DEL.ICIO.USFalcons shut out the Raiders
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Oakland — The Falcons were happy to see their old pal, Oakland cornerback DeAngelo Hall.
So happy they went right after him.
Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com
Falcons safety Erik Coleman intercepts Raiders’ quarterback JaMarcus Russell in the end zone on a pass intended for wide receiver Javon Walker midway through the fourth quarter to preserve the 24-0 shutout of the Raiders.
Throwing Hall’s way, the Falcons got a quick touchdown and some early momentum to carry them to a 24-0 rout over the Raiders at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on Sunday.
The Falcons defense dominated Oakland’s pitiful offense and posted the franchise’s first shutout since beating Carolina 30-0 on Oct. 20, 2002.
“Defensively, I thought it was our best performance,” said Falcons coach Mike Smith, who awarded game balls to the defense for keeping the league’s lowest scoring offense (just nine touchdowns on the season) out of the end zone.
The Falcons dealt with the Raiders quickly and decisively.
On the game’s 10th play, rookie quarterback Matt Ryan, who hasn’t been shy about throwing at top cornerbacks, unleashed a strike to Michael Jenkins, who had gotten behind Hall, for a 37-yard touchdown.
“It was just kind of a press and fade up the sideline,” Jenkins said. “Matt threw a great ball and I was able to get by DeAngelo.”
Hall, who played his first four seasons with the Falcons and made two Pro Bowls, was traded to the Raiders last March. He went by the Falcons’ team hotel to visit with Jenkins and linebacker Michael Boley on Friday.
Ryan wasn’t shy about throwing to Philadelphia’s Asante Samuel’s side of the field last week, so Hall had to figure he was going to see action.
Hall was dressed and gone when the Raiders locker room was open to the media.
The Falcons built on Jenkins’ play.
During their surprising start, the 5-3 Falcons have been the masters of the quick start, throwing early-knock down punches in all of their victories.
The Falcons established early leads in all of their previous victories — Detroit (21-0), Kansas City (24-0), Green Bay (17-7) and Chicago (9-0) — and did the same to the Raiders.
Scoring on their first four possessions, the Falcons jumped out to a 24-0 by halftime.
The Falcons scored on their opening drive, which was a good omen. They are now 4-0 when they score on the opening drive this season.
The Falcons came out determined to get their struggling running game on track. They ran the ball with Michael Turner or Jerious Norwood on six of the first eight plays. With the Raiders starting to creep up in run support, Jenkins ran past Hall to make it 7-0.
The Raiders, who were held to just three first downs the entire game, were forced to punt after their first possession. Wide receiver Harry Douglas replaced Adam Jennings as the Falcons return man. Jennings, who played at Fresno State and is from Granite Bay, Calif., was inactive for the game.
Jennings lost his job after he botched a return in the final three minutes against Philadelphia that cost the Falcons a chance at a final drive.
After Douglas had a 6-yard return, the Falcons started their second drive at their 30-yard line.
The tried to mix things up and started passing from their no-huddle attack.
Ryan drove the Falcons to midfield before hitting tight end Justin Peelle for a 16-yard gain. A roughing the passer penalty on Oakland’s Jay Richardson, moved the ball down to Oakland’s 19. Three plays later, Norwood took a toss and got escorted into the end zone by lineman Tyson Clabo from 12 yards to make it 14-0.
“Clabo got out in front, he was pulling from the right side,” Norwood said. “I had to set my blocks up and wait for him to get there. Once he dove at the cornerback he ended up on the ground. I had to jump over him to get in the end zone.”
The Raiders could only manage four yards on their second series and were forced to punt. Quarterback JaMarcus Russell missed a shot on third down when Oakland wide receiver Ashley Lelie ran past cornerback Chris Houston, but the pass was overthrown.
The Falcons third drive started at their 12-yard line.
Ryan mixed in some passes with the run to drive down to Oakland’s 19 before right guard Harvey Dahl was called for holding, moving the ball back to the 27 after the spot foul.
Ryan threw an incompletion before finding Jenkins again for a 27-yard touchdown to make it 21-0.
“It was just kind of a corner route from inside,” said Jenkins, who beat safety Stanford Routt on the play. “Kind of like a tight end route.”
The Falcons had their fourth drive stall on Oakland’s 24, when Ryan was sacked for a third-and-3. Jason Elam came on and kicked a 48-yard field goal to make it 24-0.
That’s all the scoring that was needed.
The Raiders did not pick up their first down until 9:19 was left in the third quarter as Russell struggled mightily
The Raiders most promising drive ended when safety Erik Coleman intercepted Russell in the end zone with 7:27 to play.
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