Okay, so we improved a little...not a lot, but we are getting better. Let's see how it goes.
Ravens +1 1/2 @ Browns---No logic here...I just like the Ravens D
Bucs -8 1/2 @ Chiefs---The Chiefs are still terrible and despite Tampa's offensive woes, I believe the Chiefs are a nice team to get you back on track
Jets +6 @ Bills---Everyone loves the Bills, thus I am going against everyone.
Cardinals -2 1/2 @ Rams---This just seems off. Of course almost all my picks have been off lately.
Lions +13 @ Bears---I said I learned my lesson last week about double digit dogs in the NFL, but I have Orton at QB this week in Fantasy land so I need a big game!!!
Texans +4 1/2 @ Vikings---I love the way the Texans have been playing with Matt Schaub!!
Packers + 4 1/2 @ Titans---I think Tennessee wins the game, but only by the slimmest of margins!!!
Jaguars -7 1/2 @ Bengals---The Bungals are just awful. Ryan Fitzpatrick is in for a long day!!!
Dolphins + 3 1/2 @ Broncos---Everyone loves the Fins. It is supposed to be 72 and sunny in Denver...in NOVEMBER!!! Something is not right...
Cowboys +9 @ Giants---The Cowboys somehow found a way to beat the Bucs...somehow they find a way to keep this close.
Eagles - 6 1/2 @ Seahawks---I just do not think anyone in the NFC West is any good...thus I am taking the Eagles on the road despite the high number.
Falcons -2 1/2 @ Raiders---I like it...read my prediction in the Game preview!
Patriots +6 @ Colts---This is a must win for the Colts...at home in the dome...their offense has been shaky at best and their defense cannot stop anyone, so I am going to be stupid again and think they win!!!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Falcons vs. Raiders---Game Preview
Okay, fine we got jobbed in Philly last week. What else should we have expected?!?! This week will test this team's ability to put a tough loss behind them and beat a team that they should beat!!!
3 Key points to this week's game:
1. Run Turner run---Oakland is 26th in the league in rushing defense. Atlanta has one of the best one two combinations with Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood, but I want to see Turner get the ball 30 times this week. Last week, Baltimore (who is awful on offense) had over 190 yards rushing. They have Joe Flacco at quarterback, and no disrespect to Joe, but he is not Matt Ryan. Oakland will have to respect the pass or they will get burned deep, thus I think that Turner can have a huge day!!! 150+ yards!
2. Load up on the run! Jamarcus Russell has proven one thing...he is not yet worthy of being the number one pick (although I think he can get there if he had some guys to throw to!). His numbers speak for themselves. He barely has a 50% completion percentage and they rank last in the league in passing!!! Stop Darren McFadden and Justin Fargas!
3. Do not have a defensive lapse after we score!!! We seem to always have a letdown after we do something BIG!! Last week we take the lead early and then Philly comes right back down the field to score. We fell apart against the Bears, only to pull out a miracle in the end. We have to play four solid quarters on the defensive side of the ball. Sure we will probably give up some points, but we must find ways to get stops in crucial situations!!!
I really feel good about this week. We fought Philly until the 2 minute warning. We had a chance to win the game and got it taken away, however, if we had not thrown a stupid fade pass when we had the ball 1st and goal at the one we might not have been in that predicament. Anyway, last week has to be put behind us and we need to win this game on the road. We have some tough ones coming up and we cannot afford to give up any ground to Carolina at this point!!!
Prediction: Falcons---27 Raiders---17 (Al Davis fires someone after the game!!!)
3 Key points to this week's game:
1. Run Turner run---Oakland is 26th in the league in rushing defense. Atlanta has one of the best one two combinations with Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood, but I want to see Turner get the ball 30 times this week. Last week, Baltimore (who is awful on offense) had over 190 yards rushing. They have Joe Flacco at quarterback, and no disrespect to Joe, but he is not Matt Ryan. Oakland will have to respect the pass or they will get burned deep, thus I think that Turner can have a huge day!!! 150+ yards!
2. Load up on the run! Jamarcus Russell has proven one thing...he is not yet worthy of being the number one pick (although I think he can get there if he had some guys to throw to!). His numbers speak for themselves. He barely has a 50% completion percentage and they rank last in the league in passing!!! Stop Darren McFadden and Justin Fargas!
