Key question: Do the Falcons still know what they’re doing?
It has gotten this bad: Even the Bucs are mocking the Dirty Birds now. (AP photo)
Tampa – The Falcons are too good to be playing this way. They’ve trailed by double figures in all three games. They look great when they finally get serious, but by then their margin for error has been reduced to the nub, and any more wobbles — a dropped pass, a sack that shouldn’t have been taken, a lurch offside with the game literally on the line — can result in a good-looking team taking a big ugly L.
Asked Sunday night if he has been seeing the team he thought he’d see, coach Mike Smith said: “No, I’m not seeing that team … We’re making way too many mistakes.”
The same question was posed to center Todd McClure, who said: “No. We’ve got a great group of players, but we haven’t put it all together.”
Then this: “I feel like we’re holding ourselves back. We’re not making the plays that are there to be made.”
The obvious next questions: Why not? Why is a team fancied as a Super Bowl winner darn fortunate to be 1-2? Why do the Falcons start so slowly? Why has their devotion to details — a Smith staple — gone missing? Why must the long-promised “explosive” plays be saved for the desperate hours?
Nobody seems to know. The Falcons spent three quarters letting an OK Tampa Bay team get ahead and stay there, and it wasn’t as if the Bucs seized every moment. They netted three points from two sacks-and-recovered-fumbles inside the Falcons’ 20. They had a chance to pull ahead by three scores but threw an interception on the first play of the fourth quarter, whereupon a mystery guest appeared.
A team wearing the Falcons’ uniforms drove inside the Tampa Bay 5, then got the ball back and scored in two plays, then got the ball again and surged to the 5 again. At that moment you’d have sworn this team would seize the lead and win the game and talent would have finally been served, but at the same time you wondered: Where had this team been for 2 1/2 hours?
Let’s not fault the defense. It held the Bucs under 300 yards. Let’s turn instead to the high-priced offense, which has in two road games managed one touchdown. Asked if the Falcons aren’t a better team when three wide receivers are deployed and the no-huddle offense is implemented, Matt Ryan said: “I think we’re a good football team regardless of our personnel.”
For the first time in the four years of their partnership, it’s possible to wonder if Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff are as like-minded as we’d come to believe. Dimitroff traded 21 spots upward to land the hugely gifted Julio Jones, and through three quarters Sunday the receiver had one catch. He had five — for 97 yards — in the fourth. How hard is it to pull a Keyshawn Johnson and say: “Get that guy the darn ball”?
But it cuts deeper than tactics. There’s a weird air about this team. On the one hand, the Falcons seem careless. (Three turnovers and five penalties in this first half.) On the other hand, they seem scared to cut loose until circumstances render cutting loose a last resort. Former Falcons punter Michael Koenen, now a Buc, told the Tampa Tribune: “Up there, it’s a lot tighter. There’s a lot more nervous energy.”
There’s pressure on this team, yes. Dimitroff didn’t make big moves for Jones and Ray Edwards because he thought the Falcons might win a Super Bowl sometime in the next 30 years, and Arthur Blank — he of the not-exactly-relaxing late-game sideline appearances — has made it clear his only goal is to win a ring. But is a 53-man roster that includes only two Super Bowl winners capable of knowing what it takes without having ever come close?
The Falcons’ stated position is a reasonable one: They have enough talent to do whatever needs doing and enough time to correct the errors. Said John Abraham, the defensive end: “We’ve got to be back to playing Falcons football.”
For three seasons we thought we knew what that entailed — power football, focused football, precision football. Today we see a team that can’t handle the small stuff and seems, big-picture-wise, not to know what it’s trying to do. It’s as if the Falcons keep falling behind because falling behind is the only way they get to play the way they play best. It’s as if this grand design has lost all coordination.
By Mark Bradley
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598 comments Add your comment
sack of nuts
September 26th, 2011
5:33 am
Glad we blew our draft board up for this year and next year. Our GM is a genious.
