Falcons And Jets Recap: On The Way To 9-7
by Dave Choate on Dec 21, 2009 8:00 AM EST
in Falcons News
50 comments
I've been accused of being a bit too verbose in these kinds of posts, so let me break this down in the easiest way possible.
Winning is fun.
Yes, it was fun to be an Atlanta Falcons fan again yesterday, fun for the first time in nearly a month. It's not that there weren't exciting moments and little triumphs, but ultimately what you plunk down your soul for when you select a sports franchise is winning. There's a lot of extra baggage that comes with that, but nothing feels quite so sweet as the win. So even though it was a game the Falcons repeatedly tried to give away with an inept offensive display for three quarters, it was a win. Praise the football gods!
The defensively-minded Buffalo Bills and the unpredictable Tampa Bay Bucs are now all that lie between us and that winning season we've all been hoping for, and I think we can do it. My sunny disposition has been restored and I now believe many things, including the fact that we will defy mathematics to make the playoffs. Eliminated, you say? That's just another word for quitting.
But I've gotten long-winded again. Please, by all means, check out the meat of the recap after the jump.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Matt Ryan was far from great on Sunday, but he came back still hurting against the league's best defense and tossed a touchdown pass when it mattered. He will have to get better in a hurry if we're going to finish the season on a high note, but at least this was a step in the right direction.
- Considering the absurdly bad runs being called for him, I thought Jason Snelling was once again solid. The Jets were putting up a brick wall and Mike Mularkey was asking him to run right into it, so considering that his 3.5ish run per carry average isn't half bad. It would be really nice to have Michael Turner back on the field for more than one play, though.
- On a day when the passing game was basically shut down, Tony Gonzalez still got his touchdown and sealed the victory for the Falcons. He can't got unmentioned, because it takes two for the touchdown tango, so to speak. Roddy White's four catches for 33 yards actually isn't completely horrible when you consider that Darrelle Revis was matched up against him. That's no easy task.
- The much-maligned offensive line quietly kept Matt Ryan on his feet for the entire game. The Jets have a decent pass rush and Ryan wasn't operating at full strength, so this is an impressive sign for them. It's kind of an indictment of the offense that there wasn't any sacks and nothing happened for most of the game, but hey. We still won, right?
- Brent Grimes was just plain awesome Sunday. Both of his picks came at critical times and showed off his athleticism. There's legitimate ability there, regardless of any size concerns, and my hunch is that Grimes will be either in the starting lineup or in a nickel role going into 2010.
- Thomas DeCoud gets honorable mention for his ball-hawking ways. There's growth to be done here—he still isn't the most able tackler—but safeties who can grab a few interceptions are welcome in the Falcons' backfield any time.
- John Abraham and Thomas Johnson both got sacks, and both probably needed them after muddling through recent weeks without sniffing one. Well done, boyos. Hell, kudos to the entire defense today.
- Michael Koenen continues to punt his way into our hearts, averaging 39.9 yards on eight punts and one swoon per booming kick.
LOWLIGHTS
- I'm going to beat this drum until someone else beats Mike Mularkey over the head with this simple fact: Our offensive playcalling is not putting us in a position to win. Going against the league's best defense, you have to do something more creative than repeatedly running up the gut and depending on your receivers to break free of coverage. Mularkey has that reputation as a creative dude, but it's more for the occasional gadget play that works insanely well than sustained cleverness. It may just be the way the entire team is going, but he's gotta be sweating a little with the way this supposedly elite offense has been performing, injuries or no.
- Speaking of injuries, why even trot Michael Turner out there? To confuse the Jets? Considering he only had one carry—at least it was seven yards—I can't imagine that actually worked all that well. Rex Ryan isn't manning the helm of one of the league's best defenses because he gets flustered by a guy making a guest appearance. Let the dude heal or declare him ready and give him a decent workload.
- Admittedly it was a 48 yard field goal, but seeing Matt Bryant miss a field goal gave me unfortunate flashbacks.
THE WRAPUP
Game MVP: It's gotta be Grimes. You don't grab two interceptions and alter the course of a 10-7 game and get anything less than an MVP. Congratulations, Grimey!
