Atlanta vs Pittsburgh

[vel]

This is not a rant on what happened yesterday. Yea we all pegged this as an easy win but we underestimated the Steelers defense TERRIBLY! They are arguably the best defense of this Decade! We played them tough. We kept our offense in the game and they did the same. They called very conservative calls to help Dixon get comfortable (which is smart). Don't forget they have won 2 Super Bowls in the last 5 years. They are a very good TEAM. I wasn't expecting us to put up multiple touchdowns, but I was expecting 1. I think Mularkey is too conservative. Ryan has numerous options to go to but if you only call conservative outs/curls/comebacks then it gets easy to defend. We saw what 2 screens when we could have run a quick bubble screen to Douglas in the slot ALL GAME! But if you have an OC who doesn't exploit defenses but takes what he is given then we won't become a Super Bowl team. Teams like the Pats, Colts, Saints, Packers attack the defense. We get attacked. We took 0, ZERO, ZILCH, NADA deep. The corners were already playing 10 yards off yet we never threw anything quick to make them come up. Their corners aren't good but if you don't test them then that's what you end up with: Roddy being 13/23.

The defense played a GREAT game. We have a VERY GOOD DLine now. We got good pressure on Dixon most of the game with just the front four but my biggest issue was when Max Starks got hurt, why we didn't overload blitz the back-up LT to see if he was capable of holding the pressure. Dixon wasn't taking any shots deep so we weren't getting burned deep except that one play. We don't have that killer instinct on this team yet. Spoon is going to be a star on our offense and I honestly think we will have a top 12 defense in this league. We have a very good front 7. Biermann showed why he is starting. Abe is back. Our DTs are tough and our LBs speak for themselves. Even JA98 was making plays. Before everybody hops on Robinson's case, this was his first game experience and IMO he played about as expected. Yea the play where he didn't touch Ward down was a bonehead play but it shows he is more accustom to practicing. They didn't play him to shut down Ward, which was stupid. He was the only real WR threat. I would have sent 5 every play and manned up Ward and bracketed Miller with Spoon and Decoud forcing Dixon to beat me throwing to Wallace and handing to Mendenhall. But I guess I am too aggressive for our personnel. And to make things worse, if Coleman was too hurt to catch Mendenhall why was he: a.) Out there still or b.) Playing deep? Poor decisions cost us the game.

Until we develop that can get some Coordinators who want to instill that in their players, then we will stuck being the Eagles: Perennially Playoff players and occasional Super Bowl faves, but nothing to show for it. I know continuity is a good thing but it can also breed complacency. You have one of the best young QBs in the game and are still hesitant to put the game on his shoulders. The run game was nonexistent and will always be against 3-4 teams if we don't learn how to run out of anything but power formations. If you put 3 TEs on the field with no WRs, what else can you really run on 1st and 10? Plus the toss was open almost all game but we didn't run it until the second half. We don't exploit weaknesses all game we wait and see if they last until later in the game. I think if Roddy had run a few deep routes, Polamalu wouldn't have been lurking for that late game pick. Also, we were trying to force TG his 1000th catch. We showed it in the preseason. All of the first passes went to TG. Everybody knew he needed only 1 more catch and is Ryan's safety net. There are 16 games, you think TG would not catch a pass in 16 games?! Ryan displayed his growth this game though. You could tell when Mularkey dictated the playcall and Ryan suggested something. Ryan was more comfortable changing the calls, audibles, hard counts and everything. When Mularkey was dictating, that's when snap counts were jumped, plays failed, and Ryan locked on players. The almost INT to TG was terrible because literally EVERYBODY else was open on that play. Ryan avoided a number of sacks and unnecessary hits because of his decision making.

All in all, we lost to an AFC foe not an NFC foe. We can go 6-10 for all I care, as long as we beat the Saints, Panthers, and Bucs all 6 times. That is what gets us to the playoffs. This was a great test for our team. We faced a very stout defense. We manned up all game long on our defense and showed it is a strength. We are fine.

P.S. Where did all of these new posters come from? I don't know any of these new posters panicking. It is a 16 game season. Not to mention it was just a bad weekend for Georgia. No GA team won this weekend (freak accident). So shut up and keep cheering for your team or jump on another bandwagon.

[Tandy]

I didn't. I said it over and over again. Go back and read my posts.

Those who underestimated the defense of the Steelers or the home field advantage of that stadium obviously never watched the Steelers play.

Then there was the - why couldn't Ryan beat a newbie QB. Maybe because he doesn't play on defense. Ryan can only face the defense of the team - he doesn't play the other Quarterback.

He faced an amazing defense - one that has been in the top 5 the last 5 years and in the top 2 or 3 most of those years. One that just won the Superbowl last year.

