PANTHERS The Panthers began this season much like they did last season's dismal 8-8 season. QB Matt Moore threw three INTs in the end zone to essentially hand the victory to the Giants. All three were simply poor passes that should have instead been thrown away. Yet Moore isn't the only one guilty of poor play on this day. The offensive line became a sieve in the 2nd half. The defensive secondary couldn't cover Hakeem Nicks, who scored 3 TD's. In the end the Panthers couldn't make enough plays in either side of the ball to make up the difference in score once they got behind in the 2nd half. Here's my positives from the game: * RB Mike Goodson had a good day returning kickoffs averaging 23 yds on 5 returns with a 45 yard late int he 2nd half; He also caught 3 passes * DE Greg Hardy blocked a punt for a safety and forced a fumble * S Charles Godfrey picked off two deflected passes as the defense forced 4 turnovers Here's some quick hits from the game, ...after the jump... Star-divide * Matt Moore has got to stop staring down his receivers and stop lobbing the ball * Captain Munnerlyn had nifty 28 yard PR * Secondary got picked apart in the red zone though they had a decent day tackling * Goodson on crossing patterns is my new favorite play * Goodson KO return to the 50 yard line towards the end of the 2nd qtr was the high point of the game; the offense took it down and scored for their only lead of the game * WR Steve Smith caught a TD pass on same route that broke his arm against the Giants * The offensive line just got abused int he 2nd half * The Giants bottled up the Panthers running game in the 2nd half * RB Jonathan Stewart did not look to be in game shape, was running tentative * LB Dan Conner had 13 combined tackles to lead the defense and added a sack Overall just an ugly performance by the offense. The defense played well at times but made some mistakes. Outside of a botched snap special teams constantly gave the Panthers good field position. I know you are disappointed Panther fans, let's hear it! http://www.catscratchreader.com/2010/9/12/1684057/giants-step-on-panthers-31-18 Good morning Panther faithful! Might as well grab your ankles and kiss your butt goodbye right? End of the world right? Mayans predicted two years too late, correct? Puh-lease... Three things needed to happen to win yesterday's game: 1. Make offensive line adjustments at halftime. 2. Utilize the TEs more in the passing game. 3. Don't hand the game to the Giants. Failed, failed and failed... that's it. Nothing more, nothing less. All yesterday means is that we are with 50% of the league who are 0-1 right now. We played a good team, the defense was stifling in the first half the Giants adjusted and we didn't; they played to win, we played not to lose. Whenever that's your team's mindset you're going to lose the game. I sit here not worried, not even for a second. Am I mad? Sure... disappointed? Absolutely... but worried? Not for a second. So don't go and cash your savings in just yet to buy canned food, don't run out and start stocking your bomb shelter because there's plenty to be optimistic about. So let's break it down... After the jump Star-divide After each pre-season game I would open the MMO discussing the QB situation and evaluate Matt Moore and Jimmy Clausen in particular. Whenever I said 'I'm worried about Moore' I would quickly temper my concern and buy into this 'He sucks in the preseason, but he's Joe Montana when it counts!' and I think the fan base as a whole bought into that. It's inevitable that the comment section of this article will be filled with excuses, finger pointing and examination of why 'Play X isn't player Y's fault' but in the end does any of it matter? We lost the game because too many guys at too many vital positions didn't execute, and they'll get their time soon. For now though I'll take a second to explain what I saw from Matt Moore. I saw a quarterback lacking any semblance of confidence when things weren't going his way. His passes were crisp only when the chains were moving. When he was needed to make a play he didn't nor could he; the three end zone INTs are proof positive of this. My main concern with Matt Moore has nothing to do with the bad throws he made, it had to do with the microcosm of the NFL pre-snap. Throughout the open thread I saw people saying 'He's the second coming of Jake Delhomme' a clearly cynical reference to his propensity for throwing to the guys in blue. In reality though I think he's far closer to the mindset of John Fox and Jeff Davidson; solid when things go well, but has no ability to change his station in a game when the game plan isn't working. Any NFL quarterback worth their salt will adjust the play at the line of scrimmage and read the defense... I saw none of this from Matt Moore. The Giants stacked the box and dared Matt Moore not to just beat them with his arm, but to win the mental game; and his acuity wasn't up to the task. Now, please don't consider that the above paragraph is tantamount to advocating Jimmy Clausen now become 'the guy', but rather I think the discussion has to be opened- just as a dialogue was opened post the Philly game where people drew their lines in the sand as 'pro-Delhomme' or anti. In the end though there is no discussion. It appears Matt Moore's concussion will mean Jimmy Clausen gets the start by default, just as Moore won the starting job by default. Let's not forget... Moore never won the starting job, it fell to him. The original plan was for a Delhomme/Moore competition, but cutting Jake meant the box was wrapped and handed to Moore. After next week and Clausen gets his start there will be a QB competition, like it or not; maybe not from the coaching staff's point of view but from the hearts and minds of the fan base. Emotions all get the better of us, I understand that... but I have to admit I was appalled at the reaction of joy and elation from some fans when Moore was injured. Whether you want to see a change or not the idea of relishing a concussed, puking Carolina Panther is so foreign to me I don't know where to begin. So without joy or elation I can say being as clinical as possible the injury situation was probably the best scenario for the Carolina Panthers, and I know that seems cold. Now Clausen gets to wet his NFL beak against Tampa Bay, Moore is out because of injury so if Pickles sucks then Moore's confidence isn't ruined for naught and it forces John Fox's hand into making the tough decision; just like Delhomme's finger injury did last year. So there, I've said my peace on the QB situation and for those looking for a rating consider Moore an extremely pessimistic because I wont be saying anything else about him. Now, let's move on to the rest of the guys. Optimistic Dan Connor- Extremely Optimistic: Connor was a tackling machine yesterday and put on a clinic for how to play middle linebacker in the NFL. His 13 tackles, 1 sacks and 3 for a loss make it a lot easier to justify having Jon Beason play outside linebacker. Jon Beason- Extremely Optimistic: 10 tackles... just Beason being Beason. Reliable as always. James Anderson- Extremely Optimistic: 10 tackles also... great game by all the linebackers. Steve Smith- Extremely Optimistic: Smitty did everything that was asked on him. One rare drop aside, when he got the ball he as a threat every single play. Unfortunately the QB couldn't get him the ball enough. Mike Goodson- Extremely Optimistic: Great game by Goodson on special teams and as a threat in the passing game. John Kasay- Extremely Optimistic: Well, wouldn't you know... he does still have a leg! Solid kicking from the OP (original Panther). Dwayne Jarrett- Somewhat Optimistic: Who knows, maybe Jimmy Clausen will be the guy to solve this Rubix cube of a player. One still wonders what he's done to be in the doghouse as much as he is, not that we'll ever really find out. Greg Hardy- Somewhat Optimistic: 4 tackles and a nice safety. Pity it was too little, too late. Pessimistic Matt Moore- Extremely Pessimistic: See above Mackenzey Bernadeau- Extremely Pessimistic: His new nickname shall be Turnstile as he was being spun all over the place. As soon as Otah is back let's pull the plug on this one and put Schwartz at RG. Something happened to Bernadeau over the off-season, maybe he put forth no effort with a roster spot almost guaranteed... but regardless he was terrible. The Field Itself- Extremely Pessimistic: Granted, much of the Panthers' failings were their own in the 2nd half, but Carolina needs to make a formal complaint to the league about the playing surface at the new Meadowlands. Did you see all those black spheres stuck to our players? Those were rubber pellets that floated out of the AstroTurf when the field became waterlogged. The second half was atrocious in part to a substandard field. Starting DE's- Extremely Pessimistic: Maybe bringing Brayton back week one was a mistake. Johnson and Brayton were okay against the run, but the pass rush was non existent. It is important to note though that the Giants have a very strong OL built for pass blocking. Cornerbacks- Somewhat Pessimistic: A lot of the secondary will get a bit of a break this week due to the playing surface, and it's also important to note that the Giants developed a good offensive game plan to exploit the holes in the Tampa 2. Charles Godfrey- Somewhat Pessimistic: Two INTs are impressive, but not impressive enough to overshadow some of the bad plays he made. Overall Outlook Chicken Little can go play in traffic because the sky isn't falling yet. I'll be damned if I'm going to call this season over before it even begins like it seems so many fans are willing to do. Sure there are challenges, but this week one game was never supposed to be a gimme. How 'bout this: If we come out and completely implode against Tampa Bay we can discuss what flavor Kool Aide we should use to commit suicide with, or where the best place to jump off the bandwagon will be, but this die hard Aussie Panther-holic isn't going anywhere. 80% Optimistic heading into week two http://www.catscratchreader.com/2010/9/13/1684671/carolina-panthers-monday-morning Matt Moore deserves another shot. The Panthers' new starting quarterback had a nasty game Sunday in Carolina's 31-18 loss to the New York Giants, racking up three end-zone interceptions and one concussion during an afternoon's work. But if Moore is verified ready by doctors for Sunday's home opener against Tampa Bay, he should start. If he isn't, no matter how well Jimmy Clausen plays in his place, Moore still should start again as soon as he's healthy. All over the Carolinas on Monday, you could hear fans grumbling about Moore and supposing that his injury - much like Jake Delhomme's broken finger a year ago - wasn't all bad news. After all, it might force ultra-conservative John Fox to make a change at quarterback that he would never make otherwise. That logic, though, is wrongheaded. Yes, Delhomme should have been benched by Fox when the Panthers started 0-3 in 2009 instead of 11 games into the season by his own finger. But after three games last season, you just knew Delhomme had lost his mojo. I'm not sure Moore has. And I don't think you throw Moore out with the bathwater after one shaky game - not when you based most of the offseason on the idea he would be starting. What is Moore's status for Sunday? That will be an issue much of the week, given the NFL's more stringent concussion policy and evidenced by Fox trotting out his standard "day-to-day" line about the head injury. When pressed a little about Moore's availability, Fox offered this quote Monday, symbolic of his nine-year reign of obfuscation. Said Fox: "Day-to-day means kind of where we're at today is where we are. And we'll take it day-to-day." Um, right. Fox did say Moore would be his starter if healthy. He also said Moore was feeling "way better" and that Moore "probably" was hurt not on his second "sack-fumble" combo of the fourth quarter, but on his first one a series earlier. That leads to the question of why Moore was even on the field for that next blindsided sack, which wasn't really answered by Fox. (Another note: When you say your quarterback suffered a concussion on his fumble and reporters have to ask, "Which fumble?" that's a sign your quarterback had a very bad day.) Clausen is the most popular man in town right now. Young backup quarterbacks always are after a game like that. But I don't think he's the answer for all that ails the Panthers' offense. Eventually, he might be. Clausen, after all, has been groomed for this all his life. He repeated the sixth grade to gain more maturity. He had a private quarterback coach before he hit his teens. All of that is no substitute for going 6-3 as an NFL starter, though, which Moore has done even after Sunday's loss. Moore wasn't available to reporters Monday. Clausen wished Moore a speedy return from his injury but said if he had to start it would be "exciting." "That's what you come into this league to do, get on the field and play and help your team win," Clausen said. "But hopefully Matt can get back on the field as quick as he can." A recent Sports Illustrated article noted the average NFL quarterback gets rid of the ball 2.4 seconds after he takes the snap. A team throws, on average, 33 passes per game - exactly what Moore threw Sunday. That leaves an NFL quarterback roughly 80 seconds in a 60-minute football game to make the real-time decisions that keep him in - or sling him out - of the league. Of Moore's 80 key seconds Sunday, at least half of them were lousy. His 32.6 quarterback rating is the sort of number no NFL team can stand for too long. But if you're the Panthers, you must be patient now - both with Moore's concussion and with the rest of his brain. Moore needs to know he still has the team's confidence. Although I often disagree with Fox's maneuvering, I think on this one he's absolutely right. For now, Moore should be the starter when healthy. Give him a few more games at least to try to get this right. We will all get the full effect of The Jimmy Clausen Experience at some point, but best not to rush it. Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/20...-patient-theres-moore-mojo.html#ixzz0zUCyyBGL The Carolina Panthers spent Monday reviewing video from their 31-18 loss to the New York Giants, trying to nip their first-game mistakes in the bud. It's a process the Panthers will repeat at least 15 times this season. Although when you're the NFL's youngest team, every day is a teachable moment. "We're just like everybody else in the league - you're trying to improve, and you'd rather it come faster than slower," coach John Fox said. "So until you see it in living color on the tape and learn from it, know the situation in the game, understand what it's like when the tide turns in a foreign stadium - all those things are new experiences that you hope you learn from and improve on moving forward." The league's youngest teams will meet Sunday when the Panthers face Tampa Bay. Based on opening-week, 53-man rosters, Carolina's average age is 25 years, 233 days, according to STATS LLC. The Buccaneers' roster averages 26 years. A look at what eight members of the Panthers' under-25 club did against the Giants: Offense WR BRANDON LAFELL, ROOKIE, 23 Was the targeted receiver on eight passes, and caught two of them for 22 yards. Longest reception was 14 yards. Had a pass glance off his hands, and was slow getting off coverage on a slant route, throwing off the play's timing. OT GEOFF SCHWARTZ, 2ND SEASON, 24 Held up OK in his fourth NFL start. Stepping in for injured Jeff Otah at right tackle, Schwartz lined up most of the game against defensive end Justin Tuck, who had two hurries but did not record a sack. RB MIKE GOODSON, 2ND SEASON, 23 Fourth-round pick from 2009 had his most productive game. Was second-leading receiver behind Steve Smith with three catches for 31 yards. His 45-yard kickoff return before halftime helped set up the Panthers' lone touchdown. WR ARMANTI EDWARDS, ROOKIE, 22 Former Appalachian State quarterback was inactive for the game as his development as a receiver and returner continues. The Panthers could consider Edwards for the emergency quarterback role if Matt Moore doesn't play this weekend. DEFENSE CB CAPTAIN MUNNERLYN, 2ND SEASON, 22 Nickel back had good coverage most of the game, but had a rough second-quarter series when he was called for pass interference and gave up two long passes to Hakeem Nicks, including a 19-yard touchdown. Munnerlyn had two punt returns for 38 yards after Carolina auditioned Edwards and others for the role during the preseason. LB DAN CONNOR, 3RD SEASON, 24 Middle linebacker had team-high 13 tackles and Panthers' only sack in his first start. Though Connor was out of position a couple of times, he showed why coaches were comfortable moving Jon Beason (10 tackles against the Giants) to weakside linebacker. DE GREG HARDY, ROOKIE, 22 Athletic sixth-rounder will be one of the biggest steals of the draft if he keeps making big plays. Blocked a punt and forced a fumble during the fourth quarter, and finished with four tackles. Also lined up on the inside in some passing situations. DE EVERETTE BROWN, 2ND SEASON, 23 Assisted on three tackles, but was a nonfactor in the pass rush after tying for the team lead with three preseason sacks. Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/20...rs-youth-serves-adequately.html#ixzz0zUD9ynYk Blessed by sub-standard expectations for the season (and overshadowed by a looming lockout, an apparently God-send team [NO] in the division, and teams with reality shows on HBO), no cars were burned in downtown Charlotte; no bricks went through the store windows; and no hate letters were sent to Matt Moore's home. It is, after all, week 1, and we have a 15 games ahead of us. The Denver Broncos last year, if you remember, went 6-0 (?) before imploding faster then Chernobyl and missing the playoffs. The Panthers once went 1-7 before playing like the NFC Pro Bowl Team and winning 6 of their last 8 games (and consequently losing to New Orleans in one of the biggest buzzkill games of all time). So take everything said below with a grain of salt--all is not lost. Besides, the Colts are 0-1 also..... Star-divide With that being said, there are some things to be concerned about. Likewise, there is still reason to be optimistic. Let us start with the bad news first shall we? 1) the O-line. Jordan Gross faced the Mythological Beast that is Justin Tuck, and, well, things went as well as they could go when you line up against a guy who looks like Iron Man. But atleast he has an excuse. The rest of the line was extremely dissapointing. They played excellently for the first 6 plays, remembered how fat they were, and proceeded to run ouf of breath immediately. The second half was dismal; D-Williams had few holes to run through, and Matt Moore, in fairness, had very little time to throw. Every snap taken triggered a seismic rush of blue jerseys ready to devour the kid with the eye black. There were times when the running backs picked up the blitzes more effectively than the linemen themselves. Otah's injury was blatant. 2) Jon "The Daily Show" Stewart. After his first rush of the season, # 28 dissapeared faster than the Titanic. I hope he is healthy. If not, D-Will will be left to fend for himself... 3) The secondary. There were more holes then Swiss Cheese and an M. Night Shymalan plot combined. For every hard hit delivered by Godfrey or Gamble, there was a breakdown in coverage. To let Mario Manningham get so frequently open is unacceptable; besides giving up three TD catches, they did an okay job on Hakeem Nicks (Tarheel nation secretly rejoices); and Steve Smith fought hard for thecoveted title of "Best Steve Smith on the field." If the corners and safeties dont tighten up, the pass defense will be the Achilles Heel of this team. 4) The playcalling. Based upon the formations, predicting if the Panthers would run or pass was about as difficult as predicting a John Grisham love story. Throwing 3 times within the 5 yard line when you have two finely-tuned machines in the backfield??? Unacceptable. Multiple red zone interceptions??? Even worse... And now for the good....smile!.... 1) Special teams. Where the hell did our kick return game come from? That kick return to mid-field in the last minutes of the second half was one of the brightest spots for the Panthers all day. Father Time nailed all 3 field goals, hitting one from 52 yards. And we even blocked a punt for a safety. It was by far one of the best special teams performances I've seen from Carolina in a while. 2) Steve Smith. He didnt break his arm, which is good, I guess. 3) Linebackers. Jon Beason, who hasnt had a bad game since the 7th grade, played well like he usually does. And Jon Connor! Tell me about a guy who was all over the field; 55 almost looked like Dan Morgan out there (cue nostalgia) running around. Maybe the absence of Thomas Davis won't be as detrimental as previously thought. 4) We play the Buccaneers next week (I'm not even sure if I spelled that right.....remember when they were one of the most feared teams in the league? Yeah, neither do I. Jeff Garcia is waiting anxiously by his cell phone). 5) Matt Moore can pull off the eye black. And even more importantly, it was beautiful to see a quarterback who could make plays with his legs. There you go. I'm still on the fence about the D-Line (although Greg Hardy is an absolute steal). As for the receivers, I'm waiting for a certain receiver out of USC to explode. We'll see if we can manage more than one touchdown against a below-average Bucs defense next week, in front of the home crowd. You are probably wondering why I left out essentially all of Matt Moore's play. I figured that there is enough talk about that already, and I dont need to mention anything that has been said previously already. Talk about that amongst yourselves. Don't panic, Panther fans--week 1 can be deceiving. Tampa Bay should be a nice confidence booster for the running game, Moore, and any other receiver who isn't named Steve Smith. If things go poorly next week....well, the emergency exits are in aisle 4. http://www.catscratchreader.com/2010/9/13/1686687/week-1-the-good-the-bad-and-the
FALCONS It was gut check time and unfortunately, our Birds' stomachs were a little shaky. There were many mistakes, missed opportunities, and bad decisions. I'll run them down once I get the (short) list of good things I saw today. The Good * Nice to see Weems and HD get some play time. * Mike Peterson with the INT! * Kroy Biermann with a key sack late in the game. * Our whole defense. Dang, fellas came to play. Shame that... The Bad * Our offense didn't. From this point forward, you might want to look away. * The missed field goal was a killer, as it could have won the game for us. * Turner looked slow and, at least on two occasions, brought himself down to the ground. This wasn't preseason and the Steeler line had obviously schemed hard against the run. Turner just did not look fast off the ball at all. * Where was the run and pass blocking we're used to? Sam Baker is going to be getting a lot butt-chewings when the team gets back to Flowery Branch. * There were at least two occasions that going for it on fourth down would have been a good idea. Example: the Falcons were on the 10, fourth and two. I would have gone for it, maybe a screen or shuffle pass, something to draw off that blitz. * Another weird coaching decision: we force the three and out, get the ball back with 44 seconds, and then decide to sit on the ball and force overtime? I'm sorry, but at the end of the second quarter, we used 22 seconds to get into range and then make a field goal. Coach Smith was gunshy and it cost us. * While his numbers weren't bad, Ryan's interception was very untimely. * Seriously, Sam Baker needs to be replaced. Dead, dead serious. The Ugly * If you tell me to not blame the officials, you're dead to me. All game long, they gave terrible spots for both teams and made some horrible non-calls, including the three holding penalties that occurred on Mendenhall's OT winning run. We had been shutting him down hard all game and suddenly he breaks one? Not a coincidence. Both Kroy and Abe were being very obviously held. Look back at the replay. And now, a word from yours truly. There are fifteen games left in the season. One bad game does not a season ruin. The team will learn from this. Adjustments will be made. Games will be won. http://www.thefalcoholic.com/2010/9/12/1684289/game-recap-atl-at-pitt There's no easy answers after a game like Sunday's. The questions do spring right to mind, though. How could the offense let the team down on such a fundamental level? Where the heck did that incredible defensive effort come from? Why do the Falcons seem to lose urgency halfway through drives? You could raise a battery of questions like these, but ultimately what comes back at you won't be satisfying. Not that I won't try. It was the first game of the season, for one thing, and the Falcons just seemed to lack the kind of cohesive offensive effort we'd like to see. The Pittsburgh Steelers are an incredibly tough team defensively. Wonky officiating and sheer bad luck certainly didn't help the team's cause. At some fundamental level none of want to touch, the Falcons were exposed. They were exposed as a team who play a nervous sort of game when the defense against them comes out with their hackles up. Does that mean our Birds can't contend for a playoff spot? Absolutely not. Basing that kind of panic on a single game is reactionary at best. It does mean that the Falcons weren't as ready for the season as we'd hoped, and those who predicted that the team would take the division may have to scratch their chins a little this week. As high as emotions are running out there right now, let's keep in mind that the Falcons were still extremely close to winning this game. Give the Steelers credit for being tough as nails in this one. There's a lot to be proud of and only a 0-1 record to show for it, as hard as that is to swallow. Fifteen games to go. After the jump, I'm breaking it down. Join me. Star-divide HIGHLIGHTS * The defense in general. Say what you want about the last three years of drafts, our free agent acquisitions and Brian Van Gorder's inability to maximize pressure. This defense looked mean, nasty and at times, completely dominant. They stuffed Rashard Mendenhall on all but one play. They got in Dennis Dixon's head, sacking him three times and picking him once. They provided one of the finest team efforts I've seen from the Falcons in the last several years. It's going to be a hell of a lot of fun to watch these guys throughout the year. But they deserve individual attention, too. * If you saw blue lights and heard sirens Sunday afternoon, don't be alarmed. It was just Curtis "The Police" Lofton punching a Pro Bowl speeding ticket. Eight tackles. Three assists. One sack. Helping out in coverage and in generating pressure. Lofton did a little bit of everything against the Steelers, and he looks like he's finally ready to take THE LEAP and become an elite linebacker in his third year in the league. There's nobody I'd rather having manning the middle than The Police. * Kroy Biermann and John Abraham are excellent bookends. They didn't generate the consistent pressure I had hoped for, especially in the first half, but they made life difficult for Dixon at times and each picked up a sack. Even the Steelers' backup linemen are good, so expect them both to have success against the Cardinals next week. * Mike Peterson with a pick? You bet! Our favorite ancient linebacker has just earned himself a week-long pass from The Falcoholic. That interception was a thing of beauty, and it came at a truly critical moment in the game. Momentum, thy name is Mo Pete. * Erik Coleman will catch flak for his failures on the climactic Mendenhall run, but he deserves to be recognized for everything else he did. Cheating up toward the line of scrimmage throughout the game, he notched seven tackles and two assists and was critical to the Falcons' success against the run. He may not hold on to his job forever with William Moore around, but he was awfully effective Sunday. * I know it's hard to quantify on first glance, but I believe Brent Grimes was doing very well in coverage. The Steelers rarely tested him in this one, and it's because he was aggressive in shadowing his man all game long. Honorable mention to Chris Owens, who is showing impressive physicality for a cornerback. Glad he's not hurt, too. * In a more general way, let me mention the secondary and interior line. Thomas DeCoud was his usual collected self, and the rotation of Peria Jerry, Corey Peters, Vance Walker and Trey Lewis generated pressure and absolutely stuffed the Steelers ground game for much of the day. Kudos to all. * I wish Matt Ryan wouldn't lock in so hard on Roddy White—don't worry, we're discussing that further very shortly—but what a receiver this guy is. He whiffed on one pass early in the game and then took advantage of Bryant McFadden's unwillingness to let White get behind him, abusing the Steelers corner for 13 catches and 111 yards. He was the go-to guy today, and he will remain such. * Both Harry Douglas and Eric Weems flashed ability in this one. It's great to see Dougie healthy and making a difference, but it's really encouraging to see Weems contributing at all in the passing game. The Falcons are going to need that kind of effort from all their receivers to mount an effective offense the rest of the year. * Congratulations to Tony Gonzalez for notching his 1,000th career reception. A future Hall of Famer and a great guy, for sure. We'll hit this one in more depth later in the week. LOWLIGHTS * I'm revoking the nickname Matty Ice until further notice. Ryan is so frustrating for Falcons fans, I think, because of our disparate expectations for him. Some have decried drafting him since the beginning, and every failure is another shell for the shotgun aimed at his reputation. Others have believed, sometimes fervently, that he's going to be an elite NFL quarterback. For those people, the way he launches passes over receivers' heads, refuses to set his feet and wilts under pressure are maddening and inexplicable. The truth, as always, is somewhere in the middle. Right now, Matt Ryan is an above average quarterback who isn't taking the strides forward he needs to. I'm taking away Matty Ice because despite his protestations to the contrary this pre-season, he isn't ready. Time after time, the Steelers sent creative blitz packages at Ryan and you could almost see the fear creeping from his pores. His 27 for 44 performance is fine on paper, but there were at least a dozen of those missed passes where he appeared to forget all the fundamentals he ever learned. Then there was the Troy Polamalu interception. It's fine to defend Ryan here and say that Polamalu came out of nowhere for that pick, and it's not entirely inaccurate. It's a little dishonest to pretend that it didn't arise out of Ryan's frustrating tendency to stare down a receiver, or at the very least lock on well in advance of when he's throwing. The great NFL quarterbacks have a kind of all-encompassing field vision that allows them to find the open man. Ryan's just not there yet. As harsh as that all sounds, he's not going to look this bad every week. I'm hopeful this game will serve as a wakeup call to a burgeoning young talent who seemed unconcerned by the team's vanilla performance in the pre-season. As Michael Turner showed today, sometimes the Falcons are going to have to lean on Ryan to win games. * Speaking of Turner, he was godawful today. Slow to the line, too hesitant to truck people over and looking miserable under constant pressure from the Steelers D, Turner barely average over two yards a carry. We're going to talk about Mike Mularkey next, because he shares in the blame for this, but aside from a handful of carries and one nice catch, this didn't look like the Michael Turner we know and love. Again, too early to panic. The Steelers have historically been very hard to run on, so we'll need to see how The Burner bounces back against the Cardinals. * Mike Mularkey is the bane of my existence as a Falcons fan. The team wagged its fingers at doubtful fans after the pre-season, explaining that it was just vanilla scheming that made the offense look so bland. Sorry, gents, but you can't drop a single chocolate chip in a bowl of vanilla ice cream and expect it to make a world of difference. If Mularkey were an artist, he'd be one in a fine studio, surrounded by high quality canvases, paints, and brushes. He'd thoughtfully stare at a canvas for a while, take out a plain brush and some black paint, draw a line on said canvas, and end his day. Except in small doses, he seems to entirely lack imagination. It's unforgivable to give Turner nineteen carries when so many of them are lazy up the gut runs or off-tackles that make not effort to confuse a sharp defensive front seven. That's to say nothing of his unwillingness to go for it on fourth down, and Mike Smith has to be included in the blame for that. Smith also earns anti-kudos for diddling around at the end of the first half. But Mularkey also shares a blame in Matt Ryan's struggles. There's just not enough going on downfield, and when the team attempts to go for the long pass, the routes guys are running underneath aren't putting them in a position to bail our quarterback out. Mularkey has to go back to the drawing board and add some splashes of color to his gameplan. He's got the personnel and, as we've seen from a handful of jaw-dropping offensive efforts over the last two season, the intelligence to make great things happen. I just want to see them. * It's not really fair to put Matt Bryant here, because he did nail his three other field goals. He even banged one in from 49 yards out, which is impressive. But I can't help but wonder what would have happened if he had made his first attempt, which could have potentially given the Falcons a 12-9 lead at the end of the game, when the rejuvenated defense was making life miserable for the Steelers. Tough break. * The block was occasionally terrible, generally mediocre. It's not time to kick Sam Baker to the curb just yet, but he sure didn't look good out there today. * I told you all to keep an eye on Dunta Robinson, but it's more likely you were covering them by the end of the game. Dunta got abused by Hines Ward on more than one occasion, and he just didn't finish some plays out. We were promised a return to form from a once-terrific cornerback, but the Falcons certainly didn't see that guy today. Cross your fingers for this one being a fluke. * Gah! The offense. The offense. So many chances to win, including getting the ball in overtime, and the team blew every single one. I managed to calm down over the course of several hours last night, but I'm getting pissed off just thinking about it again. Time to self-medicate! THE WRAPUP Game MVP: Curtis Lofton. The entire defense deserves an honorable mention for a superlative effort. Game Theme Song: Since this song title sprang to mind so many times during the game, I give you Is This It by The Strokes. One Thing To Take Away: This might be the best Falcons defense in several years. Let's focus on that positive, at least. Next Week: It's time for the Arizona Cardinals! Their offense isn't what it once was and their defense is certainly not the Steelers', but they're a tough team. Visit Revenge Of The Birds for more. Final Word: Damnit. http://www.thefalcoholic.com/2010/9/13/1685108/falcons-steelers-recap-the-agony
BUCCANEERS While Cleveland TE Eric Moore scampered down the sidelines in the first drive of the 2nd half, it appeared Buccaneer fans would continue to see more missed tackles and mistakes from their defense. Not so fast. Barrett Ruud forced a fumble on the same drive and Quincy Black recovered to thwart what would be the longest and most productive drive the Cleveland offense would put forth in the half. The drive covered 67 yards. The Browns would only muster 56 more yards for the remainder of the half. Included in those 56 yards are 31 yards the Browns mustered in the final seconds when the Buccaneer defense was in prevent mode. That leaves a whopping 25 yards the Buccaneer defense surrendered the rest of the half. Twenty-five.....veinticinco. Incredible. That's less yardage than Jerome Harrison had in one run in the first half. 6 consecutive 3 and outs or a turnover from the defense. After the first drive, the next first down the Browns would manage would be with 1:54 left on the clock in the 4th quarter. That, my friends, is flipping the script on a bad half in a major, major way. Josh Cribbs (said the better team lost after the game), eat your heart out. You were flat-out shut down, sir. So what did the Buccaneers do to change their fortunes? It's tough not to be able to get into specifics without the benefit of watching a DVR'd replay, but............ Star-divide The Bucs managed to finally slow down that Cleveland running game and clog running lanes, putting the Browns in tougher 2nd/3rd and long situations. On the next four possessions following the Hillis fumble, Jerome Harrison and Josh Cribbs rushed for a grand total of -2 yards on 5 carries on 1st/2nd down. The front four gave absolutely zero ground, as every time Cribbs or Harrison got to the line, there was a mass of players stonewalling any sort of positive gain. The linebackers had a nice second half. Geno Hayes showed up in the backfield on multiple occasions, planting Harrison for a loss to help squelch a late 4th-qtr CLE possession deep in their own end. Barrett Ruud was solid and hit the holes timely and effectively. Obviously, this put the Browns in long passing situations, which is not the strength of their football team.....and it showed. Jake Delhomme was indecisive in the pocket and was off on his throws, finishing 7/17 for 55 yards and an interception after the Hillis fumble and 20/37 for 227 yds, 1 TD/2 INTs for the day. Although the pressure wasn't particularly stellar for most of the contest, the front four fed off the lively crowd late in the game and forced Delhomme to move out of the pocket and throw some errant passes. Part of the reason the defensive linemen had time to get to Delhomme is because the secondary locked onto their receivers and smothered them like a blanket. E.J. Biggers had a whale of a game, making a nifty leaping interception late in the 4th quarter, breaking up a pass, and making a key open field tackle on 3rd down with under 3 minutes to go. He is clearly the 3rd-best CB on this team and is a guy I'm starting to feel better about leaving in one-on-one coverage with a slot receiver in nickel packages. So what am I taking away from the defense's overall performance? Starting with positives..........Well, first, I'm pretty pleased to see the coaching staff getting their players to respond after halftime adjustments. That wasn't a given last season, especially with Jim Bates running the defense. One dreadful half of football was followed by another. Not the case yesterday. The defense we were all hoping to see showed up finally. Better late than never. Ronde still has it. EJ Biggers is a solid backup option/nickel CB....maybe better than that. All of this happened without Aqib Talib. Geno Hayes looked like a headhunting freak in the second half, playing controlled football and making stops. Gerald McCoy had a nice game, flusing Delhomme out of the pocket in the second half and helping gum up the guard-tackle gap in the second half. Barrett Ruud might.....just might.....be able to play physical, inspired football near the line of scrimmage (obviously need to see more, but if he can do it for a half, he can do it again). I'm not particularly concerned with the seeming confusion in the secondary between Tanard Jackson and Sean Jones, which led to the first TD. It's early, there are some new faces on the defense, and mental mistakes will happen as everyone, new and old, gets accustomed to playing together and, for some, in a new defense. I'm more concerned with the missed tackles, whiffs, bad angles, and mistakes in fundamentals that were prevalent in the first half. Pretty much what haunted the defense last season reared its ugly head in the first half. The corners concerned me with their inadequate run support in the first half, leading to several impact plays by the Browns.......most notably a run off-end by Harrison for 39 yards and an off-tackle run by Peyton Hillis for a TD. Good teams wrap up and get players on the ground. All in all, for one week, I'll look upon the defense with smiling eyes. http://www.bucsnation.com/2010/9/13/1684925/defense-shows-up-late-saves-the Winning in the National Football League is very difficult. Not that any of us need that fact reiterated, because our '09 Bucs only managed to win 3 out of 16 games. Sunday's triumph against the Cleveland Browns marks the first opening day win since 2005. Although it wasn't pretty, the team overcame an 11 point deficit in the second quarter and pitched a shutout in the second half. Let's take a quick look at how each unit (Offense, Defense, Special Teams) contributed to yesterday's win. Star-divide Offense: The Offense didn't play great, but Freeman was able to shake off a few mistakes to deliver a perfect game winning touchdown pass. He missed a few wide open throws, which has to be concerning (the pass to Mike Williams as well as the 4th and 1 with John Gilmore open at the end of the game in particular). Hopefully this is a result of him missing time and the injury, and something he can shake off going forward. The interception was a communication issue and should be ironed out. Cadillac looked strong whenever he had room to work with and he seems ready for a solid season. I assume Kareem Huggins will get a look next week due to the inability of Earnest Graham to get anything going. If Freeman can become a small bit more accurate and start to hit the wide-open targets, then the offense will have a better ability to sustain drives. Grade B- Defense: The Defense certainly turned it on after struggling early in this one. They were gashed on big plays by Mohamed Massaquoi and Jerome Harrison (to be fair this was excellent run blocking by the Browns), but didn't panic. Ronde Barber's interception late in the second quarter has to be considered the game changer. The Browns were in great field position after a Josh Freeman pick, and could have put the game away before halftime. However the defense rose to the occasion when the team needed most, and made the contest 14-10 at halftime. From there the defense tightened the screws and made sure the Browns didn't put together any more long drives. 340 total yards is a lot to give up to against an offense like Cleveland, but they were able to get off the field on quite a number of third downs, and did what a Tampa-2 defense does best: Force Turnovers. Grade: B Special Teams: This is the unit that impressed me the most. Josh Cribbs is one of the most dynamic return men in the entire league, and the unit was able to contain him the whole day. Cleveland's special teams ranked 1st in Football Outsiders' DVOA rankings by a wide margin in 2009, so the team does deserve credit for not giving up any significant plays. The Bucs played the field position game almost the entire second half, and were able to do so because of their kicking and coverage units. The Bucs had few opportunities in the return game, with Cleveland's punt coverage particularly shining against Michael Spurlock. Grade B+ Overall: The team showed some good things on Sunday, but also there were signs that growing pains will occur. This is natural with such a young team, but it appears the strides the team made at the end of 2009 have carried over. You can tell the speed and aggressiveness on the defense is back. The mistakes the team made looked more as a result of inexperience/miscommunication, which offers hope that as they play together more the units should be able to gel. Considering the quality of opponent that the Bucs were facing, the jury is still out on how this team will perform in 2010. That said, it was a good performance and a great way for the Buccaneers and their fans to start the season. Here's to being above .500! http://www.bucsnation.com/2010/9/13/1686072/grading-the-units-week-1
SAINTS The Saints didn't play their best game of the season but no team does in its opener. 31 0 18Share The Saints played like a veteran team used to winning. They didn't turn the ball over, allowed just one sack and committed only three penalties for 20 yards. On defense, they allowed only two plays to get "over their heads" and produced one takeaway and one sack. The Saints weren't flawless. They made some mental errors and assignment mistakes. But they avoided the kind game-changing turnover or mental breakdown that can decide a close game. In fact, the victory would have been decidedly easier had kicker Garrett Hartley not uncharacteristically shanked a pair of field goals, including a 32-yarder in the fourth quarter. Both Sean Payton and Gregg Williams had excellent game plans for their units and kept the Saints one step ahead of the Vikings for most of the night. Creative, aggressive play-calling is something Saints fans have grown used to with Payton and Williams on the sidelines and they saw more of it on Thursday night. Payton showed no mercy on the Vikings' injury-riddled secondary. He knew Minnesota had only three healthy cornerbacks and tried to take advantage of it by using multiple-receiver sets early. The Saints used three or more receivers on 18 of their 25 first-half snaps. Consequently, they only attempted three runs in the first half. Williams used more 3-4 scheme than at any time since the Buffalo game in Week 3 of 2009. The Saints played 25 of their 51 snaps with a three-man line. In the second half, they played 12 of 19 snaps in a three-man front. PLAY OF THE GAME: Drew Brees showed why he is such a remarkable athlete on the 29-yard touchdown pass to Devery Henderson on the Saints' first drive. Most quarterbacks would have been sacked by Ray Edwards, who beat right tackle Jon Stinchcomb on a speed rush. But Brees, feeling the pressure from his right, climbed the pocket, scrambled through a seam to the right, kept his vision downfield and found Henderson down the right sideline with a perfect running throw. Henderson deserves credit, too. He made a nice adjustment to his out route after he saw Bress scramble and broke downfield to beat cornerback Asher Allen deep. CALL OF THE GAME: On third-and-1 and trailing 14-9 late in the fourth quarter, the Vikings were desperate to stop the Saints to get the ball back for one final time. Payton anticipated the Vikings would stack the line to try to stop the run. His personnel package screamed "run": One receiver; two tight ends; fullback Heath Evans; and running back Pierre Thomas. But he threw a curveball at the Vikings by having Brees fake the handoff to Thomas, then loft an easy short pass to Evans, who ran a simple flair route in the left flat after faking a lead block for Thomas. Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield bit on the fake and allowed Evans an easy release in the flat, where he caught the ball for a first down and extended the drive. Crafty call. PRESSURE REPORT: After all the hype about last year's late hits on Favre, Williams threw a curve ball at the Vikings. He elected to sit back in cover for most of the first half before finally turning loose his array of blitzes as the game progressed. Williams' first blitz didn't come until 5:36 of the second quarter. But after that, he came after Favre on every third down the rest of the game. Williams wasn't afraid to send the house. He rushed eight players on one down and used safety Roman Harper four times and nickel back Randall Gay on another down to get after Favre. The Saints recorded just one sack and hurried Favre four times. ZEBRA REPORT: Terry McAulay's crew did a solid job. Despite the high emotion, they never let things get out of hand between the two teams. I thought McAulay might have overturned the incomplete call against Jim Kleinsasser that could have converted a key third down early in the fourth quarter. Replays indicated Kleinsasser might have gotten both hands under the ball before cradling it to his body on the diving reception. Still, it was a very close call and ultimately McAuley ruled the replay was inconclusive. Otherwise, there wasn't much controversy with the crew and that's always a good thing. SCOUTING REPORT: Brett Favre was extremely rusty and looked like a 40-year-old quarterback who missed most of training camp. He missed several throws that could have resulted in big gains or converted third downs. His timing with his receivers was off all game and Saints defensive linemen noted he was skittish in the pocket. So much for the theory that veteran players don't need training camp. The team's other three rookies -- running back Chris Ivory (knee); tight end Jimmy Graham (ankle); and end Junior Galette -- were inactive. DIDYA NOTICE?: All three of the rookies who dressed for the game saw action. Cornerback Patrick Robinson and offensive linemen Matt Tennant and Charles Brown saw action on special teams. Brown likely will be inactive in future games when reserve tackle Zach Strief returns from his knee injury. FIRST QUARTER: Saints had to like the violent finish Reggie Bush put on his first run from scrimmage. Instead of running out of bounds, he lowered his shoulder and bowled over Asher Allen near the Minnesota 30-yard line to gain an extra couple of yards. Bush likely would have run out of bounds in previous years. The Saints sent a message to Vikings end Jared Allen on the first snap from scrimmage. They sent tight end David Thomas to chip him hard as he rushed Brees, letting him know it was going to be a long night. The Saints have great respect for Allen and it showed as they used a variety of tactics to keep the Pro Bowler at bay. On runs, they faked handoffs to a motioning receiver or back coming in his direction to prevent him from crashing down on the back on lead plays up the middle. It was a very well-crafted plan by Payton. Allen finished with four tackles and one quarterback hurry. McAulay busted Brees for gyrating too much with his head and hands on a hard count out of the shot gun and whistled the Saints for a 5-yard false start infraction. SECOND QUARTER: Rare offsetting facemask penalties nullified a third-and-11 play. Alex Brown beat Vikings right tackle Phil Loadholt on a speed rush and forced Loadholt to grab Brown's facemask out of desperation. The Saints, however, suffered a tough break when Marvin Mitchell accidentally caught his hand in Adrian Peterson's facemask as he grasped at him in a tackle attempt in the open field. Sedrick Ellis impressively blew up Vikings right guard Anthony Herrera to stuff a first-down run by Anthony Young for a 1-yard loss. He knocked the 315-pound Herrera on his back with a powerful punch then wrapped up Young in the backfield. After playing coverage for the first quarter and a half, Williams finally busted out his first big blitz on a third-and-9 at the Saints' 23. All three linebackers and safety Roman Harper came after Favre, who was forced to hurry a pass to Berard Berrian, which Greer broke up on a big-time play. Ray Edwards beat Jon Stinchcomb with an inside move to force a hold on a short pass by Brees on their first play of the quarter. Thomas Morstead's third punt was a beauty, a 59-yard bomb with a hangtime of 4.9 seconds. The Vikings thought Vilma held Shiancoe before intercepting Favre midway through the quarter and I think they were right. It looked like Vilma corralled Shiancoe from behind with both hands before making the easy pick. The Saints got a little too fancy with their disguise and the Vikings burned them for a 33-yard gain on first down in the two-minute drill. Free safety Malcolm Jenkins and linebacker Scott Shanle crowded the line of scrimmage and bluffed a blitz but then got beat deep by Shiancoe on a seam route when neither defender could retreat quickly enough downfield. Favre lofted a perfect pass downfield to a streaking Shiancoe, who had Shanle on his back hip. It was Minnesota's biggest gain of the night. The Saints overloaded the right side of the Vikings' protection front to block Lnogwell's extra-point attempt before halftime. Anthony Hargrove and Remi Ayodele bullrushed Herrera and knocked him into the backfield, allowing Ayodele the opening he needed to get his left hand on the ball and deflect it. THIRD QUARTER Jabari Greer dropped a sure interception of a poor Favre pass on the Vikings' first series. He won't get many easier chances this season. Brees audibled at the line of scrimmage out of a run play and into a screen pass, which resulted in a nice 15-yard gain by Pierre Thomas. Brees saw cornerback Antoine Winfield go with tight end Jeremy Shockey in motion, revealing man-to-man coverage by the defense. He checked to a quick screen pass in the left flat, giving left tackle Jermon Bushrod plenty of time to pick off linebacker E.J. Henderson and clear a path for Thomas down the left sideline. Great call and execution by Brees. Nice work by NBC to feature guard Carl Nicks on the Saints' opening touchdown drive of the second half. Nicks is an emerging talent and he got the best of Vikings defensive tackle Pat Williams for most of the night, especially on this series. His seal block on Williams helped clear a lane for Thomas' go-ahead TD run. Bush didn't have much room to run on any of his returns but he nearly made something from nothing on his second attempt of the quarter. He slipped a tackle by Erin Henderson, then found daylight to the right, but Heath Farwell showed why he was a 2009 Pro Bowler last season by making a nice tackle to prevent a big return. Great play by Sedrick Ellis to beat a double-team block and sack Favre but just as important was Shanle's diagnosis of the play. The Vikings' were trying to hit the Saints with a mis-direction play, faking a run to Peterson to the left then coming back to the right side with delayed screen pass to Shiancoe. But Shanle recognized the play and held up Shiancoe at the line, giving Ellis time to reach and drop Favre. FOURTH QUARTER The Saints added a wrinkle to their 4-3 front on the first play from scrimmage. Alex Brown rushed as from a stand-up position at left end, giving the alignment a 3-4 look. Will Smith gave Loadholt fits once he switched from right to left tackle for the injured Bryant McKinnie. Smith forced a holding infraction on Loadholt on first down, then hurried Favre's throw on second down. Loadholt actually got away with a hands-to-the-face infraction on Smith or it could have been worse. A couple of nice punts by Morstead in the fourth quarter, each recording more than 5 seconds of hang time. Pierre Thomas showed his remarkable vision and nimble feet to move the chains and run out the clock down the stretch. Thomas isn't the biggest or fastest back in the league but he's shifty and knows how to read defenses. Vision is the most underrated factor in a running back's repertoire and Thomas has it. PERSONNEL GOUPINGS Payton threw his full array of personnel packages at the Vikings, using nine different groupings on his team's 62 snaps. He employed a heavy dose of multiple-receiver packages in the first half to try to attack the Vikings' injury-riddled secondary. Eighteen of the Saints' 25 first-half plays featured three or four receivers. Once the Saints seized the lead in the second half, he went to more traditional sets with a full back or two tight ends to run the ball. Fullback Heath Evans saw his snaps increase from three in the first half to 13 in the second half. Blocking tight end Tory Humphrey saw his snaps go from two to eight. The breakdown of reps at each offensive skill position: WR -- Colston 43; Henderson 41; Moore 30; Meachem 25. TE -- Shockey 40; Dave Thomas 26; Humphrey 10. RB -- Bush 36; Pierre Thomas 28. FB -- Evans 19. Here's a look at the Saints' personnel groupings on their 62 offensive snaps: 3WR/1TE/1RB -- 26 out of 62 plays 2WR/1TE/1RB/1FB -- 8 out of 62 plays 1WR/1TE/1RB/1FB -- 7 out of 62 4WR/1RB -- 5 out of 62 2WR/2TE/1RB -- 5 out of 62 2WR/1TE/2RB -- 5 out of 62 2TE/1RB/1FB/1S -- 3 out of 62 1WR/3TE/1RB -- 2 out of 62 3TE/1RB/1FB -- 1 out of 62 http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2010/09/vikings-saints_film_study.html The New Orleans Saints are a completely different team with Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter at cornerback. 39 0 35Share With those two on the field, they are a dominant team, a championship team, perhaps the best team in the NFL. When Greer and Porter teamed on the defensive flanks, New Orleans' defense goes to another level. They complement the club's high-powered offense and transform the Saints into a complete team. Since Greer signed as a free agent and Porter returned to health in 2009, the Saints are 12-0 in games when they start in tandem. They've won those contests by an average margin of 15 points. We know numbers lie, but there's no way to diminish New Orleans' defensive statistics in its past four games. The knock on the Saints' defense midway through last season was that their takeaway totals were built on a schedule stacked with rookie and first-year quarterbacks -- players like Matthew Stafford, Kevin Kolb, Mark Sanchez and Josh Freeman. But no one can now make that claim. Few teams in NFL history have faced a gauntlet as formidable as the four-game stretch the Saints just completed. In that span, which includes all three playoff contests from last season, New Orleans has stymied three Hall of Fame-caliber quarterbacks -- Kurt Warner, Brett Favre (twice) and Peyton Manning. Against the Saints, they completed 98 of 154 passes for an average of 270 yards a game with three touchdowns and five interceptions. Their combined passer efficiency rating was 77.2, well below their combined career rating of 90.7. Pass defense doesn't get much better than that. In fact, it might be the best stretch of pass defense in Saints history. The Dome Patrol dominated offenses with a ferocious pass rush. They brutalized opponents on first and second down, then came after the quarterback on third down. But they never played pass defense with the proficiency or success of this New Orleans team. And it all starts with the blanket coverage of the corners. Minnesota Vikings receivers Bernard Berrian, Percy Harvin and Greg Camarillo were basically non-factors Thursday night at the Superdome. They combined to catch only three passes for 44 yards. Through the first three quarters, they had two catches for 15 yards. Of the 12 times Farve tried to pass to receivers, he only completed four. With Porter and Greer locking down the receivers outside, Favre was forced to throw to his tight ends and running backs, who combined to make 11 of the Vikings' 15 catches. "Jabari and Tracy bring a whole different dynamic of our defense, " free safety Malcolm Jenkins said. "They're able to lock down receivers outside, and it frees everyone else up on the defense." The lockdown work of Greer and Porter allows Jenkins to plant himself in deep center field and prevent big pass plays downfield. Opposing receivers have combined to catch just three passes for gains of longer than 20 yards in the past four games. "Their style of defense last year was the same as it was tonight, " Favre said Thursday night. "They are not going to give up an outside big play. You are going to have to catch it underneath and run." More often than not, those runs don't go very far. Other than the back-to-back strikes to Visanthe Shiancoe before halftime and a 29-yard connection with Camarillo, the Vikings didn't have a pass play of longer than 14 yards. And much of that can be attributed to the stellar play of Greer and Porter. "I know when those guys are out there, I feel like I have just an extra second to get after the quarterback, " defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis said. "We struggled when those guys were injured last year. They make a difference." More than that, they make the Saints dominant. http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2010/09/jabari_greer_tracy_porter_give.html
