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Home > Terence Moore > Archives > 2008 > September > 21 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USNext game a better gauge of Falcons
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So what does it mean in the grand scheme of the NFL universe that the Falcons spent Sunday at the Georgia Dome drop kicking their second bad opponent of the season after getting knocked silly by the only good team they’ve played?
It means the Falcons’ game next week against a real team in Charlotte will indicate what we have here. For now, after their 38-14 victory over absolutely horrible Kansas City, they’ve proven that the Chiefs are on the verge of scraping the bottom of the league with the Detroit Lions — you know, the other absolutely horrible team that the Falcons beat.
That said, the answers will come in a hurry as to whether these Falcons are closer to becoming Dirty Birds or Dodo Birds. After that trip on Sunday to face the Carolina Panthers, the Falcons travel to Green Bay, where the Packers still are rather formidable without that No. 4 guy, and then the Chicago Bears come to town with their nasty defense. Win a couple of those games, and the Mike Smith regime is a semi-miracle during its first season. Lose a couple of them (or all of them), and it’s the same old Falcons of late.
“When we play tougher competition, we have to step up to the plate, and we have to beat good teams,” Falcons wide receiver Roddy White said. “What’s coming up (Carolina, Green Bay, Chicago) is a real crucial stretch for us. It’s a tough schedule, but that’s how you tell whether you’re a good team or not. You can win all of your games at home and be 8-8, but the good teams win on the road.”
Good teams also beat good teams. As for whatever you call these Falcons, they hadn’t a problem in their season opener against the toothless Lions, but then came their trip last week to Tampa Bay. That’s where the Buccaneers did two things in a hurry: They made quarterback Matt Ryan stop streaking toward all-everything status after his debut against Detroit by making him resemble the rookie that he is. They also kept Michael Turner from two consecutive games of imitating LaDainian Tomlinson, the guy he used to back up in San Diego.
Here’s our point: With the Chiefs as the latest bad team across the way for the Falcons, Ryan began streaking again (120.6 passer rating). Turner returned to his LT thing by rushing for 104 yards, including a bruising run of 38 yards for highlight films. White continued his flirtation with reaching the elite receivers with five catches for 119 yards, punctuated by a 70-yard touchdown play to the post. Plus, the defense had John Abraham pushing his NFL-leading sack total from four to six and the secondary grabbing three interceptions.
Little of that happened against the Buccaneers. But you know what? Take it from defensive tackle Grady Jackson, among those around for the Falcons’ 4-12 disaster of last season.
To paraphrase, their 2-1 record is better than most of the alternatives.
“I mean, it’s football. You can get beat on any given Sunday,” said Jackson, whose Falcons have proven as much often through the years. They haven’t finished with a winning season since reaching the NFC championship game after the 2004 season, so this is a start. Added Jackson, “We have to keep finding ways to chop away at the wood and play hard. People say we’re beating bad teams, but we just have to keep going out there and doing what we do. We were picked to have one or two wins this year. So far, we’re already there.”
Good point.
Permalink | Comments (26) | Categories: Falcons/NFL
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By You can't be serious
September 21, 2008 7:27 PM | Link to this
I can’t believe a column this lazy took 3 hours to hit the website. It couldn’t have taken more than 3 minutes to write it. Blah, blah, blah…bad team. Blah, blah, blah…real test next week. Its amazing that this guy writes for a real newspaper and people ask you to provide analysis on TV. Only in America, right?
By Tom T
September 21, 2008 7:31 PM | Link to this
Dodo Birds. That’s funny. Your wit is astounding…you are the Brian Dunkelman of the AJC.
By j
September 21, 2008 7:41 PM | Link to this
Dude, come on. No sane, intelligent person thinks that the Falcons are “miracles” or playoff contenders, but it’s nice to see them play well in this rebuilding year. With the upcoming schedule, its fair to say that they can still make progress even if they don’t pull off miracles and not be the frustrating, moribund franchise of their history. How about a little unbiased journalism as opposed to the urinated cornflakes?
By long time falcon
September 21, 2008 7:43 PM | Link to this
I thought the falcons were supposed to be the doormat of the league. What happened to us going 1-15? Now when we win a damn game all the prognosticators claim it was irrelevant because we beat a bad team. Of course they will probably lose to the panthers in Carolina because this is a very young falcon team that is in the rebuilding stage. The exciting thing to most falcon fans with functioning brain cells is how bright the future looks from the front office, to the coaching staff, to the good young players on the field. You can’t sit there and say same old falcons if they don’t beat good teams on the road. What a stupid remark. This is a young team that is still a good draft or two away from being a playoff caliber team. Be patient and glad we are finally in good hands with Dimitroff and Smith running the show. There are going to be some good days and some bad ones. But what else could you expect from a young team starting a rookie QB?
By stephen
September 21, 2008 7:45 PM | Link to this
Terrance you would complain about a million dollar bonus because of the taxes.
3 games into the new regime with a record of 2-1 with obvious improvments and your complaint isn;t we haven’t beaten a quality team. Did you believe a 2-1 record was achievable before the season?
Ryan played very well for a rookie against Kiffin’s TB defense last week. Did you happen to notice the improvment from 1st half to 2nd half?
I am extremely satisfied in the direction this team is moving. Our GM has a plan and is executing well.
Number 7 is not coming back. The sooner you can accept this fact, the sooner the fog in your eyes will clear and the vision of the Falcon’s bright future will appear before you.
By Dominic Hughes
September 21, 2008 7:50 PM | Link to this
Terence you read my mind. Much as I love the win, I’d like to see the Falcons now step it up a notch and post a W against a team that isn’t a complete basket case. We’ll know a lot more about these Falcons after the next three weeks.
By stendec
September 21, 2008 7:53 PM | Link to this
Falcons to be commended for victory. They are thus commended! Did not like lack of effort by defenders to keep Chiefs scorless by non-tackle at goal line in closing seconds of half. Any effort whatsoever in form of tackle would have kept visitors off scoreboard. Frustrated at unconcern to start new half as Chiefs waltzed uncontested down field to complete 14-0 scoring run. Keith “No Tackle” Brooking needs to go! Announcers made big deal over supposed tackle he appeared to make. HE MISSED! Normal for this untalented loser. Only brain-dead punt returner kept Falcons from turnover-free outing. Cut this bozo! Other than that it was a solid effort. At least the guys in bird helmets over the .500 mark for a few games. GO FALCONS!
By damon
September 21, 2008 7:59 PM | Link to this
Imagine the hell the Falcons would catch if they lost against Detroit and KC. These are games they would have lost in previous seasons. Atleast they seem like they are well-coached and focused.
I guess they can’t win either way.
By michaelgee
September 21, 2008 8:12 PM | Link to this
Let’s have a vote after this Chiefs game:
Who do we draft?
Matt Ryan or Glenn Dorsey?
Ryan is an immediate impact player. After watching Dorsey, we now know that KC should have taken Ryan.
Dimitroff was right again!
By michaelgee
September 21, 2008 8:16 PM | Link to this
Don’t worry Terrance, the true dodo bird is well known, he writes for the ajc.
By Earl
September 21, 2008 8:17 PM | Link to this
This team my friend is NOT the same old Falcons. Win or lose the rest of this year, they are headed in the right direction. Does anyone expect them to make the playoffs? No!!! If the slide in, great. But noone can really expect them to make the playoffs. The real measuring stick is how they bounce back after some adversity, such as last weeks beating in Tampay Bay. Character is much better than in the past. Coaching is much better. Attitude is much better. Hustle is muuuuuuuch better. Although the overall talent has been better in the past, I seriously doubt that the teamwork has been and it shows thus far this year.
I have said it before and I say it again. If this team wins no more games this year, but the attitude and hustle is still there, then they are headed in the right direction.
Gooooooooooooo Falcons.
By Supes
September 21, 2008 8:19 PM | Link to this
Terence, who cares about wins and loses. As long as this team stays competitive, even if they lose against the “good teams in the NFL”, it’ll be a better season than the last one.
Lets face it, it’s a rebuilding year. This will be a 2-3 year project before the Falcons can be legitimate playoff contenders.
So who cares about which teams the Falcons are going to beat this year. Just play hard, play competitive, and the results will pay off a few years down the road.
This takes time, effort and patience. As well as pulling the right moves in the draft and free agency. Then you have the added factor of luck, and staying healthy.
All that considered, the Falcons will be fine in 2-3 years time.
By Gsry
September 21, 2008 8:24 PM | Link to this
Hey terrence what journilism school did spend the summer at?
By Glass Half Full
September 21, 2008 8:25 PM | Link to this
So what if the Falcons beat two bad teams? That’s exactly what they haven’t done since 2005. Beat the bad teams and contend, perhaps win, against the good ones, and the franchise will be on the rise.
By jfalcon
September 21, 2008 8:25 PM | Link to this
Hey stupid….. Remember, you said these Falcons would be the bottom of the league. Can I have the last 3 minutes of my life back that I wasted on reading this !!
