What I Really Think

[Knight of God]

After calming down and watching the Steelers and Colts I started really thinking about the game. Instead of thinking as a Falcons fan, I started thinking as a football fan and talking to my wife.

I was surprised to see that she honestly saw the same EXACT things that I had seen. I stopped posting for a little while and just read some of the more rational posts made by Zodiac and a few other guys and that's when it really hit me!

We can actually go 12-4. I'm not just saying that either.

Its conditional, so hear me out. Please have patience and try and see what I'm saying.

The QB is forcing passes because he is rattled from all of the hits he has taken. Mostly the illegal ones which go back to game one. There were some drops but only because of the fact that we were behind, so guys were trying to make plays before they had the ball.

The OL isn't just plain awful and neither is Baker TBH. Thinking back on the nature of play calls, the line is usually stacked when Baker gets trumped meaning less help from the back field or anyone else.

Pass rush is good, but we still need to seal the deal. The best way to get a QB off of his game is to hit him no matter what. Our guys pulled up even before they absolutely had to.

Now, while all of those and many more seem like the adjustments that are needed they really are not in totality. Those are just the symptoms. The real problem is ...

Offensive play calls - The plays are beautiful, but you can't fit a square peg into a triangle slot. Things have to be done in order. Saying, "Its a passing league." doesn't mean abandon your strengths. Going from the power "I" into empty backfield is QB-acide. You should go playaction. Mularkey isn't doing that. He is comfortable with the way he calls his plays and has no reason to believe that it is him. "poor execution" is what he probably is thinking right now. I call this "Hubris" and sometimes "Ego" or "pride". If this is the case, then we have to let him go. The guys seem tense as it is and it needs to be more gelled. I think that may happen if they are having more fun. Matty doesn't seem to be having fun. Fire Mularkey and give the play calling to a veteran offensive coach on the team.

LT - I actually think that better play calling, especially more run plays, can help Baker along as it has in years past. Now the bleeding has started and I'm thinking about his confidence levels. He has allowed a sack in three consecutive games and in this last game against a rookie. Who cares where the kid was drafted. Sam felt him. Now its just time to let him sit for a while and get the bad taste out and make an adjustment on OL.

Punting - The Bosher experience has been a bad one. Someone gave an analogy to Adam Jennings. I see that quite well. Its just time to move forward and see if anyone out there in the FA has any juice in the leg to get the job done.

Clean those three things up and we will all see what we already know. That our struggling team is actually a lot better than the standings. Time won't fix the problem, but a shockwave this week can.

Not much to adjust when the team is already elite in most of the personnel. Now its time to look at the REAL problems.

[AthensDirtyBird]

basically it all comes down to the o line

[bossFALCON™]

basically it all comes down to the o line

pretty much. either they start to block better or we're going to have to start spreading teams out more so that ryan can get the ball out faster. green bay had this same problem in 09 and then they started going to more spread formations to help the oline

[Theyhateme : )]

basically it all comes down to the o line

Keep telling yourself that.

[Guest Big A]

You definitely win the award for most delusional claim of the night! Congratulation!!

12-4?? LMAO

[Guest Big A]

The part about "my wife agrees with me" doesn't help your argument either, she's probably agreeing with you so you'll stop talking to her about it

[raysnill1]

basically it all comes down to the o line

O line tends to block better in no huddle

[wonderboy09]

I wish I could have some of what you and your wife have been drinking.....This team can top out at 10-6 IMO. Too many deficiencies, Bad Punter. Awful pass protection. Inconsistent defense. The list just branches down from there. Look, we'll win more games based off sheer talent but we are what we are.

[Guest Negatorris]

I agree with you on some factors, but I don't see us going 12-4. 9-7 is the most realistic after studying our schedule, and then looking at the teams we actually face. During the upcoming off-season there will need to be adjustments made if we want to contend for a ring.

Unless we pull off some Green Bay magic and start winning every game towards the end of the season, I'll keep us at 9-7 MAYBE 10-6..

The problems are easy to find, but hard to fix.

