The Season Begins: Falcons vs. Lions Open Thread
by Dave Choate on Sep 7, 2008 6:00 AM EDT
in Events
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PrintYou may feel like you've wandered through the desert. For months now, you've subsisted on the Olympics (whatever they are) and baseball, drinking from pre-season games like a thirsty man from a goblet. But no more, friend.
Today the season begins as it should, with what promises to be a close game between two non-bitter rivals. The Falcons will test out their new look against one of the NFL's perennial punching bags, who nonetheless are favored against our beloved Birds. Matt Ryan will get his first taste of regular season action this afternoon, and we'll see how a very young team holds up.
Join me after the jump to rejoice in what the autumn has brought us!
Who? Atlanta Falcons versus Detroit Lions, 1 p.m. ET
Where? Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
Weather? Doesn't matter.
Fun Fact? Did you hear that Tatum Bell stole Rudi Johnson's bags? That's the very definition of fun.
Injuries? The Falcons say Alex Stepanovich (C) is doubtful, while needed backups Thomas DeCoud (S) and Coy Wire (LB) are questionable. I expect to see both of the latter saddle up. The Lions aren't sure what to expect from Dan Campbell (TE) and backup QB Drew Stanton, who are both probable.
Odds? Detroit over Atlanta 3.0, Over/Under 41.0
Foe? Be sure to stop by Pride of Detroit, whose formatting skills put mine neatly to shame. He'll be tracking and analyzing the game as we go.
GO FALCONS! Let's pounce on these Lions!
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Check the dictionary
You may feel like you’ve wandered through the desert. For months now, you’ve subsided on the Olympics (whatever they are) and baseball, drinking from pre-season games like a thirsty man from a goblet. But no more, friend.
If you’re going to blog, keep a dictionary close by. “Subside” is not the word you’re looking for; “subsist” is.
Subside – 1. to sink to a low or lower level.
2. to become quiet, less active, or less violent; abate: The laughter subsided.
3. to sink or fall to the bottom; settle; precipitate: to cause coffee grounds to subside.
Subsist – verb (used without object) 1. to exist; continue in existence.
2. to remain alive; live, as on food, resources, etc.
3. to have existence in, or by reason of, something.
Yay
This guy is going to be REALLY fun to have around.
In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.
Watching the Andy Griffith show...
…and Barney Fife comes to mind, for some reason.
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
If you're going to have a first pass
Of your career, it might as well be that one. I don’t know what his career’s going to look like, but I just practically jumped out of my chair.
Lions moving easily
The defense is going to be sorely tested today. Lot of weapons on that team, especially with Calvin Johnson healthy.
You got me
I am glad now. I shouldn’t have doubted him.
And good to see you, man. You’ve been scarce of late!
Punt
And Jennings gets 10 yards on the return. If we could move as quickly as we did last time, 14 points would a nice cushion.
Ahhh...
Got to love a new season. Can you smell the artificial turf?
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
Sweet Mother of God!
Did Blank bribe the Lion defense or something? Way to get the team behind the new acquisitions.
Words completely fail me
I don’t know whether to yell or jump or throw a party. Who cares? This is great!
Ball control
Good job executing the short game so far. Ryan found the seam in the zone well on the TD.
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
Mularky
I like his play calling so far. Pretty creative.
In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.
Michael Turner
We won’t know about his health until later in the season, but I’d like to invite his detractors to kiss my ass.
I don't know what to do
when this happens. We’ve had so little practice…
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
Falcons 62, Saints 7
In 1973. Great start, though.
Even the defense seems energized now.
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
Excuses, excuses
Our QB for that game was named Dick Shiner. Swear to God.
You know THAT man was tough.
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
M. Turner
Is the greatest running back to ever live.
OK, that’s an exaggeration, but holy crap he is unstoppable today!
In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.
Keep it in context
Probably a little of both.
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
Liking Grimes
Made a couple plays and has kept that giraffe of a WR in check.
In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.
Grimes looks good
Our secondary in general isn’t putting the fear of God into Kitna, but this is a talented offense we’re facing.
Kitna is blowing a gasket!
Shades of a Jeff George style blow up?
In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.
Bah
Lions score. 21-7 Falcons with the half coming up soon.
The Falcons will just have to regroup a little and come out firing to keep the lead as big as it is.
Dag
Let’s hope we come back and bust them in the mouth with this next drive.
In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.
News around the league
Tom Brady is hurt, with shades of Trent Green’s horrific knee injury.
Bucs and Saints playing a close one.
Looks bad for Brady
If I’m seeing the picture at ESPN.com correctly, it’s pretty ugly. Good luck Tom.
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
Uh oh
I was so high off the beginning of this game that I feel ill-prepared for us not moving the ball.
This just in...
Matt Ryan just threw his first incompletion. with 3 minutes left in the 2nd quarter.
In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.
Jennings
Dumb ass mistake on PR, could have cost us a TD.
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
Same here
I thought he was horrible last year in the return game.
In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.
Holy jack
Anyone checked McNabb’s stat line so far? 14-20 274 yards 3 TD’s in the first half.
In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.
Damnit
Here we go again. I get the feeling the secondary is going to be our Achilles heel all year long.
What I was afraid of
The Lions seem to have figured out that their WR’s are about 3 feet taller than our DB’s.
In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.
Grimey
Beat on TD. Great catch though.
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
A couple more of those quick fire TDs would be nice
But I would more than settle for a win of any kind.
I have to get on the road for a few
I’m hoping to be back for the end of the game. Keep those home fires burning until I get back, guys, and thanks for coming out.
