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
joe blo
September 26th, 2011
9:17 am
Maybe Harvey Dahl was more important than I thought he was. This o-line hasn’t had a good game yet; D played OK but the missed tackles is maddening
Sideline Dude
September 26th, 2011
9:18 am
Well, it’s back to being losersville in Atlanta again. The Braves are fading so fast it’s funny & the Falcons can’t get out of their own way. Hotlanta ain’t so hot right now.
BeerDawg
September 26th, 2011
9:19 am
I’m tired of all the people who call Dimitroff a genius, let’s see his record of failures:
Sam Baker
William Moore
Peria Jerry
Dunta Robinson
Chris Owens
Michael Turner (except his first year here after which he got fat and slow)
…and the jury is out on Julio
and don’t forget our imaginitive OC—-Mularkey
and our DC Van Gorder who can’t instill any discipline into his players
Sit down...
September 26th, 2011
9:19 am
Falcons suck. It’s just what they do. Always have and always will. Suck. They give you just a ~glimmer~ of “hope” and then they crap it out. I’m talkin’ over FOUR DECADES.
BeerDawg
September 26th, 2011
9:20 am
and don’t forget Sideline…..we lost a hockey team (for the SECOND time!!) and the Hawks??? Well, there the Hawks…..
and don’t even get me started on the Bulldogs….
Turner Sucks
September 26th, 2011
9:27 am
The RB that is the slowest to hit the hole in the entire league. He can’t run unless there is a hole a mile wide.. Look at Blount yesterday breaking tackles and our guy “the Burner” goes down on first contact. He is the softest big running back in the league. Painful to watch..
JayCool 4DaBirds
September 26th, 2011
9:29 am
I still think they are as good as we thought they were/ The Falcons proved last year that they can catch fire and stay lit for a while. In fact they almost look the same. They will get right and continue to bring that offense along and when they do, wstch out now.
BeerDawg
September 26th, 2011
9:29 am
Bradley’s subtitle is “Falcons too good for 1-2 start”
Says who????
Bobby Petrino
September 26th, 2011
9:30 am
Now do you see why I left can’t even score when the opportunities are given PATHETIC!!!!!!!
Mitch
September 26th, 2011
9:30 am
I have been cheering for the Falcons since 1991 and have had my heart ripped out of me every week. Mike Mularkey’s play calling was so predictable that any high school team could have looked like an NFL team. It is time to protect Ryan and let him call the plays. As for the Braves, they have stunk this September and I have had it with Atlanta Sports. I am going to take up a new hobby and stop watching the pathetic teams that Atlanta continues to produce.
Noholdsbarred
September 26th, 2011
9:31 am
BeerDawg, A-B is “showcasing himself” for the women . . . you know he is replacing his current wife and needs every young lady to see what a prize he would be. They don’t show the owner’s box often so therefore he has to go down to the field.
LN
September 26th, 2011
9:32 am
VERY very average offensive and defensive lines, and an awful punter.
ccbw.com
September 26th, 2011
9:34 am
Get a O-Line damn it.
JayCool 4DaBirds
September 26th, 2011
9:35 am
You have to admit it though, Gonzalez playing his butt off right now.
D man
September 26th, 2011
9:36 am
Ouch!!!
Real American
September 26th, 2011
9:37 am
*snicker*…..only Falcon fans continously bring up their old QB, no other fanbase does that. Gotta love it.
Real American
September 26th, 2011
9:38 am
I can’t wait to read the excuses from Peter King. LOL
WHO DAT BLACK
September 26th, 2011
9:39 am
Beerdawg,
Don’t generalize about Saints fans and their lives. Keep football and real life separate.
Of course, as I say this, I think about how weak-minded the Falcons fan base has become. If the Falcons play out the rest of the season, they will be 8-8 or 9-7. You can’t run the no-huddle, because you need an every down back to run the no-huddle. Snelling and Turner are good for only 5 plays consecutively. If you ran a no-huddle all the time, it would allow you to score more, but how will the extra time on the field affect a defense that was trouble tackling. Look for a long season Dirty Birds, “Beast Mode”, as y’all like to call it, is coming next week.
