The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

[slewis1952]

I watched the game, I checked stats, I listened to commentators, and here is what I came away with:

THE GOOD (WE WON!)

1. If pounding the rock and keeping the ball out of Drew Brees' hands is the way to beat New Orleans, we certainly did that and then some. We have discovered Snelling and Ovie can be huge differences and the fatigue shown by the Saints defense said it all.

2. Third and fourth down conversions-- 50% of third downs and 60% of fourth downs was HUGE!

3. No turnovers by Matt Ryan certainly gave us a big advantage by keeping the ball away from NO

4. Matt Bryant took a lot of heat in the pre-season (some if it by me) but after the icing timeout and the 5 yard penalty, he showed me a lot and he took care of business--- he was DA MAN!!

5. Roddy White and Tony Gonzales came up time and time again with quality plays. Two consumate pros!

HONORABLE MENTION-- Brent Grimes-- nothing left to say.

THE BAD

1. Sam Baker- what in the **** is wrong with him? Something ain't right! Still, only 1 Saint sack by an OL who is showing they are pretty darn good. Come on SAM!!

2. Twenty five first downs were followed 17 times by running plays. Maybe it was our game plan but I didn't get the feeling that the Saint defense was up to the task.

3. At the 8:47 mark of third quarter we are first and goal at the two. First play incomplete pass in the end zone. Second and third downs, runs by Turner for no gain. Unimaginative!! Settled for field goal but you HAVE to score 7 here.

4. We still seem to give up the big play. The 80 yard pass by Brees was obviously a mix-up and our safety was late. It seems to happen at least once a game.

5. Where in the world is Michael Jenkins? I know it has nothing to do with the game but is the guy dead or is he on vacation? We obviously aren't throwing to Harry Douglas (except that first play in OT on the bomb was a great call and barely missed). Three decent receivers would make us awesome.

THE UGLY

1. Jeremy Shockey is not fast, nor is he that good. How is he always open in the middle? He caused us a lot more trouble than he has caused other teams.

2. The Saints running game-- We had 202 yards rushing, they had 43. A great tribute to our Defense who, BTW, was led by Weatherspoon with 8 tackles.

3. Time of Possession- Atlanta 46:00 and New Orleans 27:00-- there is nothing else to say.

4. Average gain per pass play- Atlanta 6.7 yards? I know stats are for losers but playing an entire game near the line of scrimmage will come back to bite us if we don't stretch the field.

5. Seeing that loser Thomas Benson's (Saint's owner) look when Hartley absolutely shanked that FG. Its on NFL.COM. Mr. Benson, its our turn now!!!

Very good game... shouldn't have been that close but in the past we lost games like this one. Makes sitting on the sofa for over 3 hours worth every bit of it. The post game shows that get off on showing Romo, Farve, and these crappy teams who finally got their first wins overlooked the best game of the day.

[lokifalcon55]

I would say you nailed your analysis like a Matt Bryant winning field goal. The one thing I found unusal but I agree with is the play calling after the incomplete pass in the endzone. I felt the same way about the start of overtime and the play calling. They threw the long imcompletion to HD. I thought this was agressive, I was suprised and I liked it. But the next two plays I told my son what they were going to do before they did it. MM did call a good game and had the fortitude to stick with the run game but they seem to be predictable in certain situtations. On second down I believe the Falcons forced a run up the middle and I swear the Saints had "13 men in the box". Yes it's sarcasim but you have to at least audible out of that.

[wartownfalcon]

5. Seeing that loser Thomas Benson's (Saint's owner) look when Hartley absolutely shanked that FG. Its on NFL.COM. Mr. Benson, its our turn now!!!

where is this at?...i've tried finding it

[joenoles1]

Another "Good". Matty showing leadership in OT getting the offense fired up on the sideline. It's truly his team.

possible "bad". Our special teams didn't seem that special to me especially on kickoffs and punts

Edited September 27, 2010 by joenoles1

[JDaveG]

Another "Good". Matty showing leadership in OT getting the offense fired up on the sideline. It's truly his team.

possible "bad". Our special teams didn't seem that special to me especially on kickoffs and punts

Oh, they seemed "special" alright.....

[jonnyblooz]

The thing about all of the failed goal line and third down running plays that frustrates me:

The formation is always the same, with two tight ends, and no receivers split out. I counted at least 9 in the box several times.

Got to show some different looks. Why never leave the defense guessing?

[cwell1]

The thing about all of the failed goal line and third down running plays that frustrates me:

The formation is always the same, with two tight ends, and no receivers split out. I counted at least 9 in the box several times.

Got to show some different looks. Why never leave the defense guessing?

yeah our formations are predictable. 2-3 TE's and 1wr sets when that WR is finneran? the whole world knows its a run. they never pass out of that formation. and why whould they? why give the defense less to worry about?

[apl2g]

very good analysis! i agree with everything you said!

[alphaville]

4. Matt Bryant took a lot of heat in the pre-season (some if it by me) but after the icing timeout and the 5 yard penalty, he showed me a lot and he took care of business--- he was DA MAN!!

I wasn't even nervous when Bryant lined up the final kick. It seemed meant to be after their miss and the blocked kick/timeout.

Bryant has earned my trust.

[Caddieman]

This was a great win but there is one think we have got to fix, and fix it now. Other than Roddy White we completed only one pass to a WR. Harry D had 1 reception for 1 yard. Man we have got to get somebody else involved in the Pass attack other than Gonzo and White!...........just say'en. :unsure:

[slewis1952]

This was a great win but there is one think we have got to fix, and fix it now. Other than Roddy White we completed only one pass to a WR. Harry D had 1 reception for 1 yard. Man we have got to get somebody else involved in the Pass attack other than Gonzo and White!...........just say'en. :unsure:

So where on earth is Michael Jenkins?? Two months and we her nothing. We need our #2 receiver back on the field!!