Now what do we do?
Brother John
September 26th, 2011
5:43 am
Like everybody on here, here’s a simple question. Why don’t the Falcons play every quarter of every game like they play the fourth quater of every game? If there’s some “football” answer to that — I’d like to hear it. Why not try to put up 40 points every game and see how that works out for you? To a man, every player and coach on this team says the exact same thing. The game will probably come down to the last play or last series. Why is that the mind think of this organization?? Why?? Why not bury people before half time?? Oh, viewers will tune out? The NFL is looking more and more like professional wrestling each and every day! The fans, who seem to care more than the players or the coaches, are the losers in this charade.
WTF
September 26th, 2011
5:46 am
It’s pro football. Who really gives a crap anyway. This whole NFL thing (and the NBA & MLB, too) is going to collapse back to where it should be – a minor entertainment for weak-headed fans without a college team to root for who live vicariously through people most folks wouldn’t allow into their houses for dinner to salve their egos after a drudge-like job during the week. It’s a boy’s game played buy ne’er-do-well thug-types paid too much for doing nothing actually productive, supported and propped up by TV to sell products to people – that’s all.
Why care so much about them – they care nothing at all about you….except to sell you a ticket or a product.
Excedrin PM*
September 26th, 2011
5:50 am
Boring game, very non-explosive.
Brother John
September 26th, 2011
5:57 am
Post your comments here.
Carolina Jim
September 26th, 2011
6:01 am
The dirty birds stunk it up in TB. Can someone please tell Mr.Blank to stay off the sidelines in the 4th ? Does he have any idea how ridiculous he looks!!!!!
russ
September 26th, 2011
6:02 am
Too good to be playing this way? You have got to be kidding. They are not a good team. They did not get better from a team that last year got all of the breaks and won 13, they were not that good then and are a lot worse now. And don’t think about next year because TD traded away the next 3 years.
Brother John
September 26th, 2011
6:05 am
Why does every player and coach on the Falcons say, to a man, that they think the game, any game they play, will come down to the last play or series?? Why?? It is the mind think of this entire organization. Why?? What’s so wrong with burying a team by half time and then playing your back ups while resting your starters? Post 40 points a game and see how that works out for you! Blank should pay Sean Peyton 50 millions dollars a year to coach this team.
CH2
September 26th, 2011
6:14 am
I suspect it will be all the Falcons can do to win 8 games this year. Poor coaching and poor playing was the answer yesterday. Falcons, stop acting like you’re the “it” team from 2010, and act like the up and comer team, like Detroit and Buffalo. Otherwise, this will be a long season. P.S. Mr. Arthur Blank, please stay off the sidelines during the game. It’s quit embarassing to see you, and although the players won’t say it, since you sign their paycheck, you’re a distraction. And, quite frankly, it makes the team look bad. Stay off the sideline until the final knee is taken in a Falcon win.
Road Scholar
September 26th, 2011
6:15 am
They should fine the offensive line a half a games play; they were horrid in the first half. And fine the guy who was offsides at the end a whole games pay! How stupid! Tech runs the same play and it has never worked!
FAlcons24
September 26th, 2011
6:18 am
Right now the Falcons are just not a very good football team. They are one of the teams that maybe needed OTA’s. They are getting penalized at crucial times in the game. Matt Ryan is making bad decisions: For instance, if you have 4th and goal why wouldn’t you got to your bread and butter rather than a 5′7″ rookie blanketed by a 6′1″ safety. Who does that? Live and die with your go to receivers and give yourself a chance to win. The coaching staff see that the no huddle is working, but they use when they are down. Who wants to play comeback football all the time. The offensive line looks really bad and Matt Ryan is taking a David Carr beating right now. He looks very uncomfortable. The punter seems to be very unsure of how and where to punt the ball. The defense are not playing that bad, but they cannot get away from the mental mistakes. They do not put enough pressure on opposing QB’s. They are not scoring points at all and if you want to win, you have to score. They have to fire off on Seattle this weekend, because the PACKERS are headed to town the following week. I am a loyal FALCON fan, but they actually look bad right now. I don’t thnk that Arthur Blank will deal with these losses too much longer, before he start to question some of the staff.
