure whiffed on a shotgun snap that spawned the Saints’ first touchdown, and Michael Turner fumbled when the Falcons were poised to take a third-quarter lead. But the defense kept the game close enough for one play to turn it, and one play did.
It was the Falcons’ defense that undid them in their improbable playoff run of 2008, a defense that was so outclassed in Glendale, Ariz., that general manager Thomas Dimitroff flew home determined to embark on a massive redo, and sure enough he (re)did. The Falcons dumped five starters off that 11-5 team and, in going 9-7 last season, paid the inevitable price of such sweeping change. This year, however, has seen the changes brought to bear.
These Falcons can play D with the big boys. On Monday night they held a high-test offense to 10 points — seven off the aforementioned short field — over 56 minutes. They induced Drew Brees, Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year, to commit two egregious fourth-quarter turnovers, the first a silly underhand toss the Chauncey Davis fielded and returned for the go-ahead score, the second a bat-and-grab interception by John Abraham.
The Falcons had a chance after the Abraham swoop to close the case, but a possession sputtered after one first down. Whereupon the Saints drove to a touchdown, Brees finding Jimmy Graham on a slant with 3:24 remaining. But this was what the Falcons’ defense, even in its wobbles, had done all season: It had kept games close enough for Matt Ryan to win them at the end.
And here again was his chance. He hadn’t had a great game through 56 minutes, but the beauty of Matty Ice is that those first 56 minutes can be a red herring. On the first snap after the Saints took their late lead, Ryan scrambled for 20 yards, and you thought, “Here it comes” — the final copyright-protected Falcons Finish of calendar 2010, to be placed on the shelf alongside the escapes against the 49ers and the Ravens and the Packers.
But then a strange thing happened. Ryan threw incomplete on third down, and Mike Smith, the coach who dares to dare, chose to punt inside the final three minutes. It almost worked — the Falcons thought they’d recovered a Graham fumble, but replay correctly overruled — and Matt Ryan never got another chance.
“We didn’t get the outcome we wanted,” Smith said, “but we like where we’re at. Fifteen other [NFC] teams would like to be where we are.”
And that’s true. But there was no hiding the disappointment. “You’ve got to look at the body of work,” Smith said, but this was a night that went against what we’d seen before.
A formula tested over 14 games fizzled in the 15th. The defense held the Saints to 17 points and scored seven itself, which should have been enough to win but wasn’t. The offense couldn’t hold up its end, and the dauntless Smitty outsmarted himself at the end. The biggest regular-season game in Falcons annals will go down, sad to say, as a whiff.
By Mark Bradley
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December 29th, 2010
12:28 am
[...] On a night with everything to gain, the Falcons somehow lose – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)(Almost half a century!) And even if the Falcons entered Monday night’s game against New Orleans with a comfy Plan B — they could lose to the Saints and still win the NFC South and clinch a No. 1 seed by beating Carolina on Sunday — nobody wanted to [...]
David Thomas
December 29th, 2010
12:44 am
It seems awful funny to me, that when the Falcons get beat by the 10 win defending Super Bowl Champs, in a game they could have easily one but for a couple mistakes; in a game that ultimately meant nothing, every fair weather fan/ commentator/ analyst says the Falcons are finished,washed up and pretenders, but the Eagles get beat by a 5 win team with a 3rd string QB on two extra days rest, with home field advantage on the line and everything to win for and they say “They just had a bad night”. Whatever!! At least one good thing came out of this Falcons loss, we got rid of a lot of fair weather bandwagon fans! Win or loose I’m a Falcons fan for Life Baby!!!!!!!!!
Big A
December 29th, 2010
1:02 am
Falcons were completely dominated in EVERY category by Saints and if not for mistakes giving a gift wrapped TD, the only score woulda been the one drive that was built on 50% penalties! Of course the first win also came off a botched glorified extra point Saints chose to kick ON FIRST DOWN since it was so close! so thank Saints for mistakes that saved Falcons from getting swept again this year! Next time the meet Saints, Ivory will be ready and Falcons have never seen the 3 headed running monster run game Ivory, Bush, and Thomas! If they couldn’t handle the one dimensional passing Saints, well it’s just going to be ugly next time when they face a balanced pass and running Saints!
