Finally Putting It All Together: A Falcons-Panthers Recap
by Dave Choate on Oct 17, 2011 7:30 AM EDT
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There was a moment, in the third quarter, where everything seemed on the cusp of coming undone.
The Falcons had just allowed Cam Newton to march down the field and toss a short touchdown pass against them, and they were down 17-14. The third quarter malaise that has plagued the team all year long reared its ugly head, with the Falcons unable to do anything of substance. It looked like the same ol' second half Atlanta Falcons.
Then a funny thing happened in the fourth quarter: The Falcons dropped 17 points on the hapless Panthers, who after an admirable effort through the first three completely imploded. Cam Newton threw two picks, the defense was unable to contain a potent Michael Turner and that was it. The Falcons ended up winning, 31-17.
This was a big win for any number of reasons, chief among them that the Falcons are now 3-3 heading into a very difficult game against the Detroit Lions next weekend. With the Buccaneers winning today, the Falcons are now in sole possession of second place and still in the thick of things in the NFC South, just a game down. It also proved that the Falcons could put together at least three good quarters, something that was in doubt as recently as this morning.
That should buoy our spirits for a week, and it gives the Falcons a shot in the arm. After the jump, we'll break down some individual performances.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
- Matt Ryan did his best impression of a game manager, with a couple of deep passes sprinkled in. One of those went to Harry Douglas for 34 yards, while the other drew a pass interference call for Roddy White. He ended up 14-22 for 163 yards and a touchdown in a more or less mistake-free performance.
Given that the Falcons came in planning to run and did so, this was a quality, workmanlike performance. I'll certainly take it. - Michael Turner was a beast. At one point, when he picked up Sione Fua and threw him aside as if he were nothing but a rag toy, it became clear that he was headed for a fantastic day. He finished with 27 carries for 139 yards and two touchdowns. When you consider that he lost about 10 yards on a handful of his carries, it could have been even more amazing.
Even though I'd concede that Turner looks a bit slower every season, he's still plenty fast and he's lost little of his power. Against bad run defenses--the Panthers and upcoming games against the Lions and Colts both qualify--Turner is a dynamo. He was the Falcons' best player in this game, and it wasn't particularly close. - The offensive line deserves huge props. They kept Ryan on his feet, limiting a potent Panthers pass rush to one sack. They opened holes for Turner. I've said before that the line has been improving incrementally every week, and they took another step forward here. Even if Sam Baker once again sampled from a buffet of mistakes.
- Harry Douglas did well in his limited opportunities, something that made Mike Smith single him out for praise after the game. His two catches for 57 yards were both good, they showed Ryan could throw a deeper pass and they may have set HD for a bigger role down the line.
- Tony Gonzalez had a couple of clutch grabs...as usual.
- Speaking of clutch, Matt Bryant hit his lone field goal try and all four extra points. Nothing unusual.
- Matt Bosher was markedly better. He boomed a couple of touchbacks, averaged 43 yards on his three punts and put two of those inside the 20. The Falcons endured a lot of growing pains with Bosher, but hopefully he's gone from a pimply, noodle-legged teenager to a productive member of Georgian society.
- On a day when the pass rush was inconsistent, Ray Edwards and Stephen Nicholas came up with a pair of big sacks. Edwards now has sacks in back-to-back weeks, and Nicholas is quite simply one of the most underrated players on the Falcons today.
- Corey Peters has the play of the game, reeling in a one-handed interception off of a Cam Newton screen pass. Newton's errors were a huge factor in the Falcons' win, and none were bigger than the team's hulking defensive tackle picking that pass. Big ups to the big man.
- Brent Grimes had magnetic hands. His pick in the end zone arguably changed the course of the game. If the Panthers had been able to score there, there's a little more desperation in the Falcons' offense and more chances for mistakes. Grimey, as usual, came through.
- Thomas DeCoud finished the game off with a pick, as well. He's been maligned for his coverage at times this year, but he's also had a nose for the ball. And a pair of hands, for that matter.
- Overall, the defense made big plays when it counted. I'm going to nitpick them in a bit, but it has to be acknowledged that they were able to force turnovers when they needed to late in the game.
THE LOWLIGHTS
- Roddy White basically disappeared. He drew a couple of huge pass interference penalties, which deserves some praise, but he finished the game with two catches for 21 yards and had a costly, boneheaded penalty earlier in the game. It hasn't been a particularly disciplined season for White so far, and I'm not entirely sure why.
That said, Chris Gamble's a pretty good corner. I'm not going to carve a headstone for his career. - Sam Baker is still making stupid mistakes. He was better this game, but I do wish he would stop that.
- The defense struggled to contain Cam Newton up until the end of the game. To these eyes, that had a lot to do with an inconsistent pass rush and the soft zone that Brian Van Gorder loves so much. They gave Steve Smith & Co. so much room to operate, and it cost them more than once.
That said, holding the Panthers to 17 points? Pretty nice. - I don't really have anything else to complain about. How refreshing is that?
THE WRAPUP
Game MVP: No-brainer. Michael Turner was a Touchdown Vampire and a Yardage Zombie. He gets it.
Game Theme Song: I'm going to Hall & Oates. My optimism has been at least partially restored.
One Thing To Take Away: The Falcons can play a complete football game. Yes!
Next Week: The Detroit Lions and their coach, Swingin' Jim Schwartz. Check out Pride of Detroit for more.
Final Word: Awin!
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Something to build on
Some thoughts about the game:
- Starting in the no-huddle really seemed to get the offense going. I’ve said before, and will say again, both the passing game and running game prosper in the no-huddle.
- I’m not sure if I’m imagining things, but it appeared that Turner did far less runs into the middle. He seemed to be hitting the edges more – and gaining more yards. We seemed to have far fewer 3rd and longs.
- I can’t help but think that two of the missed deep passes to HD would have been catches by JJ. Can’t wait to see him back into the mix and having HD in the slot.
- Ryan is tough as nails. His pass to HD to convert on 3rd and 12 was glorious.
- Spoon is a freak. He’s always around the ball, no matter where it is on the field. I’m loving his play this season.
- Ray-ray seems to be coming alive, and his sack was the kind you want – on a critical 3rd down. I’m hoping the intensity improves each week.
All in all, it WAS the Panthers, but holding the most explosive offense in the league to 17 – and handling the Packers well the previous week – gives me some hope against Detroit, especially since the 49ers were nice enough to give us a good game plan for Sunday. It may not have been explosive, but a win is a win is a win.
by The DW on Oct 17, 2011 7:51 AM EDT reply actions 4 recs
Agree and rec'd
Also thought the same thing regarding HD’s attemps downfield, especially when the 2nd attempt also was overthrown
by DanishFalcons on Oct 17, 2011 8:50 AM EDT up reply actions
Yeah less up the middle runs definitely
Yeah I remarked…“Hey MM IS READING our posts” LOOK he actually passed on a first down and didn’t run up the middle every other play.
MT's best runs in fhe GB
were also to the outside. I hope this trend continues. That will also help with the pass rush.
Yasinkas just confirmed
Turner averaged 8.1 yds outside the tackles and just 2.4 yds between the tackles. On the season, Turner averages 5.6 outside and 4.1 inside.
It’s a mystery why Mularkey seems so damned insistent on rushing MT up the middle, when he’s obviously much more effective on the edges.
I just hope that someone
is paying attention to those numbers. I don’t care if it’s Ryan, Smith or Mehlarkey, just someone!!
No one is looking mwalex. No one.
I picture it as someone coming from the front w/a message to General Smith. Captain Mularkey tells the runner “I’ll give it to him”, reads the message w/the info, “attack outside repeat attack outside!” drops it into the fire and informs Smitty, “no changes all’s quiet, continue the assault as planned…right up the middle.”
Technically the Falcons are in 3rd place
Bucs 4-2
Saints 4-2
Falcons 3-3
Panthers 1-5
Abe wouldv’e had a couple of sacks if he would just wrap up better. I’ll give props to Newton…he is very elusive. He’s going to be a beast to play in a year or two.
yeah he's going to be Rothlesberger'esque to bring down in the future
He has a big body and much better wheels. I have bad feelings about him being able to extend plays in the not so distant future.
Assuming he doesn't run headlong into a concussion or two...
April 1974 - Tug McGraw, when asked if he preferred grass or AstroTurf: "I don't know. I never smoked AstroTurf."
by Blood_Talon on Oct 17, 2011 11:24 AM EDT up reply actions
He's so big he doesn't take a lot of headshots.
I’m sure he will some but he’s no Vick concerning being frail.
Rule #1: Double tap.
by Ball Hawk on Oct 17, 2011 4:52 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Good point too...
