It’s time for the Falcons to win a playoff game, and they will
Will the rookie Julio Jones make a difference in January? (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
It’s time to do this. It’s time to win a playoff game before this “Mike Smith/Matt Ryan-can’t-win-a-playoff-game” takes real root. (And it hasn’t yet. Two examples do not a representative sample make.) It’s time for the Falcons to win a playoff game because there’s no reason they shouldn’t.
Who thinks so? Well, here was general manager Thomas Dimitroff, speaking after Thursday’s practice: “Our expectations going into this year were for more than just getting the playoffs. Does that answer you?”
The Falcons didn’t have quite the regular season we or they expected, but they’re here now, in essentially the same position as the Packers were a year ago. The Giants are favored, but only by a field goal, which is the standard home-field allotment. The Falcons had the better record. They’d also seem to have more good players — do you see a Michael Turner on the Giants? A Tony Gonzalez? Anything approaching the combination of Roddy White and Julio Jones? — and the numbers second the emotion.
Total defense: The Falcons ranked 12th against the Giants’ 27th.
Passing defense: 20th against 29th.
Rushing defense: 6th against 19th.
Rushing offense: 17th against 32nd.
Passing offense: 8th against 5th.
Total offense: 12th against 10th.
The Falcons ranked in the NFL’s upper half using four of the six measures, the Giants in two. In the two categories that saw the Giants lead, the advantage was negligible. In the four categories that saw the Falcons lead, the advantage was significant.
Giants advocates will suggest that their team changed when the pass rusher Osi Umenyiora got semi-healthy toward season’s end, and the defensive line is the one place where the Falcons suffer by comparison. New York’s Jason Pierre-Paul had 16 1/2 sacks; the Falcons as a team managed only 26. If the Giants sack Ryan a half-dozen times, they’ll win. If they don’t … well, that No. 29 ranking in passing yards yielded doesn’t suggest a team steeped in coverage, does it?
And that last-in-the-NFL-in-yards-rushing metric suggests the home team isn’t going to get ahead and run the ball and eat the clock. Eli Manning will have to keep throwing to keep his team moving. Ryan figures to get more help from his backs. If the Falcons can run it even a bit, that front four will have to gear down.
There’s no reason the Falcons shouldn’t win this game. They have the better defense and the more balanced offense. Stem to stern, they have the more talented roster. And it is, to return to our earlier point, time. This team has been together long enough. We’re approaching prove-it-or-lose-it territory.
Said Curtis Lofton, the superb middle linebacker: “It is [time]. We’re not happy just being here. The ultimate goal is to win the Super Bowl.”
Can this team win the Super Bowl?
Lofton: “I think we can. We’ve got enough talent in here.”
In 2008, when the up-from-misery Falcons went to Arizona and were undone by the 9-7 Cardinals, that team wasn’t ready yet. Last year the Falcons should have been, but one awful Saturday night — the 48-21 loss to the sixth-seeded Packers — all but overrode a 13-3 regular season. But the Falcons went to school on that rout, same as they had on the Arizona loss, and they traded up to draft the rookie Jones, who has made a difference the past month. Just on talent, this team is better than last season’s.
That said, the repeated failures against playoff-caliber opponents — swept by the Saints, beaten at home again by the Packers, beaten on the road by the Texans’ No. 3 quarterback — leaves cause for doubt: Why can’t players this good win big games? And that’s a question that will stay attached to these Falcons until they prove otherwise.
They’re ready to prove otherwise. Some thought the Packers’ victory over Detroit last week did the Falcons a huge service by sending them to New Jersey, as opposed to New Orleans yet again. “I kind of hoped we’d go back to New Orleans,” Lofton said, “especially with the way they did us.”
He meant the Saints letting Drew Brees throw at the end of a rout to break Dan Marino’s yardage record. If anything, that nationally televised indignity rekindled a flame that might otherwise have been doused. The Falcons lost by 29 points to their nemesis, and by rights that should have damaged their self-esteem. But the way the New Orleans game ended only poked at their pride.
