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Arthur firing everybody...

Better than them stinking Saints coming here!!!!!!

Rule 17 states that it's illegal to have sex with more than 17 of your own siblings on the same day in Louisiana.

Let's be honest. That game was very one-sided when it came to officiating. The Rams have every right to be upset. Getting a crew that had screwed them multiple times over, and they again wind up with over double the penalties and penalty yards (7 for 64 yards vs the Saints 3 for 20 yards). Not to mention, the Rams would've won even earlier if not for the Goff no call. Need I mention all the other no calls? And then, the Saints get awarded a make up PI after a previous no call. Truly one sided officiating. The Rams should write in to the NFL about the egregious errors here. It's truly unfair. Thankfully they still won - it would've been heartbreaking if the zebras managed to steal another NFCCG away for the Saints. ... PS - **** the Saints. Sincerely, Every Other Teams Fans

Put some respeck on DLed’s name...

Every Saints player is a DB. Oh, you meant “defensive back.” My bad.

I say this without reservation: Mike Smith is the single most under-appreciated member of the Falcons family

Someone needs to keep showing him this.

**** DQ really said that. He means business.

Remember Bounty and Hits on Favre? It’s good to be on recieving end of refs.

Does the name Tom Moore ring a bell? Moore was the Indianapolis Colts OC from 1998-2010. Moore wasn’t seen as any type of offensive genius, but it was his relationship and synergy with Peyton Manning that made him indispensable to the Colts during that time. When Manning went to Denver…his first OC was Mike McCoy. McCoy had been the OC there for 3 seasons prior to Manning’s arrival. When Manning balled out…McCoy became one of those ‘hot head coaching candidates’. He got the SD Chargers HC gig – that didn’t go so well. In 2017 and 2018, McCoy got fired from his NFL OC positions mid-season (DEN & ARI). Adam Gase was the next wunderkind to ‘guide’ Manning. His 3-year run as HC of the Dolphins was the definition of non-descript. In GB…the reason why Mike McCarthy essentially was fired was because he no longer was on the same page as his franchise QB, Aaron Rodgers who notoriously became the ‘Audible King’ when plays were relayed from the sideline. But once upon a time, McCarthy was seen as a great offensive architect. I remember a spot on MNF from a few years back that spotlighted the pre-game preparation of Drew Brees/Sean Payton/Pete Carmichael. Brees pretty much ran the meeting. Yes…there was collaboration. But it was Brees dictating what plays he liked in what situations and what he would like to see called. Anybody know who Philip Rivers OC is? Ken Whisenhunt. Not exactly an innovative offensive whizz (pun potentially intended), but a guy endorsed by Rivers as one he can work with…build an offense together with. Yes…in 2015, Matt Ryan needed to be, for lack of better word ‘saved’. Just completing his Age 29 season, he’d just come off a 2 year stretch where the Falcons deteriorated from NFCCG Host to 10-22. Mike Smith had been fired and a new regime was being installed. And even with regard to the entire body of his work…his career YPA stood at a pedestrian 7.2. Ryan felt like he had a career that had stalled. 4 years later, Ryan is a different player. A different person. Under Shanahan and Sark, he improved his completion rate while adding almost a full yard to his YPA. He won an MVP…took the Falcons within a whisker of their first Championship. Kyle Shanahan was an innovative, young offensive mind that helped open up Ryan’s abilities. It took awhile (a season)…but once it took hold – Wow! Ryan finally exploded. So the Matt Ryan that Dirk Koetter will now work with again, is not the same Ryan he last coached in 2014. When Koetter came on board, Ryan wasn’t a finished product. Now he is. His charge now (vs 2012) won’t be to mold him. Koetter wasn't hired to be an Offensive Coordinator so much as he was an Offensive Collaborator; to assist Ryan in leveraging the weapons at his disposal (personnel, scheme, knowledge) to build a balanced and explosive attack. One that controls the pace and tempo of each game. Ultimately, the hiring of Koetter was a nod to the fact that at this juncture familiarity and trust was a critical competitive advantage for his candidacy. It’s certainly possible that Ryan and a guy like Adam Gase could have worked together. But Ryan is bought into Koetter, he’s said so. Ryan isn’t going to show up and be the pupil in this scenario. In a sense, the offense is now his. He’ll be able to remember some of the specific vertical game concepts that Koetter is known for and be able to work with Koetter (as well as Julio) to integrate that into ‘Ryan’s Offense’. We remember that Sark was brought into to run Shanahan’s offense. The issue with Sark ultimately came down to learning curve. Yes, he was better in 2018 than he was in 2017. But with one year of NFL experience under his belt (2004 as OAK QB Coach) before being hired, ultimately DQ decided he miscalculated - the learning curve was too steep. He also knew that another miscalculation means Arthur Blank will decide he miscalculated as well. The hiring of Dirk Koetter is a nod to the fact that the offense, and perhaps the Falcons as they're now constituted are firmly in Matt Ryan’s hands.

