Rev's thoughts from the 49'ers game

[Rev_Hal]

Good morning gang. What a weekend! Falcons squeak out a win, GT squeaks out a win, and my 8 year old girls softball team won 18-17. It was a fun, but stressful weekend.

1. The 49'ers led the game for 53:42. The Falcon led for :02. I guess timing is everything. At least we led for the 2 most important seconds of the game.

2. The game was not really as close as the score indicated. Without the blocked punt, the game was never out of hand. The bottom line is that good teams find a way to win, and we won.

3. I know the 49'ers are 0-4, but there is a lot of talent on that team. I bugged me all week that everyone here thought the game was going to be a cakewalk. SF was very stingy on defense, and played a good game on that side of the ball. I got news for you folks – Cleveland is not going to be a cakewalk either.

4. Roddy White alone was the player of the game, MVP, and Stud of the Month. His game saving strip on the SF interception was the one play that changed the outcome of the game and saved the day. That was heads up.

5. Now on to Ryan. He got a shot to lead the team for a 4^th quarter comeback. He threw the pick. I have not seen the replay, but it looked like a bad decision to me. Durham and Archer were saying that it was not necessarily a bad throw, but the defender made a good play. I need to see it. But what was impressive to me was that he turned around immediately and drove the team down the field. Once we started moving the ball in the last minute, you just knew we were going to win. Say what you will about the kid, but he is still learning and growing – but out of all of the young QB's in the league, there is no one else I'd rather have running my team.

6. The absence of Weatherspoon yesterday was obvious. He really is an impact player, and brings a lot of hustle and swagger to the D. Nicholas was not bad, but he was not Spoon either.

7. William Moore is rapidly becoming my favorite player on the team. This guy is a ball hawk. I see now why the team was so high on him. He hits hard, and is all over the field.

8. My biggest concern in the game was the defense on 3^rd down. SF converted far too many 3^rd downs and kept drives alive. It is CRITICAL that the Falcons win on 3^rd down, or else a good offense will eat us up.

9. Ok, I am warming up to Matt Bryant. He has been consistent in the regular season, which is all I ask for. No kicker will be 100% accurate all the time, but Bryant is kicking well enough to help us win, and that is all we can expect from him. He is not elite, but more like a blue collar lunch pail kind of guy. Having 2 game winning kicks in 2 weeks is monster.

10. The 2 early scores from SF really took the crowd out of the game. We never really recovered after the bad start. The Dome was not full. But absolutely no one left until there were :02 seconds left. I know this message board constantly complains about the crowd and the fan base, but they hung in there until the end yesterday. This is not a horrible fan base. If you want to see a bad fan base, go to SD or Oakland, who can't even get their games on TV. Oakland is horrible, but there is no excuse for SD to be blacked out.

11. I once again got the bottomless drink at the game. Emmit would be proud of me, because I had 64 cup of Gatoraide.

[Geneaut]

Good points.

Your point about the 3rd down defense was spot on. We'd get them in 3rd and long, and they'd hand it off to Gore, or dump it off to Gore and he'd just bulldoze to the 1st.

He's a heckuva player, and to me it highlights how poorly we use our RBs to get 1st downs on passing plays.

[supremedarius]

This is one of the most conservative offenses in the league and at times can put the QB in a bad spot. He is always in 3rd and long situations. That's my problem with the OC. Ryan has to bail us out with terrible playcalling on first and 2nd down. Do we not know how to PA on 1st and 2nd down. I think there were not enough adjustments being made by the OC when they were blitzing. On that 2nd int, if Ryan had of held onto the ball a half a second longer, he would've been destroyed. Things happens. My opinion about a QB, what makes him a good QB, in times of crisis, how do they respond. When your QB has a bad moment or a bad game, how does he respond. That's what makes a good or an "ELITE" QB

[Rev_Hal]

