The Falcons spoil ESPN’s Peyton party and win a big one
Vance Walker slams into the famous Denver quarterback. (AP photo by David Goldman)
ESPN tried to throw a Peyton party Monday night. Some guys wearing red almost turned it into a pity party. The Worldwide Leader sought to show the world the greatness that is Peyton Manning; the Falcons almost made you feel sorry for the old guy.
Almost, I said.
We can only hope that some who tuned in to watch Peyton stuck around to appreciate the team in red. It ain’t bad, folks. It’s better than it was last season, maybe better than in the 13-3 run of 2010. In Week 1 the Falcons let Kansas City hang around before pulling away on the road. On Monday night they never let Denver get started. It was 10-0 barely five minutes in, 20-0 late in the second quarter, 27-7 midway through the third.
Of Peyton’s first eight passes, four were caught by Broncos; three were snagged by Falcons. In order, the interceptors were William Moore, Thomas DeCoud and Robert McClain. There were those who thought Manning would lay waste to a secondary minus the injured Brent Grimes, but he needed nearly all the first half to lead his team to its first points, and those came only after a replay review of a frankly outrageous Demaryius Thomas catch.
Which brings us to the officiating. It was awful. The first half lasted one hour, 48 minutes, and the inaction was largely because of the replacement refs — the regulars are locked out — having little idea what was what. One Atlanta touchdown was overruled by technology; the aforementioned first Denver score was posted only after TV corrected the man on the scene.
The low point — we’re talking sinkholes now — came when the Broncos’ Knowshon Moreno, who used to be a big deal around here, fumbled at the end of the first quarter. Players from both teams gave impassioned tutorials in the fine art of pointing. The refs stood around and gawked, apparently afraid to offend either side. A Broncos lineman nudged one official, perhaps in the effort to end the deliberation, and then the players started shoving each other, and Denver coach John Fox lent his perspective, and the Falcons’ Ray Edwards got himself flagged for unnecessary roughness.
Days later, it was determined that Sean Weatherspoon had recovered. The Falcons didn’t score off that turnover — Denver’s fourth of the quarter — and their lead remained only 10-0. For long moments it seemed as if they’d live to rue this squandered chance, but in the end there would be no cause for ruing. They were too good for Denver, too good for the famous Peyton Manning.
“When you get an opportunity to steal possessions against a very good offense, you’ve got to make them pay,” Falcons coach Mike Smith would say. “We played a good game, but there are lots of things we have to address.”
As we know, the Falcons changed both coordinators over the winter. Most of the attention has fallen on Dirk Koetter, the new offensive man, and he had his coming-out moment in Kansas City. This night was the time of introduction for Mike Nolan, charged with energizing a mediocre defense. Nolan’s schemes flummoxed Manning early, and if you do that you’ve done something.
“The way we were disguising things, I think we had him on his heels,” DeCoud said. “To be able to do that is a testament to how we’ve grown as a team. It’s a testament that we’ve taken the next step.”
Nolan’s No-Names won this one. The offense didn’t move much. Michael Turner went mostly nowhere, and Julio Jones and Tony Gonzalez managed to drop two passes apiece. (The massively gifted Jones even flubbed a touchdown that would have made it 14-nil.) But this “D” kept giving the ball back to Matt Ryan, and finally the Falcons stitched together two nice-looking touchdown drives.
The second made the score 27-7, and even after the Broncos scored to draw within 13 points early in the fourth, there was no sense that this would be Peyton’s night. Those early turnovers would have taxed even the Manning of old’s comeback prowess, and this wasn’t quite the Manning of old — just an older Manning.
By beating such a famous opponent, the Falcons served notice that their time might well be hand. They’re still not a finished product — the running game needs serious work — but they have enough talent to make them a serious NFC player. They’ve had it for a while. Difference is, they’ve got coaches inclined to let that talent have its way.
Eight minutes left, Denver trailing by 13 points but facing third-and-6 at the Falcons’ 36. Remember the soft zones of Brian VanGorder? Remember how Nolan, in his introductory teleconference, said he’d like to have 10 guys getting four sacks apiece rather than four guys getting 10? Well, here was your moment of both departure and arrival. Moore, the strong safety, came clean off the left side and sacked Manning.
The Broncos would score with 3:25 left to draw within 27-21, and now it was nervous time. Would the Falcons flop again in prime time, this time blowing a 20-point lead? Would they, after all their good work, remind us that they’re still the feckless Falcons?
Nope. Ryan found Jones for a vital first down with 2 1/2 minutes left, Ryan dodging a hard rush to buy his receiver the needed nanosecond to shake loose. Then Turner finally broke free for the clincher, and the party-crashers had their victory. The Falcons were 2-0, alone atop the NFC South. Even better, they were 1-0 against Peyton Manning. And when last this team beat Peyton, it wound up in the Super Bowl. You could look it up.