Stand in line. So does all the other teams that have been screwed by the refs in New Orleans.

Miko, is that you?

As the rage throughout Who Dat Nation continues following Sunday's no-call on a pass interference on Rams corner Nickell Robey-Coleman, L.A. prepares for the Super Bowl. The blatant non-call has led to a cavalcade of anger from New Orleans Saints players, fans, and many non-partisan spectators. In an odd twist, the pervasive bitterness now seems poised to morph into a locker-room rallying cry in Los Angeles. Respected veteran left tackle Andrew Whitworthjoined the Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday and noted the call wasn't the only one missed in the game. "You see the arguments from some of the Saints' players about the rule about the commissioner restarting the game over or from that point or whatever," Whitworth told Eisen, via Turf Show Times. "My argument to that would be, Rich, is then Jared Goff got a facemask on the second down on the possession before that was not called. That'd be first-and-goal at the 1 down three points. If you look at our odds from the 1 this season, that's seven points. So, they'd be down four, and a field goal wouldn't matter. They would have had to score in that situation either way. So, the reality is, where is the last foul that you want to argue? Whether it's blatant or not is not a matter. It's whether it's a foul. "So, it's just one of those things that's a slippery slope, and it's an excuse. [However] you cut it. And the reality is they got football after that snap. They played in overtime with the football. New England had the same situation and won the game. They didn't score; we did. "We can argue about it all day, but they had an opportunity to win the game and we won it." Heading to the first Super Bowl of his 13-year NFL career, Whitworth has had his experience with bitterness after playoff losses following referee's decisions. He was part of a Cincinnati Bengals team that fell to the Pittsburgh Steelersafter former assistant coach Joey Porter coaxed a personal foul penalty. "I've played a ton of games. I've had a ton of calls that could have gone one way or the other or should have or whatever that have claimed to have been missed," he said. "But I've lost a playoff game to a coach being on the field getting a personal foul drawn from our players. "So, I've experienced it, man, and I know it's tough. But the reality is, football was played after that snap, and you know what, whatever team tries to win the game from there and wins it won the football game."

Twas The Night Before Christmas And all through TATF the bandwagoners, even some of the faithful, had given up and left. The tankers and ho- zombs were at each other's throats as the chance for a high draft pick had gone up in smoke. In Flowery Branch coach’s nerves were frayed, as they wondered which would stop getting paid. Quinn and TD remained Falcon birds of a feather hoping to paste the play-off pieces back together. Soon Christmas morning will dawn crisp and clear and Old Saint Nick will have visited most in here. But I won’t need presents to be of good cheer, I’ll be drunk and singing, “we’ll get’em next year!” Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Falcon Nation!