Vickless in Atl
September 26th, 2011
6:22 am
And now Vickless in Philly. How is that fat contract working out now?
MarktheShark
September 26th, 2011
6:33 am
With virtually no pash rush, the defense gets shredded by opposing team’s quarterback. And the Falacons’ offense won’t use their wide receivers down the field as do other teams. Result: A losing record.
Real American
September 26th, 2011
6:36 am
The only fans that constantly bring up their former QB are the Falcon fans. LMAO…shows you where their heads are.
Nauti-dawg
September 26th, 2011
6:44 am
I wish Roddy was as good as he thinks he is.
Looks like smith and richt are on the same bus.
ijonathan
September 26th, 2011
6:45 am
The Vick infection has already taken hold in Philadelphia. And this one you can’t eradicate with penicillin (something MV7 knows a bit about, as I recall). First, with flashes of brilliance he lulls you into thinking you’re headed to the promised land. So much so that you trade away your very serviceable backup QB (94 QB rating so far in AZ) and give Vick a truck load of cash. Then, he plays well but gets hurt, and after a while starts to develop fumble-itis. Shortly thereafter, he is seen leaving the field surrounded by his trainer posse virtually every game. Then, he starts complaining about officiating and throwing his O-line under the bus. If left unchecked, this disease will eat away at your franchise, causing several years of crappy play and ultimate rebuilding/amputation. Philly, get yout while you are ahead…cut him now. FREE KAFKA!
zorba
September 26th, 2011
6:45 am
Did you, or anyone, as Smith why he didn’t take the points and kick the field goal on fourth down? If so, tie game and OT. Yes, hindsight.
Nauti-dawg
September 26th, 2011
6:51 am
Agree blank needs to stay off the sideline. He’s as creepy as Simpsons Mr Burns… His presence does nothing positive for the team. Take the bus up to your sky box.
Nauti-dawg
September 26th, 2011
6:52 am
I wish roddy was as good as he thought he was.
My $0.02 worth
September 26th, 2011
7:02 am
Yes, without a doubt the birds have got some explosive players…all the OC needs to do is come up with some explosive PLAYS…wake up…please!! My issue is with the offensive line…sorry, sorry…can’t pass block, can’t run block = SORRY!! All hope is not lost…well, we’ll see after the Seattle game…long trip to the west coast…should, and I’m saying SHOULD take care of the Seahawks…if not, hope is lost because Green Bay will be in town the week after. Sad weekend for ATL’s pro teams…oh yeah, the Dream notched a win. Falcons, Braves…PLAY WITH SOME HEART!!
Reid in EAV
September 26th, 2011
7:02 am
Problem = Mike Mularkey, most predictable OC in the entire NFL. Easy to stuff Turner when everyone knows he’ll be running on 1st down. Is it a coincidence that the offense only starts chewing up yardage when they go no-huddle and let Ryan call the plays? Nope.
eric
September 26th, 2011
7:09 am
The good news … won’t have to sit through a first round playoff blowout ….
they can watch from the couch, like the Braves.
Stepchild
September 26th, 2011
7:17 am
I’ve said it before. Last year the Fortunate Falcons had many a break on their way to winning the division. Those breaks aren’t there and now all of the those close ball games from last year are going the other direction. Last year Falcons had lots of 50/50, coin flip wins. That doesn’t mean your SB bound. Means that you need to figure a way to put teams down for the count.
Spurrier
September 26th, 2011
7:18 am
Qb mocks team during game and punter pokes after game…and no one has guts to respond. Pack game may be ugly.