TomDAWG
December 29th, 2010
1:26 am
To all Saints fans, your team won by 3 points. Not exactly a beat down as you claim. To all bloggers on here saying crap about the Falcons and how badly they treated a scumbag like Mike Vick, GROW UP. To all Matt Ryan haters and all the talk about his “noodle arm”, please just GO AWAY and STFU. And finally to my fellow Falcon fans, either you are with the team or you are not. Stick with them thru the bad and celebrate thru the good. If you can not do that then maybe you need to hop off the bandwagon and get out of the way before your @ss gets run over.
james
December 29th, 2010
2:05 am
Falcons sorry- I think I missed what you said about Tuesday and a real man Vick. Could you repeat that I could not hear you over the the 7 Vick sacks. (Hey that’s his number!) must have been the SPCA on the other side of the ball not the Vikings! Falcons sorry….. NO Vick Sorry!!!!
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December 29th, 2010
2:54 am
[...] On a night with everything to gain, the Falcons somehow lose – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)(Almost half a century!) And even if the Falcons entered Monday night’s game against New Orleans with a comfy Plan B — they could lose to the Saints and still win the NFC South and clinch a No. 1 seed by beating Carolina on Sunday — nobody wanted to [...]
Eagles Sorry
December 29th, 2010
3:11 am
Dang man! The Eagles got bitch slapped at home by a 5-9 team with a backup QB!
Bird man
December 29th, 2010
8:02 am
Where is Falcon sorry? Your boy Mike Vick laid an egg Tuesday night. He was what we thought he was. For the record, there was nothing wrong with his leg when he ran the ball, Now he couldn’t walk after the game. Give me a break. He was out played by an back up receiver.
Steve C
December 29th, 2010
8:17 am
Notice that we didn’t hear from Falcon Sorry and that crowd for 8 weeks until we lost to NO. Then all the Vick supporters came out of the woodwork to build up the Minnesota/Philly game saying how Vick was going to man up and dominate the game and show us Falcons fans how a “real” QB plays. Well, I don’t hear anything but crickets from that crowd now that the Iggles lost to a sub-500 team starting a rookie 3rd string QB who was drafted as a wide receiver. Come on, man! Can dish it out but can’t take it!
Dr. Z
December 29th, 2010
8:23 am
No worries folks. You will forget this game after this Sunday. Falcons didn’t need this game like the Saints did. The Saints played for their playoff lives and yet we STILL almost won! If the Saints come back in a couple weeks or so…they’ll have wished they hadn’t! There time is over!
Dr. Z
December 29th, 2010
8:26 am
Same ole’ Ron Mexico! I find it funny that the Eagles fans forget just how awful of a human being Vick is when they are winning. At Philly.com they are ripping him. Same ole’ Philly fans as well. So glad we have Matty Ice! …a quarterback that has brains and knows how to slide to avoid injury.
SeenThisB4
December 29th, 2010
8:33 am
Dr. Z: Rationalize it any way you want, your team got taken the wood shed and given a good ole whipping. Your offense was manhandled by the Saints Defense, HANDLED! The Saints dominated every statistical category in the box score IN YOUR HOUSE! The Saints proved that the falcan’ts can be beaten at home, that the falcan’t offense is soft and fragile. The Saints GAVE your team 7 points and allowed your anemic offensive 7 points the entire night.
No, it was a meaningful game last night. The falcan’ts were flying high and whopping it up so much that even Roddy White thought it appropriate to trash talk on twitter. Should the Saints be traveling back to ATL (and that’s a big assumption since I doubt that the falcan’ts can elude the Packers again) it will be the Saints who will have the psychological advantage, not your team.
GEAUX SAINTS! IT IS, OUR TIME!!