3. Do not have a defensive lapse after we score!!! We seem to always have a letdown after we do something BIG!! Last week we take the lead early and then Philly comes right back down the field to score. We fell apart against the Bears, only to pull out a miracle in the end. We have to play four solid quarters on the defensive side of the ball. Sure we will probably give up some points, but we must find ways to get stops in crucial situations!!!
I really feel good about this week. We fought Philly until the 2 minute warning. We had a chance to win the game and got it taken away, however, if we had not thrown a stupid fade pass when we had the ball 1st and goal at the one we might not have been in that predicament. Anyway, last week has to be put behind us and we need to win this game on the road. We have some tough ones coming up and we cannot afford to give up any ground to Carolina at this point!!!
Prediction: Falcons---27 Raiders---17 (Al Davis fires someone after the game!!!)
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Congratulations
Congratulations to:
San Jose State
Western Kentucky
Northern Illinois
New Mexico State
Utah State
Buffalo
Why? Because Barack Obama just took over legislating college football recruiting. Yes, it is time for Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Georgia, Miami, and Southern Cal to be "fare" and "patriotic". According to the recruiting experts, these schools were the best recruiters in the country last year. So it is time to give up half your stable. These 6 schools represent 5% of the 120. What happened was that they had to give up 50% of the recruits from 2008 and put them in a draft for the bottom recruiting schools to choose from. San Jose State got 14 players and the other poor schools got 13. Here are some notables from the day.
Terrelle Pryor is now the QB at Buffalo, Julio Jones is now catching passes for San Jose State, Tyler Love is now blocking for Richard Samuel at Western Kentucky, A.J. Green is still the best WR in college football, just playing at Northern Illinois, MarcusFortson is stuffing the run at Utah State, and Matt Kalil just set the New Mexico State University career pancake block record of 2 after 7 games.
The sad news is that in 2009 we have to refer to the rich schools as the Cayman Island Crimson Tide, the Afganistan Fighting Irish (which is fine with me), the Mexico City Hurricanes (to ease the language barrier), the Ontario Buckeyes, and the Georgia (Russia) Bulldogs because they have taken their business out of the country. Southern Cal will remain in L.A. because they think it is fare.
A few years of this and there will be no more recruit ranking for 2 reasons. The rich conferences don't want to lose there good players and we don't want to hurt the 3 star guys feelings for not being a 4 star.
GET OUT AND VOTE IN NOVEMBER!
San Jose State
Western Kentucky
Northern Illinois
New Mexico State
Utah State
Buffalo
Why? Because Barack Obama just took over legislating college football recruiting. Yes, it is time for Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Georgia, Miami, and Southern Cal to be "fare" and "patriotic". According to the recruiting experts, these schools were the best recruiters in the country last year. So it is time to give up half your stable. These 6 schools represent 5% of the 120. What happened was that they had to give up 50% of the recruits from 2008 and put them in a draft for the bottom recruiting schools to choose from. San Jose State got 14 players and the other poor schools got 13. Here are some notables from the day.
Terrelle Pryor is now the QB at Buffalo, Julio Jones is now catching passes for San Jose State, Tyler Love is now blocking for Richard Samuel at Western Kentucky, A.J. Green is still the best WR in college football, just playing at Northern Illinois, MarcusFortson is stuffing the run at Utah State, and Matt Kalil just set the New Mexico State University career pancake block record of 2 after 7 games.
The sad news is that in 2009 we have to refer to the rich schools as the Cayman Island Crimson Tide, the Afganistan Fighting Irish (which is fine with me), the Mexico City Hurricanes (to ease the language barrier), the Ontario Buckeyes, and the Georgia (Russia) Bulldogs because they have taken their business out of the country. Southern Cal will remain in L.A. because they think it is fare.
A few years of this and there will be no more recruit ranking for 2 reasons. The rich conferences don't want to lose there good players and we don't want to hurt the 3 star guys feelings for not being a 4 star.
GET OUT AND VOTE IN NOVEMBER!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Of Course!