Game Theme Song: Please don't listen to all seven minutes of this.
One Thing To Take Away: It's not the playoffs, but sweet redemption is still at hand.
Next Week: The Buffalo Bills can be found at Buffalo Rumblings. Despite the name, it's actually an excellent Bills blog and not something that happens when you have way too many wings.
Final Word: Win.
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I hate they let Turner back in
but from what i hear Turner thought he was pretty good to go. Would be awesome if he can come back next week but i doubt it Snelling can definitely fill in and Norwood is pretty good out the back field if he can stay healthy or keep his helmet on.
Still...
…cooler heads should have prevailed. Turner had no business going in.
by johnnybacardi on Dec 21, 2009 11:44 AM EST up reply actions
I blame Turner more than the coaches.
It really comes down to, “How is it feeling, Michael?” “It’s fine; I think I can go.”
Bobby Cox always holds the player out another game, but in football so much rides on every game that they almost have to err on the wrong side.
How many more days, Lord, must I walk through the wilderness?
GO FALCONS!!!
hey we should just play turner for one play each week
make sure he stays injured, and rely on backups all season.
that way our team isn’t as good, and we destroy his career.
who’s with me?!?
Hard to argue with that 7-yard per carry average.
How many more days, Lord, must I walk through the wilderness?
GO FALCONS!!!
Dave, you haven't mentioned our special teams
except for Koenen and Bryant. I am sure we got lucky on those FG’s with the wind (except for the Bryant kick) and Jets kicker’s Elam ghosts, but we had one blocked FG, and on another one we stopped the holder immediately after he bobbled the snap. I think Davis and Grimes were on those plays.
And I think it would be slightly unfair to blame Bryant for that miss. He missed it barely and in the wind. actually it looked like he could hit it between the uprights, had Mularkey dialed the right plays just before that to move us 3-4 yards closer to the goal.
Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia
More than fair
I should have mentioned special teams, and I actually didn’t see Bryant’s field goal, so I was just pointing out that a miss is an uncomfortable thing no matter what.
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by Dave Choate on Dec 21, 2009 11:06 AM EST up reply actions
it's hard to tell if it was the wind that pushed his kick wide
but I had a feeling even before they tried to kick a FG that he’d miss. the weather was bad – some of our kick offs were even short of the Jets 30 yrd line because of the wind. so I thought a 48 yarder would be tough for any kicker in that game. what made me mad is that we went to the Jets 30 yrd line and then had three unsuccessful tries. that goes to our playcalling woes. had we moved 3-4 yrds closer, that kick would’ve gone between the uprights.
on the shorter one though, Bryant nailed it.
Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia
Couple of days ago
Mr.AnOldBird had a bad dream about the Falcons defense playing strong to close out the season, and then our team celebrating this achievement by keeping defense for the next season and drafting a kicker in the first round :)
well, part of your dream is coming true. I like the way our defense stepped up and saved the game, but regardless of how well they play, changed need to be made in the offseason.
Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia
Thanks for the reminder.
I think I just wet the chair.
How many more days, Lord, must I walk through the wilderness?
GO FALCONS!!!
Congratulations
Your team didn’t quit, and you deserve to win.
and the home of the... JETS!!!
www.ganggreennation.com
J-E-T-S-Jets-Jets-Jets.are gonna be tough in the next couple years.
Ryan has really instilled a nasty attitude that’s been missing for a few years.
That was a tough game on both sides. It really looked like nobody wanted it, but it’s probably the offenses and defenses being closely matched.
Thanks for the support.
How many more days, Lord, must I walk through the wilderness?
GO FALCONS!!!
that wasn't a beautiful game though
both defenses played great, and gave up only 1 big play each – the difference was that we got to score when we had to.
once Sanchez matures and learns to can throw it away instead of tosssing an INT, you will be great force in AFC East. I’m glad we don’t get to play you next year.
Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia
I need some help here
I want to feel good about this game but it has me torn.
