The Falcons’ bye, the run defense and Abe’s honest effort
The "un-blockable" John Abraham slams into Carson Palmer. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
Note: This post is an adjunct to the game column off the Falcons’ 23-20 victory over Oakland, which can be found here.
1. The Falcons’ bye week comes at a propitious moment. They’re 6-0 and riding high, and after three fourth-quarter escapes they’re getting the feeling they can win without playing their best. They need to disabuse themselves of that notion posthaste, and having a week away from football might serve as a reality check. If not, the guess is that Mike Smith will remind them that these past three games could easily have been lost when the team reconvenes next week in Flowery Branch.
2. The run defense is getting offensive, as it were. The Falcons ranked 28th among 32 NFL clubs in rushing defense entering Sunday’s game, and the Raiders, possessors of the league’s lowest-ranked running attack, ground out 149 yards. If that’s not a red flag, then Betsy Ross wasn’t a seamstress. Particularly galling was backup tailback Michael Goodson’s 43-yard burst to the Falcons’ 47 in a tie game with 5:41 remaining. Thanks to Asante Samuel, the Raiders didn’t score on the possession, but still.
3. If you have to have a one-man pass rush, John Abraham is the one man to have. He had three sacks, two quarterback hurries and a forced fumble. Offensive tackle Willie Smith, charged with trying to stop Abraham, was called for holding three times. The Raiders were flagged 13 times — 12 of those penalties were accepted — and five of those calls were holding against Raider linemen. Said Mike Smith of Abraham: “He was un-blockable.”
Oh, and if you’re wondering, “Where’s the Monday morning Heat Check?” … it’s right here.
Further reading: The Falcons are 6-0, but certain other numbers don’t add up.
By Mark Bradley
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109 comments Add your comment
OPEN YOUR EYES
October 15th, 2012
10:45 am
micheal turner needs to go he is slow and done!!!! we need to draft marcus lattimore from south carolina or TJ Yeloon from alabama!!!
Leeman Bennett
October 15th, 2012
10:46 am
47th!
JSS
October 15th, 2012
10:51 am
52nd
air of mendacity
October 15th, 2012
10:55 am
couldn’t watch game as I was on the road – but it did not sound any better on the radio than I assume it looked on TV. run D is in deep trouble and the secondary will get torched if we run into somebody like Rodgers, Brees or Eli. maybe bye week will help make some adjustments. Still – play 500 from here and would go 11-5 – would win division but not enough for home field through playoffs. Looks like 12 or 13 win season to me if we can just get a little better on D
And what’s with inability to gain 2 yds down on goal line? – the O line or Turner just not hitting crease hard enough.
bfred
October 15th, 2012
10:56 am
I don’t understand what’s happened to tackling, at both the pro and college levels. Everyone seems to want these highlight reel, high-speed shoulder tackles instead of just wrapping up and driving. The backs are often as big as the guys hitting them (bigger against the secondary) and can bounce right off. With sound fundamentals you can tackle anybody. My 10 year-old’s coach would bench his @ss if he tried to make a stop like that.
coach13
October 15th, 2012
11:00 am
They remind me of the BRaves from a couple of years ago. The team that led MLB in walk off wins or 9th inning rallies. THose are great for the media to talk about. They are great for fans to get excited about. HOwever, championships aren’t usually won this way. Relying on the HR, relying on a walkoff win, relying on your 4th quarter 2 minute offense to kick 55 yd wins is great, but you don’t want to have to rely on that to take you all the way to a championship.
hottrod
October 15th, 2012
11:03 am
“But we’re looking at something beyond just winning right now. We’re trying to be special and special teams don’t play like that.”.. Truth . A win is a win no matter how you got it . Falcons got 6 wins, BUT the defense once again has out performed the offense. Look at the Cardinals-Nats in baseball. Nats had the best record while Cardinal limped in and knocked them out.GO back to the Braves in 2010 and how they were 1st in May 31st only to end up as wildcards in October 3. It’s the momentum that matter and falcons must maintain it to win a playoff game.
TechRon
October 15th, 2012
11:06 am
Falcons have heart and Matt Ryan. That is great news. They have had 3 bad games in a row and won them all. Great news.
Bad news is that they played 3 teams that they were definitely much better than and had a tough time with all of them. Should not be. They were beat on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Their running game is not there. They cannot stop the run. Not good. Jaquizz Rodgers fails to run out of bounds at the end of the game when that had to be a major point discussed in the huddle. Big lack of focus there.