This is absolutely ridiculous. You don't call a muffed punt unless you see the player touch the ball. The official didn't see Jennings touch the ball. It didn't even look like he touched the ball. The thing that bugs me the most is the media didn't even cover it. If the teams had been reversed, it would have been a controversy. The Falcons would have "been fortunate" and we still wouldn't be getting any respect. I don't know if we would have scored a TD or not but the series before we went about 80 yards a scored a TD. This is the kind of stuff I have been through as a Falcons fan for 36 years. Of course we got screwed.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Time to earn some RESPECT!!!
Falcons vs. Eagles
Sometimes a bye week comes to get a team rested, other times it comes to help a struggling get team get refocused, and sometimes it comes to rescue a banged up team. However, the Falcons bye week, which in my opinion came at a perfect time, did not help the team with any of the above reasons. The Falcons needed the bye week to listen to and learn from the veterans about how not to get too big for your own britches. Yes, the victory over the Bears was one of the greatest games I have ever seen in the dome, or anywhere else for that matter, but it was just one win in what is hopefully the continuation of something special. Many of the naysayers are saying they are lucky, have not beaten anyone (although the Bears and Packers both having winning records and are coming off of win over Indy and Minnesota), and cannot continue their winning ways. I say now is the time to gain some respect!!
Sure we are an 8 1/2 point underdog and heading into one of the toughest environments in all of football, but now is as good a time as any to take a well rested squad into Philly and show everyone they are for real. It will be tough, very tough, but achievable.
Here is the breakdown:
The Eagles have the number 1 pass offense in all of football and the third ranked overall offense to boot, not to mention the number 3 defense in the NFL as well. Donovan McNabb has been as solid as ever completing 64% of his passes and Correll Buckhalter has filled in for Brian Westbrook and kept the Eagles running game solid (and Westbrook should be back). However, I for one question the Eagles strength of schedule. Yes, they beat a very good Pittsburgh team, but their other two wins are against the hapless 49ers and the Rams, who before firing their coach and replacing him with Jim Haslett, could have been beat by several NCAA teams.
Here are the four main things the Falcons must do to win this game:
1. Turn the Philly crowd on their home team!! The Philly fans are about as loyal to their team as Bill was to Hillary. With the Phillies in the World Series, the Philly fans will turn on this 3-3 team in a heartbeat. We need to get a score or two early and let the boo birds begin.
2. Keep DeSean Jackson at bay!!! He is electrifying and has the ability to change a game at a moments notice. If we kick to him, please, please, please do not let him have a chance to return the ball. We did a fantastic job of keeping the ball out of Devin Hester's hands and now we have to do the same thing again this week! He has also been able to light up secondaries...Grimes and Houston will have their hands full this week!
3. Do not put Matt Ryan in long third down situations. He is coming into his own, but we all remember Tampa and Carolina. Ryan does not need the game on his shoulders on the road. Sure he looked unreal against Chicago, but that was at home and in good weather. The weather Sunday is supposed to be awful, so falling behind or getting in third and long is only going to make it more difficult because going deep down the field is going to be hard enough.
4. Run our two headed monster and do not give up on it all day. Clinton Portis ran all over the Philly defense and there is no reason to think that the same cannot be said for Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood. Commit to the run!
I think we have a great chance this week because no one, and I mean no one, expects us to win. It is time to earn some respect and this week continues the run to what is hopefully a playoff spot for this team!!
Sometimes a bye week comes to get a team rested, other times it comes to help a struggling get team get refocused, and sometimes it comes to rescue a banged up team. However, the Falcons bye week, which in my opinion came at a perfect time, did not help the team with any of the above reasons. The Falcons needed the bye week to listen to and learn from the veterans about how not to get too big for your own britches. Yes, the victory over the Bears was one of the greatest games I have ever seen in the dome, or anywhere else for that matter, but it was just one win in what is hopefully the continuation of something special. Many of the naysayers are saying they are lucky, have not beaten anyone (although the Bears and Packers both having winning records and are coming off of win over Indy and Minnesota), and cannot continue their winning ways. I say now is the time to gain some respect!!
Sure we are an 8 1/2 point underdog and heading into one of the toughest environments in all of football, but now is as good a time as any to take a well rested squad into Philly and show everyone they are for real. It will be tough, very tough, but achievable.
