Tag: Atlanta Falcons

Tale of two halves; really a tale of two possessions. The Falcons completely dominated Green Bay during their first two possessions, shortening the game by controlling the clock, keeping Aaron Rodgers off the field, and in the process racing out to a 14-0 lead.

Then things started falling apart. Instead of staying with what was working, the Falcons gradually pissed away the game, making a mess of the season, and raising into doubt that this team is actually on par with last year’s team.

What happened? To me (and plenty of others sitting in the peanut gallery), It’s all about the play calling. Falcons Head Coach looks to be taking the heat for Mike Mularkey (and the players poor execuition), but let’s be honest. Mularkey’s play calling is lackluster at best and entirely uncreative. Why move away from the run with 5 minutes and change to go in the second quarter, up by 14? Instead three quick incompletions lead to a punt, and before the Falcons knew what hit them, Rodgers was finally on a role.

It is really a shame because the Falcons flipped what should have been a victory, taking them to a respectable 3-2, into a 24-14 home loss, and a potentially unrecoverable 2-3 start. Ouch. This one was painful.

Where to next? A home date with the Panthers, which should not be considered an automatic victory; followed by what I expect to be a road loss to the Lions, a much needed bye week, and then a winnable visit to Indianapolis. The Falcons will be lucky indeed to be 4-4 at the halfway point; that will not be enough to overtake Tampa Bay and New Orleans.

Unless something truly remarkable happens, I’m afraid we may be looking at a lost season. Shame of it all is that my tickets cost so damn bunch money. Of well, easy come, easy go.

It damn well better be good because so far Bosher has sucked … badly. In fact, he was so bad the other night against the Eagles, that I thought the Falcons would bench him on the spot. Of course they couldn’t (no other options); still, he was awful.

Then, there is Matt Bosher, the sixth-round draft pick who replaced Koenen in Atlanta. Things haven’t started smoothly for Bosher. His gross punting average is 36.8 yards and his net is 35.1 yards. Bosher had an 18-yard punt out of the end zone in Sunday night’s victory against Philadelphia. He’s had only two of his 10 kickoffs go for touchbacks and opponents are averaging 20.8 yards per return.

It will be interesting to see how Bosher improves during the season, or if at some point he gets replaced for a more expensive (but still cheaper than Koenen) out of work veteran replacement, relegating Bosher to the practice squad for some improvement opportunities.

What a great game! This is my fourth consecutive year owning season tickets, and this victory was absolutely one of the most gratifying and exciting games to date. There have been some exciting games – last minute victories over ‘da Bears’ and Ravens, and of course really bad loses – Packers in the playoffs last year comes immediately to mind.

This victory was important because maybe at long last, maybe we (or the ATL Vick loving crowd) have finally put the Vick saga behind us. I hope the man has changed his life for the better, but it is high time for the Falcons to move on. It is Ryan’s team. And when it mattered most, Ryan delivered.

Of course I could spend all day writing about all the good and bad stuff, but I am exhausted. 90 minutes to ATL, 4 hour tailgate, 3+ hour game … we made it back to the hotel really late … or early depending on your point of view. I think I was in bad a few minutes before 2AM. Ouch.

After all of that, it would have sucked if we gave the game away in the closing seconds. And the Falcons almost did …

ON THE VICTORY FORMATION: That was probably a coaching error. We need to run the ball. Not probably, it was a coaching error. In terms of the mindset that was not the proper way to do it, but we were able to get through it. We don’t play perfect games, we don’t coach perfect games. [source: AJC.com]

Gee, you think? The Falcons almost below the win by not being able to run out the clock, or more appropriately, taking a knee, on three consecutive plays, not realizing that they would punt the ball back to the Eagles’ DeSean Jackson with 15 seconds on the clock.

Of course a win is a win, and I cannot think of any in recent memory bigger than this one, as ATL maybe (just maybe) finally closed the book on Vick.

