What really happened with Ryan and the offense in the last 4 games?

TIRED. They have been carrying the load all season and they simply ran out of steam a few weeks ago. Yet they still played with heart even when the mistakes started piling up. There was no rookie wall. Anytime one side of the ball is weak the other has to step up. The fact that ryan managed to do this in his first year and pull off an 11-5 makes him an iron man.

So go Cardinals. Calling it in after you clinched was unproffesional and lazy but with a weak defense like ours it worked to your advantage having a fresher offense. Stop the run and have warner put on his best drew brees impersonation. They nearly lost to NO in their last game. You are going to need more heart than you have shown in the past but you can do it.
Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs

Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs

In this Jan. 3, 2009 file photo, Arizona Cardinals running back Edgerrin James smiles on the bench during the fourth quarter of their 30-24 win in an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Atlanta Falcons in Glendale, Ariz. For eight weeks, James, one of the best rushers of this decade watched from the sidelines as the Cardinals’ running game sputtered. He’s back for the playoffs and he’s’ brought the ground game with him.

Source >> Yahoo Sports Images

Source >> Topix

For a change, this team won the way all perrenially successful teams win: By having players knowing their jobs and then doing them.

Man, what a refreshing season this was. Some have referred to it as “magical,” but I disagree. See, there are two things that characterize magic: One, it’s unexpected and, two, (and most importantly) it ain’t real. Which is why every single “magical” season this franchise has had has been promptly followed by the “not-so-magical” season. Perform the same magic trick, say, 16 times, and eventually the audience (or in this case, the league) will figure it out. Personally, I’ve had more than my fill of these so-called “magical” seasons. Give me a season where success is both expected and real. Well, that’s exactly what we got this year.

If we go back and look at what the FO and coaching staff told us about this team before the season started, we will find that there was really nothing that should have been unexpected. We were told that Matt Ryan’s intelligence and work ethic would trump his inexperience enough for him to lead this team at QB as a rookie and it did. We were told that we had the pieces available to construct an effective offensive line and, lo and behold, it was true. We were told exactly why someone like Kroy Biermann was drafted and what his role would be on our team and, sure enough, he did exactly what he was drafted to do. The list goes on and on.

So, instead of a team built on catch-phrases and a sense of entitlement based on some recent success, we now have one that coalesces around a highly sound organizing principle. Where previous regimes would be talking about taking it to the next level by building off what it had just accomplished, the current one is only talking about evaluation, re-evaluation and what the next “course of action” should be. Again, the focus is always exactly where it belongs - on players doing their jobs. This regime knows and trusts that when that happens, good things follow. Looking at all the good things that have happened this year, it is clear that the players have completely bought in.

Now it is time for us fans to do the same. As a Falcons fan since the early 70’s, I can tell you that this is real. It is not an illusion this time. Believe me, I’ve seen the magic trick enough times to know the difference.

That is not to say that we will win the Superbowl next year or even have a winning record, for that matter. I honestly don’t care about that stuff at this stage of the game. Anyone who seriously believed that a team in the first year of rebuilding - with a new GM, new coaching staff and a rookie QB - was gonna go deep into the playoffs was just deluding themselves anyway. It’s never happened and never will. Don’t continue the delusion by believing that things will be even better next year. We will have a tougher schedule, only slightly improved personnel, a greater chance that we suffer the major injuries that we somehow managed to avoid this season and no element of surprise on our side.

But I have no doubt that, even though it may not show up in the win/loss record, we will see continued improvement next year. There may come a time when all the grand expectations and knee-jerk reactions are warranted, but it is not now. Now is the time to just sit back and enjoy watching your team being built the right way for a change. I know I sure am.
Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs

Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs