Falcons WILL win in Pittsburgh

[PapaZeus]

The Ravens DID NOT reveal any of Vick's weaknesses! Vick made some mental mistakes on his own but that did not have much to do with the defense they were playing. The Falcon offense is going to see the same 3-4 defense that they saw last week, they should eat it up.

If Duckett continues to run the way he is it will only make our passing game better. Without any real deep threat this is going to make the difference in the season. Teams are going to have to start jamming more guys on the line and then Vick will start to see more of his recievers open.

As for Vick rushing for negative yards against the Ravens, I am willing to bet you will never see that again in his carrer as an NFL QB. It was a fluke and should not be expected again.

Some of you are going to sprain an ankle if you keep jumping on and off of this bandwagon. If your gonna be a fan, take the good with the bad. This team has way too much young talent to give up on already. The Falcons will have something to do with the playoffs this year! Make a few key changes in the offseason, WR's and possibly Dan Reeves and this team is going to the top. The only thing I don't like about getting rid of Reaves is losing his coaches under him, which are keeping this team were it is right now.

[Traceman]

Pittsburgh is a [censored] good football team and beating them on the road is going to be tough.

By the way, if you don't think the Ravens defensive scheme was the biggest reason Vick struggled, you are missing the boat. Right now, Vick's greatest strengths are his ability to make plays with his feet and his ability to elude rushers and make great throws on the run. The Ravens D made it VERY difficult for Vick to play to his strengths and therefore, they limited his effectiveness. What they did was great for his learning curve and I hope he will be able to make the necessary adjustments in order to help us get a win this week.

If we are going to do well offensively against Pittsburgh this week, Vick is going to have to be patient and make throws from the pocket to keep the defense honest. Teams that beat Pittsburgh early were throwing the ball all over the place because Pittsburgh's run D is so good. Pittsburgh's front 7 is as good as any in the NFL. With Duckett doubtful because of a sprained left ankle and foot(based on your post it doesn't appear that you knew this), I don't look for us to be able to run the ball all that effectively. Dunn was great againt NO but PITT's D is 10x better than NO's so Vick is going to have to be able to move the chains with his arm.

I think the game is going to be a defensive struggle. If we can limit the effectiveness of Zeroue and Bettis, I think we have a solid shot but even if we accomplish that, Ward and Burris are both very good receivers. I would feel a WHOLE lot better about our chances if Duckett were available because he takes pressure off Vick but that does not appear likely at this time.

The bottom line is that we CAN win, but if we do, I think it will be because we win the turnover battle and because we were able to slow down Pittsburgh's attack.

As for Reeves, he is doing a remarkable job with this team right now. We are 5-3 and we had a legitimate shot to beat arguably the league's best team at home (GB) and a missed FG away from beating the Bears. We have been in EVERY game up to this point despite what many experts consider to be an overall lack of talent. Why is it that when the team's D was awful last year it was Reeves' fault (and not the coordinator's) but now that they are good, Reeves gets no credit, it's all Wade Phillips? Hiring Wade Phillips in Reeves' place would be a HORRIBLE decision. Phillips has always been a good defensive coordinator but he sucked as a head coach. I was calling for Reeves' head too in the off season but I always give credit when credit is due. NOBODY thought the Falcons were going to be a playoff contender this year and yet they are. His conservatism on offense is frustrating at times but he has done a LOT more good things than bad with this team. I give him full credit for being able to win with Vick this early because most people thought the learning curve was going to be a LOT longer. Reeves' decision to scale back the playbook and put Vick in a comfort zone has helped his confidence and he's getting better every week. As Vick gets more experience, I think you will see Reeves expand the playbook for him even more and he will become even more effective.

The bottom line is that I think we have a legitimate shot to beat Pittsburgh this weekend and that is GREAT, particularly considering that a lot of experts had (and still have) them representing the AFC in the Super Bowl. Regardless of what happens in Pittsburgh, we are a legitimate playoff team and I am as excited as I can be about our team.