Tag: NFL

Does anyone know what is wrong with Turner? Pat Yasinskas of the NFC South Blog at ESPN goes into detail pointing out that without a running game, the Falcons are in trouble.

But Turner and the running game haven’t been looking fine and what happened Sunday against Dallas may have demonstrated there’s a problem that’s getting worse instead of better. Turner carried 18 times for 50 yards. That’s a 2.8 average, which would translate into a 0.8 if this were a grade-point average.

Tired legs? He had a couple of big plays in preseason. Undocumented injury? At some point you would think that someone would come to Turner’s defense and point out that he has some sort of problem. Is he just spent after last year?

If the problems with the running game and Turner can be sorted out, I hope the coaches figure out what is wrong in time to keep the Saints offense off the field this Monday night.

The Falcons loss to the Cowboys was disappointing on multiple levels. First, they started off so well, but ended up playing very poorly. Second, something is plain wrong with Turner; maybe he got spent last year. Third, the Falcons are now two games behind the Saints heading into their Monday night showdown in New Orleans.

The Falcons have to be able to run the ball to be successful, but they also have to protect Ryan. They did neither well yesterday. Perhaps more disturbing is was lack of ability to get pressure on Romo, but when they did, they could not complete sacks, which resulted in big scrambles or busted coverage. Speaking of which, the secondary truly sucked yesterday.

Atlanta does have one of the more difficult schedules, and if you told me at the beginning of the year that they had a change to go .500 with teams coming off bye weeks (Bears, Dallas, Washington, Giants) I would have taken my changes.

If the offense can get untracked, they may be able to make up for the short comings on defense, but some of that starts with the running game, which is starting to look like a non factor.

It may not have been pretty, but a win is a win. You have to give this one to the Falcons defense inside the Red Zone, which was damn good, including one series late in the game where they forced two fumble, recovering the second one.

For consecutive years, the Dome was loud; unfortunately a large contingent of obnoxious Bears fans where there to support the visiting team. No matter; when it counted the most, the Falcons fans were the loudest and defended the Dome.

Tonight the Falcons play host to the Bears. Everyone remembers the drill from last year. Matt Ryan hooked up with a sideline pattern to Michael Jenkins, saving a second on the clock to allow Jason Elam to kick the Falcons to a 22-20 win. It was a riot in the Dome. I still remember all the Bears fans chanting “Da Bears” as they took the lead with only a few seconds remaining, but the last second heroics of Ryan/Jenkins/Elam sent those same annoying Bears fans away in stunned silence.

Tonight is the rematch. Primetime TV on NBC; should be a great time. I am going to take the two oldest boys up mid-afternoon for a tailgate. My seven-year old loves throwing around a football in the parking lot with dad. Plus the hotdogs are always good. Since this one is a night game, mom is going to allow the kids to layout of school tomorrow; or at least get off to a late start. Speaking of late, I doubt the kids will make the whole game, but I am sure we will still have a blast.

The Falcons are favored by 3 points, but I do not like the match-up when you consider that the Bears are coming off a bye, and the Falcons are coming back from a very successful Left Coast trip. Still, I have to believe that the offense will score enough points if Turner and company are able to move the ball successfully on the ground.

Cannot wait for the fun to begin. Go Falcons!

If you like statistics head over to the NFL South Blog at ESPN and take a look at the Ryan’s numbers broken down by play action vs. regular passes, and formation types. I would love to see more of these types of articles, and I am sure this is what coaches do when breaking down film and game planning.

Going into the Bears game I would expect the Falcons to mix it up a little. Chicago will be expecting the Falcons to pass out of formations with U personnel (2 TEs, 2 RBs). The key to the game will be for Turner to be able to pound the ball between the tackles, which will open up the passing game much like the numbers in the link above. When Atlanta’s offense is untracked, it should be damn near unstoppable.

What a difference a day makes! Unlike my article on UGA (45 points of disappointment) the Falcons left me with a feeling of elation. For all the good stuff the Falcons did in manhandling the 49’ers, I still not like the direction of the running game.

Running back Michael Turner finished the game with 22 carries for 97 yards and three touchdowns. Since he was acquired by the Falcons last season, Atlanta is 13-1 when he totals more than 20 carries per game.

Nice statistic, and there are plenty of others in the link. I guess 4 yards per carry is not so bad, but when did Turner start fumbling?

It looks like the Falcons are still intent on moving into a new stadium. According the ajc, Arthur Blank is pretty insistent on a new home for the Falcons.

Whatever happens, Blank said the Falcons need to play in a new stadium not only to keep their competitive edge but to help Atlanta maintain its image as a world-class city. Blank has said previously that he wants a new stadium when the bonds sold to the Georgia Dome are paid off, probably around 2015 to 2020. He mentioned Thursday that the team’s lease of the state-owned facility expires in 2020 or when the bonds are paid.

“The Falcons are falling behind other teams in the NFL in terms of the experience for our fans,” Blank said at the Atlanta Press Club Thursday.

It is not like 2020 is just around the corner, but I guess it is never too early to try to protect and capitalize on your investment.

The funny thing about the Falcons 26-10 loss to New England is that it did not seem that bad at the time, but when you look at the box score you realize that the Falcons lost in every facet of the game.

The fumble by Turner in the second quarter was a turning point. Instead of Atlanta driving for points, and perhaps a lead a half, the Patriots capitalized to take a 13-10 lead at the half.

I kept thinking the Falcons were in this one by forcing three field goals in a row; instead the game slowly slipped away.

