Falcons And Patriots Recap: Good Thing It's Only Pre-Season
by Dave Choate on Aug 20, 2010 8:00 AM EDT
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PrintI've seen the Falcons play some very bad football games in my lifetime.
Rarely, however, have I seen them play such uninspired football. To put it bluntly, nobody really looked like they gave a rat's ass about that game. It's pre-season. I get that. But when Mike Smith is saying this, you know something's not quite right.
I'm not going to hit the big red panic button. I'm not even going to hit the much smaller, burgundy colored high concern button. But I will say that this team did some truly bizarre things on the football field against the Patriots, and there's apparently some weird things going on behind the scenes. When Smith says with an apparently straight face to the AJC's D. Orlando Ledbetter that Kroy Biermann is making "a push" for a starting job, you have to wonder if he's been engaging in motivational tactics or if he seriously thought Jamaal Anderson should start at defensive end over Biermann.
If it's the latter, then I'm afraid our coach has lost his mind.
But perspective is important, so let's keep in mind that even if there are real issues with this team, there's weeks still left to iron them out. Unfortunately, we also have a football game from last night to cover, so let's do that. Follow after the jump...or something.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Kroy Biermann is truly awesome. When he was a rookie, he was an undersized defensive end with a motor who looked like the second coming of Josh Mallard. Now that he's got some time under his belt and some extra weight, he looks like a starting defensive end in the NFL to me. Three tackles, another sack and a jarring hit that forced a fumble. He's the real deal, folks.
- Speaking of real deals, Lawrence Sidbury showed he can really put some pressure on the quarterback. He's a very agile end who will always rely more on that than raw power to get in the backfield, but El-Sid is more than capable of getting around hulking offensive tackles and doing some damage. He had a nice sack last night, too. I think he's John Abraham's heir apparent.
- Antone Smith looked excellent. Admittedly, he's playing against backups, but his speed is no illusion. With Dmitri Nance looking fairly pedestrian, Smith is making a very strong case to stick on the roster as a fourth back. He can even catch a few passes! Still doubt he beats out Jerious Norwood unless he's hurt, though.
- Eric Weems was a guy I dismissed at the very beginning of training camp. It's hard to argue with what he's doing in the return game, though. With Dominique Franks looking so-so at best when the ball's kicked at him, Special Weems may well ride again.
- Speaking of guys who won't make the team, Troy Bergeron looked very good again in limited action. It's too bad the depth chart's so crowded, because I really think he could be an effective backup for the Falcons.
- Michael Turner was solid in limited action. Good to see him healthy and productive.
- Matt Ryan looked solid. Less happy feet in the pocket this time around, which was good to see. Speaking of quarterbacks....
- On the Jekyll side of things, John Parker Wilson looked composed, rolled out and threw some nice short passes. But unfortunately....
LOWLIGHTS
- JPW couldn't throw his way out of a paper bag. His lack of arm strength really, really hurts him at times, and it was very apparent on the interception he threw in this one. At his best, he's an effective game manager who could be a capable backup. The thought of him ever starting for this football team scares the hell out of me.
- Injuries reared their ugly head in this one. Chris Owens hurt his hand, though it's probably not serious. Kerry Meier got hurt, though it's probably not serious. The big deal here is that Corey Peters felt a "pop" in his knee, and he's scheduled to go in for an MRI tomorrow. The depth chart would take a real hit if he was to miss extended time, even though we've got solid options behind him. Hope with me.
- Our makeshift secondary made every quarterback on the Patriots' roster look awesome. Chris Owens' explosive tackling skills aside, this was a pretty pathetic effort. That'll happen when you've got your fourth-string cornerbacks logging time, though.
- Everyone off the Dmitri Nance bandwagon! The 6 carries for 6 yards he managed last game looks to be a more accurate representation of his skill level at this point than the 30 yard blast he powered to before a penalty called it back against the Chiefs. This time, he managed only 3 yards per carry, and he lost a fumble. Not so good.
- Sean Weatherspoon's coverage skills may need just a teeny bit of work. Just a bit.
- I'm totally lost as to why the Falcons thought it was a good idea to just hand Matt Bryant the kicking job. That's not to say Steve Hauschka was the answer, but there's gotta be kickers out there looking for a job or booting it in the CFL who the Falcons could match up against him.
Yeah, he only missed one of two field goals tonight, and it was beyond 40 yards. The other one he made was also beyond 40. He's a wonderful person, and he's not a terrible option. But he's 71% from 40-49 yards for his career, a 20 percentage point drop from 30-39 yards. He only makes 25% of his kicks from 50 and beyond. That's not the mark of a great kicker by any means, and I'm tired of settling for mediocrity and bandages at the position.
But hey, it's pre-season. Hopefully, Bryant will shut me up by drilling every single one of his field goal attempts in the regular season. He's certainly not going anywhere.
THE WRAPUP
Game MVP: For the second straight game, it's gotta be Biermann. He's electric out there.
Game Theme Song: Music is too good for this game.
One Thing To Take Away: It's pre-season. Be wary, but not worried.
Next Week: We'll be serving Flipper on a platter. The Miami Dolphins are up next, represented by The Phinsider. Go say hi!
Final Word: Meh.
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The offense moved the ball well.
The defense was a little alarming though.
One more game to watch until panic sets in.
by Duff_Man on Aug 20, 2010 8:12 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
I don't like talking about my team when they loose for a couple of days so...
Peace!!!!! I’m out.
Rule #1: Double tap.
by Ball Hawk on Aug 20, 2010 8:19 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
it's a preseason game
you can lighten up a bit.
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 12:08 AM EDT up reply actions
I'm probably wrong
I cannot quantify this thought but last night watching the game I felt like we had been blind sided.We as in the team.We looked like we were just messin around and we thought they were supposed too also.Only they were out to make a statement.It might be this; Brady delivered two touchdowns while Ryan delivered a field goal.I say good!Time to wake up dudes and smell the coffee brewing.Its only the second exhibit.We have a week and a half(sorta) to see what we shall see.This is the year.What with the labor neg. failing and the aliens showing up in two twelve this could be the last year of the NFL. LOL guys.We’ll be fine!
Fortunately
the aliens won’t be arriving until December 21 that year, so we can get a lot of the Falcons season in, but there won’t be an opportunity for the Super Bowl…lol
Jerry Jones is striking a deal with them now.
The game will be played on the mothership. They are still trying to figure out the no-gravity situation.
Rule #1: Double tap.
by Ball Hawk on Aug 20, 2010 8:30 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Maybe Grimes
could give everyone some pointers on how to play unaffected by gravity.
Then Again
The evil Coach Smith has concocted another evil plan to fool the hapless NFL into believing that the Falcons are a horrible team while secretly lying in wait for the unsuspecting first team to show up and be surprised with our god like abilities at football……..
