Mike Smith: Competition Is Coming For The Falcons

A oline shakeup. Clabo to left tackle. Reynolds to right tackle. Johnson or hawley to right guard

But Max Starks is. Work him out. Sign him.

Honestly, I guess you can look at it two ways. This is a key game for us to get back on track with our starters playing seahawks, or It may be the best time to try a Will Svitek even if it is for just one game and put a fire in Baker. If we were playing another team besides seahawks I probably wouldn’t be this enthusiastic.

Dahl was the key I think we made a mistake man, besides Reynolds is 6’7 he should be playing tackle I think we should switch him and baker…just a thought???? At 6’7 his size would be an advantage over DEs much like bryannt mikinnie.< I spelled that way wrong. But I’m referring to the 6’8 tackle of the ravens.

I think overall this is the thing that concerns me the most.

There is no easy fix here if Players don’t step up. Its not a simple problem of one single player not stepping up. May be there is a slight possibility of an overhaul in the OL, not sure if it is for better or for worse. However,competition can lit up big fire under the players.

I dont think Clabo or Reynolds would do worse than Baker. You never know till you try. But I still think a lot of pressure could be taken off of the line and Ryan w/ better play calling from MM.
Look at Tampa, we couldnt pin our ears back and rush b/c we didnt know if they wete going to rt un or pass. We you drop back 40-50 per game the opposition is just going rush up field hard. Nothing a draw or midfle screen co you ldnt correct. Did anyone see how Dallas slowed down the Eagles pass rush by running a screen off the LT? They had the RB fake a block on the RE then let him slide pass for a nice screen play.
But we know MM does not have the plays in his playbook, nor is he able to adjust to the play of the competition.
An early lead wld also allow us to run more so
we wldnt need to pass so much, and the D wldnt be able to pin back their ears so much.

I know Baker is getting blown up, but it’s been our interior line that has been getting thrashed, and this is an important point. Even if Baker gets beat, if he can at least force the DE to have to go around the back, this will buy an extra second. The problem has been the pressure and penetration happening up front.

I examined several of the sacks Ryan took this week and last, and the overriding trend – when he’s been taken down by a DE – is that he doesn’t have room to step UP into the front of the pocket. Had Ryan had the room the interior line should be providing, some of those sacks don’t happen.

Since we are probably not going to bring in a FA (this year), I think the coaches need to step up. The OC can do a better job of keeping the D off balance, and the OL coach can work w/ Baker on his footwork, or try Clab at LT. And the QB coach can work w/Ryan on his footwork. A little improvement w/ the OL and Ryans footwork will help, but I think the biggest change needs to come from MM and his play calling. Untill we get it corrected, we may need to use double TEs, or use Snelling as a blocker to protect Ryan and decoy some plays & float out for some screens

Sorry to say but I expected a rebuilding this year. We just haven’t drafted as well as other teams and therefore have fallen behind. Than again, not many teams look great this year. Although my concerns with Ryan are coming to fruition I still believe he can correct his errors and become a solid QB long term—-we just need to give him this chance by getting rid of Mularkey. I’ve never understood everyone’s support of Mularkey, other than a decent brief stint with Buffalo he’s been a failure. As for offensive line—-Baker is busting and Hawley will never be strong enough to compete. Garret is a huge tree sadly he blocks like one too. I never got a chance to watch the Fresno draftee—how did he look?

I’m still amused by Vicks meltdown this weekend. I was one of the lonely voices yelling for Schaub during Vicks stint in Atlanta—-so now I’m taking amusement in how Vick hasn’t changed. He’s still the highlight film that will never win consistently.

The line on the Falcons is blitz the hell out of them. Every other team in the NFL goes to quick slants and screen plays when the defense is blitzing. MM keeps running our WR’s on deep routes and TG seems to be 10-12 downfield as well.

The OLine blocks decently enough against four man rushes. MM is not making the adjustments when the defense stacks the line. Ryan DOES make the adjustment when he is running the no huddle which is why you see a lot more quick passes when he is calling the plays.

So your telling me that if things continue going as they are management is gonna just watch their multi-million dollar investment and face of the franchise get buried into the dirt week in and week out because of chemistry…what chemistry? Its obvious changes need to be made, its that bad. Seattle might cover it up for a week but then guess what, Green Bay comes back into town. I understand these guys are trained at specific positions but at the same time they have to be interchangable to some degree. Move guys around or bring in help but to say the same personel would be thrown out there without attempting change is really a lack of creativity and responsibility.

lol. I know it’s 3 games, But I haven’t seen any close calls either.