AJC > Sports > Falcons > Blog > Archives > 2008 > September
September 2008
Quarterly Report: The Big Fix
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At the end of his opening statement after the Carolina game, head coach Mike Smith said the Falcons woes are “fixable” and that the Falcons are 2-2.
“We’ve got to feel good about that,” Smith said.
Let’s look at the Falcons’ Quarterly Report by position group:
QUARTERBACKS: Matt Ryan has taken all of the snaps and completed 52.5 percent of his passes. He’s functioning well and looks good running the no huddle attack.
RUNNNING BACKS: Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood are off to good starts. Both have flashed big-play ability. Good to see the hard-running Jason Snelling get a catch against Carolina. Ovie Mughelli’s lead blocking is good when he’s in the lineup.
TIGHT ENDS: They are doing their job, blocking in the run game.
WIDE RECEIVERS: Roddy White leads the team with 18 catches for 322 yards, but just one touchdown. He needs to get in the endzone more. The group dropped too many passes against Carolina, but position coach Terry Robiskie will get that cleaned up. (He might have them doing some up-downs at practice on Wednesday!!!)
OFFENSIVE LINE: The big question was could they protect Ryan. He’s been sacked just seven times. That projects to 28 sacks. Last season the line gave up 47 sacks, so that would be a major improvement. They’ve got to handle eight and nine man fronts better. Baker’s injury (concussion/illness) is a major concern. He was off to a good start.
DEFENSIVE LINE: John Abraham has turned in a monster first quarter with six sacks and one blocked punt. Grady Jackson has three tackles for losses in three games. Abraham and Jackson need some more help from Jonathan Babineaux, Jamaal Anderson, Chauncey Davis, Kindal Moorehead and Kroy Biermann.
LINEBACKERS: Curtis Lofton is the real deal. He ran about 20 yards from the middle of the field to the sideline to stop Larry Johnson on the goal line in the Kansas City game. Michael Boley hasn’t made any big plays. Keith Brooking’s move back to weakside is off to a slow start. He has 22 tackles (off gameday stats, not coaches film review stats.) That projects out to 88, well below his average of 167.43 tackles from 2001 to 2007.
SECONDARY: The group needs to tighten things up. Detroit, Tampa Bay and Carolina had receivers roaming free through the secondary. The big lead against Detroit saved them and Milloy’s interception helped. Brian Griese was rusty in the Tampa Bay game and missed a lot of receivers. Jake Delhomme was on target and passed for 294 yards as Muhsin Muhammad and Steve Smith put on pass catching clinic.
SPECILIASTS: Kicker Jason Elam has made all nine of field goal tries. Michael Koenen is averaging a respectable 40.5 yards on his punts. The Falcons need to find ways to bust returners Adam Jennings and Jerious Norwood loose for some big returns.
How does your quarterly report look for the Falcons? Do you feel good about the 2-2 record after last season’s 4-12 debacle? How’s Matt Ryan doing? How’s Mike Smith doing? How can the secondary improve its coverage?
Permalink | Comments (146) | Post your comment |
Pearls of wisdom from BIG GRADY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Pearls of wisdom from BIG GRADY
Defensive tackle Grady Jackson gets an up-close and personal look at the opposition’s offense and usually has an interesting view from the trenches.
He wants to take away what he calls Carolina’s “double-edged sword.”
“We can’t go in there with them having a double-edged sword, the running game and their passing game,” Jackson said. “We have to take one of their weapons away from them and make them one dimensional.”
One good thing for Big Grady and the Falcons is that DeShaun Foster is gone. He signed with San Francisco in the offseason. Of his seven career 100-yard games, four of them came against the Falcons. In 2005, he rushed for 131 and 165 yards against the Falcons.
However, rookie Jonathan Stewart is off to a good start and is a better change of pace to DeAngelo Williams. Stewart is a power runner with enough speed to be the kickoff returner.
To take away the other sword, Carolina’s passing attack, the Falcons will have to control wide receiver Steve Smith. This might be the first game that the Falcons miss DeAngelo Hall. He always got fired up for this matchup, even though his blowup last season took the team out of game at the Georgia Dome. Lost in Hall’s madness was that he was in the processing of shutting Smith down. He had a superb going before he lost his cool.
One interesting fact is that the visiting team has won the last five matchups. The Falcons won in Carolina last season when Joey Harrington found Alge Crumpler on a seam route for a 30-yard touchdown in the final minute for a 20-13 final.
