Turn things around?

[Gray Mule]

Scrub Falcon team looked pretty bad in the first pre season game.  This week they have the opportunity to improve.  They only have three pre season games and they have many, many players to cut before the regular season.  Next game should be interesting.

[frosgrim]

Right now the Falcons look AWFUL. But, let's see how they look with the starters before any interpretations are made.  However, I think the team needs a few years of solid high draft picks to be competitive again. The defense sorely needs to be addressed, esp. the pass rush.  

[macdaddy]

1 hour ago, frosgrim said:

Right now the Falcons look AWFUL. But, let's see how they look with the starters before any interpretations are made.  However, I think the team needs a few years of solid high draft picks to be competitive again. The defense sorely needs to be addressed, esp. the pass rush.  

Yeah.  Preseason doesn't mean too much but i have very little faith.   Ryan is a great guy and i know his numbers are huge but at some point everyone is going to have to recognize that he's probably not getting us back to the super bowl.   The truth about Matt Ryan is that he is truly one of the most amazing qbs considering his physical weaknesses of no mobility and a weak arm (by nfl standards).    But combine that with advancing age and it's not great.  

(now watch he'll have another mvp season. lol.  i can live with that)

[Gray Mule]

Pre season has past without one victory.  Falcons haven't played many of their starters but have played against other team's starters.

New head coach and new defensive guru doesn't want the opposition to see a lot of the stuff that they have planned.  Hopefully, it will all work out for the best.  They sure didn't look very well in their pre season games.

Added another QB.  He was a high draft pick.  Comes with a very good college background and said to have a high IQ.  Just hasn't found the position where he fits.  Hopefully, the birds are home to him and he can do the things that his school showed that he could do.

1st round draft pick played one play in pre season.  No starting QB and no other starting receivers.  Hard to make a lot of yardage that way.  Fans have observed this team being down ever since they blew it in their Super Bowl appearance.  They got ahead, played prevent defense which means they prevented them from winning.  Sure, they won some games the next season but their heart wasn't in it.  It' been down hill ever since. 

I was a Falcon fan when they played their very first game.  It's been a while.  Sometimes they are kinda good and sometimes they are very, very bad.  Lately, their pass defense has been stinky and their run defense wasn't much better.  Hoping the new defensive guru can change all this.  And, hoping our offensive line is stout enough to keep our QB healthy.

[Gray Mule]

Today it begins.  A new head coach.  A new GM.  A new receiver.  H. Jones gone to Tenn.  Falcons open their season today, 1 PM.  Big question is defense.  Last season it was poor.  Another big question is the running game.  Last season it was poor.

With a new defensive coach and new running backs, will things improve?  A lot will depend upon the offensive and defensive lines.  That's where everything starts from.

GO FALCONS!  THE NEW DIRTY BIRDS!!

[Spud2nique]

1 hour ago, Gray Mule said:

Another big question is the running game.

Went with your guy Mike Davis in the backfield for fantasy. Looking for big things from him. 

1 hour ago, Gray Mule said:

A lot will depend upon the offensive and defensive lines.  That's where everything starts from.

Yes sir.

[Gray Mule]

Well, that didn't take long, did it.  Offensive line gets manhandled.  Defense can't stop a mobile QB and the pass defense looked like last season's which was terrible.

If we could get the same deal on our QB that we did on H. Jones, take it.  Please!  Use that $$$ money on some linemen.  Former administration left the Falcons hurting for money.  It shows.  Pitiful!!

[JayBirdHawk]

7 hours ago, Gray Mule said:

Today it begins.  A new head coach.  A new GM.  A new receiver.  H. Jones gone to Tenn.  Falcons open their season today, 1 PM.  Big question is defense.  Last season it was poor.  Another big question is the running game.  Last season it was poor.

With a new defensive coach and new running backs, will things improve?  A lot will depend upon the offensive and defensive lines.  That's where everything starts from.

GO FALCONS!  THE NEW DIRTY BIRDS!!

Unfortunately- same old Falcons.

[RedDawg#8]

They are a joke and borderline dumpster fire. They literally cannot play the sport of football well anymore. Im full time Hawks year round now

[Dnice]

Straight doo-doo... chalk it up to 0-2, they aren't beating the Bucs, so it's not "one game" as folks have said.   Time to punt of the season.