On the one hand it was gut check win on the road in brutal weather against a very good defensive trying to scratch its way into the playoffs. Our defense has really come around the last 2 weeks which is certainly a positive. The Jets looked inept offensively and I thought Grimes in particular had a lot to do with that. We even saw some QB pressure yesterday
On the other hand we came into the season thinking our offense would be a team strength and all we had to do was concentrate on improving the defense to become a contender. And then our offense did nothing for 58 minutes despite numerous opportunities. We got pushed around pretty good yesterday. I think our OL and running backs looked soft, and none our WRs had what you could call a good game. We need help at all three positions in my opinion.
We need at least 2 more weapons – unless a DeSean Jackson type falls in our laps – a good downfield receiver and a running back with speed. Sure there are injuries but we need depth to counterract that. Really, not even the healthy front line guys like Gonzalez stood out in this game. He caught the game winner but had some big drops too. We have a lot to work in the next 2 weeks and the ff-season.
I really think its part of the play calling
We have two very good deep threat receivers, but we refuse to take shots downfield. I have confidence in our running game and receivers, they really just need to be told to go deep once or twice to give our rbs some lanes.
Its true. I'm a Falcoholic! I just can't live without Falcohol!
by phoenix falcoholic on Dec 21, 2009 11:05 AM EST up reply actions
you are right about playcalling
but there may have been issues with the OL too. if the OC and QB are sure they can extend plays, they could go deep
Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia
I think the pieces are there
for us to be a top 5 offense. I dont’ know if it is the play calling or some kind of fire needing to be lit but we “should” be alot better than this.
I'm no expert but I think Mularky's
approach can work with the right personnel – But you have to have the muscle up front to lean on the defense and the horses to run the ball down the other team’s throat. No doubt, it worked for Pittsburgh last year and they really didn’t even have an great back. Mularkey’s philosophy seems to jive with the way Smith likes to play so I don’t see major changes in our play calling although changing things up couldn’t hurt
i think matty ice needs another year to mature
so he can actually throw those deep balls
and more than anything we need to replace some OL positions, but our skills guys are there.
I think the receiver problem has to do with reads (education).
Over and over yesterday, all the receivers were at the same level, so the secondary was bunched in there with them. I’m guessing Ryan would read the defense as a whole where each receiver looks at theire own position and expected coverage. They are just not matching up their reads, so the “bunch” never breaks open.
Ryan’s defense is always going to cause troubles on the offensive line. From what I saw, his line + linebacker schemes are really complex and create clots of blockers with gaps for blitzers. Without a good “read:” the QB is always going to be running scared and making desperation throws.
Nice photo of Big John.
How many more days, Lord, must I walk through the wilderness?
GO FALCONS!!!
C'mon Dave
Gotta give the Jets a little credit- they’re a pretty darn good defensive team. Sure, the playcalling was ludicrous, but they were shutting us down for 3-1/2 quarters.
Oh, of course
I’m thinking I didn’t articulate myself very well on several points this morning.
My point was this: Going against one of the league’s toughest defenses, you have to be creative. You have to give them looks they haven’t seen and have to think twice about. Running it up the gut over and over again is something even a bad defense can deal with, let alone perhaps the best in the entire NFL. Mularkey’s playcalling, in my mind, isn’t doing enough to compensate for the quality of the defenses we’ve been facing.
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by Dave Choate on Dec 21, 2009 11:46 AM EST up reply actions
Agreed.
The concept of “mixing it up” seems to be foreign to the aptly named Mr. Mularkey.
by johnnybacardi on Dec 21, 2009 11:48 AM EST up reply actions
When Mularkey does "mix it up"
With something early in the game that works, he goes back to the well too many times. Then the defense catches on, and reacts accordingly. This week, it was the toss/pitch outside to Snelling on 3rd and short. It worked early in the game because the Jets had a blitz coming from the opposite side. When they called the same play later, it was stuffed for no gain because the Jets had like 10 guys lined up on the Line of Scrimmage (and nobody could block the LB – I think it was Calvin Pace #97).