Which sword can the Falcons take away from the Panthers? Will Big Grady work out Wharton like John Abraham used to when Wharton played tackle? Is Stewart the real deal? Can Abraham take away the passing sword by sacking Delhomme about four times?
Permalink | Comments (58) | Post your comment |
Sackless Anderson playing strong
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I was watching the highlights on SportsCenter and there he was, No. 98 standing over a fallen Jake Delhomme. It was Jamaal Anderson recording his first NFL sack.
Then, I regained consciousness.
Maybe that was a vision of what’s to come on Sunday, but it certainly hasn’t happened yet. But given that Carolina’s revamped line gave up five sacks last week and generally has trouble blocking John Abraham, perhaps Sunday will be Jamaal’s Big Day!
One other thing, we probably can’t call Jamaal a defensive end any more.
No, not because he doesn’t have a sack yet, but because he’s playing three different positions on the line. He lines up at end, tackle and plays on the ball as a nose guard when the Falcons flash a three-man front and bring in linebacker Stephen Nicholas. (Can’t tell if it’s a 3-4 or one of those funky 3-3-5.)
While Falcon fans are waiting for Anderson’s first sack. By all accounts he’s playing much stronger and is tossing his weight around in the trenches.
Coach Mike Smith noted that Anderson had six hits against Tampa Bay and played real strong. He had three tackles and one quarterback hit against Kansas City.
Carolina coach John Fox mentioned Anderson’s strong play when he was asked about stopping Abraham.
Abraham, with cameras rolling and recorders on, apologized to Anderson in the locker room on Monday for messing up his first sack. The affable Anderson overheard him and started yelling, “Thank you! Thank you John!”
So maybe this will be Jamaal’s week. Just when he gets to the quarterback, we hope he gets his money’s worth.
Can the Panthers stop Jamaal? Should the Falcons use a cornerback blitz like Minnesota did? (Antoine Winfield’s sack, strip, fumble recovery and touchdown return changed the game last week.) Can our young corners even blitz? With D. Hall gone, who’s going to start a fight with Steve Smith?
Permalink | Comments (68) | Post your comment |
A quick look at the Panthers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Panthers, looking to bounce back after a 7-9 season, have been bolster by the return of quarterback Jake Delhomme, rookie running back Jonathan Stewart and a revamped offensive line.
Delhomme is back after having Tommy John surgery in October of 2007.
Stewart, at 5-10, 235-pounds, provides them with the big running back to pound defenses and counter with scatback DeAngelo Williams. He’s also had an impact returning kickoffs, averaging 24.8 yards on 10 returns.
The Panthers are off to a surprising 2-1 start with victories over San Diego and Chicago.
Minnesota may have exposed a chink in their Under Armour. The Vikings were able to shut down the running game and get some hits on Delhomme. The offensive tackles Jordan Gross (left) and rookie Jeff Otah (right) had poor showings and will get to see defensive end John Abraham this week. (What’s over-under on his sack total? The Timmonsville, S.C. native gets fired up for the Panthers.)
Delhomme was sacked five times against the Vikings.
The Panthers did stop the run, holding Adrian Peterson to 77 yards rushing. They also kept LaDainian Tomlinson (97 yards) under 100 yards in the opener.
Veteran signal caller Gus Frerotte - (yeah, the oldtimer who sprained his own neck when he head butted a padded wall when with the Washington Redskins in 1997) had a decent day passing the ball against the Carolina secondary and rallied them from a 10-0 deficit to a 20-10 win in his first start since taking over for Tarvaris Jackson.
Who are the real Panthers, the team that beat San Diego on a last second pass? The Panthers who needed a second-half comeback to down Chicago? Or the Panthers who got ambushed in Minnesota by a relentless pass rush? Can the Falcons duplicate the Minnesota blueprint by stopping the run and getting to Delhomme?
Permalink | Comments (68) | Post your comment |
Coach Smith’s film review
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Needed to wait until Coach Mike Smith spoke to the media today. He speaks at 4:20 p.m. on Monday. That’s later than most coaches around the league.
But that’s a good thing because he can’t say that “Well, you know I haven’t reviewed the film yet.” He’s already looked at the film by 4:20 p.m. and has some thoughtful responses.
Thought you’d like his take over just some more hard core analysis this week.
Smith gave three things that stood out for him by the offense and defense.
Coach noted that defensively the team created turnovers, started fast and had a goal line stand.
