With the season just getting ready to start we as Falcon fans have so much to be enthused about. We have a great deal to look forward to and to discuss.

With all of the above going on I have decided to change my ways. I am no longer going to engage in any kind of discussion with any obvious trolls. The many posters who have urged us all to “Not Feed the Trolls” are absolutely correct.

The truth about the matter is that I have been among the worst when it comes to slapping these mouth breathers around. They ceased making me angry long ago but I found more than a little fun and sport in verbally slaying them. In doing so though I was only giving them what they all crave….attention.

I’m done. I want to talk about football, and more specifically the Atlanta Falcons and all that is front of us.

I know myself well enough though to know that this won’t be easy for me. Please call me on it if you see me going back to my old behavior.

Go Falcons….losses and major suckage to every other team.
Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs

[IMG]http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee489/MalteseFalcon1994/troll.jpg[/IMG]
Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs

Turns out a very close family friend’s daughter is getting married on October 3rd. The day of the Falcons vs Niners game

When I was told the first thing I said was, “Is that a Sunday?!”

Of course It is..

Then I go into my sister’s store at the mall and the first guy that comes in is delivering boxes to the store and my sister says, “Hey Andy this guy’s a Niners fan” (sigh)

I was so excited for this game too.

God must be a Niners fan.

So I have 2 options:

a) PVR the game, go to the wedding and ignore all NFL anything! and watch the game the next day.

1:55 mark…..

Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs

Coach had this to say about the pre-season and evaluating players who are trying to make the roster. It showed up in Jay Adams transcript of an interview following yesterday’s practice.

“For one thing, they’ve got to perform at a high level when they’re on the field, that’s the most important thing. They’ve got to be efficient in their job. The second thing that I look for is, is it too big for them? You watch them on the sideline and you see how they interact with the coaches. So much of the game, believe it or not, is not necessarily when your unit is out there on the field. We’ve got to be able to communicate. Communication is very, very important. We’ve got to get information from the players. We’ve got to get information from the press box. Sometimes, those pictures that we’re looking at on the sideline, they’re still shots; they don’t always tell the truth. We’ve got to rely on the players and we’ve got to rely on the information that they’re giving us so that we can make our adjustments as a coaching staff. You want to see some composure there on the sideline. You don’t want to come over and talk to two defensive linemen and you asked them what happened on that play and this guy got double teamed, the guy next to him got double teamed, and the guy next to him got double teamed. I’m saying ‘now wait a minute, how many guys are they playing with out their on the offensive side of the ball?’. You want to be able to get information and believe me in 28 years of coaching that has happened on more than one occasion.”

I bolded the sentences that really caught my eye because they say a tremendous amount about the attitude coaches look for. One more reason to like Smitty.
Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs

In an attempt at making one of these “realistic” posts, I’ll start from top to bottom and attempt to look at any question marks or possible weak points this team may have. I’ll go from position to position and look at any possible problems and question marks.

Mike Smith

The “?s” - I think he’s made some decisions that seemed like head scratchers that didn’t work out. That punt call against the Saints that ended up being the game ender is one inparticular. The guy wants to throw the red flag on everything.

Mike Mularkey

The “?s” - At times the passing game seems a bit conservative. You would think that he would have Ryan take the deep shot on off-side flags, and maybe just a deep shot here or there regardless just to keep the defense honest.

Brian Van Gorder

The “?s” - Our D has been weak on 3rd down. Our blitzes were ineffective more often than not for most of 09, our pass D was terrible, especially in the middle of the field, and we gave up a lot of points at times.

QB corps

The “?s” - This team’s success rides on Matt Ryan more than anyone else. Matt Ryan needs to work on deep ball accuracy, pocket mobility, and footwork. He started to started to tuck and run at times rather than stay in the pocket when the pressure started closing in last year instead of sliding to the side or stepping up.

RB corps

The “?s” - Michael Turner IS coming back from a down season caused by injury, and he hasn’t been involved much in the receiving game. If our offense wants to expand, Michael Turner has be a reliable receiving threat out of the backfield. Jerios Norwood has a glass hip it seems, and does us no good on the sidelines.

WR corps

The “?s” - White didn’t seem to be on the same page with Ryan in the preseason. Jenkins is coming off a shoulder injury, and wasn’t a reliable option for us in 09. Jenkins HAS to get back to 08 form for us to get a better passing game going. Harry Douglas is coming off a big injury. Brian Finneran seems to be the back-up to Jenkins, and he isn’t a reliable #2 at all.

TE corps

The “?s” - Can Tony Gonzalez help us stretch the field? Gonzalez wasn’t as good as a run blocker as we would probably like. Outside of Gonzalez, I wouldn’t want any of the other TEs to be starting for us. Peele is just so-so, and who is really worth even talking about after him?

