Live from the Dome: A stress-free Falcons’ victory at last?
Matty Ice, shown in an un-holly-jolly mood. (AP photo)
The Falcons have played 13 games. Two have been blowouts: The opening loss at Chicago and the dismissal of winless Indianapolis. In the Falcons’ six home games, all have been in doubt in the fourth quarter, and one beyond that. (Fourth-and-1 at the 30 in overtime. I’m guessing you remember.)
I mention this because we might be about to see an actual Dome wipeout. The Jacksonville Jaguars arrive having already shed coach Jack Del Rio but still lugging the 32nd-best offense in a 32-team league. I also mention this because the Falcons’ head coach has been in the news for having chest pains. An actual runaway by the home side would be the nicest holiday gift Mike Smith could imagine.
I should also mention that the Falcons need only to beat two bad teams here — Jacksonville and then Tampa Bay on New Year’s Day — to reach 10 wins. Ten wins will almost surely book playoff passage and claim the NFC’s No. 5 seed in the process, and you’d rather be No. 5 and have to play the Giants or the Cowboys or the Eagles than be No. 6 and face a Round 1 game in the Superdome.
I could mention other things, but I really don’t feel a pressing need. This one shouldn’t be close, except that the Falcons are pretty good at making games close. Let’s see if they break character tonight.
And with that, the floor’s yours. I eagerly await your comments, questions and submissions for favorite seasonal song. And if anyone suggests Burl Ives’ “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” that person gets banned in perpetuity. So be warned.
By Mark Bradley
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845 comments Add your comment
ls1z28chris
December 15th, 2011
10:55 pm
ohhhhYEAH: No, the joke will continue to be the Falcons unless they start giving out Super Bowl rings to teams that cannot win playoff games. That stuff was hilarious last year. “NFC #1 seed! Ryan is invincible at home! SUPER BOWL HERE WE COME!” Then you get stuffed by the Saints and the Packers at home. Wha-wha-whaaaaaaaa…
Downright hilarious.
ohhhhYEAH
December 15th, 2011
10:56 pm
katherine, hes probably some bandwagoner, doesnt even have an actual team.
phil
December 15th, 2011
10:56 pm
Leaf made Russell look like Bart Starr…
JSS
December 15th, 2011
10:57 pm
Please, everyone that was looking saw GB and was scared… Hanging with NE in that shootout opened eyes. They just didn’t see them beating the Eagles twice in Philly… When they got past that one, all bets were off…
kerryb
December 15th, 2011
10:57 pm
Peyton Manning didn’t win a playoff game until his 4th try. Ryan’s only had 2 chances.
katherine
December 15th, 2011
10:57 pm
ls1z28chris
December 15th, 2011
10:55 pm
ohhhhYEAH: No, the joke will continue to be the Falcons unless they start giving out Super Bowl rings to teams that cannot win playoff games. That stuff was hilarious last year. “NFC #1 seed! Ryan is invincible at home! SUPER BOWL HERE WE COME!” Then you get stuffed by the Saints and the Packers at home. Wha-wha-whaaaaaaaa…
Downright hilarious.
No, what is hillarious is saints trolls who come on this blog……and a lil sad
phil
December 15th, 2011
10:57 pm
He may be a “troll” but he’s right….
phil
December 15th, 2011
10:57 pm
JJ….have a game!
1 4 GT
December 15th, 2011
10:58 pm
Fred—-more than salads and no greasy food–lay off dairy products, beef, pork. plus fried foods, cut down sweets and hard exercise and you still might not get your cholesterol low enough. Docs want both numbers under total of 200 with HDL under 100
Draggin Fly
December 15th, 2011
10:58 pm
Is Sarah Jessica Parker Wilson on IR? Gotta be better than Redman tonight.
phil
December 15th, 2011
10:58 pm
Release Quizz….
Ghosts of Falcons Past
December 15th, 2011
10:58 pm
Rest all of the starters, especially Abraham. He single handedly owned the Jags tonight. Beast Game! Did anyone else see Kubla Khan hesitate abruptly when asked about the interim coach for the Jags? He made a nice recovery, but he failed the lie detector test with his answer. And to the guy who said the defense lost the shutout, that’s not true. Special teams lost the shutout, not our defense. We need to bottle that stuff up and keep drinking it the rest of the season.
I heard several media mouths say we haven’t played 4 quarters of full effort football. I’d say we came real close tonight.
Why is JJ still playing? The last thing we need is for him to tweak his hamstring again…..Take him out!!
ohhhhYEAH
December 15th, 2011
10:58 pm
hey chris…..what team doesnt think theyre super bowl bound once they make the playoffs? upsets happen, (see New Orleans at Seattle), and blow outs happen. so to patronize a fan for thinking their team has a shot to get to the big game once they reach the playoffs is just idiotic.
and yeah, the playoff loss to GB was embarrassing, but the good thing is…that was LAST YEAR, which, coincidentally, doesnt matter a single bit this year
1 4 GT
December 15th, 2011
10:58 pm
I want to see more of Quizz. He looks good. Shifty and fast.
katherine
December 15th, 2011
10:59 pm
Well, that is why you play the whole season…….all the predictions dont mean squat
Rudyard Kipling
December 15th, 2011
10:59 pm
If you can keep your wits about you while all others are losing theirs, and blaming you. . . . The world will be yours and everything in it, what’s more, you’ll be a man, my son.”
phil
December 15th, 2011
10:59 pm
The sweets and triglycerides are my big problem…
JSS
December 15th, 2011
10:59 pm
I”ll never respect the NFL drug program because of Maronovich, Russell, and Leaf… As close as you’ll see to mainlining as possible…
Rudyard Kipling
December 15th, 2011
10:59 pm
Katherine, do you look as good as you write?
