The unbeaten Falcons fall in a distressingly familiar way
Just a reminder: This is how it looks when a running play actually succeeds. (AP photo)
New Orleans — First, a spot of perspective. The Falcons are 8-1 and positioned to win their division. Just because they lost an excruciating game to the hated Saints doesn’t override all the good work that came before. That said …
The good work that came before didn’t include much in the way of short-yardage excellence. And when a team that couldn’t convert on fourth-and-1 on three infamous occasions last season loses its first game of another year due to the same failures, a flag gets hoisted. No, not a white one of surrender, but surely a bright red banner of warning.
“I don’t know what situation you’d rather be in,” said Michael Turner, the feature back who managed 15 yards on 13 rushes Sunday. “You’ve got one yard for the lead.”
“You’ve got to punch the ball in,” said Jacquizz Rodgers, the change-of-pace back whose 18-yard burst had pulled the Falcons within sight of that final yard.
“Of course you (think you’re going to get that yard),” said Harry Douglas, the receiver who barely missed scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a slant on first-and-goal from the 10. “That has to be your approach.”
That the Falcons’ first play from the 1 was a Matt Ryan pass for Tony Gonzalez tells us they weren’t convinced they could push the Saints backward even three feet. (Malcolm Jenkins knocked the ball down in the end zone.) That the third-and-goal call was a handoff to Turner that became yet another damp squib — of his 13 carries, seven either gained nothing or lost yardage — drove home the point:
An 8-0 NFL team could not line up and gain a precious yard against the league’s worst rushing defense.
By losing a yard on third-and-goal, the Falcons had no choice but to pass on fourth down, and again Ryan’s pass was flicked away. This time it was Jabari Greer, flashing in front of Roddy White. The Falcons would get the ball one last time, but their chance to stay unbeaten had come and gone.
Not that staying unbeaten was such a big deal. “That’s a distraction out of the way,” free safety Thomas DeCoud said, and he had a point. Trouble is, the the Falcons never want to lose to the opponent that has beaten the Falcons of Mike Smith seven times in nine tries.
DeCoud again: “That’s the one team you don’t want to have your first loss against.”
That Sunday’s game was a carnival ride surprised no one. Ryan threw for 411 yards, a career best, and if not — stop me if you’ve heard this one — for a failure on third-and-1 on the Falcons’ second series they might have seized a 14-0 lead.The Saints, who can play offense if not D, overrode that early deficit and took an 11-point lead midway through the third quarter. The Falcons cut it to four points with a touchdown and an extra point, Smith choosing (oddly and wrongly) not to go for two with 13:27 remaining.
They would draw within one point on a field goal after an incompletion on third-and-2. The Saints pushed the lead back to four, leaving the door ajar. The Falcons were too weak to kick it in.
Said Smith: “We were not getting the surge we needed on running plays … We did not win the line of scrimmage in the running game.”
Said Todd McClure, the center: “Every third-and-1 (not converted), every fourth-and-1 … I’m sure there’ll be a lot written about it tomorrow and we’ll be (seen as) a terrible offensive line. But we didn’t get it done today.”
For all their skill — the Falcons outgained the sleek Saints — the question remains: Is this team forceful enough? And not just along the O-line: The Falcons’ defense yielded 148 yards rushing and mustered one sack. For eight games people had been saying, “There’s going to come a time when the inability to run the ball and/or stop the run is going to bite this team.” That time arrived Sunday.
“We’ve got to address (the issues in the running game),” Turner said. “We’ve got to fix it. That’s what championship teams do. There’s attitude, there’s scheme … everything’s involved.”
The Falcons are 8-1. They did not become a terrible team by losing one game, but they cannot become a great one until they figure a way to gain a yard when a yard is mandatory. Is Turner too slow? Is the line too feeble? And if the answer, as seems likely, is a combination of the two, how do you work around it?
After every game, win or lose, Mike Smith says of any lapse, “We’ll get it fixed.” His Falcons have seven more games before the playoffs commence, which means …
Clock’s ticking, Smitty.
Further reading: Here’s why Mike Smith should have gone for two.
By Mark Bradley
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
384 comments Add your comment
Sav FAN
November 11th, 2012
7:21 pm
Hire one of the GTech backs for the weekend-they will get to the line
RambleOn84
November 11th, 2012
7:22 pm
And the Saints fans crawl out from under their rocks…
We’ll paste them at home in a few weeks, and the brown bags will once again come out of storage…
3d
November 11th, 2012
7:23 pm
Seminole Ed I couldn’t agree more.
