An Atlanta Falcons Blog

By: T. Love

Arkansas Heisman hopeful and junior running back Darren McFadden rushed for 138 yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns in the Razorbacks 66-7 baptism of North Texas on Saturday.

The “Mean Green” from Denton, Texas, do not exactly strike fear into Arkansas or any SEC school for that matter, but it is still a Division-I opponent.

One thing that is good to see from McFadden is no matter an SEC foe or a lower opponent, Darren brings his “A” game all of the time and will be a welcome addition to the Falcons’ rushing attack next season.

Atlanta’s offense has shown a lot of promise in the passing game, but rushing still lacks. A big physical runner that can pick up yards between the tackles, bounce a run outside and pickup yardage late in the game is what we need.

Darren is our man.

The Birds have thrown the “McFadden Sweepstakes” off a bit with a 26-16 win over the Texans, but looking over the worst teams in the league, Atlanta is still in the driver’s seat.

Saint Louis and Miami hold the worst record in the league at 0-4, while the New Orleans Saints are 0-3. The Rams are set at running back with Stephen Jackson and the Dolphins have Ronnie Brown. New Orleans has Reggie Bush and a broken down Deuce McAllister. This could be the wildcard.

As for the one win teams, San Diego, New York Jets, Minnesota, Chicago, Buffalo, Philadelphia, New York Giants and Cincinnati, none has a glaring need for a running back.

San Diego has LT, Jets have Thomas Brown, Minnesota just drafted Adrian Peterson, Chicago is stuck with Cedric Benson, Buffalo picked up Marshawn Lynch, and Cincinnati has Rudi Johnson and a healthy Kenny Irons next season.

The Giants and Jets could be a small obstacle. Brandon Jacobs is no an every down back and Thomas Jones is getting up there in age.

D-Mac could still be ours. Lets not blow it.

By: T. Love

It feels good, it really does. Atlanta picked up its first victory of the season with a win over wonderboy Matt Schaub and the Houston Texans 26-16. It was pretty much expected that the Falcons were going to lose quite a few games, but this is one that the team wanted in the W column.

Great games by Joey Harrington, Michael Jenkins and Michael Boley.

Harrington was 23-of-29 for 223 yards and two touchdowns. Since the Falcons signed Byron Leftwich on Sept. 19 and head coach Bobby Petrino called him “conservative”, Harrington has passed for 584 yards and four touchdowns. Joey is still a bit timid throwing the ball downfield and he missed plenty of wide open receivers, but it is obvious that Petrino’s offense will work in the NFL.

One of the beneficiaries of Harrington’s back-to-back offensive explosions is Jenkins, who hauled in six catches for 64-yards and two touchdowns. The fourth-year man out of Ohio State has 15 receptions on the year for 168 yards. Averaging 11.2 yards per catch and working out of the slot, Jenkins is becoming a possession receiver while Roddy White continues to emerge as a deep threat.

Before I get ahead of myself, these two have only played well the last two games. This should have been happening a long time ago and it should happen every week, but it is nice to see them finally show some indications that they can play the game. Amazing what a few coaching changes will do for you.

As a whole, the offensive unit played well and the running game was not completely non-exsistent. Jerious Norwood is not much more than a scatback and Warrick Dunn is at his end. Darren McFadden will be totin’ the mail next season.

On the defensive side, Boley was all over the field with nine tackles and one forced fumble. John Abraham picked up another sack, bringing his total to four and Lewis Sanders had seven stellar tackles because receivers were constantly torching his ass. It’s time for Chris Houston to start.

Good day for the Falcons. The defense gave up way too many through the air, but the run defense was satisfactory. Houston is terrible at running the ball, but any confidence booster is a plus.

The offense continues to progress and show fluidity, it should be real impressive once a big running back and some better linemen step in front of a big-armed QB.

Next Sunday is the Tennessee Titans. Game time is 1 p.m. at LP Field.

By: T. Love

Falcons defense end John Abraham is not listed on this week’s injury report. What a relief. It was almost definite after a two sack performance versus the Panthers that Abraham pulled, aggravated, tore or ruptured something. That is not the case.

Now to the injury report.

Defensive tackles Rod Coleman and Jonathan Babineaux, tight end Dewayne Blakely, safety Chris Crocker and offensive tackle Todd Weiner did not participate in practice.

Coleman is definitely out and has yet to play a down this season, but Babineaux has risen to the occasion and played exceptionally well in his absence. Babineaux has seven tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble this season. He better get healthy because it will be scary if Montavious Stanley gets the start.

Blakely missed action last week and rookie Martrez Milner stepped in to backup Crumpler.

Crocker made his season debut versus Carolina and looked good doing it. Five tackles and one sack. Crocker has won his starting job back pretty quick or maybe he never lost it. Nonetheless, it was nice to see Crocker back on the field and push Jimmy Williams before he gets too comfortable.

Cornerbacks Deangelo Hall and Lewis Sanders had limited participation in practice. Both should be ready to go on Sunday, but if Sanders can not Chris Houston will add on to his 25 snaps from last week. Hall is also facing a possible first-quarter suspension.

For the Texans, wide receivers Jacoby Jones and Andre Johnson missed practice. Running back Ahman Green also missed. The only guy that should matter to the Falcons is Andre Johnson. Jones is pretty good, but Johnson is a big physical receiver and we all know what those types do to D. Hall.

The injury report will be updated on Friday and the official inactives will be announced on Sunday morning.

By: T. Love

Following his best performance in recent memory in which he held perennial pro-bowler Steve Smith to one catch and ten yards, but overshadowed his entire afternoon by picking up 67 yards of penalties in one drive and costing the Falcons their first win of the 2007 season, cornerback Deangelo Hall has been fined $100,000 by the organization for his meltdown and shouting match with Bobby P.

Hall could also face a first-quarter suspension if Petrino decides to flex a little more. When asked about the fairness of the fine, Hall responded “”I don’t think so. They think so, but I don’t think so. My agent is working on it with the union and hopefully we can get something worked out.”

Well Deangelo, you really do deserve this penalty and it is about damn time that some told you to shut the F* up.

Since coming into the league, Hall has done nothing but proclaim himself as the best. He has got a lot of work to do before that happens, but Sunday was a good start. Just please shut up. It’s one step forward and three steps back for this dude. It is almost the mantra of the entire team.

For the season, Hall has seven tackles and one interception.

If he is benched for the start of the game, cornerback Chris Houston will probably get the start in his place. There is also a chance that the Falcons will start two rookie cornerbacks on Sunday if Lewis Sanders is not 100 percent after the concussion he suffered versus the Carolina Panthers.

Sure hope Andre Johnson isn’t back this week or it might be another long gameday for the fans and Arthur.

Its hard not to feel bad for Petrino, I’m pretty sure this is not what he signed up for. There might be some really good college jobs opening after this season. I’m not saying, just think about it.

By: T. Love

Despite all the turmoil and bad play that Atlanta fans have had to witness, it looks like the team is not a lock for the No. 1 pick in the 2008 draft. After reaching the NFC Championship game and having tons of expectations for the 2007 season, the New Orleans Saints are back to reality after getting beat down by the Tennessee Titans, 31-14, to fall to 0-3 on the season.

The Saints and the Falcons are two-of-three winless teams in the NFC, but to make it even better we are in the same division. Somebody is going to have to win the Sunday afternoon pillow fight between these two squads on Oct. 21 and I bet Goodell Castro is kicking himself for putting together a Monday Night contest on Dec. 10.

Maybe both can turn it around, which would be great. The problems for each seems to be defense as Atlanta ranks 17th in total D, while New Orleans comes in at 24th. Both teams also have trouble running the ball, currently listed at 24th and 27th, respectively.

To make matters worse for the Saints, running back Deuce McAllister has just been sent to the shelf for the rest of the season with a torn ACL.

As hilarious as it is to see the Saints lose and misery loves company, this could ruin the Darren McFadden sweepstakes. Of the five winless teams in the NFL (and the early frontrunners for Darren) three-of-five are set at running back.

Buffalo just selected Marshawn Lynch, Miami has Ronnie Brown, St. Louis has Steven Jackson.

What if New Orleans doesn’t feel Reggie Bush is an every down back? Deuce is 28 now and coming off the ACL could take time. Would the Saints be so wild and draft McFadden?

