All-Falcons Heat Check: Try putting some Matty Ice on that
Turner the Burner aloft. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
Our weekly Heat Check is devoted to the winner of a game so wild you’d have sworn the winning team couldn’t get out of its own way — right up until that moment when it, er, won the game.
Matt Ryan: I’m thinking those who likened him to Peyton Manning had it wrong. Ryan is more Ben Roethlisberger — a quarterback who doesn’t make every play but makes the big ones — than the essence of precision. We saw again Sunday night that Ryan can look pedestrian for whole quarters at a time. Thing is, not many of those substandard quarters are fourth quarters. Heat Index: Who needs a hot QB when you’ve got Matty Ice?
Michael Vick: Technically he no longer plays for the Falcons, but he gets grandfathered into our ratings because … well, because I say so. His three turnovers put the Eagles in position to lose, and then he put the Eagles in position to win. And then he left with a concussion and the Eagles lost anyway. And not many folks in the Dome seemed to be cheering him, which had to sting. Heat Index: Pointing toward the scoreboard to answer a shower of boos is rarely cool — less so when that scoreboard winds up showing that your side lost and you weren’t around to see it. (But at least he pointed with his index finger, if you students of Falcons history get my drift.)
Michael Turner: Sometimes you wonder why the Falcons keep handing the ball to this guy. Then he bursts through the line and you remember. He’s kind of an oddity himself — a power back whose biggest plays come on long runs. Heat Index: He’s the Burner, remember?
Tony Gonzalez: I admit it. There was a time last season when I thought he’d lost a step. Can’t say the notion occurred last night. Heat Index: Caught more passes that the Falcons’ starting wide receivers combined — I’d call that a hot night.
Julio Jones: He caught only two passes, but the third-down catch when the Falcons trailed by 10 points was the night’s biggest play. Had to jump, got hit by two Eagles, still hauled it in. Heat Index: More soothing balm for those who thought Thomas Dimitroff overreached on Draft Night.
Sam Baker: Speaking of first-round picks by TD the GM … here’s one that doesn’t look so hot. Baker hasn’t yielded all nine sacks posted by the Falcons’ first two opponents, but it does kind of seem that way. Heat Index: Bakers are supposed to be skilled at regulating heat, are they not?
The defense: It made some plays, yes. Just not very many. The Falcons have surrendered 61 points in two games. That’s not new-and-improved. That’s not-even-as-good-as-before. And the Eagles’ last good surge failed not because of anything the Falcons did but because Jeremy Maclin dropped the ball. Heat Index: Coordinator Brian VanGorder’s temperature has been known to rise. I’m guessing it’s at, ahem, fever pitch.
Dunta Robinson: I’m sorry, but that was a penalty. He seems to get those against Philly. Heat Index: The NFL might bring some heat Robinson’s way, in the form of another suspension.
The punter: His name is Matt Bosher. He punted out of bounds on his own 20. That takes some doing, but I’m not sure it’s something that should ever be done. Heat Index: Let’s just say he’s not the next Matty Ice.
Mike Smith: Give Smitty much credit for the intransigence displayed by his men. (More than anything, intransigence won the game.) But if the Eagles’ final heave had bounced the wrong way, we’d have wondered how the Falcons took the ball with 1:41 remaining and Philadelphia down to its final timeout … and still wound up punting to DeSean Jackson and having to defend a pass from beyond midfield. Heat Index: It’s not often the deployment of the fall-on-the-ball Victory Formation can go wrong, but this bit of time mismanagement came perilously close. A bit more coaching cool is advised.
By Mark Bradley
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180 comments Add your comment
stendek
September 19th, 2011
10:45 pm
Defining. The Falcons were in a must win home game with the media darling Philly Eagles. Misguided Mike Sick worshippers filled the Georgia Dome wearing jerseys with No. 7. At times it seemed like an Eagle partisan crowd. Defining. The television announcers made no attempt to disguise their Eagle bias. Chris Collinsworth would marry Mike Sick if he was a woman. Defining. The Falcon D jumpstarted the team with several monstrous plays. Tony Gonzalez carried the load until other members of the offense ended their slumber. Defining. The Falcons were in a fourth quarter hole. A magnificent rally turned an apparent 0-2 start into an improbable 1-1 record. Defining. MV7 quit on the Eagles just as he quit so many times in a Falcon uniform. Some things just never change. The pooch torturer will never lead the Eagles to the NFL promised land. Too much arrogance. Too many unforced giveaways. The Falcons still have much work to do. The D must cut down on points allowed. The O needs to follow the Tony Gonzalez example. Defining.
