Falcons-Saints Recap: Feeling Down, But Playoff Bound
by Dave Choate on Dec 28, 2010 8:00 AM EST
in Game Recaps
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PrintIf you had a dictionary that defined such things, I'm pretty sure you could look up "tough loss" and finds Sean Payton's smirk next to it.
This had all the hallmarks of heartbreak. A team at home against a hated divisional rival, playoff implications abounding and an inexplicable implosion that makes fans grind their teeth into a fine powder. And you know what? That sucks. I'm not going to drench it in a glaze made of fairy giggles and unicorn joy.
Let's take a look at the big picture here. The Falcons are still playoff bound. They would need to lose to the Carolina Panthers, the worst team in the NFL in 2010, in order to give up home field advantage. The Saints are playing a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team with a playoff berth at stake and a healthy hatred of our rivals from New Orleans. Is it even remotely likely the Falcons lose to the Panthers? I could point to Murphy's Law and chaos theory, but c'mon.
The Falcons are going to beat the Panthers.
With that in mind, this loss is little more than terrifyingly ugly roadblock on Success Street, which itself runs into the intersection of Playoff Parkway. The Falcons are still headed to the post-season and will likely get another shot at the Saints. Nobody panic.
I don't want to dwell on this loss too much, so I'll keep the rundown brief. Hit the jump with me and we'll get through it.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Matt Ryan didn't commit a turnover. He showed cojones in running when he couldn't find an open man. And on several throws, he beat pressure and found an open man, including the Roddy White touchdown that was turned into a one-yard out on a little Saints chopsocky. He wasn't brilliant, but at least he limited his mistakes. I would definitely like to see better accuracy in the weeks ahead, but the blame for this loss is not on his shoulders.
- The defense was brilliant all night long. The Saints have a high-octane passing game, and the Falcons disrupted it through the magic of constant blitzing and quality coverage. Considering the awful situations the offense kept putting them in, I came away thinking they can stop most teams in the league for four quarters. Very impressive.
- Chauncey Davis would've been the hero if the Falcons held on. He was in the right place at the right time, but he displayed excellent hands and a good burst of speed when he picked a Drew Brees flip pass—a pass that reeked of hubris, since Brees had been getting away with it all night when the pressure came in—and ran it back for a touchdown.
- John Abraham was also heroic. He nailed Brees once and snatched another errant pass out of the air for the Falcons' second interception. I'm getting depressed just thinking about how awesome our defense was in a losing effort. Damn you, offense!
- Brian Williams came very close to posting three or four sacks, missing by a finger's length each time. I give him a ton of credit for keeping the pressure up, and the Falcons may have found their ideal nickel blitzer at last.
- Matt Bryant hit two extra points. Isn't that...great?
LOWLIGHTS
- Man, where should I even start? Oh, right. Michael Turner.
Barring his one 27 yard run, where he showed the power, speed and vision that makes us all love the Burner, he was farsnagglin' useless for the entire game. His other 16 carries went for 21 yards, and it was about the most awful game I've ever seen from Turner.
The offensive line gave him no help, but he regularly went down on first contact, showed no drive in the pile and just generally looked anemic. I'm sure he was frustrated with the lack of blocking, but sometimes you've gotta take matters into your own hands. Turner didn't do jack, and that's not even mentioning his fumble at the goal line that may have been the defining moment of the entire game.
Of course, Mike Mularkey shares in the blame. It was beyond idiotic to abandon the pass and punch Turner up the middle when the blocking was suspect and Turner had shown no ability to generate power. - The passing game was a mixed bag, at best. Ryan floated a few throws, guys were not in the right position and Michael Jenkins mixed some nice catches with drops. In fact, the entire receiving corps showed a level of dropsy not seen since the dark days of 2007 and 2008, where it happened with alarming regularity. Credit the Saints for shutting down Roddy White for much of the game.
Of course, Mike Mularkey shares in the blame. It was beyond lame to have the Falcons routinely throw dinky passes across the middle on second and third down, when they needed to pick up chunks of yardage. - Poor Todd McClure. That fumble was awful, but I'm more than willing to forgive one mistake in an illustrious career. Who knows why it happened?
Of course, Mike Mularkey shares in the blame. Okay, he doesn't. I just wanted to include him in here. I really hated his gameplan for this one, but I do think the Saints planned well for what the Falcons were trying to accomplish on offense. - Eric Weems tried too hard to make something happen and ended up not really being a factor on returns. Too bad.
THE WRAPUP
Game MVP: I award it to Chauncey Davis and John Abraham. It certainly wasn't going to be anyone from the offense.
Game Theme Song: Relax?
One Thing To Take Away: The Falcons are neither invincible nor perfect. Now they can fix their woes.
Next Week: Technically this week, the Falcons take on the Panthers. Visit Cat Scratch Reader for more.
Final Word: Crappy.
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Not the end of the world
Get the loss out of the way now, and don’t lose again until the 2011 season, if there is one. I think this game lights a fire under them. They played tough, and I think this type of defensive strategy might work against the Eagles, should they face them.
Agree.
As I said on another post, we weren’t beating the Saints three times in a row. We’re too evenly matched.
This game will (a) makes us realize that we’re not invincible at home; (b) get our loss to the Saints out of the way; and © make us re-evaluate our offensive game plan in games of this magnitude.
Regarding © above, I felt the Falcons played way too cautious in this one. Why not open the offense up more like in the Baltimore game? Why continue to use an ineffective Turner? Why not go for it on 4th down with 2:30 left? Way. Too. Cautious.
Now we know what to work on, and we can play next weekend with a purpose to iron out some problems. I wasn’t too thrilled about not playing serious football for two weeks in a row, and now we have no choice but to play everyone on Sunday. Let’s get the W and have everyone stay healthy.
Go Falcons!
"You can't print what I said, but they have to catch us." - Chipper Jones
I agree about 4th down
The Falcons have been converting on 3rd and 4th all year. Why go ultra conservative when you’re down that late? They only had 2 timeouts, so they realistically were not going to stop the Saints with timeouts and a tired defense.
I also like playing the starters late in the season. Resting players is not the best strategy in my opinion, when these guys should have the next week off anyway. Go Falcons!
I didn't like the call
but something tells me Smitty didn’t trust this offense to convert on the do-or-die 4th down play, and on the other hand, believed the D could bail out the team in this situation.
Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia
That doesn't make a ton of sense...
I get it. The O was struggling; however, if the O is THAT bad, then how could they march down the field in a 1:30 (or less) with no timeouts? If he is going to assume that Matty Ice is going to turn on the magic then, why not on 4th down a minute earlier?
I like our chances converting to Gonzo for the first down (or similar play) and then having all of that time with the 2 timeouts remaining.
It’s a moot point now, for we all know what happened…
"You can't print what I said, but they have to catch us." - Chipper Jones
With 1:30 or less...
teams play prevent defense. That opens things up for the offense and makes it easier to move the ball down the field. Because everyone knows that the prevent defense prevents teams from winning. They would take away everything deep, but in those situations, Matty Ice just dinks and dunks his way down the field. All we needed was a FG to tie it and with 1:30 or less, that’d probably be plenty.
But that all assumes that the Falcons offense isn’t playing like it was last night. I’d love to give the Saints defense all the credit for the poor offensive stats we put up last night… but they don’t deserve it. That’s not to say they don’t deserve some of the credit, but the Falcons have put up way better numbers against way better defenses. Last night, the Falcons offense was just plain terrible. Everything after the Turner fumble was bad bad bad.
We didn’t deserve to win that game. Our offense sucked and there’s was barely better. But they pulled their game together when they needed to and got the win they deserved.
The only unit i was impressed with by either team was the Falcons defense. They were generating pressure all night. They gave up a lot of yards on the ground, but they had a good gameplan for the Saints and held them to only 17 points. They did a good job of bending but not breaking and they made some nice 4th quarter plays that our offense clearly wasn’t ready to make use of.
I thought the fairy giggles/unicorn joy was funny. I’ll copy and use that in my circle of non-falcoholic reading friends lol
I’ve exhausted the saying “it’s not all butterflies and bunnies”
Come on, Falcons- after the game in seattle, why not just live in a domed environment for the rest of the season? Gotta win 1st place in the NFC. Let's go Falcons!
i think my concern is just that the offense could implode like that
I mean is that troubling to anyone else? It’s like they just flip a switch and become completely incompetent. That terrifies me in the postseason.
by cheshire falcon on Dec 28, 2010 8:34 AM EST reply actions
according to this rationale
any time one facet of your team plays a poor game or your team loses, then there is no space left for hope.
units have poor performances, teams lose games; this doesn’t necessarily entail anything drastic.
Unfortunately there's a limited # of facets to a football game
if your offense scores 7 points chances are you’re gonna lose. If your D allows 45 points, chances are you’re gonna lose, if your special teams allows 2 touchdown returns(San Diego)in a game chances are you’re gonna lose, if you’re coach call a trick play that loses 10 yards(MM)when u don’t need a trick play chances are…well you know. Perfection is pretty much impossible but if you can get all sides within shouting distance of each other, I like our chances.
the problem though...
Is that week after week it seems to be happening conjunction. Defense plays great? Offense lets up. Offense plays great? Defense lets up.
There is without question a mentality on this team that if another unit is doing their job, you don’t need to worry about doing yours. Hence the reason you keep hearing the coaching staff and fans clamoring for this team to put together a complete game.
If every unit of this team would play to their full potential instead of allowing the performance of teammates to dictate their level of play, this team would be unstoppable.
by cheshire falcon on Dec 28, 2010 9:59 PM EST up reply actions
I think BVG and MM have a lot to do with this
Wether it’s BVG’s 3rd quarter prevent D or MM’s run run pass super secret routine. They’ve shown signs of breaking that but then our D rushes 3 on 3rd and longs and our O runs it up the middle for 1 and throws to TG for 3. Unlike our last playoff experience which was lost in part by a player brain fart(hey Keith how’s Dallas?) this one may come down to a conservative or aggressive playcall. Or another missed sack by Bwilliams!
by aces666high on Dec 28, 2010 10:56 PM EST up reply actions
good points Dave
I won’t repeat the stuff I posted in the other thread (basically blaming MM but remaining optimistic) – but to those who felt their hearts broken I wanted to remind that we’ve already exceeded our own expectations for the regular season, and by far. And early in the season, when everybody predicted games, not a single one of us said we’d sweep NO. I know the loss hurts regardless of what we thought about the game early in the season. but a lot of us here (myself included) said we’d split the series, and after that first win some said that the Aints will win the rematch because by that time we’d have our position locked up and they’d be the team in desperate need. That thought just turned out to be right.
Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia
Frustrating loss, but at least our defense showed it is capable of stepping up.
We need last night’s defense coupled with our offense from just about any other game this season. I just can’t believe how quickly and badly our offense turned around last night. Absolutely no effort or motivation. I’m trying to stay positive and say this is only one game that the Saints needed much more than we did. Plus, maybe we gave the Saints D some false confidence that we can snatch from them in the playoffs. MM better pull out the real playbook for that game!
One final optimistic thought is that if our D plays this well against the Panthers they will single handedly win that game. And I think this sting will have our whole team coming out in full force next week to lock up that #1 seed.
by Seanster on Dec 28, 2010 9:01 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
I dont have a problem with this loss
I think it gets the Falcons focused again on their objective. It was pretty clear last night that they did not have the intensity needed to win that game. To start so slow at home shows they were not fired up for that game- offensively that is, the defense played their asses off last night. I also think it was a good thing that Ryan and Co failed to go down and score when they got the ball with 3 mins left. I think that helps them focus more, cuz I think they got too comfortable thinking that they can always score last and win any game. They found out last night it aint that easy sometimes and you gotta come out breathing fire and ready to hit somebody in the mouth and go get those damn points when we need them!! It also seemed like the Falcons were running a very vanilla offense last night, did they not want to show anything new yet? Lets hope that the coaching staff has some stuff held back for these Saints when we play them again on Jan 16th.
Georgia Native, Indiana Resident, and Falcon Loving S.O.B.
Yeah, thats me.
I don't think they want to show anything new.
Watching the Falcons last night was comparable to watching the Lakers – both lacking energy, but only one coming off two back-2-back titles.
Falcons gotta play with hunger and anger!
Come on, Falcons- after the game in seattle, why not just live in a domed environment for the rest of the season? Gotta win 1st place in the NFC. Let's go Falcons!
Like I said last night
I was worried that the Falcons would just lay down and take it. Defense did their part. Offense? I’ve never seen a mattress that big.
JerzeeBird
Since I moved, I might need a new handle!!!
I'm VERY Happy the Falcons lost!!! Why, read below!
Ok, so I am upset and down this morning bc of my beloved Falcons lost. However, I believe this to be a wake up call for our Falcons. I noticed a sense of “we never lose at home entitlement” and I was alarmed by it. I rather them feel uncomfortable and angry going into the playoffs.
