Return of the Gaucho

I am very confident that both Matt Ryan's replacement and OP are still in high school...

Look, I hate to defend the Stains, I really do, but tonight, Brees was the problem more than the Cowboys. They had 2 sacks and 1 garbage time interception. Their defense played as well as they played all season, but the common thread was the Saint's play-calling and execution, which was horrid. If you want to look at this game as some referendum on the Falcons personnel strategy, then I present the following Cowboys 1st team front 7: Lawrence - Certifiable stud, no explanation needed Crawford - 7th year pro, never more than 5 sacks a season Woods - 2nd year as a pro (didn't play 2018...) 1.5 sacks total Taco - 2nd year pro, 4 sacks total Wilson - 4th year pro, .75 sacks a year Smith - 2nd year pro (I'm not even going to count the 1st year because of the nerve issues) - 4 sacks this year Lee - It's not even fair to discuss QB pressures with him, though in 8 seasons he has 3 sacks. When healthy he roams the field and makes tackles, but when does that happen consistently? *Also, let's include Vender Esch, since he killed it tonight, but general stats are: rookie, 0 sacks, 77 tackles, 0 sacks I dare anyone to say that front 7 is better than the Falcons...

Are you seriously trying to paint the Cowboy's defense as elite? Games like this happen, did you just start watching football?

If you've been following this team for 46 years, why do you talk like a 13 year old?

Yeah, that was the lasting impression most are going to take away from this game. Matt came up small when we needed him to come up big. Over the course of the game he just seemed off. He wasn't comfortable in part because of the pressure, but also in part because of something that seemed to exist between his ears. I am not going to make some grand conclusion on Matt Ryan's place in history off of this one game, but the offense as a whole needs to step it up going forward and he is the leader of the offense.

OP started this same thread on Thursday during the game. Seems like he just needs some attention. Funny thing is, he never posts when the team actually does well. Go figure.

Well, I don't know what I expected opening this thread, but somehow I am still disappointed...

Kidding right?

The rule is dumb. Crowell clearly lowered his head in the 1st quarter and missed the initial contact, but got the second guy in. No call. Skrine does the same thing on kick off and gets called. The refs are calling how a play feels, not the actual rule. It’s pants on head stupid.

Why do people act like this is some either or thing? TD budgets extensions into his contracts so we don't become the Saints and have to cut starters every other year to stay under the cap. Julio tried to upset the apple cart and they found a happy medium. It is what it is.

Hopefully we will never break the old record for longest drought of back to back winning seasons...

Yeah, honestly my bad on the tone, it wasn't called for. Not sure where you getting half of your claims of things I said though. Still, most here are saying "we don't know" whereas you seem to be taking issue with a player because of a couple IG posts without any knowledge of anything. He had a midsection in the pic from last season too. Ever take a bad pic? He doesn't look like some drastic change, but you do you. I can't change your opinion, which you seem to hold onto and be absolutely certain is getting worked up over.

But he looks basically the same as he did last season... You and others are making up some narrative in your own minds about him sitting around taking bong rips and eating cheetos and packing on the weight. Then you're getting mad at your own narrative? Would it suck if he showed up to camp out of shape? Sure. But you have no facts to base your theory on so you're essentially Nancy Grace railing against hypothetical situations. He likes eating fried chicken, the horror. A dude his side is probably eating nearly 4K in calories to maintain. Go play outside or something.

Might as well call this thread Sack Lives Matter... As for the actual point of thread, the team seems to have improved this offseason. Even if there is some regression in the defense, the offense and special teams improved, so that can be made up. Personally, I don't think the D regresses. The Takk and Beasley edge duo with Grady/Crawford/McClain/Senat rotation inside should at the very least maintain the DL production of last year, with a chance to improve if Takk keeps progressing and finishes more of those pressures. The only problem I have is with the LB corps. If Riley stays healthy, did he improve enough for that to matter? He wasn't lighting it up before his injury, and he wasn't stellar in his return (though who knows if that is being only 4 weeks post-op on a meniscus surgery). You would hope he would be coached up, but the last thing this D needs is him to falter out of the gate and get Beasley rotating back into the LB corps more than planned. I do think we will see more coverage sacks this year than in years past. I am pretty interested in seeing Alford more in the nickle if that is the plan. He seems great at reading QB's eyes, and letting him roam a bit more could be dangerous.

I wish I didn't do the math first, then read the thread to make sure I wasn't posting something already posted... This post is all that needs to be said. His last contract didn't hamstring us, and his current one won't either. The problem we have with the cap now is that we have too much roster talent to keep it all. Matt taking a couple million dollar a year discount isn't likely to change that. The problem was caused by good drafting and good coaching these past few years. You know what also fixes that problem? The same **** thing. We'll be fine, and the best QB in Falcons history will be here til he retires...

But great route running is. Precision over raw athleticism every time.

Yes, and one that did criminal defense in Santa Clara County for a hot minute. I try not to argue when not being paid to do so... so thanks! Also, I find the lawyers who speak in certainties about cases they aren't handling are usually the most incompetent. I generally try not to do it unless I have a drink in my hand.

I’d be more surprised if there weren’t at least 90 days. Like I said, this county is unique. I could very well be wrong, but Santa Clara volunteered for a pilot program to ramp up criminal penalties in California when all other participating counties were chosen by the legislature. Nothing is ever concrete in court, but I’m not expecting leniency here, even for a 1st timer.

I know that athletes often seem to get off with light punishments, but he got arrested in Santa Clara County, which is one of the worst counties in California to get arrested in. They don't mess around. If they have the evidence he did this, I would expect jail time to be part of the plea down there... I don't see how SF could keep him after that.

Those games are always chippy and pretty fun to go to even for a fan of the Falcons. That being said, Irvin has been a Raider for a whole two seasons. King was a fan favorite for his 5 seasons in Oakland. I like the rivalry, but this seems more like Irvin popping off on Twitter for the fans than anything. No way he lines up King on punt coverage and gets himself kicked out of the game because of it... edit: oh and

I mean, we still have the Terry stop for just this type of situation. The problem is a "group of youths" in a "high crime area" is not sufficient for reasonable suspicion in an of itself, and wherever this is tried leads to disproportionate impact on minorities. I just wish the criminal enhancements for using a firearm in a crime weren't a bargaining chip but instead a mandate. If we are going to go after those who illegally possess firearms, the first step is to ensure that those that you have already caught using them for criminal purposes are hammered to the fullest extent of the law. Extending accomplice liability for crimes involving firearms would be a nice addition.

I honestly think this is a huge part of it. Obviously it is all discussion that nobody that I know of here is privy to, but it seemed like Smith was more along the lines of "get me a 4-3 LB who can play downhill" whereas DQ is much more specific about the attributes and requirements for each position. You are going to inherently get better results with scheme fit with DQ's apparent approach. It just seems like Quinn knows what specifics he wants in a player much moreso than Smith. It also didn't help the Smith had a lot of coaching turnover and scheme change while here whereas the defense is Quinns and the best results we have had in the draft have been on the defensive side of the ball. It seems pretty clear that TD is much better when finding specific types of players in the draft as dictated by the system, and has not had great results when he is finding broader archetypes and hoping they adapt to the scheme.

Yeah. The difference is a coaching staff with a clear vision of what they need. I’m sure you know better though. Edit: also, Pioli was here for some bad offseasons too.

I love people who think they know what goes on behind closed doors...

I don't see what cars have to do with external home features, but I think I see where you are going. I think it needs to be said that if you have a couple porches at home, you should probably just make a wrap around porch so as to not interrupt the flow...