TDW's Post Packer Game Observations...

[TheDirtyWord]

Been a few weeks since I chimed in with anything of significance but had a few thoughts to share....

1. Season Tickets - I've been a ST holder since 2002. Missed one game in that time. What I've come to realize is that you aren't buying a years worth of tickets when you get that invoice in the spring. If you've bought into the Falcons and fall Sundays at the Dome have become a tradition, then you've resolved to pay thousands upon thousands of dollars over the course of many years. In some years, the investment is not worth it and doesn't pay off. And then in a year like this one, the installment you paid is a bargain. With the exception of ARI, every single game has been a down to the wire thrill ride that has resulted in a heart pounding Falcon win. Get ready for a price hike.

2. #4 Jerseys - I don't have to rehash the saga of Favre's GB departure. But I was stunned by how few #4 jerseys I saw yesterday. I mean, maybe I missed them, but #4 Atlanta jerseys were almost as plentiful. I had thought that half of Packer nation still was on his side for all he did for the franchise. I mean, he is the defining player for one of the stalwart franchises in the NFL and I maybe saw 10-15 Favre jerseys yesterday. I guess I'm conditioned to the Dome where #7 is still quite visible...

[b3. ]Speaking of #7[/b] - Bravo...his plight is a great example of how it doesn't matter how you get knocked down. It matters how you get back up. While his fall was completely of his own doing, the manner in which he's reclaimed not only his career, but his life has been impressive. I do not believe he could have reclaimed his career like this without true remorse, not only for his criminal activities but his lackidazical approach toward his career as well. I will state this...I don't know if the thought of the Falcons hosting the Eagles in a playoff or NFC Championship Game thrills the shit out of me or scares the shit out of me. But I know it's illiciting some forward thinking on my part.

4. Michael Jenkins - I've been an outspoken critic of his. I feel he really does add very little to the passing game and quite frankly, his pedestrian production has continued this season. However, he has made some critical grabs for us this year and while he offers little in terms of red zone or RAC ability, he's been dependable and clutch when called upon. This has not always been the case. In short, he is still Michael Jenkins in terms of his positives, but he is minimizing his negatives. That's acceptable based on his abilities.

5. Rankings - We're on the cusp of a season far more special than what has already been accomplished to date. I'll admit that I too look at the rankings to see where the Falcons reside. And while I may disagree with Peter King or Jason La Confora about where they've placed the Falcons, these have N-O bearing on our ultimate goal.

Today, King listed us #1 overall. He was one of the last holdouts. We appear to be the consensus #1 now of all the writers with perhaps a holdout here or there. Guess what...it doesn't make our ultimate task any easier now. I don't feel like the Falcons have accomplsihed anything with this consensus grade and standing. This season now gets defined by January. We're at that point now. Fact is, many a team has gone into December feeling awfully good about themselves only to be playoff wallflowers. The lesson here is in season #1 rankings mean nothing. Now we know because we've been there.

6. December 27th - Our season already comes down to this Monday nighter against the Saints. Counting chickens is a dangerous practice, but I can't see this team losing to Carolina even once. Which means if we sweep the Saints, that gives us 12 wins (with two other outcomes also TBD). Would give the Saints 4 losses. We win the tie-breaker. As for the NFC, we have one conference loss. The Giants have 2. Everyone else has at least 3. And the Giants still have to play PHI & GB. Yes folks...12/27 will be quite a day...!

7. John Abraham - He's starting to wear down and you can tell he's bothered by his groin. He's not making the turn around the corner with much authority and while he did have sack yesterday, it was a coverage sack supreme. In our successful years under Coach Smith, Abraham has been the primary source for pressure to the QB and our one real big bugaboo is that we don't do this well. And if Abraham is compromised physically, that's going to hurt this part of our game even more. If I'm Smitty and Van Gorder, I'm seriously limiting Abraham's snaps and one of the biggest benefits to beating the Saints would be to rest Abraham against the Panthers in the final game along with the bye we'd get. We're going to need a healthy as possible Abraham to claim a ring.

8. Sam Baker - He got off to a WTF start this year and for awhile I was really concerned about his usefulness. But he's really started to come on this last month. I've watched him periodically during this time and he's been physical and agile in most of the times I've focused on him. I haven't caught him lunging and/or off-balance and most important, this is probably the healthiest he's been. Are there better LT in the NFL...? Yes. Baker is not Pro-Bowl calibre. But he's becoming a solid piece on a line that takes in it's accolades by the unit, not the individual.

