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Sun. Nov 12, 2006

Falcons Fumble Focus

It was sort of like election day on a Sunday, the guys in red couldn’t do much of anything right, and took a total thumpin’.

The AP lead says “For the second week in a row, the Atlanta Falcons lost to one of the NFL’s worst teams.”

Hmmm. Now, what would that make the Falcons, class? Bueller?

Last week, I told you if you replaced the Atlanta Falcons defensive secondary with four healthy nuns, they’d do at least as well as the “pros.” This week, you can add the wide receivers to that assessment. I’m not sure how many dropped passes they’ve had this week and last. Frankly I’m not sure I can count that high. And I like to think I’m a pretty countin’ kind of guy.

The common angry fanboy retort at this point is, “oh, yeah, think you can do as well, buddy?” Why, yes, I do. I’m quite capable of letting Michael Vick’s bullet passes bounce off my hands as though they were stone. I can also stand around the field showing zero off-play hustle, like Michael Jenkins often does. I’m also capable of letting Kellen Winslow Jr. leap his giant butt in front of my skinny ass to steal the pass while my jaw hangs open.

I can do all that, man. And so can the Falcons.

You want numbers? Five punts, one interception, and 3 points. That was the offensive output for the first half. And offensive it was. In the second half, behind 14-3, the Falcons go for it on fourth and one. The logical call in such a situation? Drop back for a deep pass that results in a 30 yard interception.

At least in the military, they’re allowed to ignore illegal orders. And calling that play on fourth and one should have qualified as an illegal order. A court martial offense. I don’t know what’s up with the coaches. Never mind play calling, for two weeks in a row, against teams with 2 or less wins, they brought their team to the game prepared to be stuffed and shoved in the oven like turkeys.

So much for the easy part of the schedule, eh?

Some of this was expected. As bad as the secondary was last week, this week they went into it with two less starters. In fact, during the week Mora joked that some of his secondary coaches might get into the rotation. At least, I think he was joking. Better check the final roster for the game, though.

Anyway, knowing all this, the Browns spent much of the first half with three or four wide outs, and ran passed all over the defense. But in the second half, the defense stiffened, and even gave the offense a turnover with good field position. So did the special teams. And the offense took these opportunities and self-destructed.

One sequence near the end said it all. The Falcons were driving with a chance to finally take the lead, about 2:30 left. A holding penalty that nullified a first down left Vick shaking his head. For a while. I noticed it because I always marvel at how a pro like Donovan McNabb, or Brett Favre, or Tom Brady will have a play go wrong, and immediately shake it off to focus on getting the next play from the sideline. They focus on moving forward.

On this play, Vick clearly did not. He finally made it back to the huddle, called the play … and then lines up in the shotgun behind the guard. The center has to direct him over to the right spot. He takes the snap, and stumbles to a fumble. Game over.

The game is on the line, but he’s so mad about the previous play he lines up behind the guard? Judging by his post-game quote, he’s still mad: “The Falcons quarterback took off running on the next play, appearing to get another first down, but a holding penalty on Eric Beverly negated the play. ‘That right there determined the outcome of the game,’ Vick said. ‘We could have been on the 5-yard line [...] If you want to say it was my fault, go ahead and say it, but I know what I feel inside and I know what I know. It never should have come to that point.” Boy, is Eric Beverly in the Vick Dawg House.

I’m sure there will be lots of ‘splainin’ and spinnin’ this week. Maybe even some public finger-pointing as well. To be sure, this team is injury riddled. But, well, welcome to the NFL. It happens to most teams. One must also point out the Falcons have not one, not two, but three wide receivers who are former first round draft choices. And they’re producing like undrafted free agents. The Falcons also have millions of dollars invested in a linebacker who’s played about five out of the 25 games he’s been under contract, and millions more in a defensive lineman who’s play about two games this year.

Injuries happen. Bad investments are also a fact of life in the NFL. But that’s not all that’s going on here, in my opinion. Nine games in, this team has lost its focus. No matter who you’re playing, or what else is going on, you’ve got to bring it down to Sunday. In nine games this year, I’ve seen them do that three times. Yes, I think they’re lucky to be even 5-4.

I’d love to have been a fly on the wall of Arthur Blank’s owner’s suite today. Or his office on Monday.

Later: “Falcons let another slip away; Careless play leads to 2nd straight loss”: “Unlike last week, when the Falcons got drilled by hapless Detroit, players seemed more perplexed about what just had transpired.”

Jeff Schultz: “It’s only November. Is it nap time already? [...] When you’re missing bodies on the field, you can’t afford to be missing a head or a pulse. But that’s where the Falcons are. Warrick Dunn said of the Browns, ‘They played hard for 60 minutes.’ And the Falcons? ‘We played hard for a half. Unfortunately.”

More from Jeff: “Last season the Falcons didn’t fall apart until the second half. This year, cracks started showing in week 3 at New Orleans. They started 2-0. They are 3-4 since. That’s not a blip. That’s an identity. They fell behind 14-0 to a 2-6 team after losing 30-14 to a 1-6 team. That’s not something that can be fixed with a cute little speech or a pat on the back or a trip to Chuck E. Cheese. When a team stumbles out of the blocks against a bad team after being humiliated by another bad team the week before, there are issues deeper than injuries.”

“Vick’s fumble caps sloppy day”: “John Elway has ‘The Drive.’ Dwight Clark has ‘The Catch.’ Against Cleveland on Sunday, Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, with a chance to win the game, had ‘The Fumble’ in the final seconds of a 17-13 defeat.”

Ouch.