On offense he was impressed that they had no turnovers, gave up no sacks, scored 31 points and were nearly perfectly balanced with 186 yards rushing and 192 yards passing.
Also, Sam Baker was given the day off from film review because he was still sick and wide receiver Laurent Robinson has a left knee sprain.
Agree with Coach Smith’s breakdown? Worried about Baker? Will Harry Douglas and Brian Finneran have to step up if Robinson goes down?
Permalink | Comments (24) | Post your comment |
Round IV: VanGorder vs. Gailey
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Falcons’ defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder gets to match wits with old rival Chiefs offensive coordinator Chan Gailey for the fourth time.
VanGorder was Georgia’s defensive coordinator/linebackers coach from 2001 to 2004 as Georgia posted a 42-10 record over that period.
Gailey was Georgia Tech’s head coach from 2002 to 2007 and never beat Georgia in six tries, including three losses - 2002, 2003 and 2004 — with VanGorder calling the Bulldogs defensive signals.
VanGorder’s defense stifled Georgia Tech in a 51-7 rout in 2002. The Bulldogs stopped Gailey again 34-17 in 2003 and 19-13 in 2004.
In K.C., Gailey’s unit is off to a slow start. They have scored just 18 points in two games and are set to start their third quarterback in three games. Brodie Croyle started the opener. Damon Huard started last week and the Falcons will see Tyler Thigpen.
Randy Covitz of the Kansas City Star pointed out in this week’s NFL writers notes exchange that this has happened only three times in a non-strike season since the NFL and AFL merged for the 1970 season.
The 1976 Rams used Pat Haden, Ron Jaworski and James Harris. The 1988 Browns used Bernie Kosar, Gary Danielson and Mike Pagel. The 1997 Jaguars used Mark Brunell, Rob Johnson and Steve Matthews.
All three of those teams went on to a successful season (Rams 10-3-1, Browns 10-6, Jaguars 11-5). So maybe the Chiefs are set to make a big turnaround.
Against Oakland last week, Gailey was up to his old tricks from his Pittsburgh days. He slipped former Virginia quarterback Marques Hagans, a wide receiver, in as a Kordell “Slash” Stewart styled running quarterback for about five plays.
In VanGorder’s first season as a NFL coordinator, the Falcons have a young defense that’s having trouble getting off the field on third downs. With a rookie middle linebacker and young cornerbacks, they are still developing a personality.
Will VanGorder’s days of dominance over Gailey’s offenses continue? Are the Falcons getting a break by facing Tyler Thigpen, the Chiefs third-string quarterback from Coastal Carolina? Will Gailey’s superior NFL experience give the Chiefs an edge over VanGorder’s unit?
Permalink | Comments (72) | Post your comment |
Quaid’s visit lightens mood at “The Branch”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I didn’t figure what was going on at practice yesterday until late.
The limos started rolling in. Then all these pretty folks showed up in the media room. Finally, I asked my man Fred Kalil from Channel 11 what was up.
Dennis Quaid was at “The Branch.” Making a stop to promote the new movie “The Express” about Ernie Davis. Quaid was walking around the field, with a phalanx of cameras following him around. It was a cool sight.
Quaid was chatting up with folks, letting them know about his football knowledge. He was calling out some of the Falcons formations and talking about hanging out with Jim Brown. Wonder if gave Coach Mike Smith any tips on how bring along Matt Ryan.
“I’ve been enough football movies now, where I can kind of do it now,” said Quaid, a former little league baseball player.
Quaid’s other sports movies include The Rookie, Any Given Sunday and Everybody’s All-American.
Then I got to thinking that somebody is going to do “The Michael Vick Story.” HBO, Lifetime, ESPN Movies, somebody. Don’t think it’s a Disney movie. Maybe Tyler Perry or Spike Lee does the Vick movie.
Quaid could probably play coach Jim Mora in that one. Don’t know who would be Arthur Blank. Maybe Forest Whitaker could be Falcons spokesperson Reggie Roberts. Since Jamie Foxx was so good as quarterback Steamin’ Willie Beamon in Any Given Sunday, he could be Vick.
Interested in seeing “The Express” to determine how it stacks up with the all-time great football movies. Here’s my quick top five:
Brian’s Song
Remember the Titans
Friday Night Lights
The Junction Boys
(tie) The Longest Yard (original 1974 version) and Rudy
Well, enough of the movie stuff. Folks were asking for a Grady Jackson update yesterday.