Still, Matt Ryan saved us again with a huge assist from Matt Bryant. Any win is a good win, but there are obvious problems. Turner is on the way out. He can’t do it anymore. Both lines need help.
air of mendacity
October 15th, 2012
11:07 am
agree with you bfred – it has gotten weak – with proper technique a much smaller guy can drop a big back in his tracks, but not by tackling up high or just bumping into them – I guess the problem is that it is painful to get low and get those knees and thighs wacking at you
hottrod
October 15th, 2012
11:19 am
The truth is the Falcons haven’t won a playoff game like the Dream, Braves & Hawks so until they do that, it is pretty accurate to pressure them to take it to the next level. They are the one team in Atlanta whose bar is lowered to ” can’t blame Matt Ryan” or “we’re 6-0 so we’re fine”.. Teams limp the season only to take out top teams. SO until they win something it’s just another team with a good season… In 1998 they celebrated the Superbowl before even playing in the superbowl 34-19. Since drafting Matt Ryan we have made the playoffs 3/4 times missing the playoffs in 2010. Held NFC South 1 time and lost to the eventual Champs 48-21. Lost 2 Wild Card playoff games in which one went to the superbowl ( Cardinals) and one actually being the superbowl champs (Giants).In the 3 playoff appearances, our offensive production has went down 30-24, 48-21 and last year’s 24-2. Joe Johnson took the Hawks to the playoffs 5 STRAIGHT years and still didn’t get the love Ryan has. Win one playoff game then the 6-0 record would matter
fansince74
October 15th, 2012
11:23 am
Ok, reality Check. This morning the New England Patriots and the Dallas Cowboy are 3-3 and 2-3. Why ? Because they have not been able to finish games they could of or should have won.. Yeah, the Falcons have some things to correct and with the coaching staff they have that will get done. They one thing that no one can say about the Falcons this morning is that they don’t know how to finish. Sure, they haven’t played their best football yet (outside of the Chargers game) but this team is learning how to win even when they aren’t playing up to par. I’d rather the Falcons finish and win than play well and find a way to lose.
Answer This
October 15th, 2012
11:30 am
@longtimefan
Keep talking like that and you will have “fans” ( I use that term very lightly) attack you on here. I am with you and I appreciate your fandom! Hard to be 6-0 and still have to apologize to those who sit here and whine and cry about the past….I choose to live in the present and not die like the past….I consider it yesterday…like this win! Its on to the next one, the most important game of the season. Keep being a REAL FAN longtimefan and enjoy the ride man! Yes we got problems but so do every other NFL Team! Lets appreciate whats being done right now and let our past unsuccessful runs be just that….PAST! We are talking about this year and we are 6-0 and we dont need to apologize to anyone about that or our past! RISE UP!
BK
October 15th, 2012
11:31 am
GREAT WIN!! I WAS THERE AND IT WAS OFF THE CHAIN . AFTER GOING TO THE GAME AND SEEING RAIDER FANS AND HOW CRAZY LETS ME KNOW CLASS ATL FANS HAVE..YOU COULD TELL WHO WAS A FALCON FAN AND WHO WAS A RAIDER FAN BY THE WAY THEY ACT,..LETS KEEP IT CLASSY BUT MOST IMPORTANT KEEP WINNING ..6-0 RISE UP ATL
BUBBA BEANS
October 15th, 2012
11:32 am
I hope yesterdays win was more of taking the raiders lightly than just being out played.
The D was pretty pathetic I mean its pretty bad when the Falcons win and I seem not satisfied
at all. I’m sure A. Blank did not have the warm fuzzy feeling either .Is spoon the only LB we had on the field yesterday I don’t recall one (dent) and how much did the falcons pay Edwards again!
Offensive line has to develop more holes for the backs consistently to run more because when turner has to shift laterally and not vertical most of the time loss of yards or no gain.
I mean 500 plus yds to the RAIDERS “COME ON MAN”
Stop the Madness
October 15th, 2012
11:40 am
Blog monster got my post. C’mon man…can ya help me out Bradley?
air of mendacity
October 15th, 2012
11:42 am
I won’t attack – I admit that it is hard to win in NFL and a win is a win – being a fan myself, I am just looking ahead and thinking what needs to happen for us to make the NFC championship game – if that happens with home field advantage – then anything can happen. D needs to get better though and inconsistency in running game needs to be fixed somehow.
Joey the Bull
October 15th, 2012
11:48 am
It is pretty simple. The Falcons can win no matter how much they hurt themselves. If you give the Falcons 40-50 sec on the clock, with no time outs, and they need to score 3 and you pin them on their 1 yard line, they have time and time again proved they will get those points. ICE has 19 game winning drives. The Falcons are 29-4 in the dome under Smith/ICE. The Falcons are just a few games away from securing the NFC S; I can’t think of a team that has closed out their division at the 10 game mark, but these Falcons at 10-0 will secure the South. The confidence and poise of the offense, how they get up and on the ball and move it speaks to their best-in-the-league time mgt skills. We saw what not being proficient in time mgt gets you yesterday with Dallas. Had that been the Falcons, they would have had time to center the ball between the hash marks and Bryant would have nailed it…it is the little things that will make the difference between a playoff appearance and a SB win. I think this team has something special about them, they know they will win-regardless of the situation. With 3:35 to go, down by 10-these birds would still find a way to win….
tony
October 15th, 2012
11:51 am
The falcons need to get stronger in the trenches. I hope they take Sheldon Richardson-DT in the 1st rd and Abry Jones-DT in the 2nd rd in the 2013 draft.
Dirty Bird
October 15th, 2012
11:54 am
I’ll tell ya what now,
it’s a whole lot easier to look at our problems at 6-0, than 3-3.
Don’t think it’s any physical issue, just mental ones. Ryan needs to work on his passing timing and such. These DBs are the fastest at this level, and they’ll come out of nowhere to make the play.
I think teams are starting to realize Ryan loves to go across the middle alot.
Turner looked good early on, but I think the failed goal line to go made them rethink the rush.
Just hope this team doesn’t become overwhelmed by the record, and the need to be flashy each week.
Just win, and avoid sloppy games.
A 6-4 record in the second half would probably get us the top seed in the conference, at 12-4.
With the Bucs twice, Saints twice, Panthers, Lions, Giants, Eagles, Cardinals,and Cowboys, I could see more than 6 wins, with some solid outings at home against the Boys, Giants, Cards, and Saints.
The Falcons’ bye, the run defense and Abe’s honest effort | football-feed.com
October 15th, 2012
11:56 am
[...] to Original Content From Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog): read more Related Articles Share About Author [...]
Joe
October 15th, 2012
12:08 pm
The Falcons need to use this week to recover, heal, and work on their individual issues. When they return to action in Philiy be ready for a tough, hard fought game.
around town
October 15th, 2012
12:30 pm
I don’t see why anyone would bear a grudge against M. Vick, at least not because he somehow betrayed the Falcons. He played hard while he was here, and did his best to help bring success to the franchise. That he got caught up in something otherwise distasteful was hardly a slap or damage to the Falcons.
phil
October 15th, 2012
12:42 pm
longtimefan
October 15th, 2012
9:56 am
Here we are at 6-0, the only undefeated team in the NFL and our fan base tries to come up with reasons why we aren’t elite. As a famous coach said once, you are good as your record says you are. Case closed.
********
It is this very simplistic, ignorant thinking that keeps us right where we are….
Eternal losers when it most matters.
Case closed.
phil
October 15th, 2012
12:44 pm
Answer This
October 15th, 2012
11:30 am
@longtimefan
Keep talking like that and you will have “fans” ( I use that term very lightly) attack you on here. I am with you and I appreciate your fandom! Hard to be 6-0 and still have to apologize to those who sit here and whine and cry about the past….I choose to live in the present and not die like the past….I consider it yesterday…like this win! Its on to the next one, the most important game of the season. Keep being a REAL FAN longtimefan and enjoy the ride man! Yes we got problems but so do every other NFL Team! Lets appreciate whats being done right now and let our past unsuccessful runs be just that….PAST! We are talking about this year and we are 6-0 and we dont need to apologize to anyone about that or our past! RISE UP!
************
As the resident moron resurfaces…..
Rise up?
It’s more like try not to fall flat….
phil
October 15th, 2012
12:48 pm
When the Giants come to town, they will dismantle us like Christmas legos…..
It will be yet another massacre. That’s a FOOTBALL TEAM right there, unlike our pathetic, candy-butts that struggle to beat even the worst of teams at times.
Heads need to roll and roll now!!!
phil
October 15th, 2012
12:50 pm
Joe
October 15th, 2012
12:08 pm
The Falcons need to use this week to recover, heal, and work on their individual issues. When they return to action in Philiy be ready for a tough, hard fought game.
**********
Better be ready to lose too….Vick will destroy us and the philly D will dominate as well against this crowd of rag tags. Not looking forward to it.
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October 15th, 2012
1:00 pm
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ATL_Native
October 15th, 2012
1:26 pm
TURNER needs to look himself in the mirror and be honest. True the line could run block better but a lot of it is his own decision making, not running at full speed, and going down at first impact!
Be p!$$ed at yourself first Mike.
Smooth Operator
October 15th, 2012
1:28 pm
Jacket Detective
October 15th, 2012
8:56 am
********************************************
Undercover troll
Greg from Marietta
October 15th, 2012
1:35 pm
Don’t get me wrong I am a diehard Falcons fan and I am both astonished and proud of their monumental accomplishment of being 6 & 0. BUT they have given the good teams that they have yet to play a comprehensive film library of their glaring weaknesses. I have the utmost respect for coach Smith and his two coordinators BUT if they don’t do some radical changes and soon then the last two quarters of the season will be as ignominious as the first quarter has been ‘Glorious”!
cdog
October 15th, 2012
1:40 pm
the falcons will be there in the end.they need to get up for every team they have to play.they took oakland lightly and thats why the raiders were in the game.the falcons need to work on tackling better than what they did.they need to wrap up.the blocking needs to tune up also.oakland had a bye week prior to this game so thats why oakland was a step faster but good teams find ways to win and the falcons are the better team.this bye week should solve any problems they have.pressur and lane coverage on defense should give them a victory over the philadelphia eagles.
baddawg
October 15th, 2012
1:42 pm
Rather be lucky than good. In the Falcons case, they are both. This team has way better Kharma than the Jim Mora Jr. team that missed the playoffs after tanking the second half of their season, No real hot dogs, just good professional acting team members. Our only regret so far is that they don’t play this week. Gotta love those kickoffs.
The Monger
October 15th, 2012
1:46 pm
Phil is the resident idiot. Look phil, I am an Atlanta sports fan for many years and know of the painful, painful playoff loses of the Braves, Falcons, and Hawks. This is not news. However, the overwhelming, seemingly sarcastic, over-the-top negativity makes you look dumb. The truth is the Falcons are 6-0 this year, yet you speak of them like they are 0-6. You say the Eagles will dismantle them in 2 weeks, yet there is no proof of that….actually the proof is to the opposite, as the Falcons BEAT the eagles last year in the dome, so where is this coming from? You refer to them as “rag tags” and “pathetic candy butts” seemingly ignoring the fact we have an offense most teams drool over, including an MVP caliber QB in Matt Ryan, HOF Tight End Tony Gonzalez, Future HOF Wideouts in Roddy White and Julio Jones, Pro Bowl RB in Michael Turner, The current active leader in sacks in the NFL in John Abraham, not to even mention Sean Weatherspoon, Asante Samuel, and Dunta Robinson leading the defense. Your ignorant self really considers these “rag tags” and “candy butts”. You are pathetic, and can’t except fact…..THE FALCONS ARE 6-0, AND WILL BE 7-0 AFTER BEATING A MEDIOCRE PHILLY TEAM THAT LEADS THE LEAGUE IN TURNOVERS!!!
FALCONS 7-0 IN 2 WEEKS!!! I HATE THE FACT THEY HAVE A BYE AND I CANT WATCH ANOTHER FALCONS VICTORY THIS SUNDAY!! OH WELL, GUESS I WILL CATCH UP ON SOME YARD WORK IN THIS BEAUTIFUL ATLANTA FALL WEATHER.
Mike
October 15th, 2012
1:49 pm
This, among other columns, is the definition of nitpicking. So would it be better, on Oct. 15th, that the team lost a couple of ‘pretty’ ones and be 4-2? The fact of the matter is, whatever issues that were there, they found a way to win. And it hasn’t been just one aspect of the team that has been the main factor in any of the games. There are no perfect teams…HOU, GB, SF, NE have all proven that so far, as well as the Falcons. But at the end of the day, there is only ONE 6 and 0 team in the league.