This is one of the most conservative offenses in the league and at times can put the QB in a bad spot. He is always in 3rd and long situations. That's my problem with the OC. Ryan has to bail us out with terrible playcalling on first and 2nd down. Do we not know how to PA on 1st and 2nd down. I think there were not enough adjustments being made by the OC when they were blitzing. On that 2nd int, if Ryan had of held onto the ball a half a second longer, he would've been destroyed. Things happens. My opinion about a QB, what makes him a good QB, in times of crisis, how do they respond. When your QB has a bad moment or a bad game, how does he respond. That's what makes a good or an "ELITE" QB

I don't know if yesterday necessarily was bad playcalling. The Falcons were, and will always be, committed to the run. They stuck with it, but the SF defense was stingy on the ground. When the ground game works, Mullarkey lookes like a genius. When it doesn't, he's a goat.

[AutoMax]

And once again a team is seen attempting to jump our snap count. I know that the 9ers were offsides for a few plays, but they were jumping our snap count way too often. When are we going to fix that?

[supremedarius]

I don't know if yesterday necessarily was bad playcalling. The Falcons were, and will always be, committed to the run. They stuck with it, but the SF defense was stingy on the ground. When the ground game works, Mullarkey lookes like a genius. When it doesn't, he's a goat.

Thats because he does not adjust or doesn't have a passing attack that can survive without the run game. The whole O is predicated around the run which I do not mind, but not making adjustments, I have a problem with. Yesterday, he did not throw on first down, he continually ran Turner right into the teeth of the D and by the way, does it seem like he tip-toes when there are wholes to be hit....?

[Rev_Hal]

And once again a team is seen attempting to jump our snap count. I know that the 9ers were offsides for a few plays, but they were jumping our snap count way too often. When are we going to fix that?

They were also holding like crazy. I'm not one to complaing about ref's because they usually suck for both teams. But these zebras were bad.

[illest_will]

And once again a team is seen attempting to jump our snap count. I know that the 9ers were offsides for a few plays, but they were jumping our snap count way too often. When are we going to fix that?

they still run snap counts at home?

[illest_will]

Thats because he does not adjust or doesn't have a passing attack that can survive without the run game. The whole O is predicated around the run which I do not mind, but not making adjustments, I have a problem with. Yesterday, he did not throw on first down, he continually ran Turner right into the teeth of the D and by the way, does it seem like he tip-toes when there are wholes to be hit....?

I don't know if it's remnants from the high ankle sprain, or the dreaded 370 really biting us in our a$$, but whenever there isn't a mile wide hole, he seems to be hesitant to hit it. Snelling on the other hand, hits holes the fastest I've seen a runner hit a hole, only problem is SOMETIMES he takes the wrong one(or at least it looks like it). I don't know, I'm really liking Snelling right now, and I'm happy we got Turner in the passing game in the beginning of the game, I don't understand why we stopped though.

[supremedarius]

I don't know if it's remnants from the high ankle sprain, or the dreaded 370 really biting us in our a$$, but whenever there isn't a mile wide hole, he seems to be hesitant to hit it. Snelling on the other hand, hits holes the fastest I've seen a runner hit a hole, only problem is SOMETIMES he takes the wrong one(or at least it looks like it). I don't know, I'm really liking Snelling right now, and I'm happy we got Turner in the passing game in the beginning of the game, I don't understand why we stopped though.

I do not think he will have the burst and the same speed because of the carries in the first season. I think there should of been more adjustments made from an offensive perspective, but we got the win. I guess sometimes I want for our WRs to be open in zones or break free on separation in our O but I do not know if that is possible. Just seems like teams have figured out our route combinations and our passing attack...

[illest_will]

to be fair, our offense is one that NEEDS to be on schedule..dropped passes and sacks are things that are hard for this offense to overcome. and I can respect that, that's pretty much any offense. when one of your targets drops the ball like 4 times, it makes it real hard for this offense to click like they did against the Saints.

[supremedarius]

to be fair, our offense is one that NEEDS to be on schedule..dropped passes and sacks are things that are hard for this offense to overcome. and I can respect that, that's pretty much any offense. when one of your targets drops the ball like 4 times, it makes it real hard for this offense to click like they did against the Saints.

