Season's final game proves some things we already thought.

[Gray Mule]

First, we now have a pretty good idea that it wasn't the former coach, Smith, who was totally the reason

that last season was a losing one.  Falcons did it again with the new coach.

Saint's QB proved, over and over, that the Falcons had a very weak pass rush and that their pass defense

left a lot to be desired.

We learned, anew, that the Atlanta offense was mostly the three point variety.  They had the ability to get

into the red zone before things stalled out and a field goal was tried for, usually, but not always, successful.

Rodney White dropped some passes and we have to conclude that his career is nearing it's end.  He may play

a little more but not a lot.

We thought that there was a lot of work that needed to be done in the off season.  Now, there is no doubt.

We questioned the fact that the Falcons kept their old GM,  Now, these questions seem much bigger.  We

observe the failure of so many of the players he was responsible for obtaining.  They are, for the most part,

good players but just not quiet able to get the job done.  Do we put all the blame on the players or can we

look questionally at the coaches responsible for their training?  Probably some of both.

So many questions.  We will be watching all winter and most of the summer, seeking answers.

[macdaddy]

Maybe i'll be proved wrong next year but Shanahan should be fired in my opinion.   We didn't score a second half TD in the last 3 games at least except for the Julio hail mary.   I know our offensive stats look ok and Julio had a huge year but our offense did nothing when it counted.     We had very few injuries on offense but just got worse and worse as the season went on.  

[macdaddy]

Quote

The Saints were tipped off by the Falcons’ formation. With the tight ends flanked out, Saints secondary coach Wesley McGriff gave safety Jamarca Sanford the freedom to jump the angle route to running back Devonta Freeman.

Sanford was practically waiting for Ryan’s throw.

“Coach took out the two-minute plays that they like to run, and I picked up the angle route with the tailback and I saw the formation,” Sanford said. “I knew they were going to run an angle route.”

How many times this season have we heard that from the opposition.   And that's just the number of times they told the press.   Our offense was fooling no one and that's not on Ryan in my opinion.  

[Guest]

Predictable Offense.

 

[High5]

On the one hand, we were close to winning 12+ games. On the other hand, we didn't, and we had one of the easiest schedules you will ever see. It's great that we beat Carolina, but otherwise this season was a disappointment. I do think Shanahan needs to be replaced and it's probably time for Dimitroff as well. My worry is that Ryan might have more problems than the playcalling. He seemed to miss more open receivers than usual this season and a lot of those interceptions were inexcusable. It would suck for him to start regressing already. 30 is young for a QB. 

On the plus side, I don't think we need a ton of new personnel on offense. Julio proved himself to be the best in the business when he's healthy and Freeman had an amazing breakout season. I also think Coleman and Hardy have bright futures. We're solid at the tackles and Tamme had a great year. We need some help in the interior of the line and we will probably need to find another receiver. With those things and an emphasis on ball security we could have a top offense next season. 

The defense is more of a personnel issue even though there was an improvement almost across the board. Our easy schedule had a lot to do with that. One thing that definitely didn't change was our desperate need for a pass rush. FA or the draft, just find us a couple of players who can consistently pressure the QB. That would solve a lot of our problems, but even then we need talent upgrades at every level to be a great defense. I do have some faith in Quinn to keep improving that side of the ball. 

[Guest]

Per Roddy, players had difficulty with terminology or something like that.

The defense kept us in a lot of games but the offense failed to capitalize. 

Soo many red zone interceptions, fumbles and untimely penalties. 

[High5]

Maybe the players and Shanahan can learn from this season and go into next season with a better understanding of what needs to be done. I just know he has a negative reputation with QBs and Ryan's performance this season has me spooked. 

[macdaddy]

16 hours ago, High5 said:

On the one hand, we were close to winning 12+ games. On the other hand, we didn't, and we had one of the easiest schedules you will ever see. It's great that we beat Carolina, but otherwise this season was a disappointment. I do think Shanahan needs to be replaced and it's probably time for Dimitroff as well. My worry is that Ryan might have more problems than the playcalling. He seemed to miss more open receivers than usual this season and a lot of those interceptions were inexcusable. It would suck for him to start regressing already. 30 is young for a QB. 

On the plus side, I don't think we need a ton of new personnel on offense. Julio proved himself to be the best in the business when he's healthy and Freeman had an amazing breakout season. I also think Coleman and Hardy have bright futures. We're solid at the tackles and Tamme had a great year. We need some help in the interior of the line and we will probably need to find another receiver. With those things and an emphasis on ball security we could have a top offense next season. 

The defense is more of a personnel issue even though there was an improvement almost across the board. Our easy schedule had a lot to do with that. One thing that definitely didn't change was our desperate need for a pass rush. FA or the draft, just find us a couple of players who can consistently pressure the QB. That would solve a lot of our problems, but even then we need talent upgrades at every level to be a great defense. I do have some faith in Quinn to keep improving that side of the ball. 

That's the scary part to me is that we have a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball but really struggled.   We do seem to need a center.   I've never seen so many bad snaps.  

[Guest]

39 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

That's the scary part to me is that we have a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball but really struggled.   We do seem to need a center.   I've never seen so many bad snaps.  

We've been struggling dor a few years now on offense to score points (well TDs) in the redzone and we've struggled mightily scoring points in the 2nd half of games,  even with Smitty.  Teams adjust at half time and we do nothing to counteract

[Guest]

Falcoms have the talent to be better than they were on O.  Matthew throwing the ball straight at dudes not wearing Failcons jerseys didn't help much.

I tend to think they'll have a big bounce-back year whether they change coords or not.

[AHF]

My worry with dumping Shanahan is that I know switching coordinators and systems constantly is a recipe for disaster.  While I am critical of Shanahan, my bias would be to send him into the offseason with things for him to improve as well and let people get familiarity with something before pulling the plug.  1 season is not enough to really judge and I don't want us to be the revolving door Browns.

[Dnice]

The new treadmill team of the NFL, what a crappy season to finish above NO and TB but get swept by both. Good job Atlanta.  

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Dnice said:

The new treadmill team of the NFL, what a crappy season to finish above NO and TB but get swept by both. Good job Atlanta.  

Lol, that's hard to do isn't it?  Do we get points for that accomplishment(sic)?

[Dnice]

Eh, still so ticked I feel fans should have an in- person forum, and not on a message board, lol Something like a town hall meeting., all over Georgia. You'd think any of our key players missed a lot of time, but were relatively healthy, it's not like Ryan or Jones couldn't go, but the record feels that way. So many fans over on the falcons life are pretty much used to a good season here and there. 2012 feels like ages ago.