falcndave

Ryan is not Brady or Rodgers. He also is not bad. All you have to do is glance around the league at QB play. Let's just move on to our real problems.

Agreed. See the other issues I cited in the post you quoted. More details in my last post in THIS thread.

Quality counts more than quantify. Two pro-bowlers and both guards is a significant hit. It is not "only injuiries," but injuries certainly played a role in this seasons collapse. Coaching was, at least, an equal issue. Roster construction probably had significant impact as well. We were pretty much stuck in our systems whether we had to right players for it or not.

If you have ever played a game for the Falcons in which you performed better than your last game, people are down on you. It is just he way it is. Beasley was an exception. His one outlier year was so good (statistically only) that people gave him a two season grace period before they realized he's really an average role player at best.

Thanks for the comments all. I watched the game, and I think he looked about 80%. There were times when he seemed to be approaching things in more of a "don't get burned" fashion than in an attacking fashion. Perhaps that was be design in the GB game due to the AR factor. So, I'm encourage overall. As far as the overall debate in this thread as to whether the injuries are responsible for the meltdown. Here are my thoughts, most of which have been expressed in other threads over the past two weeks. Safety, MLB, OG, and RB have all been areas of poor play on the field. I think the above issues were so bad, they are contributing to poorer pay at DB, DL, C, and OT. Marginally better play (not good play, just marginally better), might have won us 3+ more games to this point depending on the intangibles that go with those wins. Quinn and his style and influence on games is, at the very least, as big an impact. Inconsistency is the consistent hallmark of his HC stint in Atlanta. Streaks similar to losing 5-7 and winning 5-7 are pretty common fodder in all 4 seasons. When the uptick has come late in the year, the team has done well in the playoffs When the down tick has come late in the season. The HC, QB, and FO all suck in the opinion of TATF. (I forgot, in 2015 the OC was the effigy of choice.) Quinn is loyal to a fault. He has buddies in key positions where we need coaches. No other way to say it. (oddly, Sark isn't one of those buddies, so I don't get OC at all. I think he was the only guy willing to say: "Sure, I'll run a system I've never used before.") I don't care what scheme any team chooses to run. You must be able to run for one yard almost every time you need it and stop the other team from running for one yard, when you know they are trying to, at least 1/3 of the time. Set up your roster with the size required to make this happen. It is okay to put DTs in on the OL if that is what it takes. It is okay to bring in a lumbering old vet who goes 300+ to take a few short yardage snaps at C or OG. Use 3 or 4 roster spots to give this team a chance on 4th and 1. Run you ZB scheme forever, but have the roster flexibility to go big for 3 snaps a game. So, why is this is lost season? In my opinion: Injuries and coaching issues are the primary two drivers while roster construction (call it a GM issue) is also problematic in short yardage and on special teams.

These two players are not alike, and you know that.

Being how the glaring weaknesses are OG and pass catching RBs, it wouldn't be illogical for someone to draw the conclusion that the particular injuries line up with the biggest problems the team is having. I've never been a huge Quinn fan. To be honest, I'd like to see him replaced or at least bring in a coordinator on either side of the ball who is strong in game management. Just giving things the eye test, these injuries are strongly correlated with the areas of bad performance. I tend to believe that there is some causation as well. That said, I can see arguments on both sides.

Or, they would have also won the Dallas game and the 2nd NO game. If you go back and look, the Saints were in every way beatable that night. It is not like they ran into a buzz saw. Look at the history of games when Jones has faced NO. Can he beat them alone? No. Can he frustrate Brees enough to make a difference? In fact, he consistently has. If you want to take the position that Jones is not different than the other options, and can't do more to influence outcomes, that is your prerogative.

My take was that he alone would have been enough to make the difference in specific games, like Saints 1 and Cincy. Had they won those two, do they have a little more confidence and consistency and find a way to get it done against Dallas? So, I didn't think he could save the team by individually shutting down entire offenses. I did, and probably still do, think that he can make a significant enough difference alone to tilt the occasional one score game in our favor. That, alone, could turn the team into a contender. In team sports there is a "mood" or "personality" that each team develops during the course of a season. I think it is what some refer to as "identify." That can be changed based on whether things seem to be going your way, or whether your always coming up one play short. It is really all a matter of how you define "turn this team into a contender."

I haven't watched the last two games yet. I will, but I haven't yet. I was curious to see how Jones has played since his return. Is he they same guy? I just glanced at the box score. I think it was 7 tackles, 3 asst, and 2 PD to lead the defense vs. the Packers. So, statistically that line would have fit in a lot of box scores from last season without being noticed. In other words, so much as I can tell from the box score, he looks to be "right." For those who have seen the games, how has he looked on the field? Same closure speed on outside runs and screen passes? Same ability to insert himself into the back pocket of RBs and TEs in pass coverage? If DJ is right, I start to feel a lot better about next year! I've got to run out and do some doings this AM. I'm going to try to sneak in the condensed replay before football starts this afternoon. I'll come back and drop some thoughts on my own observations here once I've done that.

Not even close. We have soooo much more talent on both sides of the ball than the Saints had in their stint of unusual stinkiness. Neal, Jones, Jarrett, Kazee...vs. who? The talent is all young and now you just add a piece each year. On offense, we have a ? at RB and are solid at all other skill positions. I won't even get into the differences in cap position. If we elect to resign Jarrett and give Julio another raise, we may start to get close if we cut our way into a ton of dead cap space to make those moves. Don't confuse results with process. Its a common mistake.

He was carried by Shanahan Sorry...since we are repeating threads I had to do it I'm with you mpg!

He's been removed from the field except in pass rushing situations. His snap count is shrinking game by game. They are transitioning him to exclusive pass rush usage. What role would suit him better?

My OP is pretty light hearted stuff. At the end of the day, two greats meet. They perform at historic levels together. They part, and suddenly both are taking flack because their just "good" when surrounded by commoners.

Very good post. Thanks for the response!