Look at it this way, when you have a job and it becomes routine, you sort of turn on the auto-pilot. But when a new boss comes in, and changes things, you open your eyes wide and stay on top of things. I equate this to what happened last night, so I am glad this happened before the playoffs
by svene on Dec 28, 2010 9:37 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
I totally agree bud
Its good we got the first loss at home over I rather have this loss now then next week or more importantly the post season I think this team will rebound and make one hell of a run most likely ending in Dallas, this is a good loss for several reasons, first loss, turners first fumble, all the things that went wrong, are good things to learn from, this loss was a positive in disguise,
i agree
but not with the new boss reference. Sometimes the new boss changes good things.
Atlanta will win a championship....someday
Yeah...
And the Saints ain’t our boss.
"You can't print what I said, but they have to catch us." - Chipper Jones
Great Game!
It was exciting, it was nerve wracking, it was a heart attack on a plate. It could have gone either way. Your defense was incredibly persistent and I can’t see where they imploded-they were great. I think we just had that one extra minute opportunity and thats all it took. For me, this was the first time I felt like our team played like a team all year.
"How's your Mama and them?"
by whodatblackandgold on Dec 28, 2010 9:39 AM EST reply actions
Yep.
This is the best division in football, hands down. That game last night proved it. The Dome was rocking. I am sure we’ll get to see Round 3 soon enough.
Good luck against the Bucs…Wait. Nah, go Tampa Bay ;-)
"You can't print what I said, but they have to catch us." - Chipper Jones
Heart attack on a plate? We get that every week.
That was a SLOPPY game, both offenses. If they (either offenses) had to play the Pats in the SB won’t be no rings in the NFC south this year. How the HELL does MClure fumble? Turner? Brees throwing balls to fatguys? What is going on?
Rule #1: Double tap.
by Ball Hawk on Dec 28, 2010 4:16 PM EST via mobile up reply actions 2 recs
Rec'd
“Brees throwing balls to fatguys? What is going on?”
by RamblininAlb on Dec 28, 2010 6:12 PM EST up reply actions
Lol
I liked it when the Saints were sloppy! I don’t mind if Brees throws the ball to fatguys!
Come on, Falcons- after the game in seattle, why not just live in a domed environment for the rest of the season? Gotta win 1st place in the NFC. Let's go Falcons!
Definitely not the end of the world
If you had told me we would split with the ’Aints at the start of the season, I would have taken that in a heartbeat and probably would have flipped the wins so that each team won at home.
But regardless, we still lockup homefield with a win next week and Matty is still 19-2 at the Dome which is nothing to sneeze at.
More importantly, defense was on point last night. Our babies is all growns up, just in time for the playoffs. They gave up the winning drive, but we simply asked too much of them last night. If you hold the high-octane Saints offense to 17 points and generate two INTs (including a pick-six) you expect to win that game. And we do win this one more often than not.
I’m now confident that we can beat the Saints and Eagles at home and that is what we will likely have to do in order to get to Dallas.
the way
our offense played how did we not lose by 20 points. D stepped up huge if they can step it up during the playoffs we can make a run the O just has to make adjustments
you guys
Keep talking about how great the D was… our pressure was great. All I saw was missed tackles from everybody, n apotential game breaking INT dropped by DR23, and a wasted opportunity off of Abe’s awesome pick. If we did better in any one of these areas we would have at least forced OT. It looked to me like maybe some of our confidence had become arrogance. A small lack of effort on some plays can lead to some problems. I never felt much momentum build for the Falcons. We’d start to, but wouldn’t finish. I don’t even want to talk about the offense. And then we lost. But I agree this will humble them and re-light their fires. I’m glad we lost now instead in the playoffs.
by birdwatch on Dec 28, 2010 10:43 AM EST via mobile reply actions
The D
wasn’t perfect, but what do you expect against the Saints? If someone had told me that we would hold them to 17 points and get a pick 6, I’d have bet big money on this game. I did see a lot of missed tackles and opportunities (still convinced Brees was greased up the way he slipped out of tackles). But the D did more than what was required. Do we really expect to hold the Saints to 10 points all game?
On offense, it was as bad as it gets. Not counting the knee at the half, we had 11 possessions. 1 TD, 2 turnovers, and 8 punts. And never even close enough to attempt a FG.
I think you have to consider the opponent
Yeah, Dunta dropped a pick and the tackling was suspect at times. These are the Saints, though, and holding them to 17 points is one hell of an accomplishment.
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by Dave Choate on Dec 28, 2010 11:21 AM EST up reply actions
Especially...
With 7 coming on a short field…
"You can't print what I said, but they have to catch us." - Chipper Jones
Dropped pick meant nothing
two plays later the Falcons made out better on a punt. Instead of the 15 they started at the 25.
'There are two pains in life. There is the pain of discipline and the pain of disappointment. If you can handle the pain of discipline, then you'll never have to deal with the pain of disappointment,'- Nick Saban
it's a consistency issue for me
It’s not the loss so much as it is the continued problem of wondering what kind of team is going to show up each week. Last night it was the team with an amazing defense but no offense. Next week it could be the team that gives up 21 points but scores over 40.
I just don’t see how a team with so many consistency problems can go very far in the playoffs. You’ve GOT to have something to rely on or hang your hat on every week.
by cheshire falcon on Dec 28, 2010 11:28 AM EST reply actions
well we dont
commit many penalties last night we didnt and who thought Todd was gonna botch a snap or Turner would fumble on the goaline
but see, that's the problem
All year long, you’ve seen the Falcons team that doesn’t do anything stupid to beat themselves all year. You saw a completely different team last night – the one that looked more like the NY Giants than the Falcons in terms of turnovers.
This Falcons squad doesn’t give you anything to hang your hat on week after week. There’s nothing that I “know” about this team – no element of the game or particular player I can rely on to keep me in the game each week. That’s the entire issue.
Is the defense awesome? Yeah, maybe. Is the offense awesome? Yeah, maybe. Special teams? Yeah, maybe. It just depends. That’s not good.
by cheshire falcon on Dec 28, 2010 11:50 AM EST up reply actions
agree
they haven’t put together many truly complete games against solid teams. I’ve been a little concerned that they’ve played a tad over their heads all season…thinking of the wins they miraculously pulled out (49ers, Saints, etc). They are really good, but struggling to put together complete games is a weakness. That being said, the Birds have had a great season so far and can definitely make a lot of noise in the playoffs. The consistency of the last three season (as far as the winning records) is super encouraging.