RGP
September 26th, 2011
7:19 am
Boring game til the 4th quarter. Falcons finally got it going in 4th but too late.
ltdbrave
September 26th, 2011
7:19 am
To put it simply. The Falcons suck. They have zero offense and zero drive to win. They are just like the Braves. In fact, the sports teams in this city really suck. The offensive line is so full of holes that it is worse than a sieve.
Stepchild
September 26th, 2011
7:19 am
What is T Dimitroff on? Julio is good but not 5 picks good. Clearly, the Falcons have other holes. And when you have a dink & dunk; field position type team/offense wouldn’t you want a good PUNTER??? Mistake not to keep a key component of the way you play football.
thom71gt
September 26th, 2011
7:21 am
Wow… they played like @$$. Looked like a mediocre JUCO team rather than a bunch of “professionals”. Really really bad.
Stepchild
September 26th, 2011
7:21 am
Traveling to Seattle next week. Better not lose to them or the Saints fans will be all over us. Expect that game to be a dog fight.
Stepchild
September 26th, 2011
7:22 am
Why can’t we handle the Cover -2 /Tampa-2 defense? O/Coordinator is weak.
jerry
September 26th, 2011
7:30 am
I thought they looked pretty good late in the game when the Bucs went into their prevent defense.
Peter
September 26th, 2011
7:32 am
No, no, no, no, wait…………….How about run Michael Turner UP THE MIDDLE for 1.8 yards………over and over and over and over!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The definition of Insanity is doing the same thing over and over with the SAME result. GOD, PLEASE STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!
FL dawg
September 26th, 2011
7:33 am
Dimitroff thinks he’s still with yhe Pats. Julio would have been an affordable pick in New England. Come on all those picks for Julio, the Falcons couldn’t afford to give away draft picks with a weak offensive line and a d line thats one or two injuries from being over the hill. Don’t even talk about the secondary. Richt would be a better coach right now in Atl. The way it stacks up now Atl finishe 3rd or if Ryan goes down like he will, 4th.
Greg
September 26th, 2011
7:34 am
can we get rid of mularkey now????
just sayin'
September 26th, 2011
7:35 am
hey coach ‘clean shot’..how’s robinson doing this morning? those leading with the helmet clean shots must be taking their toll..and the payback helmet to helmet on freeman..did you call that? and blank, he does look kinda creepy on the sidelines…but who’s gonna tell him to stay away?
MT Seats
September 26th, 2011
7:37 am
Rebuilding in 2012
Greg Moundine
September 26th, 2011
7:39 am
I say it again, Atlanta must go out and take chances on Veteran Free Agents and this includes free agents that have had past problems.
I also say Terrell Owens is still available. The difference betweeen NO and GB is it does not take their wide receivers long to run a route allowing a quick release by their QBs which prevents an aggressive rushing defense from getting to your QB.
jfreak13713
September 26th, 2011
7:39 am
This is a passing league and the Falcons have the talent to pass just not the damn desire. Turner is highly overrated in a league where running is not that important anymore. I can’t see this team winning more than 8 games this year? Before the season started I figured 10 wins easy and mybe as many as 12 wins was possible. Not now! They are a mess!
just sayin'
September 26th, 2011
7:41 am
that’s what prevent defenses do..make a mediocre QB look good..dink and dunk and hoping for a couple of missed tackles to break one…the fal cants got lucky last year and those five/six yard bombs by melt got them into the end zone..looks like this year may be more difficult…
Greg Moundine
September 26th, 2011
7:43 am
Mr. Blank being on the side lines has nothing to do with losing. If Atlanta would have pullled it off, then nothing would have been said about his present.
Atlanta went away from the run, Roddy White dropped balls, the screen play were not run to perfection.
ONE
September 26th, 2011
7:48 am
Now everybody trying to blame Turner, Turner has been carrying Mattie Ice for three years. The problem is Mattie Ice. He has a weak arm and he is very slow.
Michael M.
