Falcons Lose To Giants In Another Sad Display

by Dave the Falconer on Oct 16, 2007 12:35 AM EDT in Falcons News Comment 14 comments

The Falcons lost to the Giants 31-10. That's actually the best way to describe the game, sadly. The team has rapidly become less than the sum of its parts, and I'm a little annoyed that we're going to enter open season on Joey Harrington after this one. It's hard for me to find something positive to take out of this loss, and I hate writing about how much the Falcons suck on a weekly basis.

So I'll make this brief and to the point. The defense authored some big plays and DeAngelo Hall was pretty monstrous today, which is nice. This time they allowed over 100 yards rushing, though, and allowed Eli Manning to pass his merry way down the field. Still, I have to look at the defense as a bright spot this season. Mike Zimmer deserves a lot of credit for squeezing a lot of talent out of this unit despite a couple of glaring holes (one of them is named Lewis Sanders). Despite the bad game, the defense has earned itself a get out of bitching free card.

The offense has neither earned nor deserves that much credit. Joey was pretty awful again but was also sacked four times and pressured constantly. I'm not here to bury Joey Joe Joe, who in my mind still hasn't ceded control of the starting job to Byron Leftwich. The biggest failure in this game was once again the running game, with Dunn getting only 15 yards on 8 carries (pathetic) and the team running Norwood only 6 times despite his 87 yards. Yes, one of those carries went for 67 yards, but that's exactly why you give him more carries. The dude's a threat to break off massive runs like that, and when Dunn is clearly ineffective and you're only down by 7 you really need to be running. Insane.

1-5. What a disappointing record. [EDIT] Further evidence that I shouldn't be blogging when I'm angry and tired. Your numbers confuse me!

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Uh, I hate to point this out....

It pains me to point this out, but we're 1-5, not 1-4.

I think at this point we should tank it and try to get the #1 pick. I wondered last night if the ESPN broadcasters didn't let Pet Rhino's grand plan out of the bag - flush this season down the toilet to try and get Brian Brohm. I questioned what the HELL Rhino was doing last week when he pulled Harrington in the 4th quarter for Leftwich. Sure, Harrington was struggling, but at that point I still felt like he gave us a better chance to win than Leftwich, who I doubt has had a chance to grasp the entire offense yet. When you look at as a conspiracy theory, it all makes sense now. Yesssssssssssss.

Of course sadly, I've lived through this too many times - they'll screw it up by winning 3 or 4 games in the last half of the season and ruin any chance at the #1 pick.

by Nusm on Oct 16, 2007 8:53 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

My bad

I could claim it was a typo, but that would imply that I wasn't dumb.

And believe me, if this offense doesn't get going soon, we might still be sitting at the 1 or 2 win mark at the end of it all.

by Dave the Falconer on Oct 16, 2007 9:52 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

#1 pick

I think they should just write off the season and go for the #1 pick.

But I disagree with drafting Brohm, I would rather them draft Colt Brennan.

by goldbeast on Oct 16, 2007 9:08 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Interesting

I haven't followed Brennan's college career that closely. Mind giving everyone some background on him?

by Dave the Falconer on Oct 16, 2007 9:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Brennan

I haven't followed him much either but from what I have heard he is putting up monster passing numbers at U. of Hawaii I believe. They run a pro style offense masterminded by none other than one Mr. June Jones. I dug up this link: http://colt.hawaiiathletics.com/

Let's matriculate the ball down the field boys.

by runningback on Oct 16, 2007 10:25 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

dropped passes hurt us

and killed drives on numerous occasions. I agree that Harrington was not spectacular but he wasn't horrible and he doesn't "suck" as some suggest. Even the commentators stated that he was playing well but had no support from the receivers. Considering his past history of getting happy feet and flinging the ball down field when pressured I'd say that he maintained his composure pretty well. He had his ankle rolled over and stayed in the game. He got hit dozens of times yet he still delivered balls knowing the hit was coming. Then the ball gets dropped.

There are so many more issues here than having Joey Harrington as the QB. I don't think he is the ideal QB for Petrino's offense but he is not doing a horrible job. I see absolutely no improvement by putting Leftwich in there. Regardless if he knows the offense or not. We can't run the ball. We can't catch the ball. Our O line is a joke. The only thing that seems to be clicking is the defense.

Sure, drafting a new QB seems like the answer but there are so many other issues that even with a different QB we still have the same O line problems, dropped pass problems, and running problems. I really think that we are in for a several year rebuilding faze.

Norwood's long run was simply amazing! That guy can move!

by Templar on Oct 16, 2007 9:44 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

It's extremely unlikely that Leftwich would do a lot better thrown in there right now, and I support giving Harrington more time. He needs some help, but I would like to see him try to air it out a little more often. It really couldn't hurt.

by Dave the Falconer on Oct 16, 2007 9:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Holy crap

I could not believe how many friggin passes got dropped last night. Joe Horn even had a case of the wood hands.

Let's matriculate the ball down the field boys.

by runningback on Oct 16, 2007 10:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

But wait....

I have to say I don't think it's the dropped passes as much as Herrington. Yes the dropped passes are a problem, but let's face it, receivers aren't going to catch every single pass thrown their way. The bigger problem I see is Herrington holding on to the ball too long. I've seen this over and over and over: 3-5 step drop and get rid of the ball = positive yards, 3-5 step drop and hold the ball = bad, bad things. When he drops back and throws, we move down the field. When he drops back and waits, it's a disaster.

I know this is hard to say, but trust the receivers. THROW THE BALL. JUST TAKE YOUR 3 STEP DROP AND WING IT. Quit looking... looking... looking... If the first option isn't open, throw it to Joe Horn and give him a chance to fight for it - he hasn't been involved nearly enough this year. I'd rather see Joey throwing interceptions than trying to scramble around. GOD WHAT A JOKE THAT IS. Continental drift moves faster than this guy. And Leftwich? Just as slow, so no better of an option.

And while I'm ranting here, why in the ALL BLOODY HELL is Dunn still getting more carries than Norwood? Is Pet Rhino blind to the potential this guy has?!? I like Dunn and respect what he's done for us in the past, but you CANNOT continue to keep Norwood on the bench. Oh wait.... conspiracy theory, I forgot. If we put Norwood in, we have a more effective running game, which gives us a more effective passing game, which gives us a chance to win and not get Brohm. I know you argue that you'd rather have Colt Brennan (I would too), but you KNOW Pet Rhino wants to go after his Louisville boy. It all makes sense when you realize that Rhino wants to lose. That is the only option that I see right now - he wants to lose. Don't give me that he's coming from college and is learning the pro game, I've seen high school coaches make better decisions than this guy. Either he's monumentally stupid (which I don't believe), or he's intentionally tanking it (which I'm seriously starting to believe). I don't think a coach this smart would be making decisions this dumb.

by Nusm on Oct 16, 2007 10:47 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I see where you're going

Do we have the big bodied and aggressive receivers that can go up for a ball and come down with it?

How can anyone be expected to "trust the receivers" when they don't catch the ball well when they aren't fighting for it? You are absolutely right that they can't be expected to catch every single ball but they are professionals and are getting paid to catch as many as possible. It's embarrassing to see a ball hit them in the hands, then bounce off and hit the turf. Not only that but it sucks the life out of the team when drives end because of a dropped pass.

I don't agree with winging it down the field hoping that the good guys come down with it. 3 or 4 times a game? Sure, but only if you have a dynamic receiver that excels at fighting for the catch. We don't. If we do then he is sand-bagging and has not come forward yet.

by Templar on Oct 16, 2007 11:04 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Totally

"you KNOW Pet Rhino wants to go after his Louisville boy."

Absolutely. And while we are at it, give me one reason why we signed Redmen other than the fact that Pertrino and him had a history?

Let's matriculate the ball down the field boys.

by runningback on Oct 16, 2007 1:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Some thoughts

Warrick Dunn should be only on the field as a decoy or used as a receiver. He's missing holes and not even getting to the LOS. It's probably the a result of the OL play, but it's a wasted play when he gets the ball on a handoff.
Michael Jenkins must be removed from the gameplan.
D'Angelo Hall had a terrible game. He couldn't cover any of the Giants' receivers. ANY OF THEM.
Lewis Sanders should only play on special teams.
I thought the run defense played well until they were gassed in the fourth quarter. Then I noticed they gave up 188 on the ground. We need some Time of Possession on O. Badly.
The fact that Harrington can still hit guys in or near the hands with the pressure he's under is amazing. The fact that those passes

still aren't being caught, while unsurprising, is disappointing. He is getting NO help from anyone. This isn't Division III football, Alge. You don't get PT just because you've stuck around for 4 years. If you aren't helping, you are probably hurting.

* Arthur Blank seriously has to re-evaluate the job Rich McKay is doing. He has a great history, and is well respected, but we need some OL via draft or free agency and we need some WRs that can catch, preferably via free agency so we don't have to suffer through rookie mistakes and
adjusting to the game. The signing of Byron Leftwich in light of our OL and
how long it takes this guy to throw and how immobile he is still a head scratcher.

by mercerjd on Oct 16, 2007 2:14 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

On Brohm and everything else

Guys, don't get so caught up in the "Petrino wants Brohm" hype. I see the point runningback made about Redman, and while I agree he is probably only on the team because of his history w/petrino, I think there is a huge difference between drafting Brohm (and not Andre Woodson, who would probably give us all a collective woodson if he were under center for the birds at some point in the not so different future) and signing Redman to be a backup.

Petrino didn't draft Amobi Okoye or Michael Bush, and those was his boys. I think that between Bobby and Rich they'll make a mostly impartial decision.

by Hamburger on Oct 17, 2007 9:03 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I see your point but...

"Petrino didn't draft Amobi Okoye or Michael Bush, and those was his boys."

They also weren't his quarterback. Who remembers draft day when Vick stood on the podium with the Commish to honor Virginia Tech? In other words a serious QB situation was the furthest thing from his mind. Had MV still been on this team, sure Petrino would most likely not have even given drafting Brohm a second thought. He needs his franchise QB though and it would be silly for him not to heavily consider Brohm for that reason alone.

Let's matriculate the ball down the field boys.

by runningback on Oct 17, 2007 1:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs