FalcBlog

I knew I wanted to get this one done before Thanksgiving dinner to ensure that I still had my appetite. I may not have finished this one soon enough. Leftwich was off, the line couldn't protect long enough for his long delivery, a couple of early horrible calls by the officials, negative plays in general, a defense getting worn down and one of the worst days I've ever seen by a single offensive lineman in my lifetime.

Here's what I saw:

Offense:

Running game: Dunn (15/32), Snelling (2/13) and Norwood (2/4). Effective Runs (4 yards or more)-Dunn, 5; Snelling, 2 and Norwood, 1. Dunn also had 8 catches for 40 yards and Norwood had 2 catches for 10 yards.

Breakdown of passes:

Leftwich: 15/27, 0 TD, 2 INT. Breakdown of incompletions: 4 Bad passes, 6 Drops, 3 passes defended. Byron could have helped the WR's out by throwing better balls but at the same time, they could have done a lot more as well. The first INT came as a result of a miscue by Blalock and Dunn not picking up a rusher which resulted in Byron getting drilled as he was throwing. The second was due to Ojinnaka getting beat and the defender disrupting Byron's throwing motion. He also had 3 fumbles all of which were a result of being in the motion of throwing.

Harrington: 16/20, 139 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT. Breakdown of incompletions: 2 Bad passes, 1 Drop and 1 throw away. Joey played his game and it's tough to rate the performance since half of the attempts came on the Falcons' last drive and not really in crunch time.

Drops (7): The crew came up with 8 but I just didn't see another I could justify as a drop. White, 2; Jenkins, 1; Robinson, 1; Dunn, 3.

YTD Drops (30):

Jenkins 7
White 7
Crumpler 3
Horn 3
Dunn 6
Norwood 1
Blakley 1
Robinson 2

Run blocking: Not a lot of success to the edges nor was there success in short yardage situations again. It's obvious that Petrino doesn't have confidence calling short yardage plays up the middle and also that we've simply got to get more power along the line.

Pass blocking: Big regression this week but mostly from the two young tackles. I can understand Clabo missing since this is his first year's worth of game experience playing the position but not Ojinnaka. Truly one of the worst efforts I've seen from a lineman.

Sack responsibility (4): First one is on Clabo and Blalock resulting in the fumble return for a TD. Second goes to Ojinnaka. Boselli said that it wasn't a bad job and while Leftwich did get 3 seconds there was no way for him to get rid of the ball without another fumble occurring. Third is also on Ojinnaka which forced a fumble that we were fortunate to get back. Fourth is also on Ojinnaka.

YTD Sacks (32):

Scheme 2.0
Norwood 2.5
Gandy 1.0
Forney 3.0
Harrington 6.5
Weiner 1.5
Blalock 7.0
McClure 2.0
Dunn 1.0
Foster 1.0
Clabo 1.5
Ojinnaka 3.0

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: Was very solid early but with early injuries to Coleman and Lewis wore down in the 2nd half and wilted.

Pass Defense: While yardage was low, D-Hall bit on a play fake which resulted in a TD and Alex Smith was left wide open for another.

Sacks: Abraham got the lone sack.

Special Teams:
Norwood had 5 official kickoff returns, 1 that resulted in a re-kick and no touchbacks: 1. from the 7, 19 yards; 2a. from the 11, 15 yards(Bucs offsides re-kick); 2b. from the 8, 21 yard return. 3. from the 11, 27 yards; 4. from the 9, 21 yards (negated by holding penalties on Mughelli and Nicholas); 5. from the 13, 87 yards and touchdown (negated by holding penalty on Nicholas). Solid and had the touchdown stood it certainly would have been excellent.

Babineaux had 1 kickoff return for 8 yards on a short kick.

Jennings had 4 official punt returns, 1 that resulted in a re-kick and 1 punt downed by Tampa: 1. from the ATL 43, 7 yards; 2. from the ATL 12, 4 yards (Holding on Tampa tacked on the end); 3. from the ATL 37, 1 yard; 4a. from the ATL 31, 16 yards (Tampa was offsides/should have declined it); 4b. from the ATL 13, 3 yards. Nothing special.