Things to work on in the bye week …

• Third Down conversions were horrid (2-9).
• 105 rushing yards by Fred Taylor.
• 0 sacks; not enough pressure on Brady.
• 58 rushing yards? What happened to the power rushing attack?

There are a lot of other places I could go, and I assume the Falcons coaching staff will go, but time of possession is perhaps the telling stat of the game. 20:11 for the Falcons to 39:49. Ouch.

I hope a week off allows Atlanta to get back on track before going to the Left Coast to visit the new and improved 49’ers.

I really do not like all the talk about the Falcons winning this weekend to gain “elite” status in the NFL. Yes, a 3-0 start would be worthy of saying the Falcons are a gash darn good team, but great? Not so much. We know that the Falcons can have an elite offense; no doubt about that one, but what about the defense? It is not even close to entering the top 10 in the NFL club.

According to ESPN’s Pat Yasinskas:

Big game: It’s only Week 3, but the Atlanta Falcons are playing their biggest game in five years Sunday at New England. I call it the biggest game the Falcons have played since they went to the NFC Championship Game in 2004, not because it’s a homecoming for Matt Ryan and Thomas Dimitroff. I say it because it’s a chance for the Falcons to show the world they’re an elite team. There’s no better way to do that than going into New England and winning.

I have to disagree. This is not the same New England team as we have come to appreciate.

Danny Sheridan (USA Today) is giving the Falcons 4.5 points, which means that Atlanta is getting some respect. Give the home team 3 points and then say they are only 1.5 better than the Falcons? This game will come down to defenses – how bad is the Patriots defense, and if Moss and Welker play, can Atlanta stop Brady’s boys?

In the same NFC South article:

Secondary opinion: A lot of people talk about Atlanta’s secondary and say Tom Brady’s going to carve it up Sunday. That could happen, but I think this secondary is getting a bad rap. Yes, it’s very true there is not a single stud in this secondary. But that also was the case last year and the Falcons made it to the playoffs. They did that because they hid their defensive weaknesses with the pass rush. That pass rush is better than it was a year ago, now that John Abraham is getting some help from Kroy Biermann. That’s why I’ll argue that Atlanta’s secondary, while still a concern, is better than it was a year ago.

Right, that is exactly what I am saying. The Falcons defense is suspect at best. Maybe it will improve as the young team gets more experience, but right now Falcons fans better keep their fingers crossed.

The Falcons are looking for defensive line help. According to Pat Yasinskas (NFC South Blog at ESPN) they may have a decent find in the signing of DT Jeremy Clark.

A day after elevating defensive tackle Vance Walker from the practice squad to take the roster spot of the injured Peria Jerry, the Falcons signed defensive tackle Jeremy Clark to the practice squad. This move might be a little more significant than it looks. Clark has spent some time on the practice squads of the Giants and Eagles, two teams with pretty good defenses. With sudden uncertainty at defensive tackle, Clark could move up to the regular roster if he shows some promise.

The Falcons can use all the defensive help they can get. Atlanta’s rushing defense (19) and passing defense (17) is rather suspect for a team expecting a playoff run. Of course it is a young defense and should improve, but I cannot help but think that the loss of Peria Jerry is a huge impact.

It looks like Peria Jerry, Atlanta’s First Round pick this year, messed up his knee, and has been placed on IR, effectively ending Jerry’s rookie campaign.

Just got back from the Falcons 28-20 victory over the kitty cats from Carolina. Norwood went down early; apparently with a head injury. I assume he will be back in a week or two. What about Peria Jerry? His leg injury did not look so good. Let’s hope he is only out 1-2 weeks; that bye game cannot get here soon enough.

Falcons 2-0. Nice start!

About to head up to ATL, but it looks like the city is covered in rain. I do not see much behind it on the weather radar, so hopefully it will blow past by the time we get up there in an hour and a half or so. If not, I guess I will have one heck of a rained out tailgate.

Go Falcons!

The giddiness is over. The Falcons are 1-0, and getting ready to host the Panthers. I am not surprised that the Falcons won, but I am surprised the way they won.

Pat Yasinskas of the NFC South blog at ESPN wrote

How could we have doubted them when they gutted their defense in the offseason? And how could we question that defense after it looked bad in the preseason?

There’s no questioning the decision to rebuild the defense after what that unit did after the season-opening victory against Miami. The Dolphins aren’t a bad team, but the Falcons made them look like one.

The Falcons came just less than four minutes of shutting out the Dolphins. The scary thing is this defense only is going to get better.

I really wanted that shutout. I thought we would be doing some Monday morning QBing about the Falcons defense, but not in a good way. To further hammer the point home, The Phinsider blog lamented the Dolphins line.

Yet all these decisions and all that guaranteed money means nothing once these players take the field for a game. On Sunday, we saw Jake Long get beat over and over. We saw Vernon Carey also get beat for QB hurries and sacks. And we saw very little push up front when the Dolphins tried to run the football. On most of the backs’ 19 carries, there was no hole to run through – not even a little crease. And we know that this is not an offense that can rely on passing the football time and time again. To be honest, though, I’m not sure what concerns me more. Is it the inability to open any running lanes for their running backs? Or is it their inability to keep the quarterback upright?

Key stat: the offensive line surrendered four sacks, four additional QB hits, and 13 total hurries. How can you expect any quarterback to do much of anything when he’s under that kind of pressure?

It was a nice opening week. I hope Atlanta can make it 2-0 this weekend.