5 (or so) reasons the Falcons’ 0-4 preseason doesn’t matter
Ray Edwards is shown working on his horizontal pass rush. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
Reasons the Falcons’ 0-4 preseason doesn’t bother me and shouldn’t bother you:
1. You don’t play at real-game tempo or make real-game adjustments in exhibitions. You’re not trying to win but to evaluate. You want to see how your guys react in certain spots. You’re not looking to game-plan those spots to your advantage. Had the Falcons cared all that much about winning a game that doesn’t count, they’d have inserted Matt Ryan, Roddy White, Michael Turner and Tony Gonzalez at the start of the fourth quarter of the fourth exhibition. But nobody’s that crazy.
2. You don’t set a real tone in exhibitions. Because everyone’s tone gets louder come Week 1 of the real season. If you go 4-0, nobody cares. And the only time someone remembers that you’ve gone 4-0 is when you go 0-16 in the regular season. That happened to the Detroit Lions in 2008. (And guess who just went 4-0 again, thereby making Detroit fans nervous?)
3. If you exit the preseason reasonably healthy, you’ve accomplished your mission. Save for center Todd McClure, the Falcons did that. They’re in great shape.
4. The only Falcon of consequence who required significant work in preseason was Julio Jones. Because he’s a rookie. And he looked very, very good.
4(a). Oh, and maybe Peria Jerry. Because he has been hurt. He looked good, too.
5. The real pros know how much preseason matters. We speak of the folks who attempt to augment their income betting on games. These aren’t fanciful people. They’re pragmatists. And you know how disappointed these dispassionate observers were in the Falcons?
So disappointed the Falcons are a three-point road favorite against a team that won its division and played for the 2010 NFC title. The opening line had Chicago a one-point pick, which means a ton of money has since been placed on the local eleven. That’s not a guarantee of anything, but it’s a powerful indicator. (For the record, the Bears were 2-2 in preseason. To which I say: Nobody cares.)
By Mark Bradley
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121 comments Add your comment
DawgDad
September 8th, 2011
6:15 pm
Well, we learned we can’t rely on the second and third string guys to win games.
1eyedJack
September 8th, 2011
6:33 pm
We got to stop the run and wait for Cutler to throw into double coverage.
Our offense is gonna light folks up!
Whopper Dawg
September 8th, 2011
7:02 pm
Ask yourself this, what looked better this year than last?
Defense, no. Pass defense, heck no, in fact it was so bad, TD scrambled and added two cast offs. Offense, went no huddle sometime, Ryan completed about 50% in that game, but all in all looked just like last year’s ball control, grind it out offense that the Packers left in the dust.
Maybe the magic wand comes out before the first real game. We’ll see.
OldTimer
September 8th, 2011
7:24 pm
The Falcons have a really tough schedule out of the gate. Forget the betting line. It doesn’t matter. They have to focus on the opponent. One game at a time. None of this Chipper Jones see you in round 2 of the playoffs crap.
Joe Tess Fish House
September 8th, 2011
8:00 pm
5 Reesons Flacons fail this season:
1 Perrier “bust” Jerry
2 Sean Alwas injrued” Witherspoon
3 Matt “2 many ints” Ryan
4 Brian “skillit hands” Finerman
5 Juliet “Flacons gave up 2 much 4 him” Jones
Joe Tess Fish House
September 8th, 2011
8:03 pm
5a They are the Falcons and they alwyas manege 2 loose the big games.
Falconluver72
September 8th, 2011
8:10 pm
Mark, if the Falcons go all the way this season,(i.e. Super Bowl Champs), to celebrate would you consider styling your hair to the way it was in the mid 80’s? Kind of a “fro”back, if you will?
The Reverend Baby Doctor Bedpan
September 8th, 2011
8:32 pm
Falconluver72
September 8th, 2011
8:10 pm
Mark, if the Falcons go all the way this season,(i.e. Super Bowl Champs), to celebrate would you consider styling your hair to the way it was in the mid 80’s? Kind of a “fro”back, if you will?