Chaos Theory
December 29th, 2010
8:36 am
No big deal–the falcons will beat new orleans easy in the playoffs and win the NFC—bet the house. Atlanta v. New England–Super Bowl. You heard it here first.
mgm
December 29th, 2010
8:46 am
I said it before the game on one of these articles. The Falcons did the right thing in not showing the Saints anything on offense. They had nothing to gain by doing so. The high, high probability was that these two teams meet again in the playoffs in Atlanta and that is the game that matters. Better to have lost this game with a vanilla offensive than to lose in the playoffs. That being said, we better hope that is what the Falcons were actually doing. Otherwise, its 1980 all over again. I am scarred for life from that game.
MR
December 29th, 2010
9:09 am
Stupid people: Falcons win the South, get the bye, and homefield advantage through the playoffs. They end the season 13-3, have a 8 or 9 game win streak and defeat some real good teams. This Sunday they start a new winning streak that will end at 4 games. If anyone of you are smart, which I imagine there are only a few…what will the mean for the Falcons…
MR
December 29th, 2010
9:11 am
One more thing…Bradly..you are the lead stupid.
JuneBaby
December 29th, 2010
9:31 am
It seems that everyone in the Falcons org. was at fault in that game except for one person, you know, the fair headed one, the elite one, the best qb in the NFC, yeah that guy!!! The guy who can do no wrong, even when he does nothing right. Blame it on M. Turner, R. White, D. Robinson. the defense as a whole, off coordinator, head coach, or whoever. Just don’t throw any of the blame at the fair headed one, you know the greatest Falcon ever!!!!!!!
Matt "Choke" Ryan
December 29th, 2010
9:36 am
Crickets Chirping,,,,,,,
Frozen Rope
December 29th, 2010
9:41 am
Just for the record I said right after the game this one is on Ryan and Mularkey,,,, but you have to give some credit to the Aints D,,,,,,,
Mr. Mustard
December 29th, 2010
9:42 am
We win in Carolina, and home field advantage. I will take that.
However, this is the first time all year I will criticize this team.
Eric Weems ran away from the ball all night long. The offense seemed unable or unwilling to adjust when the run game was taken away.
Matt Ryan was indecisive on a couple of plays, including one where he should have run the ball, but flinged it towards Snelling at the last second.
The punt return game was embarrassing and it gave me the impression we went into the game planning on being conservative, except on defense which was a brilliant scheme, until the last drive.
That is not the Falcons of this year.
You want to be champions, you have to take risks.
Come on guys, what the hell was Weems doing out there?
JuneBaby
December 29th, 2010
9:51 am
148 yards passing!!! wow is that a misprint or what?? 148 yards passing for a pro qb who is supposed to be an elite qb. He has to do much much better than that. Earlier in the year i warned that those kind of numbers were unacceptable for this team, especially against a good team ala the Saints. Now you see for yourselves!!
nhe
December 29th, 2010
10:43 am
@ Jo/@ The Big Hurt…………(are you the same person?)…………..I agree with The Big Hurt to a point, but I think you’re being a little unfair. Saying the Falcons are “far away” from the coach/QB/scheme of NE and NO isn’t necessarily true.
You have to remember that the Falcons are 2 torn ACLs (Douglas and Norwood) away from looking very different in their ability to stretch the field and get playmakers into space.
I think Dimitroff is committed to the NE model – fast defense with a 9 man DL rotation, and a QB oriented, multi-faceted offense. We are forced unfortunately to have had to rely on Turner FAR MORE than we want to. Douglas doesn’t have the burst he had his rookie year, and not having Norwood on the field hurts far more than we even know. You put those 2 guys (fully healthy) in the mix, and you have a lot more plays made in space and a lot more 20+ yard plays.
What we have now is probably the slowest offense (at the skill positions) in the NFC. To be 12-3 without the ability to stretch the field and with a still young/still evolving defense is a huge credit to Dimitroff and the coaching staff.
I fully expect next year that we will have 2 new playmakers on our offense, and that we will look much more like what you’re referring to.
Two Dat
December 29th, 2010
10:43 am
Mark,
Great thoughtful piece. I should have read yours first before I got to Jeff’s “our defense proved it’s ready for the playoffs” spin. Finally an Atlanta sports writter that is objective and honest – so very refreshing….this coming from a native New Oleanian who lives in Slidell La and works in Atlanta….
