Falcons pre-season opener

[DJlaysitup]

Well, what's left of the Atlanta Falcons football club takes the field tonight in the pre-season opener. I guess I'll watch just to get a couple insights on the rookies but it looks like it could be a long season. On the positive side we may be able to get some real cheap seats by mid-season.

Bobby Petrino might just start his professional coaching career with a Woody-esque winning percentage

[gsuteke]

the defense should be better than last season. sure we lost Kerney but he was hurt early on in the year anyhow.

our 2nd CB and nickel back situation was a joke. Bring in Houston and Sanders.

the only potential pitfall is Rod Coleman's rehab. when he's back we're gold IMO on defense.

now we lost Vick. OK. I see that as being a blessing in disguise for two reasons.

a. the Falcons now become the Atlanta Falcons as opposed to Mike Vick and 55 other guys.

b. Petrino looks like the real deal. I don't think they brought him in because his offense suited Mike Vick, I think they brought him in because he's such an offensive mind he can mold anybody into a productive QB, Mike Vick included. His playbook is said to be 3,000 pages.

Call me crazy but I'm just not seeing the doom and gloom outside of the defensive line.

[chillzatl]

we're not going to be bad because of one position. It's going to take several breakdowns across the team for us to be as bad as everyone thinks. If Harrington can do his part we could be down right explosive on offense too.

[DJlaysitup]

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...Call me crazy but I'm just not seeing the doom and gloom outside of the defensive line.

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I don't really see gloom and doom with any particular part of the team - just way too many question marks to be optimistic.

- New rookie coach.

- Starting a backup level quarterback with little mobility.

- Offensive line isn't all that big and aren't running the zone blocking scheme anymore.

- Two primary offensive weapons...Dunn banged up...Crumpler banged up. They should be back by regular season but they are getting older and will likely be less durable.

- Defensive line is patchwork, Grady/Abraham playing all 16 games would be a miracle.

- Receivers have yet to demonstrate that they can consistently catch the ball.

Things could go right but teams like the Saints are up-and-coming (Bush in just his second year, experienced quarterback).

Not to be down on the Falcons, just looking at this year realistically in comparison to the rest of the league.

[gsuteke]

my biggest worry is not QB, it's the offensive line. instead of working together in unison attacking the defender's hips they are now being asked to make 2 power blocks.

with Vick out you will see less room in the middle of the field as the weakside linebacker will not be respecting Harrington running. that means more hits on little running backs.

just think about this though, how many more yards can the Falcons get this year just by using simple screens? Jerious Norwood on a misdirection screen pass can and will go for 70+ at some point this season.

[DJlaysitup]

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...just think about this though, how many more yards can the Falcons get this year just by using simple screens? Jerious Norwood on a misdirection screen pass can and will go for 70+ at some point this season.

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Yeah, I think there will be bright spots...and I was a big fan of Petrino when he was at Louisville. I hope he can take what we have and make some things work here.

I guess my biggest fear is our WRs. They HAVE to consistently catch the ball this year, if not other teams will load up in the box and shut down our running game and we will be phooked.

[atlien]

I think its gonna be a long season, but Petrino's offense will be fun to watch.

Wouldve been more fun to watch with Vick, but hey, sometimes you gotta fight dogs and get a federal indictment, right?

It happens to the best of us...

[DrReality]

I wonder to what degree did Vick's passing contribute to the number of dropped balls we had. Part of it is how he throws the ball, but it is also due to his scrambling. It is very difficult for receivers to adjust when he scrambles. Especially young guys.

My hope is that Harrington will provide some steady leadership that will allow the offense to grow. vick was so inconsistent and we had to rely on his big play runs rather than consistent drives. I also loved the talk in the AJC about using short passes to the backs. I think that is critical. This team needs some confidence. If theyu start out poorly, it could be a long year.

[DJlaysitup]

Roddy White already dropped a lollipop in the 1st half. Lousy concentration. Good lord we have wasted 1st round draft picks on athletic WR's that can't be trusted to make regular catches.

[cyman3]

Horn & Blakley made great catches.

[Popeye]

Falcons suck!

[frosgrim]

Robinson looks good as well. Roddy may not make the team if he keeps dropping first-down balls like he does.

The defensive line does not look good at all. But we were missing our starting DTs.

Harrington looked good but not special by any stretch.

Starting O-line looks like it might be fine. But we'll have a better idea by game 3 when the starters go more than a quarter.

In all I was not too impressed with what I saw, but then I wasn't expecting to be that impressed.

[DrReality]

There wasn't that much to be impressed about other than the lack of miscues that are normal this time of year. Especially under a new coach and the Vick thing. The fact that they played (first half) without too many errors, save the kick off coverage, shows that the coach is getting his system in place. I'll withold judgement for now.

[hawkman]

Actually, Harrington did not look as bad as thought he would. There were a few accuracy issues, but I think he looked pretty competent out there overall. I agree he didn't look "special", but neither did any of his backups. I was just a little disappointed in Shockley's performance given his performance last preseason. I know it's just the first game of a string of four meaningless games but I didn't like the amount of deflected passes and balls tipped at the line of scrimmage. He did have great mobility though. Redman didn't look much better. He hasn't played for a few seasons and it kinda showed. Roddy White still has some consistency issues that bother me. It's a shame because he certainly "looks" like a star receiver out there. He better be careful because there are other guys out there gunning for his spot. BTW, I agree that one player or position shouldn't make or break a football team, but this team just looks mediocre without Vick. I miss the "electricity" that comes with having a star player at a key position on the team. It kinda makes it seem like any season can be THE season, if you know what I mean. Oh well

[Dexmethylphenidate]

I don't get why everybody's down on the d-line. The first team didn't allow a TD in the first quarter IIRC and held tough through the first half, which is where the analysis should stop because most 1st stringer were probably on the sideline already.

[Gray Mule]

Worst part of the first pre-season game? Not the offense

or the defense. Sure, they didn't look great, but we

must remember, this was their 1st game under a new coach.

Special teams looked bad. The guys playing on these

teams probably aren't the same players who will be there

when the season opens.

Falcons gave up too much field position - Plus, they

didn't gain a lot of field position.

It's hard to win when you have a long field when you

have the ball and your opponent is constantly playing

with a short field.

This aspect of the game is probably the last thing that

a new coach would concentrate on. Added to the fact

that many of the players on special teams right now

probably won't be around when the opening bell rings

and we have the bad results.

This part of the Falcon's game must improve.