By leftcoastfan
September 21, 2008 8:33 PM | Link to this
hey TMOORE, why did you not mention once in your article the name Glen Dorsey, isnt he the guy the falcons passed over for matty ice. i mean cmon, dorsey will be a monster, but he cant score or win games, he can only play hard, and tackle, i think it is very funny that you never mentioned dorsey at all. i guess you have changed your mind. stoopid!
By bigeasy830
September 21, 2008 8:34 PM | Link to this
Fair weather Falcon fans come out in groves after beating bad teams. They have such optimism for the team after beating horrible teams. That is why Atlanta sports teams suck, especially the Falcons. That touchdown that Matt Ryan threw still shows he has a weak arm. Roddy White had to slow up for it and he threw the ball in the rafters. He put to much air under the ball. A decent CB would have caught up to Roddy and broke the play up. But, against terrible teams we will look great and thats good, we are dominating bad competition and that is what a well coached team is suppose to do. But the only terrible teams left on our schedule is Saint Louis and maybe Oakland. We will still win 4 games or less for the season. Matt Ryan will be exposed more and more for being a weak armed QB with all the intangibles but not enough tools to be a good NFL QB, like Danny Wuerffel. If we winn over 4 games this year it is because of the great job Coach Smith is doing. If we win 8 games this year Coach Smith should be Coach of the year by a landslide. I love our coaching staff. Even in the lose against the Bucs we still looked like a well coached and disciplined team.
By C. B.
September 21, 2008 8:35 PM | Link to this
Come on guys, like the earlier poster said, no one expects anything but signs of progress and change for the better from these falcons. One thing we can say is that at least at this point we beating teams we are supposed to. Could be worse with a rookie quarterback. But I am a Falcon fan a win is always a good thing. But with this regime hopefully I dont think we will ever be able to say same ole Falcons, dumb statement Terrance. We clearly have a brighter future than the past.
By hasavior
September 21, 2008 8:42 PM | Link to this
the game plan that i have been preaching all week is in full effect.
The running game has to be established in order for the falcons to be competative day in and day out.
i think if they would have stayed committed to the running game against tampa, they would have been more competative and even won.
Continue running the ball and it will expose ryan good qualities rather than his weaker ones.
By OpinionsAreLike
September 21, 2008 8:49 PM | Link to this
Well you’ve got to win the games you should and they have done that convincingly. This is more than anyone expected. The only thing that is the same are the uniforms, anything can happen. This team is not falcons business as usual.
Billy Bob
By DJ Lee
September 21, 2008 8:56 PM | Link to this
Terence, how frustrating it must have be for you to see the Falcons playing with heart, with pride, with toughness and with grit. Will they crash the playoffs this season with so much new, and so much inexperience? Probably not.
But to call them the “same old Falcons of late” if they don’t happen to beat whatever team you deem worthy of laudatory praise is laughable.
Do you even watch these games? Do you have a “Falcons win” and “Falcons Lose” column already written before the game even starts? I’m convinced this is the case. I know columnists are charged with riling up the readership with brash, controversial viewpoints, but your predictable, short-sighted and increasingly ignorant commentaries aren’t worthy of a large market fish-wrap.
By dogfan
September 21, 2008 8:59 PM | Link to this
TM, if you ever wrote anything that was not negative, Half the readers of the AJC would have a heart attack.
By BirdDawg
September 21, 2008 9:16 PM | Link to this
Come on man. Give them some credit. They were picked to go 1-15 this year, so a 2-1 start against any competition is already a miracle season. A new, rookie, head coach after that Petrino debacle, a rookie quarterback, and there are numerous rookies scattered throughout key positions on the roster, I’d say this is more a glimpse into the future of what can be rather than a peek into the past of what was. No, they are probably not headed for the Superbowl anytime soon, but considering the hand they’ve been dealt, what they have accomplished so far has been inspiring.
By NCFalconFan
September 21, 2008 9:23 PM | Link to this
I don’t believe that we as Falcons Fans thought that we would be in the Super Bowl this year. If I recalled, the Falcons were suppose to be “this years Miami Dolphins”. However here we are 2-1 and looking a lot better than everyone thought that we would be. Yeah it was only KC but we beat them, it doesn’t matter who a win is a win is a win. That is all that matters. If the Falcons do win next week, what will you find to write about then TM? I am sure you would probably go interview Shockley’s grandmother so she can say how great he is.
By mgcube
September 21, 2008 9:23 PM | Link to this
terrance why did ajc hire you, all you do is hate on the falcons
By FRANKY
September 21, 2008 9:24 PM | Link to this
Terence, you are right. They have beat two sorry teams, but you play who you play. A win is a win. The future looks bright for the Falcons, i wish i could say that about your negitivity.