Who Dat!!!
D man
September 26th, 2011
9:40 am
These boys need some serious coaching. The coaches need to chew their butts out today not just for yesterday, but for the season. This is not acceptable…
Leeman Bennett
September 26th, 2011
9:40 am
T. Dimitroff showed some guts in creating the roster; but alas, there were some moves and picks that haven’t quite worked out; ala Samatha Baker, no pay Dahl, the punter from hell, Done Robinson, and no-play Ray…just to name a few. I stand behind Dimitroff and his ability to draft / make moves, but when is he gonna axe a few of his high profile mistakes like he did previous GM picks ala Mike Jenkins and J. Anderson? Bradley you need to do an article on this situation…it bears some research.
philman
September 26th, 2011
9:45 am
Falcons a cheap team!!! When Arthur will understand that he needs to spent some bucks… then we will be world champs!!!
Shirley
September 26th, 2011
9:49 am
It’s very upsetting. It looks like every weakness is glaringly exposed. I fear that these coaches will just stick with the same thing that isn’t working and hope that it will work.
ha
September 26th, 2011
9:49 am
No dang offensive line at all.
bigdon
September 26th, 2011
9:50 am
Bosher? Are you kidding? Unprepared, lousy o line. Micheal Turned is made of stone. Jason Snelling has disappeared. What did they see in Ray Edwards? Thought about going to Greenbay game but there ain’t no way. REAl GLAD I didn’t get season tickets this year. They suck.
Smitty is an overpriced cheerleader
September 26th, 2011
9:50 am
I’ve said it before and will say it again: Smitty’s rah-rah schtick will wear off at some point and it looks like its already starting to lose its luster. He can’t keep putting up cheesy slogans in the locker room and expect that it will overcome his lousy coaching on both sides of the ball. Both of our coordinators are horrible and everyone sees it except for the head man. This guy is in way over his head.
And Turner loses a step every game. His only yardage has been the result of a non-existent defense or complete defensive breakdowns on the other side of the ball. The guy is soft as baby doo.
Smitty is an overpriced cheerleader
September 26th, 2011
9:53 am
Did anyone catch our big offseason acquisition Ray “Boom Boom” Edwards get tosses like a bag of potatos on the next to last play by Winslow? He fired off the ball at the end and just got manhandled and tossed to the ground. Then he quit on the last play rather than do it again. Ray Edwards looks old and slow. And neither he or Dunta “Make a Play” Robinson needed to play in the preseason since they are so darn good. Give me a break.
Smitty is an overpriced cheerleader
September 26th, 2011
9:56 am
On a side note, they need to fire these weenie announcers that always want to say defenders are leading with their head against a defenseless player. That guy was ready to cry over a clean hit on Freeman by William Moore. He led with his shoulder and Freeman was far from defenseless. Kudos to Brian Billick for calling the other announcer out on the spot. Freeman was far from defenseless and our guy led with the shoulder. It just so happens that the helmet is ALWAYS going to be close considering its freaking attached to the shoulders- not much you can do about that.
I’m sick of these announcers who’ve never worn a jock strap in their life crying about helmet to helmet hits when they have no idea what they’re talking about..
Sid
September 26th, 2011
10:01 am
Surprisingly Mark you failed to mention on our inability to give Ryan time to throw the ball. If you look at Offensive Line coach Paul Boudreau’s career he doesn’t last very much past 2-3 years with any team so maybe it’s time for the Falcons to take a hard look at that coaching position.
“Let’s not fault the defense. It held the Bucs to 300 yards”……? Mark, the Bucs haven’t exactly been churning up the turf in any of their games……22nd in total yards, 21st in passing yards, 20th in rushing yards……thru 3 games. The Falcons Defense is ranked 22nd, and by the way, that was the NFL’s 24th ranked defense that we couldn’t move the ball on. Against the pass Falcons 22nd, Bux 23rd. Against the run Falcons 20th, Bux 23rd. The Falcons Offensive stats aren’t real pretty either. Falcons Offense: 19th in total yards, 18th passing, 19th rushing. I’ll bet the Bux were just shaking in their Pirate boots when the Dirty Birds touched down at Tampa International.
Roddy, those passes right to your hands are just too hard to catch buddy.
Going for it in the red zone, 4th and 3, 12:55 left in the game and Ryan tries to throw it to Jaquizz with Corey Lynch on him like dew in dixie. C’mon….you got pro bowl receivers, you got a pro bowl receiver gonna be in Jones, you got an option to throw a screen (which the Falcons STUPIDLY never do) and you try to throw it to the smallest guy on the field in the flat. Not smart football by Ryan, he obviously is playing rattled…….who can blame him.
And one last thing, Peter Falk style: Matt, next time the shotgun snap comes rolling toward you via the turf just fall on it like it’s a squeaking pig.
Anyone else vote for the Falcons to throw a screen pass every now and then?
philman
September 26th, 2011
10:01 am
The Falcons are like every other pro teams in Atlanta, cheap teams!!
Braves-Hawks-Falcons, they are all in the same bag!!
The Falcons had 6 coaches in 10 years:
Dan Reeves
Wade Phillips
Jim Mora
Bobby Petrino
Emmitt Thomas
Mike Smith
Green Bay 2 coaches in 10 years!!! Colts 2 coaches!! etc etc…
WHO DAT BLACK
September 26th, 2011
10:02 am
Pardon me, I’m an idiot.
welikebaseball2
September 26th, 2011
10:03 am
talented team + poor execution = inept coaching
pigskin philosophy
September 26th, 2011
10:04 am
The Falcons will be fine. The law of averages sez that they must start winning. Playoffs, then a superbowl visit. (they lose)
Call it like it is
September 26th, 2011
10:07 am
With the Falcons stinking it up, the only entertaining thing I saw was Vick moaning about getting hit too much and the refs not calling it. He went on for another 5 minutes but finished up stating he wasn’t going to complain about it. Even the ESPN guys got a kick out of that.
LawDawg
September 26th, 2011
10:09 am
It is simple. The O-Line is the worst of any potential playoff team other than maybe the Bears and Turner is quickly coming up on his expiration date.
Joe Tess Fish House
September 26th, 2011
10:10 am
I ben tellin ya there are a bunch of fist round busts on this team and instead everone make fun of me.
dre
September 26th, 2011
10:21 am
Relax. The Falcons will be alright. Roddy wasn’t perfect, but he has been darn near so in recent years, so he shouldn’t take so much of the brunt…just a little. O line needs some work for sure. All QBs need more than 1 second to get rid of the ball. They’ll get there. Have faith my brothers! And I agree, win or lose, it is hard to watch Arthur on the sidelines with his arms crossed. It is annoying.
Ed
September 26th, 2011
10:24 am
After the green bay, playoff loss would you have confidence in that slow, conservative offense the falcons run, no.when teams like new england, new orleans and green bay’s prolific style offenses that can score very fast on anybody. what chance do the falcons have. they found out who they are in the green bay playoff loss. and so did some of us!
Calvin E.
September 26th, 2011
10:25 am
Where’s Jason Snellings
Bill
September 26th, 2011
10:27 am
Poor draft that did not address the team needs. They needed defensive and offensive linemen help, not a wide receiver. If you can’t protect the QB the quality of wide receiver doesn’t matter. If you can’t defend the pass drafting a wide receiver is useless.
Roark
September 26th, 2011
10:27 am
This team is way out-of-synch and is clearly having pucker problems playing withh high expectations! They don’t seem to be focused, prepared or serious and they are LUCKY to be 1-2.
Appears to be a first-to-worst season developing in the nfc south for ATL.
