Live from New Orleans: The Falcons will lose – but not today
Just another example of how the Saints afford us Atlantans no respect. (Photo by M. Bradley)
New Orleans – Father Peter P. Finney delivered the homily at the 8 a.m. Mass at St. Clement of Rome in Metairie, La., this morning, and here we note: Father Finney is the grandson of Peter Finney, the gentlemanly sports columnist of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, and Father Finney actually gave no homily at all. It’s a St. Clement tradition to do without one during its annual Oyster Festival, which is ongoing this weekend. (There was carnival paraphernalia all over the parking lot.)
Father Finney noted that today’s Oyster Festival session is set to commence at noon – “when the Saints kick off,” he said. Then he noted: “The Saints’ game will be shown on television.”
Our rather roundabout point being: Even when the Saints stink, they’re still the talk of the town. (Metairie is a suburb off Lake Pontchartrain, of which my hotel affords me a half-scenic view.)
I’m on record — if you have three minutes and 32 seconds, you can hear me say it to Bill Littlefield of NPR’s Only A Game — that the Falcons won’t go undefeated. (My quote: “I don’t think anybody really seriously believes the Falcons are going to go 16-0.”) But there’s CineSport proof of me picking the Falcons to reach the Super Bowl and, via the Internet and the print AJC, I’m also on record as predicting that they’ll sweep the Saints.
That belief probably won’t win me many friends among the Oyster Fest folks, but it is, for better or worse, how I feel. I don’t think a lousy defensive team can beat the Falcons, and the Saints are on course to be the lousiest defensive team ever. I believe the Falcons’ first loss will come two weeks hence, at Tampa three days after Thanksgiving. I do not believe it will happen today.
But I have, as we know, been wrong a time or two. Whatever occurs, I’ll be here to watch and comment, and I implore you to join me. And I thank you, as ever, in advance. (Oh, and if you missed it: Read the fine print on the seat card depicted above.)
By Mark Bradley
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1,785 comments Add your comment
Mark Bradley
November 11th, 2012
2:22 pm
Instead they get sacked.
The game is not going the Falcons’ way, I must concede. But it’s early yet.
phil
November 11th, 2012
2:23 pm
Told you homers this bunch had waked up…..
gt97
November 11th, 2012
2:23 pm
replay of lat year? do they really think they can cover that TE with nicholas?
MFranklin
November 11th, 2012
2:23 pm
Well, if we wanna avoid the big ugly in the loss column, we’re gonna have to fight today… tape up the fingers and forget your fear of blood
Buckeye
November 11th, 2012
2:23 pm
Take a knee and regroup
Mark Bradley
November 11th, 2012
2:24 pm
Half ends. Falcons trail. But they’ve been behind before.
Kissinger
November 11th, 2012
2:24 pm
Falcons don’t get national respect because they are weak in the trenches. Can’t win championships in this league without winning there. Dimitroff has just ignored that, going for skill players instead.
Michael M.
November 11th, 2012
2:24 pm
good call on that series sit on it and go in the locker room and regroup
oldbird
November 11th, 2012
2:24 pm
Oh goodie, the saints get the ball to start the 2nd half. 28 – 17 before we touch the ball again
O'Ventbrel
November 11th, 2012
2:24 pm
Let’s save the sky is falling talk until the 4th quarter, shall we?
DAWGFAN13
November 11th, 2012
2:25 pm
I spoke too soon about the Oline, unlike our front 4, the Saints front four is getting pressure! This is going to be the first lose for the Falcons. They cant stop the run or pass and the O line looks like they are ready to pack it up and get ready for next week.
J.J.M.
November 11th, 2012
2:25 pm
It really doesn’t matter who’s playing running back if you can’t block
ryan2atl
November 11th, 2012
2:25 pm
As I said, no defense.