The Falcons left New Orleans mad, and they played mad against Tampa Bay last week, and they’ll arrive at the Meadowlands angry enough to do real damage not just in this game but deeper into January. They’ll win Sunday because it’s time for them to win, and before they’re done they might well see New Orleans again.
By Mark Bradley
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359 comments Add your comment
Not a Falcon fan
January 6th, 2012
8:13 pm
Not a Saints Fan, you and the rest of Falcon fans are the IDIOTS. You think the Falcons will REALLY win a Super Bowl. It’s the same old Falcons, year after year. Losers !!!!!! Just for the record, I’m not a Saints fan. Except when they play the Falcons. Falcons, one and done !!!!!
phil57
January 6th, 2012
8:13 pm
Has anyone read the article by Rob Parker at ESPN NY saying the Falcons deserve to lose to the Giants and that Atlanta is the “worst sports town in America”? Unbelievable http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/7429623/the-city-atlanta-worst-sports-town-america
ohhhhYEAH
January 6th, 2012
8:21 pm
Sorry Folks
The Giants are nowhere near the team the Saints are, and we played tight and Gregg Williams always has a tremendous game plan for Atlanta, because its both ours and their biggest two games of the year. Any football fan knows stats don’t mean jack $#!* in a division rivalry game, anything can happen.
ohhhhYEAH
January 6th, 2012
8:22 pm
And I believe the Falcons managed 3 against them in their first meeting, would have been for if Roddy hadnt droppeda slant pass right in his hands with 4 seconds left.
JN
January 6th, 2012
8:48 pm
The falcants played the most first year QBs ever in one season. I wonder if that helped their defensive stats and win totals. The Giants 2nd half of the season was murder!!! The Giansts would have won 12-13 games if they played the falcon’s schedule this season!!
YellowJacket
January 6th, 2012
9:01 pm
A math worksheet for third graders that used examples of slavery in word problems has angered some parents at a Norcross elementary school, Channel 2 Action News reports.
Enlarge photo
Channel 2 Action News A math worksheet for third graders that used slavery in word problems has angered some parents at Beaver Ridge Elementary School in Norcross. Gwinnett school officials acknowledge the worksheet should have been reviewed before it was sent home with students.
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One word problem stated, “Each tree had 56 oranges. If 8 slaves pick them equally, then how much would each slave pick?” Another said, “If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in 1 week?”
Such questions can evoke bitter memories in Georgia, where African Americans were enslaved for generations until the Civil War and the elimination of slavery.
“It kind of blew me away,” Christopher Braxton, a parent of a child at Beaver Ridge Elementary School, told Channel 2. “I was furious. … Something like this shouldn’t be embedded into a kid of the third, fourth, fifth, any grade.”
Another Beaver Ridge parent, Terrance Barnett, said, “I’m having to explain to my 8-year-old why slavery or slave or beatings is in a math problem. So that hurts.”
Gwinnett County School District officials said teachers were attempting to incorporate history into math lessons.
“Teachers were trying to do a cross-curricular activity,” district spokeswoman Sloan Roach told Channel 2.
Roach acknowledged the questions gave no context for the issues they raised.
“We understand that there are concerns about these questions, and we agree that these questions were not appropriate,” she said.
Parents told Channel 2 that the school’s principal was collecting the assignments and would shred them so they wouldn’t be circulated.
Officials said that under district policy, the worksheet should have been reviewed before being handed out to students, but that process was not followed in this situation. They said they would work with math teachers to come up with more appropriate questions.
72 Million Dollar Bust
January 6th, 2012
9:08 pm
POLL TIME:
What will be the number 1 excuse for the 4th year of Failure in the playoffs?
falconion.4.life
January 6th, 2012
9:10 pm
How can anyone that’s a realist believe we’ll go very far in the playoffs even if we’re fortunate enough to pull out a victory tomorrow against New York? Did everyone forget what happened just two weeks ago? Brees tore our defense up for nearly 400 yards and anyone who says “we let him do it” as I read in a column earlier, is delusional. I think we’d all agree that the Giants defense – especially outdoors – is much more imposing than the Saints’ defense. The Saints, playing at home, in all likelihood, will defeat Detroit. And in the unlikely event that we do find a way to win outdoors in New York, our playoff adventure will certainly be put to rest next week against San Francisco or Green Bay. As much as I hate to admit it, we have neither the quarterback, defensive line or secondary and most importantly, the coaching, to be nothing more than a wild-card or just an above-average team for the forseeable future. There is no way we can compete with a Green Bay, New Orleans or a San Francisco – and that’s just the NFC.