[macdaddy]

On 8/26/2021 at 11:19 AM, macdaddy said:

Yeah.  Preseason doesn't mean too much but i have very little faith.   Ryan is a great guy and i know his numbers are huge but at some point everyone is going to have to recognize that he's probably not getting us back to the super bowl.   The truth about Matt Ryan is that he is truly one of the most amazing qbs considering his physical weaknesses of no mobility and a weak arm (by nfl standards).    But combine that with advancing age and it's not great.  

(now watch he'll have another mvp season. lol.  i can live with that)

Just bumping this.   Lots of folks still defending Ryan but  just because the team sucks doesn't mean Ryan is good.   They can both suck.

Announcers talking about how the Eagles tailored their offense to Hurts' strengths.   Well how do the Falcons do that?  What are Ryan's strengths at this point?   You can't honestly name any.   His arm is weak by nfl standards, his accuracy is poor, and his mobility is non existent.   You've got nothing to work with anymore.  His success was always built on his leadership and clutch genes but that was when he had a modest amount of athleticism.  That's gone now.  

I love the guy but you could put him behind Philly's Oline and he would have gotten sacked just as much.   

Someone on Twitter put it best.  Matt Ryan might go down as the greatest good QB in the league.   But all things come to an end. 

[Gray Mule]

Ryan is not good.  I agree.  And, he has a boat load of the payroll all tied up.

Maybe someone will take him off of our hands.  He has an allergy to the red zone.  When the team gets close they go to pieces.  His leadership then suffers.  So sad.

  This one hurt - - bad.

PS:  As bad as the first game was, now we go to Florida and face the Super Bowl champions.  Oh my!

[macdaddy]

Would love to see Ryan have a bounce back game.  He knows what he's doing but whether the offense can execute is a different story.   Like you said we're stuck with him so have to make the best of it but we're also stuck with a iffy offensive line so have to overcome that some way.   DQ and staff were horribly uncreative on offense.  Hopefully the new regime gets better. 

[hawkman]

I think it's time to blow it up. I thought them trading Julio was a clear sign they were starting over, but they kept Ryan. Half hearted tanking isn't going to cut it in the NFL. Winning meaningless games this season will only hurt draft position. 

[Gray Mule]

On 9/17/2021 at 12:19 PM, hawkman said:

I think it's time to blow it up. I thought them trading Julio was a clear sign they were starting over, but they kept Ryan. Half hearted tanking isn't going to cut it in the NFL. Winning meaningless games this season will only hurt draft position. 

Applying that old saw, "Between a rock and a hard place."  Ryan is too expensive to sell and too expensive to give away.  He's too good to be great.  He could be a lot better.  He could be a lot worse.  Dang!

Payroll is one of the biggest problems.  Too much payroll for the talent that they have.  They have no money (Payroll) left to work with.  Julio leaving helped.  They need a lot more payroll room.

Winning meaningless is better than not winning any.  Looking for that 1st one against the NY Giants!!

[macdaddy]

 

 

[Dnice]

Good one...

[Gray Mule]

Super Bowl:  Atlanta has a big lead at the end of 3rd quarter.  Lose.

The pattern is set.  Falcon defense, hoping to be better, isn't.

Falcon offense.  Needing to make 1st downs and kill the clock, can't.

Atlanta has one victory.  They managed to close out the 4th quarter.  But not against Washington.  The curse reared it's ugly head again.  So much has changed over the years and seasons since that Super Bowl.  Different head coach and different assistants.  Almost all new players after that loss.

Yet the pattern continues.  Three good - great quarters, then melt down late.

Next game, Sunday morning, London.  Church time.  Record to watch later.  Perhaps, hopefully, going out of the country will nullify the curse.  We can only hope...

[JayBirdHawk]

Playing not to lose instead of playing to win. SMH

[macdaddy]

Well that sucked.  This team is not good but i will say that Matt Ryan looked pretty good.  Still can't throw deep very well but he had a good game if guys weren't dropping passes.   Ridley is not a #1 receiver and can't get yards after catch effectively.    I know coaching is taking heat as they should but honestly it's night and day better than the Quinn years.   Offense actually has some wrinkles.

Still I don't know how many truly bad teams have to beat us because they have mobile QBs for us to see the future.