FalcBlog

FALCONS OFFENSE VS. TEXANS DEFENSE

Advantage: Texans (slightly)

Despite the progress we made last week, I do think our offense will come a bit back down to Earth this week. Although Peppers and Jenkins are an excellent duo, they aren't currently on a hot streak like Mario Williams and Amobi Okoye. The pass rush concerns me, as I'm still not sold if these team can stop the blitz. The fact that the Texans D was relatively stingy against the Colts last week doesn't bode well for us.

FALCONS DEFENSE VS. TEXANS OFFENSE

Advantage: Falcons

This is a matchup we really need to take advantage of. Ahman Green is questionable, and the Texans top 2 receivers: Andre Johnson and Jacoby Jones won't play, as well as their ace return threat Jerome Mathis also being sidelined. Our run defense was terrible last week, but hopefully they rebound and shut down Dayne and Gado this week. It will be tough since Babs is out as well as Coleman now. Although the Texans no longer have a big play receiver, Schaub showed that he can get production out of Andre' Davis and Owen Daniels. And with D-Hall possibly being benched for a quarter or two, our secondary will be pressured. We have to put pressure on Schaub. Giving him time, he WILL pick apart this defense. Abraham needs a big day, and this will be a great week for Jamaal Anderson to do something useful. The only reason I give us the edge is because the Texans are so beat up.

OVERVIEW

Our defense needs to come through this week and make some plays. Get some sacks, create some turnovers, and for Pete's sake stop the run. Offensively, if we finish some drives, then I think we have this game won. I know Schaub and Okoye will have something to prove this game. Schaub for being traded, and Okoye for being snubbed in the draft by his old coach. But considering we're an 0-3 team, we should have 53 guys that are hungry for a win instead of just 2.

FINAL SCORE

Falcons 19, Texans 17

Posted by Aaron at 9:03 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Unfortunately, this was another frustrating game that boiled down to missed opportunities to put up points, poor protection, bad decisions and at times, bad tackling. All little things but big enough to change the outcome of a game.

Here's what I saw:

Offense:

Running game: Dunn (13/50, 1 TD), Norwood (9/30), Pinner (1/0) and Harrington (2/2). Effective Runs (4 yards or more)-Dunn, 8; Norwood, 5. Both backs had 1 reception each.

Breakdown of passes:

Harrington: 12/20, 200 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT. Breakdown of incompletions: 4 bad passes, 2 drops and 2 thrown away. 1 of the drops was a pass to Dunn that was a smart move to drop. Harrington hung him out to dry and it would have been a loss. Harrington did complete several downfield throws but needs to be more aggressive in my opinion.

Drops (2): Norwood, 1 and Dunn, 1.

YTD Drops:

Jenkins 2
Norwood 1
Dunn 1

Run blocking: Very hit and miss. 13 of 23 runs were good but they were often followed up with negative yardage or very short gains.

Pass blocking: Some of the sacks could have been avoided but protection still lacked and that's being nice.

Sack responsibility (7): First sack was on Harrington for holding it too long. Blalock finally got beat but held his block long enough for Harrington to have at least thrown it away. Second sack was due to not having a hot route and the blitz not being picked up so Harrington held it too long again. The third sack goes on Harrington for holding it too long although Blalock failed to pick up a delayed stunt. The fourth was again, a combination of Blalock getting beat and Harrington holding it too long. The fifth sack was on Weiner and McClure, both beaten badly. The sixth sack was a combination of Norwood not picking up the LB who went right by him and McClure getting beat. The final sack goes on McClure who hit his man on the side as he flew by him. Not a good day for Blalock and McClure at all.

YTD Sacks (13):

Scheme 1.0
Norwood 1.5
Gandy 1.0
Forney 1.0
Harrington 4.5
Weiner 1.5
Blalock 0.5
McClure 2.0

Note: QB responsible sacks are those that he has at least 3 seconds and either chose to try to scramble or stayed in the pocket when the better decision would be to throw it away. Also includes those rushing attempts that go for 0 or negative yardage that for some reason are counted as a sack.


Defense:

Run defense: Excellent job overall. There were a couple of breakdowns for key 1st downs but very stout throughout the game.

Pass Defense: Jax completely avoided Hall's side except for once and he defended well. Sanders was abused as was the middle of the field. Brooking and J-Will did not have good days in coverage.

Sacks: Babineaux had 2 sacks, G. Jackson and Abraham had 1 each.

Special Teams:

Norwood had 2 kickoff returns: 1. from the 13, 16 yards; 2. from the GL, 28 yards. There were also 2 touchbacks. My guess is that with Laurent Robinson injured, they chose to protect Jennings a bit OR just trying to get Norwood more touches in the game. Not bad but I prefer Jennings back there.

Jennings had 1 punt return for 3 yards. Not a lot of opportunity to do much.


Koenen had 5 punts: 1-30 yards to the JAX 20, no return. 2-35 yards to the JAX 15, no return. 3-42 yards to JAX 23, no return (catch interference on Irons for 15 yards). 4-47 yards to the JAX 32, 10 yard return. 5-42 yards to the JAX 36, no return. Very mediocre day. Not a lot of return yardage but not very long either.

Kickoffs: Prater had 2 kickoffs both for touchbacks. The guy can boom kickoffs that's for sure.

Field Goals: Prater went 0/2. Missed from 43 and 26 yards. Not a shock that he was cut.

Special Teams coverage: Very good coverage except for Irons interference penalty.

Things that really need improvement:

1. Offensive line needs work and Harrington needs to get rid of it quicker.
2. Eliminate negative plays. Sacks, penalties and negative rushing attempts have killed drives.
3. Better coverage opposite Hall and more consistency out of safety help.

Offensive MVP: Roddy White (4 catches, 81 yards)

Defensive MVP: Jonathan Babineaux (3 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 hurry and 1 fumble forced) Honorable Mention to Abraham who had a great game also.

Special Teams MVP: Michael Boley who had the lone tackle and also partially blocked a punt.

Goat of the Week: Lewis Sanders, Matt Prater and Todd McClure.

Let me know your thoughts and questions otherwise:

Next up: VS Carolina Panthers, September 23rd!

Posted by Cappy at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Okay, in the past two games, I picked the Falcons to win despite the "logic" that indicated they would lose. That's going to change this week.

FALCONS OFFENSE VS. PANTHERS DEFENSE

Advantage: Panthers (both)

The Panthers have given quite a bit of points considering their defense is currently ranked 6th in total defense. But considering the offensive struggles the Falcons have had putting points on the board, those issues won't be as big this week. The Falcons really need to get out of a funk and start scoring.

FALCONS DEFENSE VS. PANTHERS OFFENSE

Advantage: Falcons (run), Panthers (pass)

Steve Smith is off to another brilliant start, and it will of course be DeAngelo Hall's task to try and slow him down this week. A tall order. Hall is certainly capable, but it's time he start really proving to the world he's an elite cornerback, which will mean keeping Smith from becoming a factor in this game. Luckily for the Falcons, aside from Smith, the Panthers offense doesn't represent any significant threat. Their running game is improving, but it's not exactly the kind that should be running wild against the Falcons like they did late last season. If the Falcons can put pressure on Delhomme like they did in Week 1 last year, they can potentially take Smith out of the game. And unfortunately for the Panthers, it isn't proven whether Foster and/or Williams can win them the game yet.

OVERVIEW

The Panthers win in three out of four categories. And it hasn't been the defensive matchups that have hurt the Falcons, but the offensive ones. Our passing game hasn't been as prolific as hoped this season, and the running game is average at best so far. Until this changes, or until the defense plays absolutely lights out a la the Patriots or Bears, then wins are going to be few. Are the Falcons capable of turning themselves around? Yes, certainly. It's a division opponent, but it's also a new head coach for the Falcons, so how he fares against the Panthers is anyone's guess. The team can get a boost from home field, but I'm not sure how supportive the fan base is going to be this week.

Final Score

Panthers 20, Falcons 13

Posted by Aaron at 7:02 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

FALCONS RUN OFFENSE VS. JAGUARS RUN DEFENSE

Advantage: Jaguars

As most know, the Jags were slashed all last week by the Titans in what looked a lot like the opening games of the Falcons last year against the Panthers and Bucs. But the Jags defense's reputation is one that they are very tough to run on. It would seem that poor tackling and injuries hurt them against the Titans, and at least on the latter front there shouldn't be too much improvement this week. The Falcons have a chance to establish a ground attack early against the Jags. But I do think that still given their Week 1 performances, I'm going to give the edge to the Jags, because they seem a unit less likely to have a repeat performance.