Jackson expects to play against the Chiefs after missing last week’s game when his left knee swelled up 13 hours before kickoff. He’d had his knee drained of fluids either on Friday or Saturday.
“I went out there to run, but couldn’t feel it,” Jackson said. “It was real tough watching it. That was a tough one for me, to miss a game like that. That was a bad feeling.”
Going to see The Express? Got your top five football movies? Who’s going to play Mr. Blank in the Vick movie? Will getting Jackson should help the Falcons stop Larry Johnson and get off the field on third down?
Permalink | Comments (35) | Post your comment |
A quick look at the Chiefs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Much like the Falcons, the Chiefs have a full-blown youth movement underway. They started five rookies and played 11 rookies in their season opener on the road against New England and are trying to break in a young quarterback Brodie Croyle.
The former Alabama signal caller suffered a separated shoulder in the third quarter of the New England game and didn’t play last week. Veteran Damon Huard took over, but was knocked out last week against Oakland after suffering a dizzy spell. Second-year man Tyler Thigpen, of Coastal Carolina and from Winnsboro, S.C., took over.
Despite getting gashed for 300 yards rushing by Oakland’s Darren McFadden and Michael Bush, the Falcons can’t afford to take the Chiefs lightly. Late in the fourth quarter against New England, they were down 17-10 with the ball on the 5-yard line. They couldn’t punch it in to tie the game.
Whoever ends up at quarterback against the Falcons, he;ll have some superb receivers in Dwayne Bowe and tight end Tony Gonzalez. Running back Larry Johnson is off to a slow start, but is still very dangerous.
On defense, tackle Glenn Dorsey, whom the Falcons passed over to take quarterback Matt Ryan, starts alongside second-year tackle Tank Tyler. They traded their top pass rusher Jared Allen to Minnesota, but still have defensive Tamba Hali, who had 7.5 sacks last season.
Is this a trap game for the Falcons? Will they be able to spring Michael Turner loose in the run game? Can second-year guard Justin Blalock handle Dorsey, who’ll be out to prove the Falcons made a mistake?
Permalink | Comments (60) | Post your comment |
Falcons grades for Tampa Bay game
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Let’s get back to a little football today after Lawyer Milloy’s DUI and speeding arrest took us to some off the field issues yesterday.
Before we move onto the lowly Chiefs coming to town, let’s put that Buccaneer game under the microscope.
One issue to come out of the game was the numerous times that Tampa Bay receivers were running free through the secondary uncovered. A rusty Brian Griese was a big aid to the Falcons as he was not accurate and didn’t cash in on the porous coverage.
Here’s how I have the Falcons grading out:
PASS DEFENSE: D - The coverage was not up to par, but Bucs quarterback Brian Griese, making his first start of the season, was rusty and off target. He threw for 160 yards and left at least 100 yards on the field with his bad throws. The Falcons will have to tighten things up against top caliber quarterbacks. Coach Mike Smith said there were a lot of mis-communications in the secondary.
RUSH DEFENSE: C-minus - Old pal Warrick Dunn had big third down runs in Tampa Bay’s second touchdown drive. Earnest Graham broke loose for a 68-yard touchdown run late in the game to wrap things up. Dunn’s third down-and-17 touchdown run should be unacceptable to defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder.
PASSING OFFENSE: D - Matt Ryan was off target early, sailing his passes high. Ryan also had trouble inside the redzone as the Falcons were forced to settle for three short field goals. After falling behind 17-0, he did bounce back in the second half. Wideout Laurent Robinson was the star of the second half, helping Ryan out with some acrobatic catches.
RUSHING OFFENSE: C - Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood couldn’t spring free. Turner would like for the team to practice more against the eight and nine man fronts they are guaranteed to see. The Falcons longest run from scrimmage was by a wide receiver - Harry Douglas - on an end around.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C-plus - Three penalties on special teams by Jason Snelling, Brent Grimes and Thomas DeCoud drastically hurt field position. Adams Jennings got a nice block from fullback Ovie Mughelli and slipped up the right sideline for 37-yard return, the longest of his career. Kicker Jason Elam was 3 of 3 of field attempts.
COACHING: C-plus - The coaches did a good job of settling Ryan down. In the second half they found some stuff in the playbook for Ryan to execute that allowed the Falcons stick around until Graham’s late run put them away. Coach Smith must get credit for the team taking Tampa Bay’s best shot and then continuing to play. VanGorder might have to gamble more on third down to help the unit get off the field.
