No quibbling: The Falcons bear the look of a special team
Here we see the expressive cornerback Asante Samuel, exultant in sweet victory. (AP photo)
Philadelphia – For three games they’d won without dazzling. This time they dazzled. The Falcons came to a city where they hadn’t won since Reagan was in office and won laughing. They overwhelmed the Philadelphia Eagles, whom the former Falcon Michael Vick once held to possess dynastic capabilities, and in so doing they moved to 7-0. In sum, they had a lovely Sunday afternoon in a place that was expecting nasty weather.
“We went on that field to play a game and dominate on all sides of the ball,” said free safety Thomas DeCoud, and they came pretty darn close.
The final score was 30-17, and that flattered the flattened losers. The Falcons scored on their first six possessions against a defense that had just dumped one coordinator for another. The Falcons’ relatively new offensive coordinator drew up a diverse and dizzying scheme. (Moral of story: Sometimes coordinators matter, and sometimes not.) And the players charged with implementing Dirk Koetter’s design had a banner day.
Matt Ryan returned to the city of his youth and had one of his finest games. (It was, he allowed, the first time his team had won in Philly since Boston College beat Temple in November 2004.) He completed 17 of 20 first-half passes and spread the ball so efficiently that the Eagles’ famous secondary couldn’t cover everybody, which explains, sort of, how slot receiver Drew Davis shook laughably free for the game’s first touchdown.
“Our receivers are pretty good,” said Falcons cornerback Asante Samuel, still chafed over having been traded by the Eagles last spring. “No question they could have used me.”
For its part, the Falcons’ D kept Vick so off-balance that the sleek Eagles did next to nothing until the game was gone. Vick didn’t turn the ball over, which was out of character, but he looked antsy and was sacked three times and booed throughout. (Stop me if you’ve heard this one, but Philly folks don’t take well to losing.)
By halftime, a goodly portion of the non-capacity Lincoln Financial Field had departed, and midway through the fourth quarter the place was half-empty. These fans were headed home to batten down hatches before Hurricane Sandy hit, and they left in a rotten mood. In what was supposed to be a key game for both teams, only one bothered to show up.
The Eagles’ first mistake was the coin toss. They won it, and Andy Reid chose to defer to the second half. The Falcons took the kickoff and rolled 80 yards in 8:44 to the Davis touchdown. Soon it would be 14-0, then 24-7 by the half, then 30-10 on the first snap of the fourth quarter, by which time Reid’s exemplary post-bye streak — under this coach, the Eagles had been 13-0 after off-weeks — was well and truly broken.
Said Mike Smith, who became the winningest coach in Falcons annals: “That (was) a fast, fast start. We moved in and out of (offensive) tempo the whole ballgame. We controlled it.”
Said center Todd McClure: “It’s tough to beat a team that doesn’t bring its punter on the field.” (Actually, the Falcons punted twice, both in the game’s final six minutes.)
After three victories achieved via fourth-quarter rallies, it was possible to wonder if the Falcons were unbeaten because of the level of opposition or the brilliance of their play. This game matched a team that had middling numbers (Falcons were 13th in total offense, 22nd in total defense) and a great record against an opponent that looked better on paper (Eagles were seventh in total offense, 12th in total defense) than in the standings (3-3). So much for truth in numbers, huh?
Better than winning, better even than being 7-0, was this: The Falcons looked like the more talented side by far, and it wasn’t so long ago that Philly dubbed itself a Dream Team. The jaw-dropping moment came in the second quarter, when Julio Jones dashed past the All-Pro cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and outfought the safety Nate Allen for what was a stunning 63-yard touchdown.
“Julio’s a special talent,” said Ryan, who delivered a mighty pretty pass himself. “He ran a great route.”
If you can come here and thrash the Eagles, there’s no reason not to keep winning deep into January. After what transpired here beneath an ominous sky, we now know the Falcons aren’t 7-0 just because the other team keeps messing up. We now know that this has the makings of a special team, perhaps a championship team.
“We’re determined to come out and put our name on everything we do,” DeCoud said. “And we’re starting to hit our stride.”
If that stride gets much more elegant, the NFL might soon be engraving a new name on the Lombardi Trophy. The first three letters: A-T-L.
Further reading: The Falcons’ offense, their receivers and that Philly crowd.
By Mark Bradley
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217 comments Add your comment
phil
October 28th, 2012
7:42 pm
Billyho55, you need immediate counseling….
Great catch in Dallas! Too bad it doesn’t count.
rooster67
October 28th, 2012
7:43 pm
way to rise up an d slam the eagles, oh boo hoo dallas is coming, so what? 8-0 looking pretty damn good right now!
Big Crimson 75
October 28th, 2012
7:47 pm
Phil — should we bother to show against big D next Sunday night?
Great news on Spoon.