Even though it's preseason noone likes to see their team take a whippin'
The run defense was pathetic last night, especially for the first team D. The pass rush looked good but the LB’s were way out of position to support run stopping. The safeties were either pushed deep by the WR’s or blocked at point of tackle. I really hope that get worked out. Alarming to hear about Peters, hope he’s okay. Biermann was a beast, again, even against NE’s starting OL. El-Sid looked good, so did Vance Walker.
Yet again, as an extension of last season the offense was pathetic within the 35 yard line. I stand by my position that Mularkey sucks and the cause of the ineptitude is his being overly conservative and high suck quotient. As far as JPW’s lack of arm strength goes, what are you comparing that to? Ryan’s arms strength? How can Ryan’s arm strength even be gauged anymore? How many deep passes did he throw last night? Against KC? Last year??!! The preceived lack of arm strength for JPW I will blame on Mularkey not letting him, or Ryan for that fact, air out the ball.
Pre-draft I pointed out Spoon’s weakness in pass coverage and got a lot of push back from the kool-aid drinkers and last night he was less than mediocre while covering receivers. Can he learn better coverage techniques, yes, but that will be a weakness in his game when he starts. Based on last night ATL’s pass coverage by the LB’s might not be better than last year.
Arm strength
Here’s how I know JPW’s got noodle-arm: 4th & 15, he drops back to pass, and lets the ball fly. I realize I need to take a leak… shortly after I return, Wilhite makes the INT. That was NOT that deep of a pass (15 yards from the LOS, plus the depth from shotgun, plus the distance from hash-mark to near the sideline: I figure it had to go about 30 yards in the air)… but it took forever to get there.
As for your point about Mularkey not letting them air it out – I agree 100%. 5.8 YPA (for Ryan) is nowhere near good enough. Look again at the play-by-play: short left, short middle, short right, short left, etc. He threw 2 passes listed as “deep” (I think +15 yards)… incomplete to Weems, and the one nice ball to Roddy for 17. Other than that, it was dink & dunk. Ugh.
"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein
is it because...
Deep Liberal Passing/Offense is more exciting and puts Butts in the seats or us to like the team more?
Make no mistake while that it does, I don’t think deep passing necessarily wins us games. Yes they do help, even just attempting to, but we do make deep throws and big plays, just not as much.
But what good is that, if in either case we end with a field goal attempt. Had we ended those drives with TD’s would we still say Mularkey sucks balls?
Well what Mularkey does off the field is his business, but seriously….
A good offense to me is of course as you guys want an agressive impressive offenses, in balance with a majority dink, dunk, screens and runs.
The Best defense is a good offense that keeps the defense off the field rested. And an agressive offense doesn’t always do that. We may score a TD…but it’s too soon, and next thing you know it’s like that Packers@Steelers game. The Packers scored too quickly and the Steelers won the game at the last second.
Besides it’s preseason, we don’t need deep passes yet. We got to start off slow.
Don’t get me wrong, I want to see action just as much as any guy, (and I want some action myself if you know what I mean but it ain’t happening), but we must be patient for this season, then judge to lynch Mularkey.
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 12:22 AM EDT up reply actions
He just doesn't have it in him
We’ve seen Ryan air it out, though under Mularkey’s game plan he clearly doesn’t get many to any chances to do so any more. I suspect a 40 yard bomb from JPW wouldn’t land until the sun had burnt out.
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by Dave Choate on Aug 20, 2010 11:24 AM EDT up reply actions
Doubtful
That would imply that JPW had the arm strength to keep a ball in air that long to begin with. I think we all know what role JPW fills; simply, he’s a game manager. If Ryan goes down, you put JPW in and hope the rest of your playmakers step up their game to compensate. Sure, we all want that Vick/Schaub scenario where you have to solid starters, but those situations just aren’t the norm.
"Everybody talks about SEC speed. The 27 fastest guys at the (NFL) combine, how many of them were from the SEC? Three. But if you say it enough, everybody will believe it."
-CPJ
"You could spend the next fifteen seconds of your life watching a man and a tiger scream together, or you could be an idiot."
Fact.
i agree mwalex
i was blown away by the coolaid drinkers when the topic of spoon came up too. I felt all along unless he was some superman i couldnt see that linebacker was the least of where we should draft. I wanted offensive line and defensive end help.
So far i think beirman might be our newest superman and Spoon better learn fast or he will only be carrying beirman’s cape.
Jerry Glanville would have figured a way to win that game...
… but we’d then go 6-10 in the regular season.
I’m getting tired of our injuries. Like, hang my head, go to bed tired. I don’t remember Corey Peters having knee problems in college, other than a sprained knee his freshman year. If he AND Peria miss substantial time this year… our D troubles will continue.
Do we know when Dunta and Brian will be ready to go in the secondary?
My opinion of preseason?
I could care less. Really. Didn’t the Lions go 4-0 a couple of years back? I recall many top teams having 1-3 or 0-4 preseasons…
First, we aren’t going to be running a true game plan. We’re testing stuff. If this was an actual game, Smith would never seen the field so early in the game (and thus not even realizing that Ryan would actually throw to him). We would have just kept throwing to the TEs over and over and over…
Anytime JPW is in the game in the first half, the game means nothing. And if JPW is playing in a meaningful game, we’re likely screwed anyway.
Finally, that second TD by the Pats came after a B/S running into the kicker penalty…The team should have been off the field! But I digress.
"You can't print what I said, but they have to catch us." - Chipper Jones
Oh my god
that penalty was awful. Just moved into my Tech dorm(!) and me and 3 of my other friends were cramped up in one room watching the game. When they showed that replay, all of us started yelling and someone came down the hall to see what was going on haha. Honestly, how can you be called for a penalty when you are prostrate on the ground? Jesus.
I know...
Maybe that’s why I am snarky on this thread…That call changed the tide of the entire game, even for a preseason game. I really only pay attention to what happens when the starters are out there. In reality, if Bryant had made his second field goal, then we would have only been down 7-6…That’s not the end of the world to me. Just sayin’.
Also, I don’t want to sound like I am belittling those who are concerned. I get it. But we have many more weeks to address these problems, and we’ll be playing with more of our regulars once the season rolls around.
From what I saw last night, Biermann is a force and Weatherspoon can fly (his coverage skills do need work). I am not worried about the offense at all.
The negatives to me center around injuries. I really hope that the “pop” Peters heard was not a sign of a major knee injury and was him thinking of popcorn or Rice Krispies or bubble gum or “insert something pops.”
"You can't print what I said, but they have to catch us." - Chipper Jones
i was thinking the same thing jman
7-6 could have easily been the score from the starters. at worst it should have been 7 to 3. Take away a few dropped passes and we probably could have at least had a few red zone attempts in both games.
by TheBierTruck on Aug 20, 2010 7:58 PM EDT up reply actions
Not "running a true game plan"
Lord, I hope you’re right.