By Mark Bradley
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214 comments Add your comment
Damage Inc.
September 18th, 2012
9:17 am
Not one to fish for trolls much but I was promised by a troll yesterday that they would come back to face the music today… You know who you are… heeerre trolly trolly trolly, heeerrrrre trolly trolly trolly.
MONKATL
September 18th, 2012
9:22 am
Ryan CAN Win the Big Game, Its 2012 and the page has turned. Go ATL BIRDS!!!
Poor Pamela
September 18th, 2012
9:23 am
I feel so sorry for you. You worship a Saints team as your God, therefore you assume everyone on this board does the same. Jealousy has bottomed you out.
graphite
September 18th, 2012
9:26 am
If ol Michael could hold his liquor as good as he doe’s the ball,he might not be in jail…….RollOn….
AtlantaDude
September 18th, 2012
9:28 am
Evidently, when the cops asked Turner to walk a straight line, he took a step to the left, a step to the right, and then fell forward for 2 yards.
SHUT THE FRONT DOOR (aka Go Jackets)
September 18th, 2012
9:28 am
Four letter network boys are eating crow…..only 2 of the 6 picked the Falcons….I really dont like those guys.
FANtastic
September 18th, 2012
9:29 am
Glad to see the Ryan haters have disappeared.
DawgDad
September 18th, 2012
9:29 am
That was a horrible game to watch. Almost FOUR hours; it was like watching the prime time SEC game of the week. There’d be a couple of plays of great action, then 10-15 minutes of nothing, interspliced with commercials and idiotic commentary. If this keeps up I’m going to tape the games and skim through afterwards.
Nice job by the Falcons defense – in the first hour.
FANtastic
September 18th, 2012
9:31 am
@ AtlantaDude:
LOLOLOLOL. He was probably lucky to get 2, more like 1-1.5.
Preston
September 18th, 2012
9:35 am
First thing………Why? Even as bad as the ref were intimidated by the coaches and players all screaming at um, why in the world do the fools in the booth continue to dig and hammer at the refs. When the regular one are on the field screwing everything up cept’ their girlfriends the hardly say a word. They way they acted on TV was not very classy nor professional. Even considering who it was the way they acted can’t be excused.
Second……Turner has the speed to play. But his short, choppy steps don’t get it done. I like the comment “he had his shoe stings tied together”. That’s exactly the way he runs. He has no power when he starts.
Third…..if you older fans remember back 15 to 20 years ago the Falcons ate the Saints lunch whenever they got hungry. Now those days just may be coming back. Nobody stays on top forever. Just ask Peyton.
Damage Inc.
September 18th, 2012
9:37 am
Something tells me Pamela is the kind of girl Wild Bill would like to make clothes out of.
tom
September 18th, 2012
9:39 am
The great defense displayed last night is proof positive Grimes will not be missed. They were stupid for signing him to begin with.
Chronic
September 18th, 2012
9:43 am
Hey Turner, life can turn on a dime, you can find yourself without a job in a hurry. tighten up your game and life baby boy. it can come crashing down in a hurry. not drinking = losing weight = sober = living = more speed etc. all good things. plenty of disposable income does not equate into life being a full time party. gather yourself up and seize your life. and regain your livelihood. stuff like that, yeah.
GTFan
September 18th, 2012
9:46 am
So, glad that Manning got beat!!! SO SICK OF MANNING!!!!! The announcers made me so sick of how much they were riding on his coat tail. Ryan will always be my favorite.
flagger
September 18th, 2012
9:46 am
Michael Turner had good reason to get drunk after the way he ran the ball last nite!!!!!
Ed
September 18th, 2012
9:47 am
Great job Falcons, loved the way the defense played and William Moore is awesome. Offensively Roddy stepped up in a big way, and boy Matt Ryan was precise with some of those passes.
beachguy
September 18th, 2012
9:47 am
GOOD THING IT WAS IN DOME,FALCONS CAN’T WIN OUTDOORS
Call It Like It Is
September 18th, 2012
9:50 am
So am I the only one that was concered that we only got 13 points off of 3 interceptions and 1 fumble? A win is a win, but that game could have and should have been sealed in the 1st qtr.
Kane337
September 18th, 2012
9:51 am
Great game Falcons. Way to hold onto the victory against a tough team.
splendid splinter
September 18th, 2012
9:53 am
Nobody has said it outright – Manning and the Broncos got out-coached last night. Manning was confused all night and it is all because of a new defensive coordinator. The defensive scheme was awesome and the players performed and made it happen.