Sav FAN
November 11th, 2012
2:25 pm
Well Mark you were correct -it will be 28-17 about a minute into 2nd half
Jay Dubu
November 11th, 2012
2:25 pm
The Falcons have to get a running game from somewhere to keep the defense off the field for long stretches of time. The defensive personnel is not in place, and really hasn’t been since Smith and the new regime has been in place.
Have to get better defensive play, and a better running game. Turner’s time appears to be coing to an end. And it’s not just this game, or this season.
phil
November 11th, 2012
2:25 pm
This is a playoff preview for us….
Except that in january, we’ll have zero to whomever’s 21…..
I get so sick of this garbage!!! 47 yrs in a row!
Ivan
November 11th, 2012
2:25 pm
There is no pressure on Brees. Theres no run D. Whats going on?
Michael M.
November 11th, 2012
2:25 pm
phil……….you a homer ?……………….hehehehe
MFranklin
November 11th, 2012
2:25 pm
NO FEAR – Play like hell… Falcons win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mark Bradley
November 11th, 2012
2:26 pm
They didn’t try to sit on it, Michael M. They tried to throw on first down and held and got sacked. It would’ve been foolish to get sacked again that deep that late in a half.
playmeortrademe
November 11th, 2012
2:26 pm
Despite the league being a QB-driven league, you still have to be able to run the ball and stop the run. All that passing is just for fun until you get near the goal line, and you get down to needing a yard or two. And if your D-line can’t stop the run you are exposed in so many ways on D.
J.J.M.
November 11th, 2012
2:26 pm
Exactly you can’t give up a touchdown before half knowing you suck on defense
Tommy Nobis
November 11th, 2012
2:27 pm
amateur = saying any NFL game is a powderpuff
Mora less Petrino
November 11th, 2012
2:28 pm
The Falcons O should be controlling the tempo of this game. The Birds need to come out with some attitude in the 2nd half.
Ed Pilcher
November 11th, 2012
2:28 pm
Aint looking good at the half. Falcons can’t run, can’t block, can’t get pressure on Brees, Julio hurt, and they still can’t cover the Saint’s TE.
oldfart
November 11th, 2012
2:28 pm
The problem isn’t just the run blocking. Even when they make a hole Turner can’t get to it before it closes. I appreciate him for the past but it is clear he has lost a step.
Mark Bradley
November 11th, 2012
2:28 pm
The NFL is different, run-wise. Often teams now throw to get in front and run to stay there. That’s what the Falcons would like to do. But sometimes the other team won’t let you.
Game’s not over, folks. Imagine how the Saints’ fans would feel if it comes down to the league’s worst defense trying to make a stop at the end. And almost every NFL game comes down to the end, or so it seems
Michael M.
November 11th, 2012
2:28 pm
Falcons have played better in the second half this Season anyway.
Great Falconi
November 11th, 2012
2:29 pm
Did anybody think we were going to shut down Brees today? We can’t afford to bring eight men into the box to play the run with that guy slinging the ball, so we had damn well better tackle somebody in the second half. I’ve been expecting a loss for a few weeks, if only because we haven’t been dominating anybody enough to make a loss unthinkable. Our D has to compete better in the second half if we want a W. It’s that simple.
take it from me.
November 11th, 2012
2:30 pm
Can’t stop jimmy graham,8-1 falcons
atlfalconsfan0125
November 11th, 2012
2:30 pm
This is a playoff preview for us….
Except that in january, we’ll have zero to whomever’s 21…..
I get so sick of this garbage!!! 47 yrs in a row!
___
You are welcome to go find a winner to cheer for. Noone is holding a gun to your head and tellin you to be a Falcons fan.
DawgNole
November 11th, 2012
2:31 pm
Brees will pick this defense apart all day. Only hope is to outscore them. Just hate losing again to such a bitter rival and their obnoxious fans–especially after they’ve been crippled by the league for their transgressions. No way they should beat us–on paper. Can we play the rest of this one on paper?