72 Million Dollar Bust
January 6th, 2012
9:11 pm
4 straight rookies, plus a 4 win team and a BEATING by the Saints.
Is that the same team you are proud of?
007
January 6th, 2012
9:12 pm
Ever who MB picks, go with the other team, its almost a guarantee.
ohhhhYEAH
January 6th, 2012
9:24 pm
It’s funny, I was sure we played NY on Sunday, which is not tomorrow. And it’s also funny that you pathetic “fans” and “realists” like falconian are trying to say that because we got killed by the Saints, that we will get killed by the Giants. Now, I may just be taking it the wrong way, but it seems to me that you’re trying to say the Giants are every bit as good as the Saints. Now we all know that’s nowhere near accurate, so I must be misinterpreting you, correct? I mean, you are, after all, talking about a team that lost not once, but TWICE to the freaking REDSKINS! and you think this is a team thats going to beat Atlanta? Just because we got beat by whats probably the best team in the NFL right now? WOW, some of you “realists” must not have a clue what realism is.
BigLou
January 6th, 2012
9:41 pm
Ohhhhyeah
Your reading and comprehension skills are pretty bad. He was making the comment of going far in the playoffs, after a close win against the Giants.
jakedsnake
January 6th, 2012
9:43 pm
I’m already checking the 10 day forecast for Green Bay. Detroit will take care of Skants and the Falcons will see them later in the playoffs.
realitycheck
January 6th, 2012
9:56 pm
ohhhhYEAH………I definitely am every bit a realist but am not buying into the Falcons winning Sunday. The Falcons certainly have a chance, but this is an outdoor game that could be rainy/ and or windy with a vocal and passionate crowd to deal with. The Giants are only 8-8 but favored in the game because the oddsmakers aren’t sold on these Falcons either. Additionally, I am not buying in at all to this 12th ranked defense because those rankings are by yardage given up and not points allowed. Example: The Jets defense ranks like 5th, but they’ve given up more points than the 24th ranked Saints defense so that shows that yards between the 20’s aren’t nearly as important as points allowed. I’m predicting a hard fought tight game with Manning making a 4th qtr play that leads to a Giant win but we will see.
Skeezix
January 6th, 2012
10:06 pm
Mark: I think the Giants will come away with the win. Just not a buyer of the Falcons today. If they had showed up against the Saints, I would feel different.
………….but hope I am proven wrong.
P.S. That ESPN article is both dumb and lame. Best to ignore it.
Bob-Bob Baran
January 6th, 2012
10:06 pm
Since they avoided NO, finally a Playoff Victory awaits them on Sunday!!!!
JSS
January 6th, 2012
10:09 pm
Fred Macmurray
January 6th, 2012
4:51 pm
“@JSS What was it you didnt like about the P(e)atrino Hiring that made you drop your season tickets… I mean aside from the obvious fact that he’s a douch(e)bag….”
He orchestrated a attempted coup at Auburn that only the Board of Regents kept from tearing that athletic department apart… Then the way he left Louisville out on a ledge was classic Petrino! I just knew it was a deal with the devil… THe only thing, I thought he might do get an offense to use Vick, Crumpler, and Dunn in a way that could get some production where Knapp failed so miserably…
Greg Mendel
January 6th, 2012
10:28 pm
Falcons can’t play outdoors. Just ask the Panthers, Bucs, Eagles, and Jags. They can’t win “on paper” either.
ohhhhYEAH
January 6th, 2012
10:37 pm
realitycheck
Giants are 9-7, not 8-8, and the odds makers have them as a 3pt favorite simply because they are, in fact, the home team, not because they aren’t “buying the Falcons.” Meaning odds makers are also not sold on the Giants since the game is a push. To listen to you guys talk it seems we are playing Johnny Unitas, with the Steel Curtain defense, at Lambeau field in sub-zero weather. Oh well, guess the Birds might as well not bother getting on the plane since we clearly have no shot
Say what
January 6th, 2012
10:47 pm
Choke is using a girl’s name, thinking we won’t know it’s him. What a loser. (could be CGD or JSS, they are all the same to me)
Najeh Davenpoop
January 6th, 2012
10:52 pm
“And in the unlikely event that we do find a way to win outdoors in New York, our playoff adventure will certainly be put to rest next week against San Francisco or Green Bay.”