These guys are supposed to be professionals. Samuel looked like an idiot show boating.
I hope he’s fined big time. That costs 15 big yards and a chance to go up 2 touchdowns.
willie
November 11th, 2012
7:26 pm
This was the toughest game on our entire schedule and we should have won it. Not the end of the world. Let’s just stay healthy and hope we are hot at the end of the season.
Saints fan
November 11th, 2012
7:28 pm
From Saints perspective..Saints could have put the game out of reach late third quarter and early 4th quarter, but Falcons defense stopped 2-3 drives….and even more disturbing Saints run clock three times at game end instead of passing from the two to get a first down giving the Falcons another shot…we must have feared the defense
Falcons definately improved from last year.
USMC DAWG
November 11th, 2012
7:30 pm
Asante Samuel is a total EMBARRASSMENT. What a classless FOOL!
Hey Asante! How about acting like you’ve been there before… you know… like a PROFESSIONAL.
The gangsta act is all “played out”. Professional Football player suites you MUCH better!
Clay
November 11th, 2012
7:30 pm
It was striking the way Saints running backs pounded the ball and always got 5-6 extra yards after getting hit. When Turner got hit, he went down fast EVERY TIME.
Saints Fan
November 11th, 2012
7:30 pm
This Saints fan will show the Falcons some respect when they get their Super Bowl rings. Until then, they are second rate.
USMC DAWG
November 11th, 2012
7:31 pm
What happened to the rumor about Stephen Jackson coming to the Falcons in a trade this season??? Is there any truth to it?
stendek
November 11th, 2012
7:31 pm
Is there macho involved about having to go right up the middle to score a TD from the one or two? Not gonna happen with Michael Turner! I have watched football over 50 years. Pitch the ball to the outside when 11 guys are packed in like sardines to stop the run. Works over 90% of the time! No macho just points. Sheesh. Very disgusted with Falcons after this one.
stendek
November 11th, 2012
7:32 pm
If Saints sneak into playoffs via wild card they WILL defeat Falcons! Book it.
GAMER4LIFE
November 11th, 2012
7:32 pm
Falcons needs: MLB (Dent SUCKS), ROLB (Coverage LBs) RB (BIG FAST RB), DT(Big Strong, Agile NT), OG (Run block,Road Graders), LT(Sam Baker sucks)..If these areas are not filled we will never win a Superbowl…Period!!!
Falconsincebirth
November 11th, 2012
7:33 pm
Convert Turner to a fullback and let him hit somebody and maybe open holes for the others. I am tired of seeing him hit ground in tough situations at least 90% of the time.
USMC DAWG
November 11th, 2012
7:34 pm
The Falcons’ Offensive Line SUCKS! Sam Baker is a fraud!
Michael
November 11th, 2012
7:35 pm
I really don’t think you can blame Asante Sameul, he did intercept the ball, and we still got 3 points. Consider the Alternative of New Orleans scoring 7 on the first drive to be fair to Samuels. However being 1st and goal and not having confidence in the running, is quite sad, and want get you no where in the playoffs.
AP
November 11th, 2012
7:36 pm
Turner is TOO slow. Give me a Felix Jones, Stephon Jackson type back and Atlanta is a much improved team!!!
phil
November 11th, 2012
7:39 pm
Do any of you idiots understand what an offensive line has to do in order to run the football?
I know a few of you do, but clearly most do not.
Fire someone!!
Fred Macmurray
November 11th, 2012
7:39 pm
QB sneak would have been more effective than handing to Turner, Dude runs like he is dragging anvil.
USMC DAWG
November 11th, 2012
7:39 pm
“I really don’t think you can blame Asante Sameul, he did intercept the ball, and we still got 3 points. Consider the Alternative of New Orleans scoring 7 on the first drive to be fair to Samuels. However being 1st and goal and not having confidence in the running, is quite sad, and want get you no where in the playoffs.”–Michael
Asante is a great talent and made a great play, but it DOES detract from the team effort when you get stupid penalties that kill momentum. The next series he got SMOKED by the Saints’ running back who ran the touchdown.
Asante looked the FOOL today.
USMC DAWG
November 11th, 2012
7:41 pm
“Do any of you idiots understand what an offensive line has to do in order to run the football?”
The Falcons Offensive line sucks. Don’t tell us that Sam Baker has lived up to expectations.
