Falcons: Are the falcons legit (espn insider)

[ggp]

(12-18-2012 07:24 PM)AsylumGuido Wrote:  It makes no difference whatsoever what fans or the media think. It is what the opponents think. There isn't a team out there that will underestimate your squad in the playoffs.

If you want to get down to reality, if does not matter what anyone thinks. The only thing that matters is winning.

So, the Falcons need to win. They don't need anyone's respect. They don't need to "believe in themselevs". They don't need to be the media darlings. All they need to do is win. PERIOD.

[juraitwaluzka]

(12-18-2012 08:26 PM)ggp Wrote:  If you want to get down to reality, if does not matter what anyone thinks. The only thing that matters is winning.

So, the Falcons need to win. They don't need anyone's respect. They don't need to "believe in themselevs". They don't need to be the media darlings. All they need to do is win. PERIOD.

Believing in themselves is a prerequisite to winning. There is no way they can win without that. Unless you're arguing that their own state of mind is no factor that is. Confidence is huge in any difficult endeavor, in many cases it can be the difference maker.

[JDaveG]

(12-18-2012 01:24 AM)harveybirdman Wrote:  Oh and the last DVOA leader to do it, you know DVOA the indicator of great offense? Trent Dilfer's 2002 Tampa Bay Bucs

Brad Johnson was the QB of the Bucs when they won the Superbowl. Trent Dilfer won it with the Ravens.

[babuka]

(12-18-2012 08:58 PM)JDaveG Wrote:  Brad Johnson was the QB of the Bucs when they won the Superbowl. Trent Dilfer won it with the Ravens.

Yeah and Brad Johnson was much better than Trent Dilfer.

[harveybirdman]

I meant Brad Johnson I misspoke. He was still a game manager and DVOA is still stupid.

[ATLBound]

Whats funny is this is all based on past playoff woes, but he doesn't even mention it.

I would like to ask him what he thought of the 49ers last year. They won in similar fashion, barely had touchdowns, David Akers was the MVP of that offense and they only lost because Kyle Williams fuxed up twice. Any of the current "popular" teams and this article is never written. If you're going to write this article because of past playoff woes, then at least have the decency to say it

[AUTiger7222]

NOT SportsCenter ‏@NOTSportsCenter
AMBER ALERT: New York #Giants football team. Last seen crushing New Orleans. If you have ANY info, please contact Tom Coughlin immediately.

[Drathdon]

You know... when you look at it as closely as we fans do, there is something obvious here that even we may tend to miss. I think that Coach Smith actually LIKES close games, and plays to keep it close.

What I mean is that he is more than happy to get a couple of TD's or a 2-score lead, and play cautious ball from then on out, with a squeaker of a point margin, but a more comfortable win than the score looks.

Look at all those games in that light. Coach make a habit of talking about the TO battle and penalties. We get a few points, and we crank everything back down, playing super-conservative. We run up the middle, make short passes, and are content to punt and let the defense keep it low enough with superior field position. The only games that did not take that route were when we had early turnovers.

I think the team has faith we can turn it on when we need to, cranks out a long pass to JJ once in a while to stay sharp, but otherwise only tries to eat clock and move chains slowly, win field position, and let the D keep the score low enough so that our first few points hold up. Pepper in FG's the rest of the game, and that is what we do.

Some people look at other teams having their way with opponents, and they think we are bad because we don't. However, look at the last 5 years. We always win with a going-into-the-4th quarter lead, we limit mistakes, and we don't take chances. That looks boring and weak to outside observers, but the Falcons seem to find it as a winning formula.

The true test will be if we can turn it all on and run all out come January, or whether we continue to play it safe.

[phocis850]

Smitty prefers all the fans to have heart attacks?

[Drathdon]

Seems like it, but really I think he just feels that, for good teams, games are won by the team making the least mistakes, and once he gets a lead, he will do anything, including run up the middle 3 times and punt, to avoid making one by taking the air out of the ball. Honestly, with his win percentage, it's going to be hard to argue with whatever it is he believes, should that be the case.

Just spitballing it. Makes sense, though, to a degree that it would be a philosophy of his that make our games always this way, and not our lack of ability (which we have shown when at times).