Koenen had 7 punts: 1-47 yards to the TB 8, 7 yard return. 2-30 yards to the TB 13, no return. 3-37 yards to end zone, touchback (chop block penalty added on and Harris could have had it down at the 1 or 2) . 4-46 yards to the TB 22, -3 yard return. 5-31 yards to the TB 15, no return. 6-42 yards to the TB 36, -1 yard return. 7-24 yards to the ATL 45, no return. Outside of the last punt a very good day.

Kickoffs: Koenen had 2 kickoffs: 1. to the -1, 21 yard return; 2. to the 27, -1 yard return. Good distance on the first and the last was more like a long squib quick.

Field Goals: None

Special Teams coverage: Except for the penalties was very good.

Things that really need improvement:

1. O-line needs to get more push, reach the second level and put defensive players on their backs.
2. Eliminate negative yardage plays (penalties, negative rushes, and sacks).
3. Get healthy.

Offensive MVP: Joey Harrington (16/20, 139 yards, 1 TD/0 INT and more importantly was very supportive of Leftwich when some would have pouted about being benched)

Defensive MVP: John Abraham (2 tackles, 1 sack, 1 hurry) and was held all day and it wasn't called.

Special Teams MVP: David Irons (2 tackles).

Goat of the Week: Quinn Ojinnaka (3 sacks allowed and 3 penalties).

Let me know your thoughts and questions otherwise:

Next up: VS Indianapolis Colts, November 22nd!

Hope all have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted by Cappy at 12:19 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Outside of the first drive and a portion of the second half, the offense struggled but the defense came through in flying colors allowing only 2 field goals in the game.

Here's what I saw:

Offense:

Running game: Dunn (26/89, 1 TD), Pinner (1/-3) and Harrington (1/2). Effective Runs (4 yards or more)-Dunn, 7. Dunn also had 3 catches for 51. He was a majority of the offense in the game.

Breakdown of passes:

Harrington: 19/26, 192 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT. Breakdown of incompletions: 3 Bad passes, 3 Passes defended and 1 Drop. Joey made some good plays and managed the game. From what I saw, 2 of the defended passes could have possibly been completions with more arm strength. Also, there were a couple of short completions on 3rd down that he had plenty of time on and could have looked past the sticks to continue the drive.

Redman: 1/1, 9 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT. Nice job of coming in cold and picking up the 3rd down conversion.

Drops (1): White.

YTD Drops (23):

Jenkins 6
White 5
Crumpler 3
Horn 3
Dunn 3
Norwood 1
Blakley 1
Robinson 1

Run blocking: Outside of the short yardage push issue still existing, I noticed that our linemen aren't getting to the second level. This contributed heavily to Dunn's low YPC number. Had the blocking gotten to the second level (linebackers in particular) then more yards would have been gained but with the linebackers roaming free, they were able to quickly close the hole for a 1 or 2 yard gain.

Pass blocking: Much, much better this week. Hopefully, the improvement is a sign of things to come. The sacks that did occur were due to guards not coming off their double teams to pick up a stunt or a delayed linebacker blitz.

Sack responsibility (2): Forney was engaged in a double-team and didn't pull off to pick up Diggs in time. The second sack was a result of a stunt by Rucker that Blalock didn't pick up in time.

YTD Sacks (28):

Scheme 2.0
Norwood 2.5
Gandy 1.0
Forney 3.0
Harrington 6.5
Weiner 1.5
Blalock 6.5
McClure 2.0
Dunn 1.0
Foster 1.0
Clabo 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: Very stout effort allowing only 90 yards on 28 carries.

Pass Defense: Very good. Noticeably better on RB's and TE's and a very good effort all around.

Sacks: Rod Coleman got both sacks.

Special Teams:

Jennings had 3 kickoff returns and no touchbacks: 1. from the goal line, 25 yards; 2. from the 11, 21 yards; 3. from the 3, 21 yards. Solid day returning.