———————————————————————————————————————————————-
Don’t you think it is a little…..No, a LOT weird that you want to remember that far back?
Lil' Jimmy
September 8th, 2011
9:17 pm
Preseason doesn’t matter but do you see what the Packers and Saints are doing on offense so far…. that DO matter!
GT Fan
September 8th, 2011
9:19 pm
LOL @ the Saints
5150 UOAD
September 8th, 2011
9:30 pm
What is going on on this blog?
1990 Jacket
September 8th, 2011
9:34 pm
UGA is going down
Gee
September 8th, 2011
10:17 pm
Has anyone seen Seen?
BobDawg
September 9th, 2011
12:54 am
@seen this B4… Dude, You are already 1/2 game behind us! LOSERS!!!! OOOPS… PACK SCORED AGAIN ON YOU!!!!!
GO COONS!!!!!!
Saints need paper bags again
September 9th, 2011
5:44 am
Aaaaaand we wake up to a beautiful Friday morning and guess what?
The Saints still can’t run the ball and are 0-1. Aaaaaahahahahahahaaaa!
Can your quarterback throw for over 400 yards and still lose the game? Hey, this is starting to sound like a trend. It didn’t win the game against Seattle last season, either.
Oh, and deciding to hand the ball off to your rookie running back who has been getting stuffed all game sounds like a genius plan to win the game when you’re down by 8 points.
And you say the Falcons have a stupid coach!
bob
September 9th, 2011
6:31 am
How many players did the Packers give away to draft Randall Cobb?
bigtoombs
September 9th, 2011
6:39 am
Ha ha ha The Aint’s lost and that coward Seen is running. Just like last year. Oh I guess we’ve seen this before. Go Falcons!!!!!!!!
EuroFalcon
September 9th, 2011
7:01 am
You know you are loser when:
5. You come back for three years in a row with the name “See This B4” to berate a team that has improved every single year.
4. You spend time creating a 10 point list that is completely statistically unsupportable.
3. You bombastically claim that our star Pro Bowl tight end has gotten older this year while that is an unarguable biological fact for every single player in the league.
2. You actually commit such stupidity known that your own team is about to take a beating from the SB champion.
1. Drums……… – you claim that one of the “reesons” the Falcons are going to fail this year is Brian “skillit hands” Finneran!!
Get your facts straight and then come back. Or even better, don’t ever come back Dumbos!!
SPS
September 9th, 2011
7:25 am
I’m thinking that Joe Tess and Sonny Clusters are the same person. Both are hilarious, and always the highlight of the blog. And frighteningly, they sometimes make more sense than many of the serious “analysts” posting here. (Maybe it is actually MB?)
really???
September 9th, 2011
7:31 am
I have got to stop reading posts from Joe Tess, like at 8:00pm. Not only is the grammar horrendous, but you are pretty much wrong on several of your points. Peria may be a bust, but at least we might get a look at a healthy bust this time around. Matt Ryan throws too many picks, huh? Must be why he’s only 33-13 as a starter. I mean, the only two QBs with more wins in the last three years are Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, but Matt Ryan sucks right? If only we could trade him for Mike Vick… Is Brian Finneran even with the Falcons anymore? And by the way, Julio Jones had no say in how much the Falcons traded for him, that’s all on the GM.
Really?
September 9th, 2011
7:34 am
First to @Really??? ….get original.. adding ?s to ‘really’ doesn’t hack it. I’ve had this name for months… find your own.
To the Saints trolls who are oddly absent since the Saint’s loss… ha ha ha. It was a Lewinski… close but no cigar (as in Monica). Nice run game. Man up, show up here without excuses.
SimpleDawg
September 9th, 2011
7:44 am
The owners think the exhibition season is just as important as the regular season…….
…..I pay the same price for both.
Joe Tess Fish House
September 9th, 2011
7:44 am
Your arguements still dont dispute my claims that the Flacons R domed to loose most of there games this year. They cnat do nothing rite.
