Thoughts on today's game

[Xanthri]

First of all....a good win....TB always plays tough at home.....let's look at the pros and cons....feel free to add your own....

Bad:
- Injuries are REALLY starting to worry me down the stretch....Dunta out, Samuels definitely playing hurt (by the way I thought his performance today was admirable)
- Trying to run on the #1 run defense when their pass defense was rated #31 or was it 32? Point is we did it to say we could....and we had some positives with that....I am just not sure why the coaches did it....ANYONE HAVE THOUGHTS ON THIS IN PARTICULAR??
- Interception probably could have been avoided, felt like Ryan was forcing it to his target and Barber made him pay for it....
- Turnovers have got to be stopped.....the fumble well I can't blame Ryan for that one he got WALLOPED by the defender glad he survived....I think that one is on the o-line and we know we are thin there for I think 3 more games....i think Hawley was suspended after the Arizona game......
- The FG at the end of the game....when you are up by one and your defenders are doing well....you trap them deep so they can't get in FG range....you have to assume you will miss.....I thought this call was horrible...I was hoping he would make it and push the game to the Bucs needing a TD but with no timeouts they were going to have to go for a TD anyway with 18 seconds left.....
- Bryant....normally solid.....had a very odd day.....hope it was just a hiccup like Ryan's 5 int day.......we will need him down the stretch
- Red Zone....HAVE TO START GETTING TDs INSTEAD OF FG or FG attempts!!!!!!!!

The Good....
A win is a win....and a road win in hostile division foe is always a nice thing to get.
- Tackling - WHAT?!?!? Did I actually say tackling? Yep.....other than the run that was called back on a penalty (and it really was a screen pass) We really did well at not letting them get to the second and third level....the Muscle hamster was limited to under 60 yards.....of course he got two TDs.....but I didn't think the defense did a bad job of tackling....Dunta had some great tackles before leaving the game.....
- Offense was doing well other than the turnovers....it was pretty efficient though I again think we forced the run game rather than eating them alive by passing....
- Julio.....continues to amaze me....I benched him on my fantasy team as I thought there was no way he played.....BOY was I wrong yet again! I like everyone questioned the draft day trade....i think he continues to show that he was well worth it.....just a super player....and humble too!
- Samuel.....O know he dropped two balls where he should have had INTs....but they were tough adjustments and honestly I think he has some weakness problems along his right side.....I think if he was 100% he catches all 3.....Still I was impressed and I am glad he is on our team!
- O-line.....overall they did a fair job today....only 1 sack....and I believe they are a pretty solid line and linebacking corps....unfortunately the one led to a fumble.....
- Running....it wasn't fantastic but against the number one run defense I guess the coaches proved they could do it....still don't know why we did it...I could have understood getting up by a few scores then forcing the run game.....but it was an odd thing to do in my mind.....

I am sure there are other things but I will open the thread.....and let others share....

On a side note....The 49ers beating the Saints was an added bonus because now they stay behind Seattle and Minn and Tampa who also lost......I think 1 more loss eliminates them.....and I am hoping we can do that Thursday.......Not as must win as before....but I want this win BADLY!!!!!!

Ugly.....The Giants look like they are gaining momentum....I did not expect them to so efficiently dispatch the Packers.......their offense and Defense is how I want ours to be running as we approach the playoffs...instead of these gimmicky forcing certain plays.....I really hope that Koetter and Smitty are holding back the offense on purpose.....I have this weird feeling they don't want to blow anyone out...they want to look vulnerable then explode in the playoffs.....I hope my hunch is right....because if it is we will be looking at a great Superbowl run.........Please let my hunch be right.....oh Please....Please...LOL

[juraitwaluzka]

Will have to check the replay but on the fumble it looked like Baker and Blaylock were engaged with defenders and there was another guy running free with no one to block him.

On the interception, he looked open at the time of the throw. A great play by Barber as much as anything. 2 throws last week were horrible decisions, this was nowhere near that. And on Smith, I highly doubt they are trying to do anything except win every week.

[papachaz]

(11-26-2012 02:20 AM)juraitwaluzka Wrote:  Will have to check the replay but on the fumble it looked like Baker and Blaylock were engaged with defenders and there was another guy running free with no one to block him.

On the interception, he looked open at the time of the throw. A great play by Barber as much as anything. 2 throws last week were horrible decisions, this was nowhere near that. And on Smith, I highly doubt they are trying to do anything except win every week.

Biggers came from Matts right side, that sack was on him for not seeing the blocking was wrong.

on the interception, I thought he tried to force that one too, was it HD or JJ that was open up the right side and overlooked? Matt seems to have begun to stare down his receivers again to me

[RockHoward]

(11-26-2012 07:06 AM)papachaz Wrote:  Biggers came from Matts right side, that sack was on him for not seeing the blocking was wrong.

on the interception, I thought he tried to force that one too, was it HD or JJ that was open up the right side and overlooked? Matt seems to have begun to stare down his receivers again to me

Correct and correct.

The stare downs are not all that frequent however. I remember one play where Ryan went through all his reads and was about to dump it out to the semi-open flair in the left flat and then pulled it back in at the last moment and threw a rope to TG down the middle. It was a thing of beauty. For the most part Ryan is adjusting the deepness of his progressions based on the actual pressure he is facing which is a major facet of his improved play this year.

[Drathdon]

(11-26-2012 01:49 AM)Xanthri Wrote:  I like everyone questioned the draft day trade

Not everyone questioned that trade.
I was praising it from "go"!

[ChrisD]

I still can't say tackling would be under the good. There were so many missed tackles before guys actually got tackled. You may not have noticed because none of the missed tackles went for big plays though. We went from being one of the best teams in terms of making sure guys get wrapped up every single year, to now being one of the worst. It's like our guys just want to smash the offensive players ad we don't need to do that.

[phocis850]

Our D did an excellent job against a surging team with a qb that is playing very good and a running back putting up ridiculous numbers.

[The Falcon Jedi]

My thoughts.... And I was actually there

1. The Buc Fans around me were for the most part very cool. No one really gave me a bad time except for the woman that slapped me in the back of the head.

2. That 80 yard bomb to Julio was a thing of beauty. Seeing that live was awesome.

3. Matt Bryant had a bad game, but Matt Ryan had a stinker last week. It happens

4. Defense sucked early but got better as the game went on.

5. Ray Jay stadium is pretty cool to go to. Facilities and concessions were nice. But I had a hard time finding my way back to my seat after getting beer or going to the bathroom, so i got lost a few times, some Buc fans were telling me to go the wrong way, so i wandered around alot until i found a security guy to lead me back to my seat. But other than that it was a cool experience.

[phocis850]

[Jesus]

(11-26-2012 11:14 AM)phocis850 Wrote:  

When the Falcons were a better running team the status quo was that they need to have an elite passing game to win. Now that the Falcons have an elite passing game they need to be more balanced to win. Huh?

The Niners won yesterday because of defense their running game didn't really take off until the 4th quarter when the game was already in hand. The Saints handled Gore for most of the game. Those 2 pick 6 were the deciding factor yesterday.

The Falcons lost one game on the road by 4 points because they could not put it in on 4th and goal. Over the last two games the Falcons scored both their winning TDs on goal line situations with a run.

The Falcons have trouble with stopping the run. They face the hottest back in the league and shut him down.

Go figure the team makes adjustments.