How did you grade out the game? Worried about the secondary? Worried about all of the third down conversions? Did Laurent Robinson move past Michael Jenkins with his strong second half?
Permalink | Comments (108) | Post your comment |
Milloy arrest is shocking
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Players in the locker room didn’t want to discuss Lawyer Milloy’s arrest for driving under the influence in Gwinnett County.
He was also charged with speeding. With no police report filed yet, the details are still kind of sketchy at this point.
But about the only place you’re leaving from at that time of the morning is a club or the Waffle House after the club. Don’t know if Milloy is a big Waffle House guy or not.
The county’s website says he was arrested at 4:35 a.m. and a public information officer told me that he was bonded out at 9:48 a.m.
So “Law Dog” had about five hours to figure things out.
He’s one of the unquestioned leaders of this young team.
Milloy has never been in trouble with the law to our knowledge in New England or Buffalo. Other than thinking Bill Belichick was a crook for waiving him.
So perhaps he went out on the town and didn’t hire a driver.
Coach Mike Smith said the team would handle the matter internally. (Buzz words for hefty fine, likely).
Given the Falcons past problems - do we need to enumerate them here? - the team is hyper sensitive about these legal situations.
What should the Falcons do to Milloy? Fine him? Make him runs the Georgia Dome stairs? Hire a driver next time?
Can Ryan beat the Cover-Two
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Falcons rookie quarterback Matt Ryan won his first start and so did rookie QB Joe Flacco in Baltimore.
Since 1970, the only rookie QBs to lead their teams to victories in the first two games of the season are John Elway (1983) and Ryan Leaf (1998).
Which one is going to be Elway and which will be Leaf, who’s out of football? I’m sure you Falcons fans are hoping Ryan is closer to Elway than Leaf.
Also, during the Super Bowl era, Atlanta and Baltimore were the first teams to win their first game of a season with a rookie starting quarterback and a rookie head coach, Mike Smith in Atlanta and John Harbaugh in B-more.
Tampa Bay figures to provide a much stiffer test for Ryan that Detroit did last week. The Bucs’ defense is coordinated by Monte Kiffin, who with Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy, popularized the Cover Two defense in the 1990s.
It’s the classic read and react attack. You need a lot of speed on defense to cover ground quickly.
Basically, in that scheme the four defensive linemen rush, the cornerbacks and three linebackers drop into coverage and try to track intermediate receivers through their zones while the two safeties drop deep.
There’s a daring way to beat the Cover-Two.
Green Bay under Mike Holmgren and offensive coordinator Sherman Lewis, loved to see the Cover 2 coming.
To beat the attack, they’d send two wide outs up the sidelines and sneak a fast tight end up the middle seam. (First it was tight end Jackie Harris, followed by Mark Chmura and then Bubba Franks, before he lost his speed.)
The quarterback has to have a nice arm to drill the deep pass. With the two outside guys streaking, the safeties have to make a choice. Take the outside guys or leave the middle open.
Not sure if Ryan is ready to make this read. We’ll all find out on Sunday.
Martrez Milner would be the idea speed tight end to beat the Cover Two, but he’s been nicked up and has demoted behind Ben Hartsock and Justin Peelle.
Perhaps the Falcons can sneak the slot receiver - maybe Harry Douglas - up the midde seam to be beat the Cover Two.
The Bucs are going to load up to stop RBs Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood and Ryan is going to have to make some nice throws. We’ll know much more about the quarterback of the future after this game, than we did after that 13 pass outing against the meek Detroit Lions.
Ryan’s first game was like a pop quiz, this one against Kiffin’s unit will be like an early peek at the mid-term.
Will Ryan pass his early mid-term exam? Will CB Ronde Barber and ex-Georgia Bulldog Jermaine Phillips make it a long day for him? All bets are off if Turner can break loose for 220 yards again because then Ryan won’t have to pass.
Permalink | Comments (134) | Post your comment |
Norwood’s role with team expanding
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
No, Jerious Norwood didn’t strut into a defensive meeting and tell DC Brian VanGorder that he wanted a spot at linebacker or maybe even free safety.
But the way Norwood covered kicks last week, who knew the fleet running back knew how to tackle.
Norwood made two special teams tackles against Detroit and got his bell rung, one time covering kickoffs.
Putting Norwood, perhaps the fastest player on the team, on the kickoff coverage units shows the importance that the new staff is placing on special teams play.
On Sunday, against Tampa Bay, the return games will be key.