The 49ers are not as tough a matchup as the Giants. Their offense is easy to stop and their defense has been showing cracks the last couple of weeks. That team is going to be one and done in the playoffs.
Problem is, the Falcons are going to play the Packers if they get past New York, and they are not going to win that game.
Say what
January 6th, 2012
10:59 pm
Falcons have given up fewer points per game than the Giants. 21.9 for ATL, 25.0 for NYG
JSS
January 6th, 2012
11:19 pm
Like I said Say What: “That’s your P.P.!!! Think whatever you like, you’d just be wrong again…
Say what
January 6th, 2012
11:24 pm
JSS, you mean like you wildly accusing bloggers of using multiple screen names? LOL.
Ok, “samantha” is probably Choke’s sister.
Mr Charlie
January 6th, 2012
11:37 pm
Nav, I do agree with you. SF might be the easiest NFC “out”. I like the Giants to win it all, they are a different team with running backs healthy, and have the best pass rush, a QB capable of getting hot, been playing win or go home for the past few weeks….Falcons win here, it will be something special.
JSS
January 6th, 2012
11:39 pm
No it means you have “personal problems” that need to get a handle on that go beyond what happens within this comment sections… You got issues with a blogger, handle it, move on or just shut up…
JSS
January 6th, 2012
11:42 pm
And I’m Skyping with someone way more important than you for the next hour, so amuse yourself with more falsehoods… Ciao
JN
January 6th, 2012
11:48 pm
@ SAY WHAT compare the falcons and the giants schedule this season!!! Is it better defense or competition
Fred Macmurray
January 7th, 2012
12:04 am
Thanks JSS,,, I just wanted to hear the story,,, I do remember the Auburn thing,, pretty cheesy,,, and thanx for coricting my spelling along the way,, Go Flacons
Mr Charlie
January 7th, 2012
12:07 am
I don’t see a huge difference between the Giants schedule and ours.
We both played the Packers,
They played NO and NE, we played NO twice
they also played the 49ers, but we played the Lions.
We played the Texans, but not at full strength, but we still found a way to lose.
So, it appears we played 1 more playoff team. So what am I missing? Dallas…Charlotte Miami….Titans. Colts….Rams Skins…..Bucs Eagles x2…..We wish
I don’t see a huge difference in the schedules.
Mr Charlie
January 7th, 2012
12:16 am
I guy that the Giants an advantage because:
They play at home
We are playing out doors
They have the best pass rush in the NFL
They are getting healthy
They are a different running team with both backs
They have a QB who can get hot and run the table
They have been there and done that
They have a very good coach
But I don’t buy the harder schedule thing.
houstondawgfan
January 7th, 2012
12:25 am
Falcons will prove they are one of the top teams during this run, they win by at least 10 this weekend, mark it down. The Giants are a little suspect and it will show this weekend, Turner runs out the clock and Matt Ryan gets his Matty Ice name back, I just would like to see a rematch with the Saints, but its not going to happen, NFL knows it too, that its hard to beat a good team three times in a row.
JSS
January 7th, 2012
12:50 am
“thanx for coricting my spelling along the way,, Go Flacons”
I’ve been leaving out whole prepositional phases on this stupid tablet, I can related… Peace Mike, Chip, and Robbie’s dad
Michael M.
January 7th, 2012
1:03 am
Atlanta and the Fans and of course a few trolls for flavor………okay here’s the deal, ” Some like to love on em, some like to hate on em, but we all know about em. Most that like to hate on them really just hating on the Atlanta Fans. You read several pages of these Posts and it shows.