https://theathletic.com/777706/2019/01/20/schultz-blank-on-saints-pre-super-bowl-loss-i-am-smiling/ When I moved to Atlanta nearly 30 years ago, the significance of the Falcons-New Orleans Saints rivalry eluded me. Neither franchise had ever played in a Super Bowl to that point, both were largely associated with spectacular failure, and this struck me as important of a rivalry as, say, a fish stick throwdown between Mrs. Paul’s and the Gorton’s fisherman. I came to learn otherwise. It is the closest thing you’re going to find to a college rivalry in the NFL, with each team reveling in the other’s misery. So it should not come as a surprise that in the eyes of many in Atlanta, a Falcons season mostly devoid of joy hit a high note Sunday when the Saints lost. After leading all but the final five minutes of regulation, the Saints fell, 23-20 to the Los Angeles Rams in overtime in the NFC championship game at the Superdome. What this means is the Rams are going to the Super Bowl — and as the key byproduct of this, the Saints are not. They won’t travel to Atlanta. They won’t play at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in two weeks. They won’t practice all week in the Falcons’ training facility in Flowery Branch. The Falcons are relieved. The Falcons are laughing. The Falcons are happy. Let’s start with the owner. “I am smiling,” Arthur Blank said via text message. “It was a hard fought game, and the Saints’ fans made a big difference early on — but the Rams’ defense played strong from the 1st Q on…” From there, Blank held his tongue (or his texting fingers) a bit. When asked if he had dreaded the thought of the Saints practicing at his team’s facility, he responded, “We welcome the best teams — period.” I texted, “Politically correct. Thanks.” He responded, “Correct.” I cannot confirm that a 76-year-old was sliding across a wood floor in his socks on the other end of the phone. In the AFC championship game, New England (Atlanta fans’ second least-favorite team) defeated Kansas City 37-31 in overtime. Had the Chiefs won, Atlanta might’ve thrown a parade Monday. Back to the Falcons-Saints thing. The negative feelings between the two franchises are real. That was never more evident than last month when it was confirmed the NFC champion would practice in Flowery Branch, and Falcons head coach Dan Quinn was asked about the possibility of the Saints being in his building. The question seemed to throw him for a loop, and as relayed by The Athletic’s Jason Butt, Quinn stumbled a bit in his response: “Whoever’s playing for the championship … this is the host … I guess I’m more disappointed that we won’t be playing and practicing at our site.” He then suddenly ended the news conference, walking out of the room. The Saints joyously mocked the Falcons for blowing a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl two years ago. In last season’s visit to New Orleans, a marching band spelled out, “28-3” during a halftime show. There also was repeated video board lampooning. Return fire was expected Sunday. It may seem a bit juvenile for the official Twitter accounts of NFL franchises to be taking jabs at opponents, but welcome to the middle school world of “professional” social media departments. The Falcons Tweeted, “Hey @RamsNFL” nice win,” with a winking emoji and a clip from a 1986 Rams’ music video, “Ram It.” Carolina, another NFC South team, followed: “We are really, really (…) happy the @RamsNFL won.” If we still lived in an adult world, Lombardi and Halas would be throwing down lightning bolts from the heavens. Falcons players also threw shots in cyberspace. Running back Ito Smith Tweeted a string of laughing/crying emojis, then followed with a quick video of him dancing to Choppa Style (by Darwin “Choppa” Turner), which has been the unofficial soundtrack of this Saints’ season. Carolina, another NFC South team, followed: “We are really, really (…) happy the @RamsNFL won.” If we still lived in an adult world, Lombardi and Halas would be throwing down lightning bolts from the heavens. Falcons players also threw shots in cyberspace. Running back Ito Smith Tweeted a string of laughing/crying emojis, then followed with a quick video of him dancing to Choppa Style (by Darwin “Choppa” Turner), which has been the unofficial soundtrack of this Saints’ season. (The video posted by @ItoSmith has been removed.) Jabs ranged from the spiritual (Mohamed Sanu) … To the thankful for a blown non-interference call (Damontae Kazee) … To the endorsing of the Rams (Brian Poole). (I had to consult Urban Dictionary: “No cap” translates to “Not lying.” I would be dead without Urban Dictionary.) To the artistically creative (Matt Bryant): And his wife (Melissa Bryant): The Falcons didn’t make it to the playoffs, but their players, fans and owner were spared further misery.

The last 4 remaining teams have the 4 most creative and unique play-callers in the NFL. They adapt and actively scheme their players to success. Coaching is why they are where they are.

Posts a thread about it but doesn't want to say anything.....

They already got to replay the ending of the game. It was called Overtime - and they even got the ball first. They threw an interception - and the other team kicked a 57 yard winning field goal - can't get clearer than that.

I heard they added Velcro to the knee to help with future interceptions.

Also sounds like he wants Bruce Irvin. I think that'll get done. Everyone on IR is on back on track for TC. Quinn mentioned Foye a few times and talked about first to second year leap. No mention of Duke. Quinn said they're going to be looking for a gameday management coach...to help with situational timeouts, challenges, going for two or not, etc...hallelujah

You can get behind a win; when it’s your team that wins. Believe in winning. I don’t need to feel better over a a few draft spots. Win with good picks; not just position. We gonna get good players this offseason and we won out the season. That matters to team culture; in your house, and moving forward. ADDED: Did we just ignore the lesson of injuries this season taught us? Some never learned the lesson. You can lose players to injury; regardlsss of FA or draft pick. What you do have control over is your mentality. This team stood up when some fans only cared about what they wanted. Nothing cures problems like winning. We need culture for that: Sure, you can take the higher draft pick and feel better as a fan, but that’s a terrible consolation prize. Culture of winning is the subject. We got some leaders out of the way we closed this season; this season of adversity.