2nd half
I hope they get to pounding Turner and Norwood.
In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.
Compared to Andersen
Elam could be worth a couple of extra games a year with his added range.
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
And Kitna slides for a...
…short of the first down. Bad play, good break.
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
Nice catch Roddy!
Stayed with it well, which he didn’t always do in the past.
TD Norwood! Woo hoo!
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
Loving the running game!!!
Tuner/Norwood is blowing up!
In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.
Come on, defense
Can’t stop the run right now. I need an antacid.
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
Chris Houston
Is friggin killing. Two penalties that result in a 1st and goal at the 1.
In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.
Momentum killer
Detroit answered our last TD with ease. Thanks for helping, Houston.
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
Second or third penalty on him today.
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
I would be remiss
If I didn’t mention that Matt Ryan is doing everything he’s been asked to do. Very impressed with the kid.
Nice throw
under pressure to Turner before the TD was called back.
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
Turner!
Don’t know how he could be more impressive.
Unless he can fly.
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
Although.....
Another score and a few more yards and I will have to revert to my previous statement.
In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.
I'll take a field goal
But it’d be nice if the Falcons could make their lead an even two TDs or better.
Here's all you need to know about Adam Jennings
His 3.2 yard punt return average today is bettered by backup center Ben Wilkerson, who returned a kick 10 yards.
Good drive
Except for the penalty that cost 4 points. We’ll win if Turner keeps producing.
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
Jamaal Anderson's first...
…HALF sack!
Oh, happy day!
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
Stay healthy, John
The announcer said he’s ‘limped off’ the field a few times today? He doesn’t look too concerned.
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
Another inspiring return
Two yards from Jennings. In a related news item, we could’ve used that roster spot for somebody else.
What were they thinking?
I like most of their decisions, this one baffles me.
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
News from around the league
Vince Young hurt, Titans fans terrified to hear that Kerry Collins is in the game.
Turner breaks Riggs' single game rushing record
As Riggs dabs away tears. You’re a good sport, Gerald.
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
New team record!!!!!!!!
Turner just broke Gerald Riggs’ single game rushing record or 202 yards.
In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.
This is exactly how it should work
Norwood getting plenty of work, Matt Ryan being allowed to just manage the game and make a few key throws when needed. It won’t always work, but when it does the Falcons are going to win football games.
Ball control is the key
Because we need to keep that defense off the field.
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
What a coincidence! Alert the media...
Gerald Riggs set that Falcons’ rushing record in HIS first game as a starter for the Falcons in 1984.
Sometimes it’s good to be an old fart, you remember stuff like this…
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198409020nor.htm
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
Hope you saw...
…the video of Riggs pretending to wipe away his tears when they announced the record. Very funny and very classy.
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
So happy
I admit it, I am a little emotional here. What a game. This will go down as one of my fave Falcons games of alltime. 300 plus rushing yards, almost 500 yards of total offense. Amazing. So happy now.
In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.
You couldn't ask for a better start
W in the books. Woo hoo!
"There's no such word as 'quit' in swamp buggy racing, Marigold"
And classy to kneel when they could've gotten Norwood 100
I’m a little emotional myself. I never dreamed we’d see a game like this in 2008, much less the first game. Enjoy it, guys.
I know it's hard, but...
…let’s try to keep most of this in perspective here. It was still the Lions who aren’t exactly playoff caliber. That being said though…
HOLY F"ING SHE-ITE! If this doesn’t make a fan want to scream, “PLAYOFFS HERE WE COME!” then I don’t know what will. Okay, maybe about nine more wins like this one would do it, but I just can’t seem to wrap my mind around the stats I’m looking at. It absolutely kills me that I didn’t get to watch the game. I didn’t even bother in looking into getting an NFL package because I didn’t feel the misery would be worth the money, but this…well, this just about jumps off the computer screen and slaps my head off for being so silly. Damn me, why did I buy those shiny new bowling shoes instead!!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
Haha, seriously, I can barely conatain myself and the only things holding me from saying playoff bound are that it was only the Lions, it’s week one and teams will figure us out sooner rather than later, and you know damn well that as soon as we make that kind of bold proclamation that Murphy’s Law will kick in and we will promptly lose six in a row.
But, just from looking at the stats and reading the reviews of the game, it looks as though the running game will be solid all year long baring the obvious catastrophic injury and that Ryan might actually be the savior of the franchise, much less the stupid face of it, whatever that means. Two more games like this and I will humbly admit that no matter how bad some decisions have looked, there is a clear reasoning behind every single one and that my questioning of this management staff will end. At least until they screw it up, which given this teams storied past, is never far from a possibility.
Also, I work with a bunch of Miami, Oakland, and KC fans. Gawd this is going to be a great season for me!!!
I can't beleive it.....it's me, I'm sure
I can’t believe I can actually….well…..believe in the falcons again. I’m not ready to say this team will win more games than it loses, but they sure looked good yesterday. I really don’t think a 8-8 season is out of reach. We have so many playmakers (or is it just coaching?) now compared to last year. In my first post I was wondering what we’ll do with the rights of MVick. I still think he will be coveted by other teams ( I mean that in the way they coveted A.Jones), but I don’t think he could be used as a HB/QB option right now. Unless he learns to play slot receiver (Which I expect HDouglas to be by season’s end) he doesn’t have a place now. I hope Atlanta embraces Ryan. He deserves a shot. He looked very poised yesterday, and threw the ball where it had to be thrown. Turner is a absolute BEAST.
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