I have lived with the Falcons almost as long as they were brought out of the dust………there’s been some good times and a lot of bad times along those years too. We had some good teams with years and of course some bad ones as well…………………this Team this year is not as bad a team as a lot on here try to make them appear to be. Sure they lost a few close ones but a catch here or there would have been a win so really the only difference in the record is 3 from last to 3 less this year.
You had told me 10-6 get in the playoffs six weeks ago I would have said you are a fruitcake ! Sooooooooooooo, here we are boys and girls but mostly grown fellas with a few that need to act their age, yes, here we are 10-6 in the playoffs and got a 5th seed too, to boot.
Come this { Sunday January 8, 2012} Atlanta gets its first Road Victory Playoff Win in many years !
Don’t say it won’t happen because this Sunday it will. I really have no clue what the score will be as well as yards etc but neither does anyone else. The Playoff Jinx will be broken Sunday, that’s a record Atlanta will have broken this year, the most important one any team can achieve.
As for the next week , sure its going to be more of the same ole same ole just like it was for this game on these Sports blogs. Will they win next week too ? I don’t know, the players on the Team control their destiny. Who knows, you don’t know and I don’t know, this team could go as far as that 1998 team did. They had no more special players as they do now, maybe a little stronger running back but pretty well equal in the rest of the Team.
Lets give the players on the team a chance guys and stop cutting each other down about this and that. we don’t play their football games for them, they do. So come this Sunday , they will play and have something pretty special to play about …breaking the losing record in the playoffs and moving on to the next game.
Its game time guys so lets deal with it !
Dirt Bags, Dirty Birds or Superbirds they are our Birds !
DawgDad
January 7th, 2012
1:27 am
Sure, I want the Falcons to win, but they are weak in the o-line and their pass rush is far too inconsistent. They have to prove they can play with the best teams in the league before they get the benefit of the doubt.
Vick Supporter
January 7th, 2012
1:39 am
All right you heard it here live….Ryan is hot right now and I’ve always said he could play….arm just a little weak…but thats ok if you win.
My Eagles gelled too late…we got our asses beat. I’ve picked the Giants to win the SB…Ice got a chance
Go Giants
Eugene
January 7th, 2012
1:53 am
To the “Saints fan” below who says the Falcons have “grown” on him.” You sir, are not a real Saints fan. No true Who Dat feels a grain of empathy for the dirty birds.
SawThat1nce
January 7th, 2012
2:07 am
Falcons beaten by Packers, beaten by saints in 2nd game.
Gave away 1st saints game, gave away Texans game.
Falcons win Sunday by 11 or more points.
GO FALCONS!!!!!!
HardyFalcon
January 7th, 2012
5:39 am
You know its sad, we are probably a better team than NY, but because its a NY team they get all the press coverage and everyone and their brother is picking NY over us. I just hope we go into NY with our A** 0n our shoulders and with a chip on our shoulder and show those New Jerkers that we came into town with a take no prisoner attitude. IT IS TIME TO RISE UP AND SHOW THE WORLD WE HAVE THE TEAM TO TAKE NY BY STORM AND MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT VICTIM, WHETHER IT BE SF OR GB!!!! GO FALCONS
Jim
January 7th, 2012
6:28 am
The Facons have done absolutely nothing all year to earn such a prediction. Each time they have stepped up onto the big stage they have been slammed. Until this crew wins a game against a quality opponent no one who is objective can say they are ready to win when it counts. The facts just don’t support your analysis.
joseph coppola
January 7th, 2012
6:47 am
it’s funny, these home town writers and their reasoning for victory, they’re playing outdoors, against a mentally and physcially tough team, and matty”ice” will look loke an “ice dancer” I am not a n.y. fan.
Caesar
January 7th, 2012
7:56 am
Why should fans be optimistic when every time the Falcons have a big game like this they lose. It doesn’t mean we don’t support the team and it doesn’t mean we are not “real fans”. Real fans should be objective, not blind loyalist. So far this team has yet to prove they are real SB contenders. I hope they prove me wrong.
The ATL
January 7th, 2012
7:59 am
The Falcons are angry about all this disrespect! Mark this down—Matt and Julio will light up the weak NY secondary and the angry falcons D will shut down manning with a few INTs! Falcons roll!!! ATL 30 NY 17!
