FalconAlley Football

Falcons Not Ready for Prime Time

Atlanta 7 at New England 23

October 22, 2017

By: Allison Smith

Apparently, the Atlanta Falcons were not ready for Prime Time. The long awaited Super Bowl rematch occurred on Sunday Night Football. Except, even with all the questions, story lines, and hype, it truly was not a rematch. The New England Patriots came in with 2 losses and the 32^nd ranked defense. The Falcons came in…off back to back winnable losses and played their worst game of the season.

The Patriots started with the ball, had an 11-play drive, encompassing 5 penalties between the 2 teams. Very sloppy start on both sides. The Falcons defense forces the punt and seem to have a good plan on the night. Then, the offense goes 3 and out. Once again, before the defense can even sit down, they are back on the field after a Matt Bosher 35-yard punt.

That’s right, not only did Bosher have another bad punt this week, Matt Bryant had one field goal blocked and another hit the goal post. That should have really been your clue this game was over early.

The Patriots really did not do anything spectacular, except stay on the field. Which we have found is incredibly affective. You don’t give Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, and Devonta Freeman a chance to explode. You tire out the defense. So, it doesn’t take allot to outscore the Falcons. The defense was able to force 3 field goals.

On the good side, Ju finally got his first touchdown of the season. Which I am sure means more to statisticians than to Julio, it was so late, too late in the game to help. Julio also reached 8000 yards, the 2nd fastest receiver to do so. Defensive positives include a big sack by De’Vondre Campbell for a 7-yard loss on NE’s second drive, a Vic Beasley, Jr. sack, and a Robert Alford interception, which, was of course returned on a defensive penalty.

The story of this week is the question of what has happened to our Falcons?!? The entire NFL seems to be in a vortex of confusion this year. Except for Cleveland and San Francisco (both still winless), everyone else is up and down any given week. If a team started off undefeated, they’ve had 2 losses, if they started off in the hole, they are on a win streak.

So, the Falcons are not out of anything yet, even sitting in third place of the NFC South. Luckily, they have not played anyone in their division…yet. In 2 weeks, they start with the Panthers, who are suffering their own woes. Apparently, both teams’ set of fans are calling for the heads of their respective Offensive Coordinators. Mike Shula, who has been with the Panthers as long as Cam Newton, while Steve Sarkisian is in his first season with the Falcons.

The real confusion seems, we heard that Ryan greeted Sark on Day 1 with a hand shake and the current playbook. Seems that Sark lost that, and Dan Quinn doesn’t have his to share. With all of the offensive weapons at his disposal, Ryan should be able to have more success than he is having so far. Ryan admitted he is not playing his best, yet, and there are some throws he would like to have back. This week, one such includes the incomplete low pass to Jones in the end zone, that allowed the defender to knock it away. In the simplest followship of the playbook, even I can remember that everyone got at least one pass a week. Austin Hooper had 1 catch on his single target, and the former leading receiver, Tevin Coleman had 1 target.

Ryan and Quinn both commented on Monday, that they felt confident in the play calling throughout the game, including two 4^th down attempts near midfield, and the 4^th and inches jet sweep to Taylor Gabriel at the goal line. Only 1 of those was successful. One has to question why you would go for a 4^th and 7 and 4^th and 6 at midfield, and why run a jet sweep to Turbo instead of rushing the best running back in the league up the middle in a short yardage situation. Once again, my personal call for Ben Garland, this time as a full back opening the way for Free. Freeman gained 47 yards after contact and forced 4 missed tackles on a mere 12 carries. How do you not give him the ball at the goal line?

Apparently the issues with the offense is due to execution and inconsistency. Ryan’s errant throws, tipped passes, missed blocks, dropped passes. Without focusing on the run game, they cannot open up the passing game. Once again, Coleman and Freeman did not have 100 yards rushing combined.

So far, in six games, Ryan has thrown for 300 yards, in one game. Jones has had 100 yards, in one game. Follow me here…..Freeman has rushed for over 100 yards….in one game. There is clearly no offensive rhythm. First and second downs are marginal at best, but converting on third down has become nearly impossible, as it is almost always 3^rd and long.