If anything you take away from this game is that the defense is coming around
And probably that means that BVG was actually letting the dogs out and biltzed like his career depended on it, which they can build on. Granted Brees beat us a few times while biltzing, but two late INT’s and holding the Saints to 10 points before the game winning drive is something you can hang your hat on. The Saints needed this win to get in the playoffs so you have to think they had to play lights out on defense, so give them credit. No tears, no beers, just on to the next one.
Atlanta will win a championship....someday
I go back to my post above about consistency
Is this defense coming around? I mean I hope so. But if the trend of this season is any indicator, they could give up 21 or 28 next week to Carolina.
There have been a couple of games this year where I was sure that the offense had finally found itself. And then you see a game last night and they look like they’ve never played football together before.
by cheshire falcon on Dec 28, 2010 11:51 AM EST up reply actions
well
if you want trends then we should go on a winning streak and win the superbowl. We haven’t gone on a losing streak this year is a big trend no? Can we agree that Carolina’s offense isn’t New Orleans offense? If the defense trended from previous games we never would have seen that many blitzes for the year let alone the game. The one thing about the offense is that they have to abandon conventional wisdom on their conservative offense and do what it takes to get the first down.
Atlanta will win a championship....someday
I'm not too worried.
Apparently the teams that go out on a division rival and lose the first time tend to come back and win supposedly. Sweeping is tough to do.
And if that first sentence is the case, then let’s see the Saints try to get the streak back to two in a row. ;]
Joe Reedy: "Supposedly Marvin could not find his flag to challenge the call. I am not kidding. #bengals"
Brilliant
“I’m not going to drench it in a glaze made of fairy giggles and unicorn joy.”
I defy someone to point me towards another sports blog with this level of poetry. Dave, you are a dangerous man with a pen.
Would have loved to see a bootleg or something else more creative when we were at their goalline. Everyone knew Turner was coming. I guess predictability goes along with consistency in our playcalling – gotta take the good with the bad.
Fear does not exist in this dojo, does it? NO, SENSEI! Pain does not exist in this dojo, does it? NO, SENSEI! Defeat does not exist in this dojo, does it? NO SENSEI! - John Kreese, Kobra Kai
Tough Loss.
Best of luck to you guys in the playoffs, especially if we don’t meet again. You earned your division title and the #1 seed, use it well.
One thing though Dave…..the pass reeked of hubris? Come on man. Guy was trying to avoid a negative play and made a worse one in the process. If they suddenly changed the definition of hubris to “undying competitiveness that sometimes impedes logic and intelligent thinking” then I could agree with that.
Good luck, represent the NFC South well.
"Aristotle was not Belgian. The central message of Buddhism is not 'every man for himself.' And the London Underground is not a political movement. Those are all mistakes, Otto. I looked 'em up."
He was kinda due for that, especially after that insane underhanded flip to Pierre Thomas.
Which…I must admit…was quite awesome. Haha.
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by Caleb Rutherford on Dec 28, 2010 1:26 PM EST up reply actions
I'll defend my statement
I would define hubris in this case as an unreasonable level of belief in your own ability. Brees kept shoveling those passes out because he believed he could continue to get away with them, even though the Falcons had clearly noticed him doing so.
I’m not saying he’s an arrogant jerk, just that he clearly expected it to work, and it didn’t.
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I don't think Drew expected those shovel passes to work.
I think he was just trying to make something happen. Atlanta demolished our offensive line the entire game – Drew had defenders in his face on multiple occasions whilst making his reads.
Attempting an underhanded pass is not indicative of hubris. I’ll play along with your contention though, and counter with this: your observation is due to homerism, not objective reasoning.
"In fact, Sterger claims that, in one of the photos Favre allegedly sent her, he's masturbating — while wearing a pair of Crocs"
Let's put it this way
If Jay Cutler tried that, all you’d hear was how talented he was, but you couldn’t trust him because of all his stupid decisions (even if he lead a comeback, too). Yes, Brees was “just trying to make something happen”, but it was First Down – sometimes you just gotta take the Sack and try again on 2nd and long.
"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein
I completely agree.
But what Drew did was not indicative of a man showing his hubris. That’s a stretch.
"In fact, Sterger claims that, in one of the photos Favre allegedly sent her, he's masturbating — while wearing a pair of Crocs"
I would counter that your observations are due to homerism, as well
You’re inclined to believe the best of Brees, as you should.
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I think you would agree the burden of proof lies with yourself, seeing as how your contention is what brought me into this discussion in the first place.
That being said, you’re entitled to your opinion, but without any sufficient evidence (i.e. words, actions outside of football and an attitude conducive to a man showing hubris) I find it very difficult to claim hubris based on two underhanded passes.
I chalk it up to an amazing pass rush on part of the Falcons as reason why Drew attempted what he did.
Hopefully we see you again in the playoffs – that way one of us leaves with a definitive, 2-1 edge this year. ;)
"In fact, Sterger claims that, in one of the photos Favre allegedly sent her, he's masturbating — while wearing a pair of Crocs"
by J of the F on Dec 30, 2010 5:49 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
PREVENT D on long 3rd downs?
C’mon, MAN! BVG, PLEASE stop this crahp of fallling into a mini-prevent D on 3rd and longs! The ONLY thing a prevent D does is ….. PREVENT us from winning!
Actually
I was yelling at the screen because he sent Moore on a 3rd and 10, dropping Spoon and Biermann. I’d much rather send the LB in that case and let the DB play coverage.
'There are two pains in life. There is the pain of discipline and the pain of disappointment. If you can handle the pain of discipline, then you'll never have to deal with the pain of disappointment,'- Nick Saban
Turner-Snelling! (or maybe even Snelling-Turner!
First off, I disagree with a couple of posters who say we STAYED with the run too much! Mularkey always ABANDONS the run too much – IF you think that we are a good running team (which I do). Second, and more importantly, now that Jason S is healthy again, USE HIM! The man can flat out run the ball down hil, north-south (in the snow and against the wind – both ways!..lol). Especially if/when Turner wants to dance and go down quickly, JS can be – SHOULD BE – a great 2nd power/quick back to go to! Even if MT is ON (when he chooses to be?) – keep a FRESH running game by alternating these TWO decent backs!
Mularkey vs. NO Huddle!
Is it just me, or could (SHOULD?) we not just save a $ million bucks or so, DUMP MM, and run the no huddle all the time? Almost always, when we run the no huddle we MOVE the ball, no? And the “it’s just a change of pace” strategy is BS! Why? Ryan has shown that he is pretty good at running such an offense ( a la Peyton M) AND we the helmet communication can still keep offensive consultation coming in from the sidelines/booth (just NOT MM!). The best thing about this strategy is that defenses can NOT change/adjust personnel much of the time and they are kept on their heels, so to speak. Thoughts?