September 26th, 2011
7:48 am
Its the same song out of Coach Smith, only a different key ! I look for another loss next week against Seattle and then a lop-sided Home Loss against The Pac.
I am starting to be as bad as the Trolls !
I say Stop paying da Bums and ship em outta here ! This is just not acceptable !
Oh yeah, the stats look good on different individuals after this Tampa Loss but it is what it is ! ! !
Just another loss and one step closer to the foot in the grave with no chance of coming back to make a run at anything except the back door !
They lose 3 or 4 more games then a run to the playoffs is outta reach too ! A 10-6 might slip em in there as wildcard but I doubt it. I think my wife said it best because a female can and does see things different than us men do.
She said, well, they going to get paid regardless of whether they win another game or not and as long as they know that, its just like Joe Blow going to work everyday
Oh and Blank does need to stay off that sideline ! It reminds me too much of the Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on their sidelines Dont nobody want to look at you out there. You not inspiring the Team to win !
That Buc team was awful yesterday and Atlanta just made em look like Superbowl Pretenders!
falcon
September 26th, 2011
7:50 am
we were lucky last year. winning just about every game at the end. this year’s team is not lucky. Mike Mularkey is a dinosaur and needs to be fired. Yesterday in the first half we scored 3 points. Ryan was getting mauled. Our brilliant OC finally came to his senses and started throwing quick passes to the wide outs and quick slants over the middle to slow down the pass rush. Then we start moving the ball and actually scored a TD…..wow! Way to come thru in the clutch Roddy. McClure did you forget how to hike the freaking ball? The OL has forgotten how to block. TD definitely blew it by not resigning Big Harvey. Dunta Robinson reminds me of Chris Houston. And Bosher? Holy Jesus! TD you sure missed the boat on him. We ain’t no playoff team. That is for sure.
worn out
September 26th, 2011
7:50 am
no oline, old slow running back, chicken little calling plays, quarterback fearing for his life, secondary that has dunta as the leader equals a 5 and 11 season…..
tndawg
September 26th, 2011
7:50 am
No, they have no clue.
Looks like the old Falcons are back. Remember those days not long ago? Well, they`re BACK!
Michael M.
September 26th, 2011
7:51 am
Its the same song out of Coach Smith, only a different key ! I look for another loss next week against Seattle and then a lop-sided Home Loss against The Pac.
I am starting to be as bad as the Trolls !
I say Stop paying da Bums and ship em outta here ! This is just not acceptable !
Oh yeah, the stats look good on different individuals after this Tampa Loss but it is what it is ! ! !
Just another loss and one step closer to the foot in the grave with no chance of coming back to make a run at anything except the back door !
They lose 3 or 4 more games then a run to the playoffs is outta reach too ! A 10-6 might slip em in there as wildcard but I doubt it. I think my wife said it best because a female can and does see things different than us men do.
She said, well, they going to get paid regardless of whether they win another game or not and as long as they know that, its just like Joe Blow going to work everyday
Michael M.
September 26th, 2011
7:52 am
They wouldn’t accept my comments because they dont wont the damn truth !
Greg Moundine
September 26th, 2011
7:52 am
Go get Terrell Owens. Put him on opposite side of R. White. Move Julio to slot and let’s win some d___ football games. Ryan can only hold the ball for so long in pocket. What this tell me, receivers are not getting open fast enough.
Ryan, you need to look more at the checkdown. Also, instead of having one RB in the back with Ryan in I-formation, ATL needs to go with two backs in backfield, but both on left and right of Ryan.
ONE
September 26th, 2011
7:53 am
StepChild I agree with you 100%. The last year falcons was sorry also, they havn’t destroy a team the wins last year could have went the other way.
reebok
September 26th, 2011
7:53 am
The Falcons are exactly as good as I thought they’d be…in the pre-season (remember the preseason? when we couldn’t win a game in 4 tries?), I predicted the Falcons would go 7-9 or 8-8…that looks about right.