They basically got pressure RIGHT UP the middle and there was no room to step up.. The need for a #2 WR is becoming more apparent as we progress through the season....

[Mr Pickle1]

I'm dying for MM to go. He seems like an ok at best OC.

The saints constantly had guys come up and running across the middle of the field or down the sidelines...that seems to happen for us so rarely. Matt is put in a really rough spot, sometimes.

At least we're passing to the backs now, that helps.

I'm also fine with sticking with the run, but in games where it just isn't working, and we desperately need a score, no need to run it twice on 1st and 2nd down, constantly putting us in 3rd and long situations. you're not putting the team in a situation to succeed when you do that...but MM is SO stubborn. He's been demoted everywhere he's been...why is he allowed to call plays on what we hope is a SB team? We haven't consistently been a good offense since he's been here, despite probowl talent at TE, RB, WR, and QB, FB, and a solid offensive line. Something doesn't add up there. We should be scoring a lot more than 16 points at home.

EDIT: My worry is that we're now so good on defense that the offense doesn't have to be great for us to win, and we'll become a good regular season team who crumples when we play good teams in the playoffs, and we can't score enough points.

To me, with the aspirations this team has, "just good enough" should not be acceptable. We should get someone who can run a great offense, not just wait to fire MM only if the offense becomes completely awful, or we start losing.

[Money Lee]

Both picks were horrible throws. The pass was batted up by Spikes because it was behind a well covered Gonzalez. The second pick was a poor throw in that he did not see Clements. To be honest, Ryan did not play well for a large part of the game. Thankfully, he played well at the precise time it counted.

The one time he seems to be on top of things is during the no-huddle. Why the Falcons don't use it more often, I have no clue.

Why the Falcons also aren't at least taking token shots down the field I have no clue. Maybe Jenkins absence is a bigger deal than we think?

Defense played awesome. Thought the PI on Robinson was a weak call, but overall, SF sucks offensively and the Falcons made sure to not give them anything.

[Supes™]

I'm dying for MM to go.

Then R.I.P., friend, 'cause he's here to stay for a while.

Hats off to Mike Singletary. He had his boys ready to play despite everything going on with that franchise.

[AutoMax]

they still run snap counts at home?

You still have to mix it up. You can't snap the ball at the same moment every single play and not expect them to get the jump on our line.

[nobkowski]

Then R.I.P., friend, 'cause he's here to stay for a while.

Hats off to Mike Singletary. He had his boys ready to play despite everything going on with that franchise.

MM is ok, but we could do better. Hats of to San Fran for having our snap count but were off sides

more often than not and were getting away with it.

Singletary is a nut-case and even his own players know it and some are jumping ship.

[Caddieman]

I think you're #6 is just way off base.

6. The absence of Weatherspoon yesterday was obvious. He really is an impact player, and brings a lot of hustle and swagger to the D. Nicholas was not bad, but he was not Spoon either.

Yes we missed Spoon yesterday. But it was not because of Nicholas. The guy had 12 solo tackles. He was flying around the field. What happened yesterday was that Nicholas proved that Peterson needs to be on the bench. Peterson great on run support, but he is an absolute liability against the pass. He looked like he was running with concrete boots on. He can not cover a RB out of the back field to save his life. And that play where he had V. Davis in the flat. OMG! I was embarrassed for him. How can you be right in front of a Guy and not even touch him as he runs by you.

[Dr. Billings]

They basically got pressure RIGHT UP the middle and there was no room to step up.. The need for a #2 WR is becoming more apparent as we progress through the season....

We have a suitable #2. Michael Jenkins is missed and when he returns we will see his worth. I think a lot of people are rethinking just how much talent #12 brings on the field.

[birds_till_death]

Thats because he does not adjust or doesn't have a passing attack that can survive without the run game. The whole O is predicated around the run which I do not mind, but not making adjustments, I have a problem with. Yesterday, he did not throw on first down, he continually ran Turner right into the teeth of the D and by the way, does it seem like he tip-toes when there are wholes to be hit....?