Jennings had 5 punt returns and 1 fair catches: 1. from the ATL 15, -2 yards; 2. from the ATL 30, 7 yards; 3. from the ATL 31, 2 yards; 4. from the ATL 21, 6 yards (negated by illegal block by McIntyre); 5. from the ATL 32, 23 yards. Not a lot of opportunity to do much but came through on the last one to set up the game-winning TD.

Koenen had 8 punts: 1-40 yards to the CAR 20, no return. 2-49 yards to the CAR 26, 15 yard return. 3-51 yards to CAR 22, 8 yard return. 4-49 yards to the CAR 32, 33 yard return. 5-50 yards to the CAR 14, no return. 6-47 yards to the CAR 9, 7 yard return. 7-49 yards to the CAR 30, 10 yard return (negated by holding penalty). 8-50 yards to the CAR 20, 2 yard return. Excellent distance.

Kickoffs: Koenen had 5 kickoffs: 1. to the 4, 28 yard return; 2. to the 1, 28 yard return; 3. to the -2, 21 yards; 4. to the end zone, touchback; 5. to the 27, 14 yard return. Very good day for Koenen.

Field Goals: Andersen went 2/2. Good from 36 and 47. Absolutely no doubt that 47 is his limit.

Special Teams coverage: Very spotty. Robinson had a pretty good day for the Panthers.

Things that really need improvement:

1. O-line needs to get more push and reach the second level.
2. Eliminate negative yardage plays (penalties, negative rushes, and sacks).
3. More throws beyond 10 yards.

Offensive MVP: Warrick Dunn (89 yards rushing, 51 yards receiving, 1 TD)
Defensive MVP: Chris Houston (8 tackles, 2 passes defended)

Special Teams MVP: Michael Koenen.

Goat of the Week: Laurent Robinson (fumble resulting in Carolina's only touchdown).

Let me know your thoughts and questions otherwise:

Next up: VS Tampa Bay Buccaneers, November18th!

Posted by Cappy at 9:42 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Okay, I should have done this last week instead of this week. But I'm glad I waited a week. Last team after the quarter season review we had just come off a win, and it seemed like things were looking up. Well they weren't. But now after two wins, it does generally seem like things have gotten better.

OFFENSE

Quarterback - Harrington has struggled and Leftwich hasn't done a whole lot in his roughly 4 quarters of play. But Harrington has led the team to two wins the past two weeks, despite not playing particularly well. This position has been a problem over the second quarter, after seeming like a strength over the first quarter. GRADE: C-

Running Back - Dunn has played much better over the past two games, and Norwood has played well whenever he's been on the field. THis position doesn't look like a major weakness anymore, but it still remains that the Falcons ground game is far from good. It's just getting better so far. If Dunn keeps this up and Norwood comes back soon, this position may actually be halfway decent. GRADE: C+

Receivers - While the big plays aren't really there, this position has been a model of consistency this season. There have been a few drops but not nearly to the degree that plagued this team last season. Roddy has been solid all season long. Robinson and Jenkins have made contributions, and Horn's play has improved as the season has wore on. GRADE: B+

Offensive Line - This unit got off to a rocky start, giving up 13 sacks in the first two games. Since then, the unit has given up 15 sacks in 7 games, which in terms of what the Falcons normally do in a season is actually pretty great. This unit is far from strong, but it has managed to survive some injuries, as it's started five different offensive tackles. GRADE: C-

Offensive MVP: Roddy White
Runners Up: Jerious Norwood, Todd Weiner

Overview - Putting points on the board has been an issue. Protecting the QBs has been an issue. The offense right now is weak and at this point, can probably only be relied upon to put up 2 touchdowns per game, and that's all. Outside Norwood's runs, there aren't many big plays on this unit. They are average at best, and generally one of the weaker units in the league. GRADE: C

