The Fly By: Quick Impressions from @KC

In the immortal words of Mel Allen, "How 'bout that?"

What a dominating performance...in the second half. The Falcons obviously had a message to send to the NFL and I think they got it out loud and clear in Kansas City. This is a team that is no longer going to stand for missed opportunities and a lack luster pass game. This is a team out for blood and glory. Follow the jump for my quick hit impressions.

After such an "interesting" offseason and a relatively unrevealing preseason, I honestly didn't know what to think when it came to how our birds would do on the field. I knew the offense would be majorly different with Dirk Koetter behind the playbook. I also knew our team was stacked offensively. I just didn't expect...

The Good

• 40 freaking points. 4 TDs, three through the air!
• 1st downs. We netted 21 of them, only five of which came as third down conversions. Now that's offensive production.
• We didn't punt until the fourth quarter. success_kid.jpg
• Matt Ryan. He's taken a few more steps toward Elite status with his performance here. 299 yards, no interceptions, 74% completion, and a 5 yard TD scamper to match his 3 by-airmail TDs. Oh, and that Cassel-mimicking spike after the rushing TD was pure gold. Ryan showed off some sarcastic flare in the end zone that I haven't seen before. I like it.
• Julio Jones. 2 TDs and 108 yards. Oh, and he did the Dirty Bird in the end zone. I shed some man tears after that.
• Stephan Nicholas (aka Curtis who?). 12 tackles, an interception, a fumble recovery, and 2 Deflected Passes. He only needed a sack to hit football's defensive cycle. Maybe next weekend.
• John Abraham. Only here because he made Cassell so mad the the KC QB threw a pass right to Abe's knee.
• Mike Nolan's half time adjustments. I'm not used to seeing those.
• Quizz. That return was beautiful.
• Offensive Line. No false starts, no sacks. Love that change of pace.
• Second Half defense. You enabled the offense to score three times in as many minutes. You put tangible pressure on the quarterback most of the time, you forced turnovers. I love you.

The Bad

• First half defense. You looked scared. No pressure up front, you'd put in a Nickel package on an obvious rushing down, and third-and-fourteens were suddenly first-and-tens. I don't like you.
• Rushing. This team used to be defined by its rush game. I am aware that Ryan is coming into his own and he's fantastic right now, but there will be days where he can't get things going. We need a rushing attack too. I know it's only Week 1 but not seeing 100yds rushing and Turner in the end zone felt foreign.
• Pass defense. Mentioning this twice. It was bad and if it doesn't get fixed, we can expect more annoying shootout games as we run through the schedule.

The Ugly

Brent Grimes leaving the game for the locker room. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo....!

My "Bold Prediction" of the Week

A certain network begins searching for on-air talent that actually knows the difference between being bold and mentally vacant.