Last week against the Saints, it was Snelling on the “angle route” out of the backfield (see “A” on the diagram on the left, from Chris at Smart Football):
It worked early. Heck, it even worked the first play of the final drive. But it did not work on 4th and 2. Anybody else not exactly surprised when Vilma said he “knew exactly what was coming”?
"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein
definitely been a trend on this team
each week we have early success with a play, and then try the same play when the game is on the line and everybody watching knows what is coming.
sooo frustrating.
i was praying they weren’t gonna run that play with snelling against the saints on 4th and 2.
mularkey needs to go back to the drawing board to some degree with the playbook this offseason.
"These are good...
These are very, very good. What do these little x’s and o’s mean?" —Col. Henry Blake.
Nice analysis. Thanks!
How many more days, Lord, must I walk through the wilderness?
GO FALCONS!!!
I don't know about the X's
But I hope the O’s represent Mularkey’s chances of being employed by the Falcons next year.
+1 for Tom!
Great reply! You hit it otta the park, I hope your right!
by Gjmoody on Dec 21, 2009 7:17 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
there was a moment
when we had a 1st and goal at the 1 yard line and settled for a FG. it seemed to me that we ran EXACTLY the same play that failed 4 times in one of our previous games.
Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia
I’m pretty sure Tony G was pushed from behind on that 2nd or 3rd down. He was going to the corner of the end zone for a pass and I clearly saw a Jets DB push him. There was however, no flag.
by Whyte Bler 000 on Dec 21, 2009 5:12 PM EST up reply actions
Can 9-7 actually be within our grasp?
Before the Jets game, I figured the Falcons’ chances of a winning season at perhaps 10-20%. Now, I’m thinking 50-50. (Stone sober, too.)
God knows this team has problems, but maybe our best asset now is Smitty and the never-say-die attitude of his players. Over the last several painful weeks the Falcons have not always played well, but they haven’t given up when they easily could have.
I don’t mean to sound cloying or cheerleader-ish, but this cynical old goat is getting fairly stoked about the Falcons’ chances for a winning season. If we can get past the Bills (11 penalties for 124 yards Sunday!) and the lowly Bucs, the Falcons will have a very real, positive accomplishment in a year that looked like a total train wreck just a few weeks ago.
Maybe Dave can let me write a full post, I was at the game for a half yesterday, and watched the rest on TV when I got home. Between the fans and the weather, I couldn’t last the whole game. But for now I will do a brief rundown.
The weather: It was BRUTAL yesterday. Constant wind and freezing. Attempting a field goal from more than 30-35 yards was a gamble. In no way am I concerned about Bryant’s miss. I was watching the kickers in pre-game, and they were barely making them on that one end of the field. Chalk the jets misses on bad snapping and wind, they had one very easy field goal, and a bad snap and mishandling ruined it.
Atlanta has a very underrated rush defense. The last few weeks they have played the run very well. Holding the Jets to what they did was a huge accomplishment, and was the reason we won the game. They were getting penetration the entire game.
Sanchez will be good one day, but he is no Matt Ryan. The Jets cannot depend on him to win games yet, especially with the weather yesterday. Throwing the ball with the wind like it was yesterday was risky. And a few times Ryan was almost picked off, but because of how he threw the ball, he made it very hard for defenders to come up with a pick. Where as Sanchez was lobbing the ball in the middle of the field. That can be easily coached into Sanchez, but as a rookie, he will make those mistakes.
I think our pass defense was better because one, we were getting a rush yesterday, and two, Sanchez made poor decisions. If it weren’t for that one play Owens got burned on, it would have been a shutout. With that said, the secondary still needs improvement, you can’t depend on a good pass rush right now and young quarterbacks to help you out. We have some young guys with potential, but having Williams back and perhaps another vet will help out tremendously next year.
Ryan definitely looked rusty yesterday, but the line helped him out. I think we should have done more shuffle passes or screens to Norwood, the opportunities were there yesterday.