I’ll give him this, Vick continues to say all the right things, which is a huge sign that he really gets ‘it’, has moved on, and is as he said more mature than he was during his tenure in ATL.

Q. A former Falcon once returned to the Dome as an opposing player and called it my house. Are you ready to do that?

A. No, that’s not my house. That’s Matt Ryan’s house. I’m just a visitor.

I’m a huge season ticket paying homer X5, but I just don’t see the Falcons winning this one. Hope I am wrong. I do know the tailgating is going to be crazy, intense, and a ton of fun.

No huge surprises as the Falcons trimmed their roster down to 53 players on Sat and Sun.

DE Chauncey Davis was cut on Sat; has to be a salary cap causality.

Davis, 6-2, 272 pounds, was originally selected by the Falcons in the fourth round (128th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft. He spent six seasons in Atlanta, totaling 204 tackles (147 solo), 10 sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, eight fumble recoveries and six passes defensed in 95 career games.

This move had been speculated by several sites. Chauncey will be picked up by someone; doubt he will miss a check.

The Sunday cuts included John Parker Wilson, which according to Pat Yasinskas (ESPN NFL South blog) was a surprise.

Wilson could end up back on the practice squad, but this move shows the Falcons aren’t all that high on him. They might be better off looking for a developmental prospect to put on the practice squad. Ryan’s secure as the starter for a long time, but Redman is nothing more than a career backup. It might be time for the Falcons to start developing a new backup.

Not sure why this was a surprise; I wrote about this possibility a couple of weeks ago. Developing QBs normally get three years to push out the backups. JPW may have only received two, but I like the fact that Falcons may be moving on if they don’t see JPW as a viable backup QB. My guess is he ends up on the practice squad unless the Falcons find someone they really like better. Either way, his days in ATL are numbered.

Last’s nights Falcons 21-7 loss to the Ravens was an absolute disgrace. Some of the worst football ever. As the Falcons complete an 0-4 preseason campaign, you have to wonder what was the point?

According to Head Coach Mike Smith, the Falcons were all about not providing season ticket holders with any sort of ROI. In other words, fuck the fans.

OPENING STATEMENT: Tonight, we obviously rested several or our No. 1 players as we get ready to go for the regular season. Our No. 1 goal is to be as healthy as possible for that first game. That’s one of the things we accomplished tonight. We also wanted to get one last look at several players. There are a lot of guys fighting for roster spots. When I say a lot, there is a handful. We obviously saw some guys step up. We saw some guys that didn’t necessarily take care of business. We’ve got a bunch of decisions to make. Over the next 48 hours that’s what we’ll be doing. We have to get our 53 guys together to open this 2011 season.

In fairness, I actually do understand the point of the preseason, trying to keep everyone healthy going into the regular season and getting a chance to see how a handful of guys fighting for roster spots perform. I just think it is a travesty that season ticket holders get charged full price when everyone knows that the games are meaningless.

Maybe I will write a letter to recently promoted Falcons CEO Rich McKay. Not that it will matter or anything, but sometimes bitching and moaning makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

I know it is just preseason football, but my goodness, the Falcons do need something to hang their hat on Thursday night against the Ravens after falling 34 – 16 to the Steelers last night.

For the first time this preseason, the Falcons starters ‘lost’ during their tune-up time, 24 – 16, which I guess is respectable, but not enough to inspire confidence.

You can break down all the tape and come away with a lot of different concerns, but for me I was left with two thoughts. First, the one knock on Julio was his ability to hold onto the ball. We say it firsthand last night on a wasted play.

Julio Jones, who was brought into bring explosive plays and allow Ryan to showcase his arm, slightly beat his man and dove for a pass that couldn’t have been put in a better location.

One slight problem — Jones dropped the pass. But, hey, it’s a preseason game and the fact he dropped it doesn’t really matter. What’s important is Ryan — who completed 22 of 42 passes for 220 yards with one touchdown and one interception while playing only the first half — showed himself, his teammates, his coaches and his critics that he’s got a big enough arm to do some deep damage.

