Falcons Team Report
Falcons Team Report
Yahoo! Sports
Nov 5, 2:21 am EST
Inside Slant
One of the coaching lessons that Falcons head coach Mike Smith learned from Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville was how to manage the health of the players. In other words, don’t run your top players in the ground in practice and during the games.
That lesson in part explains how the Falcons have elected to manage playing time for defensive end John Abraham. Smith and defensive line coach Ray Hamilton use a seven- to eight-player rotation along the line.
The goal is to keep the players fresh and allow them to go all out when they are in the game.
Chauncey Davis and Kroy Biermann back up Abraham and Jamaal Anderson in the defensive end rotation.
The move has paid early dividends as Abraham has recorded 10 sacks, reaching double-digits at the earliest point in the season over his career. His previous mark was Week 11 in the 2001 season.
Abraham had three sacks Sunday in a 24-0 victory over the Raiders. He also forced a fumble, his third this season and 30th of his career. Abraham also had three sacks in the opener against Detroit.
With Abraham back on the sack patrol, the defense bounced back after giving up a season-high 432 yards against Philadelphia, including 167 yards rushing to Brian Westbrook.
The Falcons dominated in time of possession, holding the ball 45:15 compared to Oakland’s 14:45.
“I was joking with the guys walking in the locker room that I could play another game tomorrow and be rolling,” linebacker Keith Brooking said.
“Our offense did a great job of sustaining drives and taking up big chunks of time off the clock, especially in that first half. I was fresh.”
They held the Raiders to 77 total yards, three first downs and just 34 plays.
“Defensively, I thought it was our best performance,” Smith said.
Notes, Quotes
• WR Harry Douglas, a rookie who returned punts at Louisville, moved ahead of Adam Jennings at punt returner. The Falcons also used Brian Finneran on one return against Oakland and had cornerback Brent Grimes, also a collegiate punt returner, warming up during pre-game.
“We made a change,” Smith said. “Anytime you make a change, you go through an evaluation process. We felt like for us and where we are at right now that we needed to make that change.”
Jennings’ failure to field a punt in the fourth quarter with the game on the line against Philadelphia likely cost him his job. The referee ruled that the punt touched Jennings and it was recovered by Philadelphia.
• LB Keith Brooking was surprised to hear after the game Sunday in Oakland that he’d been fined $5,000 for his hit on Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb last week in Philadelphia.
There was no penalty called on the play. Brooking said he hit McNabb in the shoulder, not in the helmet or with his helmet.
“If I had to do it all over again, I’d do the same thing,” said Brooking, who converged on McNabb on a blitz along with Curtis Lofton, who came up the middle. “I’m coming in on a hot rush. I got the back man-to-man - he was in the protection. I came around the corner. There was really absolutely no way I could have pulled off that because I was already committed to hit the quarterback.”
• The Falcons defense recorded their first shutout in six years. The last shutout was on Oct. 2, 2002, a 30-0 win over Carolina.
• Atlanta posted its second-highest rushing total in a first quarter of a game this season with 81 yards against the Raiders. RB Michael Turner contributed with 10 carries for 42 yards while RB Jerious Norwood posted six carries for 39 yards and one touchdown.
The Falcons finished the game with 252 net rushing yards, which is the second-highest total in a game this year (318 against Detroit in Week 1).
Strategy And Personnel
PLAYER NOTES
• LT Wayne Gandy, who was signed last Wednesday after Sam Baker went out with lower back surgery, took over at left tackle for Todd Weiner in the second quarter.
“I think for two days of practice, with something that I have no clue about, it was OK,” Gandy said. “This is training camp on the run.”
• LT Sam Baker is out indefinitely with lower back surgery.
• RB Jerious Norwood had a 12-yard touchdown run against Oakland.
• RB Michael Turner was held to 58 yards on 17 carries against Philadelphia, broke loose for 139 yards on 31 carries against the Raiders.
• QB Matt Ryan completed 17 of 22 passes (77.3 pct.) for 220 yards, two touchdowns and a 138.4 quarterback rating against the Raiders. It was his third multiple touchdown game. Ryan also completed 13 of 16 passes in the first half for 184 yards and two touchdowns. His first half passing yardage, completion percentage (81.3) and passer rating (154.2) are all career highs for a half. Ryan’s final completion percentage of 77.3 is a career-high along with his passer rating of 138.4.
• WR Michael Jenkins caught two touchdown passes, the second two-touchdown game of his career. The other was against Houston on Sept. 30, 2007.
REPORT CARD VS. RAIDERS
Passing Offense: A—QB Matt Ryan gets tougher resistance in practice going against the second team than he met from the Oakland Raiders. Ryan completed 17 of 22 passes (77.3 percent) for 220 yards, two touchdowns and a 138.4 quarterback rating. He completed passes to eight different receivers and got the tight ends—Justin Peelle and Ben Hartsock—involved in the attack. Roddy White was again his top target, catching five passes for 54 yards.
Rushing Offense: A—After being held under 60 yards rushing against Philadelphia and Chicago, RB Michael Turner broke loose for 139 yards on 31 carries. He had plenty of help from Jerious Norwood, and Jason Snelling came in to keep the chains moving in the third and fourth quarters. Norwood rushed for 63 yards on 13 carries and Snelling, a hard-charging runner, had 47 yards on eight carries. The Falcons finished with 252 rushing yards.
Pass Defense: A-minus—Before holding Oakland to 31 yards passing, the Falcons had surrendered 253, 294, 313 and 286 passing yards. CB Domonique Foxworth, whom the Falcons acquired from Denver just six days before the start of the season, made his second start for Brent Grimes, who has not recovered from a bruised knee. FS Erik Coleman had an interception in the end zone to stop Oakland’s best scoring threat. About the only miscue came when CB Chris Houston was beaten deep by WR Ashley Lelie, but the pass was overthrown by struggling second-year man JaMarcus Russell.
Rush Defense: A—The Falcons held the Raiders to 67 yards on 11 carries, easily their best performance of the season. The 77 total yards was the lowest total by the Raiders since 1961. Oakland’s rushing total would have been even more dismal if Russell hadn’t broken loose for 46 yards on a scramble and a bootleg. The Raiders were held to no first downs and minus-2 yards in the first half. They finished with just three first downs.
Special Teams: C—WR Harry Douglas, who returned punts at Louisville, moved ahead of Adam Jennings as the team’s punt returner. The Falcons also used Brian Finneran on one return in the game and had cornerback Brent Grimes, also a collegiate punt returner, warming up during pre-game. Jennings failure to field a punt against Philadelphia in the fourth quarter with the game on the line likely cost him his job. The referee ruled that the punt touched Jennings and it was recovered by the Eagles. Douglas fielded two punts and returned them for 13 yards. He let two others be downed and let one roll out of bounds. Finneran’s one return was also downed.
Coaching: A-minus—The coaching staff must be given credit for the Falcons fast starts. This grade is an A-minus because they haven’t yet figured out how to sustain those hot starts. During their unlikely climb to 5-3, the Falcons have been the masters of the quick start. The Falcons established early leads in all of their victories—Detroit (21-0), Kansas City (24-0), Green Bay (17-7), Chicago (9-0) and Oakland (24-0). They scored on their first four possessions against the Raiders and made the lead stand up.
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