=#= It took about four plays Sunday to remind us of the worst part of horrible football: the announcing that comes with it.

On Atlanta’s first drive, rookie quarterback Matt Ryan led the “sugar huddle” as made famous by Peyton Manning. While the Falcons picked up chunks of yardage — because Ryan was easily diagnosing the weak spot in the Raiders’ defense and calling the play in that direction — Fox analyst J.C. Pearson (making his first Bay Area appearance of the season) said, “I’m not sure why Matt Ryan is so confused. When you play this Raider defense, they are what they are.”

Who was confused? In reality, this was a tribute to the Falcons rookie, the coaches having enough confidence to let him handle things at the line of scrimmage, a notion Pearson seemed to realize later in the drive.

Hey, at least he got the idea before DeAngelo Hall did.

=#= In the second half, the announcing crew showed that the Raiders’ operation made a good impression during the pregame coach interviews, at least. Matt Vasgersian: “The defense has not had much of a fighting chance today because they’ve been on the field almost the entire afternoon.” That’s straight out of the Al Davis excuse-making playbook.

Problem: The Falcons won the coin toss and took the ball, then went 88 yards in 10 plays. What was the Raiders’ offense supposed to do about that? The second and third drives were similar, and Atlanta was done scoring 22 minutes into the game, well before the Raiders’ energy tank should be depleted.

As a special bonus, we got a sermon on the Raiders’ tremendous courage in holding the margin to a mere 24 points.

http://www.mercurynews.com/columns/ci_10887616
Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs

Looking pretty good right now.
Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs

He actually played yesterday, and he played a little bit on offense. He is slowly getting worked back into the offense and I think that he might get more reps vs. the Saints. He has GREAT HANDS and TRMENDOUS speed. He has ALOT of talent to become the #2 WR.
Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs

Halloween costume I saw in Richmond. thought it was hilarious.

Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs

Not necessarily stats this season, but just a top player at their position? I say:

Abraham- top 3 DE
Mughelli- top 3 FB
Ryan- top 10 QB
Turner- top 10 RB
Roddy- Top 10 , maybe 5 WR
Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs

Saints Defense:

PTS YDS PASS YDS RUSH YDS
24.4 346.4 237.2 109.1
(22nd) (24th) (25th) (18th)

(league rank)

Looks like we might be able to pass and run all over em.
Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs

Michael Vick in the silver and the black?

It’s premature for the Raiders to be measuring the former Falcons starting QB for a uniform, but some Oakland players are openly lobbying for the team to sign Vick after he’s released from jail.

“You can just imagine what it would be like,” Raiders fullback Justin Griffith, a former teammate in Atlanta, told the Contra Costa Times. “But until he gets out, and we actually get him up in here, and we see how he is as a player, it’s all up to Mike, and it’s all up to (Raiders owner Al Davis).

“Would we like to see it? Yes. Would it add a whole lot to your offense? Yes, it would, man, but until it happens, you just imagine how it (would be).”

Said former teammate Ashley Lelie, “You have to sign him, if you’re the Raiders. Trust me, I’ve played against him before. You don’t want him on the other team. I’ve seen what he can do.”

Vick, in jail after pleading guilty to federal charges for his role in a dogfighting operation, is scheduled to be released in July 2009. He is currently suspended from the NFL and would have to apply for reinstatement.

Another former Falcons teammate now with the Raiders, CB DeAngelo Hall, joined Griffith and Lelie saying they’d put some of their salaries up as collateral if the Raiders would take a chance on Vick.

“Oh, yeah, definitely,” Hall said. “I wouldn’t have any second thought about doing it. I’ll put in my contract the same stipulations or whatever, man. I know anytime something like that happens, you wake up and you smell the roses.

“After talking to Mike, he definitely knows what’s happening. He has a family, kids, fiancée. He definitely wised up and got those riff-raffs away from him. He knows who his true friends are. He’ll move on and go from there.”
Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs

He sucks, just terrible. They need a savior, someone to carry them so they can be terrible and actually win games. They need yep, Michael Vick. He was awful, Kyle Boller awful and even watching him in other games I thought he could be good if he had talent around him. Well I was wrong, it could be the case but I don’t see it. He’s likely to end up like Jeff George and not Elway. ****, well Oakland will likely suck for awhile so adios.
Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs

Dave the Falconer Pens ESPN the Magazine Article

Source >> Falcoholic

We’ve seen the Falcons do some pretty impressive things this season. We just hadn’t seen them shut out a team and beat them so badly that the tears rolled freely from under their silver-and-black helmets. Until yesterday, that is.