Here is how the QBs did under pressure in 2018. Completion % under pressure: Ryan is 4th( Cousins, Brees and Rivers Ahead) Rodgers is 29 th and Russell Wilson is 17th. Accuracy ( with out drops): Ryan is 3rd ( Cousins and Brees ahead) Brees has almost half of QB pressures as Ryan). Rodgers is 25th, only scrambling Qb in top 10 is Deshaun Watson. NFL rating: Ryan is second in NFL behind Russell Wilson. 3rd on the list is Deshaun Watson. Rodgers is 20th. TD/Int: under pressure Ryan is fifth in TD, Brees and Rodgers are 11th. Ryan has 8 TD and just 3 INT. Brees has 5 TD and 4 INT. Not bad for a guy who folds under pressure.

I can’t help but recall Ryan playing close to perfect games in the playoffs, yet still being blamed exclusively for a loss. Brees was flat out outplayed by Goff today when it mattered. Brees’ QBR was 60.1 and Goff’s was 75.1. When it was time to step up and make plays, Goff stepped up and not sure where Brees was. I recall reading so much garbage here after a playoff loss where it was Ryan’s fault we lost, he can’t elevate the team, doesn’t step up in big games, being picked apart for missing an open receiver or throwing a pick. Yet we see Brees blow the game today by missing an open receiver down field that would have changed the game. He’s lucky not to have been picked off on that terrible throw. Brees also took two sacks instead of throwing it away, another nonsense criticism of Ryan, and let’s not forget that interception Brees threw. Man, Ryan throws a pick in a playoff game, even though Brady throws pick 6s in Super Bowls, and Ryan is blamed exclusively for the loss. And don’t tell me about officiating. Matt Ryan has had to deal with all kinds of terrible officiating in playoff losses and wins. Roddy White was all but mugged in 2012 playoff game where we would have advanced to Super Bowl had he caught that.

Maybe we could let him play a couple of seasons in college first to see how he holds up.....

Be thankful for Julio!

Hey, a voice of reason. Which will only make the Saints fans even madder. This is a great week.

For most of the year, I was not a DQ fan. I believed that he was a really good cheerleader, and sometimes, that works out great. In order for it to work, the cheerleader has to have the right staff around him, and the team must continue to listen to his positive rhetoric. However, the last 1/4 of the season, DQ proved me wrong. I had started to believe that the team was tiring of his positive spin on everything, and had begun to tune him out. That proved to be untrue. The team kept fighting, and they NEVER quit! In some ways, I would have preferred a higher draft pick, but I have to give him credit, because he kept working, and it paid off. My hats off to DQ for never quitting and continuing to lay the foundation to a return to success. He has obviously established a positive culture, and with a few additions in personnel, staff, etc., this team can make another run...

Superstar of this team.... Having a remarkable season.... Even in meaningless late season games, injured, he goes out and plays at a high level. All the while, in Pitt, Antonio Brown is.....well, Antonio Brown. Pay Julio, he is a Falcon for life

I will take Koetter over Bevell

Sometimes life and health comes before football....

In my opinion you aren’t a talented troll nor a system troll. Swift was a talented troll.

Karma is a *****. Bounty gate 2009 lives on

All the billboards in the world won’t have them playing in the Superbowl in a couple of weeks.

Like I posted earlier, non calls go both ways......... That top left panel shows a missed facemask call during a scramble by Rams QB Jared Goff during a fourth-quarter drive that, if called, would have given them first-and-goal from the two-yard-line. Instead LA ended up settling for a field goal, which is why the game was tied when the fateful non-call on Robey-Coleman happened. https://hotair.com/archives/2019/01/21/lets-talk-garbage-call-end-saints-rams-game/

“‘Aints: Refs cheated us!” “Rams: Hold my beer.” Hey Falcons... They ‘AINT winning N.O. Super Bowl in ATL!

Advantages: no more fire Sark threads Disadvantage: more fire Koetter threads

Extra credit: His low class wife with her big, fat, disgusting mouth, cancels out all the good things about keeping Brent around.

We did. #scoreboard

QB leads the NFC in passing yards, is completing 69% of his passes, has 33 TD passes and just 6 INT with the worst ground game in the NFL while being sacked the most times in his career and somehow he's the problem? I just get so sick of the Matt Ryan hate that is so unjustified.