Friday, December 24, 2010
Week 16-Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints Preview
Somehow it's already week 16 of the NFL season which gives us the game we've all been waiting for, the Atlanta Falcons (12-2) and the New Orleans Saints (10-4) on football's biggest stage, Monday Night Football. This rivalry is viewed nationally and by saints fans as a one sided affair, but make no mistake this is far from a one dog fight. The two organizations have very similar histories and were birthed just a year apart, with the Atlanta franchise coming first in 1966. Falcons have an overall record of 288-392-6 (.424) slightly below that of the Saints' 285-382-5 (.427). Both teams have only one NFC championship each and as saints fans will quickly jump to let you know their visit brought home the Lombardi trophy.
The series holds different results, the Falcons hold a firm grip on the series record that stands at 46-37(1-0 postseason). The rivalry is on built deeply on hatred as anyone can tell you that's been to a contest where the two have done battle. It's not a series rooted in streaks or tendencies, however 1995 through the 2000 season never witnessed a New Orleans victory. Even during their championship run a year ago it's hard to argue, if you watched the games, that Atlanta wasn't their two toughest wins. Growing up I always heard accounts of the busses trips organized by rival fans for away games that almost always erupted into fights upon arrival. When these two teams square off you also don't see a lot of blow out, though there have been a few. The largest margin of victory came in 1973 when the Falcons handed the saints a 62-7 thumping. In 1987 the saints recoded their biggest win shutting out Atlanta 38-0.
Like in series past the 83rd addition of the rivalry saw a tough competitive fight in week three of this year. After forcing three and out To start the game the saints 1st quarter, got on the board after a big punt return by lance moore, who would be a thorn in the Falcons side all day. The away team quickly returned punches scoring on their ensuing drive to tie the game at sevens. Things got even better for Atlanta by intercepting Bresus' first pass of their next drive, but could not capitalize on the miscue and after punting were quickly bitten again by the man that wears eye black under only one eye....even in domes. The 2nd quarter only saw on score, but it was a prototypical Falcons' drive eating up over 10 minutes of clock, covering 70 yards on twenty plays, capped off by a Turner one-yard touchdown. After coming out of halftime all square at 14, the second half didn't help answer any questions as the two teams traded 7-3 quarters. The final score of regulation coming off the foot of, the soon to be goat, hartley wi under ten seconds left on the clock. In extra time the Falcon's offense gave the saints the ball after only four plays and sat back as they watched them drive nearly the length of the field before the aforementioned goat booted the would-be game winner WIDE LEFT. Not to be denied again Matty Ice and the offense overcame a 10 yard penalty to start the drive and orchestrated a drive to set up Matt Bryant from 46 yards and watched as the ball sailed throw the uprights. Falcons win 27-24
Fast forward to week 16 and a game where the two NFC South teams will face at the peek of health. Since their meeting in September the saints have posted a 8-3 record highlighted by a 20-10 win against the Steelers with loses at Arizona, to Cleveland, and last week in Baltimore. The weeks since their last meeting has also seen brees add to a season total of 19 interceptions,10 more than his counterpart, throwing at least one in his last 10 contests.
The Falcons have flown relatively under the radar while compiling a league best 14-2 record thanks in large part to a consistent offensive attack that eats away at the play clock and a very underrated 'bend but don't break' defense led by John Abraham and his 12 sacks, good for third highest in the NFL in spite of fewer plays.
This game is gigantic even without the playoff implications and the national spotlight and when you add it all together with the world war that's going on between fans online it is going to be an interesting battle Monday night. With a win on Monday or against Carolina in week 17, Atlanta can secure the number one seed in the NFC and Dome Field Advantage through the playoffs. The saints need a win to guarantee their spot in the postseason as well. This game comes down to if Michael Turner can get those tree trunks he calls legs to burn up yardage against the new orleans defense that gave up 153 yards on the ground to Ray Rice a week ago. The Falcons can also help their cause by limiting the big plays and wrapping up in the tackles as the saints an extremely fast offensive unit. I think brees attempts to go to their air very often and using his running backs as outlets routinely.
