Observations from Section 326: ATL vs TB
by Adam Schultz on Nov 30, 2009 12:57 PM EST
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PrintRemember when the Falcons were up 10-0 in the second quarter after Ryan had limped off to the sideline? There was a feeling of calm in the stadium; it was soothing, warming, welcoming. It also lasted all of a TV timeout. Tampa came out the next drive and fired off two successful passes, traveling 80 yards for a score in all of 14 seconds. And then a man collapsed in the adjacent section. I was too busy texting Dave about how awesome it was to see Jerious take a shuffle pass when iRonin, ever the watchful observer, noticed EMTs rushing into a crowd of people. One man was fanning his gameday towel, another was holding the victim upright.
So thank you Josh Freeman and our secondary; you actually made a full grown man lose consciousness with your performance on the field yesterday. On to business.
- Dave's said it, now I'm saying it. Regardless of how Michael Turner felt yesterday, he should have been on the sideline in sweats.
- Matty, Matty, Matty. Back in my playing days, we called a stubbed toe a lucky break (in lieu of worse ailments), not a game-ending injury. I know he has to put weight on it to throw, but seeing as he's been throwing off his back foot most of the time anyway...
- At one point, iRonin shouted "Come on, Defense!" I turned to him and asked "What defense?" and he nodded sagely. In all seriousness, our defense made yet another mediocre quarterback look outstanding. That's now two bad QBs so far that have had banner days against our secondary. Jake Delhomme looked amazing against us last week. Let that sink in. Stings, doesn't it?
- Redman is as Redman does: holds on to the ball too long but throws a mighty fine spiral. He was both good and bad in his first major playing time since pre-season. I'm not complaining too much about the man that helped win a game that we were desperately trying to lose.
- Jerious Norwood is back, but for Pete's sake don't send him up the middle. His strength is on the screen and outside run. Durrrr.
- Why is John Abraham dropping into coverage 30% of the time? Is it because every team double or triple teams him now? Seriously, in the immortal words of iRonin, "That's like trying to tow a boat with a Ferrari." Total misuse of resources.
- Roddy and Gonzo were their usual selves. Can't complain much about them.
- The officiating was, as has been a recurring theme on this feature, absolutely atrocious. So nyah to the zebras.
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Misuse of resources?
I’ve been noticing that with increasing frequency. Of course, they could just be covering for the fact that Abraham is losing his touch as a pass rusher…
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DOH!
Lets hope that this is far from the truth.
Life is a garden. Dig it!
by Hardcore Falcon on Nov 30, 2009 1:07 PM EST up reply actions
Confidence
Nothing helps him improve as a pass rusher like letting him get beat in coverage. If he’s not quick enough to beat an LT, how is he supposed to cover a TE or RB?
I’d prefer him sucking some at rushing than sucking completely at coverage. He should be driving the backfield every passing down.
Maybe there is no Heaven. Or maybe this is all pure gibberish — a product of the demented imagination of a lazy drunken hillbilly with a heart full of hate who has found a way to live out where the real winds blow — to sleep late, have fun, get wild, drink whisky, and drive fast on empty streets with nothing in mind except falling in love and not getting arrested...Res ipsa loquitur. Let the good times roll.
by iRonin on Nov 30, 2009 1:17 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I agree with you
But I can’t think of any other reasonable explanations. This team lacks a pass rush, he’s our best pass rusher on paper and yet he’s dropping back into coverage. That defies logic.
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That would make some sense
But it’s difficult to tell when they’re pushing the blitz because the pressure they get is almost nonexistent.
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You're right
I’m not sure how many successful blitzes we’ve had this year but it can’t be many. We only have 21 sacks this season.
This is why
We’ve discussed this in length already. BVG uses the zone blitz almost exclusively and it’s a crutch he’s knwon for. The reason you probably don’t notice the blitz is because you are looking in all the wrong places. Instead of looking at the LB look at the corner and safety because that is who BVG uses in his zone blitzes.