April 1974 - Tug McGraw, when asked if he preferred grass or AstroTurf: "I don't know. I never smoked AstroTurf."
Every team in sports
There were moments where I thought and or said “#^@*@*#$#@*@*@* Falcons”, and there were moments where i said “$*$( yeah! The Falcons can beat anybody!” Both reactions are normal in sports, so it’s challenging to be reasonable about this win. I feel better about the near and long term futures of the Falcons after this game than I have after any other game this season, so that’s a start.
Side note, anyone read MMQB this morning?
Peter King wrote it assuming we’d lose the game.
Easily, the Falcs best game of the year...
I have no vampire experience, but I have hunted werewolves. I shot one once, but by the time I got there, it had turned back into my neighbor's dog.
twitter.com/technomonk13
This...
Until now, even our wins were ugly.
While this was far from a complete game, the Falcons beat a tough Panthers team (yes, they are tough, even at 1-5) by 14 points and Newton had his worst game of the year. This was the first game where Cam truly looked like a rookie QB for long stretches, and we have to give credit to our defensive adjustments.
Let’s build on this and hand the Lions their second-straight home loss.
"Don't go ninja'n nobody that don't need ninja'n!" ~ Kung Fu Hillbilly.
Good Game
I was a little concerned going into the 4th. It seemed some of the usual things weve seen out of this team were gonna come back to haunt us but we prevailed. Dave your right about that zone, something about it just gives me the chills and make me feel queezy. I wish there were other options in BVGs scheme. We played well but I dont know if we won that or it Cam gave it to us. All in all it seems we are getting better every week and Ill take the win. Next week will be a test lets hope we can carry some of this momentum over and start rolling.
by Bigru3 on Oct 17, 2011 8:24 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
The goal of the BVG zones
is to lure QBs into feeling comfortable making passes and setting up interceptions. When it works, it’s not a bad system – but it’s dependent on a good pass rush and on QBs being confused by what they see. It worked on a rookie like Newton, but guys like Rodgers or Brady eat it for breakfast.
Those soft zones suck
if the quarterback is competent. Even my 15 year old son was saying during the game that zone coverage doesn’t work if you do not have a pass rush. Newton had way too much time to pick apart the zone. Good thing for us he isn’t a competent quarterback (yet).
At one point yesterday the cats were 8/9 on 3rd down conversions
I guess someone told our guys they are allowed to come off the field and get Gatorade if they stop them 3 times in a row. BVG is absolutely horrified to give up the big play so he’d rather let us die by a thousand razor blade cuts. The funny thing is we still give up the big play. Enough negativity. I’m so happy that we won and more importantly kept attacking a teams known weakness instead of forgetting halfway thru like we always do and mixing it up when no mixing is required.
Falcons...
I’m glad we got this one. It makes you feel a lot better knowing that you don’t have to fix what is not broken just add to it. And MR starting in the no huddle gets a thumbs up from me. Hopefully the guys upstairs were paying attention. Team looked totally different this week than the last few. Good win guys.
That is well said...
“You don’t have to fix what is not broken just add to it.” We tried to change our offense too much with the addition of Julio. We need to play the way we’ve been playing for the past three years – just with a better number two WR who can make things happen after the catch.
"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
Agree to a point
but in the past, if our opponents shut down the run and/or got a big lead on us we were done. We needed the talent to be able to switch to a passing game if necessary. Now we just need the playcalling and adjustments to be there.
I don't know what to think
I am going to take this game with a grain of salt. It was the panthers although they are competitve and fun to watch, its a game we should have won.
-Like I said in my prediction we would go back to our bread and butter of last year which was run the ball.
-Matty Ice did well in a crucial drive in the 4th to break the tie
-Hopefully we can use this a stepping stone to slay the Lion
-Our D needs to continue to putting the pressure on the QB
-And dammit we need a better 3rd quarter. I know the Panthers destroyed the clock on their possesion but we need our D to get off the field on 3rd down and mid-long. It pisses me off that our D isn’t getting it done.
My thoughts and assumptions about the game is that we took care of business. We need to incorporate a no huddle for the Lions.
Good game
But I’m concerned with the defense not getting off the field on third downs. Good teams will eat us alive for that. We need to get stops and get off the field more consistently
Bottom line...simply put
We got the win but those 3rd downs are barn burners. They can bring us down as weve seen this year. I do think that some of the tougher games are behind after this week but then again our schedule is brutal.
by Bigru3 on Oct 17, 2011 9:03 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
3rd downs...