3rd & 7, we’re in a 3-3-5, and BOTH Biermann and Abe drop into coverage – Faulk makes the catch; 11 yards, first down. Let’s throw that one in the garbage, BVG, ok?
"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein
2010 is just 2009-2.0
I learned that the hard way.
Here’s to 2011 and 2012, Cheers! (clinks Falcohol glass – mine is filled with tea)
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 12:28 AM EDT up reply actions
I was unable to watch preseason games so far
but what I hear (the same defensive schemes which failed last season) about the last game makes me wonder what they’ve been doing since January… or was using the same playbook a way to confuse the opponents?.. that’s just beyond understanding.
Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia
Pretty sure we were saying some of the same things
We questioned some of Mularky and BVG’s practices during pre-season and mentioned that it must be a truncated playbook meant more for evaluating players than actually evaluating the system itself.
That being said, we’ve noted many times that BVG zone-blitz scheme is bad, or rather the way he employs it is bad. Your example above is just another in a long line of bad play calling by BVG. Hopefully TD and Co will finally realize that anything from uga just doesn’t work in the NFL, haha!
Seriously though, if BVG is already in full zone-blitz mode we are going to struggle defensively regardless of the improvements in talent and experience. He’s doing nothing but putting players out of position and setting them up for failure. It’s hard for me to be mad at JA98 for missing his man when BVG is the one that has him 10 yards downfield to begin with.
"Everybody talks about SEC speed. The 27 fastest guys at the (NFL) combine, how many of them were from the SEC? Three. But if you say it enough, everybody will believe it."
-CPJ
"You could spend the next fifteen seconds of your life watching a man and a tiger scream together, or you could be an idiot."
Fact.
Yeah
The zone blitz can be a thing of beauty, but either his scheme is bogus or the players simply don’t have the skills to pull it off (or both).
"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein
It's official
We don’t like any of our coordinators
Sucks to say that maybe Mike Zimmer and Hue Jackson was more favored than Mularkey and BVG, and we only had 4 wins that year.
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 23, 2010 5:04 PM EDT up reply actions
It's preseason for the refs too, apparently
Not a Pats fan on the planet (well, I can’t account for the fringes) who would argue that should have been called a penalty. We’d take it though, if that were a ‘real’ game. Anything that helps them go through their red zone drill is fine by me.
Keep the faith!
really alarming
It’s one thing to say it’s a preseason game and the team doesn’t want to show all its cards and doesn’t want to get its players hurt.
It’s another thing when something happened last night — your defensive line gets manhandled, your cornerbacks make you yearn for Bruce Pickens and Charles Dimry, and the first-round pick you drafted for the PRIMARY PURPOSE of covering tight ends is made to look like a fool by a 4th-round rookie tight end.
I’m panicked, worried, alarmed, bothered and seriously downgrading my expectations. I don’t care if it was a preseason game.
by Nick Mike-Mayer on Aug 20, 2010 9:51 AM EDT reply actions
Dallas Cowboys
From: http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/news.cfm?id=DD8C68C8-E4BF-76E7-C6F7C3D6EFE579C7
I mean, do you realize the Cowboys, for the next 12 preseasons (1990-2001), never again had a winning record, including the 1-3-1 in 1993 (12-4) and 0-5 in 1998 (10-6)? And those were teeth of the heydays.
Detroit Lions 2008: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Detroit_Lions_season
4-0 Preseason; 0-16 Regular Season…Yeah…I put a lot of stock in the “pre” season…because, you know, it counts and stuff…No wait…Let’s talk on September 13th.
"You can't print what I said, but they have to catch us." - Chipper Jones
Yes! We lost a nationally televised preaseason game
No! We lost Kerry Meier. That’s going to come back and bite us in the you know what later.
Losing nationally televised preseason games is usually a good thing for teams. Usually teams do better in the regular season and go further in the playoffs than the team they played. Don’t believe me? Look at the last few seasons including our team.
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 12:30 AM EDT up reply actions
I have to reserve comment about
the defense until we have our starters playing. I didn’t like what I witnessed but that was a shell of our defense. We had our 4th (Owens) and 5th (Jackson) corners with the Pats first team. Our defense is not that far off from being a good one. Jerry and JA98 (who’s good against the run) wasn’t playing either. So these aren’t excuses, it’s just to point out that the defense you saw yesterday is not what you should expect in the regular season.
The offense looked okay. Again, a rookie 4th or 5th runningback missed an opportunity for a wide open catch for a touchdown and we ended up kicking a field goal. They’re also easing HD back onto the field so you didn’t get a chance to see him with the first team.
I promise you all that we’ll be fine barring injuries.
Babs was out too.
Rule #1: Double tap.
by Ball Hawk on Aug 20, 2010 10:05 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
No he was playing
he was the one that knocked the stuffing out of Decoud when he was going to tackle Taylor on his touchdown run
God what a hit
He crushed DeCoud. Kinda summed up the whole game.
by aces666high on Aug 20, 2010 11:49 AM EDT up reply actions
Yes that play was a low point.
He’s always open. He catches a lot of balls. He’s un-guardable, no matter how old he is
That PLAYer was and is Fred Taylor
The Falcons Defense worse RB nightmare.
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 12:41 AM EDT up reply actions
Chris Owens
people are saying Chris Owens is our 4th-string cornerback. I’m sorry, wasn’t he our starting 1st-string CB the final 5 games of last season? Wasn’t he a 3rd-round pick (not a 7th-rounder, not a UFA)? Isn’t Comrade Dimitroff’s specialty supposed to be cornerbacks? I wouldn’t care that much if it was just Chevis Jackson who was made to look bad, but we were counting on Chris Owens to be something.
by Nick Mike-Mayer on Aug 20, 2010 9:53 AM EDT reply actions
If you recall
the Pats were running it on us most of the time so I would think your concern would be more with the d-line. Chris played fine. Looking at the “highlights” he never got torched and rarely got thrown at.
d-line
sorry, I didn’t mention how concerned I am with how poorly our d-line played.
by Nick Mike-Mayer on Aug 20, 2010 10:06 AM EDT up reply actions
D-line was not the problem against the run
the line got a good rush last night then what happened to the LB’s? When the DL penetrates the LB’s have to cover the lanes and that did not happen.
hopefully Owens
will be the next Nnamdi Asomugha (not thinking Revis yet – at least Nnamdi sounds super intelligent – can’t wait for him to do broadcasting)
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 12:43 AM EDT up reply actions
Missed tackles...
was the major problem last night. I thought we were getting to the ball most of the time, they were just shedding the tackles. I noticed a few times when Weatherspoon sort of bounced off of the ball carrier – he needs to wrap them up better.