Missed tackles, ill-timed penalties, lack of turnovers, i.e., inconsistency is haunting the defense as well.

I may not know what the answer is, but I think that many of us do not think anyone at The Branch does either. Everyone seems to think they are having great practices, working the process, just need to fix these couple of issues. Except these issues, are different every week. The O did not turn the ball over, and the D had less missed tackles, which is execution. But, are they really coming to the field as prepared as they should be? Are these play calls the best for the members we have?

If so, how are the Atlanta Falcons, with only additions to the Super Bowl team, this chaotic and bad?

#RiseUp

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Falcons, Their Own Worst Enemy

Miami 20 at Atlanta 17

October 15, 2017

Photos & Article by: Allison Smith

The game started off a little sluggish. The Falcons received the opening kickoff, but once again were not able to score a touchdown, held to a 50-yard field goal. By the time it was 17/0, I felt better and confident and assumed the second half would be a repeat of the first half instead of a repeat of previous games. The Falcons did not score a point in the second half, and actually had limited offensive snaps. Offensive Coordinator, Steve Sarkisian, was in the box for the first time this week, supposedly able to see the field and plays better and therefore make quicker adjustments.

The opening drive did have a few good plays, one of which was by Julio Jones. He was not credited with the catch as he was blanketed with a defender. Note though, that Julio, while completely hugged, did catch the ball on the sideline and likely would have been credited with that 12 yard catch. Unfortunately, a few plays later, at 3 and 1, Matt Ryan tossed several yards back to Tevin Coleman, who ran up, but still lost a yard. This forced the first Matt Bryant field goal of the day. Of course it was successful, even at 50 yards. Bryant was listed earlier in the week as sitting out some practices with back issues, we did not see those Sunday.

Deion Jones was on fire Sunday, nearly collecting 3 interceptions. One was almost, one was an interception, and a third was an interception that was negated due to a penalty. Whatever “get the ball” speech was given last week took for Debo at least. And other defenders were definitely reaching for strips allot on the day. Keanu Neal was back to the power hitting he is known for.

After Debo’s near interception and a big stop by Neal, the Falcons moved the ball quickly between Taylor Gabriel and Jones, who refuses to be tackled. Then, Marvin Hall, who was on the practice roster Saturday morning. Active roster Saturday afternoon. End zone Sunday. Just before the end of the first quarter, Ryan hit Hall with a 40 yard pass for the first touchdown of the game.

We start to see the game turn around now. Jay Cutler has 3 errant passes, caused by pressure from the Falcons D line and a good Brian Poole break up. The Dolphins punt, thinking they are trapping the Falcons deep, but expert returner Andre Roberts puts a linebacker block on the gunner ensuring the ball drops into the end zone and the Falcons O starts on the 20. Then instantly, an Andy Levitre has a false start and they start on the 15. And, here we go. The beginning of the end. Julio now tips the ball, but not for an interception. Coleman and Devonta Freeman both had unsuccessful runs. Well, stopped deep in their own territory, the ever dependable Matt Bosher comes on to punt. And kicks it out of bounds near midfield.

On the Dolphins next drive, the defense stepped up. Poole knocked the air out of Cutler, Robert Alford his the runner so hard, his own helmet came off. Miami then, disrespectfully goes for it on 4^th and 3 at the 39. And Dontari Poe, the big man in the middle knocks the pass back to Cutler.

Energized by the big stop, the offense comes out hitting on all cylinders now. Freeman goes for a big 44 yard gain, as he gets in the open field, the jets turn up and as he feels the defenders, he double wraps the ball. Free is so smart and aware and loves to eat. A couple of plays later Coleman stretches for the end zone, crosses, fumbles, recovers and the Falcons are now up 17 to 0. I think everyone (in black and red) in the Benz Nest now feels better about the game and safe and ready for a quick half time break.

