Under GM Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Mike Smith, the Falcons made a statement in the draft when they moved up 21 spots to draft WR Julio Jones (4.34 in the ’40) with the 6th overall pick…Their goal was to add another playmaker to Matt Ryan’s cast of offensive weapons, and take some heat off star wideout Roddy White. Obvious to me, the Falcons are trying to recreate the Colts’ old combo of Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne… not to mention Peyton Manning’s trademark no-huddle attack, as well as mixing in a power running game to go along with Ryan’s intermediate passing range.
Matt Ryan doesn’t wow you with his arm strength, that’s for sure, as I have personally witnessed harder and deeper throws from Mike Boryla…But Ryan has the innate ability to make the right decisions and stand in the pocket under pressure. Last year it was Ryan leaning on Roddy White and TE Tony Gonzales to get open… and Michael Turner in the running game. Defensively the Falcons counted on DE John Abraham {13 sacks} (who was neutralized by the Eagles offensive line last year) and Jonathan Babineaux at DT…CB’s Brent Grimes and Dunta Robinson were their last line of defense. Their top linebackers Curtis Lofton and Sean Witherspoon were occasionally great but mostly slowed down due to accumulated injuries. The bottom line in my book: The Falcons’ reliable veterans for the most part have aged beyond their peak, their revamped LB corps is suspect, and they still have not found an answer at nickel back or safety that can cause defensive impact upon a game.
The Bears had their way with Ryan and the Falcons’ pass pro last Sunday… my guess this is the area of attack the Eagles will be focusing on in this weekend’s challenge…
Right now the Falcons’ depth charts in a nutshell look like this:
Offensive starters and 1st backups:
WR: Julio Jones
LT: Sam Baker
LG: Justin Blalock
C: Joe Hawley/Todd McClure
RG: Garrett Reynolds
RT: Tyson Clabo (best lineman)
QB: Matt Ryan
HB: Michael Turner
FB: Ovie Mughelli
TE: Tony Gonzalez
WR: Roddy White
Defensive starters:
DE: John Abraham
DT: Peria Jerry
DT: Corey Peters
DE: Ray Edwards
OLB: Stephen Nicholas
MLB: Curtis Lofton
OLB: Sean Weatherspoon
CB: Dunta Robinson
SS: William Moore
FS: Thomas DeCoud
CB: Brent Grimes
The worst news for the Falcons regarding the above depth chart is their big defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux is out three to five weeks with a partially torn medial collateral ligament in his knee. The injury will not immediately require surgery, but he may want to have one after the season.
Babineaux was listed on the injury report before the Chicago game with a knee and shoulder injury. He left the game against Chicago to get his ankle examined and had it re-taped. He returned to the game against the Bears.
The Falcons are hoping that defensive tackle Corey Peters, who missed the opener with a knee injury, can return this week. He’s been out for four weeks.
Babineaux, a second-round draft pick in 2005, has been a pillar on the defensive line since starting six games as a rookie.
So on paper, it’s setting up well for the Eagles offense. I don’t think the Falcons’ old mantra of “control the clock, pound the rock and stop the run” is going to work any more against teams with multi-faceted offenses and pressure defenses..
And the Falcons’ secondary? Based on the Bears game, it is up for grabs…and hopefully the Eagles will patiently attack it without getting too greedy too early… CB Dunta Robinson had a horrific game against the Bears. Dunta has skills….but he can’t play off coverage. He has to play bump and run. Problem is Brent Grimes thrives in off coverage and makes his INTs, but gets eaten up in bump and run, which is Dunta’s specialty. As long as the Falcons keep playing Dunta off coverage more, Dunta will keep slippin’ and sliding. The Falcons’ secondary system is backwards right now. They need to let Robinson “loose” and let him roam and play his game.
Until then, Eagles receivers should have a field day against Atlanta.
But I caution against excessive pre-celebration or greedy anticipation… Although the Falcons are decimated by injury and old age and confused coordination right now, never count them out from pulling one off at the Georgia Dome. Yes, they went and got a deep threat for a guy who can’t throw the deep ball at all. Turner can run but can’t break away from anybody. Vangorder’s defense is an absolute joke right now, and the Falcons can’t seem to scheme very well against anyone at the moment. But if the Falcons can bring any kind of pressure they can see Vick throwing a couple of picks in this game. You’ve got to line it up and play the game. Nothing else is guaranteed.
In fact, Dave Choate who writes for The Falcoholic points out that, as bad as the Falcons looked against the Bears, the “bad luck” factor was even worse.
“In essence, the Falcons weren’t just dismal. They also had dismal luck…there were five fumbles in the game, and the Bears recovered all five of them. One missed Sean Weatherspoon tackle led to a Matt Forte touchdown run. Thomas DeCoud let two interceptions slip through his fingers. Falcons defenders, including Dunta Robinson, slipped on more than one play. The team was also missing Todd McClure and Corey Peters, and later lost Ovie Mughelli and Jonathan Babineaux.”
The larger point here is that even terrible teams will not suffer through this many mistakes and bad bounces most weeks. As Choate notes, fumble recoveries tend to fluctuate greatly from year-to-year, due to the fact that there is a little bit of luck involved with eight giant dudes falling on a slippery oblong ball and trying to come up with it. Recovering all five fumbles in a game is fairly rare.
So yes, I am saying luck was a factor. No, I’m not saying the Falcons don’t have a ton of work to do, and I’m not saying the Bears didn’t kick the guano out of Atlanta, either. But it’s worth noting that this might, at minimum, have been something less of a blowout loss if a fumble had bounced the Falcons’ way or DeCoud had gotten his mitts on an interception.
I expect you’ll see a better showing from the Falcons against the Eagles. That will be in part because the coaching staff and players have too much pride to be caught with their pants down two weeks in a row. It will also be because their luck can’t help but be better.
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