The Falcons clearly drew a line between themselves and the league’s weakest teams, a group they belonged to as recently as last season. For a look at the delightful carnage, join me after the jump.

HIGHLIGHTS

• I feel like I have to give props to John Abraham for putting the fear of several deities into JaMarcus Russell. The insane sack machine now has 10 for the season, and he also managed to get Russell to cough up the ball after a particularly jarring hit. There’s nobody on this defense who has authored more big plays this year, and Abraham’s finally earning back his paycheck after earning the injury prone tag.
• What can I say about Matt Ryan that I haven’t said a million times already? He’s got a better arm than advertised, makes better decisions than advertised and plays with the poise of a veteran in a concrete bubble. He could sprout wings and breathe fire all over the field next week and I wouldn’t even bat an eye. Against the Raiders, he found every possible target–even Ovie Mughelli!–and exploited matchups for big gains. The kid is an incredible talent.
• Michael Turner continued to play the role of the mustached fifth grader at recess, beating up on inferior competition to the tune of well over 100 yards. Turner still needs to break out against a great run defense, but he ground the turf beneath him and carried the Falcons to victory on his wide back. Terrific game for the Burner.

  Jerious Norwood also deserves a shout-out for scoring the team’s lone rushing touchdown and making the most of his increased opportunities. Even Jason Snelling got in on the action with 8 carries for 47 yards, and the team has ridiculously talented trio of running backs when they need them.

• Not that it’s the hardest thing in the world to do, but Erik Coleman had a nice pick off Russell and is proving to be a much better bet at free safety than the collection of dubs we have been playing there. He’ll likely have to anchor the secondary next year, as I doubt Lawyer Milloy is coming back.
• Michael Jenkins caught only two passes today. It just so happened that they were both TDs, and Jenkins–alongside Roddy White–is shaking the reputation he had for drops and running poor routes. Both times he was exactly where he needed to be and just looked up for the pass. Give White props for doing well against one of the league’s toughest cornerbacks, as well.
• The defense in general knew they were playing against a shaky offense and stuck fast against them. It’s a testament to them that the Falcons could’ve scored a field goal and still pulled this one out, and despite the fact that it was the Raiders, I can’t help but feel optimistic about where the D is headed.
• The coaching staff did everything I wanted them to do today. They were incredibly aggressive (arguably too much so), preyed on the Raiders’ weaknesses and even benched Adam Jennings. If any of you are reading this, thank you for sitting Jennings. Bless you, even. 

LOWLIGHTS

• As noted during our open thread, this was a tough game to pick low points for. Since there’s only enough to put into one point, I’m just going to go for it.

  The offense could have put up more points and looked a bit lethargic through much of the second half, but of course in this game it hardly mattered. Jason Elam missed a field goal, which was discouraging but not particularly loathsome. Finally, the offensive line let a putrid Raiders front seven hit Ryan a couple times too many, which isn’t good for his long-term health. If we have one thing to worry about this season, it’s keeping our cornerstones healthy. If they have to, the coaching staff should attack Ryan with bubble wrap. 

THE WRAPUP

Game MVP: I guess it’s gotta go to Michael Turner, whose mastery of the field, the clock and the entire Raiders organization was a joy to watch. Matt Ryan comes in a close second, of course.

Game Theme Song: Just the sound of cheering will do, thanks.

One Thing To Take Away: The Falcons are a good team. Playoffs or no, we’ve taken a giant leap forward. Remember when we only won four games last year? Seems like forever ago now, doesn’t it?

Next Week: Next week we’re at home against the hated Saints, so stay tuned for a lot of trash talk between myself and Canal Street Chronicles.

Final Word: At 5-3, the Falcons are in the thick of the playoff hunt with an excellent rookie QB, a potent rushing attack, a decent defense and one of the league’s best wide receivers. This is truly a great time to be alive!