(BTW, I’m obviously exaggerating with “dunp” MM because we’d never do such a thing – but we SHOULD run the no huddle a LOT MORE!
I agree to a point
We are extremely successful with the “No Huddle” offense. However, I believe we didn’t want to show our full hand this game. And when you look at what Greg Williams responded with on “Defense” it would’ve appeared that his “Vanilla” sets didn’t want to reveal anything either.
I usually dont like to comment after a loss
or see or read anything about football for about 3-4 days, but I hope folks don’t get too down about this one. In some respects, we needed it. We lost to a very good team who absolutely HAD to win this game, and now we have a little extra motivation for our next meeting, which is a distinct possibility, and which will have much more meaning than this one. Hopefully the offense comes to play for that one.
"And this here's the TV. Two hours a day, either educational or football, so you don't ruin your appreciation of the finer things." - H.I.
by 4thabirds on Dec 28, 2010 1:12 PM EST via mobile reply actions
After our first loss we won 4 games in a row...
After our 2nd loss we won 8 games in a row. Sounds like to me then we are gonna run off the next 4 win the SB and then start next season 12-0 before we lose again!!
Georgia Native, Indiana Resident, and Falcon Loving S.O.B.
Yeah, thats me.
Falcons seem to get better exponentionally after a loss
4 wins, 8 wins, now 16 wins, right?
Georgia Native, Indiana Resident, and Falcon Loving S.O.B.
Yeah, thats me.
by ATLsince1972 on Dec 28, 2010 1:24 PM EST up reply actions
I like the way you think!
*Just Chill* when things start to look a bit difficult-don't panic as you take away your ability to think straight. Go Braves! Go Dawgs! Go Falcons!
Tony Gonzalez
MM has found a way to turn the best TE ever into a glorified fullback. 2 catches for 12 yards? 1 other overthrown mid range ball? Yes PI not called on that one but really? That’s all I can remember going his way. This season is his lowest YPC of his career. I find it very hard to believe that he was open only 2 yards in front of the line of scrimmage the whole game. It’s embarrassing how poorly we use our talent. Wether it’s Turner being used on a sweep(never works), Snelling only used on 3rd down even when MT is just bad(yesterday), Ovie almost never being used even though he’s always open for 10 yards, etc, etc. It was a pitiful show of everything offensively yesterday. I don’t think I’ve been so angry about giving a game away so stupidly since USC screwed the pooch against Texas.
by aces666high on Dec 28, 2010 1:24 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
AMEN!
Yep, aces,….. I agree 110%. See my post above about MM!..lol
by NOLABLEAUXMe on Dec 28, 2010 1:36 PM EST up reply actions
dunno if this has been mentioned
What is the probability of beating a time twice compared to beating a team three times? I’m thinking beating a team twice is easier than three but does anyone have/know where to find that information?
by AirHawksnumberonefan on Dec 28, 2010 1:26 PM EST reply actions
I don't think a team had ever been beaten three times in the same season until a few years ago.
It may have actually been the 2007 Giants beating the Cowboys three times in the same season, but I don’t know for sure.
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by Caleb Rutherford on Dec 28, 2010 1:27 PM EST up reply actions
Saints def. players too picture on falcons logo at the 50 yd line after the game last nite
Thanx for the motivation Saints. You just gave the Falcons all the motivation they need now to go on a historical 4 game run and dethrone you AND crush you on Jan 16th when you return to the dome for your ass whoopin’!!!!!!!!!!!
Georgia Native, Indiana Resident, and Falcon Loving S.O.B.
Yeah, thats me.
Saints aren't champs , they are chumps
I thought championship teams are supposed to act like they have been there before. Taking your picture on the 50 yard line – REALLY?? Your the defending champs, don’t you think you were supposed to beat the falcons? But you celebrate it, like you just won the division and the #1 seed or something. How classless. Figures.
Georgia Native, Indiana Resident, and Falcon Loving S.O.B.
Yeah, thats me.
Devil's Advocate
I thought they did this on every road win?
what?, Taking pix on the opponents logo at the 50 yard line??
The way it sounded, it was an idea that they came up with after the game – to commemorate the night or something.
Georgia Native, Indiana Resident, and Falcon Loving S.O.B.
Yeah, thats me.
by ATLsince1972 on Dec 28, 2010 2:09 PM EST up reply actions
Players confirmed that everyone does this at every road game for every team.
Seriously.
If I were in the NFL I’d hire a personal photographer to document my every game, every moment. These are good times for guys on every team—especially the time after a game where you can relax for 24 hours or so.
Let’s see if they want to take a picture next month after they’ve been sent home for the season!
Brees: “Ok, guys, get together closer now. This has to be memorable. We were just de-throned.”
Come on, Falcons- after the game in seattle, why not just live in a domed environment for the rest of the season? Gotta win 1st place in the NFC. Let's go Falcons!
LOL
Love it!!
Georgia Native, Indiana Resident, and Falcon Loving S.O.B.
Yeah, thats me.
by ATLsince1972 on Dec 29, 2010 9:03 AM EST up reply actions
oh yeah, here's the link to the article
Georgia Native, Indiana Resident, and Falcon Loving S.O.B.
Yeah, thats me.
We held back on offense...IMO
I’ll be the first to give the Saints credit for coming into our building, and beating us. But at the same time. I believe we scaled our offense back by not attempting to show too much. In the case of our defense, we(I) saw a Defense that was more aggressive than any other Defense that has ever been run under the Falcons name.
Watch our Green Bay, and Baltimore game. You see more back shoulder throws to Roddy, crossing routes for HD, Snelling in the run game, More North and South running in general, roll outs by Ryan, play action, and we usually start with the no huddle as well, or at least bring it out early.
All of those things listed above were missing from the game, and our key scores against top talent came from those exact kind of plays. And that lauded Saints offense only drove the field once on a “generic defense”(let ESPN tell it). I’ll live with those results in the regular season. Because at the end of the day, that was a bad offensive game for the falcons. That was what we come to expect from the Saints offense.
Smitty preaches all three phases. One phase showed up(DEFENSE), one was in Magic City(SPECIAL TEAMS), and the last (OFFENSE) stayed in Flowery Branch[thats where the practice facility was? You get my point.]
