Falcons Beat Lions, 34-21

by Dave Choate on Sep 7, 2008 8:00 PM EDT in Falcons News

It's days like today that make me incredibly proud to be a Falcons fan.

Consider this a little post-game love for Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, John Abraham and the rest of the crew. Turner deserves big ups for breaking the single game rushing record of Gerald Riggs, one of the franchise's greats, and just generally destroyed the Lions. Ryan showed a great rapport with receivers and did what was needed in his limited opportunities to pass. The coaching staff deserves enormous kudos for creative play calling and keeping Ryan mostly out of danger.

If not for the secondary and some stupid penalties, this game likely would've been a complete blowout. The defense will be a concern with so many young corners flying around out there, but I thought Brent Grimes acquitted himself very well. Chris Houston did not, and it seems inevitable that Chevis Jackson or Domonique Foxworth will be breathing down his neck at some point this season. Adam Jennings also shouldn't be returning anything more than a t-shirt to Macy's, but we'll tackle that in greater detail later this week.

The most important thing here is that we won, period. Next on the list is that we did so convincingly against a bad team, and that gives us a good shot of sticking around against the average and good ones. Suddenly 5 or 6 wins doesn't seem quite so crazily optimistic, does it?

Rejoice in this glorious day and be sure to leave your comments below.

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I R HAPPY

I picked them to win five and even though after this strong showing I would love nothing more than to throw a few more wins in there, I think I’ll hold on it for now. We have a pretty tough schedule all things considered. One thing is certain though, the NFC South just got put on notice and there are a lot of games that will end up being closer than expected.

by Jesse28 on Sep 7, 2008 8:20 PM EDT reply actions

W!

I’m a Falcons fan currently at the University of Southern California, so there was absolutely no way I was gonna see this game. But I woke up at 10 AM anyway so I could watch the Bucs/Saints on Fox and get score updates and game breaks on the Falcs. Seeing them go up 21-0 in the 1st quarter, hearing about Turner’s record day, Matty Ice’s first pass ever, and totaling close to almost 500 yards of offense all made this an awesome experience even if I couldn’t see it happen. Even if a game like this is a minority this year, hopefully it is a sign of what this team will become after its many inexperienced players gain playing time and chemistry. More games like this and the millenium that was 2007 will definitely begin to fade from my mind.

by customsox927 on Sep 7, 2008 8:23 PM EDT reply actions