A team that was terribly injured last year and struggled - but still ranked 5th in the league in defense - and this year is 100% healthy. A defense led by LeBeau.

I for one said it over and over - just how it was going to play out - and it did just that - it was a grind 'em out low scoring game that came down to overtime.

[The Falcon Jedi]

And thanks for the Ad column on the right I had to use the mouse scroll button way too much to get to the end of your post.

[RYNE]

This is not a rant on what happened yesterday. Yea we all pegged this as an easy win but we underestimated the Steelers defense TERRIBLY! They are arguably the best defense of this Decade! We played them tough. We kept our offense in the game and they did the same. They called very conservative calls to help Dixon get comfortable (which is smart). Don't forget they have won 2 Super Bowls in the last 5 years. They are a very good TEAM. I wasn't expecting us to put up multiple touchdowns, but I was expecting 1. I think Mularkey is too conservative. Ryan has numerous options to go to but if you only call conservative outs/curls/comebacks then it gets easy to defend. We saw what 2 screens when we could have run a quick bubble screen to Douglas in the slot ALL GAME! But if you have an OC who doesn't exploit defenses but takes what he is given then we won't become a Super Bowl team. Teams like the Pats, Colts, Saints, Packers attack the defense. We get attacked. We took 0, ZERO, ZILCH, NADA deep. The corners were already playing 10 yards off yet we never threw anything quick to make them come up. Their corners aren't good but if you don't test them then that's what you end up with: Roddy being 13/23.

The defense played a GREAT game. We have a VERY GOOD DLine now. We got good pressure on Dixon most of the game with just the front four but my biggest issue was when Max Starks got hurt, why we didn't overload blitz the back-up LT to see if he was capable of holding the pressure. Dixon wasn't taking any shots deep so we weren't getting burned deep except that one play. We don't have that killer instinct on this team yet. Spoon is going to be a star on our offense and I honestly think we will have a top 12 defense in this league. We have a very good front 7. Biermann showed why he is starting. Abe is back. Our DTs are tough and our LBs speak for themselves. Even JA98 was making plays. Before everybody hops on Robinson's case, this was his first game experience and IMO he played about as expected. Yea the play where he didn't touch Ward down was a bonehead play but it shows he is more accustom to practicing. They didn't play him to shut down Ward, which was stupid. He was the only real WR threat. I would have sent 5 every play and manned up Ward and bracketed Miller with Spoon and Decoud forcing Dixon to beat me throwing to Wallace and handing to Mendenhall. But I guess I am too aggressive for our personnel. And to make things worse, if Coleman was too hurt to catch Mendenhall why was he: a.) Out there still or b.) Playing deep? Poor decisions cost us the game.

Until we develop that can get some Coordinators who want to instill that in their players, then we will stuck being the Eagles: Perennially Playoff players and occasional Super Bowl faves, but nothing to show for it. I know continuity is a good thing but it can also breed complacency. You have one of the best young QBs in the game and are still hesitant to put the game on his shoulders. The run game was nonexistent and will always be against 3-4 teams if we don't learn how to run out of anything but power formations. If you put 3 TEs on the field with no WRs, what else can you really run on 1st and 10? Plus the toss was open almost all game but we didn't run it until the second half. We don't exploit weaknesses all game we wait and see if they last until later in the game. I think if Roddy had run a few deep routes, Polamalu wouldn't have been lurking for that late game pick. Also, we were trying to force TG his 1000th catch. We showed it in the preseason. All of the first passes went to TG. Everybody knew he needed only 1 more catch and is Ryan's safety net. There are 16 games, you think TG would not catch a pass in 16 games?! Ryan displayed his growth this game though. You could tell when Mularkey dictated the playcall and Ryan suggested something. Ryan was more comfortable changing the calls, audibles, hard counts and everything. When Mularkey was dictating, that's when snap counts were jumped, plays failed, and Ryan locked on players. The almost INT to TG was terrible because literally EVERYBODY else was open on that play. Ryan avoided a number of sacks and unnecessary hits because of his decision making.

All in all, we lost to an AFC foe not an NFC foe. We can go 6-10 for all I care, as long as we beat the Saints, Panthers, and Bucs all 6 times. That is what gets us to the playoffs. This was a great test for our team. We faced a very stout defense. We manned up all game long on our defense and showed it is a strength. We are fine.

P.S. Where did all of these new posters come from? I don't know any of these new posters panicking. It is a 16 game season. Not to mention it was just a bad weekend for Georgia. No GA team won this weekend (freak accident). So shut up and keep cheering for your team or jump on another bandwagon.

THANK GOD someone besides me seen that the quick bubble screen to harry douglas was open all day. It was almost a sure 8 yards or more if HD can make a move.