PANTHERS Without a complete play-by-play this time, I'll just appraise those that our QB's had a part of. Matt Moore played the first 8 Series on offense, Jimmy Clausen the last 3. Series 1: After 2 runs netted nothing, Moore rolled right to throw on 3rd down. We showed 3 WRs, plus a full house backfield alignment of Fiammetta and D-Will. Both those backs circled to the short middle, and crossed, both coming open. Moore saw neither, having been locked in on 12/Gettis, who was covered (Jarrett was also open, coming to the middle from the slot) -- Moore, rolling right, threw OOB, to avoid a tackle, but he was already past the LOS when he threw, the infraction being overlooked (or a penalty declined, the TV didn't mention it) So we have to punt, having neither established the run or the pass. Moore played 3rd down badly, having not properly scanned the field. Series 2: After gaining 2 First Downs, on 2 successive runs by D-Will, we were 1and10 on our 44. I need to mention the runs featured good blocks by Fiammetta and Schwartz on the first, and Smith on the second. Jonathan Stewart replaces Williams, and immediately drops a screen pass. He gains 5 on a run, and on 3rd and 5, Moore throws a good pass to Smith for 8 and a FD, out of a 3WR set, Gettis and Jarrett wide, Smith in the slot left. From the TB 43, a run-blitzing MLB stops Williams for a 1-yd loss; then Moore throws Incomplete, OOB, appearing hesitant, and not seeing Smith open. On 3and11, we have 7 in to block 5, but Jordan Gross allows pressure, and Moore throws INC. After gaining 33 yds on 8 plays, we have to punt again. Series 3: Offensive holding on Richard Marshall on a PR (not the only time he was guilty of that) moves us back to starting at our 12, but Stewart makes a nifty 19 yd run on 1st down, with good blocks by Jeff King and Travelle Wharton (let me interject here that this is the second game that Wharton has played admirably - no sacks allowed, no penalties, good blocking. We need more Whartons.) This is an interesting series, and shows what we CAN do, if we put our mind to it. On 1nd10 from our 31, with Williams the lone set-back, Moore UC, he completes a FD pass for 26 yds, to Dante Rosario. A replay showed me that he trapped the ball, but alertly, the Panthers got to the LOS and ran a play before a challenge flag could be thrown. Two 3 yd rushes led to 3and4, their 37, and a pass to Rosario was high, but could have been caught. Incomplete. With 11:52 left in the half, Fox elects to go for it, as it's probably out of FG range. This is the first of (3) 4th downs we convert, which is encouraging. From a 3WR set, 89 slot left, and against a 6-man rush, Moore throws a strike to Smith for 37 yds and a tieing TD, to make it 7-7. Moore hits Smith in stride, coming out of his break, and Smith gets 30 YAC. This is one of the few times they rush their Safety, and we make them pay. Series #4: Stewart starts this off with 2 runs for 18 yds, Fiammetta making a nice block on the first one. 2and8 from our 37, Moore completes for 14 to Gettis, and a FD. Williams then rushes for 9, setting up a very manageable 2and1. The correct play call in this situation is a strike downfield, and we almost pull it off. Moore sells a great play-fake, and leads Rosario perfectly downfield. Well, almost perfectly, as it hits Rosario on both his outstretched hands, but falls incomplete. (Dante later takes the blame.) As they'd previously scored their second TD, this would've again tied the game, and from there, who knows? But that inch or so was very big, both in the final outcome, and for Moore's confidence and maybe his career. Two plays later, we convert another 4th down, by a rush, but on 3and8, their 36, Moore is sacked, and we have to punt from their 41. I blame Moore for this sack, as both DEs got him, though both were fairly well blocked to deep positions behind the LOS - Moore could have and should have stepped up in the pocket, because it was one of the few times our opponents have gotten no penetration up the middle. Maybe he just expected they would. Series #5: Starting the 3rd quarter, this was a 3 and out, as after 2 runs gain 7, we have a 3and3 from our 36. Run, run, pass is just not imaginative play-calling, and I think our opponents pretty much expect it. But that's just me. Anyway, with Gettis and Jarrett wide, Smith slot right, Moore rolls right, apparently expecting man coverage, but vs their zone, he sees no-one open, and runs it OOB at the LOS. We punt. Series #6: Run run, pass again, and on 3and5, Moore makes a terrible decision. From our 21, with 3WR all set right, Goodson the lone back, he fails to see Jarrett and Gettis both open, and locks in on Smith, throwing to him in triple coverage, and suffering his lone Interception of the game. Our defense stiffens, and holds them to a FG, but we're now down 7-17, and the die is cast. Series#7: This is the series that starts at our 6, after Goodson makes a bonehead play, and fumbles a KO OOB, when he could've stayed away from it, and they either get penalized, or it's a TB! This time run, run, pass actually works, as Moore gains a FD on a fine pass to Rosario, for 17, to our 26. We go to a bomb to Gettis, who's beaten his man down the left sidelines, but the pass is overthrown and uncatchable. Second big play opportunity wasted. On 3and11, they only rush 3, but execute a great LB stunt, and Moore is sacked, unable to get it to Fiammetta, who has released out of the backfield and is open. Can't really blame Moore or his OL on this one, they just disguised the delayed blitz perfectly. 3 and out, we have to punt again. Series #8: Last chance for Moore coming up. This time we DON'T run on second down (great new radical concept), and Moore throws a strike to Smith, but all alone, he drops it (his second drop in 2 games!). Now on 3and8, with 4WRs out, and Goodson the lone back, Goodson gains 23 and a FD, on a swing pass. We've now gone from our 44 (this was after Goodson made a fine KR) to their 31, but we stall. A predictable 1st down rush loses a yd, and on second, Moore throws deep to Smith, but Smith has been run OOB, ineligible, and the pass was OOB, too. On 3and11, Schwartz blows on a block, and Moore is sacked again, this time fumbling it away. That's when Moore gets the word; "We're going to the kid." The staff is seen attending to Moore''s right hand on the sidelines, but nothing has been said about any injury. Series #9: 4th quarter, 10:03 left, down 7-20, Jimmy Clausen comes in. His first 3 passes are incomplete: thrown OOB, dropped by Gettis (should have been a 7 yd completion), and a wild throw to Smith, well OOB. His fourth, however, was a good smoke route to Goodson for 10 and a FD. Gettis caught his next for 4 yds, followed by another toss OOB, to avoid the rush. On 4th and 2, we convert again, Clausen making a good pass to Smith for 19 and a FD, to their 29. A second down pass, to D-Will, nets 10 and another FD. The next 2 plays are completed, too, for 4 to Rosario, and 11 on a screen to Williams. From their 4, 1st&Goal, he throws high to Rosario in the back of the EZ, but where it can't be picked. Then 3 runs can't get it in, and we turn it over at their 2. Series #10: More snafus for the Panthers: Kalil makes a low snap on 1st down, and Jeff King barely recovers it. But on 2nd, a pass is high, and is tipped by Goodson, into the waiting hands of lucky Talib, for an INT. Series #11: 0:22 left, time for a hook-and-ladder. Clausen throws to Williams, who laterals to Smith, who gets his wrist banged again, ending the debacle. What can you say? Moore was fine on a few passes, but hesitant and indecisive on others. Clausen came in against a prevent defense, when the game was decided, and went 7 for 13, for 59 yards. Both suffered dropped passes. http://www.catscratchreader.com/2010/9/20/1699504/qb-analysis-game-2-vs-tampa-bay QUARTERBACK: D Call it a “B” for Jimmy Clausen and an “F” for Matt Moore. The job is probably Clausen’s thanks to Moore’s six turnover in two games. It’s not even the numbers as much as the perpetual sense that nothing good’s going to happen when he drops back to pass. The verve he played with last December is gone, and so, perhaps is his chance to lead here. RUNNING BACKS: C They didn’t have outstanding stats (3.6 yards per carry), but it was hard the way the Bucs were playing them. Both DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart showed some pop, and they got good contributions out of Mike Goodson. RECEIVERS: F Not even Steve Smith is enough to lift the grade on this group project. If Dwayne Jarrett can’t start ahead of sixth-round rookie David Gettis, it’s hard to understand why they keep him on the roster. Gettis looked fine, but he’s not the answer, at least not yet. TE Dante Rosario has moments, but not enough of them. OFFENSIVE LINE: D Considering the way the Bucs were loading up on the run, it was going to be hard to look good there. But Moore was whacked around pretty good. Part of that was his own fault, but there were a few clear rush lanes. DEFENSIVE LINE: D They were very good against the run (allowing 1.7 yards per RB attempt). And there were times they got good push around the edges, but for the second straight week, not enough up the middle. If Charles Johnson and Eric Norwood could tackle they’d have had a sack on the same play. But for the most part, it was close but not close enough. LINEBACKERS: C Jon Beason made a few impact plays, but his friends didn’t do enough. To steal a line from John Fox, without watching the tape it’s hard to tell who left Earnest Graham wide open for a TD, but someone sure did. DEFENSIVE BACKS: D Without pass rush, they had to cover too long. But Josh Freeman (who was picked off five times in his last trip here) simply picked them apart. The safety play down the middle was uninspired, and TE Kellen Winslow had his way with them. SPECIAL TEAMS: C A bad for every good. The coverage teams have improved, but decent returns are being negated by penalties too often. And it almost doesn’t matter that Rhys Lloyd is here to kick off. He might not get enough chances for it to matter. COACHING: C- Say this, John Fox stayed true to his game plan (run, run and run some more), and the worst you can call that is unimaginative. At least he had the good sense to yank Moore when he was obviously floundering. Fox was blamed for sticking with Jake Delhomme too long last year, and he wasn’t going to get killed for that again. He even went for three fourth-down plays Sunday, which may have been desperation as much as anything else. Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/09/19/1705183/report-card.html#ixzz10DL3FHLb
FALCONS I haven't had that much fun watching anything since the Falcons went off on the Buffalo Bills last season. What a blast that game was. Erstwhile colleague Jason Kirk has been chastising those Falcons fans who wrung their hands after the Steelers loss, which is fair. The Falcons are clearly a much better offensive team than we saw in Pittsburgh, and the Steelers bottled up the talented Chris Johnson yesterday. That said, our favorite team isn't going to drop 41 points and look utterly dominant every week. Our expectations should be tuned in the middle of that: A potential playoff team with a lot of promising pieces who will play a damn good game week-in, week-out. I said last week that the Falcons were exposed as a team who struggle when enough pressure is exerted, and that may still be true. The Cardinals barely sniffed Matt Ryan in this one, and he responded by playing efficient football. Does he still lock in on Roddy White too much? I'd argue that he does. Does it matter when he's throwing accurate passes and White is absolutely abusing anyone brave enough to face his wrath? Uh, no. Despite being down to their final active running back and a fullback, the Falcons gashed the Cardinals on the ground. They sliced through the Cardinals' well-regarded secondary. Their defense ate Derek Anderson and Max Hall alive, exerting pressure and accounting for three picks. It was absolutely one of the most stellar all-around performances you're going to see from the Falcons, and I insist you enjoy it. Glory—and yes, this was glorious—is fleeting in the NFL. That said, want to bet against the Falcons hanging 35 points on the Saints? Can't say I would. Join me after the jump and we'll break down the team's performance. Star-divide HIGHLIGHTS * I had to laugh nervously watching Matt Ryan today. It's entirely possible he's going to knock my head off with a pass for half-jokingly revoking the Matty Ice nickname. He still overthrew a handful of passes, but Ryan's comfort in the pocket was evident Sunday. He was accurate, completing 21 of his 32 passes. He took what the defense gave him and occasionally reached back for a nice long pass. He formed an excellent rapport with Jason Snelling, White and Brian Finneran in the red zone, finding them in a sea of defenders. Ryan put a lot of doubt to rest this week, I think, and all that's left is to keep working on his footwork and ensure the offensive line can give him time to throw. Not fumbling would also help, but getting hit from behind will do that to a quarterback. Someone said earlier this week that Ryan may never be Peyton Manning, and they were right. He won't be. But if he can complete 60% of his passes, toss a couple touchdowns and keep defenses guessing each week, he's one of the better quarterbacks in the league. Easily. * I had to stop my revelry for a minute to reflect on Jason Snelling's career Sunday. Here's a guy drafted in the seventh round by the previous regime, a guy who has battled through epilepsy, and someone who seemed redundant after the team signed Michael Turner. Guys like that usually end up on the practice squad, bouncing to another team, or out of the league entirely. A funny thing happened with Snelling, though. He was good. By all accounts, he's a great guy and a hard worker, and he showed up to practices running like an army was marching only an hour behind him. Over the last few years, he's gotten steadily better, developing to the point he's at now. There isn't a back on this roster who offers the same blend of power, deceptive speed, pass-catching ability and blocking. I mean, he rushed for over 100 yards and accounted for 57 through the air. That's kinda awesome. Let's not get this twisted: Snelling should not start over Turner. A healthy Turner gives us our best chance to win, and he was explosive before tweaking his groin. The Falcons held him out because they were blowing out the Cardinals and Snelling was running exceptionally well. He should definitely be used to spell Turner moving forward, though, and he's the best insurance policy we've got for big guy. * I may not agree with Matt Ryan's policy of throwing to Roddy White every time he sees a flash of his jersey number, it's hard to argue with the results. Targeted a team-high 12 times Sunday, White hauled in 7 of them for 78 yards and a touchdown. He's far and away the best receiver on this team, and he's giving opposing cornerbacks fits. Just what I want to see. * Every time I leave Brian Finneran for dead, he comes back for more. He's the wide receiver edition of the Terminator. Nothing outstanding in the final stat lines for Finn, but he was excellent this game outside of a bizarre unnecessary roughness penalty that saw him stacking furniture with a Cards defender. Three quality catches, one for a touchdown, and the crispest route running in the business. All young Falcon receivers should be required to study game tape of Finn and try to emulate his blocking. * The offensive line held up well all day, with one exception, which we'll touch upon later on. They blocked well for Matt Ryan and they blocked exceptionally well for Michael Turner and Jason Snelling, who were hitting holes wider than Grady Jackson throughout the game. Very encouraging performance. * The defensive front seven was quietly very good, except for Jonathan Babineaux, who was loudly very good. Babineaux sacked hapless Derek Anderson and hit him so hard on another play that, to quote Eminem, he smacked his clothes backwards like Kriss Kross. In related news, Babineaux is going to dominate in 2010. * Sean Weatherspoon showed us exactly why he's starting as a rookie. Looking quick and alert, 'Spoon piled up tackles and absolutely eviscerated hapless Derek Anderson to pick up a sack. His selection in the draft was a rare no-brainer for Thomas Dimitroff, and the talented linebacker is paying immediate dividends. * Two defensive backs managed to pick hapless Derek Anderson (see a pattern here?). Chris Owens, who I'm praying is healthy, grabbed the first. William Moore, who laid some serious wood down in this game, got another. Then there was jittery rookie Max Hall, who threw a terrible pass that Dominique Franks lovingly plucked from the sky. There's so much promise in this young secondary it gives me goosebumps. * Dunta Robinson played well, tipped at least one pass and was aggressive in his coverage against one of the finest receivers in the league. Dude gets props from me. * Converting both short field goals chances and all five of his extra points, Matt Bryant is golden. His leash just got a little bit longer, which has to be a relief for the Falcons and is CERTAINLY a relief for me. * The entire team deserves to be mentioned. Bad teams just don't shut down talented teams like that and embarass a defense with multiple Pro Bowl contenders. The Falcons are pulling up to the station, and we are all witnesses. LOWLIGHTS * Oh, Sam Baker. How you make me weep! On one hand, you have to appreciate Baker's desire to protect Matt Ryan, even if he has to grab a fistful of jersey and messily devour a pass rusher. On the other hand, three penalties in a single drive is a bad sign for his awareness and discipline. Baker was efficient throughout much of the game and doesn't deserve to be crucified for this, but it's another indication of why a lot of fans simply don't trust him. There's still a lot for the young tackle to prove. Hopefully he does. * I've been hearing whispers that Tony Gonzalez is losing a step. I'm not sure that's anything more than a reaction to his low catch totals—just two in each of the first two games of the season—but he's not getting the kind of separation you would expect. Facing a weaker corps of linebackers from the Saints next week, we'll see if he can bounce back. THE WRAPUP Game MVP: Hand this one to Jason Snelling. He ended up with 129 yards on the ground, 57 through the air, three touchdowns and a lot of unhappy Cardinals in his wake. Game Theme Song: One of my favorite songs of the moment also serves as a perfect way to kick our malaise to the curb. One Thing To Take Away: Firing on all cylinders, the Falcons are as scary as any team in the NFL. Maybe scarier. Next Week: We're off to New Orleans to face off against the hated Saints. At least wait until they finish their Monday night game before you start lobbing good-natured venom over at Canal Street Chronicles. Final Word: Domination. http://www.thefalcoholic.com/2010/9/20/1699017/falcons-cardinals-recap-a-41-7-win Revenge is a dish best served cold, and who better to serve it than Mr. Matty Ice? 225 yards, 66% of his passes completed, and three whopping touchdowns; and all of that only counts for a nudge over half of the point scored yesterday. They may have knocked us out of the 2008 playoffs with a close victory, but we had the last laugh two years later. Doesn't it feel good? Star-divide The Good * Pass protection: Admittedly, the Cardinal's defensive front is nowhere near the caliber of the Steelers' but it was nice to see Ryan have enough time to eat a sandwich, read a book, and then toss a touchdown pass on just about every blitz drawn up by Arizona. * No Happy Feet: This is probably due to the improved pass protection, but Ryan was calm, settled, and throwing missles out there. * The ball was spread like jam: All three of Ryan's TDs were caught by different receivers. Most of his receivers had a comparable amount of yards and receptions, the average around 3. Of course, Roddy was a popular target, but considering White's ability, that's to be expected. This also helped keep our pass-targeting unpredictable, which likely led to Ryan's nice completion rate. * Brian Finneran: I don't care where you thought he'd be after this offseason, I'm sure glad Finn was in the endzone and can jump almost as high as Grimes. How old is he again?! * Jason Snelling: How many third string RB's can perform like Snelling? None. He can catch, he can run, he can block. He had two touchdowns. What more can be said? * Defense: For the second straight week, the defense has been swarming, opportunistic, and downright nasty. I love it. * William Moore: For all the injury hooplah and dashed expectations, Moore is coming into his own. An INT and some of the nastiest hits this side of Ray Lewis. This is the kind of player this defense thrives on. * Chris Owens: Yeah, he's injured, but he was playing like dynamite before, especially with that INT. * Dominique Franks: Sure, it was an INT on a second string QB, but still, it got us back to the AZ seven yard line, leading 41-7, with only two and a half minutes left. Nail in the coffin INTs are just as important as regular INTs. * Sean Weatherspoon: He led the team in tackles and had a sack, so I'm gonna say job well done. The Bad * Sam Baker: For the second straight week, Sam had a major meltdown, being penalized three times in three snaps. Something is definitely up with Mr. Baker. Here's hoping it gets ironed out. * Rush Defense: I know, I know. It was just one play; an eighty yard lazy jog by Hightower for a TD. It reeked of Mendenhall's 50 yard game winning TD run last week against our otherwise flawless defense just without you the ten or so holds the refs in Pittsburgh decided to miss. If it happens once, it's a fluke; twice, a coincidence; thrice, a problem. It almost happened again later in the game. Thankfully, Grimes was there to stop Hightower after twenty yards. There are times that extreme aggression can get you in those types of situations. VanGorder might want to dial down the aggression of his blitzes. The Ugly * Penalties: Sixteen of them total, 184 yards lost in all. The Falcons were the cleaner bunch, having only six accepted. The Cardinals... well let's just say that their quarterbacking wasn't the only facet of their game off track yesterday. And now, a word from yours truly: Our ultimate test, some would say, is staring us in the face. We face the Saints, in Louisiana, six days from now. Arizona and, in some respects, the Steelers, were a warmup to the black and gold warriors. Between the defensive battle loss against the Steelers, and the boot-grinding, teeth smashing victory against the Cardinals hides the formula for success against the reigning Super Bowl champs. Let us hope our coaches can discover it. http://www.thefalcoholic.com/2010/9/20/1699373/game-recap-atl-vs-az The Falcons placed running back Jerious Norwood on injured reserve because of a torn ACL in his right knee, according to the team. He will miss the rest of the season. In 2009, he missed six games with a hamstring injury and a concussion. He entered this season in a battle with Jason Snelling for the No. 2 job behind Michael Turner. In relief of Norwood and Turner on Sunday, Snelling ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 57 yards and a touchdown receiving in the Falcons' 41-7 win over Arizona. Turner, who left that game with a groin injury, likely will be back in the lineup Sunday at New Orleans. Snelling should step into Norwood's spot. The Falcons also announced the addition of running back Gartrell Johnson to the active roster and terminated the contract of linebacker Bear Woods, who was on the practice squad. They signed running back Shawnbrey McNeal to replace Woods. Johnson was a fourth-round draft pick of the Chargers in 2009. He had 43 yards on 13 carries for the Giants last season. http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-falcons/falcons-jerious-norwood-out-618463.html Since 2008, Matt Ryan has gone from being a semi-embraced, first-round draft pick (remember Glenn Dorsey?), to a franchise savior (playoffs!), to just pretty good, to having questionable arm strength, to being an opening week loser to Dennis Dixon in Pittsburgh, to mounting doubts about his career and one NFL media outlet whispering that the Falcons were “having doubts” about him. So did the room just stop spinning? If Ryan cemented neither his legacy nor the Falcons’ fate this season, he at least calmed nerves and muzzled critics Sunday. He threw a touchdown pass on the Falcons’ first possession. He was the model of efficiency, completing 21 of 32 passes for 225 yards, three touchdowns with zero interceptions. Ryan and the Falcons did what good quarterbacks and good teams are supposed to do: They followed a fizzle on opening week at Pittsburgh with a dominating performance over an overmatched opponent: 444 yards in offense and a 41-7 body slam of Arizona at the Georgia Dome. Now he’s the greatest quarterback in the history of the world again. When Ryan was asked how he handled the week, with doubts swirling around for really the first time in his career, he responded: “The biggest thing is to remain consistent in your routine. In this position, there’s going to be a lot thrown at you. You need to have tunnel vision and remain focused on what’s important, and the big thing is understanding what’s important.” Then he added, as if confirming the tunnel vision: “To be honest I didn’t hear too much about it. So that probably helped.” Let’s be clear about something: Ryan wasn’t awful in Pittsburgh. He just wasn’t as good as he needed to be. As Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said, including Ryan in this analysis: “There was a sense of urgency we didn’t have in the Pittsburgh game. We have high expectations and we need to back it up with that sense of want and urgency that we talked about in the offseason.” Ryan took charge Sunday. Granted, nobody would confuse the Cardinals’ defense with the Steelers’. But Ryan was significantly better, even after losing his starting running back (Michael Turner) and a backup (Jerious Norwood). He found wide receiver Roddy White on second-and-goal from the Cards’ seven for the first touchdown. He completed five of seven passes and drew an interference call on the second touchdown (a pass underneath coverage to the NFL’s sudden Fantasy League hero Jason Snelling). Early in the third quarter, just three plays after rookie William Moore’s interception set up the Falcons at the Arizona 14, Ryan fired a bullet into the end zone for Brian Finneran to increase the lead to 31-7. That pretty much shut the door on this one, and presumably it also will smother some of the nonsense for now. Earlier in the week, the NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi reported that some within the Falcons’ organization were “having doubts” about Ryan. (Noteworthy: Lombardi also reported in the offseason that the Falcons were in trade talks with San Diego for linebacker Shawne Merriman, which proved baseless.) Dimitroff smiled when asked about the Ryan report. “All I can tell you is it didn’t come from myself or Mike Smith,” he said. “Do I need to say anything else?” He did: “It’s ridiculous to think there’s concerns.” Teammates noticed no difference in Ryan’s preparation during the week. White said: “When people said they were doubting him, I was like, ‘Off one game?’ I don’t know the last time somebody scored 30-something points on the Pittsburgh Steelers.” Dimitroff said Ryan’s reaction to the relative tumult confirmed what the Falcons thought of him before the draft. “Matt knows this is an ever-evolving stage and he isn’t affected by it, and that’s one of the reasons we wanted him as our quarterback,” he said. “We know there are growing pains in the NFL, and those growing pains don’t stop in year two.” At least we know it will be a quieter week. http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-b...t-he-noticed/?cxntfid=blogs_jeff_schultz_blog
SAINTS It seems ridiculous to think that some of us could be so upset about a Saints win. But the disappointing performances of both the offense and defense combined with the possibility of losing Reggie Bush for a significant amount of time has left a bad taste in my mouth the following morning. It's simple, really: I'm developing a love/hate relationship with the Saints defense. I love that they are always able to seemingly will turnovers (read: takeaways) to happen when they need them most. I hate that they really need those turnovers so badly in the first place because they can't get any pressure on the quarterback or stop from getting gashed by running plays and screen passes. That's all there is to it. Let's all just accept that fact and pray the turnovers don't ever dry up. That being said, this game could have been completely different if the Saints offense was able to just capitalize on those turnovers and the good field position they usually offer. I can't believe that one my biggest concerns for this team is actually the offense but they just can't seem to put up points like they did early last season. The running game isn't what we'd like to see and the usually adept passing game still can't seem to find their mojo. Of course a win, is a win, is a win so I suppose I should quit my whining. It's good to know that the Saints still have the intestinal and emotional fortitude to win games like this. That's what great teams do. For that, I am grateful. There's really not much more to it than that. I think that's about as accurate and succinct a way as anyone can put it. Make the jump for just a few more random notes and talking points. Then discuss. Star-divide * I would definitely be expecting the Saints to bring in another running back this week to offset the loss of Reggie Bush last night. Probably Ladell Betts. Chris Ivory can't get healthy soon enough. * The 49ers offensive line did a great job of keeping Alex Smith clean while at the same time opening up plenty of lanes for Frank Gore to run through. Especially good considering how young and inexperienced many of the players are. On the flip side, the Saints defensive line looked weak. * The Saints also lost the battle in the trenches on the other side of the ball. Their offensive line didn't do a great job opening running lanes and gave up two sacks of Drew Brees. Not what I expected from our usually rock solid front five. * Here is a more positive stat for the Saints offense to be excited about: Zero turnovers. * Courtney Roby puts the "special" in special teams. Recovering a muffed punt like he did last night doesn't just happen. Roby was fast enough and smart enough to be in that returners face and right there to jump on the ball as soon as it fell through his hands. That's just heads-up football right there. * I think we can all put any Garrett Hartley concerns to rest. * Roman "Stone Hands" Harper actually came up with an interception last night off a tipped ball. I'm shocked! In all seriousness though, Harper had a great game. He seems to be playing very well this season, perhaps his best ever. * Marvin Mitchell made a nice pass breakup in the fourth quarter. * Definitely saw flashes of pre-season with some of the weak tackling the Saints defensive players were making, or rather, not making. Scott Shanle whiffed on at least one; Randall Gay looked ridiculous getting carried by a 49er receiver. * Frank Gore freaking killed me in my official CSC fantasy football game against Jeremy Sherwin. I was up by about 24 points going into Monday night's game but Gore's two TDs and 168 yards were too much for me to hold on. http://www.canalstreetchronicles.com/2010/9/21/1700731/new-orleans-saints-25-san The New Orleans Saints will take another look at veteran tailback Ladell Betts in the wake of Reggie Bush's broken leg. Betts, who spent most of the preseason with the Saints before being released on the final cut-down day, will come in for a workout, a league source confirmed. Betts, 31, spent his first eight seasons with the Washington Redskins as a valuable backup and fill-in starter. But the 5-foot-11, 225-pounder suffered a torn anterior cruciate knee ligament last season and just returned to full-speed work last month. http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2010/09/new_orleans_saints_will_bring_1.html The Good... - Getting the "W" Winning in the NFL is hard... winning in the NFL on the road is even harder. We found a way to win and that's all that matter's in the end, but we got some work to do. - Forcing turnovers Our defense never cease to amaze me with the ways they take the ball from opposing offense. Big props to Gregg Williams for instilling that attitude in our defense. - Hartley is back! After a bad game... Hartley comes back and nails 2 huge FGs... big shot out to hartley for focusing on the task at hand. - Special teams has really impressed me Man in the preseason I just knew we had the worse ST unit in the league, but man our coverage units are off the chain! Love the work they've been doing. ============== The Bad... - Our Rushing attack I wasn't expecting us to come in and just maul the SF front 7... those guys are too good... but we rushed for 50 yards with a 2 ypc avg... not good... regardless of what defense we face. - We hit another wall offensively after the 1st drive 2 straight games now we literally walk down the field and score TDs... then we shut it down offensively until the 2nd half. Teams have now resorted to playing "coverage" against the Saints... they REFUSE to give up the big play. In the few chances we get to go deep we need to capitalize. That deep pass to Meachem is a TD without the wind last night, but we must find a we to take what the defense gives and move the ball and score points AFTER the 1st drive. - Our OLB speed I like Shanle... I like Dunbar (made a great play on the tipped pass)... but GOOD GOD their speed on the blitz is painful to watch. - No rush from the Front 4. Will Smith and Alex Brown got NO rush from the edges, and Sed/Hargrove/Ayodele got NO push in the middle... and also opened running lanes for Smith. Sure.. the SF Oline is tough, but they had 2 rookies and a backup starting... surely we could have gotten some kind of pass rush on Smith. - Our secondary We made Smith look like a right-handed Steve Young... but this is a direct result of a non-existing pass rush. We couldn't get to Smith with the blitz (see slow OLBs), and we couldn't get to him with our front 4 (see above), so that gave the SF WRs time to run their routes in our secondary. I'm not giving them a pass because of the pass rush, because they're still required to cover, but playing man-to-man CB is hard when the QB has all day to throw the ball. ========== The Hideous... - Our run defense I'm not going to place total blame on the interior dline this time (although I'm still not convinced we don't need help), because Gore was able to bounce alot of those runs outside. Either our DEs or OLBs get washed inside... leaving the "backdoor" wide open for the cutback. I keep seeing people say stuff like "Its Gore... he does that to everybody"... well that's a load of bull. Seattle held him in check last week because they refused to let Gore beat them. Sooner or later people will realize we have a problem stopping the run. Peterson "only" had 87 yards because he "only" ran the ball a couple times in the entire 2nd half last game (thank you Beville). Last year... we were able to win games in spite of our run defense because we were scoring ALOT of points... well... we haven't score ALOT of points yet, and if we don't start stopping the run we're going to lose some games BECAUSE of our run defense problems. I've said this numerous times here on this board... we play too many "ground and pound" teams to have this problem. Next week its Michael Turner... the week after it's Steward and Williams...not sure what needs to be done, but whatever it is we need to do it... QUICK. http://www.saintsreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=176054
