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[The Legendary SB]

FALCONS OFFENSE V. SAINTS DEFENSE
§ Vilma was inactive again, Dunbar again started at MLB
§ Cox started at FB for the Falcons with Mughelli on IR, Snelling also played snaps at FB
§ Rookie RB Rodgers becoming more a part of Falcons offense each week
§ Falcons had two 3^rd + 1 plays on their 1^st possession and converted both with Turner runs
§ Falcons 1^st drive was 16 plays, it ate up almost 9:00 and they kicked a FG – It featured 8 Turner runs
§ Saints defense got snaps from LB Humber and rookie Wilson in 3-3-5 nickel sub-package
§ Falcons continued at times to put the offense in the hands of Ryan at the line of scrimmage
§ Saints still play significant snaps of “Tampa 2” depending on down and distance, and personnel
§ With Robinson inactive Torrence was the Saints nickel slot corner
§ Saints do not consistently generate pressure on the QB unless they blitz, Down 4 or down 3 in 3-3-5 package do not close down the pocket
§ Douglas 46 yds on the final drive of the 1^st half came with 8 in coverage, Corner Torrence was retreating into the deep middle as a safety
§ Jones re-injured his hamstring and did not play in the 2^nd half, Douglas was the starter opposite White; Weems became the 3^rd WR
§ Falcons easily converted a 4^th + 1 from the Saints 26 yd line on 3^rd quarter TD drive: Turner 5 yds
§ Snelling 21 yd TD catch on 1^st + 10, Snelling single back, Douglas wing TE position to the boundary; Saints played “Tampa 2”
§ Falcons OL still a work in progress this season, They are not very good in pass protection
§ Saints played a lot of “under” fronts v, base “21” personnel with SLB Shanle on the LOS over the TE, Game planned to defend Turner run game
§ Douglas bad drop on quick slant v. “cover zero blitz” on 3^rd + 7 in the 4^th quarter, Douglas room to run with Greer playing with a big cushion
§ When the Falcons got the ball with 7:08 remaining in the 4^th quarter trailing by 10 the Saints predominantly rushed 3 and played very soft deep zone coverage, It was almost a prevent defense with 7 minutes left
§ Gonzalez 20 yd TD in the 4^th quarter came v. “Tampa 2”, A poor play by LB Dunbar
§ Falcons ran 13 plays in the final 1:55 of regulation, That’s a great job by Ryan
§ First 2 plays on the game tying FG drive were both Douglas catches for 23 yds each, They were both busts by the Saints defense
§ Saints blitzed on a number of snaps on the Falcons game tying FG drive, A strong contrast to the prevent zone concepts he paled earlier in the quarter
§ DC Williams very aggressive on final 5-6 Falcons plays; Almost all blitz, including 2 snaps of “cover zero”
§ Saints played almost all 3-3-5 as their nickel sub-package, Very few 4 man DL
§ Ryan badly underthrew open Douglas on deep post on 1^st play of 2^nd OT possession, Douglass had beaten Porter – A shot play that was not executed
§ Turner stopped on 4^th + 1 in OT, Falcons had converted 3 short yardage situations with Turner throughout the game  


SAINTS OFFENSE V. FALCONS DEFENSE
§ Sanders started at safety for the Falcons in place of the inactive Moore
§ Hayden was the Falcons nickel slot corner
§ Saints threw on their first 4 offensive plays
§ First two 3^rd downs on the Saints 1^st series (3^rd + 2, 3^rd + 7) the Falcons played zone coverage
§ On the Saints third 3^rd down (3^rd + 8) the Falcons went 3-3-5 personnel and played “cover 3”
§ Graham had two 3^rd down drops on the first 2 Saints possessions
§ Graham v. Weatherspoon was the matchup in the pass game when Falcons stayed base
§ Graham 21 yd TD in the 2^nd quarter came off 1 back play action, Route combination of minus splits by Meachem and Graham distorted “cover 3” coverage responsibilities
§ Falcons predominant zone coverage concepts in the 1^st half, A lot of “cover 3”
§ Falcons more of an execution defense than a scheme defense, Not a high percentage blitz defense and a predominant zone coverage defense
§ Falcons utilized 3-3-5 personnel on many snaps, Zone blitz concepts out of 3-3-5 sub-package
§ Falcons defense relies more on overall speed of their front seven and pass rush pressure from their front four than high percentage blitz and man-to-man coverage
§ Meachem 33 yd TD came off play action out of straight “I”, “22” personnel tight formation closed to the boundary; Falcons “quarters” coverage – Meachem ran by S DeCoud, great throw by Brees
§ Saints did a great job with minus splits getting their WR matched on the safeties in the Falcons zone coverage concepts
§ S DeCoud has struggled all season in coverage, Teams put the star on him
§ Brees makes the Saints average OL look good with his quick decision making and outstanding pocket movement
§ Falcons picked up blitz frequency in the 2^nd half, They never sacked Brees due to his quick decision making and pocket movement
§ Overall the Falcons defense played fast and aggressive, especially in the 2^nd half
§ Brees was outstanding off play action despite the fact the Saints did not run the ball well (again exposing the myth that you have to establish the run to use play action effectively) – Brees play action numbers: 16-17, 200 yds, 2 TD

[The Legendary SB]

Quote

Falcons 1st drive was 16 plays, it ate up almost 9:00 and they kicked a FG – It featured 8 Turner runs

THIS is what we should have done on the very first overtime drive.  Move methodically down the field instead of passing EVERY down (except the 4th and 1) and wasting a down on a poorly attempted long ball (which we did on each OT drive).

We didn't even attempt to run the ball in OT until the entire building knew we were on 4th and 1.

[blkbigdog35]

That first drive of overtime shouldv'e featured Turner and Rodgers because I think then we could have softened them up to go over the top but hopefully this hurts enough for the coaches to stick with the run and then pass when the defense thinks run but hey I'm just an armchair OC!