[dmo_dlo]

(11-29-2010 11:19 AM)TheDirtyWord Wrote:  6. December 27th - Our season already comes down to this Monday nighter against the Saints. Counting chickens is a dangerous practice, but I can't see this team losing to Carolina even once. Which means if we sweep the Saints, that gives us 12 wins (with two other outcomes also TBD). Would give the Saints 4 losses. We win the tie-breaker. As for the NFC, we have one conference loss. The Giants have 2. Everyone else has at least 3. And the Giants still have to play PHI & GB. Yes folks...12/27 will be quite a day...!

NO does not have an easy game left on their schedule. Also PHI and CHI both have very tough games (NE and NJ for CHI and HOU, DAL, NYG for PHI) in the coming weeks before 27th. If we beat Tampa next week and don't get complacent against the Seahawks, there is a very good chance that we would have the HF advantage secured before that Monday Night game, thus making it a formality. I don't want to count my chickens too soon either but we have the easiest schedule left among all teams playing for Playoff.

[ggp]

I have been highly critical of Baker but I have to admit that he is improving. I saw him lunge once and he was clearly and quickly beaten by the DE. Other than that, he played pretty well.

[g-dawg]

great post as always DirtyWord. You should be the AJC beatwriter instead of D-Led.......that right there is a professional column..

[Swift Is a Die Hard]

if you watched that game closely Abe was getting double and triple team most of that game shit at most times we were only rushing 3 and he was still forcing pressure we just didnt have any follow through on the pocket collapse ..
Dont see how you can take Abe as being close to done ..guy has 9 sacks in 10 games he will still be seriviceable
2-3 years


We need ABE to step up in playoffs he was awful in Arizona game outside 1 play on reverse

[g-dawg]

(11-29-2010 11:37 AM)dmo_dlo Wrote:  NO does not have an easy game left on their schedule. Also PHI and CHI both have very tough games (NE and NJ for CHI and HOU, DAL, NYG for PHI) in the coming weeks before 27th. If we beat Tampa next week and don't get complacent against the Seahawks, there is a very good chance that we would have the HF advantage secured before that Monday Night game, thus making it a formality. I don't want to count my chickens too soon either but we have the easiest schedule left among all teams playing for Playoff.

I would not count on the Saints losing another game, dmo - if I was the Falcons. Saints remaining games:

@ Cincinatti
vs. St. Louis
@ Baltimore
@ Atlanta
vs. Tampa

While I agree that is a difficult schedule I certainly think Saints will be favored in the Bengals, Rams and Tampa games. Saints have capability to beat Ravens/Falcons.

Dirtyword is right that the formula to get the homefield and win the division is hold serve against Carolina in both those games and beat the Saints. If we lose to Saints then we could end up losing homefield and the division. Remember this, we could have 2nd best record in the NFC and if we lose division to Saints with best record - then Falcons would not even get a home game - much less a 1st round bye.

Falcons path is not close to clear yet......lot of work to do. I love the Falcons position but we have difficult games ahead w/ remaining schedule:

@ Tampa
@ Carolina
@ Seattle
vs. New Orleans
vs. Carolina

While you can make the argument that Falcons would be favored in all remaining games - we could certainly lose @ Tampa, @ Seattle and vs. New Orleans - I don't think we will - but we could......

I like the Falcons approach - they are not thinking about anything else right now but Tampa.

[TheDirtyWord]

(11-29-2010 12:49 PM)Swift Is a Die Hard Wrote:  if you watched that game closely Abe was getting double and triple team most of that game shit at most times we were only rushing 3 and he was still forcing pressure we just didnt have any follow through on the pocket collapse ..
Dont see how you can take Abe as being close to done ..guy has 9 sacks in 10 games he will still be seriviceable
2-3 years


We need ABE to step up in playoffs he was awful in Arizona game outside 1 play on reverse

My insinuation was more related to his groin injury. Abe has been back this year to the form we've grown accustomed to. But he was held out of last weeks game and I thought his pressure was stonewalled for the most part against GB.

A healthy Abraham is in absolute must. I don't think he's healthy and he may not be for the rest of the year so his situation will need to be managed.