Falcons Drop Panthers 28-20

is the 2007 giants were in a similar situation where they were 0-2 and changed defensive coordinators they went on to win 10 games that season and won the superbowl against the 18-0 pats.

oh and they started playing defense in week 2 so maybe MAYBE there is a ray of sunshine still left

I don’t normally post but after today’s game I thought it might be worth my two cents.
 - This game was a VAST improvement over week one. The offensive line looked like a whole different team. Last week we had a sieve in front of Delhome (not that it excuses his poor performance). Not their greatest game, but still, solid protection for the most part.
- The punt was the tip of the iceburg with special teams. As bad as that was (I agree, WAY too long to kick a ball), the kickoff team was much worse. It’s like the team never showed up (aside from stopping them at the 17 in the 4th quarter. The Falcons looked like all-stars with their protection.
- Defense was not their best but they did look better. My chief complaint is that the secondary seemed to be playing extremely soft coverage. I was blown away that we had people standing 5 yards deep in the endzone on two of the short touchdowns. I think you are right, Harris needs to be back there for leadership.
- Captain…wow, he stepped up today

That’s all I got aside from the pre-game show about Cower likely replacing Fox next year…weird.

Still wondering why were using a 3 WR set inside the redzone, considering that King and Rosario had more touches during the game than Jarrett or Moore. Our TE’s may not be the best, but I’d have King or Rosario playing WR before Jarrett. Either way, I think the Feely addition was a waste of cap space, as usual its our Secondary that needs help.

I know this could spark an argument but i really do think he needs to get fired for that call. He’s not an offensive cordinator, he is the hard coach. If we kicked the field goal, there would have been about 2:40 left on the clock. meaning two plays before the 2:00 minute warning and if you remember we had 3 timeouts left. What he just did tells the defense he doesn’t believe in them and that probably messed up their heads. He should have kicked the field goal and made lloyd pin them down in the 20. and they could have three and outs and we would at least get the ball back at our 30 with al least 1:40 left on the clock with at least 2 timeouts left. Let me know what ya’ll think about this as it irks me and am still angry about it. How can you go for it at 4&10 with Jake throwning the ball? they know he would be trying to force the ball to Smith, where was K. Moore any ways, he only had one catch. Bloggers, tell me what you think.

I’m feeling, not so bad right now. Dissapointed, but optimistic. We got to get ST playing better and do something about the 2ndary. I have never understood why fox plays his DB’s so far off.
Jake looked pretty good…good enough for what QB is supposed to do in our system. Just needs to be consistent. I’m scared of what happens after the bye b/c Jake’s arm doesn’t like by weeks.
Our day had moments yesterday but little consistency. Like I said last week. Beason’s knee will get stronger and he will play faster as we go forward. Can’t wait for Harris to get on the field to provide another spark to that side of the ball. I’m loving Captain Munnerlyn and still say that he and Goodson will make that SF trade very worthwhile. The Captain may be surplanting Marshall by midseason if he keeps it up.

about Gamble? I’ve always liked him but he’s didn’t impress me much yesterday. Can he pull his play together and earn that nice check or is he just too soft?

… and I wasn’t disappointed.

Yes, the loss stinks, but it would have stunk even worse had there been no improvement after last week’s fiasco.

I’ve resolved myself that we are going to go 0-3 heading into the BYE week. (Not optimistic, I know, just a realistic approach.) While other teams were fine tuning their 1st string units during the pre-season, we were pre-occupied with talent evaluation at the expense of coaching and tuning our 1st string units. That work still needs to be done. Ignoring it didn’t make that work go away, and clearly, the 1st strings don’t just take the field and fire on all cylinders. So now we have to do what we should have already done. Coach and tune the 1st string units. At the expense of the 1st 3 games. Oh well. Resolved to the losses, I just want to see improvement so we can come out of the bye week as a competitive team. Having said that…….

The Offensive line showed remarkable improvement. That’s encouraging. For a unit that’s supposedly billed as one of the best in the league, their performance last week was the equivalent of “Rec. League – 10 yr. olds.” This week, MUCH better.

Delhomme – OBVIOUS improvement. Still has some issues with accuracy and decisions, but much better. 1 INT is nothing to get upset about. That’s part of the weekly game. (Brees\Brady\Romo\Manning all throw the occasional INT) What I liked was his attention to ball protection. If he continues to develop, he may just be in “regular season” form coming out of the Bye. My only knock on that is that his “regular season form” is hallmarked by inconsistency. You never know which Jake is going to show up. Therein lies the angst.

Defense – Do we even HAVE a secondary? I’m curious. I was astonished by the simplicity and ease with which ATL was able to pass-at-will on our defense. Watching the game, it seems like the attitude of our secondary was to “Let them make the catch, then tackle them.” Which, on the one hand, they did tackle pretty well. But on the other hand, isn’t the secondary supposed to “prevent” the catch? It really was remarkably frustrating to watch them getting torched by their own in-eptitude or perhaps, lax and soft zone coverage. Maybe it was the defensive schemes that was killing them, but they looked liked they weren’t even in the area to make plays. ATL had WR’s open all day long. Disappointing and frustrating. Secondary NEEDS to relearn their job, or adjust their schemes, because clearly, what they got right now ain’t working.

Special Teams…. well, the name says it all.

Here are my thoughts…..

OFFENSIVELY:

TE – Get the TE’s more involved in the passing game. Over the middle to slow down the pass rush.

DEFENSE:
Overall:
Need better backfield penetration & a tighter secondary.
Would like to see more plays on the ball rather than the player.

Passing Game – NEEDS improvement. Any of these would suffice:
1) Corners need to be more aggressive, make plays on the ball, NOT the WR.
2) Pass Rush – A little pass rush\Pressure up front.
3) Playcalling\Schemes – These seem WAY out of alignment with what the offenses are putting on the field. WR’s are constantly open.

Run Game – Need more backfield penetration.

Special Teams
Better coverage – all around