3 points regarding the Falcons, who won on a 3-pointer
Michael Turner, again the Burner, on his touchdown jaunt. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
1. On a day when Carolina’s pressure made it hard to throw, Michael Turner had his biggest game of the season. Roundly castigated after two indifferent games and his subsequent DUI arrest, Turner rushed for 103 yards on 17 carries and caught three passes for 68 yards, 60 of them coming on a dinky screen pass that the Burner turned into something greater. On that burst, he didn’t look old or slow or chubby. He looked pretty much like the Michael Turner of old, which is welcome news for the Falcons.
2. Often great, Roddy White has rarely been greater. Falcons wide receivers caught 10 passes Sunday; White had eight of them, for 169 yards. Three of his receptions either scored points or led to them: The leaping-over-Haruki-Nakamura 49-yard touchdown in the first quarter; the 14-yard slant for a touchdown in the second quarter, and the 59-yard victimization of Nakamura on the first play of the Falcons’ drive to the winning field goal. Oh, yeah: White also had a deft downfield block on Turner’s 60-yard touchdown reception.
3. The defense that shackled Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers could never get a handle on Cam Newton. The Mike Nolan schemes that confounded those two veterans didn’t appear to faze the second-year man from Auburn. The Panthers’ offense was a deft blend of power (199 yards rushing, 86 by Newton) and precision (Newton completed 15 of 25 passes for 215 yards). Opponents are surely realizing that the way to attack the Falcons is to run at them, and the absence of a sustained pass rush continues to be a source of concern. (Though the Falcons did finish with three sacks, their highest total of the season.)
By Mark Bradley
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93 comments Add your comment
Michael M.
October 1st, 2012
11:11 am
Not concerned with any playoffs at the moment anyways……………….it is the regular Season and the next opponent on the list to get ready for………………..win the regular Season games first and then playoffs come into the picture……next up…………..a date with the Skins……………..Falcons Rise Up !
…………………Lets keep the Undefeated Streak going………………………….
Big Crimson 75
October 1st, 2012
11:14 am
Glad Philly won last night.
Who would you rather see in the playoffs?
Vick or Eli.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
October 1st, 2012
11:14 am
Should have drafted Flacco……
HA HA
Michael
October 1st, 2012
11:14 am
Hopefully Pat Hill gets into the O-Line this week…that was unacceptable
MATT "CHOKE" RYAN
October 1st, 2012
11:14 am
ok I admit I have been wrong Matt is a good QB. I have been just busting you B—S
mark
October 1st, 2012
11:15 am
So the haters response to killing and torturing animals is that Vick got his jersey in the hall of fame? Really that is the best you can do, not so smart are you. I can tell you Vick himself will never make it into the hall of fame, maybe for smoking dope. I remember that NFC championship game when Vick really blew it up, just lit up the Eagles for all kinds of points all 10 of them. What about that great win over Greenbay in 2010, oh that’s right they did not win. Last I checked Flaco has not won a supberbowl.
BigHittas
October 1st, 2012
11:15 am
too bad these AJC blogs don’t have an ignore poster button. Or bust trolls who argue with themselves button.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
October 1st, 2012
11:16 am
So who was the coach that Smith shoved on National TV?
No class…..he is the perfect coach for a LOSER of a city
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
October 1st, 2012
11:18 am
MATT “CHOKE” RYAN
October 1st, 2012
11:14 am
ok I admit I have been wrong Matt is a good QB. I have been just busting you B—S
_______________________________
Hey genius your capitalization didn’t match my name………..
HA HA
Dr Killdeer
October 1st, 2012
11:19 am
If “Choke” had a brain he would have it out playing with it.
Michael M.
October 1st, 2012
11:19 am
Who needs Flacoo……………..hehehe……………we got a game winner…….Matt Ryan…………..he sure iced those panthers on that 59 yard strike to Mr. White……………..oh my, that had to be like getting kicked in the gut to the Panthers……………………………………..
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
October 1st, 2012
11:21 am
mark
October 1st, 2012
11:15 am
So the haters response to killing and torturing animals is that Vick got his jersey in the hall of fame?
____________________________________________
Say that while you are tailgating………….ha ha.
For the record I could care less what happened with his property.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
October 1st, 2012
11:23 am
Michael M.
