I couldn’t legally put up a picture of a broom sweeping that stupid Buc guy with a knife in his teeth off a plank, so you’ll just have to imagine it.
A lot of doubters out there, including me. Yes, I’m having to eat my words. After Bucs scored, I called game. But anyone who knows me and anyone who follows my tweets knows that this is just a ploy, a "reverse psychology" ploy, if you will. And hey, it worked! Ahem.
Talk about Matt Ryan’s 2 INTs. Talk about Turner not reaching 100 yards. Talk about our porous secondary. Talk about our lack or pressure. Go ahead, get it out of your system. Because all it is right now is talk. The Falcons, with a shaky Matt Ryan, an ineffective Roddy White, a ten-point deficit, score fourteen unanswered points with ten minutes left in the fourth quarter. It all started with…
The Good
- Eric Weems is something "special." His fourth quarter (and very timely indeed) 102 yard kick off return for a touchdown is the longest in Falcons franchise history. Even longer than anything Primetime ever did. That impact will last a long time.
- Brent Grimes had one int taken away, but it was his fourth quarter int of Freeman, deep in Falcons territory, that sealed the deal on the Falcons’ sixth straight win. And don’t forget his amazing play against Mike Williams.
- Our fourth quarter offense is hard to match up against, regardless of the situation. Why? There’s a lot of fight in this team. They simply refuse to give up. They will not "blink" as Mike Smith keeps harping on. They refuse to let anything stop them. Pluck. Grit. Tenacity. Remember those three words. You’ll hear me champion them up and down the blogosphere and the podcasts I’m on.
- This ain’t your Daddy’s Falcons. Heck, this isn’t even the Falcons I grew to love when first "picking" a NFL team fifteen years ago. Close games? We win ‘em. Odds mounting? We make plays. This team has faults, this team has problems. This team is destined for greatness. Watch closely the remainder of the season. Something special is in the works.
The Bad
- Matt Ryan threw two picks and forced the ball all game long. Not the hallmarks we were looking for. Yes, his 12 yard TD pass to Jenkins won the game for us, Ryan’s sixth fouth-quarter comeback this year. But honestly, had he been on his game, I have a feeling we would not have had a ten point deficit to make up in the first place. Credit the Buccaneers for great coverage (because it WAS great) and decent up front pressure, but there were some truly bad throws coming out of Matty’s cannon today.
- The OL for all those penalties. Yes, I realize there were approximately 5,187 non-calls on the Bucs’ OL but you have to play through that sort of shady officiating. Unfortunately, false starts (one that was called before the offense was set?!) and holding calls helped kill some decent momentum.
- Michael Turner running on the edge worked for about a quarter. After that, the Bucs caught on and yet there he was, still running outside. And up the gut? Not a chance. The OL is to blame, as well as Snelling’s injury, but still.
- Some of the packages we play on D just need to die. "Prevent" defense does just the opposite. KILL IT WITH FIRE
- There are words to describe our kick off/punt coverage against Spurlock, but good isn’t one of them.
The Ugly
- I would go with my old standbys, reffing and announcing (Charles Davis actually said that Matt Ryan threw to Tony G on that last TD drive for the sole purpose of drawing a pass interference call. Of all the numb-brained things I’ve ever heard an announcer say…), but honestly, I’m going with the orange jerseys. There’s a reason you can’t pick bright orange as a jersey color in EA’s Team Builder. It’s HORRENDOUS.