Consistency is what makes Falcons / Ryan the best in the NFC

[coachx]

Atlanta fans like hype, glitter, and razzle dazzle of players like Dominique and Vick.

Well, that is not what Matt Ryan gives them. What he gives them is the most consistent offense in the NFL and the most wins in the NFL. He is the opposite of the "Style Over Substance" mantra that some believe Atlanta fans believe in at their core.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-falcons/falcons-wear-down-packers-756946.html

Falcons wear down Packers with long drivesShareThisPrint E-mail .By Jeff Haws

This grind-it-out style is not necessarily their goal from week to week, but the Falcons aren't complaining about their marathon offensive drives.

Falcons keep winning even though the way keeps changing.

Atlanta had scoring drives of 11, 14 and 14 plays Sunday, bringing their league-leading drives with 10-plus plays to 29. The Falcons have scored on all but one.

It's something that just happens rather than be a stated objective, but it's certainly producing points and wins for the team.

"It's something that, as players, you can't really worry about that much," quarterback Matt Ryan said. "You know you'd love to stay on the field to keep them off the field. But, with that said, our mindset doesn't change ever. You're trying to score every time you snap the ball.

"You'd love to score on one play every time. But it's not always going to work out that way. It ends up working out, though."

That it does. These long drives, especially the ones that end in touchdowns, wear down an opposing defense, helping make it a little easier to get that crucial block and a little simpler for the receivers to get that extra step.

The offensive line is usually the first to see the effects of the punishing drives as these guys shove and look into the eyes of the men they're blocking.

They pick up on the change in the opposition as the drive goes into double-digit plays and takes eight minutes or so off the clock.

"You can see them getting a little frustrated," center Todd McClure said. "The D-line, when Matt completes a pass, they'll turn around and talk to the secondary or talk to the linebackers. It gets really frustrating. And that's when you know you have them."

Not only does grinding out long drives help the offense, but it also helps the Falcons defense, giving them more time to rest and less time for a quarterback like Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers to show why he's considered one of the league's best.

Like Mike Peterson says. The Falcons make you want to "tap out." Some may not like the Falcons approach and committment to the run but they cannot argue with the results. Fans of good old fashioned football LOVE this team !

You never hear the "accountability crap" from this team. One look in Matt's eyes lets you know who is in charge and who is holding the offense accountable. He walks the walk too with no interceptions in his last 4 games now.

Its great to be an Atlanta Falcons fan right now ! The entire organization from Blank, Smitty, and Dimitroff, to the players deserves kudos for their recent performance. Hopefully better things are to come. Like a path to the Super Bowl that goes through the GA Dome in the NFC Playoffs.

Oh........Falcons now have 3 winning seasons in a row but that is not even making the news. This Atlanta team has much bigger things planned.

Edited November 29, 2010 by coachx

[hussamga]

no doubt about it, they are playing championship caliber football right now.

[jy23]

Great football TEAM. These guys go out each and every game and take care of business the way its supposed to be done.....they will not beat themselves and thats why I love em, if someone beats us then you know that team truly deserved that victory.....one of if not the most disciplined team in the league.....I give Mike Smith praise for the job that he's done with these guys but I think it starts up top with Dimitrioff, building this team the right way and getting the right collection of players to fit into what we're trying to do.....gotta love it, feels good being a Falcons fan right now and I have a feeling that its going to b this way for some time.

Edited December 1, 2010 by jy21