Sick & Tired Of Being Sick & Tired
September 19th, 2011
11:02 pm
Sam Baker needs to be replaced soon or Ryan won’t make it through the entire season. There has got to be some unemployed decent player that the Falcons can acquire that can take Baker’s spot on the roster. Baker is reallly bad!!!!
I also agree that Mularkey needs to let Matt call the plays on the field and the defense needs to stop playing so much soft zone coverage.
joe
September 20th, 2011
7:24 am
I’ll comment again on TD as the talent evaluator: Three first round picks that don’t have the ability to match- Baker, Peria, Merriweather. Miss, miss, miss…..
Michael M.
September 20th, 2011
7:31 am
Its in the History Books now, time to move on and focus on next opponent which I am sure the Trolls will start bashing the Falcons and coming up with another one of them lop-sided basketball scores claiming the Falcons will get the beat-down at the hands of the Bucs! Ha ! Ha !
Joe Tess Fish House
September 20th, 2011
8:11 am
Flacons turned there back on Vick and then they cheap shoted an injury on him so get could not get his revenge.
BET
September 20th, 2011
11:15 am
You all have to know that if MV7 stayed in the game the Falcons are blown out…don’t kid yourself. Matt Ryan played great but he has to win in the post season for me to hype him. The Falcon were lucky Sunday…so let’s keep it real. The Falcons will not make playoff with that defense…Drew Brees has to be foaming at the mouth the get a crack at us…Cam Newton has outplayed Matt Ryan..he can cleary throw better and has a better “it” factor…Cam Newton know he can play and win…sometimes Matt looks scared and that has to affect his team mates.
BET
September 20th, 2011
11:20 am
After reading some more of your follishness…I feel sorry for you ATL fans…you are delusional…what game were you watching Sunday night.
Falcon'sTalon
September 20th, 2011
11:27 am
The Falcons will probably work some magic a few more times in the Georgia Dome this season, but it won’t work on the road to any degree of success. There are simply too many holes, too many galring weaknesses on both sides of the ball. This team WILL miss the playoffs this season. I predict a 9-7 record. Also, some people love to lament the loss of Mike Vick and how things could have been different had they foolishly held his roster spot open while he was in Federal Pen. Make no mistake one of the worst moves inflicted on this franchise since the loss of Brett Favre was failing to resign Matt Shaub. No one ever mentions this loss, but with Shaub there would have been no Matt Ryan. And the last time I checked, the other Matt is a much better passer than Matty Ice.
Long Time STH
September 20th, 2011
11:34 am
Maybe this is the answer for the Baker Problem. He played right tackle but could adjust. He’s out there and available!
Jon Stinchcomb (born August 27, 1979 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American football offensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He was drafted in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. He played college football at Georgia.
What Pass Defense?
September 20th, 2011
11:39 am
Julio Jones is a work in progress with his route running. Even with the poor route running he is still accomplishing a very important function for the offense. He commands close coverage by one of the other teams top corner backs and maybe help from a safety because of his size and speed. Does anyone need three guesses why Tony Gonzalez had such a big game and why he will have more big games? The middle and underneath parts of the field are wide open because of the attention and coverage Roddy and Julio command.
I want to see the Falcons pass coverage tighten. I wonder if Dunta Robinson regrets signing with the Falcons. He excels in man-to-man press coverage. He is obviously not a zone corner back. I thought the coaching staff strives to put players in a position to play to their strengths as much as possible and does everything possible to hide a players weaknesses. As long as Dunta is forced to play zone he will struggle.
Gritz Blitz
September 20th, 2011
11:53 am
Bradley — Dunta Robinson was not suspended for last year’s hit on DeSean Jackson. He was fined 50K and it was later reduced to 25K. Why was the fine reduced? Many NFL analysts believed at the time while the hit was violent, it was not illegal. His hit Sunday was lead with his shoulder pad and his face mask just grazed Maclin’s helmet. Most of the impact was shoulder pad to shoulder pad. The ref wasn’t even initially going to throw a flag until the Eagle bench erupted pressuring the him to throw the flag. We fondly remember all those big hits Scott Case used to make on receivers. I wonder in today’s time how many now would be allowed.
C from Marietta
September 20th, 2011
12:21 pm
Only Atlanta fans still cry after a win.
Steve-O
September 20th, 2011
5:18 pm
Joe Tess Fish House
September 20th, 2011
8:11 am
Flacons turned there back on Vick and then they cheap shoted an injury on him so get could not get his revenge.