Joe Tess Fish House
September 9th, 2011
7:44 am
Your arguements still dont dispute my claims that the Flacons R domed to loose most of there games this year. They cnat do nothing rite.
Big Dawg Daddy
September 9th, 2011
7:58 am
SeenthisB4 –
Nice defense last night
Sly Boarders
September 9th, 2011
8:02 am
I know he’s not a comment favorite, but I still love reading Barry’s posts. Keep it up man. One Heartbeat. GO FALCONS!
Atticus
September 9th, 2011
8:17 am
Mark, answer me this if you have the research: How many Super Bowl Champions went 0-4 in preseason?
Thanks
Tacusa
September 9th, 2011
8:23 am
I wonder how many teams who made it to past Super Bowls went 0-4 in the pre season?
PreyDawg
September 9th, 2011
8:52 am
I am very optimistic about the Falcons overall. However, it seems to me that Peria did not have a good pre-season. By my informal count he had one Two QB hurries and he played a ton of snaps. I know he is in the middle and pass rush is not a primary concern. But mostly I see him get stood up straight and then just stand there and flail. I don’t even see him getting off blocks to stop the run game very often. I like Vance Walker MUCH better.
JSS
September 9th, 2011
9:14 am
From a pro football fan’s standpoint, last night illustrates the reason that a collective shiver went down the back of the entire NFC… The Packers have added 3 new weapons on both sides of the ball and special teams! Scary part is that they are just getting warmed up in terms Cobb and Finley. Being objective, just adding a D-End and two nickel and dime (their positions, not quality) is going to change the fact that the Falcons will require Herculean efforts to slow them, not stop them. Harry Douglass and Julio Jones are special, but they are not what I saw last night between the difference makers on those two teams. If you think the Falcons have an answer for Jermichael Finley or Jeremy Graham you’re just not being realistic.
Teams are built, those are stocked. Someone used the excuse that the Steelers, Saints and Packers are perennially (meaning they are never bad or mediocre) good to say that the Falcons are still building while trying to be snarky. To that point, is just a lie. The Pack was retooled on the fly after their 2007 NFC title game appearance. The Steelers missed playoffs with great coaches and personnel. They retooled on the fly. The Saints are still poor in run stopping, it is an achilles heel. They are retooling on the fly, that clown Collinsworth made one good point last night, the Saints are a retooled offense in terms of their running game. That unit was hit and miss, two times they needed yards and could not trust the power game to get it. Still, that is the Packers run stop, not the Falcons they were against.
So, dismiss this if you please, but the Falcons are not on the top ready to push the boulder off. They are on a steep incline pushing it up at this time…
As far as for the Saints, they never quit last night. Love them or hate them, that is a marked difference from what happened on January 15, 2011 in the Dome. The last time they were on a field, they got gashed, no one disputes that point. They got punched in the mouth twice last night on the road and got up both times. I know Keith Armstrong got an eye full of number 43. Like I said, love them or hate them, that is not a team that is going to roll over and play dead…
Now depending upon the action of the Eagles in their debut this weekend, the space between the top and the bottom of the elite in the NFC is huge.
JSS
September 9th, 2011
9:15 am
Mark Bradley, please check your filter…
Joe Tess Fish House
September 9th, 2011
9:17 am
I agreed Mr PreayDawg.
Perrier Jerry is a HUGE bust and they should of had cut him and let a cheeper and BETER DR take his place.
This team is domed to a loosing season b cuz they cant do nothing rite on draft day.
JSS
September 9th, 2011
9:24 am
Hey geniuses, go look at the three picks in 2009 Green Bay draft, that is where they cleaned up… Picks 9, 25, and 109, now go look at their starting lineup last night… There’s the difference.
DK
September 9th, 2011
10:07 am
Statistically the Aints have the worst record in the 2011 NFL season so far. They’re a half game behind everyone except the Packers, and they’re a full game behind the Packers. Bums!
