I have to give some respect to the Falcons D

[Ellard80]

I hadn't heard that much about them until this game. They sort of flew under the radar.

Statistically and in person they have been dangerous all year. Quinn is building his unique version of the Seattle defense over there. Their linebackers really took away our underneath routes, especially to Gurley. They were susceptible to the run at times (because they are a smaller faster defense) but this was a bad match up for us. We like to pass and pass defense is their strength - then they crowded the line of scrimmage to threaten our run game.

 

[Farr Be It]

I was going to start a similar thread. Their DBs in particular were ferocious.
They took away a number of plays, when Jared hit some tight windows, with pass breakups. I don’t know the numbers, but they kept us from extending drives.

At least twice, maybe as many as five or six times, their pass rush and coverage linebackers caused errant throws to Gurley, or Gurley dropped the pass, seemingly concerned with the defender bearing down.

I wonder if McVay & Co. underestimated the Atlanta defense a bit, or maybe could have planned to play their strength into a weakness more.

Easy for me to say. I haven’t lost trust in our guys for the future.

 

[Ellard80]

That is why the saints match up better with them - the saints at are more of a power run team.

 

[Adi]

Their secondary surprised me , guess I forgot all about trufant being on their team .

Those fast linebackers remind me of our guys , they played great and Quinn knows how to coach defense .

 

[Boston Ram]

Robert Alford was a stud and in my opinion the game MVP. Trufant made plays when he needed to in big moments and Dion Jones had a great game.

 

[Flint]

TG was non-existent in the passing game and he never really took over on the ground despite having 100 yds. So what is the counter to this strategy? This was a Seattle type game where you have to be patient and not give away any short fields which they did. In the SB the Falcons ran out of gas in the 4th but Saturday the offense had the ball for the majority of the 3rd quarter, plus the 2 extra possessions in the 1st half and the ram d was the one getting tired. The Falcons have talent at every level McVay has to figure who and how to attack.

 

[jrry32]

This was always a bad matchup for us. Our best chance of beating them was to run over them by imposing our will on their smaller LBs. McVay made a big mistake by not sticking with the run imo.

 

[Ramer]

This was always a bad matchup for us. Our best chance of beating them was to run over them by imposing our will on their smaller LBs. McVay made a big mistake by not sticking with the run imo.

I wonder the fact that everyone bought into his system and offensive philosophy no one question it or suggested to run more?
More like a coach whisper

 

[John R]

Watching the game, I thought the same thing. Their d-backs and linebackers were flying to the ball with more energy than we seemed to have. I don't know if we were rusty from resting key players, underestimated their players, or they were just better.

I agree about the need to run Gurley more.

 

[Bootleg]

I re-watched the game last night and I'd agree with this. Atlanta was stacking the box to shut down Gurley both in the rush and pass and daring us to beat them elswhere with the pass.

I was critical of McVay not running Gurley enough, and maybe that's valid (we'll never know), but I can now see that Atlanta was giving up the short/intermediate pass (and sometimes even the long ball). McVay saw this as the point of attack and that's why he went away from Gurley. It was too tempting. We just couldn't execute consistently.

 

[Merlin]

What they are on defense will be shown in the playoffs, where teams have a way of exposing weaknesses just like they did a year ago vs the Falcons (albeit a bit late in the Super Bowl).

If they play this weekend like they did vs the Rams in the wildcard round, they'll play in the NFC Championship game.

 

[Riverumbbq]

I wonder the fact that everyone bought into his system and offensive philosophy no one question it or suggested to run more?

Can't remember after which game, but it wasn't that long ago that McVay blamed himself for not using Gurley enough and took the blame for the loss. I was actually surprised that he made the same error twice, and so early after his past mistake. I just hope that he has now accepted just how valuable Gurley is to establishing control and thereby helping in opening up the pass game. jmo.

 

[Soul Surfer]

I have to give some respect to the Falcons offense.
They wore our defense out and then pounded it up our ying yang in the 4th quarter.

 

[Flint]

I re-watched the game last night and I'd agree with this. Atlanta was stacking the box to shut down Gurley both in the rush and pass and daring us to beat them elswhere with the pass.

I was critical of McVay not running Gurley enough, and maybe that's valid (we'll never know), but I can now see that Atlanta was giving up the short/intermediate pass (and sometimes even the long ball). McVay saw this as the point of attack and that's why he went away from Gurley. It was too tempting. We just couldn't execute consistently.

During the game it seemed like they were very quick to the ball, they were getting to TG before he got started, they also were very conscious of him on those swings and screens. I’m no expert but as much as the lb’s were looking for Gurley you would think there would be room over the middle, were the TEs kept in or not targeted, I thought Higbee would be the guy to lead the TE group but he doesn’t seem to show up when the opportunity is there.
I didn’t think the running game was getting them anywhere at the time of course now it’s easy to be critical. I would’ve liked to have seen them focus on getting Sammy going early, he’s a guy who could take over a game

 

[Zaphod]

Have to appreciate any thread and post that recognizes what the opposition did.

That said, I'm still annoyed at this game and my perspective may be yet jaded so I'll put it in this order ...

We beat ourselves. Turnovers are killer. Plus we didn't adjust to what their defense was doing soon enough. It's not as simple as just going with Gurley more, they did try to rush at first, they tried to run screens ... but their offensive game plan should mix it up more as they are identifying what the defense was keying off of. Take a page out of the Martz play book on a defense like that, the draws worked well. Extend plays and keep our defense off the field so much.

The Falcons defense played very well.

The Falcons offense got it done. They weren't the team's strength but they took advantage of the opportunities given.

Somewhere in the middle there is the injury to Brockers. I was almost confident that our defense had settled down until that happened. We already have trouble with the run, but when he was out, it got worse. I think that's an area they need to address in the offseason. You switch to a 3-4, I think you have to get a good nose tackle. Finally, I'm just not sold on Ogletree yet, and that's saying something. I mean don't get me wrong, I've always been pulling for him to be the guy and play consistently, and I get that they have money tied up in him that they can't walk away from without a trade, but man I'm hoping they can move him to OLB and upgrade the interior or something where he's playing to his strengths.

 

[The Ramowl]

That's mostly what their fans were saying before the game though : The Falcons offense is ok but not amazing, the defense is great and will push them forward.

I would be very worried if I was an Eagles fan, the Falcons are going to try to kill their run game and let Nick Foles beat them, and i doubt he will manage to do anything. That game could turn ugly really fast.

 

[SteveBrown]

We do not do well against man coverage teams that have 2 solid cover guys. (See Vikings, Redskins Seattle)

The Cardinals had 1 pro bowl corner, but we sliced and diced them

 

[Zodi]

Can't remember after which game, but it wasn't that long ago that McVay blamed himself for not using Gurley enough and took the blame for the loss.

I believe it was against Minnesota.