The Falcons have made it pretty clear they’re going to throw down field more often this season. Now, they should have the confidence to do it frequently and maybe Jones will hold onto the ball.

I bet A.J. Green holds on to that one. I doubt teams watching the tape are going to back off in coverage until Julio proves he can hold onto those catches. I wonder if anyone keeps track of a balls dropped statistic, because I have a sick feeling in my stomach (and it is not because of too much beer and chips last night) that Julio is going to be a top five contender.

Second, and this has been the case for a while now, the secondary needs help. Today. As in the Falcons better try to trade to improve now or they can kiss any deep playoff run bye-bye.

From the Q&A with Coach Mike Smith via D. Orlando Ledbetter’s ajc.com blog:

CONCERNED ABOUT THE PASS DEFENSE?: I’m concerned when you give up big plays. You can’t give up explosive plays. We talk about it all the time. We can’t give them up and you have to try to create them on the offensive side of the football. There were some very good things that took place in the ball game in all three phases. After the opening kickoff that they ran back, I thought our coverage units did a good job. We had a nice punt return by Eric Weems. Defensively, until the first half they weren’t able to run the ball. We thought we had a pretty good handle on them.

Nice deflection there by not directly addressing the issue. Bringing up the coverage on kickoffs is another concern. Unless he is just messing about, Matt Bosher does not inspire confidence that he can drill kickoffs into the endzone. Seems like an oops to me taking him with a 6th Round pick.

Final thought; Falcons are not running the ball. I thought Jacquizz Rodgers looked pretty good in his second half action, but Turner, not so much with the first team.

Hopefully the Falcons are holding something back until the games actually count. At least I keep telling myself that.

Go Falcons!

While the Falcons lost 13 – 15, once again our first team beat the opposition. This is interesting because it may imply that the Falcons do not have enough depth.

The biggest concerns for me are the lack of a rushing game and the continued short passing dink and dunk offense. Jacquizz Rodgers looked more settled, which was good to see; maybe he can grow into the ‘change of pace’ role. If you discount Matt Ryan’s 76 yard TD pass to Harry D. (a lot of which was YAC), Ryan averaged a very pedestrian 6.6 yards / completion. While that is on par with last year, I was expecting the Falcons to open up the offense. Maybe they are just holding back until the regular season. I like fooling myself that way.

From the ESPN South Blog (Pat Yasinskas is always good for a lot of different info, and I really enjoy his perspective), on Harry Douglas:

With Jones and Roddy White lined up at wide receiver, Douglas lined up in the slot. He ran a slant route and never really was covered. He caught it in the middle of the field and headed for the sideline. He never was touched. But, just in case he needed help, Jones was downfield and ready to throw a block. That wasn’t needed.

The Falcons believe he’s a natural slot guy. That’s where Douglas is playing now and the difference is significant. With White and Jones on the outside, there are going to be plenty of times when Douglas doesn’t draw much coverage. If he makes a few big plays, he’ll get more coverage and that will mean less attention on White.

That will mean more big plays and that’s exactly what the Falcons want.

Agree. Harry Douglas has looked very sharp in the first two preseason games, racking up 5 receptions, 2 TDs, and is averaging almost 27 yards per catch. Not sure how many of those yards are YAC, but the totals are still impressive. It looks like Harry D. is finally turning into the slot player the Falcons expected when the front office secured him in the third round in 2008.

Back Mr. Yasinskas …

Cornerback Brent Grimes continues to have a strong preseason. He had an over-the-shoulder interception deep in the end zone in the first half. He took it out and made several athletic moves before getting stopped around midfield. Although undersized, Grimes might be the best natural athlete to come through Atlanta since Deion Sanders.

I have to grudgingly agree. It is not as if I don’t like Grimes, but I keep saying this experiment will never work. Grimes keeps proving me wrong.

Preseason; the games don’t count, right? Sure. At some point the Falcons better put it all together and account for more than three first downs.