NORRIS CHUCK
November 11th, 2012
2:31 pm
1. They just need to abandon the hand offs to Turner. Several times that guy just walked up to the line of scrimmage and folded up for a loss!
2. Nolan needs to make some adjustments with his pass rush cause it is non-existent. They keep rusing straight up the field and Bress is just stepping up and making his passes without any pressure!
3. Samuel cost them a possible touchdown with the excessive celebration. Plus our corners cant tackle worth a darn.
4. And if Julio cant go, they are in trouble today.
atlfalconsfan0125
November 11th, 2012
2:32 pm
People need to relax. This is a stress free game for me. Win or lose, we are still making the playoffs.
phil
November 11th, 2012
2:33 pm
8 in the box, 8 in coverage…..
It matters not with Brees.
So put 8 in the box!
Jay Dubu
November 11th, 2012
2:33 pm
26 yards rushing on 12 carries for the half, while the Saints have 116 on 13 carries. Have to get something turned around.
extremus
November 11th, 2012
2:33 pm
The Falcons may…MAY…be good enough to win a Superbowl with their current player composition, but they have two glaring weaknesses the Saints exploited to no end during the first half. First is the running game (Turner is killing us with these “hope he gets back to the line of scrimmage” runs; I keep finding myself wishing we had the other teams’ running backs). Second is the now typical lack of any real pass rush; they’ve scarcely touched Drew Brees thus far. Aside from that, Weatherspoon or no Weatherspoon, the D really needs to do better against the run; our guys have been awful at fundamentals like tackling in the first half, and our line is just getting manhandled.
And here’s hoping that Julio Jones’ injury isn’t serious, because without him all of a sudden this offense looks a lot less versatile. Having to go to Turner more right now is suicide as far as gaining decent yardage on a play is concerned.
kevkat
November 11th, 2012
2:34 pm
What’s the answer for Jimmy G. M.B?
phil
November 11th, 2012
2:34 pm
Stress free?
Lol….
No understanding at all that we’re witnessing our ultimate undoing.
Sav FAN
November 11th, 2012
2:35 pm
4. And if Julio cant go, they are in trouble today.-BINGO
Buckeye
November 11th, 2012
2:35 pm
Prediction: Johnny Football drafted #1 in the Chef’s in three years.
Ivan
November 11th, 2012
2:35 pm
The offense can win without Julio. Theyve done it before. Its the defense that needs adjustments.
Michael M.
November 11th, 2012
2:35 pm
Caints have the lead and get the ball first in the second half…………..need to stop them on that series or hold em to at least a fieldgoal and then score a touchdown to even this game back up……………if the Falcons let em score another touchdown on that opening series it will be tough.
Michael M.
November 11th, 2012
2:35 pm
Caints have the lead and get the ball first in the second half…………..need to stop them on that series or hold em to at least a fieldgoal and then score a touchdown to even this game back up……………if the Falcons let em score another touchdown on that opening series it will be tough.
Buckeye
November 11th, 2012
2:35 pm
Prediction: Johnny Football drafted #1 in the Chef’s in three years.
atlfalconsfan0125
November 11th, 2012
2:35 pm
i dont get it Phil. If the Falcons make you this miserable, find something else to do! Atlanta is a big city!
CGD..
November 11th, 2012
2:36 pm
Saints may put up 38 today..
Drew sure makes it look easy.. Scored 3 TD’s in the last 4 possesions. UH OH!
Defense cant stop the Run today..It maybe a wrap….
Playoffs?????????????
J.J.M.
November 11th, 2012
2:36 pm
Has brees even been knocked down in this game???
SirReal
November 11th, 2012
2:36 pm
Football is a tale of two halfs. We’ve been here before this year guys. Lets wait and see what adjustments we make. We are still very much in this game.
Nick Micamayer
November 11th, 2012
2:36 pm
since it’s half time…how on gods green earth can WRENN let ROSS get signed away from the Braves? What a lame lame move.