Here is the breakdown:
The Eagles have the number 1 pass offense in all of football and the third ranked overall offense to boot, not to mention the number 3 defense in the NFL as well. Donovan McNabb has been as solid as ever completing 64% of his passes and Correll Buckhalter has filled in for Brian Westbrook and kept the Eagles running game solid (and Westbrook should be back). However, I for one question the Eagles strength of schedule. Yes, they beat a very good Pittsburgh team, but their other two wins are against the hapless 49ers and the Rams, who before firing their coach and replacing him with Jim Haslett, could have been beat by several NCAA teams.
Here are the four main things the Falcons must do to win this game:
1. Turn the Philly crowd on their home team!! The Philly fans are about as loyal to their team as Bill was to Hillary. With the Phillies in the World Series, the Philly fans will turn on this 3-3 team in a heartbeat. We need to get a score or two early and let the boo birds begin.
2. Keep DeSean Jackson at bay!!! He is electrifying and has the ability to change a game at a moments notice. If we kick to him, please, please, please do not let him have a chance to return the ball. We did a fantastic job of keeping the ball out of Devin Hester's hands and now we have to do the same thing again this week! He has also been able to light up secondaries...Grimes and Houston will have their hands full this week!
3. Do not put Matt Ryan in long third down situations. He is coming into his own, but we all remember Tampa and Carolina. Ryan does not need the game on his shoulders on the road. Sure he looked unreal against Chicago, but that was at home and in good weather. The weather Sunday is supposed to be awful, so falling behind or getting in third and long is only going to make it more difficult because going deep down the field is going to be hard enough.
4. Run our two headed monster and do not give up on it all day. Clinton Portis ran all over the Philly defense and there is no reason to think that the same cannot be said for Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood. Commit to the run!
I think we have a great chance this week because no one, and I mean no one, expects us to win. It is time to earn some respect and this week continues the run to what is hopefully a playoff spot for this team!!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Atlanta Hawks Preview
The next few days, leading up to the start of the season, I will be previewing the positions, outlooks, and preditions for the Hawks this season. We are going to start with the guard play for the 2008 season.
Starting at point will be Mike Bibby. The Hawks acquired him in a trade deadline deal last year. I liked the deal, didn't love it, but I liked it. Mainly because I thought the Hawks needed to do something and he is a real solid player. Mike avgeraged 14 pts, 3 reb, 6 assists, shot 41% from field and 78% from the line. His real contribution is that he gives this team some stability at the point which was much needed. Look for Bibby to have a real solid year for 2 reasons. First he is more comfortable with his teammates and second he is in a contract year. I would like to see the Hawks resign him for 2 or 3 years to give Acie more time to develop.
The starting 2 guard will be Joe Johnson. He is the best all around player on the Hawks team and lone all-star. At first I thought we overpaid for him, but now I think it was a great move. He is probably the most underrated player in the NBA and we needed an offensive leader. JJ averaged 22 pts, 4.5 reb, 6 assists, and shot 43% from field and 83% from the line. He is our best 3 pt shooter and most consistant player on the court.
Acie Law is in his 2nd year after the Hawks drafted him with one of two first round draft picks of the 2007 draft. I think we will see marked improvement from him this year. He has had a solid preseason and probably will share time with Speedy. Last year was defintely a learning experience for him. At times it seemed like he was lost and other times he was the quickest player on the court. I like Acie. I think he will be a really good player some day. Just give him time to get confidence in his jumper and we possible could be looking at an all-star.
Speedy Claxton is an unknown as far as the Hawks are concerned. He might be the fastest player I have ever seen with the basketball. It is either him or Darrell Armstrong. Health is the major concern here, hopefully he can give some veteran leadership to the second string. He could be a real assest to the team if he stays healthy.
Ronald "Flip" Murray comes over from Indiana and has a good preseason. He bring 6 years of experience off the bench and should help people forget about Childress. Obviously a better shooter than Childress, hopefully he will be as energetic.
The last 2 are Thomas Gardner and Mario West. Both are energy guys. Gardner is probably the better player of the 2 but Mario brings more energy than anyone on the team.
Our starting guards are as good as any in the NBA. Our bench on the other hand needs some leadership and experience. Hopefully Speedy is the answer. I am comfortable with the guard play and think they will be better than expected.