DEFENSE

Defensive Line - Injuries plagued this unit early on, but it has managed to survive. Abraham hasn't been a monster each week, but he's generally been good and for the most part has provided almost all the Falcons pass rush. Coleman looks to be improving after missing the first five games. Babineaux, Lewis, and Stanley have made contributions. Grady Jackson is gone, which is a loss, but doesn't seem like a huge loss anymore. Anderson hasn't done too much in terms of making plays, but he's proved he's not a liability against the run, which was believed of him. Hopefully, his pass rush skills will be showcased before the season is through. GRADE: B

Linebackers - This position has been somewhat spotty. Boley has been the picture of consistency and will probably be the only Falcon getting serious Pro Bowl consideration. Brooking and Williams however have been the spotty ones. Brooking has had some decent games, but it's clear he's at the end of the road. Williams is far from a playmaker, and besides two "gimme" interceptions, he's been borderline invisible. GRADE: B

Secondary - This unit has shown immense improvement over the weeks. At the beginning of the year, I believed this was the weakest unit on the entire team. But in recent weeks, they've been able to make plays versus the pass and the run. Milloy looked done until two very good games the past two weeks. Hall despite his early season issues, has played well in recent weeks. Frankly, Hall is having his best season this year despite all the drama. Houston looks to be coming on as a decent No. 2 cornerback. Crocker and even Jimmy Williams have made contributions in recent weeks as well. This unit is looking like it's beginning to gel. GRADE: B

Defensive MVP: Michael Boley
Runners Up: John Abraham, Lawyer Milloy, DeAngelo Hall

Overview - The defense has played well over the past month, at least relatively. They've made stops and essentially won 2 games when the offense could not due to their lack of scoring. The Giant game has been the only one where they gave up more than 28 points, an on average are giving up about 21 points this season. They are far from one of the better units in the NFL, but they are good enough to get this team some wins against lesser opponents. GRADE: B

Special Teams - This unit has some issues early on, but has been pretty decent over the rest of the season. Andersen is excellent inside 45 yards, but beyond that point, he's bad. But despite this, I have very little confidence in him generally unlike last year. Koenen has been solid as both a punter and kickoff guy. He's helped the defense a lot with field position in recent weeks. Jennings is beginning to come on as a return man, after a very very mundane first month or so of the season. Norwood is a capable kickoff return guy. And coverage units aren't great, but generally don't give up too much. GRADE: B

Coaching - Play-calling has a lot to be desired, but that seems overridden by the fact that this team seems hungrier and plays harder as the game wears on each week. This team is still competitive to the very end, with the Giant game being the lone exception, which is what you like to see when you are a 3-6 team. GRADE: B

Rookies - All but 2 of the teams' 11 rookies have played this year. Datish is on IR, and Snelling has spent the entire year on the practice squad. Anderson and Blalock have started every game so far, and haven't been great, but shown some ability. Anderson hasn't shown much as a pass rusher, and Blalock has struggled in pass protection, but a lot of his mistakes have been mental more so than physical it seems. Houston and Lewis have essentially become regular starters as the season has wore on, outplaying Sanders and Jackson. Robinson has been a valuable No. 3 receiver and has seemingly taken that job from Jenkins in recent weeks. Milner is a quality backup that has made some grabs in recent weeks with Crumpler injured. Nicholas's reps on defense have diminished over the course of the year, but he's still a valuable contributor on special teams. As are Stone and Irons. So far the Falcons have gotten serious contributions from this rookie class, moreso than any other year in recent memory.

Most Valuable Rookie: Trey Lewis

Second Half Outlook - The second quarter was bad at first, but got good after the bye. Hopefully the Falcons can build off the momentum of the past two weeks, beat the Bucs this week, probably lose to the Colts the week after, but come back and win some more games against the Rams, Saints, etc. It's a possibilty that this team may only lose 1 or 2 more games the rest of the way. I doubt that happens, but I do think there is a distinct possibility that we could win 3 or 4 more games the rest of this season to get to 6-10 or 7-9 assuming the performances of the past two weeks is not just a fluke.

Posted by Aaron at 10:08 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

It wasn't pretty but a win is a win and we'll take them any way we can get them!

