Panthers Exploit The Falcons

It was a long tough game to watch. You could see the pendulum swinging on every possession. You've watched the game or gotten your fill over at Yahoo or ESPN, so let's get on with some of the good and the bad.

Sam Baker - a big huge GOOD and BAD. Bad that he is out, but I feel great that we drafted a guy that has a major impact on our offensive line.

Brent Grimes - is getting his chance to show what he has and although he put up a valiant effort in the second half, he was getting beat all day.

Matt Ryan - He's doing great, but if he's making 41 passes we're in for a LONG day.

FRIDAY FANTASY UPDATE

Harry Douglas was the dark pick of the week, and would have had an outstanding game.... had he caught the ball.

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Fantasy Falcon Friday!

It's been a while, but I'm still loving the Falcons. This week if you got to sit 'em or start 'em here's my take.

Sit 'em

Michael Jenkins - He's losing favor and dropping passes.

Start 'em

Matt Ryan - With some major QBs on bye weeks Ryan is poised to have a decent game. He's not going to win you a Fantasy Championship yet, but he'll help.

Michael Turner - Fantasy Beast... so far.

Roddy White - Starting to develop consistently. A good no. 2 WR

WILD CAR

Harry Douglas - I think he's going to have a breakout game and given the state of the league, I'd be sure to pick him up off the waiver wire, he may very well be the no. 2 wide out with Larent Robinson injured. Given that he'll also get some rushing yards, he runs at least one reverse a game.

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Atlanta Hawks Newest Addition!

*Drum Roll Please*

Marvin Williams.   In a recent Yahoo! Sports post, we find out that Marvin has added on much needed weight and is working on becoming a 3-point threat.  In addition, Josh Smith is impressed by Williams ability to go to the hole now.  A skill that Williams hasn't dusted off since College. 

. “People know him as a mid-range jump shooter but he’s added more to his game. He’s got counter moves and being able to get to the hole and he’s even doing moves in the post that I haven’t seen him do before. I think he’s going to surprise a lot of people.”

Williams has added plenty of new wrinkles to his game, too.

“As always I’m just trying to get better,” he said. “I’ve been shooting a ton of (three-pointers). I’ve definitely been working on the 3-ball. And I’ve put on a lot of weight, too. I’m up to about 245 with seven percent body fat. I’m as big and strong as I’ve ever been. I’m finally starting to fill out my frame and it feels good.”

The increased attention to his outside game is every bit as surprising as the weight gain. But both were calculated moves.

“I shot them my rookie year but I didn’t shoot many last year, maybe 10 or so,” Williams said of his long range shooting. “Five or six of those were from half court, too. But I feel like that’s something I can add to my game that will make me more of a threat. A lot of people feel I can shoot that shot. It’s something I’ve got to continue working on to get better.”

Getting bigger doesn’t always mean getting better. But Williams isn’t worried.

“I was 233 last year, but I actually feel like I’m moving a lot better,” he said. “I’ve been running sprints on the track and my times are better than they’ve ever been. I think a lot of it is just natural maturation. It’s like my Dad always said, I was so young when I came into the league. It was just a matter of time before my body developed. I just turned 22 two months ago, man. Everybody has to go through this.”

We'll See...

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QBs & Playcalling Cost 2 Atlanta Teams Victories This Weekend

Saturday

Georgia Tech and their triple option were very frustrating to watch.  With only 8 passing attempts in an entire game you have to wonder for all the coching prowess that Johnson has, surely he's not dense enough to see the wide gaping hole in his offiense.   I'd be putting 9 in the box againt Tech too if I was on defense.  What's really sad is that at the end of the day, the Jackets lose because they can't protect the football. 

Sunday

Well, it was going to happen this year, but I wasn't sure when.  A loss can be placed squarely on Ryan's shoulders.  There's nothing good about a loss, except that the Falcons hung in there. Penalties were atrocious and for the second week in a row, I'm left scratching my head on some of the play calling.

Week 1:  A little over a minute left, 3 pass plays called, Lions get the ball back and score. 

Week 2:  1st and Goal, QB Draw?! Are you kidding me.  With Vick maybe, but this is NEVER a good call. 

Can someone explain to me why we have Ryan throwing 33 times after what Turner did last week?  Turner had 14 attempts and he's a bruiser.  Keep running him then change the speed. 

I'd almost wish the Jackets and the Falcons would swap play callers. 