Only time will tell, but this race is heating up!

By: T. Love

It might be a little too early for this, but what the hell. The Atlanta Falcons have plenty of problems to solve, but there is one player that could be a huge offensive boosts for Atlanta and could be a surge of excitement that the Georgia Dome is missing.

Hailing from North Little Rock, Arkansas, and currently destroying kids on the college level. Darren McFadden is the player, the man that the Atlanta Falcons need to pickup with their first pick in the 2008 draft.

Checking in at 6-2 and a “listed” 205 pounds (there is no way this dude weighs 205, at least 220), McFadden is a bulldozer between the tackles, has the agility to make defenders miss and possesses the speed to take it to the house every time he touches the ball. That is the definition of a playmaker. Oh, did I mention the guy can also catch AND throw the ball too. Bobby Petrino will not draw up any plays where McFadden would throw the ball, but it is a nice “LT” type card to have.

On Saturday, McFadden rushed for 173 yards on 29 carries and a touchdown in Arknsas’ 42-29 loss to Kentucky. For the season, Darren (I’m already getting on a first name basis) has rushed for 519 yards on 86 attempts. That is six yards per carry. This guy will be wearing red and black next season.

Warrick Dunn is at the end of the road. He was able to get the best years of his career with the zone-blocking system, but that is gone and so are his rushing numbers. Jerious Norwood, so far, looks like a complimentary player. He doesn’t appear to have the strength to carry the offensive workload.

From now until the end of the season, I’ll be keeping up with Darren and his run into a Falcons uniform.

By: T. Love

Enough is enough. Deangelo Hall is not that good and his 67 yards worth of penalties on ONE drive was just enough ammunition for the Carolina Panthers to make a comeback and steal a 27-20 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon.

With Atlanta leading 17-10 in the 3rd quarter, Carolina used one pass interference call and two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties to drive 80 yards in 1:56 to tie the game and swing the momentum into their favor.

One player loss this game for the Falcons and then had the gall to bitch at the head coach and to the media. Get over yourself. It’s really time.

Enough about that clown, because there was a lot of good coming from the Atlanta Falcons. First off, especially for my new UAB buddies, Roddy White does it again. Seven receptions for 127 yards and one touchdown. Although White did drop two balls, this is another good game for him and he currently leads the team in receptions with 15.

White’s success was in large part to the offensive line keeping Joey Harrington protected and Joey getting rid of the ball quickly. No. 13 finished the day with 361 passing yards and two touchdowns, while only being sacked once.

The passing numbers are great, but the problem still remains that the Falcons can not run the football. This team has led the league in rushing the past three seasons and that will not be the case this year. Petrino has to figure out a way to get the running game going and give Jerious Norwood more touches.

On the defensive side of the ball, Atlanta can’t stop the run. DeShaun Foster gashed the Falcons for 122 yards on 20 carries. Second-year man Deangelo Williams chipped in with 47 on 11 touches.

John Abraham continues his comeback to greatness with two sacks and Michael Boley is all over the field making tackles, but it is just not enough. The middle of the defense is soft.

Keith Brooking, its way past time to ride off into the sunset. Besides getting burnt by a running back (which happens to a lot of backers, but Keith just gets embarrassed), three tackles. There needs to be a lot more production from middle linebacker and maybe its time to start taking a look at Tony Taylor.

0-3 doesn’t feel too good. I’m starting to get the feeling that the Falcons are on clock.

Matt Schaub comes to town this Sunday. It would be great to close out the 1st quarter of the season with a victory.

By: T. Love

John Abraham, who missed eight games last season due to a hamstring injury, is having a little trouble with the same issue. The three-time pro-bowler saw limited action in Thursday’s practice and was out today. He is probable for Sunday’s contest versus the Carolina Panthers, but how much will this injury affect his play on the field?

Sunday will be the indicator.

In other injury news, TE Dwayne Blakely and defensive tackle Rod Coleman are both out this week. Blakely’s absence opens the way for rookie and former UGA standout Martrez Milner to see the field. Starting tight end Alge Crumpler still is not 100 percent and the team does use two TE sets from time-to-time.