FALCONS PASS OFFENSE VS. JAGUARS PASS DEFENSE

Advantage: Falcons

The Falcons really didn't stretch the field last week, and generally their secondary has been the weaker part of Jacksonville's defense. I would want to put the Falcons up here. I think there will be improvement from the passing game as Harrington gets more comfortable in the offense. And the Jags secondary isn't that impressive despite having Mathis and Nelson back there.

JAGUARS RUN OFFENSE VS. FALCONS RUN DEFENSE

Advantage: Jaguars

The Jags weren't able to establish the run because they were getting beat last week. The Falcons couldn't stop the run consistently last week. I would expect this to be a "breakout" game for the Jags in the sense that they'll start to look like the running offense that ranked No. 2 last year. I don't think this is a big difference here though.

JAGUARS PASS OFFENSE vs. FALCONS PASS DEFENSE

Advantage: Falcons

I still think our secondary is weak, but luckily we don't have to face another top quarterback this week. Garrard is better than Tarvaris Jackson, and the Jags receivers are better than any we faced last week. They could give our undersized corners some issues because in the past size has hurt us more than speed. This is only barely in the Falcons favor just because I have the feeling we'll be able to put more pressure on the QB this week.

OVERVIEW

Once again, on the ground the Jags have the advantage, while I think we have it in the air. And again, traditionally that should mean the Jaguars win this one. But once again, I'm going to back my Falcons because I feel we will see an improved team from a week ago. And I'm not sure the Jags are that much better than the Vikings. Del Rio reminds me too much of Mora in that they are an inconsistent team that rarely plays at top form. The Jags top form will smoke the Falcons, but I think the Falcons will look vastly improved. At least my "homer-ism" makes me believe that.

Final Score:

Falcons 20, Jaguars 19

Posted by Aaron at 8:29 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

This game boiled down to who would make the least amount of mistakes and unfortunately, it wasn't us. Upon first watch, the game looked like a mess but the second viewing changed that completely.

Here's what I saw:

Offense:

Running game: Dunn (22/55), Norwood (5/33) and Harrington (1/8). Impact Runs (4 yards or more)-Dunn, 6; Norwood, 2 and Harrington, 1. Dunn also had 4 catches for 26 yards and Norwood had 2 for 24 late in the game.

Breakdown of passes:

Harrington: 23/32, 199 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT. Breakdown of incompletions: 6 bad passes, 2 drops and 1 pass defended. Joey missed some opportunities at the line to use play action to his advantage and also missed on a couple of passes that could have extended drives. His last INT was a result of a dropped pass. All in all, not horrible but a solid mediocre if there can be such a thing.

Drops (2): Jenkins 2 (2).

Run blocking: Upon first watch, it's very hard to understand why the backs aren't getting yards and the natural tendency would be to blame the back. The second viewing showed that often times the short gains or losses were a result of a missed block, a bad choice (example would be Forney having a choice between 2 LBs and choosing the wrong one), or a missed opportunity to change the play by Harrington. There were a couple of opportunities that Harrington had 9 in the box in front of him and a play action deep pass would either get 6 points or at least back them off the line a bit.

Pass blocking: Protection was very inconsistent. Sometimes it was good and others downright horrible. This definitely has to improve.

Sack responsibility (6): First sack was a scheme sack. There were a couple of double teams and Gandy was left with two guys. He chose the inside man and the outside man got the sack. Had he chosen the outside guy, the inside guy would have gotten there quicker as he had a straight line. Second sack was a result of Norwood not picking up Henderson on a delayed LB blitz. The third sack goes to Gandy getting beat off the edge. The fourth was a result of Forney getting beat by an inside move. The fifth sack was on Harrington for holding it too long and the final sack was on Weiner.

YTD Sacks (6):

Scheme 1.0
Norwood 1.0
Gandy 1.0
Forney 1.0
Harrington 1.0
Weiner 1.0

Note: QB responsible sacks are those that he has at least 3 seconds and either chose to try to scramble or stayed in the pocket when the better decision would be to throw it away. Also includes those rushing attempts that go for 0 or negative yardage that for some reason are counted as a sack.


Defense:

Run defense: The line was really gashed up the middle. Babineaux and Jackson got pushed into Brooking consistently all day. Fortunately, the defense stepped up to prevent points for 3 and a half quarters.

Pass Defense: Overall not bad but Williams was late in over the top help on at least 2 plays, 1 of which was a big completion. The biggest breakdown in coverage falls on Boley and the screen pass that broke the game wide open. There was also an unfortunate no call for holding on D. Hall on that play. Rice clearly was holding Hall's arm and preventing him from making an attempted tackle.

