Monday Morning Quarter Back

 It is amusing to me that many of the comments I receive are urging me to post more often. I really would like to accede to their wishes, but unfortunately I have to spend an infinite amount of time filtering through and deleting the plethora of spam artists advertising their cheesy products on my site. Could someone explain why spam artists waste their time hitting on small blogs such as mine?  Seriously, I am contemplating shutting down the comments page, but that would imply the infidels have won.

 Moving on, I was delighted my Falcons proved me wrong in defeating New Orleans, the Super Bowl Champions, in their own backyard. That is the first time Atlanta has won in New Orleans since 2002. It wasn’t pretty but a win is a win. The Saints kicker was given an opportunity to claim victory for his team in overtime but he pulled his kick wide from 27 yards giving the Falcons the opportunity to launch an attack in attempt to win the game.

Utilizing their running backs, Turner and Smelling, the Falcons relentlessly and methodically moved the ball downfield until they were in field goal range. Despite a couple of false starts, Bryant kicked the ball through the middle of the uprights to secure a well deserved win for the Falcons 27-24.

 This game resembled two heavyweight prizefighters going toe to toe with no quarter given or taken. Coach Mike Smith compiled a game plan on the basis of attack is the best form of defense against an imaginative Saints team. He also revealed considerable moral fiber by giving the green light to his team orchestrating several plays on fourth down. A crucial element in Atlanta’s win was the 46 minutes they had possession of the football compared to only 27 minutes for the Saints. Quite simply, if you have possession the other team cannot score.

 However on limited scraps, Drew Brees managed to throw for 365 yards and touch downs. He threw one pass to Lance Moore for an 80 yard touch down which set alarm bells off in my head. But generally speaking the much maligned Falcons defense bent but did not break and executed two sacks on the Saints quarter back. More significantly, Brees threw two interceptions, and statistically a team that has two or more turnovers in a game loses 85% of the time in the NFL.

 Tony Gonzalez played a great game with 8 receptions for 110 yards and scoring a touch down in the process. It was bit of a mystery why the Saints assigned a rookie to cover a 14 year veteran heading for the Hall of Fame. Roddy White added 69 receiving yards with a 22 yard touch down the highlight of a good day’s work for him. Matt Ryan delivered a sound game controlling his offense very effectively. However, his attempts to find Harry Douglas with a deep ball downfield were not very successful and that is an area which the coaches should address if Ryan is to acquire all the weapons that a successful quarter back in this league needs.

 Michael Turner had a solid game  with 114 rushing yards from 30 attempts, but  there is a tendency to use him as a battering ram aimed at the middle of the opposition’s defensive line where invariably very little yardage is gained. Again, the offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey needs to study film, change his mindset and introduce a little more creativity in the rushing game.

 Nevertheless the comparison in rushing yards achieved by the two teams is an eye opener. The Falcons ran the football for 202 yard while the Saints could only achieve 43 yards. Ryan passed for 215 yards which indicates quite rightly that the passing and rushing elements of the offense were well balanced. The offensive line provided reasonable protection for Ryan, but my game ball must go to the defensive line for limiting New Orleans to just 43 yards. Yes, Brees passed for over 350 yards but passing was very often his only option and not necessarily his game plan.

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