Falcons 37-29
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
NFL Week 15-Atlanta Falcons vs. Seattle Seahawks Review
The defense looked shaky at best on the first drive of the game getting eaten up for yardage as the Seahawks offense went to work mixing between swing passes and runs up the gut. Van Gorder seemingly rallied his troops and took away the swing passes and receiver screens for the rest of the game. In the 3rd quarter, when the defense has been susceptible to mistakes, they stepped up and forced 3 turnovers.
Friday, December 17, 2010
NFL Team's Christmas Wish List
Rendering of the New Marlins Stadium |
Rex Ryan's Possible New Whip |
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Week 15-Atlanta Falcons vs. Seattle Seahawks
Monday, December 13, 2010
Target Destroyed - Atlanta Falcons-Carolina Panther Review
Harry Douglas looks to be closing in on or has finally arrived at 100% health, and said as much after the game. We so often see players returning from knee injuries in record time (Welker) that when a year passes and they’re not back to or better than before we tend to forget about the injury and assume there is something wrong with them. With a receiver of that skill set is built around blazing speed, it’s not a surprise that it has taken him a little longer to progress. Another thing to consider is that once an athlete is 100 percent back to ‘normal’ they have to regain confidence in their ability and their healed body. If HD is back to that level, it could add an extra kick to this offense that teams have to gameplan around.
Ryan did a great job of spreading the ball around and did so early hitting 8 different receivers while he targeted nine. All in all Ryan completed 20 of 34 (58.8%) for 227 yards. When you take away the unselfish interception thrown right before halftime while trying to put up additional points Ryan had a QB rating of 91.35 (up from 76.5 including the INT and the extra incompletion) which is good for Matty Ice on the road in the cold.
Michael Turner knew the game plan ran through him and he not only accepted it, but seemed to love it. Gartrell is serviceable in pass protection, but he's not even close to the same league as Snelling in the running or pass catching ability. If we can get away with it (assuming he's healthy enough) I'd love to practice him 2-3 days this week but keep him on the sideline in Coffeetown. Ovie provided the biggest shockedr of the day by dropping a pass, but made up for it and has shown how important he is since Snellings sidelining. Turner churned out 112 with a 4 yard average and 3 Six-pointers. For as bad of a rap left tackle Sam Baker received earlier in the year, this statistic is interesting to say the least; “Michael Turner rushed in the direction of starting left tackle Sam Baker six times Sunday and scored on three of those. Entering Week 14, Mike Tolbert led the league with four touchdowns when rushing towards the left tackle”(ESPN, Stats & Information).
There's not too much to say about this game, it's what we thought would happen. It was great to see the way Falcons fans showed up and traveled to Charlotte as there seemed to be more Red and black than teal.
The Falcons did a good job of limiting the stupid penalties, handling another divisional road game, and got out of Charlotte without any new injuries. The Falcons only had one penalty all day, an illegal block for 10 yards on a Panther punt, on 4th and 11 that didn’t hurt the Falcons. One the ensuing drive the Falcons started at their own 15 and proceeded to drive 64 yards meticulously melting 8:48 off the clock on eighteen play, but only got a 39-yard field goal by Matt Bryant. The drive was huge in eating clock, but against better teams the offense needs to finish these drives with a throat stomping score that a touchdown would have been.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
An Unabashed Love of Cameron Newton
I love Cam Newton. There, I said it. He may be my favorite non-UGA college football player ever. I know; I should hate him. I should hate him as much as I hated Tim Tebow, more than I hated Jason Campbell, at least as much as I hated JJ Reddick. But I don’t. Not even a little bit. Not even at all.
After the first time I watched him play, in his SEC season debut against Mississippi State on a Thursday night, I called my dad and asked him if he had watched Auburn play. I told him that Auburn had something special; I was impressed not only with his play, but with his postgame interview. He said all the right things, he had a flair about him, and he gave a shout-out to Urban Meyer’s kids. He hasn’t done anything to make me like him less. A lot of people (read: everyone I know who isn’t an Auburn fan) are on the I hate Cam bandwagon. A lot of people think he is a smug asshole, that he is too cocky, and that he seems to have the biggest ego in the world. I think he is just a kid having fun playing football. He is the best player on the field all the time and he knows it. Is that a reason to hate him? But, I’m not here to get in the whole “did he know his dad was trying to get paid” or “should we give him the Heisman” debates here (we should give it to him, by the way). I just want to talk about what a great football player he is.