OL corps

The “?s” - Sam Baker has to stay healthy, and he hasn’t done that these past two years. Justin Blalock has been below average all around for us outside of recovering some key fumbles and being able to blast one guy in the run game. He doesn’t pass block well at all, he doesn’t do well in space, and he doesn’t handle stunts and blitzes very well. Harvey Dahl is above average all around, but needs to work on his pass blocking a bit. Tyson Clabo seems more like a G playing at RT, and is questionable pass blocking at times.

DT corps

The “?s” - Babineaux is out for the first game of the season, not cool. Peria Jerry is coming off a major knee injury. Corey Peters suffered a minor injury during preseason, which is not what you want to be looking at when your #1 guy is out game 1. We lacked a consistent push up the middle last year, and our top two options behind Babineaux are coming off injuries.

DE corps

The “?s” - John Abraham is coming off a down season and his no spring chicken. Biermann isn’t an established player and there are questions about his ability to play the run. Jamaal provides no pass rush from the DE position. Davis has been invisible since we signed him at the end of 08. Sidbury is still just a project player. A lack of a pass rush was one of our big problems last year, and it needs to step up in a big way.

LB corps

The “?s” - The LB corps poor pass D was a major problem for us last year. Lofton needs to step up against the pass D if he wants to become the complete MLB package we need. Mike Peterson ended 09 like Brooking did in 08(minus a 3rd and 16 moment), and simply was an all around liability for us. Weatherspoon is a rookie, and has some issues against the run.

CB corps -

The “?s” - For most of 09, these guys were just abused. Robinson needs to get on the field and stay healthy, and had some serious down moments in Texas. He needs to show up in a big way and show us why he got that money in order for us to compete against these freak passing teams the NFL is loaded with right now… *ahem… Saints* Grimes gets tossed around against stronger WRs, and doesn’t tackle well. Owens is a young guy who is still learning in a major way, and isn’t a real #1 option. Brian Williams is coming off a major ACL tear, and is no spring chicken. Chevis Jackson has looked like hot garbage, and there isn’t anything to say about Franks at all in regards to his CB play.

Safety corps

The “?s” - Will DeCoud continue to progress? Erik Coleman isn’t the long term answer at SS, and was somewhat of a liability against the pass last year. William Moore needs to show us why he was a #2 pick, and stay healthy. Questions have been raised regarding his football mentality and instinct.

Kicker

The “?s” - Matt Bryant doesn’t have a stellar history. Games can be won or lost on a kick, and Bryant isn’t who I would call first if my team’s success depended on a 45 yard FG from the left hash with 5 seconds left on the clock.

Special Teams

The “?s” - Our coverage unit needs to get back to 08 form after a poor showing in 09. Weems seems to just be solid returning kicks, and doesn’t seem to be able to break off the big one. His punt return skills are simply “meh”.

Am I “realistic” now?
Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs

I think there are some solid reasons for optimism on defense this year, but if our D takes it to the next level, we’re going to need some player or players to step up and dominate. Which players do you think have the best chance to do that?

The poll accepts multiple votes, if you have more than one.
Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs

Ok, I can hear the chorus of “what do you mean, we have an All Pro TE, a Pro Bowl WR, and a rookie of the year QB to go with a Pro Bowl RB!!!!!”

I just don’t think that is enough anymore. I think you need more options - or you need guys who are absolutely impossible to cover, and there are only a couple of those guys in the whole league - we’ll get to that.

I have felt since last season that the Falcons depended too much on two guys, and I decided to do some research to determine if the facts backed that up.

The first thing I decided to do was determine what percentage of catches were bieng made by the top two guys and compare it to the rest of the league. The results of that were interesting.

The results turned out pretty much how I expected, with Roddy and Tony catching a higher percentage (50.6%) of the teams passes than any other pair except for Wes Welker and Randy Moss (52%).

The suprise to me was that of the 6 teams most dominated by a single pair of pass catchers, only the Falcons were not a top 9 offense, and that was definitely not what I expected.

So I decided to look the number of catches by all of the rest of the guys on the team, and compare that to the rest of the league.

The teams with the biggest contributions from pass catching options 3 and down were the Saints with 257, the Texans with 245, and the Vikings with 234. All three of these teams finished in the top 5 in offense. The Colts got 202 receptions to go with 200 by Wayne and Clark, and the Patriots got 184 recpetions to go with the 206 by Welker and Moss.