By the way – I actually thought JPW looked pretty good considering who he was working with. And that interception? It was freakin’ 4th and 15! Interceptions are gonna happen in that situation…
While I wasn’t impressed, I’m not freaking out by this performance. If anything, this may have been a bit of a wakeup call.
"It's called Thanksgiving for a reason. If I can give and people thank me for it, that's kind of the thing that makes me feel great inside." - Dunta
my thoughts on the game
On the one hand, it’s hard to get too freaked out over a preseason game, but on the other hand, it’s hard not to be a little annoyed.
And the annoyance doesn’t come from the fact that we lost, but from the fact that we saw a lot of the same issues last night that drove us all absolutely insane last season. The offense puts together a few good plays, goes 25 yards, and then just inexplicably implodes, getting lucky to get a field goal out of it. The defense can’t get off the field. The kicker starts missing field goals. THAT is what I can’t stand…. Just watching the same issues over and over again and wondering why they aren’t getting fixed.
I think what I really need to see from this team to believe they’ve taken it to another level is consistency on offense. I’m not worried about the D – they’re young and getting better, and I think the pieces are in place for them to be fantastic in the near future. But the offense CAN NOT leave opportunities on the field as much as they did last year and last night. That’s not what good teams (i.e., the Patriots) do. They don’t get halfway down the field and then forget what they’re doing. They string together first downs until they get into the endzone. The offense we watched last year was great at getting a first down or two, and then….nothing. That can’t happen. The # of times I watched us get past midfield and then just stall were more than I care to remember.
But having said all that, it’s preseason. And that’s kind of the cliché response to a game like this, but it’s the cliché response for a reason. We had a lot of impact guys not playing last night, the coaching staff is trying a lot of different things just to get a glimpse of different strategies, players, schemes, etc. (preseason is a lot like a kid playing with a chemistry set to see what does what), and half the game was filled with guys I’ve never heard of. So you can’t really say "Oh, we got a good glimpse at the Falcons last night", because we didn’t.
by cheshire falcon on Aug 20, 2010 10:07 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Spoon's pass coverage-
If you’re thinking of the play where Hernandez caught that pass on him for a TD, I don’t really think that coverage was awful. That was like a back shoulder throw, Spoon was all over him. I don’t think he even expected a throw to him because he was right in front of him and didn’t look around.
No, it was pretty bad. A false step left Spoon trailing him the whole way – he couldn’t look around, because he was playing catch-up.
"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein
It was terrible because Spoon never looked for the ball
Would that have helped? Don’t know but at least the instinct to look for the ball was there. Didn’t we trade a DB that never looked back for the ball? Everyone rode him hard about that.
I'd feel worse if....I don't know, a 3rd string QB had made that throw.
A normal throw and that’s an INT, however Brady made a perfect pass.
I can’t fault Spoon much on that one. He was just out-gunned by Brady on that play.
Also, I said it before, I’ll say it again. Hernandez is going to be good. He was way, way undervalued in the draft.
"Ryan, under center. Single receiver set, to either side. Ryan, gonna throw. First professional pass.....CAUGHT!! Jenkins! 30! 25! 20! 15! 10! 5! He lives in Atlanta!!!" -Wes Durham
Agreed with you about Spoon being outgunned.
I think sometimes we expect a lot out of rookies, maybe more than is fair. In the Big XII, if Spoon had that coverage, no quarterback was going to complete that pass for a TD, much less even attempt the back shoulder throw. So this is kind of a good experience I think, showing him that even when he’s close up on the guy quarterbacks can still stick it in there. Next time he’ll be looking.
If you go to the Pats post
you’ll see them saying the same thing about their defense. They weren’t pleased either because our first team went down the field with ease on their defense. It’s pre-season folks.
Down the field
if down the field means means stalling at the 25 I think we’d all take that over the show our defense put on last night. It was a carbon copy of last season. Couldn’t punch it in and couldn’t get off the field on long 3rd downs. Is there something in the water in Atlanta that fuses your neck in place? I don’t blame Spoon for his, just a great throw but even on the Moss deep ball no one got their head around or on the last TD. Looks like the favored technique is to just fling your hands in the air and hope u don’t get flagged.
by aces666high on Aug 20, 2010 12:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Good detective work
It’s shows how we the Fans are very critical of the simplest things our teams is doing wrong.
It’s like having a girlfriend or a wife.
(Sighs) I still miss mine!
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 12:45 AM EDT up reply actions
It is pre-season
And honestly, if Mike Smith had simply said “this is pre-season, folks,” I wouldn’t even be mildly concerned. But for him to express concern over the way the team played in a pre-season game tells me we have some work to do.
There’s plenty of time to do it, thankfully.
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Ummm,...Dave
There isn’t that much time. Two games left and Jerry, Dunta, Williams, Jerious and MJ12 have not played a single down yet. Between looking at players to cut and getting playing time for the starters there isn’t much time left.
Two weeks is enough time to correct some glaring wrongs, though
And specifically, I mean schemes, bad angles, bad routes, etc.
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by Dave Choate on Aug 20, 2010 12:14 PM EDT up reply actions
Dave's right
Two seasons from now with the 18 game schedule…that would be it and no more preseason games. We are only halfway through. Two good games, and I’m sure we are out of our hangover.
Let’s give thanks to these four boring preseason games. They are like eating your vegetables so mommy will let us go outside to play….Yay! (BR31)
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 12:48 AM EDT up reply actions
Matt Ryan actually said that during that in-game interview last night.
He said, “Yeah, we don’t really plan for these things. We just go out there and do something and look at what we can get better at.”
"Ryan, under center. Single receiver set, to either side. Ryan, gonna throw. First professional pass.....CAUGHT!! Jenkins! 30! 25! 20! 15! 10! 5! He lives in Atlanta!!!" -Wes Durham
This is what team meetings and film are for
I think once we see everyone out there we’d truly know where everyone stands in offense and defense. But as far as film is concerned, I hope the youngins are up to the learning curve. I was a pretty good endzone filmer for my college and saw a lot of good and bad stuff (mostly bad) and our team still made some of the same mistakes. But professionals should be more prideful than that.
Atlanta will win a championship....someday
Good luck on your season.
I hope your guy’s knee is fine. Ryan is a really good QB. Good luck and good health.
My life has been a trivial pursuit. Trivia: where three roads meet.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Aug 20, 2010 11:39 AM EDT reply actions
room for improvement
defensive unit NEEDS to learn how to wrap up ball carrier instead of throwing a shoulder. Biermann was the exception, he looked great! secondary hopefully covers better in the future or it will be a long season. this is just pre-season so i won’t worry just yet. staying healthy is the most important thing. good luck next game. GO FALCONS!
