Falcons and Chargers Recap: The Win Is The Thing
by Dave the Falconer on Dec 1, 2008 8:00 AM EST
in Editorial
23 comments
Again, the Falcons made things more difficult than they needed to be. Then the referees joined in the fun by donning Chargers jerseys and enthusiastically blowing their whistles. Then the Falcons continued to make it more difficult than it needed to be.
Here's the thing, though. We still won. Despite all the gaffes, the Falcons continued to win games, a skill they've continued to hone over the course of the season. It's gotten to the point where I'm not even vaguely surprised when they pull off some ridiculous win. It's just what they do.
So enjoy it. Next week, we'll get the New Orleans Saints again and take a shot at guaranteeing a winning season. For now, we're just the 8-4 Falcons, a criminally underrated team that is unimaginably awesome to watch, follow and love.
Join me after the jump for the breakdown.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Michael Turner looked like a tank out there. He dragged defenders with him and piled up more than 120 cheerful yards on the ground, carrying the load with 31 carries as well. I think there was probably more than one Chargers fan who, deep in his powder blue heart, wishes the team had Turner and not Tomlinson at this point.
- Jonathan Babineaux dotted the i's on his contract this weekend. Though he was credited with 1.5 sacks, I believe he was the main force behind them both and deserves credit for two. If Babs can emerge as a pass-rushing force from the middle of the line, the defense may transform in a way that will make Optimus Prime look stupid.
- There's been plenty of articles written about how awesome Matt Ryan is, but I'm not sure most people grasp the magnitude of his performance this season. He's looked like a rookie maybe three or four times this entire season, and most of them have been at the beginning of the year. Today, he calmly rallied the team, threw a couple of touchdowns and avoided turnovers. As noted more than once in the game thread, can you imagine if he gets better?
- The receiving corps was quality all day. Roddy White still doesn't look 100%--perhaps because he was injured yet again today--but he still hauled in 6 passes for 112 yards. Justin Peelle saw increased playing time today and made us all say "how in tarnation do you spell this guy's name?!" Harry Douglas also got in on the action with a touchdown catch where he was apparently covered by ghosts.
- The offensive line is blocking like a wall on fire. If we make the playoffs, you're going to be able to point to our stalwart linemen as a huge factor. Out of all the evolutions our line has gone through the last few years, this one may have been the most surprising.
- The whole defense--especially the secondary--deserves props for limiting the potent Chargers to a very low yardage total. Nicely done, boyos!
LOWLIGHTS
- The referees deserve a huge diss here. I don't care how impressive Mike Carey's mustache is, he and his crew butchered calls throughout this game. Some of the highlights included a questionable fumble call, a questionable call that kept Michael Turner out of the end zone, and Carey shooting John Abraham with a tranquilizer dart. Lovely game for these bozos.
- Harry Douglas coughing up the ball on a return illustrated again that our return game is our greatest weakness. If they can bumble forward for five yards on a punt return without coughing up the ball, I'm pretty thankful at this point.
- The offense continued to be inconsistent despite some very good numbers today. With red zone opportunities, the Falcons must get 7 points consistently. This game would've been all but over an hour earlier if they could've gotten Turner in the end zone or not had Matt Ryan overthrowing Mike Jenkins. I'm very nervous about this habit against the Bucs and Vikings, whose defenses are very strong.
THE WRAPUP
Game MVP: Very tough call here today, so I'll once again turn to you guys. Who is your Game MVP?
Game Theme Song: The 8-4 Song, which I have just now made up. Lyrics will follow.
One Thing To Take Away: We are guaranteed to finish .500 and with a game against the Rams approaching, pretty likely to finish with a winning record. You gotta love it.
Next Week: We're back to playing the Saints, who are ably represented by Canal Street Chronicles. Let's hope we can re-capture the magic (and/or skill) that allowed us to beat them up the last time.
Final Word: Sweet!
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Your blasphemy of Mike Carey and Mike Carey’s mustache will be the doom of us all.
We’ve heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know that is not true.
by iRonin on Dec 1, 2008 8:53 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
MVP
To me, it goes to Matt Ryan. No turnovers, clutch plays, he clearly moved the ball when the calls put the ball in his hand. +70% completion percentage, 2 TDs, and he chased down Eric Weddle, and might have caught him if not temporarily mesmerized by Mike Carey’s mustache. Oh, okay, he did knock that sucker over. I tell you what he probably took out every bad call on him in that one hit.
Matt gizflippen Ryan for MVP. For MVP of the League. And OROY.