Fred Macmurray
November 11th, 2012
7:42 pm
I agree Phil, Oline is getting no push, Fire Somebody! LOL
Skeptic
November 11th, 2012
7:42 pm
Didn’t know NO had such a goal line defense. My unofficial count was at least 3 ATL 1st and goal possessions that were stuffed over and over. And 2 of those were set up from big plays. Big run/catch stopped at the 1.
Geez, even the Chefs beat the Saints. (And, I know, the Falcons beat the Chefs)
Someone else
November 11th, 2012
7:42 pm
Falcons and Bulldogs…frauds who never quite measure up to what their fanbase envisions….everyone outside of Georgia knows they are frauds, but in Georgia, they are always pre-season champions…HAHAHAHAHA!
O'Ventbrel
November 11th, 2012
7:42 pm
I don’t ever want to lay the blame on one guy, but Michael Turner is a momentum killer, plain and simple. If he doesn’t have a running lane laid out directly in front of him, he is virtually guaranteed to get only one yard at most. He has probably the worst lateral agility of any back in the league.
End rant. Jacquizz Rodgers needs to be ready to take the starter’s spot in the near future.
WHO DAT
November 11th, 2012
7:44 pm
Who Dat hahahahhahahahahaha. Falcons suck monkey balls. Thank you and have a great day.
USMC DAWG
November 11th, 2012
7:44 pm
“Falcons and Bulldogs…frauds who never quite measure up to what their fanbase envisions….everyone outside of Georgia knows they are frauds, but in Georgia, they are always pre-season champions…HAHAHAHAHA!”—NO ONE ELSE
Nice, your Jackets scored 68 points and WON a football game. Why so angry??
phil
November 11th, 2012
7:45 pm
The lines on both sides of the ball are the killers….
Hello.
Gritz Blitz
November 11th, 2012
7:46 pm
This will be the outcome of Falcons first playoff game. One and done. Bet on it!
Blazerdawg
November 11th, 2012
7:46 pm
Close loss on the road, first since Jan, passing game is awesome….everyone chill.
spencer
November 11th, 2012
7:47 pm
“Is Turner too slow?” Mark asks. Yes, painfully slow, agonizingly slow, and that is the main problem facing the offense. I worried entering this year if that dhicken would come home to roost, and hoped that Snelling and/or Rogers might assume larger roles than they have. “Is the line too feeble?” Mark also asks. Well, of course it is — isn’t it the same line as last year, save for Konz replacing Reynolds (due to injury). But what line could hold up in short yardage situations for a running back that takes forever to get to the hole? He’s so slow he doesn’t even hit the line with much force any more. The line isn’t terrible! They have protected Ryan well most of the year. Turner just doesn’t cut it as a feature back any more. Period! And there isn’t much we can do about that — other than expand the roles of Snelling and/or Rogers.
phil
November 11th, 2012
7:48 pm
Blazerdawg has manure for his brains….
Losers accept defeat and chill.
USMC DAWG
November 11th, 2012
7:48 pm
“Who Dat hahahahhahahahahaha. Falcons suck monkey balls. Thank you and have a great day.”
Enjoy your DAY because the Saints are sliding DOWN, and the Falcons are a team on the rise.
Our near future is MUCH brighter than yours!
Go Jackets
November 11th, 2012
7:49 pm
Trap game….Smitty called it. That said, looks eerily like my Jackets…..awesome O tween the 20’s, then crunch time Tevin W/Matty Ice cant get 1 yard……
Skeptic
November 11th, 2012
7:49 pm
Gritz Blitz
Do you remember the caps that said, “Son, this is BIRD – DOG country” back in ‘80?
I’m not a Dawg, but I would like to have one of those. Must be a collectors item by now.
phil
November 11th, 2012
7:50 pm
Turner is still the burner…..
CantonDawg
November 11th, 2012
7:51 pm
I’d like to point out that the Falcons losing actually IS news for a change. This team wasn’t going 16-0, line play is not where it should be, our running backs aren’t effective and we cannot make a yard when we have to. Having said that, I do think we’ll win the division and get pummeled by SF or Da Bears in the playoffs.
morn
November 11th, 2012
7:51 pm
1) Roddy White has learned you don’t write checks your butt can’t cover.