BUCCANEERS Now that I have had a good night's sleep, and have hopefully tempered my homerism a bit, I decided to take a quick look at how the Buccaneers' young quarterback is faring compared to his competition around the NFL. Now keep in mind that these numbers are a bit inflated because of the poor talent we have faced, but nevertheless they are still quite impressive. Although I admittedly disliked the pick in the draft two years ago (I actually threw a half full beer across the room), I have to admit that all the offseason work Freeman put in this year has made a huge difference thus far and translated itself into much more careful play on the field. He seems like a completely different quarterback than the one we saw throw 18 interceptions in just nine games a year ago. We saw him err on the side of caution numerous times yesterday, and throw the ball away rather than risk a costly turnover. The 3rd down in the Red Zone in the 3rd quarter when we were up 14-7 particulary stands out in my mind. Freeman threw the ball away because he knew that was a gimme field goal and we needed the cushion. I don't think he makes that play last year. I will hit all the basic stats, because I know and love them. DVOA is great and all, but as a few pointed out last week, they don't tell us much more than the basic stats do until after week 6. Read after the jump to see how Freeman compares to his peers thus far in the 2010 season. Star-divide I'll start with everyone's favorite statistic, quarterback rating. Please save the complaints about the merit of quarterback rating for another day. I have decided to include it in this piece and that's that. Here is the formula for QB rating for all you math whizzes out there in case you want to double check the numbers I pulled from Yahoo sports. a = (((Comp/Att) * 100) -30) / 20 b = ((TDs/Att) * 100) / 5 c = (9.5 - ((Int/Att) * 100)) / 4 d = ((Yards/Att) - 3) / 4 a, b, c and d can not be greater than 2.375 or less than zero. QB Rating = (a + b + c + d) / .06 NFL Leaders in QB rating through Week 2 (Note: Drew Brees week two numbers are not included in this) 1. Jay Cutler: 121.2 2. Peyton Manning: 121.0 3. Phillip Rivers: 107.0 4. Michael Vick: 105.5 5. Kyle Orton: 103.9 6. Matt Schaub: 102.6 7. Drew Brees: 101.3 8. Mark Sanchez: 96.4 9. Tom Brady: 96.3 10. Josh Freeman: 95.0 11. Aaron Rodgers: 94.0 Completion Percentage: 55.8% NFL rank: 24 Passing Yards: 360 NFL rank: 20 Passing Touchdowns: 4 NFL rank: Tied for sixth (with Matt Schaub, Aaron Rodgers and David Garrard. Interceptions: 1 NFL rank: Tied for seventh (minimum 20 attempts) with eight others Sacks: 3 NFL rank: Tied for tenth fewest with eight others The sack and interception ranking really impress me. Freeman has shown an uncanny ability to avoid sacks thus far this season. His size and athleticism make him very difficult to bring down. I can remember several times yesterday where a smaller or less mobile quarterback would have been sacked, but Freeman kept the play alive. One interception through two games is wonderful. Although I don't think it's a standard he can uphold, it really shows that the front office wasn't just blowing smoke when they spoke of the dedication Freeman had in the film room this offseason. The completion percentage is really the only stat that I find slightly disturbing, but just as with the good stuff, we have to realize that it is a very small sample size as well. Once Freeman's thumb fully heals he could very well get that completion percentage hovering around 60%, which is the goal he set he had set for himself. (I swear I remember reading this somewhere, but I'm too lazy to look it up.) Going into this season I expected Freeman to trend towards the bottom of NFL quarterbacks statistically, and for all we know he may very well still do so. However, my personal hopes and expectations have grown quite a bit after the first two starts. Now I hope to see Freeman finish somewhere around league average in most stats, and that is very impressive for a second year quarterback. My preseason prediction of 25 interceptions is looking less and less likely each week, and that is some crow I will happily swallow sans salt and pepper. So what do you think Bucs Nation? Have your expectations for young Mr. Freeman grown after his first two starts, or did you know all along he was going to put it together. http://www.bucsnation.com/2010/9/21/1699714/is-this-kid-for-real-the-emergence Wow. 2-0. Not many thought the Buccaneers would be able to win consecutive games to start the season, let alone with such dominance on a certain side of the ball. This week's victory was particularly gratifying as it came against the hated Carolina Panthers. Let's take a quick look back on Sunday's win to see how each unit performed and what the team has to do better if they want to keep this momentum going. Star-divide Offense: B- The offense was all about QB Josh Freeman. He made some great decisions (whether it be to scramble, throw the ball down the field, or simply throw the ball away) that must be encouraging to Bucs nation. He made some excellent throws to Kellen Winslow and Mike Williams, showing he can make some plays when given the time. Williams' TD catch was his second on the year, this one was impressive because he displayed his explosiveness in the open field. The offensive line is becoming a major concern at this point, as discussed on a few posts. Freeman was forced to scramble a bunch, and the running game was non-existent. Although they did not allow a sack, this can likely be attributed to the Panthers having no pass rush now that Julius Peppers is in Chicago. This is very concerning, because the Steelers come to town next week and we all know they love to bring the heat. Defense: B+ 25 carries for 97 yards. Probably the most important stat of the entire game yesterday, this is what the Buccaneers held running backs Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams to rushing the football. The defense play a great game for most of the contest on Sunday. The only big play given up was on a 4th and 4 touchdown to Steve Smith, which coach Raheem Morris later admitted came as a result of a bad coaching decision. He called for an all out blitz that never reached the QB, allowing Smith to score on an easy slant pattern. I know most were probably expecting an A, but the fact that Matt Moore (with less than 100% of his brain functioning no-less) was under center for the opposition, its hard to justify giving the unit an A. Like I mentioned in my preseason article, it looks like bringing Cover-2 back is the single most important reason why our Bucs are 2-0. Special Teams: B Not much too report on this section, which I guess is a good thing. The kickoff coverage was gashed for one long return in the 4th quarter, but other than that both coverage units were outstanding. The Panthers rarely had good field position, which always helps in forcing turnovers. The return team got in on the action this week, as Spurlock had a nice return in the second quarter to set up the Bucs first score. Other than this, the unit was unable to get anything going but a lack of chances is part of the reason. Overall, a solid performance by the Special Teams. Overall: The Defense stood out to me in week 2. Although Williams and Stewart were able to break a few runs in the 11-20 yard range, the Bucs did a great job of stuffing them at the line most of the time, which prevented the Panthers from sustaining drives. They pitched another shutout in the second half, capitalizing on mistakes which created chances for the offense. The offense remains a work in progress, but there are signs the Josh Freeman is starting to get into a groove at the quarterback position. Going forward they have to get help in the running game somewhere to take some pressure off of Freeman and his weapons. Nonetheless it was another solid victory for the Buccaneers. http://www.bucsnation.com/2010/9/21/1699878/grading-the-units-week-2 The Buccaneers had 4 sacks against the Panthers, 2 from Tim Crowder, one from Stylez G White and one from Quincy Black. After being held without a sack in the first game, but still getting a lot of pressure, the Bucs made this game count and got to the opposing quarterback. Hopefully we'll see more of that as the season continues, and as our young Defensive Linemen gain experience and learn how to play better at the NFL level. But aside from physical domination, there's another way to get sacks in the NFL and that's scheme: with creative blitzes and pass-rush games the defense can find an easy way to the quarterback. So how did the sacks against the Panthers happen, was it domination or was it scheme? Let's start with the first sack. With 2:30 left in the second quarter; the Panthers are facing 3rd&8 at the Bucs 36-yard line. With just a 4-man rush, Kyle Moore at DT gets double teamed inside, Gerald McCoy is trying to beat a guard, while Crowder and White both get single matchups on the offensive tackles. While McCoy and Moore fail to do much against the interior linemen, both Crowder and White win their matchups easily and are on top of Moore as soon as he finishes his drop. Crowder gets to the QB on a bull rush, while Stylez turns the corner around Jordan Gross. More impressively, Gross is clearly holding him on the play, but Stylez keeps his legs churning and gets to Moore anyway. If you want to watch the play, you can do so here. Star-divide The second sack was a lot less impressive. On 3rd&3 at the Panthers 36-yard line Matt Moore rolls out behind his blockers, Crowder hand-fights off a block by the tackle and then a tight end and gets to the QB as he's about to run out of bounds. Good recognition, hustle and speed by Crowder to get to the quarterback, but the rollout makes it relatively easy for him to get the sack. The third sack was a thing of beauty, though. If you haven't seen it, go watch it. The Panthers are facing 3rd&11 on their own 24-yard line. The Bucs line up in a 3-3-5 front (3 down linemen, 3 linebackers, 5 defensive backs) and they have both Quincy Black and Geno Hayes lined up just outside the Tight Tackle, looking as if they're blitzing. Hayes drops back, but Black rushes the Tackle, then loops back inside behind Gerald McCoy who pushed the Right Guard so far back he's blocking the tackle from getting back inside. It's possible the Guard was supposed to jump off and pick up Black, with the Tackle then picking up McCoy, but that's nearly impossible to say. With Black going through an open hole, as Price is occupying the Center and Left Guard, he goes straight for the quarterback. Matt Moore didn't notice him until it was too late. The last sack occurred with 12:46 left in the 4th quarter as Carolina was attempting to mount a comeback. The Bucs go with a four man rush against the O-line, with Moore and McCoy inside, White on the outside right getting a double team and Crowder on the left agains the right tackle. McCoy goes up against the center but tries to go around him toward where Moore is struggling to get by a Guard, causing neither of them to go anywhere. White isn't getting much done against the double team, but Crowder just schools Geoff Schwartz and grabs Moore low and from behind, who promptly drops the ball into Kyle Moore's eagerly awaiting hands. This was the last down Matt Moore played in this game. With the exception of the pass-rush game that got Quincy Black the sack, all of these sacks happened because our defensive ends were better than their pass protectors. Especially Stylez' sack was impressive, beating a premier left tackle in Jordan Gross. Given the way these sacks happened, with little interior push, perhaps our DEs are being underrated even by the Bucs fans themselves. More than that, it's a strong statement by Crowder who is clearly pushing for the starting role at Left Defensive End. http://www.bucsnation.com/2010/9/21/1700472/a-tale-of-4-sacks The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 2-0, undefeated, and at the top of the NFC South for at least a day. Who expected this before the season began? A great result for the Bucs, who have now won their first two games for the first time since 2005 when they beat the Vikings and Bills to open the season. The Bucs scored on two touchdown passes: a 14-yard pass to Earnest Graham in the first quarter, and a 35-yarder to Mike Williams in the second quarter. Connor Barth connected on a 24 and 33-yarder, while the Panthers scored on a 37-yard pass from Matt Moore early in the game. For most of the game, this was a defensive battle as the Carolina Panthers managed to shut out the Bucs' running game and managed to put pressure on Freeman. With the Bucs running the ball 30 times for 52 yards,Josh Freeman had to make the most of his passing opportunities. And so he did, going 12/24 for 178 yards and 2 TDs, adding 43 yards on the ground with 4 scrambles converting several important third downs. Kellen Winslow II and Mike Williams were big targets for him, Winslow getting 3 catches for 72 yards and Mike Williams 2 for 32 and a touchdown. The Bucs prevented the Panthers from getting a scoring drive together for most of the game, forcing 3 turnovers and getting a key 4th down stop on the goal line to put the game away. Getting 4 sacks and 3 turnovers is a big game for the defense, and a big reason the Panthers could not move the ball downfield and score. The 4 sacks came courtesy of Quincy Black, Stylez G White and Tim Crowder, who got two sacks. The rookies showed up in this game again. McCoy managed to get a lot of penetration adding a tackle while Mike Wiliams grabbed his second touchdown grab in the NFL. Brian Price showed up on the 4th down goal-line stop to open up a lane for Geno Hayes to tackle the running back. Star-divide But there were plenty of negatives too, most notably the offensive line. Our running backs only got 1.8 yards per carry, in large part because the offensive line failed to open up any lines. And while the Bucs did not allow a sack, Freeman had to scramble and run around to get the ball out several times. This offensive line was supposed to be the strength of this team, but it does not look like that's going to happen - the same story as last season. On the defensive side the Bucs were inconsistent, allowing the Panthers to run for only 3.6 yards per carry, but allowing a lot of big plays alongside a lot of stuffs. Inconsistency was the word here, as the Panthers had 7 drives gaining 20 yards or fewer, but had 3 drives of 40 yards or more. While the passing game was shut down for most of the game, there were several cases of wide receivers being wide open behind our secondary, including a touchdown catch-and-run by Steve Smith. If Matt Moore had been a more accurate quarterback, this game could've ended up looking very different. Luckily enough, Matt Moore was so terrible the Panthers benched him for Clausen - who did not do much better himself. The Bucs pulled out a victory against a team that had been a thorn in their side for years on end, and are now the top team in the NFC South - for one day at least. Let's enjoy this win! http://www.bucsnation.com/2010/9/19/1698082/game-recap-buccaneers-20-carolina
FALCONS You may never see a game like that again in your life. Somewhere between the unbelievable highs and crushing lows of that gut-churning roller coaster of a contest was one of the great games I've had the occasion to see. At the end of it all, the Falcons walked out of a rollicking Superdome with a win. I can't tell you how amazing it was to see Hartley miss the field goal, to see the Falcons march down the field like a victorious army and to see Matt Bryant survive a block (luckily erased by Sean Payton's poor timing) and ace the game winner. Watching Matt Ryan yelling on the sidelines, I was struck by how fiercely the Falcons wanted this game. The team that folded in high pressure situations is dying, and I hope they rest peacefully. All of which is a fancy way of saying that this game kicked ***. The Falcons walk out of it a 2-1 team, good enough for a nominal lead in the NFC South, and with confidence and talent oozing out of their pores. In my two decades following this team, I've rarely had such confidence in their ability to keep the good times rolling. The Football Gods willing, they will. I'm too emotionally drained to write much else about the general game. Let's jump into the individual performances, right after the.....well, jump. Star-divide HIGHLIGHTS * Statistically, Matt Ryan has had equally impressive games. A couple of them have been even more impressive. I'm just not sure I've ever seen him play a better game. He didn't turn the ball over. He made accurate throws. He got emotional, yelling at Will Svitek on the sidelines in a way that the normally reserved Matty Ice never seems to do. He wanted to win this one so bad you could see it in every gesture, and he played an enormous role in getting the Falcons there. Hell, he even managed to run a couple Saints over on quarterback sneaks. That's gumption, damnit. I'm not a big fan of the idea of "the leap." I don't believe most players suddenly rid themselves of all their faults and arrive after one game. But we're seeing a natural, steady progression out of Ryan, and he's maturing with the Falcons. I don't think we can ask for much more. * Michael Turner carried the ball 30 times. He average less than four yards a carry in total, ending up with 114 yards and a touchdown. For long stretches early in the game, he seemed stymied, unable to get past a fairly average front seven for the Saints. It was fair to wonder what was going on. Eventually, though, the genius (!) of Mike Mularkey's work with his backs emerged. I still think the guy calls way too many runs off our guards, but the Saints' defense was so hammered by the end of the game that Turner was able to pick up some nice gains. The guy just doesn't seem to wear down as the game goes on, which is absolutely huge. Let's face it. We don't win this game without Turner, and we don't win it without Jason Snelling (14 carries, 62 yards). I think the team's usage of Turnelling is going to wear out a lot of defense before the year's over. If Turner doesn't finish with 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns....then he's hurt. Period. * Roddy White disappeared off our radar for long stretches, but he came through with five nice catches, one of them a touchdown. He remains Matt Ryan's most reliable target. At times, he's a royal pain in the *** to cover, too. Gotta love that. * Tony Gonzalez heard the whispers that he was slowing down. Instead of being crushed under the weight of them, he drank a All-Pro Diet raspberry smoothie with five pounds of protein powder and Hulked up. The end result? Well, suffice to say, he caught eight passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. Suffice to say, Saints fans over at Canal Street Chronicles were terrified of him from the first quarter through overtime. Suffice to say, he was our best offensive player today. * John Abraham is a stone cold killer. Gouging him in the eyes only pisses him off. On a day where the pass pressure was inconsistent, Abe provided a big sack and put in a heroic effort to get to Drew Brees all day long. He, Jonathan Babineaux and Kroy Biermann really applied the pressure, and between the three of them they forced a handful of bad throws. That's not small feat with Drew Brees, and seeing Abe return from injury gave me goosebumps. * Speaking of the USS Babineaux, his sack of Brees was both timely and satisfying. He's Pro Bowl bound if he keeps up this pace. Corey Peters is proving to be a great complement to him. * The run defense was stout. Extremely stout. * Mike Peterson continues to come up with big plays. That forced fumble was the product of Peterson mustering some of his brand-name Mo Pete Tacklin', now available in both the Smashing the Saints and Crushing the Cardinals flavors. Delicious. * Brent Grimes has crazy jumping skills. Thomas DeCoud has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. They both picked up nice picks, and improbably, the Falcons lead the league in interceptions. When was the last time you could say that? This is a defense made up of ballhawks, so you may not see this pace slacken. * Spoooooooooonnnnnn. * Matt Bryant had an awfully rough pre-season, but he's been money in the season. That game winner was a thing of beauty. After the Jason Elam debacle it's been hard to trust the Falcons' kickers, but Bryant deserves our respect. LOWLIGHTS * The Falcons still kinda let Drew Brees pass all over them. Yeah, he's Drew Brees and all, but Lance Moore in particular was just abusing our defensive backs. Dunta Robinson let Devery Henderson get by him on one play and was fortunate to watch Henderson drop it. We're going to have to watch out for high octane passing offenses all year long unless that improves. * You thought you were getting a free pass, Mike Mularkey? Oh ho ho! At this point, there isn't a more Jekyll and Hyde-type offensive coordinator in the NFL. During his brilliant stretches, like the eternal drive of the spotless kind, Mularkey looks like a genius. During his terrible stretches, like the excruciating runs up the middle on three or even four straight plays, he looks like a moron. It's absolutely maddening. Thankfully, his good stretches outnumbered his bad today, but we need more consistent quality out of Mularkey if the Falcons are going to dominate opponents. He's obviously got the mind for it, so hopefully everything will start to click in the weeks ahead. http://www.thefalcoholic.com/2010/9/27/1714043/falcons-saints-recap-a-thrilling-game-a-division-lead Somewhere in the chaos of Sunday's epic slugfest between our beloved Dirty Birds and those dastardly Saints sat all the hopes, ambitions, and prayers of an entire fanbase. We live and die with the Falcons every Sunday, a battle renewed weekly in a war that shall, in all hopes, end gloriously in the ides of February. We almost tasted that glory in 1998, our last sip from the cup of the ultimate accomplishment. Lo, as Falcons fans, we can point at games that we would recommend to fans and non alike. A last-minute win on a last-minute drive led by a frosh quarterback. The death of a magnanimous stat in the mild wintery warmth of Tampa Bay. An implausible win in the face of implausible odds at an implausibly daunting location, from the foot of an implausibly clutch, ex-maligned kicker, against a team that seemed to have all the luck. Ladies and gentlemen, Sunday's game will be forever remembered. I've got it preserved and it's taking a spot on the media shelf along with the 1998 NFC Championship, 2008's last minute win against Chicago, and 2009's curse-breaking win against Tampa Bay. The Good * Matt Ryan: He was everything we wanted him to be in New Orleans. He was full of fury and wanted to win. From his thirteen yard scamper into a tough hit to his second and third effort third down conversion to his nearly flawless pass performance. This was not the Matt Ryan that choked in Pittsburgh. This was the Matt Ryan we drafted. Keep the fire, Mr. Ryan. * Michael Turner: When he's got a lane, there's pain to be had. When there isn't a gap, prepare to be carried three or four yards. * Jason Snelling: Snelling is the perfect complement to Turner, not because he's fundamentally different (in fact, he's much the same; a bruiser) but because of his strive and will to gain yardage, even on a screen or flip. * Sean Weatherspoon: How clutch was his in-bounds tackle of Meacham to force the Saints to take the overtime? Very clutch. And his six tackles, second only to Curtis Lofton. He is, in Coach Smith's words, playing like a veteran. * Tony Gonzalez: As often as the Fox officiating crew liked to mention it, you would not have thought Tony was capable, at his advanced age, to make such spectacular plays. Well he did and is. This is not news, ladies and gentlemen. Still, it warms your heart to know he's in Falcons red and black. * Mike Smith: Courage is going for it on fourth down. Courage on steroids is going for fourth down, again, in the same drive. * John Abraham: He was poked in the eye, and very clearly. I don't know whether or not it was intentional or not and I'm not going to speculate. As much as I've said in the past about Abe's motor, his decision to stay in and still get after Brees shows me his commitment to the team and its cause. And his sacking of Brees, forcing a third and long, helps as well. * Jonathan Babineaux: Dave was right. We were definitely going to have to watch Babs. Fresh off his suspension, he tore up the pass rush and netted a fantastic sack. * Matt Bryant: Your team is lining up for a 41 yard, game winning, field goal, already a shaky distance for you. And then one of the guards false-starts, forcing you to go for a 46 yarder. What do you do? Well Matt Bryant, against type some would say, sank the winning field goal; moreover, the kick would have gone farther were it not for the net. Mr. Bryant wanted that one. The Bad * Sam Baker: This is becoming a regular occurrence in my recaps. Once again Sam Baker had multiple mental mistakes and was the attacking point for at least one of the two sacks recorded against our offensive line. There comes a point when that sort of performance gets you cut, but the team needs Baker until draft time comes around. * D'unta Robinson: D-Rob is the only Falcons secondary starter without an interception, and yet he's the most highly-paid. * Kick-off Coverage: Corral the big plays, gentlemen. Our punter/place kicker should not have to tackle returners. The Ugly * Saints "Mojo:" I don't exactly know if it's VooDoo or providence, but that "DeCoud's foot just forced a fumble" nonsense is just what won the Saints their Lombardi in the first place. Thankfully, the Falcons had a little of their own when Hartley stepped up to kick the game-winner. http://www.thefalcoholic.com/ After a slow start, the Falcons' offense has gained traction and is showing its true identity. The unit has been in near perfect run-to-pass balance for two games and taken time off the clock at an alarming and league-leading pace. In Sunday's thrilling 27-24 overtime upset of the New Orleans Saints, the Falcons rushed for 202 yards and passed for 228. In an earlier 41-7 rout of Arizona, the offense rushed for 221 yards and passed for 225. The Falcons have held onto the ball for an average of 38 minutes and 31 seconds in each of their three games. "It'll wear on the defense," wide receiver Roddy White said Monday, citing team conditioning as the reason for this NFL luxury. The Falcons have cobbled together 12 drives of at least nine plays, and they've scored a field goal or touchdown on 11 of them. They had a monster 19-play drive against the Saints that wiped out most of the second quarter, taking 10:39 off the clock. They also came up with two 13-play drives against Pittsburgh and a 16-play drive against Arizona. Against the Saints, the Falcons scored on all five of their long drives. They lasted nine, 19 11, nine and 12 plays. The Falcons ran 82 plays against the Saints and 78 against Arizona. "Defenses don't want to play 80 plays," White said. The Falcons want to run the football and control the game clock, and that was particularly important against the Saints and their high-powered offense. If the Atlanta offense is on the field, the defense rests and has limited exposure to big plays. "Long drives are tough on defenses when you can't get off the field and you're just out there and you're battling your tails off to try to get a stop, and you're not able to get a stop," Falcons coach Mike Smith said. "It's an advantage to the offense." The Falcons believe that winning the time-of-possession category helped them run the ball on the Saints in overtime. In the game-winning drive, they had rushing plays on 11 of the final 12 to set up a game-winning field goal. "As far as the opposition, you could kind of see frustration start to set in a little bit," left guard Justin Blalock said. "There were guys maybe going for their [substitute] a little bit quicker." The drives actually took a toll on the Falcons. "We're not Superman; we're tired, too," right tackle Tyson Clabo said. "We're kind of taking the mindset that, ‘If we're tired, just imagine how tired they are?'" There are ancillary benefits gained from sustaining drives. "It builds confidence on this team and gets that chemistry on this team to another level," said running back Michael Turner, who rushed for 114 yards on 30 carries against the Saints. "We know we can get the job done." http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-falcons/falcons-offense-leads-league-641812.html
SAINTS Wow, I have to say this was definitely a hard game to watch for me. It came down to overtime and it was extremely tough game. The final score hurt, especially when we had the chance to finish it off in OT and failed miserably at it. This game was very hard to endure, especially when it was a loss to Atlanta, a divisional opponent, so on with the show. Star-divide **Anger** Offense: Drew Brees threw 2 INT’s in this game, and both were preventable. Of course, had he not thrown the INT’s, he would have ended up with 4 sacks instead of only 2. The offensive line does not look the same as they did last year, even though the players are still the same, the cohesiveness is not. There are issues with the line that need to be ironed out. Apparently Meachem’s toe injury is slowing him down. He does not seem to get the separation that he did last year. Colston has not been as productive as last year, and Henderson has looked lost at times while on the field. The prolific offense of last year looks to be on life support and out of sync. Something has got to give before the downward spiral continues. We scored more points in this game than the other two so far and it resulted in a loss. The Saints have looked sluggish on offense in the passing game, and the running game looks like it in a coma. Not just in this game, but in all three games so far. I think it starts up front with the line. If they can get back to who they were last year, a unit, a team, a family of linemen, then it will provide the receivers to get that extra separation, give Brees time and provide the push we need in the run game. Defense: The defense is not creating the turnovers that they did a year ago. Sharper is out for another 3 weeks, and Jenkins is not really the instinctive ball hawk that he is. The D-Line gave up 202 rushing yards. Ryan had enough time to sit back in the pocket and get rid of the ball at leisure. I am assuming that someone was assigned to Tony Gonzalez, but I am not sure if they were on the field or not because he had over 100 receiving yards. He is a great TE, don’t get me wrong, but I know that TE’s can be covered by our personnel. The LB’s are missing some kind of spark. They aren’t popping the line as they should, and I don’t see anyone getting into the backfield stopping the run or in the QB’s face forcing errant throws. Where was the coverage and/or pressure on the fourth down conversions? Special Teams: You know where this is going. Hartley missed a game winning field goal. I think he has gotten lazy and sloppy, or maybe the weight of the SB ring is weighing him down on the left side too much. Whatever it is, he better snap out of it now. Last year is over, and there are no entitlements. His head doesn’t even look to be in the game. Is there a bookie out there that he owes? All three of his misses are easy makes for him, and all of a sudden he is shanking them wide left. He needs to get his head on straight, or at least remove it from the dark hiding spot in which it seems he is keeping it. Coaching: Sean Payton did a boneheaded thing. In the middle of an OT Drive, with a first down, line up on the right hash mark, he pulled his QB in favor of the kicker. Yes, he had two INT’s, but he was also nearly 79% complete for the game. How about giving it to your FB a couple of times to try to drive the ball into the middle of the field? Why not give it a try? First down, in the redzone, in OT, lined up on the right hash mark. My understanding of football leads me to the conclusion that lining the ball up in the middle of the field for a field goal is a good thing, and with three tries at your disposal, it is a good chance that Heath Evans could be trusted to get the ball into the middle of the field to line Hartley up for a straighter kick. Also, Gregg Williams runs the risk reward smack talking defense. Right now, the swagger meter is running a little empty because the reward has not trumped the risk as of yet. Giving up 417 yards of offense is a tough pill to swallow, so maybe we should try shutting teams down in the process of going for turnovers. Just a thought. **Accolades** Offense: Lance Moore came alive in this game. 149 yards receiving, on 6 catches, with 2 TD’s, is pretty damned impressive. He is a special talent that definitely deserves a little recognition. Jeremy Shockey had a pretty big day as well. He caught 8 passes for 78 yards and a score. When Brees was in trouble, he seemed to be able to locate Shockey and get him the ball. He is definitely a dependable target. Defense: Malcolm Jenkins came out hammering people in this game. He is laying the wood to anyone and everyone that he can, and I have to admit, for a second year player, he has really impressed me. Vilma has been solid all year and was all over the field in this one. Sedrick Ellis and Will Smith both registered sacks in this game and put pressure on Ryan. Special Teams: Lance Moore did great on the one return that he had; running the ball back 72 yards and nearly scoring a TD. Courtney Roby had a big return and nearly broke it for a TD. Jimmy Graham’s and Jason Kyle’s awareness and hustle proved to be a key factor on the fumble recovery during the muffed punt by the Falcons. Coaching: N/A **Areas of Concern** Offense: The inability to run the ball and sustain lengthy drives is still a major area of concern. We had 43 yards against the Falcons, and Chris Ivory, filling in for an injured Reggie Bush, does not appear to be able to handle the big stage. So far this year Thomas is averaging just over 3 YPC, and that is the best on the team. Thomas took an awkward fall in this game and was out for a few plays but returned. Ivory dropped a 4th down conversion that gave the ball back to Falcons. Without establishing a running game, we are looking at mediocrity. We have got to do something with, not only the running game, but with the offensive line as well. Something is missing up front in our protection that is not allowing our running game to establish and also allowing too much pressure to Brees. Defense: We are having difficulty stopping the run. For the most part of the Falcons’ game, we were able to hold them on the line and stuff the run. We gave up a 32 yard run to Turner and without it, we held the Falcons to 3.4 yards per carry. We are getting an OK push up front, but we are not getting the massive push that we should. We also have been unable to consistently pressure opposing QB’s. The coverage hasn’t kep QB’s hanging onto the ball and the defensive line has not gotten the push that it needs to get in the back field for sacks or huge stops in the running game. Henderson’s “stonehandzitis” is starting to flare up again, and Meachem has yet to arrive on the scene in any of the games so far. Special Teams: As a whole, things are not as bad as they could be. Special teams showed promise in getting downfield to the ball in each of the games so far. Returns have been pretty decent, and the gunners seem to be on target. This area of the team looks solid even with the absence of Reggie Bush. My biggest concern is what will happen when Bush returns. Sure, Moore looks slower than Bush, and less explosive and flashy, but he has been productive. I say we leave Moore on the punt returns, even when Bush is healthy again. Coaching: I know that Payton and Williams are masterminds of the trade, but they have got to start working things out. It seems as if Payton is running the offense in a more conservative fashion, and that Williams is hoping for the big turnovers that just aren’t being produced. The tackling has been sloppy in all three games, and the results have not been what I have hoped. **Players of the Game** Offense: Is there any doubt? Lance Moore is back and he is back with a vengeance. 149 Yards on 6 carries with two TD’s. He kept this game rolling. Defense: I have to give this to Vilma. 8 solo tackles and 3 assists. He was all over the field and in everyone’s face. I give credit where credit is due, and the entire LB corps needs a little recognition. Jo-Lonn Dunbar had 8 solo tackles with 2 assists, and even Shanle was present and accounted for having 4 solo tackles and 7 assists. They were a busy group all night long. Special Teams: I would have to say this is a tie – Jimmy Graham and Jason Kyle. Both showed a lot of hustle getting downfield on the muffed punt to recover the ball for the Saints. Surprise Player of the Game: Lance Moore. Moore not only came up big in the offense, he also had a huge punt return that set up a TD. He worked double duty and it paid off big. I knew Moore was that good, but since he has been unheard of since 2008 due to injury, he really stood out in this game. Hopefully the rest of the receivers start showing up in the games like Moore did against the Falcons. http://www.canalstreetchronicles.co...nd-areas-of-concern-new-orleans-saints-week-3 Sean Payton said Monday there "were a lot of wide lefts" in the New Orleans Saints' 27-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday other than the well-documented performance of kicker Garrett Hartley and after reviewing the film I see what he means. The Saints did not play well. They were uncharacteristically sloppy in a number of areas on both sides of the ball and were outplayed by the Falcons for five quarters, especially in the trenches. 9Share 23 Comments The more physical and more motivated team won Sunday. In addition to Hartley, some other "wide left" performances: * Devery Henderson. The Saints like to take a handful of "shot" plays downfield in the passing game each week. They usually go to one of the two primary deep threats: Henderson or Robert Meachem. With Meachem slowly rounding into form after offseason surgery, Henderson was the main target and the Saints tried three shots at him downfield and came up empty each time. Henderson dropped two of the passes. The final one would have been a big gain because he had beaten Dunta Robinson deep. These were the kind of plays the Saints hit routinely a year ago. * Malcolm Jenkins. The second-year defensive back came back down to earth this week. After two good performances at his new position, Jenkins was exploited by the crafty Falcons attack on a handful of plays for big gains. The converted cornerback took bad angles and was late to arrive on the scene on a couple of key third-down conversions. Chalk it up as a learning experience for the talented young defender. * Jon Vilma. He led the Saints with 11 tackles but this was far from his best effort. Too many times he found himself caught up in the "wash" against the run, allowing Michael Turner and Jason Snelling big gains up the gut. Vilma is undersized and struggles to shed blocks at times. This was one of those days. Falcons linemen got their hats on Vilma way too often at the second level. * Carl Nicks. Nicks is a budding star but he didn't play his best game. Powerful defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux won this matchup more often than not and was a big reason why the Saints struggled to run the ball, especially in short-yardage situations. * Heath Evans. The Saints' failed to convert a fourth-and-1 and a third-and-1 and in both cases Evans didn't get a hat on his target. It's unfair to hang the short-yardage woes strictly on Evans, but he was partly responsible. To his credit, Evans was a stand-up guy afterward, taking full accountability for his sub-par play. All in all, this was just a sloppy all-around performance by the Saints. It spoiled outstanding efforts by Lance Moore (six catches, 149 yards, two touchdowns; 72-yard punt return) and Jeremy Shockey (eight catches, 78 yards, one touchdown). Look for the Saints to get back on track this week against Carolina. But they're a banged-up football team after this five-quarter battle with the physical Falcons. PLAYER OF THE GAME: With Reggie Bush sidelined, the Saints needed Moore to rise to the occasion and he responded. The 149 receiving yards were a career high, as was his big punt return. His 80-yard TD reception was the longest by a Saints receiver since Week 1 of the 2008 season when Henderson had an 84-yard scoring reception. CALL OF THE GAME: The Falcons had been blitzing on first down throughout the game and on the Saints' first offensive snap of overtime Payton made them pay with a screen play behind the blitz. Brees allowed safety William Moore and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon to penetrate then lofted a short pass over their heads to Pierre Thomas in the left flat. Nicks laid a key block on Lofton and Thomas raced 23 yards through traffic down the left sideline. Perfect call at the perfect time. PRESSURE REPORT: Gregg Williams was uncharacteristically conservative for most of the afternoon. I'm guessing he was concerned about the screen game to Snelling and Turner and wanted to concentrate coverage on Gonzalez. Regardless, the Saints primarily played coverage against Matt Ryan and rarely rushed more than four defenders. By my count, Williams sent safety Roman Harper on only one blitz and didn't sent a corner or slot back at all. That's rare. The Falcons either scouted the Saints extremely well or guessed right because they seemed to hit the defense with a big play on nearly every blitz they called. ZEBRA REPORT: Walt Anderson's crew swallowed their whistles and let the boys play. They only called 10 combined penalties in nearly five quarters of action and kept the teams under control when it looked like things got chippy early. They made the correct call on both replay challenges. SCOUTING REPORT: The Saints liked linebacker Sean Weathersoon in last April's NFL draft and I can see why. The kid is a player. He's athletic, physical and plays with a swagger. The rookie from Missouri finished with seven tackles and a quarterback hit. He's going to be a good one for the Falcons. DIDYA NOTICE?: The Saints' defense busted out a new look on the first third down of the game. The package featured only two down linemen - tackle Sedrick Ellis and end Will Smith. Reserve end Jeff Charleston entered the game as a stand-up end on the left side. The rest of the unit consisted of three linebackers and five defensive backs. NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS: FIRST QUARTER: The Falcons wasted no time going after rookie cornerback Patrick Robinson, who saw the first action of his career as the nickel back. On the first third down, Ryan went right at Robinson in single coverage on Falcons receiver Harry Douglas. Two very nice blocks set up the lane for Moore on his 72-yard punt return. Rookie tight end Jimmy Graham sealed Coy Wire to the sideline and Chris Ivory and Marvin Mitchell double-teamed Sean Weatherspoon on the inside of the numbers to create a 5-yard-wide lane for Moore on the left side. Moore then made a slick move on punter Mick Koenen to break into the open. Leigh Torrence, Pierson Prioleau and Chris Reis also did a nice job of shielding their men without holding or blocking in the back. Excellent work by all. The Saints opened the game in tank personnel - 1WR, 2TE, 2RB - Brees recognized a goal-line blitz by the Falcons' defense and beat it with a quick strike to Jeremy Shockey, who ran a quick out just past the goal line. Excellent read by Scott Shanle to snuff out a second-down screen play to Jason Snelling, forcing Ryan to just spike the ball at Snelling's feet for an incompletion. Roman Harper and Jo-Lonn Dunbar both blitzed on a first-and-10 play on the Falcons' second serried but Atlanta picked it up, allowing Ryan time to find Tony Gonzalez for a 34-yard gain. Gonzalez beat cornerback Tracy Porter with a double move on an out-and-up and Ryan delivered a perfect strike. Gonzalez beat a double-team by Porter and Malcolm Jenkins for a 13-yard TD strike. Ryan delivered a perfect pass despite taking a big hit from Vilma, who blitzed along with Shanle. Not sure how Mick Koenen tripped up Courtney Roby on his 39-yard kickoff return but he did. The Falcons kicker even looked surprised he was able to make the play on the speedy Roby, who likely would have taken it to the house if he were able to keep his balance while trying to avoid Koenen. Not sure who was at fault for Brees' interception on the flea-flicker. The Saints got what they wanted, with Devery Henderson isolated in single coverage against Brent Grimes, but Brees' throw was well behind Henderson, who had leverage on Grimes to the inside of the hash. Grimes made a terrific leaping pick but Henderson didn't do a very good job of locating the ball or competing for it. If nothing else, he should have broken up the play or tackled Grimes, who returned it 36 yards. Chris Ivory made a nice run out of tank personnel - 1 WR, 2TE, 2 RB - to gain 9 yards on his first official NFL carry. It was a straight power run to the right behind Jahri Evans, Jon Stinchcomb and Zach Strief, who entered the game as the second tight end. Brees fooled Falcons safety Thomas DeCoud with his eyes to set up the 80-yard touchdown pass to Moore. Brees stared down Shockey on a crossing route over the middle to draw DeCoud toward the middle of the field, then fired a perfect strike over his head to Moore, who ran a simple fly pattern down the numbers. Roby made the tackle but big Anthony Hargrove should get the assist on the stellar kickoff coverage late in the quarter. Roby dropped Eric Weems at the 15 after Hargrove nearly blew him up at the 10. Excellent coverage by a nearly 300-pound defensive tackle. Porter appeared to tweak his hamstring on the Falcons' final drive of the quarter. He appeared to pull up while covering Harry Douglas after an incompletion by Ryan on second down. Gonzalez beat Roman Harper for a 10-yard reception to convert a third-and-7 but the play was nullified by a penalty. Otherwise, it would have marked the third third-down conversion catch of the quarter by Gonzalez. He beat a different defender for each catch: Shanle; Porter; and Harper. SECOND QUARTER: Brees made an athletic play to complete a 14-yard pass to David Thomas. Brees dodged Curtis Lofton, who came clean on a blitz after Pierre Thomas missed his pick up, then gathered himself and found Thomas among three defenders in the right flat. It looked like Brees wanted to take a shot downfield to Marques Colston but Lofton's pressure disrupted the timing. Ivory's earlier carries helped set up a big play-action pass to Shockey on second-and-8 on the Saints' first drive. Ivory had carried on two consecutive downs out of a tank formation in the first quarter. This time the Saints used the same personnel and faked a handoff to Ivory to draw the linebackers toward the line, then Brees found Shockey over the top for 31 yards. Nice deception, set up and play call by Sean Payton. Brees made a terrible decision on the falling desperation toss/interception at the Falcons' 25 but the play never would have happened had the Saints protected better. The Falcons rushed only four defenders but somehow beat six Saints blockers. Jamal Anderson beat Jon Stinchcomb with a speed rush and Jonathan Babineaux beat Carl Nicks inside to flush Brees from the pocket. That might have been the worst decision of Brees' Saints career. Alex Brown looked like he was surprised by the power of Ryan, who somehow bulled over him on third-and-short to convert a quarterback sneak. Brown appeared to have Ryan stood up and stopped, but the quarterback kept his legs churning and barreled through Brown's tackle for the first down. Ryan had nearly six seconds (5.79) to unload a third-down pass to Gonzalez because the Saints rushed just five defenders and three of them - Smith, Vilma and Ellis - all left their feet on pump fakes by Ryan, allowing him time to scramble and find the veteran tight end on a broken route. Once again, the Saints had Gonzalez double-teamed - Robinson and Prioleau - but somehow he managed to get open and make the catch. A few plays later, Ryan had 6.07 seconds to find a receiver but was forced to unload an incompletion out of bounds. Not sure how the Saints left Gonzalez so open on the fourth-and-2 reception just before the two-minute warning. They'd been double-teaming him on third down, then all of a sudden they leave him completely uncovered on fourth down for an easy pitch-and-catch from Ryan. Vilma blitzed but stopped halfway to the quarterback when he appeared to get confused by a Falcons back who released to the flat. Good call by Walt Anderson on the horse-collar tackle by Remi Ayodele on Turner. Pretty clear-cut infraction. Turner showed his power when he blew through a tackle attempt by Vilma at the 1-yard line and plowed into the end zone for the tying touchdown before halftime. Vilma went high on Turner and paid the price. Little things killed the Saints in this game. Like Pierre Thomas' missed blocked on Sean Weatherspoon just before halftime. Thomas' failure allowed the rookie linebacker to tackle Robert Meachem before he could get out of bounds on his crossing route and the clock expired in the first half. If Thomas makes the block, the Saints get a first down at the Falcons' 45 and a chance to get off another play and perhaps move into range for a long field-goal attempt. Instead, they went to halftime tied at 14. THIRD QUARTER: Payton has run some unusual sets in his career but the one he unveiled on second-and-8 at the Saints' 46 might have been a first. He ran an empty backfield with no backs in the game. The personnel package included three receivers - Colston, Meachem and Moore - and two tight ends - Shockey and David Thomas. Brees hit Shockey for a 7-yard gain. John Abraham showed he still has a burst off the edge when be beat Jermon Bushrod with a speed move for a sack on first down. The 8-yard loss short-circuited a nice opening drive by the Saints. I thought the Saints got a bad spot on Pierre Thomas' 15-yard screen play on third-and-16. It looked like Thomas was able to stretch the ball across the Falcons' 31 before hitting the turf. Officials spotted the ball at the about a half-yard short of the first-down mark. This was critical because Ivory fumbled on the ensuing fourth-and-1 try and Atlanta took possession. It was an incredible individual effort by Thomas and shows how strong his lower body is. He carried Brent Grimes for almost 3 yards. I was surprised Payton didn't challenge the spot. The Falcons did an excellent job of penetrating the Saints' backfield to disrupt the timing and path of Ivory on the fourth-and-1. Ivory actually did a decent job of fighting through the trash and selling himself out for the first down. But above all, the rookie needs to secure the ball or his stay as the short-yardage back will be a short one. Poor run defense allowed Turner to bust a 32-yard run on second-and-9. Hargrove was driven four yards off the line of scrimmage and pancaked on a double-team block. Pulling guard Justin Blalock kicked out Dunbar in the hole and Vilma and Shanle took poor angles to the ball carrier and got washed out in the trash. Turner wasn't touched until he was almost 30 yards downfield. It was his longest gain of the season. Good call by officials to reverse the strip/fumble by Snelling on his 17-yard run to the 2. His elbow hit the turf before Jenkins stripped the ball. The goal-line stand to hold the Falcons to a field goal was one of the Saints' best in recent years. Good penetration by Hargrove, and tremendous run support by the linebackers Vilma, Mitchell and Dunbar. That's a big red-zone 'win" by the defense. Just a tremendous display of athleticism and awareness by Jimmy Graham and Jason Kyle to recover the fluke fumble off DeCoud's foot on Thomas Morstead's short punt. Good challenge by Payton and officials made the correct call to award the Saints the ball. The Saints got Moore singled in coverage against middle linebacker Curtis Lofton and Brees went right at the mismatch for a 16-yard touchdown catch-and-run to give the Saints the lead. Lofton could not keep up with Moore on the shallow crossing route. FOURTH QUARTER: Gonzalez took exception to a submarine tackle by Harper on a third-and-10 catch for 11 yards. Gonzalez popped up immediately after the low tackle and got in Harper's face, apparently thinking Harper was trying to go for his knees. The Saints double-teamed Roddy White on second-and-16 and left Harper in single coverage against Gonzalez and Ryan went right after him to coax a defensive pass interference call. Tremendous throw by Ryan and an even better catch by Roddy White to gain 24 big yards on second-and-10. Jabari Greer had excellent coverage but didn't turn his head early enough and just missed making the break-up. White took a big shot from Jenkins but held on. Big-time play. Jenkins made a major mistake when he got caught trying to decoy a blitz and was not able to retreat in time to help Greer on the 22-yard TD catch by White on third-and-6. Williams allows his players the freedom to move around and disguise their coverage before the snap. The caveat, though, is you must be able to still carry out your assignment and get to the right spot. Jenkins' inexperience showed on this play because he drifted too close to the line and was out of position. Ryan identified the mistake immediately and fired an easy strike to White over his outside shoulder. Jenkins received a tongue-lashing from Williams when he returned to the sideline. This was just one example of how much the Saints missed Darren Sharper's veteran savvy in this game. Carl Nicks really struggled with Falcons defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux. He got beat man-to-man for a sack on third down to kill a key drive early in the quarter. This was not one of Nicks' better games. Excellent read by Greer to jump the in-route by Gonzalez on fourth-and-6 and give the ball back to the offense for the final game-tying drive. Alex Brown made the nice leaping deflection on Ryan's throw but Greer would have broken up the pass or intercepted it if it had gone through. Shockey answered Gonzalez with an excellent diving catch outside of his body to convert a critical fourth-and-1 on the score-tying drive. Brees had his left knee rolled under by an on-rushing Abraham after he delivered the fourth-down pass to Shockey. Brees repeatedly stretched and flexed his leg on the field and later on the sideline trying to improve the range of motion in the joint. It's amazing Thomas did not injure his left knee when he was sandwiched in a high-low tackle by William Moore and Lofton. Thomas was stood up by Moore and bent back awkwardly when Lofton rolled under his body from behind while being blocked by Bushrod. Thomas' left ankle was crushed under Lofton's body and rotated inward while being smashed into the turf. Tough to watch. OVERTIME The Saints looked like a tired team in coverage of the overtime kickoff. The pursuit was noticeably slow and Weems was able to make an easy return to the Atlanta 39. The Falcons missed on a "shot" play of their own to Douglas, who has beaten rookie cornerback Patrick Robinson deep down the left sideline on a go route. Ryan's 52-yard bomb needed to be 51 yards. The ball sailed just over the hands of the diving receiver. Excellent kickout block by Colston on Grimes to spring Henderson for the 14-yard gain on the bubble screen to set up Hartley's game-winning field-goal try. That's a tough block in space and he executed it perfectly. I'm no kicking expert so I can't say what went wrong on Hartley's missed 29-yarder. I watched the kick several times along with his game-tying 32-yarder and everything looks exactly the same. The snap, hold and approach look identical. Hartley said he looked up at the last minute and just mis-hit it. He also said he over-thought the kick but did not explain what he meant by that. PERSONNEL PACKAGES: Reggie Bush's absence limited Payton's options. Consequently, he used a lot of multiple-receiver and two-tight end sets. He pulled a couple of unusual sets out of his grab bag, though. He called three plays without a back on the field. Two with three receivers and two tight ends. Another with four receivers and a tight end. For the most part, though, he kept things fairly conservative and tried to keep a back or tight end in the backfield to help in protection against Falcons ends John Abraham and Kroy Biermann. Payton also tried to work rookie Jimmy Graham into the rotation for a few plays and even called his number a couple of times but the Falcons covered him well. Here's the breakdown of the reps at each skill position: WR -Colston 43; Henderson 39; Lance Moore 31; Meachem 16. TE - Shockey 37; D.Thomas 34; Zach Strief 10; Graham 3. RB - P.Thomas 43; Ivory 8; Betts 2. FB - Evans 12. Here's a look at the Saints' personnel packages on their 56 offensive snaps: 3WR/1TE/1RB - 27 out of 56 2WR/2TE/1RB - 10 out of 56 1WR/2TE/2RB - 10 out of 56 1WR/3TE/1RB - 3 out of 56 2WR/1TE/2RB - 2 out of 56 plays 3WR/2TE - 2 out of 56 4WR/1TE - 1 out of 56 3TE/2RB - 1 out of 56 http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2010/09/falcons-saints_film_study.html
BUCCANEERS Welcome to the league, noobs. That's the message the veteran Pittsburgh Steeler squad sent to the baby Buccaneerson Sunday in a 38-13 route in Raymond James Stadium that wasn't even as close as the score indicated, if that's possible to believe. Coming into the week, fans and talking heads mused about whether the Buccaneers were light years ahead of what fans could have hoped for, or if they had really beaten anybody. It's still too early to answer that question fully, but it was glaringly obvious that the Buccaneers were outgunned by a superior and seasoned opponent on Sunday and that they have quite a ways to go to compete with Super Bowl contenders like the Pittsburgh Steelers. Following the interception on their first drive, the Steelers flexed their muscles and established their dominance on both sides of the ball. Despite starting inside the PIttsburgh 30, the Buccaneers failed to record a first down and had to settle for a Connor Barth FG to give them an early 3-0 lead, which was a disappointment to some degree. From there, the well-traveled and experienced Charlie Batch finished 12/17 for 186 yards and 3 TDs, with 2 INTs. Although the first two TD passes were both underthrown passes that could have easily been picked off by a rapt defensive back, the Steelers knew where to test the Tampa Bay defense, beating Cody Grimm deep down the middle for the first TD and finding Heath Miller deep over the middle to set up PIT's 2nd score of the game. It was a tough game for the defense as a whole, but Grimm's performance in the face of Tanard Jackson's solid play creates significant cause for concern in the middle of the defense. Star-divide I could focus on the plateau and fade of the run defense in the middle of the game, which allowed 201 rushing yards on the day. Or the tease of a potential pass rush early that could only manage a pinkie at/near Batch, then disappear completely and finish with zero sacks. Or perhaps the bad bounces and breaks that went against the Buccaneers....ala Mikey's fumble, two should-have-been breakups/INTs that went for TDs, and Stroughter's bobble that ended up in Brett Kiesel's hands for a TD. Or the lack of physicality from the Buccaneers in comparison to the style of play the Steelers brought to the field. Or how Sammie Stroughter is disappearing faster than Houdini in a power-outage. Instead, I'm gonna focus on another performance from Josh Freeman that made me feel pretty good on the day. He finished 20 for 31 for 184 yards and 1 INT (which really wasn't even his fault; see Sammie Stroughter, above). However, once again, he showed poise and composure, this time in the face of a buzzsaw of a defense.....running away from pressure and making some plays with his legs again. His 11-yard scamper kept a scoring drive alive in the first half. He kept his eyes down the field and not on the rushers, which, given how often Pittsburgh brings pressure, is a sign of maturity in itself. He forced one throw early that was knocked away and almost picked by James Harrison, but thereafter he was patient, scanned his progressions (thanks to a decent job of pass protection from the offensive line in the first half) and took what the defense gave him. Case in point, he found 7 different receivers on the day. That being said, I'm certainly not saying the day for Freeman was without fault. He missed a wide-open Jerramy Stevenson a Waggle play where he was streaking open on a deep post for a walk-in TD. Of course, Freeman was starting to run again because of the pocket breaking down, but he could have lobbed it and let Stevens catch it and do somersaults into the end zone. Have to make a defense like Pittsburgh pay when they make a rare mistake. Also, has this team found a RB it can't ignore? LeGarrette Blount pounded, scratched, and clawed like a cat in a bath tub every time he touched the ball. He dragged a Steeler defender on his leg like a rag doll on his 11-yard run, which briefly energized the Buccaneer crowd. His touches disappeared as the Buccaneers were down big and throwing the football. However, he tagged his positive performance with a 1-yd TD run to close out the game on an encouraging note. Where it seems Cadillac Williams has a difficult time fighting through contact, LeGarrette Blount certainly doesn't appear to have that problem. It'll be interesting to see how his playing time changes going forward. There's no doubt it was an ugly day overall, but I'm just going to close the book on the disaster, tear out the pages on LeGarrette Blount and Freeman, and go on my merry way. http://www.bucsnation.com/2010/9/27...13-young-and-improving-buccaneer-squad-hits-a Hopefully Bucs Nation has recovered from Sunday’s annihilation by the Pittsburgh Steelers. The performance was not pretty by any means. The Buccaneers gave up at least 28 points on 7 occasions a year ago, and the defense appears to have major issues again in 2010. It appears that losing Tanard Jackson is going to be a major problem, as Charlie-freaking-Batch was able to chuck the ball deep down the field at will. Let’s take a quick look at what went wrong and what the Buccaneers can work on as they enter the bye week. Star-divide Offense: C Considering the manner of the defeat, there were some positives in the performance on the offensive side of the football. Josh Freeman looked comfortable for the majority of the time he was in, and was able to find open receivers at times. The Steelers defense is ferocious and finding throwing lanes is often very difficult, making Freeman’s day all the more impressive. LeGarrette Blount provided a much needed spark in the running game and made a strong case for more carries going forward. The biggest problem was in the red zone, when the Bucs had to settle for field goals early on. There were a few center-quarterback exchange problems that helped stall these drives. By the time they could blink, the score was 28-6 and the contest was settled. Because the Bucs lack the talent of many of the other teams in the league, they have to punch the ball in the endzone whenever given the chance. Josh Johnson looked solid in garbage time and guided the Bucs to their lone touchdown. Defense: F Not much positive can be said about a defense that gave up 31 points and almost 400 yards against a Charlie Batch led offense. They only forced one three and out and were gashed by long runs when they weren’t giving up big plays in the air. The first touchdown catch is completely inexcusable from a Buccaneers point of view, as Cody Grimm wasn’t even looking back for the football. The third TD of course was a fluke; Aqib Talib makes that play 99/100 times. But the bottom line is that he didn’t, and the tendency to give up big plays a year ago returned in full force. Rashard Mendenhall had no problem against the Bucs either, gaining almost 143 yards on 19 carries. It’s good that the Buccaneers were able to sustain long drives on offense because this could have been way worse on the scoreboard if the Steelers had more opportunities. Overall this was a bad day at the offense for the young Buccaneers defense. Special Teams: C What stood out to me in special teams was the atrocious punting. Chris Bryan struggled mightily throughout the entire game. His long was 38 yards. Although this clearly did not cost the Buccaneers the game, it’s not comforting to know that every punt is going to be a significant project. He performed well against Carolina, so let’s hope this is an aberration and not a sign of things to come. Connor Barth hit a pair of field goals, and hasn’t missed yet this season. In fact, going back to last year he has connected on 11 in a row. The return games were OK, and it was nice to see Preston Parker get some work. The coverage units were solid as well. Overall: The final score was not a fair reflection of the game in my opinion, but the Steelers were clearly the better team. They overcame an early mistake and pummeled the Bucs scoring touchdown after touchdown. I think the team’s bye week would have been better off being later in the season during the brutal stretch of road games, but the Bucs have to be shell-shocked after that performance. A week off might not be the worst thing after all. http://www.bucsnation.com/2010/9/28/1717500/grading-the-units-week-3
PANTHERS No one bats 1.000 when making decisions that depend on how well other people do their jobs. And that's especially true in sports, where General Managers have to assemble a collection of individuals that they hope combine to become greater than their sum, and win more than they lose. In the NFL, people love to point at the New England Patriots as a model franchise that somehow does everything right. This is the same franchise that over the past decade has drafted 12 cornerbacks, and signed 10 more as free agents. Not even the mighty Patriots have it all figured out, especially in the defensive secondary. But each year GMs like the Carolina Panthers' Marty Hurney consult with their coaches, owners, scouts, astrologists, and ouija boards; and they attempt to cobble together the perfect blend of talent that will make a deep playoff run in January. And each year most GMs miss the mark. I'm going to come out and say it right now--the Panthers are not going to the Super Bowl. I don't mind saying that, because if I'm wrong I figure no one will want to take time away from celebrating to tell me they told me so, and I don't mind saying that because it's pretty apparent to anyone paying attention that we're not looking at a playoff run this year. And it's an easy prediction because teams that are rebuilding tend to miss the playoffs. Star-divide Yep, instead of reloading like so many of us hoped for and thought, we're rebuilding. Rebuilding means playing rookies instead of vets to see what they can do. It means disappointed fans and victories that come few and far between. The Panthers don't like the term, but if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck. In other words, if the shoe fits, wear it. As a franchise, Carolina has never really gone the rebuilding route. Even in the 2001 season, they acted like there was a smooth transition plan from Steve Buerlein to Jeff Lewis, and they obviously felt like the defense was sound. Lewis busted, the defense became a sieve, and the Panthers went 1-15. But it wasn't a rebuilding effort so much as poor roster management. When John Fox and Marty Hurney set about recovering from 2001, they drafted where they could and used free agency to fill in their gaps. In their first year, they signed starters Terry Cousin, Rodney Peete, and Lamar Smith. In their second they found Jake Delhomme, Stephen Davis, Greg Favors, and Ricky Proehl. In 2001, the average age of the offensive and defensive starters was 27.1. In 2002 that number was 27.7. In 2003 it went back down to 27.1, and it remained in that range through 2009 (27.1, 27.4, 27.6, 27.8, 27.3, 27.4). This year the average age of the offensive and defensive starters on opening day was 26. A year and a half may not sound like a lot, but that represents 33 years of total football experience that's missing on the field. And that's rebuilding by definition. Play your youth, see what they can do. Hope you can avoid enough sloppy play, stupid mistakes, missed assignments, that you squeak out a win every once in a while. Based on the first three games, we haven't done that well, but all three were certainly winnable at some point in the second half. In 2003, winnable games were won. This year, they won't be. When Delhomme was in his heyday and had a veteran defense, no one left their seats in the fourth quarter. Now the stadium is emptying out in the third. And a lot of that is because of the fan attitude. It doesn't help to have a front office that insists they're trying hard to win now, even when it's almost painfully obvious they're not. But Carolina fans are accustomed to mediocrity interspersed with occasional greatness. They haven't ever had to deal with a genuine year-after-yearloser, and aren't happy with it. Even as an expansion team Carolina was able to experience early success. They dived into Free Agency, assembled a great defense, and got lucky with some draft picks who were able to play out of the gate. Second year, NFC Champs. Sure, they stunk in the Seiffert years, but they didn't really, really stink until the last one. Then Fox came, and had us in the Super Bowl in his second year. We've had a couple other trips to the playoffs, which isn't enough, but we've always won at least seven games under him. Outside of the horrid 2001 season, we've never really had a stretch of truly bad games. And Fox teams have always looked like they were well coached, even when they were outmatched. So now that we've admitted that we have a problem; that we're rebuilding, what do we do as fans? How do you enjoy something like this? Well, the first thing everyone needs to do is get on board with the youth movement. Aside from Julius Peppers (who we would have re-signed if he was willing), every position in which we have a new player has had a talent upgrade. * Moose vs. Gettis/LaFell. We miss the experience, but he was hard to watch last year as age has really caught up with him. These young guys look like they can play, they just need the reps. * Hoover vs. Fiammetta. Again, we miss the experience. And at current trends we would have missed it for at least eight games while Hoover recovered from injury this year. * Bernadeau/Schwartz vs. Vincent. This isn't really fair because we miss Otah more than anyone, but Vincent was a revolving door against the pass rush. There's more talent in either of our younger players too. However, the line is a unit where mistakes are magnified and inexperience can cost you dearly. That was really apparent against the Giants, but it's improved each game. * Delhomme vs. Moore/Clausen. We really miss the leadership, but our new guys are sure holding their own as far as who can produce more turnovers (I kid, I kid!). Moore showed why he never rose above the third string in his first three years, but Clausen had moments last Sunday that might just get people excited. Delhomme has one or two years left at most, and was such a strong personality that it would be almost impossible to develop a young starter with him in the locker room. * Old DTs vs. Young DTs. Honestly, we've got nothing special in our interior line, and the fact that they're already doing better than the guys who left answers the question well on whether they should have been kept. * Anderson vs. Diggs. This move probably would have happened regardless of whether we were rebuilding. Anderson has good experience, and it was his time. * Martin vs. Harris. Here's another spot where we miss the leadership, but there's no denying that Martin covers more ground. So accept it. The talent is actually better than it was last year, and it's the lack of experience that's killing us. And when you look at it honestly, had we kept some of our old guys and played free agency we were probably going to be mediocre again, while depriving our young talent a chance to develop. And what about Free Agents, anyway? The second thing everyone needs to do is realize that it really wouldn't have helped a lot had we signed anyone. One big signing won't fix all the mistakes on the field, and would have gotten in the way of developing our talent. A favorite topic among fans centers on a complaint that we didn't sign a big name receiver in the off season. Or a big name Defensive Tackle. Or a big name <fill in the blank here>. Well, say you do it. Then who do you cut? You're in a youth movement, and you have to see who can bring their game when it counts. Think about the decision of signing a veteran receiver. Do you want to risk 10 years of high productivity from a rookie who you develop in favor of an expensive vet who's best years are behind him? Do you cut Dwayne Jarrett? He's all-world in practice and looks like he has the tools to spend every February in Hawaii. Don't you need to see if he's finally gotten it? How about Brandon LaFell? He's looking like the second coming of Moose, and all he needs is time to develop chemistry with his QB. David Gettis looks like Drew Carter with hands. And Edwards is not an option--that was made clear when we traded next year's number two for him. The answer is, you don't sign anyone. You go with the guys you have and see who can get it done. We're already learning that Jarrett is a bust. Gettis is starting to look like a find. LaFell blocks like a veteran. And each game, one of them shows a sign of potential things to come. And then there's the whole money thing. The Panthers have one of the lowest payrolls in the league, or will next year at least. This year they're actually in the middle. The third thing restless fans need to realize is that we didn't do all this for money, and we're poised to take giant leap forward in the next few years. If you've been paying attention, you'll soon realize that we took a bunch of cap hits this year. Yes, we took them in a year where there is no cap. And we'll come out the other side with a ton of room to spend no matter what the CBA decides. How would you like to be in Chicago's shoes? Yes, they're 3-0 but they needed a couple of lucky calls to get there; the Bears are possibly the worst 3-0 team in the league. They spent like a drunken sailor this past spring, and now they'll be saddled with huge salaries for the next several years. If the cap is lowered at all, they've got virtually no chance at improving their roster via free agency, and won't even be able to compete when it's time to re-sign their own free agents. The Panthers, on the other hand, will have the money to lock up Kalil, Beason, Marshall and Williams if they desire. And once that's done, they'll still be able to sign an expensive free agent or two, assuming the right fit is there. For those who are convinced that we're just trying to save money in this economy, get back to me when you see Jerry Richardson out shopping for hot dogs and baked beans--billionaires aren't affected by that sort of thing and he's not paying attention to it now. Richardson wants a team that wins, and wins consistently, and he's not thinking of this year in isolation. He has a long view. Jerry Richardson has never been cheap before. Fox is gone after this year because he's been "just good enough" and that's not cutting it with JR. After this season he'll pay what it takes to bring in the best coach for the job. He might not pay an exhorbitant amount for a single player--that eats up the cap and hurts the team. But he paid Seiffert big bucks, and he'll spring for a solid staff again when Fox leaves. When it comes to spending money on football he's not cheap, he's strategic. I'll say it all again. Stop dwelling on who we cut in the offseason. Quit pining after free agents. And don't get angry about some rich guy trying to save money by fielding an inferior product. You can't do anything about any of it, and they're all really just byproducts of a plan designed to build the next big force in the NFC. So keep those three points in mind as you watch the Panthers. Lower your expectations, focus on plays like the Clausen to Gettis 40 yard grab we saw last Sunday. Watch Goodson get more reps and think about him developing as a dangerous option out of the slot. Be happy that Hardy and Brown get to the Quarterback--next year when they do it will be for a sack instead of a near miss. Get excited about the draft. Our college scouts know their business as well as anyone, and we're probably going to get a hell of a prospect. Expect the occasional win, just don't count on them all. This team has a lot of talent, and Fox hasn't forgotten how to coach. Remember how the defense got it together last year and enjoy seeing the same process unfold for the offense this year. And most important, love your team. Support them, they're going through some growing pains and need to know the fans are behind them. You can get mad at JR, Fox, Hurney, or whoever, but stay behind your players. The team was here last year, and it will be here next year. This isn't a passing fancy, we have a relationship with our players. Respect that. We may have had a bad September, but we're going to have a great December. And no one will look forward to seeing us on their schedule next year. Bank on it. http://www.catscratchreader.com/2010/9/28/1717180/ok-so-were-rebuilding-now-what As I posted late last week I attended the Bengals game with Ben (Cyberjag) who was kind enough to invite me along. In spite of several good reasons to get a bad attitude from the day's events I still thoroughly enjoyed the hell out of it. You see, it's the fellowship and camaraderie that makes the live event the best; that and a wonderful view from the upper deck. As planned we met up at the The Huddle tailgate cook out; the food was as good as advertised. The Huddle guys were I enjoyed meeting the CSR members that stopped by: ALAC and his son, Tater and his friend (whose name escapes me), Revshawn and his dad, & Neil Spicer. Thanks for stopping by guys! We had just settled into some good Panthers conversation when...the downpour hit. Yes we were not only soaked but standing in a small river of water coming down the parking lot, crammed under a tent like clowns in a car. It basically rained off and on from about 12:00am till the 3rd quarter. I paid $8.50 for a sliver of plastic with three holes and a Panther logo on it. Problem was I bought it about 30 minutes too late. Oh well, I was undaunted to say the least. I've suffered itchy underwear before! More tales from the upper deck after the jump... Star-divide So the walk to the stadium and getting to our seats was fairly uneventful except for the occasional Bengal fans yelling ‘Who dey?'. There is also some college sounding, I assume ‘Bengals fight song' one group was singing. It was gay... So as I said earlier Ben has great seats around the 25 yd line upper deck. It was nice to be able to see the defensive alignments pre-snap and watch the kick returns set up, etc...see what was going on the sidelines. I was a kid in a candy shop soaking in the whole scene...literally! We had some real characters around us, a Whoppi Goldberg look-a-like a few seats down and two couples in front of us we talked with throughout the game. I have to mention the lady sitting in front of me had this colorful tattoo on her lower back (some might call a tramp stamp, but not me ) and she was up and down yelling and cheering all game. It was a real distraction! So as you would guess the first half, as far as the game anyway, sucked. It was amazing we stayed in the game early, thanks to the secondary. Ahhh, sitting there at halftime I didn't feel too bad. I still had hope. We actually got our first good cheer in watching the Pop Warner teams play at halftime. Those boys can chuck the rock! Cimg0024_medium So you know how the 2nd half started. It was at that point Ben said we were about to witness the absolute beginning of the Jimmy Clausen era, that he was going to lead a miraculous 2nd half comeback to pull a victory from the jaws of defeat and thereby validate his savior status! And then Clausen led his first ever TD drive. Yes, we actually handed the ball off to J-Stew on the 3 yd line, TD! I was feeling it too, Ben was a prophet in a yellow garbage bag! The defense stopped the Bengals and forced a punt. It was happening before out eyes. The savior was driving for a winning score, we were past the 50 yard line, Stewart has the ball!!!...and oh no. Okay...Let's go finish the beer! Ben has a theory though...that the Clausen era is destined to start in New Orleans...I'm thinking he's right! A loss and a dreary day resulted in a short after-game party and an early ride home. I briefly considered stopping in Picasso's first for one last sip. But instead got into the flow of traffic and rolled. I do have one unrelated beef though, when I got to the I-275 on ramps the directional signs offered "Inner' and "outer' as options. WTF is that? What's wrong with North, South, East, West? I thought, "Well I don't want to go into town, I want to go out". So I took the outer and that cost me about 30 minutes getting turned back around. Call me a dumbass I guess. Rant over... Like I said before in spite of the outcome I still enjoyed the game and hope to see another one this season. Hopefully then we can get a few more CSR members around and have more time to talk Panther talk. I think next time we will have more positive things to talk about. http://www.catscratchreader.com/2010/9/29/1718775/bengals-vs-panthers-tales-from-the-upper-deck In the past, the Carolina Panthers' five offensive linemen have been enough to sustain an offense. But this year, it's going to take more than five guys to fix the Panthers' offensive line issues. Taken on their own, not many of the Panthers blockers are having a good 2010, or at least not as good as their 2008 or 2009. But as a group, the miscues might not be as bad as they seem on the surface. The Panthers have allowed 3.0 sacks per game and rushed for 98.3 yards per game this season. Over the previous two seasons, they were giving up 1.7 sacks and gaining 154.2 rushing yards per game. But they have also faced defenses loaded up against the run. The linemen might be good, but they're not good enough to handle eight-on-five consistently. "I really do think we're playing well, but I think this season, being a younger team, there's a lot less room for error on our part," center Ryan Kalil said, with a straight face, after Sunday's loss to Cincinnati. "There's been a few plays here and there. But overall I think we're playing pretty well. "I think the biggest thing for us, we have to do a better job of finishing and hitting the big plays when they're there. It seems like everybody's just kind of taking their turn not hitting it the way it needs to be hit - or not as good as the plays are designed to be carried out." Translated, that means the blocking is close, and a few plays downfield in the passing game, or a few hand-offs not fumbled, might be enough to make the line look much better. The blockers are at a disadvantage because of the struggles of the offense as a whole. If quarterback Jimmy Clausen can complete a few passes, opponents can't load up against the run. That's not to say the line has played to previous standards. This group, after all, has been the foundation of offenses in the past. Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams didn't just suddenly run for 1,100 yards each last year because of their own skills (though they are considerable). They were able to run because the line was as outstanding as they were, but that's not the case this season. Left tackle Jordan Gross admitted Sunday that "the O-line has done some pretty special things over the years, at times, and we're not that right now." Not close, but not so far that they can't see it. "I mean, no," Gross deadpanned, when asked if the line was playing well enough for the Panthers to win. "I don't think anybody can say that, especially on offense, any position group. That's an easy no." That's also why coach John Fox was borderline huffy when asked about his blockers Monday. "Unlike the media, I don't look at individual areas," Fox said. "Just as a unit we have not been consistent enough. That would be my assessment at this point rather than individual positions. "I think it's fair to say, and I would agree, that we have been inconsistent - not just in a particular area." His protests aside, it's also fair to say there have been issues. Gross hasn't played to his previous Pro Bowl level, but he's not sure why. The left side of the line should be good, as Gross, left guard Travelle Wharton and Kalil are intact. The young right side of guard Mackenzy Bernadeau and tackle Geoff Schwartz played a good bit last year, when the running game was at its peak. "It's familiar faces," Gross said. "From the center over, it's guys who have done it for a long time, and the right side was pretty much the right side at the end of the year. "So yeah, it's extremely frustrating." There is some drop-off on the right side without mammoth tackle Jeff Otah, who probably won't be back until after the Oct.17 bye week, but Kalil said there's also an adjustment without guard Keydrick Vincent, who was excellent on run downs last year. He was becoming a liability in pass protection (his new team, Tampa Bay, rotates him with a younger player), and the Panthers went with younger options. That brought a new set of issues. "The biggest thing we lose this offseason is experience," Kalil said. "Unfortunately, we don't have a whole lot of time to wait around on that. "Experience gives you the ability to play a lot faster, so when you have younger guys, there's a tendency to play a bit slower. We don't have the same kind of rhythm we had last year. That's not a cop-out, that's just the reality. "I think a lot of times, especially this season, our success is going to be determined by how well we play up front." It always has been that way, but this year, perhaps more than any other in recent memory, those guys are going to need a little help as well. Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/09/28/1725206/offensive-line-isnt-providing.html#ixzz10tip8JYo Carolina Panthers quarterback Jimmy Clausen insisted Monday that he wasn't worried about his trouble handling snaps becoming a trend. Clausen was credited with three fumbles and two lost during Sunday's 20-7 loss to Cincinnati. In fairness, one of those belongs to running back Mike Goodson, but Clausen's hands were an issue. He admitted Monday afternoon that both were his fault and that he needed to improve. But he denied that issues from training camp, including a week of problems with snapper Andrew Crummey, were a trend. "Not really," he said with a shrug. "More in camp I was going with different centers. But Ryan (Kalil)'s a real good center, a Pro Bowl center. "The first one was just a wet ball. I need to handle that. The second one I just pulled out. But he's getting the ball back there fine, that's on me." Clausen even invoked images of former Panthers quarterback David Carr on Sunday by wearing a glove on his left hand after the rain started to fall. He said he used to do that in college, and finished the game with it on. Coach John Fox joked about what could be done to fix it. The Panthers lead the league with 12 turnovers through three games. "Well, we probably have 70 to 80 of those (snaps) a day," Fox said. "I'm not sure we can practice it 24-7 but we'll continue to work that because it has been an issue. It's something we will continue to practice." Backup plan Fox didn't elaborate on linebacker Jamar Williams' neck injury (suffered on a first quarter punt when teammate Tony Fiammetta hit him head on), but if he's out any length of time, the Panthers have some problems. Between the existing backups ( Nic Harris, Jordan Senn and rookie Eric Norwood), there's not a natural middle linebacker in the bunch, and Harris might be the most trustworthy on defense. Fox said they had a plan in place but wouldn't elaborate: "I'd rather not say but we feel good about our alternate plan." If anything happened to Dan Connor, they'd likely just slide Jon Beason back to his natural spot, and plug Harris or Senn in on the weakside, though that's a significant drop-off. Connor said he hadn't spoken with Williams, but that he had confidence in the untested backups if Williams wasn't ready this weekend. Harris started two games for Buffalo last year, and Senn has been exclusively a special teamer. "He's a versatile guy," Connor said of Williams. "So depending on when he can get back, we got a couple of guys who know two positions each, good guys." Could be worse Fox said he was encouraged by the work of the defense, which has had to stay on the field far too long. It ranks 15th in the league in yards allowed. The Panthers' time of possession average of 26 minutes, 3 seconds is 29th in the league, better than only Washington (25:58), Arizona (24:59) and Seattle (24:35). Those three all rank in the league's bottom seven in total defense, and the Redskins are last. "Over the last couple of weeks our defense has been on the field quite a bit," Fox said. "They gave us a chance to win. That game was winnable with 14 minutes to go in the fourth quarter but we didn't do it so that is the reality." Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/20...lausen-is-working-to-get-a.html#ixzz10tj66fJy Jimmy Clausen wasn't the only Carolina player who struggled to hold on to a wet ball Sunday. The Panthers intercepted Carson Palmer twice, but had four other possible picks slip through their hands in a 20-7 loss to Cincinnati. No one in the Carolina locker room blamed the drops on the wet conditions. But all agreed the interceptions that got away played a big role in the Panthers' third loss in as many games. "The ball was soggy. It was a rainy day. But you can't use that as an excuse. You've got to make those plays," said linebacker James Anderson, who had two of the drops. "Some of those picks probably would have went for touchdowns. It would have been a whole different ballgame if we'd made those plays." The drops spoiled an otherwise solid day for the Panthers' pass defense, which held the Bengals' receiving tandem of Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco to a combined eight catches for 76 yards. Because of their familiarity with Panthers defensive coordinator Ron Meeks when Meeks was at Indianapolis, Palmer said the Bengals knew to expect double coverage on Owens and Ochocinco. That created space for rookie tight end Jermaine Gresham, who had four catches for a team-leading 59 receiving yards. "Jermaine had some nice plays where he was left one-on-one and he caught some nice screens," Palmer said. "They did a good job trying to limit (Owens and Ochocinco's) touches because they know those are the guys we want to get the ball in their hands and see what they can do." Owens' longest gain among his four receptions was 17 yards. Ochocinco, who was targeted 12 times, had a long catch of 13 yards. Ochocinco said the weather also affected the receivers, making it hard to make route adjustments on the wet turf. After nickel back Captain Munnerlyn and safety Charles Godfrey picked off Palmer in the first quarter, the Panthers could have made it a miserable day for the Bengals' quarterback. But cornerback Chris Gamble, Anderson and free safety Sherrod Martin also had passes bounce off their hands. "It's very difficult to catch a wet football, not that that's any excuse," linebacker Jon Beason said. "They caught the ball. The receivers on our team caught the ball. We didn't. Five or six of them. It definitely would have helped the offense out, and we didn't get it done." Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/09/26/1720841/panthers-defense-regrets-four.html#ixzz10tjG32X2
SAINTS It's official, through 5 games, we can now come out and say that the Saints' offense is in the middle of a full blown slump. They are turning the ball over, the play calling isn't solid, the offensive line is making crucial mistakes, the receivers are dropping passes, and they're not converting in the red zone. We saw less of a possession passing game from the Saints this time (thank God), and more plays downfield, but the result was just the same. 20 points on the board, and lots of gifts to the other team. In fact, Drew Brees and Ladell Betts combined to basically give the Cardinals 21 points. Take those away and the Cardinals accomplished next to nothing all day. It's a sad day when the Saints' defense gives up less than 200 yards of total offense (93 of which was gained by Larry Fitzgerald, imagine if he wasn't there!) and the offense that was ranked #1 two out of the last three years is incapable of converting that into a win. Make the jump for the sorry grades. Saints vs Cardinals coverage Saints vs Cardinals recap Saints vs Cardinals boxscore Star-divide Drew Brees: D+ (2.80) I hate to be harsh, but he kind of sucked. I made the comment yesterday that I think he's completely burnt from the non stop offseason action. I'm sure the fact that his wife is about to have a baby any second is weighing heavily on his mind, too. As the father of a newborn, I can't imagine going through those sleepless nights while trying to get your mind and body right for an NFL football game. I fear this may be a down year performance wise for Brees. Brees finished 24 for 39 for 279 yards, 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. His touchdown pass to Meachem late, I will say, was incredible. He threw that ball away from where momentum was carrying him, without his foot planted, away from his body, while getting hit. He was still able to beat the defensive back for a 35 yard touchdown toss. That play was ridiculous, but it was too little too late. He did take a beating in the pocket at times, and he fumbled once. Of this 3 picks, one was completely on Betts, but the other two were horrendous throws. In fact, Brees was lucky he wasn't picked more often. In his defense, Colston could have helped his cause by making more receptions downfield that he dropped. This was one of Brees' worst performances as a Saint. I was glad to see him going for more big plays than he did the first four games, but the mistakes he made were very uncharacteristic and deadly to his team's chances. Also, 2 timeouts in 3 plays in unacceptable. On top of that, both plays were inside the 10, and the Saints walked away from that drive with no points. Again, I say, unacceptable. Ladell Betts: D- (2.00) Betts ran the ball fairly effectively and he was a decent receiver out of the backfield. It seemed like any time he caught a flare pass, though, he was unable to make the one man miss. He was tackled dead in his tracks every time, unable to shake a tackler loose. He finished with 44 yards on 10 carries and 5 catches for 26 yards. Unfortunately, his mistakes were arguably more costly than Brees'. He tried to trap a pass from Brees inside the Saints' five instead of going out and getting the ball with two hands, and let the pass go through his grasp and into the hands of a waiting defender. That mistake, plain and simple, can be blamed on nothing more than technique. You're always taught as a pee-wee football player to go out and catch the ball with your hands and not let the ball come to your body. That was a piss poor effort on Betts' part, and it really cost his team. Then, his fumble that was returned for a touchdown was nothing short of a back breaker. I wonder if the Saints will keep him around after this game. You never blame the loss on just one player, but Betts was a huge reason for it. On that second timeout in 3 plays that Brees called, it looked like it was due to Betts screwing up the play call. Maybe he's just got too much responsibility right now for a guy that just doesn't know the playbook that well. It's a lot for a guy to come in and handle all the different nuances and reps of Sean Payton's complex system when he wasn't here for most of training camp. Chris Ivory: C+ (2.00) He had 39 yards on 10 carries. On the drive that resulted in a 29 yard missed field goal, he provided a nice spark and had some nice runs. Early on he was thrown for a loss and destroyed on running plays. As the game wore on, though, he ran with authority. He's been of no use whatsoever in the passing game. In fact, I couldn't count one play where he was in the game and the Saints didn't run the ball. Hey Coach Payton, care to be a little less obvious? Heath Evans B (2.87) Personally, I think Evans needs to see the field more. Plain and simple. On that drive where the Saints methodically marched down the field running the ball, Evans was blowing up lanes. Then, the Saints went back to passing, and Evans went back to the sidelines. He didn't really get a chance to do much receiving, as the two times Brees looked his way he was completely covered. I guess teams now know to actually pay attention to him on passing plays. That may be an unfortunate side effect of Reggie Bush being injured. I thought his lead blocking overall was exceptionally good, though he did miss a block on a 3rd and short that cost his team. Marques Colston: B- (2.73) Statistically, it was one of his better games of the season. He finished with 7 catches for 97 yards. If you watched the game, though, you'd know that Colston was as disappointing at times as he was good. Brees looked his way all game long with mixed results. Colston got some separation downfield but dropped too many passes. At least he was getting involved downfield, though. In previous games his receptions were 5-7 yard ins and outs underneath exclusively. This time he was actually hurting the defense with big chunks of yards. What's most maddening is that some of the catches he makes are just impossible, while the drops seem like balls I could catch. Devery Henderson: B (2.60) He finished with 4 catches for 61 yards and made no major mistakes. He provided a big play on a 39 yard reception, but he juggled the football and almost dropped it. I didn't dock his grade because he came down with it, but once again he looked shaky catching the football. Robert Meachem: B+ (2.25) For 3 quarters, Meachem was absolutely nowhere to be seen. The Saints were running three receiver sets almost exclusively, and Lance Moore was the #3 target. In the 4th quarter, he was targeted 4 times, and gave the Saints 4 catches for 57 yards and a touchdown. He beat his man badly and adjusted to make a terrific crouching catch for a 35 yard touchdown late in the game. It's almost like the coaching staff forgot how big of a playmaker he was for the team last year. Maybe it's time we incorporate him back into the offense. What do you guys think? Lance Moore: D (2.27) He got no separation, and finished with 1 catch for 8 yards. He also let a ball hit the turf that he could have caught, which wasn't really his fault because it was a low throw by Brees, but still would have been nice to see him make. All of his punt returns were fair catches, and he made me incredibly nervous with his - make a fair catch and fall down backwards as you catch the ball routine. Jeremy Shockey: B (3.00) I'm always curious as to why Shockey spends so much time on the sidelines. Do the Saints consider Thomas a better blocker? Is he injured? Regardless of the reason, I think the Saints could stand to benefit from Shockey actually getting more reps. He was on the sidelines, at times, for long stretches of play. Shockey did score a touchdown at the goal line on a 1 yard pass where he was wide open. He finished with 3 catches for 30 yards. He did beat his coverage and had a big step on his defender, but Brees underthrew the pass and it was intercepted by Greg Toler. Shockey was at least heads up in tackling him immediately. Too bad on that play, though, because Shockey was headed for a big gain otherwise if the ball is thrown with any semblance of accuracy. He did a good job of breaking a tackle and looked faster than usual after the catch. He didn't really have any impact on the running game. David Thomas: C- (2.47) He didn't block particularly well from what I reviewed on the replay of the game, and he was never targeted in the passing game. You can't really point to one thing he did that was terrible, but he had almost no impact on the game. Jermon Bushrod: C (2.53) It's amazing how well Drew Brees sees pressure coming from his "blind side". Bushrod had lots of heat coming from his edge and his pass blocking was not as good as usual, but Brees would just calmly step up in the pocket and get rid of the football. If Max Hall had been playing for the Saints, Bushrod would have given up at least a couple sacks. He was flagged for holding on the play that Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie returned a pick six. Obviously that was declined. His run blocking was fine. Nothing special. Carl Nicks: B- (2.94) The Saints had some success running behind him, He didn't dominate at the line of scrimmage like he sometimes does, but Nicks held his own. The main disappointment here is the Saints didn't get the usual gaping lanes behind him they normally get. Jonathan Goodwin: A- (2.87) Unlike the rest of this offense, I thought Goodwin played a very clean and solid game. He was at the second level playing aggressively, he was solid in pass protection, and he was throwing his weight around on running plays. He got decent push at the point of attack and I think his play was one of the real bright spots for the Saints in this game. Still, the fact that he's my "offensive player of the game" is pretty sad. And hey! He didn't get flagged for a penalty! That's a huge accomplishment if you block for the Saints lately. Jahri Evans: B- (2.67) It's just so hard to grade Evans after this game. If you watch the game over, he completely dominated his man all day long. Granted, he got flagged three times and that is really bad. But if you watch how much he manhandled Bryan Robinson and Alan Branch, it was pretty close to work of art. On the holding call, Brees took way too long to get the ball out. That flag came as Brees released the ball, after Evans had given his man the business for a good 5-6 seconds. I looked at the replay and I still don't really see a hold there. Evans' rash of penalties lately is incredibly frustrating, but I will say he played at a high level otherwise. His run blocking was superb, and his pass blocking was better. Considering how much pressure the Cardinals were able to get outside the edge, that's a huge credit to the Nicks-Goodwin-Evans trio that the o-line rarely gives up sacks, and only gave up one in this game. Brees steps up in the pocket and he's got that extra time to throw almost every time because the interior blocking is so impeccable. Take away the penalties and that was A grade level blocking from Evans. Jon Stinchcomb: D (2.33) One of Stinchcomb's worst games, I thought. On third and goal from the 4, he had a false start penalty. 2 plays later, John Carney missed a 29 yard field goal. That penalty was a back breaker for the team. He was also beaten badly around the edge by Clark Haggans who rocked Brees and caused a fumble. Good head's up by Stinchcomb, at least, to fall on the ball and prevent the turnover. That was just the one play where his spotty pass blocking was exposed. There was pressure coming from his side all day. He had his hands full all day with Darnell Dockett. Considering how good Dockett is, holding him to 3 tackles and no sacks is a solid accomplishment, but Dockett did blow up Brees twice just after he released the pass. Like all of you, anytime Brees takes a hit my heart stops. I was close to needing a defibrillator for this game. Stinchcomb almost got him killed. Thank God the Cards moved Dockett around a little bit throughout the game. If he played Stinchcomb straight up the whole game that could have been a disaster. Chris Ivory got blown up on a couple of running plays behind him, as well. Zach Strief: C (2.00) He gave the Saints some physicality on the edge as the hybrid blocking tight end, and the Saints had some success half the time running behind him. He's still yet to assert his dominating size, and I still suspect it's because his movement is severely hampered by his knee issues. It's not like his movement was a strength of his to begin with. Got to get the big man healthy. My Offensive Player of the Game: Jonathan Goodwin http://www.canalstreetchronicles.co...eans-saints-offensive-player-grades-cardinals The Saints may have lost to the Cardinals, but it was through no fault of the defense. I realize Max Hall is no household name, but anytime you hold a team to under 200 yards of total offense, you should win by 30 with no questions asked. Especially when Drew Brees is your quarterback. A big tip of the hat to the defense for a outstanding performance. Sadly their grades are combined with those of special teams. Too bad, because special teams was crap in this game. They don't deserve to be roped together this week. Make the jump for the grades. As always, the letter grade represents that player's performance in the game. The GPA in parentheses is the player's cumulative effort for the season. Saints vs Cardinals coverage Saints vs Cardinals recap Saints vs Cardinals boxscore Star-divide Jeff Charleston: B (2.50) Pretty solid showing for Charleston filling in for the Injured Will Smith. He was tremendous in run support, blowing up Beanie Wells in the backfield for a loss early on. He also showed great hustle and pursuit. He finished with 4 tackles, and showed that he was deserving of the roster spot given to him. Alex Brown: B (2.00) Hey look who showed up to play this week! Ok Alex, I take back the Charles Grant comparisons for now. He finished with just two tackles, but one of them was a sack and he was in Max Hall's face with solid pressure for much of the day. His pursuit of plays showed the kind of effort and energy I've always blasted Grant for ignoring. I even saw Brown at one point covering a running back in the flat and running with him step for step. He also had a huge tip of a pass by Hall that forced the Cardinals to give the Saints another chance at coming back by punting. I hope that Brown can duplicate this kind of performance now. Anthony Hargrove: B- (2.14) He was credited with a sack, and it took me forever to figure out when that happened. I think they must have gone back and decided that the play where he blew up Max Hall and almost literally killed him at the 2 yard line was slightly behind the line of scrimmage, hence the sack. On that play, Hargrove jarred the ball loose and got the assist on Levi Brown's scoop and score. Seriously, though, it was really bad luck for the Saints there. The worst kind of luck you could ever experience. Hargrove made a huge play for the Saints, though. He saw a quarterback running up the middle of the field and he put the kind of "remember me hit" that will make Hall think twice before ever running up the middle again. There is no way a lay person would come away from a hit like that without needing life support. That was his lone tackle and he was quiet otherwise, but hey, he almost spared Brees and Betts the shame of that ridiculous turnover inside the Saints' 5. Jimmy Wilkerson: C (2.11) He finished with two tackles and was overall quiet. He was decent in run support, but the guy just doesn't get much penetration on passing plays. What happened to that guy that looked so promising in preseason? Sedrick Ellis: B- (2.74) Just one tackle for the Saints' middle man, but he got interior push all day. The Cardinals ran the ball 24 times for a 1.7 yard average. Enough said. Remi Ayodele: B+ (2.93) He finished with 2 tackles and a sack. On his sack, he stripped a scrambling Max Hall and showed a decent amount of athleticism for a big run stuffer. Sadly, Alan Faneca would fall on that loose ball for a nice gain. Just the kind of game it was for the Saints. Can't blame Ayodele for that, though, as he was excellent all day in plugging up the middle. Through 5 games his play has been nothing short of outstanding. He's been a real find for the Saints' front four, and he seems to be getting better each and every week. Again, when the opposing team averages 1.7 yards per carry and they came into the game averaging 5.6, that's a testament to how your interior is breaking down the offensive line and how your linebackers are tackling. Jonathan Vilma: A- (3.27) Vilma was all over the field. My only regret from his performance is that he didn't come up with the fumble recovery either time Hall put the ball on the turf, because he was in the middle of the pile. He had 7 tackles and was often dominating around the line of scrimmage, taking advantage of the tackling opportunities the defensive line set up for him. He came blitzing several times, sacked Hall once, and came very close to sacking him another time. He knocked Hall out of the game briefly thanks to the hit he laid on him. Scott Shanle: B- (2.53) He had two real tackling opportunities, both times as Beanie Wells went around the edge, and both times he showed perfect technique taking him down. Other than that, not many opportunities for Shanle to show his stuff. He was around Larry Fitzgerald when the Cardinals' superstar receiver caught passes way too often, but that was the scheme of the bracket coverage more than Shanle's fault. I don't think anyone can expect him to do an effective job of limited a top tier NFL receiver downfield. Jo-Lonn Dunbar: C+ (2.47) Like Shanle, he had 2 tackles, but it seems clear that the Saints are using Clark a lot more on running downs. Dunbar's reps are limited defensively because of it. He did a decent job in coverage, surprisingly, defending a pass. Danny Clark: A- (3.11) Clark out of nowhere is all of a sudden a run stopping force for the Saints. He was laying a thumbing on Cardinal backs all game long. As the Cardinals had a lead and tried to run clock, Clark stuck his nose in the line of scrimmage to make sure the plays went absolutely nowhere. His aggression, tackling ability and ferociousness wasn't that of a journeyman veteran at all, but that of a solid NFL starter. Maybe he deserves to be a starter. He's always been solid in run support throughout his career, and has had a reputation for being very limited in coverage. In this game, though, I saw him pick up Tim Hightower a couple of times and do a solid job there too. Any way you slice it, he's been a very nice surprise and he's solidified himself in my opinion as a significant role player on this roster. He finished with 6 tackles, most of which came in the second half. Expect to see a lot more of him based on the way he played. Marvin Mitchell: B- (2.54) Like Clark, he was helpful in run support and he was good on special teams. He had 4 tackles total, 2 in run support, and 2 in special team coverage. He's a great interior role player, too. Jabari Greer: C+ (2.80) It was an up and down game for Greer overall. He picked off Max Hall's second pass of the game on the opening drive, and ran that interception back 26 yards. That big play would end up giving the Saints a 3-0 lead early. Greer was charged with covering Larry Fitzgerald, and the results were mixed. Truth be told, throwing to Fitzgerald was the only play that really gave the Cardinals any sort of chain moving potential. The Cards finished with 194 yards of total offense, and Fitzgerald was responsible for 93 of those. That's right, if not for Fitzgerald, the team would have amassed 101 yards. Greer did a fantastic job of tackling Fitzgerald, I will say. He was giving a tremendous amount of size to Fitzgerald giving his slight frame, and the fact that #11 is a mammoth, but he was still able to be physical with him. Twice I was impressed with Greer's ability to bring him down in the open field. He finished with 5 tackles, but he was beat a number of times. Patrick Robinson: B+ (2.55) Robinson was very good overall, and he was physical all game long. He lent a hand in run support and tackled very well. He ended up leading the team with 8 tackles. Some of that was him getting beat in coverage, but he was pretty good in coverage at other times. He broke up one pass, going low on Stephen Williams who couldn't hang onto the football as he slammed to the turf. My only gripe with Robinson is, as a rule of thumb, if you're going to be dumb enough to commit pass interference on a 3rd down play, at least make sure the guy doesn't catch the ball. He held Andre Roberts pretty blatantly before the ball got there, allowed Roberts to catch it, and then run after the catch for a first down. Come on Patrick, if you're going to commit an automatic first down penalty, at least make it good. That play aside, I think we have a lot to look forward to with Robinson. Very promising stuff from the rookie. Randall Gay: B- (2.78) No tackles from Gay, but when he was in Max Hall never even dared look his receiver's way. His coverage was very tight all game, like a blanket. He almost deserves a better grade, but he just didn't really get involved enough to warrant it. Still, a tip of the cap to Gay for doing a great job of limiting Hall's ability to make plays downfield. Roman Harper: B+ (3.42) Harper was great in run support, and pretty good in coverage. He showed no ill effects from his injury, and showed that usual force around the line of scrimmage. He finished with 7 tackles, a defended pass, and he hit Hall once on a blitz. Late in the game with the Saints down 3 he forced a Ben Patrick fumble that once again didn't get recovered by the defense. If the Saints come up with that ball, though, it's a heroic type play from Harper, because that would've given the Saints the time and field position to tie the game. Harper did get isolated on Fitzgerald once and beat for a fairly big play, and his help over the top was suspect at times. No real surprise there, we all know by now that Harper's strength is not down the field but around the line of scrimmage. Malcolm Jenkins: C (2.34) He finished with 3 tackles and a defended pass. On that "defended pass" he had a shot at an interception in the end zone that would have killed a Cardinals' touchdown drive. Too bad he didn't come up with that play. Many times he tried to help on Fitzgerald, and was of no help whatsoever. He missed tackles on him, grabbed his facemask to add 15 yards to an already big gain, and didn't do a great job in coverage. Give Jenkins credit on one deep ball, though, for physically muscling Fitzgerald to the turf which cause the ball to pop loose for an incomplete pass. I thought his tackling, overall, was pretty spotty. He did do a great job on the aforementioned play by Harper, diving for the ball as it was close to going out of bounds, and shoveling back in bounds to give the Saints a chance to recover it. That was a very high IQ and head's up play by Jenkins. Unfortunately his hustle wasn't rewarded, as guess who, Larry Fitzgerald was there to fall on the loose ball. John Carney: D (2.34) He was looking solid like last week, 2 for 2 with both kicks right down the middle... then he missed a 29 yarder. What is with our kickers having issues with that 29 yard kick? I mean, seriously? Some teams don't go 3 years missing two kicks inside 30 yards. That miss was ridiculous. It's time we just go back to Garrett Hartley and just take our lumps when he misses. I still can't believe he shanked that. I still can't believe Hartley missed the game winner against Atlanta. Just awful. The Saints have been killed by easy field goal misses in their 2 losses. Shameful. Thomas Morstead: B+ (3.40) On his three punts, he averaged 46 yards. Which is pretty good. His net, though, was 44.7, which is exceptional. It really doesn't get any better. None of those were inside the 20, though. Arizona's kicker seemed to have no problem routinely getting the ball at least 5-8 yards deep in the end zone on kickoffs, whereas Morstead was hit or miss. Too bad, because LaRod Stephens-Howling gashed the coverage units for returns of 60 and 48 yards. It's lame the Cardinals' terrible offense that was incapable of moving the ball got rewarded by ridiculous field position all game. Unfortunately, the kickoff coverage units and the offense giving away the football made the game play out that way. Morstead was pretty good, I just wish he had kicked the ball just a bit deeper, or shorter, to stop Stephens-Howling from hurting the Saints. Courtney Roby: B- (3.33) He had yet another tackle on special teams, but this one was in Saints' territory after Stephens-Howling's monster return. Good job chasing him down, I guess. He averaged 27.8 yards per kick return on 4 returns, which is really good, but benefited from extra yardage thanks to taking out a few kicks that were pretty deep in the end zone. Still, he deserves credit for never getting hit inside the 20. My Defensive Player of the Game: Jonathan Vilma My Special Teams Player of the Game: Thomas Morstead http://www.canalstreetchronicles.co...ive-and-special-teams-player-grades-cardinals
BUCCANEERS What a difference a (bye) week makes. Taking the field for the first time since a 38-13 loss to Pittsburgh that had more Yakity Sax moments than the opening moments of the Bennie Hill show, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers found themselves ahead at the end of the 3rd quarter 14-13. It had been a bend-but-don't break kind of day for the Bucccaneer defense, as Cedric Benson, who ultimately churned out 144 yards rushing on 23 carries, had a breakthrough game on the season. However, the defense, who cashed in a Cody Grimm pick-6 earlier to level the game after allowing an earlier T.O. touchdown, kept the Bengals out of the end zone and preserved the lead. Things felt alright. The Buccaneers led and were getting the football back. Suddenly, disaster struck after Micheal Spurlock put the football on the ground by the slimmest of margins, giving Cincy and Carson Palmer new life. They wouldn't waste the opportunity. The Bengals put a US postage stamp on Benson's backside and drove the football down to the 1-yard line, where Palmer found Jermaine Gresham for a TD and a 21-14 lead (following a rushing 2-pt conversion). It seems things were not going the Buccaneers' way. However, good things come to those who wait. Star-divide In the waning moments of the game on a must-stop 3rd and 13 for the defense, Aqib Talib, who was toast on the aforementioned T.O. touchdown, stepped in front of T.O. and snared the ball at midfield, giving Josh Freeman a reasonable distance to work with rather than having to drive the length of the field with less than 2 minutes. Freeman would respond in kind.....hitting Mike Williams for the game-tying 20-yard strike with a little over a minute left to play. However, Palmer and the Bengals had one minute left to play and a full compliment of timeouts. They drove down to the cusp of FG range before an obvious T.O. offensive pass interference penalty turned what would have been field goal opportunity into a 1st and 20 from the Cincy 47. After a tough overall day, Sabby Pisciteli finally got a chance to impact this game positively, taking a deflected pass up the sidelines for a 31-yard return to the Cincy 34-yard line. Freeman made sure Barth wouldn't miss the winning kick, finding Spurlock for a 21-yard gain that set up Barth's game winner. Indeed, redemption was the word of the day for the Buccaneers. Freeman threw a tater for a interception into double coverage that killed a drive. Spurlock coughed up the ball that led to the go-ahead Cincy score. Talib was torched by T.O. on a go route for a score. Piscitelli looked silly on the go-ahead score for the Bengals. Mike Williams fumbled the ball away on the Cincy 4 to kill another drive. Yet all of the aforementioned made huge plays that allowed the Buccaneers to escape town with a huge win that puts the team at 3-1 and in 2nd place in the NFC South.......half a game in front of the New Orleans Saints, who come to Ray Jay this weekend. The Buccaneers could be without the services of some key Buccaneers for that game, as Sean Jones and Jeff Faine left with respective back and quad injuries and did not return. Their status for next week's game has not yet been announced. Brian Price also got dinged up. It was also Josh Freeman's 5th drive of his career to take the lead in the 4th quarter/overtime. His previous drives included Green Bay, Miami, and New Orleans in 2009 and Cleveland in 2010. He's showing the composure, nerves, and tenacity of a seasoned veteran and making a continued fool out of yours' truly and others who doubted the Buccaneers decision to draft him. http://www.bucsnation.com/2010/10/11/1744156/buccaneers-atone-for-mistakes-take-out-bengals-24-21 Wow. Just wow. What a victory for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It's hard to even gather thoughts about such an emotional fightback in a game that could obviously have gone either way. The team showed a lot of heart in scoring 10 points with under two minutes to play, which was their second come-from-behind win of the season. The Bucs now sit at 3-1 after the first quarter of the season, something I'm sure everyone predicted in training camp. Let's take a quick look at how each unit performed and what can be taken going into the big game against the 3-2 New Orleans Saints. Star-divide Offense: B Same old story here. Josh Freeman made a lot of excellent throws, moved the offense down the field, and was able to punch the ball into the end zone when the team needed it. The interception was a bad decision as Winslow was not open on the play and the turnover killed the momentum the Bucs had at the time. Freeman has to understand the game management circumstances that were present right there. It was first down in Cincy territory after a huge play in the running game, and he has to make sure not to take points off the board. The running game was non existent (yet again), and Freeman was forced into a number of third downs where he had to make plays. Fortunately for our Bucs, it appears that Freeman is taking the next step of his development and is ready to be to strength of the offense. Mike Williams continues to make things happen and looks like he a playmaker, but has got to take care of the football. Carnell Williams simply does not have it anymore (running with that O-line doesn't help things), and it would be wise to split the carries between LeGarrette Blount (who can run over unblocked guys) or Kareem Huggins (who can make guys who aren't blocked miss) going forward. Defense: B Another inconsistent effort by the defense, especially in the ground game. If the Bengals didn't shoot themselves in the foot with drops, penalties, etc the Bucs may not have had the opportunity to get the win. However they were able to force Carson Palmer to make some mistakes and took advantage of them. At the end of the day that is all that matters. The Bucs played a lot of 2-deep in this game, in order to prevent the big play in the passing game. This almost worked, as Terrell Owens was able to shake off Aqib Talib for a deep score. However they went the rest of the game without allowing a passing play of more than 20 yards until the Bengals final drive. One thing that I was impressed when watching the game again was how the Bucs wrapped up tackles when defending the pass. The Bengals have physical receivers that are difficult to bring down at times, and it was good to see them limit the yards after contact. The Bengals really committed to the running attack in the second half, and it payed dividends. Benson ended up with 144 yards rushing on the afternoon and a key touchdown. Fortunately for the Buccaneers, the Saints rarely run the football and will do so even less with injuries to Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush. Playing bend but don't break pass defense will be vital against Drew Brees and company. Special Teams: C+ Another mixed effort from the special teams on Sunday. Geno Hayes made a nice play on the punt deflection, and the punt and kick coverage was solid as usual. Chris Bryan made up for a 15 yard punt with a few efforts that pinned the Bengals inside their 10 yard line. Michael Spurlock had a costly fumble in the kickoff return game, which allowed Cincy to take a 7 point lead. The Bucs have to find a solution in the punt game (I have one, but I doubt management cares), or they will lose the field position battle on a consistent basis. Props to Bryan for getting the snap down and to Conor Barth for making the clutch kick to win the game. Overall: Any time you can get a victory on the road against a solid team like the Cincinatti Bengals, then that an accomplishment in itself. Considering the manner in which the team pulled this one out, combined with the clear growth and maturity that is occurring in that locker room right now, hopes are high going into the game with the New Orleans Saints. It was also positive to see the team overcome their mistakes, which clearly cost the team points early on. The safety situation remains a big problem and will continue to bite the Buccaneers and limit the overall potential of the defense. However it now appears that the offense is ready to step up and overcome these limitations. This seems like a concept from a parallel universe for Bucs fans, but the team finally has a clear identity. His name is Josh Freeman. http://www.bucsnation.com/2010/10/12/1745536/grading-the-units-week-5 Before we move on to the New Orleans Saints I thought it would be productive to take on final glance at how we played against the Bengals. We won, which is ultimately what matters, but many of the facets of the game struggled, particularly for the first three quarters. Last week I gave 5 Keys to beating Marvin Lewis' squad. In this piece we will review those 5 aspects of the game plus more. Key 1 - Run The Ball. I noted that teams had found success against the Bengals run defense. The Bucs called 19 run plays, which is well below their season average. It clearly wasn't in the game plan to run the ball. The final total will show you that they ran for 125 yards and a score. However, the success they found against the Bengals defense was much worse than that. Graham broke free for a 61 yard run which really helps the stats, but if you take that away your looking at a average of 2.93 YPC on designed runs. That's miserable. While this didn't cause us to lose the game it did directly impact Freemans performance throughout the game. Star-divide Key 2 - Find a 2nd WR. Using Winslow will be huge in this game, but the Bucs have got to establish a 2nd WR. Whether it be Stroughter, Benn or Spurlock Winslow and Williams had a huge day. Williams essentially beat one of the top 5 CB's in the league in Leon Hall. While they didn't establish much of a "2nd WR" they spread the ball out incredibly well. Stroughter and Spurlock had 3 catches for 39 and 35 yards respectively. Benn and Glimore also contributed. Speaking of Mike Williams, he had a better day against Hall than Moss, Boldin or Steve Smith had. I can't count how many times it has been said on this site alone, but Williams is setting himself apart as an elite talent. However, he must correct his fumbling problem. I believe both of his lost fumbles have been him just not securing the ball well. Key 3 - Get pressure with only 4. Todd Wash and the Defensive Line can go ahead and buy Cody Grimm, Aqib Talib and Ronde Barber dinner. This has to be, even with the additions, one of the worst defensive lines in the NFL. They not only struggle fail at getting any sort of pass rush, they can get an ounce of penetration against the run and look like they are on skates trying to hold gaps. Cedric Benson absolutely gashed the Bucs on Sunday. The Bengals have plenty of weapons on offense and holding the rest of the team, not named TO, to only 100 yards is worth noting. Had we gotten more pressure, Owens numbers may not have even been that high. Key 4 - Safety Help. It's hard to tell exactly what happened on the Owens touchdown. I don't know what the play-call was. I can tell you that Barber on the other side was 1 on 1 with Chad. Grimm stayed at home cover Gresham. Sabby did something similar but it looked like he recognized he should of had deep help for Talib. Talib trips ever so slightly, but it's almost as if he is anticipating some sort of Safety relief. It's not there. Sabby was no-where to be found. I though Grimm played very well and stayed behind receivers, made some great tackles all over the place and obviously had a huge interception in which he read Palmers eyes and jumped a route. Key 5 - Field Position. The coverage teams had a couple of lapses, but overall the results were good. Bryan also put a few inside of the 10, but then topped it with punts of 19 yards and 28 yards. He can not be relied on at this point and other options should be exhausted. The Bengals starting field position was at the 26 on 13 drives. Most of this was helped by not turning the ball over in our own territory but once. Williams fumble and Freemans INT were both deep inside Cin. territory. Some other notes: Cody Grimm played great. Williams is done. I've held on longer than most attributing most of the blame to the offensive line. While they have been bad, so has Williams. We need to still be committed to the run-game but Williams carries need to be halved..again. Freeman looked tremendous. Especially in the 4th quarter. I am not sure what he saw on his interception. I almost want to think that his pass was inteded for Williams and sailed on him. If not it was deeply underthrown to a very well covered Winslow. Regardless, he probably should have thrown that one away. A turnover after a momentum boosting 61 yard carry hurts. Probably one of the more unheralded plays of the game was the pass to Mike Williams on the sideline on the final drive. It moved us into position to score and on the next play was the touchdown. It was one of the best throws and catch I have seen by a Bucs offense in a long time. Freeman was using the sideline and put the pass on a rope to where only Williams had a chance. Williams had to stretch but was able to keep both of his feet down and hold onto the ball. Absolutely textbook. http://www.bucsnation.com/2010/10/13/1748899/tampa-bay-buccaneers-vs-cincinnati-bengals-final-look CINCINNATI - Large patches of empty seats already had begun to appear at Paul Brown Stadium, even though more than three minutes remained in the game. Fans probably assumed their hometown Cincinnati Bengals had things under control with a seven-point lead, so it seemed like a good time to beat the traffic. Not so long ago, that was a safe move. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers weren't much of a threat to spoil an early ride home for impatient fans, but Josh Freeman is the quarterback now and things have changed. This guy is a different cat than we're used to seeing under center for the men of pewter. In situations such as these, Freeman's teammates say he is stone-faced, emotionless, and completely driven. When he gets the football in his hands, it's best to wait around until the closing act. In this case that was a 24-21 Bucs victory that to the uninitiated might have seemed improbable. "I just want to win," Freeman said. "A lot of people go into a two-minute drive and they're afraid to make a mistake to lose the game. I want to make the play to win the game. I love winning a lot more than I'm scared of losing." It wasn't just the 20 completions in 33 attempts, or the 280 yards he threw for, or even the way he outplayed his more glamorous rival, Cincinnati's Carson Palmer. It was more about Freeman's flair. He has turned the fourth quarter into his own personal stage, and because of that the Bucs have become one of the National Football League's real surprise stories of this season. It was a group effort, of course. Freeman's escape act wouldn't have happened if his teammates didn't get him the ball. But when Aqib Talib and Sabby Piscitelli intercepted Palmer twice in the closing minutes, Freeman made the most of the opportunity. He completed a pair of passes to Mike Williams, including a 20-yarder for a game-tying touchdown. Moments later, his 21-yard completion to Micheal Spurlock — who made a tremendous tippy-toe catch along the sideline — in the closing seconds set up Connor Barth's winning 31-yard field goal. "He never gets shook. That's a big, big quality to have. To have him as our leader, I wouldn't want anyone else," running back Earnest Graham said. "His face doesn't change. He knows we're one play away from being right back in it." Freeman basically got the stuffing knocked out of him all day from a variety of Bengals' blitz packages. Defenders flew from every angle on seemingly every play. It appeared at times like they were coming from neighboring Kentucky across the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge over the Ohio River. Freeman got knocked around, down, sideways, you name it. He even got knocked out for a couple of plays late in the first quarter after he was hit under his chin by defensive end Frostee Rucker. "It's like, 'No, no, get up Josh,' " cornerback Ronde Barber said. Left tackle Donald Penn had a close-up view when Freeman brought the huddle to attention after Talib's interception with 2:28 to play. The Bucs had the ball at the 50, trailing by seven. "He was the only one talking in the huddle," Penn said. "We have so much confidence in him. You can't teach that heart. You can't grab some guy off the street and teach that. You have to be born with it. The guy is a warrior. I can't say enough about him." The Bucs have never had a guy quite like Freeman, at least not since the days of yore with Doug Williams. No more stopgap quarterbacks, no more short-term rentals or mercenaries looking for a gig. Freeman is becoming exactly what the Bucs hoped he'd be when they used their first draft pick on him in 2009. Since he became the starter 13 games ago, Freeman has brought the Bucs from behind to win four times in the fourth quarter, including twice this year. He has been the starting quarterback in four consecutive road wins for the Bucs. "Nothing fazes him. He's just relentless in his want to succeed," Barber said. We've known that, of course, and now they know it in Cincinnati. Well, some of them do anyway. Those who left early will just have to take our word for it. Next time, it's probably a good idea to stay until the end when Freeman has the ball. http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/oct/10/freeman-shows-poise-with-fourth-quarter-heroics/sports-bucs/ TAMPA - A comeback victory in Cincinnati has the Buccaneers in a confident but wary mood heading into Sunday's matchup against the Saints. Tampa Bay's 24-21 triumph, coupled with a New Orleans loss at Arizona, vaulted the 3-1 Bucs past the defending Super Bowl champions, who fell to 3-2 after committing four turnovers in a 30-20 setback. "We have a bunch of young guys who are hungry,'' said second-year defensive tackle Roy Miller. "You've got a bunch of fighters here. Still, we have to find a way to stop the run. If we do that, the pass rush will come.''The Bucs have yielded 350 yards on the ground in their past two games, falling to 30th in rush defense. "That's disgusting,'' Miller said. "I know I had two mistakes that make me sick. As a unit, we need to pick it up. I had two bad plays and one is enough. It's not that we don't have the guys or the talent … we just have to put it all together.''Tampa Bay boasts a plus-5 turnover ratio while the Saints, who thrived on takeaways in 2009, are floundering at minus-1. Drew Brees boasts a gaudy completion percentage of 71.4, but New Orleans hasn't established a credible ground attack since Reggie Bush broke his leg. "The Saints are the world champions,'' said Jeremy Zuttah, who will start at center while Jeff Faine recovers from a quad injury that could keep him sidelined until December. "They came in here last year (38-7 triumph) and scored a lot of points on us and played very well defensively. They're a team we can measure ourselves against.''With four consecutive victories on the road, including a huge comeback at New Orleans last December, the Bucs are anxious to prove themselves once again. "That win Sunday gives us a lot of confidence,'' said rookie wide receiver Mike Williams. "It tells you we can bounce back from a loss, that we can go on the road and come back and win a big game.' http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/oc...-to-prove-themselves-against-sai/sports-bucs/
PANTHERS QUARTERBACKS: F- It’s hard to imagine a quarterback looking worse than Todd Collins, but Jimmy Clausen did his best. Matt Moore was no better, with a higher pick-attempt ratio (2-10). This team as presently constructed is incapable of passing. RUNNING BACKS: C It looked so good early, with a strong first drive. But they’re now 4-40 under Fox when they get 25 or fewer rush attempts in a game. They have to have a chance. RECEIVERS: F You’ve reached a special depth when it’s hard to imagine Steve Smith helping much. From Brandon LaFell’s dropped balls and ill-timed penalties (newcomer David Clowney got in that act, too) to the weird interception off Armanti Edwards, it was just bizarre. OFFENSIVE LINE: D Clausen was sacked five times, but it wasn’t as bad as that sounds. There were creases for the run game early, there just weren’t enough opportunities. DEFENSIVE LINE: C Everette Brown and Ed Johnson came up with picks, and if you take out getting gashed in the first quarter, they didn’t play that badly against the run (34 Chicago rushes for 96 yards, 2.8 per attempt). LINEBACKERS: C There was nothing truly offensive, and they did some good things at times. But these guys are getting run ragged by an offense that can’t get them a decent chance to drink Gatorade. DEFENSIVE BACKS: C Charles Godfrey and rookie Jordan Pugh came up with picks, but at this point, you have to dock these guys points for not taking them to the house. That might be the only way this team scores. SPECIAL TEAMS: D There were some good things (notably stalwart punter Jason Baker). But big returns allowed early helped trigger the avalanche. COACHING: F John Fox is coming perilously close to running out of buttons to push. He’s tried yelling, he’s tried babying. He’s tried mixing up the game plan, he’s tried going with the old reliables. The wretched offense isn’t all about play calls, but the ones they’re dialing up aren’t helping, either. Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/10/10/1753598/report-card.html#ixzz12IEPRxIa For weeks, the Carolina Panthers defense had to hug too many curves, at too high a speed, for too long. The tire blew Sunday, as two crucial defensive lapses became killers in the Panthers 23-6 loss to the Chicago Bears. The Panthers created four turnovers, and limited the Bears to 29 net yards passing. But it was the eight rushes for 122 yards in the first quarter that was the killer, as it staked the Bears to a 17-3 lead. Matt Forte popped an 18-yard touchdown run on the Bears' first drive, and came back with a 68-yard burst on his next touch to effectively put the game out of reach. "We missed some run fits and they gashed us; that's unacceptable by our defense," cornerback Richard Marshall said. The amazing thing was, they still had a chance late, thanks to a defense that found itself, but the way the Panthers offense was playing, it was already too late. "Plays four and five, as a defense, you wish you could have back. Other than that, I think we were pretty solid," Panthers linebacker Jon Beason said. "We were able to get some turnovers... Thus far we've been pretty good against the run, but you give a guy 100 yards in the first quarter on four carries, that's just unacceptable. "In five games, defensively, about 10 plays you'd like to have back. That's the nature of the business. At the end of the day, we've just got to be better." Through the first four games, the Panthers defense was simply forced to do too much. They entered Sunday's game down 10 minutes in terms of average time of possession, having to stay on the field for far too many snaps because of the offensive inefficiency. It's not as if the Panthers offense gave them any breaks Sunday, but their own takeaway trend continued. They picked off Bears quarterback Todd Collins four times before he was benched late in the third quarter. And take away the first quarter, and they held the Bears to 34 rushes for 96 yards (2.8 yards per attempt), a number they'd gladly take. But that's the margin of error the Panthers have at the moment -- a razor-thin one. Fox referred to it as "our current state," and defensive players were working hard to tiptoe around the issue of nonsupport. "I'm not going to speak on what's going on over there," Marshall said. "But as a defense, we can't give up those two runs we gave up. We've got to play better. It's frustrating because we're 0-5, and it's embarrassing." Beason talked about looking to himself first as a captain, but the reality is the Panthers defense isn't playing that poorly. After holding New Orleans to 16 points last week, they felt pretty good about their chances coming in against the 38-year-old Collins. But those two runs were killers, and left them looking for answers yet again. "We have to do what we have to do as a defense," safety Charles Godfrey said. "Every time we're on the field we're trying to get off the field. We just have to be better. We can't give up those two plays." Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/20...apses-spoil-some-defensive.html#ixzz12IEzSk6G dgantt@heraldonline.com Posted: Monday, Oct. 11, 2010 Slideshow « Prev of 3 Next » * Carolina Panthers' Brandon LaFell (11) battles Chicago Bears' Charles Tillman (33) for a catch in the first half of an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010. The pass was incomplete, LaFell was called for pass interference. (AP Photo/Rick Havner) Buy Photo | Store * Harris * LaFell The Carolina Panthers made a little history Sunday, but hardly the kind they'll want to remember. For the first time since 1999, an NFL team started a rookie quarterback and two rookie receivers, and the results were predictable. The Panthers passed for a meager 96 yards (34 fewer if you deduct sack yardage) and saw their kiddie corps of wideouts struggle from start to finish. "It's real frustrating, and it's real frustrating for me to go out there and play the way I did," third-round wideout Brandon LaFell said. "I had a couple of penalties, I dropped two passes, that's real frustrating. Just as a team point and a personal point, I know I'm better than that. I played really poor today and I feel like that had a lot to do with us losing. ... "We were thinking too much today." At times it was hard to tell. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen and LaFell had several rough patches, including a badly thrown deep ball which followed a Chicago interception -- a desperate grab for any kind of momentum. But that wasn't the only one, as the two spent far too much time talking to each other about mistakes and not enough connecting. "Whether it's miscommunication or a mis-throw, I'm going to have to go back and look at the tape," Clausen said when asked specifically about LaFell. "I really don't remember except for one play where he was uncovered and we were just trying to get the ball out to him as quickly as we could. He didn't hear me on that one. Again, I need to do better and that is where it starts, with the quarterback. I need to keep grinding it out, go to work tomorrow, look at the tape and keep getting better each and every day." The last time a team started three rookies in the passing game was Dec. 19, 1999, when Cleveland put quarterback Tim Couch out there with first-year wideouts Kevin Johnson and Darren Chiaverini. "We expect things to go smoothly," Clausen said of playing with rookies. "It's tough to win football games in this league. With a rookie quarterback and two rookie receivers, we just try to go out each and every day and get better. The team expects us to go out there and make plays and we were trying to do that today." Asked specifically about receiver issues, coach John Fox said: "Without analyzing the tape, I'd hate to comment on that correctly or incorrectly. We did have our issues in the passing game." Abandon the run Bears safety Danieal Manning said the biggest factor in Chicago's victory Sunday was forcing the Panthers out of their running game by building a multi-possession lead. While the Panthers had a decent average per carry (3.4 yards), they had to go to the air once the score reached 17-3. "We knew they'd come out running the ball. It helps that that rookie quarterback (Clausen) came out with a play-action pass,'' Manning said. "(The defensive front) did a good job putting pressure on the quarterback, not letting him get to deep threats. "Once we had that lead, they pretty much had to pass the ball to get back into the game, ... it was so old-school; just ground-and-pound. The best team won (because) we stopped the run. We knew they were going to run the ball; once we stopped the run, they had no choice but to pass it.'' A 'freakish athlete' Bears safety Chris Harris, a teammate of Julius Peppers first as a Panther and now as a Bear, said he was the only one in Chicago's training camp not in awe of Pepper's pure athleticism. "He did so many things in our training camp and our OTA's where guys just went, 'Wow!''' Harris recalled. "I'd just say, 'That's what he does: Make one-hand interceptions, all kinds of things of that nature.''' So how many defensive ends make the interception Peppers did, on his knees in the Carolina backfield? "Not many,'' Harris said. "He's a freakish athlete. He's got a talent unlike any other - a guy that big being that agile.'' Inactives The Panthers kept four receivers up again, giving newcomer David Clowney and rookie Armanti Edwards their first starts. The Panthers deactivated four injured players (wide receiver Steve Smith, right tackle Jeff Otah, safety Sherrod Martin and linebacker Jamar Williams) along with running back Tyrell Sutton. QUOTABLE "It's football. There's good football and there's bad football. It wasn't great football today. We refresh, self-examine and work on the next 12 weeks. Take one day at a time. Moment by moment. That's how you have to approach everything." Injured WR Steve Smith, when asked how the Panthers can fix their current offensive mess. "It hurts, but I don't mind it. We're in a production business. People are paying 100 bucks or whatever, 300 bucks for club tickets to come and see us win. They don't want to see us come out here and lose. It definitely hurts, because without the fans there is no game." Panthers LB Jon Beason, on hearing boos from the home fans. "They'll stay together. My concern right now is getting better. I'm not worried about together. We just need to get better. We're together. We just need to play together." Panthers coach John Fox, when asked if he was worried about the team staying together. "Really with us I think it is all here. I think we have the right guys, the right coaches. It's just little things we keep slipping up on, and shooting ourselves in the foot. I think we can correct those. You don't need a tornado to come through here and hit and turn the world around. It's just little things we have to correct ourselves, and we will be just fine." Panthers DT Derek Landri, when asked what adjustments the team could make. Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/10/11/1753935/bears-at-panthers.html#ixzz12IFFf36c
FALCONS I thought this would be an interesting discussion to occupy us for the afternoon. It's trendy and easy to blame Mike Mularkey for those moments when the offense isn't quite so fresh. After all, his name makes him sound doofy and he does tend to call several bad plays in a row, like a pigeon repeatedly flying into a plate glass window. You can see why he'd be easy to blame. It's also easy to blame Matt Ryan. He's the face of the franchise in many ways, and gosh, he seems to hold on to the ball too long sometimes. You could also blame the receivers for not being open, or the running backs for not setting up the pass, or the grounds crew for not creating tiny sinkholes underneath opposing defenders. You could do all of that. At the end of the day, though, I've come to the conclusion that our biggest problem is the offensive line. Justin Blalock, Todd McClure and Harvey Dahl have all managed to avoid sacks, at least officially, though it seems to me I watched Dahl fall backward into Matt Ryan while the theme from Platoon played. That leaves Sam Baker and Tyson Clabo, who have both been pretty damn bad in pass protection. When your line can't stop the pass rush, a host of problems grow out from there like the tendrils of a suckvine. Today's discussion revolves around what the Falcons could or should do to solve the problem. I'm of the opinion that Sam Baker is going to have to play out the season as the left tackle, but I'm also on record saying the Falcons need Ovie Mughelli, Justin Peelle or Michael Palmer to chip in and give him some help. Clabo's a different story altogether. If the dude continues to struggle, the Falcons could try Garrett Reynolds or even Will Svitek on the right side and see how they hold up. I'm continuing to view Reynolds as our future right tackle, so his time may come soon. Hopefully, of course, the Falcons don't have to make any changes and we'll go back to sunbeams, puppies and whimsy. I don't know if that's realistic, though. What say you? http://www.thefalcoholic.com/2010/10/12/1746245/the-atlanta-falcons-offensive-line-discussion I can't and won't reveal where I got my information on this, but I have good reason to believe that the knee injury Sean Weatherspoon suffered in the Browns game is not serious. According to my source, the damage was limited to swelling. Considering the dreaded MRI was involved here, the Falcons may have dodged the major bullet that could have come from ligament damage. Swelling is a tricky thing. If he can't move around well on the knee, the Falcons will probably play it safe and let him rest this weekend. Stephen Nicholas has played well the last couple of weeks on fill-in duty and is a good enough athlete to deal with the threat of LeSean McCoy. With the bye week following the Bengals game, 'Spoon will have a chance to get healthy and be back to wreaking havoc in Week 9. A quick word on this report. This site generally exists to offer analysis, discussion and a different take on the news. In this case, I felt I had a reliable source and the chance to give you guys some early information, and I elected to take it. If I'm wrong, you know where to find your pitchforks and torches. We should get our confirmation on 'Spoon's status later today, but I'm pretty confident we'll be breathing a sigh of collective relief this afternoon. Cross your fingers with me. http://www.thefalcoholic.com/2010/10/13/1748317/source-sean-weatherspoons-knee-injury-not-serious If there's one big play that has summarized how crazy and fun this Falcons season has been, it was Kroy Biermann's. Look at that sequence again. Biermann tips the pass, makes a desperate dive for it, has the presence of mind to tuck the football under him and ensure he's got the catch and then gets up and starts running, brushes off Chansi Stuckey like a fly and scores the touchdown, giving the Falcons a 20-10 lead. It was an awesome, gutsy effort, the kind the Falcons have been spoiling us with all season long. Now they're 4-1, still atop the NFC South and with one of the stoutest defenses I can ever remember the Dirty Birds fielding. The defense deserves direct credit for this win after scoring as much as the offense and limiting the Browns to 10 points. As I said earlier this year, the Falcons are going to win games through the strength of their D, and they've certainly done so. Here's hoping they don't have to do it every game. It's a good thing we have the win, the defensive effort and that moment, because the offense continued to struggle through the air. At some point, the Falcons are going to have to come out and utterly savage a team like they did to the Cardinals in order to dispel some of the lingering concerns with the offensive line, Matt Ryan, Michael Turner and Mike Mularkey. It just wasn't this week. Except for Turner. He sort of ran all over the place. To paraphrase Shakespeare, the win is the thing here. The Falcons are in an excellent position atop the NFC South and have to be brimming with confidence against the Eagles next week. While they prepare, join me after the jump for some of my patented brand of analysis. Star-divide HIGHLIGHTS * Kroy Biermann. He's been able to pressure the quarterback often, but aside from his one sack he hasn't been coming up with the big plays that ESPN loves to highlight. Apparently he was just saving up. It killed me to see people referring to Biermann as a rookie, and it's mostly because he was a relative unknown outside of Atlanta and Montana to this point. I think people know who he is now. * Michael Turner finally cast off the shackles of mediocrity and danced the dance of doom for the Browns, who melted in front of him as he plowed up 140 yards worth of turf. Turner still had some carries where he just bounced around and got stopped after a short gain, but he also rattled off two huge carries and bowled over defenders in a most impressive fashion. With a great matchup against a suspect Eagles run defense, he could hang 100+ yards on them easy. For those wondering why the Falcons limited Jason Snelling's carries, I'd argue you go with the hot hand, and Turner was it. It also wouldn't hurt to keep Snelling fresh for later in the year, when Turner's got 300 carries on him and could use a breather. * John Abraham is beastly. The Predator gutted the Browns offensive line and came up with a pair of big sacks, adding three tackles to that total. He's quietly gotten four on the season and he'll be matched up against the Eagles next week, who have allowed Kevin Kolb to get killed by the pass rush on the left side of the line. That's delightful. * I like to imagine that when teams watch tape of Roddy White, they see White covered, the film mysteriously jumps ahead a couple of seconds and White is open. There just seems to be no way to stop this guy for four quarters, and he piled up five receptions, 101 yards and a touchdown again today. White's having a season for the ages. * Great team effort from the defense today. Stephen Nicholas continues to make a case to start with a pick and four tackles, Jamaal Anderson picked up a sack (!), Jonathan Babineaux forces a fumble and William Moore continues to blow people up while also scooping up the aforementioned fumble. It wasn't the greatest day for the secondary today, but they tackled well and limited the damage. Couldn't be more proud of the defensive effort thus far in 2010. * Michael Palmer. Yes, Tony Gonzalez had five catches for 41 yards and that's better, so he must be credited. Yes, Justin Peelle had one very nice catch. But it's Michael Palmer! C'mon! LOWLIGHTS * I'm going to put Matt Ryan, the offensive line and Mike Mularkey all under the same umbrella. Despite facing nearly constant pressure, Ryan managed to avoid throwing a pick, so he deserves credit for that. He did fumble the ball and take some monster hits, and you can point a finger at the offensive line for that. When you look at his final numbers—16 for 28, 187 yards, 1 TD—remember how poorly he started out the game. His second half was actually pretty studly. We can debate all day if Ryan takes too long or Mularkey handicaps him by calling breathtakingly stupid plays, but I have a feeling they'd succeed despite themselves if Ryan ever had time to throw. Sam Baker is taking a justified beating for not protecting Ice's blind side, but this entire line has shown a staggering inability to hold their ground at the point of attack. The Eagles have historically loved to blitz, and it's going to be a very long day if the Falcons can't slow them down. So what to do? I defer to the coaching staff, but it seems to me that a thorough review of the line is in order. Anybody who they feel isn't producing ought to ride the pine for at least a game. I don't usually buy into motivational tactics like that, but the fear of losing one's job can be a pretty powerful wake up call. The Falcons have to do something before they get Ryan killed. * The Eagles have a much better pass attack than the Browns. I don't want to see nearly 18 tackles out of our top three cornerbacks again. That doesn't speak well to how many catches they were allowing against guys like Chansi Stuckey, who sounds more like a Pokemon than a person. * Oh, special teams. The latest in a series of comical misfires by this unit was Matt Bryant's blocked field goal. I laughed so heartily, I did. It was real flarking funny. THE WRAPUP Game MVP: Compelling arguments to be made for more than one person, which warms my heart. But let's give it to Biermann. The man will someday bounce his grandkids on his knee, dive and catch them before they hit the ground and stiff-arm his wife on the way to the kitchen. Game Theme Song: Solely for the name. One Thing To Take Away: There's a lot of work to be done, but this defense is the greatest thing since Norm Van Brocklin stacked furniture with the Devil. Next Week: You better believe we're taking on the Philadelphia Eagles, ably represented by Bleeding Green Nation. Go say hello. http://www.thefalcoholic.com/2010/10/11/1742551/falcons-browns-recap-the-defense-wins-the-day