What is wrong with Sports
December 29th, 2010
11:01 am
The things said by Bradley and the reactions of fans and sports talk people are everything that is wrong with sports. While it is valid to pick apart plays and decsions made when evaluating a game the bottom line is that that two teams played a close game and as the case usually is, only one team can win. To act like the previous 15 weeks meant nothing for either team is a joke. New Orleans has lost to two horrible teams in Cleveland and Arizona but because they were able to win this game all memory is erased because people just want to talke about “now”. The same goes for the Falcons winning 8 straight games as demonstrated by Bradley acting as if they had just been eliminated from the playoffs. The Falcons won eight straight games to put them in a position not to have to win the Saints game in order to win the division and be the number one seed. That should be taken into account when evaluating a team just like the two bad losses by New Orleans that has put them in a position to still be a Wild Card. Had the situation been reversed and the Falcons had won this game, but because of losses to Cleveland and New Orleans, Mark Bradley would have indicated that while it was a win the Falcons missed there chance with the previous losses. He wrote this garbage to get a responses because the AJC sports department is pretty much a ghost these days. Bradley once wrote an article about how great the acquisition of Reggie Sanders was for the Braves. Just one of the many “whiffs” is his un-destinguised career.
nhe
December 29th, 2010
11:05 am
Prediction – (remember where you heard it)………if healthy, Deangelo Williams will be a Falcon next year!……….combine Williams with an early around 4.3ish playmaker pick (doesn’t have to be a big name, just someone who can stretch the field) and we will have what the offense is lacking this year.
Williams has the character, personality, and skillset that the Falcons need and want, and he’s available.
I’ll wait till around May or June to give my “I told you so”.
THE INFAMOUS DK
December 29th, 2010
11:25 am
Mularky’s predictable play calling lost that game.. M Turner right. M Turner left. Pass to the flat. If we could play action somebody and go deep we might at least keep people honest.
I can take a loss from the Falcons.. Heck Im used to it but it was the way they lost on Monday that reminded me of the Falcons of old.
acorn3332
December 29th, 2010
11:30 am
To all Falcon fans ,who don’t believe the Saints beat you but were lucky. First game Saints miss winning field goal, Falcons get a chance and win.. Monday Falcons got a gift from Brees for a touchdown,other than that they scored one touchdown.Saints stopped Falcons on 3 yd line. Saints scored 17 points,you got lucky once and got beat the other.Saints may not win or even go deep into the playoffs, but they re better than Falcons.
kenny
December 29th, 2010
11:38 am
Who/where/is/was Peoria(doughboy) Jerri ? May have misspelled his name because he has been AWOL all season..That muffed draft pic (Franchise player..ha ha..) has become the reason our team is still predictable on offense and why we focused so much on shoring up our defense.. Most any First, second, third, etc..pick would have made a greater contribution (on either side of the ball) than he has..We crapped out on him and we have paid the price..(One potentially major piece of the team puzzle not on board..)
acorn3332
December 29th, 2010
11:42 am
TomDawg, does the Falcon win by 3 points over the Saints count as a great win.Falcons only scored 7 points by my caculations that is a 10 point loss. This team will not win the super bowl,saints showed the nfl how to beat a bunch of wannabes.
JuneBaby
December 29th, 2010
11:45 am
Why would anyone be lamenting the absence of Norwood? He hasn’t been relevant in the last 2-3 years, if ever in his career. That was a wasted draft pick, and i fault the Falcons for taking so long to realize they couldn’t depend on him to stay healthy. It’s also their fault they wouldn’t sign a big play off. threat, when they’ve been available. I don’t think any team will ever win if they depend on only “PG” rated players, and not be willing to take a risks on players who may be a “R” rating. Using vanilla players only, gets you a vanilla record only!!
Crabkilla
December 29th, 2010
1:39 pm
Though we got lucky in the 1st game. The Saints got lucky this time like they typically do. Drew Brees’ best play was his John Abraham tackle. That was 6 points. All I have to say to the fans of New Orleans is the FEMA money has run out. There will be no more hand outs and you can’t blame Bush any longer. I can’t wait to see them again in the playoffs. Whaaaaaaaaa! Hurricane Katrina! Whaaaaaaa!
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December 29th, 2010
2:08 pm
[...] On a night with everything to gain, the Falcons somehow lose – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)And even if the Falcons entered Monday night’s game against New Orleans with a comfy Plan B — they could lose to the Saints and still win the NFC South and clinch a No. 1 seed by beating Carolina on Sunday — nobody wanted to do it the easy way. [...]
RM
December 29th, 2010
2:24 pm
Matt “CHOKE” Ryan better not make another post on the ajc blogs ever again after Vick’s MVP performance last night.
JeanE
December 29th, 2010
4:58 pm
2 days later and I’m still ticked off we lost. This was a totally winnable game! Someone on the radio said maybe Mularkey held back because we might see the Saints again in the postseason. That is ridiculous! Nope, Mularkey is just that bad that he couldn’t make any offensive adjustments to them stuffing our run game. And Mike Smith lost his nerve big time. He may say he doesn’t regret not going for it but he’s lying. And the aftermath with them posing on our logo and supposed urination taking place is just vile. I hope we do end up playing them again: we won’t forget their disgusting disrespectful behavior and we will take our revenge accordingly. Also, Matt Ryan: ignore every play Mularkey calls and said your headset wasn’t working. Throw it to Finn!!!
JeanE
December 29th, 2010
5:08 pm
We are upset because we lost a chance to prove we belong in the same class as the Saints, Pats, etc. Once again, we laid an egg on national TV. Our coaches with the big exception of BVG (kudos to you and the defense we were fantastic!! Brian Williams just has to learn how to tacke) were totally outcoached. I agree, where were the slants, the screen passes?? Any offensive adjustment whatsoever??? We can’t continue to jam slow butt Turner at everyone, on lesser teams that works but not against a talented team like the Saints. Why to we not use all of the offensive weapons at our disposal? Finn disappears for huge chunks of the game, banished to the sideline. Jenks was awesome for 2 series, then we forget him?? We can’t just rely on Roddy and TG. I am so frustrated with this offense!! Fire Mike Mularkey, please for the love of God.
Brian
December 29th, 2010
7:27 pm
Predictable play calling is the first complaint fans have about their teams offense. You are only going to do 2 things on offense, either run or pass. That is a 50-50 proposition unless it is 3rd and long, then you need to pass. When the defense imposes its will on your offense you do look predictable.Coaches spend 80 hours a week looking at game film. Arm chair QB’s swig beer and complain.
Frozen Rope
December 29th, 2010
8:38 pm
Eagles One and Done,, Michael Pick MVP,,, Hahahahahaha
Frozen Rope
December 29th, 2010
8:47 pm
Nothing wrong with Mularkey,,, you have to execute….
Frozen Rope
December 29th, 2010
9:15 pm
Matt “Choke” Ryan
What happened to your Boy last night,, Vick can be shut down with the right game plan,,, he is going to get hurt running,,, And,, He will fumble eventually the way he carries the ball like a loaf of bread,,,,, And what was that QB rating,,, Tom Brady has the MVP locked up,,,,,
GO FALCONS!
Fred Macmurray
December 29th, 2010
9:47 pm
Matt Ryan will be fine. He seems like such a nice young man.
Michael "Choke" Vick
December 29th, 2010
9:55 pm
Man that ball was slick! Like a greased Pit Bull,,,,,
5 Reason not to take the Panthers Lightly!!!
December 30th, 2010
12:05 am
If you read ajc.com blogs everyone on these blogs even the blog host keep saying that Atlanta is going to have the home field advantage like there is not another meaningful game to play.
I heard one commentator say last night that Philly was going into the game last night getting ready for playoff time and the Vikings were going in the game getting ready for a tee time. We all know how that turn out. All Atlanta was so cocky saying the Saints couldn’t come in and beat the Falcons in their house and that didn’t workout.
Atlanta Falcons Beware!!!!!
Do really think that the Panthers are just going to lie down?
5 Reason the Panthers could come in and beat the Falcons
1) Its going to be John Fox’s last game. Teams either play their hearts out for their coach or the give up on him. I don’t think many of the players for the Panthers would want to give up on Fox. They would want to their best to send him off with a win.
2) They have nothing to play for so this will be their playoffs or Super Bowl if you will. Everything goes trick plays, fake punts & field goals going for it on forth down etc.
3) John Fox and Sean Payton are good friends. Don’t think there is not a phone call that’s going to take place sometime this week between the two. Believe me Fox is going to do whatever he can to help Payton secure home field. Think about this If the Saints D/C Greg Williams gets another chance at being a head coach this year don’t be surprise to see Fox as the Saints D/C next year if Williams is gone and Fox does not get a head coach offer.
4) The Panthers ran for 212 yards last time and kept the close in the first half. Also the Falcons didn’t look like world beaters.but they pulled away at the end. This time if the Panther give them a game the Falcons nerves will start to come into play because they have something to play for and the Panther will be loose because everyone expected them to lose in the first place.
5) Most of all the Falcons are coming off a very emotional loss and a short week (6 days) Even if the Falcons had won I believe this was going to be a lot tougher than everyone thinks because of the emotions of the Saints game. Than look at the Panthers they played the Thursday night game (10 days of rest) Everyone was complaining because the schedule had the Falcons playing the Panthers twice in four games. But when you take in consideration how they have to play the Panthers the league did the Falcons no favors. Falcon play Saints emotoinal game than short ( lose on day of rest and prep) The Panther extra days to prep to go balls to the walls for Fox’s last hoorah.
I am not saying its going to happen but if it does remember what I am saying and why the Panther won.
skyrock714
December 30th, 2010
12:41 am
BREATH people BREATH!!!! Cry if we lose to Saints in the playoff’s. It may come to be the loss could be a blessing in disguise. Lets get it done this weekend against the cats and go from there. Hey Falcons sorry, Vick sure showed us how intelligent QB’s get it done Tuesday night, MORON!!!!
98
December 30th, 2010
2:25 am
I hope these guys can make it I had season tickets from 98-2003 and I finally gave up. I loved MV and the 98 team but I am tired of being let down. I hope this year is different.
Falcon roost
December 30th, 2010
3:41 am
in the playoffs, the falcons will show up and blow out new orleans—mark it down. they took it easy the other night, since they have home field locked up. Atl v. NE in the super bowl—falcons win by 6.
Brett
December 30th, 2010
11:42 am
Perhaps the Falcons took the Saints as lightly as Mark Bradley did. Maybe they read your article saying Philly and Michael Vick were the only team they had to worry about. Maybe they chose to disregard the defending Super Bowl champs, who are now healthy again essentially for the first time all season. Maybe they thought the Saints would miss a 29 yard field goal to win the game again. Somehow I think the Falcons are too smart for that, they were just outplayed in an extremely hard-fought, physical football game. Sadly, I think only Mark Bardley is stupid enough to disregard the defensing Super Bowl champs who are now playing their best football of the year.
scooter
December 30th, 2010
1:21 pm
Our Falcons will be fine. Kudos to the organization that has established a blueprint for success based on the Patriots system. Who would have ever expected that this franchise would be sitting at 12-3 after the Petrino/Vick debacle three years ago. Stay the course-the true fans appreciate it!
TomDAWG
December 30th, 2010
3:10 pm
acorn3332, NO it does not count as a great win. BUT it was a win and I will take it. However, I have never said that we kicked the Saints @ss. But many Saints fans on here seem to think their team blew the Falcons out of the building with their high scoring offense. THEY DIDN’T. Every game between the Falcons and Saints over the last few years have been very close. Yes I know, the Saints have beaten Falcons more here lately, but none have been a beat down as Saints fan claim. That was my point.
TomDAWG
December 30th, 2010
3:22 pm
Oh, and acorn3332, maybe it’s time you used some FEMA money and bought a new calculator. Last time I checked, a TD by the defense counts 7 (6 for score and 1 for extra pt., just in case that’s too hard for you) which is just as good as 7 by the offense. So your 10 point swing is a mute point.
mac
December 30th, 2010
3:39 pm
I wonder if the Falcons have a chance to get Cam Newton? Don’t think Ryan has what it takes in this league..Yeah he has played his ass off and therein lies the problem..He has NONE left!