Edited September 26, 2011 by roddy_jones

[#1 pick]

Issues:

1. O-Line- Mainly Baker and Reynolds. McClure was bad but it was his first game all year. They have been horrible v. the bull rush since Tampa started this last year in their second match-up v. Atlanta. They have been below average at run blocking too. This might be the worst line in the NFL with Chicago.

2. Matt Ryan- Is he tough for getting up after the hits? Yes. But he falls at the slight of a pass rush and he is terrible throwing on the run and passes over 15 yards. Matt Ryan is becoming a mid tier QB in front of our eyes v. quality opponents. He doesn't give his WR's a chance to make the play past 15 yards. Right now, he is clearly the worst QB in the division.

3. Our secondary- They were pretty good today but for the season they have been below average and poor on 3rd down. Overall 3rd down was still an issue but that was because of Freeman's mobility and not our coverage.

Edited September 26, 2011 by #1 pick

[Theyhateme : )]

Issues:

1. O-Line- Mainly Baker and Reynolds. McClure was bad but it was his first game all year. They have been horrible v. the bull rush since Tampa started this last year in their second match-up v. Atlanta. They have been below average at run blocking too. This might be the worst line in the NFL with Chicago.

2. Matt Ryan- Is he tough for getting up after the hits? Yes. But he falls at the slight of a pass rush and he is terrible throwing on the run and passes 15 yards. Matt Ryan is becoming a mid tier QB in front of our eyes v. quality opponents. He doesn't give his WR's a chance to make the play. Right now, he is clearly the worst QB in the division.

3. Our secondary- They were pretty good today but for the season they have been below average and poor on 3rd down. Overall 3rd down was still an issue but that was because of Freeman's mobility and not our coverage.

@ #2

[Knight of God]

Well for those of you who knee jerked, you win the award for "Don't actually read posts."

I'll say this shorter for you all. We can still go 12-4 IF a couple of changes are made...BECAUSE we have the right personnel. They just have to be used right.

[Knight of God]

I wish I could have some of what you and your wife have been drinking.....This team can top out at 10-6 IMO. Too many deficiencies, Bad Punter. Awful pass protection. Inconsistent defense. The list just branches down from there. Look, we'll win more games based off sheer talent but we are what we are.

Not sure, but I'm certain that I made those points.

[ExtremeFalcon]

I believe the problems are related to poor coaching and a few players that need to either be replaced or benched until they improve their game. In looking at the schedule I see us going either 8-8 or 9-7. My observations are as follows:

• Ryan is a good QB when he has the time to do his "check downs". He really needs to improve his deep throws. He puts too much arch on the ball and it takes too long to get to the receiver. He needs to practice this extensively during weekly practice.
  
• MM is too conservative and needs to be replaced. All I hear from various analysts that MM is very creative. I have not seen this at all. We gave up a ton of draft choices for a great wide receiver. He does not use his wide receivers until late in the game. The passing game sets up the run and the run sets up the pass. Also, our passing routes are very basic and need to be improved to allow our WRs to get separation. He also has no idea how to use Jacquizz Rodgers. He should be used the way New Orleans uses Sproles. More screens and not running off tackle.
  
• BVG is not aggressive enough. His blitzing schemes are very basic and are not used often enough. The defense cannot tackle! They try to tackle at the sholder pads instead of wrapping up. This has been going on all through the preseason and for the first three games without any improvement. Also, he plays a week zone defense. We allow the other receivers to catch the ball, with three Falcon defenders within five yards and then we tackle. No pressure at all.
  
• Dante is a bust. His job is to shut down the other team's receiver. He has not done this and constantly gets out played. He is not worth the money the team is paying him. Grimes is a much better, more aggressive corner.
  
• I cannot not believe that Mike Smith has not got his coordinators to improve their game and make them accountable. We see the same style of play each week. I see no "adjustments" to our teams playing after the half time break in order to improve our game. He has got to show more emotion and get his coordinators to step up their game and be more creative!
  
• We really need to improve our punting. We need to be able to put the ball out of the end zone because if we do not, return men like Sproles will kill us.
  

[Knight of God]

Good post extreme.