I have said this in a few threads, but I think it bears repeating
But the things I take from the game last night is nothing but positive. The D stepped up HUGE against a top flight Offense that makes me confident that we can contain any high powered offense (Iggles, Packers, Saints). It was very encouraging. And yea, the offense was putrid last night, but you guys realize that was an abberation for the offense and not the norm, right? I mean the offense has been money all year so I KNOW they will learn from this and get back to work. Plus, its always better to get this loss out of the way now and STILL control our own destiny! The only thing that will suck is listening to the talking heads doubt us but hey, whats new? I am doing myself a favor and avoiding them for the next few days. I suggest you all do the same!
"The Dos Equis guys want me to be the least interesting man in the world" - Drama
One more thing
The Saints lost 3 in a row going in last year and we all know what they did (as a questioned and underrated #1 seed). Just keep things in perspective guys and gals
"The Dos Equis guys want me to be the least interesting man in the world" - Drama
by BravesDawg16 on Dec 28, 2010 2:09 PM EST up reply actions
Talk about under the radar...
The falcons are gonna be so far off the media radar now that this may be the least covered #1 seed going into the playoffs in history!!
Georgia Native, Indiana Resident, and Falcon Loving S.O.B.
Yeah, thats me.
Did anyone notice....
Matty Ice’s “Ice Blue” Tie at the post game interview?
I thought the offense looked its most vanilla all year
And in a weird way, that gives me confidence…I’m thinking maybe we’re hiding something. Anyone agree?
by TheIronLotus on Dec 28, 2010 2:19 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Yep.
I think the O was tanking it last night. I think last night was a “Let’s see what works” night. And the D definitely found something to build on when (not if) we see them in the playoffs.
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by Caleb Rutherford on Dec 28, 2010 2:24 PM EST up reply actions
REC'D
I agree completely!!
Georgia Native, Indiana Resident, and Falcon Loving S.O.B.
Yeah, thats me.
by ATLsince1972 on Dec 28, 2010 5:17 PM EST up reply actions
The best thing to take from this game
Is our defense is getting better and better every week. That long drive at the end killed what was statistically (to that point) an awesome night for the D. But when you play so much defense it’s tough to keep up that pace.
Before that last drive Brees had a little over 200 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT, and a lowly YPA. He was accurate all night because of a lot of short passes.
Like I said last night, our offensive guys killed us in this game. The botched snap and fumble on the 1 was a 14 point swing. Without those two plays we possibly win 21-10. But frankly, except for two drives (the TD and fumble on the 1) the offense was horrific. And I can’t blame Murlarkey for this one (amazing right). The execution on plays was terrible. Dropped passes, bad passes. They stacked the box all night and we couldn’t take advantage of the pass.
I haven’t lost confidence in this team, but I hope Smitty and MM take a look at the film and see what they can do. I have faith they will. Let’s come out next week and stomp the Panthers and get the #1 seed. Make sure the Saints don’t come back in this house and get a W.
Nope, I want the Saints to come back and take their wippin'!!
I am disappointed in the loss but am very proud of the team. The D stepped up and I take back 90% of all the bad things I said about BVG, even though he back slid late in the game. He stopped blitzing and dropped DL’s into pass coverage. One reason might have been that the guys were getting tired. Regardless the D played great. You guys realize our DL has scored three TD’s this year?! The only reason the D didn’t have a ton of sacks last night is because Breeze is a great athlete, and to be honest, our D doesn’t have a lot of experience with these types of blitz packages. No better team to fine tune them against than the Panthers.
For the people that complained and DR23’s dropped INT, get over it. That would have been an amazing catch. Considering they were playing against one of the best QB’s in football the boys did great. Also consider that they were covering with only three DB’s for a majority of the game because BWilliams or C4 were blitzing a lot.
We gave NO 14 points and lost the game, so what. ATL is 12-3 and there is no way they should loose to Carolina. We’ll still be the #1 seed and have home field advantage. In a way I’m glad the team lost last night. It will get them grounded and put a target on the Saints back. The Saints played a classless game last night – three pass interference calls back to back and two roughing the QB penalties, along with the post game celebration. MS will remember that.
One telling thing about the offense is when TG averages less the 8YPC. At 8 or higher the running game is more effective because the TE’s are used to stretch the box. Last night TG averaged 6YPC and the running game was pretty anemic. Good thing is there is time to get this sorted out.
Amazing catch
Yeah, after all the ball did hit DR in the hands. As for Bwilliams was it 3 or 4 sacks he was deked out of last night? He’s missed a couple others in previous games. Maybe we cipher WTF is going on w/his inability to get qb’s to the turf? Yes he got pressure but guess what? Brees got a couple of big gains after Bwill whiffed. If he was able to get the qb down half the time he runs in untouched this year he’d have 4-5 sacks. Fantastic for a DB! Instead, he has 1.
It's amazing how people cannot appreciate DR23
As someone pointed out, if he would have caught the ball it would have been down on the 15. ATL received the punt on the 25 after the next play and had a chance for a return. That was a net positive and better that DR did not intercept the pass.
Breeze did get big plays after the missed sack attempts but do you think it would have been worse without the pressure? You have to make Breeze move in the pocket or he’ll kill you. ATL only gave up 10 points and that’s pretty good against the Saints. Appreciate that for what it is, the D coming of age.
I think he's the most sure tackler on the team.
Even in 1v1 situations I saw last night, I don’t think he ever whiffed. He’s a good player, I just think people aren’t really understanding how he’s being used.
I’m pretty sure (I wish I had like 4 brains and 10 eyes) but I don’t think he gets much safety help over the top, which, unfortunately, leaves the slant open all day long.
He does keep slants from going for 20+, though.
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by Caleb Rutherford on Dec 28, 2010 5:47 PM EST up reply actions
DR was brought in the prevent all of the deep plays that occurred last year
I don’t know the number but I’m sure someone on this board does. He plays off his WR to prevent them from getting behind him. Last night one of the announcers mentioned that ATL had only give up 30 or so pass plays of 20+ yards, if he was correct that has to be better than last year. Does anyone have those comparative numbers?
I would also venture a guess that DR’s yards after catch are pretty respectible also.
Who's not appreciating him?
Are we not allowed to give some criticism for a play that should have bee made? And who says he’s down at the 15? As I recall he was the only guy close to the ball, didn’t fall, ran thru his drop. If he catches it maybe he does this thing called turning around and running the other way.DR is a good corner, not great but good. He does what’s expected of him and now that the concussion is getting further behind him he’s tackling like his old self. As for the missed sack you said it yourself Brees got the plays after the whiffs. What happens if he goes down 1 or 2 times instead. Maybe the ball gets jarred lose, maybe he gets happy feet maybe something changes. It’s not just Williams. Beerman, Spoon and even Abe had shots and came up empty. Tackling is the issue. Wrapping people up, hell even the police missed a tackle last night! That issue has been ongoing thru the year. When u play the elite you can’t fail on the basics. Wrap em up. Don’t try to kill them don’t go for the strip every time. Just wrap em up.