The Monger
October 15th, 2012
1:51 pm
7-0!!!!! 7-0!!!!! Like Phil Collins says….. I can feel it comin in the air tonight…. 7-0 in 2 weeks.
is 16-0 a realistic possibility if our offense, and especially our running game start clicking on all cylinders? I would say it is a faint possibility, although I think we will end up 14-2 just like 1998. That will win us the division and home field….the rest is up to the falcons. I think the defense is closer to the team we saw against the Chargers and the 2nd half of the Chiefs game, we just need to get Nicholas healthy and get Peters back, and Nolan has to tweak some things in the run game and emphasize tackling. There is NO reason with this offense, and a great defensive coordinator that we have that we cant make a deep run in the playoffs…
Chopp
October 15th, 2012
2:07 pm
Matt Ryan will win us the Super Bowl.
KQuark
October 15th, 2012
2:16 pm
The Falcons started their bye week one week too early and still found a way to win. Sure they need to improve but they met a team off a bye going into a bye which usually leads to underperformance. It’s not Lofton’s absence hurting the run defense it’s Cory Peters who should be back after the bye week. That will give the Falcons a solid DT rotation instead of just depending on Walker and Jerry.
The Falcons are 6-0, but certain other numbers don’t add up | Mark Bradley
October 15th, 2012
2:32 pm
[...] 10th and 25th. Last season they were 20th in passing defense, sixth in rushing defense; these Birds are 11th and 27th. For those keeping score, the 2012 Falcons have improved over 2011 in exactly one of those six [...]
Nacho Cheese Sauce
October 15th, 2012
2:41 pm
In 7 weeks the falcons could be easily 8-4 Just sayin : (
Ron the Man
October 15th, 2012
2:49 pm
Any Falcon fan who would complain about this team after winning all of thier first six games has not been a Falcon fan for long. We who have followed them for years and dreamed of just being competitive in most of our games have reason to be elated by the 2012 version of the Atlanta Falcons.They have shown that they grab victory from the jaws of defeat instead of the usual defeat from the jaws of victory.They are not a great team yet, but with their increased confidence and never give up attitude they have shown the guts to make it happen when the odds were against them and the game was on the line.The Falcons have few superstars, but a team of winners because they play hard together. They make me proud to display my falcons emblems-and call them my team.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
October 15th, 2012
2:50 pm
FOOLS GOLD
Come playoff time the true CHOKE will resurface.
6 picks in the last 4 games vs mediocre teams with all
that talent on the team.
HA HA
Terry
October 15th, 2012
2:52 pm
One thing that Mike Vick has done since becoming an NFL QB, is fumble the football, he did it as a Falcon, and he still does it as an Eagle, not to mention that he has threw 8 interception, compared to 8 Touchdowns, yes Mike is an exciting player, but who wants a QB who turns the ball over all the time.
———–Games–Fumbles–interception–TDs
Matt Ryan—68——21——–52———109
Mike Vick—117—–85——–80———119
Stinger 2
October 15th, 2012
3:00 pm
phil seems to be lost and out of it.
gO dEeP
October 15th, 2012
3:45 pm
Take some Time Off Boys – You’ve earned it !
Get ready to Bring it on Home!
fansince74
October 15th, 2012
4:16 pm
@ Nacho Cheese Sauce: In 7 weeks the Falcons could also be 11-1 or be 12-0. So what’s your point other that being negative? Just sayin…
fansince74
October 15th, 2012
4:19 pm
@ Matt “CHOKE” Ryan. You sound like a brat. Go clean your room before your Mommy gets home.
me
October 15th, 2012
4:33 pm
@Matt “Choke” Ryan
Here are the stats on your hero’s playoff victory.
The defense forced five turnovers, including three by Brett Favre, who threw his second interception of the day and fumbled once. Linebacker Mark Simoneau blocked a punt deep in Green Bay territory, and linebacker Artie Ulmer recovered the ball and rolled one yard for a touchdown.
Vick’s numbers weren’t spectacular: 13-of-25 passing for 117 yards and one touchdown, plus 10 rushes for 64 yards
Oh, I almost forgot. You are a racist.
Norm
October 15th, 2012
5:14 pm
Vick has a career average of 1 fumble every 61 minutes
ub 1125
October 15th, 2012
5:16 pm
Why is eveyone complainin?………..Look at what happened to the best team in football(TEXANS) I like the Falcons bein direspected and flyin under the radar…….everything will be ok….the Dirty Birds are a team of destiny…..ask Harry Douglas and that 20 yard catch of a DBs helment.
ub 1125
October 15th, 2012
5:18 pm
Also Matt ” choke ‘: RYAN won adn VICK fumbled away another loss……..There are Eagles fans on their blog wishin they had MATT RYAN….LOL…..VICK sux and Karma is JUST for him and the EAGLES.