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Falcons at Bucs: The good, the bad and the ugly from week 2
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The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
The Full Monte
I've long said Monte Kiffin is the smartest coach in the NFL. Above and beyond his amazing defensive coordinating skills he has made it known that he is not interested in a head coaching job. How smart is that!
Coach Kiffin gave Matt Ryan and the Falcons coaching staff "The Full Monte" on Sunday. I don't know if the Falcons game plan was to pass the ball 33 times, but if you can run for over 300 yards against any team in the NFL, I tend to think you don't come out with a plan to feature your rookie QB's throwing skills against one of the NFL's best defenses.
While our run game did only average three yards a carry, I believe you have to continue to try to pound the rock. Tampa's defense is known for its speed. Watching Tampa play twice a year for the past several years, I believe the best way to counter that speed is to negate it by running straight at them.
Abandoning the run game in the second quarter seemed to be one of two things from the coaching staff:
- Panic, or
- We've lost this game. Let's see if we can get our rookie three games' worth of experience in the next three quarters.
I guess that's why I'm not an NFL coach. While I would have liked to have seen us continue to try to run the ball, it's probable that we would have still lost the game. The bonus we take away from this game is that Matt Ryan got at least three games worth of experience and you could literally see him improve each quarter.
Here's the good, the bad and, yes, the ugly from week 2 between Tampa Bay and Atlanta
The Good:
Experience - Trial by fire might be a better description. Ryan began the game looking like the rookie he is and although Tampa was playing more of a prevent defense in the third and fourth quarters, he did get some completions and mostly stayed in the pocket despite the pass rush. I'm sure Ryan took more away from this game than a sore chin from the hit that made him look like a human Rock 'em Sock 'em robot and drew a personal foul penalty.
New Faces - Laurent Robinson and Harry Douglas showed some receiving skills snatching four catches for 45 yards and two for 34 yards respectively. Throw in another 33 yards on the ground for Douglas on that end-around play and I would say they had a nice game, combining for almost half of Atlanta's total offensive effort.
D-Line - While Tampa's feature back Earnest Graham ended the day with 116 yards, 68 of those came on one play. I thought Babineaux and the rest of the D-Line did a respectable job of containing the likes of Graham and Dunn as well as getting pressure on Griese throughout the game. Jamal Anderson was credited with six solo tackles. I have to admit I missed about five of those, but if he did have six solo tackles it was clearly the best game he's had.
The Bad:
Game Plan - They say all game plans look great on paper, but it's what you do after you catch that first right hook that knocks you silly that really matters. I don't think just because you are down 14-0 in the first quarter, primarily due to two interceptions by your rookie quarterback, that you should abandon the run game. I certainly don't think having your rookie throw the ball 33 times against Tampa's defense is a good idea. I’m not confident it would have changed the outcome of the game, but I thought it showed signs of panic rather than poise by our coaching staff.
Funk - Watching the game, it just looked like Tampa was playing to win and the Falcons were not. Tampa looked faster, had more hustle and moved around on the field with a sense of meaning, while the Falcons looked lethargic, confused and out-classed. I know it was hot down in Tampa, but this is the NFL. You've got to show up ready to play football.
Jenkins - Same old same. Jenkins looks just good enough to stay in the lineup, but hardly good enough week in and week out to be a bona-fide starter. Where was Finneran? I have to think a rookie QB could use a tall and sure-handed veteran on the field.
The Ugly:
Pass Defense - Griese spread the ball around to eight different receivers and our DB's just seemed to be a step behind most of the game.
Injuries - Rumor has it that Grady Jackson's knee swelled up the night before the game. Hopefully this isn't a nagging issue. Losing Sam Baker at right tackle wasn't such a good thing either. The injury to Backer seemed to be head or possibly neck related so I hope it's not serious.
Interceptions - I guess we should be happy that Ryan only threw two interceptions. If you watched the game, you know it could have easily been three or four.
Special Teams Penalties - Minimum salary in the NFL is well over $100K/year. You would think you could coach these guys to NOT hold or block in the back on kick and punt returns.
Losing - The Falcons were never really in the game. Tampa's penalties kept the score close, and our offense on the field. Tampa threw the ball when they needed to and just when we thought we had Graham slowed down, they put Dunn in the game and he carved a path around our defense that looked like a 10-year-old kid running around statues in the park.
Let me know what you thought was good, bad or ugly and let's see what the injury report looks like as we get ready to take on Kansas City in the Georgia Dome next week.
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