Week 1 Loss turned into a POSITIVE

[TdotFalcon]

Hey AFMB

If you are a die-hard Falcon fan like me, then yesterday's loss ruined your day. I moped around for the remainder of Sunday, and unfortunately I work the graveyard shift so I had to mope around until 6am this morning. I did a lot of thinking last nig'ht though, so here's what conclusion I have come to.

This loss could be the best thing to happen to the Falcons this year. Its time for them to get our butts in gear, and as fans it is our job to remain behind them and be supportive.

We have all made predictions of a playoff birth, and rightfully so in my opinion. But I believe the team have been focusing so much so on this goal, when we should have been focusing solely on week 1. So we are 0-1. Big deal. We weren't expecting to go undefeated. There are some good things to take from this game.

Our defense. Until that last big play, we looked solid as a unit. This is the side of the ball I was worried about coming into the season. We need to keep this unit in gear for next week. There was 2 big plays that we allowed; one to Wallace and the Mendenhall run. We were great on defense at stopping the Steelers on 3rd down,This is the key to winning games and we were terrible at it last year. D-line was getting a great push, and with Babs back it will be better.

Our offense. We all know our weapons can get the job done. I know Mattyice didn't find the endzone, but it was nice to see him not have happy feet. He hung in the pocket and was taking hits to deliver the ball. Roddy set a reception career high. HD83 looked healthy and quick. Tony G is Tony G. Turner had some trouble against a tough run defense but looks fit and ready to go. Norwood looks fast and was nice to see him return a kick too. The O-line I am not worried about.

Matt Bryant. 3/4 ain't bad when the one miss was beyond 40 yards on the windy side of Heinz field. I look for him to be near perfect in the dome and have solid numbers outdoors.

Overall I believe that this loss will make the Falcons set the tone and step up each and every week. Look for Mike Smith to treat every "next game" as a Superbowl. We have 15 more Superbowls until the playoffs. We can do it.

Go Falcons, and Rise Up Falcon Fans!

[Creative]

I have no idea what you see in Turner to call him "fit and ready to go."

He looks fat and slow.

[Guest Don Q]

Nothing positive to take from yesterday, thanks for trying to be optimistic though.

Only positive yesterday might've been Weems.

Defense was good but that may have been a product of Dixon running their offense.

Turner looks slow. Sam Baker is terrible.

[TdotFalcon]

I have no idea what you see in Turner to call him "fit and ready to go."

He looks fat and slow.

He has never been a fast back, and if you think he looks fat did you even watch the 2009 season?

[Guest Don Q]

The problem with Turner is that he lacks the speed to bounce outside yet he insists on doing so on 80% of his runs.

When he does go up the middle he isn't as aggressive as before. If you look at Snelling he hits the hole with purpose. Not seeing the same from Turner.

[F@lcon Jack]

splendid post dude, you hit the nail on the head. i believe this loss will benefit us in the long run. besides, what is the point in all these negative posts???? +1

[~SEAMILL~]

I have no idea what you see in Turner to call him "fit and ready to go."

He looks fat and slow.

I wouldn't say that but it takes him a little while to get going. He is not a speed back. I have got used to it.

[paulitik]

The only positive is that we demonstrated every weakness that this team has in one game. Now its up to the coaching staff to address it. If we lose next week, Mike Mularkey needs to go. I know they have Fitz, but I will not be happy if Derek Anderson out scores us.

Our D needed a lot more work the last 2 seasons, I'll give them a pass the first few games. But we have no excuse for our Offensive play with so much potential. None.

[Peyton]

The only positive is that we demonstrated every weakness that this team has in one game. Now its up to the coaching staff to address it. If we lose next week, Mike Mularkey needs to go. I know they have Fitz, but I will not be happy if Derek Anderson out scores us.

Our D needed a lot more work the last 2 seasons, I'll give them a pass the first few games. But we have no excuse for our Offensive play with so much potential. None.

