INDIANAPOLIS -- Falcons coach Mike Smith was not pleased with his wide receivers after they broke into a freestyle dance after Julio Jones' first touchdown catch.
Roddy White, Harry Douglas, Eric Weems and Jones caught the wrath of Smith. The coach didn't mind their improvisation; he just didn't want a penalty for a team that's had too many.
“My message was real simple: You can’t celebrate on the field,” Smith said. “If you want to do that, you can do that in the bench area or on the sideline. But there was a potential for a 15-yard penalty.”
The Falcons committed one penalty against the Colts. Through their first seven games, they collected 15 more penalties than they had last season, when the Falcons were the least-penalized team in the league.
“That’s the reason that we don’t want to have those types of dances or those types of celebrations,” Smith said. “You can’t have group celebrations on the playing field. It’s in the rulebook. It’s the rule. We want to make sure that we are all on the same page. We are all trying to eliminate penalties.”
Douglas got Smith’s message loud and clear.
“Coach was right about that,” Douglas said. “We shouldn’t have done it.”
The receivers will readdress their celebration dance.
“All of the guys in our receiver group are like brothers,” Douglas said. “We all support one another 100 percent.”
The group was happy about Jones’ first career touchdowns and might have gotten too excited.
“He showed everybody today why we drafted him in the top 10,” Douglas said. “He’s been showing it all year. I have faith in Julio.”
Broken window?
While the Falcons are nearly untouchable in domes, Indianapolis had one that kept them guessing.
“We anticipated that the roof was going to more than likely be open,” Smith said. “We were not as sure on the window. From what I’ve been told, and this has not been confirmed, but this was the first time that the window has been down for a game.”
The window created a huge opening at the north end of the stadium.
“With the roof open there was not really an issue ... but with that window open, there was definitely a wind blowing in one direction,” Smith said.
Cox takes over
Fullback Mike Cox started at fullback for Ovie Mughelli, who was placed on injured reserve by the Falcons.
“I think it went really well,” Cox said. “It felt good being back out there on the field, blocking for some great guys and getting a win.”
Hayden’s homecoming
Falcons cornerback Kelvin Hayden, who spent six seasons with the Colts, had an interception in the first quarter.
In a salary purge, he was cut by Indianapolis, and the Falcons signed him on Aug. 30.
He was excited to play against his old team.
“It meant a lot, definitely,” Hayden said. “When you come back to play your former team you want to perform well. There is nothing better than getting an interception. I wish I could have returned it for a touchdown.”
Rodgers runs hard
Rookie running back Jacquizz Rodgers had 10 carries for 44 yards, and nearly scored on an 11-yard run in the first quarter.
“It was a great chance for me to go in at the end of the game and get a couple of carries,” Rodgers said. “If I keep doing that, it will build confidence and the coaches will call my number more often.”
Secondary sound
The Falcons did not give up a pass play longer than 16 yards and held the Colts quarterbacks to a passer rating of 47.3. Curtis Painter started the game and Dan Orlovsky finished for Indianapolis.
"Those receivers are good receivers," Falcons cornerback Brent Grimes said. "They can present problems. They are explosive receivers and they can make big plays. You have to go out there and play it like any other game. If you go out there slacking, the receivers will make you look bad. We went out there and did our jobs."
Etc.
Former Falcons defensive end Chauncey Davis had a tryout with the Detroit Lions on Friday, his agent Kevin Conner confirmed. ... The Falcons captains for the game were running back Jason Snelling, linebacker Curtis Lofton, quarterback Matt Ryan and Weems. ... Under Smith, the Falcons are now 10-3 against teams from the AFC. ... The Falcons have forced a turnover in 27 consecutive games, which is the longest active streak in the NFL and the longest streak since Chicago posted 25 straight games with a takeaway between 2007 and 2008.
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