1 4 GT
December 15th, 2011
11:00 pm
good catch Julio
Groundhogday
December 15th, 2011
11:00 pm
That was a great throw and an even better catch by JJ……….
ninobrown
December 15th, 2011
11:00 pm
Falcons (and Matt Ryan) looked good tonight. Happy Holiday to all!!! See you Dec. 26 in da dome. Who Dat?
fries
December 15th, 2011
11:00 pm
In shat myself in fright from seeing that picture of Matt Ryan.
phil
December 15th, 2011
11:00 pm
God night fat folks…and thin ones!
It was fun.
katherine
December 15th, 2011
11:01 pm
they really do need to take jj out….
Curly Howard
December 15th, 2011
11:01 pm
woop woop woop woop woop woop woop!
ls1z28chris
December 15th, 2011
11:01 pm
katherine:
The Saints aren’t playing tonight.
You know what is sad? Fans leaving the stadium during the 3rd quarter. Man, that place is empty. Win or lose, Falcons “fans” got to get out of there early to beat the traffic back to the ‘burbs.
Curly Howard
December 15th, 2011
11:02 pm
@katherine. jier jergans?
phil
December 15th, 2011
11:02 pm
Good night all….fat and thin.
It was fun.
katherine
December 15th, 2011
11:02 pm
you mean jair jurjens? no, julio jones
My Hero
December 15th, 2011
11:03 pm
Mark, is th there a colloqually between your writing for the paper edition vs this blog?
Curly Howard
December 15th, 2011
11:04 pm
thanks K. i think i’m in love.
AtlNative
December 15th, 2011
11:04 pm
@OhhYeah
To be fair though, Ryan was pretty bad in both playoff games. Hopefully he gets over the hump this year
Lintonia 83
December 15th, 2011
11:04 pm
is JJ out the game yet?
ls1z28chris
December 15th, 2011
11:04 pm
ohhhhYEAH: Brah, nobody in New Orleans thought that team was Super Bowl bound last year. We supported our team, but no one expected them to get too far. That being the case, no one expected them to lose to Seattle…
AtlNative
December 15th, 2011
11:05 pm
@ Katherine
I think they are leaving him in to get some catches and build confidence going forward
ohhhhYEAH
December 15th, 2011
11:06 pm
Alt, he actually wasnt TOO bad in Ariz, but yes, last year….he just looked unfortunate
katherine
December 15th, 2011
11:06 pm
im just scared julio will get hurt again…we need him
Lawton
December 15th, 2011
11:06 pm
Smitty — one of the classiest coach in the league.
Lintonia 83
December 15th, 2011
11:06 pm
This is just the type of victory ATL needed. Nice job home team.
katherine
December 15th, 2011
11:07 pm
didnt urban meyer have chest pains after a game too?
Norm Van Brocklin
December 15th, 2011
11:07 pm
All right you AJC guys!! Let’s stack some furniture!!!
ohhhhYEAH
December 15th, 2011
11:08 pm
Im not too worried about Julio. Hes lookin strong and very healthy right now. Im more worried about the 10 day lay off between now and New Orleans. I hope we dont lose all the momentum we have gained the last 2 games
Norm Van Brocklin
December 15th, 2011
11:08 pm
Katherine, was i ever married to you?
Lintonia 83
December 15th, 2011
11:08 pm
Great the some of the depth is getting action against live bullets.
JK
December 15th, 2011
11:08 pm
Really ridiculous these trolls that come on here to cut on the Falcons. I’d love to know their motivation. Maybe they’re Saints fans, maybe they’re Eagles fans. But it’s really lame to troll on a Falcons board. Do Falcons fans troll on other teams’ boards? I don’t think so. I’m a big Falcons fan, love the Falcons, and want them to win, but that doesn’t mean I’d go on other teams’ boards and make inane posts to cut on other teams. The Saints are a good team that won the Super Bowl a few year ago, and they earned it. But it amazes me that a small part of their fan base has so little to keep them busy that they need to cut other teams via their blogs.
ls1z28chris
December 15th, 2011
11:08 pm
Why does Thomas Dimitroff look like a 22 year old douche on the Jersey Shore? If I remember correctly, there are a couple barber shops near the Georgia Dome. Someone strap him to one of their chairs.
AtlNative
December 15th, 2011
11:09 pm
I’ll bet Chernoff is going to be positively giddy tomorrow…
katherine
December 15th, 2011
11:09 pm
norm or should I say choke…no
kerryb
December 15th, 2011
11:10 pm
At least the Falcons have a classy owner. Not some fat old guy that dances around with an umbrella making a fool out of himself.