And then there were three - - -

[Gray Mule]

They keep piling up the losses.

Pre season expectations, a chance for a shot at the Super Bowl.

Reality of the regular season? A record of 1-3 and a team that

can only expect 3 points when it gets in the red zone.

Devistated by injuries to the defense we understand but where

is the offense? That great group of recievers and that wanna be

great QB and they can't get the ball in the end zone. They can drive

to the red zone easily enough yet all opponents defense can hold

them to a three point attempt.

PITIFUL!! What else can we say about these birds?

GO DREAM!!

[macdaddy]

Ugh. Did anyone in Atlanta believe we'd get that last TD? I don't think so. Matty Ice needs to figure some things out. You know i was thinking that Ryan goes about 8-9 on the opening drive of every game. After that opening drive he must be about 7-20. He looks scared to make a play this season and that isn't the Ryan I know. At some point you have to risk the INT.

As much as I don't like Collinsworth he was absolutely right. When Gonzo has a defender on his back hit him in the chest. I will say that Ryan made a perfect pass to that giant TE we have but he just dropped it.

Defense is pretty average, running game is decent, protection isn't that bad, but passing game is out of sync. Roddy being hurt is a problem but Ryan missing guys by 10 feet is a bigger problem.

[Dnice]

Just too pissed for words this Monday.

[benhillboy]

We lost to a better team and franchise, plain and simple. I'm nowhere near a Brady fan, but he was impressive last night along with his young receiver who instantly made a name for himself last night. Whenever you're -2 in sacks and -1 in turnovers versus the Hoodie and The Golden Boy you can pretty much hang it up. Especially when you couple it with the drop in the end zone by Toilolo and the poor decision by Coach to go for it on fourth and forgo the sure 3 points. Could've, would've, should've.I'm not panicking at all, though. It's just the end of the first quarter. Think of us as being down 17-6 in a game, and receiving the kickoff at the beginning of the second quarter versus a rookie-quarterbacked and poorly-coached Jets team. We've been ravaged by injuries, we'll get better as we get guys back on the field and back to form. This franchise is run too well to have a poor season. Don't count us, the Steelers, or the Giants out until the half at least, although I got the Saints down for 12 wins and sewing up the division already.

Edited September 30, 2013 by benhillboy

[Guest]

I

We lost to a better team and franchise, plain and simple. I'm nowhere near a Brady fan, but he was impressive last night along with his young receiver who instantly made a name for himself last night. Whenever you're -2 in sacks and -1 in turnovers versus the Hoodie and The Golden Boy you can pretty much hang it up. Especially when you couple it with the drop in the end zone by Toilolo and the poor decision by Coach to go for it on fourth and forgo the sure 3 points. Could've, would've, should've.I'm not panicking at all, though. It's just the end of the first quarter. Think of us as being down 17-6 in a game, and receiving the kickoff at the beginning of the second quarter versus a rookie-quarterbacked and poorly-coached Jets team. We've been ravaged by injuries, we'll get better as we get guys back on the field and back to form. This franchise is run too well to have a poor season. Don't count us, the Steelers, or the Giants out until the half at least, although I got the Saints down for 12 wins and sewing up the division already.

I hear you on all of that - but the offense is out of sync. Smitty preaching mistake free football I think has lead to Matt not taking a few chances to allow his receivers to go get the ball, instead let's make the safe play and throw it out of bounds and take the 3 points.

Get it together guys - please!!!!

[Admin]

And not taking the 3 points early in the game I understand he wanted to make a statement but you gotta take the points when you can against the Pats.The 2nd onside kick was a mistake with 2.5 minutes left and all 3 timeouts. Julio took the first 3.5 quarters off and Roddy keeps dropping easy passes. The giant TE dropped an easy one and another trip Matt missed the receiver by 5', which I think was the early 4th down play. Definitely could have and should have won that game.

[benhillboy]

Who you got tonight, Dol? Your squad is a 7 point underdog, which sounds about right to me. I have my doubts about them but if they go in and rattle Drew with a couple late down sacks and a second half pick (a much tougher task than Ryan) on the way to a win then I'll tag them for real and a true threat to the Pats.

[Diesel]

Who you got tonight, Dol? Your squad is a 7 point underdog, which sounds about right to me. I have my doubts about them but if they go in and rattle Drew with a couple late down sacks and a second half pick (a much tougher task than Ryan) on the way to a win then I'll tag them for real and a true threat to the Pats.

Rattle Drew???

He's the toughest qb THIS SIDE of Farve.

17-7 Saints.

Miami haven't seen a defense yet. And with no receivers, Drew still gets the ball up and down the field.

[macdaddy]

That's the thing. We should have won every game so far except the offense just didn't execute. Not that the defense was solid either but the offense had a chance to win every game.

Tonight will be the hardest I've ever rooted for the Dolphins. I hope they can pull this one out.

[Admin]

Who you got tonight, Dol? Your squad is a 7 point underdog, which sounds about right to me. I have my doubts about them but if they go in and rattle Drew with a couple late down sacks and a second half pick (a much tougher task than Ryan) on the way to a win then I'll tag them for real and a true threat to the Pats.

Of course I have my Phins. I really don't think the Saints are as good as they're getting credit for. The D is suspect and if we can limit Graham I think we have a real shot. Brees is going to get his no doubt about that, but I think it's going to be a close game no matter what.

[Admin]

Rattle Drew???

He's the toughest qb THIS SIDE of Farve.

17-7 Saints.

Miami haven't seen a defense yet. And with no receivers, Drew still gets the ball up and down the field.

The Saints have not gone from the worst D in NFL history last year to a real defense this year. The Browns are the best D we've played yet and they're absolutely better than the Saints. Not a chance in hell that Miami is held to 7 points.

Miami 31-23

[Admin]

That's the thing. We should have won every game so far except the offense just didn't execute. Not that the defense was solid either but the offense had a chance to win every game.

Tonight will be the hardest I've ever rooted for the Dolphins. I hope they can pull this one out.

Considering all of the injuries, I'm very impressed with how well the Falcons D has played. Losing Samuel last night was a huge deal as he could have really given the Pats rookie WRs more of a challenge than they got.

I'll tell ya one thing, I like Julio a lot but man he gets away with pushing off on deep passes quite a bit. That big one on that one late drive in the 4th he pushed off and kept the DB at arms length until the ball found it's way into him. It's not blatant and he does a great job with it so keep doing it, but he's lucky they don't call him for offensive PI more. Any idea why he didn't look mentally into the game into coming back from the injury in the 4th?

[benhillboy]

Considering all of the injuries, I'm very impressed with how well the Falcons D has played. Losing Samuel last night was a huge deal as he could have really given the Pats rookie WRs more of a challenge than they got. I'll tell ya one thing, I like Julio a lot but man he gets away with pushing off on deep passes quite a bit. That big one on that one late drive in the 4th he pushed off and kept the DB at arms length until the ball found it's way into him. It's not blatant and he does a great job with it so keep doing it, but he's lucky they don't call him for offensive PI more. Any idea why he didn't look mentally into the game into coming back from the injury in the 4th?

I forgot who it was yesterday but I heard an offensive guy on the radio saying he always told his receivers to mug DBs because OPI is never called. Julio got the memo, and having a Pro Bowl reputation doesn't hurt. Julio had some minor issues with focus in his rookie season, so I think the different looks from Belichick, Dennard, and Talib (just realized what all the hype is about) through 3 quarters got to him a bit. Roddy not being himself on the other side is starting to weigh on him, which is understandable. Rod's patented curl and square ins when we absolutely need them just arent there anymore, and it's compromising our offense. 108 yards while being "shut down" shows just what type of player Julio is, though. Edited September 30, 2013 by benhillboy

[macdaddy]

They were all over Julio at first. I think it was more of NE deciding they better cover Gonzo that got Julio going. Roddy being limited is totally hurting us though, i agree with that.

The D looks shaky but it looked shaky last year. It's giving us a chance and we can't capitalize. No pass rush though.

[benhillboy]

The D looks shaky but it looked shaky last year. It's giving us a chance and we can't capitalize. No pass rush though.

