Dmn... Just A Knife In The Heart From Tatf

[Falconcheff]

Just a well-written indictment of our drafting woes, and why our defense has kept us from that elusive SB...

A Few Really Bad Picks

The most obvious one that comes to mind is one DT Peria Jerry, easily Dimitroff’s worst pick. He seemingly reached for a player that fell just because the Falcons had a need at DT. Jerry was slotted to go high in the first round and he started to sink fast, likely due to his major injury history. He got hurt in the first game played and just has never gotten back his collegiate form. Clay Matthews was picked one spot later. It still smarts to have to type those words.

Posing for a Picture (AJC)

Even worse of a decision was the idea to draft Jamaal Anderson out of Arkansas with the #8 overall pick. One Patrick Willis was picked just a few spots later. Not only did Rich McKay miss on all-world LB Willis, but there were 9 more players selected in the first round that went on to become a Pro Bowler (Darelle Revis, Marshawn Lynch, Michael Griffin, Joe Staley, Dwayne Bowe, Brandon Meriweather, Jon Beason, Anthony Spencer, and Ben Grubbs). There’s a saying that when you miss very poorly on a 1st round draft pick (especially an early one) that it will set your franchise back almost 5 years. How long has this defense been struggling again?

That hurts to read, but it's the harsh truth

[Born A-Ginn]

I'm not really sure what problems y'all might have on defense, but I wouldn't exactly call allowing only 18.7 points a game struggling. That's good enough to be better than 27 other teams in the league.

Hindsight is 20/20 man, you'll always be able to look back at previous drafts and say, "Man, if only we drafted that player instead!" As long as you don't draft someone like a Jamarcus Russell then it shouldn't affect you too much... and I as much as I hate to say it I seriously doubt the Falcons will be in the situation to shoot themselves in the foot that bad in the near future. ****, I'd love for y'all to end up with the #1 overall pick.

Here's a bit of perspective for you... Hurney traded away our 2010 1st round pick in order to draft the 'great' Everette Brown in 2009 (he's been on 3 different teams since he left us). We also drafted QB Armanti Edwards way too friggin' high in 2010 in hopes to turn him into a project WR... well he's caught a total of 5 passes since then so you see how that's worked out for us. Oh, and he also got ran down by a punter in open field.

**** you Hurney.

[Joremarid]

I'm not really sure what problems y'all might have on defense, but I wouldn't exactly call allowing only 18.7 points a game struggling. That's good enough to be better than 27 other teams in the league.

Hindsight is 20/20 man, you'll always be able to look back at previous drafts and say, "Man, if only we drafted that player instead!" As long as you don't draft someone like a Jamarcus Russell then it shouldn't affect you too much... and I as much as I hate to say it I seriously doubt the Falcons will be in the situation to shoot themselves in the foot that bad in the near future. ****, I'd love for y'all to end up with the #1 overall pick.

Here's a bit of perspective for you... Hurney traded away our 2010 1st round pick in order to draft the 'great' Everette Brown in 2009 (he's been on 3 different teams since he left us). We also drafted QB Armanti Edwards way too friggin' high in 2010 in hopes to turn him into a project WR... well he's caught a total of 5 passes since then so you see how that's worked out for us. Oh, and he also got ran down by a punter in open field.

**** you Hurney.

if not the defense, then, in your opinion, what kept the falcons from the super bowl?

[Born A-Ginn]

if not the defense, then, in your opinion, what kept the falcons from the super bowl?

Oh I dunno, maybe not scoring in the entire second half? Not to mention those back-to-back turnovers.

[Willy Mo]

DEF PPG is an overrated stat. a better stat to look at is Pts diff. as in, the difference is poins allowed on defense and points scored on offense. that should devulge just how much ad defense helps the offense.

Edited February 11, 2013 by #1WilliamMooreFan

[SuperAINTSfan]

DEF PPG is an overrated stat. a better stat to look at is Pts diff. as in, the difference is poins allowed on defense and points scored on offense. that should devulge just how much ad defense helps the offense.

i can understand that PPG is overrated. You may allow 3 to a HORRIBLE team them 30 to a good team so your AVG is now 16.5 which seems aqwesome but in hindsight you allowed a good team alot and a bad team not many!. (SUPER FRAG SENTENCE lol )

Now with the DIFFERENCE in PA, it doesnt say if your offense is bad or your def though

[falconidae]

Just a well-written indictment of our drafting woes, and why our defense has kept us from that elusive SB...

A Few Really Bad Picks

The most obvious one that comes to mind is one DT Peria Jerry, easily Dimitroff’s worst pick. He seemingly reached for a player that fell just because the Falcons had a need at DT. Jerry was slotted to go high in the first round and he started to sink fast, likely due to his major injury history. He got hurt in the first game played and just has never gotten back his collegiate form. Clay Matthews was picked one spot later. It still smarts to have to type those words.