Yea those 3rd downs are a barn burner. Thats whats been plaguing us since the playoff game. It seems like we drop into that zone and guys are getting open with ease due to the lack of pressure. I wonder if bringing an extra guy if the match up in the secondary is favorable would leave us exploited. We need more pressure up front.
by Bigru3 on Oct 17, 2011 10:17 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Opps...didnt know first one went through.
by Bigru3 on Oct 17, 2011 10:18 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Mike Smith better start practicing his handshake
Wouldn’t want Schwartz to take a shot at our coach. I can’t believe I can actually joke about that.
That was hilarious
Harbaugh was a child about the handshake and Schwartz showed a total lack of control going after him after it. Loved every second.
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Harbaugh acted like a douche.
If someone would have slapped me on the back like that after a tough loss I would have flipped him, flipped him for real.
Rule #1: Double tap.
by Ball Hawk on Oct 17, 2011 9:31 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions 1 recs
Nice one, Fenster
No one else may have gotten your obscure Usual Suspects reference, but I did, and it was glorious.
Classic flick.
Rule #1: Double tap.
by Ball Hawk on Oct 17, 2011 4:18 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Whatever...
it was just the excitement of the moment. The whole thing is being blown WAAAAAAAAAY out of proportion.
It should be about a great game between two teams playing really good football right now but noooooo, everyone wants to focus on a little “over-excitement” by the coach. Hell at this point I wish they would have slugged it out…at least then it would have been worth all the attention it’s been getting.
Sports Media SUCKS!!!
April 1974 - Tug McGraw, when asked if he preferred grass or AstroTurf: "I don't know. I never smoked AstroTurf."
it was blown out of proportion
but Harbaugh should have known better. A man’s going to act that way anyway
Atlanta will win a championship....someday
Point taken
April 1974 - Tug McGraw, when asked if he preferred grass or AstroTurf: "I don't know. I never smoked AstroTurf."
Whatever whatever.
It was a dick move on Harbaugh’s part. That was an emotional loss for Schwartz and he had to know that. You don’t act like a dick when you win like that. Where I grew up that would get you shanked.
Rule #1: Double tap.
by Ball Hawk on Oct 17, 2011 4:21 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Point taken
April 1974 - Tug McGraw, when asked if he preferred grass or AstroTurf: "I don't know. I never smoked AstroTurf."
Perhaps Mike Smith should offer
an ironic, courtly, mid-seventeenth century bow before he shakes his hand. Just to be clear about the no-disrespect thing.
by TheAreopagite on Oct 17, 2011 9:08 AM EDT up reply actions
Michael Irvin said it best
Jim Harbaugh is not a player he needs to keep his emotions in check and Shwartz needs to be the bigger man and take his losses like a man cause he is the same emotional guy that Harbaugh is.
by Bigru3 on Oct 17, 2011 10:20 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Perhaps he should take
Dunta and Spoon with him to the handshaking.
by CaptJackSparrow on Oct 17, 2011 2:20 PM EDT up reply actions
I'd love to see him get intoit with the same Smitty that went toe to toe with MeAngelo
That would be worth the fines…
A win against a competitive team
While CAR doesn’t have a good record they have been in every game so far this season.
I didn’t get to watch the game but saw the highlightes. It looked like ATL played better. The D had three INT’s and two sacks. Someone mentioned that Abe would have had a couple of sacks if he could wrap up the QB. I am STILL concerned about the soft zone and giving up a lot of long 3rd downs.
The passing game was low yardage and hopefully that was part of the game plan and not a lack of execution.
We all complained about our use of short passes last year.
Now I’m beginning to wonder why. It works with our team when we get Turner moving, who btw started slow last year also. Matt showed again how smart he is when he makes adjustments at the line. We did have some explosive plays, +4 I think.
Rule #1: Double tap.
by Ball Hawk on Oct 17, 2011 9:50 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
The problem wasn't the amount of short passes, but the lack of long ones
I think the offense yesterday did a nice “reset.” They still took shots downfield – and that bomb to Roddy was a perfect pass by Ryan – but they were more deliberate and the shots were good ones, ie, not into double-coverage or down the sidelines.
by The DW on Oct 17, 2011 1:44 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
As someone mentioned earlier
If you take away two of the pass interference penalties, Ryan throws for close to 250 with 2 TDs.