Norwood almost broke a kickoff return against Detroit and Adam Jennings is doing much better on punt returns.
Tampa Bay’s Dexter Jackson, of Dunwoody and Appalachian State, returns both kickoffs and punts for the Bucs. Jackson is a dangerous return man.
He had a 33-yard kickoff return last week and a 14-yard punt return.
Last season, Tampa Bay’s Michael Spurlock had a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the 37-3 Bye-Bye Petrino Bowl. It was the franchise’s first kickoff return of a touchdown in 32-seasons of existence and helped them clinch the NFC South.
With Norwood playing a much bigger role in the offense, should he be covering kickoffs? Do you think Jennings will return a punt for a touchdown? Can the Falcons coverage units handle the electrifying Jackson?
Permalink | Comments (49) | Post your comment |
Early returns favorable on D-Hall trade
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s very early, but the Falcons’ trade of cornerback DeAngelo Hall to the Oakland Raiders is looking pretty good.
Hall would have been a free agent after this season and was demanding bushels of cash. He did make two Pro Bowls and played at a high level.
However, the Falcons balked at dumping cash on him and sent him packing for a second-round pick in 2008 and a fifth rounder in 2009. They used the second-round pick to help them move up to take left tackle Sam Baker and still have the fifth rounder.
If you stayed up Monday for the NFL doubleheader, you saw Hall getting worked out by Denver rookie Eddie Royal, from Hall’s beloved Virginia Tech.
Hey, maybe Royal is the next Steve Smith. But nonetheless Hall looked uninspired and played like a fat cat after getting his seven-year $67 million deal, with $24.5 million of it guaranteed.
There was some concern after the trade that the Falcons made a major mistake because there were no proven cornerbacks on the roster. Losing free agent signee Von Hutchins on the first day of training camp didn’t help.
Chris Houston and Brent Grimes, while getting beat on some plays against some very good Detroit receivers, played with a lot of spunk in the Falcons’ opener.
Rookie Chevis Jackson was also mixing it up in the nickel package and now they have to get the recently acquired Domonique Foxworth acclimated.
The position that looked like a major hole in the roster now seems manageable if Houston and Grimes keep playing with the same fire and desire.
Do you know where’s the “real” D. Hall? Was Eddie Royal his kryptonite? Did you pick up Royal in your fantasy league? Are you comfortable with Houston and Grimes yet or do you need to see more?
EDITOR’S NOTE: To continue this conversation, join the Thursday Falcons Blog by clicking here.
Falcons get passing grades
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After going 4-0 in the preseason, the Detroit Lions didn’t know what hit them as the Falcons jumped out to a 21-0 first quarter lead.
The lead allowed the Falcons to help out their young corners with a Cover Two zone and force the Lions to settle for underneath passes. Also, the lead let the Falcons go to the ground game and they didn’t have to ask Matt Ryan to do too much in his pro debut.
Here’s a look at how the Falcons units fared:
PASSING OFFENSE (B+): The Falcons didn’t ask Ryan to carry the load, but when it time to keep the Lions off balance, Ryan was special. Ryan showed his accuracy on the first past of his NFL career, when he hit Michael Jenkins on that skinny post for a 62-yard touchdown pass. He made another big-time throw to Ben Hartsock, after alluding some rushers, he drilled a pass between two defenders for a 17-yard gain along the right sideline.
RUSHING OFFENSE (A+): Thunder and Lightning - Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood. Turner went for a team-record 220-yards and Norwood, running as hard as we’ve seen, added 93 yards on 14 carries. They helped to combine for a team-record 318 yards rushing.
PASS DEFENSE (C): Cornerbacks Chris Houston and Brent Grimes battled Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams. Yeah, they received a lot of help from safeties Erik Coleman and Lawyer Milloy, but they didn’t allow the pro bowl-caliber receivers to single-handedly beat the team. You’ve got to like their spunk. John Abraham helped the corners with three sacks.
RUSH DEFENSE (A): The Lions wanted to establish the run, but couldn’t after they fell behind 21-0 in the first quarter. With Big Grady Jackson leading the way, the Falcons held the Lions to 62 yards on 21 carries (for a paltry 3.0 per carry average).
SPECIAL TEAMS (A): Adam Jennings did a good job returning punts and didn’t make any unnecessary fair catches. Norwood almost busted through for a touchdown on a kickoff return.