October 1st, 2012
11:19 am
Who needs Flacoo……………..hehehe……………we got a game winner…….
___________________________________________
You mean these numbers: 30-24 48-21 24-2……
or
5 Playoff wins and 2 championship games?
I’m so confused…………..
HA HA
Michael M.
October 1st, 2012
11:23 am
Coach Smith was irate in the heat of the battle on the field…………..he was just like any of us……………….who wants their undefeated streak broken by losing to the 1- 3 Panthers by 1 point ? Coach Smith is one of the nicest guys around……………………………………………..
Michael M.
October 1st, 2012
11:26 am
History 101 is for high school students……….this is what is happening now, today,yesterday and next week…………………………………….
Steve
October 1st, 2012
11:29 am
A day in the life off the very cool Matt Choke Ryan:
Wake up, alone. Turn on the computer. Find a Falcons blog. Sit there all day posting stats from the past, not the present. Change diaper. Go to bed, alone.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
October 1st, 2012
11:31 am
I kind of feel sorry for CHOKE………….
He gets to play all these weak teams then comes playoff time
he has to play better teams and he gets outmatched…….
Sort of like Dorothy on The Wizzard of Oz… “This doesn’t look like Kansas anymore”…………..
HA HA
Michael M.
October 1st, 2012
11:31 am
absolutely pitiful………………….indeed !
Mark Bradley
October 1st, 2012
11:33 am
About Mike Smith:
http://blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/2012/10/01/mike-smith-about-his-sideline-tantrum-very-sorry-about-my-action/
Michael M.
October 1st, 2012
11:37 am
cool …………MB
Being honest here………..I was the same way during that game myself………… I had already throwed in the towel and accepted 3 – 1…………………that was the best football game I have seen in a while…..especially to come back like that at the end and win was incredible…………………….
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
October 1st, 2012
11:38 am
It was hilarious Art Blank on the sideline chastizing Smith…..
HA HA
Hawk
October 1st, 2012
11:39 am
Ok thanks Mark. and football is a heated game.
Michael M.
October 1st, 2012
11:43 am
I didn’t see Eli pull off a comeback miracle finish last night……….but he sure tried……………..they were many tight games yesterday around the league……………………….
Falcons 73
October 1st, 2012
11:55 am
“CHOKE” What’s the point of coming on to a blog if you are not going to reveal “your team”. It’s easy to pick a target and entice, when your only clear objective is to be an a-hole.
So, who is “your team” so we can indulge in your superior banter.
Michael M.
October 1st, 2012
12:06 pm
They clearly just try to entice the Falcon Faithful…………………..its always best to try to just ignore them………………..though it can be hard at times
Michael M.
October 1st, 2012
12:47 pm
I think that if the Atlanta Falcons win next week…………….it is a new franchise record for being 5 – 0…………..not sure, but if it is, then it will be something extra special for the Team to play for next week………………………………………..
Dawgdad (The Original)
October 1st, 2012
2:13 pm
Where was Julio yesterday? He didn’t seem to be there mentally. That long pass he caught out of bounds was a catchable inbounds ball, he was just not concentrating or concentrating on taking it to the house rather than get his feet down.
Roddy just seems to get better. He willed in that long pass, it surely was not that on target. Roddy was the MVP!
Dawgdad (The Original)
October 1st, 2012
2:13 pm
Where was Julio yesterday? He didn’t seem to be there mentally. That long pass he caught out of bounds was a catchable inbounds ball, he was just not concentrating or concentrating on taking it to the house rather than get his feet down.
Roddy just seems to get better. He willed in that long pass, it surely was not that on target. Roddy was the MVP!
tokenwhiteguy
October 1st, 2012
2:14 pm
Wake up call is SeenthisB4. when are trolls going to get a life???