And where is ‘Matt Choke Ryan’s’ post today? Ryan had a really good game. He had several drops by his receivers but he did enough to win. I thought the Falcons looked good on both sides of the ball and the game was fun to watch – except for the refs, of course.
Sir Stealth
September 18th, 2012
9:53 am
Refs are locked out, not on strike. No good reason for NFL making us put up with these replacement refs.
Go Falcons
Garth
September 18th, 2012
9:53 am
It’s like this, the Falcons are never going to make it to a Superball unless they get some top tier BREAK AWAY running back. Michael Turner ain’t it. You’ve got to have some fast backs to make it to the top. Turner is vastly overrated.
Colleen
September 18th, 2012
9:53 am
Matt Ryan played great last night. Enough about Peyton and his stupid commercials! I’m so proud of the Falcons! Keep it up! It’s our turn for a ring! GO BIRDS!
I’m not a diehard NFL person (more college), but I thought the game was really exciting.
Are the Chargers any good? Gotta get ready for next weekend!!!!
Gene
September 18th, 2012
9:55 am
It was an impressive win for the Falcons, but Manning came very close to pulling it out. It was nice to beat up on Denver and Ellway.
woeismesince66
September 18th, 2012
9:57 am
I see that seen this B4 has been in the buffalo chips again. Can you see that green stuff on his lips.
B4 needs to get a life.
splendid splinter
September 18th, 2012
9:58 am
Nobody has said it – Manning and the Broncos got out-coached last night. The defensive scheme was brilliant. If you can have a scheme that Manning has not seen in 15 years in the league – that is saying something.
PEACH TREE
September 18th, 2012
9:58 am
Thanks Mark Bradley, keep up the good work.
Joey
September 18th, 2012
9:59 am
Where’s “Choke” and his hahahahahahahaha?
woeismesince66
September 18th, 2012
9:59 am
No I have not said that before. Your website screws up on occasion.
melanie
September 18th, 2012
10:00 am
The Falcons showed they are as good as they can be. Loved it!! Coach Fox was being a cry baby the whole game; he shiwe dhis true colors last night. If they do not put some sort of sanction onhim for being on thatfiels 90% of the game or make him pay a stiff fine for acting so un prefesssional. Falcons your # 1 in my book. You played with class & coach you are the best!! Showed Manningwho is the top team in the south!!
Joey
September 18th, 2012
10:01 am
AtlantaDude (9:28), Great post!
Bruce
September 18th, 2012
10:03 am
I’m not a Falcon fan by any stretch of the imagination, but was so happy to see Peyton Manning lose. Leading up to the game on almost every football broadcast, there were “Peyton” references. I couldn’t change the channel or station fast enough. There are 32 teams, of which, I am a fan of one. My love for the NFL does not revolve around Manning. I’m glad for the Falcons this morning.
Ronster9
September 18th, 2012
10:07 am
Turner is not ‘done.’ Denver is a good defense, and they did a great job of jamming the running lane. None of ATLs running backs had any long runs. Despite that, Turner muscled through for a TD and then a key first down in crunch time. Be patient. The running game will come around…
We can't hit squat
September 18th, 2012
10:13 am
According to the post game comments, the Falcons only threw one pass in the 4th quarter until the 6 yd 1st down pass to Julio at the 2 minute warning. I don’t know how many (if any) 1st downs we had up to that point in the 4th, but that’s not going to get it done against good teams. I am glad we won, but the offense reminded me of how we blew games in the past. There should have been no need for all the anxiety in the 4th if the offense had done it’s job.
So long Pixie QB
September 18th, 2012
10:19 am
If you get a chance to watch a replay….look at 1:54 left in the game….I swear I saw Pixie tears on Peyton’s face…..he had a much better day giving away pizzas and selling cars yesterday…..GO YOU DIRTY BIRDS……
sam
September 18th, 2012
10:20 am
Does Turner’s arrest mean, we’ll see more of Snelling and Rodgers? Thunder and Lightning 2.0. I really want to see what JR can do as a full time RB. The patriots have a no name backfield and they do an adequate job.
Let's Get Real
September 18th, 2012
10:20 am
A great win for the birds and a great atmosphere inside the Dome, kudos to the Atlanta fans. Four observations: 1) Is it just me, or did everyone else notice the fact that the only crowd shots from ESPN were shots of Elway in his box or Denver fans in the stands. Talking about Bronco Bias – it was blatant. 2) If Michael Turner can negotiate I-85 at 97mph while intoxicated, perhaps we should give him a few drinks before each game. It is getting painful to watch him run into the line between the tackles and fall down. We almost blew a 20 pt lead because of our inability to run the ball in the fourth quarter. 3) If Roger Goodell and his NFL brain trust has a lick of sense they will bring back the refs asap. It was the Falcons, so I watched, but had it been anyone else I would have turned it off and gone to bed before the half. It was painful and pitiful to watch. If I were the veteran refs my resolve would be hardening. After watching last night’s debacle I would increase my demands. 4) Dimitroff needs to start scouting running backs. Turner cannot take us to the promised land. The fourth quarter running game last night brought back painful memories of the Giants playoff game.
