The Falcoholic: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Sports blogs for fans, by fans.
Around SBN: Follow the @sbnation MMA Twitter List

More great SB Nation Blogs

Baseball

Football

Basketball

College

Hockey

Soccer

Combat Sports

Golf

General

Contact Dave

For any concerns, thoughts or kudos on The Falcoholic or the Atlanta Falcons in general, e-mail Dave at davethefalconer@yahoo.com.

Atlanta Falcons Injuries

Probable

Player Injury Type Injury Date
Keith Zinger back 11/06/2009

Questionable

Player Injury Type Injury Date
John Abraham foot 11/06/2009
Jonathan Babineaux ankle 11/06/2009
Brian Finneran ankle 11/06/2009
Jerious Norwood hip 11/06/2009
Jason Snelling hamstring 11/06/2009
Eric Weems ankle 11/06/2009
Roddy White knee 11/06/2009
Sam Baker ankle 11/06/2009
Curtis Lofton knee 11/06/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player Injury Type Injury Date
Charlie Peprah knee 09/05/2009
Harry Douglas knee 08/07/2009
Peria Jerry knee 09/21/2009
William Moore hamstring 10/27/2009

Remaining Opponent Records Week 9

Since Sunday marks the halfway point for our season, I decided to take a gander at the current records of our remaining opponents. What did I gleam? We're (currently) facing only three opponents with winning records: NYG, PHI, and NO. The Jets are on the bubble at 4 and 4. Since they're on their BYE this weekend, don't expect any movement from them. Here's how the schedule trends:

Scheduleweek9_medium

As it stands, our next marquee game (if current trends continue) will be the game against the Giants. I'm not discounting our soon-to-come NFC bout with the Panthers on their own turf, but the Giants are likely the next team we face with a winning record.

Take note of the stretch of games after the first Bucs game. We face the Eagles, the Saints, and the Jets, all who (if they continue to win) will have winning records when we face them. That's a pretty brutal stretch, but keep in mind that two of those three games are in Atlanta.

Here's a breakdown of it all, for those of you that like numbers.

TEAM W L % NEXT OPP
Redskins 2 5 0.286 Falcons
Panthers 3 4 0.429 Saints
Giants 5 3 0.625 Chargers
Bucs 0 7 0.000 Packers
Eagles 5 2 0.714 Cowboys
Saints 7 0 1.000 Panthers
Jets 4 4 0.500 BYE
Bills 3 5 0.375 BYE
Bucs 0 7 0.000 Packers

Combined Remaining Opponent Record: 29-37 (0.439)

Games against winning teams: 3

Games against losing teams: 6

20 comments  |  2 recs |

A Very Falcoholic Discussion: John Abraham

John Abraham SMASH! (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

More photos » by Paul Sakuma - AP

John Abraham SMASH! (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

The topic today is one John Erasmus Ezekiel Awesome Abraham, our former pass-rushing master who has not quite lived up to his billing thus far this year.

What inspired me to spark this discussion, honestly, was a question from a commenter over at Hogs Haven about my expectations for Abraham on Sunday. While their question was light-hearted—at least I hope it was, considering they were asking if I predicted 3+ sacks from the guy—it got me to thinking about Abraham's relatively low sack total and whether he might be entering the decline phase of his career.

Rather than write a whole big post where I basically guessed, I thought I'd turn to you, the reader, for a more educated guess. Is Abraham slowing down after a run of excellence, or is it just a slow start to the season? Can he kill Jason Campbell on Sunday, or just maim him?

Your call.

24 comments  |  0 recs |

Falcons Lose Long Snapper Mike Schneck For The Season

Another day, another injury.

Many of you are probably relieved that these aren't star players going down, and with good reason. Still, Mike Schneck was quietly a very good player in his limited role, and replacement Bryan Pittman will have to do just as well. With a long snapper, invisibility is your best trait. If you do your job well, nobody notices you, and during his time on the time, Schneck was rarely visible. As a free agent after the season, he may not be coming back.

Still....these injuries, man. They trouble me.

