OC Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/post/_/id/44439/double-coverage-with-trent-dilferOn Tuesday, NFC West colleague Mike Sando and I did this Double Coverage segment in which we discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons. ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer pretty much did his own Double Coverage on Thursday in a conference call with the national media when asked if he’s surprised that so many people doubt the Falcons. "I kind of see both sides of it,’’ Dilfer said. “We're so -- as analysts, as writers, as a football-consuming audience -- we love the quantifiable. We love being able to say, 'Hey, they're this because here's a number to support it.' And we don't dive into the psychology of it and the intangible qualities teams have. So from the quantifiable, it's very understandable why people don't believe in the Falcons. They don't do anything outside their passing game that just jumps out at you and says 'Wow they're really good at A, they're really good at B.' They also play a lot of tight games against opponents that are, quote/unquote, not top-tier teams. For all those reasons, I understand it. And at times I find myself getting caught up in that, too.’’ But Atlanta fans shouldn’t go tossing Dilfer’s name into the lengthy list of media members they think have slighted the Falcons. The former NFL quarterback said that there was more than luck involved in the Falcons going 13-3 in the regular season and he pointed out some of their positive qualities. “I just know that sometimes the most powerful thing in football is confidence, which you can't quantify,’’ Dilfer said. “It's momentum that you can't quantify. It's will, competitive will, to make big plays in big moments. There's no number to support that. When I look at the Falcons in that light, I see a lot of that stuff. I see a lot of the unquantifiable stuff that I go, 'Wow, this team's really good.' Seven fourth-quarter comebacks? Some of their comebacks are 30 seconds on the clock and getting the ball where they get it. Stops in games where they've been gashed on defense. But a big third-and-3, they come up with a big stop. They force a turnover. They don't flinch. So for all those reasons I really like the Falcons.’’ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RI Falcon Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Is this the same Trent Dilfer we are used to? Which of you fans paid him to say that?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethanga62890 Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Dilfer watched falcons games this year. I can't hate on him for the past cause he was right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilleniumFalcon Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 (edited) People tend to hate on Dilfer but he's been right more times than naught on the Falcons. He said in 2010 that Green Bay was gonna come in here and kick us around and win the Super Bowl... that happened. I guess it's a good thing that he likes the Falcons now. Edited January 18, 2013 by MilleniumFalcon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaptain Krazy Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 The most common mistake i observe analysts make when previewing Falcons games is they focus exclusively on how the Falcons will have to deal with________________ from the opponent. For example, prior to the game vs SEA, all the talk was how "Atlanta hasn't faced DBs this big & physical before." True, but how about the fact that SEA's DBs hadn't faced a receiving corps (Julio, Roddy, Gonzo) that could match their physicality? Or instead of wondering how ATL was going to deal with Wilson, how come no one was asking how SEA was going to deal with the best QB they had faced since Brady? Same thing this week: how are the Falcons going to deal with Kaepernick- never mind that SF gave up 30+ in multiple games and now has to face a top-5 QB on the road. By the time we reach the conference championship games, analysts need to set aside their inability/unwillingness to comprehend why a team has gotten that far and start acknowledging what that team does well. 13-3, #1 seed, playing in the next to last game of the season- the Falcons are hardly a party-crashing upstart. As the only #1 seed left, they are more deserving of their spot than any of the other three teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natod12 Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 the bandwagon is full dilfer, go kick rocks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethanga62890 Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 the bandwagon is full dilfer, go kick rocksDilfers been on board the majority of the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bawse Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Dilfers been on board the majority of the year.Dilfer has always been pro-Falcon for as long as I can remember. When we got Tony G he was already raving about us having one of the most explosive offensives in the league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethanga62890 Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Dilfer has always been pro-Falcon for as long as I can remember. When we got Tony G he was already raving about us having one of the most explosive offensives in the league.He picked against us a lot before this year but the majority of the time he was right :\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corn Pop Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 The most common mistake i observe analysts make when previewing Falcons games is they focus exclusively on how the Falcons will have to deal with________________ from the opponent. For example, prior to the game vs SEA, all the talk was how "Atlanta hasn't faced DBs this big & physical before." True, but how about the fact that SEA's