The defense played like sh$t. A bad showing for the D
Even though it was pre season. The defense suked like it always have. Did you see the Pats run the ball at will for major yardage? And Tom Brady picking our D? Just sad
by !AtlFalcons-fan! on Aug 20, 2010 11:56 AM EDT reply actions
Which game are you talking about?
the October 9th 2005 game
September 27th 2009
or this one August 19th 2010?
The Pats ripped us on all of those games…they just have better personnelle scheming at any time than we do.
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 12:52 AM EDT up reply actions
Now, now
Just because two injury prone RB’s with the combined age of 145 made our D look like cardboard cut outs on two long TD runs doesn’t mean a thing. “sigh”
good point – those were some OLD running backs that gashed us - Fred Taylor, Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris
by Nick Mike-Mayer on Aug 20, 2010 2:42 PM EDT up reply actions
Geritol works wonders....
My life has been a trivial pursuit. Trivia: where three roads meet.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Aug 20, 2010 2:55 PM EDT up reply actions
hehehe
i bet. i hope you have plenty of that geritol shipped to your backs this season.
They only have to last one season.
None of them are under contract past that.
My life has been a trivial pursuit. Trivia: where three roads meet.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Aug 20, 2010 3:17 PM EDT up reply actions
I think that Geritol is laced with Viagra!
They may have created it too.
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 12:53 AM EDT up reply actions
M. Peterson
I read this threads all the time, but have never posted anything until now as I have not seen anyone talk about the difference from our LB play from last week to this week. I know we were facing 2 different type of football teams, but my impression was that peterson is really a downgrade. He was pushed around and seemed soooooo slow last night. I thought Stepehn Nicolas was making plays last week. I only saw peterson’s jersey on the ground all night long. Can anyone share their thoughts on this?
Outplayed, outmuscled
He was laid out a few times last night. Looked a step or 3 slower. Pretty much a non factor. Then again most of our D last nite was too. The difference between last week and this week is that the Pats are actually a good team. The one good player the Chiefs have, Jamaal Charles had a solid game against us. Last night left me feeling a bit anxious. Yes a few starters were out, but that doesn’t change the poor tackling or the fact that our secondary had to make a lot of tackles.
welcome aboard svene
always happy to see new posters
thank you Funballad
I have been reading this site for a few years now, but I finally had to just air out about Peterson. I watched the replay and he was being pushed around by a rookie TE!!!! If you pay close attention, you think that he is always around the ball, but no, he just jumps in like K. Brooking used to do. When was the last time you saw him make a play? Or. is this a poor scheme by BVG?
I'm sure it's been said
numerous times in the comments above, but can someone tell me how in the HELL Biermann has not won the starting job at DE? I mean honestly. Come on folks. So Anderson might not be godawful at DT but how can we still be even mentioning his name when talking about ends? This just damn ridiculous.
by Rummy328 on Aug 20, 2010 1:05 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
honestly...
i’ve got to believe this decision was setlled last night. i don’t think Smith can just rush out and say it, but surely this is a done deal. if JA is playing end on opening day, i think any Falcons fan should be given permission to jump ship and find a new team. because yes, it would be that ridiculous.
by cheshire falcon on Aug 20, 2010 1:17 PM EDT up reply actions
If Peters is hurt
then that might push JA98 into the DT position and ensure that Biermann starts at DE. It was interesting last night because Kroy was still playing in the fourth quarter.
Smith seems to be reluctant to give starting positions to the new guys. Peterson and Williams are good examples of that reluctance.
It is odd, isn't it?
I consider Smith an intelligent, progressive coach, but he seems to have a hang-up with some veterans on this team. The really odd thing is that JA98 had done nothing up to this point, which leads me to believe he was motivating Bierman to some degree.
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JA98 had a good game against KC
not sure how much he played last night but his number wasn’t called often, that I remember anyway. My eyes sort of glazed over after that roughing the kicker call.
He was pretty quiet
I think he’s done better this pre-season, and he deserves to get playing time. It just shouldn’t come at the expense of Biermann.
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I don't think he played yesterday.
I think he was injuried during practice earlier this week
Ah yes
That’s why he was so quiet.
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LOL
Could have fooled me…
Cheap shot…I know…
"You can't print what I said, but they have to catch us." - Chipper Jones
yet so true
"Everybody talks about SEC speed. The 27 fastest guys at the (NFL) combine, how many of them were from the SEC? Three. But if you say it enough, everybody will believe it."
-CPJ
"You could spend the next fifteen seconds of your life watching a man and a tiger scream together, or you could be an idiot."
Fact.
my eyes still glazed over
that was almost as incompetent a call as the safe call in baseball wiping out the no hitter earlier this season.
the call doesn't bother me
You know why?
It’s preaseason.
Yeah it was stupid, and the refs better get it together and not F—- it up when it counts, but while it’s preseason, it’s about as innocent as speeding in a parking lot between 10pm and 7am. Or not forgetting a receipt for an item that costs .34 cents.
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 1:02 AM EDT up reply actions
Honestly
I think Smith is all aboard the Tony Dungy style ride-it-out-lets-not-make-any-hasty-decisions train. Which makes sense. Really, Beirmann has only had one good year behind him, in which he played some pretty limited snaps. It makes sense to keep Anderson as the starter until Beirmann proves forcefully that he is better, which I think he has done this preseason, along with the strong play through last year. I believe he will emerge from preseason as the starter. Just a little more patience.
Sorry
but after three years waiting on this 7th overall draft pick to pick up his 3rd sack, I am all out of patience.
but he seems to have a hang-up with some veterans on this team
Like how John Fox was in love with Jake Delhomme and finally divorced him from the Panthers? That must have been hard for him.
Breaking up IS hard to do.
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 12:58 AM EDT up reply actions
Something that hasn't really been tossed around about this.
Anyone notice how bad our run defense was? I’m not calling JA98 the savior of the defense by ANY means, but it’s been thrown around that he’s a solid run defender. I don’t think he played at all last night.
We were gashed by Moses and Abraham last night.
Hmmm………What do most teams try do to? Run the ball. If JA98 is even a sliver better than Beer Man at Run D, I want him out there >>in running situations, even if it includes starting<<
They’re already rotating DL anyway, so naturally Beer Man will get his time, but for the sake of better defense as a whole, that may be why JA98 would start over Beer Man, that being for the run defense. I’m not kidding.
"Ryan, under center. Single receiver set, to either side. Ryan, gonna throw. First professional pass.....CAUGHT!! Jenkins! 30! 25! 20! 15! 10! 5! He lives in Atlanta!!!" -Wes Durham
I just think
that JA has had 3 years now to prove he’s worth keeping around and it’s definitely put up or shut up time. If he can take the snaps he’s given at DT and make something out of them, fine. Good for him. But if he doesn’t start to produce (and quickly) I think the man needs to get gone.