With just over 2 minutes until halftime, much drama ensues. The Dolphins have already been a little chippy all game. Which continues, including Takk McKinley and Poole. I personally would pick another Falcon to fight before Takk, but to each his own. Some shoving and talking. De’Vondre Campbell gets a personal foul for a “late hit” on Cutler, Desmond Trufant almost gets a pick himself. After the 2 minute warning, Grady Jarrett gets a big tackle. Debo knocks one down, along with the crowd, the impending defensive look causes a false start. Then suddenly, the Deion Jones interception on the day!

With limited time remaining, the offense drives quickly, with the benefits of the stars, Freeman and J Jones making big plays, then with 2 seconds remaining, they try a 59 yard Bryant field goal. The ball falls short, a Dolphin under the goal posts runs the ball out and takes a pretty vicious hit from Bosher. With that miss, the half ends and the scoring for the Falcons ends.

The second half started well enough. The Dolphins received the ball, Cutler isn’t getting his feet set on pass attempts due to the Falcons rush. Jarrett almost gets a sack on Cutler, then he and fellow Clemson teammate Vic Beasley, Jr. combine for a tackle. Had to be in the middle of that. The D keeps standing up, causing 4^th downs, then on a 4^thand 1, allow a 3 yard gain. Neal continues his hitting streak, the defense starts tipping balls of their own, Beasley almost making a pick of his own. While almost doesn’t count, but at least the effort is there, just not the full execution. Then, possibly my favorite play of the game. The D has a false start, Cutler recognizes the free play, as he drops back to lob up a big pass, until he notices TAKK coming strong. Cutler immediately downs the ball.

Unfortunately, that bit of fun was not enough and the Dolphins continued their drive and scored. The Falcons O, goes 3 and out. Another unusual short, Bosher punt up to the 49. And it is all downhill from here for sure. Jones has another interception, runs all over the field for limited yards, but was trying at least. Two flags are seen. One is the expected block in the back, with so much change of direction. The other, a roughing the passer call, which was before the interception, therefore nullified the interception, giving Miami the ball back deep in the Falcons territory leading to another touchdown.

Now, I know this is a crap call because I check my twitter feed and they say this call is on Grady Jarrett. Just because he is so big and fast, does not make him dirty. Jarrett clarified the call on Dukes and Bell on 92.9 The Game this week. He chatted with the referee making the call, it was not a late hit, the ref felt like Jarrett hit Cutler too high. Sadly, besides this call being hogwash, it was a game changer. The Falcons having the ball vs. the Dolphins keeping the ball with a short field.

As the 4^th quarter begins, the Falcons drive up to midfield, then implode. Jake Matthews gets a holding call. Freeman gets no yards. Ryan is sacked. THEN the capping blow. Bosher doesn’t even have a chance for a bad punt because Josh Harris has a low snap, Bosher runs for a yard or two and Miami has the ball at the 50.

The defense has had a minute off the field, but come back on, Jarrett causes a 2^nd bad throw. It’s 4^th and 2 at the 44, and the Dolphins gain 9 yards. Campbell, who has been impressive and active all day, knocks a Cutler pass back at him forcing a field goal to tie the game.

The offense goes 3 and out again, but thankfully Bosher hits his usual (55 yard) huge punt finally. Poole starts to step up to the Poole we know and snaps up a fumble and heads down the field, with whistles blowing to signal a downed play. The defense is really going after the ball late in the game. Campbell knocks down another pass, forcing another field goal, giving Miami the 3 point lead, with over 2 minutes to go in the game. MORE than enough time for Matty Ice to bring out another miracle.

The Falcons quickly march down the field as Miami was giving up the run and under passes, but nothing over the top. Miami was playing for the tie. With 47 seconds to go, I turned to a neighbor and said, “Just put Money (Matt Bryant) out there and tie this up and let us have a few minutes break. Coach did not listen to me, the drive continued, until, you guessed it, an interception. This was not a tipped ball, if that makes it any easier to swallow. Austin Hooper should have caught the ball, however, this game is not on him. First, he was being tackled and the ball knocked out by another Tiger, rookie Cordrea Tankersly. Reshad Jones caught the ball for the final real play of the game. Miami, who had been fighting and cheap shotting all day, now storm the field, run around like they won the super bowl, received an unsportsmanlike penalty, which backed them up for the final snap and kneel down of the game.