And more importantly, every yard mattered – ie, no turnovers. I love how people talk about the number of yards that Cam piles up, but neglect the fact that many of them are pointless. It’s like eating a steak made of cotton candy. It may look good on the surface, but it’s nothing but empty calories.
agreed
A good chunk (probably 60 give or take 10) were garbage time at the end of the game.
And back to Ryan, two touchdowns to roddy and another 60 yards.
by Whyte Bler 000 on Oct 17, 2011 7:30 PM EDT up reply actions
Props to William Moore for the tip of Grimey's interception
Grimes got the INT but BIIIG props to William Moore for looking back at the QB, peeling back off his route a hair, and tipping that pass over the middle so Grimsey could grab it
by dr3dd1ne on Oct 17, 2011 9:50 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Smith had Grimes beat, bad.
If Willy Mo had not tipped that we would likely be looking at an L today. Lucky.
Rule #1: Double tap.
by Ball Hawk on Oct 17, 2011 9:52 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Grimes displayed his superior jumping skills yet again.
Smith didn’t have a chance at winning that jump ball.
"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
Not once it was tipped but had it not been tipped smith woulda been doing the dougie.
Rule #1: Double tap.
by Ball Hawk on Oct 17, 2011 10:38 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Signs of life
This game was encouraging and I saw a number of things that I liked throughout. That being said, there are still a couple of issues that need to be dealt with prior to taking the road trip to a fired up Detroit team.
Good:
1. Controlled the ball on offense
2. Matt Ryan’s deep ball actually looked very good – he had a good rythm going with his throws and was looking like he was stepping in as opposed to skittishly launching the ball
3. The defense – I am telling yall, I think that we could very well have the best core of linebackers in the league. Each of our starters (counting Nicholas here) can hit and get after the QB. I LIKE OUR LB’s.
Not Terrible, but Not Good:
1. Soft zone… entire scheme is based on getting after the quarterback and forcing hatsty throws. If QB has time to stand in the pocket we will get picked apart. Its a face. ADJUST VAN GORDER.
2. Pass rush – we actually did pressure Cam Newton considerably more in the second half, but he had some time to stand in the pocket and pick us apart. We also need to wrap up when we get after the QB. THIS IS STILL AN IMPROVEMENT. If we can stay healthy I see our D-Line continuing to improve.
3. Matchups: we need to pay more attention to who our CB’s are matching up with on the outside. Too many times did I see 6’5 Greg Olson matched up with Grimes. It didn’t hurt us this week, but we need to be on the spot next week. A Megatron Grimes matchup willnot/cannot work. It needs to be avoided.
Good win. I would also like to not that if we had taken that Tampa Bay game (HAD RODDY WHITE JUST CAUGHT THAT BALL) wed be tied for first people. Lets keep rolling.
Go Birds!
I'm not looking forward to the Megatron/Grmies matchup either
so hopefully the defense will 1) get pressure on Stafford and 2) bracket Johnson all day. I can’t say whether or not Stafford has the ability to put touch on the ball. Moore “should” be able to handle Pettigrew and Robinson "should be able to handle Burleson. We need everybody else to make sure Jahvid Best doesn’t get loose. I know…easier said than done.
Don't know
how tall robinson is but that might be a better matchup. We will probably have a saftey over the top anyways.
DR is 5'10", Grimey is at best 5'8"-5'9"
Megatron wins the physical battle with either of them. Johnson can jump pretty damn high, negating Grimeys main weapon. Only hope is to contain. Pettigrew is a solid TE, Burleson can sometimes hurt u but Best has a concussion, they may be missing him next week. So BVG won’t have to have us practice against screens! Not that he did anyway. So get ready for more zone with a side of zone and if your still hungry, he has some zone blitz in the fridge.
by aces666high on Oct 17, 2011 12:58 PM EDT up reply actions
If Hayden is well
put him on Johnson. Hayden is listed on 6’0" and 195lbs. That is two inches taller and 13 pounds heavier than DR. Swith DR to the other DB position and let GB have the nickel spot
That's what I was thinking too
He is easily our biggest corner, has been playing some solid ball and is easily our biggest corner! Then I remembered that makes too much sense. When is Chris Owens coming back? ;)
doesn't matter
we have no one to matchup on megatron. The only thing we could do is double on goaline situations (if any), prevent the 15+plus catches for him, and hope for the best.