Sacks: NONE. There was pressure at times but no official hurries either.

Special Teams:

Jennings had 5 kickoff returns: 1. from the 1, 21 yards; 2. from the 1, 32 yards; 3. from the 3, 23 yards; 4. from the 4, 20 yards; and 5. from the 11, 3 yards. 1 really nice return, 3 average returns and the 3 yard return was on a squib kick. Solid day.

Jennings also had punt returns for -1 and for 2 yards. The -1 was on the 4 and shouldn't have been fielded as it most likely would have made it to the endzone. Not good on the limited opportunties.


Koenen had 5 punts: 1-53 yards to the MIN 9, 13 yard return. 2-51 yards to the MIN 36, 7 yard return. 3-46 yards to MIN 13, no return. 4-40 yards to the MIN 9, no return. 5-44 yards to the MIN 42, no return. Very nice day punting. It could have been better but Harris downed punt #4 a bit early.

Kickoffs: Prater had 2 kickoffs: 1- to the 3, 22 yard return. 2- to the back of the endzone, touchback. No complaints at all.

Field Goals: Prater hit 1/2. Good from 45 and missed a 44 yarder. If he gets consistent, he'll be a very good kicker for a long time.

Special Teams coverage: For the most part was good but did breakdown somewhat on the opening kickoff and the first punt. Chris Houston led the way with 2 tackles.

Things that really need improvement:

1. Offensive line needs to make correct reads in who they block in run blocking and pass blocking.
2. Harrington needs to be more consistent.
3. Middle rush defense has to be able to hold at point of attack.

Offensive MVP: Jerious Norwood

Defensive MVP: Deangelo Hall (1 tackle, 1 INT, 1 Pass defended) and Lewis Sanders (4 tackles, 1 pass defended)

Special Teams MVP: Michael Koenen

Goat of the Week: Offensive line as everyone messed up at some point or another.

Let me know your thoughts and questions otherwise:

Next up: AT Jacksonville, September 16th!

Posted by Cappy at 9:02 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

FALCONS RUN OFFENSE VS. VIKINGS RUN DEFENSE

Advantage: Vikings

The Vikings had one of the best run defenses in NFL history last year, allowing only 2.8 yards per carry (almost as good as the 2000 Ravens defense). Unless Pat Williams gets lazy all of sudden because of the contract extension he signed this week, it doesn't seem like that is going to change. Will they probably give up more yards this year? There's probably 99% chance the answer is yes. But will they still probably be one of the top run defenses in the league? It seems almost as likely that answer is yes as well. Our running game will take a hit because of our change in blocking schemes. Had we still had the zone blocking scheme, I wouldn't be concerned at all. But with the change, we will have some trouble opening holes.

FALCONS PASS OFFENSE VS. VIKINGS PASS DEFENSE

Advantage: Falcons

The Vikings pass rush really struggled last season. It should be better this year (it can't get much worse). But I think we should have an advantage at wide receiver, particularly when we go 3-wide, with Jenkins liking lining up in the slot and Horn on the outside. If they are matched up against Marcus McCauley and Cedric Griffin respectively, I think it bodes well for us. Our advantage isn't huge, because our passing game is unproven, but I'm willing to give Petrino's offense the benefit of the doubt.

VIKINGS RUN OFFENSE VS. FALCONS RUN DEFENSE

Advantage: Vikings

This was a tough one for me to give to the Vikings, but I'll give it to them barely. Just because they have 2 healthy RBs with what should be a pretty good offensive line (particularly their left side), and we have injuries at defensive tackle. I don't think the Vikings are going to run all over us on Sunday (although I'm sure they will certainly try), but I do think they'll have the upperhand in this category.

VIKINGS PASS OFFENSE VS. FALCONS PASS DEFENSE

Advantage: Falcons

Now I think our secondary is the weakest aspect of our team, but I also think the Vikings passing game is weaker. Jackson didn't have a good summer from most accounts, and I don't think he's going to be ready right away to lead this team. If this was perhaps Week 7, I might be singing a different tune, but Week 1, I think our weakened secondary can take advantage of their wide receivers and quarterback.