Ryan finished the game 24 of 35 for 248 yards a single touchdown and a single interception, his 6^th of the season. The Falcons have moved too far away from the running game, with Freeman and Coleman combining for 82 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown (by Coleman) in the first half. In the second half, they had six rushes for 18 yards combined. The offense had 54 plays on the day. The Dolphins controlled the tempo of game most of the day. Coleman, the leading receiver before Sunday was targeted once on 37 passes.

Ricardo Allen led the defense with 7 solo tackles. Debo had 11 combined and an interception, followed by Neal with 8, and Campbell’s 4. Campbell is excited to go against Rob Gronkowski next week. He definitely has the size to handle Gronk.

The Falcons had 6 penalties for 73 yards, again, at the worst possible times.

Overall, I do not think this is a Super Bowl hangover, or another choke job. If you’ve been around long enough, you know this is how the Falcons play sometimes. Doesn’t make it any better, just an observation. The defense still looked gassed early in the 3^rd quarter, offense is still not clicking or using all of their weapons.

While, this is very frustrating, I will always support my team and pick myself back up for Sunday night’s “Super Bowl Rematch.” Let’s go ahead and figure out our over/under on the number of times the Super Bowl is mentioned. Remember, we may have given up the biggest lead ever, but we also took the great New England Patriots with Tom Brady to OVERTIME.

Dan Quinn may have very well been playing possum these last two weeks, just to get the biggest revenge of them all. We all know that is unlikely, but wouldn’t that be a worth it couple of losses?

I am expecting a big win this week and the season to go up from there.

Iron Falcon Award: Two 2nd year defenders this week. Deion Jones should have been credited with 3 interceptions and was active all day. De’Vondre Campbell for knocking down numerous passes and being very disruptive in the backfield.

#RiseUp

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Falcons Déjà Vu….the Bad Way

Miami 20 at Atlanta 17

October 15, 2017

By Allison Smith

First, sigh, shake your head, then relax, and try not to panic. If you have been a Falcon fan since before the 2012 season, you know this is typical Atlanta Falcons football. Take the full 60 minutes and win, or break your heart. Being a fan since the early 1980’s, I got use to this. But then we got spoiled with the Mike Smith winning years, and last year with the Super Bowl run. All is not lost. We have the team to do this year, we just need to wipe out the mistakes.

Clearly we all know, the untimely penalties are killing us. There were 6 for 73 yards this week. A couple on offense to back us up, and of course the “roughing the passer” penalty on Grady Jarrett (clearly that is hogwash) that negated a Deion Jones interception late in the game. In stadium, we never got to see the replay, but I think we all know that Grady would not hit someone late. If Jay Cutler was just standing there, he’s gonna get hit. Jarrett is a big guy, he can’t stop on a dime.

One note that likely everyone did not see, there was a defensive encroachment, so Cutler knew he had a free play, however, as he dropped back and scanned the field, preparing to throw, he saw a quickly closing Takk McKinley and downed the ball. Cutler must have seen Takk fighting linemen earlier and decided not to take that on himself.

Also, turnovers, not helping so much. At least this week, Debo had a couple of picks and if you watched, the defense was definitely aggressively going for the ball. On many of the gang tackles, because that is often what it took to make a tackle again this week, the defenders were actively reaching for the ball. The Falcons offense ended with only 1 interception this week, but at the worst possible time. Near the end of the game, driving for the win, a low pass to Austin Hooper was knocked out and intercepted by Georgia boy, Reshad Jones. Hooper possibly could have fought harder for the ball, but Clemson boy, rookie Cordrea Tankersly made a good play to knock the ball out. I am not less annoyed, but it not being yet another tipped pass for an interception is a slight positive.

I said, with 47 seconds left, and the ball on the 29, to let Matt Bryant do his thing and take the tie and see what overtime holds. With the recent turnovers and red zone woes, I still think that would have been a good, logical idea. Clearly, the Dolphins were playing for the tie, as they were not letting anything over the top.

Dontari Poe and Grady Jarrett were being double teamed again this week, but, along with others, getting major pressure on Cutler. Many passes, he was not able to set his feet and you could tell with is passes. Jarrett had 4 tackles, 1 combined with Clemson teammate Vic Beasley, Jr., while Poe only had 1 tackle, but also a key knockdown as well. Who knew Poe could jump like that?!?

On a happy note, highlight reel, Marvin Hall was moved to the active roster on Saturday and had a 40-yard touchdown reception on Sunday. Sadly, he was only on the field a few more snaps
and did not have another reception. Maybe, Hall would have been a good target on the day?

When you really knew the game was going downhill……early in the second quarter, the Falcons receive a punt, on 1^st and 10 Andy Levitre has a false start, backing the offense up. They go 3 and out, and I said, “At least we have Bosher, he will….oh crap.” Before I could finish my sentence, he hits a 37-yard punt that goes out of bounds at the Miami 44. Later, Bosher had another short punt, 26 yards to the Miami 49. We all know this is very unusual. To add insult to injury, Josh Harris has the first horrible snap I can even remember, causing Bosher to try to run the ball…all of this happening at midfield.

In the end, the Falcons had 54 plays on the day and the Dolphins really controlled the tempo of the game, especially the run game, both sides. Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman combined for 18 carries and a total of 100 yards, exactly. Freeman had one of 44 yards and Coleman a long of 20, so take those big runs away, and our rushing game was 36 yards. THAT is not our kind of running game.

Again, within the fan base at least, there is question as to the use of Julio Jones. While we realize he is often double teamed, Ju can catch nearly anything anyway. On the opening drive, Julio was interfered with, i.e. tackled as he was attempting to catch a 12-yard pass on the sideline. The PI was called and enforced, and if you noticed, Julio still caught the ball and would have come down with the pass anyway. Julio caught 6 of the 7 times he was targeted, so he is healthy and reliable as ever.

With Mohamed Sanu still out with his injury, we finally got to see some good targets and catches for Justin Hardy and Taylor Gabriel, both of who stepped up and did a good job, combining for 73 yards. I thought early on, this was going to be the Turbo Show. Sadly, this still did not open up the much needed running game however. And the Falcons scored no point in the second half.

I’m no coach and never played, but the defense comes out after half time looking gassed to start. I thought we were so fast and physical and deep. I don’t know if running in and out is causing more trouble than letting guys play more consecutive plays. But, I do know, we have too much talent on this team for missed tackles, tipped balls, and 17 points against a wayward Miami team. Cutler had an all-star game compared to the entire first 4 games of his 2017 season.

I am always Falcon Faithful, but that doesn’t mean I am not frustrated right now. Mark down my prediction for Sunday Night Football…..34/0. I haven’t made up my mind if it goes to the Falcons or the evil Patriots….but I feel a blow-out coming one way or the other. Forget the Super Bowl rematch, too much has happened and changed for both teams since that ill-fated night in February.

#RiseUp

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This One is on The O

Bills 23 Falcons 17

October 1, 2017

Cover Photo & Article by Allison Smith

I love our offense, I really do, but they were not firing on all cylinders Sunday while hosting the Buffalo Bills. Granted Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu only played the first half, but overall, the offense was just not that explosive. We put up 17 points, which is obviously only 2 touchdowns, a Devonta Freeman rushing touchdown and a dark horse, Justin Hardy 3-yard catch.

For the second week in a row, receivers were missing balls, tipping balls for interceptions, and this week, Matt Ryan had several wayward passes. Taylor Gabriel was on the field for 60 of the 75 offensive snaps and was targeted 5 times and had no actual catches. That just isn’t right.

The Falcons received the ball to start the game, and we all assumed they would march down the field and score the opening score of the game. Instead, 8 plays in to the game, Matt Bosher was on the field to punt. Damontae Kazee got his first start with Ricardo Allen out under concussion protocol this week and performed well. He’s no Rico, but combined for the second tackle of the day, then followed up with a single tackle a play later. Overall, Kazee had a good day finishing with 8 tackles and a forced fumble. On this same drive, Keanu Neal had one of his patented big hits, Derrick Shelby had a sack on Tyrod Taylor for a 9-yard loss, and Brooks Reed continued to be disruptive. The defense forced a punt, after allowing the Bills to move to the Atlanta 38….and started their second drive of the game at their own one. Thank you and welcome back to Atlanta, Patrick DiMarco. We love you, but downing the punt on the 1 was unnecessary.

The teams traded punts back and forth the entire first quarter and finally, with just over 10 minutes left in the half, the Falcons were on the board with a Matt Bryant 28 yard field goal. Problems in the red zone anyone? Once again, we had a big Tevin Coleman gain of 29 yards, which everyone thought was going to the end zone, but alas, it did not and Coleman was stopped at the Buffalo 16. Ryan did spread the ball around similar to the previous season, including a pass to Hardy, then a short pass to Sanu that he, literally, snatched over the defenders’ head. Unfortunately, this was only to the 10-yard line with a 4^th and 4 and the successful Bryant kick.

The Bills then answered with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Matthews in a quick 8 play drive.

Another punt for each team, catching the boring theme here, led to the Falcons final drive of the first half. Coleman, quickly becoming a highlight reel, caught a 39-yard pass, got both feet and a knee down before falling out of bounds. This call was challenged, and the play upheld. Nick Williams was active and caught a 14-yard pass. Finally, down to the 5-yard line, we pulled out the 12 Gauge with a direct snap to Mohamed Sanu. Typically, this is called the Wild Cat, but the Falcons and Sanu clearly had to have their own name. I submitted “BeanCat,” but Dan Quinn landed on “12 Gauge.” Ryan went out left, tripping himself on his shoe strings, rolled back up and was ready to block. Sanu received the snap, ran the ball himself for the 5-yard touchdown. Which was reversed, so again, we did not get a good touchdown dance. The next play, Freeman ran the ball in from the 1 and immediately headed to the sideline and gave the ball to Sanu.

The half ended not long after with the Falcons leading 10 to 7, Julio leaving slightly earlier, then he and Sanu not returning in the second half. Jack Crawford was also injured and did not play the rest of the game.

The second half, Bosher booms another one into the end zone and the Bills start at their own 25. Suddenly, Brooks Reed met Taylor in the backfield for a 9-yard sack, lighting up the crowd. Two plays later, the Bills were punting. The Falcons take over on their own 20 and after a couple of passes and hand offs, at 3^rd and 9, Ryan drops back to pass and fumbles the ball, which is returned by Tre’Davious White 52 yards for a touchdown. The play was reviewed and determined to be a fumble, not a forward pass (which not only fans, but the announcers believed) so the touchdown stood and suddenly, the Falcons are trailing.

So you are clear, this game was going downhill, on the ensuing kickoff, Andre Roberts fumbled, which was recovered by Ben Garland, but 5 plays later a Gabriel tipped pass fell into the hands of Micah Hyde anyway, giving the Bills the ball back at the Buffalo 12. On the positive, it was a bomb, so they were deep in their own territory.

During this next long drive, Kazee forced a fumble, nearly everyone had a tackle on the 19 play drive and the defense stood up and stopped the Bills at the 1-yard line. On fourth and one, the fans about busted the roof off the Benz Nest, causing a delay of game and forcing the Bills to settle for a field goal.

During the next drive, we cheered almost that loudly for a review confirming that Justin Hardy did NOT make a catch, as it was originally called a catch and fumble. After some reliable Freeman running and Coleman catching, Ryan found, that’s right, Hardy in the end zone for a touchdown. It is all tied up with 7 minutes to go and the Benz was feeling good, or at least hopeful again. This is our kind of game…..the kind we pull out and win.

Sadly, that did not happen. The defense, once again, stopped the Bills, causing a 56-yard field goal. Three plays later, another tipped Ryan pass, this time by Williams, and another Bills interception. This is when Grady and I took over. I was screaming, literally,

Grady Jarrett Welcoming LeSean McCoy to The Benz Nest — Grady Jarrett Stopping LeSean McCoy – Photo Courtesy of Grady Jarrett’s Instagram

my lungs out. Grady Jarrett met LeSean McCoy 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage, then 2 yards past the line, then met Taylor at the line for his third tackle in a row. NOW, is when you knew we were going to win. Stephen Hauschka now makes a 55-yard field goal, with Ricardo Allen coming quickly on the left side.

The Falcons get the ball back with just over 3 minutes left in the game. MORE than enough time for a Falcons team to do anything. All we need is a touchdown. There are incompletions, short passes, Ryan scrambling, a sack. Finally, the Falcons are 1^st and 5 at the 14, over throw Gabriel twice, a short successful pass to Austin Hooper. Then, on 4^th down, the final chance, another overthrow to Gabriel and the game is over. The final salt in the wound, during that last play, Buffalo only had 10 defenders on the field. Apparently none of the Falcons realized this to take advantage, so the Bills kneeled twice and the game, and the suffering was officially over.

And think we can all agree with Dan Quinn this week…..”Missed opportunities….first thing is ‘the ball’.”

Some notable stats, Tevin Coleman led the team in receiving and rushing with 65 and 79 yards respectively. Freeman had 58 rushing yards, a long of 16. Ryan completed passes to 9 receivers, Hooper had 5 for 50, Julio 3 for 30.

Takk McKinley had good pressure on Taylor, and while he did not register a tackle, he was disruptive and pursing. Dontari Poe and Grady Jarrett were both being double teamed much of the day, as big and strong as they are, that is all you can do to stop these guys. Yet, still, Poe had 5 tackles and Jarrett ended with 7. Deion Jones led the team with 8 tackles and a sack, Kazee also had 8 tackles and a forced fumble, De’Vondre Campbell followed with a solid 5.

Good news, it is the bye week, which originally seemed early, but possibly came at the perfect time, providing rest for the injured and reflection time for all. I don’t think we should be in full panic mode, but definitely need to get some stuff cleaned up and even more definitely need people healthy. We were stacked at offensive weapons and defensive depth. Now our top 2 receivers are injured, defensive line is down from 12 to 8, with 3 away games, including New England coming quick. Defense has been keeping us in 3 of the 4 games, but that depth is depleting quickly.

Injury Report: From Buffalo game: Julio Jones – hip flexor, not expected to miss the Miami game. Mohamed Sanu – hamstring, expected to be out 2 to 3 weeks. Jack Crawford – IR with bicep injury. Lingering injuries: Vic Beasley, Jr – hamstring, still to be determined based on practice next week. Ricardo Allen & Ryan Schraeder – still under concussion protocol. Courtney Upshaw – ankle, tbd. Terron Ward – neck, tbd.

Iron Falcon Award: I think we all know, Grady Jarrett is getting this one. Through the game, Jarrett was double teamed, still disruptive, managed 7 tackles, 3 of which were back to back to back to single handedly force a 55-yard field goal attempt late in the game.

#RiseUp

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Falcons Fall Into October

Bills at Falcons

October 1, 2017

Photo & Article By: Allison Smith

Well, no one really expected the Atlanta Falcons to go undefeated, BUT, it is hard pill to swallow even against a solid Buffalo Bills team. You simply cannot hand a team like the Bills the ball 3 times. The defense did play a bit off early in the game, but stood up and made the big stops when necessary, causing 2 long field goals, and only gave up 16 points.

After over 300 passes with no interceptions, in two games, there have been 5 interceptions and a fumble by Matt Ryan. Agreed, these were not all on Ryan, 4 of the 5 interceptions were tipped by our receivers. Point is, catch the ball or don’t touch the ball. It did seem that this week’s passes were a little off, as the receivers were stretching or falling for these and other passes. And it isn’t a single receiver that we can get to and shake, it seems to be something in the locker room they are passing around.