LOL the Falcons get an A+ for identifying areas of improvement. I can dig it.

[Guest Don Q]

Wait...there is a positive to this game.

People finally stopped making excuses for our mediocrity.

[FireDawg85]

Dont't forget. Its better to lose to an AFC team if you're gonna lose. You never know, we could see them again in the playoffs...

[Brassmonkey]

A few positives from my perspective.

1) Thank goodness we don't play that defense (the Steelers) every week. Hat's off to them.

2) Barring the final play of the game, I thought our defense played great. Much improved from the last two years. I especially enjoyed the Beerman's sack late in the game when we only rushed 3 players.

3) I thought Matt actually did a good job, considering the almost constant pressure he was under the majority of the game.

4) Bryant surprised me by actually making 3 out of 4 field goals.

We have the Card's at home next week. Let's go get 'em!

[FalconTough]

I wouldn't say that but it takes him a little while to get going. He is not a speed back. I have got used to it.

yeah hes not, but you need speed in order to gain momentum to become an inside rusher.

He looked slow in the fact the he couldnt hit the holes and you cant ruck guys or brush off tacklers when you arent moving fast

[Durrty]

My thoughts from the Steeler's game:

- The defense looked great.

- The offense looked good only when Ryan took over running the no huddle. I'm still a little concerned about Mularkey's offensive playcalling, although it was pleasant to see the offense line up in some spread formations.

- I don't know what the deal is, but Turner didn't show any burst or athleticism when his number was called yesterday.

[lee sunset]

Another positive: I think it confirms what I've suspected: our defense is better than expected and our offense is worse than expected.

[ATLballer]

Another positive: I think it confirms what I've suspected: our defense is better than expected and our offense is worse than expected.

I agree......hey Lee, you're showing your age with that avatar....LOL :P

[lee sunset]

I agree......hey Lee, you're showing your age with that avatar....LOL :P

The Sleestak is hotter.

[FalconsFever2]

I love how people say there was nothing positive about the Pittsburgh game. There was a lot of positive things about that game for the Falcons. Our Defense was on the field to much again but we hung in there all game. We did great til that last play and it was not because Dixon was playing. Mendenhall is a good back and we held him all game. Turner is one of the best backs in the league. He was playing against one of the best rush defenses in the NFL. Turner is going to tear it up this year plus Norwood is back and that is going to really help Turner stay fresh. Pittsburgh is a great team and it is not easy to go there and win. I also want to say to OGBARBERSHOP your fat and slow! Turner is going to tear it up this year and shut all you haters up. Wait til we play Arizona in the Dome this weekend I bet he rushes for over 100.

[mashedpotato]

The problem with Turner is that he lacks the speed to bounce outside yet he insists on doing so on 80% of his runs.

When he does go up the middle he isn't as aggressive as before. If you look at Snelling he hits the hole with purpose. Not seeing the same from Turner.

Your dead on on this! I've been thinking the same thing. I'll tell you a huge mistake I saw from Turner. Early in the game we had a 3rd and 1. All Turner had to do was stay behind his blockers and he would have had an easy first down. There was a huge wall in front of him and no space to work with but every lineman had position on somebody. I noticed right where he was supposed to run the ball, space opened up and he could have broken a big one but he bounced it outside where it was him against a free man and he got taken down fast. He's not showing a lot of faith in his blockers and he's not running like a big man.

[bighurt]

Your dead on on this! I've been thinking the same thing. I'll tell you a huge mistake I saw from Turner. Early in the game we had a 3rd and 1. All Turner had to do was stay behind his blockers and he would have had an easy first down. There was a huge wall in front of him and no space to work with but every lineman had position on somebody. I noticed right where he was supposed to run the ball, space opened up and he could have broken a big one but he bounced it outside where it was him against a free man and he got taken down fast. He's not showing a lot of faith in his blockers and he's not running like a big man.