OVERVIEW

Now conventional wisdom suggests that the team that controls the ground game is going to win. Clearly, then the Vikings should win this game, particularly since they are at home. But as many know, conventional wisdom need not apply on Sundays. I also think we'll be able to force some turnovers in Jackson, and I'm hopeful that Joey won't be as turnover-prone vs. Minnesota as he has been in the past. I think that's going to be the key. Turnovers. Whoever wins that battle will win this game. I'm putting my money on the Falcons for now.

FINAL SCORE

Falcons 23, Vikings 20.

Posted by Aaron at 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Many would probably skip this game and get ready for the regular season but this game was important because it foreshadowed a lot of the decisions that were made on cutdown day.

Here's what I saw:

Offense:

Running game: Norwood (7/11), Snelling (11/50), Vincent (9/22), Ar. Harris (8/18), McIntyre (1/3), Redman (2/0), and Bramlet (2/6). Impact Runs (4 yards or more)-Norwood 1, Snelling 6, Vincent 3, Ar. Harris 2. Best day easily belonged to Snelling and while Norwood didn't shine running the ball, he made his impact with 3 receptions for 29 yards and the only TD.

Breakdown of passes:

Redman: 13/23, 119 yards, 1 TD/0 INT. Breakdown of incompletions: 2 bad throws, 3 defended passes, 1 throw away, and 4 drops. The drops killed the numbers plain and simple. Redman has really stepped it up the past 2 games.

Bramlet: 4/7, 68 yards, 0 TD/ 0 INT. Breakdown of incompletions: 2 bad throws and 1 drop. Not sure how far he can go but I do think Bramlet has heart and the arm to make it at this level.

Drops (5): Marshall 2 (3), Milner 1 (4), Fells 1 (1) and Weems 1 (1). I hope Milner is only used in blocking situations because his hands are consistently bad. Marshall really had issues hanging on to the ball in the game as well. 1 was thrown just a little behind him but it's still a play he needs to make.

Sack responsibility (2): Redman was not sacked in this game. Bramlet was sacked twice. Foster got beat on the first one (most likely fatigue more than anything) and Ar. Harris missed a block for the second.

Pass blocking: Protection was very good overall.

YTD Sacks (8):

Wilkerson 0.5
Jordan 0.5
Dunn 1.0
Gandy 1.0
Blalock 1.0
Foster 2.0
Redman 1.0
Ar. Harris 1.0

Note: QB responsible sacks are those that he has at least 3 seconds and either chose to try to scramble or stayed in the pocket when the better decision would be to throw it away. Also includes those rushing attempts that go for 0 or negative yardage that for some reason are counted as a sack.


Defense:

Run defense: Only 45 yards rushing. Outstanding job!

Pass Defense: Looked more like bend don't break and came up with stops when needed except for 1 long pass early. Still nervous about the secondary. Jimmy Williams played significantly better in this game making several nice plays.

5 sacks: Wilkins, Mallard, T. Jackson, Carrington and T.Williams each had a sack.

Special Teams:

Weems had 2 kickoff returns for 34 and 27 yards. Very nice job. Kinoshita had 1 return for 24 yards.

Amey had 4 punt returns for 7, 13, 2 and 15 yards.


Koenen had 7 punts: 1-39 yards to the BAL 16, no return. 2-61 yards to the BAL 32, 9 yard return. 3-34 yards to BAL 11, no return. 4-44 yards to the BAL 47, no return. 5-44 yards to the BAL 22, 10 yard return. 6-45 yards to the BAL 19, no return. 7-52 yards to the BAL 35, 2 yard return. 3 inside the 20 and 42.3 net average, very nice day.

Kickoffs: Prater had 4 kickoffs: 1- to the endzone, touchback. 2- to the 9, returned to the BAL 20. 3- to the endzone, returned to the BAL 16 and penalized for holding back to the 8. 4- to the endzone, touchback. Very impressive job with both hangtime and distance.

Field Goals: Prater hit 2/3. Good from 33, 45 and missed a 44 yarder. The snap and hold appeared to be fine.

Special Teams coverage: Very nice, Antoine Harris was all over the place.

Things that really need improvement:

1. Secondary coverage needs to tighten up, this could be a matter of not completely exposing Zimmer's scheme.
2. WR's need to hang on to the ball.
3. Win the season opener.

Offensive MVP: Chris Redman

Defensive MVP: Chris Houston (8 tackles, 1 pass defended and the game ending INT)

Special Teams MVP: Jordan Beck (3 tackles)

Goat of the Week: Wide Receivers

Let me know your thoughts and questions otherwise:

Next up: AT Minnesota, September 9th!