The starters played the entire first half and could amass just three first downs. Running back Michael Turner had seven carries for 14 yards. Julio Jones had two catches. Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez had one catch each.

It will be interesting to see if the Falcons try to be anything more than vanilla on offense next Sunday night against the Steelers, who by the way looked really good the other night against the Eagles. If the Steelers do not use generic blitz packages, they should be an interesting barometer for the Falcons offense.

Go Falcons!

I wonder if the Falcons are going to attempt to call in some DB help. According to Pat Yasinskas (ESPN NFC South Blog), the Falcons are keeping their fingers crossed that they can shore things up within their current roster.

The other key battle is for the nickelback position. The Falcons aren’t going to take the safe route and add a veteran later in the preseason. They’re set on letting Christopher Owens and Dominique Franks battle it out in camp and the preseason. The Falcons like both young players and are hoping the competition forces one of them to really step forward.

Keeping your fingers crossed and hoping are never good fallback positions. Owens looked like crap against the Dolphins, getting beat multiple times. While I think Franks has plenty of upside, it may be time to pull a minor deal to land a dependable (i.e. experienced) nickleback.

Meanwhile, Steve Wyche of NFL.com thinks the Falcons safeties are beyond top notch.

I will state this now: safeties William Moore and Thomas DeCoud could emerge as the top back-end tandem in the NFL within the next year. Both can run, have good size and have great instincts.

Good stuff. While I like DeCoud and Moore, I never thought they would (well, could) end up as one of the top tandems in the league. In the same article, Mr. Wyche raises some concerns about Jacquizz Rogers (the new Norwood).

There was a lot of buzz about the former Oregon State running back when he was drafted in the fifth round, but he’s deep on the depth chart and has an uphill climb. Antone Smith and Gartrell Johnson are currently behind Michael Turner and Jason Snelling. Rodgers, at 5-foot-6, has some scatback potential, but was physically overmatched in pass protection in the preseason opener against Miami.

I didn’t see much from Rogers, and while it is preseason, I would certainly like to see more than 3 yards a carry. I don’t remember if the Falcons even threw it to Rogers once out of the backfield; must be saving those screens and dump-offs for the regular season.

JPW vs. The Salary Cap
I thought it was interesting that JPW got a good long look against the Dolphins before getting his bell rung into next week; Mr. Yasinskas thinks this was all about cap maneuvering.

Interesting that the Falcons went with John Parker Wilson as the second quarterback after Ryan. Chris Redman has been the backup. The Falcons already know what they have in Redman, but he’s carrying a salary-cap figure that’s more than $3 million. If Wilson (12-of-19 for 111 yards with an interception) shows he’s ready to take a step up the ladder, Redman could be a cap casualty later in camp.

My take – JPW was a 2009 undrafted FA. Normally you like to give these guys 3-4 years to see if they can land the backup spot. If they can’t, you cut bait and move on (or move said bait to the practice squad). Seems a little early for that; besides Redman may be a $3 million cap hit, but Redman is a certifiable decent backup (i.e. insurance policy against a minor Ryan injury).

Corey Peters
Let’s hope Corey Peters’ injury proves just troublesome at best; a temporary setback on the way to regular season glory. It is certainly good news that Peters will not require surgery, but still very disconcerting.

Go Falcons!

I wrote earlier today that I am firmly in the camp that believes a good pass rush will do wonders for a poor coverage secondary. So did the Falcons improve enough with their signing of DE Ray Edwards to compensate for a lackluster secondary?

Nope. Not there yet. Last year the problem for Atlanta was that Dunta Robinson did not perform at anywhere near to a shutdown CB. Not that there are many true shutdown CBs in the NFL, but when your d-line has trouble getting to the QB, the secondary becomes exposed.

Last year I kept thinking that at any moment Dunta was going to show his worth; never saw it manifest on the field. Not that Dunta sucked; for from it, but I would say that the threat of the possibility of Dunta being special actually kept Dunta from being completely exposed. That and the other side of the field was considered more fertile ground.