Starting at point will be Mike Bibby. The Hawks acquired him in a trade deadline deal last year. I liked the deal, didn't love it, but I liked it. Mainly because I thought the Hawks needed to do something and he is a real solid player. Mike avgeraged 14 pts, 3 reb, 6 assists, shot 41% from field and 78% from the line. His real contribution is that he gives this team some stability at the point which was much needed. Look for Bibby to have a real solid year for 2 reasons. First he is more comfortable with his teammates and second he is in a contract year. I would like to see the Hawks resign him for 2 or 3 years to give Acie more time to develop.
The starting 2 guard will be Joe Johnson. He is the best all around player on the Hawks team and lone all-star. At first I thought we overpaid for him, but now I think it was a great move. He is probably the most underrated player in the NBA and we needed an offensive leader. JJ averaged 22 pts, 4.5 reb, 6 assists, and shot 43% from field and 83% from the line. He is our best 3 pt shooter and most consistant player on the court.
Acie Law is in his 2nd year after the Hawks drafted him with one of two first round draft picks of the 2007 draft. I think we will see marked improvement from him this year. He has had a solid preseason and probably will share time with Speedy. Last year was defintely a learning experience for him. At times it seemed like he was lost and other times he was the quickest player on the court. I like Acie. I think he will be a really good player some day. Just give him time to get confidence in his jumper and we possible could be looking at an all-star.
Speedy Claxton is an unknown as far as the Hawks are concerned. He might be the fastest player I have ever seen with the basketball. It is either him or Darrell Armstrong. Health is the major concern here, hopefully he can give some veteran leadership to the second string. He could be a real assest to the team if he stays healthy.
Ronald "Flip" Murray comes over from Indiana and has a good preseason. He bring 6 years of experience off the bench and should help people forget about Childress. Obviously a better shooter than Childress, hopefully he will be as energetic.
The last 2 are Thomas Gardner and Mario West. Both are energy guys. Gardner is probably the better player of the 2 but Mario brings more energy than anyone on the team.
Our starting guards are as good as any in the NBA. Our bench on the other hand needs some leadership and experience. Hopefully Speedy is the answer. I am comfortable with the guard play and think they will be better than expected.
Picks of the Week!
Okay, so we had a rough week last week...thanks to a few late defensive lapses...I have learned my lesson.
Here we go...simple and sweet this week...
Falcons + 9 @ Eagles---I will never pick against Atlanta, although I think playing in Philly could be rough, but they have had a bye week to prepare. I love what Mike Smith has done with this team!!!
Chiefs +13 @ Jets---I hopefully learned my lesson last week with double digits dogs in the NFL!
Bills -2 @ Dolphins---Why not, the fish have been playing well!
Raiders +6 1/2 @ Ravens---I hate the Raiders after they somehow found a way to ruin my week by beating the Jets in OT...the Ravens are not very good either, but I still think the Raiders stink.
Redskins -7 1/2 @ Lions---The Lions are still awful, even though they covered last week...not this week!
Cardinals + 4 1/2 @ Panthers---the Panthers are due for a letdown after their big win last week...maybe that is my Falcon fan side talking?!?! I will take Carolina...and come to my senses!
Chargers -3 @ Saints---A must win for both teams...thus it will end in a tie so I have to take the Saints and get the three.
Bengals + 9 1/2 @ Texans
Browns +6 1/2 @ Jaguars
Giants +3 @ Steelers
Seahawks +4 1/2 @ 49ers
Colts +4 @ Titans
Here we go...simple and sweet this week...
Falcons + 9 @ Eagles---I will never pick against Atlanta, although I think playing in Philly could be rough, but they have had a bye week to prepare. I love what Mike Smith has done with this team!!!
Chiefs +13 @ Jets---I hopefully learned my lesson last week with double digits dogs in the NFL!
Bills -2 @ Dolphins---Why not, the fish have been playing well!
Raiders +6 1/2 @ Ravens---I hate the Raiders after they somehow found a way to ruin my week by beating the Jets in OT...the Ravens are not very good either, but I still think the Raiders stink.
Redskins -7 1/2 @ Lions---The Lions are still awful, even though they covered last week...not this week!
Cardinals + 4 1/2 @ Panthers---the Panthers are due for a letdown after their big win last week...maybe that is my Falcon fan side talking?!?! I will take Carolina...and come to my senses!
Chargers -3 @ Saints---A must win for both teams...thus it will end in a tie so I have to take the Saints and get the three.
Bengals + 9 1/2 @ Texans
Browns +6 1/2 @ Jaguars
Giants +3 @ Steelers
Seahawks +4 1/2 @ 49ers
Colts +4 @ Titans
Friday, October 17, 2008
PICKS OF THE WEEK!
New York Football Giants -10 1/2 vs. San Fran---Coming off an embarrasing loss to the Browns, and the fact that I still do not believe in JT O'Sullivan, I say take the Giants and give up the 10 1/2. (isn't it great to talk about New York football and not the Yankees!!!)
Tennessee Titans -9 at Kansas City---The Chiefs are more like the infamous commercial where their field was painted as the Chefs. They stink!! Tennessee's defense is dominating and the fact that LJ is not playing does not help matters for the hapless Chefs!!! Tennessee in a rout!
The Bolts @ The Bills -1---Many are saying LT is run down. In the famous words of Lee Corso, "not so fast my friend". Bolts strike down the Bills.
Kitty Cats @ Houston -9 1/2---Detroit is awful!!! Roy Williams is banged up, Calvin Johnson is banged up, their quarterback has a name that reminds me of a Russian Czar. They would not cover 20 in this game. Matt Schaub has looked terrific in his last two outings and Steve Slaton is for real. Take the Texans, lay the measily 9 1/2 (this is a freebie!!)
Other games---
Saints @ Panthers -3 The Saints are starting to click. Take the three, you won't need them!
Jets -3 @ Raiders I just hate Al Davis so this more of a hatred pick than anything else. JETS
Colts -1 1/2 @ Packers The Colts have found that something that was missing. COLTS
Seahwaks @ Tampa -10 1/2 Only because some warped part of my brain thinks Gruden will leave Tampa this year will I root against the Bucs every week...even if it costs me a few bucks along the way...no pun intended.
8 games---it will be interesting to see where this leaves us after a week.
Tennessee Titans -9 at Kansas City---The Chiefs are more like the infamous commercial where their field was painted as the Chefs. They stink!! Tennessee's defense is dominating and the fact that LJ is not playing does not help matters for the hapless Chefs!!! Tennessee in a rout!
The Bolts @ The Bills -1---Many are saying LT is run down. In the famous words of Lee Corso, "not so fast my friend". Bolts strike down the Bills.
Kitty Cats @ Houston -9 1/2---Detroit is awful!!! Roy Williams is banged up, Calvin Johnson is banged up, their quarterback has a name that reminds me of a Russian Czar. They would not cover 20 in this game. Matt Schaub has looked terrific in his last two outings and Steve Slaton is for real. Take the Texans, lay the measily 9 1/2 (this is a freebie!!)
Other games---
Saints @ Panthers -3 The Saints are starting to click. Take the three, you won't need them!
Jets -3 @ Raiders I just hate Al Davis so this more of a hatred pick than anything else. JETS
Colts -1 1/2 @ Packers The Colts have found that something that was missing. COLTS
Seahwaks @ Tampa -10 1/2 Only because some warped part of my brain thinks Gruden will leave Tampa this year will I root against the Bucs every week...even if it costs me a few bucks along the way...no pun intended.
8 games---it will be interesting to see where this leaves us after a week.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Bye Week Stats
6 weeks have gone and the Falcons are 4-2 on their bye week. Great start and above where I thought they would be. There have been some surprises besides Matt Ryan. Michael Turner has been everything we paid for, Curtis Lofton is going to be a stud pro bowler one day, and John Abraham is healthy. The other surprise has been our OL. They have yeilded only 7 sacks all year. Good for 5th in the NFL. Ryan certainly helps by getting rid of the ball but this has been refreshing.