2) The Falcons need a running back badly and a running game plan, a high school team could stop their up the middle runs 8 of 10 times
Saints in Atl
November 11th, 2012
7:51 pm
Beautiful! You have never won a Super Bowl, nor have you won a playoff game since Matt Ryan has been here. Do you remember your coach’s comments the last time the Saints were in the Georgia Dome? When we bust you all again in 2 weeks, he’ll be fired. Don’t worry about it. You’ll always have more Fortune 500 corps than we do, but make that argument in the business section! We bust your a,, every year!!!!!
Charles
November 11th, 2012
7:52 pm
Rodgers is slow? What game were you watching?
Michael
November 11th, 2012
7:54 pm
Tony Gonzalez was also open on that last drive in the endzone, but Ryan miss it and threw to Roddy White. Tampa Bay will be a tough game also. Let’s hope the Bears lose and go the 7-2 as far as the #1 seed go.
BobDawg
November 11th, 2012
7:54 pm
Why not line up Julio Jones in the backfield… Give him some more touches. Ryan can’t bail us out all the time…
Wink
November 11th, 2012
7:54 pm
Samuels did not lose this game on a penalty. He helped us get an early 10 point lead.
The Falcon fell to get points 3 times during the game with a 1st & Goal. The Samuels interception was at the 12, which suggests we may have not converted that one either.
Two of the those possessions were inside the final two minutes. That’s at least 8 plays to get us the needed 6 points to win the game.
We lose this game because:
1. Coaching…for two years we have been trying to learn or fix being able to score from the 1 yard line. Why not a QB sneak 4 times with Turner & Polite running up Ryan’s butt to push the pile 1 yard.
2. No running game….Turner is done when he comes to a stop at line; the play should be a slant dive away from the mass of bodies directly in front of him. What happen to the toss play to Rodgers, better yet Antonine Smith to get to the edge.
3. Tackling, Tackling, Tackling….the defensive team as a whole can’t tackle, they should watch a replay of this game to understand from Saints defensive what good TACKLING looks like.
4. Dunta Robinson was horrible in pass defense & tackling the whole game.
5. Nolan had no answer for Graham…see double move on Dunta Robinson for long reception.
6. No YAC after the catch today, why….Saints made great tackles to keep us out of the endzone….Douglas reception to the one & Gonzalez stood up on the two…but they both caught the ball…so you have tip your hat to defense for making the TACKLE.
7. Lastly, the refs making some bad calls…stealing the Douglas reception as an incomplete & not sure of the Penalty on Samuels should have been called taunting fans…seems Moore was mugging for the camera’s the whole game.
We are 8 & 1, but this team can’t run the ball or tackle. We are not winning in the box, which is a game to game problem for at least 2 years.
rollo lawson
November 11th, 2012
7:54 pm
Julio needs to learn how to play through bumps and bruises. If he would have stayed on the field, the game would have been over early. I’m sure New Orleans and Brees would have pretty much abandoned the run game. Our offense sputters when Julio is not in there. Remember the San Diego game where he missed a few series with the hand injury?
As far as the run game, our offensive line needs better players. Nobody likes to talk about it, but Todd McClure should have moved on two years ago. I get tired of seeing DTs knifing into the backfield on running plays as soon as the backs get the ball. We still miss Harvey Dahl.
Drew Brees
November 11th, 2012
7:54 pm
at least falcon D sacked me one time today and pressured me a few times: that’s progress to build on moving forward…see ya in 3 weeks!
spencer
November 11th, 2012
7:55 pm
Totally agree with O’Ventbrel, btw, When I see Turner turn to go east-west (as he does so friggin’ often), I know its gonna be a loss of two. He has served us well, but it is time to face reality. He is not going to help us get to or advance in the post-season.
BobDawg
November 11th, 2012
7:56 pm
Run some wildcat on the goal line… I’d rather have our offense operate from the 17 than the 2 yard line it seems…
jo
November 11th, 2012
7:58 pm
I have been saying every week the lack of running was going to bite the falcons big time! Today was a wake up call to fix the oline, or get another runner, or maybe both or this team will not win a playoff game. Ryan played like an mvp though so kudos to him.
Ed
November 11th, 2012
7:58 pm
It doesn’t matter what their win/loss record is today or at the end of the season the falcons are still suspect until they win in the playoffs…. and we’ve this before.
Tim
November 11th, 2012
7:59 pm
Falcons are poor running the football and poor stopping the run on defense. Those two facts do not bode well down the stretch. Very poor tackling throughout the game. Could be another early exit from the playoffs unless they can somehow reverse these patterns.
MTSeats
November 11th, 2012
7:59 pm
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$