Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
The Falcons coaches were dazed and the players were confused.
There's no other way to explain the clock mismanagement and Roddy White told us about the confusion as Cleveland Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer did nearly everything in his powers to "gift" the game to the Falcons.
But for some strange reason, the Falcons were not in a receiving mood. They didn’t want to take the gift-game that was handed to them on a silver platter.
This 26-24 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday will go down in history right next to the debacle in London in which the Falcons somehow manage to blow a 21-point halftime lead against the Detroit Lions.
The thread that runs through both of those defeats was the gruesome clock management at the end, shoddy play by the secondary and the lack of a pass rush.
Let’s move on to the grades.
GAME BALL: Desmond Trufant. Before the melt down in the final 44 seconds, the game ball was going to Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer for tossing those timely interceptions. We'd hired a ball boy to run over to the Browns locker room and hand it to him and give him a gift card to the Varsity. But seriously, second-year cornerback Desmond Trufant was strong in coverage against Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon, who did have eight catches for 120 yards. He had to earn them. He was targeted 16 times. Trufant had two pass breakups and what should have been a pivotal interception.
C-minus – Quarterback: Matt Ryan completed 27 of 43 passes for 273 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
The Browns dropped at least three other interceptions. He finished with a passer rating of 86.7 and appeared to out sync with wide receiver Julio Jones, who missed last week’s key practices on Wednesday and Thursday due to an illness.
D – Running backs: The Falcons figured they could get the rushing attack moving against the Browns, who are giving up more than 140 yards per game and were ranked 30th in the league. The Browns did their best "Steel Curtain" impersonation as they overloaded the box and dared Ryan to throw. The longest run of the day was 7 yards.
D — Wide receivers/Tight ends: White was targeted 10 times and caught nine passes for 96 yards. Jones, who was clearly off key, caught 5 of 13 targets for 68 yards and didn't dominate his matchup with Browns cornerback Joe Haden. Levine Toilolo caught two of his three targets. Overall, the unit didn't do enough damage on 27 catches for 273 yards (10.1 yards per catch).
F — Offensive Line: They weren't able to open any holes in the running game and Ryan was under siege in the pocket. The running backs averaged just 2.6 yards per carry, when 4.0 per carry is the minimum standard of rushing decency. Ryan was sacked three times and hit six times. Cleveland's Paul Kruger had two sacks, two quarterback hits and one forced fumble.
D — Defensive line: The Browns rushed for 162 yards on 29 carries (5.6 per carry). Browns running back Isaiah Crowell had 12 carries for 88 yards and two touchdowns. Terrance West had 14 carries for 62 yards. The defense started out strong, but wore down as the game progressed. The Browns were persistence about running the ball. The old problem of missed tackles re-appeared on Crowell's second touchdown run, when he weaved his way through traffic and poor arm tackles on his way to a 26-yard touchdown. Jonathan Massaquoi saw his most extensive action (24 snaps, 32 percent) since suffering a foot injury against Baltimore. Rookie Ra'Shede Hageman played 16 of 75 defensive snaps (21 percent), which was slightly above his average of 14.5 snaps through 10 games. Designated pass rusher Osi Umenyiora had one quarterback hit while playing 23 snaps (31 percent).
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F — Linebackers: Joplo Bartu (eight), Paul Worrilow (six) and Prince Shembo (two) didn't do enough to stop the Browns rushing attack. Worrilow played all 75 snaps. Bartu played 33 snaps (44 percent) and Shembo played 19 snaps (24 percent). Outside linebacker/defensive end Kroy Biermann had a sack and two quarterback hits.
D-plus — Defensive backs: Safety Kemal Ishmael, cornerback Desmond Trufant and rookie safety Dezmen Southward all came up with interceptions. Ishmael led the defense with 11 tackles and he had an interception. When Robert McClain left the game with a calf injury, the team's fifth cornerback, Javier Arenas was pressed into duty. He played nine snaps. The unit should get a boost with the expected return of William Moore on Sunday. He would have broken up that pass to the Browns backup tight end Gard Barnidge on the final drive.
B-plus — Special teams: Matt Bryant is money! Matt Bosher averaged a net of 39.5 on four punts. He had one touchback and placed two punts inside the 20. Hester nearly scored off the missed field goal right before halftime, but Kroy Biermann got in his way when he should have been looking to make a block.
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F-minus — Coaches: Clock management was downright bizarre. The Falcons got cute when some simple math and football acumen was required. On third-and-two, they called timeout in order to get the "best play", Coach Mike Smith said. The "best play" ended up being a bomb to the punt returner, which was incomplete. No need to pile on here. Columnist Mark Bradley covered this with some clarity and Roddy White said the offense was "confused" and that he wanted to "attack" after the Trufant interception.
NEXT UP: The Falcons (4-7) host the Arizona Cardinals (9-2) at 4:05 p.m. Sunday at the Georgia Dome.
FALCONS FAN MAILBAG: We take your questions from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday.
ICYMI: In case you missed it
SIDEBAR: In the end, Falcons defense collapses
FALCONS' QUOTEBOARD after loss to the Browns
Roddy White speaks his mind: Falcons were "confused" and didn't "attack" the Browns
Tony Dungy on Falcons' clock mismanagement