Atlanta will win a championship....someday
I think it's less who guards him
and more how they scheme. BVG has to come up with a good gameplan, implement it and adjust it to how the game is going. I’d suggest doubling ‘Tron, having Lofton spy Best (if he plays) and unleashing Spoon as much as possible. Moore and DeCoud get pressure on blitzes but I don’t think they’ve gotten anyone yet. I’d rather see Spoon tear off after the QB than DeCoud any day.
Jahvid Best is concussed
He was knocked out of Sunday’s game with a concussion. I f he doesn’t play, I really like our chances in DET.
the best help our D can get is from our offense
we need to bleed that clock to death with MT. if we can do that and come away with points, Stafford will have to keep throwing. he does it well, but when our D is prepared for obvious passing situations, it’s better. one thing about that zone. I wonder if anyone says anything about it to BVG and MS. had that been Stafford in Cam’s shoes, he’d kill us with that 3rd down conversion rate
Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia
Anyone notice Lesean McCoy punching Andy Reid in his doughy gut?
Love that reaction by Reid, lol.
"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
Unfortunately for Bosher
The NFL is going to start testing for HGH now.
Roddy is starting to get on my nerves. Two weeks in a row he’s had a penalty that’s hurt the team, you can’t be an elite WR and pull that kind of crap.
I hope they let Turner takes it easy this week, he looked absolutely exhausted towards the end of the game and he took a beating all day.
Sam Baker is garbage. I am genuinely afraid for Ryan’s health next week in Detroit.
To be fair, without seeing it
I can’t blame Roddy. Smitty said in his interview today that he was fine with Roddy’s play in regard to the penalty. Maybe he was taking the bullet though. Anyone at the game see what happened?
Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence.
Vince Lombardi
by armchair quarterback on Oct 17, 2011 7:21 PM EDT up reply actions
On one hand
I’m happy for the win; what fan wouldn’t be? I like that teams really can’t run on us but they’ve got to do something about that zone play. The other thing that I didn’t like is that White only had 2 catches for 21 yards. I don’t recall the Panthers having a shutdown corner and that worries me.
This...
The other thing that I didn’t like is that White only had 2 catches for 21 yards. I don’t recall the Panthers having a shutdown corner and that worries me.
worries me too!!
I didn’t see the game as I had to work, hoping to catch a replay sometime this week if I get lucky.
April 1974 - Tug McGraw, when asked if he preferred grass or AstroTurf: "I don't know. I never smoked AstroTurf."
by Blood_Talon on Oct 17, 2011 11:30 AM EDT up reply actions
I think MR has lost a little confidence in him.
After his crucial drops, he just is not being targeted as much. I think that opponents have caught on to his underneath route tree also. He did’nt have many deep passes his way last year. Teams are playing him underneath now. That deep pass for interference should count as a completetion towards his yardage and it should open up under routes also. Hopefully more deep targets will open up more under completions and get him going. I think we will need 6+ catches from him and JJ next week. Detroit 2ndary is awful, but their line is top3.
Well GB secondary was supposed to be awful too and we see where that got us...
April 1974 - Tug McGraw, when asked if he preferred grass or AstroTurf: "I don't know. I never smoked AstroTurf."
Don't remind me, still on a little bit of a high right now.
This is the same thing that i said about the GB game (and we know how that turned out), but I will say it again anyway. Upconing DET game is where we turn the corner. We need a win against a strong team to put a streak together. We pull that off and then we got IND (which I am counting as a win already) , then NO. If we dont beat DET or NO or both, then we are still just average. We are better than average. We have got to win the ones that we are supposed to, which we have for the most part. And show up in the big ones like we belong there.
I completly agree!!
But we beat the “bad secondary horse to death” already and I still don’t think MM has got his act together…takes more than one game considering what we have seen so far. Frankly, this is a game we should have won so I will curb my enthusiasm for now
Granted I have not seen the game so I don’t know the “why” but we still put up a FAT goose egg in the 3rd quarter; although, it was nice to see the total domination of the 4th quarter.
April 1974 - Tug McGraw, when asked if he preferred grass or AstroTurf: "I don't know. I never smoked AstroTurf."
Secondary doesn't matter
when you have less than 3 seconds to get rid of the ball. Even taking less hits, Ryan has had hardly any time to throw this year.
by Whyte Bler 000 on Oct 17, 2011 7:32 PM EDT up reply actions
Well, don't forget the pass interference
If Roddy magically pulls that one in, that’s an additional 50 yards. He didn’t have a great game, but he got yards when it counted.
Agree, I said it should count as a completion.
He set up the TD. That also helped MT get his yards by deepening the safeties.
Spoontang is becoming a very good LB.
Rule #1: Double tap.
by Ball Hawk on Oct 17, 2011 10:44 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Makes me REALLY want to see the game now!!
April 1974 - Tug McGraw, when asked if he preferred grass or AstroTurf: "I don't know. I never smoked AstroTurf."
1st off i successfully predicted the final score on earlier post here..
2nd we had glaring holes in our zone D all game.Newton just cldnt find them due2 pressure..this needs2 b fixed by nxt sunday..got2 meet HD after the game.he was a cool dude.took pics wit me & my lady.also met grimes.think i pissed him off when i told him he only 5’8 but he still gave me a autograph.lol..clabo is a cool dude2.met him & saw julio giving every1 a autograph.i love this team.
Been a falcons fan since the big starter jackets was in style
by turnj35 on Oct 17, 2011 10:44 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Brent Grimes had magnetic hands.
Magnetic Jazz Hands
by RamblininAlb on Oct 17, 2011 11:57 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs
I LIKE IT
Lets beat Detroit next week and get it going again.
To everyone worried about Ryan and White's stats:
Those two super-obvious pass interference calls took away about seventy yards and two touchdowns. So while the numbers aren’t there, they brought us to the one twice, allowing the Vampire to take credit for the scores. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about lack of chemistry between them (did you see how pretty that first deep ball was ??!?! Right on his numbers!). Take that penalty yardage and convert it to passing yardage, and you see that everyone on the offense had a pretty good day.
by orion12 on Oct 17, 2011 12:59 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
That pass from Ryan
Was one of the most accurate deep passes I’ve seen him throw
Exactly
It was a beautiful pass. Hopefully, a sign of more to come.
If Ryan can get time in the pocket, he'll throw those all day
Fortunately, since they started in the no-huddle, it buys Ryan more time in the pocket. Rushing Turner on the edges also forces the DEs to backoff just enough to give Ryan some breathing room – proven by the fact that a Charles Johnson led line only got one sack all game.
Was it my imagination, or was Peters dropping into coverage on his pick?
I dont think he was engaged w/anyone and he was a couple of yards back. Cam was trying to dump one off to Dwill(I think) who was behind Peters. Love how Walker is playing more and more. So…Peria Jerry…what’s new buddy? Nothing? No cool things to talk about, like a tackle or an assist on a tackle? Fall on anyone lately? No? Ok, talk to ya later!
Off base on PJ
He has the highest WPA and EPA of ALL the DT’s on the team. He is tied with Peters for most tackles for loss and QB hits for the DT’s. He is also the ONLY DT that has forced a fumble. People need to look at what the player is actually doing before taking shots at him.
I'll take all the shots I want Mr. Smartypants!
It was a bit tounge in cheek but even you didn’t know if he played last week. He’s been invisible the past couple of weeks after looking solid early on and believe me, I’m looking for the guy. I’m looking for a guy reversing his field because PJ is getting into the backfield or QB hurries. I don’t want another first round bust to add to our too long a list. BTW, do they include games where they have no stats and they were active? CP missed games due to injury but PJ has only 4 games listed as well. Advanced NFL stats site btw.
Hey Clay Jr.!!
Don’t make me come over there! Or turn this car around!
I’m not sure on your question about no stats. I’m guessing it’s based on snaps played and the value/effectiveness of the results of the players participation in that play.
Lol! Sorry, I read into it more and yeah, it's based on snaps
So since Peria has the most snaps of out DT’s, he’d have more of a chance to up his WPA&EPA #’s. Of course it works the opposite way as well. So this stat is kinda like +/- in hockey I assume?
More or less
It’s all based on positive and negative output and making the most out of each snap. Like you said, it can go up and down.
i just
think he read that it was a screen play. Usually our D just tries to attack the QB and screens kill us but Peters made a great play
by Erihury on Oct 17, 2011 2:23 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
In the article on the ajc
he said it was a zone blitz coverage in which he had contain. Since the action was floating that way, he did his job and followed the play. He did a great job of turning his head in time to see the ball coming his way.
Got the answer on Daves Bird Sqwaks post
Peters said they were in a zone blitz. He was contain and a DE dropped into coverage. Good read. Funny too.
Won't matter
Last I checked, Bradford can’t complete passes lying down.
Sad but true. I was hoping he'd go somewhere good. He's on my fantasy team. Alas.
Now I have to wait for him to learn the playbook.
So would you pick up Demaryius Thomas? I was trying to decide between
picking him up or keeping Avant from the Eagles. Not much either way but Thomas has more upside…I think. With Tebow at the helm, I just don’t know.
Eric Decker is actually their top wideout
Hes a short to mid range wideout. Thomas is really a feast or famine guy. Tebow may be running a bit too much at first. And Thomas is hurt all the time! He did show some flashes tho. I had Decker for a few weeks before the bye and up until this last game he was solid. Avant hasn’t been that bad. Did he poop himself this past week?
He won't have to learn the playbook
He has been under McDaniels before. In fact, he might be a sneaky good start. I’m thinking of giving up Torain for him if the guy in my league will bite.
Stafford has been playing for too long this season
Its already past due for his yearly season ending injury. ATL should bring some fluffy down pillows to throw at him so he gets knocked out of the game.
Glad we won
though not particularly impressive. If someone told me we’d be trailing the Panthers at home in the fourth quarter, I’d have thought something went horribly wrong.
On a day when the passing game was minimally effective, The Burner put on quite a show.
TO MICHAEL! TO MICHAEL! TO MICHAEL!
Being that I got to watch this game
and not be utterly disappointed by a second half collapse. I will throw a few things out there.
Offense:
Matt definitely needs to work on his timing on deep throws to HD and JJ. The lone deep ball he threw to Roddy was spot on, the others to HD were off. Ryan is fully capable of it, but I wonder how much they really work on it in practice.
I’m calling our first draft pick of 2012 right now. With Tony G finding the fountain of youth, HD and JJ coming on strong this year, TE is no longer a high need in my book. I am going with a LT to replace Baker. Hawley played very respectably in McClure’s absence, and the rest of the line seems to be coming together. Baker game after game makes boneheaded plays and missed blocks. I’d almost go as far as trying to trade back up to the first round if a very good prospect is left.
I really think we need to get Quizz more involved. The move he pulled on the shuffle/sweep play were he cut laterally and made a defender completely whiff was magical. Turner still has the chops to grind the ball, and did surprisingly awesome off the corners. But I really beleive Quizz will be the change of pace guy we need. Putting Turner and Quizz in a split backfield could create nightmares, especially out of a no huddle drive.
Overall – the offense looked like it did last year (for better or worse). We put up 31 points by running the ball a lot and passing when needed. I think JJ will be a tremendous asset to this team, but he won’t have to put up massive numbers to make us better. I think this game showed that. Carolina has a good secondary, the only spot on their D that hasn’t been gouged with injuries. I will give some credit to Mularkey for this one, they stuck to running the ball, showed some new things, and the offense was efficient. Had the defense played better we could have put up 40+ points I believe.
With that said
I would like to see more no huddle offense, it just works great.
Defense:
First half was horrendous. I know we had to be aware of D Wills and Stewart, but that soft zone leaving guys open by 10 yards was inexcusable. The third and long conversions have to go, and for the love of all, where is our pass rush. I know Carolina has probably the best O-line in the division, but there were a few missed opportunities, and outside of that very little pressure all game.
One positive though was turnovers. 25 games in a row now with a turnover, that’s saying something. The one shining point of our defense, is that they can come away with a turnover when needed (most of the time). Chalk some of it up to great individual efforts (Moore on that tip), and great individual effort combined with rookie blunders (Peters). Without those two plays the second half could have been much different.
Run defense was respectable considering who we were playing. I am really surprised that Carolina threw so much, with their backfield.
Overall, I’m still calling for a new DC, more so than OC. Mularkey can hand the offense over to Matt, BVG can’t do that same. With the talent we have in the secondary, there is no reason we should be giving up so many 3rd and long plays. I would love to see an all out blitz with man to man on the corners just once, just to see if we CAN do it.
by Whyte Bler 000 on Oct 17, 2011 7:15 PM EDT up reply actions
BALL HAWK
Spoontang sounds like a WINNER. I think we ought to go with that.
by old cuss on Oct 17, 2011 9:05 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
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