Inside Slant

[vafalconfan]

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons needed some of their other receivers to step forward Sunday and take some pressure off of Roddy White.

The unit, considered a longtime weakness, actually had three players step forward in the 22-20 last-second victory over the Chicago Bears.

White woke up Sunday morning not certain if he was going to be allowed to play after suffering a head injury in a collision with Lawyer Milloy at practice on Wednesday. He was cleared to play on Saturday, but the final call went down to one of those "game time decisions."

"I meet with the doctors and everything," White said. "They were just checking on me Sunday morning, making sure that I was all right. I came in and I didn't have any headaches. No nausea or anything."

So White started and did some of the heavy lifting.

"It was big for Roddy to get out there," Falcons coach Mike Smith said. "We worked him out yesterday after our workout to just see how he would be able handle the strain of running."

White finished with nine receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown. He had another touchdown catch nullified by penalty. He has 35 catches for 566 yards and three touchdowns on the season.

It was White's second consecutive 100-yard receiving game, his third of the season and 10th overall.

He got some major support from rookie wide receiver Harry Douglas, who had his best day in the NFL, catching five passes for 96 yards, including a 47-yarder in the third quarter.

"H.D. was out there in High Definition," White said. "He was making plays out there and everything."

Veteran wide receiver Brian Finneran set up White's key fourth quarter touchdown.

On third down-and-11 from Chicago's 18, Finneran got inside of Corey Graham on a slant route and picked up 13 yards. Graham was called for defensive holding, but the Falcons declined the penalty.

"Fin is consistent," Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said. "He made a couple of key third down catches. He seems to always get open. He's crafty."

The biggest catch came from Michael Jenkins, on a 26-yard pass from Ryan on a deep corner route. Jenkins tapped both feet down and got out of bounds with one second left. He left just enough time for Jason Elam's 48-yard game-winning field goal.

NOTES, QUOTES

—DE Jamaal Anderson, who was in his 22nd start, recorded his first sack against Bears.

"I'm glad it finally came," said Anderson. "There were a lot of expectations out for me. I was disappointed last year. I just knew I had to come out in one of these games and I'm glad it finally came. ... When plays come, they come in bunches."

This one came four plays into the second quarter, when the Bears had crossed midfield for the first time. Anderson, the No. 8th pick of the 2007 NFL Draft, had been a step away from grabbing Bears QB Kyle Orton once in the second half but on a third-and-11, the Chicago quarterback seemed to wait a count too long for someone to open up downfield.

Anderson pulled him down for a 4-yard loss and the Bears were forced to punt. On the sidelines, the whole defense dropped by for a congratulations.

"He's got people who were down on him," Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jackson said. "The fans were down on him. I'm happy for him. It helps everybody. It's a good thing."

—RB Jerious Norwood took a direct snap from center in the Falcons' Dirty Bird formation and ran up the middle for 21-yards, his longest run of the day.

Norwood finished with 31 yards on 3 carries.

Norwood saves his big kickoff returns for key times in the game. After Green Bay tied the game 17-17 last week, Norwood had a 54-yard return.

After the Bears moved within six, 19-13, Norwood had an 85-yard return.

"I had a wedge left," Norwood said. "I'd set up the guys on the outside and got them over-flowing. Once I cut back it was me and the kicker. I ended up beating him, but I had one guy left with a good angle. He ran me down from the backside."

—The Falcons offensive line did not give up a sack for the second consecutive game. After giving up 47 sacks last season (26th in the league), they are on pace to give up just 19 sacks.

"I thought that our offensive line did a tremendous job in terms of pass protection today," Ryan said. "Holding those guys long enough for us to get the ball out of (my) hands was key."

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

PLAYER NOTES

—RB Michael Turner was held to 54 yards rushing on 25 carries.

—QB Matt Ryan's 3-yard touchdown pass to WR Roddy White was the Falcons' second passing touchdown inside the red zone this season.

—CB Domonique Foxworth got some action against the Bears when Brent Grimes went out for a couple of snaps in the fourth quarter.

—MLB Curtis Lofton led the Falcons in tackles with eight tackles.

