There's not a lot of good things to say today, and for that I am filled with sorrow.
We knew coming into this game that beating the Patriots would be tough, but after actually watching the game I have to admit I'm disappointed that we couldn't make the most of our chances. Tom Brady's timing was off, we had chances for turnovers and continually made the conservative call when something more aggressive was called for. It was just a bad loss all the way around, and you can bet it's going to be an awkward week in Flowery Branch.
Still, we saw some good play from Matt Ryan, Michael Jenkins, Eric Weems and Thomas DeCoud. For the first couple of quarters, the Falcons played tough and held when they needed to. And after all that, we're still 2-1, in the thick of the NFC South race very early in the season and hopefully won't look that bad again all season.
A few quick observations:
- This team has to improve their defense somehow. There was plenty of blame to go around, but letting the Patriots ring up that many yards on the ground is inexcusable no matter who you are. We'll have to work on our scheming and how players react to the run.
- I give a ton of credit to Michael Jenkins. Even his penalty was him fighting for position, and he was our best receiver today by a very long shot. It's good to know that we have such a quality third option when defense key on Tony Gonzalez and Roddy White.
- We did not, in fact, stop Tom Brady and Randy Moss. So much for that.
- I thought Michael Turner ran hard today, but we still didn't see a big game from him. It's time to seriously wonder what's going on with our run blocking and Turner himself. Just don't blame him for the fumble, as he got jacked and the defender's helmet hit the ball.