Eight teams got 170 receptions or less from this group of receivers, including the Falcons with 164. The other 7 teams (Bengals, Bucs, Bills, Raiders, Browns, Panthers, and Jets) all had offenses that finished 19th or worse in the league, so this indicated to me that teams that did not spread the ball around were inclined to have very bad offenses in 2009.

So the last thing for me to determine was whether it really mattered for the Falcons or not if they spread the ball around. I mean, who cares if Roddy and Tony are getting most of the action, as long as the passes are being completed? So I looked at pass incompletions, and for this I’ll post the entire league, because it is really telling.

Team Incompletions Offensive Rank
Saints - 166 1
Vikings - 176 5
Chargers - 181 10
Jets - 183 20
Steelers - 185 7
Bills - 185 30
Ravens - 189 13
Bengals - 191 24
Redskins - 193 22
Texans - 194 4
Packers - 196 6
Colts - 199 9
Panthers - 201 19
Cardinals - 202 14
Patriots - 202 3
Cowboys - 203 2
Jags - 204 18
Giants - 204 8
Titans - 205 12
Dolphins - 214 17
Niners - 216 27
Broncos - 217 15
Eagles - 218 11
Bears - 223 23
Browns - 224 32
Raiders - 230 31
Rams - 231 29
Seahawks - 237 21
Falcons - 238 16
Chiefs - 240 25
Bucs - 245 28
Lions - 269 26

So the Falcons finished among the very worst in this stat, but were the only team among the bottom 9 to rank in the top 20 in offense. So again, despite having a middle of the pack offense, the team is showing the characteristic of a very bad offense.

So I thought if the Falcons were depending on Roddy and Gonzo too much and completing a lower percentage of passes as a result, at least they are probably getting more bang for the buck when the passes are caught, right?

Wrong. Despite having a 90 yard reception against SF, Roddy had the worst YPC of his career by a full yard.

Tony Gonzales also had the worst YPC of his entire career with 10.4 yards per catch. His 867 yards receiving was his lowest total since 2002.

Conclusion - too much pressure in this offense on Roddy and Tony, and this team has to have another playmaker in the passing game to be a serious contender, and I don’t think HD coming back from an ACL tear is enough.

The other option is the Falcons defense turns into the 85 Bears, but I’m not quite seeing that yet.

Somebody explain to me why I am wrong.
Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs

I’m really sick of this…like…he is the weakest link on the o-line?! wtf!!! am i the only one that see’s that???
Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs

I would like to post an apology to Biermann and to the fans for the pancake block thread.

I had seen so many over the top criticisms and micronalysis of another DL this preseason, and was trying to prove a point that even our best players have bad snaps, but the fact is, two wrongs don’t make a right and what I did was wrong. The fact is, most fans have gotten behind JA98 and are very happy he appears to be turning things around so my post was totally uncalled for.

Biermann is an awesome player,and unquestionably one of the best on the roster with his big play ablities and incredible work ethic. He deserves to be a starter, but I still don’t think playing him a lot on 1st downs is the best way to play him when we have others that can play first downs just as good if not better in the rotation. That’s just my opinion.

Please accept my heartfelt and humble apology. I will go ahead and kill that thread so it cannot be bumped again.
Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs

I hate doing it this way, but it’s the easiest way to get the information out to all involved.

Here is an option for paying for the league. It does involve everyone making 2 payments, but it may be the best way to do it.

First, everybody go to donate@falconnationcharities.org and donate $10 to the FNCO. The FNCO will let me know who has paid and who has not. If you fail to make a donation, you will be ineligible to receive the winnings until you have made it. The FNCO will be able to provide everyone with an individual receipt for you tax purposes. This would be much harder for them to do if everyone put the all the money into a pot and then I sent the full amount to the FNCO after everyone paid.

Second, make a $10 payment to our league. I still propose that we use a website called League Safe. The website is www.leaguesafe.com (take a look at it and make sure you are comfortable with it). At this website everyone can pay for the league and they will hold all funds until a winner is determined. I use this site for my other pay league, I am comfortable using it. A couple of things about League Safe:

1. There are 2 ways to pay, either by e-check or credit card. Both are done online.

2. There are 3 ways for the winner to receive their winnings, either a prepaid Visa, e-check to your account, or paper check. There is no fee for the prepaid visa card. There is a $5 fee if you choose the e-check option, and a 99 cent fee if you choose to receive a paper check in the mail. (If I win any of the leagues I am in using this site, I’d pay the $5 for the e-check, but that’s just me)

If anybody has any other options for paying, discuss them here. If you’ve got questions, ask, I want to make sure everyone is comfortable with the process. We do need to decide quickly, I would like everyone to have paid before the season starts, preferably before the draft starts.

Let me know what you guys want to do and if you are ok with the above process.
Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs