Editorial
Remaining Opponent Records Week 9
by tlozwarlock on Nov 6, 2009 12:02 PM EST
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21 comments
Since Sunday marks the halfway point for our season, I decided to take a gander at the current records of our remaining opponents. What did I gleam? We're (currently) facing only three opponents with winning records: NYG, PHI, and NO. The Jets are on the bubble at 4 and 4. Since they're on their BYE this weekend, don't expect any movement from them. Here's how the schedule trends:
As it stands, our next marquee game (if current trends continue) will be the game against the Giants. I'm not discounting our soon-to-come NFC bout with the Panthers on their own turf, but the Giants are likely the next team we face with a winning record.
Take note of the stretch of games after the first Bucs game. We face the Eagles, the Saints, and the Jets, all who (if they continue to win) will have winning records when we face them. That's a pretty brutal stretch, but keep in mind that two of those three games are in Atlanta.
Here's a breakdown of it all, for those of you that like numbers.
| TEAM | W | L | % | NEXT OPP |
| Redskins | 2 | 5 | 0.286 | Falcons |
| Panthers | 3 | 4 | 0.429 | Saints |
| Giants | 5 | 3 | 0.625 | Chargers |
| Bucs | 0 | 7 | 0.000 | Packers |
| Eagles | 5 | 2 | 0.714 | Cowboys |
| Saints | 7 | 0 | 1.000 | Panthers |
| Jets | 4 | 4 | 0.500 | BYE |
| Bills | 3 | 5 | 0.375 | BYE |
| Bucs | 0 | 7 | 0.000 | Packers |
Combined Remaining Opponent Record: 29-37 (0.439)
Games against winning teams: 3
Games against losing teams: 6
21 comments | 2 recs |
A Very Falcoholic Discussion: John Abraham
by Dave the Falconer on Nov 6, 2009 8:15 AM EST
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25 comments
The topic today is one John Erasmus Ezekiel Awesome Abraham, our former pass-rushing master who has not quite lived up to his billing thus far this year.
What inspired me to spark this discussion, honestly, was a question from a commenter over at Hogs Haven about my expectations for Abraham on Sunday. While their question was light-hearted—at least I hope it was, considering they were asking if I predicted 3+ sacks from the guy—it got me to thinking about Abraham's relatively low sack total and whether he might be entering the decline phase of his career.
Rather than write a whole big post where I basically guessed, I thought I'd turn to you, the reader, for a more educated guess. Is Abraham slowing down after a run of excellence, or is it just a slow start to the season? Can he kill Jason Campbell on Sunday, or just maim him?
Your call.
25 comments | 0 recs |
Opponent Series History Week 8: ATL vs NO
by tlozwarlock on Oct 31, 2009 8:15 AM EDT
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Matt Ryan prances into the Superdome's endzone via www3.pictures.gi.zimbio.com
The Facts:
- Current Series Record against Dem Dastardly 'Aints: 45 - 34 (79 total), 0 - 1 Playoffs
- Score-to-Score Totals: Atlanta owns the points scored category by twenty-two touchdowns and two safeties (157 points). New Orleans has a score total of 1585; Atlanta bests that with 1742.
- Old enemies We first played the Saints in our second year as a team, 1967. We've seen them seventy-eight times since in the regular season. These teams know each other well. Still, somehow I don't hate them. I blame the other Dave (of CSC) for being too cool to hate.
- Stompin' em, repeatedly: The Falcons hold an impressive lead in the "streak of wins" category with ten straight wins between 1995 and 1999. The closest New Orleans gets to that is a streak they started in December of 1986 that ran for six games (ending in 89). FYI, the Falcons also had the Saints' number between the years of '69 and '73, winning nine straight times.
- Sharin' the Shutouts: Atlanta and New Orleans both have two shutouts each.
- Running Away with It: 35 of these games (44%) have ended with a winning score margin of 10 or more
- Running WAY Away with It: The Falcons have the highest score differential with 55 points. The magical day was the 16th of September, 1973. The Falcons ended the game with 62 points to the Saints' measly 7.
- Like Fish in a Barrel: The Falcons have scored thirty or more points twenty-two times. The Saints have scored 30 or more just over half of that with 12 games.
- Just Kick It: 22 of these contests were decided by a field goal or less. Hmm...
25 comments | 0 recs |
A Look Ahead: The Return
by tlozwarlock on Oct 30, 2009 5:28 PM EDT
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Where: Superdome
When: Monday November 2nd, 2009 @ 8:30pm
Network: ESPN
Why: Divisional Game
Importance: Serious Business. If we want the Division, we have to go through Brees and co.
Notes: I am truly frightened by this game.
The Falcons win if: they play the most flawless performance of Coach Smith's/Turner's/Ryan's career.
The Saints win if: Drew Brees, laboring with stomach pains after revealing his true identity as Superman on Halloween night and gorging on candy for 48 straight hours, lays a big fat sweet-smelling chocolatey egg on the field.
Prediction: The Falcons lose, possibly by a bunch. The Saints are likely steamrolling their way to the big one.
Washington Redskins
Where: Georgia Dome
When: Sunday November 8th, 2009 @ 1:00pm
Network: FOX
Why: We need at least one guaranteed win this year!
Importance: Meh. This will get ugly. Ew.
Notes: We should win this. We will win this.
The Falcons win if: they show up.
The Redskins win if: they don't lose by a bunch.
Prediction: Falcons demolish them.