We’ve heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know that is not true.
by iRonin on Dec 1, 2008 8:57 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Matt Ryan MVP
Matt Ryan definitely gets the game ball for this one, and I agree he should get consideration for the league MVP.
I do not think you gave nearly enough praise to the Falcons defense, San Diego came in averaging 342 yards of offense. The Falcons held them to 201 yards of offense. Philip Rivers has a QB rating of 100.5 for the season, and we held him to a 70 rating with a paltry 4.96 yards an attempt. That was probably our best defensive performance against a team with at least a pulse on offense.
This is not to even mention that all of San Diego’s points came on Falcon’s turnovers. This game should not have been nearly as close as the score indicates. We probably should have won this game by 3 touchdowns. Great game!
by Kenny483 on Dec 1, 2008 10:28 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
You know
if the Falcons make the playoffs, I have to say League MVP should go to Ryan despite his status as a rookie. We’re all pretty sure he’s a lock for the Rookie award (except Don Banks, who thinks the sun rises and sets in Joe Flacco) but if our Birds get in on the playoffs, I’m going to place the praise squarely on Ryan’s shoulders. Without him, we would not have won yesterday, or for that matter, the Bears game. That’d be two losses and a missed playoff chance should we be lucky enough to get there.
But as far as the game went, I’ll hand the game ball to Babs for letting Rivers know that a resign is a motivator to play better not worse.
I find it amazing that we could be looking at a sweep of the honors…
Coach of the Year: Smitty!
Rookie of the Year: Ryan!
GM of the Year: Dimitroff!
Owner of the Year: Blank!
"The nice thing about supporting a bedraggled-cum-decent team? Watching all those analysts eat their words."
by tlozwarlock on Dec 1, 2008 10:29 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Babs for letting Rivers know that a resign is a motivator to play better not worse.
Awww, snap!
We’ve heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know that is not true.
by iRonin on Dec 1, 2008 12:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Screw MVP...Matt Ryan for King of the World
Peter King currently has Matty Ice at #2 on his MVP watch. Yesterday’s un-Falcons-QB-like game lifted the Ice Man to #8 in the NFL in QB rating (91.2) I wonder what the record is for highest rookie QB rating. I’ll have to get on that. He also has over twice as many TDs as INTs, a phenomenal stat for a rookie. Joe Flacco is doing very well in Baltimore, but #2 is #1 in the Rookie of the Year race. Flacco and Chris Johnson are having great rookie years, but what Ryan has been able to do for the Falcons, the way he has far surpassed anyone’s expectations and turned this franchise completely around, is extraordinary. If Disney wrote a movie about a rookie QB changing the direction of a team as terribly in the dumps as the Falcons were, people wouldn’t even go see it because it would be too unbelievable. Now the only question to ask is, who plays the lead in Disney’s forthcoming ‘The Ice Man Cometh: The Matt Ryan Story’?
But I think the Burner should be getting some MVP love here as well. Third in the NFL in rushing yards (at 1208, trailing Portis by only 20) and tied with Lendale White for the TD lead with 13 (but with over twice the rushing yardage of White). He also has 6 100-yard games, including yesterday’s bruising performance on the road against the team that let him ago and against the back he played behind for 4 years (and outrushed by 96 yards). I told you, they shoulda gave that man his money. But he got something much better; he took their soul instead. He knocked them out of the playoff race (unless the win out and Denver loses out…neither of which is remotely possible), and hopped back on the plane to Atlanta to begin preparing for his next victims in the NO.
What a great win. If only the Aints and the Whackers had done their jobs yesterday. Drew Brees for MVP? Ha.
by Tron5000 on Dec 1, 2008 10:40 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Dan Marino
No real surprise, but Dan Marino set the benchmark for rookie quarterbacks. He had a rating of 96 his rookie year. He started nine games, and played in eleven. Still, you can make a pretty good argument that Ryan is the greatest rookie quarterback ever.
by Kenny483 on Dec 1, 2008 11:41 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
There is a difference, though
Marino came in as a rookie starter on the defending AFC champs. Ryan came in on a team that was in absolute shambles. The two situations they inherited could not be more different. Now, the season is only 3/4 of the way done, but I would have no problem with the argument that what Ryan has achieved thus far has been more impressive than what Marino did, despite what the numbers may say.
by SG Standard on Dec 1, 2008 12:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Not going to get an argument from me
I think Ryan is easily the greatest rookie QB I have ever seen. Marino definitely played on a much more talented team. Marino would take that same team to a Super Bowl, that next year.
by Kenny483 on Dec 1, 2008 4:28 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
As Always
I couldn’t see the game on TV here in Portland. I really enjoy watching the stat tracker and spending time with you all. Just based on stats and the final drive to RUN out the clock i would recommend Turner as MVP but I wouldn’t argue if the ICEMAN was named instead.