Go back through Orang3b’s posts as to the large percentage of plays that Abraham is being dropped into coverage during pass plays. It’s the dumbest thing and unfortunately I don’t think BVG knows how to do anything else. I understand he might be trying to confuse the offense to help protect our weak secondary, but this late in the season there is more than enough film on it that it is being completely negated. All the opponents have to do is find the man being covered by Abraham or whoever the d-lineman is that drops and there’s your open man.
Personally, I’ve never been a fan of BVG so maybe someone will talk him into changing it before we end up with a losing season.
Corey Zickefoose: I think they should still be able to play football, regardless. Tennessee is my place. You know, it's my football team.
Reporter: Even after they put a gun in your face, you say let them play football?
Corey Zickefoose: Yeah. It's Tennessee. That's the way it is sometimes.
Welcome to the SEC!
I don't expect it to change
It’s obviously his preferred type of blitz package, and this late in the season what you see is probably what you get. It’s not a bad strategy on face value (send 2 extra rushers from one side, but protect the secondary by dropping someone unexpected so there’s still 6 in coverage), but it’s called too frequently (IMO) and they’re constantly tipping their hand, whether the DE that’s going to drop is in a standing position (as opposed to his 3 point stance), or the Linebacker/Safety/Cornerbacks that are rushing will walk up and crowd close to the Line of Scrimmage early pre-snap. I agree that the intent might be to “confuse the offense”, but it sure looks like it is easily identified and exploited.
"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein
it seems as if
whatever our D is doing, it’s easily identified and exploited. and with lots of time QB’s are feasting on us. just imagine how McNabb will read our defence with his experience…
Agreed
I don’t see it changing either, which is unfortunate.
Corey Zickefoose: I think they should still be able to play football, regardless. Tennessee is my place. You know, it's my football team.
Reporter: Even after they put a gun in your face, you say let them play football?
Corey Zickefoose: Yeah. It's Tennessee. That's the way it is sometimes.
Welcome to the SEC!
You're correct
My memory isn’t what it used to be.
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I think Matt's injury is a little worse than a stubbed toe
He was having trouble putting weight on it just to walk back to the locker room. Even if it was a fairly light injury (hard to say at this point, really), I’d rather him have sat out against a team that Redman could beat than risk worsening the injury and not having him later when we need him.
Absolutely
And to people complaining that Matthew Stafford played through a separated shoulder last week and Ryan couldn’t play through turf toe (and I have seen this argument made, though not necessarily on this site), there’s a large difference between one play and an entire game. If Ryan had gotten injured on the second-to-last play of the GW TD drive, I’m pretty sure he’d have gone back out there…and if Stafford had gotten injured on the first drive, I’m pretty sure he would’ve been out the rest of the game.
A
hang nail at best…
Life is a garden. Dig it!
by Hardcore Falcon on Nov 30, 2009 2:17 PM EST up reply actions
Defense
The Falcons defense is absolutely terrible, there is no pass rush to speak of, and Tampa Bay just had their second best offensive performance of the year. Tampa Bay averaged 5.58 yards a play against the Falcons, the only better performance for Tampa Bay was against the Cowboys in week one (6.16 yards a play). In that game the Cowboys were up 34-14 in the 4th quarter, and a whole bunch of their points and yards came late when the game was decided.
Also, the Falcons let Josh Freeman have his best day of his carrer with an 8.62 yards an attempt average, 69% completion rate, and an 118.5 QB rating. This is a quarterback who was not even a good quarterback in college. He made a living on picking apart awful defenses, and struggling against anyone who is competent. Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Texas Tech, and Louisville all did a better job against Josh Freeman than the Falcons did on Sunday.
The Falcons have literally no one who can rush the passer, and it makes a bad defensive backfield look even worse. The more damning point is that the Falcons are getting worse on defense, not better. If we were playing a good quarterback, and Josh Freeman is not, we would have gotten absolutely torched. If the Falcons play that way against McNabb it is going to get ugly.