I knew it wasn’t that bad — he was jawing at the fans while cruising on the cart.
Mike Vick is a bum.
There was 1 pro QB on the field today, he wasn’t wearing #7.
Big Crimson 75
October 28th, 2012
7:48 pm
Matt Ryan — NFL MVP
Billyho55
October 28th, 2012
7:52 pm
phil,
HOW MUCH DO YOU CHARGE AND WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO MEET YOU FOR THIS COUNSEL ING SESSION? I CAN EASILY POP THE ADDRESS INTO MY GPS! AT YOUR CONVENIENCE OF COURSE! I REALLY APPRECIATE THE SENTIMENT!
Big Crimson 75
October 28th, 2012
7:55 pm
Phil — should be bother to show next weeks against Dallas?
" ICE "
October 28th, 2012
7:56 pm
Enter your comments here
Falcons: Play 60!
October 28th, 2012
8:02 pm
they still need some work on that rush D and their own rushing (avg of 2 yards per carry Burner?? Might be time for the new guard, Quizz averaged 7 yards per carry) and probably need to never have Franks return a punt … he seems to be afraid to run
Stinger 2
October 28th, 2012
8:04 pm
phil is just a little out of sorts tonight. He is a regular on DOB Braves blogs.
Most of the time he chats with his group of friends on that blog in a decent dialogue.
Stinger 2
October 28th, 2012
8:06 pm
phil seems a little out of sorts tonight.
phil
October 28th, 2012
8:06 pm
Lol at Crimson!
Yeah, I guess so! Romo will probably torch us like a thatch roof, but maybe we can outgun him and pick a few.
It will not be an easy game.
phil
October 28th, 2012
8:07 pm
Romo throws last pass a mile out of the endzone….
He’s about as dumb as dumb can be.
Hopefully he becomes no smarter before next week.
What an idiot.
LDawg
October 28th, 2012
8:07 pm
Dallas had what, 6 turnovers – yeah I’m quaking in my boots.
phil
October 28th, 2012
8:08 pm
“quizz” had one really long run.
He’s no answer at RB….slow, fat.
Stinger 2
October 28th, 2012
8:09 pm
phil: have you had a rough day? Normally on the DOB blogs you seem more relaxed.
ss
October 28th, 2012
8:09 pm
JONATHAN DWYER GOT IT GOING ON….GO STEELERS
phil
October 28th, 2012
8:12 pm
What do we typically do after a solid performance? Especially at home?
Anyone?
Exactly. Struggle mightily to win even against the worst of teams.
It will not be an easy game….
LOL at the Aints
October 28th, 2012
8:12 pm
Great Win,, while I agree with running the ball and using up clock with a 20 point lead we did let them hang around,, we probably should have and could have scored at least one more touchdown,, no complaints though, well played game on both sides of the ball..
Big Crimson 75
October 28th, 2012
8:14 pm
Stay classy Asante’
Apparently, he “patted” Andy Reid on his belly after the game.
That’s actually difficult not to do, unless his hands were in his pockets!!
phil
October 28th, 2012
8:15 pm
Nope. Excellent day.
Just like with the Braves, i try not to go crazy with joy before we actually do something.
phil
October 28th, 2012
8:18 pm
Asante…..lol
Very small brain.
LOL at the Aints
October 28th, 2012
8:18 pm
@Phil,, you’re probably right,, wont be an easy game,, or we could come out and kick their ass… either way I see no way they beat us,, we are much better,,
come on
October 28th, 2012
8:20 pm
we need to bring in dwyer in the off season he finally gets his shot and is tearing it up. big physical back that runs hard.
LOL at the Aints
October 28th, 2012
8:22 pm
I think Harry Douglas may have lost his job today,,
MFranklin
October 28th, 2012
8:23 pm
Dank, Bradley didn’t trash the Falcs… imagine that.
Slow down, Bradley
October 28th, 2012
8:26 pm
Long way to go, and we don’t need the ‘AJC Jinx’ to rear it’s ugly head.
Big Crimson 75
October 28th, 2012
8:30 pm
“Ain’t he the best coach after the bye week?” he asked near the end of his session. “False. Next question. They got a lot of issues over there. I’m happy to be away from all that controversy. You all know what I screamed when I was over there. I’d say what we need to do to win. We run the ball over here.”
It did not take much to find Samuel’s trigger. Somebody asked the four-time Pro Bowl cornerback if he thought quarterback Michael Vick would be the fall guy after the Eagles slipped to 3-4 without putting up much of a fight.
“You can’t always blame somebody,” Samuel said. “Sometimes you have to take the fall on yourself.”
It was then that Samuel revealed his injured feelings.
“Andy Reid, why you didn’t speak to me?” he asked as he went in for a close-up with one of the television cameras at his locker. “What did I do to you, man? I have nothing but love for you, Big Red. What I did? Come on man, call me. Hit me up.”