Absolutely, I have to agree that if he gets the chance to get on the field at DT then he should be allowed to show what he can do, but he should not be carried at the expense of a better prospect.
by UKfalcon_since_1983 on Aug 20, 2010 1:39 PM EDT up reply actions
In other news.
The Colts lost to the Bills last night.
I wonder what their fans are saying. Look at the bright side, at least we lost to the Patriots…. >.>
"Ryan, under center. Single receiver set, to either side. Ryan, gonna throw. First professional pass.....CAUGHT!! Jenkins! 30! 25! 20! 15! 10! 5! He lives in Atlanta!!!" -Wes Durham
Exactly...people quit worrying about this last game.
At least wait until after next week’s game.
Even then I wouldn't worry too much.
I think the thinking around here is that it was just really depressing to put up a poop effort on national TV, and we’re all kinda sad about it. I can’t blame anyone for being upset; the defense was atrocious, but the uninspired football comes from it being preseason.
Truth be told, of the backup defensive players, I felt like Stephen Nicholas was one of the only players who looked like he wanted to be out there. He was still flying around late game.
As depressing as it was to see a sad effort in the first Falcons game in 3/4 of a year, I know we’ll have a few good showings this year so I’m not too terribly upset about it.
"Ryan, under center. Single receiver set, to either side. Ryan, gonna throw. First professional pass.....CAUGHT!! Jenkins! 30! 25! 20! 15! 10! 5! He lives in Atlanta!!!" -Wes Durham
Yeah, like I said in the game thread last night
It’s just really tough to turn off your passion as a fan. Even though you know it’s pre-season, watching your favorite team sleepwalk through a game like that is bound to be depressing.
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Also, I 100% agree.
I’m a pretty passionate individual, so during games I tend to get really, really fired up, regardless of how pointless the game is.
I feel sorry for teams who only get a few wins a year. Their fans must be real troopers.
"Ryan, under center. Single receiver set, to either side. Ryan, gonna throw. First professional pass.....CAUGHT!! Jenkins! 30! 25! 20! 15! 10! 5! He lives in Atlanta!!!" -Wes Durham
The Colts fans?
Uh hello?
The Colts never win preseason games.
They probably don’t give a (bleep) about them losing to a JV peewee squad, much less the Bills.
It’s good that we lost this game
I said before this game that we needed to lose it, to get the stars to align for us to win more this season.
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 1:06 AM EDT up reply actions
So when do you start worrying?
I’m sorry, but damnit I’m not buying the BS excuses anymore. The lack of intensity was demoralizing last night. Absolutely no excuse to be made for that. If friggin’ Buffalo can get up for a game against the Colts, then by God the Falcons should be able to show up as well. And I’m including everyone from GM down to 80th roster spot.
The lack of progress in getting the Defense off the field in 3rd and long situations, the miserable kicking game, and the inability for two straight weeks to find pay dirt by the 1st team offense is simply too reminiscent of what we endured last year. Yeah, we didn’t have all our starters. Guess what? Neither did the Patriots. Mularkey’s play calling still sucks. BVG still can’t find a scheme or personnel package to get us off the field in 3rd and long. And apparently Coach Smith couldn’t get more than a handful of guys motivated enough to give a honest effort.
So when do we start worrying? When Pittsburgh roughs us up in the season opener with Leftwich at QB? When we go to Cleveland 0-4? What excuses will we be making when we finish the season 5-11, which is where I see us heading right now?
calm down kiddo
we have had alot of decent coaches in the past and we just had back to back winning seasons for the first time. I agree MM playcalling sucks and BVG shuld return to being the LB coach. It is preseason though so we cant be to hasty. I think matt is progressing and if he has a breakout season everything else should fall in place.
Yeah Monduj!
you’re getting a little carried away with how last nights game will predict the regular season. Some of the issues are related to personel and when you play those guys those issues rise to the surface.
If ATL plays like that in the fourth game I’ll be a little more concerned.
Monduj1
Like other people have said, you’re definitely taking too much from a preseason game.
But i do like your passion, and i do share some of the frustrations you do. I’m quickly getting disillusioned with Mularkey (i’m starting to have Greg Knapp flashbacks), and i need to see this defense get better. The frustration isn’t that we lost or even got killed… it’s that we lost due to the exact same things that were killing us last year.
But again, don’t freak too early. If this is still happening in week 1 or 2, i’ll be right there with you.
by cheshire falcon on Aug 20, 2010 5:13 PM EDT up reply actions
The frustration isn’t that we lost or even got killed… it’s that we lost due to the exact same things that were killing us last year.
As I watched that game last night, I thought the same thing. The D looked the exact same. I’ve seen all these positive media reports about how much better they’re going to be, and how much synergy they have, and last night was like it was a replay of a game played last year.
"Ryan, under center. Single receiver set, to either side. Ryan, gonna throw. First professional pass.....CAUGHT!! Jenkins! 30! 25! 20! 15! 10! 5! He lives in Atlanta!!!" -Wes Durham
Gregg Knapp Flashbacks?
Wow…I think you need to see a doctor.
That (bleep) is no joke.
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 1:16 AM EDT up reply actions
someone needs a valium
Oh and save me a few pills, I could use some for my hard days at work.
But seriously, you start worrying when it’s time to worry. Now is not the time.
One thing I learned, you can’t really learn anything from preseason or week 1 of the regular season. Remember it’s unplanned, they are just using a vanilla system to get prepared for the real thing.
5-11 0-4 against cleveland…
Wow I thought I was negative and cynical.
Congradulations, I been 1upped
(Sound of Mario’s 1up plays)
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 1:13 AM EDT up reply actions
We looked uninspired last night
even though it is preseason the falcons looked tired and lazy last night(like they had a pregame party at babineaux’s house). It was weird the defense is a shell with grimes and robinson out and weatherspoon and franks look like they have jitters which they should be over by reg season. Also i think inspector gadget(MM) needs to be replace. His playcalling is vanilla and does dumb calls(like the end around against NO last season).Ryan look good though more poised than before.
Ugh
Why don’t all of you guys hold out a lynch mob for Mularkey…like Lions fans did for Millen.
You may actually get your wish (in about a few years).
Talk is just talking, but taking action is what living is all about.
Who do you suggest is a better O-Coordinator?
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 1:19 AM EDT up reply actions
The squid that picked the World Cup winner
could do a better job than Mulakey. His offensive intelligence is terrible and what makes it worse is that he NEVER adjusts his attack during a game.
Will Smith: “Err?”