After seeing that BS pass interference call at the end of last night’s game, someone needs to make sure all of the refs have seen the league memo rescinding the earlier league edict requiring the refs to help the Aints as reward for not moving the Aints from that toilet at the mouth of the Mississippi.
D man
September 9th, 2011
10:08 am
One reason will will win in Chicago Sunday, this year is our time to win it all…
RockyMtn Falcon
September 9th, 2011
10:26 am
@ B4- great game last night. The Ain’ts will be lucky to get a wildcard this year.
@ Barry – I think the Dillon Panthers need a new head coach. Great pep talk.
Go Falcons.
Look at the tail feathers
September 9th, 2011
10:30 am
SeenThisB4….The Saints are already a half game behind. Just so you know.
really???
September 9th, 2011
10:36 am
@ Really? -
I’ve actually been using this name off-and-on for over a year. It’s my sports blog name. But in reality, does it matter? The Saints lost, we should be thankful for that, instead of arguing over names.
@ Joe Tess -
You did go to school, right? The team name is Falcons, not Flacons. “Can’t” is not spelled “cnat.” You also misspelled “arguments,” “doomed,” “lose,” “their,” and “right.” But who’s counting, eh?
Larry
September 9th, 2011
10:41 am
Only 8 of 51 (15%) teams that went 0-4 in the preseason went on to make the playoffs that season while 31 of 54 teams (56%) that went 4-0 made the playoffs.
AceDawg
September 9th, 2011
10:44 am
I fear that UGA is slammed on Saturday by having an O-Line that can’t block and not enough defense to stop both Lattimore and the South Carolina passing game that would have had success against UGA last year if UGA could have stopped Lattimore. I pray that UGA puts SC back where they belong though.
As for the Falcons, I don’t know that they can reach 13-3 this year, but they’ll be a better team nonetheless. Go Falcons.
Ga Tech? They’ll be fine until they play a good team.
cha-ching
September 9th, 2011
10:52 am
. . . the sAints are back.
The Reverend Baby Doctor Bedpan
September 9th, 2011
10:58 am
Joe Tess went to UGA
dawgforlife
September 9th, 2011
11:16 am
Jess…
1. do you honestly think we need Jerry to win?
2. Weatherspoon is a beast
3. Matt threw 9 with 28 tds…check the # for every other QB who threw at least 28 tds
4. Brian gone…its Meir now…duh
5. time will tell…hope you like crow
dawgforlife
September 9th, 2011
11:17 am
Meier…sorry left an “e” out there
dawgforlife
September 9th, 2011
11:20 am
anyone notice b4 poofed during the Saints defensive stuggle…Saint trolls..gotta love em
realitycheck
September 9th, 2011
11:27 am
All of this optimism for the Falcons is going to turn into disappointment this season. Way too much hype for a team with a mediocre defense and an offense that can’t play catch up. Only 8 of the last 51 teams that went 0-4 in the preseason made the playoffs. Smells like bad karma to me. The Falcons would not have beaten either team in last night’s thriller with their porous pass defense. There has never been a repeat champ in the NFC South, so the big question is whether the Falcons will get a wild card or not.
Mr. Swamp People
September 9th, 2011
11:27 am
Failcons suck, GEAUX SAINTS!
JSS
September 9th, 2011
11:32 am
Saints trolls? No different than the Falcons hounds that went stone cold silent around 9PM on Jan. 15th after wolfing all big about 13-3! Get for real, everybody is looking up at the champs, at least one team had to to be stopped on the one yard line on the final play of the game! Dang, at least they competed the full 60 m-i-n-u-t-e-s! That’s pro football, not that overhyped college garbage!
SR
September 9th, 2011
12:18 pm
Nope, not buying it with this defense. Bears win this one.
Joe Tess Fish House
September 9th, 2011
12:48 pm
Perrier Jerry is a waisted draft pix, Theys could of had used that pix on a beter player. He is costing mony 2 not do nothing.