Taylor Woote
September 18th, 2012
10:23 am
Easier to beat a broke neck Manning led Bronco team that an Tebow led Bronco team.
Just saying
Cpt Kirk in Arkansas
September 18th, 2012
10:27 am
All you folks clamoring for a better running back are spot on. When we need to ground n pound, Turners no longer that guy, much less the back he was 3 yrs ago. The ESPN dude who mantioned that the Birds, once a feared running team and now living and winning by the pass, need to revert back to their power running of yore to burn clock and seal the deal. I fear that with Turner on the downside this season will end much like the last too, unless Jacquezz & Snelling step up big time. The Dbs, despite the excellent game plan and multiple picks off of Manning, are pretty thin now with Grimes lost for the yr. This season, like the next few yrs will ultimately be determined by the D and how it steps up vs the NFC ’s Giants, Niners, and even the good lookin Panthers.. Thats whats going to tell the tale as the season goes by.. We need shut down corner, another beast pas rusher, and one primo or two commitee game breakin running backs.
Mark my Words
D man
September 18th, 2012
10:28 am
Matt didn’t “choke”, he played like an elite QB and what I had “seen” before didn’t happen last night.
78dawg
September 18th, 2012
10:33 am
Postgame..ESPN would only talk about Manning’s picks..not the Falcons D…..Spoiled their little party…Steve Young sickens me…
78dawg
September 18th, 2012
10:36 am
Sick of Turner’s 2 yard runs…the announcers saying he was the key to O success….They don’t know squat…He is the worst part of the O….He should have been cut loose.
falconfreak
September 18th, 2012
10:40 am
Nice victory but this is supposed to be the do or die year for the Falcons according to some and my guess is we’re still about 6 quality players short to go deep into the post season. Most notably is the lack of talent in the running game. Love Michael Turner for what he has done but now it looks like he runs a 4.3 in the 7 yd dash. Of course, the line is also partly responsible for this and we just don’t have the muscle or size to move people around. Secondary lacks depth although they played outstandingly last night, and we’re going to need more from our defensive ends. Gotta love the job the defensive coordinator did on confusing Peyton last night. Finally, some creativity. Denver is tough defensively but our offense looked too one dimensional without a running game. Atlanta will be fun to watch but I don’t think they have the size or toughness to be a presence later on in the season. We shall see.
ty webb
September 18th, 2012
10:51 am
so ESPN is to Peyton as Mark Bradley is to Paul Johnson…got it.
UPGRAYEDD
September 18th, 2012
10:51 am
Heard that when the cops told Turner to walk the line, he ran into the back of the lineman.
CPR
September 18th, 2012
10:56 am
78 Dawg— ESPN’s postgame has two QB’s on it. Why the shock that they’re not talking about the D?
No stress. Once the Falcons smack San Diego upside the head, they’ll start talking about the D… : )
I’m just amazed at how talent makes a maligned QB (Ryan) look great. Really glad he has some weapons around him and has some offensive freedom.
This team ain’t that far away…
Brown
September 18th, 2012
10:59 am
Loved watching the DEF last night – that was great. Moore and ‘Spoon were awesome.
ESPN is such a spin zone. Their updates during the game basically said Peyton was helping the Falcons to a win by turning the ball over, or that he was just off his game completely, rather than crediting the Falcon’s D with making great plays – which they did. That first pick was just a great play by Moore- it wasn’t a bad pass.
Off game for the offense, but Denver is a tough team to play against. So glad the defense is not a liability this year.
Ivan
September 18th, 2012
11:02 am
“Heard that when the cops told Turner to walk the line, he ran into the back of the lineman.”
I heard he bounced and danced to his left and right trying to decide which line to walk.
15 Minutes from 'Dem Hedges
September 18th, 2012
11:03 am
Great game but the offense needs to apologize to the D for being so sorry and slipshod…the SD SuperChargers might not roll over and die so easily…as for the officiating…well,….I’ll reserve comment…
dwagfanny
September 18th, 2012
11:05 am
Ackshun
September 18th, 2012
6:11 am
Excellent Post, but love this: “Saints fans, keep that DVR of the Super Bowl handy, and that bag with the eye-holes cut in it.”
I also hated when they went conservative with 8+/- minutes to go. Assume it is Mike Smith. Hope Dirk Koetter changes that in the future.