For now, it’s a one-sided story because Reid had finished with the media by the time Samuel went off.
Here is Samuel’s side: “He wouldn’t speak to me, man. Can you believe that? As much as I’ve done, as happy as I am. He wouldn’t even tell me, ‘Great game, Asante, I love you, man.’ I thought every coach was supposed to have a first-class mentality. I don’t think that was first class. I don’t know why. I was like, ‘Hey coach, what’s up? I got nothing but love for you.’ ”
Samuel said the response from Reid was silence.
“So I just hit him on the belly a little bit,” Samuel said. “That big belly.”
More jabs followed.
“Didn’t you hear the crowd? They were chanting something,” Samuel said. “What were they saying?”
“Fire Andy” was the chant du jour and probably will be in some future du jours at the Linc, too.
hey now......
October 28th, 2012
8:31 pm
phil, “Asante…lol. very small brain”
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black…..
DP
October 28th, 2012
8:35 pm
Mark Bradley, how many people do you have in your censorship, i.e. “your comment is awaiting moderation”, pool?
If I posted “First!” like an idiot, could I get back in your good graces?
phil
October 28th, 2012
8:40 pm
Hey now, nice try, dipster….
phil
October 28th, 2012
8:42 pm
Samuel needs to get over it….
You’re in Atlanta now, moron. Good grief.
Literacy now
October 28th, 2012
8:53 pm
It is damn not dam.
Literacy now!
bigbobbles
October 28th, 2012
9:09 pm
moderation on dummazzes showing their azzand bothering people with their comments …..so fckU too
GB's Hamburgers
October 28th, 2012
9:10 pm
A very professional and workman like performance today. Davis made the most of his opportunity and looked better than Douglas in my book. The offensive scheme is much better with this OC and seems to be making Ryan into a superstar.
phil
October 28th, 2012
9:21 pm
Bigbobbles has mush for his brains…..
atlfalconsfan0125
October 28th, 2012
9:23 pm
I cant believe some of yall. We won 30-17 in a place we havent won in since 1988! Thats right 1988. We are undefeated. So for just one week, can yall enjoy this? Why must yall harp on the negatives (there werent many this game)? It was raining, Eagles backs were against the wall, everyone picked against us, we were 3 point underdogs, and some people are mad at a 30-17 win? Give me a break.
GO FALCONS!
Mark Bradley
October 28th, 2012
9:25 pm
I’m a nitpicker of long standing, but I saw nothing whatsoever wrong with today’s performance. You win by 13 points after leading by 20 on the road against a desperate opponent: That’s big-time.
atlfalconsfan0125
October 28th, 2012
9:25 pm
Enjoy 7-0 folks!
atlfalconsfan0125
October 28th, 2012
9:26 pm
Thanks Mark. Some people here will never be happy.
phil
October 28th, 2012
9:27 pm
We’re enjoying it….
I’m just not going to declare us winners of the Lombardi Trophy for thrashing an obviously struggling and not very good Eagles team.
Have we beaten the niners, Giants, Patriots, Steelers, Packers, Bears or Ravens yet this year?
No, we haven’t. Better just calm down.
atlfalconsfan0125
October 28th, 2012
9:29 pm
Some people in here would get mad at winning 1 million dollars in the lottery, they would say “but we could have won 10 million.”
This game was a test, and we got a A+.
phil
October 28th, 2012
9:29 pm
Bradley, are you back home?
Mark Bradley
October 28th, 2012
9:31 pm
I’m in the Philadelphia airport. Mr. Ledbetter is alongside me.
atlfalconsfan0125
October 28th, 2012
9:31 pm
Its too early to talk SB right now, that much I agree on. But there shouldnt be any criticism in the comments here, not this week.
Tigers Fan in Athens
October 28th, 2012
9:32 pm
Maybe Eagles fans are learning what we found out years ago about MV7 – a talented player, but just a tad inconsistent. Worth $100M???
phil
October 28th, 2012
9:33 pm
Get out of there….soon. That storm is ugly.
atlfalconsfan0125
October 28th, 2012
9:34 pm
Have a safe flight home Mark.
GFJacket
October 28th, 2012
9:34 pm
This will all be for naught if they don’t win at least one playoff game this year. They need to address their shortfalls now, before the playoffs are even on the horizon. Remember how confident everyone was when the Falcons had the best record in the NFC, home field advantage throughout the playoffs, and proceeded to get blasted by Green Bay.
GFJacket
October 28th, 2012
9:37 pm
Michael “Con” Vick is done. He has lost more than a step in speed and agility. Those used to make up for his less than stellar completion percentage. He is getting beat up and is ready to move to a team that has a better OL.
Peter
October 28th, 2012
9:37 pm
Mark do realize what a jinx you are ? How about writing about the weather ! HA HA HA !