COACHING: (A) Coach Mike Smith has demanded that the Falcons play hard, nasty and mean. The Falcons have brought into Smith’s program and caught the Lions off guard when they bloodied their nose early and then stood up to a meek comeback effort.
OVERALL (A): Both coordinators were hot. OC Mike Mularkey had a well-scripted game plan. DC Brian VanGorder threw a bunch of different looks at the Lions even though his base operation was the Cover Two zone. Offensive line coach Paul Boudreau has worked wonders with his unit. They should all get game balls for clearing the way for the 318 yards rushing.
How did you all grade the opener? Worried about the cornerbacks? Who’s going to step up to help Abraham in the pass rushing area?
Fast Friday is over, now it’s game time
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Falcons just finished their final practice before the Thomas Dimitroff and Mike Smith era gets underway at the Georgia Dome on Sunday.
“Fast Fridays” is what they call it. That’s where players work fast and get ready for game day speed.
The Falcons are slated to send 11 different starters onto the field on offense and defense, including three rookies: quarterback Matt Ryan, left tackle Sam Baker and middle linebacker Curtis Lofton.
Other new starters from last season’s regular season finale are right guard Harvey Dahl (for Kynan Forney), tight end Ben Hartsock (Alge Crumpler), wide receiver Michael Jenkins (Joe Horn), running back Michael Turner (Warrick Dunn), defensive tackle Grady Jackson (Montavious Stanley) weakside linebacker Keith Brooking (Demorrio Williams), left cornerback Brent Grimes (DeAngelo Hall) and free safety Erik Coleman (Chris Crocker).
Other new players who could make contributions against Detroit are wide receiver Harry Douglas and defensive tackle Kindal Moorehead.
The Lions are coming off a 7-9 season, but have an established quarterback in Jon Kitna and talented wide receivers in Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson. The defense is anchored by linebacker Ernie Sims.
How do you think the Falcons are going to fare in their opener in the renovated Georgia Dome? Tailgating? Staying at the house to watch it on television since it’s a sellout.
Go ahead a put down your final score, too!
Permalink | Comments (189) | Post your comment |
Trust your eyes on Ryan
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Forgot who told me this, might have been my trusted mentor Bob McGinn, the longtime and esteemed Green Bay Packers beat writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, but when covering a football team daily you have to “trust your eyes.”
Basically, what you see usually is the real deal and not a mirage.
Since the mini-camp, OTAs and the exhibition season, an inordinate amount of time has been used watching Matt Ryan’s every move.
You keep coming back to the same thing. Your eyes keep telling you that this kid looks like the real deal. I wondered if he could throw deep in the NFL. I knew he could in college because I stayed up late last year watching him rally from a poor performance to throw a couple of fourth-quarter knives in Virginia Tech’s neck.
At mini-camp, his timing was off on the deep balls at first. A few weeks later, he started dropping in long laser shots. He’s made all of the throws.
So Ryan is passing the eye test and you’re supposed to trust your eyes. Got that.
What I still can’t get is the history of rookie quarterback struggles in the NFL.
Here’s how some greats fared as rookie:
• Joe Montana, San Francisco: Lost his only rookie start. Completed 13-of-23 passes for 96 yards and no interceptions in 1979.
• Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh: Went 3-8 as a starter in 1971. Threw 24 interceptions and completed only 38.1 percent of his passes.
• Doug Williams, Tampa Bay: Was 4-6 as a rookie starter and completed just 37.8 percent of his passes.
Here are more recent examples of rookie QB struggles.
• Joey Harrington, Detroit: Went 3-9 as starter in 2002. Threw 12 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
• Carson Palmer, Cincinnati: Sat and watched Jon Kitna the entire 2003 season.
• Vince Young, Tennessee: Went 8-5 as a rookie in 2006. But struggled in the passing game, throwing 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
• Matt Leinart, Arizona: Went 4-7 as a rookie in 2006. Completed 56.8 percent of his passes, but threw 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
• Jay Cutler, Denver: Started five games and was 2-3 in the regular season.
Is Ryan going to be the next rookie QB to turn in a winning season like Vince Young and Ben Roethlisberger in 2004 or will he struggle like just about everybody else? Let us know what you think.
Big day at Flowery Branch
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thanks for all of the love on yesterday’s beat blog.
Today is going to be a big day at Flowery Branch.
Wednesday is a heavy-lifting day, as the Falcons will get in a major portion of their game plan for the Lions.
