Quarterback: B+
- Matt Ryan the last 3 weeks has ZERO turnovers. In fact, the falcons team has ZERO turnovers. Ryan was 26/39 for 253 yards and 2 scores. I am sure Im not the only one that has noticed this but Mularkey seems to be opening up the playbook more for Ryan on the road. It always seemed like to me that Ryan was babied in road games and would take shots only at home. The last few weeks Ryan has been incredible and if we continue to get play like this from him the Falcons are a legit Super Bowl Threat
- Just another typical Michael Turner day. 28 carries for 131 and a score. The balance that the Falcons are showing right now is fantastic. Turner gets 28 carries and Ryan completes 26 passes. I would like to see Jason Snelling get some more touches as I like what he brings to the table. After the Moore INT the falcons did what all good teams do; shove it down their throats. Turner busts out a 39 yard TD run to send the Rams packing.
- Its pretty sweet when 2 guys catch TD passes and neither of them are Roddy White or Tony Gonzalez. Brian Finneran made a nice leaping catch in the 2nd quarter to tie the game at 10. The Rams opened the 3rd quarter with a TD on their opening drive but the Falcons came right back down and retook the lead on a 2 yard Jason Peele TD catch. Roddy White had another RW day catching 9 balls for 84 yards. He didn't get in the end zone which sucks for me since I have him in 5 fantasy leagues but all is well.
- The defense for most of the afternoon was fantastic. They held Steven Jackson to only 55yards on 11 carries. Now that is a decent average but as whole played the run pretty well. There is one thing you could have bet your life on this game, and that was that the Falcon D was going to try and pressure the rookie QB. While not recording a sack, the defense did have 5 TFL and 7 passes defensed. My boy Brent Grimes had a good day with 3 passes defensed and William Moore came up with a HUGE interception to essentially wrap it up.
- I was very pleased with the game and will always take the W. This was a game in the past that the Falcons would come out sleepwalking and lose. Not anymore. Mike Smith has instilled a different mentality into this team. I am very excited about the Packers rolling into town this Sunday.
Atlanta Falcons vs. GB Packers Preview
The Falcons go into Sundays game with the best record in the NFC (8-2). The Packers are not far behind at 7-3. The Falcons surprisingly are 6th in the league in YPG at 371.4 and the Packers are only 13th at almost 348 YPG. I know this is cliche/obvious but the keyy is going to be stopping the Packers throwing attack and 3rd down. The Falcons are almost dead last in getting off the field on 3rd down while the packers are in the Top 10. The thing that is scary regarding GB is 3rd and 8 or 9 is really not all that bad when you have Greg Jennings and Donald Driver going out for passes. I heard a stat on the radio this morning that Aaron Rodgers is averaging 5.7 yards per rush this season! That's incredible for a QB not named Mike Vick.Did you know that Matt Ryan has NOT been sacked in 3 of the last 4 games? The Packers come in with Clay Matthews having 11.5 sacks himself. If the Falcons can keep Matt Ryan upright I think we have a great chance to win. As frustrating as it is sometimes to methodically move down the field and chew up 9 minutes to kick a fg, this could be really huge for us against the pack. Im about to drop some ESPN type analysis on you: "The longer we have the ball, the less the packers do". I know what your all thinking...arent I going to credit Steve Young or Merril Hodge for that brilliant quote? Nope, but they get paid to say things moronic like that and in this case its very true. If the Falcons can possess the ball for over 35 minutes they will win this game.
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