Here's what I saw:

Offense:

Running game: Dunn (27/100, 1 TD), Norwood (6/39), Mughelli (2/2, 1 TD) and Harrington (4/14). Effective Runs (4 yards or more)-Dunn, 11; Norwood, 5. No passes to either back. Dunn had his best day in quite a while. Norwood was hurt a couple of times where his ankle was turned awkardly.

Breakdown of passes:

Harrington: 14/25, 138 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT. Breakdown of incompletions: 6 Bad passes, 2 Passes defended and 3 Other. Very mediocre day. Harrington missed a few opportunities to extend drives with either bad choices or bad passes. The passes I put in "other": Was an obvious miscommunication with White, White being screened by the official and not seeing the pass and Jenkins falling down.

Drops (0): None! We need more like this!

YTD Drops (22):

Jenkins 6
White 4
Crumpler 3
Horn 3
Dunn 3
Norwood 1
Blakley 1
Robinson 1

Run blocking: Was much, much better. If we could get this consistently we'd be in very good shape. Hopefully, this becomes the norm. The only exception is short yardage as we still aren't getting push up the middle.

Pass blocking: While only 1 sack was registered, we still aren't getting more than 3 seconds of protection. Sure, that's enough to get the ball out of your hands but when you look at the top teams it seems their pocket always forms a nice "U" shape and the QB rarely gets pressured before the ball is away. Our "U" tends to cave in almost immediately and the QB is forced to throw instead of choosing to.

Sack responsibility (1): I'll side with the announcers on this one that Harrington held it too long because it was right at 3 seconds. However, Blakley flat out blew his block to allow the initial pressure and I do believe without that pressure Harrington would have gotten rid of the ball before the sack took place.

YTD Sacks (26):

Scheme 2.0
Norwood 2.5
Gandy 1.0
Forney 2.0
Harrington 6.5
Weiner 1.5
Blalock 5.5
McClure 2.0
Dunn 1.0
Foster 1.0
Clabo 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: Saw several plays where Brooking was blocked out by a lineman sometimes caused by Brooking getting into the LOS too quickly or a lineman getting free off a block. Also, it seems we have an overpursuit or misreading problem as our linebackers tend to react to first move and immediately crash down to the inside and get caught on misdirection to the outside. Could have been a lot better.

Pass Defense: Wasn't bad at all. We still have those issues of covering backs and tight ends. 98 of Smith's 149 yards went to tight ends and backs.

Sacks: Abe got 1 and Brooking got 1. Abe also forced an intentional grounding call which I look at as a sack itself.

Special Teams:

Norwood had 4 kickoff returns and no touchbacks: 1. from the 2, 18 yards; 2. from the goal line, 30 yards; 3. from the -3, 25 yards; 4. from the -5, 30 yards (negated by holding call on Harris). Solid day returning.

Jennings had 1 kickoff return from the -4, 28 yards. He seems a lot more confident returning now.

Jennings had 3 punt returns and 2 fair catches: 1. from the ATL 19, no return (invalid signal penalty) 2. from the ATL 12, 19 yards (negated by unnecessary roughness on Irons); 3. from the ATL 35, 23 yards. Very good return yardage overall.

Koenen had 6 punts: 1-50 yards to the SF 26, 15 yard return. 2-40 yards to the SF 24, no return. 3-53 yards to SF 8, 4 yard return. 4-38 yards to the SF 28, 4 yard return. 5-50 yards to the SF 17, 4 yard return return. 6-34 yards to the SF 11, no return. Very good day punting with only 1 subpar punt.

Kickoffs: Koenen had 5 kickoffs: 1. to the 1, 20 yard return (negated by holding penalty); 2. to the -2, 24 yard return; 3. to the 10, out of bounds; 4. to the 11, 12 yard return; 5. to the end zone, touchback. Outside of the out of bounds kick, very good day.

Field Goals: Andersen went 2/2. Good from 33 and 27.

Special Teams coverage: 15 yard return and the penalties aside, a good day.

Things that really need improvement:

1. Pass protection.
2. Get touchdowns and not field goals, make the most out of red zone opportunities.
3. Run defense.

Offensive MVP: Warrick Dunn (27 carries, 100 yards, 1 TD)
Defensive MVP: Lawyer Milloy (8 tackles, 1 INT, 1 pass defended and several key tackles stuffing the run)

Special Teams MVP: Michael Koenen.

Goat of the Week: Linebackers in run defense.

Let me know your thoughts and questions otherwise:

Next up: AT Carolina Panthers, November11th!

Posted by Cappy at 8:20 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Another typical game this season. Started off really well only to lose by less than a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Leftwich looked much better under pressure than Harrington although Harrington did show some good things while in the game. Still not sure why the coaching staff didn't challenge the call of Roddy White out of bounds at the 7, he looked like he stayed in to me.

Here's what I saw:

Offense:

Running game: Dunn (13/28), Norwood (6/38), Mughelli (1/3), Leftwich (3/6) and Harrington (1/0). Effective Runs (4 yards or more)-Dunn, 2; Norwood, 1. Dunn had 1 catch for 1 yard and Norwood had 3 for 1. Although the effective runs doesn't show it, Norwood is more effective at this point than Dunn. Norwood did not have any negative yardage plays while Dunn had quite a few.

Breakdown of passes:

Leftwich: 15/23, 145 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT. Breakdown of incompletions: 5 Bad passes, 2 throw aways, 1 drop. Leftwich was able to go downfield and get rid of the ball quickly. Poor pass protection eventually got him knocked out of the game.

Harrington: 12/18, 128 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT. Breakdown of incompletions: 4 Bad passes, and 2 Drops. Not a bad performance in relief just not enough.

Drops (3): Robinson, 1; Jenkins, 1 and Dunn, 1

YTD Drops (22):

Jenkins 6
White 4
Crumpler 3
Horn 3
Dunn 3
Norwood 1
Blakley 1
Robinson 1

Run blocking: Outside of Norwood's big run wasn't all that good. It's a shame I didn't have to change this one from last week.

Pass blocking: Horrid. It's pretty bad when a line can't consistently give even 3 seconds. Didn't have to change this one either.

Sack responsibility (3): First sack is on Clabo. Second is on Forney. The announcers talked about Harrington holding it too long but he didn't have 3 seconds. Final sack is on Blalock.

YTD Sacks (25):

Scheme 2.0
Norwood 2.5
Gandy 1.0
Forney 2.0
Harrington 5.5
Weiner 1.5
Blalock 5.5
McClure 2.0
Dunn 1.0
Foster 1.0
Clabo 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: Not horrible but there were key breakdowns especially up the middle on the Thomas TD where the center was allowed to get to Brooking unimpeded by our d-line. Unacceptable.

Pass Defense: Man to man seemed pretty good but zone allowed several mismatches as well as the TE and RB's to make far too many catches.

Sacks: None.

Special Teams:

Norwood had 2 kickoff returns and 2 touchbacks: 1. from the 2, 20 yards; 2. from the 15, 18 yards. Norwood is explosive but I'd rather have Jennings on all returns and use Norwood's explosiveness more in the backfield.

Jennings had 4 punt returns: 1. from the ATL 19, 12 yards; 2. from the ATL 41, 15 yards; 3. from the ATL 22, -2 yards; 4. from the ATL 48, 12 yards and 1 fair catch. Very nice day returning.

Koenen had 6 punts: 1-45 yards to the NO 11, 48 yard return. 2-48 yards to the NO 44, 7 yard return. 3-33 yards to NO 13, no return. 4-51 yards to the NO 32, no return. 5-45 yards to the NO 7, no return. 6-43 yards to the NO 10, no return. Much better distance on punts with 1 coverage breakdown.

Kickoffs: Koenen had 5 kickoffs: 1. to the 3, 21 yard return; 2. to the 42A onside, Jennings recovered; 3. to the 2, 25 yard return; 4. to the end zone, touchback; 5. to the -1, 32 yard return. Very good day kicking.

Field Goals: Andersen went 3/3. Good from 38, 33, and 21.