A lot of times these days, people seem to forget the past really quickly. It seems like every year there is a new greatest player ever, a new greatest game ever, or the best something. Maybe I’m suffering from early onset dementia here, but I honestly think that Cam Newton is the best college football player I’ve ever seen play. He just seems to amaze me on almost every play. You could make an argument that Tim Tebow was better at picking up a tough 2-5 yards when he needed to but as far as an all around quarterback, there just hasn’t been anyone else even close in the past twenty years. Vince Young, Charlie Ward, Tim Tebow and the others were nice, but if I had to pick a quarterback to play for me in one game, I’m picking Cam hands down. He can throw the ball, he can run the ball inside, run it outside, and he is a leader. What more could you want in a college quarterback?
You hear a lot of times that players these days, with their combination of size and speed, would run roughshod over football players from olden days. Clearly there were those type of guys that did that (Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson come to mind), but Cam Newton is doing it now. I don’t know that we have ever seen anyone in any sport have the combination of size, speed, strength, and athletic touch that Newton has shown this season. When I was watching the SEC championship the other night, they showed a clip of the Ole Miss game where Cam made a Randy Moss type touchdown catch in the endzone. It dawned on me, as I was watching it, that I’m not sure there is a position on the field that Cam couldn’t play in the SEC. Receiver or Tight End? Definitely. Running Back or Fullback? Not even a question. He might need to bulk up a little to play on the O-Line, but I would take him right now and the D-Line or at linebacker (he is 3 inches taller than Justin Houston and only 9 pounds lighter, in case you were wondering). I absolutely think he could do work as a safety too. Luckily, we get to watch him play quarterback and have the ball in his hands on every play. He makes the games exciting, even if you have no vested interest in them. I for one, have enjoyed it all along and am excited to watch him play one more game in college. Most outstanding college football player this year? Definitely. Most outstanding college football player of my lifetime? I’m pretty sure of that too.
Week 14-Atlanta Falcons vs. Carolina Panthers
The Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers have battled it out since the cats were enfranchised into the NFL in 1995, both competing in the old NFC West. The rivalry has had its share of blow outs, close games, and big plays. The first meeting led to an overtime win by the Falcons 30-23 in Atlanta. Although many Falcons consider the New Orleans Saints to be their primary rival, Atlanta has come to be the biggest rival for the Panthers. I have read articles stating that Carolina’s biggest rivalry is with the Pewter Pirates, but I just don’t believe that, they didn’t start playing regularly until the 2002 realignment. One of the biggest reasons why the rivalry hasn’t grown even more is the fact that one team is usually significantly better than the other. If one team is leading the division the other seemingly is always bringing up the rear. The series has also seen its share of streaks, from 1998 to 2002, Atlanta punished Carolina winning 9 out of 10 matchups, including a streak of 6 Falcon victories from 2000 through 2002. The Dirty Birds lead the overall series record 18-12.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
NFL Week 13-Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Bucs Review
Extra Points: I have rarely listened to an NFL telecast where I felt like one announcer was pulling as hard for one team as Charlie Davis was for the Buccaneers, it was embarrassing.
-I haven't heard anyone point this out yet, but the game winner to Jenkins looked like the same play as Roddy's clinching touchdown in the Baltimore game.
-I feel moving forward Atlanta has become THE team that Raheem Morris will focus on beating starting in training camp.
-The refs were brutal in this game, there's no way around it. From not calling a personal-foul on Tampa for pushing White to the ground early in the game and then turning around a quarter later to calling one on Roddy to a little shove. Add that to all the reviewed plays and the lack of false starts on Tampa's offensive line, although I've found those are rarely called in close games on the home team.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
NFL Power Rankings-Week 14
1. New England Patriots
After the Monday night dismantling of the New York Jets, I don’t see how you can argue the Patriots as numero uno. It’s not really a secret that the huge overhaul that the New England offense has made was because of their early season loss to the Jets. These changes have paid dividends by creating mismatches against their defense. The entire team was clicking last night, if they can keep this up they’ll be scary at home in January.
