AJC > Sports > Falcons > Blog > Archives > 2005 > October > 25 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USBye week thoughts
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The bye week seems to have come at a good time for the Falcons, as many players expressed the need for a breather. They cited the fifth preseason game and the extra week of practice that came with it as an anchor that had physically started to wear them down.
Defensive end Brady Smith (dislocated right toe) might not be ready for the Nov. 6 game at Miami and he could even miss the Nov. 13 game with Green Bay, according to coach Jim Mora. But Smith is a gamer and I’m guessing he probably wouldn’t miss more than a game.
Wide receiver Michael Jenkins (mild right ankle sprain), running back T.J. Duckett (right ankle sprain) and defensive tackle Chad Lavalais (back spasms) all figure to be set to face the Dolphins.
The added week also should give quarterback Michael Vick time to get fully healthy. Since he’s come back from the right knee sprain two games ago, he hasn’t looked nearly as confident in the passing game and the numbers prove that out. Whether he puts together a string of efficient passing games is anybody’s guess.
But, as cliché as it is, he wins. Why?
His teammates respond to him because, as big of a star as he might be, he is a star via marketing. He doesn’t prop himself up. Vick makes sure he works just as hard as his teammates, doesn’t place blame elsewhere when the passing game struggles, and competes as if every play is his last. So his teammates cover for him when he struggles and ride along with him when he’s rolling.
As for being 5-2 heading into the bye week, the record is probably better than what a lot of folks expected when the schedule was released. The Falcons are far from being an imposing team, but they’re also far from being the Packers, Vikings or Texans.
The run defense was good against the Jets, but New York didn’t really try to move the ball on the ground so we’ll see how much improvement Atlanta has made in that area against Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams and the Dolphins in a few weeks.
The pass defense. It’s clear the Falcons are going to let teams throw underneath to try and prevent the deep passes, so don’t think anything is going to change, especially on cornerback Jason Webster’s side of the field, where the Jets seemed to throw four out of every five passes.
Offensively, the Falcons’ ability to run the ball is going to carry them. Sure, they need to have some form of passing attack, but that’s going to be hot and cold from series to series. The running game is constant. Teams, such as the Jets Monday, have put 8-9 players in the box, knowing the Falcons were going to run and still haven’t stopped them.
The offensive line and the scheme seems hard to figure out and Warrick Dunn has learned to make reads at various points of each run, allowing him to break off some big hits every three or four carries.
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Steve Wyche
October 25, 2005 04:28 PM | Link to this
The blog actually was posted by me, Steve Wyche
By eric
October 25, 2005 04:55 PM | Link to this
Steve….Brady Smith missing a game with a broken toe? I wouldn’t think so. He’s got 2 weeks off now with the bye, so I really can’t see him missing any time. I know it’s painful, but it’s a toe.
By larry w.
October 25, 2005 05:27 PM | Link to this
The longest two weeks of the year for me, is during the bye week. That being said, I was really impressed with Antoine Lake last night. He and Coleman were blowing up the Jets offensive line all night. That hit he laid on Curtis Martin in the backfield was absolutely BRUTAL!!! That is the type of defensive play that I enjoy watching. I’m looking forward to seeing more of Lake as the season goes along.
By larry w.
October 25, 2005 05:28 PM | Link to this
The longest two weeks of the year for me, is during the bye week. That being said, I was really impressed with Antoine Lake last night. He and Coleman were blowing up the Jets offensive line all night! That hit he laid on Curtis Martin in the backfield was absolutely BRUTAL!!! That is the type of defensive play that I really enjoy watching. I’m looking forward to seeing more of Lake as the season goes along.
By larry w.
October 25, 2005 05:31 PM | Link to this
Please excuse the double post!!
By Steve Wyche
October 25, 2005 06:22 PM | Link to this
Just to get back with you guys, the Falcons said Brady Smith will be out 2-4 weeks, so he might miss a game, he might not. As for Lake, he’s actually played a decent amount for most of the season in the 3-tackle rotation with Lavalais and Coleman. He was very impressive Monday night, though. I thought Darrell Shropshire, the 7th round pick, was decent at DT as well. That depth could pay off big time as the season progressess.
By larry w.
October 25, 2005 06:38 PM | Link to this
Thanks for getting back Steve. Shropshire did look good, especially against the run. I think once these young guys get a little more experience, we will have one of the best d-lines in the entire league, depth wise as well as talent wise.
By Kim
October 25, 2005 06:54 PM | Link to this
I expect Vick to play much better in the Miami game. He’ll have a lot of time to heal. Less favoring the knee. Now, if he could just learn to go out of bounds or get down when he runs…
By Andy
October 25, 2005 07:58 PM | Link to this
I am one of the biggest Vick supporters, always ready to defend Vick and ignore really silly comments about his play. I have to say, after that horrible performance on MNF, I couldn’t say anything to defend him. He was bad. We won, but man, I didn’t feel good about our chances vs teams like Tampa and Carolina with Vick playing like that. One thing I think has to happen is staying in the pocket no matter what on certain plays. One of the INTs was on a play when he should have stayed in the pocket, but instead, rolled out and tried to direct traffic only to throw a bad pass to Alge. Overall, let him rest, chill, watch VA Tech play and when they come back to practice, his butt needs to stay in the pocket for 90% of the Miami game. Not so he becomes a pocket passer, but so he can avoid games like Monday. His performance has to be a story this bye week.
By Gumbo
October 25, 2005 09:44 PM | Link to this
Good Comments Andy. I have been a huge fan of Vick, and I realize that you can’t measure him by the “normal” QB stats.
That said, let me give you a couple.
Mike Vick has not thrown for 200 yards in any of his last 12 games. I’m not talking about 300 here (the Gold standard for NFL QBs), I’m talking about 200, for heavens sake. In 3 of those games he threw for less than 100. He is currently ranked 29th among active QBs.
The last (and only) time he threw for 300 yards was 28 games ago (vs Detroit in December 2002). Different system, different team. TWENTY-EIGHT GAMES!!! (and I’m not counting the ones he sat out)
If the problem is the receivers, why did Matt Schaub have a 300 yd game (297 actually) in his only start this year? Second year man, very little time with the 1st team Offense, 300-yard passing game. Nuff said.
We have to face reality - we are a great running team, however, other teams have no fear of our passing game. If we go into Tampa Bay and Carolina (2 excellent run defenses) with no passing game, we will not be able to score, period.
Is MV7 our best chance to get to the playoffs? Don’t know the answer - just thought I’d ask the question.
By mike
October 25, 2005 10:22 PM | Link to this
gumbo…i think you make some good points to a degree. however, the bottom line is how many wins we have. yes 300 yds is a gold standard of sorts. yet, there was only one 300 yd passing game by a qb this week-bret favre and his team lost. tom brady is currently the only qb averaging over 300 yds per game. i am not doubting brady’s greatness but his team is currently 3-3. so passing for 300 yds doesn’t guarantee a win.
i’d like to see vick in the 200-250 range. but when you run the ball like we do, there is not exactly going to be a chance for a lot of passing yards. why throw when you can run it? i’d just rather we get the win however it happens then worry about how many passing yards we have. yes matt had a great day throwing the football against new england but the result was a loss. so all those passing yards didn’t make a difference in the end. and i’m a schaub fan. but i’m also a vick fan, and a dunn fan, and a coleman, kerney, brooking, hall and every other falcon that puts on that uniform fan. like they said a year ago the best player on our team is our team.
yes tampa and carolina have excellent run defenses. but we have a great run offense. something will have to give in those battles. but that’s why you play the games.
and to answer your question about mv7 - he is part of the total team effort it will take to get to the playoffs and be successful.
By GDAWG
October 25, 2005 10:50 PM | Link to this
I hope MV7 finally realizes that he has to put the time in and dedicate himself to learning how to read NFL defenses. Tampa, Carolina and others will box in our running game if we can not pass the football. When Vince Young enters the league #7 will loose some shine. Yes, MV7 is a winner but he’s not going to last through the season if he doesn’t throw the football. “Big Upps to the D” Those guys were good last night.
By dannycardwell
October 26, 2005 12:53 AM | Link to this
eric, i can tell you first hand that the big toe can ruin you . i had the big toe dislocated and suffered 8 months. ive had 2 dislocated little toes in wrestling and never lost a beat. the big toe is what gives you balance. when there is an injury, it can be really bad.
By Wesley
October 26, 2005 09:29 AM | Link to this
Gumbo,
What was the Falcons record in those last 12 games?
Nuff said.
Did Schaub’s 300 yards contribute to a win?
Nuff said.
By Andy
October 26, 2005 09:43 AM | Link to this
Gumbo, I see your points. But in those other games, Vick played well and the WRs were bad. On Monday, it was 99% Vick’s bad play. He seemed so out of it because the Jets played 5 D linemen. He couldn’t adjust and just didn’t seem comfortable. That bothered me. I need to see him have a 200 yard passing day just to make me feel at ease. I also want to see the famous Vick comfort when he plays. It just wasn’t there on Monday and it caused me to wonder…I felt the ‘dark side’ I guess…But the reason I loved Vick is that I feel he could beat any team any time and with the play on Monday, I start to feel quesy about Tampa. I hope Mike Johnson is studying tape right now to get Vick out of that funk…
By Becky
October 26, 2005 10:46 AM | Link to this
Andy, I agree with alot of your comments, I too felt extremely uneasy watching Vick play on Monday. But, everyone is so fast to point out his lack of passing yards compared to other QBs. But on the other hand Vick has abilities that other QBs can only dream about. While I acknowledge you would have to be blind not to recognize that Vick was out of sync on Monday, let’s give my man his props, everyone has an off sometime. (I just hope it doesn’t happen again!)
