FalconMama Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 falcons suffer another close loss, two more key injuriesby steve wychethe atlanta journal-constitutionpublished on: 10/22/07new orleans falcons guard kynan forney, slightly dazed from a collision with linemate tyson clabo but better off than two seriously injured teammates, wondered out loud what someone with the franchise did to upset the football gods."i don't know what we did wrong, but it's coming on us this year," forney said. "i guess it just ain't our year."his dismay didn't just come from the falcons falling 22-16 to new orleans sunday to gain sole occupancy of the nfc south cellar at 1-6.the expected prolonged losses of quarterback byron leftwich and left tackle renardo foster were punches below the belt. can it get any crueler?though the falcons have a bye next week, it appears that joey harrington will reassume the starting quarterback job he lost to leftwich this week. it also appears that atlanta could have to finish the season with quinn ojinnaka, third on the depth chart, as its left tackle.leftwich, beset by ankle injuries that have hampered his nfl career and played a factor in him being jettisoned by jacksonville this summer, suffered a "high ankle" injury on atlanta's first possession of the second half, just after his team lost a well-earned first-half advantage.foster had replaced starter wayne gandy, who was lost for the season two weeks ago with a torn knee ligament."it's very concerning for the rest of the season," coach bobby petrino said. "there's not a lot you can do about that."leftwich's injury was to his right ankle, which is not the joint that routinely was injured in jacksonville. however, leftwich did sprain his right ankle in practice less than two weeks ago.he was carted off the field twice, the first time for x-rays, the second time after he returned to the sideline with hopes of playing again, only to be transported to the locker room after the medical staff got the results. an mri exam will be administered today in atlanta.leftwich left the superdome on crutches and in a hard walking boot. there was nothing, though, to support his crushed spirits after he played well in his first start in 11 months."right now it's at the point where i'll know more tomorrow," leftwich said at a brief postgame news conference. "we'll know more tomorrow. i didn't really hear what ... we'll know more tomorrow. it's just frustrating, man. ... i can't do this."from there, the crestfallen quarterback picked up his crutches, hopped off the podium on his good leg and eased into a hallway near the field.leftwich completed 15 of 23 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown. he'd provided the spark that petrino was looking for when he inserted leftwich as the starter in place of harrington.atlanta got into a progressive tempo that was due in large part to leftwich attempting deep passes and threading intermediate throws into tight creases that forced the saints to honor the big play.in turn, it allowed the falcons to finally run the ball with some consistency and dominate the clock (21 minutes to nine) in the first half."he was standing in there," petrino said of leftwich. "he was throwing the ball downfield. we were in a rhythm as far as beginning to call more runs."the injury hurt. when joey came in, you change a little bit of what you're doing, but he got us on a couple of nice drives."on the falcons' final drive, foster suffered a grisly looking left knee injury. injuries are tolerable unless a team suffers multiple setbacks at one position. the falcons have at two."renardo's [injury] did not look good," petrino said.the falcons have a bye next week, the unofficial midpoint of the season.with everything that this team has gone through, players said the timing of the break could not be more ideal."you can pack it in, hang your head and say poor us, we've lost a lot of guys to injuries, we've lost five close games," harrington said, "or you can saddle back up and say i'm going to keep swinging."more on ajc.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red2play Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 "the injury hurt. when joey came in, you change a little bit of what you're doing, but he got us on a couple of nice drives."coach speak, "that injury killed us and we had to put hoey back in the lineup. we tried to tell hoey to put that voodoo doll down but he kept on playing with it. poor byron biten by the voodoo doll." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickelplated38 Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 i like joey's attitude...too bad his on-field play doesn't translate... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickelplated38 Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 coach speak, "that injury killed us and we had to put hoey back in the lineup. we tried to tell hoey to put that voodoo doll down but he kept on playing with it. poor byron biten by the voodoo doll." man, please stop...you're killing me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rounz Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 atlanta got into a progressive tempo that was due in large part to leftwich attempting deep passes and threading intermediate throws into tight creases that forced the saints to honor the big play.in turn, it allowed the falcons to finally run the ball with some consistency and dominate the clock (21 minutes to nine) in the first half.that's what i've been trying to say all evening. it does make a difference.i don't care how even the stats were between him and joey at the end of the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalconMama Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 atlanta got into a progressive tempo that was due in large part to leftwich attempting deep passes and threading intermediate throws into tight creases that forced the saints to honor the big play.in turn, it allowed the falcons to finally run the ball with some consistency and dominate the clock (21 minutes to nine) in the first half.that's what i've been trying to say all evening. it does make a difference.i don't care how even the stats were between him and joey at the end of the day.and now we're right back to square freaking one. take one step fowards to fall two steps back. tis is falcon football! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rounz Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 and now we're right back to square freaking one. take one step fowards to fall two steps back. tis is falcon football!you're right, mama.i just wish i knew what we did to anger the gods 40 years ago, so we could make it right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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