Falcons: Re-Focused: Falcons @ Texans, Week 13

[Radical]

Re-Focused: Falcons @ Texans, Week 13
by Sam Monson of ProFootballFocus

Quote:Houston was rolling this season, then an injury to Matt Schaub threatened to derail their year completely. Matt Leinart didn’t make it through his first game in Schaub’s stead, meaning the Texans were down to T.J. Yates.

This game was going to go a long way towards telling Houston how much of a problem they have at quarterback going forward, and if this game means anything, they may just be ok.

The Falcons continue to underwhelm this season, appearing to have taken steps backwards from last season, rather than stepping closer to Green Bay. They now sit at 7-5 and find themselves in the thick of the NFC Wild Card race.

Atlanta: Three Performances of Note

Will Svitek comes down to earth

Up until this game Will Svitek had been a marked upgrade over Sam Baker at left tackle for the Falcons, but this game was a serious come down for the lineman. Svitek ended the contest with a -5.7 grade, surrendering two hits and a pressure, but also a sack and another pressure on plays that ended up nullified by penalties. As if his pass-protection wasn’t bad enough, he also found himself losing out in the run game to multiple Texan defenders. Connor Barwin in particular got the better of the Falcon on several plays over the game, but it was Antonio Smith that beat him for a near immediate hit on the quarterback on first down late in the first half (1.34).

Abraham shows why he continues to be a matchup problem for an offense

John Abraham is one of the tougher guys to block in the NFL. He has days where he will terrorize an offense all game long and force them to re-adjust their game plan. On his 22 pass-rushes Abraham may have only earned a single sack, but he added a further five pressures and a batted pass to net himself a +7.0 grade. Abraham accounted for exactly half of the Falcons’ total pressure in the game, one of the two batted passes they had, and did it from only 22 attempts at rushing the passer. He got the better of Duane Brown a couple of times, but he beat Eric Winston badly on several occasions, with the worst of them coming on inside moves after he had scared the Texans right tackle into opening up too quickly to the outside.

Julio not the savior yet

If there was ever a game for the Falcons to be proved right in aggressively chasing Julio Jones (-2.6) in the draft, this was the game, but unfortunately for them, Jones came down on the wrong side of every important ball sent his way. Matt Ryan threw an interception early in the game on a miscommunication between him and Jones that resulted in the ball going right to Jason Allen. Ryan expected Jones to break off his route and cross the face of Allen on a deep-in route, but Jones kept running deep. Of the 10 passes thrown at Jones he came down with just four of them, for a healthy 68 yards, but he dropped a pair of passes, including the last throw of the game in the end zone on a pass that would have tied the game and sent it to over-time with a successful extra point. These were the plays that Jones was supposed to make to improve the Falcons in 2011.

Houston: Three Performances of Note

Houston, we have….no problem

The numbers may not look fantastic. 12-of-25 for 188 yards and a touchdown don’t exactly scream awesome play, but T.J. Yates (+3.0) showed poise and some impressive play all game long. He did get lucky with an interception that was returned for a touchdown nullified by penalties, but on that play he did have two of his three receiving options taken away by illegal holding by the defense. He was able to escape pressure at times, and showed some nice looking accuracy on a deep pass to Andre Johnson in the second quarter. Johnson had run a sloppy looking double move and failed to separate from his corner at all, but Yates dropped the ball in perfectly and Johnson was able to beat the defensive back physically to haul it in and hold onto the ball.

Mixed bag on the O-line

Houston’s offensive line has been one of the better lines in the NFL this season, and makes the job of a new quarterback much easier. Duane Brown (+2.7), Wade Smith (+3.3), and Chris Myers (+1.2) continued that trend with pretty good days at the office. Mike Brisiel (-0.2) would have had a pretty good game if he hadn’t been flagged for three penalties, but Eric Winston at right tackle struggled to match his teammates. Winston’s -3.8 grade came almost entirely as a result of trying to deal with Abraham in the pass game. Abraham beat the big right tackle for three pressures and a sack, but the bigger problem was how quickly the pressure came when he did beat him, with all of those plays coming on near instant pressure where Winston was barely able to slow the speed-rusher down. Winston has been having a fine season so far, but this is a day he’ll want to move on from.

Barwin making noise

Connor Barwin rushed the passer 53 times in this game, a huge amount and seven times more than any other Texan defender. It shows how impressive he was to be able to score a +4.2 grade overall and a +3.7 grade for his pass rush. He notched three hits on the quarterback, another pressure and a pair of batted passes as he proved to be a major disruptive force for the Atlanta passing attack. The Texans needed somebody to step up when they lost Mario Williams, and while they have seen production from several players, nobody has stood out more than Barwin.

Game Notes

- Jonathan Joseph was thrown at eight times, but allowed just a pair of receptions for 31 yards, both of them to Roddy White.

- The Falcons obviously felt that passing was the game plan for the Texans. Slot receiver Harry Douglas saw 50 snaps on offense.

- When blitzed Matt Ryan had a QB rating of just 26.7 in this game

PFF Game Ball

This came down to the battle of the two pass-rushers, one from each team, and Connor Barwin just edges it.

Source - ProFootballFocus

[illmusic]

thanks...we probably wanted to spread 'em out and tear 'em apart like the Saints

[AsylumGuido]

(12-05-2011 07:35 PM)Radical Wrote:  Re-Focused: Falcons @ Texans, Week 13
by Sam Monson of ProFootballFocus

- When blitzed Matt Ryan had a QB rating of just 26.7 in this game

This is the stat that shocked me. With whatever faults Ryan may have, he has always been good versus the blitz.

[Peyton]

(12-06-2011 11:32 AM)AsylumGuido Wrote:  This is the stat that shocked me. With whatever faults Ryan may have, he has always been good versus the blitz.

He wasn't on Sunday, and he didn't get much help from his receivers either. Guys running the wrong routes and causing interceptions and drops galore.

[AsylumGuido]

(12-06-2011 12:00 PM)Peyton Wrote:  He wasn't on Sunday, and he didn't get much help from his receivers either. Guys running the wrong routes and causing interceptions and drops galore.

Yup. I noticed he was rushing it, but I didn't realize the QBR was that low. Picks and drops do really hurt, though.

[Peyton]

(12-06-2011 12:03 PM)AsylumGuido Wrote:  Yup. I noticed he was rushing it, but I didn't realize the QBR was that low. Picks and drops do really hurt, though.

He gets plenty of blame too though. I don't know if you saw the game, but he missed two wide open bombs on the first three plays of the game.

Matt Ryan has a problem with being too hyped up in the first quarter, and he misses those throws often early in the game, but that was the worst.

[AsylumGuido]

(12-06-2011 12:12 PM)Peyton Wrote:  He gets plenty of blame too though. I don't know if you saw the game, but he missed two wide open bombs on the first three plays of the game.

Matt Ryan has a problem with being too hyped up in the first quarter, and he misses those throws often early in the game, but that was the worst.

Yes. I watch every Falcons game. You know, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I DVR them if they play the same time as the Saints.

Do you think they took the Texans too lightly because of Yates?

[Peyton]

(12-06-2011 12:16 PM)AsylumGuido Wrote:  Yes. I watch every Falcons game. You know, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I DVR them if they play the same time as the Saints.

Do you think they took the Texans too lightly because of Yates?

No, I don't. Yates played well, rookie or not. The fans are bitching because they didn't blitz him more, but the people saying that don't understand the Texans. The Texans have a fantastic screen game and the Falcons didn't want to get burned by it.

Mostly though, I have to give credit to the crowd. On TV it sounded like the loudest crowd in history, and that perception seems to have been reinforced by Texans players, who are saying that is the loudest that stadium has ever been. And it really unhinged the Falcons offense in my opinion.

[juraitwaluzka]

I agree completely about the crowd, I had the same thought during the game. I think it also didn't help running the play clock down to the wire, seems like that just makes it easier for the D to jump the snap. Kinda reminded me of the Arizona playoff game a little.