The only teams that are worse on defese are probably: St. Louis, Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City, Oakland, and Tampa Bay. Those teams are a combined 11 – 55. We are 29th in the NFL allowing 5.8 yards a play, and the only reason we are even mediocre is the offense is averaging 6.5 yards a play.
by Kenny483 on Nov 30, 2009 2:16 PM EST reply actions 2 recs
Sadly
I had to Rec this comment – all good points… The one thing we can hope for is that McNabb has one of his brain-cramp games that happen 2-3 times every year where he’s either throwing 10 yards over guys’ heads, or one-hopping throws, or generally making dumb decisions all over the place.
"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein
I think you really hit the nail on the head with the pass rushing
That’s why Smitty says it’s an entire defense problem and not just a cornerback problem. An NFL QB is supposed to make a nice throw where only his receivers will catch it. If there’s no pressure, the QB has all day to make a nice accurate throw. It kills our corners, who we simply have been making due with.
It is encouraging that our run defense has improved. Holding Tampa Bay to 73 yards on 26 carries is solid, and we held the Giants to 90 yards on 30 carries. Of course that might be more of a product of Tampa Bay being sub-par running the football and the Giants being a vast disappointment in that category, but it’s somewhat optimistic.
by LetsGoFalcons on Nov 30, 2009 3:48 PM EST up reply actions
this point had been in discussions before
our opponents are encouraged to throw the ball more often not because of their inability to run, but simply because our pass D sucks
Wouldn't say you're wrong
But the Bucs tried to be somewhat balanced with us. Freeman threw 29 times and they ran the ball 24.
I don’t really feel like going back to look at the stats, but the Falcons D has done a much better job of forcing 3rd and longs than earlier in the season. The problem the chances of converting on 3rd and long against us are much greater than converting on 3rd and long against other teams. THAT’s why our pass defense is so bad. We can’t get off the field on 3rd down usually.
by LetsGoFalcons on Nov 30, 2009 4:35 PM EST up reply actions
if we can't rush QB's effectively
and give up yardage in 3rd and long situations – would it make sense to simply abandon pass rush (only the front four) and drop everyone else in coverage? or is that silly?
no matter
how good a secondary is you give any QB 6+ seconds in the pocket and somebody will be open, these are PROs we’re talking about but i do kinda see what your saying, last year we had a good enough pass rush to stop ppl in the redzone cause the secondary got to use the short field as a 12th man, if you remember teams moved up and down the field on us just didnt turn it into 6 that much
Tampa Bay only scored 17 points
7 of those were from a blocked punt where their field position was 1st and goal
Outside of 2 great catches by Bryant, the defense played well I thought
Both catches
On Tye Hill, by the way.
"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein
About the defense
What’s weird is I do believe our player personnel is extremely talented and could play better. Abraham, Biermann, Babineaux, even Thomas Johnson and Sidbury should be able to provide pressure, and they have, but now the QB gets rid of the ball quicker. We may also miss Grady Jackson’s presence in which Peria Jerry could have done but neither are available. Foxworth seemed like a better CB but he’s in Baltimore. So in the Secondary to me the issue is how they use the Corners. Grimes is undersized but he seems to play very well. I think the coaching staff isn’t using and coaching the defensive staff right. Not putting the right players in. Grimes did not play much at all last week and we could have used him. Chevis Jackson seems to be good for open field tackles and may also play well for free safety like Grimes. And I saw too much good stuff for Chris Owens on draftguys, he has to be good. I watched a highlight of Derrell Revis of the Jets, and you know what he does, he looks at the ball and trust his instincts of staying with the receiver like he is a receiver for the opponent his self, but the Falcons’ corners don’t do that at all. It’s like they let the opponent have a chance to get the ball then try to make a play. It seems like it’s talent issues, but I think it’s the coaches and maybe the coaching staff has a man crush on BVG. Yet I’m not sure if Mike Smith calling the signals would be much better, considering how Jacksonville’s Defense has been…similiar.
We just put all our eggs in one basket of young players, and not letting them play to their strengths.
Jacksonville's Defense
Was great 2004-2006 and good 2003 & 2007. Those happen to be the years Mike Smith was DC there.
2003 – Points Allowed #18, Overall Defensive DVOA #10
2004 – Points #7, DVOA #10
2005 – Points #6, DVOA #7
2006 – Points #4, DVOA #3
2007 – Points #10, DVOA #13
The biggest difference I see is that most of those years he had two very good DT’s (John Henderson & Marcus Stroud, we just have Babineaux) and one excellent CB (Rashean Mathis, we just have a couple ok guys). I agree with most of everything else you said, though.
"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein
Agreed!
The Falcons corners had no passes defended yesterday! No pass rush to speak of! Did they Blitz at all? and if they did, it wasn’t effective at all. Their best pass rusher was dropping back into coverage? Lots of question marks on “D”. The Falcons made Josh Freeman look like Joe Montana yesterday and that shouldn’t have happened in the least bit.
"Just want the Falcons to win a bowl before I'm gone!"
wow
i agree. we have a westbrook / bush type of back. stop sending him thru the holes for goodness sake. need to run more plays for him. as far as im concerned we have 3 running backs need to use all to our advantage. as far as the d babs and lofton are the best things smoking. the d line has went as far south as they can go. the secondary is the worst in the league and we should start grimes and (sorry but) houstin. they are the best we have. they have played better then they are playing as a unit so i think its partially a coaching problem. and if we cant beat teams like philly at home then something has to be done. time for the coaches to do there job
yo know....
Every coach who has coached Jerious Norwood for the falcons has used him wrong. Plus Norwood dances too much
Atlanta will win a championship....someday
Matt Ryan
Out next week with turf toe injury. Just reported on espn.com
that sucks
but I’d want to hear anything on the O-line starters – are they back for the Philly game? If we run the ball with Snelling and Norwood, Redman could be fine, as long as the o-line protects him well and he doesn’t get sacked 5 times again.
Sage Advice
Guys,
I’m inclined to agree with all of the before mentioned remarks. I’m a relocated Dirty Bird (Navy living in San Diego) and I coach D-Line for a local HS Freshman team. I’ve been fairly comfortable, even impressed, of the offensive play-calling and performance overall but the defensive side of the ball is killing us. Our LB core is outstanding, as well as special teams, but the secondary is atrocious and the only solid player at corner we’ve had went to the IR. You can only scheme so much on defense and just as we did with Turner, it might make sense to spend a little money on the secondary. I’m a big fan of building through the draft and I understand losing Moore and Jerry were significant hits to the defense but if we’re intent on making good with our committment to win Gonzo that playoff game………we need a real veteran in the secondary to make QB’s think twice. Unfortunately with the Eagles and Saints staring up down the gun sights…..it is probably too late this year.
It's never too late
It’s never too late. I do agree with everything you said, but, there’s alot of football left to play before throwing in the towel. Management has blew it this year in not picking up guys like Chris McAlister and Mike McKenzie that would of helped right away, but the f***in Saints picked these guys up. Bad enough not picking these guys up, but a division rival? Just plain stupid. Where in SD are you? I live here as well…
i didnt get to see the game on the west coast
did the secondary continue to forget to turn their heads toward the QB or is this still a problem. If so then coaching has got to take some of the blame.
Houston
we have a problem… yes it is still the same.
Life is a garden. Dig it!
by Hardcore Falcon on Dec 1, 2009 12:41 PM EST up reply actions
Glad to see the tloz & iRonin show is back on the air.
You guys seem to be making a habit of going to games where we just about somehow manage to scrape a win… Can you team up for the Eagles & Saints games too?
Basically, any game where the Falcons have iRonin in the Georgia Dome screaming his head off like a crazy man = pretty much a 10% bonus to the defense :-D
by Ignoramus on Dec 1, 2009 5:56 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
actually sending Norwood up the middle isn't as bad of an idea as you may think
Remember the Rams game last year. He ran straight through the middle breaking or missing two tackles for the final touchdown. Mixing it up sometimes is a good thing when you fake the corners outside.
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