A Perfect Storm

[bigatlfan2]

From an article on Phily.com - Link to the article

"On the game's pivotal sequence, Boger ruled that Falcons returner Adam Jennings touched a Sav Rocca punt before trying to back away from it. The ball then was plucked in stride by the Eagles' Akeem Jordan, who steamed into the end zone; alas, "muffs" cannot be advanced. On replays, though Jennings' moving right hand was blurred; it seemed very unlikely he had touched the ball. But NFL rules created a sort of perfect storm for the Falcons - with 2 minutes and 22 seconds remaining in the game, they were outside the final-2-minutes framework for automatic review. And Atlanta coach Mike Smith had used his final two timeouts during the previous sequence, trying to save clock, so he was not allowed to challenge. (And yes, you could second-guess Smith's decision to take that last timeout on fourth down, with his team set to get the ball back before the 2-minute warning regardless.)

The Eagles got the ball at the Falcons' 37. Two plays later, Westbrook danced through a desperate Atlanta blitz gamble for the touchdown that set the final score. Atlanta had driven for a touchdown, clawing within 20-14, on its previous drive; had the Falcons gotten the ball back with more than 2 minutes left, in decent field position, we might be throwing around phrases like "memorable debacle" this morning instead of phrases like "fortunate break."

It's so furstrating to always be on the wrong side of these calls!

To me, the two things that most influenced the game are:

1. Sam Baker didn't play - I'm sure we would have done a much better job against the blitz and a much better job rushing Turner with him in there.

2. Losing Jamal Anderson - We would have done a much better job of containing Westbrook with him in there.

To me, those are the two big differences in why we lost. Of course it didn't help that Matt threw the interception in the end zone! That really hurt!

NOTE TO THE COACHES: NEXT TIME WE ARE ON THE 2 YARD LINE WITH 3 OR 4 DOWNS TO GET IT IN, POUND TURNER AND OR MUGHELLI IN THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Regardless of all that, I just want to say I'm very proud of our Falcons!

GO FALCONS!!!

WE BELIEVE!!!

[Seamos]

If the pass was caught for a TD, then we would not be having this discussion of pounding it in.

Listen to the coach...he stated that the formation at the time dictated the call.. 8 men in the box and one on one coverage with Roddy on the outside.. If the throw is completed and we scored... no one would have questioned the call..

Its easy to second guess the call now...

[FormerFan-RobertAP]

The fade route is a very low percentage play. Also, it's meant to be a jump ball when your team has a height advantage. White really doesn't give us a big height advantage.

[bigatlfan2]

If the pass was caught for a TD, then we would not be having this discussion of pounding it in.

Listen to the coach...he stated that the formation at the time dictated the call.. 8 men in the box and one on one coverage with Roddy on the outside.. If the throw is completed and we scored... no one would have questioned the call..

Its easy to second guess the call now...

I hear what you are saying and the coaches definitely know a lot more than me about these things, so I'll secede to their better judgment, but dang it, isn't it possible to pound the ball in there even with 8 men in the box, when you have a full back like Mughelli, and a running back like Turner! Teams do it all the time!

GO FALCONS!!!

[bigatlfan2]

The fade route is a very low percentage play. Also, it's meant to be a jump ball when your team has a height advantage. White really doesn't give us a big height advantage.

I also think White should have just tackled the defender to prevent him from intercepting the ball! Worse case is that we would be penalized, but at least we would have still had the ball!!!!

[NewFalcon]

Nice post. In addition to the two reasons you mentioned, I would consider two additional keys to our loss yesterday:

----I would elevate the intercepted, under thrown pass in the endzone by Ryan to key event status, but I do agree that it was surprising that we didn't try pounding the ball in before resorting to the pass. I'm a Ryan fan but this mistake cost us 7 points in a close game.

----Adam Jennings decision making and performance was a key influence on the outcome. While I hate that the refs make the wrong call, we never should have been put in the position to face that risk in the first place. The only reason Jennings is on the roster is to return punts, a valuable and important special teams skill that can radically improve field position and potentially result in a touchdown. This position requires the player to take decisive action and excel at performing one of three tasks whenever a ball in punted to the Falcons:

1. Catch the ball and run forward toward the end-zone: decisively and without hesitation.

2. Wave your hand in the air to signal a fair-catch, and then catch the ball securely.

3. Run away (don't walk) from the area where the ball will land so that it doesn't come close to you, touch you or appear to touch you in any way.

I submit that the only task in which Jennings excels is number 2, which is appropriate because he has performed his punt return duties like number 2 all season.

I hope that the team will release Jennings and let Harry Douglas return punts. The team will be less likely to suffer the damage from further perfect storms.