I thought the same also, but I was wrong. Turner has the speed to get outside, he was doing to much dancing. Same problem he had at the beginning last year. After re-watching the game, focusing on offense, I notice Turner was doing alot of dancing. As a big man, when you dance you lose your power. I think we will get it corrected. What we say was a veteran team against a young team. Our offense has not got a lot of game work, because we were concerned about injuries. We haven't got our timing done. Once Turner gets it going, he will have a good year. I saw some positive runs, some that could have been big runs. We had a missed block here, a wrong read here, and a defensive player jump the count and getting into the backfield. I saw some positives after re-watching the game. Now I did see where Harrison was owning Baker, we will have to help him against speed rushers. I did see Ryan miss some open receivers and focus on White and Tony G to much. Didn't see alot of bad decisions from Ryan tho, saw some bad throws tho.

[ironhead1970]

Hey AFMB

If you are a die-hard Falcon fan like me, then yesterday's loss ruined your day. I moped around for the remainder of Sunday, and unfortunately I work the graveyard shift so I had to mope around until 6am this morning. I did a lot of thinking last nig'ht though, so here's what conclusion I have come to.

This loss could be the best thing to happen to the Falcons this year. Its time for them to get our butts in gear, and as fans it is our job to remain behind them and be supportive.

We have all made predictions of a playoff birth, and rightfully so in my opinion. But I believe the team have been focusing so much so on this goal, when we should have been focusing solely on week 1. So we are 0-1. Big deal. We weren't expecting to go undefeated. There are some good things to take from this game.

Our defense. Until that last big play, we looked solid as a unit. This is the side of the ball I was worried about coming into the season. We need to keep this unit in gear for next week. There was 2 big plays that we allowed; one to Wallace and the Mendenhall run. We were great on defense at stopping the Steelers on 3rd down,This is the key to winning games and we were terrible at it last year. D-line was getting a great push, and with Babs back it will be better.

Our offense. We all know our weapons can get the job done. I know Mattyice didn't find the endzone, but it was nice to see him not have happy feet. He hung in the pocket and was taking hits to deliver the ball. Roddy set a reception career high. HD83 looked healthy and quick. Tony G is Tony G. Turner had some trouble against a tough run defense but looks fit and ready to go. Norwood looks fast and was nice to see him return a kick too. The O-line I am not worried about.

Matt Bryant. 3/4 ain't bad when the one miss was beyond 40 yards on the windy side of Heinz field. I look for him to be near perfect in the dome and have solid numbers outdoors.

Overall I believe that this loss will make the Falcons set the tone and step up each and every week. Look for Mike Smith to treat every "next game" as a Superbowl. We have 15 more Superbowls until the playoffs. We can do it.

Go Falcons, and Rise Up Falcon Fans!

Thanks. We ALL need to think about the Cards. You can't look back and you can't look past a team in the NFL. GO FALCONS!!!

Edited September 14, 2010 by ironhead1970

[falken]

Wow..........bashing Turner?

Turner had nowhere to run.

How about instead of bashing our team we give a little credit where credit is due and tip our hat to the Steelers' defense?

The Falcons played 60 minutes of football with one penalty in hostile territory. That's a sign of a well coached team.

I will not hang my head over the fact that we took the Steelers, in their house no less, to overtime.

It wasn't a win. I'm not content.

...........but there is NO SHAME to being a Falcons fan.

[Xfactor]

TDot I respect your opinion but your post seems more fitting during a mid season slump. What in God's name were they doing at Flowery Branch all summer. We had plenty of time to game plan against Pittsburgh.

Falken I agree to a point but we couldn't beat Pittsburgh 3rd string QB and I give props to the D against the run but one thing everyone knows about Pittsburgh their O-Line pass blocking sucks and we didn't even get close to Dixon. How many games have you seen Ben get crushed over and over.

[Joremarid]

good, refreshing post. if you look at the board now you would think we are eliminated and should start focusing on the 2011 draft.