DBs hadn't faced a receiving corps (Julio, Roddy, Gonzo) that could match their physicality? Or instead of wondering how ATL was going to deal with Wilson, how come no one was asking how SEA was going to deal with the best QB they had faced since Brady? Same thing this week: how are the Falcons going to deal with Kaepernick- never mind that SF gave up 30+ in multiple games and now has to face a top-5 QB on the road. By the time we reach the conference championship games, analysts need to set aside their inability/unwillingness to comprehend why a team has gotten that far and start acknowledging what that team does well. 13-3, #1 seed, playing in the next to last game of the season- the Falcons are hardly a party-crashing upstart. As the only #1 seed left, they are more deserving of their spot than any of the other three teams.Yes, this is the thing that maddens me. I have never once seen an article asking how is (insert team) going to stop Atlanta's offensive weapons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JermareATL Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 the bandwagon is full dilfer, go kick rocksI think you're confusing us With San Francisco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilleniumFalcon Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Yes, this is the thing that maddens me. I have never once seen an article asking how is (insert team) going to stop Atlanta's offensive weapons.I think KC Joyner briefly went over this on his ESPN Insider article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballfan Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Dilfer knows his stuff. He is pretty even when discussing the Falcons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulitik Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 He called us "Paper Mâché" champions last week. He's just kissing up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtlFalc78 Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 He called us "Paper Mâché" champions last week. He's just kissing up. Yep, hedging his bet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodge_birds_fan Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 In my opinion Atlanta is a sound football team. We are disciplined and have good fundamentals, but we aren't flashy. Media loves drama and flash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B_ELLIS24 Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Dilfer's one of the guys on ESPN that I like listening to. I'll take him over Merril Hoge or Steve Young anytime!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billb49 Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 I heard Dilfer on one of the local sports talk shows in the SF Bay Area the other day. He's leaning towards the Falcons, but a lot of it is that he thinks the Falcons are not overlooking Colin Kaepernick as he thinks the Packers did. Dilfer picked the Packers and then did an immediate mea culpa on ESPN right after the game basically saying he now gets the Kaepernick thing. Like everyone else, he was impressed by his speed, but the thing he said impressed him the most was his passes and the way he conducted himself in the pocket going through his second and third reads. Then, he said the thing about the Falcons is that they will spend a lot of time game planning for Kaepernick, so he's leaning their way. At least that's what he said on Bay Area air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis York Morgan Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Dilfer was right the other two years where he said we'd get beat down by GB and NYG. He's been saying all year that this team is different and has a good shot...and look what happened to the Seahawks.Dude knows what he's talking about. That's all there is to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalconFanForLife Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 (edited) WOW JUST WOW !!Dilfer finally gets it. These clowns are so focused on stats that they do indeed forget the "intangibles," and I am just in shock that this guy finally acknowledges what anyone who ever played professional sports should already know. That winning is not always a measurable quality.Did anyone see the NFL segment on Brady where so many QBs were picked ahead of him because all his "measurable" were so poor? Yet we all know he is one of the greatest of all time?While I am not comparing our Falcons to Brady, I do point at that this team finds a way to win just like he does, and that is the key factor in this game that so many ANALysts are totally overlooking. But I do have a bone to pick with them over the measurable too as there are too many in the Falcons favor (home field record for one) for so many of them to pick such a lopsided game. Edited January 18, 2013 by FalconFanForLife Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuggle'2 Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Dilfer is a turd burglar! In the past when picking against us who cares if he ended up being right? It wasn't freaking hard to pick against us. He wasn't some analytical genius. Don't kid yourselves. He is a D-bag. He has a lot more to prove before I take him seriously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudFalcFan Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 What I loved about this is that in his last paragraph Trent danced all around it without saying it (probably so as to not offend SF) but the word he was looking for for the Falcons is "CHARACTER"! Despite all the stats and all the critics, these Falcons have CHARACTER and find a way to win! Trent sees it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rounz Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 "They don't flinch."I like that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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