Here are the stats after 6 weeks:
TEAM
OFFENSE
YPG- 350 Rank 8th
Passing YPG- 187, 21st
Rushing YPG- 163, 2nd
Points- 23.2, 14th
1st Downs- 110, 10th (47 rushing, 52 passing, 11 penalties)
3rd Down Conversions- 37.5%, 20th
Penalties- 32, 18th most/ 256 yards, 18th most
KO Returns- 25.7 ypr, 6th
Punt Returns- 6.8 ypr, 26th
DEFENSE
YPG- 349.7, 25th
Passing YPG- 231.7, 24th
Rushing YPG- 118, 20
Points Allowed- 21.2, 15th
Sacks- 10, tied for 21st
1st Downs Allowed- 115, 27th (34 Rush, 75 Pass, 6 Penalties)
3rd Down Conversions Allowed- 42.7%, 26th
Penalties- 45, 30th/ 381 yards, 31st
KO Returns- 20.2 ypr, 6th
Punt Returns- 2.7 ypr, 1st
INDIVIDUAL
OFFENSE
Matt Ryan- QB Rating, 82.9, Ranked 17th
Michael Turner- 597 rushing yards, 2nd
Michael Turner- 4.7 ypc, 13th
Michael Turner- 99.5 ypg, 2nd
Jerious Norwood- 6.8 ypc, 2nd
Jerious Norwood- 280 rushing yards, 27th
Roddy White- 566 receiving yards, 2nd
Roddy White- 94.3 ypg, 4th
Jason Elam- 16-17, 94.1%, 8th
Jason Elam- 61 pts, 1st (kickers)
DEFENSE
John Abraham- 7 sacks, 1st
Curtis Lofton- 39 tackles, tied for 23rd
The stats that stand out to me are the special teams stats. We have maybe the best special teams unit top to bottom in the NFL. Great to see the desire and effort these young players are giving. Matt Ryan is an early ROY canidate and Mike Smith for Coach of the Year. We finally look, act, and play like an NFL team.
Here are the stats after 6 weeks:
TEAM
OFFENSE
YPG- 350 Rank 8th
Passing YPG- 187, 21st
Rushing YPG- 163, 2nd
Points- 23.2, 14th
1st Downs- 110, 10th (47 rushing, 52 passing, 11 penalties)
3rd Down Conversions- 37.5%, 20th
Penalties- 32, 18th most/ 256 yards, 18th most
KO Returns- 25.7 ypr, 6th
Punt Returns- 6.8 ypr, 26th
DEFENSE
YPG- 349.7, 25th
Passing YPG- 231.7, 24th
Rushing YPG- 118, 20
Points Allowed- 21.2, 15th
Sacks- 10, tied for 21st
1st Downs Allowed- 115, 27th (34 Rush, 75 Pass, 6 Penalties)
3rd Down Conversions Allowed- 42.7%, 26th
Penalties- 45, 30th/ 381 yards, 31st
KO Returns- 20.2 ypr, 6th
Punt Returns- 2.7 ypr, 1st
INDIVIDUAL
OFFENSE
Matt Ryan- QB Rating, 82.9, Ranked 17th
Michael Turner- 597 rushing yards, 2nd
Michael Turner- 4.7 ypc, 13th
Michael Turner- 99.5 ypg, 2nd
Jerious Norwood- 6.8 ypc, 2nd
Jerious Norwood- 280 rushing yards, 27th
Roddy White- 566 receiving yards, 2nd
Roddy White- 94.3 ypg, 4th
Jason Elam- 16-17, 94.1%, 8th
Jason Elam- 61 pts, 1st (kickers)
DEFENSE
John Abraham- 7 sacks, 1st
Curtis Lofton- 39 tackles, tied for 23rd
The stats that stand out to me are the special teams stats. We have maybe the best special teams unit top to bottom in the NFL. Great to see the desire and effort these young players are giving. Matt Ryan is an early ROY canidate and Mike Smith for Coach of the Year. We finally look, act, and play like an NFL team.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Falcons vs Bears
Falcons are just better than people think.
Win or lose, we finally have a TEAM in Atlanta. Now, we are young so an 8-8 season is still probable but still successful. I just think the Falcons are better than people think. It's nice to have the cancers out of town (Vick, Hall).