The local media also has a conference call with former Georgia Tech standout Calvin Johnson. Word out of the Motor City is that he’s blossoming into a major threat (as expected) in the passing game.
Johnson and Roy Williams figured to be a load for the Falcons young cornerbacks on Sunday. Now, with the addition of running back Rudi Johnson, they might even have a respectable running game.
Also, the new guys - Domonique Foxworth and Jamaal Fudge - will be available after practice.
Foxworth should be able to help immediately. I have to learn more about Fudge’s skills, other than he’s a good special teams players.
Just been trying to figure out how the Falcons are going to defend Johnson and Williams. Got any thoughts? Zone? Man? Double cover both of them?
Again, send along any questions as I plan to jump back in between interview sessions and practice today.
Permalink | Comments (64) | Post your comment |
Falcons roster still has some holes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Flowery Branch - You get the eerie feeling that Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Michael Smith are not done with this roster.
The cornerbacks are too young. There’s no kick returner unless they want to use Jerious Norwood, the No. 2 running back. The backup safeties are Antoine “Toolbox” Harris and rookie Thomas DeCoud. Center-guard Alex Stepanovich is still on the mend from a back injury.
There’s still some work to be done in the personnel department.
Dimitroff and personnel guru Les Snead are definitely monitoring the waiver wires and looking at some trade scenarios to help Smith before he plays his first game against Detroit on Sunday.
Let’s do a quick roster analysis to determine where the Birds can fortify their roster:
QB: (3) Matt Ryan, Chris Redman and D.J. Shockley. Comment: Shockley made the team with the touchdown drive right before halftime against Baltimore. Joey Harrington sealed his fate when tossed an interception against a bunch of backups against Baltimore.
RB: (5) Michael Turner, Norwood, Jason Snelling, Ovie Mughelli and Corey McIntyre. Comment: Nice group. Too bad Thomas Brown got injured. He had the team made as a kick returner.
WR: (6) Roddy White, Michael Jenkins, Harry Douglas, Brian Finneran, Laurent Robinson and Adam Jennings. Comment: Finneran had a special preseason after missing the last two seasons with knee surgeries. Jennings is your punt returner, who likely needs to stop fair catching so many punts.
TE: (3) Ben Hartsock, Martrez Milner, Justin Peelle. Comment: Starting to think that Hartsock’s hands might be under-rated. He’s no Alge Crumpler, but his hands are a little better than advertised. Milner still struggles with consistently catching the football.
O-LINE: (9) Todd McClure, Sam Baker, Justin Blalock, Harvey Dahl, Tyson Clabo, Todd Weiner, Quinn Ojinnaka, Ben Wilkerson and Stepanovich. Comment: Kynan Forney’s exit was bizarre. He didn’t handle the demotion behind Dahl well and never fought back to take his spot.
D-LINE: (9) John Abraham, Jonathan Babineaux, Grady Jackson, Jamaal Anderson, Chauncey Davis, Kroy Biermann, Simon Fraser, Kindal Moorehead and Jason Jefferson. Comment: Abraham needs some help in the pass rushing department from Anderson, Davis or possibly Biermann.
LB: (6) Keith Brooking, Curtis Lofton, Michael Boley, Coy Wire, Stephen Nicholas and Tony Gilbert. Comment: Taylor talked too much and seemed a bad chemistry fit. Enter Gilbert, a nose to the grind veteran, who goes about his business.
DB: (9) Brent Grimes, Chris Houston, Lawyer Milloy, Erik Coleman, Chevis Jackson, David Irons, Blue Adams, Antoine Harris and Thomas DeCoud. Comment: With Von Hutchins out for the season, this group of cornerbacks is too young. Keep an eye on the Domonique Foxworth situation in Denver, he’s on the trading block and could add some experience. Thought Daren Stone did enough to make the team with his special teams play. It will be interest to see where he lands.
SPECIALS: (3) Michael Koenen, Jason Elam and Mike Schenk. Comment: There’s a void at kick returner with the injury to Brown. The Falcons may not want to use Jerious Norwood, the No. 2 running back. Harry Douglas may be an option. After the initial cuts, the Falcons contacted Clifton Smith, who had five career punt returns for touchdowns and averaged 17.1 yards per return over his career at Fresno State. He was in camp with Tampa Bay and elected to take a spot on their practice squad.
Do your own breakdown. In which areas are the Falcons weak? Where are they solid? What else do they need? Feel free to leave some questions, I’m learning how to use the comment function and plan to periodically check back in today.
Services »