By Brian Hunt
October 26, 2005 11:57 AM | Link to this
Vick doesn’t have to put up gaudy stats to be effective in the Falcons’ current offense. He just has to be efficient. Look at the Steelers and Broncos. Both teams have a similar style of play. Run the ball effectively and throw for conversions and balance. Passes yield first downs, and the first team to 20 first downs usually wins the ball game.
Rothlesberger rarely has a game in excess of 200 yards, but he’s only lost one regular season game as a starter because he’s hyper efficient. 200 yards passing is all that the Falcons need out of Vick. If it’s 3rd and 20 and the QB passes for 18 yards, he’ll pile up yardage, but the team’s going to have to punt. That doesn’t help.
Vick usually eschews the safe dump pass for 4-6 yards that yield gaudy completion percentages because he knows he can run it himself for 7 or more consistently. That’s probably why his best stats have come in Dan Reeve’s offense. There was very little dink and dunk, and he only had to make half field reads. What makes the West Coast offense tough on QB’s new to the system is that they’re asked to read the whole field and throw on timing because it stretches the field horizontally instead of vertically. It takes years to master. The half field approach that the steelers use yields more immediate results, but the West Coast is more effective once it’s mastered IMHO. Vick has to get more accurate down the field. The schedule gets tougher after the break.
By Walter Beach
October 26, 2005 12:48 PM | Link to this
The Monday night win was great! The only thing I question was why have Vick out there in the 4th QTR? It seemed like they were really trying to get the passing game going when it was not needed. And it nearly got the gets back into the game. The Falcons should have won by a larger margin but I’ll take the W any day. No need to get greedy.
By Wesley
October 26, 2005 01:19 PM | Link to this
Look at the “Aikmen Ratings”.
He takes alot more into account than the NFL does on offensive efficiency. The Falcons, I believe, rank 7th. Or atleast they did last week.
By Wesley
October 26, 2005 02:10 PM | Link to this
Actually we are 3rd in offensive efficeny.
You guys should look at that system, if you are a big stat guy. They fall in line with how good/bad the offense really is.
By William Kitchens
October 26, 2005 04:31 PM | Link to this
Walter….
Can you imagine what these Vick vs. Schaub blog debates would look like now if Vick had been pulled in the 4th Qtr?
Mora would have destroyed his confidence and heated a debate by pulling him.
Wesley… No offense but Nuff said usally means Nuff said… You said it twice? :-D
Can we all agree that Nuff said should go the way of Talk to the hand and the mullet haircut… retired.
By Wesley
October 26, 2005 05:02 PM | Link to this
William, I was trying to lay the sarcasim on Gumbo. I guess you didn’t get that. :)
By larry w.
October 28, 2005 06:30 PM | Link to this
Brian……It’s good to see that someone understands what Vick is all about as a quarterback. After reading and hearing all of the negative stuff about Vick’s stats, it has become apparent to me that in some people’s mind, the only true quarterback is a passing quarterback. Who wrote that rule? Vick often keeps scoring drives alive by running for the first down as opposed to passing for it. Are passing yards more valuable than running yards? A first down is a first down, whether it is obtained by passing or by running. It counts the exact same! Some argue that Vick will shorten his career by running so much. Not if he gets down or out of bounds prior to the contact. Which, by the way, he is doing a much better job of this year. I could name quite a few pocket passers whose career was cut short because they took such a beating while standing in the pocket. The bottom line is, the odds of the Falcons winning a game increases dramatically when Vick is on the field.
By GDAWG
October 29, 2005 12:11 AM | Link to this
Hey Wesley, It’s not about Vick throwing for 200 or more yds to solidify his status as an NFL QB, hell the boy is the hottest marketing tool in the NFL. It’s about developing a passing game to keep good well coached defenses off balance. Bottom line is that in last season’s loss in Philly the defense did not blitz Vick that much, they just simply let him run east and west and DARED him to THROW THE FRICKEN FOOTBALL to someone other that Crumpler. Vick = Wins that’s true but so does Bobby Cox and I’m sure you said that he sucked between 96 and 05. If Vick can’t become a 200 yd passer for the team’s sake it’s gonna be Vick = Kordell Stewart. And we all know how his star fizzled out.