This week: @ Chicago 4:15 CBS
2. Atlanta Falcons
Down ten points in the 4th quarter I think everyone doubted that they would come back, but I don’t think many thought it wasn’t possible, even with the offense playing one of their worst games of the season.
This week: @ Carolina 1:00 FOX
3. Baltimore Ravens
I feel obligated to put the Steelers here, but I think the Ravens are playing overall better ball right now. The two teams split the series, both winning on the road. I think Baltimore out played Pittsburgh Sunday, except on one play.
This week: @ Texas 8:30 ESPN Monday Night Football
4. Pittsburgh Steelers
They continue to shut down threatening rushing attacks with little effort. They don’t impress you very much, but they win based off good coaching and timely play calling on both sides of the ball.
This week: vs. Cincinnati 1:00 CBS
5. Green Bay Packers
The Pack attack couldn’t get things rolling until the second half against the 49ers. Once they shook off the hangover from the Falcons game, they showed us who they really are outscoring San Francisco 20-3 in the second half. This might be a little high for a team that is on the playoff bubble, but they’re playing at this level.
This week: @ Detroit 1:00 FOX
6. New York Jets
After the loss on Monday night they took a pretty big fall out of the top five. For me their 9-2 record was a big part of their number three ranking. I haven’t been impressed with the New York-AFC for the past month or so. They have plenty of time to figure the offense out before making their playoff run, but their remaining schedule is no slouch.
This week: vs. Miami 4:15 CBS
7. New Orleans Saints
New Orleans is the beneficiary of two of the biggest mistakes by any two teams all year. On Thanksgiving Cowboys leading 27-23 and driving before Roy Williams fumbled on the New Orleans 11. If he doesn’t have the fumble Dallas goes up by 11 with 3 minutes to go. Fast forward to Sunday where with 34 seconds left and up by 3 a Cincinnati defender jumps offsides when everyone in the world knew the Saints were trying to draw them offsides, unforgivable. All teams have these close losses, but I’m just not seeing the great NO team that the national media seems to be seeing.
This week: vs. St. Louis 4:05 FOX
8. Chicago Bears
The Bears drop has more to do with the emergence of other teams as opposed to the Bears performance in Detroit against Drew Stanton. I see a really good defense that can play great against good teams, but isn’t the same against lesser teams, they just don’t get up for every game.
This week: vs. New England 4:15 CBS
9. Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles defense looked really good on Thursday night against the Texans, without Asante Samuel the leader of their defense. The Eagles will have an extra two days of rest when they face the Cowboys at Jerry World. We should see both teams best on Sunday Night.
This week: @ Dallas 8:20 NBC Sunday Night Football
10. New York Giants
The game against the Redskins was over before it started. They made Washington look like a poor college team.
This week: @ Minnesota 1:00 FOX
11. Kansas City Chiefs
This team just keeps winning and may have already secured their playoff berth in a bad division.
This week: @ San Diego 4:15 CBS
12. Jacksonville Jaguars
I would go with Buccaneers here, but the Jags are in the playoffs if it starts today and the Bucs are all but eliminated after Sunday.
This week: vs. Oakland 1:00 CBS
Thursday, December 2, 2010
NFL Week 13-Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Monday, November 29, 2010
NFL Week 13 Power Rankings
To preface this post one of the things that makes the NFL better than college football is that you don’t need rankings, but in years where there is this much parity it makes it interesting to cross conferences and divisions to see how teams stack up. Power rankings mean different things to different people, but everyone does them including espn, cbs, si, blogs, radioshows. Some rankers put teams in order based on what have you done for me lately ranking teams mostly on what they have done over the last week or two. Others rank them based on the entire season while some create an order of who they think will end the season the highest.
1. New England Patriots
2. Atlanta Falcons
3. New York Jets
4. Chicago Bears
5. New Orleans Saints
6. Baltimore Ravens
7. Green Bay Packers
8. Philadelphia Eagles
9. New York Giants
10. Pittsburgh Steelers
11. Kansas City Chiefs
12. Indianapolis Colts
Agree/Disagree? Let us know what you think of our rankings.