Posing for a Picture (AJC)

Even worse of a decision was the idea to draft Jamaal Anderson out of Arkansas with the #8 overall pick. One Patrick Willis was picked just a few spots later. Not only did Rich McKay miss on all-world LB Willis, but there were 9 more players selected in the first round that went on to become a Pro Bowler (Darelle Revis, Marshawn Lynch, Michael Griffin, Joe Staley, Dwayne Bowe, Brandon Meriweather, Jon Beason, Anthony Spencer, and Ben Grubbs). There’s a saying that when you miss very poorly on a 1st round draft pick (especially an early one) that it will set your franchise back almost 5 years. How long has this defense been struggling again?

That hurts to read, but it's the harsh truth

The people that drafted JA aren't drafting players for the Falcons anymore, and Jerry had injuries early in his college career, but played in something like 35 out of his last 40 games- the injury thing was really overblown in hindsight- nothing in his college career suggested he was going to suffer a catastrophic knee injury a game into his career.

TD certainly needs to get this draft right- last year's draft was Oline, think this one will be Dline.

[Joremarid]

Oh I dunno, maybe not scoring in the entire second half? Not to mention those back-to-back turnovers.

since you disqualified the defense as being a reason based on regular season stats, then you have to use regular season stats to answer the question.

[SyCo]

since you disqualified the defense as being a reason based on regular season stats, then you have to use regular season stats to answer the question.

lol the ol switcharoo. you're playing by rival rules

[SaintsFanInLA]

since you disqualified the defense as being a reason based on regular season stats, then you have to use regular season stats to answer the question.

This what I don't understand fo 2 straight playoff games, your offense stagnated in the second half, scoring little or no points. And in both games a TD more than likely would have put the game away for the Falcons, YET almost EVERYONE is blaming the defense for the losses when it appears to me that the defense pretty much held but was on the field TOO much in the second half because the offense couldn't score.

I am genuinely saying that I think the loss to the 49ers was a TEAM effort for the Falcons but I would have to put a majority of the onus on the offense. You traded away 4-5 picks (whichever amount doesn't get panties in a bunch) to get JJ for a more explosive offense. Last season the team scored 2 points against the G-men but the offense scored 0 and this season the offense was anemic or inept in the second half of games.

So, which side of the team do you place the majority of the NFCCG loss on?

Edited February 11, 2013 by SaintsFanInLA

[Joremarid]

This what I don't understand fo 2 straight playoff games, your offense stagnated in the second half, scoring little or no points. And in both games a TD more than likely would have put the game away for the Falcons, YET almost EVERYONE is blaming the defense for the losses when it appears to me that the defense pretty much held but was on the field TOO much in the second half because the offense couldn't score.

I am genuinely saying that I think the loss to the 49ers was a TEAM effort for the Falcons but I would have to put a majority of the onus on the offense. You traded away 4-5 picks (whichever amount doesn't get panties in a bunch) to get JJ for a more explosive offense. Last season the team scored 2 points against the G-men but the offense scored 0 and this season the offense was anemic or inept if the second half.

So, which side of the team do you place the majority of the NFCCG loss on?

defense.... you say the offense stagnated for a half (which is fair), the defense was awful from the start of the second quarter on. the defense was a fumble recovery on the goal line (which is luck, you can never count on that) from giving up 34 points in 3 quarters. the run defense and the pass defense against the TE were atrocious.

and JJ was explosive.the offense was considerably better in the playoffs this year then in years past. JJ is only going to get better.

24 points should be enough offense to win a game. you lose scoring that much, the majority of the blame is on the D.

[SuperAINTSfan]

defense.... you say the offense stagnated for a half (which is fair), the defense was awful from the start of the second quarter on. the defense was a fumble recovery on the goal line (which is luck, you can never count on that) from giving up 34 points in 3 quarters. the run defense and the pass defense against the TE were atrocious.

and JJ was explosive.the offense was considerably better in the playoffs this year then in years past. JJ is only going to get better.

24 points should be enough offense to win a game. you lose scoring that much, the majority of the blame is on the D.

Regular season, I agree, Playoffs, I dont. 24 wouldnt win many games in the playoffs.

[Willy Mo]

i can understand that PPG is overrated. You may allow 3 to a HORRIBLE team them 30 to a good team so your AVG is now 16.5 which seems aqwesome but in hindsight you allowed a good team alot and a bad team not many!. (SUPER FRAG SENTENCE lol )

Now with the DIFFERENCE in PA, it doesnt say if your offense is bad or your def though

what the diff shows is the all-around effectiveness of a team. the defense and offense working together to form a great combo.

it's a team game, and if an offense/defense can't thrive off eachother, you're doomed.

Edited February 11, 2013 by #1WilliamMooreFan

[NYG4]

In the last 5 years there have been 63 scores of 24 or less in the playoffs, The team scoring 24 or less is 21-42 in those games (teams that put up exactly 24 are 6-5). Obviously that stat is a tad misleading but still, more often than not 24 or less isn't going to get it done.

Edited February 11, 2013 by NYG4

[joe horn]

Regular season, I agree, Playoffs, I dont. 24 wouldnt win many games in the playoffs.

Yeah, 40-burgers aren't even safe anymore. And now the League is hearing an argument to widen the field? LOLWTF

[SyCo]

In the last 5 years there have been 63 scores of 24 or less in the playoffs, The team scoring 24 or less is 21-42 in those games (teams that put up exactly 24 are 6-5). Obviously that stat is a tad misleading but still, more often than not 24 or less isn't going to get it done.

if teams scoring 24 are 6 and 5, then wouldnt it be more often than not that 24 gets it done?

[NYG4]

if teams scoring 24 are 6 and 5, then wouldnt it be more often than not that 24 gets it done?

Nope, because if you go back even further, the record is even worse.

Plus 6-5 is not exactly what I call getting it done, as opposed to scoring 30+ where you will win the majority of the time in the playoffs. 26-5 in the last five years when scoring over 30.

I don't know in what world do fans of a team that invested so much to have an explosive offense, deem 24 points enough offense to win a playoff game. It's mind boggling. If yall wanted to win 21-14, 17-10, 14-3 ect. playoff games, seems to me the Falcons could have kept those picks for JJ and drafted defense. You guys should be able to put up 30. No excuse.

Edited February 12, 2013 by NYG4

[frankyfine]

if not the defense, then, iney get payed, too. your opinion, what kept the falcons from the super bowl?

Maybe it was the 9ers defense. They get payed too. Give some credit.

[NYG4]

And are we still ignoring the fact that Falcon's defense easily gave best performance against the Niners all playoffs?

I guess we are.

[Born A-Ginn]

since you disqualified the defense as being a reason based on regular season stats, then you have to use regular season stats to answer the question.

Uhhh, what? Not sure if I'm reading this post wrong or what... but wasn't that defense you had in the playoffs the same defense that played in the regular season to garner those stats?

Look man, you asked me for my opinion and I gave it to you. Sure, the Falcons offense started off on fire and jumped to a 17-0 lead and seemed like they were going to the SB. Let me reiterate one small detail... 17-0. Your defense held SF scoreless long enough for you to build a nice comfy lead. What happened in the second half? Back to back turnovers by the offense, and they remained scoreless the entire second half. Turnovers are not only momentum killers, but they really hurt your team's defense.

But whatever, I'm not gonna argue with you about it... like I said it's my opinion that 'you' asked for.

Edited February 12, 2013 by PantherBlack

[Joremarid]

24 points would have been enough points to win 9 of the last 13 nfccgs.

And are we still ignoring the fact that Falcon's defense easily gave best performance against the Niners all playoffs?

I guess we are.

spin, spin, spin with your falcon hate.

[SyCo]

Nope, because if you go back even further, the record is even worse.

Plus 6-5 is not exactly what I call getting it done, as opposed to scoring 30+ where you will win the majority of the time in the playoffs. 26-5 in the last five years when scoring over 30.

I don't know in what world do fans of a team that invested so much to have an explosive offense, deem 24 points enough offense to win a playoff game. It's mind boggling. If yall wanted to win 21-14, 17-10, 14-3 ect. playoff games, seems to me the Falcons could have kept those picks for JJ and drafted defense. You guys should be able to put up 30. No excuse.

im just going by what you said.

[Joremarid]

Uhhh, what? Not sure if I'm reading this post wrong or what... but wasn't that defense you had in the playoffs the same defense that played in the regular season to garner those stats?

Look man, you asked me for my opinion and I gave it to you. Sure, the Falcons offense started off on fire and jumped to a 17-0 lead and seemed like they were going to the SB. Let me reiterate one small detail... 17-0. Your defense held SF scoreless long enough for you to build a nice comfy lead. What happened in the second half? Back to back turnovers by the offense, and they remained scoreless the entire second half. Turnovers are not only momentum killers, but they really hurt your team's defense.

But whatever, I'm not gonna argue with you about it... like I said it's my opinion that 'you' asked for.

falcons offense was 7th in the league in ppg.... so doesn't the same logic as to why the defense couldn't be the problem also apply to the offense? or is the difference from 5th to 7th enough to change the rules?

[SyCo]

falcons offense was 7th in the league in ppg.... so doesn't the same logic as to why the defense couldn't be the problem also apply to the offense? or is the difference from 5th to 7th enough to change the rules?

logic? by god..

[Dago 3.0]

or maybe both sides have about equal blame for the nearly blowing it against Seattle and then blowing it against the 49ers but its easier to throw all the blame at the defense because to do otherwise is being critical of the top players on your team that you all love