13 comments | 1 recs |
Talking Saints With Canal Street Chronicles, Part Two
by Dave the Falconer on Oct 29, 2009 2:00 PM EDT
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24 comments
This is the second half of a discussion with Saintsational, el jefe bloggerio over at Canal Street Chronicles. This discussion is much lighter on the Chinese food, but heavy on predictions that will probably not even be close to reality.
Read along after the jump!
24 comments | 0 recs |
Talking Saints With Canal Street Chronicles, Part One
by Dave the Falconer on Oct 29, 2009 8:00 AM EDT
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17 comments
Now, we've done the question and answer thing before. We've cross-FanPosted before. That's good stuff, but it's not new stuff. New stuff is good, so here's a new feature!
This is the first half of a discussion with Saintsational, the head blogger over at Canal Street Chronicles. We spent about an hour the other night talking about the Falcons, the Saints and Chinese food, and I'm sure you'll learn a lot from this compelling dialogue. Batteries not included. Participation void where prohibited. Check it out after the jump.
17 comments | 0 recs |
A Very Falcoholic Discussion: Is Our Offense Too Predictable?
by tlozwarlock on Oct 28, 2009 7:15 AM EDT
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52 comments
Consider this a sort of Falcoholic Fireside Chat. Dave and I have been wanting to do a collaborative post since he signed me onto the roster. Finally, it's here. I didn't exactly know what to call it, so I stuck with Dave's standby discussion post title. Chime in below with comments on how wrong we are if you wish. If you like this type of feature, I'm sure I can wrangle Dave for some more football talk in the future. Oh, and if anyone knows what to call this, suggest away!
tlozwarlock (tloz): I'm thinking we're way too predictable on offense. Despite the sad flea flicker attempt during the Dallas game, we just ran the ball, twice, with Turner, and then threw on third and long. Oh, and Matt will be throwing to Gonzo or White. Outside of that, there's no variety, no pinnache, no "haha, fooled you" with our plays. We know that they know that we are going to run the ball with Turner. Why not give it to Snelling? We saw how well that worked. We know that they know that we will put Jenkins in the slot. Why NOT make it Weems instead? Variety is the spice of life, and honestly, the key to winning after our opponents already have weeks of tape on our stoic, flaccid offense.
Dave the Falconer (DTF): Way too predictable? I'd argue we're trying too hard to not to let defenses lock in on us, frankly.
Think about it this way. The no-huddle offense has been by far our most successful gambit in this young season, as the Falcons have chewed up yardage and been mostly unstoppable while using it. Despite that, the coaching staff seems to forget about it for long stretches of each game. What we get instead is two runs up the middle with Turner, an errant throw from Matt Ryan and a booming punt from Michael Koenen.
Can you chalk some of that up to our play-calling being too predictable, too vanilla? Sure can. But it's also an unwillingness to stick with what works, a need to outsmart the opponent, that keeps putting us in this mess.
52 comments | 0 recs |
Observations from Area Code 706: ATL vs DAL
by tlozwarlock on Oct 27, 2009 5:33 PM EDT
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14 comments
Talk about fallout. This is the most post-loss activity I've seen since joining the site. I guess you could chalk it up to how badly the game went or how poorly the team seemed to perform. Regardless, you guys have been both humble and very vocal, full of analysis. It's a magical thing.
I've had plenty of time to, in a sense, "get over" this loss, seeing as I had it marked down as a loss from day one (at least, until two weeks ago; dadgum blind confidence). But with the ever-diminishing depth in our secondary, I can't help but highlight some of the, well, lowlights of Sunday's game. But first...
- WEEEEEEEEEMS. Give that man some downs, especially in the slot or, heck, if Mularkey's got the lab coat on, the TE position. I say this because of one key thing: Weems can move and could be a vital part of a somewhat struggling offensive corps.
- To that effect, so could smelling what the Snelling has cooked up for us. Yes, I went there. No, this is not just a meme (fad) that Dave dreamt up while having a nice lucid dream. No, this is a strategy that could work, at least in the interim. Suffice to say, defenses, with 6 full tapes of gameplay to go by, know what we're going to do offensively. That's what Snelling and Weems should be used as: bait or change ups.
- Our offensive play calling has been very stoic after scoring.
- The secondary is, without a doubt, hurting after Williams' loss. And now with Moore on IR, the motley crew for a second defensive level is looking mighty lean, but no so mean. Without some major moves or an increase in maturity/skill level, I'm going to have to be humbling my expectations for the rest of the year.
- Matt Ryan is dynamite (mostly) when he's untouched. When he's rattled and hit four times, we get two INTs and a ton of badly thrown passes, most of those coming from hurried or mis-aligned reads. Par for the course with a second year QB. Remember gang, he's just in his second year and he's this good. Think of him four years down the road, when he'll hopefully be signing a nice big extension...
- Turner...Turner...Turner... I have no prognosis, but I can see the symptoms. He's getting hit harder by faster, better defenses. He's having trouble finding holes (if they're there) and he's coming with less power off the handoff. We'll see if it's a line thing, fundamental thing, or mental thing later on. Right now, whatever it is, I'd like it to be fixed.
- Gonzo cannot alone carry this offense, especially when he's bracketed by one man up, one man down. Variety is the spice of life, Matt. Don't have a read on Gonzo on every single passing play.
- Our pass rush, so dependent on Abe and Alien/Duffman, was absolutely anemic in the second half.
- That darn sunlight cascading through the huge glass facade of that billion dollar tribute to the football gods! It made it look so peaceful on a battlefield where my warriors were getting thrashed about. Insert sad emoticon here.
14 comments | 0 recs |
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