Nope
I think DR was on the turf, could be wrong, but I think he went down because he had to stretch to get his hands on the ball, maybe not but in the grand scheme it did not cost ATL anything.
Yep, Breeze made plays on the miss but my question was simply do you supposed it would have been worse if we hadn’t blitzed at all? Do you think Breeze would have played worse without the pressure? Breeze has only been sacked 22 times this year, why do you suppose that is? Part of it is the OL but a big part of it is he is an outstanding athlete. I think the D did a great job getting as much pressure on Breeze as they did, sure it would have been great to have sacked him a few more times but I bet without that pressure it would have been a blood letting last night. Pressure is not always about a sack it’s about breaking up the pass timing and that happened a lot last night.
If you really watched Brees last night...
you saw him set up the pass rushers several times and thats why they missed him. He would be dropping back and then take one more drop step- it appeared that way- then as soon as his foot touched the turf he already had his weight shifted forward so he could quickly step up and be missed by the pass rushers who, when he took the last step back, went wider on their angle too him so he just suckered them right into flying right past him. It’s very subtle and you have to watch for it, but brees did it 3-4 times and is very very good at it!!
Georgia Native, Indiana Resident, and Falcon Loving S.O.B.
Yeah, thats me.
by ATLsince1972 on Dec 29, 2010 9:10 AM EST up reply actions
He didn't go down and if he had he hadn't been touched
Love blitzes, but finish the job every now and then. How many corner blitzes from the same guy have u seen that could have resulted in multiple sacks?
by aces666high on Dec 29, 2010 12:04 PM EST up reply actions
I'll ask the same question again
Sure it would have been nice for BW to have counter sunk Breeze into the turf, but would you have preferred if ATL hadn’t blitzed at all? Even without the sacks I think the D was better to put pressure on Breeze than sit back in BVG’s patented passive zone.
It would have been a great catch.
He took somewhat of a bad angle, and the ball hit him over his back shoulder (as a former receiver, that catch is REALLY hard to make with pads on) but he knows he had a good chance to make that catch.
All in all, nothing we can do, now. D played their hearts out last night. It’s a shame the O let them down…or did they?
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by Caleb Rutherford on Dec 28, 2010 4:12 PM EST up reply actions
I don't think there is any question the offense let everyone down
That’s the reason we lost the game, plain and simple. We didn’t even need them to play a great game to win… we needed them to just be decent. Instead they were horrendous, which is why we lost.
by cheshire falcon on Dec 28, 2010 4:45 PM EST up reply actions
I still think the O tanked it.
I’m not convinced that the O played its hardest.
I really, honestly think this was a mental game. It was a “we’re going to try things on D to see if they work because we’re 100% sure we’ll see you again.” and then we didn’t play many of our offensive cards.
I fully believe it. Why else would the Birds not be very angry about losing this game?
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by Caleb Rutherford on Dec 28, 2010 5:04 PM EST up reply actions
Because their a mature beyond their years
Getting angry about the loss won’t change the outcome. Save that energy for the next time they play the Saints, or focus at Carolina which I hope they do.
I think we’re seeing the team become a reflection of the coach and how he conducts himself.
I dunno, Smitty blew up in the first quarter last night.
I was pretty amused, though it was for good reason. haha.
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by Caleb Rutherford on Dec 28, 2010 5:44 PM EST up reply actions
Oh they were angry
If u weren’t angry after losing like that there’s something wring w/u. They can go one of two ways: they can go completely ballistic and just crush the cats or they can pull a NYG and die the next week spectacularly. My money is on the first choice. Then again we are the Falcons, MM and BVG can put their heads in and out of the sand as they please so that wonderful 21-17 last minute wins rears it’s ugly head. I could have said the put their heads somewhere else but I thought of the children.
Hey man, haven't seen you in a minute
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Just saying
If we lose to Carolina, we dont deserve to represent this division.
But I have been saying the same thing, which I saw someone else already post, its hard enough to beat a team three times a year, but Drew Brees 3 times a year would be impossible. The mans amazing, giving credit where credit is due.
Weve seen games when our offense is clicking, and on fire, and our D sucked ass. This was the opposite, but imagine our offense clicking, and our D like last night.
If we could get in sync, we wont lose in the playoffs.
We won't lose to Carolina.
I’m not worried. Clausen is a doofus and doesn’t know who #89 is.
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by Caleb Rutherford on Dec 28, 2010 4:13 PM EST up reply actions
Just wanted to say you guys played a great game
Have to give you guys credit for the unbelievable amount of blitzing! What a nail biter…I was on the verge of a heart attack all night.
99% sure you guys will take Carolina so focus on that achievement. We will meet again :)
Geaux Saints!! :)
Breesus Is My Homeboy
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Dave, can we please ban Saints fans from this board? And maybe the universe?
Even when they are polite it makes me sick to my stomach.
by cheshire falcon on Dec 28, 2010 5:26 PM EST reply actions
Sorry man
Polite ones are welcome. I suggest Pepto.
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Not sure that "Crappy" is an appropriate final word
I’ve said so in other threads, but that defense was dominant. Take away the missed sacks (wide open looks resulting in a whiff) and the “not intentional grounding in the end zone” the Saints offense was shut down. I saw only one play at all get made against Grimes, DeCoud earned his pay and then some, and except when Dunta played in soft zone, he was solid. The pass rush reminded me of the Steelers from their Superbowl runs. I’ve said it in previous threads, but the complete lack of offensive balance by the Saints should have lost them the game, but our offense did.. well, what our offense did.
After this season, we really need to rethink our offensive approach. Not to change the balance aspect, but to be more creative when the rushing attack is going poorly. I think that the yearly norwood IR might be the reason for that, because I can’t help but get the feeling that he is intended to be used as a screen receiver and outside threat. If we can get a small, speedy back to be healthy all next year, look to see us use 2 rb sets with him and Turner.
And once again… why do we so rarely throw deep? I know none of our deep passes technically worked this game, but one was a result of correctly called defensive pass interference in the end zone (Jenkins), White’s was annulled on just a braindead referee call, and admittedly the other to HD, I think, was just off target. we have the weapons in HD, White, Gonzo, Snelling, and Jenkins to have a multi-tiered vertical passing attack near impossible to defend, yet so many of the passes called are little dink and dunk passes for 5 yards, maybe.