Posted by Cappy at 6:27 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

If it wasn't for such a spotlight on Michael Vick, ESPN's crew might have actually covered the game. Instead we got a 4 hour long Michael Vick special which included a full hour of Monday Night Countdown. I know the subject had to be covered but how long does it really take to cover a 4 and a half minute apology? At any rate,

Here's what I saw:

Offense:

Running game: Dunn (6/8), Norwood (9/25), Mughelli (3/9, 1 TD), Snelling (8/26), S. Edwards (1/-1). 2 of Dunn's runs were for 4 yards or more. Norwood had 5-4 yards or more runs. Snelling had 4-4 yards or more runs. Mughelli had 2 runs of 4 yards or more. The run blocking was not nearly as good as it should have been in this game.

Breakdown of passes:

Harrington: 13/21, 164 yards, 2 TD/0 INT. Breakdown of incompletions: 2 bad throws, 4 passes defended, 1 throw away, and 1 drop. The drop was obviously the Roddy White touchdown. The two passes on the sideline that were completed but not inbounds I called defended since they were caught and weren't necessarily bad throws either. Very good outing for Harrington.

Redman: 8/9, 76 yards, 0 TD/0 INT. Breakdown of incompletions: 1 drop. If Vince Marshall would have caught the ball with his hands instead of his body, Redman would have had a perfect night. I really feel better about Redman as a backup after this game.

Bramlet: 1/2, 12 yards, 0 TD/ 0 INT. Breakdown of incompletions: 1 drop. Not much of a sampling but had it not been for Milner's drop, he'd have been 2/2.

Drops (3): R. White 1 (3), Marshall 1 (1), and Milner 1 (3). White and Milner's concentration problems continue. That may just be a problem that doesn't go away. Do the first two sentences look familiar? That's because they were here last week too unfortunately.

Sack responsibility (5): First sack was due to Dunn missing a block. Second sack was on Gandy for getting beat. Third sack was on Blalock. Redman was sacked twice, fourth overall was on Foster who doubled instead of picking up the outside blitz and the final sack was a result of Redman not reacting to the all-out blitz.

Pass blocking: Protection was good in spots but there was a drop-off in this game but not a significant enough drop to warrant worrying about.

YTD Sacks (6):

Wilkerson 0.5
Jordan 0.5
Dunn 1.0
Gandy 1.0
Blalock 1.0
Foster 1.0
Redman 1.0

Note: QB responsible sacks are those that he has at least 3 seconds and either chose to try to scramble or stayed in the pocket when the better decision would be to throw it away. Also includes those rushing attempts that go for 0 or negative yardage that for some reason are counted as a sack.


Defense:

Run defense: Outside of 2 runs, the run defense was fairly solid. Still lacks consistency but that could just be a result of not scheming or holding back so everyone won't know everything we do.

Pass Defense: Struggled for the most part. Hall got beat, Rossum got beat and the safeties were constantly late or not there at all.

4 sacks: Anderson had 2 sacks, Davis had 1 and Lewis had 1. Great to see the younger guys getting it done!

Special Teams:

Rossum had 1 kickoff return for 59 yards. Kinoshita had 2 returns, 1 for 17 and 1 for 23. McIntyre had 1 for 11 yards.

Rossum had 2 punt returns, 1 for 13 and 1 for 6. Jennings had 3 returns, 1 for 7 , 1 for 3 and 1 for -2.

Rossum had his best game of preseason but obviously not enough.

Koenen had 3 punts: 1-36 yards to the CIN 41. 2-29 yards to the ATL 40. 3-39 yards to CIN 31. Not a good day at all.

Anderson had 1 punt for 47 yards that died on the 3. Very impressive job that hopefully gets him a job opportunity at some point.

Kickoffs: Koenen had 4 kickoffs: 1- to the endzone, returned to the CIN 12. 2- to the endzone, returned to the CIN 17. 3- to the 7, returned to the CIN 18. 4- to the 5, returned to the CIN 27. Very good job of coverage and kicking.

Field Goals: Cundiff hit 1/1. Good from 37. Koenen missed from 54 and 53 and both seemed to be on botched holds from Cundiff. Cundiff pointed to himself on the first heading back to the sidelines and Koenen looked back after the second as if to say, "I can't believe it happened twice."

Special Teams coverage: Fantastic, McIntyre really stood out.