Not sure if Ryan is back to his old days of trying to do too much and getting a little pass crazy, or we are just having some bad luck. Clearly, it did not help with Julio Jones and Mohammed Sanu not returning for the second half, but we have enough receivers to make up those spots…not BE Ju or Sanu, but to catch some passes. I think the biggest issue was the size difference and Ryan is not use to throwing to smaller receivers and couldn’t lay the ball where it needed to be.

Tevin Coleman and Andre Roberts both fumbled, but the ball was recovered by the Falcons, otherwise we could have lost the ball 5 times in a single game. I am sure that “ball control” will be on the top of Dan Quinn’s list of topics this week. Along with “missed tackles.” There were too many of those as well, allowing the Bills to gain too many extra yards. Some are growing pains with the young guys, some are due to being down several starting defenders, Vic Beasley, Jr., Courtney Upshaw, Ricardo Allen, and mid-game, Jack Crawford.

The defense, overall, held up well, especially when the game was on the line. On the final two Buffalo drives, the defense forced a 56 then 55-yard field goals. Kudos to Stephen Hauschka for making these field goals, but as far as they were, they were kicked low, so I would like to have seen one or two of the giant tight ends in the middle trying to block these field goals. Robert Alford had good pressure on the edge for one, but there was not enough pressure to stop either of these field goals.

There were many reasons for this loss. So many missed opportunities. A loss to a good team is acceptable, but when you helped the opposition so much and know you could have won, it is a little harder to swallow. Included with the turnovers, the allowing too many extra yards….there were two questionable plays that went against the Falcons. As fate would have it, the football gods were not smiling on us. According to the announcers, and anyone with eyes, the “fumble for a touchdown” was clearly a forward pass knocked out of Ryan’s hand. And the Nick Williams tipped pass (note, he was laid out reaching for the ball) that hit the ground as Micah Hyde caught it for the “interception.”

The capping blow of the day was the ending drive. After the defense had two great stops near midfield, the offense drives into the red zone, Ryan has 4 straight passes, one a completion to Austin Hooper, but three bad passes over Taylor Gabriel. I don’t know that anyone is sure why, even with limited time on the clock and no time outs, why you would not double up with Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman behind Derrick Coleman and just run the ball in. Heck, let them run behind Dontari Poe or Ben Garland. Try anything better than 3 errant passes. Except for a few times on the day, the running game ran pretty smoothly….even behind the right side. Which again allowed Ryan to take quite a beating.

Buffalo controlled the tempo of the game and it never felt like Atlanta had a rhythm, even when leading. Buffalo was easily doing whatever they wanted with running game. They were doubling up on both Grady Jarrett and Poe and able to knock them back into the linebackers, and some of that was with uncalled holding calls, but that doesn’t matter now. Falcon defenders were never really in space, they were constantly locked up with Bills.

Throwback Black Jersey Game — Repping Grady Jarrett

It was black jersey, throwback day, so maybe, hopefully, it was just a throwback type loss for the Falcons. Long time fans know, it can be very nerve racking and frustrating to be a fan from the 1990’s. Close games always went the bad way back in the day. I was repping my brand new black Grady Jarrett jersey, but because of my long hair, you couldn’t see the name, so I took it as a great compliment when someone yelled “Kerney” at me.

Good news on the day, the Benz Nest was packed with over 71,000 in attendance, al biet too many Bills fans made it in as well. It was a beautiful, breezy day for tailgating. The crowd was loud, excitable, and stayed until the end. If there is anything a Falcons fan knows, if it is close at the end, the game could go either way.

And, as a nice Brotherhood story, after running the “12 Gauge” (the Falcons play call for the Wild Cat), Sanu lined up under center, ran the ball in for a touchdown, was ruled down at the inch line. On the ensuing play, Freeman ran in the touchdown and promptly gave the ball to Sanu. We may be down, but we are never out when we are together in our Brotherhood. Note that Rico was coaching as best he could from the sideline as he was usually lined up close to the defense on the field.

#RiseUp

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