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 11:31 PM EDT up reply actions
dont worry guys its only preseason
anyone remember the 2008 preseason champs….. Thats right the Detroit Lions they went 4-0 that turned out well. Preseason sucks but when the games get real its time to get concerned
Not worried about preseason record
I couldn’t care less about their record in the preseason, because as you and others have duly noted it means nothing.
My fear is that they’ve been reading too much of their press and believe it is a given that the Birds are destined to be a playoff lock and NFC contender. It won’t be handed to them, they’ve got to earn it. Going through the motions like they did last night will only earn them the title of laughingstock of the league again.
I don't think we should worry until Week 1. If we screw that up, THEN we'll start rioting.
"Ryan, under center. Single receiver set, to either side. Ryan, gonna throw. First professional pass.....CAUGHT!! Jenkins! 30! 25! 20! 15! 10! 5! He lives in Atlanta!!!" -Wes Durham
abe, jerry, anderson, beirman
Starting th dline week 1 with or without peters. Not 2 worried about this preseason crap would like to see ryan hit some recievers tho, and get in the endzone. I mean we played ok the d had a stop but a bs call on chevis turned it into 7. + hell froze over and gonzales dropped a catchable ball on 3rd and long that would have moved the chains. Run d’s gotta tighten up and I think dunta will b ready 2 go week 1 to help the secondary on 3rd downs. BUT, I still dnt like Coleman at safety wish Moore wasn’t fragile.
by DEMBIRDZCUZ! on Aug 20, 2010 6:06 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
another question that I am itching to post
Is anyone wondering why both our offense and defense seem so conservative? On offense, it seems like the longest pass is to a TE. What happened to the deep ball? to keep defenses honest?
What about our defense? where is the pressure coming from aside the front 4? I am really starting to dislike our O & D coordinators style, unless it is smith’s preference.
Also, I know last night was pre-season and understand what that entails, but look up the past couple of years….???
It's preseason.
The playcalling is not designed to get us a “win,” which by the way are worthless. The playcalling is designed to evaluate players, even if it puts them one on one with Randy Moss, which we would never do in the regular season. Or even if they dink and dunk when the long ball is obviously so much faster. Maybe they want to try some 3rd down short passing situations? I don’t know. Obviously the missed tackles on defense is a problem, and I believe that will be addressed repeatedly before the next game.
I do think it's odd how conservative the playcalling has been
I think by now, we’re pretty sure Matt Ryan and JPW can throw short passes. Why not air it out with nothing to lose?
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because there is nothing to gain
have you ever been in a situation where you both had nothing to lose or gain?
I guess some people would be largathic or carelessly liberal.
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 1:25 AM EDT up reply actions
Carelessly liberal?
As opposed to one of the worst TD conversion rates within the 30 yard line in the NFL? Why is everyone worried about the kicking game? Because ATL’s plays around the red zone are terrible and predictable. When was the last time ATL threw a 30yd pass to the end zone?
As far as why use the better plays when no one is at the game, to make sure they work in a game environment!!!! This is the time to get the kinks out not during the regular season.
ATL’s offense will be poor until Mularkey is replaced.
I really don’t think it matters throwing a 30 yard TD pass versus a 10 yard TD pass as long as it works and we win.
Sure would be nice to do that more. But we had injuries and retooling issues last season
Let’s talk about this again if this continues or gets worse in 2010, and I’ll be right there with you guys going for his replacement.
Until then, let’s hold off the lynching and slaughtering of Mularkey.
I mean was he that bad in 2008?
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 11:17 PM EDT up reply actions
i remember the lynch crew out for malarkey last year too
by mid season i was with them myself.
I just haven't seen enough evidence myself
maybe it’s because Gregg Knapp was much worse
and we managed to win 62% of our games when with Vick and Knapp it was much worse.
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 11:20 PM EDT up reply actions
true
i am hopeing for mularkey to lossen up the team a bit and become less predictable myself. but if the screen pass is never used in our system is that a blindness in our coaching or is it a player personel problem?
I'm not sure
I think it was said that Mularkey will open it up for Ryan, but I don’t disagree with “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
In the meantime I’m not sure what’s the issue with our offense, but I still see it a shade better than it was in 2005-7
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 11:27 PM EDT up reply actions
Ditto that Brother
I am still willing to sip a bit of coolaide for my falcons but i am a bit nervious.
I am mixing mine with a bit o bourbon at the moment.
Would you please stop comparing
Mularkey to Knapp!! Knapp is not on the team now. Just because Mularkey is better than Knapp does not make him a good OC for the team.
As far as the injury comment goes, Roddy played all year long and there were very few deep passes that went to him last year.
Sorry
Until you guys stop (bleep) about Mularkey, I see Knapp as a very relevant reason to compare. My point is. We could have worse. And I don’t think Mularkey is really that bad
Count your blessings in the meantime.
Mularkey has actually done some good things…Ryan’s catching on well.
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 22, 2010 4:06 AM EDT up reply actions
No one comes to the games
And they don’t make a lot of money off of these games (infact I think they lose money)
So why waste some of your better plays when no one will be there to see it?
If you were to do something awesome…wouldn’t you want many people to witness it.
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 1:24 AM EDT up reply actions
The only thing that really scares me about last night,
(besides the amount of alcohol I drank), is the intensity, or lack thereof. There was no sense of urgency. I know, I know, its preseason. But, have you ever heard the saying, “YOU PLAY HOW YOU PRACTICE”?
If they continue to have the lolly-gagging, it doesn’t mean anything attitude, it WILL carry over into the regular season.
We put the Gag in Lollygag!
You didn’t drive around on that liquor did you?
We play how we practice, true, but it depends on what your mindset is.
A lot of people were saying that there was no fire in the Falcons, which says something in how valid that might be.
But I also learned, fans easily get caught up in the moment and quickly associate good things with more good things and bad things with more bad things that often come from nowhere.
Now which is true, I can’t say. Maybe they were tired because of all the people that didn’t play for rotation issues, and the Falcons defense had already been on the field since the Good Lord was conceived in his mother’s womb….uh wait that’s not right, but you get the point.
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 1:31 AM EDT up reply actions
Agreed
2nd and 3rd games of the pre season is where u usually see guys getting back into it, but then again last night was how we played last season as well so we’re already in regular season form! Hooray for us! “Sigh”
Y'all can bitch if you want to but
After watching kolb I’m glad we got Matt.
Rule #1: Double tap.
by Ball Hawk on Aug 20, 2010 8:41 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Even if thus far this preseason he has been Vanilla Ice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYRU3qnsPlE&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Rule #1: Double tap.
by Ball Hawk on Aug 20, 2010 9:07 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
On a positive note:
Atlanta made 7 tackles for a loss. NE made none.
Falcons had 2 sacks by Sir Sid and BeerMan – NE only had 1 sack.
Atlanta gained 266 yards – NE had 299 – pretty close.