And lastly, I wanted to punch some of the Jets fans who were obnoxiously drunk. NY/NJ fans, classy as always. And surprisingly I saw quite a few Falcons jerseys and shirt in my section.
by Whyte Bler 000 on Dec 21, 2009 1:47 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
I haven’t been following the specific stats of opposing teams against the falcons, but I just read that Atlanta has only allowed one running back to cross 100 yards this season. That is Fred Taylor of New England. I think that is one bright spot for this defense. Something we can definitely build on this year.
On the other side it could be reflective of how bad our pass defense is. Why should teams run when we can’t stop the pass. Just something to throw out there.
by Whyte Bler 000 on Dec 21, 2009 2:21 PM EST up reply actions
Sorry one more thing to add. Unfortunately we are out of the playoffs. Both Green Bay and Dallas have better conference records than we do. They both have 7 conference wins, the best we can muster is 6. Even if those two teams lose out and go 9-7, they have a better conference record.
Here’s to ending the curse this season, at least we can accomplish one thing!
by Whyte Bler 000 on Dec 21, 2009 2:24 PM EST up reply actions
Absolutely look at that as a positive
They made a big deal when the Vikes (pretty much known as a contender this year) gave up 100 yards last night to Stewart. Granted, that was the first time in 30+ games, but to do that 13 out of 14 times isn’t bad at all.
Also, I think part of Matty’s ability to avoid turnovers in the pass game was the fact that he played at Boston College, whereas Sanchize came from Southern Cal. Big difference in weather, eh? I love it. I’m so glad we won. I’m still on a small natural high right now :)
"Ryan, under center. Single receiver set, time on his side. Ryan, gonna throw. First professional pass.....CAUGHT!! Jenkins! 30! 25! 20! 15! 10! 5! He lives in Atlanta!!!" -Wes Durham
we've had this discussion before
our good numbers for rush defense could be a result of both good rush defense AND poor pass defense. in way too many games we made the opposing mediocre QB’s look like Montanas. the Jets was the kind of game our defense wanted – stuff the run like they can and force the rookie QB to throw the ball.
I like the stat you mentioned (only one 100-yard runner allowed) but we are still ranked 20 in that category. we may have had only 1 RB break that 100 yard mark this season, but there many games when multiple RBs were close to 100 (NO and CAR, for instance).
Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia
This season...
We all seem to forget how much our team OVER-achieved last year. I have to admit going into this season, I figured we would take a step or two backwards, mainly due to the maturation process; never mind having the fourth most difficult schedule per pre-season rankings. The defense was going to be a major weak spot, mostly due to the age and lack of talent there. With the offensive injuries we’ve incurred, it should be almost impossible to have a winning season, not to mention a shot at the playoffs. I am really proud of this team and the fight they have in them. It is apparent the respect they have for their coaches and ownership. They really want to be the first to have back-to-back winning seasons in the franchises history. They will finish 9-7 and I will be looking forward to the draft and next season more than I ever have.
the most important of all
is that fact they never give up. even in the games we weren’t supposed to win our players put up a fight (maybe with just one exception – but even then we got a consolation TD pass on the last play against the Eagles).
Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia
It's been said that...
The more you love and respect your coach, the harder you’re willing to play for him.
Look at this team. Our offense is missing pieces, Ojinnaka played a great game in the replacement of Dahl. We just took it to the face of the #1 defense by playing some defense of our own.
And we won. Something we haven’t been able to say for much of the past month. The beauty of it is unthinkable. The fact that Matty came back, played hurt (in the freezing cold) and lead his team to victory on that last drive should speak bounds about how much his teammates respect him, and he’s only in his 2nd year! The future is bright, gentlemen, we just have to survive the lumps.
"Ryan, under center. Single receiver set, time on his side. Ryan, gonna throw. First professional pass.....CAUGHT!! Jenkins! 30! 25! 20! 15! 10! 5! He lives in Atlanta!!!" -Wes Durham
If I had to pick between skill and heart
I’d go with heart. They played horrible in many games, especially in defense. but they kept crawling back. we had many close loses and close win this year, but this was against the Jets – however ugly it was – was beautiful. I felt better watching this one than in our previous win against TB.
Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia
Some people
seem to forget that the Birds had one of the toughest schedules in the NFL . They have played very tough , with alot of starters hurt . Granted thats no excuse for the losses that have encured , but We ( yes , I did say We ) have played some damn good football . The Birds should have/ could have beaten the ‘Aints both times they played them, not to mention a couple of other teams that could be heading to the playoffs . As a Falcons fan I’m very proud of the season we’re having . The Birds have shone alot heart , and I’m still looking forward to a winning season . And , don’t forget we’re still building a team . Two years ago if someone had said " the Falcons are on the verge of being one of the elite teams in the NFL " most people would of laughed . Now , all we truly need is a couple more cogs and We ( see before ) should be there .
tough schedule
I second that. Here are the teams that we lost to:
New England (9-5)
Philly (10-4)
Dallas (9-5)
NY Giants (8-6)
New Orleans, twice (13-1)
Carolina (6-8)
We played New Orleans tough twice and took the Giants to overtime. The only “bad” loss is Carolina, and they’re not terrible — just inconsistent.
A win in just one of those games and we would still be in contention for a playoff spot, with two easier games ahead on our schedule.
I think the injuries have hurt, our schedule was tough, and we also had some expectations that might have been too high. This team is still young and growing, and our coaching staff is still growing as well. I’m not saying we shouldn’t make changes — Mike Smith and TD need to look at the team long and hard in the offseason and see what pieces need to be added or subtracted to improve.
But if we can win these last two games, I’ll sure be looking forward to next season.
by Ed Edwina on Dec 22, 2009 9:43 AM EST reply actions 3 recs
Wow, that's kind of jarring
Not a terrible team among them.
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by Dave Choate on Dec 22, 2009 11:51 AM EST up reply actions
and on top of that
our road games were extremely tough.
I compared this to what the Saints had to go through and was amazed – NO did not play a single road game against a WINNING team except the game against the Eagles (minus McNabb) back in warm September. and since they won’t have to play any winning team on the road in the playoffs, they can face another winning team AWAY from the Superdome only in Miami (if they make it there).
I think one of the reasons for so many injuries on our team was schedule – and not just having to play 4 teams off of their byes – we had our own bye week too early. after our own bye we crashed 49ers, but since then we’ve been in a downward spiral. It’s great that we were able to pull out of this spiral in the Jets game.
I am sure team management will fix defensive problems by brining the right people in (including a new DC), but I am convinced the main problem is our offense – fix the problems there, and you’ll see how defense improves by virtue of having to play fewer snaps. This year we had loads of talent on offense but somehow Mularkey didn’t get the job done. once he devises something that can use the talents of all players, we can talk Superbowl.
Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia
I liked Mularkey’s final playcall on Sunday – Yeah, some of his other calls were pretty bad, but nice design on the game winner
On the game winning drive their was a nice crossing pattern to set up White for that 1st down early – highlighted on NFL Network
The Snelling up the gut play caught Jets out of position and was well blocked
1st and goal on the 7 – We all knew Snelling up the middle was coming and would not work – so did the Jets
2nd and 3rd down – Ryan roll out – he can’t even walk – why ask him to run ? Could not set his feet to pass and was not a threat to run it in
But the roll outs did get the Jets thinking about extending coverage longer and looking for slow developing routes rather than a quick pass
4th down – design was awesome – top 3 receivers all on the right in same area – Jets had 5 to cover 3
Roddy broke to the middle, Mr Jenks to the sideline and TG stopped
Seemed like 2 leaned to the goal post to follow White, 2 leaned to sideline to follow Jenkins, and one hesitated expecting TG to go to the corner for a fade
Defensive player of the year Revis and 4 other Jets got fooled – a moment’s doubt about who was going where gave Ryan the window he needed
Bam – quick toss to Gonzo in the middle of 5 Jets – TD for the game winner and Tony dunks over the goal post !
Great way to end the game :)
we had many games this year
especially in the second half of the season, when we’d score or come awfully close to scoring in the final 2 mins – this speaks a lot about determination of this team. and I am glad the Jets defense got fooled at least once and when it mattered the most.
Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia
field goals
Keep in mind that we could have easily one at least two more games had we made our field games.
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