On the bright side, Jonathan Babineaux played well. 

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Falcon Friday

The buzz is back!  Turner running all over the Lions certainly causing a stir.  It certainly didn't hurt to have a solid performance from Ryan.  Listening to the radio, blogs and other outlets... apparently we (Atlanta Falcons) haven't earned ANY respect after last week.  Vegas has under  at 10, up 3 points after Garcia went down.  I guess we have less of a shot to beat them with their "backup."

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Atlanta Falcons Report Card VS Lions

Yahoo Report Card for the Falcons

REPORT CARD VS. LIONS

Passing Offense:   B-plus—The Falcons didn’t ask QB Matt Ryan to carry the load, but when it came time to keep the Lions off balance, Ryan was special. Ryan showed his accuracy on the first pass of his NFL career, when he hit WRMichael Jenkins on that skinny post for a 62-yard touchdown pass. He made another big-time throw to Ben Hartsock, after eluding some rushers, drilling a pass between defenders for a 17-yard gain.

Rushing Offense:   A-plus—Thunder and Lightning. Michael Turner went for a team record 220 yards and Jerious Norwood, running as hard as we’ve seen, added 93 yards on 14 carries. They helped to combine for a team-record 318 yards rushing.

Pass Defense:   C-minus—CBs Chris Houston and Brent Grimes battled Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams. Yeah, they received a lot of help from safeties Erik Coleman and Lawyer Milloy, but they didn’t allow the Pro Bowl caliber receivers to single-handedly beat the team.

Rush Defense:   A—The Lions wanted to establish the run but couldn’t after they fell behind 21-0 in the first quarter. With Big Grady Jackson leading the way, the Falcons held the Lions to 62 yards on 21 carries (for a paltry 3.0 per carry average).

Special Teams:   A—Adams Jennings did a good job returning punts and didn’t make any unnecessary fair catches. Norwood almost busted a kickoff return.

Coaching:   A—Coach Mike Smith knows he doesn’t have the most talented roster in the league, but he’s demanded that they play hard, nasty and mean. The Falcons have bought into Smith’s program and caught the Lions off guard when they bloodied their nose early and then stood up to a meek comeback effort.

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Tampa Here We Come... Well Not Yet.

As a Falcons fan how could you not be excited about what you saw on the field on Sunday!   Let's go over the good and not so good. 

GOOD

• Michael Turner looked great.  Reminded me of a certain other Atlanta Falcon that used to run right over people.  At one point there were Lions players bouncing off of them.  
• Matt Ryan looked poised.  Nothing special in terms of what he did, but throwing your first ever official NFL pass for a TD was great.  Again, he didn't "Wow" me from any standpoint other than the leadership aspect. 
• The O-line looked very good.
• John Abraham is still a beast.
• Milloy looks to have another GREAT season.  He played a heck of a game.
• Lofton looks like a great addition. 

BAD

There's not a lot considering we won! 

• Defense looking pretty weak right now.  Some great plays, but nothing special.  Looks like the Lions did a lot of that stuff to themselves.
• Don't get too excited, the Lions Defense looks like the worst in the NFL.  I doubt Turner will run over EVERYONE.
• Will people stop calling him "BURNER."  Michael Turner is not fast, he's not going to outrun anyone.  He may run OVER most people, he broke several tackles, but the dude is not winning any SPEED competition.
• Jerious Norwood looks better with a bad o-line. 

The biggest thing that I was excited about is that the Falcons finally have a COACH! Two regimes of dimwitted or cowardly coaching and we finally have a TEAM.  Half time adjustments were made, and there was direction and purpose to the calls.  I didn't see any bone head calls.  

One down, 15 more to go.  Go Falcons! 

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Yahoo Take on the Falcons

Look at the falcons:

Strengths: RBs Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood provide big-play potential. WR Roddy White enjoyed breakout season in 2007 despite turnover at quarterback. DE John Abraham and LB Michael Boley are solid if healthy.

Weaknesses: Big questions at almost every spot on offensive line. No receiving threat at tight end.

Players to watch: QB Matt Ryan, RB Michael Turner, DT Grady Jackson, LB Curtis Lofton, LT Sam Baker.

Biggest change: With Ryan the starter as rookie, offense goes back to run-first philosophy of Dan Reeves and Jim Mora eras.

Schedule key: Team plays five of its first eight on road and finally plays first home game against division rival on Nov. 9 against New Orleans.

You can read the rest here.

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