Both had very good games but Turner was a workhorse that just seemed to get better and better as the game wore on.
by Funballad on Dec 1, 2008 11:08 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Turner knows how to open and close games.
Turner’s 2 biggest rushing quarters are the first and fourth. In the first quarter, Turner has 410 rushing yards at a 5.0 clip and 3 TDs. In the fourth quarter, the Burner has put up 245 yards at a 4.8 yd average and 5 TDs.
But my favorite Michael Turner stat? 6.3 yard average and 2 TDs on 4th down. Granted, he’s only run 4 times on 4th down (including yesterday’s stuff at the goal line), but that’s big.
by Tron5000 on Dec 1, 2008 11:34 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Roddy moving up
Rowdy Roddy White now leads the NFL in receiving yards. Houston’s Andre Johnson trails by 14 and plays tonight, so let’s all pull for that Jags D to stuff Johnson all night. Maybe he’ll get a cold or something and miss the game. But for 1 day at least, Roddy White sits atop the NFL receiving charts. Life is beautiful.
by Tron5000 on Dec 1, 2008 11:43 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Defense
Ryan was awesome, Burner was pretty good though he got stuffed quite a few times, and I think the fumble call was total BS, but you have to give the MVP to the defense on this one. The offense played very well aside from turnovers and more red zone woes, but despite us giving SD every chance in the world to take this game, the defense continually said hellz no to that and swatted the Chargers back in the face. If SD had been able to do anything at all on offense we lose this game due to the turnovers, but the defense was lights MFin out, and that is why we celebrate victory. The key stat, all 16 of their points were off of turnovers, as in, the defense did not let them legitimately drive the field the entire game. I think Rivers went like one and a half quarters without completing a pass. Go D.
In addition, we have to nip these mistakes out of here, without the mistakes this would have been like the Raiders game, it should have been something like 35-3, but turnovers kept them in this. Cannot keep making these mistakes, it will get us eventually.
by BVaz on Dec 1, 2008 11:58 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Fun Fact from ESPN
I just read this on the ESPN blog network, and I think it shows that these Falcons are moving in a great direction:
This was the 84th game in the Falcons history where the Falcons had turned the ball over three times. The record in the previous 83 games, 0-83.
Just shows that Mike Smith, Matty Ice, The Burner, and The Bend but don’t break Defense are taking this team in a good direction…..Go Falcons
by Phizzzle on Dec 1, 2008 12:48 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
That's ridiculous
Both that it’s happened 83 times and that we had yet to win such a game. Pat Yasinkas had this to say about that stat, as well as a couple lines on Smitty and Burner, whose stocks are “up” according to Yasinkas:
"Here’s something very interesting from ESPN Stats & Analysis. Sunday was the 84th time in Atlanta franchise history the Falcons had at least three more giveaways than takeaways in a regular-season game.
“They lost the first 83 games. They had three more turnovers than the Chargers on Sunday, but came away with a victory. What’s it mean? Further proof that these aren’t your father’s Atlanta Falcons. With Mike Smith, this franchise is going to find ways to win.”
“Michael Turner. The Atlanta running back outperformed LaDainian Tomlinson, the guy he backed up for four years. There are a lot of names getting thrown around for Most Valuable Player. Maybe it’s time to start including Turner’s name in that conversation.”
“Mike Smith. If this guy’s not coach of the year, there shouldn’t be a coach of the year award.”
I do so enjoy me some national media love.
by Tron5000 on Dec 1, 2008 3:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Re: The Refs
I don’t really get angry at referee’s often particuarly this year…but this game I was very angry. Just in the spotting of the ball the chargers got spots that IMO were extremly generous. I don’t expect any calls to go our way against New Orleans next week eithier.
by Grayson on Dec 1, 2008 3:54 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
John Abraham
casually says “ROFL”
We’ve heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know that is not true.
by iRonin on Dec 1, 2008 4:10 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Davis is like
“Why you trying to bitch slappa me fool!”
by Grayson on Dec 3, 2008 4:57 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Growth experience
The way the team never quit in the face of adversity impressed me. There were SO many reasons for them to get down (some self-inflicted), yet they always hung in there. Not many young teams show such maturity, San Diego is much better than their record. This game will help us somewhere down the road. Go Falcons!
by tom slick on Dec 1, 2008 6:23 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
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