Third-year man Jonathan Babineaux will continue to start in place of Coleman and is coming off probably his best game as a Falcon, picking up two sacks and three tackles.

Tackle Wayne Gandy is questionable this week and that is perfectly OK because he is only expediting the grooming of Renardo Foster. Gandy is a revolving door at left tackle and he is old enough to remember the leather helmet days. Time for some new blood.

WR Laurent Robinson is probable for this game and the Falcons need to get this kid on the field. Rich McKay would be wise to hire a hamstingologist to help the rookie and Abraham with their reoccurring injuries.

Safety Chris Crocker will more than likely make his season debut and it could not have come at a better time. Carolina is going to use plenty of play action and multiple receiver sets. The Falcons are going to need all the help in the secondary they can get. This will also push Jimmy Williams, who was given the starting job due to Crocker’s injury.

For the Panthers, LB Adam Seward is doubtful and that is all to report.

First division game for both teams, Atlanta needs a win in the worst way and in front of the home crowd is the best way to get it done.

By: T. Love

Here we go again. Another chapter in this “epic” battle between the All-Pro receiver Steve Smith and pro-bowler Deangelo Hall. Smith brings his hard-nosed, never quit play to the field while Hall brings his nonstop mouth and average cover abilities.

Time for D. Hall to put up and shut up. If you remember my post, Pro-Bowl Talker, I am expecting big things from Hall this year and the team needs him tremendously to step up to a leadership role. I’m also just sick of hearing him talk.

Smith will be No. 21’s first test of the season and since 2005, Smith’s return after missing 15 games with an ankle injury, the former Utah Ute has not had a lot of opportunities versus the Falcons. In 2005, when Smith shared honors with New England Patriot Teddy Bruschi for Comeback Player of the Year (which was complete bullshit because Smith should have one the award outright), he caught 16 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns in two games versus the Falcons.

In 2006, Smith missed the season opener with a hamstring injury. In the second contest he was held to no catches with Jake Delhomme out and Carolina refusing to throw the ball with Chris Weinke under center. Somehow, Mora and company managed to lose the game.

This season, Smith leads the NFL in receiving touchdowns with four, third in yards with 271 and tied for sixth in receptions with 15.

The Falcons secondary has not been tested this season with the likes of Tavarious Jackson and David Garrard scanning the secondary, but Carolina likes to get the ball in Smith’s hands early and often.

D. Hall needs to bring his “A” game and start making his case for Honolulu. Hall has one pick on the year and I bet he takes a chance this week. Hopefully, Jimmy Williams and Chris Crocker will be able to back him up (unlike years past with the likes of Bryan Scott) in case he guesses wrong.

Key matchup to watch this week.

By: T. Love

For all the hate and criticism that he receives, it is time to give some credit where credit is due. Roddy White caught four balls for 81 yards with a long of 35 versus the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday. Now that he has once again proved that the physical ability (which nobody has ever denied) is there, lets work on the consistency.

So far, good start to the season considering all the other shortcomings of the offense. The third-year man out of UAB snagged four catches in the season opener for 29 yards. Not really impressive and Petrino is wearing out the curl route, but at least he is involved with the offense.

Since being selected 27th overall in the 2005 NFL draft, White has yet to live up to his first-round billing. In his rookie season, he caught 29 balls for 446 yards and three touchdowns. He shattered those marks his second year with 30 catches for 506 yards and no touches. Currently, No. 84 is on pace to catch 64 balls and rack up 880 yards.

Those numbers aren’t great, but in an offense that features four- and five-wide sets (that has only been witnessed in the preseason) these numbers would make for a solid contribution and might put my buddy Robert’s conspiracy theories to rest.

Atlanta has not had a 1,000 yard receiver since… when did Terrence Mathis leave? And has not had a 100-yard game since… still trying to figure out when Terrence left. Obviously the team has not had a lot of luck with receivers lately, but maybe this could be Roddy’s breakout year.

It’s only two games, but at this time last year Roddy only had two receptions and he did not catch his eighth pass until Week 5.

Last week, the Carolina defense gave up 227 yards through the air while failing to register a sack. Sounds like a good week for Roddy to work on consistency.

Make it happen, 84.