Bergenon made a real nice TD catch.
Turner caught both passes thrown to him – that opens up a new dimension.
TG and White caught a couple of good passes each.
Kicker made 50% of kicks over 45 yards – that’s what I would expect from that distance.
Cheerleaders looked good.
Fans got into it when refs made that bad call.
The no huddle offense seemed to look effective.
He’s always open. He catches a lot of balls. He’s un-guardable, no matter how old he is
by WarWolf on Aug 20, 2010 8:46 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Since you're looking at the positives
Peele made a few good caches last night.
Meier looked very good.
The offensive line played much better than against KC.
DB’s broke up a deep pass to Moss in the endzone, that would have been a TD last year.
Some of the DB’s were laying the snack down on NE WR’s.
Rec'd
The bright side is always a good thing especially when it’s true.
Let this comment be our bible of this post if we lose faith…again.
Cheerleaders always look good!
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 1:34 AM EDT up reply actions
Thanks.
Despite the score, a lot of good things happened.
7 tackles for losses is good.
I also liked how so many receivers got involved.
Catches were made by :
Finn
Smith
Meier
TG
Harvey
Bergeron
Roddy
Nance
Peale
Just about everyone caught at least one pass.
He’s always open. He catches a lot of balls. He’s un-guardable, no matter how old he is
Exactly
You don’t always win or lose by a score
If you lose 44-11 you could say we are as bad as the score.
But really you could be a play(er)/scheme or two away from winning 20-6 against a superbowl predicted team.
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 11:19 PM EDT up reply actions
I would also like to give some credit to the Patriots.
They have drafted a lot of talent the past 2 years and we saw some of that even on their 2nd unit.
Cheung, Darius Butler, Gronkowski, Hernandez come to mind.
Also, it seemed we were geared to stop the pass and at one point NE ran it 6 times in a row.
Finally, Brady, Welker and Moss is a tough combo to stop.
He’s always open. He catches a lot of balls. He’s un-guardable, no matter how old he is
Watching majority of NFL preseason games my fears are being realized. Many teams have leapfrog grabbing 2-4 stellar future starters from this deep 2010 draft. Unfortunately, Falcons only drafted mediocre players.
Again, I truly believe the athleticism of players over the past 5-7 years have leapfrogged those from the previous 10. Every position demands an elite athlete similar to what Tony Gonzalez did to the TE position. I just don’t see elite athletes on Falcons and I’m hoping this draft didn’t set the Falcons back vs the NFL competition. To rephrase—-the Falcons may be a better team this year, but did the rest of the NFL get much better?
Ok enough negativity, I’m just to be banned.
I'm not going to ban you for being negative
I am going to disagree with you. We just don’t know how good this draft class is yet…and we won’t until a significant portion through the 2010 season, or later.
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And to continue this thought
What do you mean, “many” teams got 2-4 stellar future starters? The Bucs had a nice draft in our own division, but I wouldn’t say that most teams had particularly stellar drafts.
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Way off base
not every position demands a stellar player, if it did no team could afford the players. The objective of a team is to have a stellar group of players, you don’t need stellar players for that.
If elite players made a team then Detroit should go 16-0 this year because they have had better drafts than most teams over the past few years. By better I mean higher picks.
Sad thing is that people watch football but don’t understand football.
In addition
Football Outsiders (a reliable source) said
That a team built for depth is better than a team with stellar stars and scrubs.
So why should we be another Cowboys/Saints/Raiders team?
Don’t we already hate those guys?
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
by brotherbrown on Aug 21, 2010 1:37 AM EDT up reply actions
I didn't get to see the game
But I do wish our first team offense would take a few deep shots and actually score some touchdowns in the preseason. But I’m not too worried just yet because it is preseason.
Consider Mularkey and BVG on the slightly warm seat with the temperature warming or cooling directly related to their play calling this season. It’s one thing if a player forgets an assignment or just gets beat, it’s another thing entirely when your coordinator is the one beating the players.
We will be a good team this year, maybe not elite but not bad either. Smith and Dimitroff have this team headed in the right direction but building an elite franchise takes time. The colts and patriots didn’t get to that level over night and they have been good for a while. Quick rising teams always seem to fall apart shortly after winning. I’m fine with the slow steady approach.
Go FALCONS!
by FLA_Falcon on Aug 20, 2010 10:20 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Excellent point
Our Falcons were so bad for so long I suppose I can deal w/a few more above average seasons till we get to the promised land. If I can live thru back to back 4-12 seasons I can deal w/anything.
by aces666high on Aug 20, 2010 11:59 PM EDT up reply actions
I don't think the falcons looked as bad as you may think
It’s New England. I knew there were going to test our secondary. (and Fred Taylor keeps punishing us) Miami will test our run defense and possible creative plays. Seeing what NE did against us, and Miami trying to open up their passing game too with Marshall maybe playing, maybe they also test our secondary.
Also I think KC NE MIA and maybe even to some extend JAX with Alualu and Kampmann addition Jackson are all good defenses.
The Dallas Cowboys murdered our secondary last year but they can’t seem to score in preseason. They’ve yet to score a TD on offense, so there is worse.
We aren’t game planning for these games, and we are experienmenting. It’s hard to say what we will look like in September, so don’t panick yet.
Our defense does look improved. Biermann is the new Brawny predator. Looks like Weems will retain his KR position.
I don’t think JPW is as bad as he looks. He plays with second stringers so he can’t truly shine. He looks about as good a Ryan IMO. Nance needs more practice. I think he’ll become his own version and a speedy nifty Snelling because he follows blockers well.
Yeah there are definately concerns. Our defense may not all be there, and offense can still be inconsistent, but I think 10 wins sounds good for us this year.
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
Good points
and I want to see the problems during preseason and then see if the team adjusts during the next game. Yes, the D sucked against NE’s run game but I don’t think that was because we don’t have the talent on defense, rather I think the d-schemes were off. The LB’s got pulled into the offensive blocking plans during a lot of NE’s runs, that is easy to adjust. The safeties were lost during the long runs but they were mostly back ups and their approach needs to be adujsted.
The defensive upsides-
No deep passes, decent pass rush and looks like there is a lot of depth on the D-line. We might also see that JA98 is a big part of ATL’s run defense.
Exactly
This is the time to lose games and get all of our problems ironed out.
Let’s even lose 99-0 so we can go out and get any player that can fix our problems or do addition by subtraction.
Perhaps, I must go through Hell to get to Heaven......................if there is one.
it's like this
The one major difference against
the Pats was this:
Pats PLAYED football.
Our guys PRACTICED football.
Please, let’s not be the homecoming
opponent for anyone, at ANY time!
HIT SOMEBODY!
Falcon Up!
by please before I die, Falcons on Aug 21, 2010 11:48 PM EDT reply actions
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