North FLA Falcon
October 1st, 2012
2:22 pm
kdog is absolutely right! That sequence was BRUTAL. There was our chance to really put the game away and we completely blew it. Speaking of coaching decisions … in 20/20 hindsight, Smitty’s decision to kick a FIELD GOAL with 3 minutes left is seen as “brilliant.” However, with our explosive offense why not take a shot at the end zone! 1 shot, try it … if not, Carolina gets the ball backed up at their own 15 yd line. Why make a chip shot field goal (which could have been botched, who knows) and then risk a KICKOFF to them? What if they had a great return on it? They basically had the first down and the game except for a miracle fumble by Cam. Smitty plays really, really conservative at times … no wonder his assistant coach as well as Mr. Blank blew up at him!!!
drew
October 1st, 2012
2:24 pm
Falcons ‘73,
“Joke” has no team…he has no life…there is no “point”…his reason for living is to try to needle Falcon fans with his childish, repetitive, boring, little jabs. He’s like a gnat that won’t go away. And since the Falcons are rolling at 4-0, he has nothing. But that doesn’t stop the gnat…he just turns to the past and repeats, ad nauseum, all of his previous posts. Over and over and over….
Nativebird
October 1st, 2012
2:38 pm
#52 Dent was and is still a non-factor. Mike LB is where Running Game stoppage starts and ends. Nolan’s attempts at his quasi-4-3-3-4-nickel-dime-6-dbs-2-good-LBs-cuz-i-dont-have-a-third system will only band-aid this glaring weekness so long. This is a direct result of unwillingness to pay Curtis Lofton another million dollars and we can go out and get a Tatupa for nothin. Except when your gamble blows up cuz your nothin LB tears his nothin Pectoral muscle. $$ = quality players. Period.
Billyho55
October 1st, 2012
2:41 pm
drew,
, WHAT A PUNK!
COULDN’T HAVE SAID IT BETTER MYSELF! WHEN THREATENED OR QUESTIONED HE’S LIKE A MAN IN COLD WATER OR A FRIGHTENED TURTLE! HE JUST SHRINKS! HA HA
ha
October 1st, 2012
2:45 pm
Matt “Choke”Ryan, choke on deez
ImGumbyD**MIT
October 1st, 2012
2:58 pm
Be easy on Choke, he’s trying to make up for other “short” comings in his life. He is a low life who gets a thrill up his leg coming on a board that supports our team and QB. Keep posting Choke I love how easy it is to see you make a fool of yourself. I’m sure your daddy gets up each day and smacks your momma for forgetting to take her pink pill and how much misery he’s been in since.
Thomas
October 1st, 2012
3:15 pm
Let’s see….Hmmm. Final score Atlanta 30 Carolina 28, A win is a win. End of conversation!
Thomas
October 1st, 2012
3:15 pm
Let’s see….Hmmm. Final score Atlanta 30 Carolina 28, A win is a win. End of conversation!
Gritz
October 1st, 2012
3:19 pm
Too bad CHOKE’S mom didn’t have any children who survived.
Dr. Warren
October 1st, 2012
3:54 pm
The Falcons proved that how you finish means more than how you start. I hope they realize that applies to this season, as well.
Samuel L. Jackson
October 1st, 2012
4:32 pm
The path of the righteous fan is beset on all sides by the tyranny of negative bloggers. Blessed is he who shepherds the weak through the valley of darkeness, for he is truly his ticket holder’s keeper, and the winner of lost games. And I will strike down with great vengence and furious anger those who seek to poison and destroy my brothers, and you will know my name is The Burner when I lay my big thighs upon you! What do Falcons do? RISE UP!!!
Adrian goode
October 2nd, 2012
1:39 am
Go falcons
Bobby Vincent
October 2nd, 2012
8:22 am
Coming from a Native Atlantan, I love the Falcons sensationalism even though we know Matty looked average at best in the pocket. Who are these blind bats that are blaming the o-line and saying they looked awesome when Cam basically gave them the game by fumbling and terrible pass coverage (did you see how dazed their safety looked?!?!). Matty better develop better play action, and pocket mobility to pull more defenders in, because there are better teams ahead that are going to expose this team and it’s fair weather fans..I’m no Saints fan either, but they are the best 0-4 team I have EVER seen. Please prepare yourselves Falcons, to rise up!
Matt Ryan
October 3rd, 2012
12:16 pm
CHOKE, don’t waste your time in this blog, you’re obviously too smart to be fooling around in here. I bet your talents, smarts and overall life experiences are more than enough to get you a phd in whatever it is that you like the most. Please continue illuminating us morons falcons fans, please.
P.S. I love you