Special Teams coverage: Big breakdown on the first punt and the last kickoff. Decent day but definitely needs improvement.

Things that really need improvement:

1. Pass protection.
2. Get touchdowns and not field goals, make the most out of red zone opportunities.
3. Overall defense especially after scores.

Offensive MVP: Roddy White (8, 110 yards, 1 TD)
Defensive MVP: Demorrio Williams (7 tackles, 1 INT, 1 pass defended)

Special Teams MVP: Michael Koenen.

Goat of the Week: Offensive Line.

Let me know your thoughts and questions otherwise:

Next up: VS San Francisco 49ers, November 4th!

Posted by Cappy at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

This game started off promising but went south quickly after the first quarter. There was a glimmer of hope in the third but that was quickly eradicated when the offense went three and out. Really nothing outside of Norwood went right.

Here's what I saw:

Offense:

Running game: Dunn (8/15), Norwood (6/87, 1 TD) and Harrington (1/1). Effective Runs (4 yards or more)-Dunn, 1; Norwood, 2. Dunn had 2 catches for 13 yards and Norwood had 4 for 51.

Breakdown of passes:

Harrington: 18/39, 209 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT. Breakdown of incompletions: 8 Bad passes, 5 Defended, 8 Drops. First quarter was very good but it really unraveled from there.

Drops (8): White, 1; Crumpler, 3; Horn, 1; Dunn, 1; Blakley, 1 and Jenkins, 1.

YTD Drops (19):

Jenkins 5
White 4
Crumpler 3
Horn 3
Dunn 2
Norwood 1
Blakley 1

Run blocking: Outside of Norwood's big run wasn't all that good.

Pass blocking: Horrid. It's pretty bad when a line can't consistently give even 3 seconds.

Sack responsibility (4): First is on Blalock by Robbins. Second on the scheme as everyone was blocking but it was a delayed corner blitz. There was no hot man or RB to block in that spot. Third one is on Norwood for missing a block. Final sack is on Harrington for holding it too long.

YTD Sacks (22):

Scheme 2.0
Norwood 2.5
Gandy 1.0
Forney 1.0
Harrington 5.5
Weiner 1.5
Blalock 4.5
McClure 2.0
Dunn 1.0
Foster 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: Allowed almost 200 yards rushing. Not good at all.

Pass Defense: Over 300 yards passing. Not good at all.

Sacks: Abraham, 1.

Special Teams:

Norwood had 5 kickoff returns: 1. from the 13, 17 yards; 2. from the 16, 17 yards; 3. from the GL; 4. from the 15, 14 yards (nullified by Blakley holding); 5. from the 10, 19 yards.

Mughelli had 1 kickoff return for 18 yards from the 15.

Jennings had 1 punt return for 7 yards and 2 fair catches.

Koenen had 7 punts: 1-34 yards to the NYG 22, no return. 2-55 yards to the NYG 24, 10 yard return. 3-40 yards to NYG 45, no return. 4-37 yards to the NYG 13, no return. 5-34 yards to the NYG 8, no return. 6-50 yards to the NYG 14, no return; 7-38 yards to the NYG 33, no return. Very mediocre distance on punts.

Kickoffs: Koenen had 3 kickoffs: 1. to the 2, 25 yard return; 2. to the 6, 22 yard return (nullified by penalty); 3. to the goal line, 23 yard return. Not great but a good day.

Field Goals: Andersen went 1/2. Good from 47, short from 48.

Special Teams coverage: A few good returns but otherwise a very good day.

Things that really need improvement:

1. Pass protection.
2. Get touchdowns and not field goals, make the most out of red zone opportunities.
3. Overall defense.

Offensive MVP: Jerious Norwood, (6, 87 yards, 1 TD)
Defensive MVP: Deangelo Hall (11 tackles, 1 INT, 4 passes defended)

Special Teams MVP: Jerious Norwood.

Goat of the Week: Offensive Line.

Let me know your thoughts and questions otherwise:

Next up: AT New Orleans Saints, October 21st!

Posted by Cappy at 8:58 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post