On a couple of the sports webpages that I view daily, nobody was giving the Falcons a chance. Fans could vote on one of the pages and we were getting about 19% of the votes to win the game. I was surprised by this because of the fact that we have the leagues leading rusher and we were playing at home were we havent lost this year. Interesting. On another note, Matt Ryan made some of the best throws of his young career. Man, am I glad we drafted him. If we had taken Dorsey would we be where we are? No. This is a prime example of why, in the NFL, the quarterback is so important. Also, hopefully we saw the coming out party of Jamaal Anderson. He played great and lets hope he builds off this in 2 weeks.
Next week and there after I am going to do a preview of the upcoming game with key players to watch, chance of victory, and other stuff.
Win or lose, we finally have a TEAM in Atlanta. Now, we are young so an 8-8 season is still probable but still successful. I just think the Falcons are better than people think. It's nice to have the cancers out of town (Vick, Hall).
On a couple of the sports webpages that I view daily, nobody was giving the Falcons a chance. Fans could vote on one of the pages and we were getting about 19% of the votes to win the game. I was surprised by this because of the fact that we have the leagues leading rusher and we were playing at home were we havent lost this year. Interesting. On another note, Matt Ryan made some of the best throws of his young career. Man, am I glad we drafted him. If we had taken Dorsey would we be where we are? No. This is a prime example of why, in the NFL, the quarterback is so important. Also, hopefully we saw the coming out party of Jamaal Anderson. He played great and lets hope he builds off this in 2 weeks.
Next week and there after I am going to do a preview of the upcoming game with key players to watch, chance of victory, and other stuff.
Monday, October 13, 2008
One Great Comeback!
This was awesome. Man was I cursing Elam and then trying to hug him through my TV.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Falcons Baby!
The win this weekend in Green Bay is just more reassurance that the Falcons are headed in the right direction. I am lovin the leadership on the field and in the front office. For the last 6 years or so it has always been about individuals. Whether it was Vick or DeAngelo (most overrated player in NFL), it just never felt like a team. This past Sunday I saw Michael Turner let an OL spike the ball in the end zone. When was the last time you saw that in Atlanta? Or the first game of the season when Ryan threw his first TD pass and he was carried under his arm pits about 10 yards by an OL. Good stuff. And you have got to love Lawyer Milloy. Because he stayed! Man does he make us better when he is healthy. And John Abraham is the best DE in the league.
As far as our coaches go, this is the best staff for this team. They have as much to prove as the players and you just know they are working there tails off to show everyone they are for real. Mike Smith, 4th or 5th choice to be the coach? Talk about a chip on your shoulder. There seems to be a comfort level between Smith, Mularkey, and VanGorder which has definitely overflowed down to the team.
Lastly about our front office. Blank gets ragged about being in the way and to some extent I agree. But understand, he truely wants to win. To be the best at what he is doing. With that said, I have to give him credit for telling Rich McKay we are getting a new GM. We what you here, just in a different position (not drafting). He hires Thomas Dimitroff to run his team. The thing about Dimi that I love is that he comes from a great organization in New England and doesnt give a damn if you like his decisions or not. He doesn't spend a lot of time explaining them, as he says, "moving forward". And his hair is hip and stylish.
Anyway, needless to say I am hopefull for a great future in Falcons football. We have the leaderdship and talent, and maybe most important, the enviornment to be successfull.
GO FALCONS!
As far as our coaches go, this is the best staff for this team. They have as much to prove as the players and you just know they are working there tails off to show everyone they are for real. Mike Smith, 4th or 5th choice to be the coach? Talk about a chip on your shoulder. There seems to be a comfort level between Smith, Mularkey, and VanGorder which has definitely overflowed down to the team.
Lastly about our front office. Blank gets ragged about being in the way and to some extent I agree. But understand, he truely wants to win. To be the best at what he is doing. With that said, I have to give him credit for telling Rich McKay we are getting a new GM. We what you here, just in a different position (not drafting). He hires Thomas Dimitroff to run his team. The thing about Dimi that I love is that he comes from a great organization in New England and doesnt give a damn if you like his decisions or not. He doesn't spend a lot of time explaining them, as he says, "moving forward". And his hair is hip and stylish.
Anyway, needless to say I am hopefull for a great future in Falcons football. We have the leaderdship and talent, and maybe most important, the enviornment to be successfull.
GO FALCONS!
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