________________________________________________________________________
Joe Tess, please use your real name and stop using misspellings and incorrect grammar intentionally, just so you can think you are having fun with some alter-ego. And if you REALLY think (which you don’t…) that it was a cheap shot that took down Vick, how is it that he his his head on his own teammate? Was he in on the conspiracy, too? You are old and tired, get a new schtick.
Steelers fan
September 20th, 2011
5:56 pm
Matt Ryan is like Ben Roethlisberger ? He is not even close. Ben has 2 Super Bowl rings. Matt has ZERO !!!!!!!! Falcon fans can only dream of a Super Bowl win.
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September 20th, 2011
10:52 pm
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J-Lo
September 20th, 2011
11:58 pm
For all you Dunta haters: Did you know that he and Grimes are statistically the best CB tandem in the league? The problem WAS at the nickel spot. And for the Burner doubters: He’s averaging 6.9 yards a carry. What more do you want?
J-Lo
September 21st, 2011
12:00 am
And Dunta was also the reason that Maclin dove out of bounds on the long reception from Kafka, and also the reason he dropped that pass on 4th down. He was scared to death, literally.
Frank Wilson
September 21st, 2011
4:09 am
Looks like “Mr. Obvious” isn’t much of a student of scripture. Last time I looked, Jesus Christ died for
sinners who would believe in his name. Michael Vick
has done that and to suggest that any puny man can commit
a sin too great for the marvelous Grace and plan of God is blasphemy.
You won’t go to Hell either if you have placed your faith
in Christ…………. but you look like a legalistic
moron.
Old White Haired Man
September 21st, 2011
7:13 am
We are proud of our defending NFC South Champions…
Ivan
September 21st, 2011
8:19 am
“After reading some more of your follishness…I feel sorry for you ATL fans…you are delusional…what game were you watching Sunday night.”
I think it was the one that had the final score of Falcons 35, Egals 31.
sckot
September 21st, 2011
9:22 am
Falcons need a better D coordinator. Seems like the def hasnt improved over the last three years. Falcons got newer faster d players but the def is the same. Time for a new d coordinator.
Byron Mehaffey
September 21st, 2011
11:04 am
Please get rid of the coordinators. They are worse than terrible!!!
Dean Palaferro
September 21st, 2011
1:27 pm
D Robinson just not make enough plays!
I think he made one knockdown in Game 2 and none in Game 1
Every time they throw his way he is 5 yards from the receiver who is catching the ball!
Tighten it up DR!
TCCB
September 21st, 2011
8:55 pm
Michael Turner, enough said.
L. R. Glass, Sr.
September 22nd, 2011
9:29 pm
First of all, let me say great game, Matty & Company. You did what you were supposed to do, and you succeeded. Philly was no pushover, and they proved it. However, last year’s playoff loss notwithstanding (considering the fact that you lost to the eventual Super Bowl champions),you proved that you should be considered as one of the BIG DOGS of the NFL. Mark my words all you haters; the Falcons will bring the silver football trophy home to Atlanta sooner than you think!
Now for all of you Vick Haters out there: if the only thing you have to complain about is him pointing to the scoreboard when he was going to the locker room, I’d say Michael has come a long way. There are those who now respect this man, for he has earned it. Sure, there are those who feel that he should burn in Hell for what he did, but he paid his debt and he continues to exhibit great humility and grace under fire. While not saying that he is, remember that “A saint is but a sinner who fell down, and got back up”. To both the Falcons AND to Michael, keep up the good work, and the blessings will be bestowed upon you. GO, FALCONS!
yes fal can
September 22nd, 2011
11:40 pm
Nice use of the word “intransigence” …..
Chris
September 23rd, 2011
10:17 am
I am going to hear that i am a homer, but. . . there was nothing Vick could have done to change the outcome of the game. Kafka was 7-9. He made a perfect throw to Maclin. To all those peope hating on D. Robinson, without him we lose the game. Maclin was scared to make that catch. He did not want to be hurt by our “overpaid, underperforming” cornerback. Has he missed some tackles in run support? Of course. Has he missed an assignment covering someone? Yep, but there is not one cornerback in the league for two weeks that has not had the same errors.
Bojack
September 23rd, 2011
10:45 pm
The offennsive line stinks. The kicker stinks worse. Matt is not going to last long behind that wet paperbag line.
BullDogMike
September 24th, 2011
9:44 am
Where in the heck ( trying to restrain myself here ) did T.D. get this guy that he has punting ? Don’t try and tell me that he’s the best available……
True Falcon Fan
September 24th, 2011
10:17 am
Falcons 31 BucO’s 24
ENOUGH SAID!!!!!!!!!!!
Go Falcons