Last year’s underwhelming d-line and a suspect secondary forced Atlanta into a prototypical bend but don’t defense, which was a nice concept, however the problem with that approach is that you give up big yards, while holding your breath that you keep the opponent off the scoreboard. I think it is the same mindset as the dreaded prevent defense, except over the course of any entire game instead of the closing minutes of the 2nd or 4th quarters.

Why even gamble? I say attack the QB; penetrate the backfield to disrupt the QB and running game, which in effect means limiting a team’s ability to control the clock.

This approach will never work if the secondary cannot do its part. While the Falcons made a splash going after Dunta, he has not lived up to his contract, which means no matter how much pressure Edwards and the rest of the d-line can put on the opposing QB, the Falcons will simply be exposed if the secondary cannot stop opposing receivers from catching the ball. This article hits the nail on the head …

According to Football Outsiders, Asomugha had a 55 percent success rate in coverage during the last three years, while Robinson’s was less than 44 percent.

He has 14 career interceptions, but hasn’t picked off more than two in a season since his rookie year.

Robinson had an unspectacular year in his first season in Atlanta. He is a solid, above-average cover corner, and definitely not worth the $8.5 million he will make this year alone.

Playing opposite of Dunta is the athletic and overachieving Brent Grimes. Yes, he had a nice year, but I am still not sold on the athletic approach vs. pure ability. To me Grimes is best suited as a backup, and maybe as a nickel back in certain passing situations.

It will be interesting to watch the next few days to see if Atlanta’s front office attempts to make another splash and shore up the secondary, or if they believe that the d-line is going to get to the QB enough to limit downfield shots on Dunta and company.

Now that I am back from my UK sojourn, I have been catching up on some of the Falcons coming and goings. Of course the big news of the weekend is the signing of former Minnesota Viking DE Ray Edwards.

The ESPN NFC South Blog had this little ditty from Edwards:

“I definitely came to a great team who went 13-3 last year and hasn’t lost any key components,’’ Edwards told Daniel Cox. “I feel like I was just the missing piece.”

Wow; balls saddled up, sounds like Ray is ready to play. With ego comes pressure to perform, except in this case the pressure seems to be manufactured (or at the very least hyped) by Pat Yasinskas. I really like Mr. Yasinskas’ work, but the problem here is that the quote seems to be taking out of context. At the very least, the ESPN article is going for sensationalism, while D. Orlando Ledbetter at the AJC takes a more low key approach.

Edwards amassed 20.5 sacks over the past two seasons, if you count his four in the playoffs.

He was quick to note that he has sacked Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers six times. Rodgers and the Packers eliminated the Falcons from the playoffs last season.

“Hopefully, I’m the missing piece,” Edwards said.

I follow the philosophy that a strong pass rush can hide flaws in a poorly contrived secondary, and to this end Edwards can help, however the Falcons secondary is in need of repair. More on this subject next …

It looks like everyone may have finally agreed (or darn well near) on how to divvy up the NFL Cash Cow. It’s about time!

One really interesting point in all of the labor negotiations is the short term free agent mess.

The players currently are unwilling to grant NFL teams extra right-of-first-refusals on this year’s free agent class, because many of those free agents were restricted under last year’s uncapped system. Owners have asked that they have the right to designate three free agents whose contracts with other teams they would have the right to match.

I am really curious to see how this plays out as the Falcons offensive line could be greatly impacted.

What happens if, under the new collective bargaining agreement, three-fifths of the Falcons’ starting offensive line is granted unrestricted free agency? Will the Falcons move to keep all three — Tyson Clabo, Harvey Dahl and Justin Blalock? Will they settle for two of the above? One of the above? Who would replace the incumbents? Understudies Garrett Reynolds and Mike Johnson? Can a team poised for a Super Bowl run afford to change so much up front at such a late date?

I really haven’t fretted too much over this due to the downer that is the lost NFL off-season – no real camps, no free agent signings, no rookie holdouts (OK, not so much on that one), early June cap casualties, etc.

