Well, I've had some time to cool down from that...debacle that was the game yesterday. Also, kind of a new thing we're doing around here. Mondays are going to be recap heavy, offering opinions from (hopefully all at some point) the Falcoholic writers. It should give you a nice, diverse opinion of what we witnessed in the games.
If you're a fan of Georgia sports, you have no doubt flirted with strong thoughts of depression this weekend, and the Falcons did little to help in the way of that.
Instead of lathering you up with more stuff, jump with me to get the good, the bad, and the extra bad.
The Good
We were not alone in our suffering. The Steelers had seven turnovers in their game against the Ravens. They also scored seven points. As many turnovers as you had points. Has that ever happened before? We all know the Steelers are a good team. They'll recover. So will we.
As for our game, there was little that was good. Abe and Biermann both played their hearts out, with Biermann having a spectacular defensive touchdown for the second year in a row. Abe also had two sack.
Michael Turner looked damn good. When we ran the ball, Turner ran well, the OL paved the way pretty well. 100 yards on 10 carries? That's pretty good if you ask me.
The post game press conference: I read a couple tidbits from the press conference after the game, and Smitty promised it would be fixed, and Mo Pete said today wasn't going to be a fun today for practice. But the thing that interested me the most was that the media asked about the explosive offense. "Where was it?" they asked. Turns out, the Bears D had it covered. Smitty said there were deep plays that were called, but Matty was forced to check down. Credit to the Bears for doing their homework.
I put that under the good because they didn't shy away from their bad play, but they didn't feel like it was a sinking ship. Eases my worries.
Also, Matt Bryant nailed his two field goals. Hooray points.
The Bad
Every friggin' one else.
Eric Weems tiptoed anywhere and everywhere, giving us poorer field position than the 20 on seemingly every kick he brought out of the end zone. He also let some punts roll deep into our territory. It was a bad day for him.
Matt Ryan: I love you as a quarterback. You have and will do great things for us, but for all the times I've heard the phrase "he put the ball on the ground", I have never seen someone actually put the ball on the ground until today. I know you were trying your hardest to make a play, but protect that ball. You're better than that. That INT you threw wasn't the best of your ideas, but credit Urlacher for making a heck of a play.
Offensive line: Matt Ryan will end up just like Aaron Rodgers a few years ago if you keep that sorriness up. You did a reasonable job of run blocking. I will give you that, but Matty was rocked all game long by just their front 4. That is unacceptable. The success of the O starts and stops with you, O-line. Get it together.
The guy whose idea it was to draft Bosher: He just looks like an average kicker to me. Not worth the draft pick. It's plausible that whoever we would've taken might not've made the team, but you haven't impressed me yet, Bosher. Need to see more from you. You should be hitting touchbacks every kickoff.
The Extra Bad (Ugly)
Brian Van Gorder's Zone Defense: Seriously, get that junk out of here. Every team forever finds these holes in the zones on 3rd and 15 for a 20 yard game. Even I've gotten sick of it. I have no doubt you're an intelligent man, but you're not winning over anyone by allowing Cutler to have Brady-esque numbers. I hope someone high up in that front office takes notice of that and gives you a piece of their mind.
DeCoud's hands: You had two chances to help your team, and you managed to not get either of them. You're a pretty good safety, but gotta catch those balls.
Injuries to two of our most important players, Ovie and Babs. It seems that Ovie and Babs were walking under their own power after the game, so maybe it's not serious.
I'm going to take a couple pages out of Dave's playbook and do a game MVP, song, and last word. Makes it more interesting.
MVP: Easily Biermann, who scored the Falcons' only touchdown AND had a sack.
Vid of the Game: It could always be worse.
In a word: Ouch.