It's interesting
we are tied for 24th in the league for Deep attempts at 20.4. For a comparison Breeze throws deep 15.8% of the time and Tom Brady throws deep 14.7% of the time, and that is 30th in the league. Interestingly enough Vince Young leads the NFL at 32.7% and if you looked at the stats you might be suprised too see that only three of the top ten team in % deep attempts are any good this year – Pitt, GB and Baltimore. A more telling stat might be average yards per attempt, check it out.
The inference is that you don’t have to throw deep a lot to win games, you just need to do it well.
ok, maybe that's it, then.
The definition of a deep attempt varies from statistic to statistic. With me it’s anything 20 yards downfield or further, and a medium attempt is 7 yards to 20 yards.
Ranking the teams by those numbers might be more telling.
Also helps if u have a true deep threat
Mike Wallace is “u aren’t gonna catch me” fast, Jennings right up there in the speed area as well, Boldin, not a burner but damn strong. We don’t have a true deep threat. Roddy isn’t blazingly fast(he’s you might not catch me fast) or big, Jenks is big but still doesn’t use that size difference to a great advantage and HD doesn’t have that other gear back yet. He really isn’t your prototypical deep guy either.
Jenkins is targetted
41.5% on deep passes, that is 8th in the league. Roddy is targetted deep 26.3% of the time. Wallace is 44.7 and Jennings is 32.5. The big difference between Jenkins, Wallace and Jennings is the number of targets and yards per target:
Wallace – 94, 12.3 yards per target
Jennings – 114, 10.2 yards per target
Jenkins – 65, 7.0 yards per target
How does that relate to their QB’s?
Roethliswhatever – 6.2 average yards per attempt
Radgers – 6.4 aypa
Ryan – 5.2 aypa
Matt’s aypa is much lower than than the other guys. I think that is the real problem.
MM doesn't believe in deep balls
We haven’t hit many in his tenure so why bother? All it does is keep the D honest. He also doesn’t believe in well thought out screens, good trick plays and doing anything other than running up the middle from the one. 2 yard curls to your HOF TE work just as well as the deep ball thank you very much!
cant beleive Ryan beat out Rodgers..
must be because of the records. I’ll take it though!!
Georgia Native, Indiana Resident, and Falcon Loving S.O.B.
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by ATLsince1972 on Dec 29, 2010 9:17 AM EST up reply actions
McClure? It's the hair.
What was that Brazilian that was on his head? Don’t go rad on us, Dude. Just be the boring, corporate ATLs. That’s what brought us this close to the dance.
Feelin little nervous ...
Believe it or not, Saints have a pretty good defense..I have no idea why the defending Champs get so little pub and no respect nationally, as if they are the same old crappy Saints of times past. Anyways, I think they have figured out how to stop our run game and fluster Ryan. Our coaches MUST make the right adjustments because this tape will be analyzed and digested by every NFC playoff team …Also, our secondary isnt that exciting, so we have to get more pressure on Brees next time around..but overall Im not that worried about Saints..we can and will beat them in playoffs because we likewise understand their weaknesses pretty well.
As for the other possible opponents:
1. Giants…No worries. This team is preparing for an emergency “crash and burn” landing..life jackets and breathing masks on and all… You don’t blow a 21 pt 4th quarter lead to your biggest division rival at HOME for the division championship and then follow up by getting completely destroyed the next week with 6 turnovers; while expect you will compete in the playoffs.. I can’t remember a bigger and faster, and more sudden collapse of any team…
2. Philly…. No worries either..They are injured and experienced a rude awakening. Dont believe the hype about MVP Vick and explosive Philly offense.. They lost to hapless Vikings with 3rd string QB at HOME!!!! You call that playoff ready?? C’mon Man!! The Bears D exposed them and showed the league how to stop Vick and Desean Jackson, the Vikes followed the same path and now the whole league knows how to slow down the Offense. Their D is injured, suspect and now exposed AND they have to play 3 games in 12 days, which is exactly what they didnt need considering their injured players..
3. Packers.. i am a little worried only because of AR. This guy is crazy good.. He’s having a great year with absolutely no running game. They played us pretty tough a few weeks ago and they would come in very confident… If it wasn’t for decent return and Ryan saving the day, we lose that one…But we did beat them and they have no running game..Falcons have to pressure Rodgers and disrupt passing game. Let them beat us with run game. Nonetheless, Falcons would win but cant make stupid mistakes..
4. Any NFC West team—Please….nuff said.
5. Chicago Bears….Believe it or not, this is the one team I dont want to face in the playoffs, Cutler and all. I know that Pats buried them in the snow in Chicago, but the Pats also got their asses handed to them by the Browns…it happens and can happen to any team on any given Sunday..But what worries me is how they responded….The next game, they whooped Vikings 40-14 at Vikings, knocked Farve out for life, and destroyed the 6th best defense in NFL at the time. Vikings just whooped Eagles on the road so they can’t be that bad. In fact, their D is still one of the best in the league..The following game the Bears D got lit up for 34 but the Bears Offense picked them up and scorched the vaunted Jets Defense (5th best at the time) for 38 points (would’ve been 41 if kicker didn’t miss a chip shot field goal) and Forte was first 100 yd rusher against Jets this year..
Ignore the stupid pundits and so called experts, do you HW on this team…This is NOT the same Bears we all saw get creamed by Giants in wk 4…there 7-1 since bye, their run D and overall D is one the best in NFL, and the D Line plays real
fast on turf..they could easily stuff our run game and harass Ryan just like da Aints just did. They easily dominate EVERYONE in the special teams game.. We simply cannot kick to Hester under any circumstance especially on artificial turf…which means Bears will have decent field position, as they usually do, all game. Dont be fooled by 30th ranked in overall offensive yardage, there 17th in points scored because they usually have a short field (50-60 yds ) to the endzone because Hester runs everything back 30 yds or TD or other team kicks away from Hester giving them great field position….A short field for a up and coming offense with Cutler and Martz in new system finally in sync spells problems for any Defense as they have proven over the past several weeks. They are playing the best football now than ever before which usually means a deep playoff run..
think this game will come down to who wins the turnover battle.. Unfortunately, Bears are #1 in NFL creating turnovers..BUT…if our D-Line and blitzing scheme can harrass Cutler and cause him to make stupid decisions and INTs, which we certainly can, I think we will win in a close one.. Still optimistic, but Im scared to death
by Falcons-SB BOUND on Dec 30, 2010 10:01 PM EST reply actions
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- Junior Seau’s home burglarized just days after his death