I also didn’t bother to write about the Falcons off-season, draft, or schedule – it just didn’t seem to matter. Hopefully that changes soon because I love the NFL and love writing about my beloved Falcons!

The Falcons are one step closer to getting a new stadium. According to the AJC, it is possible that the new outdoor stadium could open as soon as 2017.

Both parties emphasized the memorandum does not constitute a done deal, but rather allows them to begin negotiations over details of the project, including financing.

But the Falcons have made it clear that they want a new open-air stadium, rejecting alternatives such as expanding the Georgia Dome, adding a retractable roof to the facility or building a new dome with a retractable roof.

A new stadium could open as soon as 2017, officials said, and would be built on a site just over a half-mile north of the Georgia Dome

It is all fun and games until Personal Seat Licenses come into the picture. Hopefully a new stadium will not put current season ticket holders (i.e. yours truly) on the outside looking in.

I can understand why the Falcons ownership and management wants a new stadium; PSLs, improved sales, better revenue streams, etc. I would rather have a retractable roof than a 100% open air stadium. It is possible from time to time that the weather will suck, but I guess I am a softie compared to the old Fulton County Stadium days.

Final comment, I cannot believe that the stadium Authority group would leave the GA Dome up after building a new stadium. I think they should raze it to the ground, and rebuild on that location, or turn it into a massive parking garage and tailgating location.

Saturday night’s 48-21 drubbing of the Falcons at the hands of the Packers was disappointing on a number of levels. First, Atlanta squandered home field advantage. Second, I hate seeing the Falcons fail so miserably on a national stage. Third, the playoff atmosphere was so fun, that I really wanted to do it again on NFC Championship Sunday. Fourth, I am at a position in my life where I could actually afford the luxury of season tickets and playoff tickets; who knows if that will happen again. Finally, I am a Falcons fan; I never want to see my team get their collective asses kicked ten ways to Sunday.

I am not going to re-cap a lot of the pain and suffering that I saw in the Georgia Dome. I think this summary from the post game report that the Falcons send their season ticket holders will suffice for now.

An NFL playoff record 102-yard TD return by Eric Weems in the 2nd Quarter gave the Falcons a 14-7 lead over the visiting Packers, but after the huge play not much else went right for the NFC’s #1 seed. The Falcons’ defense ran into an offensive buzz saw led by a red hot quarterback, as Aaron Rodgers completed 31 of 36 passes for 366 yards and 3 TD passes (and another rushing TD) during a humbling 48-21 Divisional playoff game rout that ended Atlanta’s magical 2010 season.

Re-seed Needed
A re-seed system is needed, but only after the Wild Card round, where each division champion, even a weak one, gets some credit for winning their division. Without a re-seed for the divisional round of the playoffs, the current system diminishes the value of being the top seed.

I know it sounds a lot like sour grapes; however I am not just calling for a re-seed as a Falcons fan. Sure I was disappointed, but down the road another weak division winner will advance, while a “hot” Wild Card team with a better record than said division winner manages to play their way into the playoffs, and then advance. Wait until this happens to one of the popular teams in the NFL; there would be an outcry for justice.

I have to get this out of the way. Even if a re-seed process was in place that would have allowed the Falcons to play the weakest team, Atlanta played so poorly Saturday night that there would be no guarantees that the Falcons would have beaten the Seahawks.

This year both of the AFC wild card teams were “better” than two of the division winners (Colts and Chiefs), but neither division winner escaped the Wild Card round. The same could not be said in the NFC, where a 7-9 NFC West Seattle team played the #2 seeded Bears, while Atlanta ran into that 10-6 Green Bay buzz saw. Let’s fix the system before it happens again.

Next?
Up next may be an article or two about the AFC and NFC Championship games, along with the Super Bowl; however my attention is going to be narrowed in on what Atlanta needs to do in the off season to correct some of the flaws that the Packers exposed. Of course none of this will matter if the owners move forward with a lockout.