—WR Roddy White led the Falcons with nine receptions for 112 yards and one touchdown.

—WR Harry Douglas had five receptions for 96 yards, including a 47-yarder.

REPORT CARD VS. BEARS

PASSING OFFENSE: A — The Bears dared rookie quarterback Matt Ryan to beat them throwing the ball. He couldn't do it earlier this season against Tampa Bay and against Carolina, he was victimized by six dropped passes. But against the Bears, Ryan completed 22 of 30 passes for 301 yards and one touchdown. He spread the ball around to four wide receivers and one to running back Jerious Norwood. The Tight Ends didn't get any action. He biggest throw came with six seconds left in the game. He threw a perfect ball on a deep corner route to Michael Jenkins for a 26-yard gain to set up the game-winning field goal kick.

RUSHING OFFENSE: C — Michael Turner took a licking and dished some out too. He was held to 54 yards on 25 carries, including a 23-yarder. On one run, Bears safety Kevin Payne came roaring up to deliver a hit on Turner, but he bounced off Turner's hard-charging shoulder pads. Jerious Norwood added 31 yards rushing on three carries. He had a 21-yard run off a direct snap in the Falcons' Dirty Bird formation.

PASS DEFENSE: C — Bears quarterback Kyle Orton completed 26 of 43 for 286 yards and one touchdown. Over the last three games, the Falcons have surrendered 294, 313 and now 286 passing yards. The key against the Bears is that they didn't let out a lot of explosive plays (20-yards or more). Chicago's only explosive play came from TE Greg Olsen, who got open on a seam route for a 22-yarder. DE Jamaal Anderson recorded his first sack and batted down two passes.

RUSH DEFENSE: B plus — MLB Curtis Lofton, a rookie second round pick from Oklahoma, is turning into an enforcer in the run game. He helped to keep rookie RB Matt Forte under 4 yards a carry (20 for 76, 3.8) and led the Falcons with seven tackles. Forte did break out for a 20-yard gain, but was held in check for the rest of the game. The Falcons also had a goal line stand, where SLB Michael Boley came around the edge and snatched Forte out of the air as he was trying to dive over the goal line. The right side of the line got a good push and safety Lawyer Milloy came in to finish off Forte.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A — Field goal kicker Jason Elam made a 48-yard field goal at the buzzer for his 16th game-winning kick with under two minutes to play or in overtime. He'd missed a 33-yarder with 2:46 to play that could have put the game on ice. He had made 30th consecutive field goals, dating back to last season. The Falcons were able to contain Chicago's Pro Bowl returner Devin Hester by squibbing the ball down on most kickoffs. On two punts, Hester did not get a return. The first Michael Koenen punt went into the end zone for a touchback. His fourth quarter punt had so much hang time that Hester was forced to call a fair catch.

COACHING: A-minus — The Falcons continued to flash excellent offensive game plans, but must do something about their red zone offense. They can't continue to put teams to sleep with a death by field goal approach. They are going to need to score come touchdowns. Out of four red zone trips, they only had 13 points to show for it. If they stick a couple of those drives in for touchdowns, then they don't need a last-second field goal to beat the Bears. The secondary is still giving up too much yardage.

[Padawan Knight]

REPORT CARD VS. BEARS

RUSH DEFENSE: B plus — MLB Curtis Lofton, a rookie second round pick from Oklahoma, is turning into an enforcer in the run game. He helped to keep rookie RB Matt Forte under 4 yards a carry (20 for 76, 3.8) and led the Falcons with seven tackles. Forte did break out for a 20-yard gain, but was held in check for the rest of the game. The Falcons also had a goal line stand, where SLB Michael Boley came around the edge and snatched Forte out of the air as he was trying to dive over the goal line. The right side of the line got a good push and safety Lawyer Milloy came in to finish off Forte.

I would have thought we would have gotten at least an A- on Rush Defense. The Bears get less going on the ground that we did. And the 3rd-and-goal and 4th-and-goal from the 1 were absolutely outstanding.

Oh well. We passed the test. That's all that really matter, I guess.