Sid
January 7th, 2012
8:18 am
Mister.Earl January 6th, 2012 11:17 am
This one is played on the road in Met Life which will be swimming in blue and red, with a brisk breeze blowing from the east.
*****************************************************
Hey, Larry Munson’s not dead, he’s Mister Earl. “Get the Picture”
The wind won’t be from the east and the only thing brisk in the stadium will be the tea.
jdl2
January 7th, 2012
8:21 am
Quick dish on Rob Parker from Wikipedia. He’s a low life who hates everything Atlanta for some reason. Doesn’t deserve a national stage. Here’s from Wikipedia:
“On March 28, 2008, Parker declared on ESPN’s First Take that he had low expectations for college players Tyler Hansbrough and Kevin Love in the NBA, because they are white.[1]
Parker, who is African American, is not shy to discuss the racial aspects of current sports events, such as the NBA off-court dress policy, or the lack of African Americans in NFL coaching positions. He penned a much-maligned column where he called Hank Aaron a “coward” for declining to attend when Barry Bonds would break the career home run record.
In October 2008, Parker erroneously reported that Kirk Cousins, a quarterback for the Michigan State Spartans, was involved in a fight with members of the Michigan State hockey team. At the time of the fight, Cousins was at church with his parents. After being publicly reproved by head coach Mark Dantonio at his weekly news conference, Parker was suspended by The Detroit News for two weeks.[2]
On December 21, 2008, at a press conference following the Lions’ 42-7 loss to the New Orleans Saints, Parker addressed a question Lions head coach Rod Marinelli about Lions defensive coordinator Joe Barry, Marinelli’s son-in-law, inquiring whether Marinelli wished that his daughter had “married a better defensive coordinator.”[3] The question was criticized as unprofessional and inappropriate. The next day, Parker wrote that the comment was “an attempt at humor” and not a malicious attack.[4] Parker wrote no further columns forThe Detroit News, nor did he attend any press conferences, following the incident. On January 6, 2009, The Detroit News announced that Parker had resigned from the newspaper the previous week.[5]
On January 5th, 2012, Parker wrote an article posted on ESPN’s ESPNNewYork.com site that caused an uproar as he attacked the city of Atlanta.[6]“
Bob-Bob Baran
January 7th, 2012
8:30 am
It’ll be just like the Braves….win a playoff series and the Braves get free passes for 14 years. Hey get me 3 Hall of Fame pitchers and I’ll do just as good as Coach Bobby Cocks. Ohhhhh back to the Falcons…..same thing applies here….win versus the Giants and they’ll get their free pass for a few years. Good thing about Atlanta, the players don’t have to face an intense media….its all soooo nice here!!! If Matty Ice is watching this, he’s now asking Tony G. to hold him closer…..
Bob-Bob Baran
January 7th, 2012
8:33 am
Dearest Tony G, please play for one more year and Hold me Close…I need to cuddle….I’m getting nervous about the game this weekend. The NY media is so nasty….How does Eli put up with this scrutiny?
Sincerely, Matty Ice
Sid
January 7th, 2012
8:39 am
Eugene January 7th, 2012 1:53 am
To the “Saints fan” below who says the Falcons have “grown” on him.” You sir, are not a real Saints fan. No true Who Dat feels a grain of empathy for the dirty birds.
***************************************************************
Hey Marcel, what year did you become a Saints fan? Let me guess, Feb. 7, 2010.
And just for the record…………it’s Dirty Birds!
Eric C.
January 7th, 2012
8:40 am
some excellent points…
http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/tag/_/name/final-word-2011-wild-card
GiantBo
January 7th, 2012
8:42 am
If citing stats that got racked up during an injury plagued season for the Gmen makes this guy able to sleep at night before the Falcons next playoff loss, so be it. BUT he can’t say that the Falcons are a different team ready to roll in the playoffs in one breath and not acknowledge that the Giants have played like monsters since the Aints game and are now 90% healthy.
Should be a good game, Atlanta is a GOOD team, but Giants win at home 31-20.