Things that really need improvement:

1. White and Milner MUST solve the concentration issue. The drops are something that has to be stopped.
2. Eliminate secondary miscommunication. Safety help over the top has to be there when the corner is expecting it. This has become the defense's biggest issue.
3. Consistency in run stopping.

Offensive MVP: Joey Harrington/Adam Jennings. Great game by these two.

Defensive MVP: Jamaal Anderson (5 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 QB hurries)

Special Teams MVP: Corey McIntyre (2 tackles)

Goat of the Week: Falcons secondary

Let me know your thoughts and questions otherwise:

Next up: VS Baltimore, August 31st!

Posted by Cappy at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

In the spirit of blogging brotherhood, my good friend Dave the Falconer allowed me to post my season preview on his blog.

You can find it here.

Posted by Aaron at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

I'm sure many Falcon fans want the Falcons to pursue Byron Leftwich, but I don't think this would be a good move.

Now let me say this off the bat. I think Byron Leftwich is a much better quarterback than Joey Harrington. I believe that Leftwich is somewhat underrated by the world at large, and when he's healthy, is one of the better passers around.

But that's the real issue isn't it? Leftwich hasn't stayed healthy for an entire season, and if a team was to acquire him, you would certainly have to be sold on your depth. This lack of durability makes Leftwich unreliable as a starter.

Also, Leftwich has repeatedly clashed with coaches, from his head coach to his position coaches and offensive coordinators. Reportedly, one of the reasons why Bill Musgrave was fired in Jacksonville back in 2004 was because he clashed heavily with Leftwich. At the time, the Jaguars were willing to placate their franchise passer. But clearly, Leftwich didn't work well with Carl Smith, otherwise the team woudl not have been so quick to dump him this year, and if Dick Koetter their current OC really loved Leftwich, he wouldn't be unemployed today. That has to concern me seriously if I'm a team looking to acquire Leftwich. Sure, he's certainly talented, but barring his old Marshall coaches making the jump to the pro, I have to believe that he is not going to mesh well with a given coaching staff.

Frankly, if I'm McKay or Petrino, I'd certainly revisit Leftwich come the off-season. But for now, I really believe this is Joey Harrington's team. And yes, it's a shame, but Harrington's confidence is so fragile, I wouldn't take the risk of shaking it by adding another quarterback.

The Falcons don't need to be looking for their next franchise passer during this season. That's something to be addressed in the off-season, so rather than this team focusing on acquiring young promising, but obviously underachieving passers, they instead need to simply focus on securing depth.

That in my eyes means passing on Leftwich (for now) and looking at other options. I like Tim Rattay. Remember the Falcons thought hard about signing Rattay back in late March, a few weeks before they began to court Harrington. Rattay is an ideal No. 2 due to his experience as a starter. He doesn't have a big arm, but after a month's preparation should be ahead of Redman on the depth chart and ready to play in case of injury.

The next best option would be Craig Nall. Nall is sort of one of those guys with a lot of upside. He hasn't played much in the NFL, but shined in Europe a few years ago. He's untested, but he's a big guy with a big arm and has generally been impressive by all intents and purposes while in Buffalo the past two years. Now, you're saying how can that be the case if he was just released. Well, Nall's release has less to do with his play it seems and more to do with the Bills trying to make room and create opportunities for Trent Edwards this year. When the Bills brought in Nall a year ago, he was expected to potentially challenge Losman for the starting job. Given the season Losman had in '06 and the drafting of Edwards, that dream faded.

Following Nall on my short list is Ken Dorsey. Dorsey has experience as an NFL starter, and generally has been pretty good. He's just had the unfortunate pleasure of playing on some bad teams (49ers and Browns). He was 2-8 while in San Fran as a starter, not exactly a great percentage. But when you consider that Rattay, Cody Pickett, and Alex Smith combined to be 4-18 during that time, Dorsey doesn't look so bad.

I know none of those candidates pop out like a Leftwich, but I just don't think you should be trying to add a starting quarterback in September. And let's face it, if Leftwich were added, there would be a spoken or unspoken agreement between him and the organization that he'd get a chance to start in the near future. Instead, we should leave those endeavors for the off-season. I'd rather see the Falcons sign one of the three above candidates just as a stopgap to push Redman. Then I'd like to see Leftwich sign a one-year deal with another team, which will give us time to evaluate him outside of Jacksonville, then if we so choose can opt to sign him in March.

Posted by Aaron at 3:51 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post