Yeah this is the last year I can deal with a poor rush, and I'm sure Dimitroff feels the same. He's gonna have to pull out all the stops next year to get a true, indisputable stud outside. He did it for a receiver, he'd do it twice as fast for 15 or 16 sacks. I love Kroy, Osi not so much, but both are best suited for backup duty on a great defense, not starting on an average one. Edited September 30, 2013 by benhillboy

[Admin]

I forgot who it was yesterday but I heard an offensive guy on the radio saying he always told his receivers to mug DBs because OPI is never called. Julio got the memo, and having a Pro Bowl reputation doesn't hurt. Julio had some minor issues with focus in his rookie season, so I think the different looks from Belichick, Dennard, and Talib (just realized what all the hype is about) through 3 quarters got to him a bit. Roddy not being himself on the other side is starting to weigh on him, which is understandable. Rod's patented curl and square ins when we absolutely need them just arent there anymore, and it's compromising our offense. 108 yards while being "shut down" shows just what type of player Julio is, though.

I've heard a few great WR's to claim you should "push off" with your elbows and that will never be called. 108 yards is ok (for a superstar) until you realize that the vast majority came on that one drive at the end. I'm sure that being targeted so much is wearing on him but you could visibly see on a few plays where it just looked like he wasn't putting in much effort. Roddy is dropping easy passes and that's really strange from what I remember about him in the past.

I was kind of surprised that you guys didn't run better or more last night once Wilfork went out.

And yes Talib is a hell of a CB, I just keep waiting for him to do something stupid and have to get cut but so far he's continuing to turn his career around.

[Admin]

They were all over Julio at first. I think it was more of NE deciding they better cover Gonzo that got Julio going. Roddy being limited is totally hurting us though, i agree with that.

The D looks shaky but it looked shaky last year. It's giving us a chance and we can't capitalize. No pass rush though.

Yeah I think New England thought that Gonzo was already retired as they were letting him do whatever he wanted, until late when they straight up doubled him right off the line. I don't think I've ever seen a TE be treated that way before but he was just eating them alive until then. Even with that if Matt hits him in the body instead of making him extend he very well have made that one catch even with the double teams.

Easily the biggest problem I see with the Falcons are the problems scoring in the red zone. Get that fixed and you'll probably be fine, barring any more big injuries on defense.

[Admin]

Rattle Drew???

He's the toughest qb THIS SIDE of Farve.

17-7 Saints.

Miami haven't seen a defense yet. And with no receivers, Drew still gets the ball up and down the field.

Well I was very wrong about how potent the Saints offense would be, although honestly this is the offense I expected to see from them from week 1. They might just be getting into their groove now. The defense was nothing special, Miami just had several bad plays at key moments. Saints are very clearly the better team than Miami and I don't feel too bad about losing on the road to a non-division, non-conference team.

Double bad weekend for the Falcons with their loss and the Saints win. Better start trying for the wild card now as the division is over.

Oh and to say the Saints have no receivers, that's crazy talk. Sproles is nearly uncoverable, Graham is uncoverable, Colston is still a damned fine WR and Stills has potential. They have more than enough offense to beat any team in the league.

[HawkItus]

Roddy has always struggled with drops. Tony G has said in many an interview he wants Matt to put the ball away from his body. He prefers to extend for the ball. The defense is just a step away from being ok. Get Decoud off the field. Julio is injured. I believe MR is injured too, but not being reported. My hope is they get to 4/4 by the mid-season and then get healthy and make a run for the last eight.

[Diesel]

Well I was very wrong about how potent the Saints offense would be, although honestly this is the offense I expected to see from them from week 1. They might just be getting into their groove now. The defense was nothing special, Miami just had several bad plays at key moments. Saints are very clearly the better team than Miami and I don't feel too bad about losing on the road to a non-division, non-conference team.

Double bad weekend for the Falcons with their loss and the Saints win. Better start trying for the wild card now as the division is over.

Oh and to say the Saints have no receivers, that's crazy talk. Sproles is nearly uncoverable, Graham is uncoverable, Colston is still a damned fine WR and Stills has potential. They have more than enough offense to beat any team in the league.

But Drew is what makes it all work.