Mr. Mustard
September 26th, 2011
10:27 am
This organization plays to the level of its opponents. Michael Turner seems slow. I am beginning to they either let Ryan call the plays, or hire a new OC.
I thought the Philly game was their statement game, where they grew up and became an elite team. Wrong.
Still seems they are playing not to lose, instead of going on all cylinders and giving it all we have no offense every game.
Mental mistakes suddenly? Can’t happen.
Put up a 4 receiver set, run the no huddle and throw to Turner if the other 4 are covered.
Man this is frustrating.
That Dude Devin
September 26th, 2011
10:30 am
I keep hearing that the coaches are at fault…NOT ANOTHER BAD FALCONS COACH!!!
pigskin philosophy
September 26th, 2011
10:30 am
There is no escape from the law of averages. We go to superbowl. we lose. and no amount of idiot analysis from Tuesday Afternoon Special Teams Wannabees is going to change that fact, Jack!
Green Bay....All Day!
September 26th, 2011
10:31 am
Candice, Lol, like Fab said “Girl you be killin’ em”! I won’t go in on you because are a “SERIOUS contender” as evident of our recent match-up! Falcons, I think because ya’ll Falcon’s) have talked so much & have done nothing is why there is such a huge “dislike” from FB fans such as C.C.! Amazingly you’re trying to make yourselves into the N.Y Falcons or L.A. Falcons! Do like past SuperBowl winners (Indy,N.O. and my GB Packers) shhhh, be quiet until you’ve done something other than 13-3! Just know in 2 weeks it’s not going to be pretty! Grant, Starks, Nelson, Driver, Jones, Finley, Jennings and ARR-12 a.k.a Assault Rifle Rodgers!
up north
September 26th, 2011
10:34 am
I do not watch much football. I do not claim to know much, if anything, about football. But, I will tell you, it seems like this team never has a line that can keep the QB from nearly getting crushed on every play. I do not know whether that is coaching or players; but, that is what I have observed over the years.
Rich
September 26th, 2011
10:37 am
Move #1 Cut the punter (Bosher). I have seen high school punters who kick off deeper and punt further.
An NFL time should not be at as big of a disadvantage at that position as the Falcons are.
TIM DA DAWG GONE IT THATS ENOUGH falcoln
September 26th, 2011
10:38 am
Wait a minute you gor to wait this out atleast 2 more games to see the verdict …..pretenders or contenders or bust…..!
Freebird
September 26th, 2011
10:39 am
IMHO Falcons need to run more 4 and 5 receiver sets getting Harry Douglas, Julio Jones and Jacquizz Rodgers more involved in offense. In the 4 receiver formation they’ed get one on one coverage in the secondary and I think both White and Jones are hard to cover one on one. Turner is great but too many times I’ve seen him break long runs only to be run down from behind where Rodgers might not be. Run more multiple back formations with both Turner and Rodgers in backfield. When set in 4 receiver sets try running from that formation. I also think Mullarkey is a dinosaur but most importantly the O-line has to protect Ryan better.
gman
September 26th, 2011
10:43 am
Very uninspired. I have been a loyal fan throughout the years but if they can’t put the effort for the fans then as a fan I will no longer put forth my support.
TIM DA DAWG GONE IT THATS ENOUGH falcoln
September 26th, 2011
10:43 am
face it we have not drafted the players we have and kept continunity and forgot that to keep winning every yr we must stick with our doctrine and improve the decent talent we alreadyb had but did not want to keep them for a few lousy millions come on man we all miss havey dahl and davis on the d line and ROODY SHUT UP AND IDOL JERRY RICE HIS PLAY SPOKE BIGGER THAN YOUR MOUTH. TRY TO CATCH THE BALL AND SILENTLY DOMINAT … THROW THE DAM BALL TO DOUGLAS AND MIER LET RYAN PROVE HE CASN’T OR CAN RUN THE DAM OFFFENCE.. WHERE IN THE HELL IS THE REAL ATL FALCONS STAND THE ….. UP?