22 comments  |  0 recs

A Look Ahead: Electric Boogaloo

Well gang, the new layout has seemingly eaten my Observations post. The transition happened around the time I was doing the post and it's disappeared, lost forever in that great todash space between our servers and your minds. If any of you get that reference, five points to Falcondor. Here are my observations in a quick nutshell:

  • "Grimes. Air Grimes."
  • Heart, thy name is Falcons Defense.
  • Matty Ice gets rattled, Falcons lose game. Bad formula.
  • Coy Wire: determination, passion, hunger defined. On the fringe? Never again.
  • THE BURNER RETURNETH
  • Rematch is guaranteed. Outcome is not. Dwell on that, NOLA.
  • The Falcons are on a precipice. This is the turning point of the season. If Falcons come out determined, angry, vengeful, and spittin, cussin' mad, we've got a wonderful half season ahead of us. If they come out dejected, tired, and mediocre, we're in for a long, long winter of discontent.

Skins_medium

Washington Redskins 
Where: Georgia Dome
When: Sunday November 8th, 2009 @ 1:00pm
Network: FOX
Why: We need at least one guaranteed win this year!

Importance: Serious Business. Why? We just lost two in a row for the first time since Smith and Co. took over. Do not, I repeat, do not expect it to happen again any time soon.

Notes: The Redskins D is perceived to be semi-fantastic. So was San Francisco's. Falcons are angry, determined. Redskins are a half-season away from an overhaul. Do the math. It ain't pretty.

The Falcons win if: they perform at least on a third of the level they did Monday night.

The Redskins win if: Falcons are tired after a short week. Trap game? Nah.

Prediction: Falcons demolish them, start very long winning streak.

Panth_medium

Carolina Panthers Part Deux
Where: Bank of America Stadium
When: Sunday November 15th, 2009 @ 1:00pm
Network: FOX
Why: Divisional Game

Importance: Serious Business, so we can keep them at the near-bottom of the NFC South pile

Notes: Carolina may actually be gelling by this time. still...

The Falcons Win If: They continue to show the maturity and poise and outright bombasticness they showed Monday night.

The Panthers Win If: The Falcons lay another Road-Game Egg (tm).

Prediction: Falcons win. 

Continue reading this post »

19 comments  |  0 recs |

Falcons Place S Jamaal Fudge On I.R., Sign S Charlie Peprah

Some years even your depth can't escape the dreaded injury bug.

That's right, folks, that cursed little bastard has dug his plague-encrusted fangs into Jamaal Fudge, knocking everybody's favorite backup safety out for the rest of the season. This is especially unusual because the team never disclosed what happened to Fudge, who had mostly played his time out on special teams in 2009. We wish him well.

His replacement is kind of an intriguing guy, or at least he would be if he wasn't doomed to spend the rest of the season warming the bench. Charlie Peprah was an effective special teamer for the Green Bay Packers, jarring two fumbles loose in 2007 and generating 37 total tackles during his three years there, and he could be a valuable piece of our kickoff return coverage team. If nothing else, his name will be fun to say for the rest of the season. Peprah peprah peprah.

In the big scheme of things, this is a blip on the back of an atom zipping its way through the universe, but it does illustrate just how heavily we've been hit by injuries this season. Let's hope Fudge is the end of it.

Thoughts?

8 comments  |  0 recs |

40452598

Grimes' Mega Leap
via @lazmorph
I will burn this into my memory. Brent Grimes makes Jordan's half-court dunks look like child's play.

2 days ago Slideshow_777859_rook6_tiny tlozwarlock 22 comments 3 recs

SB Nation Has New Format!

My guess is that you already noticed that, but I thought I'd give you the opportunity for some feedback. If you like it or hate it, please send me an e-mail at davethefalconer@yahoo.com. Thanks guys.

3 days ago Thefalcoholic_tiny Dave the Falconer 17 comments 0 recs

Falcons And Saints Recap: Losing Is Never Easy

I believed.

At various points in last night's game against the Saints, I really believed the Falcons were going to roar back and win it. All the signs were there. The defense was buckling down. The offense was moving efficiently. We looked nigh invincible some drives. It was a beautiful thing.

And then, as Chinua Achebe wrote, things fall apart.

It was a real gut punch of a game in that way. We weren't widely expected to be able to hang with the Saints, perhaps the league's toughest team, and yet that's exactly what the Falcons did. Losing a close game against a division rival is rough enough, but this loss may also have squashed our hopes of winning the division. I'm getting bummed out just typing that.

Still, as many of you pointed out, there's so many things we can take pride in after Monday. Not just that we kept the score close, but that we picked Drew Brees, managed a respectable defensive effort and finally unleashed Michael Turner. The fact that we played them so well that a win at the Georgia Dome in a few weeks suddenly seems eminently possible. The realization that we can hang in there with the very best is a comforting one as we continue our hunt for a playoff spot, and it's enough to make those losses against the Patriots and Cowboys sting a bit less. This is still a mighty interesting season, and I for one am looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

Continue reading this post »

55 comments  |  0 recs |

More Posts from The Falcoholic

Explore Full Archive Next Page


User Tools

A Falcoholic Primer

Where Falcons fans come to roost.

Start posting about the Falcons »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recommended FanPosts

Thricealchemyindex_small
Offensive Line Performance
Superbowl_small
Ask Hogs Haven: Your Redskins Questions Answered...
Tom_slick_small
Professor Frink’s Power Rankings, Week 8
Thricealchemyindex_small
Digging Deeper into the Box Score: Week 7
Tom_slick_small
Professor Frink’s Power Rankings, Week 7

Recent FanPosts

Tom_slick_small
Professor Frink Wants YOU!
Small
Falcons 36, Saints 24
Slideshow_777859_rook6_small
tloz' Pre-Game Pep Up
Small
interesting story
Melodys_pictures_001_small
falcons/saints history/falcons victory monday night
52007s_small
Have We Jumped the Gun On Our Comrade Leader?

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

Latest NFL Headlines from SB Nation

Acme Packing Company
Friday Injury Report: Green Bay Packers at Tampa
Niners Nation
Golden Nuggets: Gannon? Meh.
Bolts From The Blue
Chargers by the (Jersey) Numbers: #40

FanShots

Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.

Recommended FanShots

Grimes' Mega Leap
via @lazmorph
I will burn this into my memory. Brent Grimes makes Jordan's half-court dunks look like child's play.
Scout.com Interviews Jason Snelling

Recent FanShots

Harvey Dahl officially not NFL's dirtiest player
Falcons-Cowboys most watched sporting event since Super Bowl
Ex-Football Exec Sounds the Alarm re: Head Trauma
William Moore done for the year
Falcons Signing Aaron Stecker
Greg Cosell's Coaching Tape Notes
NFL London 2009 - this Sunday
Atlanta's Red Zone Defense
Here's a DB the Falcons DON'T need
Roddy's 15 Yard Penalty explained by coach Smith

+ New FanShot All FanShots >

NFC South Standings

W L T PF PA
New Orleans 7 0 0 273 154
Atlanta 4 3 0 171 149
Carolina 3 4 0 128 166
Tampa Bay 0 7 0 96 203

(updated 11.3.2009 at 4:44 AM EST)

Team Stats - Game Averages

Pts Yrds Pass Rush
Off 24.4 339.9 (17th) 228.7 (14th) 111.1 (17th)
Def 21.3 378.1 (29th) 256.4 (31st) 121.7 (23rd)

Atlanta Falcons News

Web Stuff

Add to Technorati Favorites


BlogBurst.com

Team Stats - Game Averages

Pts Yrds Pass Rush
Off 24.4 339.9 (17th) 228.7 (14th) 111.1 (17th)
Def 21.3 378.1 (29th) 256.4 (31st) 121.7 (23rd)

Baron Of All He Blogs

Thefalcoholic_small Dave the Falconer

Marquis Of Musings

Slideshow_777859_rook6_small tlozwarlock