My issue with Turner this year seems to be his lack of cutback and/or vision. it seems like all to often he just runs straight into the line when they fail to create a hole, whereas Snelling seems much more willing to cut-back and try to find the open hole.

Watching the game, it's very obvious to me that Turner is missing many rushing lanes, wether it be cutbacks or sidesteps. They may not be the intended hole and lane, but they are there and available. Snelling is doing a much better job of finding those.

Of course, it's much easier for me to see them from high in the stadium than it is for Turner on the field with everyone trying to kill him.

[birds_till_death]

Both picks were horrible throws. The pass was batted up by Spikes because it was behind a well covered Gonzalez. The second pick was a poor throw in that he did not see Clements. To be honest, Ryan did not play well for a large part of the game. Thankfully, he played well at the precise time it counted.

The one time he seems to be on top of things is during the no-huddle. Why the Falcons don't use it more often, I have no clue.

Why the Falcons also aren't at least taking token shots down the field I have no clue. Maybe Jenkins absence is a bigger deal than we think?

Defense played awesome. Thought the PI on Robinson was a weak call, but overall, SF sucks offensively and the Falcons made sure to not give them anything.

I've often wondered that. I used to blame Murlarkey, now i'm pinning it more on our recievers and Ryan after the San Fran Game. At the game, i saw multiple times throughout the game where we were sending recievers deep. you could see Ryan looking like he was about to air it out then he would stop and check it down.

It's a combo of the line was getting him hit the entire game, our recievers were not getting open downfield, and Ryan not wanting to take the chance of getting a turnover. I think it's still his youth and inexperience.

He's great at the short and intermediate timing routes and anticipating the reciever getting open. i think maybe he doesn't have the same anticipation and confidence yet on those deep routes. He's holding on until he sees them open and doesn't want to make that game changing mistake.

This is just speculation on my part, but i think it's something that will come with more experience for Ryan and the return of Jenkins. I just know i saw alot of deep routes being run yesterday, but most seemed to be extremely well covered.

[bighurt]

Niners came in with a good game plan. They dinked and donked us all game long. They ran a lot of quick screens and draws to negate our pass rush all game. When they did drop back it was either a quick screen or play action. They did a good job of running the draw when we were spread out. I give them credit on the game plan, they totally changed style in this game. I have to credit the new OC for this. On defense they played a very aggressive style and bracketed Roddy and Tony all game. We missed Jenkins in this game, Douglas dropped several 3rd down catches, and Finneran and Ryan could get on the same page. Our offense didn't play well, not just the QB, but the skilled players also. I think we did abandon the run to early, which lead to some long 3rd downs. Our defense keep us in this game, and Roddy took over at the end of the game.

[Bring It]

Hey Rev..............how bout dem Braves ???

[Xfactor]

9. Ok, I am warming up to Matt Bryant. He has been consistent in the regular season, which is all I ask for. No kicker will be 100% accurate all the time, but Bryant is kicking well enough to help us win, and that is all we can expect from him. He is not elite, but more like a blue collar lunch pail kind of guy. Having 2 game winning kicks in 2 weeks is monster.

Great post as usual Rev. How can you not pull for Matt but I bet that blue collar mentality had is a$$ staying after practice kicking into the night. Unlike most kickers it seems he has grit a never give up attitude and it showed over the last 2 weeks.

Keep in mind these kicks were not easy plus both coaches trying to ice him I love the fact that he kicks it anyway to get a nice feel, very smart. Oh almost forgot the pressure that both were for the win. I truly hope he has a tremendous year for us it couldn't happen to a more deserving person.

Edited October 4, 2010 by Xfactor

[FalconFanSince1970]

I told yall a million times, our Oline and TEs can not block a good 3-4 defense. Every time that happens Ryan, Mularkey, and Turner look like do do.

We still have BAL, GB, CIN and CLE on the schedule and could run into more 3-4s in the playoffs. Better fix that and the shoddy special teams.